South of Stavewood (Stavewood Saga Book 2) (8 page)

Chapter Fifteen

    
 
A
few minutes before nine in the morning Timothy Elgerson walked out onto the platform on the front side of the mill and faced the crowd.

      “We will be reopening today, thank you all for coming out,” he began. “You all know what happened here, I cannot change that. I have however changed all I could to keep that same thing from ever happening again. I have done everything in my power to make up to all of you for your losses. I know I can’t replace everything you have lost.”

      Rebecca watched Isabel walk from the pathway to the front of the crowd. Timothy nodded solemnly to his mother.

      “We are lumbermen. It’s not an easy job, and the good Lord knows it’s not always a safe job, but it is what we all do best. We’re a part of this land, a part of this country, and for myself I am proud of that.” He cleared his throat.

      “My grandfather built all this from a shack on this land, and it’s likely that every home in this territory has been built with split logs or lumber from our mill. For that I am also very proud. Proud for me, for my family, and for all of your families. As long as one piece of our lumber stands in one home, all of those who have poured out their blood and sweat here, all of those who have given their lives here, will be remembered proudly.” The big man bowed his head quietly for a moment and whispered to himself as the crowd stood silent.

      “Let’s get this blade spinning, boys,” he shouted.

      The crowd was moved and applauded with appreciation. Mark stood on the edge of the group and watched Timothy with pride. He felt lucky to have the man as his father and he followed the men into the mill as the steam whistle blew shrill in the morning air.

      After several seconds the saw rang out, rising in pitch, as it picked up speed, and the crowd gasped as the blade screamed, biting into the first log.

      “Good heavens,” Emma gasped aloud.

      “Impressive, isn’t it?” Rebecca led her cousin towards the crowd.

      The sound of the blades running made conversation nearly impossible and the crowd dispersed quickly. Isabel kissed Rebecca warmly on the cheek. “Phillip would be a proud man today,” she said in her ear and walked up the path to her waiting carriage.

      Rebecca and Emma followed the path returning to Stavewood silently, the sounds of the blades fading behind them, until, as they cleared the wooded area, it could be heard no more.

      “Timothy is a very smart man,” Emma remarked as she turned and looked back up the path. “I can’t hear it at all.”

      “Yes, he is,” Rebecca agreed. “I don’t think that I could bear to listen to it, not anymore.” The tiny woman sighed deeply. She stopped for a moment and admired Stavewood. Nearly every piece of the beautiful home had run through the blades of that mill, she thought. Maybe it was why she almost felt as if Stavewood were alive, a personality all in itself.

     Emma observed her cousin’s pensive expression and looked up at the house herself, thinking about the wood, and the men who milled it.

      “I could use a good strong cup of tea,” Emma took her cousin’s elbow and led her towards the beautiful house.

      “Good morning!” Isabel came from the kitchen, Louisa clinging to her hand, her dark curls bouncing around her angelic face.

      “I’m going to the fairy cottage with Grandma ‘Bell,” the child announced excitedly.

      “Would you mind?” Isabel rubbed the child’s tiny fist with her thumb. “I could use a good dose of fairy tales today.”

      “That’s a wonderful idea,” Rebecca acknowledged. “You behave like the best girl in the world and no jumping in the carriage.” She kissed her daughter lovingly and watched the matriarch and child walk hand in hand out to the waiting coach.

      The wheels rolled to a gentle stop in front of the cottage and Isabel stood outside of the home, observing the structure. The clapboard and fish scale finishes still looked fresh in a soft butter and white, the steep roofs enchanting. Now that she spent all of her time there she had added more flower beds and a gurgling pond. She sighed and took the child’s hand.

      “I love the fairy cottage,” Louisa whispered. To the two of them it was a special secret place they shared.

      Isabel looked down at the girl and smiled wistfully.

      When they had settled on the wicker davenport in the parlor, Louisa climbed into her grandmother’s lap and urged her to begin the fairy tale.

      “Start at the part where you built the house for the baby girl, p’ease.”

      “Once upon a time,” Isabel began. “There was a lady who wanted a little girl of her own more than anything else in the world. She had little boys, but they wanted toads and crickets. She wanted a little girl who would listen to the fairy tale.”

      “Just like me,” the child chimed in.

      “Just like you. And so the lady decided to build a fairy cottage and hoped that one day she would have her little girl.”

      “So you made Grandpa Phillip build one right up,” Louisa interjected, and Isabel chuckled to herself.

