"Oh Miss," murmured Aggie, "your instinct was right."
As we walked towards the caravan, I felt b.u.t.terflies in my tummy at the thought of seeing Kane once more.
"Tessa!" I called up the steps and miraculously, she appeared in the doorway.
"Kate!" she exclaimed. "How lovely to see you. Kane has gone looking for you." As she spoke, she made her way down the steps and I put my arm around her.
"I"d given up," I told her, "thinking that you wouldn"t come back for me."
"It is only Kane and I," she told me. "He"s talked of nothing but you and we had to come back as soon as we could. Now, go on with you and find your husband," and so saying, she pushed me gently away from her.
Aggie and I walked back to the beach, me praying all the while that Kane hadn"t gone to Northcliffe in search of me and wondering how I was going to broach the subject of Gretna Green to my beloved, but it proved to be an easy task. We reached the far end of the beach, throwing pebbles and now and then looking to see if Kane was anywhere to be seen, for I was convinced he would walk back to the clearing this way.
The tide was starting to come in and Aggie was playing a game of jumping to the seash.o.r.e and jumping back before the tiny waves trickled over her shoes, when suddenly she took hold of my arm and said, "Look over there, Miss, I"m sure it is your husband." I looked in the direction Aggie was pointing to and sure enough, it was Kane, striding towards us. My feet felt rooted to the spot.
"Go to him, Miss," urged Aggie and at her words, trembling with excitement, I started to run, each second getting nearer to the man I loved and then I was in his arms and he picked me up, twirling me around and around.
"Stop, Kane. Stop!" I shrieked, laughing all the while, my heart full of warmth now and I realised I should never have doubted him.
"Kate. Kate," he whispered as he held me close to him. "How I"ve longed for this moment."
"I too," I told him in a whisper.
"You knew I"d return for you," he said putting me at arm"s length. "How beautiful you look," and his strong arms encircled me once more. We stood there for some time, me nestling so close to him, I could feel his breath on my cheek.
"Tell me how you"ve been faring since I"ve been away from you," Kane said suddenly.
"Not too well, is the honest answer," I told him, "for my Aunt will not accept that we are wed."
"We both knew it would be difficult," was his answer. "Will you come away with me now?"
"I will, Kane, for I love you, but I need to be at peace with my Aunt and Uncle," I told him.
"Then we shall both go and speak with them together?" was his suggestion.
"No!" I said emphatically, "for it would be to no avail. My Aunt even thinks of my dear Mother as a harlot, which breaks my heart."
"This is not good news, little one. Tell me, what would you have us do to resolve this?" he asked gently.
"Aggie says there is a place in Scotland known as Gretna where we can marry legally without my guardian"s consent. Would you agree to this?" I asked him, my hands on his shoulders as I faced him, looking at his handsome, rugged face as I spoke.
"Little one, I would do anything to make you happy," was his answer, "and the sooner the deed is done, the better."
"But it would take us weeks to get there in the wagon," I said, my heart sinking, for I wished to resolve this as soon as possible, to enable Kane and I to start our lives together in harmony, for as much as I disliked Aunt Phoebe"s reaction to all this, I felt I owed it to her and my Uncle, to do the right thing, for their peace of mind.
"Please do not take on so, Kate, we will travel up to Scotland as quickly as possible stopping only a night here and there," he soothed, "and once there, we can be married in the correct way to please your Aunt and Uncle." At this bit of news, I clapped my hands with glee and called Aggie over to us.
"We are to go to Scotland," I told the young woman who had been so kind to me.
"That is the best news ever, Miss Katherine," and she spoke with genuine delight in her voice.
"We must part once more, Kate, but only until tomorrow, when I ask that you come to me and we shall set off on our journey to Gretna," Kane told me, gathering me in his arms once more.
"I hate to leave you," I told him, planting a kiss on his cheek.
"It will only be for a night, I promise and maybe Aggie will help you with your belongings, if she is agreeable," he said, looking at the young woman.
"That is alright with me," agreed Aggie. "We will come to the caravan tomorrow morning." So it was, Kane and I said our farewells to each other and as we parted, and I walked along the beach with Aggie, he called to me.
"Never forget our b.u.t.terfly dance." His words brought tears to my eyes, as I looked back at his receding figure, I longed to run to him once more, but there were things to be arranged and I knew, that for all our sakes, I must be patient. That night in bed, all I could see was Kane, a meadow full of orange poppies, Red Admiral b.u.t.terflies and my husband and I dancing together. With these thoughts, I fell into a contented sleep, longing for tomorrow.
Chapter 7.
Next morning, dressed in my dove grey dress made of cotton so as to be cool as the sun still shone in a cloudless sky, I sought out my Aunt, who I guessed would still be in her bedroom. I needed to see her and talk with her before I left. Reaching her room, I stood for some seconds composing myself then, pulling myself up straight, I tapped gently on the door of Aunt Phoebe"s room.
