Love’s Battle Won Page 7

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  IN HOT PURSUIT

  IN HOT PURSUIT

  “I’m just going to hire ourselves a couple of horses, Jeremiah, while you keep Trent and Patsy in your line of vision,” Jasper said.

  “They’ve stopped again. They’re talking to someone,” Jeremiah reported, shielding his eyes to get a better view.

  Jasper pulled his hat down low over his forehead. “We need to be careful that we’re not seen and recognized,” he said to Jeremiah as he ran over to the stables.

  “Jasper Riley!” one of the stable hands greeted him.

  “Quick! I need your help! My brother and I left our pony trap in the meadow over yonder and it appears that someone has made off with it. I need a couple of horses to go in pursuit of the thief, as my brother has just spotted our pony trap in the distance!”

  “Well now, that’s highly irregular, y’know, someone making off with your pony trap. Here, take these two horses – they’re not the fastest, but they’ll have to do under the circumstances.”

  Jasper whipped out some coins and pressed them into the man’s hands. “I’ll be back shortly,” he said and swung himself up onto one of the horses, leading the other behind him. From his vantage point in the saddle, Jasper could see quite far, and he soon spotted Jeremiah following Trent and Patsy on foot. He spurred on his horse, and clicked his tongue and pulling the reins gently so the other one would follow quickly behind. He was soon right behind Jeremiah, who was keeping to the thickets bordering the path where Trent and Patsy were riding.

  Jeremiah said nothing as he took the reins from Jasper’s hands and mounted the horse that his brother had procured so quickly, glad of the foliage that muted the sound of the horses’ hooves.

  “Do you remember the way to Sweet Haven Ranch?” Jeremiah asked Jasper.

  “I can’t say I do. I’ve never been there.”

  “Of course, you have. So have we all,” Jeremiah said in a low tone.

  “Really?” Jasper asked, looking bemused.

  “Yes. Remember the owners – Serena’s parents – had a horse sale? We were just little boys, but the memory is quite vivid,” Jeremiah said.

  “I wish I could remember, but I don’t,” Jasper replied.

  “Anyway, I do believe that Trent and Patsy are headed there.”

  “You remember the way there? After all these many years?” Jasper asked, looking at his brother with unconcealed admiration.

  “I remember we passed Misty Creek along the way.

  “Oh,” Jasper remarked, looking at the body of water that they were riding past.

  A few hundred ahead, Trent and Patsy slowed their horses to a canter and entered the gates of Sweet Haven, while Jasper and Jeremiah dismounted, tied their horses to a tree and followed them on foot.

  “We need to keep a safe distance, so as not to risk being discovered,” Jasper whispered, pulling Jeremiah back.

  He looked up at the canopy of branches above them and imagined Serena riding through the avenue in happier times. They passed a paddock with horses and a lake could be seen sparkling in the moonlight in the distance.

  “This property is so beautiful,” Jeremiah remarked, stopping to admire the horses. “I wish we could go up closer,” he said.

  “Yes, I wish we could too,” Jasper replied. “Those horses must belong to Serena and I am so angry on her behalf. To lose all of this – because her safety as a woman was being threatened by that boor of a man…”

  “And Patsy – whatever she is to Trent,” Jeremiah added.

  The path widened as they approached the ranch house, and Jasper cautioned Jeremiah again. “Stay behind the trees and in the shadows,” he said, and Jeremiah turned around and nodded.

  “We need to get close to the house in order to hear what Trent and Patsy are talking about,” Jasper whispered, “so we need to figure out how to achieve that without being seen.”

  “Jasper!” Jeremiah said, pointing ahead as a sign came into view, and Jasper gasped.

  “For sale! It says for sale!” Jeremiah said indignantly.

  “We can’t let that happen!” Jasper said. “Serena will be heartbroken.”

  “How can he sell her property without her consent?” Jeremiah asked. “Surely that’s not possible. Serena told you that she left the ranch to him in exchange for her safety – which he has begun to violate again. We need to understand why.”

  They inched closer to the ranch house. “It’s a beautiful house,” Jasper whispered. “I feel Serena’s pain.”

