“What time is it?”
“It’s almost four o’clock, why?”
Sophie grinned. “Well...that means it’s two hours before dinner.”
“So?”
“So, I have plans for you.” She climbed off the bed and pulled him to his feet.
“What kind of plans?” he asked suspiciously as she gave him her famed Cheshire grin, walked over to her door, and locked it. “Sophie, the house is full of people.”
She stopped in front of him and began unbuttoning his shirt. She slipped her hands inside and slid it off his shoulders. “We’ll be really, really quiet.”
He chuckled and bent down to pick her up, carrying her to the bed.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
“That was the most magnificent, incredible…I’m at a loss for words.” Sophie turned and found him staring at her. “Jamie, are you okay?”
“Hm? Yes, I’m fine.” He gave her a strange smile as he climbed off the bed and poured a glass of water. “I need to do something. I’ll try to be back by dinner.”
She sat up in shock. “What?”
She never got an answer. He was dressed and out the door before she could say anything else. Sophie stayed on the bed, simultaneously reveling in their lovemaking and slightly concerned about where Jamie went. Before she knew it, it was past five o’clock, so she forced herself to get up and get dressed. Downstairs, Christine and Nona were in the parlor playing cards. They motioned her in when they saw her.
“How was your nap, Sophie?” Nona asked.
“It was wonderful, thank you.”
“I’ll bet it was.” Christine gave her a wink.
Sophie raised her eyebrows in response and Christine smiled. The butler announced that Adam and Elizabeth had arrived, along with Richard, so Nona suggested they make their way into the dining room.
“Do you mind if we wait for Jamie? He should be here any minute.” Sophie stood and made her way to the window.
“I don’t think he’ll be joining us this evening,” Richard said.
“Of course he will. What a ludicrous thing to say.”
“Sophie, he left over an hour ago.”
“What do you mean, ‘he left,’ Richard?”
“He packed up a few things, got on his horse, and rode off.”
“Richard, don’t be cruel,” Christine admonished and then grabbed Sophie’s hand. “Come with me.”
Sophie followed Christine down the hall and into the library. “What’s going on?”
Christine closed the door. “Jamie went on an errand.”
“What? He didn’t say anything about an errand.”
Christine sighed. “He was supposed to, but he must have been side-tracked.”
“Well, what do you know of it, then?”
“I can’t tell you. Just know that he’s coming back.”
Sophie crossed her arms. “I already figured he was coming back.”
“Good.” Christine smiled. “Let’s have dinner.”
Sophie reluctantly joined the rest of the group for dinner, although, she picked at her food. By seven o’clock, Jamie still hadn’t arrived. By eight o’clock, she was frantic. Richard left and Michael and Nona went to visit with some friends, so Sophie retreated back to the library.
At nine o’clock, Christine came in to check on her. “Sophie, I think we should turn in.”
“I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep.”
“I understand but you need to at least try.”
Sophie reluctantly followed her up the stairs and once she was free of her stays, she climbed into bed. She tossed and turned for what seemed like hours, finally falling into a fitful sleep. Christine woke her early the next morning and they went downstairs for breakfast.
“I really thought he’d show up during the night. I swear, Christine, I’m going to kill him,” Sophie snapped.
The butler came in and whispered something to Christine. She got up and walked outside, telling Sophie not to go anywhere. Christine rushed back into the dining room a few minutes later and grabbed her hand. “Sophie, you have to come outside now.”
“What? Why?” Sophie asked.
“Just come and see.”
Sophie walked out on the porch and almost passed out. Jamie stood in the front driveway of the house. Gathered around him were dairy cows. Ten of them.
“Jamie?” Sophie asked cautiously.
“Good morning, sweetheart.”
“What are you doing?”
Jamie met her on the porch and went down on bended knee. “Sophie Jane Wellington Ford, you are my ten-cow woman. Will you do me the honor of marrying me—again?”
Sophie stood before him, tears streaming down her face. “Baby. Yes! Absolutely.”
