"When you disappeared, Adrian, the Bishop, and all your friends told me everything. My dearest love, how could you have remained silent for so long, and why didn’t you tell me the truth in the first place?” Dalton reproached her gently.
She snuggled closer to him, soaking in his presence as the barriers between them fell away at last. “I couldn’t tell you, not after I had given my promise to renounce you. So you know then that it was your father who had me arrested, and took baby William away?”
He nodded. "It was a terrible thing to have done."
Emer sighed. “He said that I was an unfit mother, and that he would have him adopted by a family who would treat him well.”
“I’m afraid that was a lie, my love. He gave William away to a stranger on a ferry bound for Toronto for five pounds, and the babe hasn’t been seen or heard from since.”
“A stranger? Oh my God. My son, my son!” Emer wept frantically.
Dalton held her tightly as she tried to get up from the bed.
"Emer, there's nothing you can do at the moment. We're in Ireland, remember?"
He held her close until her weeping subsided enough for her to hear him say, “We've left no stone unturned, put up posters, offered a reward. Joe and Myrtle are looking for him out west. They're married now, and send all their love. If any one can find him, they can.”
“But it’s been six months! He can’t still be alive after all this time,” Emer sniffed. “If he were, then surely someone would have come forward to claim the reward by now.”
“We mustn’t give up hope. God has spared you all this time, and we have to believe he will do the same for our innocent little son,” Dalton said. “Now, tell me what you’ve been doing since I last saw you.”
“No, you go first, I’m too upset to think clearly at the moment. Your father, Madeleine, where are they? Cathan, Saoirse and the other children? Are my family safe from them?”
Dalton told her of all that had happened since he had returned from the cholera epidemic in Toronto, and how shocked he had been to realise that he had been completely fooled by his father and Madeleine.
“They're both dead now, and can’t harm us any more. They’ve paid for their mistakes, and though I might wish it otherwise, since you and your family have suffered so much, at least some good has come out of his whole affair. I’ve learned the truth about my father, and become the wealthiest business man in Canada now that I have the Lyndon fleet as well.
"I also discovered before it was too late that my mother is still alive and well and living out in Vancouver. Joe and Myrtle are going to go visit her, to see if she might be well enough to come back to Quebec to spend the rest of her life allowing me to get to know her,” Dalton revealed.
“So you’ve lost a father and son, but gained a mother,” Emer said with a sigh.
“I know how you must feel, Emer, really, I do, after everything you've suffered, but truly, we will find our son, and no one will ever separate us again,” Dalton said, hugging her more tightly.
“The only thing that has made all of this bearable, the only vision I’ve clung onto during the darkest days, was the fantasy of holding you both in my arms again. Of you and I being together once more, the same as on the Pegasus, only better, happier, because of the friends we've found, and the miracle of life we created together."
“It’s been the same for me too,” Emer admitted as she snuggled closer to him under the blankets, and lapsed into a thoughtful silence for a time. "I've longed for you so."
He kissed her then, and for a brief, blissful second, the years and their cares seemed to fall away, leaving them only man and woman in the throes of the most passionately urgent need.
But a drunken song from the common cell and the ringing of the dinner bells brought their intimate explorations under the blanket to an end before they gave in to the ultimate temptation.
The lovers broke apart with a shaky laugh, and they gazed up at each other with naked desire burning in their eyes. But now was not the time, they both knew, not in this fetid cell when anyone could walk in any second.
A few moments later she said, “I love you, Dalton, but now that I know William is gone, I wonder if I haven’t just been deluding myself all along. What’s been lost simply can’t be restored. The dream is over. We have to wake up to reality now, that we've lost him, and I don't know how I'm going to go on,” Emer said bleakly.
“No, you're wrong, there's still hope, and in any case, this is just the beginning. You’ll come home with me to Canada, we will find our son, and be happy.”
Emer pulled herself out of Dalton’s arms, and paced up and down in the tiny cell like a caged animal, unable to subdue her miserable thoughts.
“Emer, I know you have every reason to be angry with me for taking so long to find you, but I had to try to find our son, and I needed to get you acquitted of the arson charges, which meant taking Madeleine to court.
"Plus, I lost all my money thanks to my father. Our friends helped me with every penny they had in order to pay back the debts I owed because my father refused to pay the bills for the refurbishment of the fleet I had undertaken on my last trip to Dublin.
“Yet out of that disaster, some good has come for us all. Now I'm head of the company, and rich again, with all the debts paid, and all our friends reimbursed. At the time, I had to sell everything. Adrian even sold his own house to help me.
"But I have a wonderful new home for all of us, right near the fever hospital and the orphanage. As soon as you come home, we can pick up just where we left off before the fire and everything else.”
Emer shook her head. “How can we without William?”
He gripped her hand hard, growing desperate at the sensation that she was slipping away from him again even though he had finally found her.
