Petals on the River (94 page)

"And so smart!"

"Mommee Sheeaim taught me," he said with a rather shy but captivating

grin.

"Andrew, this is my mother and father...."

He looked up at Shemaine wonderingly.
 
"Your mommee and daddee?"

She answered with an effervescent smile.
 
"Aye, they've come all the way

from England to see us."

"My daddee, too?"

She responded with an affirmative nod.
 
"They've only known about your

daddy since yesterday, but they came out today to see him " "That's my

gran'pa!" Andrew proudly announced, motioning with a curled finger

toward William.

The Earl of Thornhedge grinned back at the O'Hearns.
 
"I say, we do need

a foursome to play whisk.
 
Might the two of you be interested?"

"My father is a wicked cardplayer," Shemaine warned with a twinkling

smile.

Shemus snorted in amusement.
 
"Yer mother may look like an angel me

girl, but she's done me in, in more ways than I'd care to count."

Camille patted her husband's arm dotingly.
 
" Tis only because you let

me win, dear."

''Ha!" Shemus scoffed at the absurdity of such a notion.
 
Facing

William, he swept a hand toward his wife.
 
"The truth is, me lord, she

lets me win."

William chortled and then winced slightly as he was reminded of his

healing wound.
 
A bit more soberly he asked, "Does that mean we'll have

a foursome?"

"I would visit with my daughter in her bedroom first, then I'll be

delighted to join you and your lovely companion in a game," Camille

replied graciously.

Bess came from the kitchen into the parlor bearing a small platter of

crumpets.
 
She had cut the bread into small, bite-sized pieces and now

offered them to her mistress.
 
"Ye'll be wantin' ta try a wee taste of

this first, mum."

Sweeping her eyes over the contents of the plate, Camille grew puzzled.

"Whatever for, Bess?
 
I've tasted your crumpets before.
 
Are these any

different?"

"Aye, mum.
 
They're what your pretty darling' made."

I .

"Oh." Camille wasn't at all sure she wanted to subject herself to such a

questionable task just yet.
 
Through years of arduous disasters in the

kitchen, she had been well educated to the faults of her daughter's

cooking.
 
She did not necessarily want another sampling now, something

that she would indubitably taste the whole day long and come to regret

upon retiring to bed later that evening.

"It's all right, mum.
 
Taste em," Bess encouraged.

Gingerly Camille picked up a tiny piece and sampled it.
 
By slow degrees

the expression on her face was transformed from careful reserve to

glowing radiance.
 
She conveyed her approval with an exuberant smile.

"Why, they're delicious!"

Bess nodded eagerly.
 
"We did it, mum.
 
We taught our li'l darling' ta

cook!"

William sought to squelch his amusement before he was again tormented by

the consequences, but the more he tried, the more he was inclined to

chuckle.
 
Clasping a pillow to his chest to subdue the pain, he peered

at Shemaine.
 
" Twould seem, my dear, they've been entertaining doubts

about your cooking skills for some time."

"Believe me, my lord, their distrust was well earned," Shemaine rejoined

with amusement.

"Not anymore, though, I'll warrant," Mary Margaret chimed in. "His

lordship and I've been wonderin' if'n yer Bess can now cook as well as

yer pretty self, Shemaine Thornton."

"Maybe not," Bess pondered aloud, then she heaved her plump shoulders

upward in a good-natured shrug.
 
"An' if not, then I'd be a-thinkin'

I've outdone meself teachin' her."

"The acclaim belongs entirely to you, Bess," William responded jovially.

"You've made all of our lives more enjoyable by your efforts."

"Thank ye, yer lordship." Bess bobbed a curtsy and bustled into the

kitchen, tossing back a pleased grin.

Shemaine followed the cook into the kitchen, where she spoke to her

privately for a few moments, informing her that there would be more

guests arriving soon.
 
Bess promptly reassured her there would be no

difficulty in laying out a feast for everyone to enjoy.
 
It would not be

the most elaborate, the cook warned, but there would be plenty for all.

It was what Shemaine had expected, and she gave the woman an

affectionate hug.
 
"I thought you could do it, Bess, but my husband

didn't want me to upset you with more work than you could handle."

Bess grinned back at her.
 
"Tell yer mister I'm appreciative o' his

kindly concern, darling'." Then she leaned forward to whisper. "He's a

right fine gent, if'n ye ask me."

