Head in the Clouds (31 page)

Chapter 44

O
NE MONTH LATER

China cups clinked against saucers as Isabella and her grandmother shared refreshments on the veranda with the miniature tea set Lady Westcott had brought from England. Adelaide’s forehead crinkled behind the book she was reading. No, not Lady Westcott. Lady
Mansfield.
Gideon’s mother had explained with much patience that she was to be addressed by her husband’s title, not his surname, yet Adelaide still had trouble remembering. At least Gideon had two brothers in line before him to inherit the dratted title, so hopefully she would never have to call her husband Lord Mansfield. So stiff and formal. She’d take the simple and utterly marvelous Mr. Gideon Westcott over a stuffy Lord Mansfield any day.

Although she had to admit that the current Lord Mansfield was far from stuffy. For the last two weeks, Gideon’s father had acted like a man on a Wild West adventure. He actually seemed disappointed to find no warring Indian tribes nearby. Adelaide smiled as she gazed past the white porch railing at the very domesticated outbuildings surrounding the house. She’d had enough excitement since her marriage to Gideon without adding dime-novel Indian raids and masked bandits into the mix.

So much had happened since that day at the shack. Gideon testified before the circuit judge about all that had transpired, giving a favorable account of how Mr. Farnsworth’s actions had saved their lives. The judge ruled the incident a justifiable homicide and released Mr. Farnsworth to return to England. James had stayed on at Westcott Cottage until his leg healed, and when he left, he carried adoption papers with him to file at the county clerk’s office, making Isabella an official part of the Westcott family.

Gideon’s father and mother arrived for a visit and were able to join them for the reception hosted by the Menardville church last Saturday in honor of their marriage. Mrs. Kent had outdone herself with the decorations, and the dear woman nearly fainted when an honest-to-goodness British lord and lady appeared on the church steps. However, the highlight of the evening for Adelaide was when Gideon vowed his love to her in front of all those gathered in the small clapboard building and slipped a beautiful heirloom ring onto her finger.

Adelaide held the topaz stone up to the light. The afternoon sun glistened on the golden gem and set off an answering glow in her heart. She was so blessed. She had a husband who truly cherished her and an extended family who had welcomed her into their midst despite the fact that she couldn’t have been at all what they’d expected in a wife for their son. An impulsive American rancher’s daughter with no family pedigree rarely made a titled gentleman’s list for prospective brides. Yet their love for Gideon seemed to spill over onto her.

Tearing her gaze away from her wedding ring, she turned back to the well-worn copy of
Jane Eyre
that lay in her lap. Jane had left Thornfield and was wandering about northern England, brokenhearted. Adelaide sighed. Jane longed for her Edward much as she longed for Gideon, torn apart by the miles that separated them.

Gideon had taken his father to San Antonio five days ago on business. He needed to check on the warehouses that stored his wool clip and negotiate with the merchants who sold to the textile mills. It was part of being married to a sheepman, she supposed, but their bed felt so empty at night. How quickly she had become accustomed to his warm arms surrounding her as she drifted off to sleep.

It didn’t help that she had been left to fend for herself with her mother-in-law without Gideon as a buffer between them. She wanted to make a good impression on Lady Mansfield, but she constantly felt as if she was putting the wrong foot forward. Lady Mansfield never remarked on it, however. She was always gracious and kind. Of course she was also always perfectly coifed, dressed in the latest fashion, and unerringly proper. Just a tad intimidating for a woman whose best dress looked like a rag in comparison and who was more likely to smell like a horse than the latest perfume from Paris. She didn’t sense any disapproval from Lady Mansfield, though, just a slightly strained atmosphere as they both adjusted.

Thank heavens for Izzy. Equally comfortable in both worlds, she bounced between mother and grandmother throughout the day, delighting both women with her antics, and giving them at least one subject for conversation with some semblance of common ground.

Things would get better. They just needed time. And for Gideon to come home.

Shifting in her chair, Adelaide lifted her book and resumed reading. She scanned a paragraph or two, but Jane’s angst was too similar to her own. She needed the happy ending. Breaking her own rule, she thumbed ahead in the story until Jane returned to Rochester, their love for one another overcoming his injuries and their differences in station. Satisfaction swept through her. That’s what she needed—to flip ahead in her own tale and reunite with her love.

“Mama?” Isabella hopped up into Adelaide’s lap and pulled the book away from her face. “Is that Papa riding in?”

“I don’t think so, honey. It’s probably just Miguel or one of the other men. Papa’s not supposed to be home until tomorrow.”

“But the white horse next to him looks like the one Grandfather rides.”

Adelaide tossed her book aside and squeezed out from under Isabella. She lunged across the porch to the railing. Isabella was right. It did look like Gideon and his father.

Her heart fluttered. She wanted to run out to greet her husband, yet a proper English wife would never do something so undignified. But then, Gideon hadn’t married a proper Englishwoman, had he?

Unable to hide her grin, Adelaide grabbed a fistful of her skirt and twirled around the spindled post at the stairway. She bounded down the steps and across the yard waving her free arm above her head. One of the riders spurred his mount forward away from the other. Solomon ate up the remaining distance, and Gideon jumped from his back a few feet from Adelaide. She ran into his embrace. He lifted her from the ground and spun her around in a dizzying circle. She laughed and clung to his neck, throwing her head back in pure joy.

As the spinning stopped, Adelaide’s eyes found Gideon’s, and she drank from the love flowing in her husband’s gaze.

“I missed you, sunshine.” His hands splayed over her back as he held her body close to his. She slid along the length of him, the feel of his firm muscles sending a shiver through her as her feet reached for the ground.

He stroked his way up her arm and cupped her face in his palm. She leaned into his touch, her eyes drifting closed for a brief moment as his thumb drew delicate lines along her cheekbone.

