Betrayal of Innocence (A New Adventure Begins - Star Elite 1)

“Just stay safe,” Justin whispered.

Without saying a word, he hauled her into his arms and kissed her. Right there and then and in front of everybody. It was brief, but no less shocking for its impact on Vanessa, who was left staring helplessly after him as he stalked out of the church.

CHAPTER TWENTY

One month later

Vanessa took the last candle-stick off the mantle and placed it in the packing trunk, then carefully slid the lid into place. A workman immediately stepped forward with a hammer and nails and hammered the lid down.

“Is that all, Miss?” he asked cheerfully.

When she nodded, he carried the case out of the house and slid it onto the back of the cart with the rest of their belongings.

Her father appeared in the doorway. “That’s the lot,” he murmured. “Are you ready?”

Vanessa looked at him. She struggled to know what to say.

Graham sensed her hidden fear and stepped into the room.

“It is the best for all of us, my dear,” he assured her gently. “It is time we all moved on. Geraldine is adamant her divorce from Curtis is the right thing to do. There will be a scandal, of course, but only with the locals around here. She still can’t bring herself to even look at the church. I, for one, have been trapped in this house for far too long. It is time I moved on.”

Vanessa looked down at the bare floor beneath her feet.

“I thought we were all in agreement this is the best thing to do for all of us,” Graham murmured gently.

“We did, but now that the reality is here, it is far harder than I ever imagined,” she whispered.

“I know. Curtis has signed the paperwork for the purchase of the farm now, so it is all his. Now that the money is back in the bank, Geraldine is free to come with us. The house in Framley-by-the-Sea is all ready for us. Your Uncle Gerrard has even arranged for a housekeeper for us. All we need to do is get there.”

Graham opened the door to the hallway and stood beside it meaningfully.

Vanessa nodded and finally followed her father to the door. She was tired. Last night, she had found it difficult to settle her mind enough to rest, but it hadn’t been because she had been plagued with nightmares. Her thoughts had focused solely on Justin. She had wondered where he was, what he was doing, and if she would ever see him again. Leaving the house seemed to confirm that her future didn’t lie with Justin after all. While she had left her direction with Weeks, she doubted Justin would bother to try to find her. He had returned to his life in London, and that was that.

Minutes later, she climbed aboard the carriage and sat beside her sister. She knew the villagers had been told they were going, but they too were still reeling from the shock of what had happened. As a result, their waves and smiles as Graham and his daughters rode past could only be described as muted, but no less emotional.

“It’s the right thing to do,” Vanessa sighed, clasping her sister’s hand and holding on tightly.

“I have never

been so glad to see the back of somewhere in my life,” Geraldine whispered.

“Your divorce is final now,” Vanessa murmured. “You are free to do whatever you please.”

“I wouldn’t have felt safe there ever again,” Geraldine sighed. “I certainly wouldn’t be able to go out to paint without worrying about who was going to creep up on me again. At least by the seaside there is fresh air and freedom.”

“Well, Curtis has gotten what he wanted. He can live on the farm now, and do what he wants,” Vanessa added.

Geraldine nodded. “He can keep it as far as I am concerned. Marrying him was the biggest mistake of my life.”

Vanessa stared at the church spire, protruding from the rooftops of the village.

“Don’t look back, dear,” her father warned. “People are designed to walk forwards in life, never backwards, therefore you must always look ahead. All sorts of exciting things lie before you. You just have to have the strength to reach out for them and make the necessary changes to bring your dreams to fruition. I have wasted far too much of my life dwelling on the past, and don’t intend to waste a single moment of it from now on. It is time for me to look to the future as well and stop sitting in a chair feeling sorry for myself.” He glanced over his shoulder at Geraldine. “It is time for you to stop letting that man damage your future as well, Geraldine.”

“Curtis?” Geraldine gasped in outrage.

“No, Reuben. Whatever is wrong with him is not your fault. Weeks says the Star Elite has sent for a special doctor from London to decide whether the man is insane or just a calculating criminal using insanity to excuse his crimes. Whatever he is, the judge is refusing to allow Reuben to go to an asylum until his insanity can be proven,” Graham informed both of his daughters.

On a personal note, he was relieved to be able to take his daughters away from the threat and unhappiness life in the village had brought them both.