Gatehaven Page 27

  The earl expected to be free of Leon’s hold on him after he wed the rich young woman from London. However, Leon had no intentions of selling his rights to the earl’s debts to the girl’s father or anyone else. Someday, he would own Gatehaven as he’d always planned.

  That afternoon Leon had his driver take him to The Boar and Tongue in order to speak to his business partner. If anybody knew what the people of the village were saying and perhaps thinking, it was Brother Julian. He’d hoped that during the meeting the monk would remove any worries he might have about the law. Unfortunately, speaking with him only increased Leon’s decision to leave the country as soon as he was able.

  Apparently, to reside in England any longer might not be a sane decision. If the law intended to round up all members of the Spiritualist Society merely because a few poorly connected young women were missing, he would be wise to leave England as soon as possible. He must sell all his holdings as well. And he intended to pay out a fine sum of money to stop those idle tongues from wagging until he was safely out of the country.

  The sun was low some weeks later when Shannon, Ian, Cally, and Peter arrived in the village of Luss. Exhausted, all Shannon could think about was getting to the farm to see if her family was all right, and Peter wished to do the same. Yet she also knew that Peter was eager to see his beloved Kate.

  Ian might feel obligated to escort them to the farm as well, but she knew his heart would not be in it. He should go to his own home now.

  “Peter,” she said, “I know you want to know if our family is all right. But I also know you want to see Kate as soon as possible. Why don’t you and Ian go now? Cally and I will be safe with the earl’s footmen and a driver at our sides. If our parents are in any danger, I promise to let you know at once.”

  “Are you sure?” Peter asked.

  “Positive.”

  “Well, I guess I’ll go then.”

  Ian walked off with Peter without really saying good-bye. Then he turned and looked at Shannon. His expression was as cold as the loch in winter.

  Peter waited in the shadows while Ian went inside his family home for a reunion with his parents and sisters. Ian had promised to tell Kate that Peter would be waiting for her at the loch. But he’d expected her to spend time with her brother first. Instead, she ran out of the house and headed straight for the loch. She’d promised to meet him there before he left. But Peter couldn’t wait that long; he wanted to hold her now and tell her how much he loved her.

  “Kate, wait.” He raced across the grass. “I am here.”

  “Peter?”

  “How I have missed you, Kate. But I am home now. I will never leave you again.”

  His kiss was filled with promise. “I can wait no longer. I want us to marry as soon as possible.”

  “As do I.”

  He squeezed her hand. “I wanted to go down to the loch—dreamed of sitting beside you on our log and looking out at the cold blue beyond the water’s edge. But this is not the time. My parents and baby brother could be in danger. I wish to go to your house now and tell your parents our good news. Then we must hurry to my family to see if they are all right.”

  The carriage pulled to a stop at the farm’s front gate, but it was too wide to go through the narrow opening. Two footmen walked Shannon and Cally to the farmhouse door, then waited to see if they were needed. Shannon hurried inside. Her parents were packing things in boxes.

  Shannon released a sign of relief. Her parents were all right. “Mama, Papa. I am home.”

  At first, her parents didn’t move. Then they looked at each other for a moment as if they were frozen in time.

  “Oh, Javier. Our daughter is home.”

  Shannon was touched by the deep emotion she heard in her mother’s voice. She glanced back to the footmen. “Looks like my family is all right. You may go now, and thank you for all your help. And please thank the earl and his son for us as well.”

  The footmen nodded. Then Mama rushed toward her, followed by Papa. They hugged Shannon until she could scarcely breathe, but for Shannon, it was a good feeling.

  “Oh Shannon.” Her mother wiped a tear from her eye. “After we got that letter from the earl, we feared you might be dead. We were preparing to leave for England at once.”

  “What letter?”

  “This one.” Her mother pulled a letter from the pocket of her dress covering. “It was written some time ago but must have been delayed. It just arrived today.”

  “May I read it, please?”

  “Of course.” Mrs. Aimee handed the letter to Shannon.

