Defiant Heart

by Jeanie P Johnson

  “Could you describe the passengers to me?” Sebastian was starting to feel frustrated.

  “Sure, but I don’t know what good that will do. They are long gone, and London is a large city. No telling where they are now. If you don’t know their names, how will you ever hunt them down?”

  “Someone must know their names. Don’t they have to give them when they buy a ticket?”

  “We just sell tickets. We don’t care who is buying them as long as they have the money to pay. It’s not important to keep track of who rides our coaches,” the man insisted.

  “Describe them anyway, just in case I happen to bump into one of them,” Sebastian requested, so the baggage man began describing the people he remembered who got off the coach the night before, and Sebastian gave him some money for his time, feeling more hopeless then he had when he first arrived.

  “Either we stay in London, trying to find the passengers of that coach, or we go back and stop at every place we pass to find out if anyone got off the coach there. Which do you want to do?” Sebastian asked Teddy.

  “Since we have to go back anyway, we might as well take our time and check out all the places along the way,” Teddy decided.

  “Maybe you are right. No telling how long it would take to bump into someone who may or may not have been on that coach,” Sebastian agreed, and the two got into Sebastian’s carriage and headed back. But every place they stopped at, along the way, no one remembered the coach stopping. Most of the people they talked to claimed the coach never stopped in their little village, and the places where the coach usually stopped they claimed no one got off there. It seemed they had come to a dead end.

  “After my ship comes in,” Sebastian promised, “we will try again. I just hope she is safe, where ever she is,” he prayed.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Jake helped Eleanor up into the small cart, which he had attached to a little brown pony. “I so appreciate this,” Eleanor said to him, as he handed her up. “By the way, Jake, you are the only person who knows I have come to your little village by way of coach. If anyone comes asking, do not mention I got off the coach. No one must know where I am, it is very important.”

  “Oh I wouldn’t give you over,” Jake said. “Mum doesn’t know how you got here, so no use telling her. The coach never stops here anyway. That is why I was so surprised to see you get off of it. No one new seldom ever comes here. The only new people here, are usually born here,” he laughed.

  “Then I will count on you to keep my secret. I doubt anyone will be looking for me, unless my cousin gets it in his head to search for me, so perhaps there is nothing to worry about.”

  “Why are you running away?” Jake asked, as the pony plodded on along the road.

  “I am not running away. My husband died, and my uncle refused to let me remain in his house. Only my cousins cared anything about me anyway, so I left when I discovered my grandfather lived here. Other wise I would have had to find a position in London or something, so I am glad I found out about my grandfather when I did.”

  “Well I hope your grandfather is happy to discover he has a grand daughter, and allows you to remain here forever,” Jake smiled. “Your uncle doesn’t sound like a very nice man.”

  “I hope I can remain here forever too,” she told him. “And my uncle is a nice man. He just couldn’t be bothered with me any longer, after my husband got killed, so I decided it was best that I left, and I didn’t want him to discover where I went, until I was ready for him to know.”

  “I hope it all works out for you then,” Jake said. “We are almost there. I’ll let you off at the gate. Lord Boyd does not like us coming up to the house unless it is an emergency or something.”

  “That will be fine, Jake,” Eleanor told him, and then the cart was stopping, and Eleanor scrambled down, and Jake handed her the carpet bag.

  Eleanor watched Jake turn the cart and start back down the hill, and then she squared her shoulders, and walked through the rod iron gate, which she had to push open against a resisting hinge. It was connected to a high rock wall that surrounded the main building. Then she walked up the long cobble drive, until she reached the huge intimidating entrance, over hung by a covering that stretched out over the drive, which circled in front of the house. Two tall pillars which held the over hang up, were of plaster that was chipped, and the paint was pealing from the ornately tooled posts. Red ivy climbed the walls of the house, and though there were a riot of flowers about the base of the walls, they looked un tended and growing somewhat wild, as they pushed up through old growth that had died the year before. None of the bushes were trimmed, and they created a wild tangle about the yard, where ever they sprang up, with over grown grass taking over the lawns and weeds becoming the main attraction in many of the other flower garden plots. A dry three tiered fountain claimed the center of the circle drive, but it was full of dead leaves and twigs.

  Eleanor climbed the three steps that brought her up to the porch in front of the heavy double doors, tooled in grape vines and flowers. The massive brass handles were tarnished with age. She lifted the iron knocker and let it drop against the door. The sound of it startled her, as it seemed to echo into the building. She stood waiting, but no one came to the door, so she tried the knocker again.

  After the third knock, she heard distant foot steps approaching the door. It was slowly pulled open with a creek and a strange looking man, dressed in livery that was from another age, stared out at her.

  “What do you want?” he croaked at her. His bushy eyebrows almost hiding his watery blue eyes from view. His hair was a stark white and stuck out in all directions, as though it had never known a comb.

  “I am here to see Maximilian Boyd,” Eleanor said in a voice she hoped was forceful enough to intimidate the old man.

  “What is your purpose?” he inquired.

  “I am his grand daughter,” she informed him.

  “He doesn’t have a grand daughter,” the man insisted.