Jamie lifted her into his arms and kissed her. “I love you.”
“I love you, more.” She laughed and cried at the same time. “How did you do all this?”
“I called on Mr. Powell, the farmer who took care of me when I first got here. He let me borrow the cows. It took a relatively short train ride to get to the farm, but a little longer to get back here. And I have to return them tomorrow.”
“You scared me to death!” She punched his arm.
“Sorry. It was harder than I thought to wrangle…they kept getting separated. A cowboy – I am not.”
She laughed. “You really didn’t have to do this, you know.”
“I wanted to make a statement.”
“Well, you certainly did that.”
Sophie pointed a finger at Christine. “I cannot believe you didn’t tell me.”
Christine shrugged. “I made a promise.”
Jamie leaned over and gave her a chaste kiss on the cheek. “And I appreciate it.”
Christine hugged them both and then made herself scarce. Miriam and Andrew joined them for dinner that evening. Everyone was in high spirits with the exciting news and much wine and champagne was served. After hearing the story of Jamie’s journey, Andrew graciously offered to help him return the cows the following day.
It turned into a late night, and Sophie was exhausted but couldn’t sleep with the excitement of the past few days.
Jamie found her pacing her bedroom floor when he snuck in shortly after midnight. He pulled her into his arms. “Hi.”
“Hi.” She lifted her head for a kiss. “How long will you be gone tomorrow?”
“Andrew is going to meet me here at four.”
“A.M.?”
“Yes. I’m hoping we’ll be home by dinner.”
“I can’t believe I have to watch you leave again!”
“I’ll be home before you know it.” Jamie kissed her again.
“You better be. However, since you’re here now…”
“Since I’m here now, what?”
Sophie unbuttoned his shirt as Jamie cupped her face and gently kissed her. She didn’t want gentle and proceeded to show him exactly what she expected.
They made love all night and fell asleep in each other’s arms. Jamie woke her just before he left. “Baby, I’ll see you at dinner.”
“I love you,” she said sleepily.
“I love you more.” He gave her one last kiss and Sophie fell back to sleep as he closed the bedroom door.
* * *
Waking at eight, Sophie dressed quickly and met Christine in the dining room. “Good morning.”
“Good morning. How did you sleep?” Sophie sat in the chair next to her.
“Better than you.” Christine giggled.
“I think we need thicker walls in this house,” Sophie grumbled.
Since the men wouldn’t return until later that evening, the girls decided to work at the hospital. Sophie felt much better, but she knew she needed to keep busy or she would pine for Jamie.
The women worked for several hours before calling it a day and making their way home. By dinnertime, Jamie and Andrew still hadn’t returned. Sophie was beyond worried, but Christine assured her that they were fine. They tried to kill some t
ime in the parlor since Michael and Nona had places to go and people to see and said not to wait up for them.
The girls once again chose music as their distraction. Sophie had Christine play “Amazing Grace” and “Star Spangled Banner,” both songs Sophie knew the words to. Singing became a problem when Sophie started to pace, so Christine stopped playing. “When you get to the pacing stage in your thought process, nothing else registers.”
Sophie didn’t hear her or even notice that the music had stopped; she just continued to pace up and down the parlor. Christine stood and made her way across the room. She sat on the sofa and picked up the book she had left there earlier. She knew she was in for a long night.
There was no way Sophie would go to bed until Jamie arrived home, safe and sound. Ten o’clock rolled around and they still hadn’t arrived. Sophie had chewed her fingernails to the quick, nearly worn a hole in the carpet, and made the poor butler hide with her constant, “Are they here yet?”
“Sophie, we should probably try and get some sleep.”
“I can’t sleep, Christine. Where are they?”
“It might have taken them longer than originally expected and they probably ended up staying at the Powell Farm,” Christine reassured.
“I don’t know.”
“Sophie, I’m sure they’re fine. Let’s turn in. We’ll leave the front door unlocked so that Jamie can get in.”