  Your daughter, Shannon, is gravely ill. You must come to Gatehaven in the north of England at once, if you hope to see her again. Alive.

  One glance convinced Shannon it was not written by the earl.

  “The earl never wrote this letter, Mama. I know the way he forms his letters.” She turned the letter over. “Whoever wrote it used the earl’s seal. But the earl did not write it. This document was forged.”

  “Forged?” Her mother’s green eyes widened, and she slanted her head to one side. “But why?”

  “His purpose was evil.” Shannon looked away. “Let us not discuss that now.”

  “Very well.” Mrs. Aimee frowned. “But where is Peter? Did he not come with you?”

  “He came. But he went home with Ian to see Kate.”

  Her mother smiled. “That explains it. Peter would want to see Kate before seeing anyone else.”

  Kate Colquhoun was Shannon’s best friend. She was happy for her. But would Shannon ever walk down a church aisle with Ian?

  Topics needed to be discussed. Questions required answers. It would take time to get it all out. She glanced at Cally, standing just inside the entry door.

  “I have much to tell you, Mama and Papa.” Shannon grabbed Cally’s hand and pulled her forward. “But first, I would like you to meet my friend, Cally Winters. Cally is from London, England. She helped me escape from a dangerous situation. I would like her to stay with us until she can find other arrangements.”

  “Of course she may stay—for as long as she likes. We are glad to have her.” Shannon’s mother embraced Cally as if she were a member of the family.

  Her father shook Cally’s slender hand.

  Cally bobbed a bow. “I am glad to meet all of you, I’m sure.”

  “Come and sit by the fire,” Mrs. Aimee said. “And we shall see if we can make some sense of all this.”

  Shannon listened as her mother told how she and her father fled France to escape from an evil man by the name of Leon Picard, a man who wished them harm merely because her mother refused his advances. Peter had told Shannon that story previously, but until that moment, she’d never heard it in her mother’s words. To hear the name Leon Picard come out of her mother’s mouth brought back all that happened at Gatehaven—every hour—every evil moment.

  Shannon felt weak. She’d never had a fainting spell. But she was afraid she might be about to have her first.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  HER MOTHER’S FACE grew pale. “Are you all right, Shannon?”

  Shannon managed a slow nod. “I will be.”

  She was feeling better. The weak spell was almost gone.

  “I know this is not the time to ask questions, but you looked strange when I said Leon Picard’s name. Did you meet him in England? Tell me, Shannon, if you did.”

  “Yes, I met him.”

  Mama’s face contorted. She glared at Papa. “This was all your fault, Javier. I warned you not to let her go. But you said it was safe for any of us to go to England now. You knew the danger Shannon would be under. Yet you let her go.”

  “You were right, Rachel. I was wrong. I should never have let Shannon go to England. But instead of fighting, we should give thanks. The Lord provided Shannon and Miss Winters a means of escape.”

  Her mother sat there in her chair for a moment without saying anything. Her mouth quivered. Her eyes were moist with tears.

  Shannon go
t up and stood at her side. “I am all right, Mama—really I am.” She patted her mother’s shoulder. “I had some narrow escapes, but nothing truly bad occurred.”

  “Things happened to me when I was your age, Shannon,” her mother said. “Things that could have destroyed the good name of this family. Your father and I went to England but Leon followed us there. If a kindly earl hadn’t helped us escape to Scotland, I might have been ravished, killed, or both.”

  “And the son of that British earl helped us escape, Mama,” Shannon said. “He even gave us the use of his fancy carriage, horses, and footmen to assure our safe journey home. The nobleman’s name is Lord Wilburn, and Peter and I will be eternally thankful that the Lord sent him to us.”

  “Oh, Shannon.” Her mother’s voice broke with emotion. “I never wanted that for you. Tongues will wag. They always do.”

  “My reputation was not destroyed, Mama. God knows I am innocent. And who but us can say what truly happened in England?”

  Shannon’s father crossed the room, lifting her mother in his arms. “Fear not, my love.”

