Page 63 of The Burning Passion of a Fiery Lady
She had only been gone from the room for ten short minutes. Just enough time to quickly check that the house was running smoothly. Amy had taken over the day to day running, but she still needed to make sure that all was well. In particular, she had to make sure that the grounds were still being patrolled, on a regular basis.
She had been shocked when she had walked back in the room. He was not only wide awake, but sitting up, clutching his stomach. He was staring at the wall as if a ghost had suddenly materialised in front of him. His face was chalk white, and when he had gripped her hand, she could feel that he was shaking violently.
“Tell me,” she whispered, her eyes filling with tears.
He gripped her hand so tightly for a moment; she had to bite her lip to keep from crying out.
“It was no accident,” he said slowly. “I did not fall, or trip. A man did this to me. A man came up behind me when I was about to secure the stable gate for the night.” He shuddered. “He hit me, hard, with a large rock.”
Susannah gasped in horror. She had always known that was what had happened to him, and that this was no accident. But to hear him say it was shocking.
“He carried me into the fields,” he whispered. “He threw me down on the ground and leant over me, telling me that I should say my prayers because I was going to meet my maker. And then he walked away … leaving me to die.”
Susannah sobbed quietly.
Jasper took a deep breath. “I saw him. I saw his face.”
She stared at him, not daring to believe that it was true.
“What did he look like?” Her voice was a whisper.
He took another deep breath. “He was tall and very thin. He had a long, angular face, and light brown hair. But it was his eyes I remember the most. They were small and beady. The coldest eyes that I have ever seen.”
Susannah gasped. ItwasLeonard. Jasper had described him almost to a tee.
“He left me there to die.” He shuddered again. “The coward. He hit me from behind so that I had no chance to defend myself.”
“Heisa coward,” she spat, suddenly furiously angry. “And he did the same thing to Gilbert. Only my late husband never regained consciousness to tell the story.”
Jasper turned to look at her, his eyes wide. “Susannah,” he gasped. “Now, it is all coming back to me.” He ran a hand through his dishevelled dark hair. “Your husband and how he died. Your old friend and your suspicions of what he did to him. The night that the horses escaped. Why did you not talk to me about it?”
“I did not want to burden you,” she said quietly. “You had only just regained consciousness, and I thought that it would be too much for you. I was waiting until you were a bit better, to bring it up. To try to remind you of what had gone on; to see if it would jog your memory, of what happened to you that night.”
“Oh, my love.” He reached out, stroking her face, his pale blue eyes wide. “You have been carrying this burden all alone …”
“It was worth it,” she whispered. “I needed to do it to make sure that you became well again. So that you would grow strong again. That is the main thing that matters, Jasper. I just want you whole, so that you can be by my side … forever.”
They clung to each other for a moment.
“Leonard Green,” he said, in a bitter voice. “I remember his name now. It is as if all the pieces have finally decided to slot together, in my mind.”
“Yes, his name is Leonard Green,” she said. “The man who is obsessed with me, and who is willing to kill to prove his twisted love. He is still close by, Jasper. It is almost as if I can feel him, out there …”
She shuddered in his arms. It was true. Even though she had patrols on the grounds, she knew that he was still out there. At night, when she finally crawled into bed, she would burrow under the covers, her heart beating in fear, knowing that he was still lurking on the periphery of her life.
And when she finally fell asleep, he would enter her dreams, growing grotesquely large, seeming to fill her mind. The nightmares seemed so real that she would wake up gasping, drenched in sweat.
She knew that she couldn’t live like this forever. Sherefusedto live this way, forever. He had to be dealt with.
She took a deep breath. “At least you can identify him,” she said quietly. “You would know him if you saw him, wouldn’t you?”
He nodded slowly. “I believe that I would, but I cannot say for certain until I see the man’s face.”
She took another deep breath. “It is attempted murder,” she said slowly. “What he did to you is nothing less. He picked up a rock and hit you with it, with the intention of killing you. When you did not die immediately, he left you to perish, in a field.”
Jasper nodded. “Yes. His intention was to kill.” He paused. “But even if I identify him as my attacker, Susannah, it is my word against his. And everyone at The Willows knows by now that we have a close relationship. You have been nursing me night and day. If I accused him, he could easily say it is because I think he is a rival for your affections and that I want to get him out of the way …”
Susannah stared at him. “No. No …”
