Riverbreeze: Part 2 (2 page)

Of course Robert couldn’t say no. He didn’t think it was wise to take Jamie to the stables, but he couldn’t refuse him either. Jamie was a married man now, a man with his own mind and he could make his own decisions. If he wanted to see his horses while his body was weakened by a soaring fever, who was Robert to argue with him? Only his brother, but Jamie wouldn’t want to hear it.

Robert asked Yeardley if he minded going along to the stables and when he said no, the two men supported Jamie as they went outside. The horses, however, were not in the stables, but in the paddock and they headed that way.

Robert studied the sky; the storm clouds were still off in the distance but moving closer and looking darker and angrier by the minute. The wind was picking up and dry, brown leaves swirled and skittered by. They could hear the wind whooshing through the tops of the trees and then Robert had to grab his hair when a sudden gust of wind tugged it loose from its tie.

The horses had been picking at a pile of hay but quickly trotted over to see Jamie. He rubbed their noses, their cheeks and then their forelocks. He spoke baby talk to them while they stood quietly, shaking their heads once or twice, waiting for a treat maybe. “I envy you two.” Yeardley said, watching Jamie interact with the big stallion.

“Surely you and Argoll can afford to buy a couple of horses.” Robert commented.

“Not as fine as these. How ever did you manage?”

Robert hesitated a moment. Should he tell him the truth? Oh, what the hell! What was the point in keeping secrets any longer? “Our brother breeds these horses back in Cornwall.”

“Mmm, your brother? And who is this mysterious brother of yours whom you’ve never mentioned before?”

“Wesley Bassett, the third Earl of Pennington.” Robert mumbled, slurring the words together, hoping Yeardley wouldn’t understand him.

“Did you say the
Earl
of Pennington?” Yeardley laughed. “What other family secrets are you hiding?”

“He’s our
half
-brother; and your family is not so shabby either. Your father was knighted by the King himself, so do not get all wide-eyed with me.”

Yeardley chuckled. He bowed mockingly and said, “Yes, my lord.”

Robert punched him in the arm. “Shut up; or rather just tell me of this business matter.”

“As you wish, sir.” Yeardley put his hands up as if in surrender. “A Dutch ship arrived from Barbados a few days ago, captained by Andries Visser, and he’s selling African Negroes. They cost between 18 and 30 pounds sterling depending on their quality. They’re slaves, Robert, lifelong servants if you prefer, but once you own them, you can do what you want with them.”

Robert thought this over for a moment. He was familiar with the concept of slavery; Captain Mathews had several African servants bound to him for their lifetimes on his plantation and he knew of a few others. But Robert had never considered it; the Africans cost more than Englishmen and afraid that they might die within months of arriving as many other English servants did, it wasn’t practical to waste his money on them. But he could see the advantage of having lifelong servants if they survived their seasoning; they wouldn’t need to be replaced every five or so years and he wouldn’t have to give them any land or freedom dues.

“I thank you for the information, Francis, but Jamie and I will have to discuss the matter between us before making any decision.” Robert said, looking back at his brother. Jamie had been listening and nodded in agreement.

“I understand completely. Can I at least tell Andries to come by your place and you can look over the merchandise for yourself?”

Robert nodded. “All right. How long is he going to be in the area?”

“At least a month, he estimates, but all the best ones might be sold within days.”

“Have him come in a fortnight and we’ll have a look. But I can’t promise anything.” Robert said. For the moment he was quite pleased with the two servants that he and Jamie had just inherited and with the boy that they had just acquired.

“I understand. Thank you, Rob.” Yeardley clasped hands with Robert. “Andries always carries the best merchandise. You’ll be quite impressed, I’m sure.”

“We shall see.” Robert said noncommittally.

Yeardley cleared his throat. “Well, I better go…” He looked up at the sky. “You two have much to do.” He walked over to Jamie, clasped his hand and said, “Be well, Jamie; and congratulations to both of you. God be with you.”

“And with you.” Jamie said. Robert didn’t say anything, but raised his hand in farewell.

After Yeardley left, Robert moved to stand beside Jamie. He put his arm around Jamie’s waist in, he hoped, a casual manner. If Jamie started to fall, he wanted to be prepared to catch him. He knew Jamie might shake him off and he was prepared for that too, but Jamie remained still, much to Robert’s pleasure. “What do you think?” He asked, looking straight ahead at the horses.

As Jamie answered, he also continued to look straight ahead. “I think I can’t afford another servant. I have to think about providing for Evelyn and two more horses.”

“But keeping one for its entire lifetime…it could have its advantages.” Robert mused.

“It could.” Jamie finally looked at his brother. “Are you seriously considering buying one?”

“Possibly. With all the land that we’ve just inherited, just think how many more acres of tobacco we could plant.”

“You, maybe, but like I said, I have to think about providing for Evelyn and the horses. I’ve got to build a house and expand the stables and clear land for hay and grass…”

Robert started to laugh. He cut Jamie off. “There’s time for all that! The girls won’t mind living in the same house, I believe. And I’ll help you, Jamie. We do things together, remember?”

Jamie grinned suddenly. “Not everything, Rob. I would prefer to bed my wife alone.”

Robert laughed. “You won’t get any arguments from me. I would prefer to bed my wife alone too. Do you believe that the both of us are actually married?”

Jamie couldn’t help but smile. “You said yesterday that I would meet my lady and you were right. I have met my lady and it seems that you have too.”

Robert shook his head in disbelief. “And I was so very angry at father. I was such a stupid fool.”

