Kimberly Nee - The McKenzie Brothers (19 page)

Rebecca McKenzie set down her wine goblet as she turned to Heather. “So, Miss Morgan, how long have you been in Brunswick?”

She turned to Drew’s mother. “Only a few weeks now. Brunswick is quite a change from London, but it’s becoming home.”

“And where are you staying?”

“I’ve been staying with Christina Anderson. She is a close friend.”

Rebecca nodded, glancing up as a large woman with white hair bustled into the room. “Ah, Martha, wonderful.”

All talk ceased as serving bowls and platters were passed around the table. Silverware chinked against the fine china dishes and plates as everyone prepared their evening meal.

Though her stomach protested at the very thought of eating, Heather made a good show of placing a slice of rare beef, a helping of roasted potatoes, and a spoonful of carrots on her plate.

“So Drew, do tell,” Mary said as the serving dishes were set down for a last time. “Why the need to gather all of us together?”

Drew gave Heather a smile. “I wanted everyone to meet Heather. After all, everyone is bound to find out with the way news travels in Brunswick.”

James’s eyes narrowed. “Find out about the news? What news? What the devil does that mean?”

Drew grinned at his father, then back at Heather. “Well, find out I’ve asked her to marry me, of course.”

Several forks clattered against china, and Rebecca McKenzie’s eyes bulged as she stared first at Drew, then at Heather. Garrett swore, Emma scolded him for using such language in front of the baby, and Katherine choked on her wine.

Meanwhile, Heather had to fight to keep from staring down at her plate. Her cheeks burned, her entire face seemed to fill with steam, growing hot from the stares, and her stomach began churning madly.

Rebecca broke the silence as she turned to Heather, tears glistening in her eyes. “You’ve accepted this proposal?”

She nodded, unable to hold back her own smile as her gaze met Drew’s. “I have.”

“How wonderful!” Rebecca clasped both hands over her mouth as she rose from her chair to embrace her son. “Oh Drew, congratulations!”

“Thank you, Momma.”

She scurried about the table to engulf Heather in a crushing embrace. “Welcome to our family, Heather.”

This set off a flood of congratulations. Everyone seemed shocked by the announcement, but genuinely thrilled as well.

All except one person.

James McKenzie remained in his seat, scowling as he turned to his son. “Might I have a word with you, Drew?”

Drew turned to him. “Why?”

“Alone, please.”

“Very well.” He turned back to face everyone at the table. “If you will excuse me a moment.”

James pushed back from the table to gesture to the door. Drew also rose and followed him into the hallway.

An uncomfortable silence descended as James pulled the doors closed. Garrett cleared his throat. “Well, perhaps we should begin?”

“Garrett!” Katherine looked appalled by her husband’s suggestion.

“Garrett!” Rebecca echoed, pressing a hand to her mouth, but not before Heather caught a glimpse of a smile.

“I’m hungry,” Garrett grouched, scowling at the dishes on the table. “And Drew’s the one in trouble, not the rest of us, so why should we have to eat cold food with him?”

It was Mary’s turn to gasp. “Garrett!”

Heather bit back a smile as Katherine made an odd
harrumph
sort of sound and reached for her goblet. “The world won’t end if you have to wait, Garrett McKenzie.”

Heather did the same. She wasn’t particularly thirsty, but didn’t know what else to do with her hands. Emma lifted Keely from her chair. “This little moppet doesn’t need to be in the middle of this family drama. I’ll ask Joan to feed her in the nursery.”

“Supper is not usually this chaotic,” Julian turned to Heather. “And sometimes, it’s even worse.”

“We aren’t that bad,” Rebecca corrected him. “But tonight, it seems we are.”

With that, the doors opened and Drew and James returned. Both men smiled and Drew offered Heather a wink as he tugged his chair away from the table. Like that, the tension burst and James said, “Now, shall we hope supper isn’t cold?”

“Is everything as it should be?” Rebecca looked as if she expected both men to leap at one another and grapple in the middle of the dining table.

“Everything is fine, Momma.” Drew lifted his wine glass and tossed a wink at Heather. “Perfectly fine.”

