Elizabeth Drake

Chapter Eight

The small slope of the hill did little to draw the water away from the road. Elizabeth held her skirt tightly to lift the white bottom of her dress, while the mud clung to her boots. The horses seemed to be right at her heals, but Elizabeth held her chin high as she walked to the Sanderson’s house.

Ryan followed behind her in silence as she turned off the road. The farmhouse was well taken care of. However, it was obvious that it had seen better years. Some of the shingles were damaged, and the trim had not been painted in a while. However, for the most part the yard and the fields were well tended.

Fanny Sanderson was not a flower lover. So, there was little decoration to the outside of the home. A few cows and horses roamed in the pasture and there was a small flock of sheep huddled in one of the wooden pens.

“Your friend has a nice place here,” Ryan offered as he stepped down from the carriage that pulled in the yard behind her.

Elizabeth visually searched every inch of the farm, until she reached the barn. A scraping sound came from the back of the building, drawing her attention. Elizabeth walked slowly at first, moving faster as she drew nearer. Ryan only followed her to the door, once he saw the man inside.

Jarred Sanderson bent over the wet stone and ran the blade over it repeatedly at the same angle, but when he raised his head and caught a glimpse of Elizabeth, the axe was quickly forgotten.

“Beth,” he called as he stood up quickly and placed the axe on the bench next to him. “Thank God you are alright!” Coming to her side, Jarred quickly pulled her into an embrace before looking down into her eyes. “You had me worried sick.” Pulling her into another embrace he said again, “You had all us worried sick.” There was no ignoring the ominous man in the doorway. “Where have you been?” Jarred glanced over her mud-covered dress and then to the stranger behind her. “Who is your friend?”

“Jarred,” Elizabeth began. “This is Mr. Hawke. He works with my brother in Burdery.” As Ryan walked further into the shed, he was a little surprised by the age of Mr. Sanderson. He was at least ten years her senior. The years had been kind to him. However, they were still evident in his light hair and eyes.

“How are you doing?” Jarred asked as he wiped his hands on a rag and offered Ryan his handshake. Ryan accepted the offer but kept silent. As quickly as Jarred released his hand, he turned to Elizabeth. “I am really sorry about what has happened Beth,” he whispered the words as he continued to hold her hand.

Ryan was not expecting Elizabeth’s friend to be an older man and he was certainly not expecting him to be an aging farmer. It was not that Jarred was too old for Elizabeth it was simply that she was too young. Ryan stood silent as he watched the two reunite.

“You had best get in the house.” Jarred smiled at her and motioned to the front door. “Let me finish up here, and I will be there in a minute.”

“Thank you,” Elizabeth turned to face Ryan and noticed him still staring at Jarred. “Are you coming?”

Ryan nodded to Jarred before he followed her into the house. He could see Elizabeth fitting in very nicely in the country setting. She was not as refined as the city women. She was not concerned about the same things that most other women found important. Then again, he also remembered how stunning she looked and how well she acted at the charity banquette.

Once Elizabeth opened the door to the house Ryan was faced with something he did not expect. A very feminine hand had decorated the inside of the house. Lace and linens were everywhere, and everything was very clean and well organized. Ryan knew at that moment that Mr. Sanderson was not Elizabeth’s bow. The smell that came from the kitchen proved his theory.

“Fanny?” Elizabeth called as she removed her bonnet and walked into the den.

“Beth!” A feminine voice called from the kitchen. “Beth, is that you?” Fanny practically ran into the den as she heard the familiar voice. Elizabeth walked straight into her embrace. “Are you alright? We were so worried about you!” The hug was nearly crushing. Taking a step back, Fanny looked Elizabeth in the eye and stroked her cheek before hugging her once more. “I am so sorry,” she said as a tear fell from her eye. “I had no idea that those men… I am so sorry.”

Taking her hands and looking into her soft hazel eyes, Elizabeth shook her head. “Fanny, has anyone come to see you again?”

“No,” she answered slowly. “What do you mean, again?”

“I saw the man come here a week ago.” She kept her voice calm; making sure Fanny knew there was no blame. “I was hiding just beyond the trees. Has he come back?” Fanny looked at her in disbelief.

“No,” she replied showing a vast amount of guilt. “No one saw him except for me, and no one knows who he was. Oh Beth, I am so sorry.” She pulled her close once more.

“It’s alright,” Elizabeth said again.

“You were here?” Fanny asked as she backed away. “We did not know if you were alive, until Jarred saw Jacob a day later.”

“I am sorry, but I had to get to my brother.” Elizabeth looked back at Ryan and stepped away from Fanny. “This is Mr. Hawke. He and my brother are trying to piece together what happened.” Ryan refrained from smiling.

“And you are?” He asked.

