He paused, sensing Florilyn’s unspoken question at his words. He turned toward her. “Yes, Florilyn,” he said, nodding with a smile of acknowledgment, “I found Gwyneth in my own fir wood, as I think you knew I would. I have asked her to marry me.”
“Oh, Percy,” said Florilyn, rising and walking to him. “I am so happy for you.”
He turned to meet her.
She embraced him as Courtenay, still powerless in Steven’s grasp, looked on. Florilyn stepped back and now stood to face her brother. “Courtenay,” she said, “Percy is our friend, not our enemy.” Her voice was soft. The spell of lies at last was broken. “He has always been our friend. I don’t know how I could have forgotten. Now you need to listen to him.”
Slowly Steven relaxed his hold and stepped back.
“All right, then,” spat Courtenay belligerently, “what is it?”
“You may prefer to sit down,” said Percy.
“I will stand. I will submit to this childish show of power because you have me at a disadvantage,” spat Courtenay. “But know this, cousin, in five days I will take great pleasure in throwing you out of this house—you and all your accomplices in whatever game you are playing.”
“I do not think you will, Courtenay. I will not leave except by the word of the viscountess.”
“In five days the manor will be mine. If you refuse my order, I will have you removed by force.”
“Again, I think not, Courtenay. In five days the manor will not be yours.”
“Don’t talk bloody nonsense!”
“I speak the truth. You are not your father’s rightful heir.”
A stunned silence filled the room. Courtenay stared back speechless then broke into a laugh. “You are mad as a March hare! Who else would be his heir?”
Out of the corner of his eye, Percy saw Steven staring at him with an equally dumbfounded expression. “She whom your father commissioned me on his deathbed to find,” he replied to Courtenay’s question. “She who was his rightful heir by his first marriage, before he knew your mother.”
“An outrageous claim!” cried Courtenay. “If my father had been married twice, I would know of it. Who is this mystery heir?” For the first time a hint of nervousness was evident in his tone.
“The very one whom you so long despised as too far beneath you even to deserve your contempt—she whom you know as Gwyneth Barrie.”
Again a blank stare of incredulity met Percy’s words. Steven’s expression of disbelief drifted toward his own cousin. “She is but a peasant and guttersnipe!” he said. As he spoke, he laughed scornfully.
“Careful, Courtenay—she is the young woman who is to be my wife. I will let it pass this once. But do not insult her again, or I will give you cause to regret it. She is also your father’s granddaughter.”
The evident seriousness on his sister’s face and the confidence with which Percy spoke at last succeeded in sobering Courtenay to the reality that there might be more to the claim than could so easily be laughed off. He believed not a word of it. But the mirth slowly died from his lips.
“I presume you have some sort of proof you intend to put forward in support of this preposterous notion,” he said coolly.
As he spoke, on the floor Colville was returning to consciousness. His confused brain struggled to make sense of where he was. The only word that registered from out of the fog he now repeated in defense of the charge that had been brought against him.
“Proof …” he repeated in a slurred tongue, climbing groggily to his feet. “Proof … all lies … where’s the proof?”
“I believe all the proof needed for the truth of Rhawn’s words, Colville,” said Florilyn, “may be seen clearly enough in the face of that little boy who just left with his mother. Steven,” she said to Steven, “would you please escort Mr. Burrenchobay from the house. Our afternoon tea is over.”
With one hand on his arm, Steven gently ushered Colville through the french doors. A pronounced stinging in the region of his right cheekbone was all the persuasion Colville needed to go quietly. Steven saw him safely to the front of the house, helped him mount his horse, and returned inside through the main front door. By the time he reached home, Colville’s head was splitting, and he called for cold compresses.
Meanwhile, the three cousins were left alone in the sunroom.
“You spoke of proof,” said Percy. “All the proof you may require shall be provided in due course.”
“No doubt,” rejoined Courtenay sullenly. “But my solicitor shall make inquiries.”
“Florilyn,” said Percy, “would you mind going to your mother? Tell her I need to speak with her in private. I will join her momentarily. You may return and tell me where to meet her.”
Florilyn turned to go then hesitated. She gazed at Percy full in the face. “Percy … I am sorry,” she said. “Can you ever forgive me for the dreadful things I said?”
Percy smiled. “You were forgiven without needing to ask.”
She returned his smile, hugged him warmly, and left the room.
Percy and Courtenay exchanged a few more words in private.
69
Ladies of the Manor
The moment they were alone, Katherine gave Gwyneth a warm hug.
“Gwyneth, my dear!” she exclaimed. “How you have grown. You are beautiful!”
Gwyneth smiled with peaceful embarrassment.
“But what are you doing here? No one knew where you had disappeared to.”
“I will leave that for Percy to explain, Lady Katherine,” replied Gwyneth. “I apologize that we came unannounced.”
“Think nothing of it. You are both more welcome than I can say.”
