Ashes of Roses

by Melissa R. L. Simonin

  “I suppose not,” Evie sighed.

  “Ye must speak t’ yer father,” Joseph declared. “I canna feel peace concernin’ ye, otherwise. The man is false in a number o’ ways, an cruel besides. I canna believe yer safety an well-bein’ are any o’ his concern. Ye deserve far better. It canna be that I see it, an yer father would not.”

  “You have a good deal of respect for my father,” Evie chose to comment, rather than respond.

  “I’ve never known him to be but fair,” Joseph replied.

  “I suppose that’s so,” Evie replied, though he would not think it, had he witnessed her father the evening before. Her words moved him not. Even her grandmother’s staunch support did nothing to change his mind. The arrangement was made, and nothing would induce him to insult the Carlisles by canceling the wedding between the two families on its very eve. Neither did her mother express sympathy, nor concern for her daughter’s plight. Instead of compassion, Evie’s pleas were met with cold disapproval. Her desperation to ensure the impossibility of her situation be understood, was met with sternness, and the order never to speak of it again.

  But this, Joseph did not need to hear. He would like as not speak with her father himself, and not for the world would she cause him the loss of his position. No, not even for freedom from the future that loomed darkly.

  “If only I were in a position t’ do somethin’ about it myself, I’d do so,” Joseph said with concern, for he felt no more reassured than before.

  “It is quite alright,” Evie hurried to convince. “I shall do as you say.”

  Perhaps she should say she did do as he said, but that truth would trouble, rather than set either of them free.

  “‘Tis glad I am to hear it,” Joseph replied, then turned at the sound of footsteps.

  “Good morning,” James said in greeting, as he and Katharine entered the clearing. She eagerly searched his young cousin’s face, and her heart fell. The resignation that comes with defeat was not entirely masked by Evie’s smile.

  Joseph was glad for Evie’s sake that the footsteps did not include those of the boorish Douglas Carlisle. He was, however, disappointed at the loss of further opportunity to set the man straight.

  “James, and Katharine,” Evie managed to say lightly. “Good morning.”

  “It is good to see you, that’s certain,” Katharine declared, as she hugged her husband’s cousin tightly. It was all the support she could offer, at present.

  “It seems you’ve as many horses, as hands,” James commented to Joseph. “I shall assist, if I may.”

  “Most certainly, sir,” Joseph assented, and gave the care of saddling the mare over to him.

  It was only natural that James would trust the task to no one else. Who better to ensure the safety of one’s wife, than the one who held her most dear.

  Joseph’s jaw tightened, as he recalled Douglas’ reaction upon seeing Evie. It was not concern for her safety in his eyes, nor the desire to ensure it. Indeed, were he to look so at a dog, Joseph would be inclined to hide the animal to spare it being drowned. His stomach churned at the thought, as he gave the more spirited of the three horses a good currying. The horse appreciated it to a point, then stomped in complaint. Joseph set aside the comb, and gave the offended animal a soothing pat.

  James cinched and buckled the aside saddle firmly in place, then turned to Katharine with a smile.

  “That should do it,” he said with satisfaction. “You’ll be as safe as if seated in one of mother’s parlor chairs.”

  “That is safe enough, indeed,” Katharine replied, and managed a convincing smile, despite her concern for Evie.

  Joseph left the more spirited horse to assist Evie in mounting, and James knelt and offered Katharine his hands as a foothold. He lifted her lightly into the saddle, then she placed her right knee over the top pommel, and her left leg under the left pommel. James guided her left foot into the stirrup, then assisted in smoothing her apron skirt, and saw that the whip was at her disposal to cue her mare on the right, if need be.

  “Do be careful,” James cautioned, and Katharine assured him with another smile.

  “Thank you, Joseph,” Evie said quietly. “For all your many kindnesses.”

  “‘Tis welcome ye are,” he replied seriously. “If ever ye be needin’ assistance… ye need but say the word.”

  Evie blinked back sudden tears, and forced herself to smile.

