Triumphant Love: Banished Saga, Book Nine

by Flightner, Ramona

  “She shouldn’t be outside at night,” he muttered.

  Clarissa chuckled. “She’s in the backyard. How much mischief can she get into?” She flushed when Gabriel turned to her with a raised eyebrow and a knowing gaze. “Fine, plenty. But you have to trust that we’ve raised her well and that she will act with propriety.”

  He sighed. “I remember what it was like at that age. I fear passion will overrule good sense.” He allowed his wife to tug him away from the window to the bed, where she eased him down. He sighed with pleasure as she straddled his lap, her nightgown bunching up around her hips. “God, I love you,” he whispered, as he tangled his hands in her long hair.

  “As I love you,” she whispered. “I pray our children know what it is to love like we do.” She kissed him, arching into his soft caress of her back. “Although I wish it were still a few years away for her.”

  Gabriel sighed. “I can’t begrudge the lad. If I’d met you as a younger man, I would have moved heaven and earth to marry you. Although I had nothing to my name and two brothers to raise.” His azure-blue eyes shone with devotion. “I can’t imagine this life without you by my side.”

  She sighed, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Nor I you,” she whispered, suddenly fighting tears. “I never want to.” After a moment she whispered, “Jeremy is so brave to love again. To dare to dream again.”

  Gabriel made a sound of agreement. “Savannah helped him. He would have been a year or two away from this moment if she hadn’t written that letter. The guilt would have eaten him alive. Knowing that this is what she wanted for him eases some of the sense of betrayal.”

  She gripped her husband to her. “I don’t know if I could be as generous as she. I hate the thought of you loving another.”

  He groaned and chuckled at the same time. “Rissa, I’m here, holding you in my arms. We’re both healthy. There’s no reason to fear either of us will suffer such a fate.” He ran soothing hands over her back and head. “I know at any moment another such illness could strike again. But let’s not chase sorrow. Let’s give thanks for what we have. Right now.”

  She clung to him, her head moving up and down on his chest as she nodded her assent.

  “And I know you to be every bit as generous as your cousin,” he whispered. “You’ve forgiven me when I’ve acted a fool. And never stopped loving me.”

  She leaned away, cupping his cheeks in her palms. “I couldn’t help it, my darling. I love you too much.”

  “It’s never too much,” he whispered, as he rolled her underneath him and kissed her passionately. “And it’s never enough.”

  * * *

  Richard entered the kitchen in Aidan’s house, pausing to watch his wife as she sang the song “Avalon” while doing dishes. He leaned against the doorjamb, while she swayed her hips as she scrubbed at a pan, her beautiful voice filling the room with her joy. A smile burst forth at witnessing a simple harmonious scene, and he gave silent thanks he had a craving for milk and another slice of her delicious chocolate cake that evening.

  Taking a deep breath, he joined her in singing, winking at her as she spun to face him with rounded eyes. Their duet filled the room for a few more stanzas, and then the evening’s quiet sounds blanketed them. Crickets chirped outside. A distant train whistled. Cats yowled as they fought. “Hello, love,” he murmured, his snack forgotten. “I’ve missed singing with you.”

  Florence’s eyes shone with longing as she stared at her husband. “I thought you’d had a long day and had fallen asleep, after helping the boys to bed.”

  He shook his head. “I had dreams of your cake.”

  “Oh,” she said, looking toward the larder and appearing slightly deflated. “Of course. More cake.” She pulled her hands from the soapy dishwater to dry on a towel and moved in the direction of the cake. She jerked to a halt when he stepped in front of her.

  “Flo?” he whispered, staring at her with a fierce intensity. “I find I’m no longer craving cake.” He smiled as a rosy blush brightened her cheeks. “I desire you.” He leaned forward, kissing her softly on her lips.

  At his gentle kiss, she groaned with yearning, gripping his blue cambric shirt that matched his eyes. Standing on tiptoe, she leaned into him, deepening the kiss.

