Microsoft Word - Jenny dreamed (46 page)

The theater lights were dimmed now, and a hushed expectancy settled over the elegantly dressed audience. The velvet draperies of the stage slowly parted to reveal the great hall of an ancient castle where a banquet was in progress. Ladies attired in the graceful period costumes of the thirteenth centruy stood about in animated conversation with their gentlemen.

Seated on a dais, the royal lord called-for his troubadour, and to the gentle, accompanying strains of a lute, Gilliam McGowd made his entrance. He was forced to pause for minutes while the audience aknowledged him with a thunderous round of applause. As it began to die away, he bowed courteously and began a spritely hunting song that enchanted his fellow players as well as the crowd that filled the theater.

Again and again, his voice floated over the audience as he enchanted them with lilting ancient melodies. Between the ballads and roundelays, he juggled, told witty, somewhat bawdy tales of love's follies and surprised everyone present with an occasional spry somersault.

At the end of his performance, Gilliam bowed graciously, and to many who watched, he seemed to have grown taller. No one who had been treated to the strength and vigor of his voice remembered his diminutive size. He bowed again, flattered by the many enthusiastic calls for an encore until he finally held up his hand for silence.

When the entire hall was quiet, Gilliam moved to center stage, and as the warm glow of the footlights illuminated his features, he thanked everyone who had attended this last performance. "I thank ye kindly, m'friends, ye've been generous souls, indeed! Now I would beg ye'r indulgence-I've a song for a person who's very special t'me." Crossing to stage left, he faced the box belonging to the Earl of Maubrey and, with cap in hand, bowed low in honor of its occupants. "The song is a personal favorite o' mine, as is the lady for whom 'tis sung. Ladies and gentlemen ... Greensleeves!"

Successive volleys of applause drowned out the flurry of whispers as those in the tiered seats of the orchestra section and balconies stared at the Maubrey box, speculating on the identity of the lady McGowd was honoring. Lord Maubrey and his lovely wife were in attendance, as well as their daughter Jennifer and her American husband, Devlan Cantrell.

Sir Adam Warrener and his recent bride, Shiona, rounded out the party.

Tears of happiness stung Mariah Bryant's eyes as she watched her daughter acknowledge Gilliam's honor with a gentle inclination of her head and demure smile. As the lights dimmed once again and the string section of the orchestra began the familiar, English refrain, Dev took his wife's hand and moved closer to whisper in her ear.

Two years ago, Mariah could not have imagined such happiness could have ever been hers again. She and Jared had arrived in Caracas only a week after the search party for Rodrigo had left. Though she'd fussed and worried over Jenny's stubborn insistence on joining the expedition, it had been a relief to know that Dev Cantrell was along to watch over her. What a shock it had been, though, when Adam had revealed his knowledge of Jenny's secret marriage to Dev!

Then, after so many months of waiting and hoping, a second party had been sent out, only to be turned back by the rain-swollen, impassable rapids of the Guayana's rivers. It would be months again until they were able to make another attempt. Throughout that long, despairing period, she and Jared had clung to the hope that Dev and Jenny would return from the rain forests where they had vanished.

Finally, when the rainy season had ended and the floodwaters had receded from the valleys and plains, another expedition was mounted. As her daughter had done earlier, Mariah had refused to be left behind. Adam Warrener joined the searchers, and the party followed the original route that Wynn Courtland had discussed with him.

Progress had been slow, but the large, well-equipped expedition moved doggedly into the.

interior. At one Indian village where they'd camped for the night, -Mariah had been the object of intense speculation. Their native interpreter had explained that the Indians believed her to be the same woman who had passed their way before the rains came. It had been, at once, a heartening and despairing moment for Mariah.

The next morning, as they were preparing to leave the hospitable villagers and push onward, exciting news arrived. Farther up the river, a nomadic tribe had come across a small party of white travellers, including two men, two women, and a child. It had seemed impossible to believe that it could be Dev and Jeuny; Mariah had steeled herself against despair by taking the news calmly. The young Indian who had brought the message gibbered excitedly in his own language, though, when he'd caught sight of Mariah. It seemed that one of the women looked enough like her to be Mariah's sister.