Adelaide tilted her chin up, longing for a kiss, but as her eyes opened, she caught a glimpse of her father-in-law grinning down at her from atop his horse. Heat flushed her face, and she tried to pull back—only Gideon had other ideas. Taking no pity on her whatsoever, he drew her even closer.

“I didn’t expect you until tomorrow,” she said to cover her nervousness.

“The boy made me camp out in the wilds and sleep on the ground in order to shave off a few hours from our travel time,” Lord Mansfield accused with a sparkle in his eye.

“You were the one begging for an authentic Western experience. I just gave you what you asked for.”

Lord Mansfield’s booming laugh showered over them. “I remember what it’s like to be young, son. There’s no shame in hurrying home to be with your family. Now, give your bride your gift while I go greet my own wife. Love’s not only for the young, you know.” He waggled his eyebrows in a way that elicited a giggle from Adelaide and then nudged his mount into a walk toward the house. As he passed, he placed a lead line in Gideon’s hand.

Curious, Adelaide followed the line of the rope with her eyes and discovered the most beautiful filly she’d ever seen tethered to the end. Small but with excellent form, the gleaming black animal shook her head in a show of spirit, reminding Adelaide of another horse that still lived on in her heart.

“Gideon?” Her eyes misty, she turned back to her husband.

“I named her Lily, if you approve. I know she can never replace the horse your father gave you, but I hope you will accept this gift from another man who loves you just as much.”

“She’s beautiful, Gideon. Perfect.” Knowing they had an audience not far away, Adelaide ducked her head and stepped away from her husband to pet the black filly. Her heart nearly burst with gratitude and love for the thoughtful man who had sought to mend her aching heart with such a well-chosen gift.

Gideon came up behind her and whispered in her ear as he, too, brushed the horse’s glossy coat. “You know … Solomon respected the queen of Sheba as a peer and fellow ruler, but in his song of songs, he called his lover a lily. ‘As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters.’ ”

His face was so close to hers as he quoted from the biblical love poem, she could feel the rasp of his whiskers and smell the manly scent that she had clung to by wrapping herself in his shirts at night. Having the man inside the shirt was ever so much better.

She turned toward him, placed her hands on his shoulders, and stretched up on her tiptoes. His head bent. His lips angled toward hers.

“Papa! Papa!”

Gideon paused. Regret glimmered in his eyes, but his mouth curved into a smile as he stepped away from Adelaide to meet his daughter. He crouched down and opened his arms to her.

“Spin me, too, Papa. Just like Mama.”

Adelaide grinned, delighting in the effervescence of this little girl who had once been so quiet and somber. Gideon obliged and whirled her around, his deep chuckles mingling with girlish giggles in an enchanted symphony.

“I think you grew two inches since I left,” Gideon said, measuring her generously with his hands.

“You brought Mama a new horse?” She peered around him to examine the gift.

“I brought you something, too.”

Her attention jerked back to him. “You did?”

He nodded and reached into his saddlebag. “There’s one for you and one for your grandmother. Yours is the one tied with the blue ribbon.” Gideon handed her two small bundles. “Why don’t you take these up to the house? Give the pink one to your grandmother, and then the two of you can open them together. I’ll come see you after your mama and I put the horses away.”

Isabella collected the two treasures and skipped back up to the house.

“That was neatly done,” Adelaide teased.

Gideon winked. “Hurry. She’ll come looking for us if we delay too long.” He passed the filly’s lead line off to her and strode ahead with Solomon, nearly at a jog.

He was serious.

Adelaide’s insides danced as she scurried to keep up. Gideon disappeared into the dimness of the stable, and she followed. She moved through the entrance but didn’t see her husband. Assuming he was stabling Solomon, she steered Lily into an open stall. The instant she closed the door, however, Gideon was at her side. She sucked in a startled breath as his mouth descended upon hers. His hands tangled in her hair and he pressed her gently against the stall door. Adelaide recovered from her surprise and rose up to meet him. The kiss deepened, the initial intensity softening into a tenderness that melted Adelaide from the inside out.

Finally Gideon raised his head, and Adelaide laid her cheek against his chest.

“I’m so glad you’re home,” she murmured.

He squeezed her arm. “I couldn’t stay away another day. I have a duty to fulfill, after all.”

Adelaide tipped her chin up and raised a brow at him. “A duty? Is that all I am to you?”

The kiss they had just shared made that question completely ridiculous, but her emotions were swirling around in a chaotic fashion, and a glimmer of insecurity crept in.

He smiled down at her, those dimples she adored restoring her confidence. “I owe you a happy ending, remember? I can’t fulfill that duty if I’m not with you.”

She laughed, the sound trilling through the rafters of the stable. “You already battled a dragon, rescued two damsels in distress, and married the fair maiden who had fallen desperately in love with you. I don’t think an ending could get any happier.”

“Well, I aim to keep trying anyway.”

He dropped a kiss onto her forehead, and then, with his arm wrapped securely around her shoulders, Gideon led her out of the stable and back into the sunshine.

As they walked across the yard to the house, Adelaide’s gaze drifted heavenward. Puffy white clouds dotted the sky, but one in particular seemed to linger over the rooftop of their home—a reminder of the One truly responsible for her happy ending. Other hardships were sure to come, but she and Gideon had a guide who would see them through.

God’s way might not always be clear, but it could always be trusted.

About the Author

KAREN WITEMEYER holds a master’s degree in Psychology from Abilene Christian University and is a member of ACFW, RWA, and the Texas Coalition of Authors. She has published fiction in Focus on the Family’s children’s magazine, and has written several articles for online publications and anthologies.
Head in the Clouds
is her second novel. Karen lives in Abilene, Texas, with her husband and three children.