After supper, the family retired to the library, where champagne was opened and crystal flutes passed around. Then everyone took turns offering toasts to the happy couple. In between toasts, Rebecca began discussing plans for a celebratory ball.

“We should set to work at once. I’ll have to go over my guest list,” she said to Heather, sipping her champagne, “And have invitations readied, but I think we can manage to pull it all together in no time. We’ll manage.”

Heather smiled at Rebecca, who seemed genuinely happy for them. She wasn’t so certain about James; he seemed a bit wary at the thought of his youngest son marrying. She supposed it had something to do with the debacle with Bridget, but still did nothing to make her feel any better.

However, they were a warm, loving family and she looked forward to being a part of it.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Drew sighed, his fingers gliding over Heather’s hair as she lay quietly in his arms. It was night and they were beyond anyone’s prying eyes, lying on the bank of the Raritan River, enjoying the peaceful solitude of the thick woods all around.

They had time before they were to arrive at Stonebridge for the betrothal ball, so he had whisked her from Christina’s for a romantic interlude. As things were going to become hectic, he was determined to savor whatever peace he could find.

It was perfect — a perfect beautiful night, with a full, silver-white moon glowing and thousands of stars twinkling against the blackness of the sky. Even the water seemed to have slowed to a lazy flow. A gentle, warm breeze wafted rustled through the trees as he tugged the light blanket over them.

She lifted her head as his hand went still. “What are you thinking about?”

He smiled. “Truth?”

“Truth.”

“I don’t want to move. I’d rather just lay here, like this, with you.” His fingers moved again. Up. Down. His strokes were rhythmic. “I was thinking how your eyes remind me of that sky — so deep and endless. A man could lose himself in your eyes, Heather. I can think of no better place to get lost.”

She smiled. “You are good, Drew. Very good.”

Laughter bubbled up as he curled his fingers to brush against his chest. “I’ve had years of practice.”

“Why am I not surprised?”

He rolled over to pin her beneath him. “You have nothing to worry about, Heather Morgan. Those days are far behind me now.” He brushed her lips with a soft kiss. “Far, far behind me.”

She trailed her fingertips up over his back. “Are they?”

“Most definitely.” He fell silent, but only for a few minutes before continuing with, “I love you, Heather. I know I should’ve said it sooner, but you were right. I was afraid. Terribly afraid.”

She gazed up at him. Her eyes glittered in the silver light, and her gaze was more serious than he’d ever seen. “I know. I know what happened with Bridget. You have nothing to fear, Andrew McKenzie. I will never hurt you.” She paused and took a deep breath. “When you were in the grips of that fever and first told me you loved me, it made me so happy. But then, when your fever broke, and you never made mention of saying anything. I thought, perhaps you meant Bridget. That you thought
I
was Bridget.”

He stared down at her. How did she know about his dream? “So, that
did
happen?”

A small furrow appeared between her narrow brows as she frowned. “So
what
happened?”

“I thought it was a dream, Heather. An incredible dream, really. I told you I loved you and you said it right back.” He shook his head slowly, his confusion melting away as he grinned. “But, I wasn’t dreaming, was I?”

“No, Drew. It wasn’t a dream.”

“And all this time, I thought that was a wonderful dream I’d had.” He leaned close to nibble her neck. “Why didn’t you say anything before now?”

He flicked his tongue against the shell of her ear. She shivered, snuggling into him. “Mmm…you weren’t the only one who was afraid. I was too afraid to say anything…”

“You’ve yet to say it at all, sweetheart,” he murmured teasingly.

Her fingers slid through his hair and he sucked in a sharp breath as her fingernails teased his scalp. Her voice was as light as the breeze ruffling the treetops as she whispered, “I love you.”

Heather couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt so wonderfully sleepy as she did lying there wrapped in Drew’s arms. Everything was so perfect. She had everything she’d ever hoped for.

“Drew?”

“Yes, love?”

Would she ever grow tired of hearing him call her that? She propped herself up on one elbow. “What happens next?”

“Well, as much as I hate to say this, we have to think about making our way over to Stonebridge. It’d raise plenty of eyebrows if we missed this, considering it’s being held to celebrate our impending wedding.”

“I meant, after tonight. When do you wish to be married?”

“As soon as possible.”

