Haunted Ground (25 page)

Reverend Pole looked from Brendan to Rowan’s glowing face and back again.  He really must be getting on in years if he missed a courtship right beneath his nose, or in this case, above.  Granted, he hadn’t really been upstairs much while the two were together, but he never thought that a chaperone might be warranted for a critically injured man and a mute woman.  But, the Lord had always worked in mysterious ways, and he would continue to do so.  Reverend Pole had to admit, rather guiltily, that like most people in the village, he didn’t pay much mind to Rowan.  She was a beautiful young girl, but her lack of speech and desire to always remain on the fringes of village life rendered her a shadow, but clearly not to everyone. 

“So, will you, Reverend?” Brendan asked, his patience running out.

“Will I what?”

“Will you marry us?”  Reverend Pole could see Rowan getting anxious, her eyes full of worry that he would refuse.  He couldn’t help noticing the way she moved closer to Brendan, his hand reaching for hers in a gesture of reassurance.  He’d better marry them, and soon.  Judging by the intimacy of their behavior a child could already be on the way, and it was his moral duty to prevent that child from being born a bastard.  Reverend Pole supposed that it was too late to ask Brendan if he’d thought this through, so the only thing he could do was marry the young people and wish them well.  They’d be away from here in less than two weeks, so their fate would no longer be his responsibility.  He would pray for their safety, however, and hope that Brendan was able to win back his inheritance and prove his innocence in the murder of his attackers. 

Normally, the banns would be called a month before the wedding, but in this case, the marriage had to be kept secret, especially from poor Stephen Aldridge, who would be in for a surprise.  Reverend Pole had been of a mind that Aldridge only wanted to marry Rowan to provide his children with a mother, but now he had his doubts.  Maybe the man truly was in love with her, as Brendan clearly was.  Reverend Pole sighed and sat down heavily on the wooden bench by the table.  One day, very long ago, he had been in love.  He was sixteen then and life was full of promise and possibilities, until he told his father that he wanted to ask Delwyn Jones to be his wife.  He thought his father might object to her Welsh background, on account of thinking them backward and wild, but his father barely even registered the name of the girl.  It didn’t matter who she was, for Hugo Pole was meant for the church, and to the seminary he would go despite his wishes.  Reverend Pole momentarily wished that he had been stronger and stood up to his father.  How different his life would have been.  He might have known happiness, and possibly even joy; instead, all he knew was the cold comfort of a benevolent God who never saw fit to grant a heartbroken boy’s dream.  And now, Brendan and Rowan were taking matters into their own hands and making their own future, and he would help them.  Oh, yes, he would help them.

“I suppose there’s no time like the present, is there?” Reverend Pole asked, smiling at the light in Rowan’s eyes.  “I will perform the ceremony, but I will not enter the marriage in the parish records book until a week after you’ve gone.”

“Yes, that would be best, Reverend.  No need to alert anyone to the fact that I was here.”

Reverend Pole nodded at the wisdom of this thinking and turned to Rowan.  “And what of your aunt and uncle, young lady?  What am I to tell them?  They’ve had the care of you these past years; they don’t deserve this ingratitude from you.  Will you at least let them know you’re leaving with Brendan?”  Reverend Pole tried to look stern, but he couldn’t help grinning at Rowan.  She was so clearly anxious to be married; she was bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet, her eyes pleading with him to dispense with the questioning and get on with the wedding.  He’d explain the situation to Caleb and Joan if it called for it, but he hoped she would at least say goodbye.

“All right, then.  Let’s begin.”

***

Brendan locked the door behind Reverend Pole and turned to his bride.  Rowan just stood in the middle of the room where Reverend Pole married them a few minutes ago, looking as if she was afraid to move or the illusion would shatter.  She raised her eyes to Brendan, a slow smile spreading across her face as Brendan walked over to her and took her in his arms.  There was so much he wanted to say, but somehow couldn’t find the words to express exactly how he felt at that very moment until their eyes met. 

After years of silence, nature compensated by making Rowan’s face a map of her soul.  Brendan could read the myriad emotions shifting in her eyes as clearly as if they were written on a page.  Rowan was feeling as he was: shy, expectant, apprehensive, impatient, but most of all happy and amazed that such joy could come from such savagery.  Brendan pulled her to him and kissed her, slowly and deeply.  They had a few hours till Reverend Pole returned, and he planned to make the most of them.  This was the closest to a wedding night they were likely to have, so the old reverend’s bed would have to do.

