If You Were Mine (14 page)

“
Tell me Isobel, how long were you with Aunt Elspeth before
Rupert arrived?”

“
Two and a half weeks,” Isobel replied, remembering those
hideous moments. “Aunt Elspeth was her usual vacant self,
twittering on about something over tea. Ellison answered the door
to Rupert who thundered in, ranting and raving about being kept
waiting before helping himself to the decanters.”

Isobel’s
voice was monotone as she remembered that fateful afternoon when
her life altered so dramatically. She could view the scene as
though from a far distance. “He said he had come to remove me. That
you had died, leaving him as my guardian. I was stunned and
horrified, mainly at the news of your death.” Isobel trembled so
much she couldn’t hold her tea cup, and placed it carefully on the
table before her. “I tried to ask him what had happened, but he
said he didn’t have all of the facts, but a magistrate - a man
called Worthing - had informed him of your death in Norfolk and
that made him my legal guardian. He told me to pack immediately as
I was leaving. He couldn’t remain in Willowbrook, and would see to
its disposal at a later date.” She glanced towards Peter. “When I
tried to argue with him that I should remain at Willowbrook, he
began ranting that Elspeth was unstable and should be sent to an
asylum. Elspeth became so distressed that I agreed to leave. But
only after securing his promise that he wouldn’t have her sent away
and she could remain at Willowbrook for the time being. I didn’t
know what to think; what to do. I couldn’t believe you had died,
but I didn’t know how to clarify it. I was stuck, and so upset. He
gave me only a short time in which to pack.”

“
Did he tell you where you were going?” Peter asked
carefully.

Isobel
shook her head. “By the time I had packed a few meagre belongings,
he had summoned the coach and was leaving. I was ushered outside,
and into the waiting carriage before I knew it. I insisted on Kitty
coming with me. At first he wouldn’t agree, but when I said I
needed a lady’s maid with me and flatly refused to leave without
her, he agreed. It all happened so quickly, and I was so horrified
with the news about your death Peter that I just couldn’t
think.”

“
Can you remember how long you were in the carriage?” Peter
knew Rupert had lodgings in London that could be reached within a
day.

“
We travelled most of the night. It was still dark when we
arrived at Gosport Hall.”

“
Gosport Hall?” Peter’s voice was incredulous. He had
completely forgotten about the place.

“
What’s Gosport Hall?” Dominic asked, causing Isobel to
jump.

“
Gosport Hall is a small hunting lodge on the outskirts of
Northampton. It is very remote, but easily accessible. Papa
inherited it when Grandmama passed on some years ago. It was handed
directly to Isobel when Papa died, only we hadn’t done anything
with it with Isobel so young. Then with Mother dying and
everything, it just never seemed particularly important. Well, you
know, I just completely forgot about it. Especially as it is
Isobel’s. It was really for Isobel to decide what to do with it
when she came of age. It was closed up and moth-balled ages
ago,”Peter replied. “We used to go there a lot as children. It was
a second home for us. We stopped going there when Mama died; Papa
couldn’t bear being there.”

Isobel
saw the steady look that passed between the two men and raised a
questioning brow at Dominic.

Dominic
read her question. “I have suggested to Peter that Rupert could
well have taken you to his house on the other side of town. Knowing
we were trying to find you and holding you so close to my home
would appeal to his warped sense of humour. He would enjoy the fact
that you were so close to us, but we couldn’t see you.”

“
You were searching for me?” Isobel’s voice was
incredulous.

“
Of course we were searching for you.” Dominic looked askance
at her for considering they might not have bothered. “We returned
as soon as most of the smugglers were behind bars. When we arrived
back at Willowbrook, Elspeth was in a state and the staff in total
disarray. By that time, you had been gone nearly six weeks. Any
trail we had, had gone cold. We had to start from scratch in our
search to find you.” Dominic’s voice turned husky with emotion as
he remembered those fraught weeks.