“Well, yes. I know that.” She sighed softly. “Otherwise, this child will be born too soon after our wedding.”

He chuckled, stroking her cheek with a gentle forefinger. “I’m not even thinking about that, love. I just want you to be my wife. That’s all. I want you to be mine officially.”

An unfamiliar giddiness swept through her. His wife. She loved the sound of those words. “I think that sounds wonderful.” She sank back into him. “I’m going to make quite the entrance, with my hair all mussed and my gown crushed. I’ve a feeling tongues will wag.”

“They’ll do no such thing, Heather. You’ll be fine,” he assured her as he reached for his trousers. “Besides, I took great pains to make certain nothing was too badly damaged.” He got to his feet and walked over to a square of checked oilcloth spread out on the ground, where he’d spread her elegant ball gown to keep it from becoming stained and crumpled. “See? It’s in perfect shape.”

She wriggled into her silk chemise, pausing as she heard a series of snaps and crackles in the distance. “What is that?”

Drew shrugged as he finished dressing and turned to help her into the lush gown. “Most likely an animal bringing supper home to its family.”

“Oh.”

She dressed as quickly as she could. The gown was one of the ones he sent her back to Mary Cartwright’s for, one she’d been saving for a special occasion, such as this. The gown was a beautiful rose-colored taffeta, split down the middle to show the deep ruby silk underskirt. The sleeves were slightly puffed, rose with claret silk ribbon accents woven through the hems. The bodice was also the same shade of rose, with crimson ribbon laced vertically along the boning. The bodice was snug, a bit low-cut for her tastes, but Drew assured her she looked beautiful.

She wasn’t so certain about her hair. True, she’d chosen a simple chignon, but she still hoped he hadn’t ruined it with his amorous hands. She wished she had a mirror to peer into as she tucked a stray wisp back in place.

“Trust me, Heather. Your hair looks fine.” He pressed her dark red satin slippers into her hand. “No one will ever suspect you spent the earlier part of the evening making love on the banks of the Raritan.”

Her cheeks flushed with delicate heat as she eased her feet into her slippers. “I hope not.”

He grinned. “My lady, in a few months everyone will
know
what I’ve done to you, so you had best prepare yourself now.”

She chuckled. “That’s true, I suppose.”

He fastened the gown for her, leaning forward to brush her nape with a feathery kiss. “Don’t lose those blushes. Not ever. I love them as much as I love you.”

She turned to face him. He never looked as handsome as he did then. His trousers were black, his silk shirt was stark white, and he wore a dove gray waistcoat that made his eyes seem even bluer. He shrugged into a midnight blue velvet frock coat accented with dove gray and tugged on his dusty Hessians. “I’ll brush them off when we reach the house.”

She helped him gather the blankets from the ground, folding them and draping them over Samson’s saddle. “Does your family host these parties often?”

He held Samson’s reins in one hand, offering his free arm to her. “Not as often as my mother would like. Of course, that will change. Mary is now old enough to receive suitors. I’ve a feeling we will be attending many balls.”

She slid her arm through his. This was so comfortable, strolling through the woods as they made their way back toward the main house at Stonebridge. Her stomach was still a bit unsettled, but felt better than it did earlier. Hopefully the awful nausea would soon abate completely.

Lights blazed throughout the house, drawing Heather’s gaze to the east wing with its row of French doors and a sumptuous garden. The room shone gold with light, the doors thrown open and the sounds of an orchestra tickling her ears.

“Is that all one room?” She stared at the opened doors. They all appeared to lead to a single room.

“That’s the ballroom,” Drew explained as they turned away from the house. “Let me drop Samson off and I’ll be right back.”

“You wish for me to wait here?”

“You’re perfectly safe. I won’t be but a moment.”

She opened her mouth to protest, but he didn’t wait to hear it. He swung up onto Samson’s back and galloped off toward the dark shadow of the stables.

“The gall of that man,” she muttered, tapping her foot against the solidly packed earth. “Leave me here alone, in the dark, will you?”

She wasn’t really angry for she still had a warm glow. Drew loved her. She smiled in the direction he’d gone. Nothing could upset her this evening. Heather was quite certain nothing would ever bother her again.