Authors: Suzette Stone
Jack leaned forward in the carriage and spread the blanket over Charlie who lay sleeping, stretched out in the seat in front. Leaning back against the velvet backing of the coach, he turned his head and looked out as the carriage trundled along the small Cornish lanes. The bright golden hues of the summer sun on the fields and meadows were now colored by the rusty onset of autumn. The leaves on the trees began to lose their luscious greens, replaced instead by the crisp, dryness of burnished orange.
As the carriage turned and began to wind its way along the driveway leading to Penrose House, a sudden apprehension swept through Jack. What would he find when he arrived? Lady Emmeline’s short telegram stated only that Edwin was dead. The carriage came to a halt as Emmeline’s butler walked over to where the coach stood, his face tired.
“How is she?” Jack enquired as he stretched his legs before reaching back inside the carriage and lifting out the sleeping boy.
“Not well,” answered the butler, casting a confused look at the child.
“I’ll explain later. We’ve had a long journey. Is the small front bedroom made up?”
“Yes, sir. Shall I take the child there?”
“Please, and thank you.”
Jack handed Charlie, who mumbled in his sleep, to the butler and gingerly made his way toward Emmeline’s study.
“Jack!” Emmeline exclaimed as he opened the door.
“How are you? I came as soon as I received your telegram? Whatever happened?” He walked over and poured two crystal glasses of brandy as she relayed the story of the mining accident and Edwin’s subsequent murder. He handed a glass to her, before taking a seat in the plush velvet armchair. “And yourself?” He noted her swollen eyes, no doubt the result of days spent crying. “Obviously you have not taken the news well. I am sorry, Emmeline, please forgive me, I had no idea you would be affected in this manner.”
He watched as she retrieved her lace handkerchief and dabbed her eyes before taking a sip of the rich brandy. “My tears are for Jenna,” she said quietly.
“Jenna!” His skin bristled at the mention of her. “Whatever has Jenna to do with this?”
“She lost her husband in the mining accident.”
“She had only been married a couple of days. It’s a shame for such a beautiful girl to be widowed so young, isn’t it?”
Feeling uneasy at the way Emmeline looked at him, Jack stood up abruptly, clearing his throat and poured himself another brandy. “It’s a shame for anyone to lose someone they love.”
“And do you still love her?”
Jack took a gulp of the brandy, the liquid loosening his pent up emotions, and turned to Emmeline. “You know?”
Lady Emmeline nodded. “I saw the locket on your bedside table when I went to wake you. I recognized it as Jenna’s. Then your sudden departure before her wedding, it all made sense.”
“Every morning I wake and immediately think of her. She is all I think about morning, noon and night. Every waking moment and with every breath I take, she is on my mind. She obviously did not feel the same about me. ”
“I believe you’re wrong about that.” Emmeline answered softly.
Jack shook his head. “I meant nothing to her. She couldn’t even tell me herself she wanted to end our affair. She sent her sister with some made up story about her father being ill.”
“But he was ill, Jack, extremely ill. He is still frail and will never be able to return to work.”
“Are you sure?” he questioned, his heart suddenly in his throat. “Her sister made such light of the subject.”
“I am quite sure. Jenna did as duty bade her. That doesn’t mean she never loved you or does not still love you, for that matter.”
He took a pipe from his pocket and, lighting it, walked over to the fireplace. “I’ve been a fool. I…I suppose I was scared. Scared of the overwhelming emotions I felt for her. They were…are…emotions I have never felt before.”
“Then make the most of them,” Emmeline urged. “Edwin and I did not love each other. We didn’t even particularly like each other. As I looked at him, lying there dead, I felt such sadness. Not for him, but for both of us that we spent our days with each other when I should have,
we
should have waited, for that one person to come into our lives who we couldn’t live without, instead of doing what duty dictated us to do.”
“And now Edwin is gone,” Jack said. “Did they find the culprit, the murderer?”
