The Soldier's Dark Secret

‘I hate to say it,’ Charlie interrupted again. ‘It pains me a great deal to say it, but I must protect my child from upset or worse. Last night, you will admit, Mademoiselle, that Jack was quite out of control?’

‘He was— I admit he was not himself.’

Celeste! It was like a punch in the gut. Jack closed his eyes, only to find himself immediately swamped with the smell of that damned soup and the ferrous tang of bloody meat and scorched flesh. He swayed, clutching at the trellis for support. He opened his eyes. Deep breaths. More.

It was as if he was watching a play, the voices booming and fading, his own vision wavering. Celeste was wringing her hands. Charlie was tirading. Celeste was shaking her head. Jack shook his like a dog after a swim.

‘We don’t know,’ Charlie was saying. ‘That’s the nub of it, we simply don’t know. My brother is not the man he was. I hoped we could help him. Fresh country air, good food, that sort of thing. But he is getting worse. We don’t know what he will do next, and I’m not sure we can afford to wait and see. I would suggest he see a medical man, one who specialises in matters of the mind, but...but dear God, I cannot contemplate having my brother confined.’

Confined? Stunned, Jack wondered if he’d misheard.

‘Confined!’ Celeste went quite still. ‘Sir Charles, are you saying that you believe Jack—Monsieur Trestain is—is of unsound mind?’

Silence greeted this remark. Jack waited, every muscle clenched so tight his jaw ached. Charlie shuffled his feet. He rubbed his hands together. He cast Eleanor an anguished look. Then he sighed. ‘I must confess with a heavy heart that I fear it may be the case,’ he said, and Jack, with a growl of fury, launched himself through the French doors and into the studio.

* * *

Lady Eleanor screamed. Sir Charles froze in mid-sentence. Jack’s expression was thunderous and extremely intimidating, but instead of cowering, Celeste caught herself at the last moment and stood her ground.

He looked wild. His eyes were stormy. His fingers were furling and unfurling into fists. ‘I am of a certainty not mad, Charlie.’

‘I didn’t say—’

‘You did.’ Jack took a menacing step towards his brother. Sir Charles shrank back. ‘“I must confess...I fear it may be the case” is what you said.’

‘Yes, and I also said it was with a very heavy heart I did so,’ Charlie countered.

‘You should not have been listening in to a private conversation,’ Lady Eleanor said primly. ‘Eavesdroppers, it is well known, never hear any good of themselves.’

‘Eavesdropping is one of the many things I was required to do to protect my country,’ Jack said, rounding on her with a snarl. ‘A duty I discharged assiduously. Would you rather I had not?’

Her ladyship blanched, but Jack turned his attention back to his brother. ‘Tell me I am not mad, Charlie.’

‘Well, you must admit, you’re not precisely stable, old chap,’ Sir Charles said, accompanied by a feeble attempt at a smile, in an utterly misguided attempt to inject humour into the situation.

Jack recoiled, whirling around to face Celeste. ‘And you! You must think it too, else you would not have asked the question in the first place. You, of all people! I thought...’

‘Jack...’ Celeste took hold of his arm and gave it a shake ‘...Jack, you must know that I don’t think...’

He shook her off. He staggered against a gilt-leafed side table. The bowl of dried flowers which sat on it clattered to the ground and smashed. He stared at them all blankly.

Celeste took hold of his arm once again. ‘Jack.’

He removed her fingers gently. ‘Let me alone.’ He straightened his shoulders and marched towards the door. It closed behind him gently.

Chapter Eight

‘Why did you say that he was not stable?’ Celeste turned furiously on Sir Charles. ‘You could not have said anything more damaging had you tried. Jack has not lost his mind, but a part of him is afraid he might. Eh, bien, he asks his only brother for a little reassurance and what does he get?’

Sir Charles looked shocked to the core. ‘I did not intend— I would never— With respect, Mademoiselle, you have been here a matter of days. Eleanor and I have been living with this situation for months. We have tried ignoring him, we have tried pretending nothing is wrong, and now we have tried confronting him. You saw the effect. I am most—most— I am extremely concerned about my brother.’

Lady Eleanor put a comforting hand on her husband’s arm. ‘Sir Charles has only his brother’s best interests at heart. This has been a terrible strain for all of us. I am as shaken as my husband by Jack’s decline. We have the advantage over you, Mademoiselle, of knowing Jack before this—this change. You must believe me when I tell you it is drastic. And then there is our son.’