Read Petals on the River Online
Authors: Kathleen E. Woodiwiss
Tags: #Fiction, #Romance, #General, #Man-Woman Relationships, #Love Stories, #Historical, #Nannies, #Historical Fiction, #Virginia, #Virginia - History - Colonial Period; Ca. 1600-1775, #Indentured Servants
The foaming waves curled away from the Blue Falcon's cutwater as the
vessel skimmed effortlessly away from the tidewater region into the open
sea.
Her white sails billowed out with the wind pushing at
her heels, and beneath the clear blue sky, the gleaming shrouds almost
bedazzled those who stood on the deck experiencing the wonder of her
first flight.
A feeling of awe was shared by all, the captain no less
than any.
"She's a beauty!" Nathanial Beauchamp exclaimed, casting a brief glance
toward the man who stood at his side.
"And you, sir, have created a
marvel!"
Gage likened the ecstatic racing of his heart to that special moment
when Shemaine had accepted his proposal of marriage.
Yet he could find
no words to speak, for his heart was full.
William Thornton reached up a hand and laid it upon his son's shoulder,
squeezing it in silent communication.
The joy that welled up within him
had brought tears to his eyes, and he could not trust himself to voice
his own praise for fear the gathering thickness in his throat would
convey the emotion he was presently trying hard to restrain.
"Daddee, look at the big fish!" Andrew cried, pointing toward the school
of porpoise racing along the starboard side.
The boy caught Gillian's
hand and begged, "Lift me up high, Gil'an, so I can see em better."
Shemaine smiled as her husband joined her.
His right arm came around
her shoulder, drawing her close as his left hand slipped underneath the
large shawl that she had donned to mask her belly, which had just begun
to protrude.
Beneath the covering of the wrap, he fondly caressed the
gentle roundness.
"I think Nathanial likes the Blue Falcon, my sweet," Gage murmured.
Shemaine looked up with loving eyes and dared to correct his statement.
"I think Captain Beauchamp is mightily impressed with the Blue Falcon,
Mr.
Thornton.
He's been grinning ever since we got under way."
"Aye, I've noticed."
"But then, so have you, my darling, almost as much as Flannery."
Shemaine inclined her head to indicate the old shipwright, who stood in
the middle of the deck, visibly exhilarating in the feel of a good ship
beneath him.
His wrinkled face was lit up with jubilant glee, and it
could be said that his smile stretched from stem to stern, showing his
sparse teeth.
Gage thought the old man vividly expressed what they were all feeling.
"Nathanial selected the right name for her, my pet.
The Blue Falcon
suits the brigantine.
She'll soar through these waters like a bird of
prey."
Shemaine cocked her head aslant to gaze up at her husband with a curious
grin.
"I'm thankful you're not a ship's captain, sir.
I fear I'd soon
be taking second place to a wooden mistress."
"Eh, never that, my love," Gage murmured, resting his chin on top of her
head.
"You're my only mistress and my dearest love.
I could no more
sail away from you than my own heart."
"Aye, tis that way with me, too." Shemaine sighed.
"I could never leave
you.
When we first came together in love, it was not only the merging
of our bodies but our hearts as well.
We've truly become one."
"Aye, love, and our child will be a token of our love, for our joy was
complete when you conceived."' Shemaine nestled her head against his
chest.
"Aye, to be sure, Mr.
Thornton.
To be sure!"
= .
Epiloque The gangplank of the newly docked ship from England was
lowered, and after the first few passengers disembarked, Gage shifted
his one-year-old son in his arm and thrust out an arm to point toward the
nattily garbed couple who were vying for a place near the rail.
Following her husband's directions, Shemaine finally located her parents
and began to dance sideways along the wharf in an effort to get their
attention.
"Mama!
Papa!
Look this way!"
Camille recognized the familiar voice that reached their ears and
promptly scanned the dock in search of her daughter.
Upon espying
Shemaine, she waved an arm.
"We're coming, darling!
We'll be down
shortly."
In a moment Camille and Shemus O'Hearn, followed by a whole complement
of servants, were hurrying down the gangplank and running with open arms
toward their daughter.
Shemaine hugged each fiercely as Gage and
William waited behind her with the children.