  “Thank you, Joseph, and you as well.”

  Evie and Katharine set out on their walk, and James returned to the manor.

  Joseph was lost in thought as he slowly began to groom the more spirited horse over again. He nickered softly in appreciation, and nuzzled Joseph’s shoulder.

  “Yer not so lively this mornin’ after all,” Joseph suddenly decided.

  A resounding thud, and a triumphant whinny, erupted from the stables.

  “Fine then, if that’s what ye feel about it,” muttered the young man who beat a hasty retreat, to join Joseph in the stable yard. “He’s in a mood, this mornin’.”

  “He’s not so bad,” Joseph scoffed, with a smile. “All he be needin’s a good run.”

  “I pity the one t’ try,” the young man replied.

  “I know just the rider,” Joseph informed him. “Requested him personal, ye might say.”

  “Requested, he did?” the other man laughed in surprise. “Is it a death wish, he has?”

  “I do begin t’ wonder,” Joseph replied grimly. “I was instructed t’ have a horse mounted for Mr. Carlisle, one w’ spirit.”

  “He’s filled w’ spirit alright,” the young man cringed, as hooves struck the wall of the stable with another resounding thud. “I begin t’ question which one.”

  “Then they’re a match made elsewhere,” Joseph declared. “See t’ this fellow, an I’ll see to saddlin’ the other.”

  As Evie led the way, her sober expression filled Katharine’s brown eyes with concern. Though the question uppermost on her mind demanded utterance, she held her tongue until they reached a small meadow, and the privacy it offered.

  “Surely you do not intend to submit to this marriage, after all,” Katharine said as calmly as she could, as they reined in their mares, and faced one another.

  Evie looked down the gentle incline at the manor, it’s many gardens, and the stable yard where a stableboy stood grooming one of the horses.

  She sighed quietly, then met Katharine’s gaze.

  “I spoke with my father. I was given no choice in the matter.”

  The words brought Katharine’s blood to a rapid boil.

  “No choice?” she snapped, but quietly, lest their conversation be overheard. “Most certainly you have a choice! Do not believe otherwise, else your fate will be sealed by your own hand!”

  Evie felt a sudden rush of frustration.

  “I have no choice!” she snapped back, though also quietly. “You do not know how I pleaded, and Grandmother Bannerman, as well. We were both the worse for it, and ordered never to speak of it again. It has been decided, and I am powerless to change it.”

  “Your grandmother also, spoke in your support?” Katharine questioned in surprise.

  “Yes,” Evie replied shortly. “It mattered not. The decision was made. My father is as determined as Helen, not to cause embarrassment.”

  “Regardless of the cost to you,” Katharine stated, and her blood boiled afresh. If only Helen were present, she’d find herself the recipient of a good shaking! “Then all the more, you must stand up for yourself!”

  Evie shook her head sadly, and looked down on the stable yard once more. She was distracted momentarily, at the sight of Joseph leading Fury from the stable. The horse arched his neck and whinnied, but Joseph responded before he could rear, which he badly wanted to do.

  “You must protect yourself, and refuse this preposterous arrangement!” Katharine reiterated. “Do not sentence yourself to this misery!”

  Evie tore her eyes away from the harrowing sight of F
ury being saddled. Joseph could manage him, she reminded herself, and never was an animal in such desperate need of a run.

  “I am afraid you cannot possibly understand,” Evie replied resolutely. “The choice is not mine to refuse.”

  “Yes, Evie, it is!” Katharine fired back passionately. “You say I cannot understand. Let me assure you, I do! I have faced more dire circumstances, than this. What I cannot understand, is your willingness to accept the fate doled out by others, none of whom have your best interests at heart! If I possessed this same spirit of defeat, I should be dead by now, or very nearly!”

  Katharine bit back further words, and struggled to calm her frustration.

  Evie’s eyebrows slowly knit, as she studied Katharine.

  “Whatever do you mean?” she finally asked.

  Katharine gave the question some thought.

