Undaunted Love (PART ONE): Banished Saga, Book 3

by Ramona Flightner

  “Never,” Sophie said, standing and glaring at him. “You will never have her back.”

  “If you think she will find happiness with another man, I will find him and kill him. She is mine.”

  “No, she is her own person. She belongs to no one,” Sophronia said.

  “Damn your infernal meddling, woman!” Jonas roared, striking Sophronia severely across the cheek, sending her flying. Her head hit a side table with a resounding smack, and she collapsed onto the floor.

  Savannah screamed for the butler and maids, and, within moments, the room was filled with Sophronia’s staff. At Savannah’s yell, Jonas turned to stare at Savannah, his eyes gleaming in triumph.

  “Ah, so there you are, my lovely wife,” he said in a cool, calm voice as he blocked her entrance into the sitting room.

  “Jonas, let me help Sophie,” she said, moving to rush past him.

  “No, there are plenty to help her,” he said. He gripped her arm and pushed her against the wall in the hallway. “I fear you are in need of many lessons, Mrs. Montgomery.”

  Savannah began to shake at the soft predatory tone he had always used before one of his “lessons.”

  “No, I have no need, ever again, for lessons from you,” Savannah said as she struggled. He held onto her wrists, gripping them fiercely to the point Savannah thought they would snap.

  “You think not? You dared to leave me. You failed to return home after you were instructed to. You have much to repent for,” Jonas said.

  “Not as much as you, Jonas,” Aunt Betsy snapped, bringing her cane down hard on his foot. As he turned toward her, howling in pain, she raised it up, whipping him across the face. He spun away from Savannah and landed facedown on the floor. “Never touch my niece again.”

  “Come, Savannah. Let us see to Sophie. The police and doctor will be here soon. I rang them when I heard the commotion.”

  “Aunt Betsy,” Savannah whispered with relief.

  “Yes, dear, I know,” she said, patting Savannah’s arm. As she attempted to maneuver around Jonas’s prostrate form on the floor, she slipped and the full weight of her cane landed on Jonas’s lower back. He howled again in pain. “Oh, do forgive me, Jonas. You know how these things happen.”

  Betsy glanced toward Sophronia’s butler. “Will you ensure Mr. Montgomery remains here to speak with the police?”

  “Of course, madam,” Poole said with a feral glint in his eyes.

  Savannah turned from him, looking toward her friend. “Sophie!” she cried as she saw the blood-soaked cloth the maid was holding at her forehead. Sophie rested on a settee, her skin alabaster white in contrast to her navy dress.

  “Don’t make such a racket,” Sophie barked, though her voice was less forceful than usual. “My head doesn’t need to pound any worse than it does already.”

  “Well, Sophronia,” Betsy murmured with wry shake of her head, “I did not believe you needed to go to such extremes to show this man’s cruelty.”

  Sophronia attempted to raise one eyebrow but grimaced in pain. “I hadn’t envisioned he would become so enraged as to actually do me bodily harm.” She looked toward Savannah worriedly. “I am more thankful now than ever that you are out of his sphere of power.”

  “I’m so sorry he hurt you,” Savannah said as she took the cloth from the maid and held it to Sophronia’s head.

  Sophie speared her with an intense glare. “This is not your fault. His actions are not a reflection of you. He is his own person, and his actions reflect solely on him.”

  “Do you think this will help Savannah?” Betsy asked.

  “We can hear what my lawyer says, but I’m afraid they’ll construe his attack on me as a man losing control due to a passionate desire to be restored to his wife. Or some such drivel.”

  “The papers should hire you to write for them,” Betsy said.

  “Don’t even start on those newspapermen. When I think of all I’ve paid them …” She broke off as she heard commotion in the hallway. “Ah, Doctor, thank you for calling.”

  Savannah rose, tiptoeing to the door to watch as the police handcuffed Jonas and led him away. She smiled bitterly as she heard him bellowing about how he had suffered at the hands of Aunt Betsy.

  Savannah returned to the sitting room and held Sophie’s hand as the doctor competently stitched up her head.