As they were talking, Florilyn walked through the door. She glanced about. There were her mother, Gwyneth, and Rhawn. All three turned toward her as the door opened. Her eyes filled with tears at the sight. She walked to her mother. Katherine received her into her embrace, and Florilyn broke into great cleansing sobs. “Mother,” she cried. “I am so sorry! I’m sorry I didn’t trust you or come to you.”
Katherine stroked her hair and held her as she had not done in years.
Florilyn wept until the storm gradually subsided. She sniffed and wiped at her eyes, then turned to Gwyneth. The two embraced. No words were needed.
Florilyn now approached Rhawn, whose tears were not yet altogether spent either. The two friends embraced, with mutual words of renewed affection. “Thank you, Rhawn,” said Florilyn. “It took courage to do what you did and tell me the truth. I know you didn’t want to. But you did it for me. I am sorry for all you have been through and for the terrible things I said. You are a true friend. I will never forget what you did for me today.”
Just then Steven returned from outside after seeing Colville on his way and walked into the room. Florilyn turned and saw him, then came toward him with a peaceful, humble, embarrassed smile. He opened his arms, and she walked into them without hesitation.
“I’m sorry, Steven,” she said softly. “I treated you terribly. I have no excuse. I forgot who you were—that you were my friend … and more than a friend.”
“It is over now,” he said tenderly. “It will be as if it never was.”
Florilyn now turned again to Katherine. “Mother,” she said, “Percy wants to see you alone. He asked me to tell him where you would like to meet him.”
Katherine nodded. She and Florilyn spoke further for a few moments, and then she left the room.
Percy entered Katherine’s private sitting room on the second floor a few minutes later.
His aunt was waiting for him.
“Hello, Aunt Katherine,” he said with a smile. “At last I can give you a proper greeting!”
She rose and embraced him. “You seem to have come just in time.”
“I had no idea about Florilyn’s engagement.”
“I told her she needed to write you. But she has been very different since your last visit.”
“I noticed.”
; “I should have told you and your parents, but … I was embarrassed. I suppose I kept hoping Florilyn would come to her senses. How I prayed you would come!”
“I hope all that is over now. I am sorry I gave you no advance warning. Our trip was very sudden.”
“You are always welcome, Percy—with or without warning. Though I will not be at the manor much longer, as you know. This may be your final visit.”
“We shall see about that,” replied Percy. “Though I must say this wasn’t exactly the peaceful homecoming I envisioned,” he added with a light laugh. “It appears Gwyneth and I walked into a hornets’ nest!”
“It is as much my fault as anyone’s,” replied Katherine. “Steven asked my permission to confront Florilyn about her engagement to Colville. I had no idea it would turn so heated and violent.”
“Colville has a terrible temper. But if it is any consolation, I think she will soon be breaking her engagement.”
“Yes, she told me. She already seems her old self again. Colville had cast such a spell over her. I am very relieved. And Gwyneth—she is looking wonderful! Who could have imagined she would turn into such a beautiful young lady.”
“Did either she or Florilyn tell you?”
“About what?”
“Gwyneth and I are engaged.”
“Oh, Percy—that’s wonderful! Although,” she said pausing momentarily, “I had been holding out hope that one day I would be able to call you my son-in-law as well as my nephew.”
“I am hoping that it won’t be long before you will be able to call one your son-in-law who is every bit the man I am … if not more!” Percy paused and drew in a deep breath. “But time for all that later,” he said. “Aunt Katherine,” he added quietly, “I need to talk to you very seriously. I think we should sit down. What I have to say may be painful for you. This is not how I envisioned it. I did not want to tell you like this. But events today seem rather to have overtaken us. It is imperative you know the truth without delay.”
“The truth about what, Percy?”
Percy went on to tell her the whole story.
She listened quietly, with occasional tears. “I think I knew it all along,” she said when he had concluded. “A woman knows when she is not the only one living in a man’s heart, even if the other is but a memory. When you wrote me after returning from Ireland, I knew you were trying to protect my feelings. You probably hoped I would think Roderick was involved in some business deal that he wanted you to look into. I appreciate what you tried to do. But when you were so evasive, I had the feeling even then that there must have been a child.”
“I am sorry, Aunt Katherine. If there had been a gentler way, or any other way …”
“I know, Percy. You had to do what you felt was right. Under the circumstances, this may prove to be for everyone’s good in the end.”
“Even Courtenay’s?”
“If it serves to humble him and make a true man of him, then of course. What is a title and property alongside character? I would rather see my children paupers, and me along with them, if that is what it takes to build the character of godliness into us all.”
“Hopefully it will not require quite such extreme measures,” said Percy. He drew in a deep breath then rose. “I asked the others to wait for us downstairs in the sitting room,” he said. “I told them I would explain more after talking to you.”
“Then let us keep them waiting no longer.”
“There is one thing, Aunt Katherine … I don’t know how much you want me to say, or—”
“I would have no more secrets, Percy,” said his aunt. “Tell them everything. Perhaps you should simply read the affidavit Roderick asked you to write out then tell about the letters and your going to Ireland and everything Mr. Barrie told you. After all these years, I would have light shed on it all. Please, you mustn’t worry about my feelings. We must have the full truth.”
