Riverbreeze: Part 1 (21 page)

He waved away her apology. “They were just
following their instincts. Will they allow me to pet them, do you
think?”

“Oh yes. Just let them smell your hand first.
Like this.” She flattened her hand, palm up and brought her fingers
to the dogs’ noses. They already knew Evelyn so they just licked
her fingertips.

Jamie chuckled a little. “All right.” And he
extended his hand like Evelyn had done and brought it to the dogs.
They sniffed his fingers and then Fluerette gave him a lick. He
smiled. “I think they like me!”

Evelyn returned the smile. “Of course they
do.”

“Good, then they won’t attack me if you’re
standing next to me.” He extended his hand to her again and this
time Evelyn placed her hand in his and allowed him to draw her to
his side.

“Thank you.” She said in a whisper. The area
was shaded by those huge trees, nevertheless, when she looked back
up at him, she was momentarily shocked by how intensely blue his
eyes were, as blue as a clear summer sky.

“They’re behaving so far.” He said, nodding
his head at the dogs.

“Yes. I think they’re tired out from the
chase.”

“Mmmm.” Was all Jamie said.

That was a hint to change the subject. “Oh!”
She exclaimed, suddenly remembering something. “Walter wanted me to
tell you that he will take care of the horses.”

“He’s a good groom, Walter is.” Jamie said;
and then there was a short silence as he nudged his toe at a pebble
and thought about what to say next. Finally he continued, “I’m
sorry you had to witness that punishment. A lady should not see
such things.”

“Oh, I didn’t mind.” She lied. “I agreed with
what you did. My father would have done the same.” She said
quietly.

“Was your father very strict then?” He asked
softly, peering into her face.

She smiled sadly. “Not with me or Elizabeth,
but with the servants, yes.”

“You miss him, don’t you?” Jamie asked, his
voice full of gentle concern. He raised his hand as if to touch her
arm, but then dropped it by his side.

Evelyn nodded, a sudden lump forming in her
throat and her lip started to tremble. She didn’t want to cry; she
didn’t want their first conversation to be about her father’s death
no matter how much sympathy he showed her. She forced a smile.
“Show me how to skip those rocks.” She said.

“Oh, right.” He said. “I’ll need to find just
the right one. It has to be flat, you see or it won’t skip through
the water.”

Evelyn watched him as he bent down and
searched through the pebbles for just the right shaped rock. It was
quite breezy by the river, much more so than up on the bank, and
little gusts of wind were flapping her collar, blowing her skirts
against her legs and blowing stray hairs into her face. She tried
tossing her head to move the hair out of her face, but she wasn’t
having much luck. So she found herself trying to hold her collar
down and at the same time trying to brush the hair from her face
with her one free hand, but she was finding it impossible to do. In
the end, she decided to let her hair go so she could hold her
collar down, feeling that was more important at this time.

“Got one.” Jamie declared, straightening up
and showing it to her with a flourish. “Oh, your hair has come
loose.” He noticed, “Here, let me.” Before she could object, he
reached out and tucked the stray hairs back behind her ear. His
fingers lingered for a while and she stood very still, barely
breathing, liking his touch. He gazed at her so intently a shiver
went through her.

Another stronger gust of wind came off the
river and this time Jamie had to brush his hair out of his face.
“The wind has picked up.” He said unnecessarily. “It might not be a
good time to skip rocks after all.”

“Oh, that’s all right.” She said, her
attention focused on his hair. She loved his hair; her fingers
itched to stroke it like he had touched hers. But she couldn’t be
that bold so instead she clutched a handful of her skirt to still
them. With a nervous little laugh, she said, “You know, this may
sound silly, but I was worried that you wouldn’t like us.”

“Why would you think I wouldn’t like you?” He
asked, a hint of laughter in his voice. He carelessly tossed the
rock into the river.

“Because of what the dogs did.” She said, her
voice sounding disgustingly girlish even to her own ears. But she
couldn’t help it.

This was a new situation for her. She so
desperately wanted Jamie to like her and when they had first met,
it seemed that he had; he had been very quick to accept her
invitation to join her for refreshments before he had been called
away. But now…she didn’t know what she would do if he rejected her.
It would crush her heart if Elizabeth married Robert and she was
left behind or if she was forced to marry some other man and had to
live miles away. She couldn’t let that happen.

“Evelyn…” He said, his voice low and
soothing. He reached for her free hand and gently removed it from
her skirt and held it warmly in his. “What happened at the stables
was not your fault or the dogs’. They were just following their
instincts.” He admitted reluctantly, looking down at the dogs.

“Thank you for understanding.” Evelyn said,
wanting to throw her arms around him and kiss him in never-ending
gratitude. But she couldn’t do that so she also looked down at her
pets, dozing by her feet. That chase had certainly worn them
out!

“My pleasure.” He said, smiling warmly at
her. He squeezed her hand and she felt warm and tingly all
over.

Suddenly a massive migratory flock of white
cranes flew directly overhead, nearly darkening the entire sky.
Evelyn forgot all about Jamie for the moment. She had never seen
anything like this in her entire life! Yes, she had seen flocks of
birds before flying over the city of London, but not these
beautiful white birds. They were a wonder to behold and she watched
with astonishment and delight.

Once the cranes had flown out of sight, she
turned back to Jamie and was a little shocked to see that he was
already looking at her. She realized he must have been watching her
instead of the birds. Nevertheless, she said, “That was amazing!
I’ve never seen anything like that in London. Did you…see them?”
She asked, suddenly shy.

“Yes, I saw them.” He said, his eyes dancing
with merriment. He grinned affectionately at her in a way that made
her blush.

