A Season Beyond a Kiss (10 page)

“You’re fortunate, my friend, to have Elizabeth working for
you
,” Jeff assured the man, a slow grin making its way across his lips. “You ought to consider what disaster would befall you if Elizabeth ever decided to accept some gentleman’s proposal of marriage.”

Farrell looked aghast at such a notion. “Don’t even mention such a thing, Jeffrey! I’d be ruined.”

“Then I’d advise you to consider what you’d be willing to do to keep your talented assistant beneath your wing, my friend. Who knows when a handsome gallant might sweep her off her feet and steal her from you?”

Farrell’s brow quirked above a menacing glare. “You need your mouth cauterized with lime, Jeffrey me dearie, and I’m just the one to do it.”

Tossing back his head, Jeff laughed in hearty amusement. It seemed that he had gotten his point across very effectively.

4

“Oh, please, Jeffrey. You’ve given me so much as it is. I don’t need costly gems when I have you for a husband. Let’s just walk for a while and look into the shop windows. I haven’t done that since well before my father was arrested.”

Gallantly Jeff swept a hand toward the boardwalk stretching out ahead of them. “Your wish is my command, my lady.”

They strolled along the street, pausing often to accept greetings and good wishes from neighbors and friends who had been acquainted with Jeff for a considerable length of time. In the midst of these strangers, Raelynn was relieved to find at least one familiar face. Upon espying them, Thelma Brewster had hurried out of her millinery shop with a vivacious smile.

“Oh, don’t you two look as delicious as icing on a cake,” the woman trilled. “I haven’t seen hide nor hair of either of you for nigh these two weeks past. Indeed, when I saw you going into Mr. Ives’s shop, I almost marched myself over there to visit with you, just to find out what has happened since we last parted, but alas, I had customers at the time. Through the grapevine, I heard that you had gotten married. Nearly fainted away in shock, I did, but of course, it was the wisest thing to do, considering all the gossips in town, and the two of you being such a good-looking couple and all.”

“In view of your prudent advice, Mrs. Brewster, I deemed it favorable to take Raelynn as my wife,” Jeff informed her lightheartedly. “You were right, of course. Oakley has ceased to be the lonely place that it once was. I’ve never been happier.”

Chortling, the woman clapped a hand to a plump cheek. “When I urged you to find a mistress for Oakley, Mr. Jeffrey, I never dreamt you’d do so that very selfsame day, but I was absolutely delighted when I heard the news.”

“We’re grateful that you saw fit to loan us the use of your private quarters after our confrontation with Cooper Frye,” he replied. “You might be interested in knowing, Mrs. Brewster, that I proposed while drinking tea at your table.”

“Oh, how romantic!” Thelma Brewster sighed dreamily. “And to think it happened in
my
kitchen.”

Raelynn took hold of the older woman’s fingers and pressed them with gentle warmth. “I’ll never forget your kindness to me, Mrs. Brewster. Thank you for being so considerate.”

“Oh, tish!” Blushing with pleasure, the milliner shook her head at the younger woman’s attempts to thank her. “I did nothing more than offer you some tea and the use of my kitchen. Mr. Jeffrey did all the rest, first by saving you from being trodden underneath that passing coach and then, only moments later, from your uncle’s mercenary schemes. I’m sure you know by now that here in Charleston our gentlemen are most gallant.”

“Nevertheless, Mrs. Brewster, you offered your gracious hospitality when we most needed it,” Raelynn assured her. “We shall always be indebted to you.”

The milliner smiled, pleased by their show of gratitude. Jeff extended his appreciation a bit further by suggesting that his young wife had need of another bonnet or two to go with her new gowns. In this instance, Raelynn was willing to accept his largess, for in passing the millinery, she had seen several that were at the very least exceptional. She had little difficulty choosing a half dozen to try on and posed prettily in each for her husband. By the warming glow in his eyes, Raelynn was wont to think that he was enjoying his newly acquired status as husband. When she asked which of the hats he liked best, he showed no hesitancy in selecting the prettiest two of the lot, leaving her little else to do but smile and eagerly nod.

Upon leaving the milliner’s shop, Jeff deposited their purchases in the carriage and then, with Raelynn on his arm, continued wending his way down the boardwalk. Thaddeus followed with the landau at a snail’s pace, now and then pulling over to let other conveyances pass on the street. Even so, he was always near at hand just in case the couple wanted to ride or go to some other area of the city.

When Raelynn and Jeff paused at a quaint inn to share a light lunch, other couples crowded around their table to extend hearty congratulations and good wishes for what seemed a marvelous match. When the couple returned once more to the boardwalk, Thaddeus waved a chortling farewell to another driver and climbed to his seat on the landau. More introductions were made here and there along the way, making Raelynn’s head spin with all the names and faces she’d later have to recall. As the afternoon progressed, she became increasingly cognizant of the fact that her husband knew a surprising number of people and had more friends than seemed possible for only one person.

Old women seemed to adore him, and with good cause, his young wife smilingly determined, for he was especially generous in lending his attention to them, as if they were the very joy of his life. He called them fondly by pet names and squeezed their fingers affectionately as he bestowed brief kisses on wrinkled cheeks or blue-veined hands, evoking giggles or secret smiles, at times all but hidden behind dignified miens.

The easy camaraderie Jeff readily exhibited with other men left her much in awe of the one she had married. Whether hunting companions, scholars, or associates in some business venture or another, these male acquaintances of his gave every indication that they thoroughly enjoyed her husband’s ready wit and felt totally at ease to reciprocate with humorous quips or hearty banter.

