Petals on the River (46 page)

trigger, he was there to make sure none of the shots went wild.
 
But he

could feel her whole body trembling against him and, mistaking her

trepidation, tried to soothe whatever fears she had.

"Yosu're doing exceptionally well for a beginner, Shemaine, so just

relax and let me show you how to swing through a target."

Well before the shot was made, Shemaine realized that it was nigh

impoSsible for her to concentrate on sighting anything, for her thoughts

were completely engrossed with the man, not the weapon in her grasp.

Once the rifle went off, missing the plate by a lengthy margin, and the

exploding shot had slammed her back against the stalwart form, a

startled gasp was wrenched from her, and with good reason.
 
It was

definitely a shock to her womanly being to find her soft buttocks

suddenly buttressing a rock-hard thigh.
 
Had she sat upon hot coals, her

reaction would have been no different, for she jerked away as if her

backside had been scalded.

"That wasn't nearly as good as what you did yesterday, but we'll try

again," Gage commented casually, leaning close over her shoulder so he

could have some idea where she would be aiming the next time.
 
He was

not oblivious to her soft form within the circle of his arms, but he had

made up his mind to crush his wayward thoughts, especially during her

lessons.
 
"No need to be nervous now, Shemaine.
 
Just relax."

There is absolutely every reason to be nervous!
 
Shemaine thought in a

panic, feeling his chest pressing against her back and his arm casually

encircling her as he held a hand beneath the barrel of the flintlock so

its weight wouldn't drain her strength.
 
Of a sudden, she felt

suffocated, unable to breathe, and she knew she would have to escape ere

she embarrassed herself completely.

Throwing off his arms, she left the flintlock in his grasp and bolted

away with a breathless excuse.
 
"I've got to knead my bread!
 
I don't

have time for any more lessons now."

"Shemaine, where are you goþ?
 
Come back here!'' His mouth dropped open

as she lifted her skirts and raced off toward the back porch. Totally

bemused, he exchanged a glance with Gillian, who was just as mystified.

The younger man shrugged, contemplated the tin plate that was still

intact and, lifting it for his employer's inspection, grinned as he

stated the obvious.
 
"Well, at least ye can still eat vittles from this

one."

The next day Hannah Fields and her two younger sons came for a visit,

much to the delight of Andrew.
 
The three boys romped and played in the

back yard while Shemaine and the older woman watched from the porch and

got to know each other better.

"Yer master's li'l tyke is adorable," the portly, jolly-faced woman

declared, smiling as her eyes followed Andrew about the yard.
 
" Tis

certain his father is bringin' him up good an' true."

"Have you known Mr.
 
Thornton for long?" Shemaine queried, wanting to

understand the man better.
 
Though on the night of her confrontation

with the snake she had glimpsed a sensual hunger in his eyes that had

made her more than a little uneasy about being alone with him, since

then Gage Thornton had treated her with all the consideration a

gentleman might show a lady.
 
She could not, of course, read his mind,

and at sundry times, when she glanced up and caught him regarding her so

intently, she couldn't help but wonder what he was thinking .
 
.
 
.
 
or

perhaps yearning for.

" Bout as long as yer master's lived here," Hannah answered with a

chortle.
 
"We settled here a couple o' years afore Gage came.
 
His

missus was a real lady, she was.
 
Not so much high-minded or haughty

like some are, ye understand, but kindly an' sweet-natured.
 
I the'er saw

a woman what loved her mister as much as she did Mr.
 
Thornton. Some say

he didn't deserve her cause he didn't love nothin' but his ship, yet tis

been much on me mind that whate'er work he did, he did as much for her

as he did for himself."

"Mr.
 
Thornton has certainly proven himself an ambitious and talented

man," Shemaine observed, sweeping a hand to indicate the neat path

meandering from the porch through the fruit trees and on out to the

barns and buildings he had constructed.
 
"I can see proof of his hard

work everywhere I turn."

Hannah flicked her eyes toward Shemaine, wondering just what she had

been told about her master.
 
It seemed unlikely the girl would have been

so casually resigned to her indentureship if she had heard any part of

what Mrs.
 
Pettycomb and her circle of bigoted friends were prone to say

behind Gage Thornton's back.
 
The gossips were eager to delve into

malicious speculation and sometimes lent voice to such wild imaginings

that few could withstand their attacks.
 