  “Yes, I do too,” Jeremiah replied, “because I’m certain she never wanted to give it up.”

  “Shhh,” Jasper said, holding a finger to his lips, and both the men ducked into the undergrowth as Trent and Patsy reappeared.

  “You said I’d get a share if I did my part!” Patsy shouted angrily. “I led you to her, didn’t I?”

  “But you haven’t yet got her signature. I need the document signed or else we can’t sell… and then there will be no share coming to you!”

  “You ruined everything by showing up there and threatening her!” Patsy said. “And it’s all because of your gambling debts that we have to sell the ranch in the first place.”

  Trent gave Patsy a sharp look. “We will still walk away with plenty of money. But the woman has been difficult to get to lately. The plan was simple. I was to get her in a position where she would plead for her safety and I would then trade her virtue for her signature.”

  “Well, all you did was put the Rileys on their guard.”

  “Those Rileys! They have a knack of showing up when they’re least wanted!” Trent spat. “I almost had Serena where I wanted her today. I even had the little tyke Nathan right where I wanted him. She would have done anything I wanted…but those pesky Rileys had to show up right then.” He turned to Patsy. “We have to get the Rileys away from her. Or her away from them.”

  “I have just the idea,” Patsy said triumphantly. “There’s been talk of her and Jasper Riley. I’ll tell Mrs. Riley I saw them together in the cottage…and she’ll be out of a job. Then, when she’s leaving Steephill, you intimidate her, and get her signature.”

  “Smart girl!” Trent said approvingly. “So unlike Serena. She’s just weak and stupid.”

  Jasper almost sprang out of his hiding place to assault Trent, but Jeremiah held him back.

  “Don’t blow our cover now, brother,” Jeremiah warned in a low whisper. “We have all the information we need to protect Serena.”

  “We need those papers – whatever they are,” Jasper said.

  “First, we’d better get back to Serena and tell her about these new developments,” Jeremiah replied.

  “What do we do about Patsy?” he asked as he and Jasper rode back to Steephill Ranch.

  “We don’t do anything about her right now,” Jasper replied. “We alert Serena, that’s all, so that she doesn’t ever leave Nathan alone with her again.” He shuddered. “To think there were occasions that Patsy could have taken advantage of when Serena left Nathan alone with her.”

  “Do we inform Mother and Father?” Jeremiah enquired.

  “Not just yet. We don’t want to warn Patsy that we’re on to her. We just observe her closely,” Jasper replied.

  “Serena and Patsy share a cottage,” Jeremiah remarked.

  “I know. Serena will need to be very careful. I am prepared to watch that cottage day and night, if need be,” Jasper said emphatically.

  “Or suggest to Serena that she ask for her living quarters to be changed,” Jeremiah suggested.

  “That might be a good idea – considering the devious scheme Patsy is hatching – to tell Mother that she saw her with me…at the cottage.”

  “One wouldn’t credit her with such meanness – judging from how she is on the surface,” Jeremiah mused.

  “There was a time when Serena trusted Trent – so I suppose it isn’t hard to trust someone before you know the truth about them. Some of the most harmful people have
appeared quite innocent, after all,” Jasper replied.

  “Yes, I suppose you’re right, Jasper,” Jeremiah agreed.

  Hours later, Serena stood by her bedroom window, looking out at the star filled sky and replaying everything that Jasper had told her. They talked about the conversation he and Jeremiah had overheard at Sweet Haven. A tear slipped down her cheek when she thought of her home with a sign announcing its imminent sale.

  “I won’t let the sale go through if I can help it,” Jasper had reassured her before he hastily left, after urging her again to petition his mother for a change of living quarters.

  CHAPTER NINE

  HIDING A BROKEN HEART

  HIDING A BROKEN HEART

  The Wheelers had come to dinner and Serena was acutely aware that Rebecca Riley was watching her every move as she laid out the meal.

  She had asked Rebecca if she could move to another cottage, with the excuse that the bedroom was drafty and Nathan’s delicate disposition couldn’t stand up to it.

  “I suppose you now feel you are entitled to a better cottage because you have revealed your true status to us?”

