The Ring

Part 8

The social season was almost at an end and Frederick had hardly spent any time in the city with his father. Instead he had preferred to spend his time with Dominique down on the little beach. The thought of her had filled his heart and he had promised her that he would find a way so that they could be together, but carefully avoided directly offering to marry her. Dominique had given herself to him on the beach and in a way he now felt that the land had somehow joined them. However, Frederick's father, Cleveland, was quite insistent and finally took him off to the city, with every intention of finding a bride for him. In this instance, Frederick was glad to go with his father, for he had something that he needed to do.

The time in the city had been tiring to Frederick. He seemed to have even less interest in the many social engagements that his father made. However, Cleveland was working on Frederick's behalf and by their return had added the company of Miss Isobelle Barrington, who was to stay on the estate for some indeterminate time. It seemed to Frederick that both his father and Isobelle had already agreed on the marriage, even though he had carefully been avoiding the subject. Isobelle seemed to already be making herself mistress of the grand mansion by organizing the staff and how the house furnishings were to be arranged. Cleveland was delighted to have a woman in the house, and approved of all the special touches that Isobelle proposed with alacrity. Frederick, was not overly concerned as his mind was elsewhere. He would talk to Isobelle but tried to keep the conversations courteous and brief, without being insulting or rude. In fact he started to warm to the evenings with Isobelle, who was an accomplished musician.

Isobelle had befriended many of the house staff, and in particular, Manson, who was the manager of the estate. Frederick could see that she intended that Faircroft manor would soon be her home. He smiled at what he thought were her obvious maneuverings. He admitted that Isobelle was a perfect model of womanly perfection and would, no doubt, make a good marriage, but she could not make a claim to his heart.

During this time Frederick continued to go for his evening rides to the little beach, where he would spend time with the woman whose eyes seemed to be windows to infinity. Isobelle questioned him about his afternoon journeys, and Frederick just reminded her that, as master of the estate, he had certain duties that required his attention. However, Isobelle seemed to become more curious and kept asking to accompany him on one of his rides so she could see the great estate for herself. Frederick was a gentleman and dared not risk offending Isobelle, so he eventually acquiesced. Frederick didn't intend to take Isobelle to the coastal boundary, but she seemed insistent on being shown the rugged coastline. So, it was with some reluctance that Frederick and Isobelle rode towards the coast. Once there, she singled out the little beach as a place of particular beauty and asked Frederick if they could go down there. Frederick stiffened in his saddle at the thought. He said that there was no way down fit for a lady, just animal tracks which would be quite dangerous. He turned to ride away just as he noticed the figure of Dominique, who also appeared to have noticed them. Isobelle also saw the figure down on the beach and asked Frederick who it was. Frederick just replied that it was probably just one of the farmers who lived and worked on the estate. Isobelle said no more and the rode off. This ride seemed to satisfy Isobelle, who seemed more comfortable inside, in any case, and she no longer asked to accompany Frederick on his afternoon rides.

Later in the week, Frederick told both his father and Isobelle that he had urgent business in the city and would be away for three days. Cleveland was curious, but Frederick managed to placate him and made it clear that he needed to stay with Miss Isobelle, as it would not be appropriate to leave her at the estate alone. Cleveland looked at Frederick in the eyes and reminded him of his duty as heir to the estate. Frederick nodded and departed. He returned after three days as promised, and said that his business had gone well.

As the sun was sinking low towards the horizon, Frederick spritely climbed into the saddle of his horse and galloped away, full of inner excitement. He had a surprise for Dominique, which he hoped would reveal his true intentions towards her. What had started as just a curious infatuation with a pretty farm girl had blossomed and taken full control of his heart. He was building the strength within himself to break from tradition and responsibility. He knew that this decision would meet with a great deal of opprobrium from his father and his peers, but he was now far less concerned with how his actions would be perceived by others.

Frederick arrived at the top of the hill overlooking the little beach, his eyes wide with expectation and a faint smile on his face. The sun was shining low in the sky, but there were some dark clouds moving swiftly to cover it. He quickly looked for Dominique on the beach but couldn't see her. Nevertheless, he dismounted and made his way down the narrow winding trail. He was thinking about where he could hide in order to surprise Dominique, when he finally came down onto the beach. As the dark clouds finally covered the sun, Frederick realized that what he had originally dismissed as just some driftwood looked more like a body. His smile quickly faded, and his heart quickened as he ran towards the object. He recognized Dominique's long dark hair laid flat like a rug over her head. He screamed as he reached the body and rolled it over to reveal the barely recognizable face of Dominique, bloated and deathly white. Frederick just dropped to his knees and wept. After some time Frederick stood up and took one last look at the body of a woman who had become part of him, a woman who he could not separate from the land in which she lived. He turned and slowly walked away, feeling somehow less than he had just moments before, now just a hollow shell.

Frederick returned to the estate and called Manson and another two workers for assistance to retrieve the body. By this time he had regained his composure and treated the revelation in an entirely indifferent manner. Dominique would remain his secret. The men returned to the lonely little beach with a wagon to retrieve the body, but it was nowhere to be seen. Manson said that it had probably just washed back out to sea. In any case there was nothing to be done and the men returned to the manor house.

That following evening, Frederick returned to the little beach. He thought that it felt colder now. The wind had increased and sea spray was blowing into his eyes. He squinted to look out towards the horizon. The sea spray wet his face and water streamed down in little rivulets, over his lips and dripped off his chin. Frederick found it hard to see, but he searched for Dominique's presence out there. There he stood, still like a statue with water streaming down his face like tears from the sea as it claimed one of its dearest souls. The wind howled and Frederick shivered, as he reached into his pocket and brought out a ring. It was a gold ring with a large green emerald set in it. He had intended to give it to Dominique as a promise that he would do everything to make her his wife. He fingered the ring in his hand, a promise that would no longer be given. But then he denied that thought. The ring was intended as a promise, and a promise it shall be. He looked at it intently and pressed it to his lips and promised his life to the ring, and then he threw it into the sea.