by Gloria Gay
Cedric and Lorraine had returned from Forest Hills Manor, Lorraine’s home, to attend the fair, and they had come with Lorraine’s mother, who had regained her strength.
“She certainly was. I think it is best you stay indoors, Jane. Meanwhile, I'm going to ask a few questions to see if some of those villagers were put up to this by Wilma. I’ll gather the evidence, you can be sure.”
After their tea Jestyn asked Cedric to have a brandy in the library with him.
After their brandy glasses had been brought by a groom, Jestyn closed the library door.
“Jane is in great danger, Jes.” Cedric said. “Because even if Wilma put a lot of those agitators up to it superstition is very much alive and fear of witches real.”
“I love Jane,” Jestyn said, “and would follow her into the future if it were at all possible, Cedric.”
“Will the pendant only take one person?” he asked.
“Yes,” Jestyn replied. “Jane would risk staying in the past forever if she tries to take me with her.”
“There must be a way, Jes,” said Cedric. Then he laughed. “What am I saying? If you went with Jane, Jes, I would lose you forever!”
“We’re not even sure that it will work to take her back, Cedric. I dread to think what we can do if it doesn’t! I will have to take her away from here if that happens – to London, perhaps. She’s in danger here.”
“Cedric–” Jestyn hesitated on what he was going to reveal to his brother.
Cedric turned inquisitively toward his brother.
“Jane and I – Jane and I want to spend her last night here together. But I don’t want her reputation blemished, even if she is able to leave the past. Will you help me?”
“Yes, Jes, of course. I’ll make certain that no servant goes to that side of the house until tomorrow. Is that good enough?”
“Yes – thank you, Jes!”
“After dinner,” Cedric said, “you and Jane say good-bye as usual but not at the same time. Jane should leave first to her quarters. Lorraine’s mother, thank the Lord, is not the busybody type, and if we’re careful, everything will be all right.”
“Yes, thank you, Ced.” Jestyn breathed a sigh of relief.
“We are greatly indebted to Cannidge. If it hadn’t been for him we would not have found the way for Jane to return to her time, Ced.”
“What did Cannidge say you should do – from the journal you mentioned,” Cedric said.
“He said Jane must cross the Mystic Bridge at midnight or near midnight. According to the journal there are certain other conditions in order for her to be able to leave.
“What other instructions?” asked Cedric.
“When she crosses the bridge, Jane must hold the pendant in her hand and be inside a carriage, for her feet must not touch the ground. Also, she cannot cross the bridge riding a horse, because the horse is a living being.
“Early tomorrow you and I will help her get across the bridge, if you’re willing.”
“Of course I’m willing,” Cedric assured him. “Just tell me what I have to do and I shall do it, Jes.”
“Tomorrow we’ll teach Jane how to drive a carriage – just enough so that she can hold the reins and lead the carriage across Mystic Bridge. I will need for you to lead my horse alongside so that I can jump on it once Jane enters the bridge and to help me in case there is any trouble.
“Lorraine said Mrs. Saveler told her Lady Millthorpe was going to make certain you rued the day you had spurned her, Jes. But Mrs. Kevingley also said that it’s a strange combination of passion and hatred she has for you. She said she practically seethed when speaking of Miss Fielder.”
“Yes. I’ve been aware of her ire for some time now, Ced, and now she hates Jane more so because Jane doesn’t take anything from her.”
“Maybe we could talk to Weinleigh, insist he pressure Millthorpe to control his wife’s machinations. Wilma is responsible for rousing the villagers against Jane. Lord Millthorpe is not like her but he’s a weakling who cannot control her.”
“Yes, Rosswell is not as bad as Wilma.” agreed Jestyn. “She tricked him into marriage with her, too, as you know. But who would bring her to justice? Weinleigh is highly indebted to Millthorpe. He wouldn’t be Justice of the Peace if it weren’t for Millthorpe’s recommendation.
CHAPTER 19
Jane retired for the night an hour before the others did as Jestyn had asked her to.