Brendan was no stranger to women, but all his experiences had been a transaction; pleasure given and pleasure received after money changed hands.  He’d never made love to a woman he had any feelings for, nor had he ever been with a maid.  The women had been coarse and cheap, skilled in the art of love the way he’d become skilled in the art of war.  He suddenly felt nervous; an unfamiliar fluttering in his belly making him wish he’d had some mead before consummating the marriage.  How he acquitted himself now would have a lifetime effect on Rowan.  He’d met many men who, when in their cups, complained that their wives wanted nothing to do with them, and lay there with a pained expression on their faces in the hope that their husbands would finish their business quickly and leave them in peace.  They had no objection to their husbands slaking their lust on whores, as long as they didn’t saddle them with another child.

Brendan didn’t want that type of marriage.  He wanted his wife to be his lover, strange as it would seem to some.  No matter how much he wanted Rowan right now, this moment was about her, and he would put his needs aside and devote the afternoon to her, initiating her into the art of love with all the gentleness and skill he could muster.

***

Rowan purred like a kitten and snuggled closer to Brendan, her body aquiver with feelings she had no idea she could experience.  She’d been a little nervous, but her fears were unfounded.  From the moment Brendan kissed her after the wedding, she knew that this would be different.  They’d kissed before, and he’d held and caressed her through the fabric of her dress, but this kiss was different.  This kiss wasn’t just a kiss, a moment unto itself, but a beginning of something wonderful.  Brendan’s lips weren’t soft and tender as before, but firm and demanding, letting her know that she was his at last and he meant to possess her, body and soul, and he meant to give himself to her completely.  Rowan melted into his arms, allowing him to take control and show her what it meant to be his wife.  She’d expected it to be quick and painful, a deed done, but Brendan had other ideas.  She felt as if she were falling, freewheeling through the air with no fear of crashing to the ground as Brendan kissed nearly every inch of her as he marked his territory.  By the time he slid his fingers inside her, she was quivering with desire, ready to receive him and satisfy his lust, but he wasn’t quite done with her yet.  He wanted her to yearn for something she couldn’t name, her body aching for fulfillment that could only come from him. 

The sharp pain that tore through her womb was short-lived and quickly forgotten as he filled her body and carried her with him to a place she never knew existed.  It wasn’t at all what she had prepared herself for, and she sighed with pleasure, her full mouth spreading into a smile of joy as her husband buried his face inside her neck, his forehead damp with effort and his heart hammering against her breast.  Rowan wrapped her arms around him, wishing that she could hold him forever, and reminded herself that she could.  They were now man and wife, and this was just the beginning of their life together.  She felt as if she would burst with joy at the thought of the future, traveling away from this place and all the painful memories, and setting on a journey that would carry them to the New World and be the start of a wondrous life.  She’d forgotten what it was like to be happy and hopeful, and was overcome with the intensity of her feelings. 

Brendan raised himself on one arm and looked into her face, his eyes asking a question that needed no answer.  It had been beautiful.  Rowan would have said “sacred” if that didn’t border on blasphemy.  She just smiled into his eyes, and he knew that he’d served her well.

The Present

Aidan stopped to stretch in front of his house before going inside and stripping the sweat-stained clothes from his morning run.  The day was overcast with a light mist falling, but he didn’t mind.  His run was a part of his morning routine that began after Noelle left.  He’d been so consumed with grief and hurt that he needed a physical outlet for his pain.  He hadn’t meant to start running, but one day he just came outside and took off, his legs pumping and his chest burning with the unfamiliar sensation.  He’d run until he couldn’t run anymore and then he collapsed on the grass beside the lane and cried like a baby, his heart no longer able to hold on to the pain he was so desperately trying to keep at bay. 

Surprisingly, he felt much better once he finally got hold of himself and sheepishly looked around to see if anyone had seen his breakdown, but he was blessedly alone and marginally cleansed.  And so he began running every day.  There were no more tearful outbursts, but the physical exercise helped purge the ache in his heart, and day by day he began to regain some control over his inner life.  It still hurt to think about that time, but the pain was now a dull ache, not the razor-sharp agony of those first few weeks. 

He’d lost himself in work and began making plans to return to Skye, but the jobs kept coming, and he kept putting his departure off, until suddenly he wasn’t thinking about it anymore.  Noelle might be gone, but he had no wish to return home with his tail between his legs.  He’d made a life for himself here, and here he would stay until he was ready to start again with someone else, someone who would hopefully value his heart a little more.  He smiled as he thought of Lexi.  The time with her seemed to heal him more effectively than any amount of boozing, running, working, or avoidance.  He couldn’t wait to see her in a few hours and reassure her that he meant to stay and hoped she wanted him to.

Aidan came out of the shower, his hair dripping with moisture and a thick towel wrapped around his waist.  He always liked this part of the morning, when he dressed for the day and had his breakfast.  Every day was a new beginning, and every day was full of promise, especially now.

