“Joseph, I understand that your country is at war, which means that people will die, but that shouldn’t stop you from making new friends. I would like very much to become your friend, and if I’m not being too bold, perhaps to be a pen pal as well.”
He didn’t know what to say. He couldn’t tell her he was not an ordinary Marine. Ordinary Marines would like letters from home from anyone who would write, but he didn’t know if he would even get her letters, or his family’s, for that matter. Finally, after a long moment, he said, “I’m not in a position to receive regular mail, but if you’ll give me your email address, I’ll try to contact you when I’m able; then you will have my email address. As of now, I don’t even have one.”
“I would like that very much. Then, if you do write to me, I will reply.”
She had one of the sweetest smiles he’d seen in a long time. How could he resist?
“Well, I have exactly eleven days before I have to fly to San Diego, so I suppose spending a little time with a new friend won’t hurt.” His mouth turned up in a sly, teasing grin. …At least I dearly hope a new friendship won’t hurt me…or her.
“Georgiana, if you would like to help me with my job here, why don’t you hold the ladder? When I’m finished with this tree, I’ll be done for the day. We’ll drag the limbs over to that pile I’ve started and burn them. After that, I’d like some tea and scones. How about you? Or would you prefer hot chocolate? Grace makes wonderful Peruvian hot cocoa.”
“I’d like that very much.” She reached to stabilize the ladder while he climbed and began to cut the dead limb he’d started before she’d interrupted him. After the twigs and limbs were all burned, they put away the tools and walked back to the farmhouse for refreshments.
~*~
Over the next few days, they spent every day together. Georgiana and Joseph often walked out across the lawn and toured the winter gardens. The pansies had seen better days, but the crocus and grape hyacinths were beginning to peek through the frost-covered ground.
Georgiana surprised Joseph at how quickly she took to farm life. She was always finding ways to make herself useful. He would accompany her to the hen house where she gathered eggs. The look of wonder in her eyes when the hens cackled, announcing their great achievement—their magnum opus, an egg for the day, was priceless. And several times he’d had to rescue her from an aggressively territorial Bantam rooster, who, after the third offense, became chicken and dumplings for Sunday dinner.
In between spending time with Joseph, Georgiana spent her days in the kitchen. Aunt Lori and Grace taught her how to make butter and sour cream and how to bake bread. She would often help with the meal preparation, which she appeared to enjoy. Grace taught her to crochet, and when not in the kitchen or out on long walks or rides with Joseph, she could be found by the fireside, working on a little lace doily. By the end of the week, it was finished. She showed it to Joseph with great pride. He laughed, telling her how pretty it was.
In the evenings, they would sit and watch movies or read to one another from the vast collection of books available for their pleasure, including the history journals. In fact, they spent many long hours ensconced in the library with tea or hot chocolate and a blazing fire in the fireplace.
Always the perfect gentleman, Joseph showed her the utmost respect. He didn’t even kiss her. Hence on his last day, while strolling in the garden, Georgiana did the unthinkable. She reached up and kissed him. Shocked at first, Joseph didn’t know what to do, but then he did what any red-blooded American guy would do—he kissed her back.
Drawing away from each other, Joseph spoke first. “We shouldn’t have done that, Georgiana. Friends don’t kiss like that. Perhaps…if I were not in the midst of a war, but I…” His voice trailed, full of sorrow and regret. It would be hard to leave in the morning.
“Well, Joseph, I understand your position now, and it doesn’t matter to me. Please, do write. And yes, I know, friends don’t kiss like that.” She smiled warmly.
Chapter Twenty-five
…I’m no fool…
David had returned from South Carolina the previous week, feeling no better than when he’d left. He and Georgiana were to spend a few more days with the newly married Darcys before flying back to England. Sitting on the veranda, sipping a cold drink, his mind was alerted to his sister’s return from the farm.
As Georgiana pulled into the drive in Elizabeth’s car, David rose from his seat and approached his sister.
“Let me carry those for you,” he said, bending down to pick up her bags.
“Thank you, David,” she said as they walked up the walkway. “So, how was your time in South Carolina?”
“Quite good, actually. I attended to some business and did a little shopping whilst I enjoyed the pleasant scenery.” …Pleasant scenery indeed!
“Well, I’m glad you enjoyed your time away. I had a lovely time on the farm. We baked bread and made butter. I helped gather eggs, cook meals, and took lots of long walks over the grounds.” She chuckled merrily as she glanced up. “I even learnt to crochet. I’ll have to show you the cute little doily I made.” She paused for a moment as David looked on. “You know, David, I think I might enjoy living on a farm someday.”
“I’m glad you enjoyed yourself. Long walks and fresh country air are very good for you. I believe your complexion is a little rosier,” David teased, knowing full well what his sister had meant.
“You look better, too. Much more content and relaxed. Your week in South Carolina did you good as well.” She opened the door for him as they walked into the house.
David drew in a sharp breath. He didn’t want to tell his sister he hadn’t actually spent the entire week in South Carolina. She would ask questions—questions he didn’t want to answer. Sighing inwardly, he wished he could be more like his sister and brother. He envied the warmth they demonstrated and wished he could feel the same.
