by Linda Ladd
"Your mother, Snow Blossom, could shoot as well as any one of her six brothers," Luke said casually, smoothing back the feathers. "You look a lot like her, Pete, except for your eyes. She had big brown eyes."
Bethany's throat tightened with emotion. Finally, at long last, Luke was opening up to his son. She sat down to watch, not wanting to say or do anything to interfere with what was happening.
"Your mother and I were real good friends from the very first, like you and Raffy are," Luke said, letting fly another arrow. "She was my friend when no one else in the Mandan village would even talk to me. She even taught me her language."
Peeto was no longer watching Luke's expertise with the bow; he was listening raptly as Luke went on.
"I left the camp when I was fifteen because I could vaguely remember my father and Andy and Anne. But, when I got back to St. Louis, I thought about Snow Blossom so much that I eventually went back with a military expedition. That's when I married your mother."
Another arrow thudded into the tree, as accurately as the others, and Luke looked down at Peeto. "I had to go on with Lewis and Clark, so I didn't know you had been born until I came back again. You were three then, remember?"
Peeto's eyes filled with tears. "I remember you left, and we followed you. And I remember you saw us and came back, and then she fell and you were there close beside her."
Peeto broke down, and Luke knelt, holding him tight.
"She fell that day, son. I didn't push her. We were arguing because she wanted me to take both of you back to St. Louis with me, and I couldn't do it. I'd seen the way the whites had treated me, and I knew it would be horrible for both of you. But, she wouldn't listen. She tried to stop me and slipped on the rocks, but it was an accident, I swear it."
Bethany started toward them as Luke stood with Peeto in his arms, closing his eyes as Peeto wrapped his little arms tightly around his neck. The child lay his head on Luke's broad shoulder, and Luke patted his back. Luke looked at Beth, stretching out his other arm, and she came quickly to the two people she loved more than life itself.
As they all three walked back to the house together, Bethany's heart took wing because all the barriers dividing them had been transformed into bridges that united them. There was nothing now that could keep them from being a real family.
Bethany was still wrapped in good feelings as she sat propped against her pillows. Luke had offered to check on Peeto tonight, and Bethany could not stop smiling. Everything was so wonderful that sometimes she was afraid it couldn't last, that something awful would bring it all to an end. But, she shook those negative thoughts away as Luke crossed the room to her, snuffing the candles along the way. He left burning the one beside the bed, then swept back the filmy mosquito baire and slipped out of his dressing robe.
"He's sound asleep," he said, pulling the lacy drape back into place, then turning to plump his pillow. Bethany waited impatiently to be taken into his arms.
"What the devil is this?" he muttered, drawing out a charred green stone from beneath the pillows.
Bethany blushed as he held it in his palm, looking at her questioningly.
"A love charm," she admitted, embarrassed because she knew he was going to laugh at her.
"A what?"
"Oh, nothing. Tante Chloe gave it to me to make you love me."
Luke did laugh then, and Bethany was quick to defend herself.
"Well, it worked, didn't it? It brought you back to me after only two weeks!" she reminded him.
Luke leaned against the headboard, his green eyes glinting. His hand came up to slide beneath her hair to the nape of her neck. He drew her face to him, and their lips met and tasted, making Bethany sigh with pleasure.
"You're what brought me back, sweet. Not a charm, not a love spell, just you, my dreamsong," he muttered against her mouth. "So, you can throw that dirty rock away."
Bethany allowed him to lower her to the pillows, but she took the love gris-gris from his hand, smiling as she slipped it back beneath her pillow.
"Just to be on the safe side," she murmured, pulling him down to her lips again.
Luke gave a low laugh, moving until he lay over her, both hands entangled in her soft blond curls as he caressed her brow with his lips, then her cheeks and mouth and ears.
"Give me a baby tonight, Luke, please. I want to have your child so much."
Her whisper was breathless, and Luke felt the most indescribable tenderness for her roll over his heart. He smiled as he kissed her.
