Riverbreeze: Part 2 (21 page)

In the meantime, Evelyn sat on the bed, staring into the cold fireplace, brooding. She had lost the argument with Jamie about whether he was fit enough to travel to Owasewas’ village. He had politely listened to her concerns, knowing all along he wasn’t going to take her advice. And then he had left, despite her continued, frantic pleas to remain home and rest.

“Please God,” she prayed in a soft voice, “Watch over him and keep him safe.” “He’ll be fine, I’m sure.” Elizabeth said, appearing in the doorway. At the sound of her voice, the dogs woke from their nap, let out little yips and Evelyn patted their heads to calm them.

“Oh Bess, do come in and sit with me.” Evelyn said, reaching out her hand in welcome from beneath the shawl she had wrapped around herself against the cold.

Elizabeth came in, looking sympathetic and even though Evelyn didn’t want any sympathy from her, she was grateful for it. Hiking up her skirts, Elizabeth settled herself next to Evelyn in the way they usually sat, close enough that their arms and hips touched.

“Do you really think he’ll be all right?” Evelyn asked, her shoulders slumping. She was still distressed even though she was certain that Robert would watch over Jamie and not let anything happen to him, but she had fallen in love with her hardheaded husband and her heart ached with worry.

“I do. Jamie was perfectly fine this morning, wasn’t he?” Elizabeth asked. “And wasn’t he fine enough to satisfy you?” She teased Evelyn, nudging her elbow into Evelyn’s side.

A smile bloomed on Evelyn’s face as she blushed. “Well, yes…” She said, remembering the moment. But then she suddenly remembered what Elizabeth had told her earlier and she straightened. Her hand slipped from Elizabeth’s as she shifted position to face her squarely. She looked at her twin excitedly. “Oh! You said that you felt it also! This is very strange…and the second time this has happened! Remember I told you I had felt your passion in that dream you had?”

“I remember. I wonder what this is going to mean for us? We’ve always felt each other’s pain before, but passion…” Elizabeth trailed off thoughtfully.

Evelyn also thought about it for a moment, staring at the stool where Jamie had carelessly tossed his nightshirt. Seeing the garment reminded her of more intimate things and then more wicked thoughts came to her mind. She started to giggle.

“Oh do tell me!” Elizabeth demanded, tugging on Evelyn’s shawl.

“I guess this means that we’ll have twice the fun!” Evelyn said, covering her mouth with her two hands, ashamed of herself for even thinking of such a thing. But deep down she really didn’t think it was shameful. She thought it would be absolute fun.

At first Elizabeth gasped in prudish shock; Evelyn probably would have had the same reaction if it had been Elizabeth making the suggestion, but then Elizabeth suddenly laughed, throwing her head back in sheer delight. Evelyn joined in the laughter, feeling a wonderful closeness with her.

Finally when they could catch their breaths, Elizabeth said, “Oh, Robert and Jamie are going to hate us!” She wiped tears from her eyes.

“Or maybe not.” Evelyn said quickly with a sly look. “Maybe to them it will be like making love to two women at the same time. Who knows, they may turn it into a contest! Who can do the best job of satisfying both of us at the same time!”

Elizabeth made a face, scoffing at that. “That is perverted! I hope they don’t do that.”

Actually Evelyn hoped they wouldn’t do that either. It was a perverted idea. “Well, they may not find out anyway.” She said, settling down. “We’ll just have to be very good at hiding our reactions.”

“I wasn’t very good at hiding my reaction this morning.” Elizabeth said with regret in her voice. She looked down at her lap, looking miserable. “It caught me by surprise and Robert was sitting right next to me.” She looked back up at Evelyn, her eyes troubled. “He saw me;
watched
me, I guess…I had my eyes closed and when it was over, he was so confused. The whole thing scared him, I suppose.”

Evelyn was shocked. “He saw you? He actually watched you? And he understood what was happening?”

“I think so, and then he wouldn’t talk to me.” Elizabeth said sadly, looking down at her lap again.

“I am so sorry, Bess.” Evelyn whispered, putting her arm around her sister and hugging her. She felt awful for Elizabeth. “I guess you haven’t had time to explain things to him, have you?”

