Riverbreeze: Part 1 (33 page)

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Evelyn was already hurrying out of their
bedchamber to meet her sister before Elizabeth had even reached the
doorway. From the moment of their birth, they had always had this
tremendous connection and not surprisingly she had sensed
Elizabeth’s approach and just minutes ago she had sensed
Elizabeth’s surge of emotion. Her face was flushed with delight for
her sister, a blush that most likely matched Elizabeth’s blush when
Robert had ended the kiss because Mistress Fossett had interrupted
them. “You’re all aglow!” Evelyn whispered excitedly and then gave
her twin a quick hug. She was whispering because she didn’t want
the teenage girls in their bedchamber to overhear. “Tell me all
about it.”

Elizabeth laughed at her impatience and kept
her arm around her twin’s waist. “Not here.” She whispered back. “I
do not want to take the chance that Alicia and Jane might
overhear.”

“Why do you think I was whispering? You can
tell me on the way to get the dogs.” Evelyn said, steering
Elizabeth towards the stairs. She practically pushed Elizabeth
along, she was so eager to find out all the details.

“Do you think ‘tis safe for us to go to the
servants’ quarters alone?” Elizabeth asked, holding back,
frustrating Evelyn.

“I shall ask Jamie to escort us.” Evelyn said
impatiently. “I think he’s still outside with the men. Now, tell
me! Was it wonderful? Was it everything you dreamt it would
be?”

“Oh Evie, it was wonderful.” Elizabeth
sighed, and Evelyn let out a little sigh of her own. “But let me
tell you what happened from the beginning!”

“Oh yes, do hurry before I die of curiosity.”
Evelyn exclaimed dramatically.

They walked through the hallway and down the
stairs, side by side, their arms around each other’s waists, their
heads close together, as if they were attached to each other.
Beeswax candles in sconces had been lit throughout the house,
lighting their way, but Evelyn barely noticed them as she listened
to Elizabeth relate every word of her conversation with Robert.
They giggled together at Robert’s teasing, then became somber at
the telling of their secret, finally sighing in contentment as
Elizabeth described the kiss. Neither one of them thought for a
moment that Elizabeth might be betraying Robert by telling Evelyn
everything. The twins had never kept anything from each other and
they weren’t about to start now just because they were about to be
married.

Once outside, the girls stood on the
fan-shaped stone steps looking to their right where all the men
were still gathered. A gust of chilly wind blew by them, ruffling
their collars and skirts and causing them to hug themselves until
the wind subsided. That same gust of wind nearly blew out the flame
of the torch at the bottom step, and they thought they might be
left in the immediate darkness, but then the flame surged back to
life allowing them to see their footing once again.

Torches were still burning along the walkways
that led to the privy, down to the river and to some of the
outbuildings. They would need that light when it came time to get
the dogs from the servants’ quarters. While Jamie would know the
way and could guide them without mishap, the torches made the girls
feel much safer.

Evelyn and Elizabeth didn’t hear any more
shooting, obviously the powder and shot had all been spent, but all
was not quiet. Now the men appeared to be standing in a large
circle, some of them blending into the dark, but others, who had
taken off their doublets could be clearly seen, their white shirts
almost glowing in the fire light. They were obviously having a
grand time, shouting, cheering, laughing and gesticulating. Many of
them had cups in their hands, some held whole bottles of wine or
brandy and others held long, clay pipes with little curls of smoke
rising from the bowls of burning tobacco.

The girls watched anxiously for a few
moments, feeling unsure about whether to approach the crowd of men.
They could hear some of them shouting words of encouragement among
the general din, words like ‘hold’im’ and ‘watch out’. Then groans
of Ohhh and ooooh as they reacted to whatever was going on in the
middle of the circle. Unfortunately the girls couldn’t see Jamie
anywhere and Evelyn prayed he wasn’t in the middle of that fracas.
But she feared he was.

The girls continued to scan the crowd; Evelyn
was especially anxious to find Jamie. What could be going on in the
middle of that circle?

A single, loud voice coming from the men
closest to them caught their attention. Evelyn recognized the man
as being one of the crew from the ship they had sailed on and
remembered the other men calling him Adams. She knew that the
seamen had been staying with the ship, working all day, repairing
sails and rigging and then coming aground each evening looking for
decent food, drink and entertainment. For the past two nights their
Uncle Francis, Maureen and Phillip had welcomed them to eat with
the servants while Captain Fletcher had joined the family for
dinner. The girls had learned that it was a common practice among
all the planters in the colony to invite visitors and travelers to
room and board with them. So it shouldn’t have been a surprise to
see him here tonight enjoying the hospitality of the household once
again.

