Love and Dreams: The Coltrane Saga, Book 6 (3 page)

The palace seemed to be alive, to actually breathe amidst the glow of lights, crystal, silver and gold, and the awesome jewels worn by the ladies in attendance. Jeweled medals adorning crimson sashes sparkled on the chests of the men of nobility, gold braids shining. Cossacks of the guard lined the walls of the palace, in long coats of red and purple, curved sabers against spit-polished black boots. The cream of European society vied for a glimpse of the famed, lovely bride as the sweet song of the violins of the court orchestra filled the air.

Jade found herself wishing for the hundredth time that she and Colt could have just slipped away for a private ceremony. But, adopted or not, she was considered a Romanov. And she was marrying the son of a very respected United States emissary. Protocol decreed such a formal wedding, so she faced what she felt was a circuslike atmosphere, forced a smile on her lips, and made her way to the chapel past the well-wishing guests, praying all the while it would be over soon.

The chapel glowed with light, the walls and ceiling covered with luminous frescoes. Before the altar stood an iconostasis of gold, layered in jewels. The small gathering of people inside, limited to family members and immediate royalty, seemed bathed in iridescence due to the sheen from the jewels, candles, and golden icons.

Jade softly drew in her breath, overwhelmed by the ethereality, but then she saw Colt standing, waiting, at the altar, and everything and everyone faded from the realm of her cognizance. He was all that mattered…all that ever would matter, and this awesomely precious moment would forever be etched upon her tremulously pounding heart.

She took her place beside Colt, and their eyes met and held; a warm, glowing message of love touched their hearts in unison. Forever would they be forged, bonded together, and the words being intoned by the officiator could not make it more binding. In spirit and soul they were already one. This celebration, this ceremony, was for the benefit of friends and family and was spectacle only.

Jade was only dimly aware of her cousin Nicholas, in the stunning uniform of a Hussar, moving to stand beside her in the position that would have been for her father, and she had but a fleeting impression of Travis Coltrane, handsome and suave as always, proudly beside Colt.

The ceremony began, and she spoke her vows in recitation, all the while unable to unlock her gaze from Colt’s. Within, she trembled with emotion, with the dazzling, happy awareness that now they were truly one; man and wife, forever and always, for all the world to see and acknowledge.

At last, the magic words to make it all finally legal and official resounded through the tiny chapel, and Colt gently folded her in his arms and pressed his lips against hers in a kiss that made her shudder all the way to her toes.

Jade O’Bannon had become Mrs. John Travis Coltrane, and she did not try to hold back the tears of joy at that ecstatic, beautiful moment. The congratulatory murmurs as guests and relatives surged about them were heard only vaguely, for she and Colt were in a world all their own, a world bordered and protected by that special barrier known only to those in love.

The reception was more glitter and pomp. Fountains in the palace flowed with champagne, and late-summer strawberries floated in the pools or fell to the bottom. Roast pigs and turkeys and chickens filled the platters of the lace-and satin-covered tables in the banquet halls, and fruits and crème desserts tantalized every appetite.

Jade and Colt devoured only each other with their eyes, hands tightly clasped together except when they were in the receiving line.

The family made small talk between well-wishing guests, and once Kitty Coltrane teased them, “You’re really going to have your fill of the seas—a honeymoon on the royal yacht, then the trip to America.”

Jade agreed. “I’ll be ready to settle down to keeping house, no doubt.”

Colt flashed a mock frown. “House, did you say, Mrs. Coltrane? I’m afraid we’re going to have to buy a palace to have room for all the wedding presents rolling in.”

Jade’s eyes narrowed mischievously. “We could sell them to Dani for her antiques shop. We should make enough to keep us from starving for a while, at least.”

Kitty assured that everything sent to them in Paris was being properly registered, then brought to the docks to await transport. “They’ll be on the ship with you.”