Percy nodded seriously. “Perhaps Steven should take Rhawn home,” he suggested. “Then the five of us can talk among ourselves.”
Katherine thought a moment. “She has been through an emotional ordeal,” she said. “She should not be alone right now. I think it would be good for her to remain here awhile, with her friends, perhaps for evening tea.”
“And Steven?”
“Steven is as much a part of our family as anyone. He is Gwyneth’s cousin. However … it may be that we should keep Roderick’s disclosure among ourselves, at least for now. It will all come out soon enough, but … I shall talk to Steven. He will understand. He can keep Rhawn company while the five of us talk.”
She rose, and they left the room and walked down one flight of stairs where the others were awaiting them in the east parlor. She walked straight to Gwyneth and folded her a second time into a loving embrace. “You dear, beautiful, mysterious young woman,” she whispered into her ear, “Percy has told me everything. Welcome to the family!”
70
The Affidavit
An hour later, after a break for tea and walk outside settling into old friendships, Katherine, Courtenay, Florilyn, Percy, and Gwyneth gathered upstairs in the sitting room of Katherine’s apartment. Steven and Rhawn were outside in the stables where Steven was introducing Rhawn’s son to the manor’s horses.
“By now we all know why Percy and Gwyneth have returned,” Katherine began. “There are pains to be borne, probably most severely by you, Courtenay, and myself. But the truth must come out. So I asked Percy to tell us everything.” She turned toward Percy.
“Before Uncle Roderick died,” Percy began, “he asked me to take down a statement he wanted to make. I know it may occur to you, Courtenay, to wonder why he made his confession to me rather than you or his solicitor or anyone else. I asked him that as well. His chief reason was simply that, should I prove unsuccessful in finding Gwyneth, whom he believed to be his granddaughter, then he saw no reason for any of this to come out at all. Telling me was his way of preserving confidentiality. I think he may have had some mistaken notion that my being a student of law gave the affidavit added veracity. It doesn’t, of course. Nothing I took down from him carries the weight of a legal document. However, I think that may have influenced his thinking.”
“If it is not a legal document,” said Courtenay, “then what possible grounds do you have for thinking I intend to sit idly by and be deprived of my title and inheritance?”
“You asked for proof earlier,” replied Percy. “Though it is not legally binding, I will give you what proof I am able for the moment in your father’s own words. What additional proof there is will have to wait for another day, except to say that I have seen the parish records, both attesting to your father’s first marriage and to the birth of Gwyneth’s mother. Proving Gwyneth’s maternity may be more difficult, but I am confident that proof will come in time.”
“Go on, Percy,” said Katherine. “Read Roderick’s statement.”
Percy nodded then unfolded the papers he had in his hand.
“To whom it may concern,” Percy began aloud, “especially to my dear wife Katherine, my family, and to Hamilton Murray, our faithful solicitor of many years:
I make this affidavit on the 27th day of June in the year 1872 in the presence of my nephew, Percival Drummond, son of Edward and Mary Drummond of Glasgow. I am of sound mind, but failing body …
At sixteen years of age,” Percy continued, “as a spoiled son of what I thought was wealth, I left Wales on a youthful grand tour, as we called it in those days—to see the world and spend money and generally squander my youth on the altar of irresponsibility. It turned out that my father was not the wealthy man I took him for. Before my travels were over, I was nearly out of money. I found myself in Ireland chasing the fleeting dream of riches in the rivers of Wicklow, though what remained to be found was doubtful. There my heart was smitten with a young Irish lass of working, though not peasant stock. Her name was Avonmara O’Sullivan …”
Percy continued, not without many pauses and breaks, as Flo
rilyn and Katherine listened with handkerchiefs in hand and eyes wet. At length he came to his uncle’s final words.
“To you, Courtenay, if Percy is successful, you may hate me as well as him for what I have done and his part in it. I can only pray that it will make a man of you and that you will awaken to the claim of character sooner in your life than I did. You have the makings of goodness within you, my son. Heed their call and do not ignore them until it is too late.”
Courtenay sat listening with a sullen scowl. As if it wasn’t enough to be deprived of his inheritance in full view of this parcel of urchins, women, and cousins, he had to endure the further humiliation of being lectured at by his father from the grave!
“To you, my Flory, I have treasured our friendship of recent years. You have become a beautiful daughter to make a man proud—and I am assuredly proud of the young woman you have become. You will make your new husband a worthy and loving wife, and I am happy for you both.”
Florilyn could contain herself no longer. She burst into sobs at her father’s words. Percy waited.
“To you, my dear Katherine,” he concluded at length, “there are no words to tell you how sorry I am. You were the best wife a man could have—certainly far better than I deserved. Whatever happened before I met you, I only pray it will not cause you more pain than you can bear. But from the moment I met you, I loved you with all my heart. I love you now, and I will miss you until the day we meet again. Good-bye, my love.”
The Treasure of the Celtic Triangle- Wales Page 32
