Journey's End (Marlbrook) (8 page)

Misery took time to pass.  Laura decided that she would beg
,
if necessary
,
but either way
,
the caretaker must be made to remove her from this improper situation.

Laura lifted her head from her makeshift pillow of straw, ready to confront Thomas with her suffering
, b
ut h
er plan failed miserably.  The concern Thomas portrayed
,
in response to her plea
,
was her undoing, and a new flow of tears slipped silently down and around the contours of her face.  Unwittingly, Laura brought about her own downfall.

Laura’s pain seduced Thomas.

Soft lips, tender of touch, arranged lingering kisses upon Laura’s cool flesh, and the contact made her heart pound.

Laura’s body responded without conscience, the caretaker’s caresses making her yearn.  Laura succumbed to the moment.

CHAPTER
ELEVEN
- Forgiveness

The virtuous adults charged with Laura’s upbringing had successfully removed any notion that an intimate act could be pleasurable, strengthening guilt with the prospect of sin.  Laura’s tentative departure into a world of self-
indulgence
ended as suddenly as it had begun.

“Thomas
,
I implore you
,
please stop.”

Laura’s slight form tensed under Thomas’ hold.  He did as Laura asked.  He sympathised
,
for anguish united them.

“Rest easy, Laura. I shall stay by your side until the warmth returns and the rain ceases, and then I will deliver you into safe hands.”

Thomas supported himself on one elbow, altering his body position to assist his words.  “I am not the beast you imagine, madam. Your estimation of my person has me using women, tossing them aside as though this behaviour were an inherent part of my day.”

Laura experienced a choking sensation, taken aback by the directness of his words.

Thomas continued. “Although
,
I must confess that having a woman I care about in such close proximity is a trial
,
but one
that
I guarantee
would cause
even the most chivalrous of knights
to
quake.”

Thomas’ sincerity weakened Laura’s defences.

“Laura. Other than apologising, there is nothing I can do to rectify this situation.”  The man imparted to the woman a fragment of hope.  “I beg of you
,
Laura, do not judge either of us too harshly.”

“Sir, I too must confess
,
for I am obliged to remember that a fate far worse awaited me if you had not come to m
y rescue. You saved my life.”

One other matter required Laura’s attention.  “Moreover, I do not believe that other men, having found themselves in your position, would have been this patient or disciplined in their restraint.”

Her troubles aired, Laura collected courage from her depths to face Thomas once more
, b
ut desire surged and quickly forced her to withdraw.  She feared her roma
nticism
s would let her down.

Minutes passed sluggishly to form dreary hours, until relief arrived from an unexpected source.  Night, once regarded as Laura’s enemy, now cloaked her protectively in its fabric
.  W
ith exhaustion confirmed
,
sleep fleetingly carried her away.

Upon waking, the finer details of Thomas’ features were at first difficult to distinguish.  Gradually
,
Laura’s sight adjusted
;
the suns first rays
were
yet to fully blanket the
new
sky.

Instinctively, Laura sensed
that
Thomas was awake.  The fading shadows provided a valuable ruse, protecting her from his dark, penetrating eyes.  The unsteady rhythm of her breathing donated the sole discord.

Thomas’ thoughts led him down a street where complications dwelled.  Laura supplied his quandary.  Schooled in the old ways
,
she respected a class system that exonerated peerages, a system that assumed one person the better of his neighbour.  Few of English origin had triumphed over this social evil.  Thomas had Henry to thank for his awareness.  If Laura learned of his birthright
,
he might forfeit the chance of a future with her and he had no intention of losing her
through
some outdated nonsense.

Laura interrupted Thomas’ thoughts.

“Are you to stay at the manor alone or will your family join you?”  Laura’s hand rushed to cover her mouth.  She had no idea
from
where
the inappropriate query
had
originated.

Thomas came from a noble lineage, a recorded ancestry that spanned centuries.  His family and their ruin were a part of that history.  Their tragedy had not come from the outside; their fate had been delivered from a hand within.

“It is an unfortunate man,
Laura, who is without kin,
and I am such a man.”

For Laura’s sake, Lord Thomas Ashley related his story from the caretaker’s point of view.

“The Manor has a sordid history. It is said that the last owner died a sad and lonely death. Rumours abound that it was the owner’s inability to cope with adversity that destroyed the manor and its fortune.”

Thomas paused.  In truth, he spoke of his late father.

“Grief had lain over the man, caused by the untimely death of his wife. He indulged in violent behaviour, encouraged by
drink
.”

Thomas halted his rendition of events.  His father had driven a wedge between them, an injury so deep that even
the man’s
deathbed had been ineffectual in healing the wounds.

Thomas had been too young to grasp the significance of his mother’s tragic demise
; this
awareness had come much later.  As an adult, Thomas had endured some of the raw emotions that accompany that learning, the term “ravished” symbolising his family’s pain.  Those responsible for the heinous crime had never been held to account. 
The y
ears had entrusted the event to memory, and the manor had gone the same way.  Today it was the caretaker, under instruction,
who was
charged with the restoration of the estate.

