REMEMBRANCE (34 page)

Maria studied his face as he spoke.

“It was only later, after he had manipulated himself into Sir John’s trust, and having settled himself here, that he found out from Sir John that you were not to inherit Whitmore at all, but that it would, in fact, come to me.”

“That must have been when he became so cruel,” she remembered. Tom squeezed her hands tightly, as he saw her discomfort. Shall I carry on? he wondered. “He was so rude, Tom; he forced his way into my room.”

“I know,” he said quietly, placing an arm about her shoulders to bring her close to his side. “I will not say another word, if it distresses you so, M.”

“No, please Tom. Please forgive me; I do wish to hear what you have to say.”

Reluctantly, he continued, “So you were right, when he came to hear the news, he became the person that you had misfortune of experiencing first hand. After having been thrown from Whitmore, as well as Mr Grainger’s house, he formulated Plan B.”

“Plan B?” she said puzzled.

“Why have a little, when you can have the lot? Plan B, my dearest, was to rid this world of you. He believed that people would think that you had taken your own life through sorrow of my marriage to Miss Cartland. Later, as he knew that I would be stricken with your loss, he had planned to take my life too. They found some papers at the inn where he stayed after leaving here; it was all there, every detail of his plans. I am sure that, if his mad schemes had come to fruition, he would have destroyed them.”

She sat in thought for a while. Thomas was content with the silence, as it was enough that he could hold her pliable body to his side.

“Why was it, that Miss Cartland married Mr Grainger?” she asked quietly, changing the subject.

Thomas smiled, “I believe, as Mr Grainger put it, that the seed had been planted there by a certain young lady.”

She smiled in this knowledge. Had Mr Grainger really taken to heart what she had told him the day she declined his marriage proposal? Still, he did ask if he could do anything that would ease her burden.

“God bless you, Mr Grainger,” she whispered.

“Hurry, Bella! He will be here any minute!” Maria’s voice was brimming with excitement.

“I am sure that he will be quite contented to wait awhile,” Bella replied reassuringly.

Maria sighed, “I am sure you are right, but please Bella, can we try and make haste?” she laughed eagerly.

It was to be her first riding outing since the accident and she was so keen to see Tom again, even if it had only been a few hours since they had parted. She looked out of the window at the gathering rain clouds.

“Oh Bella, I believe that it might rain!” she said sadly.

“It will not rain, Miss.”

She practically threw herself down the stairs and into the great hall, where Tom was engaged in conversation with Sir John.

“Tom?” Her voice was full of animation.

He turned to see her lovely face as she ran towards him.

“M?”

He swung her round as his strong arms wrapped themselves about her slim waist, their laughter echoing from the walls.

“Well now, you two young ’uns,” Sir John joined in their fun, “be gone with you now or you shall miss the best of the weather.”

They could still hear his laughter as they went out onto the gravel drive.

Maria halted, as she saw Blaze with the most beautiful leather saddle strapped to his back.

“Oh Tom, this is…” she faltered.

“Do you like it? I know how you hated that old one of yours and you must admit that you had outgrown it a while ago. With that in mind, I took liberty to have this one commissioned for you.”

“It is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. Is this the surprise? She looked at the enlightenment on his face.

“Ah, you are too astute; I thought that it may be one of many, which I might be able to lavish on you.”

“Oh Tom, you do not need to give me gifts; I am just happy to be with you.” She reached up and kissed him.

“Miss Austin, you will have the servants talking,” he whispered against her lips.

“Let them talk.”

He raised her into the saddle and then mounted his own ride.

“Are you ready?” Tom asked her.

“Yes,” she nodded.

With a kick of their heels, the two horses sped off. The air rushed against their skin as they embarked on the climb of Upper Bank, stopping as they reached the top to look out across the distant landscape. The autumn breeze was fresh with a hint of coolness, giving promise of a cold winter to come.

“To think, M, that one day all this will be ours!”

She looked back at his handsome face, the smile playing on her soft lips.

He caught her stare. “What?” he questioned.

“Oh, I was just thinking how incredibly handsome you look today,” she giggled.

“Does that mean that I do not always look this handsome?” he teased.

Her smile broadened. “Mmmm, let me think…”

“Why you,” he leaned across his saddle to kiss her.

“Mr Bradley, I do believe that you are flirting with me in public. What will those society folk think if they were to spy us?”

“Well, Miss Austin, I think that I would have to tell them very blatantly to mind their own business.”

He watched her guide Blaze around. What was she up to now? he wondered.

“Race you to the Crystal Pool,” she shouted over to him. “I promise that I will not leave you at a disadvantage, Mr Bradley.” Her laugh could be heard all the way down the far side of the bank, as she left him standing without any warning.

“M… You…”

He sped off in hot pursuit, but he knew that she had had too much of a head start for Cleara to be able to catch up. She was already standing on the bank of the clear waters when he dismounted. Her face was hot and flushed as she looked up at him adoringly.

“I do believe, Miss Austin, that you are a cheat.”

“And I do believe, Mr Bradley, you are a bad loser.”

She picked up two sticks from the ground and handed him one.

“What’s this for?” he asked quizzically as he noted her lifting her skirts, “are you getting fresh with me, Miss Austin?” he joked.

“Certainly not, Mr Bradley.”

She ripped the cotton from her petticoat, and started to tie the thin thread to her stick.