  “He does now,” she claimed. “Please let me in, and I will prove to him I am his grand daughter.”

  The old man stood appraising her for a long moment before finally stepping aside and allowing her to enter. “Sit over there,” he said, pointing to a side bench in the entry way. “I will go talk to him.”

  He left her sitting, gazing at the huge entry way, with its tall ceiling supporting a massive chandler that was covered with cobwebs. Tall pillars lined the entry to the huge door that she assumed led to the great hall. There were other doors off of the entry, and a stairway that led up on either side of the row of pillars. Large pictures, covered with so much dust, she could barely make out what they looked like, hung in gilded frames on the walls. Pots of dead plants, stood by a couple of pillars, and the rug that covered the dusty marble floor looked frayed. It seemed a very long time that she was left sitting there, but the old man had been walking very slow, as though every step was an effort to make.

  Finally she heard his footsteps scraping over the marble floor again, and she walked to meet him half way, thinking she would save him the effort of coming all the way to her.

  The old man gave her a disgruntled scrutinizing glare. “He’ll see you, but I don’t expect he will believe you are his grand daughter,” he grumbled.

  “I have proof, so there is nothing to believe. It is fact,” she told him.

  “We will see,” the old man murmured, and she followed behind him as he led the way to the study. He opened the door for her and she timidly stepped into the large dark paneled room. The walls were lined with books and a massive desk dominated the room. Behind the desk sat a man with his head bowed over the desk, studying some papers before him. She was surprised to see that his hair still had dark streaks of color in it. His bushy side burns, though, were almost white. His shoulders were straight and leaned firmly against the back of his chair. The door closed and he slowly lifted his head. Then his eyes widened and his mouth parted. He took in a deep, ragged, breath. “Camellia?�
� The sound whispered from his throat.

  “Do I look so much like her?” Eleanor asked.

  The man shook his head, closing his eyes, as though he could not believe what he was seeing. “Who…who are you?” he stammered.

  “You should know. I look just like her, don’t I? Perhaps this letter will explain. Drake Boyd was my father.” She approached his desk and placed the letter on the surface.

  “I don’t know any Drake Boyd,” the harshness of his voice caught her off guard.

  “Of course you don’t, but he was your son. The letter will explain,” she said. “You might want to look at this as well,” she told him, passing him the rolled up birth certificate.

  He glanced down at the paper, reading it several times, it seemed, because his eyes did not lift from it and she could see his hand start to tremble, but then he was old, and that might account for his trembling hand, she reasoned. Maybe his hands trembled all the time. Finally he picked up the envelope and looked at his name scrawled across the front. He blinked a couple of times and then pulled the sheet of paper from it.

  Eleanor watched the expression on his face change from disbelief, to wonder, then astonishment, and then to anger.

  “It was wrong. It was wrong what my parents did,” he almost whispered. “I never stopped loving her. How could I? She was a part of my very soul.” He lifted his eyes to her. “Yes, you look just like her. Even without this proof you have brought, I would know you anywhere.”

  He rose from his chair and walked around the desk. He was not bent, like the man who had ushered her into the room. He walked straight and tall, not showing his age. He had been strong and muscular at one time in his life, she thought. Probably as handsome as her grandmother was beautiful, she decided.

  When he rounded the desk, he opened his arms. “Welcome to my home.” he said, and she walked into his arms, as he folded them around her. “I never dreamed…” his voice shook with emotion. “Now there is something to live for…” He held her away from him. “What is your name, child?” he asked suddenly.

  “Eleanor. Eleanor Charlotte Boyd,” she said proudly.

  “Thank you for coming,” he breathed. “What took you so long?”

  “I only found out yesterday that I had any family. My father was lost along the way, when coming here, and a man named Belington found him and took him in. I was raised up as a Belington because no one knew what my father’s sir name was. My mother died at my birth and my father died of the Spanish flue when I was a child. I was raised by who I thought to be my aunt and uncle, but I had no name or fortune. I was married for a short time, but my husband died. I am carrying his child.”

  “Then you are no longer a Boyd. What is your married name?” he asked.

  Eleanor stiffened. She had not thought of that. “Brentwood, she found herself saying. My husband’s name was Sebastian Brentwood.

  “And how did he die?” her grandfather inquired.

  “He was lost at sea,” she told him simply. Anyway he was lost to her, she thought to herself. He had probably already sailed away, never to return.

  “So I am to have a great grand child soon. This is almost too much to believe. Yesterday I was a tired lonely man, and today, I suddenly have family. Someone to inherit this heap of stone.” He motioned to the walls around him. “The place is in a terrible state. I just stopped caring about it, when I had to admit that there was no one to leave it to.

  “My second wife never had any children. But now… Now everything has changed. You have breathed a fresh breath of life into these old bones, by coming here. I only wished my son had discovered who he was, so I could have raised him.”

  “The information was inside a stuffed rabbit, which was the only thing he had with him when he was found. I treasured that rabbit, and the other day, it just fell apart and a packet with the letter and birth certificate and some money fell out. I used the money to pay for the coach out here. My father got as far as London. He didn’t have far to go, and yet he never knew.”