“We will find him, I swear it. He's my son too, you know. I would feel it if he had gone from the world. We will get him back, I swear. You almost sound as though you don’t want to come back!” Dalton accused angrily, feeling the familiar sting of jealousy once again.
“How can I just pick up where I left off, after so many months as a cripple thanks to your fiancée, and after your father had me beaten and transported as a common criminal, and convicted me of arson! It’s all a foolish dream! Things can never be the same again, don’t you see!” Emer exclaimed angrily, pushing Dalton away as he tried to embrace her again.
“But don’t you see, my love,” Dalton pleaded, backing her into the corner of the cell as he tried to comfort her, “your friends all testified as to your innocence regarding the fire on the Pegasus, and Madeleine was seen by them on the night of the orphanage blaze. Pertwee was caught out in his lie about how the fire started at my father’s fake trial, and in the end he testified on your behalf to get his sentence reduced. Madeleine admitted everything in the end, and you were granted a full pardon.”
Suddenly Dalton laughed. “I don’t even know why I'm wasting time standing here telling you this, when by rights you're a free woman. Come on, we can leave this place right now. I’ll just go see the warden, then take you back to the hotel, and you can have a lovely hot bath, and clean clothes to wear, and the best meal Clonmel has to offer.
"Captain and Mrs. Jenkins and Charlie are all here with me as well. They’ve been helping to track you down, and as soon as you're rested, we can get the first ship back to Quebec, and then...”
Dalton finally paused as he saw Emer’s aqua eyes regarding him steadily with a mixture of pity and dismay.
“What is it? What’s wrong, Emer?”
She shook her head. “I’m sorry, my love, it’s not possible. I’m a prisoner here. I’m not allowed to go anywhere.”
“But I just told you, you’ve been acquitted. I’ve sent a copy of the pardon to the head of the prison. He should be letting you out at any moment now.”
She sat back down on the edge of the bed with a heavy sigh. “No, Dalton, you don’t understand. I’ve been sentenced to seven years in T
asmania for aiding and abetting treasonous felons.”
Dalton blinked in confusion. “Treason? What on earth are you talking about?” he exclaimed angrily.
“I'm sorry, love, but it's true. The trial was last month, and we were all convicted. I got seven years, but Terence is going to be hung drawn and quartered in the New Year. I can’t come with you, Dalton. I’m trapped here. You may have got me acquitted in Canada, but like it or not, I really am a convicted criminal now.”
Dalton sat down on the bed next to her like a man stunned. For a moment, all he could do was stare as the enormity of what she had just told him sank in.
At length, Dalton commanded gruffly, “Start from the beginning, Emer, and tell me exactly what the hell you’ve been up to since I last saw you.”
So Emer recounted her travels and adventures, and when she had reached the end of her tale, she stated, “But I’m not going to say I’m sorry for what I did, if that’s what you expect, Dalton, because I would do the same again tomorrow. You have no idea what conditions have been like here in Ireland, and in this prison.
"And I refuse to apologise for trying to help those unarmed men who were shot in cold blood at Ballingarry. I know I’m not a rebel, even if they say I am, but I’ve been sentenced now, and there's nothing anyone can do.”
Dalton sat silently with his head in his hands. “And here I thought I was going to just gallop in here and rescue you, like some knight on a white charger liberating his fair lady from her lofty tower. Some hero I’ve turned out to be.
"I’m not blaming you for what you’ve done, Emer, far from it. I think you’ve been incredibly brave. But seven years! How can you be so accepting of your fate?”
She stroked his cheek tenderly. “I wasn’t at first, Dalton. It’s a shock for you to hear the news, but I’ve had weeks to come to terms with it. I’m delighted to see you, of course, but, well, I’ve written to you, telling you that any claims you might feel I have upon you are now nullified.”
“Is it because you’ve fallen in love with that gangly lad Terence?” Dalton barked.
“Don’t be silly, Dalton. That remark is beneath you,” Emer said coldly.
“What else am I supposed to think when I find you in bed together!”
“That we're cell mates, and it's damned cold in here, as you yourself pointed out. We're good friends, nothing more. There's no other cell for me, except with the so-called common criminals. I work most nights, and sleep during the day, but if it's cold, yes, we do share the bed and blanket.” Emer shrugged.
“Are you pregnant?” Dalton asked, his eyes narrowing.
“Not unless there’s going to be a second immaculate conception,” Emer said with a toss of her burgundy hair. “At any rate, after what happened to William, I don’t know if I could ever face bringing another child into such a cruel world, even if I had been doing what you accused me of just now.”
Dalton saw Emer’s face turn to granite as she uttered the last sentence, and rubbed his eyes, feeling near tears.
He sighed, and said, “Look, Emer, I'm sorry. We’re tired, and this has been difficult for both of us. I’ll leave now, and perhaps we will both be able to look at this situation more rationally in the morning.”