“
Did you reside the entire time at Gosport Hall?” Peter
queried.

“
Yes. Because we didn’t move, it gave me the opportunity to
get away.” It also gave her some small measure of comfort to be
somewhere so familiar. She smiled gently at Peter. “I also
remembered your way of visiting the ladies, er, Taverns, in the
village.” Her lips twisted as she fought the urge to tease him,
glad for the brief respite from the stark memories.

Peter
scrunched his nose up, and smiled ruefully. “The rose
trellis.”

Isobel
nodded, her smile fading slowly. “The rose trellis.”

“
You climbed a rose trellis?” Dominic raised a brow and eyed
Isobel’s skirts warily.

“
I climbed down the rose trellis to get away.” Isobel
explained Peter’s escape route and regular journeys to
town.

Enlightened, Dominic nodded. “That explains your
clothing.”

“
What clothing?” Peter interjected, growing more curious by
the second.

“
I survived recapture by Rupert being dressed as a boy,”
Isobel explained.

“
Disguised, and staying on the run,” Peter added thinking of
the random trail they followed up the country.

“
Tell me,” Dominic needed to get back to the matter at hand.
“When you first arrived at Gosport Hall, what happened?”

Isobel
paused knowing what he was asking. She waited for several moments
in an attempt to gather her thoughts.

“
He summoned me downstairs. I don’t know what I was expecting.
At Willowbrook, he was curt but sort of polite. Not altogether
friendly, but not nasty either. As soon as we reached Gosport, he
took to the library, and in particular the bottles it contained. I
was summoned downstairs to see him. He had already eaten and was
drunk.”

The
stark memories didn’t sit well with her, and Isobel needed to move.
She rose and moved to stand before the fire, staring down absently
at the flames as the memories resurfaced.

“
He told me that he was my guardian now as Peter was dead, and
I had better get used to his house rules. He listed a lot of silly
things that to be honest, I didn’t listen to. He was red-faced and
sweating. The sheer hatred in his eyes...” Her voice trailed off to
a whisper, as the image of his beady eyes glaring at her
ferociously swam in her mind.

“
I told him that I didn’t need a guardian, but got no further
than that.” She could sense the tension in the men seated behind
her. Carefully, she described that fateful first night, fully aware
of the rapt attention of the men seated around the room.

“
Good God.”

“
The bastard!”

“
How often did the beatings happen, Isobel?” Dominic’s voice
was low and lethal. Isobel turned towards him, a small muscle
ticked in his jaw, confirmation that he was coldly
furious.

“
Most days. Some were worse than others,” Isobel’s voice was
soft, and she felt the salty tang of tears upon her lips. “There
were times ...” She swallowed repeatedly as the words locked in her
throat. She knew if she was to have any future she needed to tell
them everything. “There were times when I didn’t think I should
survive.”

She sat
down on the chaise again, relieved when Dominic immediately moved
to sit beside her, holding her hand carefully in his. It gave her
the strength to continue. “There were times when I didn’t want to
survive.”

Dominic
closed his eyes careful not to allow her to see the depth of his
anger.

“
Towards the end, the beatings became less frequent, but he
had begun to make noises about Bertram DeLisle coming to visit, and
I needed to smarten myself up. He told me that he had sold me to
DeLisle who was coming to inspect his goods.” Isobel frowned trying
to remember any other details that might assist in the downfall of
Rupert. “His manservant also informed the few servants who
remained, that I was betrothed, and was due to leave soon to be wed
to DeLisle. That is what prompted Kitty into action.”

“
Kitty helped you escape.” It wasn’t a question, but Isobel
nodded anyway and described the events on the night of her
escape.

“
Did Rupert ever threaten or beat Kitty?” Dominic was curious
just how far Rupert had gone.

“
No, as far as I am aware he didn’t touch her. I don’t think
she was treated very nicely, but she didn’t complain of beatings.
She wasn’t afraid of Rupert,” Isobel replied. “Did Rupert throw her
out?”

