Suddenly Jeff’s arm swept around her waist, and she was dragged back against a long, muscular body where she was snugly imprisoned by an encompassing arm. His hips and thighs formed a chair for her buttocks as his free hand moved over the tempting curves of her body. “Now I have you, wench.”
Raelynn was nearly frantic. “Please, Jeffrey, don’t throw me out into the deep water. I’ll go under for sure, and what will all the servants think when they see me with my hair dangling wet around my ears? They’ll be suspicious, for sure.”
“Never fear, my love,” he breathed, nibbling at her ear. “I just want to hold you again for a while. It isn’t often that I get to see you stripped bare in the full light of the sun.”
Laughing in relief, Raelynn jabbed him in the ribs with an elbow. “Beast! What you really wanted was to see me panic.”
“Aye, I like the way your breasts bounce when you’re trying to run through water,” he teased with a chuckle. “But I really would like to teach you how to swim. . . .”
She stiffened apprehensively. “Jeffrey Birmingham, if you throw me in, I’ll never forgive you.”
“I don’t intend to, madam. Just lean back and relax in the safety of my arms,” he coaxed. “I won’t let you go until you know how to float on your back. Then I’ll see about teaching you how to swim.”
“My hair will get wet,” she fretted aloud.
“We’ll sneak into the house when no one is looking.”
Relenting, she leaned her head back against his shoulder. “You can be very sly when you want your way, sir.”
“When I want you, my love, I can be downright devious,” he breathed, nibbling at her ear.
Cautiously she gave herself over into his supporting arms and allowed him to hold her as she floated on the surface of the water. Jeff’s grin became increasingly lecherous as he perused the sights. Never before had he seen such a delectable view, two ripe melons and an island of reddish brush floating in a calm sea beneath a bright sun. Until now, the like of such scenes had been strictly evoked in dreams, not right beneath his very nose. It was not to say, however, that he hadn’t indulged in a few fantasies of his own creation in his lifetime.
It wasn’t long before Raelynn actually began stroking through water without aid. Jeff hovered near for the sake of safety, at least until he realized the fair skin was taking on a pinkish cast. Then he began scrambling toward her in anxious haste.
“We’d better get you dressed, madam, or you’ll be howling your head off in pain. I only hope it’s not too late.”
“Call a carriage,” Raelynn groaned, feeling weighted down by iron bands as she waded out of the water. “I don’t think I can get back into the saddle again for a whole month. My backside definitely feels as if it has turned to stone.”
Jeff swept her up into his arms. “No need for a carriage, madam. I’ll drape the quilt across in front of me to provide some cushioning for you and take you home on the back of Stargazer.”
Raelynn smiled contentedly as she pressed her brow against his cheek. “You can attend me, sir, anytime you wish to.”
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
Raelynn was already wincing by the time they arrived home, but not necessarily from the aftermath of the sun, rather from the hours she had spent in the sidesaddle. She refused to call Tizzy to help her bathe, envisioning the shame she’d suffer once the girl became aware of her problem. Without a doubt, every part of her was tinged beyond her normal fair coloring. Thus she relied upon Jeff to assist her. He did so tenderly, first bathing her in tepid water, rubbing a soothing balm over her skin, and then, afterwards, massaging her aching muscles and the bruised posterior.
“I suppose this means I won’t be taking you to the Sunday social,” he mused aloud in droll humor as he plied her backside with a cooling ointment. He fought a battle to subdue his laughter. “By then, you should be able to pass as a brown-skinned Mohican or perhaps even a toad with all the freckles that are bound to appear. You know, you should probably resign yourself to the fact that your once flawless skin won’t ever be the same.”
Jeff could restrain himself no longer, and his laughter burst forth as if with a will of its own, prompting Raelynn to toss a glare over her shoulder. “Jeffrey Birmingham, you’re making light of all this, despite the fact that I’m simply mortified by my present predicament. I can neither stand, sit, nor lie down with any reasonable comfort, and yet you’re guffawing like you’ve never seen anything funnier. Believe me, sir, if I had my wits entirely together, I’d find some way to leave your chambers and seek seclusion in mine.”
