by Jerri Hines
Cathryn tried to prop herself up and with every smidgen of energy she had. She took the pillow and placed it behind her. The whole of her body ached, but her eyes widened with a noise. Was it a cry, a small irritated cry? Was she hearing things?
Jake walked into the room with a small bundle in his arms.
He lay the crying infant beside her. He pushed back the blanket ever so gently. “I believe she has your cry.”
Tears fell unheeded when she beheld the babe—a beautiful baby with a head full of dark hair. “A girl?”
He nodded. “A beautiful one at that.”
She looked up at Jake. “I don’t remember.”
He smiled. “You have been sick for over a week, my darling. It’s well you don’t. I don’t want you to worry about a thing. Mother is taking care of Jalyn well. You need only to recover.”
“Jalyn? You named her.”
“It’s what I’ve been calling her. Your brother told me how he came to call you Jalyn. If you had heard her when she was born, you would quite understand why I call her such.” He reached back down and picked up his daughter. “You do not need to expend too much energy. Rest now with the knowledge I will be here when you wake.”
* * * *
Cathryn’s body had begun to heal, but her sleep was filled with disturbing dreams. Her conscience gnawed at her soul with the somber realization of all that Tacy had done. Tacy, who she had trusted implicitly, had betrayal her. It cut her deeply.
“She must have come close several times to her objective, but you mustn’t hold yourself responsible for her betrayal. It wasn’t you she hated. She hated her life...herself. Tacy wanted to be someone she wasn’t. She wanted money and power,” Jake said. “Despite what she tried, she didn’t succeed. It’s over. Give it time and it will fade, at least perhaps to a resigned acceptance.”
She turned over in the bed. He wasn’t there. Where could he be? Fear gripped her once more. That too would take time to overcome. The fear Jake was gone, that Lord Blankenship had returned, her children...but they were irrational fears.
Thinking for a moment, she knew well where her husband was. He, who was her strength, had in his own suffered greatly and only with the greatest reluctance told her of his plight.
“Leckie and I had gathered the information needed. Our mission complete. We were returning to Savannah when an American militia unit intercepted us. I was able to hold them off while Leckie escaped with the intelligence, but I was shot through the shoulder.
“I thought it a mortal wound. I feared I would never see you again, but the patriots didn’t leave me to die. Then your brother appeared. He brought with him a military doctor he held faith in. Sumner saw me through my injury, Cathryn. He didn’t ask me any questions about my mission, because he had to know well I was on one. He only made me promise to return to you, which was easily given. But it all took time. Time to recover. Time to find a British scouting dispatch. Time for a ship to be going to England.
“Leckie had reported he did not think I could have survived the wound, which without your brother I wouldn’t have. Moreover, the report of my return got lost. I had no idea that you still considered me dead when I returned. People stared at me as if I was a ghost. Furthermore, I discovered from your brother you were with child. It is strange that we had better communication through enemy sources than our own.”
But he had survived. She had survived. She swung her feet off her bed. It hurt to walk, but each time it eased somewhat. Walking slowly down the hall, she knew well where her husband was.
Quietly, she opened the door. The wet nurse lay on a cot in the far corner, sleeping. Jake sat rocking his precious daughter. She still had trouble believing that Jake had come in time to save her once more...all due to her cousin Reggie.
When he arrived back in England, Jake had reported to headquarters. Immediately, he dispatched letters to Longwood, the London townhouse, and Mount Gevlyn. Eversleigh straight away sent for Jake, telling him all that had happened and the impending arrests.
The first to be detained was Reggie Cavanaugh. His character shone through quickly, offering up any information to lessen his punishment. Then panic ensued with the mention of Tacy’s involvement.
Jake said he had been terrified at the admission with the realization that he had sent the letter to tell of his return. Tacy would have known and would have reacted, putting her in grave danger. Moreover, Lord Blankenship was nowhere to be found.
Jake along with the duke left London without delay, exchanging horses only once along their journey. He said he had never prayed so hard.
The storm did little to ebb his determination to get to Mount Gevlyn. On their arrival, they immediately knew something was not right. No one greeted them. The house sat in darkness. Dashing into his home, Jake saw a light at the guest house.
Running through the hard rain, he saw Lord Blankenship had her within his grasp. Eversleigh grabbed hold of Blankenship who broke away. Stumbling, he ran blindly right off the cliffs to his death. Jake swept her into his arms, but immediately saw blood oozing through her skirt.
Cathryn had little memory of all that had happened, having only Jake’s account of the events to fill in the missing pieces of the night.
“In all my life, I have never panicked, my love. I have always been able to handle any situation. I was unable to contain my fright with you bleeding,” Jake confessed. “I was as a lost child. His Grace dispatched his man to the village for anyone that could help.
“Blankenship had shot and killed His Grace’s footmen and Nicholson. Tacy at least showed mercy to drug most of the rest of the house. His Grace feels it was Tacy who in all probability killed the nanny, Fanny. They found her body in one of the sea caverns. Thank goodness, Mother, Julia and the rest of the staff were fine after awakening.”
His voice faltered. He paused before he continued. “You...you were screaming in pain. I didn’t know what to do. All I could do was hold your hand. Almost immediately upon the appearance of the midwife, Jalyn was born. She cried, so loudly, as if she was angry to have had to make her appearance in that manner. They handed her to me and told me to leave the room. You were still bleeding so. The doctor finally arrived. Someone found a wet nurse, for Jalyn decided she was hungry and couldn’t be calmed or at least not by me.
“I thought the worst over when the doctor said the bleeding had stopped. But the look on his face told me different. You had other injuries...your head, and then you developed a fever. I had thought I lost you more than once.”
But he hadn’t lost her. They had found each other again...no more obstacles...no more barriers. They had each other forever.
She smiled at the sight before her. Jake rose and placed Jalyn back into the bassinet, sleeping soundly. Cathryn walked over and stared down at their gift. His arm went around her. She couldn’t remember being as happy as at that moment. In the morning sunlight, she stood with the man she loved more than life itself.
There was still much to contend with. There would yet be a battle about the twins in the future. His Grace had his mind set upon raising them at Longwood and Cathryn was as determined to raise them here at Mount Gevlyn. Her thoughts also worried about her brother who still faced uncertainty with the war. Jake said that his Majesty’s Army had been preparing to invade Charles Town, having already laid siege to the city.
She would face life with Jake, her husband...her love, by her side.
From out the window, the sun loomed on the horizon. Her thoughts turned to the day long ago before she’d left for England, when Sumner had told her: The only thing that is constant is the fact that the sun will rise in the morning. Everything else will change. It is life.
And she watched the sun rise.
About the Author
I'm a Southern gal that has lived the last thirty years near Boston with my Yankee husband. The funny thing is that as a Southerner I know I'm Southern; he hasn't a clue he's a Yankee. I believe in love and the power it holds. It is the reason I writ
e romances. My fascination for history has inspired many of my books including the Winds of Betrayal and Tide of Charleston Series both set during the American Revolution. Coming soon, I will release a Civil War saga, the Southern Legacy Series beginning with Belle of Charleston.
I, also, write under the pen name Colleen Connally. Secret Lives, a historical romance series, is riddled with romantic suspense and a touch of paranormal. Fragmented, Book One Boston's Crimes of Passion, marks my first contemporary suspense thriller.
I am a supporter of The One Fund, a charity that supports the Boston Marathon Bombing victims, and the Alzheimer's Association.
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