“Your delivery,” she said. Then she fought a smile, her eyes lit with joy. “Take me to your parents, and then let’s find a quiet place for us.”
“Yes,” he murmured in her ear. “A quiet place, just for us.” His smile broadened as he felt her shiver at his soft words in her ear, and he led her to his parents. After Sebastian and Amelia finished their discussion with acquaintances from the time they lived in Missoula, Nicholas smiled at them. “Mama, Dad.” He paused and took a deep breath. “I know I may disappoint you with my haste, but I can’t conceal how I feel a moment longer. I love Geraldine, and I don’t want to hide that from you.”
Sebastian’s eyes widened with shock. “What?”
Amelia stroked a hand down her husband’s arm. “Is that why you always wanted to get the mail? Because you were hiding letters from her?” At her son’s nod, she firmed her lips. “Do you have any idea all the things I worried about?”
Nicholas shook his head in confusion. “I don’t know what you mean, Mama.”
“That you had met someone far away, in Paris or some other godawful place, and you dreamed of leaving us. That you were ill, corresponding with a doctor. That you were buying illicit substances to ease your night terrors.”
“Mama,” Nickie whispered, as though speaking in a louder voice were impossible. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
“You’re a grown man, and I had hoped you would act like one. That you’d stop skulking around and tell me the truth.” She looked at Geraldine, standing proudly by his side in her lovely wedding finery. “And all this time it was because you had formed an attachment to Geraldine?”
Nicholas nodded, and Geraldine flushed at the incredulousness in Amelia’s voice.
“Do you not know how long I’ve dreamed this would occur? That our families would be united by more than simply friendship?” She leaned forward, first to embrace Geraldine and then Nicholas. “Oh, I’m so happy you have discovered you feel more than friendship.”
Nicholas looked at Geraldine with a fire in his gaze, causing her to flush. “Much more, Mama.” He cleared his throat. “But Deena wants to go to university, so we will have a long courtship.”
Sebastian nodded. “That is as it should be. You’re both so young. You have your lives ahead of you.”
“Do your parents know?” Amelia asked, as she continued to beam at them, holding one of each of their hands.
“Yes. In June, Mama found a letter Nickie had written me. She was upset, but she’s supportive now.”
Amelia’s smile froze at Geraldine’s words. “Your mother doesn’t believe Nickie is good enough for you?”
“Calm down, Amelia,” Sebastian said, with a hand down her back.
“No, Aunt Amelia,” Geraldine said with a smile. “That’s not it at all. She worries I’m too young. She wishes we’d waited a few more years to discover we care for each other.” She flushed. “After she got over being concerned about how young I am, she’s delighted I’ve chosen Nickie. She says she couldn’t esteem any young man more or trust him more.”
Amelia calmed at Geraldine’s words and then hugged each of them again. “Know you have my blessing.”
Nicholas gripped Geraldine’s hand. “Thank you, Mama.” He smiled at Sebastian before leading Geraldine away for another dance and to hopefully sneak outside with her for a few moments alone.
* * *
Gabriel stood beside Aidan and Richard at the back wall of the reception, watching as the extended family gathered and celebrated together. He smiled as he saw Clarissa meet Rowena and hold Rowena’s eleven-month-old son, Benjamin.
“Dreaming of another child?” Richard asked, as he sipped at a glass of punch.
“No, although I’ll always enjoy watching Rissa with children. I think we’ve had our last baby. Somehow that makes me sad.”
Richard smiled. “It doesn’t sadden me. I was so terrified before Agnes was born that something would happen to Flo that I barely enjoyed her pregnancy. I don’t think I could handle the worry again.” He looked at his brother. “What bothers you?”
Gabriel made a motion with his head, and Aidan took a step closer as they formed a small half circle. “Did you notice anything odd today at the wedding?”
Aidan sighed. “I wondered if you were as observant as usual.” He looked over the reception guests, as though expecting to find someone repugnant. “I never thought he’d have the guts to sneak in.”
“Who?” Richard asked.
