Katie: Bride of Virginia (American Mail-Order Brides 10) (6 page)

Just then they heard a crash from the parlor.

“I think our guest grows impatient,” she said.

Taking a step out of his arms, she hurried to see what Frank had broken, knowing if her husband kissed her much more she could see that bedroll disappearing.

#

Katie was grateful that Martha had cooked more than enough food when Daniel invited Frank to stay and have dinner with them. Sitting around the table, listening to her husband and his friend, she realized Frank knew very little about the vineyard.

“How did you two men meet?” Katie asked passing the brown gravy.

Mother O'Malley made a snorting noise and Katie frowned at the woman. She wanted to learn as much as possible about her husband's business and his partner. Never again, would she depend on things being as they seemed.

The fire that destroyed the factory taught her a valuable lesson. Understand as much as possible about your livelihood or be surprised when things change without warning.

“We went to the same college,” Frank said. “Daniel and I belonged to the same fraternity.”

“We dated the same girls,” Daniel said with a laugh.

Frank grinned. “Until you got caught.”

“I didn't know she'd been seeing you,” Daniel said with a laugh. “She tricked us both. Then married another classmate.”

“I think we were both lucky not to fall for Clara Sue Whittaker. Last I heard, she had five kids and another one on the way,” Frank said.

Daniel shrugged and glanced at his wife. “That wouldn't be so bad.”

“So once you were out of college, you decided to start a vineyard together?”

They laughed and glanced across the table at one another. “No, the grapes had to extract a toll on me first. It wasn't until I was about to go under that Frank offered to invest in the vineyard. We've been partners going on two years now.”

Only two years and Daniel had only been in business four years. Yet they seemed to work together and were good friends. Just like Julia and Ginny.

“Maybe I was crazy for sinking money into a wine operation. Thomas Jefferson couldn't make a go of a vineyard in Virginia and yet Daniel convinced me this is the perfect country for growing. Cold winters, cool springs and wet summers. The perfect location for harvesting grapes and making wine.”

“And this year our first bottles will be ready to sell.”

For the first time, Daniel would be trying to sell the finished product. Now would be when they learned if the wine was tasty enough for people to buy. Now would decide their future.

Frank leaned back. “I still think the land would be better suited for tobacco farming. The crops are easier to grow, you have a quicker turn around and the profits are instantaneous.  And if you didn't want to be a farmer, I have an investor who is willing to offer you top dollar for the land.”

Katie raised her eyes from the plate of food to stare at her husband and then Frank. Would Daniel consider selling the land and if he did, where would they go?

She watched her husband's face tighten and even from the short time she'd gotten to know him, she knew that gathering of his forehead and the way his eyes darkened was not a receptive signal. Frank would do well to back off.

“I”m not going to raise tobacco as it depletes the soil. And the only way I'm selling this place is if I go under. It's our first season with actual wine to sell, give the vineyard a chance to earn a profit.”

Katie glanced nervously about. Daniel had raised his voice to Frank and she could see he was frustrated with him for even mentioning tobacco farming. The two men were both strong willed and yet Daniel was more determined than Frank to make the vineyard profitable. She could see her husband was truly the one who craved the success.

Frank lifted his wine glass to his lips. “And it's a fine tasty wine. But how many bottles of the vino are you going to have to sell before you make a profit?”

“It's going to take at least two years before we will start to see any profit. I told you this when you agreed to become my partner.”

Listening, Katie knew the two men were friends, yet there seemed to be an undercurrent running through the room that left her nervous. She glanced at her mother-in-law and saw she was watching the two men with interest.

“But selling the land could get you instantaneous money. Let me bring the buyers out, the Southern Virginia Tobacco and Land Company to see the farm.”

Silence filled the dining room and she could see a vein throbbing in Daniel's neck. Did Frank want out of the partnership? Why was he bringing buyers out to their place. She'd only been his wife for days, but she was with Daniel. She didn't want him to sell the property.