“Fanny Sanderson.” Looking at the furniture in the small room she held out her hand. “Please have a seat.” Fanny motioned toward the sofa, but when Elizabeth sat down on the deep blue cushion, Ryan decided to take the chair in the corner. Returning to the conversation that she was having before, Fanny faced Elizabeth. “Have you gone to the police? The sheriff spent nearly three days combing the top of the hill. Have you talked to him yet?”

“No,” she answered carefully. “I can’t…” Ryan cleared his throat, silencing any further response. Fanny was aware of the heavy tension in the room and quickly changed the subject.

“Why didn’t you come here? We would have kept you safe.”

“I did not want to put you or Jarred in danger,” she answered plainly. “I couldn’t involve anyone.”

“You should have come here,” Fanny continued.

“I know,” Elizabeth said as she tried to move the conversation along. “Fanny, I have little time. There are still a few things that I need to take care of.” Reaching into the pocket of her dress, Elizabeth pulled out her father’s letter. “My father gave this to me the day that he…” Her words faded away as she looked to the rug in the center of the room.

“Oh, you poor thing,” Fanny whispered as she took the letter that Elizabeth easily offered. “Has anyone...?”

Elizabeth looked over at Ryan’s stunned reaction. She knew that he did not understand why Fanny could see the letter when Vincent could not.

“I did not know if my brother would tell me the truth.” Turning her eyes away from Ryan, Elizabeth knew that it would only be a few seconds before he understood. “Will you?”

“Of course,” Fanny said as she opened the envelope and unfolded the paper. As Ryan looked at Elizabeth in disbelief, Fanny read the letter to the illiterate woman.

“My Dearest Daniel,

            I have been told that I am dying. Unfortunately, the doctors do not know what is killing me. It has been nearly five years, since I saw you last, and your memory still holds strong in my heart.

            With all the sadness that I have faced in the last few years, my greatest sorrow is that I will not have a chance to meet my child. So, I am sending you what I have saved for her, in the hopes that she will forgive me one day.

            The money is only a small part of her inheritance. My father without question, will pass the house in which you live, to her. The remainder of her inheritance is in the hands of my father. I have left instruction with him and my son that she is to be treated generously with my belongings.

            I must warn you, Daniel. My son was raised by my husband’s beliefs, and he has inherited a cruel nature. His selfish tendencies lead me to suspect that he will not look on my decisions easily. He has been informed of my child. Although, I have protected her name and her gender from him.

            Upon my death, Elizabeth Drake should take this letter to my father. It will prove her relationship to me and secure her inheritance. With this action alone, I hope that she realizes that I have always loved her.

                        With my love eternally,

                                    Camille Roshire Hammond”

At the close of the letter, Elizabeth sat still with her eyes on the paper. “She is my mother,” Elizabeth whispered. “That means…”

“Oh Beth,” Fanny reached beside her and placed her hand over Elizabeth’s.

Re-folding the letter, Elizabeth placed it back in her pocket before she looked up at Fanny. The events and the information of the letter swirled around in her mind, until the facts finally took hold. Laying her emotions about her mother aside, Elizabeth concentrated on the living relatives that she had nearly met.

“The son that she was talking about is the man that came here looking for my Father.” Elizabeth stared at the floor in front of her and continued to put all the pieces together.

“You can’t mean that he...,” placing her hand to her mouth, Fanny hid her shock poorly. “He’s your brother?” Nodding her head, Elizabeth looked up to see the silent and blank expression on Ryan’s face once more. “Oh Beth, I gave him your name,” Fanny added.

“It is alright,” Elizabeth tried to smile. The sunset was nearly passed, and night began to fall around the farmhouse. A dull gray hue seemed to hover around them. “I met him on my own, just two days later. An acquaintance introduced me to one of his men. You had nothing to do with it.” Fanny glanced over at Ryan for a moment and noticed his intent stare.

“Do you have time to stay for a quick meal? I have a roast that has been cooking all day.” The fragrant aroma still hung in the air as Elizabeth began to shake her head.

“Thank you, but Mr. Hawke and I must be on our way.” The room fell silent, until Ryan sighed heavily.

“There is no point in refusing hospitality,” he said quietly. Ryan did not even look at Elizabeth as he made the comment. His quiet and cold stare remained on the floor in front of him, while Elizabeth was left to accept the offer.

“In that case we would love to join you,” Elizabeth stated.

“Alright then, why don’t you help me in the kitchen and Mr. Hawke can either sit here and relax or find Jarred out in the barn?” Fanny patted Elizabeth’s hand and stood up from the sofa. Once she left the room, Elizabeth stood up and looked at Ryan.

“I thought we were in a hurry.”

“Dried beef is not enough to live off. You have not eaten.” Standing up from the chair he stared down at her. “So, that’s why you would not go through your father’s papers at the factory,” Ryan began. “Why didn’t you tell me that you couldn’t read?” The question was unavoidable, but she did not want to answer it all the same.