“Our cousin Henry,” Gabriel murmured. He nodded as Richard jerked, as though poked with a hot branding iron. “He sat for a few minutes beside Eleanor’s cousin Bartholomew Bouchard—the only member of her family who deigned to come to the wedding—before moving to mingle into a group of strangers.”
“I did all I could to keep the riffraff out of the church. It became difficult at the end,” Aidan said, a note of apology in his voice.
“No one is blaming you, Uncle,” Gabriel said. “You did a marvelous job, and Jeremy and Eleanor are blissfully unaware.” He looked at his brother, who he sensed was on the verge of sneaking out. They had just cut the cake and had danced a few times together. “If they can remain ignorant for a few days, I’m happy.”
“Does anyone know where they are going for their minihoneymoon?” Aidan asked.
The brothers shook their heads. “Jeremy wouldn’t tell a soul. Said he wasn’t fool enough to allow either of us to ruin his first full night with his bride.” Gabriel shrugged unrepentantly. “I figure, if I had to be chivareed, so should he. He is not of the same mind.” He raised his glass to his youngest brother when he saw him slip out a door for servants.
“Good for them,” Aidan said. “As long as they’re back by the eighteenth for the family party, that’s all that matters.”
“They will be,” Richard said. “Then he has a longer honeymoon planned. He wants his bride to see Yellowstone.”
* * *
Clarissa smiled as she watched her husband talking with Richard and their uncle. She had just handed back Rowena’s son, Benjamin, as she fought the urge to have another child. Although she knew she would most likely not be blessed with another one, whenever she held a baby in her arms, she felt a longing to have one more babe. She focused on her longtime friend as he approached her. “Sebastian,” she said, as she kissed his cheek. “I can’t tell you how delighted I am that you are here.” She frowned as she met his speculative gaze. “Seb?”
Although he had learned to tame his fidgety nature, he couldn’t seem to stand still as he stood in front of her. He rocked to and fro, and his hand pleated and unpleated his tan pants. “I’ve spoken to Nickie.”
She smiled in confusion. “I would hope you would. He’s your son.”
“About his feelings for Geraldine,” he said in a low voice. As her eyes widened, he nodded. “What I don’t understand is why you never thought to inform Amelia or me. Or why Gabe didn’t.”
She gripped his arm, looking deeply into his light-brown eyes. “We didn’t betray our friendship with you. Please believe that. We honored our daughter’s wishes. And your son’s. They wanted to tell you themselves. And they agreed that, if they hadn’t by the time you were to leave after the wedding, that Gabriel and I would.”
“I never thought you were a woman who liked deception, Clarissa.”
“I don’t. And I never will. But I also understand how tender those young feelings can be and how you may fear that those we love most in the world won’t understand.” She looked into his gaze beseechingly for him to understand. “That the fear of rejection will ruin the growing tenderness you feel for your beloved.”
Sebastian sighed and nodded his head. “I understand. I just wish Nickie had told us sooner. Amelia’s been fretting that he was working his way to telling us he was leaving or that he was sick. She never imagined it was because he loved such a fine girl as Geraldine.”
Clarissa beamed at him. “In that regard, we are in agreement. Once I recovered from my shock
that my baby girl was old enough to love another, I couldn’t be more delighted that she chose such a fine young man as Nickie.” She squeezed his arm again.
His smile was filled with joy. “We couldn’t have planned this better if we attempted to throw them together.”
She laughed. “They would have rejected any attempt at matchmaking. They’re too stubborn. Like their parents.” She sighed. “Amelia understands?”
He nodded. “Yes, and she’s relieved. She adores Geraldine.”
“Let’s just hope they wait a few years before they marry.”
Sebastian raised his eyebrows at that and shrugged. “Whatever they decide, we must support them.” At her sigh of agreement, he chuckled.
* * *
Jeremy clasped his bride’s hand, leading her out of their wedding festivities. A small part of him regretted missing the party in their honor. A larger part of him craved time alone with his Eleanor. He paused as they stood at the side entrance to the Florence Hotel used by the kitchen staff. “You don’t mind leaving early? Missing part of our celebration?”
She shook her head and kissed his chin. “No. I’ve smiled and chatted with everyone who matters to me. I’ve eaten cake and danced with you. Now I want time alone with my husband.” Her eyes shone with the promise of what was to come.
