AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Oh my goodness. It seems we have two problems rather than one, doesn’t it?”
Raven could not help but smile at the thought of the two of them attempting to set everything right at Briarcliff. “Let’s handle Jessup first. He gets in his crops and pays his rent on time. It can be argued that his personal life is his own business. He may be a mean bastard, but at least he provides a home for his wife and children.”
“That’s not enough, Raven.”
“Do you want to tell him to go?”
“No,” Eden admitted reluctantly. She wished she knew how Alex would have handled Jessup, but they had been so engrossed in each other they had not once discussed his tenants. “My mother had a maid whose husband beat her once. Maribelle came running to us for help and my father went over to her house and told her husband that if he even so much as raised his voice to Maribelle again, he’d” she paused then, unable to recall just what the threat had been.
“He’d what?”
“I don’t remember,” Eden admitted with a frown. “But it must have been something truly horrible because the man never gave Maribelle a reason to complain again. Surely Mr. Jessup must know that he can do better here than anywhere else so he’d not want to leave. Maybe all we’ll have to do is threaten to evict him.”
“No matter what we threaten, it will be Elkins who’ll have to carry it out,” Raven reminded her.
“Then tell him that his will be the first home we’ll visit when we return to Briarcliff next summer.” Then as a sudden afterthought she asked, “We will be coming back, won’t we?”
Raven broke into a wide grin. “If that’s your wish, Lady Clairbourne, then I’ll be happy to bring you back.”
Eden had never expected Raven to be such an agreeable husband. Finding it difficult to accept the fact that he was now her spouse, she looked away quickly. She could not actually recall agreeing to marry him. It had not been a conscious decision, at any rate, but now that she considered the question in retrospect, it seemed as though becoming Raven’s wife had been her only choice.
As he had been quick to point out, she had had nowhere else to go. To have remained with him as his mistress was unthinkable. That would have disgraced not only her, but her parents and Alex’s memory as well. Considering the scandalous way she and Raven had behaved since Alex’s death, marriage had been their only moral option.
Eden could justify their hasty wedding in her mind, but her heart still ached with the fear she had done something dreadfully wrong. Her only comfort was the hope for their happiness that Alex had expressed in his letter. Alex had been so loving and kind, she knew he would not disapprove of what they had done, even if the rest of the world did.
Raven watched Eden’s expression grow increasingly forlorn, and tapped his mount’s flanks lightly with his heels. “Come on, Lady Clairbourne. We need to deal with Jessup’s problems rather than dwelling on our own.”
Shocked to think the handsome young man could read her mind so easily, Eden sat up proudly and forced herself to smile as they continued on down the tree-lined lane. The tenant farmers had yet to learn of their marriage, and she hoped it would not become common knowledge until they had sailed halfway to Jamaica.
As they approached the Jessups’ cottage, Raven decided to seize the opportunity to deal with Paul in a manner that would favorably impress Eden. Clearly her sympathies lay with Mrs. Jessup, and he did not think it would be too difficult to convince Paul that he ought to treat his wife more kindly than he had in the past.
Raven dismounted in the yard, and went to the door while Eden remained by the gate. At his knock, a little girl in a tattered dress opened the door only far enough to peek out, then called for her mother. Isobel Jessup did not appear for a long moment, but when she did, the ugly purple bruise on her right cheek was confirmation enough in Raven’s mind that the rumors her husband mistreated her were true.
Isobel’s pale blue eyes filled with tears as she looked up at Raven. She knew who he was, but she had never spoken with him. She could not imagine why the new lord of the manor would call at her home, and frightened he had come to tell them to leave, she grabbed for her daughter’s hand and pulled her close.
At the other tenants’ homes he and Eden had been welcomed so graciously, Raven had not expected to encounter the stark terror that filled Isobel’s eyes. “Mrs. Jessup,” he began with the most charming smile he could display. “Lady Clairbourne and I will soon be leaving Briarcliff, and, we wanted to speak with all our tenants before we leave. Is your husband working nearby?”
“Yes, that is, I think so,” Isobel replied in a hoarse whisper. She then bent down to speak to her child, “Mary, go find your father.”
As the little girl darted out the doorway, Raven turned to Eden, hoping she would realize he was not to blame for the woman’s obvious fright. When Eden gestured for him to come to her, he went back to help her dismount.
“I think things may be even worse here than Elkins imagined,” he confided softly.
Eden nodded, then lifted the skirt of her dark green riding habit and started toward the cottage. “Mrs. Jessup,” she called out with a friendly smile.
“Lady Clairbourne,” Isobel managed to mumble. She sent an apprehensive glance over her shoulder, certain her home was not nearly fine enough to invite a countess to come inside.
As well as obviously battered, Isobel was painfully thin, but Eden continued to smile as though nothing were amiss. “The morning is so lovely, we’re hoping to be able to see everyone on our ride. We can stay only a few minutes so please don’t think you must invite us to remain for tea.” She bent down to enjoy the fragrance of the single bloom on the withered rose bush that grew beside the door. “I love roses, they remind me of home.”
Isobel stared at Eden, her confidence rising when she realized the lovely young woman’s smile was genuine. “Roses need more care than I can give them,” she apologized, surprised the old bush had again produced a few buds.
“Yes, they are as demanding as children,” Eden agreed.
Raven had had frequent opportunities to observe how effectively Eden had charmed Alex. That she could also put a frightened housewife at ease did not surprise him, but it did serve to remind him that he ought to remain on his guard where she was concerned. He listened attentively as, with Eden’s e
ncouragement, Isobel shyly described her family as consisting of Mary and four sons who were old enough to help their father in the fields. He thought Isobel might have been a pretty woman once, but the years, as well as Paul Jessup, had not treated her kindly.
Paul soon arrived home accompanied by four scrawny boys in worn and patched clothing. Unlike the rest of his family, who were all quite thin, the man had a brawny build, but was of only average height. Certain he could beat him handily if their conversation came to blows, Raven greeted him as warmly as he had the other tenants and then took him aside so his remarks would not be overheard. Cleverly, he positioned himself so that his back was toward Isobel, Eden, and the children.
