Riverbreeze: Part 1 (26 page)

If they were nervous or sad or excited or
angry, they didn’t reveal their feelings. They sat very straight
and still, perfectly composed, holding hands as they were wont to
do, all their attention focused on the solicitor. Robert couldn’t
imagine how they could be so calm. Their lives had changed so
dramatically these past five months and now it seemed they were
about to change again. But perhaps because they had been through
this before with their own father, they were more prepared.

Among the crackling of the fire and the
labored breaths of Francis Tyler, Mr. Arnall once again explained
the circumstances that had prompted this unusual reading of the
will and the conditions under which it had been written. He
informed the twins that they would inherit the one hundred and
fifty acres of land (fifty acres each for Elizabeth, Evelyn and
their governess) that had been granted to Tyler at the time of
their arrival since they had been paying passengers. This took them
all by surprise, the twins and the brothers.
Where
is the land
? Robert thought, but that was none of his
business. At least Tyler had bequeathed the land to the twins
rather than to Phillip. That would have been the traditional thing
to do. Anyway, it didn’t matter to him. That land wasn’t his
concern unless…

At that thought, Arnall then read the words
that would bind these four young people together for a
lifetime.

“It is my fervent hope and my final request ,
that upon my death, that my son Robert Alexander Bassett and my
niece, Elizabeth Lillian Tyler and my son, James Andrew Bassett and
my niece, Evelyn Marie Tyler do enter into the holy state of
matrimony as soon as I have been laid to rest.”

The sentence had been read; the gavel had
been dropped. Robert closed his eyes, feeling trapped. It was true
that he had felt some attraction towards Elizabeth and that her
loving nature towards his son had warmed his heart, but they didn’t
even know each other. They had only met hours ago! He had always
hated the thought of arranged marriages where a husband and wife
were more like business partners. And now he was being forced into
one.

And what about the girls? Did they have a
choice? What if the twins didn’t want to marry them? Had Tyler
provided any support for them other than the land if they decided
not to marry? Apparently not; it seemed the twins didn’t have any
choice in the matter which was typical.

When he opened his eyes again, he glanced at
Elizabeth. She still stared straight ahead at the solicitor, as if
she were deep in thought. She looked very calm, not panicked at
all, or angry, or sad; and of course, she and Evelyn were holding
hands. He felt piqued by that and he didn’t know why. And then as
if she had felt his eyes on her she turned to look at him. She
smiled this time, a gentle, warm smile, and he felt ashamed of
himself.

Jamie was the first to speak. He had been
standing directly behind Evelyn while Arnall had read the terms of
the will, but now much to everyone’s surprise he moved in front of
her, knelt down on one knee, covered her free hand with his own and
with genuine feeling said, “I shall take care of you, Evelyn. I
promise I shall do my best to always take care of you and keep you
safe.”

“I know you will, Jamie. Thank you.” She
answered, smiling affectionately at him. He returned the mutual
smile, stood up, but stayed beside her and kept his hand on her
shoulder.

Seconds skipped by and Robert realized
everyone was waiting for him to do the same. He looked at Elizabeth
and unlike Evelyn, whose face was now aglow, Elizabeth was staring
at her lap and picking at her fingernails. She looked like she was
about to cry and Robert decided he needed to say something.

He stepped up beside her, but he didn’t get
down on one knee and he didn’t make any promises. Elizabeth had to
look up at him as he quietly asked, “Are you happy about this?”

If Elizabeth was surprised by his question,
she didn’t show it. It seemed that in these past five months no one
had ever asked her or Evelyn what they wanted to do with their
lives or if they were in any way troubled by the arrangements that
had been made on their behalf. They had simply been told what to do
and when to do it, and just when she had the chance to speak her
mind and declare, ‘No! I am not happy. I do not want to marry you.
I do not want to follow any more orders!’ she didn’t do it.
Instead, with quiet dignity, she answered, “I am.”

“You do not want to wait and perhaps meet
someone else?” He persisted.

“No.” She said simply.

Robert stood there looking at her in silence
for a few minutes. He wanted to scream at her, ‘Why! Why are you so
accepting of these terms?’ He was so frustrated because he didn’t
understand her at all. She met his gaze unwaveringly; there was no
fear of him or revulsion or anxiety, just quiet acceptance.