Jestyn stayed to chat a few more minutes with Cedric, Lorraine and her mother. And when the house had fallen silent, with all the servants retired to their quarters, Jestyn went to the side of the house where Jane’s bedroom suite was. They held each other in silence for a few minutes and then went to the small terrace that led off from her bedroom.
“I hate to be forced away from here, Jes,” Jane said, with tears in her eyes, “but I now feel unsafe and vulnerable. It was a terrifying afternoon.”
“I’m scared for you, darling,” Jestyn said. “I told Cedric we wanted to spend a night together – our last night. But I have second thoughts about that. You’re in great danger. We should go out to the bridge tonight instead of tomorrow morning. Cedric and I will teach you how to drive the carriage…and you can leave at midnight.”
“No, Jes. I don’t want to leave tonight,” Jane insisted with a tremor in her voice. “I want to spend one last night with you before I leave. I know I’m risking staying in the past forever but I’m going to be without you for the rest of my life. Surely that’s not too much to ask of fate. And it’s my choice. That horrible woman is not going to deprive me of one last night with you.”
“It’s a big risk, darling,” Jestyn said. “You could be forced to stay in the past, not be able to return to your time. There are things we can’t control.”
“Oh, Jestyn!”
Jestyn embraced Jane and they held on to each other for a long while.
“The thought of not ever seeing you again makes me heartsick,” said Jestyn, leaning to kiss Jane lightly on the lips. “I cannot even bear to discuss your leaving without feeling a wracking pain slicing through me!”
“I feel that way too,” Jane shook her head sadly. "These past days have been the best in my life. I can’t stand the thought of not ever seeing you again, my love.
“At first I wouldn’t dream of staying here, not when I come from a time where women have made great advances in women's rights, almost to the equal of men.
“I felt as out of place as I actually was. I’ve lived all my life free, without the restrictions women of this age have. But I can see that decision has been taken from me. I would not be allowed to stay here, Jestyn, even if I wanted to.
“And I’m endangering everyone at the Hall, even Lorraine and her mother. Lady Mellingway was warm and understanding but I could still feel the tension in her and in Lorraine, and fear for their safety.
“I don’t believe she realized what a hornet’s nest she had come to when they came here for a visit,” Jane added.
“If I file a complaint with the magistrate it might stop Wilma from stirring up the people…”
“It doesn’t matter who is behind it, Jestyn,” Jane interrupted, “If it hadn’t been her it would eventually be someone else. I stick out like a sore thumb around here. And I’m putting you in danger, darling, the only man who matters to me.”
“I would go forward in your time to be with you if I could,” Jestyn said, “but the instructions in the journal were explicit, they are only for one person.”
“Yes, by holding the pendant tightly within my hand. I cannot risk staying in the past forever if we do it in a different way than the instructions.”
“I would never ask you to risk that, my love.”
“Well, early tomorrow morning we'll start with your driving lesson, then,” Jestyn said, “I didn’t want to be selfish by keeping you here when you’re not safe anymore, but you’re right, Greywick Hall is safe for now. It’s only one more day.”
“Jestyn leaned over an
d kissed Jane. Jane stood up and they embraced and kissed again, their separation looming as an unwelcome presence in the room.
“I fell in love with you with only one glance at your portrait. I had to be pulled away from it by my mother when I saw it for the first time, at the age of fourteen.”
“Jane—my darling! I wish it were possible for me to leave with you. I would do so without hesitation. I didn’t think such love was possible for me.”
“Nor I," said Jane. "And I would stay if there was the slightest chance we could be together. But I’d be burned at the stake eventually. Just look at them, the way they act around me, those awful villagers wanting my blood. If it hadn't been for you they would have soon had a fire going and burned me like a witch!
“Jestyn, I have this fear, of some impending doom. I feel misplaced, as if I floated in time, with you the only mooring to keep me from disappearing.”
“Don't speak so, darling. Just remember we still have this night and all of tomorrow. Don’t think about tomorrow!”
Jestyn held Jane close to him again, but Jane saw the fear in his eyes.
