This Darkest Man (19 page)

He
shrugged. “It doesn’t matter if you believe me or not. This little game is
over. I’ve achieved everything that I wanted and now I’m bored with you. Your
time here is finished. You have one hour to pack your things and then my driver
will take you wherever you want to go.”

I
held his gaze. “I still think you’re lying,” I said softly.

He
didn’t blink, just nodded with his head toward the door.  “Like I said, it
doesn’t matter what you think. Now, off you go,” he said dismissively.

I
raised my chin, I would not let him see me defeated, and turned toward the
door. My feet were silent on the carpet as I walked through it. I let myself
glance once more in his direction, he was watching me, and I gave him a slight
nod as I left.

Perhaps
I should have felt free, but instead I just felt numb. No doubt the
disappointment and heartache would come later, but at right that moment,
nothing seemed real. Not the time spent with Daniel, not the things that I had
done…it all seemed like a bizarre dream rather than a reality. It was easier to
think of it that way.

In
my room, I threw aside the dog collar and let it drop to the floor before I
began to pack. Margaret came in to assist me but I abruptly ordered her away.
She gave me a sour look but left silently. I smiled as she closed the door
quietly behind her. This would be the new me. No longer would I be cowed by
others or ordered around. Everything I did would be driven by assertiveness,
after all, I only had myself to rely on. And especially, I silently vowed, I
would never let a man control me again.

No
matter how much I loved him…

But
that last thought was tinged with sadness. I didn’t believe for a second what
Daniel had said to me.  I knew that I had some power over him, just as he had
over me. But I would not beg him, I would not pursue him. My life needed to be
about putting myself first, and I should be surrounded with people who knew how
valuable I was and treated me as such. Let Daniel live a life of misery if he
wanted, I couldn’t change him, only myself.

It
didn’t take long to pack. I left most of my things behind. The most important
items sat in my purse: my passport and my bank statement. The allowance that
Daniel had given me had piled up because I never needed to spend any money while
I was with him.

 I
slung my bag over my shoulder and started down the stairs. I didn’t come across
anyone as I exited the house. The driver leaned against his car, smoking a
cigarette in the darkness. The smoke curled up into the air, serving to give
the house an appropriately eerie appearance. My eyes followed that smoke as it lingered
around the west wing where that sad energy resided. I could only hope that
Daniel would tear it down and release the spirit trapped within. My mouth
twisted into a sad smile, maybe it would serve to release that sadness within
him as well.

But
that wasn’t my problem.

I
passed my bag to the driver after he extinguished his cigarette. “Where are you
going?” he asked.

“The
closest international airport,” I told him as I got in the car. “I’m going to
France.”

The
driver wished me luck as he pulled my bag from the trunk. This was as friendly
as he had ever been, and I thanked him. “One last thing,” he said before I
could walk away. I paused, and from inside his jacket he pulled a large
envelope and handed it to me. He nodded his head at me. “Have a safe journey
ma’am.”

I
held the envelope in a firm grip as I headed inside. I made it just in time to
book the next available flight to Paris, and as I sat down to wait, I inspected
the envelope. I didn’t know if I wanted to open it or not, knowing Daniel there
would probably be some cruelty or trick within the innocent looking envelope. I
would wait until I was on the plane, that way I would be thousands of feet in
the air and unreachable.

The
flight was delayed, and in the end, I gave up and carefully unsealed the
envelope. I pulled out a pile of documents and began to read them, my eyes
widening as I did so. It was the deed to my aunt’s house, and it was in my name,
gifted by Daniel. My mouth fell open. He had given it back.

The
boarding call for my flight was made, and I carefully put the documents back in
the envelope. At least now I had somewhere to go when I returned. I picked up
my bag and put the strap over my shoulder as I got to my feet. I would go to
France and drink coffee and wine, lots of wine. I would followed the trails of
writers like Fitzgerald and Hemingway, and forget about Poe. There was a whole
world waiting for me.

“Mattie.”

I
didn’t jump and betray my surprise at Daniel standing behind me. Instead I just
turned and raised the envelope. “Thanks for giving me back the house.”

He
took a breath. “It was the least I could do. I had those drawn up a while ago,
but never got around to giving them to you.” He gave a small laugh that sounded
hollow and sad as he looked down at the floor. “I guess I didn’t want you
having anywhere else to go.”

I
took a step toward him, but resisted the urge to touch him. “You’re the Dark
Man.”

His
eyes flicked up to me. “What?”

“The
Dark Man. He went from house to house screwing wives and daughters, never
caring about who got hurt or the consequences of his actions. Until he fell in
love, and the consequence was her death, trapped for a century in a wall, and
his eternal misery, and the misery of all his descendants.”

He
gave a slight nod like he understood, his forehead furrowing like he was in
pain. “I feel guilt about Jeremy. I should have helped him escape from Dad’s
wrath earlier. I changed my name, I tried to forget about the Riordans…that’s
why I find it so hard to forgive and to be honest.”

“That’s
your cross to bear, Daniel.” I took a step back as my flight was called over
the loud speaker again. “Not mine. Anyway, I better get going.”

“Wait,”
he reached out and gripped my wrist.

I
shook my head at him. “I’m not staying here to play anymore games. I have a
life to live. It’s about time I got started.”

“I
know. I’m not going to try and stop you. Just… here.” He thrust a small velvet
box at me. I took it and looked at it warily. “Open it on the plane, and…I’ll
be here when you’re ready to come back.” He gave me one last look before
turning and walking away. I watched him as he went, and the urge to go after
him was strong. But I didn’t. Instead, I headed for the gate as the last call
for boarding was made.

I
waited until I was in the air to open the box, even though my fingers itched
with anxiety and dread. When I finally worked up the courage, the box revealed
two rings. The first was the garnet and silver one from the farmhouse with ‘
Fate
makes you mine’
engraved on it. The second ring was embedded with garnets
and diamonds and had been created to match the older one. I carefully plucked
it from its satin bed and looked closely at the inscription, and as I did so, a
wide smile spread over my face.

“They’re
beautiful,” cooed the woman sitting beside me. “May I?” I passed them to her so
she could have a closer look. “What beautiful inscriptions.
Fate makes you
mine
and, what does that say?” she squinted, holding it up to her eye.

“Rewrite
history with me, Daniel,”
I told her as I took the rings back and placed them
safely in the box.

“Aren’t
you going to wear them?” she asked.

“Later,”
I said, resting my head against the headrest. “When I decide the time is right.
I’ve got a lot to do first.”

The End