Riverbreeze: Part 1 (40 page)

The horses had been picking at a pile of hay
but quickly trotted over to see Jamie. He rubbed their noses, their
cheeks and then their forelocks. He spoke baby talk to them while
they stood quietly, shaking their heads once or twice, waiting for
a treat maybe. “I envy you two.” Yeardley said, watching Jamie
interact with the big stallion.

“Surely you and Argoll can afford to buy a
couple of horses.” Robert commented.

“Not as fine as these. How ever did you
manage?”

Robert hesitated a moment. Should he tell him
the truth? Oh, what the hell! What was the point in keeping secrets
any longer? “Our brother breeds these horses back in Cornwall.”

“Mmm, your brother? And who is this
mysterious brother of yours whom you’ve never mentioned
before?”

“Wesley Bassett, the third Earl of
Pennington.” Robert mumbled, slurring the words together, hoping
Yeardley wouldn’t understand him.

“Did you say the
Earl
of Pennington?” Yeardley laughed. “What other family secrets are
you hiding?”

“He’s our
half
-brother; and your family is not so shabby either.
Your father was knighted by the King himself, so do not get all
wide-eyed with me.”

Yeardley chuckled. He bowed mockingly and
said, “Yes, my lord.”

Robert punched him in the arm. “Shut up; or
rather just tell me of this business matter.”

“As you wish, sir.” Yeardley put his hands up
as if in surrender. “A Dutch ship arrived from Barbados a few days
ago, captained by Andries Visser, and he’s selling African Negroes.
They cost between 18 and 30 pounds sterling depending on their
quality. They’re slaves, Robert, lifelong servants if you prefer,
but once you own them, you can do what you want with them.”

Robert thought this over for a moment. He was
familiar with the concept of slavery; Captain Mathews had several
African servants bound to him for their lifetimes on his plantation
and he knew of a few others. But Robert had never considered it;
the Africans cost more than Englishmen and afraid that they might
die within months of arriving as many other English servants did,
it wasn’t practical to waste his money on them. But he could see
the advantage of having lifelong servants if they survived their
seasoning; they wouldn’t need to be replaced every five or so years
and he wouldn’t have to give them any land or freedom dues.

“I thank you for the information, Francis,
but Jamie and I will have to discuss the matter between us before
making any decision.” Robert said, looking back at his brother.
Jamie had been listening and nodded in agreement.

“I understand completely. Can I at least tell
Andries to come by your place and you can look over the merchandise
for yourself?”

Robert nodded. “All right. How long is he
going to be in the area?”

“At least a month, he estimates, but all the
best ones might be sold within days.”

“Have him come in a fortnight and we’ll have
a look. But I can’t promise anything.” Robert said. For the moment
he was quite pleased with the two servants that he and Jamie had
just inherited and with the boy that they had just acquired.

“I understand. Thank you, Rob.” Yeardley
clasped hands with Robert. “Andries always carries the best
merchandise. You’ll be quite impressed, I’m sure.”

“We shall see.” Robert said
noncommittally.

Yeardley cleared his throat. “Well, I better
go…” He looked up at the sky. “You two have much to do.” He walked
over to Jamie, clasped his hand and said, “Be well, Jamie; and
congratulations to both of you. God be with you.”

“And with you.” Jamie said. Robert didn’t say
anything, but raised his hand in farewell.

After Yeardley left, Robert moved to stand
beside Jamie. He put his arm around Jamie’s waist in, he hoped, a
casual manner. If Jamie started to fall, he wanted to be prepared
to catch him. He knew Jamie might shake him off and he was prepared
for that too, but Jamie remained still, much to Robert’s pleasure.
“What do you think?” He asked, looking straight ahead at the
horses.

As Jamie answered, he also continued to look
straight ahead. “I think I can’t afford another servant. I have to
think about providing for Evelyn and two more horses.”

“But keeping one for its entire lifetime…it
could have its advantages.” Robert mused.

“It could.” Jamie finally looked at his
brother. “Are you seriously considering buying one?”

“Possibly. With all the land that we’ve just
inherited, just think how many more acres of tobacco we could
plant.”