He finally let out a sigh, letting his
frustrations go. He didn’t want to fight her and he certainly
didn’t want to purposely reject her and possibly hurt her feelings.
There was time to get answers later. “Very well, then.” He said,
drawing himself up. “We will marry as my father wishes us to and as
Jamie has promised your sister to care for her and to keep her
safe, I shall also promise to do my best to care for you and keep
you safe.”

“Thank you.” Elizabeth murmured, a pleased
look on her face. Evelyn squeezed her hand and they shared a small,
secret smile.

Robert made a face. What was going on? Had
they arranged this whole affair?

But before Robert could think on it further,
Arnall spoke again. “Now that we are all in agreement there is only
the matter of the four of you signing the marriage licenses that
Mr. Tyler had me draw up earlier. Then tomorrow I shall register
the documents with the county clerk and pay the fee. The licenses
will allow you to marry at any time.”

“Thank you, John.” Tyler said, “This makes me
very happy, but there is one more thing the girls must hear. They
must know the truth about Robert and James.”

“What truth?” Both Elizabeth and Evelyn asked
simultaneously, suddenly alert. “What have you not told us, Uncle?”
Evelyn asked, sounding like a little girl.

But Tyler was too tired to continue. He
looked to Jamie to do the explaining for him. “James…will you…?” He
fell silent, too weary to continue.

Evelyn turned to stare at Jamie. “Jamie…?”
She questioned in a small voice.

He let out a little laugh. “’Tis not bad.” He
said, caressing her shoulder in reassurance. “We’re not
monsters.”

“I never thought you were, but…” She stopped
short, and Robert wondered what she had been about to say. She had
a guilty look on her face that Robert didn’t like. What was she
really thinking? That they were criminals? Drunkards? Savages?
Slubberdegullions?

“No, Jamie and I are not monsters.” Robert
spoke up firmly. He moved to stand before the twins. If his father
wanted the girls to know the truth, he would tell them even though
he thought it was unimportant. That life was behind them and they
would never go back. “Jamie, do you mind if I tell them?”

Jamie shrugged his shoulders as if he didn’t
care. “Go ahead.” He said.

The girls had identical looks of anticipation
on their faces as they stared up at Robert, waiting for this
mysterious information. It was still something of a shock to him to
see the same face on two different people. If it weren’t for their
different colored gowns, he would be lost.

He was nonchalant as he began, making a
dismissive gesture with one hand. “As you know, Jamie and I were
orphans when we came here, but we had an older brother and most
likely we
still
have an older brother. His
name is Wesley Charles Bassett and he is the third Earl of
Pennington…”

The twins gasped, their eyes wide with shock,
their mouths agape. They sat up a little straighter as Robert
continued despite their reaction. “Our father was Robert Alexander
Bassett, I’m named after him; he was the second Earl and our
grandfather was Wesley James Bassett, the first Earl. He received
his title and lands from Queen Elizabeth in 1584.”

“So you two are sons of an Earl.” Elizabeth
stated slowly and matter-of-factly, her expression so neutral
Robert couldn’t discern what she was thinking. “Your family is of
the peerage.”

Robert nodded. “Yes, we are, but that does
not mean….” Robert suddenly stopped, frowning deeply because
Elizabeth and Evelyn were suddenly looking at each other and
laughing!

“What the hell is so funny?” Robert demanded,
stiff with indignation. Did they think he was lying? He caught
Jamie’s eye, but Jamie just shrugged his shoulders.

It was Elizabeth who spoke first, wiping at
her eyes. “Oh Robert, I am so sorry. I did not mean to laugh like
that, but it is all so ironic!”

“What is?” He asked. He was enormously
confused by their reaction, but at least they hadn’t all of a
sudden gone mushy and fawning or worse, greedy and hopeful,
although there was still time for that.

“Our father told us some of the most awful
things…” She started to say, but then stopped short when Evelyn
shushed her with an elbow to her ribs.

“Shh. Not in front of Uncle Francis.” She
whispered to Elizabeth.