It still seemed impossible, but against all odds, Dev and Jeuny had survived their ordeal in the rain forests. The golden-haired babe-in-arms had been introduced as two-month-old Thomas, the first of Mariah's grandchildren. The second, Jenny had confided tonight before they'd left for the theater, would arrive in approximately six months. Both Dev and Jenny had been unusually secretive about where they'd been, how they'd survived, and where they had met their two companions, Gilliam McGowd and his daughter. Adam, after twenty years as a confirmed bachelor, took one glance at the lovely, delicate Shiona McGowd and fell head over heels in love. He wouldn't have cared if she'd been from another planet. Adam used his consular connections to smooth the way for McGowd and his daughter to enter England as British citizens, complete with valid passports.

Mariah had tried in vain to persuade Jenny to stay in England until the baby was born, but she had insisted she wanted to go home. Home now for the Cantrells was the two-hundred-acre ranch they had bought near Mariah and Jared's own Montana property. Though she hadn't yet begun her plan to convince Jared of a visit to Montana in time for the happy event, Mariah had no doubts that she would be there to see her second grandchild born.

The small farewell dinner party Jared and Mariah had arranged for Gilliam was still in progress when Dev bade goodbye to his old friend from Beaun Gowd'en and climbed the staircase to his bedroom. Jenny had retired a half-hour before, claiming her delicate condition as an excuse to lie down, yet Dev was sure he'd recognized a certain sensual glint in her eyes tonight that usually indicated a desire to make love.

In the hallway, Jenny's personal maid was just closing the bedroom door behind herself.

Dev's earlier suspicions were reinforced when the short, plump little blonde risked a glance at him, blushed and giggled, then offered a quick, bobbing curtsey before scurrying in the direction of the backstairs.

Dev knocked once and entered the large sitting room. Happy to be able to divest himself of the heavy, black evening coat, he pulled it off and called Jenny's name. "In here, darling," she answered from the bedroom. Seated in front of her mirrored dresser, Jenny turned and smiled warmly as Dev appeared at the open door. "I was wondering how long you'd last.

Poor dear, you haven't the excuse I used to get awayl"

"Nonsense," Dev replied, walking' over to Jenny's side to kiss her. He straightened, pulling impatiently at the buttons of his linen shirt. "I've got the same excuse. Being an expectant father is almost as tiring. Actually, I told everyone you had signalled me that you were in a romantic mood tonight and duty was calling."

"Dev-you didn't!" Jenny whirled around, but Dev was just disappearing into the closet. No, she thought, surely he was just teasing. Even Dev wouldn't be so rude as to announce such an idea, and in front of her parents. Jenny stared at the closet door, waiting for him to emerge again. When he did, he had finished undressing and wore the burgundy velvet dressing robe she'd had made for him. "I'm afraid I did, love," Dev said, deciding to tease her a few moments longer. A deep, amused chuckle rumbled from his throat. "Your mother was a bit shocked and poor Shiona blushed most becomingly, but other than that, the news was accepted as a matter of course. After all, Jen, I told the truth. You were quite obviously in a loving mood this evening."

"Devlan Cantrell! Swear to me that you didn't say such a thing in mixed company! Even if it were true,which I'm not willing to admit, to mention a private ..."

Dev grinned, deciding he'd played long enough. He stretched his muscles, dropped lazily into the armchair opposite her dresser, and declared, "All right, I admit I didn't say it aloud, but I'm sure everyone realized why I left so soon after you. It's only natural, Jenny; after all, we are married. You didn't become pregnant from holding my hand."

"You're a rogue at times, Devlan!" Jenny appeared vexed for a few seconds, but she could rarely stay angry with her husband longer. Turning back to face the mirror, she found him grinning at her in its reflection and wrinkled her nose in mock irritation. "I'm quite aware how I got pregnant. Hardly a night passes that you don't remind mel"

"Ah, but I can't help myself, Jen. If I didn't keep you tumbling on the sheets so often, you'd turn shrewish on me." Jenny's mouth twitched at the claim, but she made no denial as she began to pull out the pins securing the heavy masses of hair that had been curled in a fashionable evening coif.

The room was quiet for a few moments, then Dev broke the silence with an observation.

"Did you know that Mariah's already working on your father to join us at the ranch?" His expression, reflected in the mirror, revealed his empathy for Jared's poisition. "And, of course, she'll have her way."

