The Crimson Bed (40 page)

    Ellie blanched at these words. Part of her longed for Fred to come after her and part was terrified that he would cast her off and take the children from her. She followed Dillinger into his study and they shut the door.

    'Well, as we seem to have been cast in the role of sinners, let us at least have some privacy. The servants are always listening, curious, gossiping. They are all alike, few to be trusted,' said Lord Dillinger, 'and what I have to say is for your ears alone.'

    Ellie sat down obediently in the red leather armchair opposite his desk. Dillinger poured out a glass of sherry for her and she began to sip it slowly. He stared out of the window for a little while watching the wind blowing heartily amongst the trees, driving leaves across the lawn in bouncing gusts. Then he gave a deep sigh, opened a drawer and took out some papers. She watched him, wondering what he had to say.

    'This, Ellie, is my last will and testament. As you know, George will be the next Lord Dillinger and inherit the estates. Thankfully, he is a dull but sober enough fellow and will take good care of them. Charlotte has her dowry and is well provided for by her wealthy marriage. As for Benjamin, he seems to me the sort of fool who will always be in trouble but I have settled a sum on him which I have no doubt will be dissipated before he is twenty-five, if he is lucky. The rest I mean to settle on your Charlie and Mary and any other children you may have, to be divided equally amongst them.'

    Ellie gasped in astonishment, 'But you will have grandchildren of your own, Dillie – why leave so much to my children?'

    Lord Dillinger sighed deeply.

    'I have to make a confession to you, Ellie. I want you to know this so much and have longed to tell you for many a year but could say nothing while Joshua Farnham was still alive. Your mother and I were lovers for four years and you, Ellie –
you
are my daughter. I know this to be so because your father was unable to produce children and Maria turned to me, hoping I could give her a child. I was more than glad for I had always loved your mother with all my heart and soul. And she fell in love with me. You were born from love, Ellie, from the deepest love.'

    Ellie stared at him. Suddenly the room had darkened as if a storm was brewing. The warm afternoon sun continued to stream in through the windows. But for Ellie the sunshine, the joy, the world had suddenly ceased to exist.

    'No,' she said, 'no... . Papa... Papa... Joshua Farnham was my Papa... it cannot be.'

    'It is true. We had a secret birth certificate drawn up separately naming me as your father and it is here in this box.'

    He took it out and she waved the papers away. 'I don't want to see them!' she cried.

    The full implication of his confession now fell upon her like a huge deluge.

    'You and my mother were lovers... '

    'Yes, dearest Ellie, forgive us for that. We did truly love one another.'

    'I do not forgive you!' she cried. 'I cannot forgive you because now I see, now I realise... this is why you sent Alfie to his death. My God, he was my
half brother
!'

    She turned white as a sheet at the thought and looked as if she might faint.

    'Ellie, Ellie, take some water,' said Dillinger in alarm and poured her out a glass. She took it and tried to swallow but choked on the liquid and pushed the glass away. Lord Dillinger had now risen and paced around the room while she sat and held her hands to her mouth as if to prevent herself from screaming.

    He tried to touch her shoulder but she pushed him away and shook her head. He returned to his seat and sat there forlorn and looking old.

    'It upset you both to part, we knew that. Maria and I saw that you were both becoming far too close and realised that we should have parted you sooner. It had to be, Ellie.'

    'You sent Alfie to his death!'

    'Why, Ellie, he w
anted
to be in the Army. He had always said he meant to be a soldier
. I
had no wish for him to follow such a career. He was my eldest son, meant to inherit my estates. You know as well as I do that he was always an impulsive and determined lad. Nothing would have stopped him and death always stares a soldier in the face.'

    'I could have stopped him. He and I loved one another, don't you realise that? As you say you loved my mother, so Alfie and I loved one another. We were lovers. Lovers... in the woods... do you understanding what I'm saying? We meant to marry.'

    Dillinger looked at her, disbelieving in his turn.

