CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Daniel spent three days at the factory walking around and speaking to his employees and their families. One of the things he mentioned to the wives was his plan to build a school for their children. Daniel had been fortunate enough to be sent to a village school. Most of the children he knew had not been so privileged. If he had not been literate and mathematically competent, Daniel knew he would never have won so high a place at the maharajah’s court. This experience had contributed to his belief that an education was essential if an individual wanted to climb out of poverty.
When he told the gathered wives about his proposed school, they were first stunned, then overjoyed. Since their husbands’ wages were enough to keep the family, their children did not need to work, so the opportunity to attend school was realistic. Daniel explained that it would be necessary to first build a schoolhouse and find teachers, but when the school opened the opportunity to attend would be available to all their children.
“Thank you, Mr. Dereham!” said Mrs. Evans, the woman who had gathered the group for Daniel. “And thank you for building this clean, safe factory for our men to work in. And for providing such nice living quarters. We pray for you all the time, we do.” She turned to the women surrounding her.
“Aye, that we do,” came the chorused reply.
“Sure, and you’re a saint, Mr. Dereham,” an Irish voice called from the back of the group.
Daniel looked at the careworn faces of these women and felt a lump come into his throat. The factory had been an idea in his head for so long that it had become almost an abstraction. The people he was trying to help had become abstractions too. But now, as he looked at these women, so many of them with babes in their arms and little ones at their skirts, the reality was personal once more.
He said, “I’m no saint, ladies. This factory isn’t a charity. I plan to make quite a lot of money from this venture.”
“I hope you do!” came another voice from the back of the delegation.
All of the women laughed.
Daniel said, “I thank you for that thought, and for coming to see me. And I promise you will have your school.”
He was thinking of this scene as he rode home the following day. Before the school could be built and staffed, he needed to find someone who shared his beliefs to organize it. He couldn’t ask Robbie Denver. Robbie had enough to do managing the factory. He supposed he’d have to rely on the employment agencies in London to find someone qualified.
As the miles dropped away and he drew closer to home, the memory of what had sent him tearing off crept insistently into his mind. He had pushed it aside while he was at the factory, but he wasn’t going to be able to ignore it forever.
He had been stunned to see his father – his stepfather – sitting cozily in the parlor at Grex. Seeing that familiar face brought back all the turmoil and anger he had felt when last they met. He had made a life for himself without them – a good life! He didn’t want anything or anyone to stir the embers of a fire he had hoped was quenched.
He thought of Anne and felt a little sick. What had she thought? What had his father told her?
Daniel did not want his wife to know about his past. She had accepted him as he was. She loved him as he was. He didn’t want to upset a marriage that had turned out to be so agreeable. He didn’t want Anne asking questions about his life before they met.
# # #
Anne had thought of nothing but Daniel since he rode away in a cloud of fury. She knew what it was like to be betrayed by a parent, to find out the people you trusted were not what you thought they were. But she had come to terms with it. Daniel, on the other hand, had never come to terms with it. The wound had festered inside him until it devoured his memories of the love and devotion he had received from his mother and stepfather.
She worried about what she should do when Daniel returned. Should she confront him and try to make him see reason? He needed to get beyond the duplicity of his parents and see them for what they were – two people who loved him very much. It had been clear to Anne that when he fled to India he had hurt them as much as they hurt him.
The more Anne thought about the situation, the more she thought it would be best to hold her tongue. Daniel had to confide in her before she could help him. She had a feeling that if she were the one to bring up the subject of his parents, it would drive him away.
Anne was only nineteen, but her life had made her wiser than her age. She knew what it was like to be betrayed, and she knew what it was to be lonely, and because of these experiences she was able to understand her husband. When he made love to her, she felt that he was with her, part of her in more than just the physical way. But the barriers came back as soon as normal life resumed.
So when he came riding home after his precipitous departure, she greeted him with a smile and made no mention of his stepfather’s visit. They sat down to dinner without Miss Bonteen, who was paying a visit in the village, and Daniel told Anne about his idea for a school.
“The simple fact is that a person who cannot read or write or do sums cannot rise out of poverty.” The expression on his face was intensely serious. “If we want to eliminate poverty in this country, we must send children to school. It’s as simple as that.”
Anne said, “It’s a wonderful idea, Daniel. I’m so proud of you for thinking of it.”
He smiled at her over the rim of his wine glass. “Thank you, Annie, but I’m not a hero. An educated, informed populace benefits all of society.”
She leaned a little toward him. “What are your plans for making the school a reality?”
He put his glass down. “I’m going to have to find someone qualified to do it for me. I can’t ask Robbie, he’s too busy with the factory. Besides he knows as little as I do about the needs of a new school.”
Suddenly Anne’s young face lit to radiance. “Daniel, I have an idea! Bonny and I can build this school. Bonny actually taught in a school before she came to be my governess, so she is the perfect person to take this on! And I can help her!”
She looked so beautiful as she leaned toward him in her eagerness. But he didn’t like the idea. He didn’t like the idea of her spending time near the factory. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were sparkling. He didn’t want to start an argument now. He had plans for her this evening that depended upon her being in a good mood. He said temperately, “We’ll discuss it later, Annie. Right now, I’d like to talk about what you’ve been doing while I was gone. How are the horses?”
Conversation flowed until dinner was finished and they went into the drawing room for tea.
# # #
Daniel said he was tired and Anne was happy to retire early. They were no sooner in bed together, however, when he reached for her. She laughed and asked him what had happened to his tiredness. His answer was to kiss her, and she responded as she always had, with generosity and trust.
Daniel had never been anything but gentle with his young bride, but tonight she felt a difference. Tonight, his hands were hard, his face was hard, and there were very few caresses before he moved over her and into her. She felt the urgency in him, the desperation, and she didn’t stiffen against him. Instead she put her arms around him and yielded to the raw need that was driving him.
When he had finished and was lying on his back next to her, his breathing coming hard and fast, she put her head on his shoulder and nestled against him. “You certainly didn’t act tired,” she said softly.
His arm came up to encircle her. “I’m sorry, Annie. I don’t know what came over me. I just …. I’m sorry. You didn’t deserve that.”
She didn’t answer.
He rested his cheek against her hair. After a long quiet moment he said, “Your hair always smells so good. Like the springtime.”
She smiled, turned her head, gently kissed his bare chest and said, “I’m glad you don’t have a lot of hair on your body.”
She could feel his body relax. “I don’t deserve you,” he said.
“That’s probably true,” she replied.
He chuckled.
Anne closed her eyes and snuggled her head a bit deeper into his shoulder.
He said in a constricted voice, “About what happened the other day…”
“Mmmm?” she murmured.
“Did my father, my stepfather, did he tell you what happened? I mean did he tell you why I left home?”
“He did.” Anne held herself very still while trying to keep her body relaxed.
“What did you think?” He sounded young and uncertain – not like Daniel at all.
“I think you felt they had betrayed you.”
“Yes!” Now he sounded like himself. “For my whole life they let me think the man who acted as my father was my father. They lied. For years and years and years, they lied.”
She said carefully, not wanting him to reject her now that he was finally opening up, “Do you think their love was a lie?”
There was a long silence. Anne kept very still, her cheek against his warm shoulder. Finally, he said, in a voice that sounded almost sad, “No. I don’t think that.”
She didn’t say anything and for a long time they remained quiet, her head on his shoulder. When he moved she thought he was going to say it was time to go to sleep, but instead he asked, “Do you want to hear how I found out the truth?”