His breath caught at that promise, and he pulled her out the door. After walking down the alley, he led her to an automobile, pulling keys from his tuxedo pocket. “A friend loaned this to me—and the use of his ranch.” He opened her car door, stuffed in her frothy dress, and then climbed in beside her. Soon they were on their way, out of town and away from their friends and family.
“Will anyone bother us?” she asked.
He laughed. “If my associate kept his word, no one knows where we are going.”
“Is he an associate or a friend?” she asked with a furrowed brow. She gave a small shriek as they hit a dip in the road that caused the auto to give the sensation of floating in the air for a moment before rattling as it hit the ground again. She giggled as she met his grin.
“He’s more of an associate. He visited me once when Gabe was away and had heard I was to marry. He loved the work we did on the mansion he built in town and offered the use of a rustic cabin on land he owns outside of town.” He focused on the road, although his voice held a note of trepidation. “I’m hoping it’s not too rustic, as he wants the best amenities now.”
“Will we need to use a privy?” she asked.
“I hope not, but perhaps,” he said with a chagrined smile.
She scooted so she could rest her head on his shoulder as he drove. “It doesn’t matter to me, my love. Only that we are together.”
After a short while, he turned up a private drive, making slow progress over a grooved, rut-filled dirt road. After another ten minutes, he pulled up to a cabin. “I think this is it,” he said with a smile. “I’ll keep the car lights on, until we have a lamp or lights lit in the house.”
After grabbing a few bags from the back of the car, he helped her from the car and walked with her to the cabin. Upon opening the door, he lit a lamp smiled with satisfaction at the soft glow illuminating the well-equipped cabin. “I knew the baron wouldn’t crimp on comfort.”
The small space had a comfortable-looking sofa facing a fireplace well stocked with logs, a small kitchen area behind the sofa, and a large overstuffed bed to one side with a wrought-iron bed frame and headboard. He noted a telephone in one corner, an absolute luxury in the wilds of Montana. “I fear it’s an outhouse for us.” He grinned as she giggled. He kissed Eleanor’s head, set the bags down, and ran outside to shut off the car lights.
After he returned, he watched her as she poked through the small space. “What is it?” he asked, as she shook her head in wonder.
“It’s stocked with food. Both the icebox and cupboards. We’ll be comfortable for days.” Her delighted smile met his. “I feared we would have to return to Missoula tomorrow due to hunger.”
He laughed, pulling her close and burying his head in her fragrant hair. “Oh, my darling, how I love you,” he murmured. He shivered as her hands slipped under his clothes, rucking up his shirt until her fingers ran over him. “God, I’ve missed your touch.” He leaned into her soft caress.
She pulled away from him, a seductive, teasing smile lighting her face. “Come to bed with me, husband.” Her smile faltered when he stared at her and did not move to follow her. “Jeremy?” she asked, her voice shaking with insecurity.
“You are every dream I never knew I could have again come to life.” His green eyes glowed with the depth of his passion, raising a shaking hand to glide down one side of her head. “God, how I love you.”
“Show me,” she whispered. “Show me how good it was. Prove to me my memory wasn’t a dream.”
He smiled with male delight. “Oh, it was no dream, Ellie.” He swooped forward, kissing her passionately, as his fingers tangled in her hair and then worked with feverish intensity on the hooks on the back of her dress. Soon he pushed her dress off her shoulders and watched it catch at her lush hips. His hands caressed her, moving from her narrower waist to the fullness of her hips. “I love your shape,” he whispered as he tugged at her dress, pushing it to her feet.
“I love yours,” she said, running her hands over his broad chest and then gasped when he kissed his way down her throat. She inhaled and fell backward on the bed as he loosened her corset. “Oh, how wonderful to breathe fully again.” She saw his worried expression and attempted to soothe it with a caress to his face. “I had them fasten my corset extratight today so I looked more attractive.”
He growled in frustration. “Never do that again, Ellie. An extra moment of perceived attractiveness is not worth a moment of discomfort. I hate to think you suffered merely in an attempt to please me.” He ran his hands over her in a loving manner. “I love how you are without anything on.”
