‘Well, it’s true. I was married to Hesley a month ago in this very church.’
Jared had ridden over from his lodgings that morning. He looked forward to Sundays now he could borrow a horse. She was a fine beast, chestnut with a white blaze on her nose, and he had arranged to ride her every Sunday. She belonged to the pit manager at Kimber Deep and would never win a race, but she had a good nature and plenty of stamina.
He called at the mission when he could, but his parents expected him to attend church with his supervisor when he did not go home and he hated to deceive them. He had explained this to Tobias and both he and his sister had been very understanding. Anna, he knew, had returned to her own mission on the other side of the Riding. They were good people. He liked them and missed their meetings.
When he reached the canal, he had turned his horse away from the towpath towards the open country and spurred her to a gallop until he was well away from the waterway and Mexton Pit. Olivia had been on his mind since Christmas. He knew that, despite her grown-up appearance, she was too young to regard in that way. But no matter how hard he tried not to think of her, he could not stop himself. He did not forget his promise to her and watched the weather for the first signs of spring.
His spirits lifted as he rode towards Hill Top House, admitting to himself how much he looked forward to seeing her. Olivia’s conversation was bright and fresh, and there was no duplicity about her. The governess watched over her like a mother hen, but he saw the woman needed adult company and lingered with other worshippers at the church door. He was pleased to find Olivia alone, walking among the trees behind the churchyard. He was not so pleased with her news.
‘Why were we not told? Not even invited to the ceremony?’ She was so delighted to see Jared that her miserable life with Hesley faded. ‘Please don’t be angry. I am truly grateful you have ridden over. I have looked forward to your visits and to having you as my friend.’
‘But don’t you realize your marriage changes everything?’
‘Why?’
‘You are Hesley’s wife now. I cannot meet you like this.’
Olivia turned on him. ‘But you promised!’
‘Please don’t be upset, Olivia. Hesley will be your friend now.’
‘No, he won’t! I hate him. He’s horrible to me!’
The shock that Jared felt about the marriage now turned to fear. ‘What do you mean?’
‘He does not care for me as a husband should,’ Olivia said quietly.
‘How could he not?’ Jared answered. What had old Hesley done now? His grandson was a dissolute drunkard and this - this bright accomplished
child
was his
wife
.‘He is your husband,’ he added. But as he spoke the words, he became fully aware of what that meant for her. She was no longer a child. She was a married woman. He tried to imagine his sister Juliana as a wife and could not. ‘He doesn’t beat you, does he?’
Olivia looked at the ground.
‘
Miss Trent says it’s what married people do.’
Jared had not meant the intimate aspect of her marriage, but clearly Olivia did. He could not bear the thought of Hesley using her in that way. He wanted to sweep her up onto his horse and take her away from such barbarity.
She continued to look at the ground and scuff her feet among the loose stones. ‘She says it is my duty and I must pretend to enjoy it for now. And that in time I shall.’
‘And how would she know?’ he breathed sourly. And then he realized the answer to that particular question. He knew of old Hesley’s reputation from the men who worked at Kimber Deep. He knew, also, that he had given up his mistress in town after the bank failure. He felt sick as he imagined the goings-on at Hill Top House.
‘Where is your governess?’ he demanded sharply.
‘With the curate’s wife. Won’t you stay and talk to her?’
‘I do not think I can trust myself to be civil to her.’
‘Oh, but, Jared, you must. She is my companion now! She is teaching me how to be mistress of the house.’
‘I am sure she is very good at that.’
His tone was disrespectful and not lost on Olivia. ‘Why do you think so ill of her?’
The governess should have told his parents, he thought angrily, but he reined in his annoyance. ‘Never mind,’ he said. ‘She will not approve of our meetings now that you belong to Hesley.’
‘Belong to him? He does not own me!’
‘Yes, he does,’ Jared answered bluntly. ‘You are his wife. Do you not understand what that means? He may order your life as he thinks fit.’
‘Well, that is no different from what his grandfather has always done. And still does. Uncle Hesley tells us all what to do. He is the evil one. But he does not say I must stop going to the church, so we can still see each other here.’
