The Secret Kiss of Darkness

by Christina Courtenay

  ‘No, you’re almost always right.’ Wesley smiled. ‘You’d just better be right about recovering too, because I’m not letting you leave me yet, do you hear?’

  ‘Never fear, son. I’ll be with you for a while yet.’

  The lighting on the ward was subdued when Kayla woke up and she gathered it must be late at night. Her head felt woolly now, rather than painful. They must have given her a sleeping pill or strong painkillers. Perhaps it had been for the best. The worst of the shock had worn off and she could think rationally again. She knew that technically she wasn’t responsible for Caroline’s death, the woman had brought it on herself and it had been an accident, but she still felt terrible about the whole event. She should have left it to the professionals, or Wes, who would have known how to deal with Caroline. Instead, she had let her anger rule and her attack had been the catalyst for disaster. Would Nell ever forgive her for causing her mother’s death?

  She sighed and turned her head on the pillow. Her gaze encountered a pair of very blue eyes and for a moment her heart gave a leap, but then she saw that it wasn’t Wes or Jago. It was Alex.

  ‘Shhh,’ he whispered. ‘There’s someone keeping guard outside.’

  ‘What? Why?’ For a split second she wondered if she would be charged with manslaughter after all, but Alex soon put her right.

  He managed a small smile. ‘I’m a prisoner, remember? They fished me and Nell out of the water, but because of the knife wound they had to bring me here before taking me into custody. I guess these were the only two beds available tonight, or they would never have put me next to you, I’m sure.’

  ‘What were you doing, Alex? Was it drugs? Smuggling?’

  ‘Yes.’ He sighed and stared at the ceiling. ‘I don’t know how I could have been so stupid, but someone persuaded me it would be easy money. A friend of Caro’s, who made it all seem like a doddle. She’d helped him before and they’d never got caught. They told me all I had to do was go out with my yacht, rendezvous with another boat and give them the stuff which was delivered to us here earlier in the week. Then everything else would be taken care of and I would get a cut. It seemed a piece of cake. And I desperately needed to pay off some debts. Caro and I had been living way beyond our means for quite some time.’

  ‘Well, you probably would have pulled it off if it hadn’t been for Wes. He must have come after me through the secret entrance and heard you and Caroline.’

  ‘Secret entrance? So that’s how she got in and out. I did wonder …’

  ‘You didn’t know about it?’

  ‘No, I never went with her at night. I knew she sometimes went to the Hall, but I thought she just stood outside or something. She wasn’t always … rational.’

  ‘You mean she was off her head?’

  He gave her a rueful smile. ‘Yes, most of the time and it was getting worse. I think she’d gone onto the serious drugs rather than just antidepressants or whatever, but I only did a bit of cocaine myself.’ He shuddered. ‘No more though. Never again.’ He shook his head. ‘So she found the secret entrance, huh? I’ll be damned. Wes and I looked for that when we were kids. Never found it.’

  ‘It’s at the back of the wardrobe in my room, or what used to be Caroline’s room.’

  ‘That explains it. I thought she still had a key to the house. In fact, she told me she did.’ He rubbed his face as if it was all too much to take in.

  ‘Lucky for me that Wes went for help instead of trying to rescue us on his own as I did.’ Kayla gave him a considering look. ‘Are you angry with Wes for calling the police or coastguard or whatever they were?’

  ‘Hell, no! I would’ve done the same thing. He was only thinking of Nell and you, I’m sure. He usually doesn’t care less what I’m up to. My biggest mistake was to get involved with Caro. I just wanted to get back at Wes somehow, thought it would annoy him, and she could be quite … uhm, tantalising when she wanted to be. Guess I was flattered she wanted me rather than my brother. Hah! What a moron. I’m afraid she had me under her spell for a while, and I didn’t see her bad traits until it was too late.’

  ‘You’d never hurt Nell, would you?’

  ‘No way! I love her so much myself, it never occurred to me her own mother could ill-treat her. I never quite believed Wes’s stories, but I should have listened to him.’

  ‘Yes, it was strange. I wonder why she was like that?’