“No,” Daniel said his voice rising. “I'm not selling the land.”

“Is anyone ready for dessert? Martha made a peach cobbler,” Katie said rising from her chair, wanting to divert the men's attention from their explosive conversation to a more desirable topic.

“Yes, please,” Frank said.

“Me, too,” Daniel acknowledged and his mother nodded.

She went into the kitchen and brought out the cobbler and set it on the table. She cut them each a slice, handing her husband the first piece. He gazed at her and she could see the questions in his eyes and wondered at them. What was he thinking?

His mother gazed at Frank and then her son. “You're right, Frank, tobacco is king around here. One of these days that will come to an end, whereas wine is a relatively new undertaking in Virginia. Sometimes it’s better to be different from everyone else.”

Katie smiled at her mother-in-law, trying to give her encouragement. For the first time she'd said something intelligent and positive and not full of contempt. Maybe she was learning.

“Yes, Mother, you're right. Though several times, it's been tried and failed. I could fail, but until I do, I'm not giving up.”

Frank shrugged. “Then winemakers we are.”

Katie noticed the stubborn tilt in Frank's chin and the way his brown eyes flashed when he finally admitted defeat. But had he really conceded or was he just waiting for another opportunity to convince Daniel to give up the vineyard he loved?

#

Daniel escorted Frank into the parlor for a glass of brandy before he left for the evening. Sure, there were times that Frank was more of a nuisance than a helper, but he'd come through financially when Daniel needed help. And when Eloise had died and the town turned against him, Frank had been his only friend. They were as close as brothers and sometimes they disagreed just like siblings.

“It appears this marriage agrees with you. The house has never looked better and your wife, she's delightful. I think ordering you a mail-order bride was a great solution.”

What could he say? Katie was a delight and the only problems in their marriage so far were because of him. But there were too many secrets and he didn't know how to tell her the truth.

How did you tell a woman he wasn't the one who ordered her or that his previous wife died suspiciously and he was the person everyone suspected of killing her?

Glancing around, Daniel shook his head. “She doesn't know I wasn't the one who placed that ad. She doesn't know about what happened to Eloise. Mother told her I'd been married before and she found the death certificate.”

“How did she find the death certificate?”

People believing that he murdered his wife he couldn't control, but he'd just shoved the document in his drawer and tried to forget its existence. That time in his life was painful and he tried not to think of those dark days.

“While I was out in the fields, she rearranged and cleaned out the armoire. I forgot I just shoved that document in my drawer, never wanting to see it again.” He cursed. “It has the cause of death on the document.”

The corners of Frank's mouth turned down in a frown and his eyes darkened. His breathing changed and for a moment, Daniel thought he was angry, yet he had stood by his side when everyone else believed the worst about him, including his mother.

“Exposure. Isn't that what the death certificate says?” Frank said, his voice rough. “You've never told me what caused the argument that night. All you've ever said was that you awoke and she was gone.”

The reason for Eloise's death, the reason for their argument was something he'd never shared with anyone. And just thinking about that night caused his stomach to clench. “She was leaving me.”

He'd told the sheriff he suspected there was someone else, but he'd never mentioned the argument. He feared if he told them they'd fought about her leaving, then the authorities would think he was a killer. And he had not killed his wife.

Frank stood and began to pace the parlor, sipping his brandy even faster. “That's hardly a reason for her to go running out into the cold. It was one of the worst storms of the season. Why would she go out of the house? She wasn't stupid.”

No, Eloise was anything but stupid. She was manipulative, conniving and used to getting her own way. She had to have the very best and Daniel had never made her happy. In some ways her death was a relief.

“Why are you asking these questions now? Because I mentioned the death certificate? Or are you having second thoughts since I've remarried?”

Pain clenched Daniel's chest. He'd relived that conversation a thousand times over wondering what had sent her running out into the snow in her nightgown. When she'd gone to sleep in the spare bedroom, he'd been resigned to her leaving the next morning. He had given up trying to make her happy. And yet guilt ate at him and the wondering at her reasoning, why would she go out in the weather, the snow?

