Without a Mother's Love

by Catherine King

  When he did not reply, she went on, ‘Hesley will never find out. Even if Miss Trent sees you, she will not tell if I ask her not to. She cares for me.’

  ‘Cares for you? I think not. If she does, why did she let this happen to you?’

  ‘You do not know what she endures for my sake! I believe she would have left months ago if she were not so concerned for me. She knows I need her.’

  ‘Does she? She could have got word to my mother for help. Father would have spoken out against your marriage, I am sure.’

  ‘Do you really believe that would have stopped Uncle Hesley having his own way? He was ready to declare me insane to get his hands on my fortune. To me, marriage was preferable.’

  Jared heard a firmness in her voice that made him frown. He had underestimated old Hesley’s ruthlessness. He wanted to talk further but the conversations drifting over from the church door had ceased. Miss Trent would be looking for Olivia and he was angry with her. She was in old Hesley’s pay. Her duty was to him, in spite of Olivia’s faith in her. He did not want Olivia to be chastised for their meeting by either of the Mexton so-called gentlemen. And neither did he wish to destroy her belief in Miss Trent, whatever he might think of the woman.

  He said, ‘Do not tell Miss Trent that we have met, for the present. I shall ride over again, I promise.’ He bent to take her hand and kiss it, but she moved nearer to him quickly, and he found her delicate cheek raised towards his lips. Her skin was as soft as rose petals and his mouth lingered. He was not aware of moving his hand to the back of her bonnet, but he did. She withdrew quickly, flustered. He, too, became anxious by the sudden intimacy. She was a married woman.

  ‘You’re not angry with me, are you?’ Olivia murmured.

  He shook his head and gathered the reins of his horse. ‘I shall never be angry with you, Olivia. I shall always be your friend. You may depend on that, if nothing else.’

  When he arrived home his mother and father were back from church.Their faces were dark and he realized they had received the news. His sisters scurried away immediately after dinner.

  ‘The vicar’s wife told me.’ His mother frowned. ‘I did not believe it but she had heard it from the wife of the curate who performed the ceremony.’

  ‘Father! Is there nothing you can do?’ Jared’s anger simmered at the secrecy and deception.

  ‘It’s too late. The deed is done. By heaven, the rogue must have been planning it when we visited at Christmas!’

  Jared could hear his sisters practising the piano in the next room. ‘Do Josie and Julie know?’

  His mother shook her head. ‘I thought Hesley had turned over a new leaf,’ she fretted, ‘and all the time he was deceiving us into thinking how well he was caring for Olivia. But marriage to his grandson! I never dreamed he would do that.’

  His father shook his head sadly. ‘I knew he coveted the guardianship for her income, but this . . .’

  ‘I suppose he wanted to make sure no one else had it when she came of age,’ Jared said.

  ‘More than that, son.The plantation belongs to young Hesley now. Olivia did not have to wait until five-and-twenty to inherit if she married. I understand he’s leaving for Liverpool as soon as the weather improves and will sail to the West Indies to manage it.’

  ‘Do you mean she will be moving away from us?’ His heart turned over. He might never see her again. He could not bear that. ‘You must stop this, Father.’

  His father was shaking his head. ‘We are too late. But she is not to travel with him. At least they have learned something from the tragedy of her parents.’

  Jared felt weak with relief when he heard this. He had not known how strong his affection for Olivia had become until he had met her again near the church.

  ‘She is to stay and continue her education, I am told,’ his mother added, with an artificial brightness in her voice. ‘When Hesley returns she will be quite grown-up and well able to carry out her duties as mistress at Hill Top House.’

  His father added,‘Hesley, too, will have matured. Responsibility for the plantation will be good for him. It is for the best, I am sure.’

  Jared snorted in derision and saw his father and mother glance at each other.

  ‘Olivia won’t be alone at Hill Top. The governess is to stay on as her companion,’ his mother said, and exchanged another meaningful look with his father.

  ‘I know as well as everybody else what goes on up there,’ Jared spat.‘Olivia would be better off without any tutoring from her.’