“No.” Elizabeth shook her head, leaning into her sister. “You and Jamie came down to breakfast and then they started talking about going to the sheriff and….well, you were there.”

Evelyn made a comforting noise as she leaned closer to Elizabeth. She held her sister close, their heads touching at the temples. “Perhaps you can explain things to him when he returns.” She suggested gently. “I’m sure he’ll listen.”

Evelyn’s suggestion must have worked because suddenly Elizabeth pulled away, her whole demeanor changing. Her face lit up with a bright smile. “You’re right! He will listen! He accepted my ability to dream the future and in time, I’m positive he’ll accept this too. Oh Evie,…” She grabbed Evelyn’s hands. “I feel so much better. Just being with you makes me feel better.”

Evelyn smiled gently at her and squeezed her hands. “You know I feel the same way.”

“We are so lucky to have each other.” Elizabeth said with a sigh.

“Yes, we are.” Evelyn simply agreed, sensing that this conversation was not over.

“I do have a confession though.” Elizabeth said in a soft voice.

Evelyn smiled to herself. She was right. “Yes?” She prompted.

A shy expression came over Elizabeth’s face. “I enjoyed it very much, you know, even if it was secondhand.” She admitted. “Is that so terrible of me?”

“Of course not, Bess!” Evelyn reassured her. “I enjoyed it too! And we do share so much!”

“Thank you for understanding.” Elizabeth responded in a small voice. Then with a teasing smile, she added. “And I hope you enjoyed it! You experienced it first hand!”

“I did, didn’t I?” Evelyn laughed. But then she sighed. “Oh Bess, it was wonderful. I never imagined how wonderful it could be.” She let go of Elizabeth’s hands and fell back onto the bed as if swooning. Evelyn knew she could tell Elizabeth anything and it never entered her mind that maybe she should keep some things private, like her love life with Jamie. But there were never any secrets between them.

Evelyn looked up at the ceiling as she recalled her morning with Jamie. In a dreamy voice, she said, “He was so gentle with me. He touched me everywhere as if he wanted to feel every inch of my skin.” Her eyes closed as her hands started to skim over her own breasts, her fingers working their way under her bodice and then under her chemise at her neckline. “Once we determined that he wasn’t injured by the dogs jumping all over him, and we had a private laugh, he looked at me for a long time, and I almost cried at the look in his eyes. I felt such love from him and I knew I already loved him back. He started to kiss me slowly…” She lightly touched her lips with her fingertips, trying to bring back that sensation. “…being careful to lie beside me rather than place his entire weight on me. Then he started to kiss my neck…and he even sucked on my earlobe!” She giggled suddenly, glancing at Elizabeth. Elizabeth returned her smile, happy for her. “Then he slowly worked his way down, kissing my collarbone and lower still, while pulling my chemise open. Again he looked at me for a time.” Her voice lowered to a whisper. “My breasts, I mean, and I blushed because I was afraid he didn’t like what he was seeing. I was cold and got the chills and my nipples got hard and…well…” Her voice faltered and she suddenly looked up at Elizabeth again. She rushed on. “I was embarrassed, Bess! But he told me I was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, and he kissed me until I felt like I was melting right into the mattress. Then he took my hand and pressed it against him to let me know he was ready. At first I was afraid; it felt so hard and big—were you afraid, Bess?” She asked breathlessly.

“A little.” Elizabeth admitted. “But I didn’t let it show.”

“I didn’t either. But anyway…” Evelyn looked at Elizabeth with wonder and a little humor in her eyes. “Isn’t it amazing how big and hard it gets! As hard as an iron rod!”

“I know, but then it gets soft and squishy!” Elizabeth ended with a giggle.

“You shouldn’t laugh like that! ‘Tis not nice. They can’t help it.” Evelyn scolded Elizabeth, but actually couldn’t help herself from laughing also.

“You see? You think ‘tis funny as well.” Elizabeth pointed out.

“I know.” Evelyn admitted, laughter in her eyes.

They exchanged grins, enjoying this private time together.

All of a sudden, Elizabeth’s expression changed. “Oh!” She exclaimed. “I just remembered I wanted to tell you something.”