“Do you still love Jenna?” Emmeline asked once more. “If you could be with her in a place where social status meant nothing, where you could live out your days with her as husband and wife, would you do it?”
“In a heartbeat,” he answered, puzzled by Emmeline’s constant references to the girl.
“Then promise me what I am to tell you will never leave these four walls.”
“I promise.”
“Then best make yourself comfortable. It’s a long and complicated story.”
* * * *
Jack rose at dawn, the conversation of the previous day reeling in his mind. Seating himself at the large mahogany desk, he began to write in a flurry of excitement. When he finished, he scanned over the letter to Phillippa.
Dearest friend and confidante,
Destiny is a strange and wondrous thing. After pouring my heart out to you about my unrequited love, I returned to Penrose House on distressing family business. I am sure your gossip-loving mother has informed you of my uncle’s death. But how things have changed! I believe there is a chance, albeit a slight one, of Jenna returning to me and of us being able to live out the rest of our days together. I shall write when I know more but, as of now, I am so excited with the prospect I had to confide in someone and I know you would understand this so well. Please pray for me, Pippa, that this concludes in a happy way. Every night I pray for you that your beau will be returned safely to your arms and you will have the courage to elope with him as you have planned. To please others at the cost of your own happiness is foolish. I understand that now, thanks to you, so please listen to what you preach. You are a kind, wise, dear friend and I can only hope my next letter to you, or your next letter to me, contains wondrous news.
Your dearest friend,
Jack
Pleased, he folded the letter and stamped it closed, placing it for delivery on the silver tray in the front foyer. The smell of hot buttered toast wafted temptingly along the hallway, but he felt too excited, too overwhelmed to talk. He needed to get to Plymouth. The lure of Jenna was too strong. The thought of her suffering in a deep state of sorrow and depression seemed too hard to bear. The thought of her being hung for a crime she committed in self defense intolerable. And to think she was toying with the idea of confessing! Plymouth may as well be on the other side of the earth if he could not get to her in time.
He rushed up to the small bedroom and opened the door quietly. Charlie still lay sleeping peacefully. He roused as Jack pulled back the heavy drapes, letting the bright morning sun filter through the dusty room.
“You have been asleep for fourteen hours, young man!” Jack laughed.
Charlie sat up in bed, rubbing his eyes and yawning. “Where am I?” he asked, looking around. “Am I in Cornwall?”
“Yes, safe and sound in Penrose House.”
“How exciting! I’ve never been out of London before!”
“So you mentioned. Well, there is a first time for everything and I trust Cornwall will meet with your approval.”
Charlie nodded. “Will I have work to do today?”
“No. No work, but I do need to get you up and dressed. I wish to introduce you to Lady Emmeline. I have to go into Plymouth on business today and Emmeline will take care of you and show you around Penrose House.”
“But what if she doesn’t like me?”
“Who couldn’t like you? Lady Emmeline Penrose is a fine, caring woman and Penrose House is a treasure trove to explore. Why, I used to come here as a boy myself at your age and Emmeline took care of me. Ask her to show you the secret tunnels. They used to be used by pirates to hide their contraband.”
Charlie eyes grew big with fascination. “Contraband? Pirates?” he gushed excitedly. “I’ll be ready in a tick.
* * * *
Lady Emmeline was already seated at the breakfast table when Jack and Charlie approached. Her appetite, which disappeared since her meeting with Jenna, now returned after she unburdened her secrets to Jack. She felt optimistically hopeful Jack’s excitement would secure her wishes for Jenna’s future.
“This is Charlie, whom I told you about yesterday.” Jack introduced the small boy who did a low bow before taking Emmeline’s hand and planting a wet, sloppy kiss on it.
“Pleasure to meet you, my lady.” He smiled to reveal the gap where his two front teeth had fallen out.
“And a pleasure to meet you, too, young man,” Emmeline smiled, wiping the sloppy hand on her napkin, rather amused by Jack’s burgeoning paternal instincts. “And I understand we are to spend the entire day together?” She gestured for the boy to take the seat next to her.
