Bittersweet Endeavors (28 page)

215

“You look lovely,” Zachary remarked with raised brows when
Myra
entered the dining hall.  His expression held that of debauched pleasure. 
Astonishment
covered
all
the
Preston family
’s expressions
,
and
they registered the same
amazement
as Zachary
by
her appearance.  The dress Zachary
delivered to her
earlier
that
day fit
ted
every curve of her
upper
body as if tailored for her.
  The skirt
was
full with petticoats that
had
sufficiently hid
den
the small bump within her growing belly. 
Yet, it wasn’t
a difficult task.
  She’
d
lost more weight than gained the past
many
months since Seth’s absence.

“I agree,” Mrs. Preston added. “You are very lovely this evening,
Myra
.”  She smiled,
and reached over to
pat
Myra
’s hand
in a
comforting, motherly
way. 

Myra
saw
condolence in the shimmer of her
brown
,
troubled
eyes
, and she returned her silent sentiment to Anna with a nod, and added, “I’m sorry for the saddened news of your son, Madam.  Tis a great loss to us all.” 
She wondered if she
was
aware
of
her
and Seth’s relationship prior to his departure, as well as the situation her husband
had
placed her in with
Zachary
Frederickson.

“Oh,
Myra
, how I wish Seth—” Margaret began, but Anvil quickly cut her off.

“If I’
m not mistaken,” Anvil began as he cleared his throat
.
“I believe Zachary would like to make an announcement.”

Everyone
quiet
ed
and all eyes followed Zachary’s as
his stare moved
to
Myra
.

Myra
swallowed
hard and reluctantly nodded
approval for him to begin. 
Myra
looked
at
Margaret.  C
onfusion
, yet a twinge of excitement
registered on
Margaret’s face
and
caused
Myra
a heavy pang of guilt
. 
She supposed that Margaret thought he was finally
going to
formally announc
e
his and Margaret’s engagement
, as he had promised he’d do so long ago
. 
With the turn of events, Margaret
would hate her after th
at
night.  The man she love
d
and
dream
t
of marrying
would now be lost to her
. 
Without revealing the truth, t
here was no way to spare
her
the pain, and with her own loss of Seth, Myra could
empathize with
Margaret
’s devastation to the news
.

A lecherous smile cr
ept
on Zachary’s lips a
nd
h
e stood
with his
glass of wine raised in
the air
.
Tipping his glass toward Anvil, he began.  He looked down at
Myra
and offered his hand to her, and although
she was
hesitant
, she
accepted it.  She rose
and stood
at his side. 

“Your young
Myra
has honored me by accepting my proposal of marriage.” 

There were no smiles or congratulations offered.  Only looks of incredulity.  A blatant look of disgust appeared on the faces of Seth’s two
younger
sisters, Patience and
Rachel
.
They knew their brother
loved Myra and they clearly felt she betrayed him now, even in death.  The hate she saw in their eyes unnerved her.  However, the pain
shown on
Margaret’s face caused her the most heartache.  Myra much rather ha
d
seen hate, but hurt and a
nguish washed over Margaret
as she stared appallingly at Zachary Frederickson
.

Margaret rose, stared fretfully at Myra, and threw her napkin atop of her plate.  Without a
by your leave,
she ran from the room in
a fit-f of
tears.  Patience and
Rachel
lowered their heads and stared at their empty plates,
and only peered
upward long enough to gaze angrily at Myra. 

Myra rose
from the table
and
had
intended
to follow M
argaret
, wanting to explain her
sorrow and
regret, but she
stopped
the moment her eyes followed the path
Margaret had taken. 
There, in the doorway,
stood Seth and he looked
tired and worn from
his
trav
el
. 
Never before had
she see
n
such torment
in anyone’s eyes—not even Margaret.  Still, he recovered quickly
from Zachary’s shocking announcement.  He
straightened to his full six-foot frame height
and pierced a deadly stare aimed at her
.

All the air escaped Myra’s lungs in one large, frightful gasp.  Her knees buckled, and before she was afforded the opportunity to sit or thank God that Seth still lived, she collapsed.  But it wasn’t the floor that she hit, or Zachary’s arms that caught her when she fainted —
it
was the strong, protective arms of Seth.

