The Heart is Torn (3 page)

Peake dug his fingers into the soft flesh of her shoulders and exerted considerable strength. Beth cried out in pain but he did not relax his hold. Drawing her upwards into a standing position, he embraced her with arms that seemed as strong as steel bands, his hot breath fanning her averted cheek. Beth struggled to get free but he held her easily, and, looking up into his intent face, she saw great passion in his dark eyes.

‘I shall tame you, Mistress Beth. I have watched you grow up over the years and always intended that you should be mine. Now the time is ripe and nothing will stand in my way. You hold your father’s future in your hands, and you will not stand by and watch his public disgrace so you will come to me to avert the scandal that is about to break. Make up your mind to it, and do not make ripples upon the surface of your father’s life.’

Beth faced him with anger marring her smooth brow.

‘I don’t know how you managed to drag my father into your net, but your efforts shall not avail you. I will never agree to marry you.’

Peake smiled, his face set cruelly in triumph.

‘You are the one caught in my net,’ he said softly, ‘and like a fish, you struggle ineffectually. I have you in the palm of my hand now, and can wait for this situation to reach its natural conclusion. Enjoy these last days of your freedom, Beth. When you realise that your choice is between your father’s life and marriage to me, you will come to my door willingly to save your father from the ignominy of having to take his own life. Think hard upon that, and you will understand clearly what you have to do.’

Beth was aghast at his words, and shook her head as she turned away from him. Peake made no effort to detain her and she ran, shocked and despairing, along the path in pursuit of her mare. A short time ago there had not been a cloud upon her horizon. Adam had returned home safely and the bright future they had planned seemed ready to encompass them. But storm clouds had gathered, and she was suddenly bereft of hope. Her father was trapped in the sinister coils of Jonah Peake’s scheming, and she was starkly aware that she could not ignore the situation and allow her father to sink deeper into the morass of Peake’s evil.

The mare was grazing in a dell, and lifted its head when Beth approached. She scrambled into the high saddle and set out once more for Traherne Court, but there was no joy in her heart, only worry and deep concern. Despite her feelings, she sensed that she would have to obey her father to save him, and if the only solution was marriage to Jonah Peake then she would be compelled to resign herself to that awful fact.

But she would not yield without a fight, and hesitated to admit to herself what Adam might do when he learned of the change in their plans. She rode on fearfully, her hopes for the future in ruins, and despair filled her for she could see no solution to an insurmountable problem.

3

Traherne Court stood on a rocky promontory overlooking the harbour of Polgarron. Solid and impregnable, its high walls were proof against any invasive force that might assail it. Beth rode into the courtyard with a clatter of hoofs and slid from her saddle at the foot of the flight of stone steps that gave access to the thick oak door barring the entrance to the Traherne ancestral home.

A stable boy, summoned by the sound of her arrival, came running to grasp the mare’s reins, and stood smiling as she dismounted. Beth thanked him and ascended the steps to the terrace, filled now with thrilling anticipation at the thought of seeing Adam. The door of the house opened as she approached, and a tall figure appeared. Her heart seemed to miss a beat when she recognised Adam Traherne, and then her pulses raced.

She ran towards him, and Adam came forward, tall and powerful, moving with the strength and grace of a lion. He met her near the top of the steps and swung her up into his arms, crushing her against his hard body as he smothered her face with passionate kisses.

‘My Beth, at last! You don’t know how I have longed for this moment.’

He held her at arm’s length and gazed hungrily at her flushed face.

‘I declare you’re more beautiful than I remember. So you heard that I was home at last and could not wait to see me! In truth, I wanted to make Sedge Manor my first port of call, but I have had serious business to attend to, and, as you well know, with the Trahernes it is always business before pleasure.’

‘I saw you in Polgarron earlier,’ she said as she clung to him. ‘You were in a hurry then. Oh, Adam, I have been so worried. Your ship did not arrive on time, and bad rumours were beginning to fly.’

‘We had a rough passage from the Azores.’

He carried her along the terrace as if she were a child and set her feet upon the flagstones in front of the big doorway. Over six feet tall, he was a powerful man in his late twenties. His weathered face was smooth, his dark brown eyes filled with an intangible light that seemed to hint at the restless magic of distant oceans and exotic sights that had imprinted themselves in his depthless gaze. His curly dark hair hung over a rugged forehead, and his firm mouth softened as he laughed merrily.

‘But I am home now, and we have much to discuss, sweet Beth. Have you missed me?’

Beth thought of the endless months of his absence, the countless hours when she had been the loneliest woman on earth, and her joy knew no bounds. But the knowledge of her father’s plight sent her spirits plummeting and she drew back from him with despair showing in every line of her countenance.