“Ooohh…look who ‘as come to jine us.” He
sing-songed. “Two lovely birds fit for pluckin’.”

Evelyn immediately stiffened at the insult
and by her side Elizabeth let out a little gasp. “How dare he!”
Evelyn said.

“Oy, Jamie, mine lad!” John Ewens yelled out
after following Adams’ gaze. “Your bride cometh.”

So, Jamie was in the middle of that circle
after all. She heard him utter “Huh?” from somewhere but she still
couldn’t see him.

“Bride?” Adams asked, looking around at the
men closest to him for confirmation. When they nodded ‘yes’ he
groaned and swore, “God’s bones!”

The men parted and the twins watched
wide-eyed as Jamie staggered to his feet, using the other man’s
shoulder to help him stand. He had been wrestling with Edward Cole,
he was wearing only his breeches and was filthy all over, but
looked as happy as a lark. He swayed for an instant, then staggered
again until George Menefie came over and grabbed his arm to steady
him. “I’m fine; I’m fine.” He slapped at Menefie’s hand like a
girl, then stood there for a second, gaining his balance and
blinking dust out of his eyes.

Evelyn didn’t like what she saw at all. He
was a mess and clearly he had had far too much to drink. She looked
to Elizabeth for support in her emotions but Elizabeth was standing
there with her hand over her mouth, not knowing whether to laugh or
to stare in shock.

“Evie!” Jamie called out, smiling idiotically
and waving his hand like a retardate.

At that point Evelyn felt like running back
into the house and hiding.

But Elizabeth grabbed her arm, whispering,
“Mon Dieu, Evie! He’s drunk!” “Shush!” Evelyn snapped while
watching Jamie lope towards them, barely able to stay in a straight
line. She wished Elizabeth would let go of her arm.

“And he’s nearly naked!”

“I said, shush!” Evelyn repeated, but
underneath the anger and the embarrassment, she had noticed the
nearly naked part too and couldn’t tear her eyes away.

Finally he stopped directly in front of them,
swaying and blinking at them as if his eyesight was failing. Evelyn
glared at him and crossed her arms over her chest. She noticed that
Elizabeth kept her hand over her mouth, hiding a smile that she
couldn’t seem to control, and Evelyn threw her an angry look
too.

“Why’re there two of you?” He asked, looking
back and forth as if he couldn’t determine which one was his true
bride.

“Because you are drunk!” Evelyn snapped. If
he didn’t remember that she had a twin sister, she wasn’t going to
remind him!

That seemed to make Jamie very happy because
he smiled suddenly and turned back towards the men, announcing,
“Everyone…everyone…my bride, Evie.” And then he did something that
was totally stupid. He tried to bow the way he had been taught
years ago, one leg out front and then folding at the waist and
sweeping his hand along his side from front to back. Well, he ended
up losing his balance and toppling right over.

Evelyn let out a little shriek. Elizabeth
burst out laughing; in fact the whole crowd of men could be heard
roaring with laughter. One crude man in the background yelled,
“’ow’re you going to swive ‘er, Jamie, when you can’t even stand
up?”

“’e’ll make ‘er do all the work, lucky dog.”
The answer came from Adams, disappointed that the girls weren’t
fair game.

Evelyn ignored all the crudity. Men would be
men. Afraid that Jamie might have gotten hurt, she forgot all about
her anger and immediately stepped off the final step and dropped
down to her knees beside her betrothed, careless of her beautiful
gown. “Jamie, are you all right?” She cried.

“My beautiful angel.” Jamie murmured from
flat on his back. He peered up at her as if she were a goddess.

“You are out of your mind.” She scoffed,
reaching out to smooth his disheveled hair from his face. He
appeared harmless and vulnerable at that point and she could
forgive a little drunkenness on his last night of bachelorhood.

“Am not. You are the most beautiful woman in
the world.” He breathed, reaching up to stroke her face, and she
didn’t seem to mind that his fingers were caked with dirt. “One
kiss, my beautiful angel, just one kiss.”

