“No, Caitlin. I’d always come home to you.” He had a sudden urge to give her the necklace, but held back. It would wait until Christmas. Maybe it would cheer her up. Once he cleaned it, maybe the letters would reveal to whom it belonged. Wouldn’t it be serendipity if it had once been Tansy’s. Unlikely, however. The box was not from the 1700s. Probably someone had used it as a treasure box, hid it and forgot about it.
“This is a house made for a family with lots of children,” Caitlin said, gazing into the fire. “I hope Tansy found someone else to love, to share the farm with. Do you think she did?”
Zach couldn’t get too worked up over a couple who had been dead for almost two hundred years, but he could see Caitlin was truly upset by her discovery. What could he do to take her mind away from it?
“I’m sure we’ll find out. It may take a bit of time, but we’ll find the answer. We can’t do anything until after Christmas.”
“I know. And it’s probably silly, but I thought for sure I was going to read that Jonathan showed up in time for Christmas. I was counting on it,” Caitlin said sadly.
His wife liked happy endings. He only wished she saw one for them.
Dinner was easily prepared and quickly eaten. Caitlin had little to say. Zach didn’t push her. But he did watch her, conscious of the comments she’d made earlier about them not knowing each other well. They’d been married for six years, but he would never have expected this reaction to reading a two-hundred-year-old diary. He’d picked it up and scanned the last few pages. The death announcement was stark. Maybe seeing it written down had been the final straw for the young widow.
Or maybe she’d gone on to write a dozen more journals and they’d been lost or scattered over the years. He hoped they’d be able to find something out at the local historical society. Williamsburg prided itself on its history, surely the society would have some information.
When they’d finished, Caitlin put a small plate of cookies on the table. “I should take some to Mrs. Watson, don’t you think? If they hadn’t come over today, who knows how long we’d have been stuck in the cellar.”
“Take them tomorrow. It’s pitch-black outside and treacherous to boot with the snow.”
“Actually that’d be better. Tansy mentioned in her journal how they visited neighbors and friends on Christmas day. We’ll be following an old tradition.”
Zach could think of a new tradition he’d like to start. He rose and began to clear the dishes. Washing up took very little time. When they were finished, Caitlin looked lost.
Suggesting they go back to the living room, Zach found the Christmas records and put them on.
“Dance with me, sweetheart,” he said, drawing her into his arms.
For a long time they danced to Christmas carols. She was sweet and soft in his arms. She made no move to end their closeness. Feeling bold, Zach began to give her soft kisses—first on her hair, then her forehead, moving down to her cheeks, and then capturing her mouth.
Caitlin sighed softly and encircled his neck, kissing him back.
“Come spend the night with me, Caitlin,” he said softly.
She pulled back and gazed up into his eyes, hers soft and dreamy.
“I love you, Zach,” she said.
Taking time to bank the fire, turn off the Christmas lights and shut off the record player, Zach leashed his impatience. He wanted to make love to her right then and there, but he wasn’t some teenager unable to control himself.
In bed, all night long, was better.
Hoping she wouldn’t have second thoughts, he raced through the tasks and then walked with her up the stairs, fearing every step she’d change her mind.
“We only have the present,” Caitlin said. “No one can see into the future. Would Jonathan not have gone to fight if he’d known he’d be killed? Would Tansy have married him if she’d known they’d have such a short life together?”
“Hush, Caitlin. It’s in the past. Didn’t the journal say they were happy?”
“Tansy missed him so much. I knew how she felt.”
“I’m home now, sweetheart.” Zach drew her into his arms and kissed her again. She responded almost feverishly. He started to ask where, but decided for the bed he knew was large enough for both of them. The door to his bedroom stood open. It was cooler inside without the warmth of the fire from living room. But he had no doubt they’d warm up quickly.
Slowly they moved toward the bed, hands touching, lips kissing, the soft sighs and rustling of clothing being shed the only sound in the silent night.
The sheets were cool but momentarily. He eased her down and followed quickly.
“Oh, Zach, I love you,” Caitlin said, reaching eagerly for him.
Chapter Ten
Had last night been a mistake? Slowly coming awake in the still dark morning, Caitlin took stock. She was wrapped in her husband’s arms. She felt cherished and well loved, but confused. She’d clung to Zach during the night, afraid of losing him as Tansy had lost Jonathan. Yet hadn’t she considered all the changes she needed to make?
Being with Zach clouded the issue. She tried to turn him away that first night. If he’d gone, things would be different. But he’d refused.
Now they’d made love again and she had to admit how much she loved her husband. Together she felt whole, as if some missing part had been restored.
Frowning, she wished last night had never happened. It would be doubly hard to bid him goodbye now. She’d psyched herself up and all her arguments had fled like the wind when he kissed her. Would this change the dynamics of their marriage? Would he finally realize how much being together meant to her? She could counter all his objections, if he’d only give them a chance.
Caitlin slowly slipped out of bed, snatching up her clothes and heading for the bathroom. Time to get up and dressed and start breakfast. And think about a different future than she’d planned when she arrived at the old house a few days ago.