Jeff conveyed an unmistakable respect for ancients, some of whom had tutored him. They had amusing stories to tell of the youth who had been ever wont to try and soothe the temper of his older brother whenever that one got into a fray or to stand valiantly beside him and fight until they were both nigh bloody when the opposition outnumbered them and demanded physical confrontation. When the younger men congratulated him upon his recent marriage, they did so with great gusto, clapping him heartily on the back and ragging him unmercifully about his haste to see the deed done, as if he had been afraid some other swain would snatch his winsome bride out of his grasp. Still, they seemed genuinely pleased to both see and converse with him.

Comely, well-bred young ladies displayed more reserve when greeting Jeff. Some eyed him surreptitiously with a measure of longing, while others, ignorant of his recent marriage, tossed fetching smiles his way and, with well practiced coyness, flicked long lashes as they peered at him askance. It seemed part of the rote of enlightenment that, after being so completely taken with the man’s presence and engrossed in guilefully flirting with him, these maidens would then glance at Raelynn in curious wonder. After Jeff’s introductions, some seemed genuinely astounded, a few even stricken by the news that he was now wed, affirming Raelynn’s growing suspicion that Nell was but one of many comely young maidens who had held aspirations of first gaining Jeffrey’s regard and then, some time later, of becoming his wife.

Jeffrey had no pressing engagements or any particular destination in mind and was simply content to enjoy the balmy day and the presence of his young wife. With Raelynn’s arm tucked within his, he paused often to look at numerous displays in the shop windows they passed and to solicitously inquire if his bride was at all interested in taking a closer look at anything. At an import house, Raelynn momentarily scanned the bric-a-brac neatly exhibited behind the small, square panes of the window stretching across the front of the shop. Seeing nothing of real interest, she was about to turn aside when she caught sight of a brass-bound wooden coffer sitting atop a table inside the store. Unable to believe her possible good fortune, she leaned forward in rapt attention, oblivious to the fact that she pressed the brim of her flower and beribboned bonnet to the glass in her attempt to view the chest better. Similar pieces surrounded the piece, but the one upon which she had fixed her gaze was definitely the most notable of the lot. Even if she hadn’t recognized it as the coffer in which her father had once hidden a small cache of gold coins, Raelynn would have desired it for herself.

“Do you see that box over there on the table, Jeffrey?” she asked, pointing toward the item.

He leaned near to peer through the glass. “Aye, love. A handsome piece, it is. Would you like to have it?”

“At one time, that coffer belonged to my father. Shortly before his arrest, he bade my mother to guard it carefully until he had need of its contents, but he died before any of the gold coins it contained could be of benefit to him. During the sea voyage, my mother began to fear that the box would be stolen by some of the other passengers and asked Cooper Frye to safeguard it for us. She assumed she could trust her brother, but sad to say, that was the last we saw of it. When my mother asked him to return the coffer, he gave the excuse that someone had stolen it. Even so, he continued to live like some high and mighty lordling aboard ship while we did without. We had hoped the coins would see us through our first year here, but they were obviously used by that greedy crook to fill his own belly and appease his thirst for strong drink. Seeing the box here in a shop so close to the waterfront causes me to renew my suspicions about Cooper Frye. I think he had it within his possession all the time and, as soon as he left the ship, sold it at the first shop he came to. If
he
didn’t, then certainly someone else did.”

“There’s no reason why it can’t be yours again, my sweet,” Jeff assured her. “It may well be the only tangible memory you’ll have left of your father.”

She squeezed his arm affectionately. “I would be pleased to have it, Jeffrey, truly I would.”

“Then it shall be yours, my love.”

Barely had they stepped into the cool, pleasant interior than a portly gentleman with thick, silver hair hurried from the back. “A fair good morning to you both,” he greeted with a pleasantly reserved smile. “Can I be of service? Or would you perhaps prefer to browse for a while?”

“Actually we’re interested in that richly grained coffer you have on the table over there,” Jeff answered, indicating the box.

“Lovely piece, isn’t it? Not overly ornate as some tend to be. English, of course. Probably made in the last century, the sort a nobleman might keep on hand for important papers and the like.”

“When you purchased it, was there anything inside the coffer?” Raelynn asked softly.

“Why, no, it was quite empty.” He looked at her quizzically. “Are you perhaps familiar with this particular piece, madam?”

Slowly she reached out a hand and caressed the lid. “Very familiar. Once upon a time it belonged to my father.”

“The coffer is so unique, I can’t imagine there being a duplicate here in Charleston,” Jeff offered in a museful tone.

Raelynn swallowed with some difficulty and indicated an indentation in the brass covering a corner. “You see this? I was just five years old when this particular dent occurred. My father was holding me on his lap when my mother called me. I started to get down, but I slipped and nearly cracked my head against the raised hearth. My father caught me in the nick of time, but in doing so, he accidentally knocked the chest from the table with his elbow. I was so proud that he had saved me from getting hurt that I boasted of his deed to my friends and showed them the ding that had resulted. They thought he might have gotten angry about it, but he overheard their comments and reassured them that what had really mattered most to him was the fact that his little darling hadn’t gotten hurt.” Hurriedly blinking against threatening tears, Raelynn sought to collect her poise, but her throat tightened to the degree that she was forced to fall silent.

The proprietor of the shop discreetly busied himself rearranging small china figurines on a sideboard as Jeff laid an arm about his wife’s shoulders. She glanced up, her eyes shadowed by her painful loss, and found the emerald orbs tender with sympathy. She swallowed hard against the lump in her throat, accepted a clean handkerchief from him, and hurriedly dabbed at the moisture welling over her lashes. Regaining some measure of composure, she managed a faint smile.