"Come in," her voice called and doing as I was bid, I tentatively opened the door. Aunt Phoebe was dressed in a purple gown and sitting in her armchair. The whole room was dark and dreary as the sun had not yet reached this side of the cottage and the heavy dark wood furniture made things seem even more gloomy, but the heavy brown curtains were drawn back letting in the early morning light.
"I do not wish to see you, Katherine," my Aunt said as she looked at me, "for you remind me too much of your mother."
"Was my Mother really that bad?" I asked in a scathing tone.
"She was indeed. I had no time for her and now, after all you have put me through, little if any time for you," she told me, not even looking at me.
"May I ask you one question?" I said with a strength I didn"t feel.
"Just one question, Katherine, then you are dismissed."
"Is my Mother dead and did the keepsake box belong to her?" It was something I desperately needed to know and once gone from here, I may never know the answer.
"That is two questions," my Aunt said, unkindly, "now which one would you like me to answer?" I thought for a moment before answering her.
"Is my Mother dead?" I asked again.
"Yes," was all my Aunt would say.
"I am to leave today and start a new life with my husband," I began. "Can you see it in your heart to give me your blessing, Aunt Phoebe?"
"No child, I cannot. Now go, for at least once you are gone, I can come downstairs and won"t have to see you to remind me ..." Here she stopped.
"Remind you of what, Aunt?" I said, tears springing to my eyes and I longed for Kane and his gentleness. "You mean my Mother, don"t you?"
"Please go, Katherine and never darken our door again." At these words, I fled from my Aunt"s room, the tears which had threatened falling down my cheeks, when I ran headlong into Uncle Zac.
"There, there, child," he said kindly. "Whatever has upset you so?"
"It is my Aunt," I told him, sobs catching my throat at each word I spoke.
"Come downstairs with me, Katherine and we"ll get Aggie to make us a strong cup of tea and you can tell me what this is all about." His words calmed me and I followed him to the dining room where he left me for a moment to see Aggie. I looked around at everything which was so familiar, thinking of the morning of my birthday and sobs wracked my body once more for how could Aunt Phoebe be so unkind to me and to think she"d hated my Mother, a Mother I"d never known, a Mother who had never held me and watched me grow and then I set to wondering if my Mother would have given her blessing to Kane and I and I knew instinctively, the answer to that question was "yes". I sat on the settle and Uncle Zac returned. Sitting next to me he placed an arm around my shoulder.
"Now tell me what all this is about," he said quietly, as I dabbed at my eyes with a white lace handkerchief.
"I"m in love for the very first time and it"s a feeling so strong, I cannot change it or deny it, Uncle Zac," I told him.
"And why should you change it, or indeed, deny it?" he said kindly.
"Uncle, I have married the object of my affection and Aunt Phoebe will not give us her blessing." At these words, my Uncle sat back and leant his head against the back of the settle.
"And who have you married child? For I know nothing of this," he said calmly.
"It is Kane O"Brien, a gypsy," at which words, the colour drained from my Uncle"s face and all was quiet for several minutes.
I was just about to speak, when Aggie bustled in with the tea, depositing the tray on the table. She looked at me with troubled eyes and said, "Would you like me to pour, Miss Katherine?"
"Thank you Aggie, but I shall do it," I told her as I got up and walked across to the table and poured the tea into two china cups, adding sugar to Uncle Zac"s, for he had a sweet tooth. I then walked over to him and handed him the cup and saucer. I noticed his colour had returned and looking at him, I was suddenly taken back ten years when my dear Uncle had been a good looking man of slimmer proportions.
"Are you alright, Uncle?" I asked him, concern in my voice, for I could tell that my news had affected him deeply.
"You words came as a shock, Katherine, that is all. Let us drink the tea and then we will talk," he said.
"You won"t berate me as my Aunt did, will you?" I pleaded with him and he laid a hand across one of mine.
"No child, I shan"t berate you, have no fear," he said quietly and finishing his tea and placing the cup and saucer on the occasional table before us he continued. "I take it this was a marriage of the gypsy kind."
"It was indeed, Uncle. Please tell me I have your blessing," I beseeched earnestly of him.
"First of all, tell me what your Aunt has said to upset you so," he asked of me.
"She says my Mother is a harlot and a temptress and I am the same and because of it she doesn"t wish me to darken her door again," I told Uncle Zac quietly, the tears threatening to fall again. Observant of this, my Uncle once more placed his arm around my shoulder.
"Your Mother was a sweet, kind person and you are very much like her. Take no notice of your Aunt"s spiteful comments. Things have a habit of returning to haunt us as we get older." Although I didn"t quite understand what Uncle Zac had said, the fact he had said my Mother was sweet and kind, was enough for me.
