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Chapter Twenty-Eight
“This wedding cannot proceed!” the newcomer bellowed, making Rose tremble with shock. She did not know this man, not really, but she recognized him from the meadow. She had not been able to remember his face clearly, after the attack, but now that she was seeing him again, she could not deny it. This was the person who hurt her.
“It’s h-him, Dorian,” Rose stammered frantically. “He’s the one who threw the knife in the m-meadow!”
Dorian stood in front of her, protecting her with his body. “Leave this place, Rufus, or you shall come to regret it!”
“You know h-him?” Rose gulped.
“He knows me very well, Miss Parker.” Her attacker stopped just shy of where they stood. “I apologize to you for the intrusion, for you are not at fault here. You are merely another victim of this wretch. However, I did offer you fair warning, which you chose to ignore, so perhaps you are not entirely faultless.”
“I don’t understand,” Rose murmured. “Who is this man? What quarrel does he have with you, Dorian?”
The newcomer smiled icily. “Another excellent question, Miss Parker. My name is Rufus Benson, and I am the Earl of Keaton. I do not imagine that will make any sense to you, but some of the staff here will remember the name.”
Rose saw that Mrs. Whittaker had gone exceedingly pale, as had several of the older members of staff. Did they know this man, too? Did he mean something to them?
“Your master, and the gentleman whom you thought would be your husband, Miss Parker, is not the sorrowful, heroic hermit that you all think him to be!” Rufus continued. “No, this is the man who killed my sister, Lana. The apple of my eye. The joy of my soul. And she is naught but provender now, because of him.”
The entire chapel erupted in a collective gasp, joined by Rose’s soft hiss of horror.She is dead… The woman whom he shamed is dead, and he… killed her.All this time, she had assumed the lady in question had gone abroad or had been hidden away by her family after the event in question. Not once had she suspected that the woman might be dead. She certainly would never have assumed that Dorian had any hand in that.
A killer? No… he can’t be. That isn’t him. He wouldn’t… would he?Her mind jumped wildly between possibilities, as a cold sweat crept up the back of her neck, making her feel suddenly nauseous.
“You, sir, are a liar!” Dorian raged in reply. “I did not kill your sister, as you well know. Your family, yourself included, were the ones who caused her demise, not me! Now, I suggest you leave before I am forced to make you.”
Rufus laughed darkly and produced a pistol from beneath his hooded cloak. He brought it level with Dorian’s face, and Rose felt her blood run cold. “You will all hear what I have to say, and I will not leave until the entire tale is told. The slightest movement from you, Dorian, and your bride’s beautiful gown will be stained with your blood. Do I make myself clear?” He did not wait for the assent of the congregation. “Your master is a monster, and I will have my justice.
“Twelve years ago,” he began the story, his voice harsh with emotion, “this man returned from Eton for the summer, and my family was invited to spend a month here at Langston House. How I wish I had insisted that my sister stay at home, for then I might have prevented her shame and her death. Alas, this weasel wormed his way into my sister’s affections and seduced her most despicably. With her honor lost, he vowed to wed her when she came of age, for she was but ten-and-seven and knew nothing of the wretchedness of wily men.”
Dorian’s hands clenched into fists. “Your mother and father refused the match!”
“Becauseyouwere a known rogue, drinking and gambling and whoring with that vulgar friend of yours!” Rufus shot back, waving the pistol at Hudson. “You had frittered away every allowance you were given, Dorian. How could they have accepted you for a son-in-law, when you had nothing to offer? My sister was supposed to wed a wealthy gentleman, not a ne’er do well with a fortunate title that he did not deserve!”
“I had already begun to change my ways, Rufus. You know all this! You cannot change the story to fit your own perspective because you do not care for the actual truth!” Dorian sounded breathless, his cheeks red with anger. “You drove her to her death, not me.”
Rufus sneered. “You bewitched her. After she confided in her nurse, who told our father everything, my sister was forbidden from seeing you again. But did that prevent you from trying to see her and opening up that wound afresh? You ought to have left her be, but you would not, and you drove her to madness because of it!” he fumed. “All she had to do was remain locked in her chambers until she made her debut in the London season, and then she would find a suitable match and be wed, but you kept sneaking letters to her and kept coming to the house where she would be sure to see you and hear you. You would not let her forget you.”
“She was not an animal to be caged at your leisure because your father desired more wealth than I could offer. Your family’s greed killed her! You broke her until she could not bear to live anymore, and I have spent my life since, trying to repent for my part in that.” Dorian’s breath hitched, but Rose could not bring herself to take his hand. This was too awful to hear, on the day that was supposed to be the happiest of her life.
“Then where did you go? Would you tell me that? When summer ended, you disappeared to Cambridge and did not return again. She waited for your letters and to see you from her window, but you did not come, and you did not send word. You tormented her with the promise of being there for her, and then you vanished, indifferent to what would happen to her,” Rufus spat. “You grew bored of her predicament, knowing you stood little chance of succeeding, and so you abandoned her.”
Dorian gasped, his face crumpling. “And I have spent twelve years repenting for that, as well. You are correct… I did think it futile, so I gave up, and I have despised myself every day for that. If I had continued to fight, then perhaps I might have saved her. I know that, but I cannot change what I did when I was young, just as you cannot change the way you behaved toward her.”
Rufus pulled back the flintlock on the pistol. “Would you like to know what happened after Dorian abandoned her?” He stared directly at Rose. “My sweet sister, guilty only of believing in the wrong man, could no longer carry the burden of her shame and the weight of Dorian’s un-kept promises. One night, while the rest of us slept, she took her own bedclothes and fashioned a noose. Alone and heartbroken, she hung herself in her room, where we found her in the morning… dead and cold. If I live to be a hundred, I shall never forget that sight.”
No… oh goodness, no…Rose’s own heart broke for this poor girl whom she had never met, for she knew how it felt to believe there was no other choice but to remove oneself from existence. She had never reached the point of no return, but she had come close on many a night, during her arduous life in London.
“She left a note explaining why she ended her life,” Rufus went on, taking out a wrinkled, yellowed piece of paper that looked as though it had been folded and refolded a thousand times. From the words upon it, he read aloud:
“My beloved family. I apologize for any hurt that my passing may cause you, but I did not know what else I could do. I have brought shame upon myself and dishonor upon you all, and I cannot remedy that black stain upon our household without removing myself, like a stubborn mark that calls for the clothing to be burned because it can be washed no further.
“Moreover, I have tried in vain to think of a brighter future, but I have come to the realization that I cannot be without Dorian. Nor do I wish to be. I love him, still, even if he has cast me aside. For that, I must cast myself aside, for I am spoiled goods, unfit for anyone else.
“I hope that you may find it in your hearts to forgive me but, if you cannot, then please know that I am sorry for all I have done and the pain I have brought into our house. I pray that your grief is short-lived and that you can, one day, think better of me. I love you all, and I shall miss you sorely. All my love, Lana.”
Dorian gaped at Rufus. “I did not know she left a letter.”
“She left one solely for you,” Rufus replied curtly. “It was burned the moment my father found it. Only he knows what was written inside, but, as I am sure you are aware, that secret died with him when he passed of a broken heart, not a year later.”