"You know I'll give you anything you want, anything at all."
"I want children, then, lots of children, one to fill every bedchamber of Cantigny."
That request brought a soft laugh from Luke. "That's about twenty children," he reminded her.
Bethany smiled. "Just one will do for now," she murmured. "One with your eyes and your hair and your smile-"
Luke's mouth stilled her whisper, and the room became quiet after that, except for their low murmurings of love and shared pleasure as the candle burned low, flickering one last time on the entwined couple in the bed before they were enveloped in darkness.
Chapter 20
In order to get Bethany and Peeto out of Hugh's company, Luke took them and Raffy into the Vieux Carré the following morning. He needed to visit the wharves, since the latest shipment of furs had arrived from his trappers in the Rockies. As he helped his wife and son from the carriage on the levee road, he gave a self-mocking grin, realizing he no longer liked to be out of their company. He would never have dreamed a slip of a girl like Bethany could tame his wanderlust the way she had.
"I need to speak to the captain of the Duchessabout my pelts," he told Bethany. "Would you like to come along?"
Bethany smiled up at him, but Peeto was pulling her in the opposite direction, toward a vendor selling nougats.
"Petie wants some candy. We'll meet you there in a little while."
"Don't be long," Luke admonished, then strode off toward the keelboat alongside the landing.
Bethany watched him for a moment, thinking he was the most magnificent man alive, then, she let Peeto and Raffy propel her toward the vendor's pushcart. She retrieved several coins from her velvet drawstring purse and purchased each child a small sack of candy.
"Come on, boys, let's have a cup of chocolate, too," she suggested, then followed as they ran off to the closest dockside café.
The late-December morning was bright and sunny, with a cool wind blowing in off the wide, muddy river as they sat at one of the outdoor tables and enjoyed the sweet, warm beverage. Peeto and Raffy finished their drinks quickly, and Bethany remained behind as the children scampered off again to watch huge, heavy barrels of Kentucky whiskey being winched ashore from a flatboat moored next to the Duchess.
It was good to be on the waterfront again, she thought, remembering when she lived in the orphanage in St. Louis and had visited Captain Hosie on Laclede's Landing. The wharves around her now were even more busy than St. Louis's had been, with sailors and stevedores laboring over their duties all up and down the levee. A multitude of merchants and curious townspeople milled about as well, always on the lookout for a ship bearing goods in demand.
Bethany's gaze moved from one thing to another as she sipped her chocolate, while keeping close tabs on the boys, only vaguely aware of Luke's tall, broad-shouldered form on the deck of the keelboat. She was glad for an excuse to be away from Hugh, but at the same time she hated leaving Michelle alone with him. Although Bethany had tried to persuade Michelle to come to the wharves with them, she had refused, as she had refused to venture into any public place since she had seen Jack Hackett at the open market.
The thought of those terrible men initiated a wary look around from Bethany, but she reminded herself that Luke seemed to think his posted reward had driven them from the city. Such posters were likely to cause the capture of the criminal, Bethany knew from hard-earned experience. Memories of the calaboose still bothered her, until she remembered that
Luke had decided to ask her to become his wife on that night. Such a development almost made her time in the dark, cold cell seem worthwhile, though she certainly had not thought so then.
Her eyes finally settled on a group of small, redheaded children walking along the docks with a sailor. Her hand moved to her flat stomach. She hoped so much that she was with child. Though it was too soon since her last monthly flow to know, she prayed that she was. She wanted a whole houseful of children, just as she had told Luke, enough to fill all the bedrooms of Cantigny and the schoolroom as well-especially the schoolroom. She herself would teach all her children to read.
Bethany continued to watch the group of children, gasping as one tiny little girl tripped on a plank and would have fallen hard if not for the quick hands of the sailor. Bethany smiled as he swung the child playfully into the air, the little girl's gleeful squeal audible above the other sounds on the wharf. Bethany's face suddenly went sober, and she sat very still for a moment. Then, she was up and running toward the sailor without regard for propriety.