  “Hell yes,” he murmured, dragging her body fully against him as he slanted his mouth over hers, his hands holding her close. He backed her up until she was against the icebox, only coming to his senses when he heard her whimper. “Flo?” he gasped, peppering kisses down her neck.

  “The handle’s in my back,” she gasped as she arched, either away from the handle or into his touch.

  He raised his head a moment and then grabbed her hand, spinning her toward the small doorway that led to the room the housekeeper used to live in with her children many years ago. “You said you’d made the bed up in here.” He continued to kiss his way down her neck to her chest. His nimble hands worked on her buttons. “I don’t care if it’s just a cot or a set of rags on the floor. I want you, Flo.”

  She shook, her hands raking through his hair. “Oh, Richard.” She gasped again as he kissed her breast. “I’ve missed you. This. So much.” Full sentences were beyond her ability. Words were almost more than she could handle. She pushed at his clothes, tugging at his shirt so hard that she ripped off a few buttons.

  “Yes, love,” he whispered, as he continued to kiss and to caress her. “Show me what you want.”

  She cupped his head, waiting until he met her gaze. “You. Always you.” She smiled tremulously at him as his beautiful blue eyes lit with joy and hope.

  * * *

  Richard rested on his stomach with Florence beside him. He felt her stir and made a groan of protest. “Don’t ask me to move. I think I’ll die right here.” He smiled as she kissed his shoulder and then ran a hand down his back and up again. Mustering all the strength he had, he rolled to his side and cuddled her against him. “I don’t even want to imagine what this room looks like.”

  “Like a tornado of clothes,” she murmured, while she continued to kiss and to caress him, this time his chest and neck.

  He shivered at her soft touches. “You have no idea how much I’ve missed this,” he murmured, his fingers playing in her curly black hair.

  “Oh, I think I do, for I’ve missed it just as much,” she murmured. “I can’t believe I get to touch you like this again.” She paused. “Finally.”

  He opened one eye and saw her contented smile as she rested her head on his arm. “I’m sorry, Flo. I never meant to cause us such pain.”

  She raised her fingers, covering his lips. “Shh, my love. I know. And we are fine again. No need for more apologies.” She pushed herself up with a groan and smiled tenderly at him. “I will never bring up this time of separation in an argument. I would not dishonor us in such a way.” She kissed his chest again. “I love you.”

  “Oh, Flo, you have no idea how much I love you.” He leaned forward, kissing her head. He sighed, relaxing back again. “This trip has been wonderful for us.” When he felt her tense, he murmured, “Flo?”

  She lifted her head to meet his worried gaze. “Do you ever wonder what will happen when we return to Boston?” she whispered. “When we return to our busy lives?”

  He frowned. “Don’t you want to return?”

  She shrugged. “I found Calvin today, being consoled by Ian as he cried, because he can’t imagine leaving Billy. I watched Clarissa with Araminta, and I had to fight my own tears because I don’t have that sort of friendship, that kinship, in Dorchester.” She blushed.

  He rubbed at her head, his frown now forming furrows between his brows. “You’re saying you would like us to stay? You want to move here?” His voice was laced with incredulity.

  “Yes. I know we’ve always lived in Boston. I know it may be hard on the children, especially Ian, as he has so many friends there.” She broke off anything more she would have said as he shook his head. “I’m sorry. Forget I said anything.”


  “I’m to forget something that will bring my wife and at least one of my children joy?” He glowered at her. “What kind of man do you think I am, Flo?”

  “A wonderful man,” she whispered. “But you have family, we have family, in Boston. And you have your businesses.”

  He shook his head. “I’ve found more peace here in these past weeks than I ever knew I could. Being with Jer and Gabe again …” He shook his head once more, as though there were no words to describe how he felt. “It’s as though a missing part of me has been found. They understand me without me even having to speak. The way you do.” He ran a hand over her riotous hair again. “I would never ask you to leave the city of your birth, Flo.”

  “You’re not asking me to. I’m asking you,” she whispered in a passionate voice.

  “You’re certain?” he asked.