    'My God, we feared you were too close! We should never have let you grow up together but Maria and I liked to see you play as children knowing we shared you both, brother and sister. This news is too much to bear!'

    'Too much for
you
?' cried Ellie, her voice rising in fury, 'Don't you suppose it's too much for me? Thank God you did part us at last but I'm afraid it was too late. We were lovers, you fool. I might have borne a child from him. Didn't you and my mother suppose that might happen? You should have never kept up the friendship with us, become my godfather, fooled my dear Papa and myself all these years. I can
never
see you as my father; you have
never
been my father! You may have given me life but it is Joshua Farnham who was my true, dear father and will always be so for me. I hate you, Lord Dillinger, I never wish to see you again!'

    'Ellie, I will not be here much longer, can you not forgive me? Can you not love me as a daughter at long last?' he asked pleadingly.

    'You
have
a daughter,' she replied coldly, rising to her feet, 'and she, poor child, has never received your love. You gave it all to me. I see that now, and I am as guilty of having taken it from her in my vanity at your preference for me. Fred was right to suspect you. Something always told him you were false and he was so right though he misunderstood the reason for it. You are not my father. You can never be my father.'

    She ran from the room and fled from the house. Her mind was in turmoil and she had no idea she was going. She just ran blindly down into the gardens and along the paths towards the fields and woods and the river.

    She had disappeared from view and from earshot of the house when a shot rang out in Lord Dillinger's study.

Chapter 36

When Fred arrived home at noon, he discovered to his dismay that Ellie and the children had fled the nest. Mrs Thompson had no idea that her mistress had even left the house, busy as she always was in the kitchen. The maid had been sent forth on some errand at the time the carriage arrived so was also ignorant of the fact that Ellie was no longer there.

    As it happened the person who had seen her set off with Mulhall and the children was the gardener who had been busy pruning some bushes at the front of the house.

    'Big carriage came for 'em, sir,' he said in answer to Fred's urgent enquiry. 'Came about nine o'clock this mornin' to take 'em away. They took a big trunk so I reckoned they was going away for a goodish bit.'

    Fred tried hard not to make a fuss. He had no desire for gossip to spread.

    'How foolish of me,' he said. 'I forgot they were to set off a little earlier. Thank you, Sims.'

    He went back into the house and looked in Ellie's room for a note or some other missive but there was nothing to tell him where she had gone. However, it took very little conjecture. She had run away from him to Dillinger. That was obvious. All his worst suspicions were now confirmed. They were indeed lovers and she had left him and taken his children with her.

    By God, she would not have his children as well! Nor would Dillinger have her. He would kill him first.

    He debated how quickly he might set off and confront them at Oreton Hall assuming that's where they were. For all he knew they were on their way to Paris this very minute.

    He sent the maid out to fetch him a cab and hired the man to take him over to Oreton Hall in Hertfordshire.

    'As quickly as you can make it,' he said, 'you'll be well paid. Just get going.'

    The man grumbled over the distance and said, 'I can drop you at the station, mister, you can get a train from there.'

    'I haven't time to hang about waiting for trains,' shouted Fred, 'if you won't take me, I'll get another man who will.'

    The cabbie was not that foolish and soon they were galloping down the country lanes and roads at a fair speed. Not fast enough for Fred to whom each minute seemed forever and whose anger grew ever hotter and malevolent.

    At last they arrived at the tall iron gates of Oreton Hall. Fred paid the man and told him to leave him at the end of the driveway and go. He had no idea what he meant to do or what might happen. All he knew was he meant to confront the guilty lovers and drag Ellie away. He had brought his pistol with him and in his present state of mind felt he might well use it.

    However, as he turned the bend in the drive, he saw that there were several vehicles and horses already there and several people milling about before the house. He paused in amazement and then walked along more slowly, wondering what on earth was going on.

    As he came up to the house, a policeman stopped him and asked him his business.

