Sensing the other women’s curiosity, Eliza recounted what that had happened to her since her first meeting with Edward.
It was nearly an hour later by the time she lapsed into exhausted silence. Now she thought about it, even she hadn’t realised so much had happened to her.
“Isn’t it strange how much you can cope with when you have to?” Harriett murmured, staring thoughtfully at Jemima. “I mean, although crises happen to everyone, most of the time you just cope with it, and move on. Probably more battered than you were before, hopefully wiser, and most definitely more cynical than you were. You have to just get on with life really, don’t you?” She didn’t ask anyone in particular the question, it was more a voicing of thoughts.
“If someone had told me a year ago what would happen to me, I would have laughed in their faces and said it was impossible. Now? Anything can happen.” Jemima said.
“As long as you have life, health and happiness, everything else is a triviality,” Harriett added wisely.
They were interrupted by a soft knock on the door. Jemima didn’t need to look to know who it was. Eliza rose to slide back the bolt for them to enter.
Jemima was aware of the soft murmur of voices, before silence descended upon the room. It came as no surprise when Peter sat in the chair Harriett had vacated.
His heart lurched at the sight of her. Her glorious hair hung in gentle curls around her shoulders, still damp from their walk on the cliff top. The shadows beneath her eyes were darker than ever, giving her a haunted look.
He ached to sweep her into his arms and hold her, but she looked as though she would shatter into a thousand tiny pieces if anyone touched her. He wondered if the events on the cliffs had proven too much for her.
“Tell me something,” Jemima whispered, her voice so thin that at first he thought he had imagined her request.
“I lied; you have to know that,” he replied gently, anticipating her question. The betrayal in her eyes cut him deeply and he hastened to undo the damage he had done.
“I adore you. I have from the very first moment I set eyes on you in the dining room in Devon, my darling. You stole my heart. I am not usually the kind of man who shows interest in servants; even one as beautiful as you. But I knew from the first moment I saw you that you were different. I couldn’t get you out of my mind. You were like a drug to me. The more I saw you; the more I wanted to see you, and get to know everything about you. I was glad you came to me and asked for my help; if only for the opportunity to be able to spend time with you. It was inevitable that I would fall in love with you as deeply as I have. That is the only reason I came after you. That is the reason why I was so deeply distressed in Derby at the thought of you being in gaol, let alone being killed. If I didn’t care about you, I wouldn’t have raced across the country to try to save you from being executed.”
Jemima didn’t move, just sat staring at him, that same lost look on her face.
Peter eased forward in his seat, leaning toward her until they were face to face, his nose inches from hers. He captured the delicate oval of her face between his hands, forcing her to look at him as gently as possible.
“I promise you here and now that you may have got rid of Scraggan, but you haven’t got rid of me. I will remain a part of your life, whether you like it or not. I will plague your every footstep, haunt your every dream, and be a part of your every waking moment. I have spent too many months, spent many hundreds of pounds, in search of you. My life in Willowbrook has been on hold while I try to find the woman who captured my heart and took it with her when she ran from me. Now that I have you, I have no intention of ever letting you go again,” Peter whispered, trying to convey the depth of his sincerity.
“Do you realise just what it was like for me to have to return your body to Willowbrook?” His voice grew husky with grief that refused to relinquish its hold on him. “Do you realise what it was like to stand beside you, knowing I would never see your beautiful eyes stare at me again? Never see your wonderful lips smile? I would have been happy to have been struck down and allowed to join you.”
A sob escaped her.
Peter immediately took her into his arms, murmuring soft reassurances to her over and over in the hope that some, if not all, of his words were heard and believed.
“I adore you, Jemima. My life belongs with you,” Peter whispered feeling old and weary, his voice choked with emotion. “I’d like to say, let’s go home, but at the moment we have no way out of here unless it is on foot, and I don’t know about you but I have had enough of traipsing around the countryside for the time being. Right now I want a nice warm bed, so I can get some sleep.”
“I’ve agreed to stay here with Harriett tonight,” Jemima murmured, not wanting to offend her friend’s generosity by expecting Peter to stay too.
“We have got some rooms at the inn,” he informed her, smiling gently. “It seems that the villagers are delighted we have rid them of Scraggan.”
“Are the Redcoats still in the village?” It was good to think of something else for a change. Anything to help reduce the strange numb feeling that she didn’t seem able to shake off.
“Yes, they have finished their search, and are now camped out in the harbour, in plain sight of everyone. The officers have gone round to the women whose husbands were conscripted by Scraggan to reassure them that their husbands will return soon.”
Jemima began to cry, remembering the sobs of the children and babies, and the wailing of the wives who were helpless to stop their husbands, their only source of income, being dragged away.
“Come here.” Peter tightened his arms, giving her a shoulder to cry on. He cupped the back of her head in one palm, muttering soothing sounds and kissing her forehead over and over as she cried as though the world had ended.
“Bring her in here,” Harriett said, holding a side door open to what appeared to be a bedroom. Peter nodded and picked Jemima up, carrying his precious burden carefully through the doorway and depositing her gently upon the bed. He wasn’t going to leave her in such a distressed state, no matter what Harriett wanted.
“Do you mind staying tonight with her?” Harriett’s guess that the couple were intimate was correct, and she knew from the grateful look Peter threw her that she hadn’t offended him by her suggestion. “She needs you,” she nodded toward Jemima, and gently moved toward her friend to kiss her gently on her cheek.
“Edward and Eliza are spending the night at the inn and say ‘goodnight’ to you,” she informed him as she closed the door.
Once alone, Peter wasted no time in helping a now quiet Jemima between the sheets, sliding in, fully clothed, beside her and gathering her into his arms.
“I’m so tired,” Jemima whispered.