Dalton shook his head in utter disbelief. “All these years you told me it was my fault. That I had killed her. And to think, I did everything I could to gain your approval, even giving up medicine because I thought I could make you happy joining the family shipping business. Yet all my life you've done nothing but lie to me, and hated me because you thought I was another man’s son! Isn’t that so?”
The Bishop cleared his throat, and remarked, “You will forgive my interrupting you both during such a delicate conversation, but if I may say so, Mr. Randall, Dalton is so much like you apart from the eyes, it would be hard to imagine him being any other man’s son. Your wife might have played you false, I don’t know. But Dalton is your son, as surely as there is a sunrise and a sunset every day.
"Please, it may be too late for you to ever be a true family, but don’t condemn Dalton to the same lonely, miserable existence you've obviously had to endure all these years. Tell us where Emer and William are.”
Frederick stared into space for a few moments. Then he stiffened and declared, “Get out, all of you. I have nothing to say to any of you now, except that I'll see you in court.”
“If I didn’t hate you so much, Mr. Randall, I would pity you,” Dalton growled. “I don’t know how you can live with yourself after everything you've done. But I promise you, I'll make sure you pay for it. And I will find Emer and William even if it takes me the rest of my life.”
The Bishop and Adrian led Dalton from the office. He was just about to storm out of the front door, when Reeves blocked his way.
“If you please, sir, I couldn’t help overhearing, and well, here, sir, I believe you will find these papers of interest. May I please have the name of your barristers, so that I may add my name to your list of witnesses. I think I may also have an address which you might wish to contact, Dalton, though I swear I never knew until now who lived there.”
Dalton stared down at the dapper little man, and then at the folder, which contained dozens of letters in his own and Emer’s handwriting.
“Thank you, from the bottom of my heart. Please, why not come with me now, Reeves? I think we have a lot to talk about,” Dalton begged.
Reeves looked lingeringly at the main office door, and sighed. Then he nodded, and smiled at Dalton.
"Yes, sir, I think I will."
Dalton shook Frederick’s ex-office manager by the hand, and led him to the waiting carriage. He would find his beloved son and Emer no matter what it took, but he had a feeling that his luck had just improved considerably. And now he had a mother to find as well…
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
The court cases of Randall versus Randall, the Crown versus Randall, and the Crown versus Lyndon were amongst the most sensational the city of Quebec had ever seen.
Though Dalton had the better case, they felt utterly defeated, for he and the rest of Emer’s friends were trapped in Quebec, unable to go look for either Emer or William while they were required to give evidence.
Dalton and his friends were all financially committed as well to the Randall versus Randall case, for Dalton sold everything he owned of value, as did Adrian, and managed to pay off the crushing debts Frederick had allowed to accumulate through all his lies.
Adrian had even sold his house, and they were now both living in one of the cottages on the orphanage property until such time as Dalton won his case and was able to recoup his losses.
June turned to July and then August, but gradually, with the help of the Attorney General, and a great deal of pressure from the Bishop, the facts regarding Emer’s disappearance emerged.
With the help of her friends from the Pegasus, and from the orphanage, Emer was eventually proven innocent of the arson charges against her, and Dalton received a full pardon to take with him when he went to find her.
Dalton took some comfort from the knowledge that Emer’s conviction, and sentence of transportation at the hands of his evil father had been overturned, and at least he now knew that she had been put on the first ship heading for Ireland, the Britannia to Cork.
Nevertheless, Dalton was extremely worried. Voyages by sea were always perilous, but especially so for a crippled woman still recovering from childbirth who, according to the testimony of the constable and timid clerk involved, had also been beaten by Pertwee.
Even worse, she might already be on her way to Botany Bay in a disease-ridden prison ship, on a journey that would take at least six months, if not longer. After all Emer had been through in the past year, transportation might well prove the last straw for her.
The odious Pertwee tried to save himself by testifying against Frederick Randall and Madeleine Lyndon, but was sentenced to twenty years hard labour for his part in the victimisation of Emer and all the crimes that he had been an accessory to.
At last, on a grey day late in August, both Frederick and Madeleine were sentenced to death, both having been found guilty of attempted murder, arson, and in Frederick’s case, a host of other crimes almost too numerous to mention.
The sentences were carried out the following day, with appeals for mercy having been denied by the Governor General.
Dalton, who had not had the stomach to attend the hangings, sat in a darkened courtroom alone, and received the final verdict on his case against his father for fraud. Dalton was victorious, and all of his father’s money and property reverted to him immediately without any delay in transfering the titles.