  ‘Jealousy, pure and simple. Caro couldn’t stand not to be the centre of attention. She’d been Wes’s world, but when Nell came along she had to share his affections. Caro didn’t do sharing. Never had – she was a pampered only daughter and all that. And, of course, drugs played a big part. She was definitely on something tonight, I saw it in her eyes. Nell’s better off with Wes, I’m sure of that.’ He turned to her again. ‘I would have taken you both back, you know. Especially after that gagging business. I’d never have sailed to France or done anything else Caro wanted. Do you believe me?’

  ‘Yes.’ Kayla closed her eyes. She felt completely drained of energy. ‘So what will happen to you now?’

  ‘Oh, I’ll go to prison, I expect. But it’s what I deserve, so I’m not complaining.’

  Kayla smiled. ‘That’s an unusual attitude. Most criminals wouldn’t agree with you.’

  ‘No, I suppose not. I think I’ve just finally grown up and now I’m going to take my punishment and go on from there. You can be damned sure I’ll never do anything this stupid again.’

  ‘I’m glad to hear it. Let’s get some sleep now, Alex. My head is starting to hurt again. I promise to come and visit you if I can.’

  ‘Thanks. Sleep well, then.’

  When Kayla woke the following morning Alex was gone and so was the guard. She was glad they’d had their nightly conversation though. It made her see him in a whole new light. And despite everything, she had a feeling he’d be all right now, no matter what sentence he had to serve first.

  She asked the doctor how Nell was doing, and was assured the little girl would be fine. ‘She’s had a shock, to be sure, but children are remarkably resilient, you know. Her father is with her now.’

  ‘Right. I’d better not disturb them then.’

  She waited all morning, but Wes didn’t come to see her and her spirits plummeted ever further. Maybe he couldn’t bear to be near her after what had happened. The thought depressed her no end. After a final check-up she was discharged in the afternoon and took a taxi back to Marcombe Hall. A distraught Annie was waiting for her, and it took quite a while to calm the woman down and explain everything that had happened.

  ‘Oh, goodness, to think it would come to this,’ Annie wailed. ‘I always knew there was rivalry between the brothers, but not to this extent. And that Caroline! Oh, poor, poor little Nell …’

  In the end Kayla pleaded a headache and went to her room, unable to cope with any more wailing, and she was still there in the early evening when Wes returned from the hospital. He knocked on her door and tiptoed in when she called, ‘Come in.’

  ‘Kayla. How are you?’ He sat down on the side of her bed. She thought he looked pale and drawn, which was of course natural in the circumstances. Kayla wanted to pull him close and comfort him, but held back. She was still unsure what he thought of her part in the drama.

  ‘I’m fine thanks. Just a headache, but the doctor said it would probably hurt for a few days and then disappear.’ She looked away. ‘Is Nell okay?’

  ‘Yes, thank God. She’s still a bit shocked, but they keep her sedated most of the time and whenever she wakes up she seems better each time.’ He ran a hand through his hair in a tired gesture.

  ‘I’m glad. I’m sorry to have caused her pain, but it was an accident, I swear.’

  ‘Oh, it wasn’t your fault. I’m sure Nell will understand. It will just take time for her to come to terms with all this. And me. To think that Alex, my own brother … He should have come to me for help. I can’t believe he didn’t. Although to be fair, I did tell him I’d bailed him
out for the last time.’

  Kayla desperately wanted him to take her in his arms and hold her, but he sat unmoving and gazed into space. The silence stretched between them.

  ‘Maybe you’d better get some sleep,’ she finally suggested, and he nodded and stood up as if in a trance.

  ‘Yes, I have to admit I’m a bit tired. We’ll talk more later.’ And without a backward glance he left the room. Not through their private connecting door, but through the one which led to the corridor. Kayla took this to mean that their intimacy was at an end, and as soon as the door closed behind him she rolled into a tight ball of misery and let the tears flow. How long she cried for she had no idea.

  Wes stumbled towards his own room, too weary to be able to think straight. He’d been awake all night and all day, keeping watch by his daughter’s bedside until he knew for sure she was going to be all right, and it had taken its toll on him. He was completely drained, both physically and mentally.

