Page 70 of Tamed By a Passionate Lady
“I did not know,” she said quietly, her voice breaking into a sob. “I did not know what my brother was doing to you. I thought that he just admired you, in a gentlemanly manner…”
Adaline sighed deeply. James must have decided to tell her everything. Her mind raced ahead. That must mean that he had confronted Reuben…
“The shame of it,” whispered Isabel, her blue eyes wide. “James has told me that my brother must leave, but he has insisted that I can stay if I so desire.” Her face crumpled. “I do not know what to do. I am so happy at Birkenhead Lodge, but if you wish me to leave, because of Reuben, I will do so at once, Adaline.”
Adaline shook her head slowly. “I do not wish you to leave, Isabel. You are very welcome here.” She took a deep breath. “Whatever your brother has done is not your fault, my dear, and neither James nor I blame you for it. We do not hold it against you. Please, stay on, if that is what you truly desire.”
Isabel’s face lightened, just a little. “Are you sure?”
Adaline nodded. “Very sure.”
Isabel’s lip started to quiver again. “You should have told me, Adaline. To think, you have endured such insolence, all alone.” She scowled. “I would have told him off. I would have reminded him to act like a gentleman…”
“Isabel, he is not your responsibility,” said Adaline gently. “Besides, I doubt very much that he would have listened to you anyway…”
It almost broke her heart to see how devastated Isabel was. She had worshipped her brother, in many ways, even though she was aware of his faults. It must be a low blow, indeed, to have heard about how disrespectful and predatory Reuben was.
She glanced at James, still sitting in his wheelchair behind them. He looked devastated, too; truly sorry that Isabel was so upset. This was hard for all of them. But she knew that he had done the right thing, by informing the young woman immediately.
Isabel would have been mystified as to why Reuben had to depart so quickly, and suspected that something was gravely wrong anyway. It was better to get it all out in the open; rather like lancing a festering wound, before the poison spread entirely.
She took a deep breath. “You should go and lie down, my dear. The shock might weaken you, and I do not want you to fall ill again.” She paused. “You always have a home with us, Isabel, for as long as you wish. You are like a younger sister to me, and always will be.”
Isabel nodded tearfully. “I think it would be for the best if I do lie down.” She paused. “I will say goodbye to Reuben, as well. He is packing his things, and intends to leave for Liverpool, immediately.”
“You do what you have to do, my dear,” said Adaline, nodding her head.
The young woman bit her lip, drifting away. Adaline watched her walk away for a moment, before turning back to James.
Their eyes caught, and locked, for a long moment.
Eventually, he reached out a hand, towards her. “My love,” he said, in a quiet voice. “Please, come and sit down. There is more that I must tell you about what has happened here.”
***
Adaline sat down beside him, taking his hand. He looked so sorrowful, as if his heart was breaking. Slowly, he lifted her hand, to his lips, kissing it fiercely.
“I cannot tell you how good it is to see your face,” he whispered, his eyes raking over her, as if he hadn’t seen her in a very long time. “It is a like a welcome draught, to a parched man.”
“Oh, my love,” she whispered back, her eyes filling with tears. “You have told Reuben to leave, then? It must have been so hard…”
He sighed, almost shuddering, dropping her hand. “It was one of the hardest things that I have ever had to do,” he said, his eyes sad. “But it is not just about how he treated you, Adaline. I did not tell you, but I remembered something else about what he had done…”
She felt a chill all over, settling into her bones like a cold wind. She couldn’t speak. It was dread, pure and simple, like someone had walked over her grave.
He took a deep breath. “I remember what happened, when I was at the cliff’s edge,” he said slowly. “I did not fall, Adaline. I was pushed.”
She squeezed her eyes shut, tightly. Somehow, she had known that he was going to say this. Some deep intuition, that she had not been aware that she even felt. She opened her eyes again, staring straight at him.
“I was admiring the ship,” he whispered, his eyes filling with tears. “TheChristiana, as it sailed along the coastline.” He took a deep, ragged breath. “I heard a noise, behind me, and I turned around. Reuben was standing there. He did not say a word to me. He suddenly lunged, his face full of hate, pushing me off the cliff….”
She sobbed, burying her face into her hands. To think that this man, her husband’s oldest friend, could be so evil.
She had never liked him, from the moment she had laid eyes upon him. And when he had started his deliberate pursuit of her, behind her husband’s back, she had started to loathe him. But she had never dreamt that he was capable of this. That his contempt for James was so deep that he was capable of cold blooded murder.
But now it dawned on her that he had been missing in the hours after the fall. She had sent Isabel off to look for him, and the young woman could not find her brother. She had not thought much of it at the time – she had been so distracted by caring for James – but now she realised the significance of it.
Dr. Brown had questioned why James had been standing so close to that cliff, as well. Close enough to slip to the rocks below. The answer was that he had not been so close to that edge. He had been pushed towards it.