Dalton then promptly paid back all of his friends, and put a substantial sum of money into the funds for the new orphanage and fever hospital. He ordered the work to go ahead as quickly as possible before the harsh winter weather set in.
He sold the old mausoleum of a house which he had grown up in lock, stock and barrel, taking nothing but his own books and basic personal effects. He vowed he would never set eyes on the place again.
After buying up as much of the land near the orphanage as possible, he hired an architect to oversee the building of his dream house for Emer, with dozens of airy rooms and indoor plumbing. He hoped it would be a gracious home where all would be welcome once she came to live in it.
The weeks he had been forced to sit around worrying and waiting for the trial to come to their respective conclusions had been hard, and Dalton had kept himself occupied by drawing sketches and planning out colour schemes for their new home.
Now that he was the absolute owner of the Randall Shipping Company, there was nothing to stand in his way. It was not the way he had ever hoped to come into the company and such vast power, but he could not regret what he had done. He no longer considered Frederick Randall his father, but a meglomanic who simply had to be brought to justice.
Now that it was all over, he would grieve for a time, but at last he was free of the malevolent influence that had tried to destroy everything he had ever held most dear. Finally, he could set about making all of Emer’s dreams come true, and living happily ever with her and his son, just as soon as he found her.
That night, at a small victory celebration at the orphanage, Dalton announced, “Now that all three trials are over, I'm going to Ireland to find Emer and bring her home. I have her acquittal papers now. Once she's released, we’ll be back as soon as possible. I can only pray you will have found William by then.”
“What if she’s already left for Australia?” Myrtle asked worriedly.
“In that case, I shall just have to follow her there. Joe, I know it's asking a lot, but can you go out west and try to find my mother and William? Emer must be frantic with worry, and I know I could never forgive myself if I didn’t try to see the poor woman my father has locked away like a nun in a convent for nearly forty years just because of his own sick fantasies.”
“I’ll do my best to find the child, but don’t hold out much hope, Dalton,” Joe warned. “We’ve posted rewards everywhere. If he were still alive, don’t you think someone would have come forward by now?"
Dalton's mouth set in a grim line.
Joe continued, “Much
as it pains me to say it, you have to be prepared for the worst, Dalton. Children die all the time. You're a doctor, you know that.
"Emer will be devastated if William is gone forever. Don’t count of her being willing to come back with you just like that, not after all she’s been through. You’ve had a very rocky road to together, and perhaps all the hardship she’s endured will only drag you two further apart, instead of bringing you closer together.”
“I’m going to bring Emer home, Joe," Dalton said firmly, "and I will just have to convince her somehow that we love each and other and belong to together, no matter what's happened. I’ll be miserable without little William, you know that, but my life has no meaning without Emer by my side.”
“I know that, Dalton. I hope you find her. Go on, now, get your things together, and we’ll all see you off at the docks tomorrow morning.”
Dalton went to his small room in the cabin he was staying at, and packed his bags in preparation for his departure. But he very nearly didn’t go when, early the following morning, he got an oddly-penned letter saying that Emer had jumped overboard in Cork harbour, just as Joe came in to see if he needed any help with his bags.
Joe read the note with his sorrowful brown eyes. “What would have been the chances of her surviving in her condition? You know yourself she was badly crippled.”
“A lot can happen to a paralysis victim in a only few weeks. Emer may be able to walk by now. At any rate, she was always an excellent swimmer. She’s alive, I know it, and she needs me. She can’t be dead. We’re linked somehow, just like me and William. I would know it if they were dead.”
Joe sighed, and crossed himself devoutly. “Please God, I hope you’re right. Listen, Dalton, there’s something I need to tell you before you leave.”
Dalton looked up from the scruffy letter, and said, “It sounds serious.”
“It is. Myrtle and I have decided to get married,” Joe announced suddenly.
Dalton beamed, and shook him by the hand heartily. “My dear fellow, what marvellous news!”
“I thought I'd better tell you now, and apologise for not being able to wait until you and Emer can be at our wedding. You see, Myrtle wants to come with me to look for William out west. This seems the only respectable way she can do that. It also gives us a good excuse to avoid the huge ceremony her father would like her to have. We want to leave as soon as possible, and under the circumstances, with Emer and William both missing, I think there's little cause for a huge celebration,” Joe explained.
“You shouldn’t feel like that, Joe. After all you’ve done for Emer, she would be the first to say she wanted you to be happy on your special day, and not worry about her."
"Thanl you for saying so, but all the same…"
"She’s a survivor, Joe," Dalton said, patting him on the shoulder, before looking around the cabin one last time to make sure he had everything. "You should know what Emer is capable of better than any of us. You were her shipmate for long enough. She’ll be fine. We’ll both be with you in spirit if not in person on your special day.