  As he undressed and fell onto his bed there was a thought nagging at the back of his mind, something to do with Kayla. But he was too tired to reason it out at the moment, too tired to do anything except sink into blessed oblivion.

  When at last he woke up the following day, Kayla was gone, together with all her belongings. He remembered then what it was that had been bothering him. He should have stayed with Kayla, slept in her bed or brought her to his room, but he was so used to going to his own room alone that in his befuddled state it hadn’t occurred to him until afterwards. And now, it seemed, everything was too late.

  ‘Where did Kayla go?’ he asked a silently weeping Annie, who was busy in the kitchen as usual, although not working at her normal speed.

  ‘To London. Said she didn’t want to intrude at this sad time.’ Annie turned anguished eyes towards him. ‘I tried to make her stay, honest I did, but she was determined. Said it was best she left, that Nell would hate her for causing her mother’s death, and … oh, I don’t know what else. There was no reasoning with her.’

  ‘I see.’ Clenching his teeth tightly together, Wes made his way back to his office. First things first. The most important thing was to see to his daughter, then he would let himself think about Kayla.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  The Gypsy camp was set up in a small clearing next to a stream, the wagons drawn into a semi-circle for protection. Approaching it on horseback, Jago drew a sigh of relief. It had taken him weeks to track them down and he was weary beyond words. The light from several campfires beckoned, and the soft strains of music could be heard floating through the still night air.

  He hadn’t come for the entertainment, however, and upon his arrival made straight for the oldest caravan without speaking to anyone. Painted in bright colours and decorated with exquisite fretwork, he knew that despite its age it was nevertheless the best one of them all. And it housed the woman he had come to see.

  She was waiting for him on the tiny back porch, sitting on the step gazing into the distance as if she had all the time in the world. When he came closer, she looked up briefly and smiled.

  ‘Hello, boy, I’ve been expecting you.’

  He bent to kiss her leathery cheek, criss-crossed with wrinkles, but still soft and smooth. ‘Hello, Granny Tess,’ he replied calmly, used to her uncanny ability to foretell events. ‘And do you also know why I have come?’ He tethered his tired horse to a nearby bush.

  ‘Not this time, young ’un, but I expect you’ll tell me soon enough. Come and have a bite to eat first, you must be famished.’

  He smiled at being called ‘boy’ and ‘young’, since he was definitely getting old now, but then his gran was so ancient herself, perhaps he seemed a mere youngster to her. He nodded and followed her over to a small open fire not far from her wagon, where he sank down onto the dry ground next to her. The plate of food she handed him was devoured quickly, then he gave it back to her with a smile and a thank you. They sat in amicable silence for a while and he studied her out of the corner of his eyes. Granny Tess was the closest thing he’d ever had to a mother since she had raised him after his own mother died birthing him, and he loved her. Amazingly wise, she had inherited more than her fair share of mystical gifts from her ancestors, and he had never made the mistake of underestimating her abilities. The matter he needed assistance with this time, however, was different. He tried to find the right words, but found it difficult.

  ‘I need your help, Granny Tess,’ he finally said. She nodded as if this was a foregone conclusion, and he continued. ‘It concerns the next life, not this one. Do your powers reach that far?’

  ‘That depends, boy.’ She frowned, putting him in mind of a crinkled old prune. ‘I can’t wake the dead, if that’s what you’re after, although I might be able to communicate with one or two of them. Nor can I change someone’s fate once they are set on their course, only give warning beforehand. What is it you want me to do?’

  He hesitated for a moment. Perhaps he was asking the impossible, but it was worth a try. ‘There is someone with whom I wish to be reunited one day, Granny Tess. A woman. She loved me in return, but she’s long gone now. Is there any way …?’

  The old Gypsy woman turned his face gently towards the fire and held it still while she peered deep into his eyes. For a long time they sat like that, motionless, while she probed his mind. He didn’t flinch, nor even blink, he was used to her ways and accepted them completely. He even tried to help her by concentrating on her penetrating gaze, as she had taught him when he was a child. Finally, she released him and sighed deeply.