  “It’ll hurt worse than you can imagine come tomorrow,” he said. “I’ll leave behind a little something for the pain but don’t take too much of it. I’d hate for the feistiest woman I know to lose her bark due to this medication.”

  Savannah rose and walked him to the sitting room door where he turned to her and said, “Don’t let her overdo it. She must rest the next few days. I’ll return to ensure she isn’t concussed.” Savannah nodded her agreement and watched him descend the stairs.

  “Well, Savannah?” Sophie asked.

  “I don’t know what to do,” she whispered.

  “This might be a time for what the generals call a strategic retreat.”

  CHAPTER 22

  “WILL YOU WAIT HERE, sir, while I determine if she is at home?” the butler asked. He turned and walked up the stairs in an unhurried manner. After ten minutes had passed, Jeremy was allowed to enter into the smaller sitting room where he had visited Savannah yesterday.

  “Mr. McLeod,” Sophronia said from a chaise longue placed near the window. A desk had been pushed to one side to make room for the chaise.

  Jeremy barely spared her a glance as he looked for Savannah. “Mrs. Chickering,” he said formally with a small nod. “I hope you are well.”

  “She’s not here, young man,” Sophronia said with a hint of humor in her voice. His gaze veered toward her, and he blanched at the bruising all along the right side of her face and the bandage over her left ear.

  “My God,” he whispered as he moved toward her. He knelt by the chaise, cradling her hand in his. “What happened?”

  “Mr. Montgomery paid us a visit.”

  “Jonas? That bastard did this to you? I’ll—”

  “No, stop right there, young man. Do not say anything I may need to perjure myself over in the future.” She smiled ironically. “He visited, showed his true colors and was taken away by the police. He is being held on assault charges. As I am not his wife, I refuse to let such treatment toward me pass. More important it sets a precedent in the court that he is a violent man and capable of cruelty toward his wife.”

  “You intended for him to harm you?”

  “Nonsense. I expected him to shout and rail against me, but never to hit me so hard I was tossed across the room. I may seem foolish in the pursuit of my goals, but I am more cautious than I am given credit for.”

  “Savannah. Where is Savannah?” Jeremy asked, unable to hide the panic from his eyes.

  “She is safe.”

  “Did he hurt her? Terrorize her?”

  “Your concern is well meaning, but she is fine.”

  “I need to see her. Ensure she is well,” Jeremy said, his tightening grip on Sophronia’s hand betraying his agitation.

  “Mr. McLeod, why would you think that I would want my good friend to go from one man to another? She needs time to decide what she wants, free from a man’s influence.”

  Jeremy paled as he leaned away from Sophronia, dropping her hand. “I would never harm her. I know you don’t know me well enough to believe me,” Jeremy said as he looked down.

  “Nonsense,” Sophronia barked. “If you are anything like your brother Gabriel, and so you have shown yourself to be these past months, then I have no doubt for her future with you. However, what Savannah needs is time, free of mischief from men. And that includes you.”

  “How long are you asking for?” Jeremy whispered.

  “How long are you willing to remain apart?”

  Jeremy paused, sensing that he was being tested. He rose, pacing the small room. “You want me to voluntarily cease any contact with Savannah?” At Sophronia’s nod, Jeremy sighed and pi
nched the bridge of his nose. “I can’t do that. Not because you ask me to. I would only do it if she asked it of me.”

  Sophronia smiled with approval. “Well done, young man. I like that you refuse to be manipulated, even by me. It shows a strength of character, which I think Savannah is going to need. Why don’t we see what she has to say?”

  ***

  RICHARD TRAVERSED THE WEST END, wandering in and out of bars looking for Jeremy. He began to think that Florence had sent him on a fool’s errand when, after over an hour of searching, he found his brother at a bar near Scollay Square.

  “Jer!” Richard said. “What are you doing here?” He elbowed his way to a space at the bar next to Jeremy.

  “Trying to forget about the day.” He raised an unsteady hand, holding a glass of beer as though in salute. “October 19, a day to obliterate from my memory.”

  “Why?” Richard asked.

