Riverbreeze: Part 1 (36 page)

Robert continued, his voice earnest. “…but
Jamie would never intentionally hurt you. My brother is not a bad
person and he has told me that he has much affection for you. He
said he’s never felt what he feels for you with anyone else.”

Slowly Evelyn raised her face and looked at
Robert. Of course he would defend his brother but perhaps he was
telling the truth. Robert’s face blurred as tears welled in her
eyes. She quickly swiped at them, then accepted the handkerchief
that Robert offered her. He continued, “Evelyn, what Jamie did last
night was not normal behavior for him. From what I understand, he
was greatly influenced by the men around him.”

“But he hurt me and humiliated me in front of
everyone.” She cried, more tears rolling down her cheeks. “I fear I
will not be able to forget that.”

Robert made a move as if he might put his arm
around her, but at the last second changed his mind. Instead he
asked a question that stunned her completely. “Have you had the
dream, Evelyn?”

She looked up sharply. “What!” She gasped.
She noticed he had said the dream, not a dream.

“The dream.” He repeated emphatically. “Have
you had the dream?”

Her shoulders slumped. She knew what he
meant. “No.” She whispered, her eyes downcast.

“So you do not know if you’re supposed to
marry Jamie.”

Evelyn drew in a slow breath. “No.” She said
honestly. “But the situation here is perfect. Bess and I have
always worried that marriage would separate us. But marrying you
and Jamie, we would be together always.”

Robert smiled. “Do you realize what you have
just said?”

She gasped. Her eyes were wide as she stared
at Robert.
I cannot ruin this opportunity
for Bess and me,
she thought.
I must forgive him and let him know that I will still
marry
him
. “Where is he?” She asked
at last.

“In Francis’ bedchamber.”

Evelyn turned to leave, but Robert caught her
arm one last time. “Evelyn, I promise you that Jamie is a good man.
He made one mistake; it won’t happen again.”

Evelyn nodded; Robert let her go and she
hurried to her betrothed.

Once at the doorway, she padded silently into
the room until she stood at the foot of the trundle bed. Jamie was
still there huddled under the quilt. He appeared to be sleeping,
but he was still shivering with the chills and she didn’t think
anyone could sleep while in the throes of this illness.

It worried her to see him so sick. Yesterday
he had been healthy and strong, a young man in the prime of life,
just the kind of man she would need to provide for her in this new,
untamed land. But it also greatly disappointed her that she
wouldn’t have a perfectly healthy husband like Elizabeth would. And
he had acted poorly last night, attacking her in front of everyone.
But if she wanted to live close to Elizabeth for the rest of her
life, then she would have to marry Jamie, healthy, gentlemanly, or
not.

Her decision made, she softly called Jamie’s
name.

He immediately turned and looked up at her.
“Evie?” He said, hope in his voice. “I’m s..so glad you
c..came.”

Inwardly Evelyn winced at his stuttering
speech. Wasn’t there anything anyone could do for him? She moved to
his side and knelt down on the floor, tucking her long skirts
underneath her. Her expression softened as her heart went out to
him, and she smoothed his hair back from his forehead. His skin was
cool to the touch and his face was ever so pale and she almost
started to cry again, but she didn’t think Jamie would like her
weeping over him. “Robert said you have the tertian ague.”

Jamie nodded. “It c..comes and g..goes.” He
turned over onto his back to see her better.

“That’s what he said, but you always
recover.” Evelyn said, helping him to adjust his pillow. She also
pulled the quilt up to his chin and tucked it around his
shoulders.

He smiled weakly. “I’m one of the lucky ones,
I g..guess.” He tried to make a joke of it.

She smiled in return. “I’m glad you’re going
to be all right.” She said softly, sitting back and placing her
hands in her lap. “When I first heard about your sickness, I became
quite worried.”

“I don’t d..deserve your k..kindness, after
what I d..did last n..night. I’m s..so s..sorry about th..that. I’m
s..so very s..sorry.” He said, his eyes full of remorse.