She realized that all her life she had been holding her breath for this. She had waited for this moment and now that she had found Jestyn, he was locked in another era. How could she be willing to give him up?
But she feared she and Jestyn were not meant to be together, that they had tricked fate once already and that they would pay dearly for it if they tried to trick it again.
The gypsy had seen it clearly—Jane did not cast a shadow in the mirror! Jane didn’t believe, like Jestyn did, that Wilma had put the gypsy up to it. The fear in the gypsy’s eyes had been very real. And Wilma could not have known that she and Jestyn would want their fortunes told.
Jane had made certain when she left the gypsy’s tent that she actually cast a shadow. Yet the gypsy woman had stated she didn’t cast a shadow in her mirror. What could that mean but that she was in the past illegally and that she must leave?
Jane felt in her heart that something would happen to keep them apart, to jerk Jestyn away from her sooner that she could stand it. And not having at least this one last night would break her heart.
“I came back in time to save you. Not to put you in another kind of danger.”
“Don’t think about it, darling,” said Jestyn, pulling Jane down toward him. Let’s pretend there is something we are going to do tomorrow, as you said when we went to Exeter. Remember? You said it made you feel good when we planned to do something right after doing something else–like going to the Mols Coffee House.”
“Where shall we go tomorrow, my love?” asked Jane, eager to play a game that would ease the pain of parting. She lay down beside him, the sting of tears behind her eyes.
“Why don’t we go visit Lydford Castle tomorrow,” said Jestyn, grabbing on to their game as to a life-saver. You told me you had planned to go there with your friend and changed your mind. Why did you change your mind, darling?”
“Because the castle had been a prison,” Jane replied. “Knowing how the history of a place affected me, I felt that I would feel too much of what had gone on in there.”
“Lydford Castle was indeed a prison for most of its existence,” Jestyn agreed. The walls are three meters deep. The prisoners were hanged first and tried later. The people around this region came to call it Lydford Law.”
“Why did they hang the prisoners first and try them later?” Jane asked, sitting up.
“I guess whoever it was that decided this saw it as a necessity,” Jestyn said with a short laugh, “an evil necessity. Punishment before conviction – or reversed justice. You see, the court met only once every three years. It was too expensive to feed the prisoners for three years while they waited for the judges to make the rounds, so the prisoners were read the charges and the proof against them, then they were hanged. Three or so years later when the judges met, they made the list of convictions official.”
“That’s awful,” Jane said.
“Imagine small Lydford making historical law, however distorted it was,” Jestyn laughed.
“But other even more evil things went on in there. The punishment some of those prisoners received was sometimes worse than death. You see, it was a great crime for tin miners to adulterate tin, that is, to mix it with other metals…”
“Oh God, how were they punished?” asked Jane, “I’m afraid of your answer, Jes.”
“Yes, they did things in a savage way back then,” Jestyn agreed. “The way they punished those poor souls was to pour a few spoonfuls of molten tin down their throats. It was meant as a horrible lesson, to warn others who might be planning such a crime and also as a warning to the viewing public. The few that didn’t die from the punishment were left without a voice.
“Not only was the punishment excessive and cruel, but it was a great show for the people who came from miles around to view it. The poor didn’t have too many choices for free entertainment so they didn’t miss out on this.”
Jane shuddered. “I suppose I shouldn’t be too outraged that they did so when in past years in my country hangings were entertainment, too, and people came from miles around to witness them.”
“I only saw the castle from the outside,” she said, “an eerie huge block from Norman times with a crumbling corner tower. The brochure said it had a well inside but not much detail.
“Describe the castle to me, Jes, so that I will visit it in my mind with you. But first, tell me where we are going in our pretend tour after we leave Lydford Castle.”
“We’ll visit the cathedral – Exeter Cathedral.”
“Wonderful,” said Jane with a sigh. “Cybil and I went to the cathedral instead of the castle. I will love going with you, Jes, even if it will only be in our imagination.”
“I first visited the castle with Father and Cedric on Cedric’s birthday,” Jestyn said.
“Tell me about your visit,” Jane said.