215

“You knew my intentions were to marry
Myra
!  How could you give her to that man?”  Seth
paced
with
long, f
orceful strides
inside
his father’s
study
.  “You ha
d
the power to stop this!”

“Why would you want her back, Seth?”
H
e placed his hand comfortingly on Seth’s should
er.  Seth shrugged him off and moved
to the other side of the room.  His father took exception to the gesture and released a low growl, then loudly cleared his throat.   “
Although elated that your ship has finally returned safely to port
,
I
’m
going to tell you the truth
forthwith
.  You are a man now, and I think
tis
time you become wise to t
he ways of women.  Especially
that one you fancy yourself to be in love with,” he hissed.

“Please do,
f
ath
er,” he said exasperated.  “Tis
exactly what I want.  I
need
to k
now the truth of what happened
whilst I was away
!”

“I overheard
Myra
speaking to
that
servant girl,” he said referring to Lucia.   “I overheard
Myra
is with child,
”
he whispered, as not to be overheard.

Seth let out a heavy breath and lost all his anger for
Myra
in that single moment.  “
Myra
? 
Myra
is . . .
” A
warm feeling tingled within him.  Of course, that
was
w
hy she
’d
agree to marry Frederickson.  It
all
made
sense
to Seth
.  How could he be angry with her for wanting to protect herself and their child? 
They all thought him d
ead, and with Myra being with
child, her
reputation would
have
been
in tatters
.

He wanted
to go to her
and
explain that he understood and didn’t blame her for
the
decision
she
had
made
to
accept
Frederickson
’s proposal
.  He took
urgent steps to
ward
the door.

“
Tis
not yours,” his father said softly before
Seth
passed
the threshold. 

Seth whirled around.  Confusion and denial scattered his thoughts.  “Of course it is,
f
ather.  I know
Myra
.  S
he’d not have betrayed me.” 

“How can you be so sure?”

“Although we didn’t come forward and announce our intent, I know you’ve suspected about my feelings for
Myra
before I left, and my
honorable
intentions.”

His father
looked surprised.  He shook his head and a look of sadness and pity shadowe
d over him.  “
Then, my son,
tis
best you
know
the truth before
it
’s
too late. You have been
cuckolded by that girl.”

“How can you be so sure the child isn’t mine?”

“You’ve seen her yourself, Seth!” he chided.  “You’ve been gone for f
ive
months and she isn’t yet showing with child. 
Certainly
if it w
as
yours we’d have taken notice of its growth by now.”

Frustrated and confused, Seth rubbed at his aching temples.  He recalled taking her
into h
is
arms not one hour
before
and she felt light as a feather
, n
ot that of a w
oman who
claim
ed
to be
five
months along
with
a
child
.

Anvil walked to Seth’s side and gripped him by the shoulders.  He
forced
Seth
to look at him.  Seth wanted to pull away, but he stared into his father’s penetrating gaze. 
He
had
never
seen
hi
s father so adamant.

“Listen to me
, Seth
.  If that’s not proof enough, I heard her admit that it’s Zachary’s
child,” he stammered.
  “
As I suspected all along, s
he
’s been seeking wealth
, son
.  Ca
n’t you see that?  T
’
was only this mo
rning that she learned of your
probable death, and
she accepted his proposal immediately
there
after.  With you gone, she
decided to take the next available man who ha
s
a purse large enough to suit her needs.”

“Nay, tis not true.” 
S
eth shook his head.  It wasn’t
true. 
Myra
love
d
him and not the wealth he could offer her. 
Myra
wouldn’t do this to him!
 

“Trust that my words are true, Seth.  As you are aware, I have been through such myself.  As you, I
, too
, was betrayed by someone of her kind in much the same manner as you.”

“She’s not Hester, father,” Seth quietly replied, and only mildly surprised by his father’s mention of Lucia’s mother.  Yet his father was right.  Hester had done exactly as Myra, betrayed one man to be with another.