“I’m sorry too, Dalton. You meant well by coming here, I know,” Emer said, her anger beginning to subside. “Why don’t you all come see me tomorrow. I’d love to see the Jenkinses and Charlie again. I’ll try to fix myself up a bit so I don’t give everyone a scare. You’ll have to tell them the bad news about my conviction for treason, though.”
He nodded. “I shall, don’t worry.”
“I have to go to the infirmary now. I’m the prison doctor, in case you hadn’t heard.”
Dalton smiled softly. “Really? I’m very proud of you, Emer, truly I am.”
“I’m pretty proud of myself. I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow. Go to the hotel now, and have a good rest. You look like you haven’t had any sleep for weeks.”
“I haven’t really, not since you vanished,” Dalton admitted quietly.
Emer stroked his bristled cheek lovingly, and sighed. “I’ve missed you so, Dalton. Thank you for coming all this way to find me.”
“Well, now that I have found you, I’m not giving up so easily, Emer. I’ll speak to the prison governor about an appeal in the morning.”
Emer blinked. “On what grounds?”
“I don’t know, but I'm bloody well going to find some!” Dalton snapped.
Dalton kissed Emer full on the lips blisteringly, and without another word he slammed out of the tiny cell.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
True to his word, Dalton requested an audience with the prison governor the next morning.
“A remarkable woman, Mrs. Dillon,” the governor praised as he examined the acquittal papers Dalton had brought with him from Quebec.
“You don’t know the half of it, sir,” Dalton muttered, as he ran his fingers through his hair in frustration.
“And what precisely is your connection with Mrs. Dillon, if I may ask?”
“She is my fiancée, and the mother of my son William. Now you can see why I'm so desperate to file an appeal, on the grounds that if she had never been falsely convicted of arson in the first place, she wouldn’t have been in Ireland to stumble unwittingly across the rebellion, and get roped into it by her own kind heart and nursing skills.”
“I agree with you, sir, and will do everything I can to support the application for having the sentence quashed. But you have to realise that feelings are running fairly high against the rebels at the moment. Perhaps we should let things take their natural course. Wait until the New Year to file a suit,” the governor suggested mildly.
“With all due respect, Governor Collins, if it were someone you loved, especially a woman, would you want her to rot away in a prison for months on end until it was politically expedient to remind people that she's innocent?” Dalton said, struggling to keep his tone calm.
The warden looked shocked at the very idea. “No, of course not, but Emer has done a great deal unconsciously to help her own cause. At the present rate of success, we could well have her freed immediately after the petition was filed, provided we went about the matter in a less er, bellicose fashion.”
Dalton frowned. “I’m not sure what you mean.”
“Emer is an exceptionally bright and talented young woman, and her policies and documents advocating prison reform have met with a great deal of approval, both here in Ireland and in England as well. They don’t know she is a woman, of course, but here, see for yourself,” the governor said, holding out her proposals, and copies of The Times newspaper.
Dalton read through them, more and more impressed with every sentence. When he had come to the end of the articles, he murmured, “E. N. Dillon. Well, I never dreamt...”
“I understand she successfully ran an orphanage in Quebec along the same principles. Now, if we were to find someone to back these proposals financially, we could make a very good case for Emer being put in overall charge of them, just until they got off the ground, mind you.
"After that, they could be run by committees, with an official team of accountants and merchants to keep tabs on the money and profits from the trade and farming. But just think of the embarrassment to the government when they found out that Emer had been wrongfully imprisoned in the first place, and gleaned all her knowledge of prison conditions through being incarcerated here for so many months. They are bound to let her out with a full pardon once they discover this,” Governor Collins outlined his scheme.
“If you're asking me to back the proposal, sir, you have only to say. I will contact the banks straight away for the funds,” Dalton offered, looking at the total written neatly at the bottom of the plan in Emer’s own hand. Now that Dalton was so wealthy, the sum seemed a trifle to pay for his beloved’s freedom.
“It would help, certainly, but, above all, we need you to be patient. And I warn you, Emer is not a woman to
do things by half-measures. If she undertakes this, she will want to see it come to fruition.
"Mind you, there's no reason why you can’t be a team. You know her better than any of us, so beware her stubborn streak. Try to support her, even if you think she's wrong,” the older man counselled wisely.
“I can honestly say I’ve never known Emer to be wrong about anything, but as you say, stubborn would be an understatement when it comes to describing her sense of purpose."
Dalton flicked through the papers once more, then nodded, and put them back down on the desk with a decisive air. "Very good, Governor Collins, I can see you mean well. I will set the ball rolling on this proposal for the prison farm if you will promise me that I can file an appeal by Christmas.”
The Hungry Heart Fulfilled (The Hunger of the Heart Series Book 3) Page 23
