The Bride Found

by Piper Davenport

  “More accurately, you wore me out.”

  His hand stroked her bottom. “Sleep, little minx.”

  He didn’t have to tell her twice and she succumbed to slumber within minutes.

  * * *

  As promised, Gwen picked the girls up right on time the next morning.

  “Good morning.” Emma greeted her at the door, as Walter ushered Gwen in.

  “Good morning, Emma, are you ready to go?”

  “Shortly. Sophie is in the dining room, having a little bit of breakfast.”

  “I probably should have come later.” Gwen removed her bonnet and handed it to Walter. “You had a long day yesterday and I didn’t really think.”

  “No, it’s fine. Truly. Sophie’s pregnancy forces her to eat at strange times,” Emma explained.

  Gwen followed Emma into the dining room. Sophie smiled as she lowered her cup of coffee, looking a little less green. “Good morning.”

  “Good morning, Sophie, how are you feeling?” Gwen asked.

  “I feel very well. Now.”

  “I will keep our day light today. I thought you might want to know where a few of the key shops are. We also have a very nice park.”

  Emma grinned. “I can’t wait.”

  Sophie stood and laid her napkin on the table. “Shall we?”

  The girls started to follow Gwen out to her little buggy.

  “Oh, shoot!” Sophie said.

  “What’s wrong?” Emma asked.

  “I need to visit Samson. He’s in a strange place and won’t know what’s going on.”

  Gwen gave her a puzzled look.

  “It’s her horse,” Emma supplied.

  “Oh. Well, why don’t we do that then? We have plenty of time.”

  “Thank you!” Sophie led the girls out to the carriage house.

  They arrived to find Samson snorting and pounding his hoof and a stable boy starting to open his stall door. “Wait!” Sophie yelled, but it was too late.

  The door was opened and Samson pushed the poor boy over as he bolted out of the stall. Sophie whistled and Samson turned and trotted up to her as though nothing had happened. She handed him a sugar cube and then made her way to the groom. “Young man, are you all right?”

  He stood and brushed himself off. “Yes’m.”

  “Never open his stall door unless I’m here or there’s an emergency, all right? He is rather like a spoiled child, a very large one, and you might get hurt. If he’s pawing the ground like that, you have permission to find me. He only does it if he’s getting ready to do some damage.”

  She turned back to Samson and stroked his nose, even though she was furious. “You, horse, need to start behaving. I will ride you later, I promise.”

  Samson continued to nuzzle her shoulder and Sophie spent a few minutes giving him some attention while the stable boy quickly cleaned out his stall.

  “All right, Sammy. Back you go.” Sophie walked to his stall and he followed her without a lead. She led him into the box and closed the door. “He should be fine now. I’m sorry, what’s your name?”

  “Jack, missus.”

  “Well, Jack, thank you for your diligent care. I’ll come back later today and take him out for a ride. He shouldn’t give you any more trouble, but if he does, please don’t hesitate to find me, all right?”

  “Yes ma’am.”

  Washington D.C. was an incredible city. Emma thought about what Sophie told her about the history and the reason it became the capital was due to the “Compromise of 1790.” An agreement between Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and Thomas Jefferson, which basically said that if the North would not raise objections to slavery, Washington, D.C. would be located in two slave states, Maryland and Virginia. Many of Hamilton’s colleagues fought for New York.

  Emma started to appreciate the impact of where she was. Most of the time, history was a little lost on her. She got the appeal, but could never comprehend Sophie’s absolute obsession with it. She was starting to see the intrigue, but admittedly, if it hadn’t been for Clayton, she didn’t know if she would have been able to accept the fact she was stuck in the past. She sighed when she thought of him. She missed him already, and it had only been a few hours since he’d awakened her to make love before he left for work.

  Sophie squeezed her hand and Emma smiled. Gwen was the ultimate tour guide, showing them all of the sights of the beautiful city. She was a wealth of information and Clayton was right. She was friendly and easy to be around. Emma liked her immensely.

  Before they knew it, it was lunchtime.

