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“As the main instigator of yesterday’s events, I’m holding Jay fully accountable.” He placed his hands behind himself and tilted his head back to look them down his long nose.
“Jay?” Mrs. Colby was obviously stunned and instantly shot a look in Erika’s direction.
Erika lowered her eyes.
“How is Jay responsible for what happened?” Mr. Colby demanded, his voice just slightly growing harsher.
“The welfare of a young lady must always be taken into consideration, particularly when accompanied on an outing such as that.” She saw her grandfather’s eyes turn steely.
“We raised our boys well, Mr. Snowden, and am insulted that you would suggest otherwise.” Jonathan Colby stood just as tall and proud as her grandfather. “As a matter of fact, those boys held your granddaughter’s well-being a priority.”
“Does my granddaughter look well to you?” He gestured toward her with hostility, causing Erika to burn with humiliation. “She’s standing on crutches because her feet had been so brutally neglected, in addition to the fact she could have very easily froze to death.”
“Now wait just a minute!” Mr. Colby’s voice rose with his temper and Erika couldn’t watch. She stared hard at the ground, knowing full well Mrs. Colby was watching her. “For starters, as I understand, neither of them were aware of the condition of her feet until they had progressed too far. As for freezing to death, what did you expect? For Jay to build a cabin?”
“Jonathan.” Mrs. Colby spoke his name quietly, trying to calm her husband’s temper.
“I expected him to do whatever it would have taken to ensure she was warm and safe.”
A memory of her lying in Jay’s arm feeling exactly that came to mind, but she couldn’t very well admit as much. She wouldn’t doubt her grandfather would have him hung.
“Well, seeing that she has survived the night, no harm has been done” Jay’s father stated. “And if it wasn’t for that son of mine carrying her home on his back, her injured feet could have ended up in a far worse state. That or the risk of being stranded in the wilderness due to her inability to walk.”
“I do not consider my granddaughter’s injuries as blessings in exchange from a far worse fate, Mr. Colby,” he told the man. “A man who perceives injustice simply as an accident of fate will in himself be defeated by morals. A man must take responsibility for his decisions and bear his punishment for that crime.”
“What exactly are you saying?” Jonathan’s eyes narrowed as he looked at her grandfather.
“I will be bringing charges against your son and ensure he spends time behind those stone walls at the gaol so that he can reevaluate his actions and choices and their subsequent results.”
“On what grounds?” The man demanded, fury spilling forth from his eyes.
Erika bit her lip hard and tried to think of something to say. However, she simply stood there and was merely an observer of this horrific scene.
“Criminal negligence causing harm on the part of a woman directly under his care.” Gerald Snowden’s demeanor remained unchanged during the entire confrontation.
Jonathan Colby cursed loudly and Erika winced, but was too frightened to raise her eyes. “I won’t stand here any longer and have you blaspheme my son.”
He spun around and snatched his wife’s arm, then together they left the room. A horrible feeling of despair swept over Erika. Silently she had prayed that her grandfather would remain calm and able to come to some form of understanding of these recent events. That was not to be the case. Her eyes began to burn and she wanted nothing more than to burst into tears.
“Go to your room, child,” Gerald Snowden ordered silently. “And stay off those feet.”
* * *
When spring arrived in the province of Ontario, it came quickly. A week after her trip to the backwoods, the snow on the ground had nearly melted completely. Days were getting longer and the ice on the lake had melted back to the shoreline. From her bedroom window, Erika looked down the bluff to the harbor below. A beautiful sunset had left the horizon sky a picturesque deep blue. The buildings sitting on the banks of the flats had lit their candles for the night, lighting up the harbor, while a lone ship silently slid out of port.
Erika raised her hand and pressed it against the windowpane as the Francesca took to the lake and sailed away. She hadn’t been able to say goodbye. Her grandfather absolutely denied her many requests. She had hoped Ryan would have found a way to see her before leaving, but he did not.
The horrible scene with his parents in her grandfather’s parlor had sealed their fate. The two families were now sworn enemies. And it was all Jay Colby’s fault.
So upset with this injustice to her heart, she came to believe Jay deserved being locked up at the gaol. It had all happened so quickly. Erika wasn’t allowed at the hearing, but her grandfather had come home a jubilant man. Hence was how she learned of Jay Colby’s fate that afternoon when he was convicted of criminal negligence. She wasn’t entirely sure on what grounds her grandfather won his case, but it was common knowledge that Gerald Snowden was a powerful man in town and not many men would be unwise as to go against him.
However, because the Chief Justice felt Erika’s injuries were minor, Jay received the minimal time of imprisonment. Five days later, he was released. This did not damper her grandfather’s victory. In his opinion, it served as a good lesson for Jay Colby. Fiona had remarked that what he really thought was he hoped Jay Colby had finally learned to conform to her grandfather’s ways.
Whatever the case, it definitely put a large riff between the two families. The hopelessness of the situation reminded Erika of the Shakespearean love story between Romeo and Juliet. How tragic it would be if they were to succumb to the same horrific fate.
Knowing
herself betrayed by his rogue brother, she stole away into the night and set forth for her beloved. Her phantom silhouette scurried quietly through the moon kissed streets and down toward the pier. The cool of the lake stole into her shawl, but left no charge as she slipped aboard the four-masted ship. She went to him and together they clasped hands and for a moment, thus they remained gazing upon each other. Then she went into his embrace, for she belonged to him, and only him. It was not until late into the ensuing morning did her disappearance go noticed. . . .