  She nodded. “I want to live here. I want to be near Rissa and your brothers. I want our boys to know their cousins.” She sniffled. “But I want you to know satisfaction with your work.”

  He smiled. “I’ll find something to do. Don’t worry. I’ve heard Colin complain about working too hard and wanting more time at home with Minta and Lily. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind me working with him. Besides, we’ll have a nice nest egg when we sell the three shops and our home in Boston.”

  “What if Ian wants to remain in Boston? He’s almost old enough to be on his own,” she whispered.

  He shook his head. “No, Ian has no desire to be separated from us and no interest in being a blacksmith. Nothing will prevent us from being together here, love.” He kissed her head. “When do you want to tell the family?”

  She beamed at him. “At the family party. I don’t want to steal any of the wedding thunder.”

  He kissed her cheek and held her close, as complete contentment filled him for the first time in months.

  Chapter 26

  The day before the wedding, Jeremy paced his office area with a missive in his hand, glaring at it with the urge to rip it to shreds. The organ player had written, saying she would be unable to perform at their wedding. “Perform,” he muttered. “As though that woman even knows what she’s doing.” He fought irritation mixed with relief as he was uncertain what to do. “I can’t ask the guests to hum music.” He ran a hand though his hair.

  “Who needs to hum music?” Gabriel asked as he entered with Richard, leaving the study door ajar for Jeremy to hear Breandan.

  Jeremy thrust the note at them and continued to pace, while he sipped at a glass of prohibited whiskey.

  “Bum luck,” Richard said. “It’s too bad Colin is worse than tone deaf, or he could sing while I tried to play the organ.”

  “No!” Jeremy said and then chuckled when he realized his brother was teasing. “I’ll think of something.”

  “What did you have in mind?” Gabriel asked.

  Jeremy shared a chagrined smile with his brothers. “I don’t know. I should have a better idea, since Lucas is my brother-in-law, but I’d hoped for something that sounded more joyful and less like a funeral dirge. That woman who pounds away at the organ keys always sounds so morose.”

  Gabriel laughed and sat in the chair in front of the fireplace. “I think she has trouble distinguishing between a wedding and a funeral. From what Rissa’s told me, she’s had disappointment in love and believes the two are interchangeable.”

  “How sad,” Richard said. “So, Jer, if you were to have your dream wedding music, what would it be?”

  Jeremy paused and closed his eyes. “Something soft, on a piano, not an organ, that filled me with hope and wonder. Something Lucas could play.” He shrugged. “But that’s impossible, as I know he’s on tour in some southern city and won’t be home for months.” He paused. “Maybe we could play his music on a gramophone. That would be beautiful.”

  “Or we could have someone play his music,” Gabriel said, opening the study door wider, exposing the two men who stood behind it.

  “Hello, Jer,” Lucas said with a broad smile. “Surprise and happy wedding present.”

  “Lucas?” Jeremy exclaimed, as he raced forward to embrace his brother-in-law. “What are you doing here?”

  Lucas gave him a bear hug and clapped him on the back a few times. After staring deeply into Jeremy’s eyes and seeing the happiness within, he smiled fully. The man he considered his brother had found joy again. “I realized I couldn’t bear to miss your wedding. And I’m vain enough that I wanted to be the one to play for you and your Eleanor.”

  “And I’m vain enough that I wanted to sing for you,” the other man said, as he held out his hand. “I’m Perry Hawke.”

  “Perry Hawke? The opera singer?” Jeremy asked, as he gaped at the tall, attractive man with perfectly styled blond hair.

  “Yes,” he said. “I’ve been known to warble from time to time. At least that’s what my wife tells me.” His eyes shone with delight at the mention of Rowena.

  “But I thought you were to be in Tennessee. To see how they would vote,” Jeremy argued. “I thought that was very important to your wife.”

  “She decided she’d rather be here with people she considers family than in a stuffy room, crowded into a corner—or worse, not even let into the room because she’s a woman from the north. She’s come to realize she doesn’t need to be the one reporting the headlines. She knows we’ll hear the news as soon as it happens.” Perry stepped into the room to introduce himself to the other McLeod brothers, leaving Jeremy with Lucas.

