“We searched the water through the drifting fog. Thinking that we wouldn’t find them, but there they were bobbing up and down in the water with the current threatening to overtake them. Gillian held onto the unconscious Zachary. We hurried to the lower embankment and tossed the rope to them, reeling them in.
“Even with all Gillian’s heroic attempts, it looked as if Zachary would succumb to his death anyway. But again, the angel of the night came to the rescue and breathed life into him.” Here Ellery deliberately paused. He took a sip of his champagne and watched over the brim of his glass as if to see how the people of the room responded to his tale. The crowd turned to her. She blushed at their admiring looks. Ellery smiled smugly and continued, “I for one am still baffled why Gillian would risk life and limb to save Zachary. He can be such a dour person at times.” Ellery teasingly grinned at his childhood friend. “The best thing, he has ever done in his life was to marry this angel of the night." He lifted his drink. "Hold on to her, my friend. She'll save your soul, dear boy." He purposely emptied his glass as if he had made a toast.
Zachary spoke though it was barely above a whisper, "She already has."
Gillian’s gaze riveted to his, but before she could decipher what he meant by his comment, he had turned away.
"Come on, this is a party. Enjoy yourself.” Zachary had spoken loud and clear for all to hear.
Gillian could still make out the murmuring of a few as they talked about her heroic deed. The doubt was not there, only respect thanks to Ellery.
***
Violet Ellsworth made her grand entrance: Her gown sweeping around her in a stream of lavender. She didn't wait to be introduced. Once her gaze landed on Zachary, she headed straight toward him.
Ellery intercepted. "Violet my girl, don't you look lovely tonight." And indeed, she did. Her dress fit her slim figure perfectly. Her reddish hair actually sparkled in the light with her ringlets falling loosely down her back. Unfortunately, her pretty face held a definite scowl, ruining her refined and delicate appearance.
"I'm not your girl," Violet snapped. "So kindly move out of my way."
"Tsk, tsk. You better pull in your claws." Ellery took her arm and intentionally moved her in the opposite direction of where Zachary and Gillian were standing. Under his breath, while all the time smiling sweetly, he threatened, "You behave yourself or—"
"Or what?" she said with contempt and tried to wiggle free from Ellery's grasped.
"You'll leave me no other choice than to escort you home."
"You can't do that," she stated with more confidence than she felt.
"I can, and I will, even if I have to drag you out kicking and screaming. This is a party for my best friend and his wife."
"Your best friend, the heel was supposed to marry me. Not some street urchin," she cried.
Ellery put a comforting arm around Violet and led her out onto the verandah. "I know you feel like you have been wronged, but think about this, will you? Did Zachary ever say he was going to marry you?"
"Well… he… he…" She stomped her foot. "No, he didn't exactly say he would, but I assumed it. Why did he allow me to hang around if he was never going to marry me? That woman in there bewitched him, is what.” She pointed behind her as if she was fingering the accused for trial. “I know Zachary still loves me."
"He proclaimed this to you?"
"Of course, he did! How dare you!" Violet lifted her hand to slap Ellery, but he grabbed her arm. "Unhand me you cad," she seethed, her eyes flashing with anger.
Ellery let go of her arm and she pushed him aside. “I refuse to take any more abuse from you Ellery Livingston.” She started back into the house, but stopped at the entryway when Ellery called to her.
"Just remember what I said: Behave yourself or suffer the consequences.”
Violet’s back stiffened, but she didn’t turn around. Without a word, she gracefully sashayed back into the house.
After dinner, the men congregated to the far side of the room. They were busy arguing over politics. Ellery stood on one side of the group discussion and Zachary stood on the other. They nodded to each other and the plan was put into motion.
"So who is placing a bet on the impending race between the Natchez and the Robert E. Lee?" Ellery opened the floor for the flood of comments.
"That race will never go," Daniel said.
"Yes it will,” old Mr. Hickson argued. “Those two captains have had a feud going between them since the moment they ended their partnership.”
“They'll race," another piped in.