“Preen your feathers, my pretty dove,” he cajoled, leaning near to nuzzle her cheek. “I’ll still love you no matter what color you are or how spotted you may get.”
At that, Raelynn seized a pillow and swung it with all her might into the grinning face of her husband who stumbled back in uproarious mirth. Diligently she tried to curb her own amusement, but it slipped out until she was laughing as hard as he. Never had the house rang with such merriment before, but Jeff had every hope and expectation that in the months and years to come, there would be much more of it to nurture their hearts and minds.
6
IT WAS A VERY PROUD JEFFREY BIRMINGHAM WHO escorted his fetchingly garbed wife through the doors of the church and into the pew where Heather, Brandon, and their three-year-old son, Beau, were already seated. The young tike broke out into a wide grin when he espied his uncle and quickly scooted around his mother and Raelynn in his haste to climb onto the elder’s lap.
“Unc’ Jeff, yo’ wanta see my frog?” the youngster whispered confidentially, his blue eyes searching the face above his own as he thrust a small hand into the pocket of his linen jacket. “I gots it hidden where Mama can’t see.”
Clasping a hand to the boy’s back, Jeff leaned forward and grinned at his sister-in-law, whose expression grew increasingly perplexed as she tried to determine just what was going on. She recognized that particular gleam in her brother-in-law’s eyes only too well; she had seen it numerous times. Mischief was brewing, she had no doubt.
In the next instant, her sapphire-blue eyes widened in horror as her son thrust a frog beneath his uncle’s nose. To make matters worse, it croaked rather loudly, drawing the attention of the whole congregation. Twittering laughter quickly erupted from the onlookers who, in amused curiosity, craned their necks to see what would follow. Seeing the need to intervene, Heather promptly readjusted her lace shawl in an effort to conceal her child-bearing state and sought to push herself to her feet.
By now, Brandon had become apprised of the situation and, laying a large hand upon his wife’s arm, gently urged her back into the pew. “Never mind, love,” he soothed with a soft chortle. “I’ll take care of the frog and our son.”
After making his way around the front pews, Brandon approached the end of the bench where his brother sat with the boy. He leaned near Jeff’s ear to whisper, “I should let you handle this matter since you’ll probably be needing practice in the not-too-distant future.”
“Shouldn’t I be instructed by example first?” Jeff inquired mutedly through a grin as the other lifted Beau from his lap. “I’ll grant you, there’s a lot to learn, but you should be an expert by now.”
Brandon offered him a grin. “If this next one is a girl, I’ll have to start learning all over again. Hatti swears boys and girls are as different as day and night.”
Reflectively Jeff pursed his lips until he nodded. “That’s good to know. Just think of the confusion it would create if we weren’t able to tell male from female at birth. Life would certainly prove boring after that.”
“Dear brother, I wasn’t referring to the differences in our anatomy,” Brandon corrected with a pained grin. “I was talking about dispositions.”
The younger flicked a forefinger back and forth between the two of them. “You mean the difference between our personalities?”
Brandon heaved an exaggerated sigh. “Has any
one ever told you how exasperating you can be?”
“Well, as a matter of fact, you have, on a regular basis.”
“Obviously my complaints have never settled down into that hard head of yours,” the elder quipped.
Jeff grinned puckishly. “Are you talking about mine?”
“Who else’s, Wart?”
Held in the child’s tenacious grasp, the frog croaked all the way down the aisle, drawing applause and hilarious laughter from nearly everyone who was aware of the happenings. Raelynn giggled behind a handkerchief and glanced aside at Heather who could only smile and shake her head.
Once order had been restored, the service began with Reverend Parsons making an effort to appear unaffected. He cleared his throat and glanced around until silence prevailed. “We’ll be singing a hymn now,” he announced with a measure of calm, “but before we do, I would suggest that the one who was making an effort to sing, kindly restrain himself so the rest of us can find some enjoyment in the song. I’m afraid he sounded like an ol’ bullfrog.”
Uproarious laughter filled the church as Brandon muttered jovially, “Amen!”