  “I have a little surprise for you,” Gwen said mysteriously.

  She guided the buggy into the little park close to the townhouse, set the brake, and climbed down. Emma helped Sophie out and they followed Gwen, blindly, not knowing where they were going. They came around a corner of lush trees and Jamie, Clayton, and Christopher stood near a bench, seemingly deep in conversation.

  Emma squealed quietly and regardless of how it might look in the nineteenth century, made a run for Clayton. He caught her as she threw herself into his arms. “Oh, I missed you so much.”

  He chuckled and buried his head in her neck. “Ditto, sweet.”

  Jamie pulled Sophie into his arms, a little more chastely, but must have whispered something dirty in her ear because she blushed and smacked his shoulder. He leaned down and kissed her despite the audience.

  Clayton slid Emma’s hand into the crook of his elbow. “Let’s eat. We have a lot to do this afternoon.”

  ONCE LUNCH CONCLUDED, the girls climbed back into the buggy and started their trip back to the townhouse. As they traveled down a busy street, Emma saw something. Or someone. She grabbed Sophie’s hand. “Is that Rose?” she whispered.

  “Where?” Sophie whispered back and looked behind them.

  The woman they were referring to looked sideways just as the girls turned.

  “It is, Sophie! I think that’s Rose!”

  Sophie shook her head. “It couldn’t be, Em. She was staying back with Richard, right?”

  “Sophie, it was Rose. I’m sure of it.”

  “We’ll talk to the guys later. Maybe Clayton knows something.”

  Emma nodded. “Okay.”

  Arriving at the townhouse, Gwen pulled up to the front of the house and set the brake.

  “Would you like to stay for tea?” Emma asked as she stepped from the buggy.

  Gwen shook her head. “I would love to, but I’m meeting Mrs. Lincoln to help her plan a ball. I will see you in a day or so though.”

  Sophie gasped and Emma squeezed her hand. “We’ll see you later, then. Thanks for the tour.”

  Gwen waved and took off toward the White House.

  Emma raised an eyebrow at her sister’s deer-in-the-headlight look. “Don’t freak.”

  Sophie went white. “No!”

  Emma nodded. “Um, yes. She’s a close personal friend of Mary Todd Lincoln.”

  “Hold that thought. I’m going to be sick.” Sophie ran for her room.

  Emma removed her gloves and cloak and went to find Sophie.

  She pushed open her sister’s door. “Soph?” Sophie was leaning over the chamber pot losing her lunch. Literally.

  “Are you okay?” Emma rushed to her side.

  Sophie groaned. “The baby’s killing me.”

  “Where are your pills?”

  “They’re in my reticule.”

  Emma retrieved the pills and grabbed Sophie a glass of water. “You look so pathetic right now.”

  “I know.” Sophie took a deep breath and sat on the edge of the bed. “Give me a minute. I need to ride Samson before it gets dark.”

  “I’m not sure if you should ride right now.”

  “I have to.”

  Emma sat next to her. “Maybe you should wait for Jamie.”

  “It’ll be fine, Em. You can go with me. We won’t go far.”

  “You’re probably right. I’m sure there’s a nice horse in the carriage house
.” Emma stood. “I’ll go change really quick.”

  The girls wore their newly made breeches under their skirts. They set out for the carriage house, excited about their ride.

  Sophie whistled for Samson, who whinnied for her and stuck his head out of the stall in greeting. She asked Jack to saddle one of the other horses for Emma and then had Emma help with Samson.

  Sophie sighed. “He’s so calm with you, Em.”

  Emma tightened the girth. “He probably senses you and I are related.”

  “Well, I hope you can ride him when I get too big.” Sophie poked her head over his back. “I’m not sure how long Jamie will let me once I start to show.”

  “He’s beautiful. I’d love to ride him.”

  “Mrs. Madden, I have your mount.”

  “Thanks, Jack.”

  Emma mounted from the ground, but Sophie had to use the mounting block, so it took a little extra time to get going. The girls spent the next two hours exploring their new city. They even found a stretch of land where they could run, which was really what Samson needed.

