by Jerri Hines
“I’m here, Cathryn. I’m not leaving. Come back to me.”
Jake touched her cheek. He was unshaven; his eyes looked tired, red, and weary as if he hadn’t slept for days on end. He sat by her. She reached out for him.
Was he real? Was she still dreaming? He took her hand and kissed it over and over. “Jake,” she whispered.
“Yes, darling, I’m home. I’m not leaving again,” he answered. She could barely keep her eyes open, but he was home.
“I’m not dreaming?” she uttered.
“No, it’s not a dream.” His voice cracked. “I’m not a ghost. Come back to me, Cathryn. Don’t let go.”
“I won’t,” she promised. She closed her eyes and fell back to sleep.
* * * *
Cathryn woke. The curtains were open and she could see out her window. The sun was rising over the ocean’s horizon in the distance, illuminating a reflection of a brilliant orange-red tinge upon the clouds. It took but a moment to realize where she was.
She tried to sit up. Her chest hurt and her gown was soaked. Her breasts were engorged. Her hands reached for her stomach, but there was no babe.
Her whole body shook with comprehension, but someone took her hand.
“Cathryn.”
She turned toward the sound and smiled. It hadn’t been a dream. Jake was home. He had shaven and dressed. His hair was longer and he was thinner, but he was here with her.
“Tacy,” she said, trying to sit up. “She—”
“We know,” he said in a calm, gentle voice. “It is all over. Everything. I’m home. I’m not leaving.”
“Sumner wrote me. He told me you were alive. I told everyone,” she uttered faintly.
“I know. Her Grace sends her love and the twins are well looked after. They want to see you, but at the moment, I believe you need time to heal. You’ve been through so much.”
“Oh, Jake. The baby—” she sobbed.
“Don’t. Give me time to explain, my love. You have been so ill,” he said. He let go of her hand and eased up.
“I’ll be but a moment.”
Cathryn tried to prop herself up. 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 when she heard a sound.
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 betrayed 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 was 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 straightaway 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 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.
Next in Winds of Change Series:
The Bastard Son, Book Two
Sumner Meador walked in a world of wealth and privilege as part of Charles Town’s elite, but that was years ago. Now he fights in the Southern backwoods driven by the passion he holds for the Patriot cause, shadowed by his past. Reeling from a devastating defeat at the hands of the British, Sumner seeks haven at his farm, only to find an interloper—an unwelcome and unwanted distraction. He has no time for the young woman or the complications she brings with her, but soon discovers he has no option but to give aid to the stubborn, courageous beauty whether she wants it or not.
Jane Kilmer has been violently thrust into the midst of the civil war ensuing in the backwoods. Hiding from one of the most dangerous vigilantes, Jane trusts no one. Suddenly, she has no choice but to put her life in Sumner’s hands. Both desire revenge, but neither wants what happens—to fall completely, undeniably in love with each other. As the war rages around them, their love is put to the ultimate test. The question becomes not whether their love will survive, but will they.
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Books under Jerri Hines:
The Southern Legacy Series
Belle of Charleston, Book One
Shadows of Magnolia, Book Two
Born to Be Brothers, Book Three
The Sun Will Rise, Book Four
Winds of Betrayal Series:
The Cry For Freedom
Embrace of the Enemy
Kiss of Deceit
The Heavens Shall Fall
Set Fire To The Rain—Coming Soon!
WINDS OF CHANGE
The Governor’s Daughter
The Bastard Son
Books Under Penname Colleen Connally
Secret Lives Series:
Seductive Secrets
Broken Legacy
Seductive Lies
Boston's Crimes of Passion
Fragmented
Framed—Coming Soon!