First Season

Chapter 17

Second last chapter, seriously can't believe I ever got this far!

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Lafferty Cottage was almost eerie in the twilight of the September evening. The thatched roof that had been partly torn away by a storm several years ago made it look almost haunted and the windows that had been smashed by many young children while making a wish made it a cold and uninviting place. But Caleb wasn't cold. His blood was boiling in red hot anger. He had already assumed that this must have been Judith's doing. No one else was this mad or desperate.

He tied his horse to a branch nearby and dismounted, making sure his sword was placed correctly and that the pistol he had taken from his aunt's house was in its holder in his belt. He had determined to finish Judith's madness once and for all. Tonight, he would leave with Lavinia and never let her out of his sight again.

He walked up to the door and knocked, unsurprised when it swung open at his touch. The floorboards creaked as he stepped further into the decaying house and headed towards where a strip of light was glowing underneath a doorway.

Before he entered, he took a deep breath to cool the boiling rage he felt. He wouldn't help Lavinia if he couldn't think straight because he was angry. He opened the door and was shocked at the sight before him.

Lavinia sat in the centre of the room, hands and feet tied together and a blindfold stopping her from seeing. Her caramel hair was sticking out around her head and her cheeks were flushed with the cold air.

Behind her stood Judith, pointing a pistol directly at Lavinia's head and next to her was Mr Colin Black, looking smugly at him.

"Well if it isn't Lord Caleb Alder," Judith began, she was looking forward to this. Tonight she would get Caleb for herself, trap him into a marriage with her and get rid of Lavinia once and for all.

"Caleb?" Lavinia whispered, her fear dripping from her words.

"Shut it," Judith hissed, nudging the pistol closer to her head. Lavinia shied away from the cold metal and her face creased in fear when she realised what it was.

"What do you want Judith?" Caleb demanded, trying to stay calm. "Why are you doing this?"

"I only want what should have been mine," was Judith's reply. "What was mine until this brat came along. You." She pushed the pistol closer to Lavinia's head and Lavinia gasped in fear.

"I was never yours Judith, we were never promised to one another," Caleb tried to speak reason. This only angered Judith even more.

"You were mine!" she screamed. "We courted for over three months, we shared many wonderful days together, you chose me to dance with you over all others - how more promised do you think we had to be?"

"We were never engaged, you flirted with other men as well and we never officially courted," Caleb counter argued.

"Well we shall remedy that now," Judith said in a voice so calm it sent chills down Caleb's spine. "You will marry me Caleb and I will let Lavinia go. She can go back to her brothers and prepare for her second season and live her life. Or you can not marry me and you can live the rest of your life knowing that it is your fault she died."

Caleb's heart turned to ice. How could he get out of such an ultimatum? Lavinia was everything he holded dear, but how could he live knowing that she died to give him his freedom? But his life was worthless without her anyway. He loved her and that was never going to change.

Lavinia felt tears prickle at the edge of her eyes. She couldn't live without Caleb, but she also could not bear it if he threw his life away for her. "Don't do it, Caleb, my life is worthless without you," she told him, wishing she could see what was happening and that she could convince him with her eyes.