Riverbreeze: Part 2 (9 page)

Elizabeth took a breath and looked over at the Indian, who stood at the doorway shifting his weight from one foot to the other, looking extremely uncomfortable. She took a few moments to think, her face resentful.

“What do you say?” Robert prompted.

“All right.” She said grudgingly. “He can stay.”

Robert quickly gave her another kiss, then he waved Owasewas over, sat down, and grabbed a corn cake from the plate that Dolnick had pushed in front of him. Nathan brought him a full bowl of stew and went to get a second for Owasewas.

Owasewas placed himself on the very edge of the bench and Robert wondered how he didn’t fall off. He gave him an encouraging nod and then smiled at his new bride. He was so proud of both her and his friend. He knew how difficult it was for Owasewas to sit at this table and share a meal with strangers; and he knew how difficult it must have been for Elizabeth to be left here to deal with two unfamiliar servants, one enormously unfamiliar Indian and one distraught woman, but she had done a brilliant job from what he saw. Owasewas may think him stupid, but Robert was more than pleased with the woman he had married this day.

And he couldn’t wait for this night when he could take her to bed and make her his wife in reality.

Chapter Nineteen: Wedding Gifts

A couple of hours later, Robert lingered in the hallway outside of his bedchamber doorway. He was bone tired, more tired than a bridegroom on his wedding night should be; but it had been a long, emotional day. Even the double-branched brass candlestick with two lit candles that he carried felt overly heavy.

He wondered how Elizabeth felt and if she was ready for him. She had also looked tired, but satisfied with her accomplishments for the day. She had done an excellent job with supper; much to his surprise the meal had been delicious, and a success, with everyone, including Owasewas, enjoying the food and each other’s company. Once Elizabeth had gotten over her little snit, the time spent at the table was quite pleasant. He was sorry that Jamie had missed it, but he was sure that there would be many more meals like that in the future.

After the meal was over and feeling concern for both twins, he had sent them upstairs with pitchers of warm water for them to wash with while he had stayed behind to take care of any remaining matters. He had said his farewells to Owasewas, had seen Nathan and Dolnick settled in the small house, had said a good night to Abigail, banked the fire and then locked up the house for the night. Once he had done all that, he did his final washing up in the kitchen rather than carry more water up to the bedchamber.

Elizabeth was humming inside the bedroom, and Robert leaned against the wall, eyes closed, and for a few minutes, listened to her lovely voice. The tune was not familiar to him, but it had a lively melody and he smiled to himself, taking that as a good sign. He remembered back to the first time he had heard her sing and how shocked he had been to hear that angelic voice coming from such a delicate, young lady.

It seemed that she was constantly surprising him, with her voice, with her actions and with her words. As much as he didn’t want to compare her to Kathleen, he couldn’t stop himself from remembering his late wife. She had been so shy and quiet; he had had to coax her out of her shell sometimes. But Elizabeth, ah, Elizabeth, she was a spirited one.

She was almost as spirited as Makki; but then no decent Englishwoman would ever be as free and licentious as a savage. Again he hesitated to compare the two women; actually there
wasn’t
any comparison.

But he was glad that he knew a thing or two about pleasing a woman now. Makki had helped him with that, showing him things that he would have never learned from his adoptive father or from Kathleen. Elizabeth was much more worldly than Kathleen had ever been and he would have felt embarrassed if he was as nervous and awkward as he had been on his wedding night with his first wife. He chided himself for even thinking of that night, but all the memories came back in a rush; and he shook his head. Both he and Kathleen had been so skittish, he wondered how they had even managed to get their clothes off!

He didn’t believe it would be that way with Elizabeth. She was like no other woman he had ever met. Still childlike in her appearance, she could be mistaken for an innocent, but after seeing that wicked embroidery on her gown and after that conversation the other night, he knew she was far from innocent. A shiver of anticipation washed over him, leaving him weak-kneed and with a pounding heart.

Taking a deep breath and calming himself down, he poked his head through the open doorway. Elizabeth was standing at the washstand in the far corner of the room, next to the fireplace and with her back to the door. There were two candles lit in the room, one on the washstand and one on the mantel. “May I come in?” He asked in a soft voice.

She whirled around. “Oh, you startled me!” She said. She was still dressed, but both her bodice and chemise were spread open at her neck, and she was holding a washcloth to her décolleté. She broke into a smile. “Of course you may come in. This is your bedchamber, after all.” After quickly discarding the washcloth in the bowl of water, she walked towards him.

“Yours now, as well.” He said, stepping into the room and watching her approach. She was a mixture of innocence and enchantress. With her long hair pulled back and her eager face fresh and clean, she looked like a young girl on Christmas morning, but in her state of dishabille she also looked like a woman who had learned a few things from a lady of ill repute. Once again, Robert felt a jolt of excitement that he hadn’t expected to feel and his weariness evaporated in a finger snap.

She met him at the doorway and immediately leaned into him, putting her arms around his neck and hugging him hard. “Oh, Robert. I am so happy! I’ve been waiting for you.” She mock scolded him.

“Indeed!” He was so surprised by her enthusiastic embrace, he almost lost his footing. And what a difference from her earlier welcome! He liked it! “Careful.” He said quickly, regaining his balance and holding the candlestick away from her. He put his free hand around her waist. “You’ve been waiting for me? But you’re still dressed. I thought…”

“You thought that I would be waiting for you in bed?” She asked with a twinkle in her eye, leaning back with her hands still clasped behind his neck. “Besides, you’re still dressed as well.” She said, playfully tugging at the collar of his shirt.