  “Savannah doesn’t want to see me,” Jeremy rasped as he took a long swig from his glass of beer. He closed his eyes as though trying to banish the reality of the words.

  “I find that hard to believe,” Richard said.

  “Jonas was at Mrs. Chickering’s house yesterday. Knocked her around pretty badly.” He turned to share a long look with Richard. “Mrs. Chickering, not Savannah. Seems, now he’s shown his true colors to such a degree that they can’t be ignored, Savannah might be able to obtain her divorce. Be free of all men.”

  “Surely that isn’t what she said?”

  “She wants time away from me to decide what she wants. What type of life she wants,” Jeremy rasped. “She’d told me that she had overcome her fears of being with me after Jonas. I guess when he showed her again what a bastard he really is, she reconsidered her decision.”

  “Jer, she was brutalized by him. Don’t you want her to be certain that she truly wants to be with you?”

  “My love for her doesn’t matter.”

  “You know that isn’t true, Jer,” Richard said as he shook his head to ward off the bartender offering Jeremy another drink.

  “Just a few days ago I told her that I loved her, that I could bear anything but not having her in my life,” Jeremy murmured. He dropped his head onto his crossed arms on the oak bar. “It seems she doesn’t feel the same way.”

  “Jer,” Richard said, his voice filled with compassion.

  Jeremy laughed humorlessly as he tilted his head to look at Richard. “What would you have done had Florence said the same to you?”

  Richard sighed. “Much the same. Just like Gabe did when he was banished from Clarissa’s life.”

  “But she didn’t banish him,” Jeremy argued.

  “No, she didn’t.” Richard thought for a few moments. “How long a separation does she want?”

  “As long as she needs,” Jeremy said. “What does that mean? It could be a year.”

  “I doubt that. She seems to be someone who’s not happy alone. Once she realizes what she had with you isn’t easily replicated, she’ll come back to you.”

  “What is it the poets said about love? What did Mum read us when we were kids?” Jeremy asked as he closed his eyes.

  Richard let out a long sigh. “’Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.”

  Jeremy shared a rueful look with Richard. “What a bunch of rubbish. I bet that poet didn’t know what this feels like.”

  “Are you saying you would rather have not met Savannah?”

  Jeremy shook his head. “Of course not. So I guess the damn poet is right. Doesn’t mean it hurts any less.”

  “No, of course not,” Richard said. “Are you ready to go home and face Florence?”

  “No,” Jeremy said with a hint of a smile. “But let’s go anyway.”

  “She’ll be irate, you know,” Richard said. “She likes Savannah, but you are her brother, and she doesn’t like anyone hurting you.”

  ***

  “JEREMY!” FLORENCE EXCLAIMED as they entered the house. “What has happened? Is Savannah all right?” She held the growing swell of her belly as she was now seven months’ pregnant and lowered herself into a chair. Jeremy gripped her free hand and sat next to her.

  “No, Flo, I don’t think she is. I don’t know if she ever will be all right.”

  Florence looked toward Richard in confusion. “Why is Jeremy here with us rather than comforting her?”

  “She doesn’t want me near her.”

  Florence stilled, her entire body tensing at Jeremy’s words. She clamped her jaw and spoke with precision. “She forbade you from seeing her again?”

  “Yes, for now,” Jeremy said. “She needs time to determine what she wants from life.”

  Florence waited a moment, as though expecting him to rise and pace. When he remained seated with his head bowed and shoulders stooped, she leaned forward and pulled him into her embrace. “If she can’t see what a wonderful man you are, the antithesis of that horrid man she married, then she doesn’t deserve you.”

  “Don’t think badly of her, Flo,” Jeremy said.

  “I can and I will. She’s too blinded by fear to see the gift she’s been given.”

  “I told Jer that she’ll come around,” Richard said as he sat on the couch.

  “Why should he want her back? I’d look for a woman who doesn’t need convincing that she wants to be with you,” Florence said as she rubbed his shoulders.

  “She’s championed by your friend, Sophie,” Richard said.

  “Only because Sophie felt compelled to help because of Clarissa. And it’s something she’d do. Help another woman in need.”

