Heart of mine, p.28
Heart of Mine, page 28
What she and Beranger possessed was better than romantic love. And she hoped he felt the same. He never brought up the loft, or what words might have been exchanged, but she felt something had transpired.
Someone knocked on her door. Just as she turned to answer, a flash of white outside caught her eye, far off by the river’s edge.
She gasped with delight. Beranger and Charger were racing the wind.
“Come in,” she called excitedly. “Come in and see!”
Lavinia ran to the window.
“Look,” Emma pointed. “Beranger and Charger. I can’t believe he rode him out to the ranch.”
Lavinia leaned on the windowsill, her eyes huge.
Emma couldn’t stop a round of laughter as she watched their progress. “They look magical together.” She snatched up a scarf and leaned out the window, flagging it back and forth.
Beranger held up his arm.
“Get back in here before you fall,” Lavinia screeched, grasping her arm and pulling her inside.
Remembering this was a special day for Lavinia, she turned and smiled into her sister’s face. “Excited or butterflies? Which are you feeling?”
Lavinia glowed from within. Her eyes glistened, and the smile she wore spoke about all the love she held for Rhett. Contentment at what her sister had found filled Emma’s soul.
Lavinia hugged herself with gusto. “I am both. I can’t wait to be Mrs. Rhetten Laughlin.”
“You don’t have to wait long. Only a few hours now.” She let her smile fade away. “I’m going to miss these early-morning visits, Lavinia. Some of our best talks happen before anyone else is up. Promise you won’t forget me just because you have a handsome husband doting on your every whim.”
Lavinia blushed deeply. “I’ll still come to visit, because we’ll be living right here. The house is really filling up.”
“And soon there’ll be the pitter-patter of tiny feet, right?”
Lavinia ducked her head. “Belle has to be first.” She giggled. “I can’t imagine.”
“You better.”
“I did have a reason for coming in this morning, Emma,” Lavinia said, her smile fading away. “Katie cried all night. She’ll be worn out at the wedding this afternoon if she doesn’t get some rest. I’m going to try to get her to take a nap midmorning. I hope you’ll help me accomplish that.”
Santiago.
“Did they leave?”
Lavinia nodded. “He says he’s only making sure Larsala gets back to Arizona safely, but I don’t know. She has those two tough guards to look after her already. He says she’s misunderstood, and that we would like her if given a chance.”
“Why is she going now? Did he say?”
“Just that her father-in-law has called her home. He still holds the purse strings, so to speak. Those tough-looking men follow her around to make sure she isn’t kidnapped and held for ransom. She and Santiago may have more planned for once they get to Arizona. We’ll have to wait and see.”
“I’m just thankful they’re gone. This hasn’t been easy for Katie. I’ll help the best I can. Now, put that smile back on your face. This is your wedding day. No worries for you.”
They looked at each other for a long moment. Emma couldn’t stop herself. She reached out, engulfing Lavinia in a warm hug. They were so much alike in some ways, but different too. What she saw of her sister’s feelings for Rhett seemed exactly how she herself felt for Beranger.
Have I fallen in love? Yes, she thought, it’s true.
The simple thought of Beranger made her giddy beyond the moon and stars. Friendship couldn’t do that. She decided to tell him at the wedding, as she danced in his arms. Then maybe when the lanterns went on and the twilight had fallen, he’d lead her into the trees and they’d kiss as they had the morning at the Lucky Sister. Her pulse picked up just thinking about the possibility.
“What?” Lavinia asked, searching Emma’s face.
“I’m just excited for you. By this time tomorrow, you’ll be a married woman.”
She nodded. “And a bedded one as well.”
“Lavinia!”
Laughing, her sister pranced out the door.
Emma turned back to the window with her scarf, waving madly.
Emma! In the window. Beranger hadn’t planned to ride this way, but somehow the Five Sisters Ranch was where he ended up. The night had dragged on. He hadn’t been able to sleep at all. He’d tossed and turned until he thought he’d go mad, confused at what might be causing his unrest. He’d grown used to thoughts of Emma beleaguering him every night, but this was different. Something else entirely, and it didn’t bode well.
