Fall From Grace (Slater #1) (7 page)

“Whore” the man spat.

Doctor James shot the man a disgruntled look and the man, turned his back. Laura eyed the other man, threatening him to try and take her mother from her.  He looked like he wanted to step forward but his eyes were jittery, they shifted between her and the man who had just received the wounding scratch.

“Laura, come now” Doctor James spoke.

Suddenly Laura felt a sharp jab in the meaty part of her thigh and she saw Doctor James pull away a syringe.  Laura screamed an ear piercing scream and leapt from the bed.  She reached out clawing and slapping at the Doctor, who stepped back to the wall.  The man who hadn’t been scratched grabbed roughly at Laura, pinning her arms to her side.  Laura shook her head, screaming, spit flying from her mouth, as she gnashed her teeth; the darkness of insanity had taken its hold. Slowly her vision started blur, the edges of darkness crept in, her legs became heavy and she couldn’t hold herself up.  The man, who held her arms to her side, reached down and put his arms under her knees lifting her from the ground.  He gently laid Laura onto the bed beside her mother as the darkness took its control.

When she woke again, her mother’s body had been removed and the cottage was sunken in complete darkness.  The fire was nothing more than embers.  A chill played in the room. Laura gingerly climbed from the bed and reached for the poker, stoking at the fire as she threw another piece of wood in the hearth trying to ignite the warmth in the room.  She heard a whimper from behind her and saw her Aunt sitting in the wooden chair near the fire.  She didn’t speak to Laura; she just looked off into the flames that had risen to lick at the wood.

Chapter Eleven

Laura couldn’t comprehend what life would be like without her mother.  She didn’t want to comprehend it.  She wanted to just close her eyes and run, block out every horrible thing that had ever happened to her.  In that moment that’s all Laura could think about; was running.  As she left through the front door she thought she heard Aunt say something to her, but Laura wasn’t going to stay around to talk.

Laura headed to the back of the cottage and the thick forest that stood behind their house.  She hadn’t been there since the big man attacked her as a small child.  The woods were dense; the dank smell of dirt assaulted her nostrils.  The deeper she delved the quieter it became, until she was standing in the thick trees where the canopy blocked out the sunlight.  A screech echoed throughout the forest, Laura’s heart pounded, sweat began to bead on her upper lip, her eyes darted from tree to tree, the screech sounded again and Laura’s feet began to run.  She didn’t know the direction she was heading she didn’t care, her feet were on auto pilot as she skipped over fallen branches, bramble and tree roots.  She came to a screaming halt; there in amongst the thick trees was a small cottage. Laura rubbed her eyes not believing what she saw.  There was a small trail of smoke coming out of the chimney and movement to her left caught her eye.  Laura spun on her heel to see a fox stopped, its orange head cocked to the side watching her.  Slowly Laura stepped closer as it watched her curiously. The screech echoed again, her heart leapt and a lump formed in her throat, the fox darted into the woods, lost among the bramble and thick trees.

“Stop.. Wait..” Laura cried.

“Hey, you, who are you?” she heard the deep rumbling voice from behind her.

Laura’s body tensed in fear.  Slowly she turned her head to look over her shoulder. In the doorway of the cottage was a man, his greying hair thick on his head, his long wiry beard reached to the middle of his chest.  His arms were huge and his chest wide. The lump that had formed in Laura’s throat became even larger and Laura began to wonder if she would stop breathing altogether.

“Laura?” the man spoke, his eyes narrowed as he began to step towards her.

Laura’s panic reached its crescendo and she turned to the direction she came and began to run, her breaths causing her lungs to burn, the taste of blood coated her mouth.  She heard the man call for her to wait, but she ignored him and continued to run. He knew her name, he knew her. But Laura didn’t know him.  When her cottage came into view Laura slowed down, trying to catch her breath.  Aunt raced around the corner, grasping hold of Laura’s shoulders. It wasn’t until then that Laura realised that she was screaming.