  “I can’t believe you’re here. That you wanted to be here,” Jeremy whispered as he stared at Lucas.

  Lucas’s eyes shone with regret. “I’m sorry you’d ever think that, Jeremy. I consider you my brother, and I realized, as we toured and as your wedding date neared, that I needed to be here, not playing for a crowd of strangers.” He smiled sardonically. “An artist has the right to seem capricious, and we’ll make up the dates in the fall.” He squeezed Jeremy’s shoulder.

  Jeremy nodded. “Before we discuss what you should play tomorrow, I have to speak of the past.” He saw Lucas freeze. “Thank you for the beautiful music you wrote for Savannah. She would have loved it.”

  Lucas’s eyes shone with deep emotions for his beloved sister. “Zee advised me it was something I needed to do.” He cleared his throat. “One evening, before I leave, I’ll play it for you.”

  “I’d like that,” Jeremy said. “I think Ellie would enjoy hearing it too.” He motioned for Lucas to settle in his study to talk about his wedding music.

  * * *

  The night before her wedding, Eleanor rested on her back on her bed, staring at the ceiling. She envisioned the following day, walking down the aisle, seeing Jeremy waiting for her. A satisfied smile flit over her face as she imagined what life would be like once she was married to Jeremy. “Once I’m a McLeod,” she whispered. She fingered her ring finger and envisioned what it would feel like to wear a ring there. A soft knock on her door caused her to sit up, leaning on her elbows. “Yes?”

  “Someone’s here to see you, Eleanor,” Colin said. “Is that all right?”

  “Who is it?” she asked, her eyes closing in a silent prayer that it was no member of her family.

  “Aidan McLeod,” Aidan said in his deep, authoritative voice.

  “And Martin Russell.”

  “Mr. McLeod!” She gasped as she jumped up, running a hand over her dressing gown. She opened the door, her eyes widened in surprise. “And Mr. Russell. I thought you’d be with your nephews. With your son-in-law. With Jeremy.”

  Aidan shook his head, his blue eyes glimmering with amusement. “No. His brothers are with him tonight. I didn’t have any desire to intrude.” He cleared his throat as he looked over his shoulder and glanced at the empty hall where Colin had stood and then shared a rueful smile with Martin. “I know this is improper, but might we enter your room to speak with you? We’d like to discuss something with you privately.”

  She paused and then eased the door open. “Of cours
e,” she whispered. She clutched the robe to her throat before chuckling at herself. “I’m being foolish.”

  “No, you’re sensible,” Aidan said with a smile. He motioned for her to sit and perched on a chair in the corner of the small room while Martin stood.

  “I’ve spoken with Jeremy. I am worried that you have the misguided idea that you are to walk down the aisle alone tomorrow,” Martin said, as Aidan nodded.

  She flushed and ducked her head. “I fear my father does not approve of the man I am to marry,” she whispered. “He has refused to ‘sanctify the union by bestowing his presence at the church.’” She shrugged, as though attempting to take the sting out of those words.

  “Well, I do approve, and I do want to bestow my blessing,” Aidan said in an implacable voice. He reached forward and gripped her hand. “I would be honored if you would allow me to walk you down the aisle.”

  “As would I,” Martin said with a vehement nod of his head. “I’ll be proud to know Jeremy has married such a wonderful woman and that you will help raise my Savannah’s Breandan. I couldn’t be more proud of the woman he has chosen.”

  Eleanor’s hazel eyes filled with tears as she saw the sincerity in their gazes. “Truly?” she whispered. “You would both do that? For me?”

  Aidan smiled. “Yes. And before you start to imagine problems where there are none, both Zylphia and Delia informed me that I was not to return home until I had convinced you.”

  “You don’t need to convince me,” Eleanor said in a soft voice. “I was dreading walking down the aisle alone. And now I can’t believe I will have a wonderful man on each arm.” She rubbed at her forehead with a shaking hand. “I can imagine no one else I’d rather walk down the aisle with.”