Petals on the River (67 page)

mischief.
 
Facing him as he came toward her across the gangplank, she

settled her arms akimbo, subduing her amusement behind a suspicious

perusal.

''Ye can bet he's up ta no good," Mary Margaret ventured with a warbling

chuckle.
 
"He looks like the fox what swallowed the chick."

"Aye," Shemaine agreed warmly.
 
"He does, at that."

Her eyes fed upon his every movement until he halted before her. Then

her heart quickened with the thrill of his presence.

"For my bride," Gage announced, sweeping the flowers from behind his

back and presenting them with a well-executed bow.

"Oh, Gage !
 
" Shemaine cried, gathering them to her breast. "They're

lovely!"

"A gift from an old woman I met along the way.
 
She also sent her

blessings for our marriage."

"A dear soul, to be sure," she crooned, admiring the colorful blos soms.

Gage was anxious to proceed with the forthcoming events.
 
"Now, my

sweet, if you'll indicate what things you want to take along with you,

I'd like to be on our way.
 
I've rented a room for an hour at the

Wetherburn Tavern so we'll have a place to ready ourselves before going

to the church."

Shemaine swept a hand toward her valise and her sheet-covered wedding

gown, which lay across it.
 
"All I will need is there."

Gage picked up both their satchels and his clothes as she folded her

gown over her free arm.
 
He called to his son, who was watching fish

swimming near the barge.
 
"Andrew, will you take Mrs.
 
McGee's hand and

escort her to the wagon?" Gage smiled at the wide grin of pleasure that

spread across his son's face and his eagerness to comply.

Gage knew the task would seem like man's work to the boy.
 
'We'll follow

you."

Erich stepped alongside his employer.
 
"Is zhere somethin' I can help

vith?"

Gage gave the baggage over willingly and was grateful that he could now

lend assistance to his bride.
 
"Allow me, my sweet," he urged, taking

her gown and laying it over his own clothes.
 
After a brief adjustment,

he presented his arm.
 
"If you'll do me the honor, my lady, I'll attend

you to your carriage."

Giving him a radiant smile, Shemaine looped her arm through his and

hugged it close to her bosom.
 
As the others proceeded them, they lagged

back long enough for Gage to steal a soft kiss from his bride. When he

raised his head, she sighed with pleasure and smiled up at .

him in warm communication as she felt the muscles in his arm tighten

against her breast.

"Tonight you'll be mine, my love," he breathed in sweet promise.

Williamsburg was a costly gem in comparison to the small hamlet of

Newportes Newes.
 
Shemaine decided that fact after Gage took them on a

wagon tour of the city.
 
From the Duke of Gloucester Street, she saw a

sizeable palace sitting at the far end of carefully maintained grounds

that were liberally bedecked with flowers and sculptured shrubs.
 
At

least a dozen shops lined the street.
 
An octagonal brick magazine and a

guardhouse were located a short distance away.
 
In all, it was a young

but beautiful city.

Mary Margaret helped Shemaine dress in the room at the inn.
 
When she

emerged, Gage turned eagerly to devour her beauty.
 
His bride was

radiant in a pale green polonaise adorned with a white shawl collar that

draped her shoulders.
 
Several rows of lace trimmed the edges of the

collar and the mid-length sleeves.
 
More of the ruffled lace had been

gathered inside the neckline, accentuating her long, graceful neck, and

a pert white lace cap, artfully trimmed with green ribbon, covered the

upswept knot of fiery hair.
 
A lace handkerchief had been tied about the

stems of the flowers, bunching them together, and the resulting bouquet

lay over her arm.

Going to her, Gage took her hand in his and brought it to his lips for a

kiss.
 
"You're beautiful, my sweet."

Ramsey winked at his fellow cabinetmakers and cast an eye toward the

clock.
 
"Ye'd better hurry, Gage, or ye'll be missin' yer own weddin'."

Gage tossed a grin over his shoulder.
 
"Never fear, you grizzled ol'

nail-driver.
 
I won't be letting any snails pass beneath my feet."

A chorus of chuckles came from his men.
 
More than any others, they had

seen the moody depths into which Gage Thornton had sunk after Victoria's

deathþand now, in sharp contrast, they witnessed the heights of joy to

which he was soaring.
 
The four cabinetmakers settled in to wait once

more, but Gage was as good as his word.
 