"Have you ever loved, Uncle?" I asked him and for some moments, he was quiet, with a thoughtful, faraway expression on his face.
"Yes, I have loved Katherine, very deeply in fact," he said gently.
"So you understand how I feel?" I asked, with antic.i.p.ation of his answer.
"I understand completely, Katherine," he told me, at which words, I hugged him.
"So you will give us your blessing?" I asked, looking at his dear face.
"I give you both my blessing," he agreed and the tears started to fall again, but this time, with joy, for I could leave Northcliffe today with a happy heart, and then I stopped, for what would Uncle Zac think of my going today.
"I am to leave today, Uncle," I told him.
"Then I shall come with you to see you on your way, Katherine," he replied. "But I shall miss you, for you are the light of my life and I shall look forward to your visits." At these words, my heart sank.
"But my Aunt will not welcome us here," I said sadly.
"She will, given time child, I promise you," he told me and I knew his words were to pacify me and send me on my journey with a happy heart. We both rose from the settle and I had a sudden thought.
"Tell me, Uncle, did the keepsake box you gave me on my birthday, belong to my Mother?" I asked of him.
"It did, indeed," he said, turning me towards him. "Treasure it always, Katherine, for it is all you will ever have of her. Now, let us get you on your way with the man you love."
My heart sang at Uncle Zac"s words and I sped up to my room to gather some things together in my portmanteau. I knew I could not take all my clothes, but I neatly folded most things I would need, including the cream skirt and orange blouse I had worn to wed Kane, for I would wear it at Gretna, and then I thought, would we now need to renew our wedding, as my Uncle had given his blessing, but I dearly wished for Aunt Phoebe"s blessing too, for then my happiness would be complete.
The last thing I packed with my clothes, was the precious keepsake box, all the more precious now that I knew it had belonged to my Mother and as I lifted it down and held it in my hands, I thought how a Mother I had never known or been able to love, had held this exquisite box as well as me and marvelled at its beauty as I did now. I found some tissue paper and wrapped the precious box carefully, before placing it amongst my clothes and then I was ready, ready to start a journey with the man I loved and who loved me just as deeply.
I took one last look around my room then looked from the window once more at the view before me. The sun was now quite high in the sky, sending sparkling jewels scudding across the water and then I thought of Minnie. I could not leave Minnie behind. Quickly, I picked up the portmanteau and hurried from the room to seek out Uncle Zac and say farewell for the time being, to Aggie.
"Uncle Zac," I said, finding him in the kitchen, "what will I do about Minnie?"
"Don"t fret, Katherine, I shall take her over to Treverrick, to the stables there, and when you are camped here, you can ride her, as Kane does his horse, Thunder," he told me. At his words, I realised that I had quite forgotten Thunder. I turned to Aggie who was peeling potatoes at the sink.
"Dear Aggie," I said to her as I hugged her, "Uncle Zac is coming with me so I will not need your help today, thank you."
"I know, Miss," she said sadly.
"But come if you wish," I told her, seeing how upset she looked. "That will be alright, Uncle, won"t it?" I asked him.
"Indeed," he said. "I will put it right with your Aunt when we get back."
At his words, Aggie smiled once more and untying her ap.r.o.n, slipped it over her head and placed it on a chair.
"Well, let us go, child," Uncle Zac urged me as he headed for the back door.
"No, Uncle, I wish to leave by the front door," I told him.
"As you like, Katherine," he agreed amiably, picking up my portmanteau. As we walked through the hallway, I looked up the stairs with some vane hope that Aunt Phoebe would appear to wish me well, but the staircase was empty and still. As I pa.s.sed the grandfather clock, it started to chime the hour of ten, as if in farewell and I felt a tear slide down my cheek. I pa.s.sed the dining room door where so much had happened of recent days and then I was stepping through the front door, for what I thought would be the last time.
I fussed Minnie and told her I would see her soon and then followed Uncle Zac and Aggie out of the gate. Glancing back at the cottage, I saw movement in an upstairs window and I knew it was my Aunt Phoebe watching me go. At least she had bothered to look, I thought, which cheered me somewhat and then without another look back, I proceeded to the clearing, with Uncle Zac carrying my baggage and Aggie"s arm through mine.
We had to walk over the cliffs as the tide was already in at Monks Cove and when we were half way across, I could see a figure striding towards us, in the distance. Realising it was Kane, I picked up my skirts and ran towards him, as he quickened his steps and ran towards me and at last, his arms were around me and I knew we would never be apart again.
"I thought you weren"t coming," he whispered as he stroked my hair.
"I have good news," I said. "My dear Uncle has given us his blessing." Even as I spoke, Uncle Zac and Aggie caught up with us.
"Thank you Zachariah," said Kane, putting me gently from him.
"You know each other!" I exclaimed.