Read Online The Heart is Torn by Phyllis Mallett - Free Book Online
Authors: Phyllis Mallett
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a moment he looked pensive, then smiled and shrugged. Beth suppressed a shudder as he reached out swiftly and caught hold of her arm. Drawing her close, he slid his powerful arms around her slender body, and Beth froze in horror, barely able to prevent her revulsion from showing in her stiff face.
‘You must try harder to pretend that you like me,’ he observed. ‘But your feelings do not enter into my consideration. I have you now and you will grow to like me.’
He led the way into the library and seated himself at the desk by the window. Beth stood at his side, her eyes blurred with unshed tears. Peake produced two sheets of paper which stated that he would make no effort to claim Henry Farrell’s debts if the intended marriage between himself and Beth took place.
‘This is legally binding in law,’ he declared, leaning back with a satisfied air. ‘Take your time reading it, and then sign at the bottom under the part which is your agreement to our pending marriage. I shall sign it as well, and you will keep one of the copies.’
Beth hardly read the document, her mind subservient to a ferment of conflicting emotions. She wished Adam could arrive at this very moment and rescue her from what was becoming a living nightmare. But Adam was overwhelmed by the misfortune resulting from Peake’s scheming and engaged in trying to overcome the evil being perpetrated. She signed both copies of the document and Peake seized them, unable to contain his satisfaction. The quill pen scratched as he added his signature, and then he flung one down on the desk and rolled the other and tucked it into a pocket.
‘You have the rest of the morning to pack your immediate possessions,’ he said vibrantly, his tone laced with triumph. ‘I shall send a woman who is well versed in nursing to attend your father night and day until his recovery. You will come to my house in Polgarron this afternoon at two-thirty.’
‘I cannot leave my father while he is in this condition!’ Beth said, appalled. ‘You have your proof that I intend to marry you, so you must wait until the situation clears.’
‘You will do as I say.’
An ominous note sounded in Peake’s voice.
‘You cannot help your father in any way except by obeying me. I have you in my grasp now, and if you have any sense at all you will realise that you are helpless. Don’t give me any trouble, sweet Beth, or it will go hard with your father.’
Beth shook her head slowly, but the hopelessness of her position was stark in her mind. She was following this course of action because there was no other way of protecting her father, unless she could get proof of Peake’s lawless activities and deliver it to Jeremy Traherne. Only success would bring an end to this nightmare so she steeled herself to go on.
‘Very well,’ she said. ‘I shall leave here as soon as the nurse arrives.’
‘That’s better.’
Peake arose from the desk and grasped her upper arms, drawing her into a close embrace. Beth saw his hated face only inches from her own and closed her eyes. She could feel his hot, rum-laden breath on her cheek, and fought against her distaste. He kissed her passionately. She tried to close her mind to what was happening, buoying herself with the knowledge that the sooner she discovered his secrets the sooner she would be rid of him.
Releasing her, Peake turned away. Beth followed him into the hall and was relieved when he fetched his cloak preparatory to leaving.
‘I have much to do,’ he said, ‘and very little time in which to do it. But I shall be at home in the early afternoon and will expect your arrival. Whatever you do, don’t disappoint me.’
Beth nodded, and was relieved when he departed. But the slam of the door echoed in her heart, piercing her with a grim reminder of the pitiless situation in which she found herself. She instructed Rose to pack her personal belongings in a trunk, then returned to her father’s room.
‘Oh, Father!’ she
‘You must try harder to pretend that you like me,’ he observed. ‘But your feelings do not enter into my consideration. I have you now and you will grow to like me.’
He led the way into the library and seated himself at the desk by the window. Beth stood at his side, her eyes blurred with unshed tears. Peake produced two sheets of paper which stated that he would make no effort to claim Henry Farrell’s debts if the intended marriage between himself and Beth took place.
‘This is legally binding in law,’ he declared, leaning back with a satisfied air. ‘Take your time reading it, and then sign at the bottom under the part which is your agreement to our pending marriage. I shall sign it as well, and you will keep one of the copies.’
Beth hardly read the document, her mind subservient to a ferment of conflicting emotions. She wished Adam could arrive at this very moment and rescue her from what was becoming a living nightmare. But Adam was overwhelmed by the misfortune resulting from Peake’s scheming and engaged in trying to overcome the evil being perpetrated. She signed both copies of the document and Peake seized them, unable to contain his satisfaction. The quill pen scratched as he added his signature, and then he flung one down on the desk and rolled the other and tucked it into a pocket.
‘You have the rest of the morning to pack your immediate possessions,’ he said vibrantly, his tone laced with triumph. ‘I shall send a woman who is well versed in nursing to attend your father night and day until his recovery. You will come to my house in Polgarron this afternoon at two-thirty.’
‘I cannot leave my father while he is in this condition!’ Beth said, appalled. ‘You have your proof that I intend to marry you, so you must wait until the situation clears.’
‘You will do as I say.’
An ominous note sounded in Peake’s voice.
‘You cannot help your father in any way except by obeying me. I have you in my grasp now, and if you have any sense at all you will realise that you are helpless. Don’t give me any trouble, sweet Beth, or it will go hard with your father.’
Beth shook her head slowly, but the hopelessness of her position was stark in her mind. She was following this course of action because there was no other way of protecting her father, unless she could get proof of Peake’s lawless activities and deliver it to Jeremy Traherne. Only success would bring an end to this nightmare so she steeled herself to go on.
‘Very well,’ she said. ‘I shall leave here as soon as the nurse arrives.’
‘That’s better.’
Peake arose from the desk and grasped her upper arms, drawing her into a close embrace. Beth saw his hated face only inches from her own and closed her eyes. She could feel his hot, rum-laden breath on her cheek, and fought against her distaste. He kissed her passionately. She tried to close her mind to what was happening, buoying herself with the knowledge that the sooner she discovered his secrets the sooner she would be rid of him.
Releasing her, Peake turned away. Beth followed him into the hall and was relieved when he fetched his cloak preparatory to leaving.
‘I have much to do,’ he said, ‘and very little time in which to do it. But I shall be at home in the early afternoon and will expect your arrival. Whatever you do, don’t disappoint me.’
Beth nodded, and was relieved when he departed. But the slam of the door echoed in her heart, piercing her with a grim reminder of the pitiless situation in which she found herself. She instructed Rose to pack her personal belongings in a trunk, then returned to her father’s room.
‘Oh, Father!’ she
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