    'I wish to see Lord Dillinger.'

    'Might I ask why, sir?'

    'No, it's a private matter,' snapped Fred. 'What's going on here?'

    'Lord Dillinger's just gone and shot himself in his study,' said the policeman, 'that's what.'

    Fred stopped in his tracks.

    'Was anyone else with him?'

    'Not that I know of, sir. Footman heard the shot, went straight

in, and found his lordship with his brains blown out. Nothing they could do. He was dead as mutton.'

    'Good God!'

    'You may well say so. Nasty, very nasty. I suggest you leave, sir, as you can't exactly conduct your business with him now.'

    'I'm sorry but I have to go on to the house. My wife and children are guests here. I have to find them and be sure they are all safe.'

    'In that case, go ahead then, sir. I expect the Inspector will want to speak to you though.'

    'I don't give a hang about the Inspector.' Fred ran on towards the house. Servants crowded into the hallway looking shocked and concerned. He looked up and saw Mulhall with Charlie and Mary standing on the upper landing, looking down on the scene with wonder and apprehension.

    Swiftly, he ran up the stairs and Charlie called out to him.

    'Oh, Papa, you've come. We're so glad. Mulhall was all worried.'

    Fred gathered his son into his arms with a little sob of relief and then took Mary from Mulhall and kissed her and held her tightly against him.

    Setting her down, he said, 'What the hell has happened here, Mulhall?'

    She told the children to go and wait for her in the schoolroom. They set off obediently and then Mulhall turned to Fred, her face quite ashen and aged. She was very shaken and frightened by the events.

    'I've no idea, sir,' she said, 'I brought the children up here about an hour ago as the mistress wanted to have a private talk with his Lordship, she said. As far as I know, they went into his study and then a short while after she was seen running out and across the lawn as if she'd gone mad or something. Next thing, we heard a shot and they say Lord Dillinger had killed himself. They sent for the doctor and the police at once. It seems there was no hope for him. He was dead all right.'

    'Where is Mrs Thorpe, though? My God, Mulhall, where has
she
gone to?'

    He ran back downstairs again.

    'Has anyone seen Mrs Thorpe?' he shouted.

    'We're going to go and search for her now,' said one of the police officers.

    Fred was not going to wait for them slowly to comb the area. He knew full well the direction that Ellie always took whenever she came to Oreton Hall. Down the slope, past the lake, into the fields and woods and down to the river. He ran as fast as he could, calling her name, tears streaming down his face, sobbing in anguish and desperation. He didn't care what had happened. Had Ellie shot Dillinger or had he killed himself? Whatever had happened, he, Fred, had driven her to it and if anything was to befall her he would have himself to blame for it.

    He didn't care what had happened, all he wanted was to find Ellie and tell her he loved her more than anything else in the world.

Ellie came to the woods. She took the little path that led her into the green gloom of the trees. It had been dry of late and brown leaves crackled beneath her feet. Above her, the branches swayed a little in the breeze and sighed sadly. She almost stumbled over a dead branch and pushing it to one side, carried on at this hasty pace until she reached the little clearing where she and Alfie once met as children then as lovers.

    She sat down upon the dried bracken and stared about her. So much love and happiness had been theirs for that brief while and she knew she would never again experience that first love, that first joy they had shared. Now she understood the tremendous bond between them. They were of the same father, the same seed. Their blood flowed through those parental veins. The crimson blood. She understood too why Dillie had always had such a strange fascination for her and she for him and how this had held her bound to him all these years.

    If only she had listened to Fred! But it would have been impossible to break that hidden, secret bond that had kept her enchained in some subtle manner. How to escape it all? How to escape? Ghosts seemed to swirl about her. She felt Alfie so close now, saw his smile, his mischievous eyes, felt his strong young arms bearing her down into the bracken. At first, she had been so shy and afraid, but later, eager and longing.

    Oh God, what had they done! Would she ever be forgiven for her sin?