  “If I answer, you must never repeat it,” she replied seriously. “You must not breath a word of it to any other. I cannot overstate the direness of consequence, were you to do so.”

  Evie paled slightly at the intensity of Katharine’s gaze.

  “I promise, I shall not,” she vowed seriously. “Even the threat of death, shall not compel me to do so.”

  Katharine gave a nod of resignation.

  “See that you do not forget,” she cautioned once more. “It is the threat of death I would as soon avoid.”

  Evie’s eyes widened, and her pallor grew. Katharine felt assured that her point was made, and began.

  “My mother passed a number of years ago, as you know. What you do not, is that a certain acquaintance of my father was responsible for her death.”

  Evie gasped, but Katharine continued without pause.

  “He was responsible for many deaths, including his wife’s, and this my mother learned. She warned my father, but instead of seeing to the vile creature’s apprehension, he told him of her suspicions. My mother’s death was the result.”

  “Katharine—I’d no idea,” Evie whispered in dismay, but Katharine hurried on.

  “When my brother endeavored to protect me from our father’s cruelty, he was forced from the property with the warning that if he returned, it would mean both our lives. Though in other ways the man could not be trusted, his threats were a promise. Royal knew better than to believe otherwise.

  “I was a prisoner for the most part, and believed life was unbearable. When the odious old man who killed my mother, after driving away his first wife and murdering his second, made known his intent that I should be third…”

  “No,” Evie recoiled in horror, but Katharine nodded sadly.

  “My father consented. Only then did I know how easy life once was to bear, and how utterly impossible it would become, if I did not find a way out. Lacking any other, I practiced avoidance, most religiously. As you might expect, this did not go unnoticed. For refusing to entertain my father’s chosen suitor, I was locked in my room, with the intent of starving me into submission. The servants were instructed to leave me utterly alone, and my father kept the only key. My sentence this time, was one week.”

  “Oh, Katharine,” Evie breathed in horror, but her friend waved away her concern.

  “What the enemy meant for destruction, was vital in arranging for my salvation,” Katharine declared. “Rather than languish there with neither food nor water, waiting to discover to which lack I should first succumb, I determined to escape.”

  “But how?” Evie wondered. “Was there another key, after all?”

  “I myself held the key, though it was fashioned of cloth, rather than brass. I donned my brother’s old clothing, pinned my hair beneath a cap, waited until the wee hours of the night, then climbed out the window, and down the trellis.”

  “Wherever did you go?” Evie asked with bated breath.

  “I walked through the forest and down the mountain, to the home of a dear friend of my mother’s. Out of all those in town, I was certain she could be trusted,” Katharine replied.

  “And there you stayed, until Royal came for you?” Evie tried to understand.

  “Indeed, no,” Katharine frowned. “The danger was far too great, and the sheriff in the pocket of my ancient suitor. Should my brother be seen and word reach my father, Royal’s home would be the first place to which he would go. Royal could not come for me, nor could I remain long in the house of my mother’s friend. I left a telegram to be sent to my brother, and returned to my room.”

  “Oh, why!” Evie exclaimed, forgetting for a moment that her friend was there in front of her, and not even now in that dire predicament. “And what good was a telegram? You say he could not come for you, or else risk discovery. Could not someone other than Royal read it, and learn all?”

  “It was imperative I return, for until a way of escape from town was made, and a place of safety arranged, I could ill afford for my father to discover I was missing. By the careful maneuvering of furniture I ensured the door could not be opened without removing it entirely, but that he would surely do, if he spoke and I did not answer. As for the telegram, it was written in a code of sorts, which would seem gibberish to one without previous understanding. Each night I traveled for food, water, and in hopes of an answer. Afterward, I returned to my room to wait.

  “One night I arrived to find an answer had come, and a place of sanctuary found. The date was set, and my freedom near. Never did the time pass more slowly than on that last day, and then the evening, which it seemed never would grow late.

  “At last the world was dark, and I could bear it no longer. I left my room for the last time, and climbed down the trellis. But as I reached the edge of the woods, I was apprehended by the despicable, murderous suitor, himself.”

