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Postby soulsearcher » December 5th, 2008, 5:36 am

Yet, behind the shrouded exterior and ashen complexion, her eyes still glistened like sapphires.

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Postby TW » December 30th, 2008, 8:00 am

Her spirit remained unbroken, as she clung to the hate that she felt towards her captor.

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Postby soulsearcher » January 2nd, 2009, 5:44 am

A bronze key was produced from the pocket of the quilted robe worn by the captor as he moved closer to the door of her cell.

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Postby TW » January 11th, 2009, 6:06 pm

As the carriage rumbled along the cobblestone road, Crane could not shake the feeling that there was something amiss, something that he was missing.

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Postby soulsearcher » January 12th, 2009, 4:40 am

He took Rebecca's hand for comfort; their eyes met and in an instant, their lips, but not before he had noticed her left shoulder, made bare from the drop of her shawl and the jostle of the carriage.

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Postby TW » January 12th, 2009, 4:20 pm

" My mind must be playing tricks on me," he thought, "I remember she had a small scar on her shoulder from a beating she received in the orphanage where she was raised."

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Postby TW » January 14th, 2009, 5:13 pm

It has been a while since I las did this, so here is the latest update on our story.


Chapter Six
Past, Present and Future

Crane indicated the chair next to his bed, "Sit down William, we have much to talk about."

William began, "Tell me the truth about Abigail," but stopped in mid-sentence as Abigail appeared in the doorway. "It is all right William, she knows,” Crane reassured him, “the Rev. Godwyn was kind enough to fill in the history that neither of us knew." Then more to himself than anybody else he continued, “I can't believe all the wasted years that have gone by, if I had only known things would be so different than they are at this time.” "How did Rev. Godwyn know about Abigail," Williams pursued, "and why her... I mean, why was she held captive?"

Crane took a long slow breath, "When Rebecca found that she was pregnant she had no family in the village, so she sought the council of her Pastor, the Rev. Godwyn. She knew he was a godly man who would keep her secret and see that she received the help and attention that she would be needing.” "But the Rev. Godwyn only recently found her," William continued, then, turning to Abigail, asked, "Where were you all these years?"

"Your father was a good man," Abigail answered, "when he found out mum was pregnant he wanted to provide for her, so he sold her 100 acres of land near the village of Harman's Cross for one hundred pounds." Crane continued the narrative, "When father died, Alistair was appointed Steward over the family affairs, when Rebecca could not immediately pay off the mortgage he forced her to marry one of his henchmen as compensation, thinking that he would still have control of her land. Rebecca would not buckle under and do everything Alistair wanted her to do, so he hired two men to abduct Abigail and paid them to keep her hidden from her mother. The entire time Rebecca's 'husband' beat her and forced himself on her, claiming his 'rights' as her husband until she became pregnant with Victoria, then he abandoned her, and returned to work for Alistair. After the birth of Victoria, Rebecca became very weak and her health began to fail.”

William exchanged glances between Crane and Abigail and concluded, "Then Abigail IS your daughter." Crane nodded, "Yes, Abigail is my daughter," he paused for a second then continued, "and Victoria is her half sister, whose father was Miles."

"When you say Miles is Victoria’s father, you are talking about the former overseer of the Manor, aren't you?' "Yes, the very same one;" Crane answered,” the same one that would have sacrificed his own daughter in this mad scheme."

William bowed his head to take it all in, then, transfixed upon Abigail, said, "You'll never have reason to be afraid again."

"Thomas, you need to eat and regain your strength." A voice said from the door to the room, it was Rebecca carrying a plate of food. Crane could not take his eyes off Rebecca, he asked, "Rebecca when did you arrive and what are you doing here?"

Something about her distant gaze was disturbing. Crane could tell that she was fighting a battle within herself. Rebecca still had strong feelings for Crane, but after Miles and the way he had treated her, she would have a hard time trusting men again, but he was Abigail's father and she was here to help in any way that she could. Noting her strange behavior, Crane pursued, "Rebecca, you seem disturbed; can we help you?" William realized that Crane and Rebecca needed time alone to talk, touching Abigail's arm he nodded toward the door.

