CHAPTER 12
Secrets
The pair looked at each other in disbelief, too shocked to speak or even move.
"You two know each other?" questioned Marguerite apprehensively.
For a moment there was silence. "John?" pushed Marguerite. "What's going on?"
Roxton broke his glare seemingly in a snap back to the reality of the situation. "Er, Marguerite, this is Louisa Hayward. Louisa, this is Marguerite Krux."
The woman held out a hand towards Marguerite who in turn took it warily, all the time watching Roxton.
"Louisa and I, we're....er.... old friends," started Roxton.
"Oh come on John, we both know it was much more than that," replied Louisa as Roxton glared at her in response. She continued, "John and I were engaged, about eight years ago now."
"Yes, er...." stammered Roxton.
"We would still be together if it weren't for this little one," she said as she looked down at the little girl now in her arms. Her voice was soft but haughty. "Yes, John, she is yours. You must understand, I had to leave, as soon as I found out I was pregnant; I knew you weren't ready to be a father. And Charles, he offered me everything, a father for the child, an endless amount of money." She was cut short as she noticed the look on Marguerite's face. "Don't worry Marguerite, it's not like there's anything between us, I'm married now, what else do you think I'm doing on this god-forsaken plateau?"
Marguerite couldn't believe what she had just heard. How could Roxton have failed to tell her that he had been engaged? He was the love of her life, she had told him everything. All of her secrets and feelings she had shared with him and with each one she had felt more and more guilty. But she had trusted him and now she felt a pain inside her. That pain she had once held when the group had first arrived on the plateau had come back to haunt her once again. Hurt, neglect, betrayal. And he had a child?
She couldn't let him see her like this. She couldn't show him that she'd given everything to him. She had been in similar situations before; she knew exactly what had to be done. She needed to move on and forget.
But this time was different, she was in love and she couldn't get away that easily. She could feel the tears welling in her eyes. Suddenly she could feel herself running away, her hands covering her face. In the distance she could hear a voice shouting her name but as much as she wanted to, she wouldn't turn back.
As she reached her home, she rushed past her mother who was sitting in the kitchen still waiting for news on the next invasion. She ran up the wooden steps until she reached her room where she finally stopped, collapsing onto her bed.
'How could I have been so stupid, to think that he would trust me, that anyone would trust me enough to tell me their deepest secrets?'
Dusk was falling and Marguerite remained curled up on the bed. By now her eyes were red and puffy from crying in a dreamless sleep. She awoke to a knock on the door.
"Marguerite? Are you awake?" It was her mother's voice. "The Lord has been waiting down here for some time. He wants to talk to you."
Marguerite sat up, remembering the day's events that she had hoped had been nothing more than a dream. She calmed herself before she spoke. "Tell him there's nothing to talk about." She paused for a moment.
Her mother opened the door and sat next to her daughter on the bed. "Now I don't know what's going on here but I know how much you two love each other and I know that you can't let it end this way. Just let him talk to you."
"What does it matter anyway, I'm marrying someone else tomorrow remember?"
"I know Marguerite but you can't let it end like this. It might help you to get over the heartbreak of leaving him now, but in the future you'll regret it. You need to say goodbye at least."
"Why does it matter to you anyway?" inquired Marguerite.
"Because I care about you, you're my little girl, and to see you hurting like this is awful. When you two are together it breaks my heart to know that I'm the one that has to tear you apart."
Marguerite felt the wooden planks creak beneath her feet as she walked slowly down the landing to the top of the stairs. As she reached out for the handrail she took a deep breath, willing herself not to get angry but to listen to what Roxton had to say.
She carefully began to make her way down the steps, peering down into the kitchen as she went. She sighed with relief as she noticed that Louisa wasn't in the room. Roxton had Gemma sitting on his lap bobbing her up and down on his knee. She suddenly remembered the night before and how good he was with her. She had known that one day he would make a wonderful father but she hadn't known how soon that day would come. Of course, at one point she had hoped that he would father her own children, but she now knew for sure that her vision wasn't to be.