“It was Father’s idea of a treat on Cedric’s birthday, that awful place with its violent history!”
“It was a Monday afternoon,” Jestyn went on. “I had an eerie sensation the moment we went in and felt Cedric’s hand tighten on mine with fear as we entered the drafty hall.
***
“Father was familiar with the castle and recounted its history for us, what I told you before. I doubt that Cedric, who was about five or six at the time, heard a word Father said and for that I was thankful for Cedric was scared enough as it was without hearing again about how men were tortured in the castle. It was well known in the area and Cedric had heard it from his friends. I could feel Cedric’s terror at being inside that dark and gloomy place as he held on to my hand with both of his. He pressed close to me and I could feel him trembling. He had whispered to me he didn’t want to go inside, that there were ghosts lurking inside the castle walls, but you just didn’t say that to Father. He would have been enraged that a son of his was timid.
“I think Cedric would have liked a less moody treat,” said Jestyn. “Father’s idea of a treat for his birthday was not Cedric’s”
“Tell me all you remember,” said Jane, pressing closer to Jestyn even as Cedric had done.
“It was a gray afternoon to begin with,” said Jestyn, with the clouds pressing down menacingly low so that you felt you could raise your hand and touch them. The dark clouds looked just right around the castle walls and its tower, as if made for it. I don’t think that place was made for sunny days.
“No matter that I whispered assurances in Cedric’s ear, he still shivered beside me and I told our father that Cedric was scared, that maybe we should not go in. Father said something like ‘Nonsense, he must learn from an early age not to be timid.’” So on we went to the first floor which was where the prisoners had been kept.
“The castle had been somewhat reconstructed earlier in the century but with a half-hearted effort. I was just hoping the roof would not fall in while we were in there. It was crumbling still even inside.”
“Sadness more than anything,” Jestyn said. “It was not a large place; you could walk across the main nave in a few strides. Since the eleventh century men had been thrown into a pit there and countless had died on impact while others survived for a few weeks or a few days, until they were executed. Tortures, beheadings, violence – the walls echoed from it.
“I don’t know if any of the prisoners had deserved such an awful fate but I’m certain countless of them had been tortured or killed just because they were on the wrong political side.
“Cedric got closer to me as we went to the second and third floors and then on to the tower so that I could barely move. Father got irritated with him and tried to pry him away from me but Cedric hung on for dear life. It wasn’t a very good birthday present for Cedric.”
“No, it wasn’t,” agreed Jane. “Poor Cedric. I can imagine him as a little boy. He seems to admire you a lot, Jestyn. You must have been a very good brother to him.”
“He’s much younger than I, so I was always protecting him. I love him very much and still see him as that little boy who depended on me so much, more so than on our father. I’m afraid Cedric was afraid of Father.”
“Then I’m so glad he had you, Jestyn.”
CHAPTER 20
“Well, now you know everything about the Lydford prison castle, my love,” Jestyn said, kissing Jane’s temple, “even though you never went there.” He held Jane closer.
“And tomorrow we are going to the cathedral,” said Jane. She, too, wanted to forget for a little while at least, the directions for leaving the past forever. So she went on with their game, as she closed her eyes. Jestyn kissed the smile on her lips and they continued to talk to each other, sleepily.
“I can’t waste a minute with you, my darling,” Jane said. She couldn’t help the tears that were making her eyes red as she wiped impatiently at them.
Her long shapely legs glistened with a pearly pink glow by the light of the moonlight and the single candle in the room. Jane cuddled within Jestyn’s arms as if it was not the second but the hundredth time they were together. He kissed her breasts and they pebbled readily for him as he lingered on them and sent sparkling shivers throughout her body. She snuggled in the crook of his arm, with one leg over his left leg, feeling the warmth and arousal coming from him, the tears streaming down her cheeks. He turned over toward her and for a long time they were as one—with the door of fate beckoning and pulling at Jane so that she felt she was being yanked away from him. They kissed until their lips were bruised and Jane got Jestyn’s cheeks wet with her tears.