When they were alone, Crane drew nearer to Rebecca and sensed that she was entranced. Opening the drawer of the nightstand he removed his service revolver, handing it to Rebecca he said, "If Alistair sent you here to kill me, then do it now!" For an instant, she pressed the revolver to his chest, but suddenly dropped it like a hot poker, collapsing into Crane's arms. With tears streaming down her face, in a weak and quivering voice she cried, "I can't do this."

"Tell me where he is," Crane almost commanded, "and we will foil his murderous plot against more innocent victims." "I don't know," Rebecca sobbed almost in a whisper, "the last I saw of him, he was in Poole, boarding a skiff with a couple of his men." "And when was that," Crane insisted, "or have you lost all track of time?" Crane was concerned, the more of a head start Alistair had the more difficult it would be to find him. Crane poured a cup of hot tea and Rebecca took it, sipped slowly, and said, "I believe it was yesterday morning that I observed Alistair getting into the boat, seemingly bound for a small island offshore."

Crane mulled this information over in his mind; Brownsea Island was the largest island in the estuary, although the northeastern quadrant of the island was a salt marsh the remainder was heavily wooded, and it had the only permanent fresh water supply of any of the estuary's islands, it would make a near perfect hideout.

As the fog over her memory continued to lift, Rebecca was jolted by a flash of reality and said, with desperation, "Crane, its Abigail he wants, and I was sent here to lure her away from you."
Crane held Rebecca with his good arm and reassured her, "Becca, as long as I breathe you and the girls will be safe and protected." Then, shouting toward the door, Crane beckoned, "William! William! Prepare your men, and the fastest carriage for me, Rebecca and Abigail; we're off to Brownsea Island."

"Thomas Becket Crane, you are not going traipsing around on Brownsea Island," Rebecca snapped, wagging her finger in front of Crane's nose, "you just had a major surgery!" She spun around to face William and Abigail, who had re-entered the room, "William, you will prepare that carriage," she ordered, "but we are not bound for Brownsea Island, we are taking Thomas home to the Manor!" Crane held William's gaze and stated, "I will concede to return to the manor on one condition - that William and a party of men continue on to Brownsea Island for the capture of Alistair." "William, when we get to Poole go to the High Sheriff of Dorset County, Brownsea Island lies within his jurisdiction." Crane continued.

"Agreed," William said, all the while looking at Rebecca. The events of the last few days had taught William to be cautious, although he wanted to believe that Rebecca's intentions were good, and that she truly was free of the influence of Alistair, he could not help wondering if she were not still under Alistair's sway. At times her eyes seemed to be glazed over,as if she was in a trance, ,then again her speech wandered from one thing to another not making any sense. With doll-like movements, she approached William, remarking, "We must follow his instructions." As Crane watched her, he knew what must be done, picking up his pocket watch he let it dangle at the end of it's chain, "Rebecca, can you tell me what time it is?" he asked. "Time...?" she struggled to answer, her eyes absorbing the syncronized movement of the watch, "why, it is... half past..."
Crane carefully kept a monotonous tone to his voice, she soon was under the spell of the slow swing of the watch and his subtle suggestions. William observed the shocking transformation as Crane said, "Remember, Rebecca... remember our plan, you and I, Alistair... remember our plan for Captain Crane?"

"You said," Rebecca started slowly, "that Thomas and William must die, only then will the girls and I be safe." Crane probed deeper, "And where and how were Thomas and William to meet their death?" “I am to make them believe that you are on Brownsea Island, then point out that Thomas is to weak to go there so William will have to go alone." Rebecca said in an almost mechanical way. "When William boards the launch for Brownsea Island your men will be it's crew, when they reach the channel they will overpower William and drown him, telling the authorities that he fell overboard and drowned." she continued. Crane glanced at William and continued, "And what of Thomas; how will his life be taken? "I am to bring Thomas to the manor house, and after I put him to bed for the night you will shoot him with a poison dart." Rebecca said. "After he is dead the dart will be removed, there will be no sign of violence and people will assume that he died from his wounds."

Crane steadied the swaying timepiece, placed it in his pocket and shook Rebecca gently as he called her name. "Rebecca when you awake you will no longer be under the control of Alistair, you will be your own person again," he paused for a moment, "Rebecca wake up." As Rebecca regained her awareness Crane realized that he failed to discover the whereabouts of Alistair.