When she left the bathroom a little while later, Zach was leaning against the wall of the hall, wearing jeans and a loose shirt. He smiled when he saw her, leaning over to kiss her.
“Good morning. Why did you get up so early?”
“I wanted to start breakfast,” she said. It sounded like a poor excuse. She wasn’t brave enough to tell him how confused she was. He’d pounce on her uncertainty and get concessions from her before she knew what she was saying. She needed to be careful, and make sure she knew what she was doing with her future.
“Make a big one, I’ve worked up an appetite.” He kissed her again, then stepped around her and entered the bathroom.
Caitlin stood still for a few moments, relishing the embrace, fleeting though it had been. Her heart raced, her skin felt warm. For two cents, she’d join Zach in the shower.
“Which would be totally dumb,” she told herself. Putting yesterday’s clothes in the laundry basket in her room, she headed downstairs. She went into the living room and turned on the lights. The sky was lightening, but remained overcast. It had stopped snowing with more than eight inches on the ground.
When she leaned over to plug in the tree lights, Caitlin saw two wrapped boxes, one larger than the other. She realized with a pang it was Christmas morning and she had not gotten Zach a Christmas gift! As his work could take him anywhere around the world at anytime, she’d had not bought anything due to the difficulty insuring the packages would reach him.
Yet there was the proof he hadn’t forgotten her.
She tried to think of something she’d have that she could wrap and give him, but nothing came to mind. She’d have to confess she hadn’t bought him anything.
How sad would that be for Christmas?
Would he see her turning away similar to his mother? He’d lived with his mother’s second family for nine years, but each year was more unhappy than the one before. He’d told Caitlin once how he’d felt like an outsider always looking in. And now she was going to make him feel like an outsider again. She’d bought presents fo
r Abby and her family, even some of her friends. But nothing for her own husband.
What kind of woman was she?
Not that she would have minded yesterday or the day before. It would help cement her decision. But after last night, dare she hope things would be different? Maybe they could find common ground, find a way to have Zach work closer to home, or at least come home more frequently.
There was nothing she could do about it. She’d have to make it up to him in other ways.
Caitlin prepared a large breakfast of eggs, sausage, grits and toast, with orange juice and coffee for beverages. The last piece of toast popped up as Zach entered.
“My mouth is watering,” he said, coming over to her and kissing her neck. “And not for the food.”
She smiled and leaned against him for a moment, savoring the intimacy. She’d missed him when he was gone. She’d never get enough. “Eat, then we need to talk.”
“Do you know how much I hate that phrase—we need to talk? It’s never good,” he said.
“What do you mean?” she asked as she served their plates and carried them to the table.
“It usually means a time to bring up bad news.”
“Not this time. At least I don’t think so. Sit down and eat.”
“And then we’ll talk, I know. So we remain silent during breakfast?”
She giggled and shook her head. “No.” She sat and looked at him, biting her lip. “I’m sorry I need to tell you I didn’t get you anything for Christmas. I didn’t know you would be home.”
“No problem. Actually the present I got you can be for both of us,” he said easily.
“Oh.” She gave a soft sigh of relief he didn’t seem hurt. “Well, then, if you’re not upset.”
“No, Caitlin. After last night, I’m not at all upset.”
She smiled in shy delight.
“I have a ham I want to bake for dinner. I thought we could eat around one o’clock, if that suits you. Then later in the day we can take the cookies to Mrs. Watson.”
Zach nodded.
His cell phone rang.
Caitlin groaned. “Not on Christmas!”
“It won’t take long.” He rose and left the room.
Despite last night, the scenario was familiar. Nothing had changed. Caitlin finished her meal alone, watching as his grew cold.
She cleared her dish and ran water over it, setting it aside until he finished and she'd wash all the dishes at one time. Taking her coffee, she headed for the living room, passing Zach who paced in front of the window in the dining room.
“Not what I want to hear, Sam,” he said as she walked through.
She started a fire, settling back on the sofa and sipping her coffee. Even though it was Christmas, she could still look through other boxes in the cellar for another journal. Or even for the family history her aunt had accumulated. If the Historical Society was open in the morning, she’d try there as well. She hoped they weren’t closed until after New Year.
Zach joined her sometime later.
“Sorry about the call, Caitlin. It was important.”
“Your breakfast got cold.”
“Still delicious.” He stood near the tree, hesitating.
That was unlike him. Caitlin always thought of him as charging right in. Was he about to tell her he was leaving?
Stooping, he swept up the two boxes and joined her on the sofa. “Two for you. Merry Christmas, Caitlin.” He leaned over and kissed her gently.
Offering the larger box, Zach sat back to watch her open it. He hoped after last night she’d be glad to get the filmy nightie. He hadn’t been able to resist when he’d seen it in the window of a shop in the London airport.
“Oh my goodness.” Caitlin held up the sheer gown—it was pale eggshell-blue, with lace at the top and bottom, and lace shoulders. “It’s beautiful.”
“You’ll be beautiful in it.”
She looked at him with a hint of mischief in her eyes. “Let me guess, this is the one we’ll both like.”