But Tyler heard. “I never intended to hurt
your father.” He said, his voice strained, sad, rueful and weary.
The four people went silent as he struggled to continue. His voice
was a mere whisper; he could barely get the words out. “He was my
only brother; I loved him, I never thought…” He looked at his
nieces with such sorrow in his eyes.

“Uncle, please.” Evelyn hurriedly stood up
and went to his side. He was struggling so and she wanted him to
stop. She took his hand into hers and it was so cold it alarmed
her. “We’ve already had this conversation and you have already
apologized to us. We do not blame you. You must rest now.”

“You are…?” Tyler asked the girl in front of
him; he clearly didn’t know which one was which.

“I am Evelyn.” She said gently, not seeming
to mind that she had to tell him.

“Evelyn…what a lovely name…Eve…lyn.” He drew
out the name, pronouncing it in two syllables as it should be
pronounced. “Are you happy?” He asked, his voice sounding weaker
now. “Are you happy with James?”

Evelyn smiled warmly at her uncle not wanting
to distress him. “Oh yes, Uncle, I am very happy with Jamie.” And
she reached out her hand to Jamie and he immediately came to her
side and slipped his arm around her waist. “We’re very happy,
father.” Jamie said softly, realizing Tyler’s time was nearing.
Evelyn then reached out with her other hand to Elizabeth, saying,
“And Elizabeth is very happy with Robert. Aren’t you, Bess?”

Elizabeth went willingly to her sister’s side
and took Evelyn’s hand. She smiled warmly at her, realizing what
Evelyn was doing. “Yes.” She said while still smiling at Evelyn,
then she turned her gaze to her uncle and stated, “I am also happy
with Robert.”

Robert finally came to his senses and
realized what they were doing. They were taking away all of Tyler’s
guilt and his sorrow over the unfortunate circumstances concerning
his brother, and making him feel at peace. He went to Elizabeth’s
side by his own choice and smiled at her look of surprise and
delight. He slipped his arm around her tiny waist and Tyler looked
at the four of them as if to memorize their faces. The frown was
gone from his brow, the lines smoothed from between his eyes and
from around his mouth. He looked calm and peaceful and then without
warning his breathing slowed and his eyes slowly closed. Robert,
Jamie, Elizabeth and Evelyn and the solicitor stood motionless in
the stifling, warm room with the crackling fire and the candles
burning on the desk and watched in silence as Francis Tyler inhaled
one last time.

And then through the silence, they heard the
awful sound that signaled Tyler’s death; his final, slow, lengthy
rattling exhalation.

“Father?” Robert called, but he knew he was
gone. Jamie bowed his head and pulled Evelyn into his arms, and she
held him as the first of his tears came. Robert stood stoically,
his gaze fixed on his adoptive father. He didn’t even move when
Elizabeth took his hand into hers, offering comfort.

“We must call the doctor.” John Arnall said
straightaway, coming forward.

“Yes, of course. Do that.” Robert finally
responded.

The solicitor hurried out the door then,
returning mere minutes later with Doctor Harris.

It was with great sorrow that the doctor
confirmed Francis Tyler’s death. The man just didn’t understand it.
His treatments of emetics, clysters and bloodletting were supposed
to balance the body’s humors and restore the patient to health, but
more often than not, the patient died.

“I am sorry; I did my best.” The grungy
little man said, his defeated gaze taking in the four young people
in the room.

Robert and Jamie now stood side by side,
their arms touching, and the girls were on either side of them.
Jamie swiped at his eyes. “We know you did.” He said.

But Robert was not so kind. All of a sudden
he was filled with a violent rage and he felt like he was going to
explode. “No, no you did not.” He said in a low, hard voice. Then
his voice rose with each word. “You killed him! You killed him with
your worthless treatments! Now get out, you filthy, barbarous
murderer!” He shouted.

Elizabeth and Evelyn both gasped at the
accusation.

“How dare you, sir!” The doctor bristled in
indignation. Despite his less-than sanitary practices, he took his
profession very seriously. “How dare you question my integrity! I
will see you in court, sir.” And without waiting for any response
he began to gather up his medical supplies.

“He didn’t mean it!” Jamie immediately said,
afraid for Robert. He grabbed his brother’s arm. “Rob, apologize;
tell him you didn’t mean it.” He pleaded.