She was pleading with him and he so much wanted to agree. But he feared the consequences for her. ‘Not while Miss Trent comes with you. If she sees me she is sure to tell old Hesley and cause trouble.’
‘Then you must stay out of sight. She always talks to the curate’s wife after the service, and she forgets the time with her. Oh, please, say that you will ride over when you can.’
Jared gazed at her, pretty as a picture in a soft blue gown and matching bonnet that brought out the pale tint of her eyes, and his heart grieved for her loneliness. His sisters went out to lessons and bought ribbons and lace at the draper’s. They were invited to play their duets at gatherings. Olivia did nothing like that. But she should be visiting his family in town, not beseeching him to call on her in this clandestine manner.
When he did not reply, she went on, ‘Hesley will never find out. Even if Miss Trent sees you, she will not tell if I ask her not to. She cares for me.’
‘Cares for you? I think not. If she does, why did she let this happen to you?’
‘You do not know what she endures for my sake! I believe she would have left months ago if she were not so concerned for me. She knows I need her.’
‘Does she? She could have got word to my mother for help. Father would have spoken out against your marriage, I am sure.’
‘Do you really believe that would have stopped Uncle Hesley having his own way? He was ready to declare me insane to get his hands on my fortune. To me, marriage was preferable.’
Jared heard a firmness in her voice that made him frown. He had underestimated old Hesley’s ruthlessness. He wanted to talk further but the conversations drifting over from the church door had ceased. Miss Trent would be looking for Olivia and he was angry with her. She was in old Hesley’s pay. Her duty was to him, in spite of Olivia’s faith in her. He did not want Olivia to be chastised for their meeting by either of the Mexton so-called gentlemen. And neither did he wish to destroy her belief in Miss Trent, whatever he might think of the woman.
He said, ‘Do not tell Miss Trent that we have met, for the present. I shall ride over again, I promise.’ He bent to take her hand and kiss it, but she moved nearer to him quickly, and he found her delicate cheek raised towards his lips. Her skin was as soft as rose petals and his mouth lingered. He was not aware of moving his hand to the back of her bonnet, but he did. She withdrew quickly, flustered. He, too, became anxious by the sudden intimacy. She was a married woman.
‘You’re not angry with me, are you?’ Olivia murmured.
He shook his head and gathered the reins of his horse. ‘I shall never be angry with you, Olivia. I shall always be your friend. You may depend on that, if nothing else.’
When he arrived home his mother and father were back from church.Their faces were dark and he realized they had received the news. His sisters scurried away immediately after dinner.
‘The vicar’s wife told me.’ His mother frowned. ‘I did not believe it but she had heard it from the wife of the curate who performed the ceremony.’
‘Father! Is there nothing you can do?’ Jared’s anger simmered at the secrecy and deception.
‘It’s too late. The deed is done. By heaven, the rogue must have been planning it when we visited at Christmas!’
Jared could hear his sisters practising the piano in the next room. ‘Do Josie and Julie know?’
His mother shook her head. ‘I thought Hesley had turned over a new leaf,’ she fretted, ‘and all the time he was deceiving us into thinking how well he was caring for Olivia. But marriage to his grandson! I never dreamed he would do that.’
His father shook his head sadly. ‘I knew he coveted the guardianship for her income, but this . . .’
‘I suppose he wanted to make sure no one else had it when she came of age,’ Jared said.
‘More than that, son.The plantation belongs to young Hesley now. Olivia did not have to wait until five-and-twenty to inherit if she married. I understand he’s leaving for Liverpool as soon as the weather improves and will sail to the West Indies to manage it.’
‘Do you mean she will be moving away from us?’ His heart turned over. He might never see her again. He could not bear that. ‘You must stop this, Father.’
His father was shaking his head. ‘We are too late. But she is not to travel with him. At least they have learned something from the tragedy of her parents.’
Jared felt weak with relief when he heard this. He had not known how strong his affection for Olivia had become until he had met her again near the church.