  They arrived back at the stable, elated and with very tired horses. Sophie had to slide off Samson butt first, but he stayed perfectly still, almost as though he knew she needed his support. “Good boy, Sammy.”

  As they walked inside, Emma decided that a bath was called for before dinner and organized one for Sophie as well.

  * * *

  Jamie paced the length of Clayton’s office while Christopher and Clayton sifted through the mountain of paperwork they’d accumulated over the past three months.

  “I have to tell Sophie what’s going on.”

  Clayton shook his head. “You can’t.”

  Christopher studied one particular message delivered that morning. “I agree,” he said distractedly.

  Jamie dragged his hands down his face. “She already knows something’s going on. If she suspects I’m lying to her, I don’t know what she’ll do.”

  Christopher raised an eyebrow. “She’s a woman, James. You have the power to dictate her actions.”

  Jamie snorted. “You don’t know my wife.”

  Clayton signed the bottom of one of the pages he had been reading and leaned back in his chair. “Jamie, you can say nothing to Sophie or Emma. If they know, they’ll be in the path of danger.”

  “I don’t like this, Clayton.” Jamie scowled. “Sophie will kill me when she finds out.”

  Clayton rose to his feet. “As long as she finds out after we’ve dealt with the threat.”

  * * *

  Emma was dozing in the warm water when she felt soft lips on hers. “Fabio! I told you, we can’t do this here, my husband might find out.”

  “Can this Fabio person do this to you?” Clayton chuckled and moved his hand under the water, sliding it between her legs. “Or this?” he asked, adding pressure to her clit.

  Emma sighed as she reluctantly opened her eyes and smiled at him. “Hi.”

  “How was your day?”

  “I have other things on my mind than how my day was, Mr. Madden. I suggest you get naked quickly.” He laughed. Emma cocked her head in question. “Do you think this is a joke?”

  “No ma’am. Yes ma’am.” He pulled his shirt over his head. “I will take care of that immediately, ma’am.”

  Emma giggled. “I hope it’s always this easy to make you obey.”

  He lifted her out of the tub and pulled her wet body closer for a kiss. She ran her hand down his bare chest. “I don’t think I’ll ever get sick of this view.”

  Clayton lowered her to the ground and handed her a towel. “I believe my view is far better.”

  Emma grinned. “You’re soaked.”

  “Not for long.” He kissed her nose. “You ordered me to remove my clothes, remember?”

  “Get to it, then.” He laughed as he made his way into their bedroom. Emma followed. “How was it being back at work?”

  “Frantic. The President’s trip to Gettysburg is only a couple of weeks away.”

  “Are we going to go?”

  “If you’d like to, I think that can be arranged.”

  “You don’t know my sister.” Emma secured her towel and sat on the bed. “She would absolutely die if she didn’t.”

  Clayton washed his face and turned to her as he dragged a washcloth over his chin. “Really?”

  “Yes, really. Sophie’s a huge Civil War buff.”

  “How so?”

  “For one, her library at home was filled with Lincoln biographies, Grant’s memoirs, anything relating to the war.”

  Clayton lowered the washcloth. “Grant writes a memoir?”

  Emma nodded. “Yes, apparently so. She used to do reenactments all over the country before she got sick. You should ask her about it. She remembers dates and places like no one else. If you ever need to know anything relating to the war, Clay, she’s the one to ask. I know it’s probably still strange for you, but seriously, she’s an encyclopedia.”

  He removed his shoes and stood in front of her. “What’s the significance of Gettysburg for her?”

  “The President is going to give what ends up being one of the most well-documented and profound speeches ever given. When Sophie talks about the President, her whole face lights up. I think that if she was able to attend this particular speech, she would probably never have to see anything else.”

  “I’ll make it happen, then. We wouldn’t want to disappoint Sophie.”

  Emma giggled. “No, we wouldn’t.”

  “More importantly, however, I would hate to disappoint you, so I believe we should take care of you.” Clayton removed her towel and leaned down to kiss her.