Andrew was clasping his
grandfather's finger and was not at all desirous of being kissed and
hugged by any of the strangers who came near.
Then Shemaine eagerly
drew her parents forward to meet their new grandson.
"Mama, Papa, this is Christopher Thornton."
The one-year-old raised an arm to push away the loving caress of the
older woman and, turning his green eyes away from her, tucked his dark
head beneath his father's chin, making that one chuckle and hug him
close.
"Christopher takes to strangers no better than his brother
does," Gage informed the O'Hearns.
"But once he gets to know you, he'll
be walking over your toes in his eagerness to get into your laps.
He especially enjoys being read to."
"At such a young age?" Camille queried proudly.
"What a smart boy he
is."
"He looks like his father," Shemus mumbled with some disappointment.
He
had hoped to see more of his own daughter in the lad.
"Aye, but there's no mistaking where his green eyes came from dear,'
his wife said sweetly, patting his arm.
Shemaine could not restrain herself another moment.
"Is it really true,
Papa, that you've sold everything and intend to live in Williamsburg?"
The elder tucked his thumbs in the pocket of his waistcoat and grinned.
"Maurice said there are great opportunities to be found there for an
enterprising man.
He's living there now with his wife, Garland, and
thought I should look into starting a business in the city."
"Oh, Papa, that's wonderful!
Now we'll live close enough to visit on a
frequent basis."
Shemus glanced up at Gage with an inquiry.
"Are you still building
ships?"
"Aye, along with my father, who has put in with me," the younger man
replied.
"We've hired a few more men, and the work is going a lot
faster now."
"Oh, I hope you haven't given up making furniture," Camille interjected,
suffering some dismay at the thought.
"We sold all of our furnishings
before leaving England, so we'll be needing some more as soon as we can
find a home."
"The cabinet shop is bigger now," Shemaine informed her mother happily.
"And Gage has had to hire several new apprentices to help keep up with
the demands of all the people wanting his furniture.
In fact, we've
enlarged the cabin and have acquired a servant to help me clean and
cook.
You and Papa will be able to stay with us and have a guest
bedroom all to yourselves whenever you visit.
William still uses the
loft when he comes."
"But what about Mary Margaret?" Camille asked her daughter in a muted
tone.
"I thought she and William were interested in each other."
"They've had a long friendship, to be sure,'' Shemaine confided quietly.
"But I don't think they're too serious about getting married, certainly
not at this time.
For one who has the wiles of a matchmaker, Mary
Margaret is not at all sure she wants to give up her single life as a
widow.
The two of them play cards together quite often, but they're
also seeing others.
William has all the older women simply goggle-eyed
over him, and they're chasing him as hard and fast as the younger ones
ever did Gage."
"With good reason," Camille whispered behind a smile.
"My dear, if your
husband looks as good when he matures to a ripe age as his father does
now, then you'll surely have to fight the women off in droves."
Shemaine laughed, unconcerned.
"Gage reassures me quite often, Mama,
that I'm the only love in his life."
Andrew tugged on his father's breeches.
"Gran'pa wants to take Chris
and me onto the ship, Daddy.
Can we go?"
"Watch your brother carefully now," Gage urged, squatting down. He stood
his youngest son on his feet, and immediately Christopher slipped his
tiny hand into his brother's.
Taking hold of his grandfather's finger,
the toddler looked back at his father with a wide grin that was closely
reminiscent of the one Andrew had mastered at an early age.
"Bah, Da-da."' Gage chuckled at his youngest son's attempt to talk.
"Good-bye, Chris."
Shemus chortled as he took note of his grandson's winsome charm and,
bustling behind the other three, followed them up the gangplank. It
didn't take him long to win the toddler's confidence as he pointed out
the seagulls that were swooping close overhead.
Before they left the
ship again, he was carrying Christopher in his arms and making him laugh
in glee.
Camille joined her husband, and together they reveled in the
delightful antics of their grandchild.
Gage pulled his wife's hand through his arm and spoke proudly as he
watched their family.
"Did you ever imagine, Shemaine, that you would
see our parents looking so utterly happy?
Twould seem you've gifted
them with new life by bringing Christopher into this world."
"I believe you had something to do with it, too, sir," his wife reminded