"I for one tend to agree with you." Cyrus nodded toward Mr. Hickson. "I bet the Natchez will win, too. It has already proven to beat the J.M. White's record, once. I don’t think Cannon can push the Robert E. Lee that far."
Zachary couldn't have been happier. Cyrus was falling right into their plan. It was time for him to contribute to the conversation. "Would you care to make a little wager, Cyrus?"
Cyrus chuckled. "A wager, is it? Do you mean to bet on which steamboat will win?"
"Sure why not. You seem quite confident that Leathers’ steamboat will win. I for one think it will be Cannon’s."
"I have no intentions of betting."
"You, Cyrus,” Zachary jibed. “Frankly, I am shocked. I would have thought you being the gambling sort that you already placed your bet.”
All eyes swung toward Cyrus. The men knew Cyrus had his hands in the recent and most popular gambling events. Surely, he had not failed to enter this one.
Cyrus’ lips flattened into a fine line and his eyes narrowed. “Why is it Mr. Creighton that you feel the urge to place this wager?”
Zachary shrugged. He didn’t want to push and appear desperate. “No reason other than it may prove entertaining.”
Cyrus’s brows arched in amusement. “Indeed.” He leaned forward in his seat. “How much?”
Zachary had him where he wanted him. "Money was not what I had in mind. How about we make this interesting. You have something that I want."
Cyrus let out a short laugh and shook his head. "Surely you don’t mean Creighton Manor?"
"That's exactly what I mean.” Zachary met his gaze head on with the challenge.
"Even if I were to agree with such a ludicrous request, what do you have to bet against it?"
“It's not what I have, but what I will do. If I lose, I will never enter another gambling event you’ve entered. I will stay clear."
Cyrus’ brows lifted in surprise. "Never? You'll never enter a game I'm in?"
"That's what I said," Zachary confirmed.
“To be rid of you from the games would be like having a rotten tooth finally removed.” Cyrus held out his hand. "It's a deal. Be ready to change your career, my boy.” Zachary took Cyrus' hand and shook it. The deal was made and all in the room had heard, binding Cyrus to his word.
Zachary spotted Gillian in the doorway. He knew she had witnessed the handshake and that Cyrus had accepted the deal. If what she claimed came true, he would win and she would have to make her choice: To stay married to him or not. His brow furrowed. What if she decided to end the marriage? He should have never bet with her, not when he had a chance of losing.
***
It was time for Tyler to go to bed. In between yawns, he insisted he wanted to stay up a little longer. "I’m not sleepy." He then rubbed his side with a grimace.
"What's wrong?" Gillian asked.
"My stomach hurts a little," he complained.
"Too much food, I believe." Zachary had walked up to say goodnight. "Come on. A good night's sleep and you'll feel better in the morning. I’ll take him up to Dora,” he told Gillian. “Go back to the party. I won’t be long.”
Gillian kissed Tyler goodnight before Zachary escorted him upstairs to where Dora waited for him.
After Zachary left Tyler with Dora, he headed downstairs. He stopped midway down when he spotted Violet leaning against the railing looking up at him. Hmm, what did she want? She smiled, but he didn�
�t trust her in the least. “Hello Violet.” He reached the bottom step.
"Hello Zachary.” She placed her hand on his.
His eyes narrowed and he pulled his hand away.
“Now don’t be cross. I wanted to apologize in private about the other day. You know when I slapped you," she purred as she leaned her body closer to him, backing him up against the wall.
"Apology accepted.” He tried to move around her, but she put her hand up to block him.
"Don't go or I'll scream." Her lips curved but the smile didn’t reach her eyes.
"What do you want, Violet?" He looked at her face that held no compassion and wondered why he ever thought she was beautiful. All he could think about was staying as far away as possible from her and her tiresome games.
"I want you, Zachary." She pressed her body against his. He tried to sidestep her advances, but she grabbed his lapel and yanked him toward her. She kissed him savagely, drawing blood as she bit his lower lip. He pulled away ready to tell Violet that she was out of line, but he was stunned into silence as he caught sight of Gillian standing there at the archway. Her green eyes flashed from hurt to anger in a matter of seconds.