Elizabeth, having heard part of the conversation between the two, excitedly added, “Oh, yes, South Carolina is wonderful, especially Charleston. That is my favorite city in the entire South. I especially like downtown Charleston, and I love the food.” Turning to catch her husband’s hand as he approached, she continued. “Fitzwilliam, I must take you there sometime. You will love the charm of the old city.”
…I see Elizabeth shares my view of things. If she only knew…umm…charm…yes, charming is one way of looking at her. Charleston is not a subject I want to discuss.
“Yes,” David interjected, “I quite agree. Now, do you have any plans for dinner, or would you like to dine out? I noticed there is a nice little Mexican restaurant just outside of town. What do you say? It looks like it might be good, and we need to give the newlyweds a break from cooking.” David turned to Elizabeth. “How would that be?”
“I think it’s an excellent idea since we had already decided to go out tonight. Mexican food sounds great!”
“Then it’s settled,” Fitzwilliam asserted.
David hoped this restaurant was at least better than the others he’d tried in this small town. Elizabeth had warned him that the South was known for its ‘greasy spoons,’ and after eating at Chester’s Barb-B-Que, Daisy’s Country Diner, and Catfish Corner, he believed it.
After dinner, they returned to the townhouse. Elizabeth and Georgiana settled on one of the sofas in the front parlor while David went with Fitzwilliam to his study for a brandy and a cigar and then out to the back porch to sit and talk. Lighting his cigar, Fitzwilliam asked in a lighthearted manner. “You’ve not had the chance to tell me about your Lamborghini. How do you like it?”
“I love it!” David beamed. “I picked it up in Germany just before coming here and took it out on the Autobahn. It’s a dream to drive. She’s exotic. Sleek, fast, and luxurious. Perfect. Tight on the turns with steady handling.”
“That good, huh?" Fitzwilliam chuckled, watching his brother’s animated features.
“That good and more,” David gloated. “The Murciélago
’s manners are peerless. It meets all of my expectations and more. It’s incredible. True to the specs, it will hit zero to sixty in 3.4 seconds. It’s the fastest car I’ve ever driven, brutally powerful! I got a top speed of 225 mph with an occasional blue flame coming from the twin tailpipes.”
“Hmm…next time I’m in England, I want to drive it. If she’s as good as you say, I may have to have one.”
“Oh, I know you will. At 225 mph you can barely feel the road. In my opinion it’s the best car ever made. When I’m behind the wheel, I’m in complete control. She purrs like a satisfied woman.” David chuckled as he lifted his drink to his lips.
Fitzwilliam laughed in return. “Ah yes, a satisfied woman. There’s nothing like a fast car or a beautiful woman.” Fitzwilliam looked at his brother and tilted his head. “Speaking of women, David, you really should reconsider the married state. Find a woman to love and marry her. I highly recommend it. I don’t know when I’ve been happier or more content as I am at the present. Even my work is more fulfilling.”
David smiled while he lit his cigar. “Yes, I can tell you’re happy by that foolish grin you wear, but I don’t think I could find your contentment in marriage. I haven’t your good nature. I’m too hard-nosed, too cynical. Most women bore me to death when they open their mouths and speak. Although I am getting somewhat tired of playing around. When the first thrill is over, I just want to get up and leave. If I ever do find a woman who is my equal, as you have, I might consider it, but so far there has hardly been anyone who stimulates my mind long enough for me to stay interested for a long-term relationship,” David said, and then added, inaudibly, “Except for maybe one.”
Fitzwilliam looked up sharply. “What did you say, David?”
“Nothing, I was talking to myself, that’s all.” David puffed his cigar, looking off into the expanse of his brother’s garden.
“I could have sworn you said something about possibly one.”
“No,” David smiled, “you misunderstood.”
“Well, I thought I heard you say something, but it doesn’t matter.” Fitzwilliam shook his head, smiling at his brother as he took a sip of brandy. “Anyway, David, let me give you a piece of advice. Your problem is that you’re looking in the wrong places. You don’t find the kind of woman to marry and settle down with in the places you go. Stop looking for the quick pick up. Look for someone who has a little more significance than a one or two night affair. Surely you have met someone who is more intriguing, captivating, or mentally stimulating.”
“Well actually, there is someone that I have seen more than a few times, but I don’t think it will go anywhere. I’m too much the unsettled type, and she’s too much the shrew.”
“Oh?” Fitzwilliam raised a brow. “Who is this woman, and where exactly did you meet her?”
David laughed softly. “Her name is Cecilia Lawton of Lawton & Co., and I met her in a boardroom of all places. I had to negotiate with her for that blasted coffee contract Father wants so much. You remember—the one he lashed me over at Christmas.”
Fitzwilliam smirked, “How could I forget it? He ranted over it for days.”
“Well, he wants it, and for good reason. It’s the best coffee in the world, organically grown and certified by the Rainforest Commission, and Lawton either owns the coffee plantations outright or at least the rights to them. Nobody gets a contract arrangement to their advantage with her. Father should be grateful. I’m the only one to have ever broken even.” He cast his brother a mischievous grin. “I think it’s because she might like me.”