Robert felt Jamie’s body jerk a little in a silent laugh. But then his body started to sag and Robert caught him as he had planned. “Let’s get you back to bed.”

“A few more minutes, Rob. Give me a few more minutes.” And then his voice changed and he was angry as hell. His hand gripped the rail so tight his knuckles turned white. “God, I hate this! I
hate
this disease. I so wanted it to be gone; I
prayed
for it to be gone…”

“I know, Jamie.” Robert said sympathetically.

“If I were going to my marriage bed, I’d welcome you carrying me there, but not to my sick bed.
Not to my sick bed
!” He said passionately.

“You’ll be fine tomorrow. You know you will.”

“And then it will start all over again. I could die; I could die at any time!” Jamie cried.

“We could all die at any time.” Robert said, trying to comfort him.

“You know what I mean.” Jamie grumbled. Obviously he was not comforted by that statement.

“I know, but you are not going to die tomorrow or the next day or even next year. We are going to have long, happy lives with Elizabeth and Evelyn.”

“God, I hope you’re right.”

“I am.” Robert said confidently. Didn’t Jamie know about the twins’ abilities? But then he remembered that Evelyn hadn’t had the dream about her future. Only Elizabeth had. Maybe he should keep quiet for now until he could find out if Jamie knew. To change to a happier subject he said, “Tell me about Evelyn’s gown.”

“What?” Jamie looked at Robert as if he were crazy.

“You know. The one she wore yesterday. I know she had some embroidery on her gown underneath that monstrous collar.”

Jamie laughed at that. He suddenly felt better thinking about that embroidery. “Cherries, sweet, ripe cherries.” He murmured. “God’s blood, they were right there, right over her nipples. At first I wondered if that had been an accident, that the embroidery just happened to be there in that place, but now…I think it was deliberate.”

Robert smiled, nodding knowingly. “’Twas deliberate. Elizabeth had the Garden of Eden on hers, only she calls it the garden of delights. The snake’s tongue was aiming right for her nipple.”

“No! You jest!” Jamie gaped at Robert. “A snake in the garden of delights?” He repeated.

Robert nodded, grinning.

“God’s blood, we’re lucky bastards.” Jamie said.

Robert just chuckled.

“Take me in now, Rob. I think I’m about to pass out. Maybe I’ll dream of cherries, sweet, juicy, big cherries.”

“You are a bastard, little brother.” Robert teased him, giving him a squeeze around the waist.

And then he took him into the house.

PART II
Interlude

They rode onto his estate like a stampede, trampling his fields of barley and churning up the front lawn and gardens. There were over a hundred of them, he guessed, a hundred of Cromwell’s filthy, dirty followers. They were riding strong, war horses, some of them stolen from the King’s men. He recognized them, the ones from this very estate. Damned thieves they were, thieves and traitors; all of them traitors to the King and to country.

He stood stalwart at the front door, pistols in hand, his head high and his shoulders square. He was being foolish, he knew –he couldn’t stand up to a hundred invaders – but he would defend his home; he would show them he wasn’t afraid; he would stand his ground; he would show them he was a loyal subject of the Crown.

Of course they came forward, first the pompous leader, then his smirking lieutenants. They ordered him aside, said they didn’t want to hurt him. They were lying of course, – he had heard countless stories of Cromwell’s army raiding and looting homes like his for money, jewelry, food, and anything of value. There was no money to pay the men so they were given permission to pillage the homes of royalists. So he shot the leader in the face and the next one closest to him.

All hell broke loose. There was shouting and yelling, and he was savagely attacked. A gunshot wound to his shoulder, a sword slash across his cheek, another bullet grazed his temple and he fell hard into the bushes, his sight gone black, his body wrapped in pain.

Surprisingly they left him there and he thanked God. It hurt too much for him to move
and he blacked out for minutes, maybe hours, he didn’t know, but there were times when he heard pounding footsteps, yells of triumph, screams from the servants, crashing furniture, and glass shattering. He moaned to himself, thinking of all his fine possessions: the silver candlesticks, platters and bowls, the porcelain vases and dinnerware, the crystal decanters, the family portraits and other fine paintings. All of it would be stolen or destroyed; it would all be gone.

Then the sound of retreat, dozens of bootsteps running out of the front door, the men whooping and hollering. And then the dreaded sound of crackling. Fire, he knew they had set his home on fire. The beautiful drapes, the expensive rugs, the heavy wood furniture and his fine clothing would all be burned to ashes. He would have nothing! Nothing!

But he couldn’t do a damn thing about it. He wanted to cry out; he wanted to beat his hands against the ground; he wanted to kill Cromwell’s entire army. But he lay perfectly still; they thought he was dead, but his heart was still beating, his lungs still expanded with each labored breath he took. He was still alive and for that he was grateful.

A handful of servants crawled out of the house: the butler, his face and cravat black with soot, the scullery maid, weeping and clutching the front of her torn bodice together with shaking, raw hands, the pot boy, coughing and bravely swearing revenge, and finally the newest housekeeper, collapsing and sobbing at his feet. He was actually sorry he couldn’t help them.

Someone lifted him gently, a woman, possibly the housekeeper. She put his head on her lap and pressed a cloth to his head wound, a handkerchief to his shoulder. He finally felt safe and he allowed his body to relax and his mind to drift to better times.

But he also vowed one day to get revenge; he vowed to come back and reclaim his property and his home. But for now he realized it would be best to leave the country.
And he knew exactly where he was going to go. A place where cavaliers were
welcomed,
a place where there was enough land for all who went there, a place across the great ocean, a place they called Virginia…

Chapter Fifteen: On the River