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Postby TW » January 14th, 2009, 5:16 pm

Chapter Seven
Night Storms

Crane walked to the window and gazed out at the lengthening shadows of the late afternoon, "Say nothing of what has transpired in this room today, prepare a carriage, we'll leave after sunset, and someone fetch The Sgt. Major." As Thomas observed the carriage being readied, Rebecca moved to stand beside him, then, taking his arm, whispered, "Forgive me." Thomas put his arm around her shoulders, giving her a gentle hug, and smiling at her said, "There is nothing to forgive."

Anticipating the trip to the manor, William assisted Thomas and Rebecca into the carriage then mounted his own steed, all the while looking over his shoulder. As they swung onto the road to Poole he noted a single rider racing across the fields ahead of them. The question regarding the destination of the lone rider, whether Brownsea Island or the Manor, summoned logic over instinct and William resolved to remain at Thomas' side.

As heavy rain began to fall, William knew that this would help with the deception they had planned, Alistair's men would not realize until it was to late that York had taken William's place leading the Brownsea Island group. Safe and dry within the carriage as it rumbled across the countryside, Crane looked through the veil of rain and remembered the first day of his return to the Manor... and the murders. It troubled him that it was Alistair behind the murders, and there was the unanswered question.........WHY? A parade of thoughts swirled through Crane's mind... the white horse... 13 drops of blood... the map of routes that had possessed Alistair's curiosity... what lay in this jumble of clues? Crane thought, "Had none of this happened; in a few months, when William reached full majority, Alistair would have been released from his obligation of Stewart for the family's estate." Crane resolved to uncover the secret of Alistair's past before his arrival to work at the Manor, a subject that, up until now, Alistair had successfully avoided. "William," Crane called from the window of the carriage, "Tell Mr. York to forget about the Brownsea Island mission, I want him to accompany us to the Manor."

As the carriage traversed across the countryside toward the estate, someone in the manor house was descending a secret staircase that led to an underground chamber with a cell. They carried a lantern and a paper, "I've come to offer you one last chance." A tiny figure within the cell withdrew from the shadows. Dirty and unkempt, weakened from a poor diet and lack of exercise, a ghostly shadow of the person that they had once been. Yet, behind the shrouded exterior and ashen complexion, her eyes still glistened like sapphires. Her spirit remained unbroken, as she clung to the hate that she felt towards her captor. A bronze key was produced from the pocket of the quilted robe worn by the captor as he moved closer to the door of her cell.

As the carriage rumbled along the cobblestone road, Crane could not shake the feeling that there was something amiss, something that he was missing. He took Rebecca's hand for comfort; their eyes met and in an instant, their lips, but not before he had noticed her left shoulder, made bare from the drop of her shawl and the jostle of the carriage. "My mind must be playing tricks on me," he thought, "I remember she had a small scar on her shoulder from a beating she received in the orphanage where she was raised."

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Postby TW » January 21st, 2009, 5:25 pm

"William," Crane called from the carriage window, "The storm is making travel too dangerous, we will shelter at the Inn in Fordingbridge village."
Last edited by TW on January 31st, 2009, 4:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Postby soulsearcher » January 30th, 2009, 5:38 pm

"But Thomas," Rebecca interjected, "can we risk the delay of reaching the manor?"

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Postby TW » January 31st, 2009, 4:29 pm

"Becca," Crane replied, "the ferry will not operate in this weather, which means that we would have to take the land route around the Brownsea, adding hours to our journey. The men would be fatigued, I need for them to be alert as they will have much to do in order to secure the manor house and compound and make it safe for you and the girls."

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Postby soulsearcher » February 12th, 2009, 4:08 am

Rebecca's thoughts turned to the manor house, and then... "When we reach the village I must send a secret messenger to explain the delay in our plan."

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Postby TW » February 13th, 2009, 4:16 pm

As lightening shredded the night sky the carriage clattered into the cobblestone courtyard of the Inn. "Don't worry so Becca." Crane said, "We will find a warm and dry shelter in the Inn."

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Postby soulsearcher » March 13th, 2009, 7:04 am

With winds gusting stronger, they quickly exited the carriage through driving sheets of rain, rushing inside the Inn, where a warm and crackling fire beckoned.

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Postby TW » March 14th, 2009, 6:54 pm

As the Inn keeper approached Crane turned to address him, " I shall require lodging and hot meals for my entire party, there are in addition to the three ladies, my brother William, Mr. York, the coachman, and twelve outriders."


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