by Kari Miller
She felt another surge of hope swell from within her and she could see that Henry saw that hope within her eyes.
“You’re a good woman and you deserve a life of happiness, Salvador will go to the ends of the earth to make that happen.” He concluded before taking her plate, standing up and stretching his back.
“Now My Lady, you must return to your chamber before Lord Salvador wakes up to find you missing.”
With that he held out his hand for her and helped her up.
“Thank you Henry for your company.” She smiled brilliantly at him and then to her chagrin let out an un-lady like yawn.
Henry chuckled and bowed over her hand and wished her a good night.
~
Salvador had indeed woken up to find his wife missing. Luckily he only had to wander to his window to find her. He could see her below, sitting with another figure but could not make out who it was through the shadows. He watched them intently and cursed his jealousy. Why couldn’t he trust her? Why couldn’t he accept that she was nothing like his Mother? It only appeared that she was in conversation with this other man and it looked harmless enough, only who was he? And had she planned this late night meeting? He had been reacting like a raging bull every time he suspected her of cheating on him and she had always turned out to be innocent. This time he would swallow his jealousy and give her the benefit of the doubt and allow her to explain before flying off the handle. He owed it to her.
When Katherine had quietly entered their chamber, he was already seated in front of the fireplace.
He watched her pause and then the look of confusion when she didn’t spot him in bed.
Then her eyes moved to the seating area where he was waiting for her.
“Salvador, I hope I didn’t wake you when I got up.” She said sheepishly as she made her way over to him.
She didn’t look guilty as she gave him a warm smile and settled into her chair.
“No Love, I’ve grown so accustomed to having you in my arms at night that the emptiness beside me stirred me awake.” He responded.
He inwardly cringed at the sound of the bitterness and accusation in his tone. He was trying to be a trusting husband.
“Oh” She whispered and then lowered her eyes. “I woke up and was hungry so I went downstairs to fix myself a snack.” She started.
He could understand that. Sarah had informed him that she ate very little breakfast and skipped lunch all together. Being that she slept through dinner, he would be surprised if she wasn’t hungry when she woke.
“I had slept for so long that I really didn’t feel like I could go back to sleep right away so I took my snack outside on the patio and relished in the night air.” She continued to explain.
Again he could see that as well.
He watched her as she covered her mouth with one of her dainty hands and tried to stifle a yawn. Then he wondered if she was going to tell him about the man. If she didn’t mention him, he most certainly would.
“Has Henry been your steward for very long?” She enquired innocently as she snuggled up to the arm of the chair.
Henry? Where did that come from?
“Yes. He was my Father’s steward and then followed me when I left home to become mine.” He answered flippantly as he started to get more agitated that she wasn’t coming out with the rest of her story.
“He’s a very nice man.” She said sleepily as her eyes began to drift close.
“I’m glad you approve.” He bit out.
Her eyes flew open and he could see her gazing at him speculatively with a frown on her face. It was probably in reaction to his tone, but he was beyond the point of caring.
“Who was he?” He finally bit out his accusation.
Katherine’s brows scowled and she suddenly looked more awake. Did he really want to know? Yes. Yes he did. He was not his father and would never turn a blind eye.
“What on earth are you talking about?” She asked with annoyance as she sat herself up more properly in her chair.
“Don’t play innocent with me, Wife. I saw you with him.” He growled out.
“With whom? When?” She asked with what appeared to be genuine confusion.
“Just now Katherine. Who were you with?”
God, he had to grip onto the arms of his chairs to keep himself from leaping across the space and shaking the truth out of her.
She was quiet for a moment and then saw the dawn of understanding cross her beautiful features. She didn’t even have to say anything for him to know she was innocent.
“I thought I just told you!” She exclaimed with impatience.
“Pardon?” Now he was confused.
“Henry! It turns out Henry was awake as well and he found me outside so asked if he wanted to keep me company.” She explained as though she was trying to reason with a child.
Of course, that’s why she was speaking of Henry. Curse himself and his jealousy. He had to give himself credit though because there was a time not so long ago he would have flown downstairs and pounded on his prey before asking questions.
“Are we good now?” She asked with a knowing smirk on her face as she stood up to stretch.
“Witch” he murmured as he stood up to join her.
Rather than going back to sleep right away, Salvador made love to her until the first signs of dawn shone through their window. By the time he let her sleep, it was time for him to get up and start his day.
Before exiting the bed however, he pulled back the sheets to uncover his wife in her naked glory and placed a gentle hand on her belly.
He stayed like that for a while, alternating between loving caresses with his fingers and kissing his unborn baby.
Although her stomach was fairly flat, he could feel the tightness of it that wasn’t there before. By the time he would get back from his trip, his wife would have a noticeable bulge – he couldn’t wait.