  “But Javier, Leon Picard could have followed Shannon to Luss. We could all be in danger.”

  “Dear, sweet Rachel, have you forgotten? We dwell in the secret place of the Most High.”

  Shannon blushed as her father kissed her mother on the lips. She glanced at Cally and found her smiling.

  “My father kissed my mother like that when I was a child,” Cally whispered. “It warms my heart to see it again.”

  As the evening progressed, Shannon learned that her parents had originally intended to take a ship to the colonies as soon as Shannon returned. Now that she had, there was no reason to delay. They invited Cally to make the trip with them, but she declined. Cally chose to return to her parents and younger brothers in England.

  The door opened. Peter and Kate came in—holding hands. Shannon had hoped that Ian would be with them. He wasn’t. Her parents embraced Peter and told him how glad they were to see him, and they welcomed Kate into their home. At first Shannon stepped back and let her parents greet Kate and their son. But Kate was Shannon’s best friend.

  At last, she went over and hugged Kate as if she was already her sister. If only Ian were with them. He was ever on her mind. Shannon took Kate’s hand and took her over to meet Cally.

  For a while, everybody stood around talking. Then they returned to the sitting area. The women sat on chairs or benches. The two men stood with their backs to the fireplace.

  Peter grinned at Kate. “Miss Colquhoun has some news she wishes to share.”

  Kate glanced at the floor. Her cheeks turned rosy pink. “I thought you were going to do this, Peter.”

  “And prevent you from the opportunity? Never.”

  “Please, this is your family. You do it.”

  “Very well then.” He went over and took hold of both Kate’s hands, pulling her to her feet. “Miss Colquhoun has agreed to become my wife.”

  He put his arm around her. “We plan to marry aboard the ship bound for the colonies.”

  Mrs. Aimee burst from her chair, warmly showering her love and best regards on their coming marriage. Shannon was happy for Peter and Kate. At the same time, she was sad—wishing that she and Ian were announcing their engagement as well.

  Shannon held in what she wanted to say all evening.

  At last, she turned to Kate and said, “Is Ian going on the ship with us? He said once that he might.”

  “No. My brother will be staying here in Scotland. He said it was where he belonged.”

  The next morning, Ian visited his pastor’s office in a small room off the sanctuary.

  Pastor Petit looked up. He smiled when Ian came in the door. “Mr.Colquhoun.” The elderly gentleman got up from his chair and hobbled across the room. “I heard you had returned from your journey and hoped you would stop by.” He offered his hand in friendship. “Please, sit down.”

  Ian shook his pastor’s hand, settling onto the chair in front of his oak desk. How would he tell Pastor Petit that he failed in his mission to solve Magdalena’s murder—how would he put that fact into words?

  Ian gazed at the spotless floor. “I have much to tell you, sir.”

  “I am eager to hear it.”

  Ian swallowed something that felt like a lump lodged in his throat. “Many evil people live in and around Gatehaven. But I was unable to discover who killed your cousin, Miss Petit.”

  “Did you ask the Lord to help you in your quest?”

  “Yes, sir, many times.”

  “Then you must wait on the Lord. He will answer—in His good time— not ours.” The minister smiled as he got up from his chair. “I will fix us some tea. As we drink it, you can tell me all that occurred while you were away.”

  Two days later, Shannon, her parents, her baby brother, her grandmother, Peter, and Ian’s sister, Kate, gathered at the edge of town, preparing to leave. Ian had kissed his sister good-bye at their home earlier that morning but hadn’t bid Shannon farewell as he so wanted to do. The travelers would caravan in wooden carts to the ship that would carry them to the colonies.

  Ian stood in the shadows by the ruins of an ancient fortress, watching as Shannon and her family drove away—perhaps never to return. All at once she looked back. His heart skipped a beat. Was she looking for Ian? Or was she hoping the earl followed her to Scotland?

  At last, the carts and those inside them disappeared. All that remained was the chill of a late summer morning and the S n cottish countryside.

