containing the barest of necessities. Branson motioned
to the man to carry it out to his horse while he followed carrying Clara in his
arms. She held onto his shoulders, too weak to resist and leaned her cheek
against his chest.
Branson exited hurriedly down the steps,
cursing his luck that in his haste he did not bring the carriage. Gladiator
greeted his mistress with a snort of welcome. The bloody beast hated all human
life save Clara Hamilton.
She lifted her head at the sound, newly
animated. “Gladiator!” she cried joyfully. “What a pleasure it is to see you again.
I have missed you.”
“I wager you have missed the horse more than
its rider,” muttered Branson as he lifted her to the saddle. Privately, he was
glad for anything that buoyed her spirits.
The orderly fussed with strapping the case
over Gladiator’s haunches until Branson took over the task and sent the man
away.
Clara rubbed the horse’s sides. “This dear
boy has never lied to me or given me cause to doubt myself. Gladiator is a true
friend.”
“I have never lied to you, Clara. In fact, I
gave you every reason not to trust me. I believe I even insisted upon it.”
“It is true,” she said mechanically. “You
did a wonderful job of alienating my affection, of eroding my trust, of making
me hate you. It was masterful work of which you should be proud.”
There was no heat in her voice or in her
dull eyes that flicked fearfully over the landscape. She looked like a bird,
easily startled and poised to take flight. Branson had to leave straight away
for she was close to begging to be taken back to her cell. He had seen this
stage of collapse before. It unsettled him to see it in his cousin. He was near
to losing her to the darkness in her mind if something was not done to reverse
it and quickly.
He mounted Gladiator, settling Clara in the
saddle behind him. She wound her arms around his waist, pressing her narrow
body against his back. The sensation of having her near again was too welcome
to be good for either of them.
Gladiator did not wait for the signal; he
trotted away from the red brick asylum with an animal’s instinct for escaping
disease.
“I am not proud or glad to have hurt you,
Clara,” he said gruffly. “It was necessary to achieve my ends.”
“I have heard all I care to hear about your ends,
Bran. There is no need to belabour your victory. You’ve achieved everything you
set out to do. You’ve taken Windemere , my virginity,
and my father’s business. I only marvel that you surrendered your chance to see
my father meet his downfall. Tell me, how does the hunter walk away from
landing the killing blow?”
He twisted in the saddle to see her face.
“Tell me , how did Arthur react to the
accusation of rape?”
She paled and he almost regretted his bitter
words. “He denied it. He denied everything even after I told him I was there. I
was a witness. He didn’t care about the effect that day had on me or that it
caused me to stutter for seven years. He didn’t care about anything except
shutting me up in Gateshead.”
“I am sorry.”
“As am I.”
She fell silent after that and Branson
smothered his pity to deal with business. His tone was clipped and impersonal
when he addressed her. “Edgar will send word as soon as the meeting is
concluded. I shall deliver you into his care after that, as per our agreement.”
“I know how you enjoy honouring your
agreements. After everything that’s happened, you still don’t trust me or my
brother. We have always loved you more than
you loved us, Bran. I have not the least doubt that Edgar has done all that you
wanted or that he is your ally. He always was; you were just too proud to see
it.”
They reached the broad
road and Gladiator set off at a fast trot. They spoke little after that.
Chapter
Six
THE WIND tugged at her shorn hair and
Clara felt her spirits reviving. She began to revel in her freedom and in the
pure pleasure of being out-of-doors again.
to the man to carry it out to his horse while he followed carrying Clara in his
arms. She held onto his shoulders, too weak to resist and leaned her cheek
against his chest.
Branson exited hurriedly down the steps,
cursing his luck that in his haste he did not bring the carriage. Gladiator
greeted his mistress with a snort of welcome. The bloody beast hated all human
life save Clara Hamilton.
She lifted her head at the sound, newly
animated. “Gladiator!” she cried joyfully. “What a pleasure it is to see you again.
I have missed you.”
“I wager you have missed the horse more than
its rider,” muttered Branson as he lifted her to the saddle. Privately, he was
glad for anything that buoyed her spirits.
The orderly fussed with strapping the case
over Gladiator’s haunches until Branson took over the task and sent the man
away.
Clara rubbed the horse’s sides. “This dear
boy has never lied to me or given me cause to doubt myself. Gladiator is a true
friend.”
“I have never lied to you, Clara. In fact, I
gave you every reason not to trust me. I believe I even insisted upon it.”
“It is true,” she said mechanically. “You
did a wonderful job of alienating my affection, of eroding my trust, of making
me hate you. It was masterful work of which you should be proud.”
There was no heat in her voice or in her
dull eyes that flicked fearfully over the landscape. She looked like a bird,
easily startled and poised to take flight. Branson had to leave straight away
for she was close to begging to be taken back to her cell. He had seen this
stage of collapse before. It unsettled him to see it in his cousin. He was near
to losing her to the darkness in her mind if something was not done to reverse
it and quickly.
He mounted Gladiator, settling Clara in the
saddle behind him. She wound her arms around his waist, pressing her narrow
body against his back. The sensation of having her near again was too welcome
to be good for either of them.
Gladiator did not wait for the signal; he
trotted away from the red brick asylum with an animal’s instinct for escaping
disease.
“I am not proud or glad to have hurt you,
Clara,” he said gruffly. “It was necessary to achieve my ends.”
“I have heard all I care to hear about your ends,
Bran. There is no need to belabour your victory. You’ve achieved everything you
set out to do. You’ve taken Windemere , my virginity,
and my father’s business. I only marvel that you surrendered your chance to see
my father meet his downfall. Tell me, how does the hunter walk away from
landing the killing blow?”
He twisted in the saddle to see her face.
“Tell me , how did Arthur react to the
accusation of rape?”
She paled and he almost regretted his bitter
words. “He denied it. He denied everything even after I told him I was there. I
was a witness. He didn’t care about the effect that day had on me or that it
caused me to stutter for seven years. He didn’t care about anything except
shutting me up in Gateshead.”
“I am sorry.”
“As am I.”
She fell silent after that and Branson
smothered his pity to deal with business. His tone was clipped and impersonal
when he addressed her. “Edgar will send word as soon as the meeting is
concluded. I shall deliver you into his care after that, as per our agreement.”
“I know how you enjoy honouring your
agreements. After everything that’s happened, you still don’t trust me or my
brother. We have always loved you more than
you loved us, Bran. I have not the least doubt that Edgar has done all that you
wanted or that he is your ally. He always was; you were just too proud to see
it.”
They reached the broad
road and Gladiator set off at a fast trot. They spoke little after that.
Chapter
Six
THE WIND tugged at her shorn hair and
Clara felt her spirits reviving. She began to revel in her freedom and in the
pure pleasure of being out-of-doors again.
Similar Books