Chapter 27 - Time Away
By the time Salvador had left on his trip, Katherine was already thoroughly aggravated over the mid-wife. Jenna was a Negro woman in her mid-forties who was as round and plump as anyone Katherine had ever met. Jenna clucked her tongue at her if she even thought about going for a ride and force fed her when she didn’t feel hungry. Salvador instantly took Jenna under his wing and found Katherine’s annoyance endearing. He too was getting under her skin. He treated her like a child and reprimanded her when he thought she was overly exerting herself. Katherine wasn’t used to being idle and it didn’t help that she was more tired than usual and would practically yawn while trying to convince her husband and mid-wife that she was fit as a fiddle.
The day Salvador left, Katherine fell into a deep depression. She wanted nothing to do with anyone and the staff around her got so concerned that they were trying anything and everything to lift her spirits, even Jenna suggested she try to take some fresh air and possibly a short ride. Rachel and Angel had come to stay at her home while all the men were gone, which helped Katherine come out of her depression much quicker than she would have if not for them. Angel and Alex had broken the news to the Brotherhood that they too were expecting a child. Katherine was so excited that she would have her sister in law pregnant at the same time as her and that their children would grow up together. Rachel had confided that she and Charles were looking to adopt a child. Rachel would have been happy to choose a child at the orphanage, but Charles insisted that he wanted a new born. Rachel later confided that she was secretively grateful that he put his foot down about that.
The men had been gone for close to a week now and Rachel was thoroughly enjoying Angel and Katherine’s mood swings and sensitivities. Unfortunately, Angel’s morning sickness lasted much longer than Katherine’s and was ill most mornings. Angel brought her mid-wife as well who was a dear friend of Jenna’s. Katherine’s days were filled with friendship and laughter but it was when she retired to her chamber at night that she found the hardest. Most nights she cried herself to sleep and would wake up in the morning with Salva
dor’s pillow clutched within her arms. She wondered if he missed her as much as she missed him. If she was unsure if she loved him before, she was certain that she did now.
Today they had all decided to take a trip into Oxford and do a little shopping to take their minds off their men.
“You most certainly will!” Katherine heard Angel screech from the bottom of the stairs.
She could hear the frustration in her voice and wondered who had set her off.
As she hurried down the stairs she froze at the vision before her.
Angel had the doorman backed against the wall with the end of her carousal poking into the man’s chest. Both were red faced, Angel from anger and the Doorman from fear.
“What is going on here?” She heard Rachel exclaim as she hurried out of the library.
“He’s refusing to bring around our carriage! Can you believe the nerve?” Angel bellowed out and then stamped her foot in frustration.
“I’m sorry My Lady! Lord Salvador has left strict instructions to keep you safely on the estate!” He tried desperately to defend himself.
Katherine gasped and ran down the remaining stairs to stand beside Angel. The doorman would not even look her in the eye.
“Lord Salvador is not here right now and we are! Whose wrath would you rather deal with?” Rachel tried to reason while nodding towards Katherine and Angel, as if to remind him he is dealing with two hormonal women.
“I cannot disobey My Lord’s orders! Please do not be angry with me!” He pleaded.
“Children! What are you doing to this poor man?” Jenna cried out as she rushed into the room with a broom in hand. “Leave this poor man alone!” She continued as she swiped the broom at Katherine and Angel’s feet as if to brush them away.
“We want to go into town and he refuses to summon our carriage!” Angel defended herself as she backed away from the doorman and tried to avoid the broom.
“Hush child! Even if your husband was here he would not let you go into town un-escorted! What kinds of trouble are trying to bring down?” Jenna scolded her as she herded them into the library.
“But there are guards on the estate that we would have taken with us!” Katherine pitched in finally.
“Those guards are there to keep you in and everybody else out! Don’t think they won’t drag you ladies back into the house kicking and screaming! They value their necks just as that poor man back there does!” Jenna scolded them while shaking her finger at each of them.
“Charles never told me we would have to remain on the estate while they were gone!” Rachel commented out loud.
Angel gave out a screech of frustration and scowled at Yolanda as she joined them in the library.
“Jenna?” Yolanda inquired as she went to put her hand on Angel’s forehead.
“These ladies were trying to bully that poor doorman to bring them their carriage!” Jenna responded.
Yolanda gasped.
“Lady Angela!” Yolanda screeched.
“We are wives, not prisoners and this is unacceptable!” Angel growled out defiantly.
Meanwhile, Jenna had grabbed Katherine’s elbow and pulled her to the couch for her to sit. Katherine scowled up at her and then quickly looked away at the disapproving glare that Jenna gave her.
Katherine knew that Salvador would not approve and now that she thought about it, she was glad they had been stopped because she would not look forward to her husband’s wrath. She did however not understand why they were not permitted off the estate if they were properly guarded. For that he would be facing her wrath.
Rachel paced the floor in front of the hearth, scowling at the ground the whole time. Angel had finally quieted down and sat at the window bench and scowled out towards the gardens.
“How can they expect us to quietly stay here on the estate while they themselves are off on a fine hunting trip? It’s not fair!” Rachel bit out in anger.
“They’ll hear about this!” Angel pitched in menacingly. Katherine almost felt sorry for Alex.
