CHAPTER 22: ELEANOR LEAVES THE GATE
Richard’s order to close the gates lasted only until Eleanor found a lawful way to challenge it.
Abigail Mercer sent a letter informing the estate that Eleanor had requested an independent consultation regarding her personal safety and property rights.
The letter asked Richard to allow her departure without interference.
It also warned that witnesses had recorded his earlier threat.
Richard read it in the front hall while Eleanor waited beside Catherine.
Vane stood near the entrance, holding the gate keys.
Richard said the lawyer had no business interfering in his marriage.
Eleanor answered that he had made legal advice necessary when he tried to confine her.
Richard reminded her that she had no independent income.
She said the absence of income did not make the house a prison.
He asked whether Daniel would support her once she left.
Eleanor said she had not asked Daniel to support her.
She intended to stay with Catherine’s family until she could decide her future.
Richard laughed at the thought of his wife living above a bookshop.
Catherine told him the room would be ready when they arrived.
Richard looked toward the servants gathered at the far end of the hall.
He understood that forcibly stopping Eleanor in front of witnesses would contradict the story he had given Marsh.
He handed Vane the keys and ordered him to open the gate.
Eleanor took a small traveling case and her mother’s portrait.
She left the fine dresses Richard had bought and carried only clothing she could manage herself.
Ada offered to walk with her to the carriage.
Eleanor thanked her and asked whether she wished to leave as well.
Ada said she would remain temporarily because Clara and Sophie still needed help securing their wages.
She promised to follow when the household workers could depart safely.
Eleanor accepted the decision without trying to command her loyalty.
Richard watched from the doorway while the women crossed the courtyard.
He told Eleanor she was making a terrible mistake.
She answered that staying silent had been the mistake she regretted most.
Catherine climbed into the carriage beside her.
The driver moved forward as Vane unlocked the outer gate.
For a moment Eleanor expected someone to shout an order to stop them.
No one did.
The carriage passed through the gate and turned onto the public road.
Eleanor looked back at the white columns of Willow Creek Ranch.
She had once believed the house was proof that her life had become secure.
Now it looked like an enormous collection of locked rooms she had finally chosen to leave.
Catherine asked whether she wanted to travel directly to Richmond.
Eleanor said she needed to stop in Ashford first.
She wanted to give Mercer her statement and ensure that the intercepted letters were properly preserved.
Catherine agreed, and the driver turned toward the courthouse.
They arrived before sunset and found Daniel speaking with Rusk outside Mercer’s temporary office.
Daniel stepped aside when he saw Eleanor descend from the carriage.
He asked whether she had been allowed to leave safely.
She said she had left because she refused to ask permission any longer.
He looked relieved but made no move to embrace her.
Eleanor appreciated that he did not treat her departure as a declaration about him.
She asked whether the axle had been located.
Daniel said it was still beneath the stable, but the entrance had been altered.
Mercer joined them and invited Eleanor inside to review the legal papers.
As Eleanor crossed the threshold, Daniel quietly said he was glad she had reached the road.
She answered that she was glad he had kept his promise not to decide her future for her.
They entered the office separately, each carrying work that still needed to be done.