Sophie reluctantly acquiesced, and the two headed for their rooms. Sophie climbed into bed after watching out her window for over an hour in an effort to see them in the distance somehow. It took her another hour to finally fall asleep. Jamie came into the bedroom at three thirty and quietly got undressed.
“Where have you been?” Sophie whispered.
Jamie eased into bed and pulled her into his arms. “Sorry, baby. Andrew and I were ambushed on our way back. We were able to outsmart and outrun them but we had to take the long way around.”
Sophie sat up. “You say that like, ‘Andrew and I went down to the store to get milk’! What happened?”
“Rebels intercepted us. Luckily, we saw them before they caught up to us. I probably should have worn civilian clothes but I’m limited on what I have here, so I was in uniform. They fired at us, but fortunately, they had Civil War guns and not gangs in the hood guns, or we probably wouldn’t have made it back,” he said, trying to lighten the mood.
“SO not amusing. Where’s Andrew?”
“He’s downstairs. We thought it would be better if he stayed here tonight. Andrew’s a really great guy by the way. He reminds me a lot of Luke.”
“I know, right? That’s what I thought, too.”
* * *
Jamie watched the sun stream through the windows of the bedroom and turned to the sound of Sophie’s snoring. He’d never gone to sleep, and now he was too pent up to try. He slid from the bed as gently as he could, dressed, and went downstairs to check on Andrew. He found him in the dining room, already making a dent in breakfast.
“Good morning, James,” Andrew said with a mouth full of food.
Jamie laughed. “Do you not get fed much, Andrew? Good morning, by the way.”
Andrew smiled. “I only get fed when I come here. Well, I only get fed this well when I come here.”
“Yeah, Mary’s pretty phenomenal.”
Christine walked in a few minutes later and helped herself to breakfast.
“Where’s Sophie?” Jamie asked.
Christine raised her eyebrow at him as if to say, “Seriously? You expect me to know that?”
Jamie chuckled. “Never mind. I’ll check on her.” He ran up the stairs and opened Sophie’s door. She was still asleep, so he went over to the bed and leaned down to kiss her. “Baby, it’s time to wake up.”
Sophie groaned. “I don’t want to.”
Jamie poured some water from her pitcher into the bowl on the dresser. He pulled the covers off her and kissed her again. “Come on. Wash your face and make sure you put your breeches on under you skirts. I’ll meet you downstairs. You have ten minutes.”
“Breeches?” Sophie perked up. She jumped out of bed, splashed her face with water, and rushed to get dressed. She made it in record time, even though she had to have Betty help her with her corset.
When she arrived in the dining room, Jamie had already prepared a plate for her and gone to get the horses ready. Beyond excited, she practically inhaled her food. Jamie arrived a few minutes later to collect her. “Ready, baby? I have Gentle Ben outside for you.”
“Christine?”
“Hm?” Christine smiled, mid-chew.
“He’s your horse, are you sure you don’t need him?”
“Not at all.” Christine wiped her mouth with her napkin. “I’m taking the buggy this morning, which means I can use one of the other horses.”
Sophie gave a little squeal. “Thank you!” Jumping from her seat, she followed Jamie out the front door. “Hello, boy. Are you ready?” Gentle Ben, although just as large as Samson, was a warm blood and much calmer. His black coat shone in the sunlight.
Jamie laid his hand on her back. “Christine assured me he is sound and calm.”
“No wonder you’re letting me ride.” Sophie smiled.
“Do you need a leg up?”
“Yes, please. I’m not quite sure how I’m going to do this in these darn skirts. I wish I could have just left them off.”
Jamie helped her up, and after a few tries, she was able to get her leg over the saddle. She did her best to wrap the skirts in a way that wouldn’t interfere with her or the horse. Jamie then mounted and they took off towards the lake. He had put a few snacks in saddlebags so they could ride for longer, but he had other plans than just eating.