“You, maybe, but like I said, I have to think
about providing for Evelyn and the horses. I’ve got to build a
house and expand the stables and clear land for hay and grass…”

Robert started to laugh. He cut Jamie off.
“There’s time for all that! The girls won’t mind living in the same
house, I believe. And I’ll help you, Jamie. We do things together,
remember?”

Jamie grinned suddenly. “Not everything, Rob.
I would prefer to bed my wife alone.”

Robert laughed. “You won’t get any arguments
from me. I would prefer to bed my wife alone too. Do you believe
that the both of us are actually married?”

Jamie couldn’t help but smile. “You said
yesterday that I would meet my lady and you were right. I have met
my lady and it seems that you have too.”

Robert shook his head in disbelief. “And I
was so very angry at father. I was such a stupid fool.”

Robert felt Jamie’s body jerk a little in a
silent laugh. But then his body started to sag and Robert caught
him as he had planned. “Let’s get you back to bed.”

“A few more minutes, Rob. Give me a few more
minutes.” And then his voice changed and he was angry as hell. His
hand gripped the rail so tight his knuckles turned white. “God, I
hate this! I
hate
this disease. I so wanted
it to be gone; I
prayed
for it to be
gone…”

“I know, Jamie.” Robert said
sympathetically.

“If I were going to my marriage bed, I’d
welcome you carrying me there, but not to my sick bed.
Not to my sick bed
!” He said passionately.

“You’ll be fine tomorrow. You know you
will.”

“And then it will start all over again. I
could die; I could die at any time!” Jamie cried.

“We could all die at any time.” Robert said,
trying to comfort him.

“You know what I mean.” Jamie grumbled.
Obviously he was not comforted by that statement.

“I know, but you are not going to die
tomorrow or the next day or even next year. We are going to have
long, happy lives with Elizabeth and Evelyn.”

“God, I hope you’re right.”

“I am.” Robert said confidently. Didn’t Jamie
know about the twins’ abilities? But then he remembered that Evelyn
hadn’t had the dream about her future. Only Elizabeth had. Maybe he
should keep quiet for now until he could find out if Jamie knew. To
change to a happier subject he said, “Tell me about Evelyn’s
gown.”

“What?” Jamie looked at Robert as if he were
crazy.

“You know. The one she wore yesterday. I know
she had some embroidery on her gown underneath that monstrous
collar.”

Jamie laughed at that. He suddenly felt
better thinking about that embroidery. “Cherries, sweet, ripe
cherries.” He murmured. “God’s blood, they were right there, right
over her nipples. At first I wondered if that had been an accident,
that the embroidery just happened to be there in that place, but
now…I think it was deliberate.”

Robert smiled, nodding knowingly. “’Twas
deliberate. Elizabeth had the Garden of Eden on hers, only she
calls it the garden of delights. The snake’s tongue was aiming
right for her nipple.”

“No! You jest!” Jamie gaped at Robert. “A
snake in the garden of delights?” He repeated.

Robert nodded, grinning.

“God’s blood, we’re lucky bastards.” Jamie
said.

Robert just chuckled.

“Take me in now, Rob. I think I’m about to
pass out. Maybe I’ll dream of cherries, sweet, juicy, big
cherries.”

“You are a bastard, little brother.” Robert
teased him, giving him a squeeze around the waist.

And then he took him into the house…

Continued to Part II

Author’s note:

Thank you for selecting Part 1 of
Riverbreeze
. Part 2 continues the saga of
the Bassett brothers and their wives as they return to Riverbreeze
and begin their married lives. All is not well at the Bassett home
though. A pair of misfortunes set the stage for this action-packed
sequel. Robert must also face the consequences of his reckless
behavior in Part 1. And Elizabeth and Evelyn discover a strange
phenomenon about themselves that threatens to destroy their young
relationships with their husbands. And finally, Robert makes the
one dreaded mistake that almost drives a wedge between the two
brothers.

I hope you enjoyed reading Part 1 of my novel
as much as I enjoyed writing it. I fell in love with the Jamestown
and Colonial Williamsburg area of Virginia when my husband was
stationed at Langley Air Force Base and we lived in Hampton, VA.
Before that we lived in England for four years and that’s when
history came alive for me.

This is my first novel and I currently live
in Roanoke, VA with my husband. We have one daughter.