Gage had done so. With stoic

determination, he had continued working as usual, daring anybody else to

face him with their tales.
 
Whatever the truth about Victoria's fatal

fall, Hannah had no intention of spreading the like of such talk

herself.
 
Wrongfully maligning an innocent man was a serious offense in

her own mind, no matter how much Alma Pettycomb and others like her were

wont to disregard the damage their long tongues could do.

"I came prepared ta teach ye what li'l I know bout cookin'," Hannah

informed Shemaine with a twinkle of amusement in her eyes.
 
"But yer

master told me soon after I arrived that ye've been doin' well enough on

yer own .
 
.
 
.
 
so's I'm thinkin' ye maybe don't need me help."

"Actually, I would love to learn to make biscuits the way they make them

at the tavern .
 
.
 
.
 
that is, if you know how," Shemaine replied

eagerly.
 
"I had sea biscuits on the voyage over here, but they were

nothing like the ones at the tavern.
 
It took a strong stomach to

tolerate those things, what with all the maggots and such that were

oftentimes found in them."

1=.

._L "We can make a batch o' biscuits for the noon meal," the older woman

suggested with a merry laugh.
 
"I brought a basket o' food with me,

thinkin' ye might be a bit tired o' yer own cookin'.
 
The biscuits'll be

a tasty addition ta the vittles."

''Perhaps we should bring the boys in to play in the cabin while we

cook," Shemaine said worriedly.
 
"Recently I had such a fright with a

poisonous snake, I fret that another may be near."

"Those nasty things!
 
They make me blood turn cold with fear! There's

some they call rattlers, an' if'n ye've e'er heard one, ye know the

reason why."

"I've heard one already, and it was too close for comfort," Shemaine

replied with a shudder.

Hannah clapped her hands loudly together as she called to the

youngsters.
 
"Come in now, boys.
 
An' Malcolm an' Duncan, I want ye ta

mind yer manners in Mr.
 
Thornton's nice, clean house.
 
I wouldn't have

Mistress Shemaine thinkin' I'm raisin' a pack o' wild hooligans

upriver."

As boys are wont to do once they've been confined to small areas, they

began to wrestle and play rough.
 
Andrew got the worst of it, being the

youngest, and Shemaine felt her own heart catch when he got knocked

around in the scuffling.
 
In seeking to protect him, she tried finesse

in separating the three.
 
The older ones were used to playing with each

other and were far tougher than she deemed safe for Andrew, but he was

brave despite the bruises he acquired and went back into the frisky fray

with a cry of glee.
 
The boisterous tussling, however, was sharply

curtailed when Hannah finally blared an order at her sons, bringing them

to swift and alert attention.

"I told ye boys ta mind yer manners, an' if'n ye don't, I'll be layin'

ye both cross me knees an' paddlin' yer bare backsides good an' proper.

An' ye know I mean what I say!"

 
From then on, the two boys could have been likened to little angels,

except for the devilish gleams in their eyes.
 
But they obviously

understood their mother was serious with her threats, for they even

consented to take a nap with Andrew while Hannah and Shemaine cleaned up

the kitchen.

Before coming to visit, Hannah had prepared a meal for her own family

and had left her daughters with the task of serving supper if she

returned late, so when Gage encouraged his neighbor to stay and share

the evening fare with them, Hannah readily accepted, welcoming the

respite from her enormous duties as mother and wife.
 
It was obvious she

relished the food Shemaine had prepared, and when Gage encouraged her to

indulge herself in a second helping, she readily complied.
 
Afterward,

Hannah pushed back from the table with a groan.

"I hope me boat don't sink on the way home, cause I'd the'er be able ta

swim ta shore.
 
Me poor Charlie would the'er forgive me for leavin' him

with the task o' raisin' our brood by his lonesome."

Gage grinned.
 
"Would you care to be escorted home?"

Hannah cast him a glance askance, her eyes glittering with puckish

delight.
 
"I should accept yer offer after all yer wicked attempts ta

fatten me up," she chided jovially, then waved away the possibility.

"If'n the boat starts sinkin' I'll just tie a rope round Malcolm an'

Duncan an' let em swim home."

"Ma!" the boys cried in unison, and stared at their mother with mouths

agape.
 
At her resulting laughter, they made much of her threat as they

poked bony fingers at each other.

"Malcolm's gonna be the first!"

"Nah, Ma!
 
Throw Duncan out!
 
I wanna see him swim home!"