“For storage until we find a place to live,” Jade pointed out. “Home will be a hotel for a while, because we want to have plenty of time to look and find exactly what we want, but I don’t care.” She turned dazzled eyes upon Colt once more. The last thing on her mind was worrying about trivial things like wedding presents and finding a permanent place to live. All she wanted was to be in the strong, possessive arms of her husband, and if she had a magic wand she would have waved away the people, the palace, everything but each other.

Colt knew what she was thinking and stepped from the receiving line and announced, “Enough tradition and protocol. I want to dance with my wife.”

No one looked disapproving, and all smiled as Colt led Jade into a ballroom. Those milling about had waited for the newlyweds to dance, and they formed a circle about them as the violinists played a special song just for them.

They moved together in unison to the gentle, flowing rhythm of a waltz. “My God, you’re beautiful, Jade,” Colt murmured. “I can’t believe you’re really mine you’ll never know how much I love you.”

She flashed a saucy smile. “Tonight, you can show me, my husband. Tonight, you can prove what you say.”

His hand at her waist tightened, and he fought the impulse to jerk her tightly against him, then and there in the middle of the ballroom, with everyone watching, and kiss her taunting, daring lips. In a mock-fierce whisper, he warned, “You’ll beg for mercy, I promise.”

“Ha!” Jade laughed softly, careful lest those guests who were moving onto the floor to dance hear. “You’ll never hear me beg…except for
more
.”

Colt pretended to be shocked but was pleased, and secretly aroused, by her brashness. He’d never known a woman so hot-blooded and passionate, and that was one of the reasons he loved her so.

“May I have a dance with my new daughter?”

They tore their teasing gazes from each other to see Travis Coltrane waiting expectantly.

Colt smiled and bowed and gave over his bride to his father, and Jade obligingly moved into Travis’s arms.

Jade adored her father-in-law and found him handsome, charming, witty—everything her husband was, only more so, for there was a mellowness that Colt had not yet acquired. They chatted amiably, and he complimented her once again on how lovely she was. Then Jade noticed he began to look a bit flushed, and a shadow touched his gray eyes. She suggested a walk on the terrace for some fresh air, saying she’d like a respite from all the crowds and excitement. Travis was quick to agree, and they slipped, unnoticed, into the blue and gold beauty of the August afternoon.

Outside, with a gentle breeze blowing in from the river, Travis, resplendent in a white suit, took out his handkerchief and wiped his brow. Jade touched his arm, at once concerned, for he did not look well. “Are you all right? Is there anything I can get for you?”

He waved her away, walked to a nearby bench, and patted the place beside him. She sat down. “Jade,” he began, “I’ve been hoping we’d find a private moment together because there’s something I want to tell you.”

She tensed, then realized there was no need to be as he continued.

“I want you to know how happy I am that my son has finally found someone he can truly love. To be honest with you, I was afraid he’d be like me—so bitter over past experiences with conniving, unscrupulous women that he’d close his heart and not let anybody in and wind up a disillusioned, lonely old man.”

Jade didn’t understand what he was getting at and interjected, “But you have Kitty—”

“Now I do.” A tender smile touched his lips. “But I sure as hell fought against loving her. I wasted precious time, and I can’t tell you what we went through. I guess you just had to be there to understand, but the truth was, I’d reached the point where I was going to be a maverick, a loner, all my life. I’m damn glad”—he paused to chuckle—“that I didn’t follow that path, and I’m even more glad that Colt won’t have the regrets I have now—losing that precious time, those precious years.”

He was silent for a long moment, and Jade respectfully did not intrude upon his private meditation, for it was obvious from the faraway look in his eyes that he was not there, in St. Petersburg, Russia, at the palace of the Czar, at the wedding of his only son. He had moved back in time, in memory, back to the long-ago days of his youth, reliving…and, unfortunately, regretting.

Then he blinked, shook his head ever so slightly as he returned to the present…and to her. “I’m sorry. Seems I get lost in the past more and more these days. Probably because I’ve come to terms with the possibility I may not have much of a future.”

Jade stiffened.

