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Godwin returned to his castle near the hour of midnight. He was weary and looking forward to climbing into bed. The day had been overlong and his thoughts were for Heather. He longed for her arms, her voice, her smile. Tomorrow couldn’t come fast enough, he thought as he shrugged off his blue superfine and dropped it on a nearby chair.
How had he been so lucky as to find her? It was as though their spirits were bonded to one another. She was his dear-heart and she was carrying their child. He wished she was in his room, waiting for him…in his bed. They were meant.
Oh god, he thought jubilantly. Was such happiness possible? Was it really true? Had life finally turned around for him? He had his true love and would soon have his very own child.
It was at that moment, at that very moment that he discovered a folded paper propped on his nightstand. For some reason, the sight of it filled him with dread. He reached for it and a shiver scurried up his spine. Something was wrong.
He ran a hand through his hair and closed his eyes before he unfolded the notepaper. As he read the words, the room began to spin.
He sat on the edge of the bed and reread the words. It was in Heather’s own hand. They had exchanged enough love letters for him to know.
He wouldn’t believe it. Heather would never leave him, not of her own accord, and she would never write such a cold, unfeeling letter. She was with child, with no means to support herself alone. She would not do this to herself and to him. They loved one another. They loved…
“No!” the shout was torn from his gut. “No.” He turned to his door. He knew whose real hand was in this. “Sara!” he shouted as he marched out of his room. “Sara, you devil.” He meant to wring a confession out of her.
He put distance away as he raced down the long hall to her suite of rooms. “Sara!”
He slammed her bedroom door against the wall and yelled, “Sara!”
Sara sat up in bed and she looked frightened. He was on her, dragging her out of the bed by her arm, tearing her nightdress in the process as he forced her to stand and face him.
He couldn’t bear the sight of her.
He knew what she had done. His heart told him that she was behind it all. He was in a fury and even as he looked at her, he pushed her, thrusting her away from himself. He knew a moment’s madness, and thought if he had his pistol, he would have shot her.
He had to control himself. He took a moment and shook the note at her, finally telling her, “This is your doing!”
“What are you talking about, Godwin?” she feigned ignorance, but he was not fooled. Her attitude enraged him once again.
He took her arm and shook her violently. “Are you trying to tell me you did not put this in my room?”
“No, I don’t know what it is,” she said, but her voice trembled with her lie.
He was enraged beyond anything he had ever felt before. He slapped the note from his hand into hers. “Look at it and tell me you are not behind it.”
She didn’t look
at it but put up her chin. “I had nothing to do…”
He cut her off, taking the note back and shaking it in the air. “Shall I call out each and every servant in the castle, Sara? Shall I ask each one if they delivered this note to my bedroom? Shall I, Sara?”
He could see the fear enter her eyes and screamed, “Shall I do that now, Sara?”
“I…I…”
“How did this find its way to my room? Answer me now,” he demanded.
“If you must know, Mrs. Abernathy delivered it to me, and then yes, I put it in your room,” she said.
He saw the lie behind the words. “Mrs. Abernathy,” he scoffed. “What farfetched tale is this?”
“The vicar found out about your sordid little affair with his niece. He convinced her to go away. She gave the letter to him, he gave it to Mrs. Abernathy, who then gave it to me!”
Godwin heard the tale and decided some of it was true, some of it was not. He shoved her away and said, “Liar! Do you take me for a fool? I have learned your style, and your methods over the years. You and Mrs. Abernathy had this arranged between you. You made certain the vicar would know, and he, this marvelous man of God…what has he done with Heather?”
“I am certain I have no notion. Now let me be,” she said tremulously as she tried to bypass him and leave her room.
He thwarted her efforts by grabbing hold of her shoulders and forcing her to stand before him. “Look at me, Sara. Look and see not a man, but a man goaded beyond his humanity. You have trampled on my youth with your lies. You won’t do so on my future.”