  Evie groaned, and covered her face with her hands.

  “I was dragged to the house, and forced to wait under his and my father’s beady eyes, as they made their plans. There I would stay until morning, when the justice of the peace would be summoned, and a marriage forcibly performed. That was their plan, but all did not go as expected.”

  “However did you escape?” Evie asked eagerly. “For certainly you did!”

  “After setting my two captors at odds with one another, James and Cynthia startled us all with their unexpected appearance. Though I was to meet them in town, never did I imagine that upon my failure to arrive, they would come for me.”

  “But James is very much in love with you,” Evie reasoned. “He could not but do otherwise.”

  Katharine’s eyes filled with amusement, and she smiled.

  “Indeed he is. Then, he was not. He thought of me as the child I was when last we met. Upon our return to his estate, he was convinced otherwise, easily enough. We were married, and I was then assured of his full protection, and that of his name.

  “How very wonderful,” Evie declared, as her head spun with all that was revealed. “How though, was your father convinced to let you go?”

  “My self-imposed suitor was warned to drop his gun if he wished to live, so I suppose he did not. He fired, but proved to be the loser in the encounter. James held my father at gunpoint to keep him from the firearm in his desk, and Cynthia collected me from the other side of the room, where I stood too astonished to move. They took me away, and to safety.”

  “How truly thrilling, but what of your father?” Evie worried.

  “He’ll not trouble us again,” Katharine said with certainty.

  “How can you be certain?” Evie’s worry increased all the more.

  “He drank the same poison used to kill my mother,” Katharine answered.

  “Then he was remorseful?” Evie wondered.

  “I am quite certain he was, when he realized his mistake, in the moment before he fell dead,” Katharine answered dryly. “You may wonder at my lack of sympathy, but if you only knew…”

  “I know enough,” Evie declared staunchly. “I am so very glad you are safe, at last!”

  “I am, indeed,” Katharine affirmed. “It is believed that I perished in the rag
ing fire that resulted from the kerosene lamp and lit cigar my father hurled after us. We are safest, leaving it so. Katharine Abrams died that night. Shortly thereafter, Katharine Bannerman was born. It is the perfect disguise, for it is true enough.”

  “Royal though, how dreadful for him to believe it,” Evie sympathized, but Katharine shook her head.

  “He is privy to all. James wrote immediately, as did I.”

  “You were not fearful these letters would be routed otherwise, and the truth revealed to this sheriff?” Evie worried.

  “Indeed, no. Sympathetic ink is a lovely way to ensure one’s true message is seen only by the one for whom it is intended.”

  “How wonderful then,” Evie said, and at last her anxiety concerning her cousin and his wife was relieved.

  “More than I ever imagined,” Katharine agreed dreamily, but her expression soon grew solemn once more. “So you see, I do know what it is to have a father so determined to plot my course toward destruction. What I do not, is why you accept it, rather than fight.”

  Evie sighed and glanced away. Down below, Fury chomped at the bit as he pranced in place. He was tied, saddled, and waiting. For what? Did not Joseph intend to ride? Instead, he stood calmly nearby, speaking with a stable boy. Surely the horse was not intended for another! She did not imagine any other rider would find it possible to remain seated for long.

  “If you choose passivity, then indeed you shall ever after be haunted by regret,” Katharine declared. “This man your parents are so set on… I see in his eyes, and hear in his voice the same nature as my father. I cringe to think of you bound to him! How can you bear it? He does not regard you as would one who is devoted, or even indifferent. It is with hostility, and ill-will that he looks upon you! Evie, I have lived with such a man. His cruelty destroyed my mother, and it is no thanks to him that I did not suffer a similar fate. I do not have to imagine the horror that awaits you!”

  Evie’s hand trembled as she brushed aside the tendril of hair loosed by the light breeze.

  “I think that experience has left you unable to fathom there could be more to him than this, or that he is capable of better,” she said, though Katharine’s impassioned pleas left her shaken.