Jenny pulled the last pin from her hair and shook her head, letting the silky black waves ripple in a liquid wave across her shoulders. "Of course she will. And Papa will make a token resistance so that he's satisfied he is still in command of such important decisions. When they both retire tonight, each of them will be content that the proper balance of power has been maintained!"

Dev stared at Jenny in the mirror. After a second, she demurely lowered her gaze and reached for her brush to begin the ritual of brushing her waist-length hair at least one hundred strokes each night. With her head inclined to one side, she silently kept a count of the strokes. Dev rose from the chair and crossed the room to stand behind her. His hand closed over hers, stopping the brush in mid-stroke.

Jenny leaned back against him with a lazy, contented smile and pulled his hand close to her cheek. She nestled like a sleek, sinuous kitten as she softly asked what she could do for him.

"For one thing, Mrs. Cantrell, you can stop playing the sly minx with me," Dev answered. He took the brush from her and began to pull it gently through her tangled curls. "The expression on your lovely face when you spoke of your parents' relationship was decidedly smug."

Jenny looked up at him once more with eyes as wide and innocent as little Tom's. "Why, whatever do you ..."

"You know just what I mean," he interrupted. "You could have been describing us. I can hardly remember a time when you haven't won your way with me, by some maneuver or other. Could be, I've been too easy on you." Dev's free hand caressed Jenny's throat; his eyes were hooded and heavy with the beginnings of desire. His wife .was a tempting sight, too tempting for the discussion he had in mind. He would not be distracted by the shadowed valley that divided her gently rounded breasts nor by the narrow black ribbon that gathered a trim of snowy lace across them. Dev shifted uncomfortably. His body was not in complete agreement with his purpose.

Jenny seemed not to have noticed as she protested, "I've given in to you at times, have I not?"

"On unimportant matters, I'm sure. My point is that you make use of every natural endowment to influence a given situation."

"For example?"

"For example, tonight you're romantic, you want me to make love to you." Dev dropped the brush from his hand and leaned close, catching Jenny's arms to bring her to her feet. His mouth touched hers, gently at first, as he sought to measure the intensity of her desires.

With one hand he firmly grasped the back of her neck, his fingers tangling in the fine tendrils curling at her nape, his other hand exploring the silk-clad contours of her body.

Like a spark set to dry kindling, the demanding pressure of Dev's kiss fanned the smoldering embers of Jenny's passion into a consuming blaze. A moment later his lips were against her throat and Jenny was trembling under the assault of ardent kisses pressed upon her yearning flesh. She was beginning to ache from the need to lie beneath him, to feel his raw, naked strength against the velvet skin of her own body. Her senses seemed heightened to an almost painful degree, and, as Dev's tongue flicked out to touch the tender spot beneath her earlobe, a soft whimper escaped her parted lips.

In the wake of Jenny's surprisingly quick arousal, Dev nearly forgot his initial purpose of teaching her a valuable lesson. Nearly forgot, but pulled back from the precipice of desire before he surrendered in his own, .answering response. For too long, the recognition of his wife's velvet-gloved handling had nagged at the back of his mind. The discussion of her mother's similar conduct had provided the perfect time to bring the matter to light.

It was not so much the fact that Jenny exploited her femininity to manage the daily affairs of their life as the demeaning feeling that he was a pawn in her hands. Like the sting of salt in an open wound, it pricked at his male vanity. Had Jenny grown careless in allowing him to see through her veiled ploys, or did she no longer care to conceal them? Whichever, Dev was determined to see the settlement of the issue, once and for all.

Now he mentally prepared himself for the battle that was to come by reminding himself that it was a necessary step for their future well-being. Gently, but firmly, Dev disengaged Jenny's arms from around his neck and, with a very real regret, urged her to be seated once more.

She gazed up at him with a puzzled air as he explained, "The hour is later than I'd thought, Jenny. I'm tired myself, and I'm sure you must be exhausted." He made a pretense of yawning and then bent to place a dry, almost paternal kiss on her forehead. "Don't stay up too much longer, sweet; the rest is more important than finishing your hair." Continuing the charade, Dev turned his back on Jenny's dismayed face and strolled across the room to his side of their large, canopied bed.