  ‘She will stay as long as she is needed, I suppose.’ His mother’s fingers twisted a handkerchief in her lap.

  ‘I thought you approved of her,’ Jared observed.

  ‘Hesley has a bad effect on everyone. Even virtuous governesses can be corrupted.’

  So he was right and his parents, too, had their suspicions of what went on at Hill Top House. ‘Does everybody know she is a whore?’ he muttered.

  ‘Jared! Your mother is present.’

  She stood up. ‘Yes, Jared. Guard your tongue. You will not use that word in this house. Your sisters may hear you. I shall go and speak to them now. They must be told about Olivia. Then we shall forget the matter and they will play for us. We shall enjoy the rest of our evening together.’

  Jared grimaced as his mother left the room.

  ‘Have some compassion for your mother,’ his father implored. ‘She is more upset than you are, my lad. Juliana is the same age as Olivia. Leave it to the womenfolk. They pull together at times like these and, as a wife, Olivia will be invited to their “at homes”. It may be the child’s salvation.’

  ‘I don’t think you should call her a child any more,’ Jared snapped. ‘She is a married woman.’

  It made him so angry to be reminded that her innocence had been taken from her in this way. And by Hesley of all people, a drunkard who cared only for himself. Olivia’s only glimmer of hope was that Hesley would sail for the West Indies soon. But to leave her in the care of the executor of this abomination and his whore?

  He stood up abruptly. ‘I cannot bear to think of her living there alone with such corruption.’

  Benjamin Tyler frowned. He was used to his son’s energy and drive, but not to this simmering rage. ‘Do nothing rash, son, I beg you. Old Hesley is not a man to be crossed. He is no gentleman.You will only make the damage worse.’

  ‘How can it be any worse for Olivia? I shall bring her here, as we should have done at Christmas.’

  ‘No, Jared. It is too late. She is married to young Hesley and that is an end to the matter. Nothing can be done now.’

  ‘We’ll see about that.’

  His father stood up to bar his way. ‘You must leave it, son.’

  But Jared was already turning towards the door. Before his father could stop him, he pushed past him, saying, ‘I shall not,’ and headed to the stable where he had tethered his horse.

  The day was overcast and gusty and he felt as black as the clouds. He urged his mare up the hill out of the town, ignoring the wintry wind that caught at his riding cloak and flapped it over his shoulders. Rain stung his face and spattered on his jacket and he would have enjoyed the challenge of the climb if only he were not so consumed with fury.

  The Mextons were in this together, for the younger always did as the elder directed and the pair were notorious in the Riding. The governess, too, was guilty. She had been used to deceive his mother into believing her half-brother had changed his ways.

  Hill Top House kept different hours from the Tyler household and they were still at their dinner table when he rode past the windows into the yard at the back. In the glow of the candles he saw four faces turn to stare at him from the dining room. Matt came out in his shirtsleeves to take the horse and Jared went in through the kitchen door.

  Mrs Cookson was already on her feet. ‘Are you expected, sir?’ He knew they had seen him arrive.‘I believe so,’ he answered, and walked past her, through the hall and into the dining room.

&nb
sp; Young Hesley was already at the door.‘What brings you here at this hour?’ he demanded.

  Jared pushed past him and surveyed the scene. Olivia was there. Her pretty face was flushed and there was a wine glass by her right hand, almost empty. The governess, too, was eating dinner with the master. She had bright spots of colour in her cheeks and looked much smarter than she had when he had seen her at Christmas. Her hair was dressed in coils and she had lace at throat and wrists. But she was not smiling and seemed tense.

  Jared ignored Hesley. ‘Olivia, you need not stay here,’ he said to her. ‘You may come with me to our house.’

  Her eyes widened and she nodded.

  ‘Look here,’ young Hesley began, ‘who do you think you are to walk in here and carry off my wife?’

  Jared ignored him and addressed the master.‘This is your doing, isn’t it? How could you? Did you ask Olivia what she wanted?’

  Old Hesley’s lined face, flushed with drink, now darkened with anger. ‘What business is it of yours? She is my responsibility, not yours, and your meddling family is not welcome here. Leave now.’