“And meet some pirates!” Charlie giggled.
“Are you sure about this, Emmeline?” Jack asked.
“Absolutely.” She winked, a hopeful lilt in her voice.
“Excellent, then I shall see you late this evening. Behave nicely.” He wagged a finger at Charlie.
“But wait!” Emmeline chastised. “Aren’t you going to eat anything?”
“I’ll take it with me. I am too nervous to eat.” He reached down and grabbed a piece of toast and, patting Charlie on the head, rushed out of the door.
* * * *
As the coach trundled over the river Tamar, Jack tapped his foot impatiently. His throat dry with the excitement of it all and the uncertainty of what he would find at the Convent of St. Agnes. From what Emmeline told him, Jenna resigned herself to being charged with Edwin’s death and would not entertain any talk of eluding the law. But surely he could make her see she did it in self defense. Surely, she would listen to him. They were once in love. If she still loved him, she would listen to him now. Maybe she would still want to be with him. Maybe she would still want to marry him as he once asked.
The thought of what their future could hold if he persuaded her to change her mind, filled him with urgency. His need to reach her was so strong even a carriage of fifteen horses could not have gotten there fast enough. He read once more the letter Lady Emmeline wrote for Sister Margaret, explaining his relation to Jenna and Billy.
Finally, the carriage came to a stop outside the small convent and, flinging the door open, Jack rushed through the convent gates, knocking loudly on the door. An elderly nun answered it.
“Sister Margaret, please. Could you give her this?”
“Wait here,” the nun replied, taking the letter from his outstretched hand.
It seemed like hours passed before what he assumed to be Sister Margaret appeared at the door.
“We’re in afternoon prayers,” she chastised. “She cannot be disturbed now.”
“But it is an emergency,” Jack pleaded.
“Emergency or no emergency, we cannot be disturbed during afternoon prayers. Did you not read the sign?” She pointed to a handwritten note on the side of the door.
He shook his head. “Sorry, sister, in my haste, I overlooked it.” He looked down at the collection box nailed to the side of the door and, taking out a large handkerchief, produced two gold coins from inside. “Would a contribution help, sister?”
She looked down at the gold coins and sniffed disapprovingly. “We do not usually take kindly to bribes, but since you are acquainted with Lady Penrose and my nephew, then I suppose anything to help the poor orphans should not be turned down. Follow me and please keep your voice down.”
He entered the small, spartan room and sat down, barely recognizing the figure cloaked in habit and veil that entered. The figure had her head bent to the ground, her eyes never lifting to see who her visitor was.
“You told me a week, Billy,” she began, apparently assuming the only male visitor she would have would be her sister’s husband and co-conspirator.
Jack shivered and his chest tightened, his heart racing as he realized the gaunt figure of the nun before him was Jenna.
“Jenna, it’s me,” he said softly, standing and walking toward her. He stopped in front of her, his hand stretched out, willing her to place her hand in his. It seemed like eternity as he stood there, feeling the closeness of her body, sensing her foreboding desolation. Finally, she lifted her head, causing him to catch his breath as he took in the sight of her. Her skin clung thinly to her cheekbones, which stuck out prominently from her face. Her eyes were draped in darkness, the circles of sleepless nights dark beneath her lashes. Her once rosy color had been replaced with a graying pallor. She looked painfully thin, almost skeletal. He felt a lump form in his throat, his eyes welling with tears.
“Good God, look at you,” he cried softly.
She lifted her small hand and placed it in his. He covered it with his other palm, trying earnestly to fill her cold body with warmth.
“Jack. Oh, Jack.” She leaned into him her voice quavering with emotion.
“I know everything.” Jack took her in his arms, his strength barely necessary to support her tiny frame as she leaned against him. “And I’m going to take you away from all of this. I’m going to do what I should have done in the first place, never let you leave me. I love you, Jenna. I love you more than I thought possible to love another person.”