Chapter 23 #2
Only death will separate Geoffrey from me.
Only death…
Geoffrey would be safe in death.
“I cannot leave,” I said, “but I have a plan if you’ll help me.”
As night fell, I approached the village via the river, avoiding de Tourrard’s watchmen.
By the time I reached the graveyard, my body shook with the cold.
Then, sickened by what I had done, I slipped along the thoroughfare until I found the building I sought.
The house looked the same as when I’d first seen it, with the same stack of barrels at the front, and I lifted my hand and knocked on the door.
Before I lost my nerve and fled, I heard footsteps and the door opened a little way.
“Who is it?” a familiar voice said.
“’Tis I. Lisetta.”
The door opened more fully to reveal Jack Cooper. But the familiar open expression was no longer there. Instead, he frowned, his eyes hardening.
“What do you want?” he said.
“To warn you. You must leave. There are men—looking for Vane.”
“I already know that, woman,” he snarled. “They were looking for him in the tavern, declaring him a traitor to the crown. But none betrayed him. Folk here at Balsdean are loyal to their own. But you betrayed him though, did you not? Just as you betrayed young Tom.”
“Tom?” I said, my heart aching at the memory of that sweet young man, his life cut short. “H-how do you know he’s dead?”
“He was discovered a few days ago at Midford tavern—his throat slit. How could you betray him so? We brought you into our home! Get out of my sight before I do the same to you.”
“Please, Jack,” I cried but he slammed the door in my face.
I pounded on the door, not caring that my fists began to bleed.
It opened again to reveal both Jack and Lily.
“Leave us alone, you treacherous slut!” Lily cried. “Are you come to betray us too?”
“No!” I pleaded, “I have come to give you your nephew. Please! His best chance of survival is with you.”
Only then did they notice my basket. It contained two bundles. One wriggled and squawked in protest, the other lay horribly still.
I set down the basket and I picked Geoffrey up, my heart aching as he gave a low cry.
“Please take him.” I held my son out to Lily, my heart breaking at the thought of giving him up. “Then you must leave. De Tourrard is to burn the village at first light. His men have surrounded the village but if you leave by the river you’ll pass unnoticed.
Lily ignored the child in my arms.
“Do you deny you told them to come here?”
I shook my head. “Forgive me. All I can do now is ask you to leave and give my son a good life.”
“No,” Lily said, “we cannot take him. How do we know he’s Valentine’s child? My brother may be many things but he is too fine a man to cuckold another.”
“A child’s place is with his mother,” Jack insisted. “Are you so unfit that you seek to give him away?”
“Aye!” I cried, desperation straining my voice. “He is Vane’s child. Lily, I seduced him because I needed to give my husband a son. I did it to secure my position.”
My ploy worked. Lily drew back her arm and struck me with full force across the face. I took the blow without flinching.
“I always knew you were nothing but a devious whore,” she said. “You entrapped him to save your own worthless skin—used him for your own ends.”
“Aye, I am as you say,” I said, my cheek burning, “but Geoffrey is Vane’s child. He deserves to be brought up with his family, free from de Tourrard, and free from me. My son is innocent even if I am not.”
Lily glared at me, her eyes full of loathing.
“Please, Lily!” I implored her. “I do not ask for myself, but for my son—and for Vane. You will never see me again. Tell Geoffrey nothing about his mother. It would be as if I did not exist.”
“Surely de Tourrard will come looking for him—and you?” Jack asked, his gaze penetrating.
I shook my head, “I shall return to de Tourrard tonight and will tell him that Geoffrey is dead.”
“Will he believe you?”
I nodded toward the basket at my feet. “I-I visited the churchyard before I came here. This child will pass as my son. He was of a similar age.”
“My God—you are an evil witch!” Lily cried. “You would rob a churchyard, desecrate a child’s grave? You’ll burn in hell for what you have done!”
“Mayhap,” I said quietly, “but I would gladly burn for the sake of my son.”
“How can we be sure that you don’t have de Tourrard’s men with you now?” Lily said. “Perhaps you’re using your son to entrap us.”
Lily truly believed me evil to think I’d use Geoffrey as bait. But I needed her to hate me to ensure she would take him. I reached into the basket and pulled out a packet, handing it to Jack. He took it, unfolding it to reveal two pieces of parchment and a ring set with a large ruby.
“The ring was a gift from Lord Mortlock,” I said. “It should pay for Geoffrey’s keep. I would give you others but cannot risk de Tourrard noticing their absence.”
