The Folly (21 page)

Chapter
41

Jeremy woke up with a pounding headache
.  The
morning sun
shine
leaving
him
temporarily
blind.  C
olorful explosions of light
were
imprinted on his retina even when he closed his eyes
again
.  He must have
drunk
more than he thought
,
since
he hadn’t had a hangover of such legendary proportions since he was a teenager.  He vaguely remembered Hugh pouring him brandy after brandy last night
,
and cursed himself for his lack of self
-
control.  He needed to be there for Elizabeth, not wallow in self-pity and drown his sorrows in drink. 

Elizabeth was already awake, watching him with a mixture of pity and amusement.  “It looks as if you feel worse than I do.  How is your head?”

“I’ll be all right.  How are you feeling?”  Jeremy forced himself to open his eyes and looked her over.  Elizabeth looked a trifle better this morning.  She was still very pale
, a haunted look in her eyes
, but she seemed
more
accepting of her loss. 

“I
’
m a little hungry.  Will you ask Kitty to bring me some tea and toast?”

“Of course.” 
Tea and toast actually sounded like a good idea for both of them.  He
’
d ask Kitty to bring up a tray and join Elizabeth for breakfast in bed.

**

Jeremy left Elizabeth munching on toast and motioned for Kitty to join him outside.  “What have you done with it?”

“What?”

“The baby, Kitty.  Mrs. Sutton wants to bury it.  Please, please tell me you didn’t throw it
in the rubbish bin
.” 

Kitty gave Jeremy a sympathetic smile.  “Of course, I haven’t.  It’s in my room.  I thought Mrs. Sutton might want to have a little funeral.”

“Oh, thank you, Kitty.  You are much
cleverer
than I am,
” Jeremy
exhaled with relief.

“Don’t be so hard on yourself, sir.  You weren’t thinking straight.  I’ll get the remains for you.”

“Hold on to them for the moment.  I have to go see Father Doyle first.  I know what he
’
ll say, but Elizabeth wishes it, so I will try to reason with the man.  The Church’s position on these things is clear, I think.”

“Yes, it is. 
One of my
sister’s
babies
was stillborn
,
and they wouldn
’
t allow her to be buried in the cemetery.  My sister and her husband
buried
the baby in their garden and tend to the grave.
  There is not a family in this parish that doesn’t have a grave or two to see to,
” Kitty
said sadly.  “So many children die before they are baptized.  It’s heartbreaking, is what it is.”
  She left Jeremy standing in the corridor, lost for words. 

Chapter
42

Jeremy was feeling slightly better after several cups of strong
tea
and some fresh air.  It took him twice as long to get to the village due to the snow, but he didn’t mind.  The cold was invigorating
.  His mind began to clear
and his headache abate
d
as he breathed in the frigid air while making his way toward the church.  The freshly fallen snow sparkled in the morning sunshine, making the world look pristine under the endless vista of the cloudless blue sky. 

Jeremy
’s
depression
lift
ed
a little as he
thought
of Elizabeth.  She was very sad, but not as heartbroken as she was the night before
,
allowing
Jeremy
to
hope that she would recover in time.  Christmas was almost upon them, which would surely
make
her feel melancholy, but that was to be expected.  Hopefully, in the
New Year
,
Elizabeth would regain her health and her spirits, leaving her fit to travel. 

Jeremy tethered his horse to a tree outside the churchyard and went to the gate.  He had to duck in order to avoid hitting his head on the low stone arch
, as he
made his way through the snow-covered cemetery to the church porch.  The older stones were almost completely covered by snow, poking out at odd angles, while the newer ones wore layers of snow that made them look almost festive in the sunlight.  Jeremy sighed as he pushed open the studded wooden door.  He knew exactly what Father Doyle would say and he wasn’t looking forward to hearing it.

**

Jeremy was just coming out of the church after speaking to Father Doyle
,
when one of the village boys came running up to him.  The boy was no older than seven and looked up at him with big, frightened eyes. 

“Tis for you, sir,” he blurted out, pushing a note into Jeremy’s hand
and taking off like a frightened rabbit
.  Jeremy looked at the piece of paper.  Who around here would send him a
note?  He
stuffed the note into his pocket to read later
, his mind still on his conversation with Father Doyle.  The
vicar
listened to him carefully, shaking his head
in dismay
.