Luke glanced up from the bill of lading he was scrutinizing to check on Bethany's whereabouts and frowned when he found her gone from her place in front of the cafe. His concern grew more acute when he did not find her with Peeto and Raffy, who were sitting on a bale of cotton and watching the unloading of the adjacent flatboat. He scanned the landing, relieved when he saw Bethany running through the crowd. But, he froze as she flung herself into the arms of a tall, blond sailor. As the young sailor swung Luke's wife off the ground and twirled her around, Luke started down the gangplank, his eyes never leaving the happy pair across the way.
"Oh, Marcus, Marcus, I can't believe it's you!" Bethany was saying to her childhood friend. "It's been so long, nearly two years now! What are you doing here?"
"My ship's in port, out yonder in the river. See? The frigate Wayward. I've been all around the world, Bethy-to China and New South Wales! You wouldn't believe the fantastic things I've seen! But, I've thought about you often, and Captain Hosie. How are you? And what are you doing down here in New Orleans?"
Bethany squeezed both his hands in hers. "I live here now, with my husband. He's here, too. You must come meet him!"
She turned to look for Luke on the deck of the keelboat, and was surprised to find him only a few paces behind her. The expression on his face was anything but pleased, and when his gaze dropped to where she held Marcus's hands, she let go at once, realizing what Luke must be thinking.
"Luke, Luke, come here! You must meet Marcus! He's my best and oldest friend. He was at the orphanage with me. Remember, I've told you about him."
Luke looked at the sea-bronzed face and sun-bleached hair of Bethany's handsome young friend and remembered, indeed, that Bethany had mentioned Marcus. She had said he was coming back to get her. He had been the one Bethany had said she would take as a lover when he returned.
"How do you do, sir," Marcus said, reaching out to shake Luke's hand. "Bethany's always been like my little sister, you know."
Luke relaxed a little, clasping the young man's hand, and Bethany laughed, glad to see Luke's smile, then looked down at the children with Marcus.
"Who are these children, Marcus?"
"They're the McCaffreys." He ruffled the red-gold locks of a little boy who looked to be around twelve. "This is young Daniel, and these are his little brother and sisters. That's Natasha, she's three, and Bobby's four, and little Becky, here, is barely two."
"Hello," Bethany said, smiling at each child in turn. "You all are very handsome with your pretty red hair," she turned to Marcus. "I was admiring them when I recognized you, Marcus. Aren't they sweet, Luke?" she asked, smiling up at him.
"Yes, they are," Luke agreed amiably, and Bethany turned back to Marcus as Peeto and Raffy arrived to look over the little redheads.
"Why don't you give them some of your candy?" Bethany said to Peeto as the three older boys eyed each other warily. Peeto opened his sack at once, generously allowing each McCaffrey to take a handful of sugary nougats.
"Do they live here in town?" Bethany asked.
Marcus shook his head, making sure the children were busy choosing candies before he answered. "They're orphans, Beth, like us. Their ship went down in a storm on its way from Ireland. We came upon them afloat in a longboat in the Straits of Florida. Their parents perished."
"Oh, no, how terrible," Bethany murmured, turning concerned eyes to the children. "What will happen to them?"
"My captain's taking Danny on as a cabin boy, but the little ones will have to go to the Ursulines, I guess. I'm supposed to take them there today. We ship out again in the morning, for Barbados this time."
Marcus's brown eyes met Bethany's gray ones, both of them remembering their years in the charity orphanage. Bethany's heart twisted.
"But, Marcus, they're all so little. They need a mother."
Luke watched Bethany's lovely face fill with sympathy, then she turned, her great, imploring eyes on him, and he felt himself weakening even before she voiced the suggestion he knew was coming.
"Luke, we can't let them go there. They need to stay together as a family until Danny can come back for them." She stooped, picking up little Becky and smoothing soft wisps of the child's coppery hair away from her freckled face. "She's so little, Luke. Look, she's just a baby."