“What?” Evelyn looked at her sister with curiosity.

“Last night Robert gave me a present.” Elizabeth said in a low voice.

“What kind of present?” Evelyn wondered how in the world Robert had gotten a present for Elizabeth. There were no shops around other than her uncle’s merchant store, but she didn’t think that Robert had had time to go there. Perhaps she was wrong.

“Come.” Elizabeth said, grabbing Evelyn’s hand. “I’ll show you.” And after giving the dogs the command ‘to stay’, she pulled her sister into the other bedchamber.

The first thing Evelyn noticed when they arrived in Robert’s and Elizabeth’s bedchamber was how much larger it was than the one she shared with Jamie. But she understood that this was Robert’s house and of course, he would have taken the larger of the two bedchambers for himself. It was the exact size as the parlor which was directly below. Jamie’s bedchamber was over the kitchen and the same size as that room. It was still a good size, but Evelyn couldn’t wait for the day when they would have their own home. She realized she was being impatient; they had only been married two days, but hopefully the building would begin soon.

The second thing she noticed was how neat and tidy the room was. There was no nightshirt thrown on the stool and the bed had been made up. Elizabeth had been busy, Evelyn realized, like she should have been instead of wasting time worrying over Jamie.

Elizabeth was taking a small velvet pouch out of the heavy, intricately carved, dark oak chest. The chest looked ancient; it appeared to be perhaps fifty to one hundred years old; the wood was gouged in places, in other places there were deep scratches and chipped corners. Jamie had one in his bedchamber also and just as old and scarred. Evelyn could just imagine the treatment they had received on the boat coming over to the colony. The sailors didn’t exactly have the gentlest of touches. And much to her dismay, the three trunks the girls had brought had also been roughly handled.

Elizabeth pulled the emerald ring from the pouch and held it for Evelyn to see. “This is the gift that Robert gave to me last night. Is it not beautiful?”

“Oh Bess, it is.” Evelyn said, her eyes wide. It was one of the most beautiful rings Evelyn had ever seen, almost as beautiful as any piece of jewelry their father had ever made, the emerald the same color green as their eyes; and she was happy for Elizabeth, truly she was, but she also had some shameful feelings of jealousy and sadness. Throughout their lives they had always received identical gifts and now Elizabeth had gotten something she would never get.

“Try it on.” Elizabeth urged.

As much as Evelyn didn’t want to put it on, she obliged her sister, not wanting to show her pettiness. Elizabeth helped to slip it on Evelyn’s finger, explaining that the ring had belonged to Robert’s and Jamie’s mother. The ring was too large and Evelyn had to close her fist to keep the ring from turning under. Unkind thoughts went through Evelyn’s head; Robert’s and Jamie’s mother must have been quite a large woman.

“’Tis too large for me also.” Elizabeth said, centering the stone on Evelyn’s finger. “That’s why I didn’t wear it this morning. I thought that if I were going to help make breakfast, I didn’t want it slipping off my finger and possibly falling into the fire.”

“You’ll have to wrap some ribbon around the band if you’re going to wear it.”

Evelyn suggested.

“I know. I doubt there is a goldsmith here that could make the band smaller.”

“Papa could have, if he were here.” Evelyn said softly.

“But he’s not.” Elizabeth said, her voice as soft as Evelyn’s had been.

“I know. I do miss him.” Evelyn said, her voice faltering.

“I do too.” Elizabeth whispered, her eyes welling with tears.

“Oh, we mustn’t start crying!” Evelyn said, forcing a smile. “Tell me more about this ring. I suppose Robert inherited it, didn’t he?”

Elizabeth wiped her eyes and took a deep breath. “No, he didn’t.”

“No?” Evelyn quickly asked, very much surprised.

“He stole it!” Elizabeth announced matter-of-factly.

“He stole it?” Evelyn repeated, incredulous. “But…I thought because he is the oldest he would inherit everything from his parents.”

“No, remember that older half-brother Robert told us about? He wouldn’t let Robert and Jamie have anything. You should have heard what Robert told me! It was awful! And you should see what else he stole! You are going to faint! Let me put this away first.” Elizabeth said quickly, pulling the ring off Evelyn’s finger.