‘Beth, what ails you? Has my homecoming displeased you?’

He was alert to her moods, and grasped her hands, drawing her towards the door of the house.

‘I was about to ride out on business, and planned to call on you later, but your appearance makes me realise that any business will have to wait. We have lost far too much time as it is, and nothing else matters now we are together again.’

‘I must talk seriously to you, Adam.’

Beth’s tone faltered and she compressed her lips, filled with the cold knowledge that she should follow her father’s wishes and agree to marry Jonah Peake. But she could not bring herself to utter the words that would plunge them both into an abyss of misery. She was not responsible for her father’s downfall. He had brought that fate upon himself, and ought to rely upon his own resources to escape the net Peake had drawn around him.

Adam’s smile vanished as he grasped her shoulders.

‘What has upset you?’ he demanded, his brow furrowed. ‘Have you fallen in love with another while I’ve been away?’

Beth shook her head slowly, unable to answer. Adam’s gaze was incisive, and she feared that he could read her thoughts.

‘Are you worried about Nick?’ he asked. ‘I met him on the coach last night, and offered him a job because he seemed at a loose end. I know what store you set by him. But he said he had irons in the fire. Is he giving you cause for disquiet?’

‘It is not Nick,’ she said.

‘Your father, then? He was missing your mother sorely when I went away. Has he not improved since? Three years is time enough in which to recover from what ails him.’

‘Father is at his lowest ebb. I am dreadfully worried about him.’

‘Then I shall talk with him and find out how I can help. Don’t fret, Beth. I am back now, and we shall go ahead with our plans. Nothing can be permitted to delay them. I have dreamed through the dreary months of my absence, and vowed that when I returned nothing would stand between us.’

Beth allowed him to escort her into the big house, and gazed around with interest for she had not set foot inside it during his absence. Jeremy Traherne was standing in the doorway of a room to their right.

‘I was wondering when you would come running, Beth,’ he observed with a laugh. ‘I’ve heard how you’ve been haunting Polgarron for news of the
Seagull
. Well, Adam is home at last, girl, and the waiting is over. You can launch your plans now. I can tell that you’re hearing naught but wedding bells now. But how does your father stand on that? When I saw him in Polgarron a week ago he hinted that all was not well with your attitude to marriage with Adam.’

Beth froze at the words, and shook her head quickly as she met Adam’s questioning gaze.

‘I have no knowledge of what was in my father’s mind when he spoke to you, Captain,’ she said hastily. ‘And I have come now to set wedding matters afoot.’

She closed her mind to her father’s problems and continued.

‘I told Adam before he sailed that I would marry him on his return, and I have not changed my mind. Nothing has changed, and I hope that Adam is not of a fickle nature, for everyone is expecting us to get wed and I have no wish to cause disappointment.’

‘Well said.’

Adam embraced her, and Beth closed her mind to the inner voice that repeated her father’s words.

‘Come and sit with me and we shall talk over our plans. You can tell me what you have been doing while I was away. In truth, my time dragged so much I began to think that the day of my return would never arrive. We hit such bad weather and more than once I sensed that we had reached the limit of our endurance. But
Seagull
is a stout ship with a heart of oak, and she shook off everything that came her way.’

‘Before you two settle down I would like to ask Beth some questions.’

Jeremy’s voice was harsh, and she glanced at him to see that his usually smiling face was set in grim lines. Suspicion shone in his narrowed eyes.

‘I’ve heard rumours about Jonah Peake’s activities of late, and your father’s name was mentioned more than once. To my knowledge, Henry Farrell is not the man to mix with the likes of Peake, so it is fairly obvious that Peake has some kind of hold over your father, Beth. Tell me, is Henry in trouble?’

‘Not that I know of,’ she replied stoutly. ‘His great problem is recovering from the death of my mother, which has occupied him these past three years, and I fear that he is making heavy weather of his efforts. He cannot disentangle himself from the chains grief has thrown around him, and does not seem to have the strength to face up to reality, or even the will to try.’

‘Jonah Peake is a villain,’ Jeremy rasped. ‘There’s more to him than meets the eye. I would not turn my back on him in any circumstance. In Polgarron, there is much talk of him these days, and there’s never smoke without fire. Peake has got a finger in a great many pies, and I’ve been alert to his doings these past months.’

‘And I need a clear mind for what I have to do,’ Adam responded, smiling at Beth. ‘Jonah Peake can do what he likes, so long as he doesn’t step on my toes. Are you still eager to marry me, Beth? Has anything changed between us?’

‘Nothing has changed, and that is the truth.’

Beth threw her arms around his neck and clung to him.