  ‘You have acted unwisely, but you were guided by love and therefore there is hope. You did right, Jago, to come to me. I think I can help you, but it won’t be easy and there will be certain conditions attached. Are you willing to be patient?’

  ‘I would wait for all eternity, if necessary.’

  She gave a short cackle of laughter. ‘Well, it may not be quite as long as that, but you’re not far off. It’s how it will seem to you. You’re sure this is what you want?’

  ‘Yes.’ He’d never been more sure of anything in his life, except his love for Eliza. Sophie was gone too now, and Wesley and his half-brothers were all grown men, who no longer needed him. He knew his life was almost at an end and this was all he had left to do.

  Granny Tess smiled at him. ‘Very well then, let us begin …’

  ‘So you’re back at last, but you don’t look very happy. Do I assume you have bad news for me?’

  ‘No, Jago. No, as a matter of fact I have excellent news for you. I found her, your Eliza. She was in Wes’s room all the time, would you believe it? It was the only place I never thought to look.’

  ‘Wonderful! And it was as I said? Did you see the proof?’

  ‘The Shakespeare sonnet you mean? Yes, I saw it.’

  ‘Excellent. So now you can sell me to Eliza’s owner at enormous profit and everyone will be happy. Why the long face?’

  Kayla sighed. ‘It’s a long story, Jago, but don’t worry, I’ll make sure you’re reunited with Eliza. Only, I don’t want any payment. In fact, I want to forget you ever existed.’

  ‘I don’t understand.’

  ‘Listen, and I’ll tell you the whole sorry tale.’

  A week later Annie came rushing into Wes’s office.

  ‘There’s an enormous parcel arrived for you. You’d best come and see this for yourself.’

  ‘A parcel? I haven’t ordered anything.’ Puzzled, Wes followed her into the hall.

  ‘Took two big men to carry it in, so it did,’ Annie told him.

  ‘I can see why, but what is it?’

  Wes went in search of a crowbar since the so-called parcel wasn’t wrapped in paper, but boxed in wood. It had ‘Fragile’ and ‘Handle With Care’ stamped all over it, so it took him ages to carefully open it. When he finally managed to extricate it from all the bubble wrap inside, Wes whistled softly. He was staring at a huge portrait of a striking man who looked very familiar. He tore open the envelope t
hat was taped to the frame and read the accompanying letter.

  Dear Wes,

  Please accept this painting as a gift to thank you for my time in Devon, which I enjoyed immensely. The man in the portrait is, I believe, your five times great-grandfather, Jago Kerswell. He had an illicit affair with your ancestor’s wife, Eliza, whose portrait you already own. (She’s the one in your bedroom.) Since they were deeply in love, I think they deserve to be together now, as they never could be in real life. Don’t ask me how I know this, but it’s the truth, and I hope you’re not offended to learn that your lineage is not quite as perfect as the first Sir John would have liked everyone to believe. I enclose a family tree and some other information on your ancestors which you might find interesting. Please, hang the two portraits side by side – that is all I ask.

  Give my love to Nell, I miss her terribly. Tell her again how sorry I am for what happened. I hope she can forgive me in time.

  Best wishes,

  Kayla

  Wes studied the portrait of his ancestor and smiled for the first time in days. The resemblance between them was there for anyone to see, and even more so to Alex. He didn’t doubt the truth of Kayla’s claim. He had often looked at the portraits upstairs in the gallery, wondering why they all suddenly became dark and swarthy after a certain date, where before they had all looked pale and blond. He had attributed it to some dark-haired lady, but now he knew the real reason.

  ‘Why you old devil. So it was all your fault, huh?’ He stared at Jago. ‘Well, thank you. Now I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.’

  As he turned to go in search of Nell, he thought for a fleeting moment that he saw an answering grin on Jago’s face, but when he stopped to look again the man was as serious as before. It had only been an illusion, of course. Whistling, he set off down the hall.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Kayla smoothed out an imaginary crease in her formal skirt and made sure the buttons of the matching jacket were all done up properly. When she couldn’t procrastinate any longer, she lifted her hand to ring the bell of Marcombe Hall. She heard it pealing somewhere in the nether regions of the house and suppressed a shiver of apprehension. She probably shouldn’t have come.