by Jerri Hines
Charlotte had remained with Cousin Sarah. It had been deemed the best for her to recover, but it had been the last straw for Andrew. He had left his wife at their house in Charleston and made his main residence Magnolia Bluff while Fannie stayed in the nursery with Percival. Kathleen had disappeared until today.
Josephine entered to find Kathleen on the settee in the subtle elegance of the room. Kathleen’s eyes were fastened on the door. She was dressed in a blue muslin gown; it was her usual rich apparel. At first glance, the sight of her momentarily unsettled Jo. This was not a cordial call.
“I’m sorry to have kept you waiting, Kathleen.” Jo smiled sweetly. “But we had not expected you. If you would like to see your daughter, I’m certain…”
“It is not the reason I’m here.” Her teeth gleamed at her with a false smile; her eyes darkened. “I came to talk with you, sweet sister.”
“We have nothing to discuss.”
“I believe that we do. You forget I was in Philadelphia when you came to marry Andrew.”
An awkward silence followed. Confused, Jo wasn’t certain how best to proceed. What was Kathleen up to? Jo was certain it would not serve her well.
“I declare, Kathleen, what on earth does that have to do with the price of eggs?” Grace Ann swooped down beside Kathleen. “Tell me, please. I would like to understand how you explain you married another woman’s fiancé.”
“I fear your dear cousin isn’t the prim and proper little Southern belle that all you people down here think she is.” Kathleen paused as Olfus brought in the tea service, but hadn’t the good manners to wait until Olfus left before she continued. She tilted her head down and flashed a smile at Jo. “I came to make a bargain with you.”
Jo lowered her gaze and poured a cup of tea. She had the sudden awareness that Kathleen had knowledge of her true relationship with Cullen. Jo’s raised eyebrow betrayed her bewilderment. She questioned, “What kind of bargain do you think I would ever make with you?”
“You are rich, my dear. I believe it will be quite easy to keep me quiet,” Kathleen began. Quite smug, she folded her hands sedately in her lap. “Of course, I could simply tell of Cullen Smythe appearing at Magnolia Bluff the day your young one was born. I heard he came to take you away from here.”
Jo’s face fell like a stone. Oh, mother of all! What did this woman know? She sat and digested the information in silence while indignation swelled within her. She had been under no illusions about Kathleen. The woman was bitter, disillusioned, and jealous.
“Be warned, Kathleen, you won’t get away with such nonsense,” Grace Ann said contemptuously. “Do you think for one moment anyone would believe such an out-and-out lie? From you?”
“Come now, Grace Ann, I would expect better. Your poor brothers have been so mistreated by the Montgomerys. Where is your loyalty?”
“That is none of your affair!” Grace Ann shook her head ominously. “It is not my loyalty that is in question. I have never seen a woman act as fast as you and cause so much damage in her wake. Why, there is no house in Charleston that will receive you. For that matter, the whole of the state.”
White-lipped, Kathleen stiffened. Whipping out the fan attached to her wrist, she fanned herself. She snarled, “I have seen and heard enough to know of what I speak. Everyone fawns over Jo as if she is a helpless soul instead of an infectious evil.”
Jo shot a look of pure wrath at Kathleen, whose face broadened with a malevolent smile. She said, “It is not I who is evil, Kathleen. I have tried to be merciful to you. After all that you have done toward me, I allowed you into my home…cared for your daughter. But I will take no more. I want you to leave.”
“I am not leaving until I get what I came for or I will tell my tale,” Kathleen countered in defiance. “Have you told your dear family that you disappeared with Cullen Smythe while in Philadelphia? Why no one knew where you were? Ask Jenna and Anna if you don’t believe me…Then he appears at Magnolia Bluff, begging for dear Jo to return with him. Makes me wonder who is little Percival’s daddy.”
The venomous words hit their intended mark. Jo felt her heart race madly. She clutched her hand against her chest to calm it, relieved only when she looked up. Wade stood in the doorway. His hardened gaze fixed on Andrew’s wife.