‘This is like a dream come true, Adam, and I want nothing to spoil the pleasure I’m feeling.’

‘I have to go into Polgarron to attend to some matters, and you shall come with me.’

Adam bent his head and kissed the tip of her nose.

‘I have no wish to be apart from you today, or any day, for that matter. We shall mix Traherne business with pleasure, and see to our business where we can. We have much to talk about, and no time to waste.’

‘In truth,’ Beth agreed. ‘I have a great curiosity about your travels which has nagged me since you sailed away.’

‘You will have your fill of my adventures, sweet Beth,’ he promised.

‘I’ll ride over to Sedge Manor and have a chat with Henry Farrell,’ Jeremy mused. ‘I’ve been meaning to approach him, but I’ve held off until your return, Adam.’

‘What is happening?’ Beth demanded, filled with fresh doubt. ‘Is something wrong?’

‘We feel there is, but have no way of knowing until we talk to the men hereabouts.’

Jeremy’s voice was low and insistent.

‘I have heard rumours, but that is all. At first I ignored the talk, but it seems to be building up to a climax and can no longer be ignored.’

‘I shall feel easier when
Seagull
is able to sail into Polgarron,’ Adam said. ‘Do what you have to, father.’

‘You can rely upon me,’ the older man replied.

Beth was perturbed by their words. The Trahernes were noted for their courage in facing adversity. She wondered if Jeremy had discovered something of Jonah Peake’s nefarious activities, and, if he had, what could he do to end the evil that had been spun around the good, solid people of Polgarron, herself and her father included?

Adam, seeing her doubt, took her hand in his and looked into her eyes.

‘It is nothing for you to worry your pretty head about, sweet maid,’ he said. ‘Apart from the storms that beset us on our voyage home, I had trouble aboard ship. Two men were hanged for mutiny, and I had word that Jonah Peake’s hand was behind it.’

Beth clung to Adam’s strong arm as they departed and entered the coach that had drawn up at the bottom of the terrace steps. The coachman cracked his whip and four black horses threw their combined weight into their collars. Beth sank back into the leather upholstery and feasted her eyes upon the man she loved, hardly able to believe that at long last he was by her side. Adam was watching her, his eyes filled with brightness as he took her hand in his.

‘You must tell me what ails thee, Beth,’ he said firmly. ‘If your father has been caught up in Peake’s foils then I should know about it. Father says there has been talk, and I cannot help your father if you remain silent. I know by your manner that something is wrong, so take me into your confidence.’

‘I should have to talk to my father before I could say anything.’

‘Then you do have some knowledge of what Jonah Peake is about. This is not just rumour going the rounds.’

Adam was watching her, his eyes filled with brightness as he took her hand in his.

‘Father spoke to me this very afternoon,’ she admitted with some reluctance. ‘He is in the very throes of trouble.’

‘In Peake’s clutches, you mean?’

Adam’s eyes were narrowed, his face set in grim lines.

‘This is the very devil of a situation. I’m home after endless months at sea, and instead of being able to get on with my personal business I must waste time on distractions. But if we are to be happy then we must spare the time to discover what is wrong hereabouts and set those matters to rights.’

Beth could only nod her head, filled with a desire to explain what she knew of her father’s downfall, but she could guess at Adam’s reaction if she told him. He would probably confront Jonah Peake and deal out summary justice. She sighed. That was not the way the problem should be handled, and she firmed her lips, determined not to speak for fear of starting a series of events which would end in complete disaster for all concerned.

‘Jeremy will get his teeth into the situation and shake it loose,’ Adam said. ‘We can leave everything to him and engage ourselves in what concerns us, Beth. I have been away far too long to let a parasite like Jonah Peake steal my time now I have returned. Come into my arms, sweet girl, and tell me that you love me.’

She smiled and surrendered herself willingly. Long had she awaited this moment, and nothing should be permitted to rob them of the sweet rewards of his return. She thrust herself into his ready arms and yielded to the love that coursed through her body. Her nagging doubts about the fate of
Seagull
were gone, but instead of pure happiness, she was racked with nagging doubt and misgiving.

‘In truth, if I did not know what is distracting you I would believe that you no longer love me, Beth,’ Adam said as the coach rattled into Polgarron. ‘Only half your attention is with me, and I am jealous of the reason for your lack of eagerness. Has Peake troubled you while I’ve been away?’

She shook her head emphatically, and he gazed into her eyes for interminable moments, as if he would read her teeming thoughts.

‘Has anyone else stepped on your toes?’ he persisted.

‘No.’

She blanked out the incidents of the afternoon, when first Martin Cresse and then Peake himself had accosted her.