“
No he didn’t. Kitty left of her own accord during the night
while Rupert and his men were looking for you. She eventually made
her way back to Willowbrook.”

“
Have you spoken to her?”

“
Yes, when we were looking for you. I went to Aunt Elspeth’s
house to check if you had turned up. Elspeth informed me of Kitty’s
arrival and we questioned her. Kitty was relieved to learn I was
alive and readily gave me the details of what had happened from her
point of view.” Peter replied noting the paling of Isobel’s
previously flushed countenance.

“
If it hadn’t been for Kitty ...” Isobel left the statement
open, knowing very well both men understood.

“
We will ensure she is rewarded for her bravery my dear,”
Dominic reassured her, his eyes soft as they rested upon
her.

“
Kitty has decided she would like to remain with Aunt Elspeth
as a companion, and Elspeth is delighted with the prospect.
Apparently she has fitted in extremely well after her ordeal, and
has gained somewhat celebrity status for helping save you,” Peter
added ruefully.

“
What happened once you left the rose trellis? We know you
disappeared into the night on your own.” The very idea of the risks
she took still left Dominic cold. “Where did you go? How did you
survive?”

“
I had a purse of coins Peter had left me before he went away,
and Kitty gave me another pouch of her savings. I must make sure
she gets those back with a little extra.”

“
I’ll see she gets it,” Dominic shared glance with Peter.
Kitty would receive the funds, plus interest, along with an estate
cottage at Willowbrook, an increase in salary and a job for as long
as she wanted it. Both men had already discussed Kitty’s
involvement in Isobel’s survival. They had agreed to ensure Kitty
had everything necessary to make her life a lot more comfortable
for her part in saving Isobel’s life.

“
You were half starved when I found you,” he added bringing
the conversation back to the matter at hand.

In the
first few days of leaving Willowbrook, she had stolen apples and
berries from orchards and gardens along the way until she had begun
to feel ill from all the fruit. To her utter shame and remorse, she
stole a chunk of bread from a loaf left cooling outside the kitchen
door of a farmhouse. Although she had not been detected, and sheer
hunger had driven her to commit such a crime, guilt had settled
like a heavy weight in her stomach as she had eaten, and it had
been a circumstance upon which she had not wished to repeat. Since
then she had very carefully used the coins in her purse to purchase
sparse food along the way, however, given the length of time she
had been on her own, that had all been spent early on leaving her
at a loss on how to survive.

Tears
pooled in her eyes as she remembered the sense of desolation she
had felt each day when she had awoken to find herself all alone in
the world, with nothing but the clothing on her back.

“
Don’t upset yourself my dear, ‘tis all over now.” Peter
soothed when silence fell amongst the room.

Isobel
shook her head. “But it isn’t really, is it? Rupert is still out
there.” She pulled her shawl more tightly across her shoulders, as
if the room temperature had suddenly dropped several
degrees.

“
Why didn’t you head straight here? Did you not remember what
I told you that last time we met before we left for Norfolk?”
Dominic’s voice was sharp.

“
I remembered,” Isobel replied softly. “But as I said before,
I needed to keep to country lanes and away from towns. My journey
was on foot, and took me far longer than I had anticipated. The
route was quite winding, and took me to places I didn’t really need
to go. With needing to earn additional pennies to eat, I was
travelling far longer than I had ever anticipated. However, there
was no alternative.” It was suddenly very important that Dominic
understand. “I didn’t know if Rupert was following me or not, but I
just couldn’t take the chance.”

“
Were you heading here when I found you?” Dominic leaned
forwards, his elbows resting on his knees as tension rose within
him.

“
Yes I was. I couldn’t think of anywhere else to go; anyone
else whom I could trust.” Her lips twisted into a grimace of a
smile. “I was going to throw myself on your mercy, and beg for your
assistance in getting to London secretly; preferably without your
wife knowing.”