“Mr. Sutton, I
’
m sorry
for
your loss, but I cannot allow a funeral. 
No
unbaptized child
can be buried in consecrated ground. 
Dr. Lawrence should have told you as much.  There is
even
a midwife’s oath in the Book of Oaths that deals with the subject.  It states the following:

“If any child be dead born, you yourself shall see it buried in such secret place as neither Hog nor Dog, nor any other Beast may come unto it, and in such sort done, as it may not be found or perceived, as much as you may; and that you shall not suffer any such child to be cast into the privy o
r any other inconvenient place.”

“
So, you see
, Mr
. Sutton,
you must bury the child yourself in a place of your choosing.  Please give my condolences to Mrs. Sutton.  I hope she
’
ll come to see me when she is well
,
and allow me to offer her some comfort.” 

The
vicar
had the decency to look shamefaced, but Jeremy knew he could not go against the rules of the Church.  He suspected as much all along.  Elizabeth would be terribly upset, but maybe they could choose a nice, tranquil place to bury the remains of the baby.  Kitty thoughtfully placed it in a tin, which would make it difficult for an animal
to
sniff them out
.  It would just have to do under the circumstances.  Jeremy mounted his horse and headed back to the house.  He wasn’t looking forward to sharing the news with
Elizabeth
, knowing that she wasn’t prepared to be reasonable about this
.
  What bereaved mother would be?

Chapter 43

Jeremy found Elizabeth sitting up in bed, propped up by numerous pillows.  She was still pale, but looked more rested than she had that morning. 
A tray with an empty soup bowl sat on the nightstand, indicating that at least she was eating, which was always a good sign. 
Kitty had brushed and plaited her hair, leaving the thick braid to hang over her shoulder
, making her look young and vulnerable
. 
Elizabeth
gave Jeremy a weak smile as he walked through the door
,
and settled himself on the bed next to
her
. 

“You smell of cold,” she remarked, taking his hand in hers to warm it.  “He refused, didn’t he?  I can tell by the look on your face.”

“He said we should bury him ourselves in a place of our choosing,” Jeremy answered, watching her intently as her eyes filled with fresh tears.  Elizabeth nodded silently, letting the tears slide down her pale cheeks.  

“Where can we bury him?” she
finally
asked, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye.  “Do you think we should name him?”

“Lizzie, why don’t you leave it to
me?
  I know just the place. 
It’s lovely and peaceful
,
and his grave will be covered with wildflowers come summer. 
He will be safe there
,
and no one will disturb his rest. 
We
can name him if you wish, but I don’t think
we
should.  Names are for
the living
.  Our baby never lived, so he ha
s
no need of a name.”

“All right, but I
’
m coming with you.  We will bury him together.” 

“Elizabeth, you
’
re not ready to leave
your bed
.  You need at least a few more days to
recuperate
.  Let me do this alone.”  Jeremy knew his argument was in vain, but he had to try. 

“No, I wish to be there when he is laid to rest.  I
’
ll go with you.  Let’s do it tomorrow.”  She was adamant
,
and he let her win.
  He would make her wait in the carriage until he finished digging the grave
,
then bury the baby as quickly as possible.

“All right, my love.  We
’
ll do it tomorrow.  Now get some rest.  I
’
ll be back in a little while.” 

Jeremy left the room and headed to the
library. 
He
’
d been informed by the butler that the Colonel was still abed
,
and hoped to
have the library to himself.  He wanted to read the note in peace.  A merry fire was blazing in the hearth, making the room feel warm and cozy
, a stark contrast to last night when it was cold and full of shadows
.  Jeremy
considered pouring himself a brandy, but then
reconsidered
on account of his still pounding head
and sat down in front of the fireplace, crossing his legs at the ankles. 
He pulled out the note
,
and looked at his name
scrat
ch
ed
out on the
coarse
paper before unfolding it.

J.
          

Meet me in the church porch on Friday at 8
p
.
m
.
after
E
vensong.  Come alone.  It’s urgent.
”

S
.

Jeremy stared at the note
,
stupefied.  What did it mean and who could have sent it? 
Who was “S” and what possible urgent business could “S” have with him?
  He was tempted to throw the note into the fire, but something stopped him.  What if this was a trap of some sort?  The road into the village was deserted after dark
, which would make him
an easy target for anyone who wanted to do him harm.  On the other hand, if that was the case, it was easy enough to catch him alone and unarmed.  There
would
be no added value to having him come to the church.  What if this was truly
important?
  Jeremy sighed in frustration.  Who could it be from?  Friday was tomorrow, so he didn’t have a lot of time to decide. 