“I know.” She said. “Captain Mathews
explained everything to me last night and your brother spoke to me
just now. I forgive you. I like it not…” She said in a stronger
voice. “but I forgive you.”

Jamie closed his eyes as he let out a huge
sigh of relief. “Thank you. And I p..promise I’ll never hurt you
again.”

“I know you won’t.” She said, believing him
wholeheartedly.

“D..does this m..mean that you’ll st..still
m..marry m..me?” He asked.

She smiled again, feeling good about her
decision. “I will, Jamie. In sickness and in health.”

Chapter Twelve: Determination and Dogwood Tea

Evelyn stayed with Jamie, holding his hand
and watching him doze, while they waited for Robert to return. Now
that she had agreed to marry Jamie a second time, she wondered if
they would actually go through with the ceremony this morning.
Would Jamie feel well enough or would they have to postpone the
wedding for another day? But the chills seemed to have suddenly
stopped and Jamie’s face was peaceful as his body was finally able
to relax into the mattress.

Just when she thought he might be recovering
though, his skin began to flush with a rapidly rising fever. This
worried her and every few minutes she would feel his forehead,
causing him to open his eyes drowsily and smile up at her. She made
herself return the smiles lest she frighten him but inside she was
hoping by some miracle his temperature would fall. However, much to
her horror, he felt hotter and hotter with each passing moment. She
was truly scared now; when Robert had told her that Jamie would
recover she had felt such relief, but now she feared that he was
taking a turn for the worse.

She really had no idea what to do for him and
this helpless feeling that she had reminded her of the countless
times she had cared for those poor, unfortunate children in the
church orphanage who had been afflicted with all kinds of deadly
diseases like burning fevers, the flux and even the pox. All she
had been able to do then was to offer them water and bathe their
burning bodies, and pray for their souls as they breathed their
last breaths. Evelyn hoped that she wouldn’t be saying any of those
types of prayers for Jamie at the end of this day.

And she also remembered how she had felt on
those occasions; how she would come home feeling weary and saddened
and her governess would hold her while she cried copious tears into
her apron. Evelyn would always ask her why so many little children
had to die and she would answer that only God knew how to answer
that. And then Evelyn would ask her why didn’t she, herself, and
Elizabeth become sick, and Louise would always answer that they
came from good, strong stock. But Evelyn wondered about this
because if that were true then why had their mother died at such a
young age? But Louise had an answer for that question too; she
would always look into Evelyn’s eyes and say, ‘your mother loved
your father so much that she didn’t heed the dreams.’

As Evelyn continued to worry over Jamie, she
also worried over the fact that she hadn’t had any dreams
concerning her future with him. Did that mean that there wouldn’t
be any future? Did that mean that he was going to die this day?
Dear God, she hoped not!

Jamie’s breathing changed slightly; she
noticed that it seemed to be coming quicker. Evelyn could even see
the pulse in his neck, throbbing faster than her own heartbeat. He
was becoming restless, moving his head back and forth on the pillow
and squirming under the quilts. She wished she knew what she could
do for him to ease his discomfort; she wished she was more
knowledgeable of medicines and simples. But she and Elizabeth had
been blessed with excellent health and other than the occasional
cold or stomachache, neither one of them had ever needed any
medical attention.

Suddenly Jamie threw all the covers off of
him, startling her. And shocking her! He was naked, naked as a
dickey bird! No nightshirt, no smallclothes, no nothing! She felt
her own face flush with heat as she stared quite overtly. She knew
she shouldn’t; she knew it was quite inappropriate for her to be
eyeing his privy parts. She was an innocent maiden, for heaven’s
sake; and he was extremely ill and vulnerable, but oh,
il est magnifique!
She thought shamelessly.

