Chapters (50)
- Cover
- Dedication
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Forty-Three
- Forty-Four
- Forty-Five
- Forty-Six
- The Pengarron Sagas
- The Harvey Family Sagas
Kenver’s disability meant he had spent his entire life surrounded by family. He felt a mild panic at the future loneliness, and at how much he would have to rely only on Kerris. Was this fair to her? He made a good living, enough to strike out on his own. Should he leave with Clem? Clem would like that.
He could keep an eye on Clem. There would be many eyes on him if he returned to Mount’s Bay, particularly a pair of sharp, black ones.
Twenty-Nine
Catherine led the way into the sitting room after supper.
‘You’ve got something to discuss, my dear?’ She smiled, hoping to lighten Clem’s morose mood.
Philip, who had not eaten with them, suddenly banged his way out of the kitchen door and she flinched. Then looked uneasily at Clem. He seemed angrier and more impatient than ever with his son. How much longer was she to regret keeping Philip’s sordid secret from Clem? If only she could get one of them to back down, but they bore the same stubborn line.
‘We’ve got to leave here, Cathy,’ Clem said suddenly. ‘You do see that?’
‘Because of Philip? Surely, you and he will restore your good relationship?’
Clem explained his reasons. ‘He can’t afford to buy your stake in the place, we’ll just have to leave him with everything.’
‘This is all so unsettling, and it’s my fault. I should have told you about Ruth Skewes and the baby.’
‘Yes, you should’ve, but it’s brought up these new concerns and I won’t have you and the twins living in possible danger. What to do, where to go, that’s hard to know. I thought I could ask Kane for work, or look for something different, although I don’t know what, I’ve only ever done farming.’ He waved his hand in a deflated way. ‘I’m sorry, Cathy, I’ve given you nothing in our marriage and now there’s all this.’
‘If you feel we really must leave here, we can at least afford to buy a house, Clem. I have the means.’
The whole sordid situation, the injustices of life was getting him down and he snapped, ‘I’m trying to protect your money, not spend it!’
‘I’m not taking my children to some poky, ill-made tied cottage,’ Catherine protested indignantly. ‘And we’re man and wife. What’s mine is yours. Can you not see that you’ve worked hard on this farm, that you have an investment in it, that it belongs to you as much as Philip and I? I found the moor disconcerting at first but I’ve come to love this place. It’s isolated but I’ve moved about the area and made friends. I’m settled and so are the twins. I thought we’d have a lot to live down when Rebekah was born, but in time people will forget.