Married At Midnight (30 page)

and a warehouse and other properties of equal value were left to me. Until a few years ago, I lived with my brother and managed our properties while he sailed to foreign climes. He met Heather in England and brought her back to Harthaven as

his wife. The gossips took great delight in the fact that Brandon had married Heather while still engaged to Louisa Wells, the woman who once owned this place. And I suppose to some degree I led the snoops on when I doted upon Heather. But by then, she was already well along with child, just as she is now, and it was hard for me to imagine anyone mistaking my brotherly regard for her as some deep, hidden passion. Later, when Louisa was found slain in this house, a few talebearers tried to say that Brandon had killed her in a fit of rage, but of course that wasn't true. By then, he was totally dedicated to Heather."

"You mean Louisa was slain here in this very house?" Raelynn queried in surprise.

Jeff's brows rose above a curious grin. "Not afraid of ghosts, are you?"

"No, of course not," his young wife hastened to assure him, but a blush suffused her cheeks when she realized just how much his revelation had startled her. "This place is so wonderful, it's hard to imagine that someone was actually murdered here. Did they ever catch the one who was responsible?"

" 'Twas an ugly little man who admired beautiful women. He later tried to do away with Heather, too."

"You mean ... in this house?"

His green eyes gleamed as Jeff watched his young wife closely. She seemed so incredulous it was not difficult to guess what

she was thinking. He could foresee himself spending many a delightful night assuring her that whether the house was cursed

or not, she would always be safe in his arms. "He tried, my love, but Brandon came to her rescue. Later, a limb broke in a storm and fell on top of the man, crushing him beneath it."

Raelynn's shoulders shook with an expressive shudder. "I think you're trying to frighten me, Jeffrey Birmingham."

Her husband laughed. "Now why would I want to do that, madam?"

"I don't know, but if you have a penchant for churlish tales and more of them to tell," she warned, peering up at him with a daring twinkle in her eye, "I may be better off with Gustav Fridrich after all."

"He'd never treasure you as much as I do," Jeff whispered as his mouth lowered toward hers. "You'll always be my dearest wife, the sweetest love of my life."

He kissed her with a leisurely thoroughness that made Raelynn's pulse throb with a new, chaotic rhythm.

She clung to him, having no desire to break away, and when he finally lifted his head, she pressed close against him.

"You make me forget what we were even talking about," she murmured breathlessly.

"My family," he reminded her with a chuckle.

"Tell me more," she coaxed.

"I thought you didn't want to hear any more of my stories," he teased.

"Not if they're gruesome."

"Then you'll no doubt be happy to hear there are no more stories of murder and intrigue to be told about my family. At least, none that I'm aware of."

"I'm relieved to hear that," she replied with a smile. "Now tell me how you came here to Oakley."

"After Louisa was killed, I paid the debts against the property and added several thousand acres to the original tract of land.

It's taken a lot of work and capital to make Oakley what it is today, but I've grown to love it here. This is where I'd like our children to be born and to grow up. A dozen or two would suffice."

Raelynn leaned back in his arms and laughed. " 'Tis my guess that you intend to keep us both busy for many years to come."

"I've waited a long time to find you, my dear, and it's only right that we enjoy our lives to the utmost. I'd love to have a dozen

or so daughters who look exactly like you."

"And I'd be thrilled with a dozen or so sons who are as handsome as their father," she rejoined gaily.

His grin grew broader. "We'll have to add a few more bedrooms to accommodate them all."

Raelynn lifted her shoulders in a pert shrug as she reasoned, "If this house has seen its share of tragedy in the past, it's only fitting that it be filled with joy and laughter in the future. 'Twould be a heavenly place to nurture our children and to grow old together."

"I can hardly wait to begin."

Dragging her eyes from his handsome face, she looked toward the fields to the east. "What sort of crops do you grow here

on the plantation?"

Following her gaze, Jeff spoke with a measure of pride in his voice. "That's cotton growing there, and where the fields of

cotton end, we've got rice thriving in the lowlands. There's a good market for both products across the Atlantic, as well as

in some Caribbean ports. Brandon and I own equal shares in a sawmill, and what lumber we don't sell locally, we usually

ship, but that's not too often. This area is growing fast enough to keep our men sawing logs for at least another ten years."

"If you own a warehouse, Jeff, then surely you must have come in contact with Gustav Fridrich, or at least know of him."

Jeff's answer came with a liberal measure of disdain. "I've heard enough talk about that scoundrel to make me cautious

about getting involved with him. I know he's hired a lot of toughs to help his investments thrive, by force if need be. I've

made it a habit to keep my distance. To put it mildly, madam, I'd sooner trust a wild boar than Gustav Fridrich."

"I'm glad you bought me, Jeff, but I've been reluctant to tell you something about your agreement with my uncle." Her eyes glimmered in the moonlight as she searched his face. "When Cooper Frye offered to sell me to Fridrich, he was only asking

two hundred fifty Yankee dollars for me. You could have bought me for considerably less than the seven hundred fifty you

paid for me."

Jeff chuckled, undismayed. "What Cooper Frye doesn't know, my dear, is that I'd have gladly paid a hundred times more

than that. I would have deemed it worth every moment of this happiness I'm now sharing with you.

You're the woman I've searched for all my life. How can I regret the cost, whatever the amount?"

Raelynn sighed. "In the short time I've known Cooper Frye, I've come to realize that he's not to be trusted. He's a thief,

plain and simple. As long as he knows you have money, I'm sure he'll try to wheedle what he can from you."