After bathing away the residue

of sweat from his body, he garbed himself in a white shirt and stock, a

handsomely tailored dark blue frock coat, and a waistcoat and breeches

of a lighter gray hue, all of which he had worn at his first wedding

several years prior.

The sight of her groom in gentlemanly apparel made Shemaine recall her

mother's concerns after Maurice proposed.
 
The elder had fretted that

her daughter was being lured to the altar by his splendid face. That was

not entirely true in this case, Shemaine decided in waggish reflection,

for she was just as fascinated by her master's exceptional physique.

The Bruton Parish Church was just west of the palace grounds. Itwas

there the small wedding party gathered for the ceremony.
 
At one hour

past noon, the rector quietly united Gage Harrison Thornton and Shemaine

Patrice O'Hearn in holy matrimony.
 
Mary Margaret and the four men took

up positions on either side of the couple while Andrew stood close

beside his father.
 
Proudly wearing the wedding ring on his thumb, the

boy faced the altar in anticipation of that moment when it would be

needed.
 
He was pleased that he had been included in the service, and

when asked to provide the ring, he held the tiny digit aloft with a

toothy grin.

The pronouncement that the couple had been joined into one was sealed

with a kiss, and though it was brief and gentle, Gage's eyes glowed

warmly into Shemaine's, assuring her that it was but a small sampling of

the passion that would be forthcoming.
 
Taking her hand, he pulled her

arm through his, and together they turned to receive the good wishes of

their friends.

"A handsome couple, ye be." Mary Margaret sniffed, dabbing at the

moisture in her eyes.

"Ye're a lucky man," Ramsey declared, grinning broadly.
 
"But then, I

think ye knew that the first time ye saw her."

"Aye, I did," Gage admitted, thinking back on that moment when he had

first espied Shemaine sitting on the ship's hatch cover.
 
He had hardly

been able to believe she was real and not some vision he had conjured in

his mind, but he distinctly recalled having been startled by the sudden

clarity of his thoughts almost as soon as he laid eyes on her.

Andrew was somewhat baffled by all the well-wishing, but his father

lifted him up in his arms and presented him to his new mother, hoping to

help him understand.
 
"We'll be a family now, Andy, and you'll have a

mother, just like Malcolm and Duncan do."

"Sheeaim my mommee?" the boy asked curiously, looking at his parent

intently.

"Aye," Gage replied with a nod.
 
"She's your mommy now, just like I'm

your daddy."

Andrew waggled his head from side to side and began to chant in childish

glee.
 
"Mommee and Daddee!
 
Mommee and Daddee!
 
Mommee and Daddee!"

"I think he likes the sound o' it," Mary Margaret surmised with a

chuckle.

L .
 
__ "Me hungee," Andrew announced, turning the subject to more

important matters.

"You're always hungry," Gage teased, playffilly tweaking the tiny nose.

"Me hungee," Shemaine chimed in near her husband's shoulder.

The bridegroom settled a brief but provocative kiss upon her lips.

"Will that do, my sweet?"

Wrapping her arms around her new husband and son, Shemaine rose on

tiptoes to bestow an affectionate kiss upon Andrew's rosy cheek and then

pressed a much warmer one upon Gage's smiling mouth.
 
Even so, she

denied that it would be a fair exchange as she gave him a sparkling

smile.
 
"As sweet as your kisses are, my dear husband, I must insist

that Andrew and I be given something more substantial lest we faint from

starvation."' Gage laughed and raised an arm to attract Ramsey's

attention.
 
"My family demands nourishment.
 
Will you bring our carriage

about, my good man?"

"At yer service, m'lord," his friend replied with a chortle, and

sweeping them a bow, he went out to bring the wagon around.

At the Wetherburn Tavern, they enjoyed a hearty repast replete with a

liberal amount of toasting and sipping.
 
But as time progressed Gage

became increasingly anxious to be home and laughingly bade his guests to

return to their conveyance so they could be driven back to the barge ere

the day was well spent.
 
It was Gage, the only truly sober one among the

men, who finally collected his guests and his family and ushered them

back to the craft.

A brief stop was made on the way downriver from Williamsburg to deliver

Andrew to the Fields's cottage.
 
There the boy could play with Malcolm

and Duncan to his heart's content, allowing his father and new mother to

enjoy being alone together in the privacy of their home. After hearing

of Gage's plans to marry Shemaine, Hannah had insisted that Andrew stay

with her family for several days.
 
His father had willingly acceded.
 
As

they were preparing to leave, Hannah smilingly presented the newly