“Laura child, what’s wrong? Where have you been? Why are you screaming girl?” Aunt screamed into Laura’s face.

Laura couldn’t control the sound that was falling from her mouth, the screams that wouldn’t cease.  The hard sting on her cheek caused the screams to stop abruptly. Laura reached up and touched her lip gingerly, where she felt a trickle of blood run down her chin, her Aunt’s hand slowly lowered back to Laura’s shoulder.

“Now speak to...” Aunt began, just as Laura heard the heavy breathing coming from behind. “Oh dear sweet Lord, yer alive, yer here and yer free”.

Aunt’s face paled and her eyes instantly welled threatening to overflow with tears. Laura slowly turned to see the man from the cottage standing behind them, his hands on his knees, his breaths coming in heavy bursts.  Aunt dropped her hands off Laura’s shoulders and stepped towards the man as he slowly stood, composing himself. Aunt wrapped her hands around his waist, her head only reaching to the middle of his chest.

“Oh Thomas” Aunt sobbed into the man’s chest.

Thomas? That was Laura’s father’s name. Laura shook her head, it couldn’t be him; he was in gaol. If he had got out, why wouldn’t he have come back to see her and her mother? Why would he have stayed away? Laura narrowed her eyes as he looked above her Aunt’s head and into her eyes.  His eyes were a dark blue, like the oceans she had only ever heard about; the most beautiful blue that she could ever imagine and suddenly recognition hit Laura to the core of her soul.

“Daddy?” she asked quietly.

Thomas’ eyes welled up and a single tear ebbed its way down over his cheek and mingled with the hair on his top lip. He nodded slowly.  The lump that had been caught in Laura’s throat dropped to the pit of her stomach. Her father, the man that she dreamed of stood in front of her, after thirteen years, he was real, tangible and alive.

“Mama’s gone Daddy” Laura said, surprised by the tears that now flowed down her cheeks.

Thomas narrowed his eyes and looked down at Aunt; she remained holding her thin arms around his waist.  Aunt looked up at him and nodded. A guttural roar built up from his belly as he dropped to his knees. He covered his face in his hands and sobbed; his shoulders heavy under the pressure of his tears. It was all too much for Laura to bear; she stepped towards Thomas and knelt in front of him on the damp grass. Laura pulled Thomas into a tight grasp, he leant his head on her shoulder, his tears mingled with hers.

She had so many questions for her father, but she knew that it wasn’t the right time. Her emotions were mixed, she didn’t know whether to be elated or angry at her father, but what she did feel was relief to have him by her side.  That night in the cottage when she climbed into her bed completely exhausted, he came and sat on the edge beside her.

“You must have a lot of questions for me child?” he asked.

Laura nodded, she did, but she was too tired to ask them at that moment.

“I’m sorry I stayed away, it was safer; the police would have hanged me otherwise, if they find out where I am they would probably still hang me, that man whose life I took, he was a man of influence” he said sombrely. His statement didn’t prove to provide any relief; it didn’t answer any of her questions.

Laura reached over and took Thomas’ hand in hers. She didn’t want to let him go. She had lost him for the last thirteen years; she didn’t want him to leave again. As if he sensed her fears he assured Laura that he would just be in the other room talking with Aunt and that he would be still in the cottage when she awoke.  He slowly stood and before she drifted into the darkness of sleep she could hear Thomas and Aunt talking about her mother.

Chapter Twelve

When Laura awoke her eyes were bleary and heavy. The sun freckled its way in through the window, but there was a dampness that hung in the air. She could see the steam that breathed from her lips in the coolness of her room.  Slowly she pushed back the heavy woollen blanket from her body, shivering at the chill that seemed to seep into her bones.  Her belly was large and her back ached, the child whom grew inside her seemed to stretch her skin to almost tearing point and Laura was beginning to wonder how much more she could take.  She rubbed her face and slowly stretched, trying to find some comfort. When she stood her toe brushed against firm heavy plushness, as she looked down she saw curled at the foot of her bed laid Thomas. A thin blanket draped over his body, his eyes closed.  Laura flopped back down onto her bed, unable to peel her eyes away from her prodigal father, the father who mysteriously returned as sudden as his mysterious disappearance.