Emotion lingered.  Laura could not effortlessly put aside the portrayal of a family torn apart by sorrow.  The effects were sobering.  Urgency did not bind Laura.  Time, it seemed, was
the
one luxury they could afford.

The worst part
having been
conveyed, Thomas shifted his recall to lighter topics.  “Ma’am, would you care to hear about some of the wonders this world has to offer?”

“Sir, you have my full attention.”

Thomas gave a spirited rendition of his travels, the stories colourful and descriptive.  He inspired his listener
,
who hung on his every word.

Laura shared the exhilaration of his first sea voyage, deriving joy as the
Boston
shoreline had come into sight.  Alongside him, she too conquered land and sea.

Eventually
,
Thomas had become dissatisfied with the nomadic life and the challenges had waned.  In a world where only the vigilant survived, he accepted that his indifference would have dug his early grave.

At thirty-and
-
three years of age, his birthplace would serve as his refuge.  He had returned home a wealthy man and would now transform the estate.

Laura held her detour to account for a great deal.  Unclothed, she lay entwined in a man’s embrace while he placed his life’s private details on display.  Intimacy of this nature, Laura discovered, had proved to be a treasured find.  With strong arms cradling her, she made a secret declaration.  She did not entirely dislike the situation.

“And you, madam. What secrets do you keep?”

“You, sir, would soon tire of my stories and may even be tempted to make fun at my expense. What woman would voluntarily open herself to such ridicule?”

Laura held back
, t
he tales she brought to the fore were uninspired
.  N
one of
that
had anything to do with Thomas
;
the complexity belonged to Laura.

From a young age, Laura’s mother had encouraged traits in her daughter that the world did not always congratulate or condone.  Laura often wondered if it were these peculiarities that had caused her eviction from her mother’s home.

Laura’s mother, Annie, had been a woman of circumstance.  Bound by a union contrived to please others, Annie had married Laura’s father, a man double in years to her own.  Her husband had held a prominent place in the community, one that called for honour; her dowry had no doubt increased his public standing.  Laura viewed her father as cruel, a man barren of any concept of respect.  Tears had not fallen and his passing had left no mark of debt to interfere with a young girl’s thought.  However, he was not so forgiving.  The grave did not cease the habits of a lifetime and
,
upon his death
,
his wife and child had been evicted from their home
;
a faceless brood taking their place.  Charles Jennings had punished his wife for not producing his son and Laura for being born. 
Nevertheless
,
despite her father’s attempts to the contrary, their days had remained happy and tranquil until the burden of duty again ruined everything.  Annie had married Sarah’s father.  A man of substantial wealth
,
Sarah’s father lacked courage, waiting for the marriage seal before revealing his true hand.  The vows uttered, the subject of Laura had come to an end.  Sorrow had led to heartbreak.  Earl Townsend had selected Laura’s new school for its isolation; Laura had been
five
years old at the time.

In retrospect
,
it had been this callous deed that had plunged her mother into darkness – Annie Townsend had simply given up.  Sarah’s birth
had
failed to make whole a woman disconcerted by life, and within five short years
,
there would be nothing to keep the kind soul from passing in her sleep.

The past had shaped Laura
, yet what
she declared to her audience absolved the past
.  T
he truth remained untold.

“Madam
,
” Thomas began
,
“
d
isclosure is good for the soul, but my admission
,
I am afraid, may enrage. I have shared intimate moments with you, and no man or woman that treads this earth knows more of my life. You are indeed a rare woman to have drawn these private details from me.”

Thomas’ complimentary remarks were an attempt at humour, but instead he fuelled Laura’s confusion.  Laura’s heart beat erratically, the telltale thumps boldly displaying her latest crisis.  Laura used wit to distract her errant thoughts.

“You are flattering me, sir. I
would wager that
the milkmaids hereabouts are told that very same story.”  Laura’s humorous rebuff had a grin in tow, but with the cessation of sound
,
Laura felt Thomas tense.  His body, enfolding hers, announced its manly intentions
,
and the silence threatened to engulf them.

Thomas spoke, but his words did little to ease Laura’s distress.

“Yesterday
,
when
I found you in my apartment,
I admit that you placed me in a difficult predicament. I remain mystified as to how you could have walked into my life and profoundly affected me so.”

Defeated, Laura’s world began spiralling inward.

Thomas
persevered
, unaware of his success.  “I sent you from my home in order to feed my own sense of importance
,
having convinced myself that I had your best interests at heart. Things did not go as I planned, leaving me to curse my self-centred actions. I searched for you to apologise.”

Thomas did not include his real motive for removing Laura from his home; he could see no point in tarnishing Henry’s good name.

Gentle hands captured and caressed Laura’s face, their warmth a precursor to the full lips that searched for hers
,
determined in their quest.

With his tender touch, Thomas plunged Laura into the unknown before elevating her to new heights.  Had she been standing
,
she might have swooned.  Laura became lost in romance, silent in the dark.