  “But I can see your life has not been hard. The Belingtons must have taken good care of you. Your clothes are expensive, and you have the manners of a lady,” he noted.

  “Yes, I had everything but a name and inheritance,” she murmured.

  “Oh, but now you do have a name, and an inheritance,” he cheered. “But what of your husband? Didn’t he leave you anything when he died?”

  “It all went down with his ship,” Eleanor lied.

  “Are you sure he is dead?”

  “I am not sure of anything. But I knew my only choice was to come here, when I discovered who I really was,” she informed him.

  “Yes. I am glad you made the decision. I feel ashamed that we do not have a decent room to put you in. Everything is in such disrepair.”

  “Don’t worry. I am not afraid of a little work. Find me a room and I will clean it myself.”

  “This will never do. First thing tomorrow morning, I am going to find more staff for the house and grounds and we will put the place back in order again,” he announced.

  He took Eleanor’s hands in his and stood back and looked at her, his eyes gleaming bright from beneath his dark brows. “You look just like Camellia looked the day I married her. She was Italian, you know.”

  “My mother was also Italian. She was a maid that worked in the Belington house. She must have reminded my father of his mother,” Eleanor shared her conclusions with him.

  “Perhaps you are right.”

  “Her name was Charlotte,” Eleanor informed him.

  “Are you tired? Have you had anything to eat? Forgive me for my lack of manners, I should have ordered tea or something the moment you came.”

  “I stayed the night with one of the villagers. Lilly Baker, and her son Jake. They fed me before I came. If you decide to hire someone, I am sure Jake would be a good worker. The family looked in need of money,” Eleanor said, as she started to feel excited about her whole situation.

  “If the mother needs work, I will hire her as well, since they sheltered you in their home and kept you safe.”

  “Jake drove me up in his cart,” Eleanor told him. “He is sixteen years old, and very bright.”

  “Then we shall be sure to make them a part of our household staff,” Lord Boyd, decided. “But I must send for my solicitor and change my will, first thing. Not that I plan to die tomorrow, but no use putting it off now.”

  “I met the son of your old solicitor on the coach,” Eleanor shared.

  “Yes, I remember him. Wellington, I believe. I would have kept him on, but he claimed he was over burdened with other clients at the time, so I hired Mr. Todd, a good man, but not as efficient as Wellington was, I’m afraid.”

  “His son seemed like a nice enough person, even though he appeared much of a dandy to me,” she giggled.

  “Yes, I think I remember the boy. He used to come with his father sometimes. But it has been years since Wellington worked for me. Perhaps his schedule is more open now. I might just check. Well here I am going on about things that most likely bore you. Do come with me and I will see what we can find in the kitchen. The cook is old and doesn’t see too well, so we just have simple meals now days. Maybe I should find a replacement for her, or at least someone who can help her out. I doubt she would feel easy about it, if someone tried to take over her kitchen,” he chuckled.

  “Don’t worry about me. I won’t need anything special. I had to share a maid with my cousin, so I am used to doing things on my own most of the time,” she hastened to explain.

  “Things are going to be different now,” Lord Boyd smiled, as he looked lovingly down at her. “You will be lady of this house, and if you ever marry again, you and your husband will be the Lord over these estates. But until then I will have to teach you all you need to know to run things once I am gone.”

  “I am sure that will not be for a very long time,” Eleanor predicted. “You appear to be fairly young and strong, and a perfect specimen of health.” />
  “But until now, I really had no reason for living. So I hope you are correct, because there are so many things I wish to share with you, before I die.”

  “I am so happy I have found you,” Eleanor smiled up at him. “You don’t know how much I have longed to know who I really was, and now I can finally feel like I belong someplace.”

  “This is the happiest day of my life, since the day I married your grandmother. I wish now I had never given into my parents, but I was young and foolish back then. I hope I am done with foolishness now.”

  He put his arm around her shoulder and hugged her to him as they walked down the hall towards the kitchen.

  Finally Eleanor felt complete, except for the dull pain of knowing she would never see Sebastian again. But she had so much to keep her busy now, perhaps she would be able to put him out of her mind, she tried to convince herself.

  The next week was filled with people from the village coming and going, applying for positions at the great house. Eleanor was so pleased to inform Lilly and Jake they were first choice, and Jake hired on as a stable hand, while his mother became the cook’s assistant.

  Instead of sending for the solicitor, Lord Boyd decided that he and Eleanor would make a trip to London together.

  “We must furnish you a whole new wardrobe. The few things you brought will never do, and while we are in town, I will stop by Wellington’s and see if he has room to put me back on his schedule. Then I will get my will revised.”

  “You do not have to make a fuss over me,” Eleanor insisted.

  “But I want to make a fuss over you! You are the family I never dreamed of having, and what else am I going to do with my money, if not spend it on my favorite, and only granddaughter,” he chuckled. “Now don’t refuse me. It will make me happy to buy things for you. While we are there, I will open a bank account for you, and give you an allowance so you will not have to come to me when you need money for things. And later there is a matter of getting you a horse, but maybe a buggy along with it, would be better, until after the baby is born.”