  “Like a good suffragist,” Richard murmured. “Besides, I think she does want to be with Jeremy. She’s just confused. Give her some time.” He gave a pointed stare at Florence. “You gave me time to act like an imbecile.”

  “An idiot was what I called you,” Florence said with fondness.

  “Sav’s neither,” Jeremy said, raising his head and rubbing at his face. “She’s a woman who hasn’t known her own mind for too long. I need to respect her enough to give her the time to determine what it is she wants.”

  He shared a bleak look with Florence. “If it’s not me, I’ll survive. I’ve lived through worse.”

  Florence gripped Jeremy’s face, cradling his head in her palms and forcing him to meet her eyes. “I want more for you than just surviving, Jeremy. I want you to be happy. Truly, outrageously happy. I want you to find a woman who never doubts how fortunate she is to have you in her life. That helps loosen the hold your demons have on you.”

  Jeremy sighed and leaned into Florence, resting his head on her shoulder as he battled tears. “You’re describing Savannah. I have to believe she’ll come back to me. Thanks for being the sister I always wanted.” Jeremy squeezed Florence’s shoulder as he rose and moved toward the hallway. He grabbed a book from the bookshelf. “I think I’ll try to read. I don’t need any more drink.” He smiled sadly as he turned for his room.

  Richard and Florence watched his departure before sharing a worried glance. “How long do you think she’ll make him wait and wonder?” Florence asked.

  “I have no idea. I fear this last altercation with Jonas really spooked her,” Richard said. “I hate that she has the ability to hurt Jeremy.”

  “I’m not. It means he’s coming back to us. No longer living just a half-life but able to envision a full life.” Florence smiled. “I hate that she’s hurt him, but, if he’s anything like you, he’ll forgive her.”

  “I hope he doesn’t have to wait years like I waited for you, my black-haired beauty,” Richard murmured as he leaned forward to give her a kiss. He then bent forward and kissed the growing swell of her belly.

  Florence blinked away tears. “I sometimes can’t believe we have this life, Richard. It’s as though a dream to me.”

  He rose, grasping one of her hands and kissing her palm. “I wish I could provide a better home for you.”

  “This is our home. What more could I want?” F
lorence stood on her toes and kissed his chin. “I love you, Richard McLeod, and I will never cease giving thanks that I was brave enough to risk trusting you again.”

  “Nor I. Now all we must do is hope the same will occur for Jeremy and Savannah.”

  Florence sighed her agreement as she rested her cheek on Richard’s shoulder.

  CHAPTER 23

  Montana, August 1902

  I STOOD IN LINE at the post office on Main Street and waited my turn. I fanned my face with the letters I had written Savannah and Sophronia as no breeze entered the open windows and door. A large desk in the middle of the space separated the public from the private areas, with postmen working behind the desk to sort mail. To my right, small boxes fully lined the wall with a keyhole to open each box.

  I inched forward and bit my lip in an attempt to hide my grimace as I heard Mrs. Vaughan’s voice. When I’d entered the post office, I hadn’t focused on the people in front of me, although she would have been unmistakable in her peacock-colored dress with matching hat. The feather hung limply around her left ear, withered in the heat.

  “She has her purposes,” a voice behind me whispered.

  I jolted at Cameron’s low silky voice in my ear.

  “Are you willing to make a scene, Clarissa, to avoid speaking with me? For everyone, including the estimable Mrs. Vaughan, will see you rush away from me.”

  The muscles of my neck and back tightened at his taunt. I clamped my jaw together and looked forward, refusing to turn and engage him.

  “Still not going to speak with me, Clarissa? You aren’t afraid of me, are you?”

  I jerked forward, bumping into the patron in front of me to escape the grazing of his hands along my elbow. My gaze met the exultant one of Mrs. Vaughan as she passed.

  “Ah, so wonderful to see the two of you together again.” I grimaced, both at her words and at her booming voice. “I imagine you have avoided Mr. Wright for so long due to your regrets, hmm, Mrs. McLeod?”

  “I have no regrets, Mrs. Vaughan,” I said through pinched lips. I forced a smile as I attempted to move away from Cameron.