"Myrtle is a fine girl, the salt of the earth, for all the wealth in the Chandler family. I only hope you’ll both be as happy as Emer and I were together on the Pegasus ,” Dalton said sincerely.
“Thanks, Dalton, I knew you would understand. I think you know there will always be a special place for Emer in my heart, but she loves you body and soul. I shall just have to settle for being her brother. Myrtle and I balance each other, and with her by my side, I feel I can accomplish anything. I promise you, Dalton, if I can find William, I will."
"I know. Thank you. You've been a great friend to both of us. I'm so glad she stopped Captain Jenkins from throwing you overboard for being a stowaway," Dalton said, shaking his hand.
Joe laughed ruefully at the recollection. "My God, that seems a lifetime ago."
"For both of us, old son." He sighed.
“We’ll also go look in on Brona and Michael while we're out there, and see if there is anything we can do for them. Then we’ll go up to see your mother on the way back, and ask her if she would be willing to come to Quebec to see you.”
“You’ve got my letter, explaining everything to her?” Dalton asked quickly.
“I do, right here in my pocket.” Joe patted his jacket.
“Give them all my love then, and tell them not to worry too much about me or Emer. I’ll contact you as soon as I know anything.”
Joe took some of Dalton’s bags to the carriage, while Dalton carried the rest himself, including a couple of Emer's in the hope of finding her soon.
When they pulled up at their destination, all of Dalton’s friends were lined up on the pier to wish him well.
Thus, on the first of September, Dalton embarked on the newly refitted Pegasus , with Captain Jenkins and his wife and Charlie on board as his guests, all ready to join in the search for Emer.
“Good luck, Dalton! Give our love to Emer!” Joe, Myrtle, Adrian, and all the others called as the ropes were untied and the ship finally moved away from the dock.
So Dalton set out on his voyage, hoping that somehow he could get inside Emer’s head, and figure out what she would have done, and where she would have gone once she jumped ship at Cork.
The oddly-penned letter had taken several weeks to reach him from Ireland, and she could be anywhere by now. He was concerned that the authorities might have already found her, and transported her to Australia, but even that possibility seemed better than the thought of Emer starving in the south of Ireland, one of the most deprived areas of the country since the Famine had struck.
Dalton also realised fully that if starvation didn’t kill Emer, fever or exposure to the elements might.
Once he was alone that night in his cabin, the strain of the past two months began to take their toll. Dalton fell into a black depression, and tormented himself by reading over and over again all the letters which Reeves had given him, which Emer had written to him while he had been away in Ireland. He read them til he almost memorized them, and wept bitter tears of longing and frustration at every word.
She had loved him so. How could his father have ever thought otherwise, and made her suffer as he had. It was unthinkable, monstrous even, for him to have read those letters and yet still treated her as he had.
Dalton also grieved for his father, and even for Madeleine. It never should have come to this. He had been weak and foolish, and by not standing up to them, had allowed them to roam free causing untold harm with impunity.
They had paid the ultimate price in the end, but it was Emer who had suffered so cruelly, and the thought of what she might be enduring now without her son was almost more than he could bear to think about.
As the Pegasus sailed day after day through the rough cold waters of the Atlantic, Dalton had ample time to look back over the past eighteen months of his life, and agonise over the foolish mistakes he had made. Some days Dalton could do nothing but wonder if he would ever see Emer or their son again.
But then he would recall Emer’s bright smiling face, with her vibrant aqua eyes and lilting laugh. Then he would turn to his volume of poetry, and relive the first evening they had spent together as lovers with such clarity that it was as though it had happened only yesterday.
“I will get her back. We can be happy like that again, nay, happier, once we are married,” he whispered as he read ‘To Althea’ by Richard Lovelace from the volume they had treasured together on their trip over from Ireland when they had fallen so deeply in love:
“When Love with unconfined wings
Hovers within my gates,
And my divine Althea brings
To whisper at my grates:
When I lie tangled in her hair
And fettered to her eye,
The Gods that wanton in the air
Know no such liberty.
When flowing cups run swiftly round
With no allaying Thames,
Our careless heads with roses crow
ned,
Our hearts with loyal flames,
When thirsty grief in wine we steep,
When healths and draughts go free—
Fishes that tipple in the deep
Know no such liberty.
When, like committed linnets, I
With shriller throat shall sing
The sweetness, mercy, majesty
And glories of my King,
When I shall voice aloud how good
He is, how great should be,
The Hungry Heart Fulfilled (The Hunger of the Heart Series Book 3) Page 16
