Dawn Annis (18 page)

Chapter 26

Kate was busy clearing another area for more garden space. She was hoping to plant potatoes. It was a bit late in the year to be able to harvest them at full growth. However, she preferred the tenderness of young potatoes anyway.

“Well, m’lady, I hope ye will be staying when the MacGregor returns. I would miss ye terribly if ye chose not to,” Henry said while he helped Kate put garden refuse into a pile on the far side of the garden’s edge to be burned. She dragged over a wayward bush they had dug up and added it to the pile.

“Why would I be leaving? I have no reason to go.” Kate brushed the dirt and leaves off her skirt, puzzled.

“’Tis fine, m’lady. I was hoping it would make no difference to ye.”

“What wouldn’t make a difference?” Kate dropped another armful of weeds onto the pile. She stood, waiting for Henry to explain.

“Well, himself taken a bride of course! ‘Tis just for the alliance. . .” Henry’s words trailed off.

Darcey, also helping Kate, caught up to Henry and Kate and dumped her burden on the pile just in time to hear what Henry had said. She jabbed Henry, her dark look answering his startled one.

Pain washed through Kate. A bride? Shane hadn’t mentioned the alliance would require marriage. He hadn’t mentioned marriage at all. She didn’t want to believe Henry’s words. “Are you sure, Henry?”

“Aye, m’lady,” Henry said solemnly.

Darcey then dismissed Henry, giving him the chore of mucking out the stalls in the stables for the compost.

Kate’s knees went weak, she could hardly stand. Darcey led her over to sit down under the lean-to as she spoke softly to Kate, the words lost as her mind spun. Her world was crashing down around her. She sat there, her whole body shaking, trying to make sense of Henry’s pronouncement. After a few minutes, she straightened her back and raised her head. She shook, then looked to Darcey and gave her a brief nod. There were no tears in her eyes as she stood up and considered Darcey’s astonished face.

Reaching her hand to Darcey’s shoulder, she briefly touched her hand and whispered, “Thank you,” then she left the lean-to and headed toward the hall.

She wanted to cry. She wanted to rant. She wanted to die. Her new world had shattered in one brief instance. She held herself together. While she was stunned, this was a life and hurt she knew. To be abandoned time and again. To be used for what she had to give. Oh, she knew this indeed. The truly outrageous part to this whole debacle had been the past few, happy weeks she’d had with Shane. That was the wonder. Not this news. This news was to be expected if she had thought about it. She believed her love for Shane, and more particularly, his love for her was too good to be true. As it turned out, it was. Kate wanted to leave. She wanted to be as far away as possible. Her heart ached as she walked up the stone stairs to gather the few items she had brought with her.

Smithers had seen Kate cross the courtyard
and had recognized at once, something was wrong. He stopped Darcey, who told him about the incident with Henry and his big mouth.

“He just blurted it out if ye please. He told her of himself marrying for alliance. If I could’ve stopped him by wringing his fool neck I would’ve.”

“Thank you, Darcey, for your kindness. Mayhap I will be of some help to the lady,” Smithers said calmly though he felt his anxiety rise.

He was surprised as well. He, too, had not heard anything of this possible marriage. He knew the time had come to leave and as quickly as possible. He soon reached Kate’s room, knocked, and opened the door without waiting for a reply. He stepped in to see Kate packing. She had already been to her storeroom off the kitchen for her herbal bags. She looked up to acknowledge him. Smithers knew by the expression on her face they needed to leave at once. He gave her a brief nod and made his way down to the stables.

He decided not to take the coach Kate had arrived in so short a time ago. He did not want to cause too much of a stir and draw attention to Kate and himself. If noticed, he simply wanted it to appear as if the two were riding out for a bit of air. He saddled two of the horses that had drawn her carriage and led them out in front of the hall doors. Once there, Kate met him with her bag and cloak. She had changed into the worn, grey kirtle she had been wearing when she had arrived, the first time she had met Shane.

Smithers helped her up into the borrowed sidesaddle and handed her the reins. He mounted his own horse and slowly, they rode alongside each other past the inner gate and across the stone bridge. As they passed through the second gate, Kate turned back to see Seamus watching her go. Their eyes met. He did not try to call her back. He did not try to tell her it was a horrible mistake. He stood, leaning on his cane and sadly watched her ride out. She turned away from him. Away from the resignation she saw in his eyes.

Kate and Smithers rode through the rest of the day. Once out of sight of the castle, they quickened their pace. She wanted to be as far away as possible before nightfall.

Kate had said very little since they had left. She answered questions posed to her but didn’t speak otherwise. Smithers let her have her thoughts and the silence. She was hurting. Her quiet was a prelude to what would happen. Her feelings would give. The hurt would have its way.

