Mistaken Revenge

Chapter One

McKenna looked away from him, confusion clouding her mind. She still didn’t understand why he was leaving and it nagged her. He never explained anything, only gave her a letter and told her he needed to leave.

“Just trust me. We’ll be together again,” he had said. McKenna didn't trust the urgent look on his face that morning, and yet he wouldn't confide in her and that hurt. She had come to bid him farewell at the large two-story English Country home in Brookshire England.

"Come back soon," she said while straightening his collar. She put her fingers to his lips and pressed firmly. A solid tear raced down her cheek, followed by another, until she could no longer keep them in. She fled his room, sobbing.

"McKenna!" He called to her, but she was gone. He hung his head low and sighed deeply. He knew he couldn't stay. It would put both of them in terrible danger and he couldn't do that to her. He slowly walked away, defeated. He knew the real reason and one day he would tell her, when it was right, but now, he had no choice and McKenna just had to accept what he told her. It was for her safety.

Damien’s heavy footsteps thudded under the concrete as he walked out into the blinding sun. The carriage had been waiting for him, waiting to take him far away, maybe never to return. All through the day, he had thoughts of taking her away and building a life where no one would find them. He knew it would only serve to postpone what was inevitable. The dark-haired man with the chiseled jaw and long scar down his left cheek peeked out the side and motioned him to come. He hesitated but the dark, steely look coming from the hardened face made him acutely aware of the seriousness of the matter. He  looked back once more just in case she came back. Of course, she wouldn't be there. He pulled down his cap and walked towards the car and what was awaiting him.

***

She threw herself down on the soft blanket that lay on her bed as the pillows jumped from her impact. Her long, ebony hair spread across her face in a web-like veneer. The pink silky material looked classic and stylish on her tall, slender frame as it clung to her body. McKenna Elise Stanhope looked older, more mature than her young twenty years, some people would say. Her hypnotic eyes softened even the hardest face as they grabbed attention from every angle.

She pulled herself up and opened the drawer that beheld the past, the memories she cherished for the four years she was in love with Damien. Inside, the letters sat there folded neatly, gracefully. She took them out carefully, noticing the yellowed edges and the wrinkled creases. Opening the one she read incessantly, she pored over the words, "I can no longer put you in jeopardy; my life would be worth nothing if you were gone. Please don't question my motives, just know one day, I will meet your sparkling eyes and you will know I am free." As she brushed her fingers lightly over the words, she thought about life with Damien, their kids and the home they would live in. They had often talked about how many kids they wanted and McKenna would come home still daydreaming of the day she would be Damien’s for a lifetime. Closing the letter tenderly, she glanced up at the ceiling and thought back to the time where nothing else mattered.

"Oh Damien, I wish this day could go on forever. Just think what we could do if time stood still." She had lain in his arms, contended, happy.

"McKenna, if time stood still, I would never leave this spot, never turn my gaze from you." He pulled her chin to his and they stared lovingly into each other's eyes, deep into their souls. The next day, he changed. Instead of the happy, easy-going man she knew, there stood an anxious, seemingly fearful boy, who acted as if he had just been giving a death sentence, when he had come to her and given her the letter. No explanation, no timetable, nothing; It was as if her whole life was a dream that someone came in and stole away from her. All she could do was watch him say goodbye.

Now, here she was in the middle of the nineteenth century, alone and afraid.

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