“Until then, what can we do?” Katherine mumbled out as she stared at patterns in the carpet.
“Do they expect us to sit quietly and sew all day for a month?” Rachel continued on in her rant.
“We’ll go on a picnic at the pond!” Katherine suggested with enthusiasm.
“Yes! And we can go swimming!” Angel pitched in, sounding a little less frustrated and a little more hopeful.
“Picnic indeed! Hopefully our prison guards won’t object to that!” Rachel said bitterly.
“That sounds like a lovely idea.” Yolanda spoke up, continuing to lighten the mood.
“I’ll go have cook pack us something to bring with us.” Jenna said as she turned to leave, automatically assuming that she and Yolanda would be joining them.
“I’ll inform the doorman to let the guards know of our intentions.” Yolanda informed them as she exited the room.
All three ladies looked at each other in defeat.
“I guess we should dress appropriately then.” Katherine mumbled as she stood up and then sat back down quickly when a dizzy spell hit her.
Rachel casually strolled nearer to her but didn’t offer her help, knowing that Katherine would just get frustrated.
Although her morning sickness had passed quickly, her dizzy spells had not. Jenna was not concerned about them and said that it was normal for some women, but did warn her that she needed to sleep when her body told her to and rest more than she was. At first everyone would rush to Katherine and force her to sit or lay down whenever a spell would come on, but because they were over as quickly as they started, Katherine only got frustrated with all the coddling. Rachel and Angel were sensitive to that fact and made themselves available to her if she needed help but otherwise left her to her own devices.
All three women descended to their rooms and quickly changed to accommodate their new plans for the day.
By the time evening came, all of them were exhausted from lying in the sun and playing in the water. Yolanda and Jenna scolded them to no ends that they were going to catch their deaths if they continued to swim as long as they were, but they were having so much fun that they ignored them.
They each ate their dinners like they hadn’t eaten in days and then retired to the library where Yolanda read them a short story while the ladies sat back and drank their tea.
When the story was done, they all climbed the stairs and retired to their own rooms. This was the part that Katherine always dreaded.
~
Salvador tried to occupy his mind by counting the stars. Every fifth star he found his mind wandering to his wife. All the brotherhood had been miserable for the past few days. The married ones missed their wives greatly, Simon finally broke down and admitted he was head over heals over his new love and Peter and Ed worried about leaving the women alone for so long.
Salvador remembered back to that last night that he had spent with Katherine. He had meant to make sweet gentle love to her, but as the hours ticked closer to his departure; his gentleness had turned into frantic desperation. Katherine had clung to him as though she never wanted to let go, even now he could still feel her hands upon his skin. He thought that he knew what despair was while growing up, but in reality he had no clue. They had only been separated for a week and he felt a restlessness inside of him growing the further away they sailed from her.
The captain had approached him earlier that day and quietly told him that his pacing was making his crew nervous and that his brothers were equally frightening. Salvador had tried to calm the beast within him, but it was taking everything he had to not bark the orders for them to turn the ship around. He overheard Peter and Ed going over their worries that maybe they hadn’t assigned enough guards to the women and Peter worried that when the women learned that they were to remain on the estate that they would rebel. They didn’t know that Salvador stood outside their cabin and could hear and feel their worry right down to his bones. He felt that he was doing his duty as
a husband by ignoring his fears and allowing the ship to sail on. He had voiced his concerns with Charles, being that he was the most rational of the bunch, but Charles assured him that they were well guarded and this trip was for the good of all of them. Simon had walked in while they were discussing this and he pitched in that if they turned around now, they would just have to plan to make this trip at another date and all of this would have been for nothing. Salvador saw the logic in that but it didn’t make it any easier.
They also worried about leaving their business affairs in other people’s hands for so long. They all had trust issues and had never been away from their business affairs for such a long term. This – they supposed – was the real test.
Captain Roberts had also informed them that they were sailing into a storm and it would probably be upon them by morning. He implored them to get as much sleep as possible and to not forgo their dinner that evening.
Salvador could hear the rumbles in the distance and the sounds of the crew bringing everything that wasn’t bolted down below deck and closing up the kitchens.
Dawn was quickly approaching and still he had not slept a wink. His mind refused to quiet down and his muscles kept tensing for flight.
Just the thought of Pennington catching wind that the entire Brotherhood was at sea while their wives were back at the estate made his skin crawl, and there was no doubt that he would find out. They had anticipated that he would possibly send Captain Sebastian out to greet and sink them while they were all together, so they had the Enchantress sail from port with only Ed and Peter visibly on deck and then circled around to pick up the rest of the brotherhood in the next town from their private dock where most of their smuggled goods were off loaded. Pennington was used to seeing Peter and Ed sail on the Enchantress and would not think too much of it, however word would eventually spread that the remainder of the brothers had not been spotted in town and that their business partners were running the show. Pennington would decide from there what to do. It would be too late to send Captain Sebastian after them and the route that they were taking was not the route that they had logged at the pier. Hopefully that would keep Captain Sebastian well off their trail as they sailed back into port.