“Gillian.” Before he could go to her, she turned away, running back into the other room.
This time, Zachary successfully pushed Violet away, his curt voice lashing out at her. "Don't ever try that again. Do I make myself perfectly clear?"
"Perfectly," she bit out, her eyes narrowing to slits.
"Good. Now I do believe you know where the door is. I suggest you use it." With that, Zachary left Violet to fume. He had to find Gillian and explain what had happened.
“Zachary, where are you going?” Lotti detained him. She dragged him into a conversation with Mrs. Hennely and he couldn’t easily break away without seeming rude. Finding Gillian would have to wait for the moment, but it didn’t stop him from scanning the room for her.
***
Gillian escaped to the verandah, hoping for privacy, while she tried to pull herself together. What a fool she’d been to believe Zachary might carry some affection for her. She was nothing more than his possession, a trophy to parade around. She tried not to cry, but a sob escaped her lips.
"What's this about?”
She whirled around startled that she wasn’t alone.
Ellery emerged from the darkness holding a drink. He walked up to her and leaned forward to peer at her face. “You’re upset.”
"It's nothing.” She tried to turn away, but he gently held her chin, turning her toward him.
"I see tears. I know tears mean something is amiss. Tell me what's happened. Maybe I can help." He removed a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to her.
"Thank you," she said dabbing the wetness away from her eyes.
Ellery gave her a few moments to compose herself. "What did Zachary do?"
"What makes you think Zachary did anything?" He gave her a look that said he knew better. "Okay, so it is Zachary." She sniffled and sighed heavily. "I just caught him kissing his old girlfriend in the hall."
Ellery raised a brow. “Zachary kissed Violet?"
"Yes. Isn't that what I just said?" She couldn't help it. The image of Violet’s arms around Zachary made her eyes well up again. Damn it, she shouldn’t care.
Ellery put his drink down on the marble stand. He pulled Gillian into his arms. "There, there don't cry. There must be a logical explanation."
"I know what it is," she sobbed into his chest. "He's still in love with her."
"That simply is not true."
"How do you know?"
"Because my dear, he was never in love with her in the first place."
"Then why was he kissing her?" She huffed.
"I don't know but I plan to find out." He gently cradled her. “We’ll clear up this little misunderstanding.”
"I don't know why it should even bother me. It’s not like we married each other because we fell madly in love. Besides, Creighton Manor is all the man truly cares about."
“I would have at one time believed this to be true, but now I don’t think so. I also believe you are not being honest with your feelings.”
“What do you mean?”
"Listen, did you ever consider the reason you’re bothered by the thought of Zachary caring for Violet is because you’re starting to care for him yourself? Maybe you’ve fallen in love with him."
At first, Gillian didn't answer as the thought flitted across her mind, but then she shook her head in denial. "No. That's not possible. No, absolutely not," she insisted more to convince herself.
"Aah. The lady doth protest too much, me thinks," Ellery elegantly quoted. “If you would only admit you were, all this could be resolved. You’re in love with Zachary and despite Zachary’s foolishness with Violet; I know my friend is in love with you.”
***
Zachary walked out onto the verandah, his eyes landing on Gillian and Ellery locked in an embrace. Pure anger raced through his veins as he clenched and unclenched his hands. To think, he was going to apologize and explain what had happened in the hall. He had been such a fool, but now it was all too clear why Gillian wouldn’t return his affections; she wanted Ellery.
Ellery turned his head catching Zachary’s glowering mask of fury.
Gillian felt the change in Ellery's hold. Lifting her head, she followed his gaze. With a quick sharp breath, she quickly moved away from Ellery.
"No, don't stop,” he told them. The sudden thin chill hung on the edge of his words. “That was really very touching. Don't let me interrupt."
Ellery approached him. "Now listen, this isn’t what you think this is."
"Oh, really? Are you telling me my eyes deceive me? That I have not just witnessed my best friend betraying me with my wife."