“Well, I couldn’t very well walk through the house naked, could I?” He asked, smiling into her pretty, green eyes.

“Mmm.” She tilted her head, eyeing him and looking disappointed. “No, I guess not. You know, speaking of being naked…” Robert raised his eyebrows at her. She continued, smiling up at him. “I am so glad you insisted on leaving my uncle’s house. I had heard whispers that the women were looking forward to keeping with tradition. Then I would be waiting for you in bed after they had undressed me and stuck me there!”

“I had heard the whispers too. I was not looking forward to being stripped naked and then paraded to you in my nightshirt!”

“But I think I may have liked that part.” She said with a little pout.

He chuckled. “You are such a delight, Elizabeth. You constantly surprise me, but now…” He rushed on, not allowing her to respond. “…I have a surprise for you.”

“You have a surprise for me?” She repeated, her eyes lighting up.

He nodded. “Let me put this candlestick down and then I shall get it for you.”

“What is it?” She asked, moving to his side and wrapping her arms around his free arm.

“You’ll just have to wait and see.” He winked at her, smiling happily.

On their way to the fireplace, he noticed that the bedclothes had been tidied and folded back to show the freshly changed pillow cases on the pillows. “Did you change the linens on the bed?” He asked, frowning.

“I hope you do not mind.” She said in a small voice. She suddenly seemed nervous and she looked down when she admitted. “I went through your things to find the clean sheets.”

“Well, as long as you didn’t find your surprise, I do not mind.”

She perked up at that. “Is my surprise in that chest?”

He nodded, smiling smugly.

She stamped her foot. “Oh, a pox on it! I knew I should have dug deeper!”

Robert laughed. They had reached the fireplace and he set the candlestick on the mantel. “Are you warm enough?” He suddenly asked.

She hesitated, taken off guard with the sudden change of subject. “Am I warm enough? Well, I admit it is a little chilly in here, but I thought once we were in bed…”

She trailed off, turning slightly red.

“I think I’ll build a fire; it won’t take me long.” He said, tenderly touching her cheek. “Then…” He drew out the word, enjoying teasing her. “I’ll get your surprise.”

“Oh! You are cruel, sir!” She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest.

He just laughed, then squatted down and proceeded to build a fire using the split hickory logs, kindling and pine knots that were in a basket along side the fireplace. He lit the fire with one of the candles. And as he worked at his task, he noticed that her curiosity got the better of her and within seconds she came out of her little snit and watched him. She was soon bent over at the waist to be closer to him.

“I
must
learn how to do that!” She declared, watching his technique.

He turned to look at her in surprise. “I thought you had built the fire in the kitchen.”

“Oh no.” She said, looking down for a moment. “Master Cocke did that.” Then she looked back at Robert, saying, “But Evelyn and I cleaned out the fireplace first!”

Robert laughed, straightening up. “I can see that.” He said, catching a handful of her hair.

Elizabeth straightened also. “I hope you do not mind bedding a gray-haired woman.” She said, with a teasing smile.

“Oh, I do not mind at all.” He said, playing along. “As long as
all
the woman’s hair is not gray!”

For a split second, she didn’t understand his joke, then gasped when she did. “You are shameless, sir!” She declared, mock slapping his arm.

“I hope so.” He said, laughing. Then turning serious, he said, “Now, I think you’ve waited long enough for your surprise.”

“Tell me what it is!” She said, reaching out and clutching his arm.

Robert laughed again. “You’ll see soon enough.” He patted her hand. “Now let me go so I can get it for you.”

She released him and he went to the chest, taking quick glimpses back at her to watch her lovely face. He realized he felt the same excitement that she must have felt when she had given Robin the cloth dog. Robin had squirmed and squealed like an excited puppy and now he hoped she would be just as thrilled. Actually he knew she would be just as thrilled. Who wouldn’t be with what he was about to give her?

He dug deep into the chest, past all the clothes, small clothes, socks, linens and other paraphernalia until he came to the bottom of the chest where a wooden box about the size of a shoe had been hidden. He pulled it out, looked over at her again to make sure she hadn’t snuck up on him, opened it and took out a velvet pouch. Then he put the box back underneath all the contents.

With a solemn look on his face, he walked towards her and stopped in front of her. She watched him eagerly, nearly trembling with excitement.

Meeting her big, green eyes sparkling in the firelight, he pulled the ring out of its pouch and held it out to her. She looked down at it and gasped, covering her mouth with her hands. When she raised her gaze to him again, she had tears in her eyes.

Robert gently took her left hand and said, “I wish I had had this ring for our wedding. Elizabeth, with this ring, I thee wed.” And he slipped it on her ring finger, pushing it snugly against the gold band. It was too large for her, so she held it in place with the fingers of her other hand.

“Oh Robert.” She cried, admiring the beautiful piece of jewelry. It was a simple cabochon emerald ring, bezel set in gold, with diamonds on either side.

“This was my mother’s ring. And now it is yours.” He tenderly wiped a tear from her cheek with one finger.

“’Tis beautiful.” She whispered, sniffling and continuing to look at the ring in the firelight. She moved her hand, watching the emerald catch the light.