      “She painted it a beautiful color that she thought the little girl would love.”

     “Yellow, the color of sunshine,” Louisa added.

      “But before the little girl could come to the cottage something magic had to happen,” her grandmother continued.

      The child smiled brightly. “Daddy had to fall far, far in love.”

      “And he did. He fell in love with the most beautiful girl the lady had ever seen. She looked like a perfect china doll and her eyes were as green as the forest in the spring.”

      “My mama is the most beautiful, ever.” Louisa nodded her head, her curls bouncing.

      “And they got married and found the cottage. And then…” Isabel waited.

      “And then the magic of the cottage brought her a little girl. She was born right here. Mommy was here and you were here, and even Daddy was here, and Daddies are never there to see babies born.”

      “Almost never, that’s very true.”

      “And the magic happened because Daddy loved Mommy more than anything else in the whole world.”

      “Exactly,” Isabel confirmed.

      “And I am the baby that came from the magic love!” Louisa announced proudly.

      “Yes, you are!”

      Louisa threw her arms around her grandmother’s neck and Isabel kissed the child fondly.

      “Mama says I am going to have a new brother or sister, way littler than Mark.”

      “That’s happy news.”

      “It is.” The child frowned in deep thought. “Did they come back here to make the magic happen?”

      “Not this time,” Isabel smiled and watched the child thinking hard.

      “I like this place,” Louisa touched the yellow gingham fabric on the cushions of the settee. 

   Roland checked the surrounding area furtively, and then kissed Emma ravenously, pushing her up against the tree.

      “Oh my!” she gasped as he stepped back and straightened his shirt sleeves. It was clear to Emma when he had pressed up against her, that he was still feeling quite the man. She could not dwell on her concerns as she was so caught up in wanting to be with the man every minute.

      He produced a tidy bundle, unwrapping it and spreading the cloth out on the lawns of Stavewood.

      “Lunch!” he announced. Emma noticed that he smelled of fresh cut wood and perspired slightly in his shirt. She tried to catch her breath and enjoy their lunch.

      “This is delicious,” she smiled, sitting upright on the cloth. “Eating out here is a wonderful idea. It’s so beautiful and the breeze is so refreshing.”

      “What did she say to you?” he asked as he lay beside her, propped up on one elbow.

      “Rebecca?” Emma asked.

      “Mina. I would suspect it was rather venomous.”

      “Not terribly.” Emma looked off into the distance. “Something about how you ought to keep your promises.”

      “I promised her nothing,” he scowled.

      “You weren’t engaged?”

      “Never,” he sat upright. “I am now and I think I do have responsibilities to meet now. For instance, when would you like a ring? I have to work this afternoon. Perhaps later today?”

      “Oh, Roland,” Emma sighed. “Are you sure this is not happening too fast?”

      “Is it too fast for you?” He faced her and she turned to him.

      “I have to say something, Roland. You might as well know that I’m not one to keep my thoughts to myself. I will tell you exactly why I am hesitant. You decide how you feel about it.”

      “Seems fair,” he pondered, relaxing a bit.

      “I’m afraid,” she began.

      “Of me?”

      “No,” she continued. “I’m afraid that you are rediscovering things about yourself.” She struggled for the right words.

      “Oh.” He rubbed the back of his neck.

      “I’m thinking that you’re better now, that you can…” she blushed. “You can…”

      “I see,” he listened.

      “Maybe because it’s new, that you think you care for me when it’s really just that things are beginning to…” she couldn’t find the words.

      “You think that since I can make love now I should be sure that it’s not just to you?”

      “Oh, no. Not exactly.” She fumbled with her skirt. “I’m afraid that since you can make love, as you say, that maybe, since you and I, that maybe, it’s not me, but that you can.” She swallowed hard.

      “Wait.” He got up on his knees. “You are afraid that I’m not in love with you and simply in love with making love to you?”

      “I think so,” she sat up. “Yes, that’s it. It’s not me, it’s that you can.”

      “Do I have to pick one or the other?” He scratched his head behind his ear.

      “What?” she was becoming confused.

      “Do you think I should choose loving you and making love to you? That’s a very difficult choice.”

      “Well,” she sighed, “That’s not exactly what I’m concerned about either.”

      “Can’t I love both? I think I can,” he announced. “I can love you,
and
I can love making love to you. I’d rather not choose.”

      Emma frowned, considering his logic.

      “Are you in love with me?” He touched her chin lightly.