  “Mmm… more of that, please.” Emma pushed his pants from his hips and spent the next hour welcoming her husband home.

  * * *

  Clayton and Emma joined the Fords in the dining room for a late dinner. Clayton held the chair for Emma and waited for her to take a seat. “Did you enjoy your tour?”

  Emma laid her napkin on her lap. “Yes. The city’s beautiful.”

  Clayton sat at the head of the table. “Was Gwen able to show you much?”

  Sophie nodded. “A bit, but it was the ride later when we got to really explore.”

  “Ride?” Jamie broke in.

  Sophie took a sip of water. “Yes, I took Samson out.”

  Jamie leaned forward and glared. “Excuse me?”

  “Well, with Emma, of course.”

  Jamie laid his fork down slowly. “You took Samson out, with Emma of course?” His tone grew lethal.

  Sophie rolled her eyes. “Jamie, it was a short ride.”

  “A short ride.”

  Emma glanced at Clayton and then back at Jamie.

  Was that steam coming off his head?

  “Excuse us.” Jamie took Sophie’s arm and pulled her away from the table. He pushed her out into the hallway. “What the hell were you thinking to go riding alone in a strange city without me?”

  “I wasn’t alone, I was with Emma.”

  “Emma’s in a strange city as well, Sophie!”

  Emma squeezed her eyes shut at the sound of his anger.

  “We were together, so we weren’t alone,” Sophie argued.

  “Damn it, Sophie, don’t you dare try to mince words with me!”

  The door to the parlor slammed shut and then all they heard was muffled yelling.

  “Emma.” Clayton’s voice was laced with warning.

  She turned to look at him. “Yes, Clayton.”

  “Explain, please.”

  “What’s to explain? We went for a short ride because Samson was freaking out. He needed to be ridden, and it’s not like Sophie could have gone by herself. That would have been dangerous.”

  He took a deep breath. “Never again are you to ride anywhere without either me or Jamie. I would even be all right with Christopher, but no one else.”

  “What if none of you are available?” Emma crossed her arms and sat back with a huff. “You let u
s ride around alone with Gwen today.”

  “Then take Walter.”

  “What if he’s not available?”

  “Then you stay home.”

  Emma slapped her hands on the table. “You can’t be serious!”

  “Do I make myself clear, Emma?”

  “Crystal!” she snapped and stood.

  “Where are you going?”

  “I’m leaving.”

  “Sit down, Emma. This conversation is not over.” Clayton didn’t raise his voice, but she felt his anger just the same.

  “Yes, it is.” She walked out of the room, but heard the scrape of a chair and his familiar footsteps behind her.

  “Get back here.”

  She kept going. “No.”

  “Emma, we’re not finished.”

  “You might not be, but I sure as hell am,” she fired back and started up the stairs. She was almost to the top of the staircase when she was lifted into his arms and thrown over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. She pounded his back and tried to yell, but couldn’t catch her breath. “What are you doing, you Neanderthal? Put me down!”

  He carried her down the hall, through their sitting room, and into their bedroom, where he threw her unceremoniously onto the bed.

  “Why are you being such an ass?” Emma screamed.

  “Women do not simply go for a ride alone in this century. Especially my wife.”

  “Why?” Emma hissed as she sat up. “Because I’m the so-called fairer sex?”

  He paced the room. “You cannot comprehend the dangers for you outside of this house, without a man to protect you.”

  “Oh, please! The melodrama. Sophie and I know how to take care of ourselves.”

  Clayton took a long deep breath and ran his fingers slowly through his hair. “What would you do, Emma, if something happened to one of you? Explain to me how you would take care of yourself?”

  “Well, I would call—”

  “You would what?”

  “Um, I would find a police officer or a soldier.”

  “Really?” He crossed his arms. “And if there wasn’t one around, what would you do?”

  “I would—”

  “What, Emma? What would you do?”

  “Well, I would…” She didn’t know.

  He was right and she hated that. She realized she couldn’t just whip out her cell phone or jump in a cab. She wouldn’t be able to find a local hospital or lots of other things she could in the future.