While he waited, Smithers had his own thoughts. He was disappointed in Shane. His anger would come later. He wrestled with how he misjudged the MacGregor so terribly. Smithers was sure Kate had found a man and a love that would make her truly happy for the rest of her life. He shook his head sadly. How could he have been so wrong?

He glanced over to Kate to see tears streaming down her face. She wasn’t making a sound. The floodgates then finally opened and she sobbed. The awaited grief had come. Smithers, taking her reins as well as his, stopped both the horses and helped her down. He led her over to a grassy area under a small group of trees and sat down with her. He put his arm around her.

Kate sobbed for the loss of Shane and for the loss of a love she had believed she had found. The tears would abate and then come again as strong as before. The years of hurt, torture, and neglect poured out of her. The sadness she had stored for so long came to the top. The devastation she felt. The years of disappointment, cruelty, and humiliation from her father and then Sidney found their way out. Then the tide of emotions Shane had awakened in her. The love she had found and now lost. A love she was foolishly willing to accept as real. She ached for his arms, arms that would never hold her again. Smithers held fast until at last the sobs dwindled and then slowly the tears stopped. He rocked her until there was nothing left.

They sat under the trees for the better part of the afternoon. Occasionally, Kate would sniffle and hiccup. But she felt better, somehow lighter. The feelings were still there but the weight on her chest was not as acute.
She walked down to a nearby stream and splashed the cold water on her face with her hands. She took the pins out her long hair and combed it out with her fingers. She quickly controlled the wavy curls and wrestled them back a top her head. She climbed back up the small hill where Smithers was waiting for her.

“I think we had better go to Dumbarton to decide where we go from there. It is the only place I can think of and I want to go home.”

Kate’s concern now was where and how were they going to live if Andrew had made good on his threat and taken control of the cottage. She had no help for it. They had to go somewhere. Had to have a place to start and she could think of no other.

Smithers smiled at her and nodded. “It is good a place to get things back under control. It will give you a few days at the home provided Andrew has not come to the cottage. If so, well, we will cross that bridge when it comes.”

As the mists started to settle upon the land, Smithers and Kate came to an inn in the village of Crianarich. Smithers helped Kate from her horse and throwing the reins of both horses to a boy, went in to inquire about rooms for the night. Kate stayed outside the inn watching the last rays of sun sink below the horizon. She waited quietly, speaking to no one. Soon, Smithers reappeared to guide her into the main dining room of the inn. They sat down at a table near the window. Kate sadly watched the comings and goings of the village dwindle as night descended. A serving maid came to the table. She set down a bottle of wine and cups.

“I have something very important to discuss with you,” Smithers said as he poured the wine. “I have tried on several occasions. Now, the time has come.”

Chapter 27

Smithers began slowly as he let the memories come. He had spent quite a bit of time thinking of his story. Well, her story, really. Now the time had come and he wasn’t sure where to begin, yet he knew she needed to hear what he had to say.

“I realize you are hurt. What Shane has done is without defense. He used you sorely and my heart aches for you. By your leave, I would recount a tale that is dreadful yet beautiful. It is your right to hear and I beg your consideration prior to any inquiries of its detail.”

Puzzled, Kate agreed. Without his usual sarcasm and mockery, Smithers intrigued. This serious side of him she seldom saw.

“I had a friendship with a gentleman by the name of James Powell, a long time ago. We had an occasion to meet in the West Indies. He was the captain of a ship, the
Endeavour
, a magnificent merchant ship. Captain Powell had come to the West Indies to trade for silks and spices.” Smithers paused, thought, and began again.

“I am getting ahead of myself. I have never told you much of my past, my life before I came to work for your family, have I?”

Kate shook her head. “I have been curious. I didn’t want to pry. You never shared.”

“Well, I won’t bore you with the whole of it. I believe I have found a place to start.” Smithers smiled and took a sip of his wine.

“I was sailing with Captain Edward Goucher, of the
SeaStar.
I was an experienced seaman. I heard the man who owned the
SeaStar
, Samuel Stephens, divided a share of the profits with his crew. The practice appealed to me and I persuaded Mr. Stephens and the captain to take me on.

Intrigued, Kate smiled. She took a sip of her wine and leaned in for the tale.

“In due time, we sailed to a West Indies port and the captain ordered the hold unloaded. As it happened, I was working close by when the mercer’s agent came to speak with the captain.

“Captain Goucher’s reaction was odd. He hurried the agent off the ship. It was obvious to me Captain Goucher and his first mate had struck some sort of deal with the agent. I followed the scoundrel to the agent’s office and overheard the prices he was receiving for his goods. He was cheating Stephens and therefore the crew of their full shares. I confronted the bounder. Goucher’s plan was to overcharge the buyer while claiming to Samuel Stephens a loss of profit. He attempted a bribe for my silence.”