  Serena shook her head. “No, Mrs. Riley. I just thought I would ask you, but if it isn’t convenient, I will remain at the cottage that I’m sharing with Patsy.”

  Patsy had heard of Serena’s request and capitalized on the situation. “Mrs. Riley ma’am,” she said, only minutes before the Wheelers arrived. “I can’t keep quiet any longer. I have personally seen Serena and Mister Jasper…meeting…at the cottage we share.”

  “Oh!” Rebecca exclaimed, turning suspicious eyes to Serena, who was frowning in confusion and anger. “And when was the last time that you saw them… together?”

  “Last night, Mrs. Riley,” Patsy replied.

  Serena couldn’t believe her ears. She turned to defend herself and Jasper but Rebecca was already enraged.

  “Serena,” Rebecca said, in an authoritative voice. “I shall expect nothing but the best tonight. The meal must be spectacular. Tonight Jasper will propose to Molly.”

  “Of course, Mrs. Riley,” Serena replied submissively. “I will make the meal truly exceptional.”

  She was true to her word. Every delicacy placed on the table was for one person and one person alone, and that was Jasper. Serena knew for certain that she couldn’t stay on at Steephill. She would leave soon after the meal, as Rebecca was bound to demand.

  She arranged delicate sweet cakes on individual plates and carried them out to the dining room, seeing Molly simpering at Jasper. To her shock, just as she walked in, Jasper went down on one knee and presented Molly with a ring. He kept his gaze firmly away from Serena as she served the dessert, and she swallowed the large lump in her throat and soldiered on, even as Rebecca threw her a triumphant look.

  “Do congratulate Jasper and Molly, Serena,” Rebecca said. Serena forced herself to swallow her pride. turned to them as they stood for the family to toast them. She almost crumbled under the obviously sympathetic looks she got from Petula and Jeremiah, but she held her head high and suppressed all her emotions.

  “My heartfelt congratulations, Mister Jasper…and Miss Molly!”

  Jasper tried to catch her eye, but she avoided his gaze and then left the room.

  Patsy took her hand as she returned to the kitchen. “Oh Serena!” she said, “I am so very sorry!”

  Serena feigned ignorance. “What are you sorry for?”

  “Mister Jasper…and Miss Molly! Engaged!”

  “I’m so happy for them,” Serena lied convincingly, “and I’m looking forward to preparing their wedding banquet. It will be so grand!” she exclaimed, smiling brightly.

  “You don’t fool me for a minute,” Patsy said, her tone changing. “Remember when you told me about the many times you would meet him? At the cottage? In your room?”

  “What are you talking about, Patsy?” Serena asked. “You’re behaving quite strange.”

  “No, the only one behaving strangely is you, Serena. You have been boasting about your hold over Mister Jasper…and now…well, now you can’t have him, can you?”

  Serena turned around and saw that Rebecca had entered the kitchen and was standing there listening to her conversation with Patsy.

  “Patsy is lying, Mrs. Riley,” Serena said. “I have not been having clandestine meetings with Jasper. I haven’t done anything wrong.”

  “I don’t think she is, Serena,” Rebecca replied. “Here’s what I will do. I am not a hard-hearted woman, and I know how attractive my son is. However, he has made the right decision now, and I have no more reason to feel threatened by your presence here.” Rebecca cleared her throat. “You will continue to live in the cottage with Patsy, and she will report on your behavior. She will be watching your every move, so don’t for a moment think that you can deceive me again. You will stay on until Jasper is married or until Angelica is back. You do have a gift that I cannot ignore, and I certainly want the finest food for Jasper’s wedding, so perhaps I will retain you until after the wedding. Then you must leave. I will give you a good reference of course, provided you play your cards right and don’t go behind my back and do anything you might regret.”

  Serena said nothing. She was too overcome to speak. She merely nodded. “Yes, Mrs. Riley,” she said, finally finding her voice.

  She picked up Nathan and went outside to take a walk and think.

  “You shouldn’t be alone outside,” Jeremiah said, coming up behind her. “It’s not safe.”

  “I need to leave, Jeremiah,” Serena replied, “and I’m thinking of a way to do so.”