"Now wait a minute. I'll not have you insult us when you were the one in the wrong."
"Me!" His eyes darkened like angry thunderclouds.
"Yes, you. You're worried about your wife's transgression, when only moments ago you were in the arms of another. Your wife was out here crying. I was only comforting her."
"Oh, I just bet you were.”
“I’ve had enough of your insults for one night.” Ellery huffed.
“I’ve had enough of you!” White-hot anger made Zachary lunge at Ellery. Both men fell to the ground determined to teach the other a lesson.
"This cannot be happening. Stop it!" Gillian cried, but the two men paid her no heed as they lashed out at each other.
***
Lotti had noticed Zachary appeared anxious. She watched him escape to the verandah as if he looked for a place to hide. As soon as she was able to, she excused herself. She wanted a word with him. She wouldn’t put up with him sulking tonight.
Once she stepped outside, she saw the look of horror on Gillian's face. She followed her gaze to see the two men rolling around on the ground. "What in the world.” Lotti had seen enough to be thoroughly disgusted with their unseemly behavior. Without even thinking of her safety, she stepped close enough to use her cane. Not too hard, but enough to draw their attention, she hit each one on the head. "Stop it this instance. Stop it, I say.” Both men immediately ended their assault. They sat on the ground, rubbing their heads and staring up at Lotti as though they were chastised children.
Zachary had a cut lip and Ellery’s left cheek already looked swollen. "What in the name of heaven is going on?" Lotti demanded to know.
"He started the whole thing with his insults," Ellery accused.
"Hell and damnation!" Zachary exclaimed and that cost him another crack on the head from Lotti.
"Watch your mouth." With both of them silent, she continued, "I'm ashamed of the both of you, grappling on the ground like a pair of wild animals. I don't know what the two of you are fighting about, and frankly, I don't care. If you both have failed to notice, there is a party going in there. It's in honor of your marriage, Zachary. And you, Ellery, you are supposed to be Zachary's best friend. So, I would
appreciate it if you two would behave yourself and act like the gentlemen you were brought up to be.”
Both men stood and glared at each other, the silence between them a thin line that could easily be crossed if one wrong word was voiced.
Zachary pulled out his handkerchief and dabbed his lip. In the meantime, Lotti went over to Gillian and put a comforting arm around her. "You’re shaking, dear," Lotti said, as she led her back into the house.
Ellery didn’t intend to stay at the party a moment longer. "Next time, you decide to take out your frustrations on someone make sure you know all the facts. You need to make up your mind, Zachary. You can't have both Violet and Gillian.”
Ellery then stormed back into the house and out the front door, slamming it behind him.
When Zachary came back in, all eyes were upon him, wondering what had transpired that the ever good-humored Ellery would leave in such a huff.
After the spectacle, the party didn’t last much longer. Gillian was grateful for she felt physically drained. She tried to smile and carry on a conversation with the women, but she found her heart wasn’t in it.
When she could finally retire for the night, Dora came in the room and helped her out of the beautiful, party dress. Then Dora wished her a goodnight, leaving Gillian by herself.
She pulled back the comforters and crawled into bed, but she couldn't sleep. She thought about what Ellery had said to her. Was she in love with Zachary? It had to be true, didn't it? Why else had she been so upset that he had been kissing an old girlfriend? She turned over and slammed her fist into the pillow. He could have at least had the decency to meet Violet in private and not display his affections at their marriage reception of all things. How humiliating!
She rolled over and stared at the ceiling. What did she expect? She told him she wouldn’t return his affections. She told him if she were able to return to her time, she would go. However, she was still here.
"That's it!" She'd lay down the ground rules. When he won the bet with Cyrus Locke, he could move into Creighton Manor with Violet. However, until then, he had to promise to behave as though this marriage was the real deal.
She sat up and threw off the covers with determination. There was no time like the present to confront him. She jumped out of bed and put on her robe and slippers. She quietly opened the door and poked her head out into the hall. It was dark and silence greeted her. Everyone must have settled down for the night.
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