Smithers paused to drink a sip of wine. The serving maid walked over with their food, placing it on the table. She returned shortly with bread and fresh butter. Kate took the linen napkin and placed it in her lap. As she took her first bite of food, she urged Smithers to continue his tale. Smithers took a bite of his meal. He chewed slowly.

“I do not have a clue as to this story’s end but you have me fascinated. I know so little.”

Smithers ate several bites of beef pie and with another sip of wine, he took in a breath and started talking.

“Captain Powell walked in and quietly stood there. Goucher shouted through most of our argument, accusing me of lying. Telling all who would listen he’d had problems with me before and this was nothing more than revenge for my imagined ill treatment aboard his vessel. Demanding, I thrust out my hand. He angrily shoved the notes into my hand and stormed out of the office.”

“Well, there I was with my share but no way back to England. I was fairly certain I would not have made it home had I tried to board the
SeaStar
,” Smithers said with a chuckle.

“I have no doubt.” Though the time was long past, Kate worried what had happened to him.

“After Goucher left, Captain Powell took in the size of me and offered another position. I readily agreed.

“He told me where to find his ship and he gave the name of his officer in charge. No questions about my skill or past. We were to sail with the tide.”

Smithers paused to finish his meal, crossed his legs, and leaned onto the back of the chair. Impatient, Kate waited. She couldn’t deny Smithers his meal. Learning more about the man she had grown so close to through the years, he aroused her interest.

Smithers continued. “We were on our way, and I’ll tell you, I worked hard for James Powell. As did all his crew. He was fair, and I had the pleasure to know him. I don’t believe I ever heard him raise his voice in anger. His crew was loyal and dedicated to him. So was I.

“Trouble came during the voyage with a run-in of another merchant ship off the coast of France on our way back to England. She wasn’t running a banner. Once they were close enough for her guns to fire upon us, we realized it was an English ship. We managed to escape into safe port in London.”

Eyes big, Kate took a sip of wine.

“Once we were on land, I
talked with Captain Powell about the attack.

“He confided in me his suspicion the ships and crew belonged to the Earl of Westmoreland, Jacob Randall.”

Smithers paused briefly at Kate’s small cry of surprise. Her father? A part of such treachery? She started to speak. Smithers held his finger to his lips and continued his story.

“There had been a strange series of unexplainable accidents in the year. His warehouse had caught on fire and a carriage tried to run him down just outside his townhouse. I didn’t believe the incidents to be accidental. He gave me a small smile and with his calm manner, said he no longer believed they were accidents either.

“I made it my business after that night to protect the captain.” Smithers paused. “He asked me to reside in his home. In a brief time, James and I became good friends.”

Smithers stopped for a moment, his voice breaking.

Kate put her hand over his and said softly, “Mister Powell meant a great deal to you.”

Smithers cleared his throat. “I was pleased to meet the lovely young woman James had hoped would soon be his bride. She was beautiful, and James adored her. This was quite fine, because her tender feelings for him were just as obvious. The only reason they had not been married right away, James had confided, was her family. You see, James’s family was very wealthy, but he was the second son. His older brother would inherit all. The lady’s family had tried to interest her in his older brother but once she caught sight of James and he of her, their fate was sealed and no amount of persuasion or threat would make either change their mind. Her father loved her and wanted her happy and so conceded James would be the one she would marry.

“He had made a condition of giving his daughter in marriage. He made it clear her intended must be able to provide a home and future for his daughter. So James borrowed money from his father and started a shipping business. He became very successful with it. He was fast approaching his financial goals and would soon be able to take his bride.

“Winter set in quickly that particular year, so James decided not to make a fall run and to wait until the following spring before setting sail. Then the unthinkable happened.”

Smithers paused and his eyes filled with tears.

Kate patted his arm, and he continued.

“James had gone to his warehouses one evening to get something. I know not what. It seems so trivial now. I will never forgive myself for not accompanying him.”

Smithers’ fist ground into the table.

“I often wonder what would have happened if I had. One of the warehouse men beat on the door and informed me there had been an accident. I quickly followed him to an alley behind the warehouses. Once there, I saw James’ carriage overturned and James lying on the wet cobbles, his driver dead.

“The men working in the warehouse raced to his aid after the accident. No one dared to move him. I knew something was dreadfully wrong. The angle of his neck told me it was broken. I could see the depression on the right half of his chest. His breathing was labored and shallow.”

Kate put her hand to her mouth in horror.

“The men told me they were working inside and heard shouting. Then a horse screamed. They ran outside. His carriage was overturned and James was lying underneath. They said they unhitched the horses and were able to slide the carriage off of him. The odd angle of his body and neck stopped them from going any further, electing instead to send men for me and a doctor.”

Smithers’ voice hitched. “I knelt down beside him, telling him to hold on, the doctor was coming. He tried to talk but I quieted him. He spoke again, this time urgently. Finally I relented to listen to him. He whispered what he had seen, telling me who had done this. Then he exacted the promise from me. He asked that I would care for his fiancée. I promised him. A promise I have never regretted,” Smithers added, tears running down his face. “I sat beside him on the cold hard ground and held his hand while he died.”