‘She is to stay and continue her education, I am told,’ his mother added, with an artificial brightness in her voice. ‘When Hesley returns she will be quite grown-up and well able to carry out her duties as mistress at Hill Top House.’
His father added,
‘
Hesley, too, will have matured. Responsibility for the plantation will be good for him. It is for the best, I am sure.’
Jared snorted in derision and saw his father and mother glance at each other.
‘Olivia won’t be alone at Hill Top. The governess is to stay on as her companion,’ his mother said, and exchanged another meaningful look with his father.
‘I know as well as everybody else what goes on up there,’ Jared spat.
‘
Olivia would be better off without any tutoring from
her
.’
‘She will stay as long as she is needed, I suppose.’ His mother’s fingers twisted a handkerchief in her lap.
‘I thought you approved of her,’ Jared observed.
‘Hesley has a bad effect on everyone. Even virtuous governesses can be corrupted.’
So he was right and his parents, too, had their suspicions of what went on at Hill Top House. ‘Does everybody know she is a whore?’ he muttered.
‘Jared! Your mother is present.’
She stood up. ‘Yes, Jared. Guard your tongue. You will not use that word in this house. Your sisters may hear you. I shall go and speak to them now. They must be told about Olivia. Then we shall forget the matter and they will play for us. We shall enjoy the rest of our evening together.’
Jared grimaced as his mother left the room.
‘Have some compassion for your mother,’ his father implored. ‘She is more upset than you are, my lad. Juliana is the same age as Olivia. Leave it to the womenfolk. They pull together at times like these and, as a wife, Olivia will be invited to their “at homes”. It may be the child’s salvation.’
‘I don’t think you should call her a child any more,’ Jared snapped. ‘She is a married woman.’
It made him so angry to be reminded that her innocence had been taken from her in this way. And by Hesley of all people, a drunkard who cared only for himself. Olivia’s only glimmer of hope was that Hesley would sail for the West Indies soon. But to leave her in the care of the executor of this abomination and his whore?
He stood up abruptly. ‘I cannot bear to think of her living there alone with such corruption.’
Benjamin Tyler frowned. He was used to his son’s energy and drive, but not to this simmering rage. ‘Do nothing rash, son, I beg you. Old Hesley is not a man to be crossed. He is no gentleman.You will only make the damage worse.’
‘How can it be any worse for Olivia? I shall bring her here, as we should have done at Christmas.’
‘No, Jared. It is too late. She is married to young Hesley and that is an end to the matter. Nothing can be done now.’
‘We’ll see about that.’
His father stood up to bar his way. ‘You must leave it, son.’
But Jared was already turning towards the door. Before his father could stop him, he pushed past him, saying, ‘I shall not,’ and headed to the stable where he had tethered his horse.
The day was overcast and gusty and he felt as black as the clouds. He urged his mare up the hill out of the town, ignoring the wintry wind that caught at his riding cloak and flapped it over his shoulders. Rain stung his face and spattered on his jacket and he would have enjoyed the challenge of the climb if only he were not so consumed with fury.
The Mextons were in this together, for the younger always did as the elder directed and the pair were notorious in the Riding. The governess, too, was guilty. She had been used to deceive his mother into believing her half-brother had changed his ways.
Hill Top House kept different hours from the Tyler household and they were still at their dinner table when he rode past the windows into the yard at the back. In the glow of the candles he saw four faces turn to stare at him from the dining room. Matt came out in his shirtsleeves to take the horse and Jared went in through the kitchen door.
Mrs Cookson was already on her feet. ‘Are you expected, sir?’ He knew they had seen him arrive.‘I believe so,’ he answered, and walked past her, through the hall and into the dining room.
Young Hesley was already at the door.‘What brings you here at this hour?’ he demanded.
Jared pushed past him and surveyed the scene. Olivia was there. Her pretty face was flushed and there was a wine glass by her right hand, almost empty. The governess, too, was eating dinner with the master. She had bright spots of colour in her cheeks and looked much smarter than she had when he had seen her at Christmas. Her hair was dressed in coils and she had lace at throat and wrists. But she was not smiling and seemed tense.