But then sense and detachment returned. She
was here to care for him, not to ogle him! With gentle hands she
drew the quilt back over Jamie’s lower body, settling the top edge
neatly at his chest. He must have felt the weight because he opened
his heavy-lidded eyes and looked at her. She smiled and said, “You
threw the covers off.”

“So hot in here.” He whispered.

Apparently he had been too groggy to notice
that he had just exposed his naked body to her or he just didn’t
care.

“I’ll open the window.” She said, believing
fresh air would do him good.

She stood up, but then had second thoughts
and she turned back to him. “Or would you rather I not open it?”
She knew how some people believed that windows should be kept
firmly shut against deadly miasmas and while she had been living in
London she had understood this. But even in London when the breeze
was blowing enough to clear the air, Evelyn’s governess would open
all the windows in hers and Elizabeth’s bedchambers and Louise
would tell them stories of the beautiful Diane de Poitiers, King
Henri II’s mistress who believed in daily bathing and riding out in
the fresh air every morning. Evelyn imagined that the air here in
Virginia was as fresh and clean as the air had been in the royal
forests of France and didn’t believe it carried any disease.

Jamie nodded imperceptibly. “Open it.” He
whispered, closing his eyes. He sighed and seemed to sink deeper
into the mattress and for a short, frightening moment she thought
he had died. But in the next moment his chest rose with his next
breath and she almost swooned in relief. Quickly, she turned and
scurried across the room to open the window.

Robert returned at that moment and Evelyn
breathed a sigh of relief. He would know what to do and in fact he
was carrying a tray with two tankards, one small pitcher and a bowl
with a hunk of brown bread in it.

“How is he?” He asked, his attention focused
on his brother.

“Worse, I think.” Evelyn answered, returning
to Jamie’s side and close to Robert, but not that close that she
was in his way. She wanted to see what he had brought for Jamie to
drink and how he cared for him. As Jamie’s wife she knew she would
be the one to take care of Jamie during any future bouts of the
intermittent fever.

Jamie appeared to be sleeping but opened his
eyes as Robert moved closer. “You could ask me.” He said, sounding
annoyed. He hated it when people talked about him as if he weren’t
right there in front of them. And that had happened a lot in the
past whenever he had lain ill.

He pushed the covers down again, baring his
upper body, but stopped at his waist.

“All right.” Robert said good-naturedly,
ignoring Jamie’s tone. He placed the tray down on the floor next to
the trundle bed, then sat back on his heels. He flashed Jamie a
cheeky grin as he inquired, “So, how are you, brother mine?”

“I feel like shit.” Jamie grumbled.

Robert burst out laughing. His bark of
laughter was rather loud in the quiet room. And despite her worry
for Jamie, Evelyn nearly burst out laughing too; she had to clap
her hands over her mouth to stop herself. Poor Jamie, he sounded so
miserable and she felt terribly sorry for him, but continued to
hide a smile behind her hand.

“You look worse.” Robert chuckled, but then
he felt Jamie’s neck with the back of his hand and quickly sobered.
“My God, you’re burning up! I’ve brought some dogwood tea that
Sally made up fresh this morning right after she heard about your
relapse, and Maureen insisted I feed you some bread soaked in warm
cow’s milk.”

Jamie made a face. “Yeeuck!” He said,
shuddering. “Tell Maureen she can go jump in the river.”

“Jamie…” Robert chided, but with an indulgent
smile. “She also wanted to send Pawley up with his little box of
lancets.”

“Did you yell at him too?” Jamie asked.

“Who is Pawley?” Evelyn asked. She had been
standing quietly by, watching the interplay between the
brothers.

Robert glanced back at her as if he had
forgotten she was still there. “He’s the local chirurgeon. He’s a
good man, but I disagree with his practices, all doctors’ practices
in fact.” He turned his attention back to Jamie. “Can you sit up?”
He asked and when Jamie nodded, Robert helped him up, piling three
pillows behind his back so that Jamie was half-reclining. Then
Robert tucked the quilts tighter around Jamie’s waist so that there
was no chance of slippage.