Luke reached out, and the little girl put her small hand in his large one, and he felt a twinge of what Bethany was obviously feeling.
"Can't we take them to Cantigny, Luke? Just for a little while? I promise I'll work really hard to find a good home for them, one where they'll all be together. Tante Chloe will help me take care of them, and Michelle, too. Please, Luke."
"I think we can find room for them," he answered, chucking little Becky under the chin. "And, Marcus, you must come back to Cantigny with us tonight so that you and Bethany can have a visit before you set sail in the morning."
"Thank you, sir, I would like that very much," said Marcus, and Luke was pleased by the radiant smile that Bethany bestowed upon him.
On the coast of Louisiana past the great Pontchartrain Lake, the ocean waves rolled in to break in foamy lines along the white sand. Hugh Younger watched Luke walk with Bethany along the beach, their laughter floating faintly to him on the sea wind. In the month he had been at Cantigny, he had been utterly amazed at the change in Luke Randall. Until now, he had never heard Luke laugh, even when they were children.
Although Bethany and Peeto still avoided Hugh like a deadly disease, he couldn't help but see how much the three of them loved each other. Much in the same way he had loved Anne before she had been taken from him. Andrew had been amiable enough to him, but Michelle was the only one who acted as if she liked him. His eyes found her where she walked along with Becky McCaffrey. Michelle reminded him so much of Anne, with her gentle ways and quiet smile.
Andrew had told him of the terrible things Michelle had endured, and Hugh knew she was still frightened of the Hackett brothers. He had barely been able to persuade her to come out to the beach today, and if it hadn't been for the children's pleas, she probably would have remained in seclusion on Cantigny. Michelle was too pretty and young to shut herself up, he decided. Though she was not very strong at the moment, emotionally or physically, it was her steadfast encouragement that had kept him from drinking since his arrival in Louisiana. Somewhat to his surprise he realized that the fact that she was a woman of color made no difference to him; more than anything, he did not want to see contempt for him in her amber eyes. Suddenly, eager to hear her soft voice, he got up to help her with the children, just as Luke and Bethany collapsed together on a quilt a short distance up the beach.
"Oh, thank you for bringing me out here, Luke. The Gulf of Mexico is so vast and beautiful, just like Marcus described to us before he left," Bethany said, leaning back on her elbows. "It was worth the long carriage ride to see all the different shades of blue and green." She turned her face to him. "Have you ever been out on a ship at sea, Luk
e?"
He watched the never-ending sea breeze play with Bethany's loosened curls, noticing how her nose was growing pink from the day in the sun. He handed her the wide-brimmed straw hat she had brought with her.
"I sailed to Cuba once on business. For days, we didn't see land, or anything else except sea and sky."
Bethany looked back at the crashing waves. "I think that would frighten me. I like to have my feet on solid ground." She laughed. "But, Petie's like a little fish now that you taught him to swim. Just look."
Luke gazed down the beach where Peeto and Raffy splashed and cavorted in the shallow waves. Along the shore behind them, three bright coppery heads dug in the sand close to where Michelle sat next to Hugh on a blanket. The McCaffrey children had ridden in the second coach with Hugh and Michelle. They are becoming very close, Luke thought, then his eyes sharpened as a towheaded child stood up among the other little ones. He frowned, sitting up to take a closer look.
"Who is that child with the blond hair?"
Bethany shaded her eyes, dutifully regarding her adopted brood, then she smiled as she adjusted her hat to shade her face.
"That's Betty Ann, of course."
"Of course," Luke said. "Who is Betty Ann?"
"Tante Chloe found her at the open market, the poor little thing."
"Bethany…" Luke began sternly, but she interrupted him.
"She was wandering around all alone. Her father just left her there to fend for herself. She's only seven, Luke." Bethany sat up on her heels, pulling her white skirts and petticoats out of the way as she sifted the white sand through her fingers.
Luke shook his head. "Beth, this has got to stop somewhere. You can't take in every stray in the city."