Once the sermon had been concluded and the congregation was dismissed, folks began gathering outdoors. The elderly Mrs. Abegail Clark made her way across the yard with the help of her long parasol, which she used primarily as a walking cane.
“Jeffrey Birmingham,” she called, commanding his attention, “I’m dreadfully put out with you for not bringing your lovely bride over to my house and making us acquainted. And here I thought you loved me.”
“Oh, I do, love, I do!” He swept off his top hat and placed it over his heart as if to swear an undying truth. “You’re the light of my eyes, the nurturing warmth of my heart. . . .”
“Fiddledeedee, you young whippersnapper!” she retorted with a chuckle and lifted the tip end of her cane to indicate Raelynn. “Now introduce us before I grow even more vexed with you.”
Gallantly Jeff swept her a courtly bow and performed the honors. “My lady, may I present my lovely wife, Raelynn, to you and all others within hearing distance.” He faced the beauty at his side and smiled into her eyes as he took her slender hand. “My love, this feisty dowager is Abegail Clark, an old friend of the family. She all but adopted my mother, Catherine, while she was still alive.”
Raelynn sank into a gracious curtsey before the elder. “A pleasure, madam.”
“Nay, girl, the pleasure is all mine,” the elder assured her kindly. “I’ve been waiting some years to see who this young gallant would choose for a wife, and though I’ve heard rumors of the difficulties you’ve had to face since your arrival, it’s obvious you’ve weathered them amazingly well and have come through no worse for them. May I extend a fond welcome to the Carolinas, my dear, and a blessing that God may watch over you and keep you safe and happy through a long and fruitful life.”
Taking the initiative, Raelynn stepped forward and gently pressed her cheek against the one that had grown wrinkled through the years. “Thank you, Mrs. Clark. I shall hope that I prove worthy of your expectations.”
Mrs. Clark hurriedly blinked at the tears that gathered in her eyes and, upon clearing her throat, glanced around to find herself in the midst of the Birminghams, one and all. Eagerly she stretched out a hand to Heather, drawing the younger woman quickly forward. “So good to see you, child. It has been a couple of weeks since you were last here. I was afraid you might be suffering some difficulties with the child you’re now carrying. Have you been well?”
“Oh, yes, of course, Mrs. Clark,” Heather reassured her, smiling radiantly. “Beau had a slight fever last week, that’s all, and of course, you heard about the commotion the week before.”
“Mr. Fridrich, you mean.” The older woman clucked her tongue in distaste. “He’s a brute, that one.”
“Thanks to him, none of us got any sleep until everyone was at home safe and sound. Once the ordeal was over, we could hardly hold our eyes open.” Heather cast a mischievous glance toward her handsome husband. “Reverend Parsons would surely have thought bullfrogs had invaded the church if Brandon had started snoring during the service.”
Her husband’s jaw descended forthwith in a fair imitation of one who had been shocked out of his senses, evoking the laughter of his family and friends. “Madam, I protest. You accuse me unjustly. I don’t snore.”
Heather rolled her eyes in feigned disbelief and, lifting her hand before Mrs. Clark, measured off a degree by bringing her thumb and forefinger slowly together. She cringed in mock fear as Brandon stalked near, but she quickly burst into giggles as he caught an arm about her shoulders and, with a growl, threatened to take a bite out of her slender nape, much to the hilarity of those who watched.
“Unc’ Jeff,” Beau said, leaning his head far back and squinting up at the tall man. “Will yo’ help me catch ‘nother frog? Pa made me turn the other one loose so’s I could go back inta church.”
Jeff passed his hat to Raelynn and, bending down, swooped the youngster into his arms. “Maybe your pa will bring you over and let you look for one in the pond near my house. You can catch plenty of them over there, but you must promise me that you won’t bring them into church again. They like ponds and the outdoors, and that’s the best place to keep them.”
“But they’ll get ‘way from me out there.”
“It wouldn’t be hard to catch another . . . anytime you want to. Promise?”
The boy lifted doleful, black-lashed blue eyes to his uncle. “Guess so, Unc’ Jeff.”