  ‘Come with me, Olivia.’ Jared watched her glance at the governess, who was concentrating on her plate.

  The older man rose to his feet and raised his voice.‘I ordered you to leave. Now!’

  ‘Or what? You’ll summon your farmhands to beat me? You excel at that, I’m told.’

  ‘Guard your words, Tyler,’ old Hesley snapped. ‘You may be as tall and broad as my men but that does not mean you have become one yet. Get out of my house.’

  Young Hesley was holding the door and blocking his way, but his eyes were glazed and Jared smelled the drink on his breath. He answered, ‘Not while you behave like this towards Olivia.’ He turned to face her. ‘Come with me, Olivia. I’ll take you to my home.’ He held out his hand towards her.

  Olivia half rose from her seat and smiled, but was stilled by the governess’s hand on her arm. Confused, she bit her lip and sat down again.

  Young Hesley followed his grandfather’s example: ‘How dare you make such a suggestion? She is my wife!’

  ‘You do not deserve a wife. You are a drunkard, a gambler and a user of women.’

  Hesley grinned. ‘And you are the grandson of a shopkeeper who must brush his own jacket and attend church each week with his parents.’

  Jared ignored the taunt and turned back to Olivia. ‘Does he beat you?’

  ‘It is no concern of yours if I do!’ young Hesley yelled. ‘She is my wife!’

  ‘Does he hurt you, Olivia?’

  ‘Of course I do not!’

  ‘You do,’ Olivia said loudly.

  ‘Hush, ma’am,’ Miss Trent interceded sharply.

  But Olivia was not to be silenced. ‘At night, you—’

  ‘Madam!’ Miss Trent interrupted, in her strongest governess tone. ‘Quiet.’

  Olivia’s mouth closed and she appeared to shrink before Jared’s eyes. Clearly the governess continued to have influence with her. And clearly he was right about the woman’s position here. She was not just Olivia’s companion in this household. She was more than that. Much more. What on earth was going on in this God-forsaken place?

  Jared could restrain himself no longer. His fist was already clenched by his side and within a second he had raised it to connect with young Hesley’s jaw. Hesley staggered back and retaliated with blows from both fists, the first missing and the second catching Jared on the side of his head. He reeled, but he had suffered worse in his pugilistic sessions at school. However, Hesley knew what he was doing and Jared guessed he had been in many a fist-fight himself.

  As they grappled with each other, he was dimly aware of chairs scraping along the floorboards.They fell against the sideboard and he heard the cutlery and china rattle inside. Then the pair were rolling on the floor, each unwilling to let go of the other until Jared was able to raise his fist again and bring it down hard on Hesley’s nose. He let out a yell. That’s for Olivia, Jared thought.

  He would have repeated the action if the barrels had not appeared in front of his eyes.Two.The twin barrels of a shotgun. He looked up, tasting the blood on his lips.

  Old Hesley continued to point the gun at his head. ‘I said get out of my house.’

  Olivia had moved with the governess to the window at the far end of the room. She gave a high-pitched squeal, more like a squeak than a scream, and Miss Trent turned her head into her bosom.The master’s face was as black as thunder and Jared saw that he was capable of anything. He staggered to his feet, and as he did so young Hesley stopped nursing his bleeding nose to kick him hard in the leg, causing him to yelp.

  Old Hesley gestured to the door with his gun‘Go,’ he ordered.

  Jared looked at Olivia, who had now pushed herself away from Miss Trent. She was staring at him in a strange way. Her brow was furrowed and there was uncertainty in her eyes, yet a half-smile trembled on her lips. It was similar to the way she had looked last Christmas when she had twirled for him in her new gown. He gave her a painful, bloody grin and would have spoken to reassure her if he had not felt the cold steel of the gun against his temple.

  He weighed up his options. He did not think old Hesley would use the weapon. He would be sure of that if the man were sober, but he was not. He mouthed,‘Friend,’ to Olivia and was consoled by a barely perceptible downward movement of her head.

  ‘This isn’t finished, Mexton,’ he growled, staggering to his feet.