Chapter
44

Elizabeth was still terribly weak, but she insisted on accompanying Jeremy to the meadow by the old mill.  They had to go around
,
since the carriage was too wide to travel through the track in the woods
,
and it wasn’t until
well after
noon that they finally laid the baby to rest.  It took Jeremy two hours to hack through the frozen earth, but he wanted to make sure the grave was deep enough to prevent animals from getting
at
the remains of their child.  He
’
d prepared a cross the day before, asking a carpenter from the village to nail two planks together and carve out “Sutton, December 2, 1815.” 
Elizabeth
cried quietly as Jeremy filled the grave in and drove the cross into the frozen ground with the back of the spade.  It looked heartbreakingly sad, rising out of the snow of the deserted meadow.  Jeremy put his arm around Elizabeth and escorted her back to the carriage. 

“It’s time to go.  He
’s
at peace now, Lizzie.”  She nodded
, allowing
herself to be led away.  She hoped he was at peace.  She knew the Church’s view on children who died at birth or before being baptized.  They went to Limbo, but she truly wanted to believe that God was loving and kind
,
and would not leave any innocent child to suffer.
  She didn’t tell Jeremy, but she secretly named the baby Christian, hoping it would bring him closer to God
,
and she said a silent player, asking God to bless his soul and bestow on him the
everlasting
joy of
his
love. 

They were cold and hungry by the time they got back to the house
. 
Elizabeth felt worn out
;
physically and emotionally.  She ate a little soup and went to lie down, leaving Jeremy to figure out what to do about the note.  It was still in his pocket
, so
he took it out and looked at it again.  He was probably being a gullible fool, but he needed to know who it was from.  He would go to Evensong at 6
p
.
m
.
and see if there was anyone in church who didn’t belong there
, not that he knew everyone in the village
,
or would be able to tell if someone was a stranger
.
  He would just trust his instincts and see if anyone
aroused his suspicion.
  If that proved useless, he
’
d stay after the service
,
and come out onto the porch from the church, rather than from the road.  It would give him a slight element of surprise, unless the sender of the note was already watching him and knew all his movements.  Jeremy couldn’t go to church with a pistol, but he would take a dagger just in case.  It never hurt to be prepared.

Jeremy checked on Elizabeth before setting out for the church.  She was sleeping peacefully
,
and Jeremy didn’t have the heart to wake her.  He let himself out of the room quietly and went into his own to get ready.  His biggest concern was that if something was to happen to him
,
Elizabeth would be left alone and defenseless.  She knew where he kept their money, but she
’
d need more than just money to survive.  Hugh was not to be trusted
,
and God only knew what he would do if
Elizabeth
was left alone.   She
’
d have no one to turn to for help
,
and he was terrified of putting her in that position.  Jeremy opened a drawer and reached for his pistol.  He would take it after all.  He needed all the protection he could get
,
and a dagger would only be useful if he was close enough to his assailant, assuming he wasn’t being shot at.  Jeremy loaded the pistol, took extra pow
d
er and shot
,
and left the room. 

Jeremy didn
’
t tell Hugh
that
he was going out.  He
’
d find out soon enough, since all the servants in the house probably kept him abreast of what was going on.  Hugh liked to be informed.  As soon as Jeremy mounted his horse, he was sure Harry would go to the house and inform whoever that Jeremy had gone to the village.  It was fully dark by the time he trotted through the gates and down the
deserted
road toward the village.  The road was fairly clean, having been used earlier in the day by several wagons making deliveries to the house
. 

Jeremy trotted along, his ears straining for any noise that would be out of the ordinary on a desolate country road after dark.  He didn’t hear anything other than wind moving through
the trees
, the
occasional branch or twig breaking off and falling to the ground
unable to bear the weight of the snow
.  The night was clear and cold, the sky full of stars above his head.  Jeremy thought of all the times he looked at the
nighttime sky wondering if he would survive to see nightfall of the following day
,
and wondered the same thing now.  He tried to listen to his gut feeling, but it was silent.  This didn’t feel like a trap, but he could be wrong.  He would just have to wait and see. 

Jeremy hobbled the horse
behind
the smithy and walked the rest of the way to the church
, not wanting the presence of his horse
to give him away once everyone left after the service. 
Jeremy’s boots crunched on the newly falle
n
snow
,
as
he joined the thin stream of people heading into the church for Evensong. 
Father Doyle was already there, standing at the door and welcoming his parishioners.  His eyebrows rose in surprise as he saw Jeremy, but he said nothing, assuming he needed spiritual healing after the loss of his child.  Jeremy deftly covered his side with his arm, hiding the gun from the
vicar
as he
bid him a good evening.