“Kathleen, that will be enough. Don’t hold another for your unhappiness.” Wade’s iced voice resonated throughout the room. “As Grace Ann said, no one will believe your nonsense. Since I would know better than anyone if Percival is my son, there is no doubt. Moreover, I will not hold to any notions otherwise.”
A hushed silence ensued. An eerie sense of disaster loomed. Kathleen sat rigid in her seat. Jo sensed her nerves. Astonishment was written plainly on her face. Kathleen was frightened, as well she should be. Jo had never seen Wade so angry.
“Jo, Grace Ann, why don’t you accompany me to the nursery? Percival just woke,” Mother Montgomery, the most tactful of women, suggested. “I believe the men will deal with this matter.”
Jo nodded absently. She hadn’t even noticed Mother Montgomery enter the room, or for that matter, Andrew. One thing Jo knew well, of which Kathleen seemed to have no knowledge—a Southern family protects their own. Kathleen wasn’t theirs, connected only by an unfortunate, embarrassing occurrence.
Grace Ann rose beside Jo and linked her arm into hers—a sign of a bond that was not broken.
Wade reached out and halted her. As he leaned down, he kissed her cheek. “Make no mistake. I will deal with this matter.”
“I know,” she whispered and gently squeezed his hand.
Behind her, Kathleen laughed. “You fools! I have had my fill of this life. Damn idiots, thinking you will better the Yankees you hate ever so much. Mark my words, you will all burn!”
Jo said nothing else, but quickly withdrew up to the nursery. Only then, while holding her son, was she to breathe again.
In the wee hours of the morning, Jo heard the door handle rattle. As she stood by the window, she turned to see it open and shut again. Wade had finally come to bed. His jaw tensed, but his eyes lay gently on her.
“I didn’t know whether you would be sleeping.”
“I couldn’t,” she confessed. She had tried, but it had been useless. “I was waiting for you.”
Wade stepped close and opened his arms. She rushed into them and clung tight to him. Oh, how she needed him. He held her close until she heard the chimes of the grandfather clock strike two.
Breaking the embrace, he didn’t release her, but held her by her shoulders. “Kathleen is no longer a threat. She is leaving soon enough back to Philadelphia. Andrew told her he wants a divorce.”
Taken back by his utterance, she stared at him in disbelief. Divorce was unheard of in respectable families! It would make such a scandal!
“I told Andrew that he has our support. Enough is enough. The family has done all it can for the despicable woman. She has given Andrew just cause for divorce. It will not be hard to prove she has taken lovers.”
“I am at a loss for words.”
“I’m not.” The rage for the woman sprang forth in his voice. “Goddamn Yankee! She disrupts all our lives. Seduces Andrew away from his duty and caused the unfurling of so many lives…then decides this life is not for her. I told her she would not receive one penny from me…or from my brother.”
Her eyes widened. She said under her breath, “But what if she…?”
“She won’t utter a word of her lies. She has no proof, only whispers that Cullen had been seen at Magnolia Bluff. I suppose from one of the servants, but it meant nothing. Everyone knows at one time, it was his home. Only Kathleen tried to twist it, but nothing will come from it. Kathleen has been silenced.”
He sounded so confident…so assured. He went on. “Life in Charleston was nothing like she had envisioned. She had mistakenly assumed that Magnolia Bluff was Andrew’s. It was a disappointment to her. She has already left…without her child.”
She looked at him doubtfully.
“I don’t understand…we are keeping a child from her mother?”
“What do you think of me? I would not be so cruel. Kathleen made it clear she wants nothing to do with the child. She said she wants to leave this godforsaken land and everything that reminds her of it.”
The revelation left her thunderstruck and yet, the actions didn’t take her completely by surprise. A surge of compassion swept through her for the little one sleeping. It was inconceivable how Kathleen could leave her baby… I would die if Percival was taken from me.
She looked up to find Wade frowned fiercely at her. It wasn’t over. Had Kathleen filled his head with doubts? She had no wish to push him further. Nevertheless, the time had come.
