Eversea A Love Story

stove, all in black. I assume he must have been in a suit, but all I remember is the darkness and the fear of seeing him and thinking my mum would be mad at me for not staying out of the way. But then I saw her lying on the floor. She was naked ... and not moving. In retrospect, I wonder why I didn’t go to her, but I remember going wild and flying at him, trying to get to his eyes. His evil eyes. I wanted to scratch and rip those awful eyes out of his head and bite those awful hands that inflicted so much pain. The next thing I knew he struck me, and I was flying back across the room. I hit the table next to where my mother was lying. I couldn’t breathe from the pain. I learned later my arm and a rib were broken.”
    I was glad his eyes were closed, and he couldn’t see the tears sliding down my face.
    “But he came at me again, and I felt real fear then. Fear he’d kill me and I wouldn’t be able to get help for my mum. I didn’t want to think she might not be needing help anymore. He was holding a full pan of boiling water and he called me a little brat and threw it. I kicked my legs out, and by some stroke of luck, my foot hit a chair that protected me as it moved.”
    Jack gritted his teeth as if he was reliving it, right at this moment. “I remember it. In slow motion. I remember seeing the water hurtling toward me and partly splattering all over the chair.”
    He took another deep breath. “I threw myself to the side and covered my face before the rest of the water hit me.”
    My hand was still pressed under his, against the evil sight on his hip.
    “I don’t remember much right after that. Apparently, I screamed so loud a neighbor, and trust me, the neighbors weren’t close, heard me. I still don’t understand what a stroke of luck that was, but she found us and called the police and ambulance. He was gone, of course. My mum was okay, though concussed and badly injured.
    “We filed a police report at the hospital saying someone had broken in and attacked and raped my mother. We basically told the truth except for the part where we knew him. I’m not sure the police really believed us. I know the neighbor didn’t. Mrs. Eversea was her name ... she was basically the one who saved our lives. We stayed with her. Her husband worked at this boarding school nearby and persuaded the headmaster—”
    “Mr. Chaplin.” My voice sounded choked and foreign to my ears. Jack opened his eyes and looked at me, seeing the tears I hadn’t meant to show him. I was sorry I’d spoken, I hadn’t meant to.
    “Yes, Mr. Chaplin—persuaded him to hide me at the school. I guess I wasn’t that safe because after a few years we had to move.” He took a deep breath. Surely there couldn’t be more but he went on. “It was me he wanted. That’s what they fought about. She hasn’t told me all the details, but in addition to his love of inflicting pain, she discovered ... other things he liked.” Jack rolled to face me, keeping my hand covering the physical evidence of his horror.
    “Is he ...” I swallowed. “Is he still out there ... your father?” I whispered.
    Jack shook his head and exhaled. “He shot himself. Ten years ago.”
    We were silent. I couldn’t even begin to articulate the emotions careening through me as I thought of Jack as a small boy enduring such terror and pain. I was angry. More so knowing his father was dead. I wondered if Jack felt the same frustration that he could never lay this ghost properly to rest.
    “I’m an Earl, you know,” he laughed, humorlessly. “He threatened her if she ever tried to divorce him. The public scandal would be too much. The bastard made sure before he killed himself to recognize me as his rightful heir. Even in death, he didn’t want to let us go. There’s a stately home and everything. The missing earl, that’s me, donated it to the National Trust. There’s one lawye r, one , who knows who I am now, and he’s in love with my mother, so my secret, and hers, is safe.” He snorted. “That was the one damned good thing that came out of it, she’s happy and safe now. But my God, it was hard for her being a single mom to me. When I was older I certainly didn’t make it easy on her. I had some demons of my own I had to work through.” Jack shook his head. There seemed to be another story there, too.
    “And Mrs. Eversea?” I asked, softly. How wonderful they had picked her name when she had basically saved them. Saved him.
    “My mum and her