Chapter 27
Chapter Twenty-Seven
THEO
Istood behind Lord Thistlebury studying the stunned women from over his shoulder. I knew by their ashen faces that none of them had ever expected to see him again. They hadn’t lied when they insisted they hadn’t heard from him in ten years. Obviously they had presumed him dead.
Rue stared at the man who had abandoned her and this home without warning.
She frowned as she gazed at him, probably trying to familiarise herself with this older version of the father who had left her when she needed him most. I thought of his likeness hanging in the hallway.
I had no idea when the portrait had been painted, but even so I was surprised how old he looked for his age.
Even if he had been thirty when he married Martha Tredwell, he would only now be in his fifties.
Then again, he had been through much in the past decade, and I knew only too well how people’s emotions showed on their faces.
My own father had deep frown lines on his forehead from scowling, and lines either side of his mouth that was so often downturned in anger.
I couldn’t miss how the tension in the room increased as no one spoke. I waited for one of them to break the silence but Rue seemed to be transfixed by shock. I turned my gaze to her grandmother, who glared at her son-in-law with such hatred that I worried she might leap up and hit him.
But then, I thought, if she was able to do that, she would already have done so.
Her lips pursed. ‘How dare you come here?’ she said shaking her head slowly as if she couldn’t believe what she was seeing.
‘Ophelia…’ Lord Thistlebury began. He took a step further into the room.
Ophelia pointed a gnarled finger at the door behind us. ‘Get out. Now! You have no right to walk into this house after all this time. You are not welcome here.’
He turned his attention to Rue’s aunt. ‘Sorrel, I mean no harm by coming here.’
If he had hoped for Sorrel Norman to soften towards him, he was mistaken. She gave him such a blistering look that I half expected him to vanish in a puff of smoke. She turned her back on him and stepped closer to her mother’s side in an unmistakable sign of unity.
I was relieved Lord Thistlebury wasn’t easily rebuffed.
‘You might not want me here but we both know I still have every right to be at Thistlebury Manor. More so than either of you, if you think about it.’
I heard the sharp intake of breath and tensed.
Had I misjudged him and made a dreadful mistake persuading him to come here?
Had I overstepped my place by involving myself in this family’s life in this way?
Ophelia glared at him furiously. Lord Thistlebury’s voice was soft but his words harsh.
Yet, although I hadn’t liked what he had said, it was the truth.
The oldest woman pressed her lips together briefly.
‘This, Rolf, unless you have forgotten, is my home,’ she said slowly.
‘It has been ever since my daughter invited me here when she was pregnant with your daughter. I don’t believe I need remind you that it has also been my and Rue’s home for the past ten years, ever since you abandoned the grieving child, this estate and all the servants. ’
‘There’s no need to be like this, Ophelia,’ he argued.
Sorrel opened her mouth to speak, but Ophelia continued.
‘No need? When I ask how you dare to come here unannounced, I ask out of curiosity because I cannot imagine I would ever behave in such a deplorable manner. Clearly you are still as selfish as you always were.’
He lowered his head and I assumed he was hurt rather than affronted. ‘I had thought us close. Once.’
‘Piffle, Rolf. Why don’t you tell us why you are here?
’ she said stiffly. Her words came slowly, full of bitterness and, I realised, pain.
For a moment I didn’t understand why, then I looked at Rue and saw her reason for this reaction.
Ophelia Tredwell had been the one to watch her granddaughter’s grief, first at having lost her mother in such a terrible way, then when her father vanished. Until now.
Rue’s eyes shifted to mine. If I had expected her to look at me accusingly for bringing him here I was wrong.
Instead, all I saw was disappointment. The look in her beautiful eyes made my heart ache.
Unable to help myself, I gazed at her lips and I was instantly transported back to the day, only a few weeks ago, when I experienced the most perfect kiss of my life.
I forced my eyes upwards. She was still staring at me but her expression had changed to cold fury. I felt a sudden pinch in my chest and winced.
For a split second I thought I saw the hint of a smile. It vanished almost as quickly as it had appeared but the satisfaction in her eyes made it seem as if she had been the cause of my pain. I moved my hand to my chest absentmindedly and rubbed gently to ease it.