Smithers stopped for a moment, wiped his face, and said, “There are things in all men’s lives that haunt them. That moment is one of mine.”

Her own troubles forgotten for now, Kate questioned Smithers, knowing in her heart the answer. “Who did he believe responsible for the accident?”

Smithers said quietly, “Jacob Randall. The Earl of Westmoreland.”

Stricken, Kate wanted to ask more. Smithers refused to be stopped. He held up his hand and continued.

“I was filled with grief. I vowed revenge for this kind, decent soul. I declared never to rest until my friend’s murderer was hung at the gallows. My feelings changed quickly in the face of what was to come next.”

“What came next?” Kate could hardly imagine there was more to this terrible tale.

“A few weeks after James died there was a knock on the door. It was his bride-to-be. I had seen her briefly at the funeral. She was at the door looking pale, her face puffy from her obvious tears and grief. As soon as I opened the door, she fell into the doorstep. I picked her up and carried her inside.”

“When she awoke, she announced through her tears that Jacob Randall had gone to her father and asked for her hand in marriage.”

Smithers paused and leaned slightly forward as she gasped.

“Now keep in mind barely four weeks had passed since James’s death. Thinking he was doing his grieving daughter a favor, her father agreed to the marriage, not realizing the sort of man to whom he was marrying his daughter. I was stunned and outraged for her.

“Apparently Randall wanted this girl for his own. He had even courted her briefly until James came along. James started his business, competing again with Randall. He was obsessed with James. What had come only after hard work to Randall, James took, easily it seemed.”

Smithers paused again, as if trying to find the words. “She told me her secret. She was pregnant with James’s child.”

Kate took in a sharp breath, holding her hand to her mouth. She then chastised herself for being a hypocrite. Didn’t she know what love could do? Hadn’t she experienced the rush of emotion herself? She, too, had loved a man. She lowered her head ashamed of herself and her judgment against a lonely and frightened woman. Mightn’t she be pregnant herself? Was she any different?

Smithers reached across the table. He held her chin in his hand and gently brought up her head. He gave her a kind look, as if reading her mind. Then he winked at her and continued his story.

“Now, I spent the past weeks taking care of James’s business and personal affairs. I had been in his study trying to sort through it all. I had lost my friend and I was grief-stricken. As I was attending his desk shortly after his death, I came upon a letter addressed to me with instructions in case of his death. He had given most of his estate and business to his fiancée.”

Smithers signaled the maiden for more wine. Kate was glad of it. She could use another drink.

“So, of course, I told her of what James had left for her. I told her what I knew about Jacob Randall’s involvement in James’ death. She was horrified and devastated she would marry the very man who had killed her beloved.

“After a great deal of discussion, she made the agonizing decision to go ahead with her marriage to Randall. Pregnant, she could not afford to wait any longer to obtain another suitor in time before it would be too late to believably convince a husband the child was his.”

“We agreed she could not use the money or run the shipping business, now that she was again engaged, without the risk of losing it to Randall. Because of the official engagement, all that was hers would now be his even before the actual ceremony took place. For him to make use of James’s money and business through her, after what he had done, was too much to bear. James had been his competition, both in the business as well as in his personal life. Randall would not have one pence of James’s money.

Smithers pounded his fist on the table firmly, emphasizing his point. Kate found herself nodding in agreement.

“We decided to put the money in a trust so Randall would never have access to or even know about it. We could not sell the shipping business out right because once again it would be brought out who owned it. So we agreed to continue to run the business, although we changed the name and brought it up again slowly making it appear James’ business ended with his death. We also made it a point not to compete with Randall directly. If we had been a thorn in his side, it would not have taken him long to investigate us and bring us to heel as he had done with James. We could not afford the luxury of trying to ruin him.

“We decided to stay with Edwards, the man who had been running the shipping business for James. It added more responsibility for him. He was paid well and he has managed it successfully all these years. No one knew what we had done. Not even her family. We engaged a trusted lawyer and friend who loved James as much as we did. He handled the business affairs and never breathed a word of it. He died several years ago now. I was sad to hear of it. He was a good man. And he did, indeed, keep our secret all those years.”

Smithers paused briefly. Kate waited, knowing his mind had traveled back in time.

“She confided in me once more that terrible afternoon. She was hurt and afraid. Alone. She said she had certain knowledge of herbs and had seriously considered aborting the child. She realized she was not able do it, regardless of what it would cost her. This was James’s child and she couldn’t let him go.”

“I, then, told her of the promise I had made to him and my intention to honor it. I would protect her and James’s child from Jacob Randall. She readily agreed and I believe she was quite relieved she would not be facing the ordeal alone.