“No, I know you didn't kill your wife,” Frank said quietly. “I've wondered what would send her racing from the house.”

“I went to sleep thinking she was going to leave me, and when I woke, she was gone. At first I thought she'd left already, but then I found her suitcase still in the bedroom. Why would she leave everything behind? The woman loved her things, she would not have gone without them. So I started searching for her.”

“She had a lover,” his mother's voice came from the doorway and he stared at her in surprise.

Frank turned and smiled at his mother. “Mrs. O'Malley, you do talk. How do you know?”

“I saw them together. She was pregnant.”

Pain clenched his chest. He hadn't wanted her to die. They were having problems, but he'd never have wished death on her. But pregnant? That could explain the reason she'd left.

Silence filled the room and Daniel, stared. “Mother, I think you're mistaken.”

“I know the changes a woman's body goes through when she's expecting a child. Eloise was expecting.”

Daniel thought back to the last time he'd made love to his wife. It had been months before she left. If she was pregnant, the child wasn’t his.

Frank glared at his mother. Finally, he cleared his throat. “It's late. I should be going.”

Katie walked into the room from the kitchen. She glanced around the room at the three people, obviously sensing the tension. “Are you leaving?”

Staring at his new wife, he felt a rush of hope for a new chance at a good marriage, with children and love and a successful winery. That's all he wanted out of life. The vineyard was a work in progress and now he had to create a loving relationship with his new wife.

“Yes, I need to get back to town. I have clients to meet in the morning,” Frank said. “Thank you for such a lovely dinner and a charming evening.”

“Any time,” Katie said as she walked him towards the door. She took his jacket off the rack and handed it to him. “Please, I know you and Daniel are good friends. Drop in any time.”

Daniel watched his friend and then he turned and touched the tip of his hat.

“Good night.”

“Good night,” Daniel replied.

Tonight Frank had seemed to irritate him more than he'd actually enjoyed his company. First with his talk of selling the land and then with his questions about Eloise, who he had yet to tell Katie about. For the first time since college, he wondered if Frank really was his good friend or simply a man who liked to make business deals.

Daniel, watched as Katie shut the door. “It's getting chilly out there.”

He thought of Eloise. Was it true she'd been pregnant? Could his mother be right? And was that the reason she was leaving him? She'd told him there was someone else, but she'd never said anything about a pregnancy.

He walked to Katie, glanced down at his new wife and fear spiraled through him, centering in his chest until he thought it would explode. Would Katie also cheat on him? He couldn't take that chance.

“Do me a favor.”

“What?” Katie said, glancing up at him, her impish smile brightening her face. She was a ray of sunshine in his home and already he felt possessive of this woman. She'd moved in and was making over his home and he prayed she would change the atmosphere from gloom and doom to happiness. He so desperately wanted to feel joy again.

And damn, but he wanted to carry her upstairs and slowly erase her memory of their wedding night. This time the night would be so memorable, his wife would never forget.

“Don't let Frank or any man into the house without me being here,” he said, knowing his reasons were an overreaction, but not caring. Katie was his wife, and yes, they had a few problems, but he wanted to make this marriage work. And he couldn't take a chance on her cheating.

“Why?” she asked staring up at him in shock. “I didn't do anything wrong. I sat him in the parlor and sent Thomas for you.”

“I know,” he said. “But something is warning me not to let anyone in the house without me being here. I listen to those premonitions and when I haven't, it's cost me.”

Behind him, his mother started to cackle like an old witch. He'd forgotten all about her being in the room.

“He's afraid you're going to cheat on him, just like Eloise. She'll leave you just like Eloise and her fate will be the same.”

A chill went through Daniel and he stared at his mother. Good God could she have killed Eloise that night? She knew his wife was cheating, she thought she was pregnant, but how could a woman in a wheelchair force Eloise into the cold?