"He is, truly," Shemaine agreed in an equally quiet tone.

Shemaine quickly directed Erich and Tom where they were to erect the

table, and when she returned to the parlor, Camille swept her hand

toward the master bedroom, drawing her daughter's attention to the two

O'Hearn trunks that stood near the end of the bed.
 
"Shall we go in and

have a look at what Nola packed inside the chests?"

"I can hardly wait!" Shemaine caught her mother's hand and pulled her

along behind her as she ran into the room.

Shortly after being closeted with her parent in the master bedroom

Shemaine shook out a pale aqua gown of silk floral brocade fashioned

with a square neckline and three-quarter-length sleeves.
 
After Nola

gave the gown a careful pressing, Shemaine swept it over her head.
 
The

garment seemed to settle in place with the eagerness of an old friend

yearning to revive a close acquaintance.
 
Camille stepped behind her

daughter to tighten the laces at the back of the bodice, tied a narrow

ribbon with a jeweled pendant about Shemaine's neck, and then called

upon Nola's talents to create a suitable coiffure.
 
The maid was

tearyeyed with joy at the opportunity to brush and comb Shemaine's hair

once again.
 
Not so long ago, she had grieved for her young mistress,

believing her dead, and was deeply thankful the O'Hearns' search had not

ended with a morbid discovery.
 
She considered it a celebration of sorts

to be able to sweep the tresses into a charming coiffure on top of her

charge's head and arrange a trio of ringlets that hung down coyly from

behind a dainty ear.

A hand mirror was brought out from one of the trunks and Nola held it

while her young mistress admired the results.
 
Camille looked on in

approval and smiled as she counted their good fortune in finding their

daughter again.

"Oh, Nola, I feel much like my old self again!" Shemaine exclaimed.

"Thank you!"

"Ye're prettier than ever, mum," Nola replied, squeezing her mistress

close to her in a fond embrace.
 
Then, with a smile, the maid took her

leave.

"You do look just as beautiful as ever, my dear," Camille said, blinking

back the wetness that threatened to blur her vision as she gazed at her

daughter.
 
"Just wait until Maurice sees you."

Shemaine stiffened slightly, and when she turned to face her mother,,

she probed the teary blue eyes that seemed to plead with her. "Mother

I'm not married to Maurice.
 
Gage is my husband.
 
I would encourage you

to remember that."

Camille's brows came together in a distressed frown.
 
"Will he ever be

able to give you what Maurice is capable of?"

l Shemaine detected the slight quaver in the other's voice and

recognized the hurt and anguish in the delicate visage.
 
As much as she

loved her mother, she would never allow herself to be coaxed away from

Gage with beautiful clothes or promises of unending wealth.
 
"Mama, I

love my husband, and I will have no other...."

"But there are many who say he killed his first wifeþ"

"Aye, and I have met several of those people who've dared say such

things.
 
If you were to meet them yourself, Mama, you would see through

their ploys and the* eagerness to spread tales that they've enlivened

for their own purposes.
 
Roxanne Corbin is a spinster who has wanted

Gage for her own since he first came here to V*ginia more than nine

years ago, but he married Victoria instead.
 
Roxanne could not tolerate

that fact.
 
Who knows?
 
Roxanne may have even been the one who killed

Victoria.

She was certainly the one who discovered Victoria's body.
 
After Gage

and I were married, she came out here, intruded upon us while we were

celebrating our love for each other, and vowed to tell everyone that he

had killed Victoria.
 
She's a spiteful woman, Mama, bent on having her

way, and if not, then at the very least seeing Gage destroyed.
 
Is this

someone to whom you would listen?
 
Would you entertain doubts about Papa

if some envious fellow were to come to you and say that he was a thief?"

"No, of course not, Shemaine, butþ"

"No buts!" Shemaine threw up a hand to halt her mother's arguments.
 
"I

will hear no more slander against my husband!
 
And if you've brought

these clothes to me today with the hope that you could somehow persuade

me to leave Gage, then take them back.
 
I can do without them.
 
But know

this, Mama, I will have no other husband but Gage until one of us is

laid in a grave!"

Camille pressed a trembling hand to her brow, trying not to yield to the

anguish that was tearing her apart inside.
 
"How can I leave you here