He grimaced when she shot him a look and then dug her heels in. Gentle Ben responded immediately. They flew over the beautiful green hills and valleys of the Wades’ property. As they were coming up to a fence, Sophie didn’t hesitate. She put Ben’s head into it and he jumped it with feet to spare. Sophie let out a holler and slowed him down to a walk. Jamie caught up with her a few seconds later. “You scared the crap out of me.”
Sophie laughed. “Oh, baby, that was incredible. You have no idea.”
They reached the lake but decided to walk the horses for a few extra minutes to cool them down. Jamie found a secluded area at the edge of the water and dismounted. He helped Sophie down and they led the horses to a tree nearby and tied them to a low hanging limb.
Jamie had secured a blanket to Sophie’s saddle, so she grabbed it and laid it on the ground at the edge of the water. Sitting on the blanket, she removed her boots, stretched out, and waited for Jamie to gather the food.
“Did you enjoy that, love?” He sat next to her and leaned down to kiss her.
“Are you kidding me? It was the most magnificent thing I’ve ever experienced. Well, since last night, anyway. Thank you for finding these.” Sophie indicated the breeches.
“My pleasure. I wonder if we should try and have some more made for you at some point.”
“I’d love that. Of course, underwear that I could wear under them would be a good idea as well.”
Stretching out beside her, he raised an eyebrow. “Oh? What are you wearing now?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know?”
“How about I investigate?”
“Under what authority, sir?”
Jamie reached over to pull her into his arms. “There’s a law called, I want to get into my wife’s pants. Of course, you are innocent until proven guilty. However, there is reason to believe you are in violation of section eight fifteen, code eighty-one.”
Sophie laughed. “I’m in violation of my birthday? Very clever.”
Jamie kissed her and kept kissing her as he unbuttoned her blouse. “No chemise baby?”
“No, too much clothing. Although, the corset’s scratchy without that extra layer. I wonder if I could design a bra in this century. It would be so much easier. You should have seen Betty’s reaction w
hen she saw I wasn’t wearing a chemise. She was mortified.”
“Mmm, but so unbelievably sexy.” Jamie went to work on freeing her body from the corset stays.
Sophie laughed and stood up, letting the corset slip from her waist and then pulling off her blouse.
Jamie sat up. “What are you doing?”
“I’m going for a swim.” Pushing her skirt from her waist, she went to work on her breeches. She waded into the water and swam to the middle to wait for Jamie. With a smile, he quickly undressed and swam out to meet her. He wrapped his arm around her waist and drew her into a tight embrace.
Sophie pushed away from him. “Up for a race?”
Jamie chuckled. “Always.”
The competition wasn’t a fair one. Jamie had been on the varsity swim team, and lapped her multiple times. Sophie met him in the middle and looped her arms around his neck. “I’m once again impressed, love.”
“Oh, you should be. I’m impressive.”
Sophie smiled. “I’m hungry, are you?”
Jamie gave her a quick kiss. “Yes, starved. Let me get out first.”
She nodded and waited for him to wade out onto the bank. He took a look around to make sure it was safe and then motioned for her to come out of the water. He had just put his pants on and grabbed the blanket to wrap around her, when they heard horses approaching in the distance. He grabbed her clothes and boots, and handed them to her in a bunch.
“Take these and hide Sophie, just in case they’re not friendly. They’re riding awfully fast, which makes me think they might be up to no good.”
Jamie pushed Sophie behind a small grove of trees next to the lake. She’d had the wherewithal to grab Gentle Ben and lead him into hiding with her. She watched as Jamie rushed to get his socks and boots on and her heart raced as the riders approached. Jamie had one arm in the sleeve of his shirt when he stopped. He glanced at her hidden behind the covering of a large boulder. She raised an eyebrow and he gave her an imperceptible shrug.
She realized he didn’t recognize the men.
His scowl of irritation also spoke volumes, so she ducked further out of sight. The men weren’t in uniform, and Sophie had no idea if they were friend or foe.
The Bride Price Page 24