Bought for Revenge

Clegg reminded her of the time and Annabelle was surprised by a tiny stab of regret as they left the old house and its neglected grounds behind them. They rode in silence until they reached the highest point of the moor. A sudden tinkle of bells was carried on the wind and she slowed, looking up to see a packhorse train trotting across the distant hills, while in the valley below Oakenroyd and its gardens basked in the weak sunshine. How she loved this place!

‘Your knowledge of Morwood is invaluable, Miss Havenham,’ said Lucas.

‘Thank you.’ Her response was cool. Not for the world would she let him know that she appreciated his praise, nor how much she had enjoyed herself. ‘You could gain as much from a map, I am sure.’

‘All the maps in the world are not as useful as someone who knows and loves the land. Perhaps you will come again? We have not yet seen everything.’

‘No, but there is only the Home Wood to explore. The rest is mainly farmland, and that has been well tended and needs no explanation from me.’

‘But I thought you might show me the lake.’

She looked at him, surprised. ‘You are particularly well informed, sir.’

‘You would not expect me to purchase an estate without making some push to find out what I was buying.’

‘No, I suppose not.’

‘And you will come again and be my guide?’

She bit her lip. It was tempting, but she must not succumb. ‘You do not need me.’

‘Oh, I think I do, Miss Havenham. Having seen how treacherously overgrown the paths have become, I might well lose myself in the wilderness that is now the Home Wood. Remember “Sleeping Beauty.” It could be a hundred years before anyone comes to my rescue.’

His reference to her earlier comment surprised a laugh from Annabelle. He grinned back at her.

‘So you will come. Tomorrow?’

She shook her head. ‘I have an engagement.’

‘Monday, then, if the weather is good.’ Still she hesitated and he continued, ‘I intend to be at the manor all day, so come if you can.’

It had been such a pleasurable day, why not repeat it? She was sorely tempted.

‘We have reached the edge of the Oakenroyd Park,’ he said, bringing his horse to a stand. ‘I shall leave you here and hope to see you on Monday.’

‘I—Do not look for me.’ She was suddenly unsure.

The brim of his hat shaded his face and she could read nothing from his look, although she knew those black eyes were fixed on her. Unsettled, she touched her crop to Apollo’s flank and set off at a gallop across the park. She did not look back, but it was an effort. She wondered if he was still watching her, or had he ridden away, putting all thoughts of her from his mind?

Annabelle entered the house by a side door and went to find her father. He was in his study, but he put down his book when she entered.

‘So you are back at last, my love. Did you enjoy yourself at Morwood?’

‘The time went very quickly,’ she answered him evasively. ‘We covered everything to the south and east of the house. Mr Monserrat has a lot of work to do to make Morwood habitable again.’

‘But it is time. I should have done more with it.’

‘You once had plans to build another house there, did you not, Papa?’

‘Yes. I thought I might do so.’ He sighed. ‘I was going to demolish the old manor, but when it came to it…’ He sighed again. ‘Perhaps I should have sold Morwood then. Perhaps I should never have bought it.’

‘Too late to fret over that, sir,’ was Annabelle’s bracing response. ‘Instead let us be thankful that it is now being restored.’

‘Yes. Do you know, my love, I think Mr Monserrat’s coming will prove beneficial to the whole area. I am glad you have shown him over the grounds, Belle. I would not want him to think us anything less than good neighbours.’

She walked to the window, gazing out at the tranquil gardens, everything so neat and orderly.

‘He has asked me to ride out with him again, Papa. On Monday.’

‘And will you go, Belle?’

She raised her eyes, looking past the well-kept domesticity of Oakenroyd to the rugged moors beyond. Even in the sunshine they had a barren look to them, a wildness that attracted her. And beyond the moor lay the neglected groves of Morwood and their enigmatic owner.

‘Belle?’ Her father spoke again. ‘Will you ride out with Mr Monserrat?’

She smiled.

‘Yes, Papa. I think I shall.’

Chapter Four

It was gone noon and Lucas was helping the men to winch a particularly heavy section of the pediment into place over the main door when the sound of hooves made him look around. Annabelle was approaching, cantering out of the trees.

The rush of pleasure he felt at the sight of her surprised him. Quickly he turned his attention back to the job in hand. The stone was inching upwards amongst a complicated web of ropes, the stonemason on the scaffolding above them shouting instructions. At last the block was in place and he could release his hold and leave the others to finish the work.

Annabelle had brought Apollo to a stand well back from the bustle and disorder in front of the house. Lucas picked up his discarded jacket as he walked over to meet her. He was aware of her watching him as he shrugged himself into his coat. How must he look to her in his workaday buckskins and simply knotted neckcloth? Did she think him beneath her?

No. That was not her way. Everyone he met told him that Miss Havenham was an angel, not at all proud or disdainful. Unless one treated her with insolence, as he had done. Then she was justly indignant, her grey eyes darkening with anger and she became a force to be reckoned with. He smiled to himself. There was steel beneath that soft exterior. It would be interesting to discover just how much.

Lucas approached her, reaching up to rub Apollo’s great head.

‘You came.’

‘Yes.’ She looked a little uncertain. ‘If you are too busy it does not matter—’

He smiled. ‘No, not too busy at all. Wait there while I collect Sultan.’

The Home Wood lay at the western edge of the Morwood estate. The road to it lay through what had once been the park, but the smooth grass had been left to grow uncropped and the elegant trees now rose up amongst a mass of weeds and brambles. Lucas looked about him, frowning.

‘Did your father tell you why he bought Morwood?’ When she shook her head he continued, ‘Much of it shares a boundary with Oakenroyd. Perhaps he thought it a good opportunity to increase his property.’

‘Perhaps, although Papa has never been ambitious in that way.’

‘So he just shut the gates and left it to rot.’

She flushed. ‘He intended to build a new house and give it to my brother—’ She broke off, biting her lip. ‘I think, when Edwin died, he lost heart.’

‘He should at least have maintained the woods and the grounds.’