Her brows knitted in perplexity. She asked, “What more did she say?”
“Nothing more than I have not already heard.”
She stiffened. He knew Cullen had been at Magnolia Bluff. He reached out and gripped her arm. She tried to pull away. “Wade, you are hurting me.”
He ignored her plea. “Why, Jo, why? Why didn’t you leave when Cullen came?”
Her eyes fixed on his, unable to break from his gaze. She had known this time would come. It had been inevitable. She said simply, “I am here because you are my husband. You told me once you knew me better than anyone because you are like me. Then you would know the answer.”
“Do I?”
“Yes,” she answered, turning his angry words aside. “I am going nowhere. You have given me the life I have always wanted. My son—”
“Our son.” He lowered his face to hers and repeated, “Our son. No one…no one will take him from me…from us.”
“I wanted to tell you that Cullen had come that day at Magnolia Bluff…but I was scared it would come between us. Then it was easier to pretend it never happened. But…now…I don’t want any more secrets between us.”
“There will be no more pretenses,” he murmured huskily. “All I want is what I have with you, Josephine.”
“Then know I love you, my husband.”
The admission whispered in the air between them. The ghost of the past was no more. His gaze pierced hers and she saw only him…Wade…her husband…who with one look aroused her so effectively that her whole body trembled.
His face softened. Pulling her to him, he lifted her in his arms and strode purposely to their bed. He lowered her upon the mattress and muttered thickly, “You don’t know how I wanted to hear those words.”
His mouth dipped downward to hers. She accepted him readily and wrapped her arms about his neck. He kissed her again and again with an urgency…conveying his need for her. She met his with her own.
He rose on his knees. Somehow, they removed their clothing. She watched as he thrust the unnecessary garments away, leaving nothing between them but a deep, sensual intimacy.
Her hands moved down the hard length of her husband’s body and slipped down his thigh. His arousal hardened with her touch.
“Slow, my darling,” he whispered. “I want to savor every moment…every second with you as we are now.”
“Is this the way love is supposed to be?” she asked, caught up in the fever of the passion they shared.
“If you mean, do I feel we are one…that our hearts beat with the same rhythm…that with every breath I take, it is you I live for…that my every dream is of you? Then, yes, Josephine.”
He kissed her, taking her breath away with his fierce ardor. He touched her everywhere; his lips pressed hot against her perfect skin, eliciting gasps of pleasure that rose to begging cries. His mouth suckled at her breast while his hands lifted her hips and parted her legs. He slid his fingers into her, touching…caressing the core of her being.
In slow, rhythmic strokes, he brought her to the edge of ecstasy. She trembled beneath him when he moved in her, quickened and deepened his pace.
Breathless, she met his passion with a fevered eagerness. Gasps of desire escaped her as they joined in the intimate union of their bodies. Release sought together as one, man and wife. For Jo, she had found her haven in the safety of her husband’s arms.
The sun rose in a clear sky. Jo had slept late. Her night and early morning had been spent in amorous lovemaking. Rolling over, she reached across the empty spot in the bed. Where was her husband? Her question was answered in her next breath.
Wade walked into their room, clothed in his dressing robe and holding Percival. He smiled at her. His hair was disheveled; stubble shadowed his face. He was not in a hurry to begin his day. “I held off our young son as long as I could.”
Jo sat up and took the hungry baby in her arms. A moment later, a cooing Percival suckled at his mother’s breast. Her gaze rose from her son to Wade, who sat on the edge of the bed with a tender expression.
“Happy?”
“Very.” She beamed up at him. “Perhaps I shouldn’t be. Not with poor Fannie without a mother…and the scandal that will ensue.”
“Fannie will be well loved,” Wade assured her. “It is for the best. I would not be concerned about the family being disgraced. The character of Kathleen is well-known. What’s more, when it is discovered she has abandoned her child, she will be vilified and burned in effigy in the streets if not for the war on the horizon.”
“I can’t help but feel for Andrew.”
“Andrew is going to withdraw back to Magnolia Bluff,” Wade said in a calm voice. “But we have more to discuss. You are aware that South Carolina is in the midst of reconstructing. I have been asked to help.”