  “If you can get the papers for your house, then Jasper will help you get it back, Serena. In the meantime, we hope to find your husband for you.”

  “Your mother has told me I must stay ‘til the wedding – to prepare the banquet.”

  Jeremiah sighed impatiently. “Jasper’s hand was forced, Serena. I was shocked myself. Mother gave him some sort of ultimatum. I firmly suspect it had to do with you losing your job if he didn’t propose to Molly this evening.”

  Serena covered her ears with her hands. “I don’t want to know more. All this was a mistake.”

  “Where are the papers that Trent wants you to sign?” Jeremiah asked.

  “I don’t really know,” Serena said sadly. “They could be in my father’s study. I don’t know how Trent even got hold of them.”

  “Jasper sent me here to find you… and to exhort you to be very careful of Patsy.”

  “Your mother has told me that Patsy will be watching me,” Serena said sadly, “and I know that she will get me into trouble so that I lose my job. Don’t you think it’s better that I go away before all of that happens?”

  “Jasper wanted me to tell you to stay on, whatever happens. If and when you are sent away, then Trent will strike again, and we will be waiting.”

  “How will Jasper even be able to help me any more…when he is busy getting ready for his wedding to Molly?”

  “You need to trust him, Serena. I know my brother. He cares very deeply about you.”

  “And yet he is engaged to Molly Wheeler.” The words were out before Serena could stop them, and she bit her lip. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say that.”

  Jeremiah gave her an apologetic look. “Mother put Jasper on the spot, and he was forced to propose.”

  “It’s good that Jasper is engaged to a nice girl,” Serena said, forcing a cheerful note into her voice.

  “Well yes, I suppose so,” Jeremiah replied. “But I wish Mother had given him a chance to make up his own mind, rather than forcing him into a lifelong commitment to a girl he barely has anything in common with.”

  “I’m sure that once he gets to know her, he will find many things about her that he likes,” Serena said generously.

  “You have to know that if you weren’t married to someone else…someone whose return you are waiting for…things would be different,” Jeremiah whispered, and Serena held up her hand to stop him tal
king.

  “Please, Jeremiah…I can’t bear to talk about this.”

  “I have to disappear. It would appear that Patsy isn’t going to let you out of her sight after all,” Jeremiah said hurriedly and left.

  “If you’re waiting here in the vain hope that Mister Jasper will come out to meet you, then don’t,” Patsy said. “He seems to be quite taken with his fiancée.”

  “I came out here to take a walk with Nathan, as I usually do,” Serena replied.

  “Why don’t we walk up to the gate together?” Patsy suggested, and Serena recoiled.

  “Why?” she asked, mentally calculating the distance to the cottage, and hoping she would be safely inside before Trent attempted to attack her again.

  “You want to take a walk, don’t you? I have to watch you. So, we could walk together,” Patsy said.

  “Well, that’s nice of you. But Nathan usually has a drink of warm milk at this time, so I’ll take him in and get that over with, and perhaps join you later?”

  Patsy looked at her suspiciously. “I’ll come with you to the cottage. After all, I did promise Mrs. Riley that I would watch you, and watch you I will.”

  “Honestly, Patsy,” Serena said, “you lied to Mrs. Riley about me meeting Jasper in the cottage. Why would you do something like that? I thought we were friends. Moreover, if you say Jasper is taken with his new fiancée, why are you worried about me being alone in the cottage? It’s not like Jasper is going to pay me a visit there. Not that he ever did. You lied for some strange reason and I want to understand it.”

  Patsy looked uncomfortable. “Well, I have to look out for myself, Serena. There isn’t anybody looking out for me. I want a home of my own and money enough to live comfortably, and I intend to have it any way I can.”

  “Even if it means lying and stealing?” Serena huffed, turning around and walking back to the house with Nathan.

  “Stars!” Nathan said suddenly, pointing up at the sky, and Serena’s heart lifted. She had Nathan and nothing else mattered.

  “Yes, darling, stars! Ever so many of them too!” She took his tiny hand and kissed it. Even as she did that, something inside of her stirred. She was not going to let Patsy or Trent get hold of her ranch…or sell it to anyone.