He stood in awe of the beautiful woman that he loved, as she created a fishing rod, just as they had done when they were children. She never stopped amazing him. He watched the way her face was illuminated as she concentrated on her task, admiring the little twinkle in her eye as she regarded him from under her lashes. At that moment, he knew that the love he had held all these years was not just a passing fancy; it was as strong as the trees in the forest and would last as long as the sun graced the skies above. Their love would remain strong for as long as their mortal bodies would survive this land, and he was certain that it would last forever in the afterlife.

“Tell me what you are thinking,” she questioned.

He studied her face, “I was just wondering why on earth you would think that I would want to go fishing?”

“Oh Tom, please think with your head, and not your loins,” she teased. “There will be plenty of time for the kind of frolics your dirty mind is thinking of.”

“Well, Miss Austin, how can you say such a thing? If I didn’t know any better, I would think that it is you that is avoiding the inevitable.”

“Well now, Mr Bradley, I do declare that we may be thinking along the same lines.”

“Is that so?”

“Please Tom, do me the honour and humour me in this little game.”

“Does it not bother you, M?”

“Mmm, what should bother me?” she asked, still concentrating on the task at hand.

“Us being here, you know, after all that happened.”

Glancing up she looked to the spot where Garth Lewis had fallen and began to shake her head slowly. “He was a very troubled man, Tom. He was not in his right mind.”

“Still...”

Looking Tom squarely in the face, “This is our pool Tom; it has always been ours. I forbid the terrible events of what happened tarnish all our beautiful memories. What happened that day had given us the courage to live our lives to the full. And, deep down, we have Mr Lewis to thank for that.” She took the few steps toward him and looked up at his concerned face. “Let us forgive poor Mr Lewis, so that he may finally rest in peace and we are free to create even more everlasting memories.” Reaching up, she kissed him gently, “Do you not agree?”

“Yes,” he whispered.

They spent the afternoon splashing their makeshift rods in the water, their laughter filling the still air. Finally, the clouds covered the sun and the rain came in heavy bursts, putting an end to their game. Her squeals of delight rang out as they dashed to the cover of the old oak; their clothes soaked through.

Her face was full of light and sparkles danced in her eyes, while her hair fell in wet ringlets across her shoulders. His chest constricted painfully as he looked upon her.

“Do you remember the last time we got caught in the rain like this?” His voice was all but a whisper.

“We were soaked through after we had sneaked away from the picnic on Upper Bank.”

“We talked about the time before; do you remember?”

She turned her eyes up to his face and saw the love brimming over. She could have cried.

“Yes,” she whispered.

“Marry me, M. Let us put an end to this torment. Let us end it now, here where it began the day we carved our initials into this ancient tree. Let us start our new life together from this moment.” A single tear escaped the watery pools of his eyes.

Her hand reached up and swept it from his cheek.

“Yes, Tom let it begin here, now.”

A smile spread across his handsome face and as he brought his lips gently to hers, the passion he had tried to contain until he thought she was well enough swamped his very being. His mouth became hard on hers as the urgency of their need reached boiling point. His hands were hot on her skin, as they swept away the clothing that came between them. She was, once again, lost in the sensation of his caress. The ragged groan from his throat reached her ears. He lifted her slender frame, pressing her back against the rough surface of the oak. She cried out in her wantonness, as the power of his arousal penetrated her delicate skin, as she opened willingly for him. The feverish pounding of their union tipped them over the edge into the world that they both longed to be in, the place where they truly belonged.

Bertie was sitting upon the old chair in the drawing room, the old photograph album laid out before her upon the desk’s top. Her face was full of light from her happiness, as gradually, the old sepia pictures appeared on the black dusty card. Their marriage; their children; their life. Everything she had hoped for shone from those images. She looked up to find that the picture of Lady Maria Austin no longer hung against the far wall, for she knew it must still adorn the walls of Nedgely Hall.

The heavy wooden door creaked, as Margaret entered and moved across the floor to come and stand at her side. She, too, smiled down at the pictures.

“Is it done Lady Bradley?” she asked.

Bertie took a deep sigh, “Yes, Mrs Webster, it is done.”

“I am so pleased; I thought this day would never come,” Margaret whispered with tears in her eyes.

“And to think that it might not have happened at all, if it weren’t for my daughter-in-law Maria.”

“Do you think that she ever knew the real reason she went back?” Margaret asked.

“If she did, she never mentioned it to me.”

“So you think she did know in some small way?” Mrs Webster asked.

“Maybe. I believe that she thought that she had been given the second chance at life with Thomas, and maybe, in some way, she was right. But, as you know, Mrs Webster, I was the one that had been given the second chance,” Bertie mused. “If Maria had not gone back,” she paused, “if Maria had not gone back, taking some of her modern day knowledge with her, then she would never have embarked on such a passionate affair with my son. She would have been brought up never to act upon her feelings. As a result, both their lives would have ended at the Crystal Pool.”

“Then why did they not die?” Margaret asked.

“I believe that, when they started their affair, they had already changed history. Thomas’s love for Maria was too strong even for him to understand and he had no intention of going through with his marriage to Miss Cartland. It could have gone one of two ways—they could have run away together, leaving behind all that they knew and owned or… the path that they did take. Either way, I believe that they would have lived a full and fruitful life, thus changing the path that Garth Lewis took.”

“Ah, Garth Lewis. He shall never rest in peace, I fear,” Margaret sighed.

“I believe that you are right, Margaret. He is one lost soul.”