  Shannon’s father drove one of the two carts with her mother in the seat beside him. Peter drove the second cart filled with most of their belongings, and Kate sat beside him. Shannon sat beside Grandma Aimee in the back of the first cart, holding the baby, and trying not to dwell on the fact that she and Grandma were squeezed between two wooden barrels with a third heavy barrel at their backs.

  She’d reminded her father that if they hit a big bump or made a sudden stop, Shannon and the baby could be crushed to death. But he had explained that they had nothing to fear. Had she forgotten that they were in the secret place of the Most High? Shannon was beginning to believe it. The cart had already hit several bumps and made several sudden stops. Yet nothing bad happened.

  From then on, Shannon tried to keep her mouth closed. With the wind howling all around the open cart, her thoughts drifted elsewhere. Her parents might not have heard her anyway, and Grandma Aimee had a serious hearing problem. She wouldn’t have heard. Besides, Grandma liked to converse in French, and Shannon was never fluent in that language.

  In the late evenings, they stopped to camp for the night. Peter and Kate held hands as they sat around the campfire—so full of hope and excitement. Shannon could see it in their eyes every time they looked at each other. They knew she missed Ian, but she didn’t want to spoil their joy by putting the depths of her despair into words.

  One night her father turned to Kate and said, “From Plymouth, we will sail to the colony in Charles Towne. My brother Henri and his wife live there.”

  How many times had Papa said those same words since they left Luss? When he repeated them yet again, Shannon chuckled for perhaps the first time since Ian had stopped talking to her.

  For Shannon, laughter became a sort of door that opened her heart and mind to the conversations going on around her and the needs and wishes of others. Despair and bitterness had filled her mind for too long. She couldn’t let that happen again.

  “My family, the Colquhouns, have roots in the Carolinas, too,” Kate finally said. “But some of them have changed the spelling of the name to Calhoun. Still, they are Scots and Colquhouns no matter how they spell their names. I hope to meet my distant Scottish relatives when we arrive in the colonies.”

  Leon Picard arrived in Plymouth long before Shannon and her family did. A ship, the Carolina, was scheduled to sail for Charles Towne in a few days, but he wasn’t sure the Aimee family would reach Plymouth in time. Therefore, he’d held off payi
ng his fee until he knew they had arrived.

  He’d sold his holdings in England, including The Boar and Tongue, for less than they were worth, but he still had proof that he held the controlling interest in Gatehaven—the result of the earl’s gambling debts. Someday he would cash in on that debt.

  On his first night in town, Leon had his driver stop in front of The Lion’s Cub Inn.

  “I am going inside, McGregor, for a meal and a bed for the night. When you have finished seeing to my animals, you may join me. Your supper and a room will be waiting for you.”

  Leon got out of the carriage, went inside and ordered a room. The inn was crowded, and Leon was unable to find a vacant table.

  He was about to go up to his room when someone said, “Mate. Want to sit at my table?”

  Leon turned to the voice he heard. “Is someone talking to me?” He felt a little dizzy and grabbed hold of the back of a chair for support.

  “That would be me, mate.”

  A sailor motioned for Leon to sit down. He had a stocky build, a bald head and bloodshot eyes. “Sit if you will in the empty chair beside me.”

  Leon nodded and sat down. “Thank you, sir.”

  The sailor peered at Leon over a mug of ale. “Are you from France? I do not take to Frenchmen, and you sound like one to me.”

  Leon leaned across the small table and offered the sailor his hand. He’d sent a note to the vicar as he promised and mailed the letter telling all the earl’s secrets, and he could safely tell his real name now.

  “I’m Leon Picard. I was born in France. But I’ve lived most of my life in England. Who are you, sir?”

  “I ain’t no gentleman such as yourself—I can tell you that. But me name be Deaver Simpson—at your service.” He took Leon’s hand and shook it. “What would you be doing in Plymouth? If you are looking for a ship, I’m the one to see.” He pointed to his chest with his thumb. The muscles in his forearms bulged.