Aidan was just pouring himself a cup of coffee when his mobile rang, the number of the pub appearing on the screen.  Aidan swallowed a gulp of hot coffee and answered the phone.  Likely, Abe just needed something mended in a hurry.  They were old friends, and Aidan often did minor repairs at
The Queen’s Head
in exchange for a pint and a plate of fish and chips.

But the voice on the line wasn’t Abe’s; it was Lexi’s.  She sounded strangely flat, as if all emotion had been drained out of her voice as she inquired if this was a bad time.

“No, not at all.  Lexi, what’s wrong?” he asked, sensing that whatever happened after he’d gone had left Lexi in tatters.  “What are you doing at the pub?”

“I got a room here last night,” she answered quietly.  “Aidan, would you mind coming over?  I really need you right now.”

“Sure, I’ll be there in a few minutes.  Are you all right?”  The question seemed awfully banal, but he wasn’t sure what to say until he knew more of what happened, and rather than spend time on the phone he was better off talking to her in person.  Aidan pulled on his trainers, stuffed his mobile into his pocket and raced out the door.

***

Aidan found Lexi sitting at a corner table on the back patio of the pub.  The patio was deserted so early in the morning, the benches and tables covered with a slick film of dew that would evaporate as the sun warmed up.  Lexi was staring out over the garden, a cup of something in her hands.  She turned at the sound of his footsteps and put the cup down before hurling herself into his arms, her heart hammering like a drum.  Aidan lowered himself to the bench and pulled Lexi onto his lap, holding her like a child who’d had a fright.  She buried her face in his chest as if she were hiding from the world, and he just held her until she was ready to tell him what had happened to upset her so.   

Abe appeared in the doorway and offered Aidan a cup of tea, but Aidan waved him away. 

“Lexi?” Aidan finally murmured.  “What is it, love?”

Lexi reached into her bag and extracted some papers which she passed to him silently.  Aidan gazed at the photograph in his hands and the realization of what happened last night began to dawn.  The picture was dated and slightly faded, but there was no mistaking who he was looking at, or the resemblance between the woman in the picture and the one sitting across from him.  He also looked at the photo of Kelly with her daughter.  The little girl was smiling up at the camera, her pigtails tied with pink ribbons and her hazel eyes full of mischief.  It wasn’t difficult to add twenty years to that girl and see how much she would resemble the woman sitting in his lap, crying silently.  Aidan glanced at the drawings and felt his heart turn over.  They were so sweet, so innocent, and yet so full of meaning.  No wonder Lexi fled the house. 

Aidan wasn’t sure what to say.  He’d been dead wrong on all counts.  People in the village weren’t just looking for random connections, they actually saw one, and Lexi had been seeing the man in the ruins since she was a child.  Aidan had never been one to believe in fate; people chose their own path and paid for their mistakes, but what he was looking at was inexplicable when using that particular bit of logic.  Something had lured Lexi back to this place, that house.  A force stronger than logic, a pull stronger than mere desire wasat play.  She’d been brought here for a reason, and that reason was now clea
r
—
she was meant to learn about her past.

“My whole life has been a lie, Aidan,” she finally whispered, “an elaborate lie.  I’ve seen pictures of my mother when she was pregnant with me.  There were baby pictures and even a sonogram.  I never questioned why my mother never showed me my birth certificate, even when I applied for a passport as a teenager.  She’d come with me and filled out all the paperwork.  That story about giving birth to me in England while on a business trip was all a lie.  I was probably born in Lincoln as she said, only not to her and my father.”  Lexi took a shuddering sigh, and her eyes met Aidan’s for the first time.  “But why did they give me away?  I still had a grandmother and an aunt.  Why was I sent to a couple in America?  Was I too much of a reminder of what happened?”

Lexi angrily wiped a tear from her cheek, her hand steadier than Aidan would have expected.  Her eyes were blazing and her body was suddenly tense, her face full of resolve.  “I intend to get to the bottom of this.  Will you help me?”

“Like you even have to ask?  Lexi, I’m honored that you would share this with me, and I will do anything I can to help, but don’t you think you should talk to your adoptive mother first?  She can probably answer all your questions.  There must be an explanation as to why they chose to keep your past a secret.”

Aidan felt Lexi shake her head against his shoulder as she pulled away and looked into his eyes.  “I no longer trust anything my mother has to say.  I am going to do this my own way, and I can begin right now if you’re willing to drive me to Lincoln.”

“All right.  What’s in Lincoln?”  Aidan had a fairly good idea.  Lexi probably wanted to visit the hospitals and locate a record of her birth, but what she replied wasn’t at all what he expected.

“Neil Gregson – my biological father.”