Living within Charleston, Jo did not need to be told that it was a city on the edge, alive with anticipation: boundless celebrations, endless social events. Even Jo had been caught up in the revelry, but now Wade’s tone was serious.
“I have been in meetings with Hampton about his legion he has formed.”
Suddenly, the brightness of the morning dimmed. She asked dreaded question. “You are going to fight?”
“If it comes to it, Jo, it would be expected. I have military experience. Hampton is footing the bill for his legion, but even though he is one of the richest men in the state, more will be needed. I have pledged our support.”
“I trust you.”
A small smile formed on his lips. He opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but thought better of it. He rose and crossed the room to the window. Looking thoughtfully out, he sighed. “War is coming. It is inevitable. Everyone is anxious for it to begin. They have no understanding of what war is like. Grandfather calls Lincoln an ugly, grotesque ape who spends his time whittling wooden sticks and telling vulgar stories. I fear Lincoln is more clever and stubborn than we have given him credit for and we are underestimating him.”
“Oh, mercy!” Jo cried. She had not heard one utterance against the war in this house. “You have misgivings?”
“I believe it would be foolish not to,” Wade said in a low voice, his eyes fixed on the view outside. “You will not hear me talk in this manner outside of these walls. I will publically stand behind the stance that South Carolina has taken.”
Wade turned back to her and met Jo’s eyes. Jo paused for a breath as she tried to comprehend his meaning. She confessed, “I’m confused. I thought you wanted to secede.”
“I don’t question the succession, but the path we have taken from there. I don’t like Davis. I find him to be quite lacking the leadership we need. He talks as though holding cotton over the head of the European nations will gain their help.” His voice rose with his irritation. “No one wants to listen to what we are facing. I have talked in length with Hampton and his aides, who feel as I do. We have much to overcome. We should have been better prepared before making a move. The North has the best army in the world. They have ships and arms and are well organized. We are in confusion.”
“Wade!” Jo cried, looking conscience-stricken. “Why are you saying these things? You are scaring me. Everyone says a war will be over quickly…that there may not even be a war. The Yankees don’t like us anyway.”
“Cullen.”
“Cullen?” she asked, so bewildered and startled by the anger in his voice.
“Cullen,” he repeated. The room stilled and he quickly made his way back to her bedside. “He has written me…several times. He has outlined in a quite detailed manner why he believes the South will fail.”
“Why…why would he do so? Why would he write you?”
“My darling, loyal…dutiful wife. You were thrown into a situation you didn’t ask for or want…but you need to know that Cullen believes strongly that Percival is his.”
“He told you that!” Jo gasped in real distress.
“Yes, and more.” Wade went on. “He wrote that he realizes you would never leave me, for your character would never allow it. You would never forsake your family’s honor.”
“Oh, Wade…I would never leave you—”
“I know.” He reached over and caressed her face. “I am not questioning you. I only want you to understand I will not let you regret marrying me, Jo. I will make you proud.”
“Wade, we talked of this last night…You have already made me proud. You saved me…”
“One day I hope you know the depth of feelings I have for you.” He kissed her lips lightly and smiled down at Percival. He continued, “Cullen’s concern lies with Percival, Jo. Understand fully, Percival will always be mine, but Cullen believes otherwise and has sworn to protect Percival. Cullen has threatened to take Percival if the violence escalates. He said clearly he would never allow his son to endure the horrors of a war. He won’t sit idly by.”
Dumbfounded, her voice faltered. “He’s…threatened to take Percival from me…us?”
“I believe that is his intention,” Wade said frankly. “But, Jo, don’t fear. I would never allow it. I made it perfectly clear to Cullen what would happen if he attempted such an action.”
She looked at Wade with eyes wide with fear. “What, Wade? What will you do to stop him?”
With his arms wrapped about his small family, he calmed her. He stroked her hair gently, but his words burned. “What I would do to anyone who threatens my family,” he said bluntly. “I would kill him.”