      “I am,” she admitted.

      “Then what’s the problem? Of course I’m completely thrilled that I can make love to you, at all in fact, but mostly to you. The day I met you at the wedding, you brought me that beer. You listened to me. I never imagined I would ever be able to be more than a friend, but I really wanted that, I needed that. I wanted you then and I thought there was no hope.

      “Ah!” He stood upright onto his feet and took her hands and pulled her to him. “Just marry me and forget all the rest. I told you I’d come courting like I ought to, but I’m simply terrible at it. I’ve not the patience.” He pulled her to him and kissed her.

      “I’m supposed to be taking my time,” she whispered into his neck as he caressed her throat.

      “Fool idea,” he responded and kissed her full on the lips.

Chapter Sixteen

     
E
mma filled her basket with cleaning supplies in the hardware shop and watched Mark out of the corner of her eye digging in a bin of square nails. A young girl had approached him, her hair very carefully styled, and she fawned for his attention. She was pretty enough, but her most noticeable feature was how flamboyantly she was dressed. It was apparent to Emma that Mark found the nails much more fascinating.

      She finished her shopping and let the boy know she would be outside. On the walkway she nearly bumped into Mina Caudell as she exited the shop.

      “Emma,” the woman was curt. She was smartly dressed, an expensive broach at her throat.

      “Hello, Mina.” Emma nodded her greeting.

      “Finished with Mr. Vancouver?” Mina purred.

      “Pardon me?”

      “I would think that by now you would have given up on Roland Vancouver. You do know about his accident.”

      “I do,” Emma replied openly.

      “Then you must know he’s worthless in bed. Everyone knows a man that is useless in bed is useless for most anything. Unless of course, it’s his money you’re after. I suppose you might be able to find a man for other things while you spend it.” Mina circled around Emma like a vulture assessing her prey.

      Emma felt her temper rising. “I will be marrying Mr. Vancouver, Mina.” She faced the woman squarely. “I find that he lacks nothing. In fact, I think that, as a man, he’s very capable.”

      Mina huffed and scowled at the girl in disgust. “Come talk to me after the honeymoon, dear,” Mina growled. “I’ll show you how to find a real man.”

      Emma watched the woman saunter away and stomped her foot. No wonder Roland was so afraid of performing, Emma thought. She thought of several less than ladylike names to call the woman, but decided she wasn’t worth the effort.

      “I’m ready,” Mark announced as he stepped out into the street.

      The two made their way together towards the dress shop to pick up Rebecca from her fitting.

      Emma enjoyed the boy’s company, finding him well-mannered and delightful. They began laughing at the funny way that the big shop windows stretched or shrank their reflections and the window to the jeweler’s was one of the most hysterical. They stood laughing as Rebecca waved from across the street and hurried to join them.

      “Look, look!” Mark put his hands on his hips and swayed from side to side. The twisted version of him in the window had all three laughing hard in the street. Rebecca stood up on her tip-toes and held her arms straight up over her head, illustrating a very misshapen stretched-out look. Emma puffed out her cheeks and put her fingers in her ears and, as she checked her reflection, noticed Mina watching her from inside. She scowled and stuck out her tongue. Mark and Rebecca quickly noticed the woman inside the shop and the three giggled and hurried down the street.

      They dropped Emma’s purchases at the Vancouver house and returned to Stavewood where they were all to meet for dinner. Timothy and Roland were in the study as the three shoppers burst into the foyer laughing.

      “What’s all this?” Timothy asked as they entered the room.

      Rebecca’s cousin stuck her tongue out at Miss Caudell,” Mark laughed. “You should have seen her face, Pa. It was hysterical.”

      Roland looked at Emma puzzled.

      “She deserved it,” Emma wrinkled her brow.

      “We were enjoying our reflections in the shops in town,” Rebecca explained, kissing Timothy on the cheek. “We didn’t know that Mina was inside. Well, not at first.” Rebecca tried to suppress a giggle.

      “Mina is not one to take a joke well,” Roland remarked.

      “I feel the same way about insults,” Emma removed her bonnet and walked out into the foyer as Mark and Rebecca went up to wash for dinner.

      “Is there a problem?” Roland touched Emma’s arm lightly.

      “I have a mind to marry you just to aggravate Mina Caudell,” she growled.

      “Perfect!” He kissed her cheek and tucked her hair behind her ear affectionately.

      “You’d take any excuse.” She pushed him playfully.

      “I would.” He flashed a handsome smile.