“No one asked,” she said simply.

“Do you honestly think that your brother would have kept something this important from you?” His stare was unavoidable.

Elizabeth liked the shape of Ryan’s face when he was not being the arrogant cheeky bruit that she had first met. His eyes could be very intimidating, but there were times when they were calming to look at. His lips were thin. They could easily draw into a rather nice smile. However, she had not seen it happen that often.

“I had no idea what was in the letter, and I had no doubt that my brother would keep the truth from me.” Elizabeth did not smile as she pointed out the past. “He lied about who he was,” she reminded him. “I couldn’t trust him.”

“Well, at least you were right to want to get it to Oswald,” Ryan added. He looked at the traces of mud on her dress and almost felt remorse for the way that he had been treating her. Ryan turned to her with curiosity. “Anything could have been in that letter. Yet, you had blind and complete faith in your father.” Raising her head boldly, Elizabeth looked straight into his deep and dark eyes.

“Without question,” she whispered.

He had not noticed the way that her eyes seemed to keep the same vivid color regardless of the light around her. Lifting his gaze to the yellow gold in her hair and then glancing over her face, he returned to admire her eyes again. Then without a word, he nodded his head and walked out the door. The subtle movement of his gaze made Elizabeth shy and nervous. It was as if he were looking at her differently than he had before.

“Beth, are you alright?” Fanny asked from the door of the kitchen.

“Yes, I am coming.” Abruptly, but not fast enough, Elizabeth left the den to enter the kitchen, leaving Ryan and his dark eyes behind her.

“Who is Mr. Hawke?” Fanny asked in a whisper as she made sure that the den was empty. “Did your brother hire him to protect you?”

“No,” she began. “Well yes, kind of,” her stuttering caused Fanny to put down the small knife in her hand and turn to her friend. She judged the strange look on Elizabeth’s face for a moment.

“He is not the friendliest person.”

“Not at all,” Elizabeth smiled as she walked through the kitchen.

The white and blue-plate wear had been a gift from Fanny’s mother. The silverware was old and tarnished, but Fanny kept it in a hidden drawer in the closet.

“We will use the good forks tonight,” she whispered as she retrieved them from hiding. “Beth?” Fanny asked as she turned to face her friend. “Did Jacob tell you about the house?”

“Yes,” the sadness was apparent in her voice. It was uncontrollable, the moment of emotion that came next. Her breath caught in her throat and Elizabeth fought the tears that came streaming down her face.

“Oh, honey.” Fanny wrapped her arms around the woman.

The loss of control only lasted for a moment. Having spent the last week with her brother, Elizabeth had learned to shed her tears at night. However, seeing Fanny made it nearly impossible not to cry.

After she accepted another large hug from her friend, Elizabeth shook off the emotions and looked at the silver in her hands. Ryan’s words came back to her as soon as the house was mentioned. “There is too much for me to do right now. I must find Oswald Roshire. After that, there will be time to cry.”

Fanny wanted to hold on to Elizabeth, until the tears that she hid had fallen, but as the water boiled over on the stove, she stepped away from her and went back to work.

“So, tell me about your brother.”

“I can honestly say that I do not know him that well.” Elizabeth walked into the small adjoining room and placed the settings at the large oval table. “He seems to be doing very well with money. Mr. Hawke and he have nice offices at the bank. His house is spectacular, noticeably big and luxurious. Though Mr. Hawke, he has a nice little cottage at the end of the city.”

Fanny lifted the potatoes out of the pot with a big wooden spoon, but her work seemed to slow down when Elizabeth began to talk about the man that was with her.

“Has he worked for your brother for long?”

“A few years,” she guessed. “I understand that he is pretty well known for his way of handling finances.”

“Is that a good thing?” Fanny asked.  

“I am not sure,” Elizabeth walked back into the room to pick up a couple of glasses and take them to the table.

“Is he married?” Taking a short break from the potatoes, Fanny decided to be brave. Once the glasses were set on the table, Elizabeth stood up and thought about the question.

“I don’t think so, but I have never asked.”

“Oh,” Turning her attention back to the boiling pot of water, Fanny smiled. “He is not all that friendly,” she re-stated.

“Not at all,” Elizabeth offered as she picked up a bowl of peas and carried them to the other room. “He’s from America.” The tone of her words made the comment sound like an excuse. Fanny placed the last potato in the bowl as she handed it to Elizabeth.

“I could not really see him from where I sat. The light from the window hid his features.” As Elizabeth began to walk away, Fanny whispered the next question. “Is he handsome?”

“Some women might not mind the ruff beard and he barely has sideburns, but he is not disagreeable to look at.”

Without giving away her complete view on the matter, Elizabeth thought back to the way Ryan looked as he wielded the axe the day the dog took after her. His sheer strength was impressive, but it was his dark eyes that enticed her. In fact, she had never seen anyone quite like Ryan.

