Midsummer at Eyre Hall: Book Three Eyre Hall Trilogy by Luccia Gray Page A

finger at me. “Well,
that’s not happening anymore, is it?”
    Mrs. Fitzjames rubbed her hands and
shook her head. “Oh dear, this is terrible, terrible. What shall we do, Charles?”
    Jane was shivering and my arms were wrapped
across her shoulder.
    “Jane needs a blanket,” said the admiral.
“Not your paws all over her. You’ve done enough damage, don’t you think?”
    Diana rushed out and came back with a
tartan blanket, which I wrapped around Jane.
    “Michael,” said Mrs. Fitzjames, “there is
no doubt in my mind that you are devoted to Jane, but you must realise that it
will never work, not unless you convince John and the archbishop to approve.”
    “It’s too late for that now,” said the
admiral.
    I had no wish to argue with them. They
would never understand how we felt, so there was no point in explaining. “Jane
needs a doctor. Could you send a message to Dr. Carter?”
    Mrs. Fitzjames looked at her husband. “Yes,
that’s a good idea. Don’t you think so, Charles?” He nodded and she looked at
me with a frown. “Oh Michael, what have you done?”
    Jane was leaning on my shoulder, crying
quietly. I put my arms around her again. “I’ll take care of Jane. She’s safe
now.”
    Charles walked around the room, pipe in
hand, shaking his head solemnly. “You were reckless, Kirkpatrick. You should
never have taken what was out of your reach.”
    The admiral turned to Jane. “Look at you,
Jane. You let yourself be ruined. You should have known better than to go
against your son’s and the archbishop’s wishes. You have powerful enemies.”
    “Cousin, if you knew what I have endured
in that dreadful place, the cruelty and inhumanity, you would not speak to me
in that manner. Nobody deserves to be treated like that. We were to be
married.”
    “You should have gained your son’s
approval first.”
    “I tried, but he would not listen. He is
bitter and harsh.” 
    “And you have been rash and irrational,”
he said icily.
    I wondered if we had come to the wrong
place, but we had nowhere else to go. I realised we had to leave soon and that
I needed time to think of another plan.
    “Admiral, could we stay here for a few
days? Jane needs to recover her strength before we can continue our journey.”
    “Your journey? Where do you think you’re
going? The archbishop will issue a warrant, and John is no doubt on his way
back from Boston.”
    “We’ll find a place, sir.”
    “A place? There is no place! There is
nothing before you. This is the end of your journey.”
    Jane looked up at the admiral. “Please
help us, cousin. You know we have committed no crime.” 
    The admiral walked around the room with
his hands firmly clasped behind his back, stopping every few minutes to rock
back and forth on his heels before continuing his march. Suddenly he stopped
and faced us.
    “There is only one solution, Jane. If Michael
leaves, John might forgive you, and you could return to Eyre Hall.”
    Jane held my hand. “I’m not going
anywhere without Michael.”
    The admiral shook his head. “Lieutenant
Kirkpatrick, if Jane has no sense, then you must do the honourable thing. Leave
now and we will see to it that Jane returns to Eyre Hall safe and sound.”
    Jane turned to me, her eyes a mixture of
fear and devotion. “I won’t abandon Jane, and I don’t trust the archbishop, or
John.”
    “You’re both crazy,” said the admiral and
turned away, resuming his walk around the room.
    “What shall we do Charles?” asked his
wife.
    “Jane will sleep upstairs with you.” He turned
and pointed at me. “And you can stay downstairs in the servants’ quarters.”
    Jane squeezed my hand. “It’s all right,
Jane. Let’s do as the admiral says. We are their guests at the moment.”
    “This will not end well. Mark my words,”
said the admiral and he stormed out of the room.
    Mrs. Fitzjames asked Peggy to bring some
broth for Jane, and I fed her as if she were a child, a spoonful at a