She sat for a long time taking in the image of his face, the peacefulness in which he slept, the slight frown he wore, the eyelashes that brushed his cheeks, the small sighs that he made. She startled when Thomas suddenly flicked his eyes open and stared tiredly up at Laura. It was as if he was still trying to grasp his bearings as to where he was, but soon recognition crossed his eyes and he softly stared up at his daughter.  He smiled and sat up slowly, easing his hulking body off the floor and dusting off his pants.  He gingerly sat on the bed.  Laura reached out her fingers to stroke his beard, she never remembered it being so long, just as she felt the wisps of hair on his chin, Thomas captured her hand in his and bought her palm up to his lips, giving it a tender kiss.  Tears fell from her eyes, caressing her cheeks as she pulled her father into a tight embrace, crying harder, her sobs wracking her entire body.  She stayed there crying for her lost childhood, her father, her mother, and her own child, who too would grow up fatherless.

Thomas reached up and pet Laura on the back, soothing her tears.  When she sat up and looked at his face she could see that his eyes were red and puffy from his own tears.

“Have you always been there?” Laura asked between hiccupping sobs.

Thomas took Laura’s face in his hand and looked into her eyes.  The blue so soft and beautiful, his eyes were filled with love that threatened to swallow her whole.

“I would have hanged had they found me child” he croaked.

“Did mother know?”

Laura could see the flash of regret run through his eyes, he couldn’t lie to her.

“She did, and had I known how sick she was, I would have come back” he spoke gently.

“You said the man who took me was a man of influence, but who was he daddy?” Laura asked.

“James Slater” Thomas frowned and shuddered.

Laura shook her head as questions raced through her mind.  Why would a Slater try to steal a peasant child? What would he want with her?

“Why did he try to take me?” she asked. 

Thomas shook his head and ran his hand down over his face.  He pet Laura’s back, his eyes were swollen and puffy from the tears that he seemed to be unable to hold back.

“Laura the Slater family isn’t a good family.  They have money, they have importance and they portray themselves as men of cloth, but they have an evil spirit that run’s deep through their souls.  Your Aunt told me that your child belongs to Porter and this breaks my heart” he said, his voice catching in his throat. 

Laura felt more confused than she was before Thomas had come back into her life.  She didn’t understand what he meant by the evil spirit.  Porter was nothing but gentle to her, but then the image of him wrapped up in the red headed woman’s legs flashed into her mind.  The way he looked at her, the way he didn’t even try to cover what he was doing.  Her heart ached at the image and her heart broke again, not for herself but for the Slater child that she carried, the child that too would be born with that evil spirit running through its veins.

Laura laid her head down on her father’s shoulder and tangled her fingers lazily in his beard, taking in his familiar scent, of pine and earth. She still had so many questions, but she no longer had the energy to deal with the emotions. Laura needed to know the story of her attempted abduction and she needed to know what Thomas had been doing the whole time he was away.  Laura questioned whether he had thought of her, had he tried to come and see her? But at that moment she just wanted to stay embraced in her father’s arms, silently holding him, relishing in the feeling of finally having a father who loved her and cared for her so close. After a while she heard movement in the doorway and looked up to see Aunts face etched in worry.

“Thomas you can’t stay here” she spoke softly.

Panic and bile began to rise in Laura’s throat.  She had only got her father back in her life, she couldn’t bear the thought that he would leave her so soon.  Thomas looked down at his daughter; she met his eyes, her green eyes welling up to match the water in his own. Thomas reached over and smoothed Laura’s hair and nodded.

“I have to leave again child. If they find me they will still have me hanged” he said quietly to her.