Her silence spoke volumes. Why had I supposed I was doing the right thing by bringing her father here today?
How could he help any of them if they still resented him as much as they obviously did?
It was understandable. Guilt at being the cause of the women’s pain washed over me.
I was about to apologise but before I managed to speak, Rue did.
‘This is your doing,’ Rue said so quietly that it took me a moment to understand what she had said.
Her grandmother and aunt turned to look at me.
‘My granddaughter is right,’ Ophelia agreed. ‘You took it upon yourself to persuade him to return.’
I lowered my gaze in embarrassment, before looking them in the eyes once more.
‘I did,’ I admitted. I rested my hand on Lord Thistlebury’s shoulder, needing the women to understand my motives.
‘I can see now that it was wrong of me to think I’d be helping by bringing His Lordship here.
’ Ophelia went to speak, but I raised my hand, wanting to continue before she could vent her rage and dismiss us from the house.
‘If you will allow us a moment to explain why I sought out Lord Thistlebury, and also maybe to let him tell you why he left so abruptly, I would be grateful.’
‘Why should we?’ Sorrel Norman asked, looking down her nose at the pair of us.
‘Because I believe it’s time you understood his reason for doing so.’ I looked at Rue. ‘It’s been too long for you not to know what happened, surely?’
‘It has.’ Lord Thistlebury clasped his hands together. ‘You all deserve an explanation and I would be most grateful if you would allow me to at least try to give one.’
Rue opened her mouth to say something, but stopped when her father took a step forward, his arms slightly outstretched.
‘First, I need to apologise to you, Rue. I beg you to give me a chance to put my side to you.’
She scowled at him. ‘Why should we do that?’
‘Because I believe you need answers that only I can give you. Whether you believe me or not, I have never stopped loving you or missing you.’
Rue raised her eyebrows and gave a disbelieving shake of her head.
‘It is a fact, my darling. I hope that once I’ve explained my reasons you might feel less angry.’
He stopped speaking and I suspected he was hoping Rue would reassure him in some way.
‘You lost that right when you left her,’ Ophelia snapped. ‘You’ve no idea what this girl has been through, how strong she’s needed to be, or—’
He raised his hand. ‘Please, Ophelia, I know I have little right to expect much.’
‘No?’ Sorrel asked, her disdain for her brother-in-law etched on her face.
I hated to see them at odds, and as the person who had brought this about, I felt compelled to speak.
‘His Lordship is here not only to mend bridges between you and him,’ I said hurriedly before they could interrupt.
‘No?’ Rue asked, irritated.
I was desperate for her to listen. ‘He is here because I believe he could be the only person with the power to save you.’
The change in atmosphere was instant. The women swapped questioning glances.
‘From your father.’ Rue narrowed her eyes. ‘And from your investigation of me?’
She was angry but I didn’t miss the look of hope that flashed across her face for an instant.
Glad to have a chance to answer, I quickly responded. ‘I had presumed him to be the only person able to vouch for your mother not practising sorcery.’
Ophelia pressed her hands to her cheeks and laughed. ‘I beg your pardon? What sort of nonsense is this?’
Rue glanced at her grandmother. ‘Please, Grandmama, let him speak. I am intrigued. We have waited this long for answers and if we can also find a way to prove my innocence then I’m willing to listen.’ She caught my eye. ‘Then we can send him and Theo Le Cerf away for good.’
I looked at Rue, surprised by her blatant animosity.
Then again, she had endured so much and watched her grandmother and aunt take over the running of the estate at an age when Ophelia would most likely have been expecting to slow down and take things easier.
I wondered whether Ophelia might have been too busy caring for everyone around her to have time to come to terms with her own grief for her eldest daughter. Probably not.
‘Rue is right, Mother,’ Sorrel said wearily. ‘We have nothing else to do today and little left to lose, so what’s the harm in spending a few minutes hearing his excuses?’
I saw something pass between the women but could not decipher what it meant.
‘Thank you,’ Lord Thistlebury said, his voice filled with relief. ‘May I be so bold as to ask for a seat? These old legs aren’t what they were, and the ride here was longer than I’m used to.’
Rue indicated an armchair opposite the three of them, then, looking at me, said, ‘You may as well sit too.’