He nodded, watching warily for any hint she was changing back into the freezing woman he’d found when he arrived. But she was as warm and close as she’d been last night.
“Thank you, Zach.” She leaned over and gave him a sweet kiss.
“Want to model it now?” he suggested.
She laughed. “No. I know what will happen and I have to get dinner started before too long. The ham will take a while to bake.”
“Later then, for sure.”
She nodded, gently folding it and replacing it in the box.
“This isn’t really from me,” he said slowly, offering the smaller box. “I found these in the carriage house but thought they’d make a nice surprise.”
She took the box, feeling something slide inside. Opening the paper, she lifted the lid.
“Oh.” A gleaming gold locket lay on some tissue paper beside two gold coins. Gently she lifted the necklace and held it in her hand. The locket was oval, about an inch in length. Initials had been engraved on the front with fancy curlicues.
“It’s Tansy?” she asked, tracing a J and T. “Is this Tansy's locket?”
“I thought of her when I found it. Jonathan and Tansy. It could be their initials, the engraving is so fancy it’s hard to tell. Anyway, the locket looks old. Check out the fastener.”
“It was in the carriage house?” Caitlin asked, lifting it gently, letting the delicate chain slip through her fingers as she gazed at the locket itself.
“In a metal box with those gold coins and a couple of Confederate coins. My guess is someone hid their treasure to keep it out of enemy hands and forgot it was there. Or maybe something happened to the person and no one ever knew what happened to the box. It wasn’t buried very deep. I dislodge some dirt when I tried to move that carriage and found it.”
“It couldn’t have been Tansy, then. She would have died long before the Confederacy,” Caitlin said. Slowly she opened the locket. A small curl of brown and black hair was tied in a faded ribbon, nestled in the tiny center of the locket.
“Or it was hers and passed down in your family,” Zach suggested.
Caitlin touched the hair. “Whose, do you think?”
Zach looked at it for a moment. “Maybe both of them. There are two different colors there. Try it on.”
Caitlin closed the locket, undid the fastener and presented her back to Zach, holding the ends in her hands.
“Fasten, please.”
He brushed away her hair, fumbled with the unfamiliar connector, feeling her warmth radiating to his fingers. When it was hooked, he kissed the soft skin of her neck, moving around to her cheek as she turned to face him, ending at her mouth. It was a long time before Caitlin rose to check out the locket in the mirror.
“Thank you, I love it. And if it's from Tansy, maybe it's a sign I'll find out the rest of the story. Wouldn't it be something if it were hers?”
Zach sat in the kitchen as Caitlin began preparing their dinner. She said she could manage everything when he offered to help but would like the company. They still hadn’t had that talk she’d mentioned earlier. Maybe he should open it up with his news.
“My call this morning was from Sam Miller, head of programming for the network,” he began.
“And he wants you in some hot spot ASAP,” she said without looking up.
“Actually I was getting feedback on my request for a stateside assignment.”
She turned at that, staring at him in disbelief. “What?”
“I don’t know if they can accommodate me. But I put in the request.”
“You love your job.”
“I’m not letting a job come between us. If it comes to the choice of my marriage or my job, I choose you.”
Her face lit up. Zach felt his reaction like a kick. His desire flared. It was all he could do to keep from getting up and dragging her over to the table to make love with her again right then and there.
“That’s wonderful. What would you do? Oh, Zach, this
is the best present I could get.” She wiped her hands on the towel and came over to give him a kiss. “You’re really going to stay where it’s safe? You’ll be home a lot more, right?”
“Nothing’s settled yet. But if they don’t come through, I’ll look for another network. I’m good at what I do. There have been other offers over the years. I’m sure I’ll get something.”
“There have?” She hadn’t expected that, he could tell. Maybe he shouldn’t be so forthcoming. But the comment she’d made about their not knowing each other rankled. He wanted to change that.
He’d never entertained moving from foreign reporting, so hadn’t bothered to tell her when the offers had come before. Another mark against him. Caitlin was right, they weren’t functioning as a married couple. That was going to change. If she’d forget her stupid idea of divorce, he’d do what he could to be the husband she wanted.
“One or two,” he said casually.
She looked at him for a moment, then pushed away and went back to the food preparation.
Zach knew he’d blown it. He should have kept quiet about other offers. He spotted the cradle over to one side. Another topic he’d have to address sooner or later. Why had she fallen in love with that cradle? Maybe if he stayed home from now on, they could do enough together she’d forget having a baby.
“While the ham is baking, we could look again in the cellar for more journals,” Caitlin suggested.
“If you want. This time we’ll take flashlights,” he said.
They spent most of the morning going through boxes near where Caitlin had found Tansy’s journal. Nothing turned up. They moved deeper into the cellar, finding clothing from long ago. There were old shoes, the leather hardened and cracked. Another box had paper from early in the twentieth century.
“No sense in saving all this…it’s all totally ruined,” Caitlin murmured, as she rummaged through the mildewed pages.
“Clearing out this space is going to take longer than we have,” Zach said. It looked to him as if the job would take a month of steady work.
The Christmas Locket Page 11