Travis chuckled. “Don’t look so frightened, my dear. The one and only thing we can count on in life is death, and I’ve learned not to fear my own. When my time comes, I think I’ll be ready. And I want to feel that my family is happy with their lives. I’m glad you and Colt are moving to America. I don’t have to tell you about the political unrest here in Russia—discontent, threat of anarchy, total destruction of the autocracy, and the dream of those who want to build a new world based solely on the dignity of labor. There are strikes. Riots. The Czar’s police are constantly struggling with mounting violence, and more and more political activists are being exiled to Siberia.

“God…” He shuddered with the misery of such thoughts. “How long can it all go on without an ultimate revolution? I’m glad I won’t have any family living here.”

Jade patted his arm in a gesture of understanding. She knew only too well of what he spoke, and that was one of the reasons she’d so willingly agreed to move away.

He stood up, held out his hand to her. “Forgive me. I didn’t mean to be gloomy on such a special day, my new daughter, but I just wanted to let you know, in my own peculiar way, that this is a special day for me as well, because it’s the culmination of my last dream—knowing my son has a wife, a life’s mate he loves, and that his future is secure.”

Jade put her arms around him and stood on tiptoe for his kiss. From her heart, she fervently proclaimed, “I couldn’t love you more if you were my real father,
Monsieur
—”

“Then stop calling me
Monsieur
, for God’s sake,” he cried with pretended affront, tucking her hand in the crook of his arm to end the emotion of the moment. He commanded with a grin, “Call me Travis, or Poppa, or anything you please, but never
Monsieur
. Now let’s go find some champagne. I always found the bubbly stuff made these soirees more tolerable.”

Laughing together, they returned to the party. Everyone was enjoying himself immensely, and the sounds of music and joy filled the air. Servants kept the food and champagne available in abundance, and there were no signs that the celebration would end any time soon.

Finally, Colt grew tired of the revelry and said as much while dancing with one of Jade’s royal cousins. The young lady, Tamara, sniffed with disapproval, coldly reminding him that the guests of honor were expected to stay until the guests began to leave, and that would be close to dawn. Hearing that, as soon as the dance ended, he took her back to her bored-looking escort and promptly rescued Jade from the arms of a huffing dignitary with a bright red satin sash across his pot belly. He then proceeded to waltz her right out a terrace door and into the milk-and-pearl glow of night.

Alone, away from the dazzle and lights, he wrapped her in his arms and kissed her warm, sweet lips. “You’re beautiful,” he said in awe. “Here, in this strange night that really isn’t a night, you’re like a fairy princess. I expect to see elves dancing on the lawn any second now.”

Jade laughed, her heart warm to bursting with the love she felt. “Sorry, but there are no toadstools for my elves to hide beneath, and they’re very shy.”

“Jade, let’s get out of here,” he suddenly urged. “Let’s just quietly sneak away and go to the yacht. These people will be here all night, and that dragon-faced cousin of yours, Tamara, just informed me we’re expected to stay till things start breaking up, and I’ve got another party in mind…an intimate little party just for two.” He gave her a conspiratorial wink.

Jade pursed her lips thoughtfully. “Well, it’d be terribly rude of us, I’m afraid.” Actually, the idea of slipping away was delicious, because she was also anxious for them to be alone but, in her usually playful manner, pretended reluctance. “We don’t sail till dawn, and there’s to be a champagne-and-caviar breakfast for the families on board so they can say farewell.”

Colt was used to her pixie ways and knew how to get around them. He gave a heavy sigh, slumped his shoulders, presented an expression of sad resignation. “You’re right. It would be rude. Let’s go back in and get something to eat. Looks like a long night, and I’m hungry.”

He turned to go, but Jade reached out and caught his arm, well aware he was paying her back for her pretended reluctance. “If you really want to leave now, Colt, we will.”

He kept his face turned, lest she see his amusement. “No, you’re right. We’d best stay.”

“Colt, if we don’t leave now, I won’t leave, at all. I’ll stay here,” she threatened.