A premonition?
He concentrated on the cadence of Charger’s stride, not wanting to be left on the ground if the horse spooked at something unfamiliar. His stride was long and fast and, for his size, light-footed. Over the past three weeks, the gelding had gradually allowed Beranger to saddle and bridle him. Carrying him was still new.
The cool morning mist off the river invigorated them both. The crystal-blue water splashed down the rocks as they raced by. Following the river, he lost sight of the house and barns. Today was a good day to get lost in his thoughts.
Emma was a puzzle. As much as he tried to figure her out, he couldn’t. She talked a fair game, but what it came down to was that she was frightened. Frightened to make a commitment. Scared he’d up and leave her someday. He’d thought he’d be able to break through her outlandish fears, but nothing he did seemed to make a difference. She seemed content to be friends. He couldn’t live wanting her all the time, but leaving felt impossible. He was in the worst kind of bind. There had to be a way to get through to her without coming right out and proclaiming his love. Once he did that, he worried she’d pull back and he’d lose her for good. Was an ultimatum the only way to show her he was serious about wanting to spend his life with her?
A bit discouraged, he pulled Charger down to a trot, turned him toward a shallow section of the river, and splashed across. It took little more than a touch of his heel to encourage the big gelding to lurch up the bank on the other side and take off through the trees.
CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
The upper meadow hummed with excitement as the majority of Eden’s inhabitants gathered for the wedding. Emma and her sisters waited behind a blanket they’d hung as a barrier on the edge of the clearing, which Rhett had nailed up between several trees for privacy. The weather was as beautiful as Emma had predicted. She’d seen Beranger at times throughout the morning, lifting and carrying supplies, but they hadn’t exchanged more than a few words. When late morning arrived, the girls retreated to the hotel to bathe, dress, reminisce, and talk. They made sure Lavinia was treated like a princess for a day.
Everything was ready, but they were waiting on the reverend, who had forgotten his Bible. He’d hurried away, telling everyone they’d begin as soon as he returned.
Emma peeked out from behind the blanket, spotting the saloon girls she’d seen arriving in town the other day. She was astounded to discover that the little boy who had been with them was actually a little girl. Jimbo was there as well, having shaved and gotten a haircut, and looking very respectful. Not wanting to leave Eden completely unattended, Clint had asked the ranch hands to take shifts staying in town just to keep an eye out while everyone else was up at the wedding.
“There’s the groom, Lavinia—but you can’t look. He’s gorgeous, as usual! You’re going to faint when you see him. There’s Blake too, and Clint and Cash. I’ve never seen the men more handsome. Cash is certainly handsome, just like his father.”
She snapped her mouth closed when she realized what she was doing. Only a month ago, she would have been describing Santiago for Katie, and they’d all be tittering and laughing, thinking of another wedding to come. She chanced a quick glance at her youngest sister. She’d been delivered by two of the ranch hands just in time to dress and partake in their sisterly exchange in the hotel. The two swapped a tiny smile, Katie silently forgiving Emma of any unintentional slip in judgment.
“I was delighted when Rhett asked Jeremy to be a groomsman.” Mavis stood behind Lavinia with the bride’s delicate, long veil draped across her arms. “The doctor fits right in with the others.”
Emma nodded. “He was the reason you and Rhett got together so quickly, after all.” Emma couldn’t hold in her laughter. “Or should I say his delayed arrival in Eden was. You and Rhett were destined to meet, and in such an intimate way—alone in your hotel room. Lavinia, I’ve always thought there was more to that story you weren’t divulging. That something may have happened besides his helping with your eye. Would you like to share that with us now?”
Lavinia turned beet red. “Well . . .”
The four stepped closer, their eyes glittering with excitement.
“Something else may have transpired,” Lavinia teased, twisting a sprig of grass in her fingers.
“I knew it!” Emma breathed. “I’m amazed you’ve kept the secret to yourself all this time.”
Lavinia sweetly smiled. “It’s a private treasured memory for Rhett and me.”
“Pray tell!” Belle demanded.