“And the papers?” Jack raised an eyebrow.
“They once meant a great deal to me. They are love letters; two of them. One was from someone who befriended me before he died. He taught me how to love though we never met. The other is my response which was never delivered. Mortlock discovered it and murdered my maidservant for it. He only spared me because I was with child—but if de Tourrard read it he could use it as evidence of adultery, and I would suffer my mother’s fate.
Though not much, ’tis the only offering of faith that I can give. ”
“What happened to your mother?” Jack said.
“She was burned at the stake when I was a young child,” I replied, blinking away a tear. “Papa made me watch as a lesson in how to be a dutiful wife.”
Jack muttered a curse though Lily’s face remained impassive.
“I’ll never know if Tarvin really loved me or if he was a spy to entrap me,” I said, “but I fell in love with the words he wrote. That letter is the only genuine thing I have ever said or written in my life. I have always had to hide my feelings to protect myself and others. It’s all I have to give you—that, and my son. ”
Jack’s eyes widened, and he leaned forward.
“Tarvin? Was that his name?”
“Aye. Tarvin de Fowensal.”
His face paled, then he gestured to his wife.
“Lily, take the child,” Jack said, “if you are sure—sister?”
I nodded, tears pooling in my eyes, my arms shaking as Lily approached.
“Take him quickly before I lose my resolve,” I said. “I must return before I am missed, or all this will have been in vain.”
Lily took Geoffrey who settled into her embrace as if he had always been there.
“He already knows a good woman from an evil one,” she said, holding him close as if she had delivered him from the jaws of hell.
“Desist, Lily,” Jack said. “Go inside and make ready to leave.” Jack’s voice was angry, and Lily glared at him before turning on me.
“May you burn in hell.”
I watched her back as she disappeared into the house, carrying Geoffrey in her arms. I clenched my fists, the nails biting into my palms. The effort to stay still was almost unendurable—the separation was as if my limbs had been torn from me.
A light hand touched my arm and I looked up into Jack’s eyes, which had softened.
“May God go with you, Lisetta.”
I shook my head, fighting the pain in my heart on hearing Geoffrey’s plaintive cries from within the house.
“The Almighty forsook me a long time ago, Jack. But I pray he will look over all of you.”
He lifted his hand to my shoulder, and I flinched when he touched the tender spot where de Tourrard had burned me. He pulled down my sleeve to reveal the reddened, puckered flesh.
“You did not betray us willingly, did you?”
I shook my head. “I must go. There’s nothing you can do for me.”
He placed his lips on my forehead in a chaste kiss.
I gripped his shoulders and tipped my face up to whisper in his ear.
“Is he well, Jack? Is he safe?”
His body stiffened. God had truly abandoned me if even this kind man—once my friend—had forsaken me.
“Do not tell me where he is, Jack. That would put him in danger. I know I am going to my death and don’t have the courage to withstand de Tourrard’s…questions. But I will find solace in purgatory if I know that he is safe.”
He lowered his voice to a whisper, his breath tickling my ear.
“Aye, he is well.”
I took a deep breath and my stomach churned. I staggered back but Jack held me to prevent my fall and a sob escaped my lips as I buried my head in his chest and choked out the words.
“Please—all of you—leave the village as soon as you can. Remember—by the river.”
I clung to him, my knuckles glowing white where I gripped his tunic, until Lily’s sharp voice from inside broke the silence. I steadied myself and pushed him away, wiping my face.
“Thank you,” I said, and I picked up the basket and fled.
I didn’t make it far—barely twenty paces before I doubled up and dropped the basket with its horrific occupant.
I fell to my knees and my stomach expelled its contents, the acid taste in my mouth only serving to make me retch even more violently.
Long after I had emptied my stomach the spasms continued while my head throbbed with pain.
I crawled toward a puddle in the road. Dipping my hand in, I tried to rinse the taste from my mouth. After taking several deep breaths, the shaking subsided, and I picked up the basket before heading to the river to return to the camp.
Before I left, I took one last look at the house that had been my home, where I had caught a brief glimpse of the happy family life I craved.
I saw a silhouette in the upstairs window and smiled, my objective achieved. Geoffrey might never know his mother but at least he had a chance at life.
There was nothing for me now but to face my death with as much dignity and courage as my mother had. If God were as merciful as she had believed, then perhaps my poor condemned soul would find peace.