The church
was
warm and welcoming after the cold of the night
. 
Jeremy
chose
a
seat at the back,
scanning the faces of the crowd.  Attendance was sparse and Jeremy knew everyone by
sight
, if not by name
.  He had seen them often enough in the village.  No one seemed conspicuously out of place
, so
he settled in for the service
, listening to the familiar words of the prayers and enjoying the comforting smell of wood and melting wax
.  He sang the hymns and recited the prayers, but his mind was not with God.  Soon the service would be over and within a few minutes
,
the church would empty out.  The sooner they all left, the better. 

Father Doyle wished everyone a good evening as the villagers filed past him out of the little church
,
and into the bitter cold of the December night
.  Jeremy stepped into a shadowy corner, hoping the vicar wouldn
’
t notice him as he came back through the church
,
and passed through a door behind the pulpit.  He would take off the vestments used for the service, put them away
,
then depart for his own small cottage behind the church, ready for a hearty meal and a roaring fire on this cold night. 

Jeremy waited until all was quiet
before leaving
his hiding place
,
and
walking softly to the front of the church
.  Father Doyle would be gone by now, so Jeremy walked through the door behind the pulpit and exited the church by the back way.  He didn’t want to just walk out into the porch leaving himself exposed to whoever might be there waiting for him.  His
footsteps were too loud on the packed
snow, but at least he had the cover of darkness as he rounded the church
,
and stopped behind a tall hedge, giving him a view of the darkened porch.

Jeremy
couldn’t see the man’s face in the shadows, but he was alone and not particularly quiet.  The man was stomping his feet to relieve the cold and blowing warm air onto his
chilled
hands
, muttering something under his breath
.  He wasn’t holding a pistol or a knife and seemed anxious
, frequently turning toward the church gate
.  Jeremy stepped from the shadows, making the man’s head snap up at the sound.

“Jeremy?  Is that you?”  The voice sounded familiar, but Jeremy couldn’t place it.  Was it someone he
’
d known in the army who found out he was staying with Hugh?  It didn’t seem likely.  Jeremy drew the gun from its hiding place, but kept his arm down as he stepped into the porch
, finally seeing the man’s face
.

“Good God, is that really you?” 
Jeremy exclaimed as t
he two men embraced and drew apart, taking stock of each other.

“Y
e
can put away the gun now.  I didn’t come here to kill
ye, ye daft sod
.  I nearly froze my bollocks off waiting for y
e
.  Let’s go inside so we can talk
,
”
the man said, opening the door to the church and disappearing inside with Jeremy on his heels.

“Why did you ask me to come to church?”

“I
reckoned
it would let y
e
know that I was a friend
, aye
?”  The man answered
as if he was explaining something to a child
.

“And how did you come by that piece of logic?”

“A church is a place of worship, a sanctuary.  I thought you
’d
pick up on that
, being in intelligence and all that
.  If I
wanted to do
you
harm, wouldn’t I ask you to meet me in some deserted place instead of in the village?”

A few candles were still burning, but most had guttered out from the draft created by the opening of the door
,
leaving the
inside of the church dim, warm and conveniently empty.  They settled into the last pew, smiling at each other.

“Simon, I thought you were dead.  I read about your execution in the paper.  How did you get away?”  Jeremy hadn’t seen his friend since Simon joined the Navy when he was
fifteen
.  Simon would be thirty-one now, so it had been
sixteen
years. 

Simon took off his hat, twisting it in his large hands.  His ginger hair was shaggy
,
and his cheeks had not seen a razor for days, but underneath, he was still the same, old Simon. 

“Jeremy, listen to me.  We don’t have much time.  You and your lady are in danger.  I was sent here by
your Da on account of
Colonel Brand
having written
to him, telling him where you are.  Henry wants me to put a bullet in your head and bury you in the woods, so no one ever finds out what happened to
you
.  The Colonel has plans for
Lady
Elizabeth once you
’
ve been disposed off.  We need to act fast.”  Simon looked anxious
,
and Jeremy couldn’t help but put his hand on the gun underneath his cloak.

“If you were sent here to kill me, why are you telling me this?  Or are you going to confess before killing me?”  Jeremy was angry.  Was there anyone he could trust in this wretched world
,
and what plans did Hugh have for Elizabeth
?

“Jeremy, you can rant at me later
if ye
have a mind to, but now
y
e
have to listen.”