“Only if you promise never, and I mean never, to breathe a word of it—”
“We promise!”
“As you know, you were all at the church when I fumbled my way downstairs to fetch the stranger who’d just gotten off the stage. He was the man I believed to be the new doctor, so I asked him up to my room to assist with whatever I had lodged in my eye. Being a good sport, Rhett tried. After I was feeling a wee bit better from the warm oil, I asked if he could please assist me as I dressed. I could barely see, and . . .”
“What?” they all chorused together.
“That bad boy Rhett,” Katie scolded.
Lavinia laughed and shook her head. “No, you have it wrong. He tried his best to tell me no. He resisted several times, but I insisted. He feared that if he told me he wasn’t a doctor, I might be so upset I wouldn’t go to the wedding at all. His kind heart wouldn’t let him.”
“Riiiight,” Emma said with a good dose of cynicism. She’d had a feeling about that meeting between Lavinia and her handsome savior since the very first day, but she hadn’t expected this. How romantic. She hid her smile.
What other secrets are my sisters keeping?
“And?”
“When he agreed, I climbed off the bed and dropped my robe. All I had on was my pretty pink corset, silk pantaloons, and stockings. Rhett, the gentleman that he is, graciously helped me into my gown and did up my buttons,” Lavinia finished, and then burst into laughter.
Katie’s eyes snapped open, round as twin moons. Emma fanned her face with her hand, her mouth moving without saying a word. Mavis’s gaping mouth would catch a fly if she didn’t watch out, and Belle, with twinkling eyes, embraced Lavinia, laughing too. Soon they all were.
“What a story,” Mavis said. “I should try the like the next time I’m alone with Clint.”
Her sisters gaped at her.
“I’m kidding, of course. But . . . maybe not so much. How I wish Lara were back from her visit home. She’s the only one missing.”
Katie nodded. “I miss her too. It’s too bad her mother took ill right before she was set to return to Eden. Nothing else would keep her from being with us today. Now Jeremy and Cash have to walk together.”
Lavinia giggled. “They’re both fine with that. Jeremy will make an exceptional teacher until Eden can hire Mr. Lake’s replacement. With his medical education, Eden couldn’t have done any better.”
“He is a very nice man,” Katie agreed softly, contemplating her fingernails.
Emma secretly exchanged a brief look with everyone except Katie, then glanced out from behind the draped blanket once more.
“Is Beranger out there, Emma?” Katie asked. “You’ve conveniently left him out of the discussion.”
He was. And he looked devastatingly handsome. All day long, any thought of him brought a round of butterflies and jitters. How she longed to be in his arms now, and to be able to proclaim what she’d so recently realized was in her heart. The dancing couldn’t start soon enough for her.
“Emma?”
“Yes. And he looks as dashing as the rest.”
Better!
Sounds of violin floated in the air.
“Won’t be long now,” Belle breathed.
Lavinia had chosen a simple, white wedding gown with a beautifully fitted satin bodice that made her waist look impossibly tiny. A touch of lace finished off sleeves that reached halfway between her elbows and wrist. The style was a perfect match for the sweet wedding hat she’d spent weeks on. Created in the same flat fashion as her other renditions, the headpiece was decorated with small colorful flowers and a delicate white netting that would flow all the way to the meadow floor. She was a vision.
“For you, sweet Lavinia. Something old,” Mavis said, handing her a very tattered-looking hankie. “As you know, this was Mother’s.”
Lavinia took the treasure in her fingers and held it to her cheek. “She’s here with us today. I can feel her presence as I look into each of your faces. Father too.”
Belle smiled, looking as beautiful as always, if a little wistful. “And from me, something new.” She carefully fastened a tiny pearl pin to Lavinia’s bodice. “I didn’t want it to clash with the pendant Rhett gave you.” After pinning the jewelry to Lavinia’s dress, she touched the pretty locket that hung from a chain around her neck. “So sweet.”