“You did not!” She retorted weakly. “You
were….watching me.” She said, her voice trailing off.

“I didn’t need to watch them. I’ve seen them
every year along with millions of other birds, but you…you are
amazing to me with your ginger hair…” He brought his hand up and
fingered her hair, then skimmed his fingers along her jaw. “…and
your creamy skin and your lovely green eyes.”

“Oh.” She breathed. She was at a loss for
words. But this is what she wanted, wasn’t it? This is why she had
followed him.

Another gust of wind blew those loose strands
of hair across her face again and also flipped one corner of her
collar completely over her shoulder. She didn’t make a move to pull
it down, after all her hand was deliciously entrapped in Jamie’s
hand. And she knew that it would be all right to let him see her
gown. If he didn’t approve, she would find out now, while they were
alone, and they could go their separate ways, although it would
sadden her greatly. But if he did approve…if it stirred him…if it
enticed him…a shiver of anticipation ran up her spine.

Jamie’s eyes automatically went to the bared
space of her neck and chest and then the bodice of her gown. She
watched him as he studied the marvelous embroidery, an orchard
scene, green grass along the waistline, highly detailed cherry
trees, birds and butterflies scattered throughout. Two little
beagles sat side by side on the grass. Evelyn had stitched the
embroidery to perfection with the purposeful intention of
attracting a suitor and when Jamie gasped, she knew he had seen the
placement of the cluster of cherries right at the peak of her
breast.

She didn’t stop him from staring; in fact her
breathing deepened, emphasizing the rise and fall of her breasts in
the loose bodice.

Finally he raised his gaze and his eyes were
smoldering. She was feeling a little dizzy herself. Their eyes met
and she did nothing to break the contact. This is crazy, she
thought.
I am standing here with a stranger and
allowing him to hold my hand. I am
allowing
him to see my dress and he’s going to kiss me. I just know it and
I’m going to allow him to do that too.

“Did you do the embroidery on your gown?” He
asked.

She nodded, her heart pounding.

“’Tis beautiful.” He said, his eyes roving
over her breasts again.

“Thank you.” She whispered.

“You do know that I am not really your
cousin.” He said out of the blue, brushing the stray hairs off of
her face with the lightest of touches.

He stepped closer to her so that his body
touched hers, and she shivered, nodding dumbly, her heart beating
wildly.

“You do know that this is absolutely insane.”
He said, putting his arm around her and pulling her unresisting
body against him.

She nodded again, smiling a little.
That’s exactly what I was thinking!

“And you do know that I am going to kiss
you.” He said, his mouth mere centimeters from her lips.

Was that his way of giving her a warning so
that she could stop him if she didn’t want him to kiss her? Was
that his gentlemanly way? And would he stop? She didn’t know and
she didn’t care, because right now with all her being she wanted
him to kiss her.

She nodded again, her mouth slightly open,
her gaze locked with him. She could feel his heat, smell his sweat
and all the other organic odors that had clung to his clothing:
horses, hay and dust, and she reveled in it. When he lowered his
lips to hers, her eyes automatically closed. His hand let go of her
hand, only to hold her tighter to him with both hands now, and she
found herself reaching for him, wanting to touch him. His lips were
warm and insistent, but not overly greedy, not yet; and mindlessly
she dropped the leashes, both hands now clutched his shoulders,
feeling his solid muscles and strong bones through the softness of
the fabric of his shirt. Then one hand slid up to the back of his
neck under his hair. It was just as she imagined it would be, soft,
thick, and luxurious. She could feel his hands doing the same,
exploring her back, stroking her hair. She felt like she was being
transported to the moon.

And then he was pulling away, gasping for
air. “Oh God.” He groaned. He took one look at her and she imagined
she must look like a wanton. Her face felt flushed; her lips
swollen. But she didn’t care because he said, “Again.” And he
kissed her again until she thought her heart would burst.

“DA-DEE!” The shriek coming from upstairs
could be heard throughout the entire house. It was quite clear that
a certain little person wanted some immediate attention. Robert
recognized that shriek and his head snapped up as if a scolding
hand had slapped him on the back of his head.

“Robin.” He said. The mood had effectively
been broken. “Oh God, I’ll never be able to reach him before he
tries to come down the stairs by himself.” He grabbed his plate,
looking for a place to put it down.

Elizabeth stopped him by boldly placing her
hand on his forearm. “Will he be frightened of me if I go up?” She
asked, already rising and placing her plate on her chair.

“No, he fancies pretty girls.” The words were
out before Robert even knew he had spoken them, for they were the
truth. From the moment Robin had been born his cherubic features
had attracted women of all ages, and with all the positive
attention that was constantly bestowed on him, he had no fear of
people and was particularly attracted to pretty girls.

Elizabeth’s face showed surprise and pleasure
at the compliment and she became flustered. “Oh pish!” She scoffed
at him, turning her face away to hide the fact that she was
blushing. And then she rushed out of the room.

Robert watched her leave, moving swiftly in
her small slippered feet. He was glad that he had spoken the
compliment and seen her reaction. At least she wasn’t vain.

He was also grateful to her for her quick
offer because he knew he could not possibly reach Robin before
Robin tried to come down the stairs. But now that he had a few more
moments to think, he worried that perhaps it might not have been
such a good idea to allow her to go, after all what could she
possibly know about taking care of children? Seeing Elizabeth in
her spotless, beautiful gown and her hands all soft and white, he
couldn’t imagine her ever having anything to do with children, but
then again, on second thought, perhaps all women instinctively knew
about childcare.