A sudden realization struck Jeff, and in some astonishment, he looked past the boy’s head, claiming his brother’s attention. “Beau has blue eyes! But I thought they were . . .”
“Green?” Heather queried, stealing the word from his mouth. She laughed and, turning her head slightly, peered at Jeff saucily from around the brim of her bonnet. “They’ve been blue for more than three years now. I thought you’d have noticed by now.”
“But they were green, weren’t they?”
Grinning, Brandon thrust out his chin, indicating his fetching wife. “I swear she talked to the fairies and coaxed them into changing the color of Beau’s eyes. If you’re satisfied with the way you look, you’d better watch her tricks. Next thing you know she’ll be turning yours blue.”
Heather grinned contentedly as she faced Jeff. “I wouldn’t dare tell your brother that he was mistaken about the color.” She wrinkled her nose and playfully winced as Brandon snorted like a cantankerous bull. “Truth is, babies’ eyes have a way of changing in the first year. What we thought were green eyes were just blue ones in the making.”
The Birminghams and Abegail Clark laughed in hearty amusement at Heather’s simple logic. As she glanced around at the cheerful faces that surrounded her, she shrugged girlishly. It was the tantalizing little grin she wore that prompted Brandon to dismiss the fact that they were standing within full view of nearly the whole congregation. Drawing her near, he bestowed a kiss upon her suddenly gaping mouth.
Hurriedly pulling away, Heather glanced around in some embarrassment to find several, normally beady-eyed spinsters now gawking in astonishment. “Brandon, people are watching. Behave yourself.”
Nevertheless when Brandon cast a smile toward the trio of old maids and drew her back with an arm about her shoulders, she leaned against him with a grin that was nearly dazzling. Her compliance certainly caused the three onlookers to raise their brows and glance knowingly at each other.
As for Raelynn, she had found the show of affection between her in-laws quite refreshing and felt led to slip her hand within Jeff’s as she lifted a loving smile to him. No words were exchanged as his eyes searched hers, but had he asked, she would have found explanations beyond her ability. She was just simply glad that she was part of the Birmingham clan.
IT WAS TOWARD THE END OF SEPTEMBER WHEN THE final fitting for Raelynn’s ball gown was scheduled to take place. Knowing that Nell would be working at Farrell’s shop, no doubt with her new so
n in close proximity, Jeff utilized every precaution within his capability to prevent a confrontation between the young seamstress and his wife. Thus, he did the only sensible thing a gentleman could do under the circumstances and that was to set aside some time to escort Raelynn to the shop himself rather than merely having Thaddeus drive her in. Upon their arrival, he was greatly relieved when he learned that Nell had asked for the day off to run errands. He could only hope that she would decide to leave the area for good. As much as the idea might have distressed her, he never wanted to see her again.
Men were not allowed in the fitting rooms, a fact which left Jeff nearly champing at the bit as he waited for Raelynn to reappear. A whole wardrobe of clothes and other accouterments had been ordered for the fall season for her, and he began to chafe at the prospect of having to bide his time through many tedious fittings, especially since he seemed to be the only male customer on the premises. He was definitely surprised and relieved when Raelynn came out garbed in the shimmering ball gown. As he watched with a feeling of awe, she seemed to float across the room toward the mirror to which Elizabeth had directed her.
“Close your mouth,” Farrell advised with a grin as he came to stand beside Jeff. “And for heaven’s sakes, man, pick up your jaw.”
“Beautiful!” Jeff breathed, seemingly in a daze as his eyes swept down the length of her.
“Of course,” the couturier replied and proudly polished his nails on his lapel. “I designed it.”
Jeff pointedly arched a brow as he gave his friend a sidelong stare. “I meant my wife, Fancy Man.”
Farrell shrugged nonchalantly, never losing his affected aplomb. “Well, that’s true of her, too, of course. In fact, it’s hard to say which is lovelier. Nevertheless, your wife’s beauty has definitely been magnified by my creation. She has the kind of form that would complement a shroud. She’s tall, slender and moves like a dream. . . .”