From her wrist, Emma unclasped the delicate crystal-and-gold bracelet she’d been given by Mrs. Gamble in Philadelphia. She had sent it to Colorado after the woman learned Emma would not be returning to her post. The piece of jewelry was Emma’s most prized possession, as all her sisters knew very well. “Something borrowed,” she said softly as she fastened the slight chain on Lavinia’s wrist. “And a wedding gift as well,” she whispered into Lavinia’s ear, for her alone.
How wrong Emma had been about Tim and Cooper. How grateful she was that she hadn’t ended up married to either. If she had, she’d have missed Beranger, and nothing was more important than him.
Lavinia grasped Emma’s hands. “I can’t.”
Emma smiled. “You have no choice. I’ve already given it to you. I love you.”
Katie stepped forward. “Something blue.” Going up on tiptoe, she carefully wedged a small bluebird feather in between the flowers on Lavinia’s hat. “Rhetten Laughlin is a very lucky man.”
They embraced.
From the other side of the blanket, they heard a sound that resembled a disturbance of some kind. Alarmed, Emma turned and looked out.
“What is it?” Lavinia asked. “Can you see anything?”
“No. Not yet. People are looking toward the path. I can’t imagine who might cause such a stir. The only one we’re waiting on is Reverend Caskill. Wait, there’s a man on a horse. A stranger,” she whispered fervently. “He’s looking around in surprise, and there are more horsemen behind him.”
Mavis pulled back the blanket so they all could see.
“Look at those saddles. They aren’t from around here,” Belle said. “Not even from Colorado.”
“Who could they be?” A note of panic laced Katie’s voice. “The man in the lead has an air about him.”
Suddenly, recognition struck Emma. The man resembled Beranger. Older, but absolutely related. Urgently, she scanned the crowd for Beranger. There he was, striding purposefully toward the newcomers! That was when she saw the English crest on the saddle blankets under the English saddles. Stars danced before her eyes.
Katie and Belle reacted, catching her elbows as she wavered on her feet.
“Don’t pass out,” Mavis scolded.
The man dismounted, and he and Beranger embraced, holding each other for several long seconds. Unable to stop herself, Emma pulled away from her sisters. She ran to Beranger’s side, feeling small and insignificant.
Why didn’t I proclaim my love before? Maybe we could have been married by now.
Maybe that would stop him from doing what she feared in her heart. But she’d been deathly afraid. Frightened if she gave her heart away, he might go away and never return—taking her love with him. And now, right before her eyes, she saw that transpiring. He would go back to England, and she would be brokenhearted for the rest of her life. Why else would these men have come? Why else ride in here, proclaiming their English nobility with their saddles and crested blankets? For some reason, they’d come to retrieve the duke’s son. They wanted Beranger back, and she had no power to stop them.
“What’s happening, Beranger?” she gasped, feeling like her heart was going to explode in her chest.
He took her hands. “My father has passed away, Emma. I’ll explain everything in a moment. But first, Rhett, I apologize for the disruption to your wedding day. I’ll take the men down to Eden and talk there.”
What? Beranger is leaving!
She grasped his hands tighter, not wanting to let him go.
“Can’t you stay a moment longer and witness the wedding?” Rhett asked. “Then you’ll have all night to do as you like. It won’t take long.”
Rhett glanced at Emma, who felt tiny and befuddled next to Beranger’s side. She was praying he’d say yes.
“Absolutely,” Beranger responded with a smile. “We’ll do just that. Emma, this is my uncle, Lord Harry Northcott of Newchurch. He’s been searching for me for some time here in America.” He grinned at the man, then again threw an arm over his shoulders and squeezed. The deep affection they had for each other was not difficult to see. “Seems the unusual hues of my eyes left an easy trail to follow.”
“Not quite easy, Beranger,” the man said with a hint of exasperation. “But I was fairly relieved when in Santa Fe several people knew you. You have an enemy there named Letherson. Thinking we meant you harm, he was only too happy to point us in the right direction. But that was only after I cleaned him out in a winning hand of poker.” Harry beamed triumphantly. “When will the Americans learn we English can’t be bested? We’ve been on your trail for a year, always arriving just a few days after you’d left somewhere. But now, thank the Good Lord, we have found you. Our search is over, and I couldn’t be happier.”