  ‘Yes, it is.’

  Jared felt the metal barrel push into his ribs, and then at his back as he turned to the door. He moved reluctantly, eyes on the floor. He dared not even glance at Olivia now.

  Old Hesley followed him outside and kept the gun trained on him until he had mounted his horse. ‘Keep away from here, you and your family. I don’t want any of you Tylers on my land again. And that includes your mother.’ He fired the gun into the air, startling Jared’s docile mare into a gallop. Jared had to use all his strength to slow her.

  His face hurt and his leg ached where Hesley had kicked him, but he did not regret his actions. He could not change what they had done to Olivia, but he hoped he had shown her that he had meant what he said. He would not abandon her. The governess was a paid servant and her loyalties were with the master. Olivia needed a friend more than ever now. As his mare slowed to a canter, he reflected that he would be back. Neither Hesley Mexton nor his gun would stop him.

  Harriet and Olivia jumped at the sound of the shot, then ran to the kitchen and into the yard. They were in time to see horse and rider disappear down the track.

  ‘I wanted to go with him. Why did you stop me?’ Olivia demanded shakily.

  ‘You are married to Hesley now. Your great-uncle would have brought you back and locked you away while Hesley was abroad. I could not let that happen to you.’

  ‘But Jared is my friend, my special friend.’

  ‘It is not wise for you to make a friend of Jared. It is too dangerous.You saw how your uncle reacted to him.’

  ‘Oh, Miss Trent, I hate this place - and I should hate it even more without you.’

  The master turned to them with a satisfied smirk. ‘That should teach him not to play his youthful games with me.’

  He was angry yet, Harriet saw, he seemed excited by the dining-room spectacle. He laughed harshly and waved his shotgun with a display of the burgeoning energy he showed when he returned from hunting hare. His blood was up and her heart sank.

  ‘Hesley, take Olivia for a walk,’ he ordered.

  ‘What about my nose?’

  ‘The bleeding has slowed.’

  ‘But it will soon be dark, Grandfather.’

  ‘Then entertain your wife in the drawing room.’

  ‘Me? That’s her job, isn’t it?’ young Hesley replied, with a nod at Harriet.

  ‘She has an urgent matter to attend to with me.’

  ‘Very well.’ He grinned.

  Olivia watched and listened. Her uncle thought she didn’t kno
w what he meant. She may not have been a wife for long but she was aware of what went on between him and Miss Trent. Now he called to her companion.

  ‘There’s brandy in the library, Miss Trent. Bring it to my chamber.’

  Chapter 15

  ‘Miss Trent! What is the matter?’ Olivia had heard the weeping in the butler’s pantry where the silver plate was kept. The key was in the lock and she had opened the door quietly.

  ‘Oh!’ Miss Trent was sitting on an old chair. She wiped her tears hastily. ‘It’s nothing.’

  Olivia took her own clean handkerchief and went to kneel beside her. ‘Tell me what is wrong.’

  ‘Oh, madam, I don’t know how I can go on here any longer. I’ve tried so hard, but—’ Her face crumpled and she was crying again.

  The only times Olivia had seen Miss Trent weeping in this way had been in the middle of the night, in her narrow bed next to the schoolroom, when Uncle Hesley had used her. She hadn’t fully understood her distress then. But now she did. Miss Trent no more welcomed the attentions of her uncle than Olivia did those of his grandson.

  She put her arms round her governess’s waist and hugged her. ‘My uncle is a wicked man. He uses you without any regard for your wishes.’

  Miss Trent sniffed.‘You sound quite adult when you say that.’

  ‘I have a husband and I have had to grow up quickly. I am an adult now.’

  ‘And a very capable mistress of Hill Top House.’ She rested her cheek on top of Olivia’s head, then turned it to kiss her hair. It was an unusually intimate gesture from Miss Trent, who always took her responsibilities as companion so seriously.

  ‘Indeed I am.’ Olivia snuggled closer.‘I have your wise counsel to thank for that.’ She laughed lightly. ‘Without you I should still be building mud castles in the garden and pretending to be a cat.’