…Hmm…I wonder about this. “Tell me about her,” Fitzwilliam said. “She sounds interesting.”
David paused for a moment, staring into his brandy. “You might not think so when I tell you.”
“Why’s that?”
David’s jaw hardened as he peered out into the night. “She’s known as the ‘cold hard bitch,’” he said in a whisper as he took a large gulp of his drink. “She’s a stunner with long blonde hair, beautiful violet-blue eyes, and long, shapely legs, among other things, but she goes through men like a fish glides through water.”
…Oh…I don’t like the sound of this. She sounds too much like you.
“I got the coffee deal because I wouldn’t play her game. I told her what I would pay, and I meant it. She smiled and agreed, and then she asked me to dinner.” David paused for a puff on his cigar. “I later escorted her to her private penthouse suite at the Lawton Hotel,” he glanced at his brother, “a five star hotel which she also owns.”
“What happened next?”
David chuckled. “She invited me in for a glass of wine. I could tell she wanted me to stay, but I had no intentions of a one night stand with her.”
“David, since when did you not want a one night stand with a pretty girl?” Fitzwilliam asked, very much amused in this subtle change in his playboy brother who, to the best of his knowledge, had never turned down a pretty woman.
“Since I met someone who’s more of a shark than I am,” David said with a smile. “The thought of being used by her is more than I want to think about.”
Fitzwilliam laughed again, shaking his head. “Well, continue your story. I’m intrigued by this woman and your reaction to her. Tell me more.” …David just may have met his equal.
David softly laughed as he took another sip of brandy. “I told her I don’t have affairs with business acquaintances. I said that it was very unprofessional of her to even suggest it.” He glanced at his brother and smirked. “It must have shocked her, making her furious, because she threw what looked to be an antique vase at me as I was preparing to leave, barely missing my head whilst I was about to open the door.”
Fitzwilliam leaned in towards David. “I’m afraid to ask, but what happened next?”
“Well, I smiled, bowed politely and told her goodnight. Then I walked out.” He shrugged. “That incident occurred a little over one year ago, and, as you know, Father wants that coffee contract renewed every year, so I must renegotiate annually.” Blowing a ring of smoke into the night air, David continued. “But after one year, I’ve gotten to know her a little better. She’s not as bad as I first assumed. In fact, I found out the reason why she’s so cold-hearted.”
“Why’s that? Tell me about it, I’m keenly interested.”
“Well, from what I’ve heard, her father took his little girl everywhere with him, to his card games, the horse tracks, even to parties. He even kept mistresses, and kept them with his little girl, all living in the same house. She grew up loyal to him, but cold to everyone else. And when he died, she inherited it all. Mr. Lawton was much like our father, except he was a little more open about it. And I do think his daughter was more important to him than we are to Father.”
“Where was her mother when all of this was taking place?” Fitzwilliam took a sip of brandy, intense curiosity creasing his brow. “What was their relationship like to have allowed such behavior?”
David sighed. “I was told her parents fought bitterly, and when Cecilia was seven or eight, her mother died.”
“That is indeed sad, and I can see how it might have a profound impact on a little girl, but you say you know this person a little better. What exactly do you mean? I hope you’re not being pulled into this woman’s snare?”
David chuckled and shook his head. “I do know her better, but I’m no fool! God help any man foolish enough to fall for her. Like her father, the preservation of Southern history and tradition are important to her, although she couldn’t care less what the top circles of society thinks. And I have to admit that she not only stimulates my mind, but she entices me in a carnal sense as well.”
“Oh, David, this doesn’t sound good. Should I be worried? I don’t think you need this type of entanglement.”
“No, Fitzwilliam, I am a man, but as I said, I’m no fool.”
“Be careful, Brother…be very careful. Your pride and your inability to resist a pretty face will be your downfall. I can tell sh
e turns heads. Just don’t let it be yours, and I mean that in more ways than one.”
Fitzwilliam only shook his head as he looked at his younger brother. David was holding something back. Fitzwilliam suspected this Southern Belle did more than stimulate and entice him. She drew him in like a moth to a flame. David had always been driven by his lower passions rather than his good sense when it came to beautiful women, and Fitzwilliam suspected this incident was no different. Snuffing out their cigars, they rose from their seats and walked back into the house to join the ladies.
~*~
That night, while trying to find sleep, David’s mind drifted back to the woman he’d left behind in South Carolina. As he lay there reliving their most recent encounter, he wondered if he would have the strength to ever pull completely away.
As much as he tried to suppress it, the look on Cecilia’s face when he had surprised her in her office kept resurfacing in his thoughts, haunting him. He knew what he should do, but as More than a Feeling played through his mind, he knew he had yet to decide. A small struggle had taken form in his heart the morning he’d left Charleston. No, that wasn’t true. It had taken form from the first time he’d gone out with her over a year ago, and like a match set to a dry, parched land, it threatened to erupt into a raging fire.
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