“Damn it, Seth!”  His father’s gruff voice brought him
to attention
and Seth looked at his father.  “Be a man and accept
this
.  Think no more of that chit.  You heard the rumors yourself.  The way
she goes about stating The King’s her cousin
…
although she’ll not make royal status with this marriage, she has made a fine catch
and
will
somewhat fulfill
her fanciful notion of obtaining status
.  She
never
love
d
you, Seth, only what you
could offer her.
”

“
Nay
,
tis
not true,” he repeated
,
barely
above a whisper
, but his father’s argument was convincing, and he had to consider it
as being
truth
.  “I must leave
…
I must think about this.”
He charged out of the room.

Did she betray him?  He leaned against the closed door
and the invading
idea
of Myra making love to Zachary
, all for the purpose of
rising
in the ranks
sickened him
.  Did s
he
ever love him at all? 

Damn her!

*                    *                    *

“
Myra
?
”
A
soft, gentle voice called to her.
 
She slightly opened her eyes to Lucia leaning over her.  A hand ta
pped her cheeks
and urged
her to
wake.
“You
’ve swooned
,
Myra
, but you have to awake.”

Myra’s eyes opened full to Lucia’s
panick
ed
tone
.  “What
happened?” she asked, but then quickly
remembered the a
nswer
to
her
question.  “I
swooned
.”  The full memory of the events flooded back into her mind.  “Oh, Seth,” she breathed out.  “
He’s alive,” she said joyously.  Then her heart fell
and she felt alarm rise within her
.  “
He heard Zachary’s
announcement
!  Oh,
h
ow he must hat
e me.”
She closed her eyes
again and l
eaned
back.

“Don’t you dare
catch the vapors
again,
Myra
,” Lucia sternly ordered.  “Zachary plans to return and fetch you this very night!  What
happened
tonight?
  What have you done,
Myra
?”  Lucia
grabbed
her by the shoulders and lightly shook her until
her
eyes opened again.

She rose
from the bed,
and
Myra
swayed on her feet
.  A
sickening feeling churned at her belly
. 
Myra
returned to the bed and lowered her head into her hands.
“Did you see him?  Did you see Seth?”

“He carried you here and left immediately
there
after
.  
There’s
been
so
m
uch
commotion
in the
ten minutes
past
,” she said,
and
emphasiz
ed
her confusion by raising her hands into the air.  “Seth stormed out of here as if to kill someone
and moment
s
later I heard him and Frederickson arguing. Shortly after,
Margaret began to yell and scream
at Zachary too.
I
peeked
outside and
they were all in the garden shouting. 
All the while,
that Mister Frederickson kept an
arrogant smile on his face and
inwardly laugh
ed
at them all
!
 
I could see it in his eyes.”

“Where is Zachary now?” she asked
, alarmed
.  “I must find a way to get to
Seth before Zachary comes to retrieve
me.  I can’t let him think—”

The door opened and a gust of
c
ool air swept into the small room
.  Zachary was at her side in a few swift
steps. 

“
Leave us
,” he
harshly
ordered to Lucia. 

Myra
feared that Lucia would defy him, but she
silently warned
her
to obey his command.
  Although reluctant, Lucia
quit the room
.

“Are you feeling better, love?”
he asked.

Her flesh crawled at the sound of the endearment and she wanted to push him aside
and run to Seth,
but she held her place.  “I must
’
ve swooned from all the excitement.”

“
Aye
, precisely, it must
’ve
been the excitement.
”
 
He snorted his displeasure. 
“I
suspect
you have
your own
reasons for
conceding
to be my wife,
Myra
.  I don
’
t know those reasons and
I
don’t particularly care.  Nevertheless, I aim to set something straight
.
”
 
He walked to the other side of the small room, crossed his arms, and
stared
down at her.  A frown creased his thin lips
,
but
it
was
quickly replaced
by
a snare.  “A blind fool could see there’s something between you and Seth Preston tonight.  I’ll not be embarrassed by such a display again.  Is that understood?”

“This is a mistake, Mister Frederickson.
  Seth
has
returned
and by the grace of God is
alive. 
Being such,
I wish to
decline
your marriage
proposal
.”