Chapter 6
I can tell that you're not satisfied with that as an answer. Well, you'd be right to be sceptical but then you already know more than poor Harris did. So what did happen? Did anything go wrong?
Yes, it did go wrong, it went very wrong. For all our careful planning fate took a hand and Rock ended up dead. I'd never wanted him dead that was never part of my plan. Of course there were times when I felt I could have strangled the man, when I wanted to slap his arrogant face and tell him exactly what I thought of him but I never did. Perhaps it was because in my heart I knew that I'd married him without really loving him that I'd given him that leeway. Maybe if I'd loved him more and liked him a little less I'd just have got rid of him and not tried to keep everything. I'd just have raged at the man and kicked him straight out. But I didn't do that because in some way I felt partly to blame for his behaviour. Everyone tells me that isn't so but it doesn't make me feel it wasn't.
Our plan was so simple. Murray and Flora had gathered photographic evidence of Rock's meetings with Lumina, some of which were rather graphic, although both Flora and Murray claimed the photos actually looked worse than they were. This was just what we needed and perfect for the blackmail we had in mind. I was to arrange to meet Rock by the waterfall with backup from Sebastian and Carter. There we would confront him with the evidence and threaten to send the photographs to the police in the city with a signed statement from Lumina, who was still only fifteen, unless he did as we said. At best Rock would be charged with having sex with an underage girl and possibly worse. If he agreed to leave the valley immediately and stay away for at least four years and have no contact with anyone in the valley or Mineral Town then the photos could be made to disappear. I knew Rock would bluster and threaten, then he's plead with me that he'd change and it never meant anything but I was also sure that when I produced the cheque from Romana he'd finally give in and go. I was to have taken a packed bag with me and Sebastian and Carter would escort him to the waiting boat in Mineral Town. Of course we'd make it clear that if he came back before the four years were up or tried to contact either Lumina or myself the photos would be handed in. We'd gone over and over the plan trying to see where problems could occur but, eventually we were sure that we'd be successful. We were so sure that he'd go but he'd be alright. He'd find a new life in the city or anywhere else he wanted to go, he wouldn't be short of money that was sure. Then, when the four years were up if he wanted to return to the valley I wouldn't object. He'd be free to do, as he liked. Things would probably be a little awkward but he could even marry Lumina if that's what he wanted to do. I never thought he'd die.
For all the safeguards we thought we had in place we hadn't factored in one thing and that was Lumina herself. Rock had known Lumina far better than the rest of us and that was our downfall. They say that we fail to recognise that all things change and we were all guilty of that in relation to Lumina, all except Rock. Although she was only fifteen and rather young in appearance, mentally she was no longer the child we all thought her to be. Rock alone had recognised the change in her, the sexual woman she was becoming and she had been no innocent partner. Although Flora and Murray had tried to keep her safe Lumina as far more cunning than any of us thought and her relationship with Rock was a full relationship in every way. Lumina was deeply in love with Rock and had believed every word he said when he told her that he loved her. He'd told her our marriage was over, just a sham. While making love to her he had led her to believe that she was his only lover and that there had been nothing between us since the birth of Joel. Rock had led her on and she'd believed every word of it. He'd even told her he was preparing to divorce me and marry her just as soon as she was of age. Every time they'd met he'd assured her that he loved her and he'd never leave her, that he'd stand by her no matter what. She, in turn, became his lover content to wait, sure that as soon as she was sixteen she'd be able to persuade Romana to let her marry Rock. The whole secrecy of the affair, the danger of discovery, the snatched Romantic meetings were irresistible to a young, unsophisticated girl like Lumina, and Rock knew full well what he was doing.
It was a tiny thing that put paid to all our plans in the end. The wrong person, in the wrong place, at the wrong time. Romana had thought to keep Lumina happy and occupied by having Ruby give her cooking lessons. Lumina had agreed as it gave her an excuse to be out and about. Fate threw her spanner in the works the afternoon of Rock's death by having Lumina listening at the kitchen door when Dr. Hardy came to visit. He came to congratulate Ruby on the news that she was to have a second grandchild in the winter. Lumina must have heard and her whole world fell apart. She must have gone straight from there to confront Rock. I couldn't have been worse. Apparently she'd come by the farm but she'd seen that Rock wasn't there but she'd spotted him on his way up to the waterfall. She'd waited until Hugh and Murray had left and then followed him. We met her running down from the waterfall in hysterics. She was completely incoherent and flung herself at Sebastian clinging to him almost fainting. Sebastian tried to help her home but Lumina was so distraught they were never going to make it without alerting most of the valley so we took her back to the farm and tried to calm her down. It seems stupid now but we completely forgot about Rock. It took ages just to get any sense out of her at all and when we did we were all so shocked. Finally she told us that she had gone up to the waterfall and Rock had actually been pleased to see her. He should have been I'd used the ruse of a letter from her to get him there in the first place. She'd knocked his arms away when he'd tried to hug her and screamed at him that he was a liar, that he couldn't love her and still be making love to me. She told him she knew about the baby I was expecting. Rock tried to defend himself but he soon got tired of that. He never liked being in the wrong; whatever happened it was always someone else's fault. He told her she was being a silly little girl and why shouldn't he still make love to his wife if he wanted to, it wasn't his fault if I still loved him. Anyway he still loved her, their plans could still go ahead. Lumina had cried and told him that she didn't believe him, how could she when he'd lied to her. She also had news of her own for Rock. It seemed their precautions had been no more successful that Rock and mine had and she was pregnant too. Rock had gone ballistic, told her she was stupider that he'd thought, that she'd ruined everything. There was no way Romana would let them marry now. She wasn't to think he'd run away with her, without her money she was no use to him. Lumina had stood there too shocked to say anything only at all, tears streaming down her face. Then she'd said she'd tell me everything. Rock told her to go ahead I'd never believe her and he'd deny everything. Did she think she was the only one anyway, she'd just been a bit of fun, there were other women in the city already, he wouldn't miss her. No she was on her own. Lumina had tried to fling herself on him and begged him not to leave her but Rock had told her she looked ugly and pushed her away. Lumina was now beside herself with grief and she'd pushed back. Rock was stood near the edge and hadn't expected Lumina to fight back. The grass was extremely slippery; he'd stepped back in shock and lost his footing. To Lumina's horror Rock had disappeared backwards onto the jagged boulders beneath the waterfall. It was all so sudden he'd never even screamed. Still Lumina had heard the sickening crack as Rock's head hit the stones even over the roar of the waters.
Carter left as soon as Lumina finished and hurried up to the waterfall. He was about five minutes and when he came back he'd told us that Rock was lying dead just where Lumina had told us. There was nothing we could do for him. Lumina sobbed and begged us to help her.
Now we had to rethink our plans and fast. I'd fainted at the news and Carter went to fetch Ruby to help me. Also she had to be told. Sebastian had to get Lumina home and Dr. Hardy sedated her as soon as they were there. By the time Ruby arrived I had recovered but we had to tell her about Rock and Lumina and what had happened to them. Soon after that Romana and Chris turned up. We didn't tell Ruby that original plan she had enough to bear with what had really happened. Everyone agreed there was no way we could let Lumina suffer for this, it would help no one. We had to find a way to protect her. By nightfall we had a plan and we put it into action. The twins were right, none of their gunpowder was missing – they'd given it gladly and Carter had used it to create the two landslides.