“Disagreeable to look at?” Fanny laughed. Elizabeth finally saw where she had learned the ability to repeat people’s words. “You sound like he is an old house or a used carriage.” Elizabeth picked up the freshly baked loaf of bread and turned to Fanny.

“I don’t look at him that much,” her answer was a little shaky. “I have no idea if he is handsome… or if he is a used carriage.” Taking the bread into the other room, Elizabeth returned to Fanny’s annoyed glare. “Alright,” she gave in with a beaming smile. “He is attractive if you can get passed his personality,” she finished. Happy with her success, Fanny picked up the carving knives and set them on the platter with the roast.

“Well, do you want to go and tell them that it is time, or should I?”

“I will,” Elizabeth offered. “Though, I must warn you. He is highly likely to eat three bites, and then rip me from the table by my hair, insisting that we have to leave immediately.”

“Don’t be so dramatic,” Fanny offered. “But I have to admit, I did not expect a bodyguard to be the first man that you brought over for dinner.”

“That is not funny.” Elizabeth sighed as she tilted her head.

“Go and get them.” She spoke in a lighthearted tone. Fanny was trying to ignore the severity of Elizabeth’s situation, even though it seemed impossible. Shaking her head with another short sigh, Elizabeth walked right up to her and pulled her into a hug.

“I have missed you,” she whispered before she released Fanny and walked through the dining room and the den to the door.

The mist was depressing as it continued to hang in the air. The faint glow of lamplight shimmered near the back of a shed. Lifting the muddy white hem of the gown, Elizabeth walked across the drive and into the long and narrow building.

“Mr. Hawke,” she called as she reached the wagon that was being repaired. “Jarred?” Elizabeth called again as she moved closer to the back of the shed. She was beginning to wonder where they were when she heard something move in a dark corner. Elizabeth strained her eyes to see in the dim light, but there was little point to her effort.

“Mr. Hawke,” she called again with a little less volume. Another rustling noise came from the corner. “Ryan?”

Elizabeth waited for a moment longer before she began to back out of the shed. The strange noise was getting louder. To Elizabeth’s ears, it sounded like someone was walking toward her.

“Ryan…” She spoke softly hoping that he was playing a trick on her, but when the noise grew closer Elizabeth turned and ran. She did not listen for the sound anymore. She simply lifted her skirts and made her way through the shed. “Ryan!” Elizabeth shrieked as she made her way passed the wagon and to the door. A scream rose out of her chest as she slammed against the hard frame of a man.

“Whoa!” Ryan pulled the terrified woman off his chest. “What is it?” With his hands on her shoulders Ryan knew that she was scared but couldn’t see anything in the shed.

“Beth, it’s alright.” Jarred walked around them and picked up the lamp from the workbench. “It’s just Gabby.” As the light reached the back of the shed, an old goat with a limp walked closer to Jarred. The straw on the ground was the cause of the noise that she heard. Jarred reached down and pet the goat’s head before he checked the rope around her neck. “Something must have gotten a hold of her. She came out of the pasture like this a couple days ago. We wanted to separate her from the flock until she healed.” Ryan looked down to Elizabeth and realized that she was still holding on to his arm.

“You don’t like animals, do you?” He asked waiting for her to remove her arm from his.

“Where were you?” Elizabeth nearly shouted at him.

“Relax.” Ryan stated firmly. “Mr. Sanderson was showing me around.”  Elizabeth released his arm finally and placed her hand on her forehead.

“Dinner is ready!” She spat out as she turned to walk toward the house.

“Hold on there a second,” Ryan said as he stepped behind her.

“I will tell Fanny that you will be in soon.” Jarred sensed an awkward moment and decided to go on without them. Elizabeth smiled at Jarred before he walked away, but when she turned to face Ryan there was the familiar blank stare in his eyes.

“I overreacted,” she began, “I am sorry.”

“You didn’t overreact,” he said quietly. “You just need to be smarter.” The darkness of his eyes warned her that he was not in a humorous mood. “Why didn’t you take the lamp off the bench?”

“I don’t know,” she answered with a little more attitude than she had intended.

“Why did you walk all the way to the back of the shed, if you did not know what was back there?” The tone of his voice and the depth of his eyes began to make her defensive.

“I was looking for you!”

“Did you think that I was waiting for you in a dark corner somewhere? I am not your lover.” Raising his eyebrows, Ryan admired the annoyed look on her face.

“You arrogant son of a …” Elizabeth glared at him.

“Beth, you need to think on your feet,” Ryan reminded her. “The next time you want to sneak up on a goat … take the lamp.”

The sway of her skirt as she walked away held his attention for a few moments, but as he walked into the house the smell of the food took over his ideas. Fanny and Jarred were standing behind their chairs when Ryan walked into the room.