Evelyn hesitated, staring into Jamie’s
earnest face. Everyone had gone perfectly still waiting for her
decision. What should she do? Should she kiss him right here on the
grass right in front of everyone?

“Aw, come on, mistress, one little kiss for
the lad to tide ‘im over.” Ewens said. And the men all voiced their
agreement.

“One little kiss to tide me over?” Jamie
implored like a little boy.

Evelyn’s mouth twitched in a smile. He looked
so pathetic lying there on the ground she knew she was going to
give in. She threw Elizabeth a wry look; Elizabeth just shrugged
her shoulders and sat down on the steps as if to get comfortable
for the show.

“All right. One kiss.” She said firmly,
expecting it to only be a little peck on the lips, and surely that
couldn’t hurt.

But at those four little words the men went
wild, whooping and hollering; and Jamie’s smile could have lit up
the night it was so brilliant. In one surge of movement, he sat up,
enfolded her in his arms and covered her mouth with his. He was so
eager he turned her so that he could press her to the ground, his
upper body nearly crushing her. She could not have imagined this or
at least she hadn’t believed that Jamie would have assaulted her
like this.

This attack on her was nothing like those
kisses they had shared by the river earlier that day. Those kisses
had been so wonderful, so blissful; and while Jamie had been quite
fervent in his actions he had also held himself in check so as not
to scare her.
Where was
that gentle man now
? She cried to herself.

Evelyn started to struggle when she realized
he wasn’t going to stop this assault. She managed to free her arms
and she tried pushing on his shoulders while making little
whimpering sounds, but that only fueled Jamie’s ardor. He kissed
her harder and harder, and now he was hurting her, bruising her
lips and grinding his hips into her thighs. Evelyn started to cry
and felt tears sliding down her face into her ears. Why wasn’t
someone coming to help, but in the background, the men were
cheering like the drunken louts that they were.

Finally she heard Elizabeth yelling at Jamie
to stop, and then suddenly she felt Jamie pulled off of her. George
Menefie and Samuel Matthews were holding him by his arms and
dragging him back from her. They were being rather rough with him
but she didn’t care.

Gasping and sobbing, she immediately curled
into a ball heedless of the beautiful skirt of her gown bunching up
around her legs. Menefie kept a strong grip on one of Jamie’s arms,
keeping him away from her. Evelyn could hear his harsh breathing
and his demands to be let go.

Captain Mathews returned to kneel down beside
her, regret written all over his face. “Forgive us, Mistress.” He
said, bowing his head in respect. “We should never have allowed
this to happen. Your uncle would have had us whipped. I would be
honored if you would allow me to escort you back into the
house.”

Evelyn didn’t really want Mathews’ help; she
wanted her sister. She was sore and feeling dirty and wanted
nothing more than to wash herself and crawl into bed with Elizabeth
and cry on her shoulder. But before Evelyn could respond, they all
heard Jamie cry out. “I’m sorry, Evelyn. I’m sorry!”

Evelyn flinched and tried to ignore him, but
he sounded so remorseful. If he continued to apologize like that,
she feared she just might give in. “Bess?” She called for her twin,
reaching a hand out to her, hoping to gain strength from her.

Elizabeth rushed to her sister’s side. She
helped Evelyn sit up and cradled her in her arms. Evelyn felt warm
and comforted and safe again.

Hearing Jamie’s apologies made Elizabeth as
angry as a storm cloud. She glared at Jamie and said, “You, sir,
are no gentleman. My sister trusted you and you hurt her.” She
pulled a handkerchief out of her sleeve and gently dabbed at
Evelyn’s cheeks.

“Did I hurt you, Evie?” Jamie asked, his
voice pitched high and full of regret. “Did I hurt you?”

Evelyn looked at him, her heart beginning to
melt as she feared it might. She swiped at the few remaining tears
rolling down her cheeks, honestly believing that he hadn’t really
meant to hurt her and most likely it was the overindulgence of
liquor that had made him so aggressive.

He was still being held by Menefie on one
side, and Menefie’s grip looked painful. His shoulders slumped and
the expression on his face was full of shame. He was still filthy
and his hair was disheveled and wild around his shoulders. She also
noticed a tear in his good breeches and in the back of her mind,
realized that she would probably be the one to repair them. “Yes,
Jamie, you did hurt me.” She answered, her voice small and higher
than normal.