"Your uncle had better keep his distance or I'll make him wish he had," Jeff replied. "He agreed to leave us alone. If he

doesn't, he'll have to return the money I gave him. He'll not find me an easy taskmaster if he has to work the debt off."

"Since he first came to us in England shortly after my father died in prison, I've often wondered if he is really my uncle or

just someone who knew the cabin boy, Cooper Frye, before he perished at sea. I feel uneasy about the way he showed

up all of a sudden without a single letter ever reaching his family to say that he was alive. To be sure, if he wasn't whom he claimed to be, there wasn't much to be gained from associating himself with us, certainly nothing of monetary value, so I rather doubt he sought us out for that reason. All we had was what my father had managed to hide for us before he was arrested,

and it was too meager a sum to interest an ambitious thief. Still, Cooper Frye took what was left of our funds and provided

for his own comforts during the ocean voyage. By the time we arrived, there was nothing left. Selling me to Gustav Fridrich

was the easiest way my uncle had of getting his hands on more."

Jeff gently kissed her brow, smoothing away the troubled frown that briefly marred its perfection. "Don't fret yourself about

that wretch any more, my love," he cajoled. " 'Tis highly unlikely that you'll be seeing him again."

"I hope what you say is true, Jeff," Raelynn answered quietly, "but I fear 'tis not his way. If I know Cooper Frye at all, I

predict that he'll not be leaving us alone."

Jeff wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. "Don't dread what the future holds for us, my love.

This night is ours

alone, the beginning of our marriage. Let us enjoy all the intimate pleasures to be shared between a husband and his wife without dwelling on that scoundrel any longer."

Raelynn could feel his long, muscular body through the soft satin of her gown, and her blood stirred with desire as his parted lips played provocatively upon hers. At first, his kiss was gently inquiring, yet it soon became a flaming brand that torched a quickening fire within her, setting her senses ablaze with a passion that warmed her as thoroughly as any bubbling cauldron.

No longer was she Raelynn Barrett, the proud, aloof maiden, but a bride well roused and eager.

His face slowly retreated, leaving Raelynn adrift in a deliriously giddy trance. "To be sure, sir," she sighed with a slight quaver

in her voice, more than a little dazzled by his affect on her, "another kiss of the sort will see me so addled I'll be hard-pressed

to dress myself for bed."

A shaft of light streaming from the bedchamber illumined his face, and she could see the emerald eyes shining above an hypnotic, white-toothed grin. "The word is undress, madam, and you needn't fret yourself about such minor inconveniences. Not when I'm eager to be of service."

Lifting a hand, Raelynn toyed with a wayward black lock that had fallen onto his brow. "I've been told that a bride should

beg a few moments of privacy to adorn herself for her groom on their wedding night. You even bought me a gown to wear, remember?"

Jeff smiled into her dancing, moonlit eyes. "Lay out the gown for a later hour if you must, madam, but for now, you'll have

little need of it."

Raelynn vividly recalled her mother telling her what to expect on her wedding night and encouraging her to offer herself as a rare, precious gift to her groom, for though she was virginal, it lay well within her power to make it a night she and her new husband would long remember. Such sage advice could not be lightly ignored.

"Is there no servant to pluck me free of the one I now wear and help me ready myself for my bridegroom?" she persisted. "Your housekeeper was very adept at helping me dress for the wedding.

Could she not assist me now?"

"Your pardon for my lack of foresight, madam," her husband begged. "By now, Cora and her family are probably safe abed

in their own quarters beyond that line of oaks you see behind me, too far to be summoned with a mere tinkling of a bell. I fear I've been a bachelor much too long. I lent little consideration to your needs when I gave the servants leave to retire after dinner. My butler would be the only one left in the house, and although Kingston is adept at what he does, he's not very handy as a lady's maid." A smile curved his lips as his eyes engaged hers with a mischievous glint. "Alas, my love, I fear there be none other to assist you in your boudoir, save myself."

Raelynn braced an elbow on his shoulder and seemed to seriously ponder his reply as she laid a slender knuckle against her cheekbone. "I do recall asking for some time to get to know you better before we shared a bed," she admitted, a smile twinkling at the corners of her mouth. "I just didn't know your kisses would make me change my mind so soon."

His gaze engulfed hers. "And what is your desire now, madam?" Jeff breathed, lowering his lips toward hers. "Would you

rather stay here and enjoy this bejeweled night together for a while longer? Or shall we return to the bedchamber and ready ourselves for bed?"

His lightly caressing kiss was just as persuasive as all the others he had bestowed upon her lips, and it was a long moment before she could answer. "The night is truly delightful, sir," she said with a sigh, "and the company no less than intoxicating.

Still, I'm curious to know what awaits me as a bride."

He smiled with pleasure.
"I
was hoping you'd say that."

Pushing away from him with a soft laugh, Raelynn swept across the porch with a whisper of silk and entered the bedchamber. Jeff followed, pausing briefly to close the French doors behind him, and was no more than a step behind her when she halted beneath the chandelier. Slipping an arm about her waist, he pulled her back against him. "Now I have you at last," he whispered, brushing his lips across her shoulder. His kisses wandered upward along her silken throat to her ear as his hands stroked down the sides of her hips. "You've haunted me too long as the enchantress of my dreams. I must soon be nurtured

by your sweet delights or die of this ever-gnawing hunger."

Raelynn trembled against him and, at the urging of his hands, turned willingly to face him. For a moment their mouths played in sweet union, then Jeff stepped back. His smoldering eyes were like a warm tongue gliding leisurely over her flesh, consuming her with their intensity as he doffed his black silk frockcoat and tossed it over the back of a nearby chair. Affecting a courtly air, he swept an arm before him and showed a leg in a lissome bow.