“No. I will not allow anyone else to be destroyed by this…”
“I am not asking for your permission. Merely telling you what I intend to do,” Julian stated. “That is an end to the discussion. After today, Kingsley will depart with the money he seeks and you can return to Loughton Grange, to your family, secure in the knowledge that your reputation is safe.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Julian judged that they had remained at the old forest house for three hours. In the sequestered glade, they had behaved as though there were no possible consequences to their actions. It was as though they were woodland sprites from a long-forgotten fable, cavorting in the depths of the forest. Sprites of ancient fertility rites. He was amazed at his own lack of restraint and at Ester’s.
He thought of the accusation which Kingsley had leveled at her, or would if he were not silenced. He would point to her willingness to give herself to Julian as proof that he had not forced himself on her. Yet Julian found such thoughts repugnant. To him, Ester’s essence, her very being, shimmered with an untarnished purity, an innocence that only magnified in the wake of her trials. She was a soul too gentle to bear the scars of scandal, a creature of light faltering under a weight no tender heart should endure. It was not just comfort she sought in his arms but a respite from a storm that threatened to rend her very fabric.
Presently, they dressed, mutually acknowledging that this period in which time seemed to stand still must eventually come to an end. They must return to face their issues. Face those who would drag them down.
Julian assisted Ester with the buttons of her dress, his fingers brushing against her skin as she lifted her lush hair, exposing the nape of her neck to the cool forest air.
“We have to assume that Kingsley has, by now, returned to Theydon Mount, his search proving fruitless. His man too, I would imagine. He may well take the opportunity to plant the cameo in the rooms you were given,” Julian murmured as he focused.
He was horrified at the ease with which he could say such things but he would not shy away from the calumny of the man he had regarded as a friend. His mind was made up. He had looked into Ester’s eyes and glimpsed her soul. It was not the soul of a thief or a seducer.
“It should not be difficult to smuggle you back into the castle. There are many secluded doors and hidden entrances and the forest will provide additional cover.”
“But what then?” Ester’s voice was a nervous whisper, as her body shivered with each touch of his finger.
“I will confront him, give him the money he so desperately desires. It will form the liquidation of our partnership and his portion from our shared ventures.”
With her gown buttoned up, she spun to face him. Moonlight caught the hint of fear within her eyes. “But what if he refuses the offer?”
“He will accept,” Julian stated, his confidence unshaken. “If he is indeed in debt, then the amount the liquidation of our partnership will yield will be far more than his blackmail request. Kingsley was always one to be blinded by gold.”
Ester nodded, her fingers twisting a fold of her gown. “I am… I am not at ease with the notion of being the one to sever your kinship. It feels like yet more damage wrought on others by my actions.”
Julian cupped her face, tilting it gently to meet his eyes, then kissed her. “Ester, it is not you. It is he who has behaved as a detestable scoundrel and sown these seeds of betrayal. And he shall answer for it.”
Ester bit her lip, then nodded timidly.
She proceeded to show Julian how she had entered the house, not by the dangerous staircase but a slope of broken brick that had formed when a wall had collapsed outward into the forest. Julian led the way, offering his hand for her to grasp, admiring her courage that she had dared such a path before.
Reaching the clearing, his steed, Rufus, grazed quietly. Julian assisted Ester onto the old tree stump, lifting her gently onto Rufus’ back. Arranging her before him in a side-saddle fashion, she leaned into his embrace as he wrapped one arm securelyaround her, reins in the other hand. Together, they set off, Rufus treading softly through the underbrush.
They had climbed to the top of the hill and the castle was occasionally visible between the trees in the distance before Julian realized that he had left his gloves behind in the ruined house. He immediately made to turn Rufus and return but Ester took his hands.
“Let them be, Julian,” she urged. “Place your trust in me. I am here, and I am well. You have no further need of them.”
“But it is not so simple,” Julian confessed, a shadow of anguish crossing his face. “I want to. I want to be free of this burden. But my father was a learned man with a great deal of ancient and esoteric knowledge. Growing up in Windermere, I saw and heard things that I cannot explain.”
“Your father was wrong,” Ester countered fiercely, “he condemned a child to a life of torment for reasons that I cannot even begin to guess at. And I stand before you as proof of his error.”
Julian’s gaze drifted to the dark embrace of the forest, his hands feeling oddly bare without the gloves. He felt vulnerable, as though his uncovered hands might unleash some latent peril upon the horse beneath him, or the ancient trees they passed. Yet, Ester was living and vital. Her life force was undiminished. The fever had left her and perhaps it was truly nothing more than a head cold brought about by the nighttime immersion in the freezing water of the Theydon Mere.
At last, he nodded, steering Rufus back towards the castle, his resolve settling like dust after turmoil. Ester put her hands over his where they lay on the reins, making a point of keeping contact with him. Julian prayed that she was not mistaken, that her faith in him was justified.
The castle loomed larger between the trees, and soon, Rufus was walking along the remnants of man-made paths, having passed into what had once been gardens. When they reached an ivy-covered wall of ochre brick, Julian dismounted and helped Ester to do the same. With her hand clasped gently in his own, he led her along the wall, Rufus in tow, until they came to a set of mossy stone steps. They descended to a grassy sward at the foot of one of the castle’s corner towers. The tower was reinforced by tall, stone buttresses, and in between two of these was a door. Julian knew it was there, though he could not see it.
For a moment, he watched the many windows of the castle above them.
“I chose this door because of the windows that overlook this spot of the grounds, most of them are disused and locked rooms. That row up there to the left is the end of the guest’s wing where Crammond will have assigned rooms for Kingsley and his man as the search continues. Should they chance to wander the corridor and glance out, they might see us. But it is unlikely. I am cursing the lack of household staff. If I had a proper staff, I could simply put you in a trap and have a stableman drive you to Loughton Grange. Alas, I must press Crammond into service as coachman until better arrangements emerge. For now, I will set you up in one of those disused rooms. You will be safe fromKingsley there. I will leave you the key so you might secure yourself within.”
Ester swallowed and nodded, licking her lips. She looked nervous, even a little frightened. Her fingers squeezed his and she gave him a tight smile. He realized that she was trying to comfort him, watching the trepidation that he had no doubt was on his own face.
“This is madness. I am having to sneak about in my own domain to avoid Kingsley’s presence. He should be the one in hiding,” Julian scoffed.