Her luminous smile met his ardent gaze. “I know. That is the wonder of you.” She leaned up, kissing him soundly. Her fingers worked at a fevered pitch to free him of his wedding finery, and soon they were free of their clothes. Rather than dive under the covers and hide from him, as she had done on their first night together, she laid on top of the covers, boldly meeting his covetous gaze, although she flushed a rosy pink.
“I could stare at you all night,” he whispered.
She made a scoffing noise, but her blush heightened with pleasure at his words. “I would miss your touch,” she murmured, reaching forward to trace her fingers over his muscled chest.
He groaned, settling over her, bracing his weight on his elbows. “As would I,” he murmured as he kissed her, losing himself to the wonder of being in her arms again.
* * *
Fiona stood with Araminta, Florence, and Clarissa, chatting as their children played in a corner of the reception room. Fiona wore a mauve-colored dress that enhanced her delicate beauty. She flushed as she remembered the appreciative look in Patrick’s gaze when he had seen her right before they left for the church this morning. She shook her head to focus on her family and the reception.
A few sofas lined one wall, for those who were tired or merely wanted a rest. Fiona laughed as she saw Billy and Calvin sneaking up on their older McLeod relatives, and she nudged Clarissa to watch. Soon all the women were watching the antics of Billy and Calvin. “Oh, that boy,” Clarissa said, with a fond shake of her head as she heard him proclaim he was “General Billy” and that Aidan and Richard had no right to take him or “his trusty man, Sergeant Calvin,” into custody.
Fiona turned to watch the small area where Breandan, Rose, Agnes, and Little Colin played on the floor. She held Sean in her arms, while Araminta held Lily. Fiona smiled as she saw them playing hide-and-seek, imitating their older cousin’s games. After soothing Sean, who was a little colicky, she turned again to watch the younger children and frowned. “Rose, darling, where’s Little Colin?”
Rose shrugged and pointed in the direc
tion of the door to the reception room.
Fiona knelt in front of her daughter and asked, “What do you mean, Rose?”
“We played hide-an’-seek. When I came out of my spot, he was leaving.”
“Leaving?” Fiona asked, as she ran a hand down her daughter’s head to hide her anxiety and to urge her daughter to continue speaking.
“I saw him go out the door.”
“Rose, why didn’t you tell any of us?” Fiona gasped, as she motioned to get Clarissa’s attention.
Rose shrugged. “I thought it was part of the game. The older boys are playing in the hall.” She stared at her mother in confusion at her nervousness.
Fiona stood. “Little Colin’s not here. Rose saw him go to the hallway. Is he out there with the older boys?” She smiled her thanks as Araminta said she’d watch the children while Fiona and Clarissa raced to the hallways.
“Boys!” Clarissa yelled to the McLeod cousins. They immediately stopped their roughhousing in the area immediately outside the reception room. “Have you seen Little Colin?”
Ian looked to his brothers and shook his head. “No, we were out here playing, until Billy and Calvin tried to sneak up on us.” He held up his hand. “I promise we haven’t broken anything.”
Clarissa waved away his concern. “That doesn’t worry me. I want to find my son.” She turned to Fiona. “Let’s tell our husbands, and we can start a more methodical search.”
Fiona nodded and rushed inside, her frantic gaze landing on Patrick. Immediately he was beside her, running a hand down her arm as though to soothe her. “Oh, Patrick.”
“Whatever it is, Fee, we will face it,” he murmured.
“We can’t find Little Colin,” she whispered, watching as he spun to look at his sister as she told Gabriel. Soon a gentle murmur filled the reception room.
Lucas’s rousing piano music came to an abrupt halt, and Aidan boomed, “Ladies and Gentlemen.” He stood tall and commanded the attention of everyone present. “I have just been informed that my great-nephew Little Colin McLeod has wandered off. If we could start an organized search for him, so he is returned with all due haste to his parents, I would be most appreciative. He is four and a half years old, looks like a McLeod, with black hair and blue eyes, and is very hard of hearing. Calling out his name will do little good, as I doubt he will hear you.”
Triumphant Love: Banished Saga, Book Nine Page 42