SEEDS OF LOVE
TAMMY ANDRESEN
COPYRIGHT
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
Seeds of Love Copyright © 2016 Tammy Andresen
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the express written permission of the publisher.
Published by Tammy Andresen
Cover art by Tammy Andresen
SEEDS OF LOVE
CHAPTER ONE
New York, 1827
Regina Lafayette stood near the bustling docks of New York City trying not to tap her foot. Her father and her fiancé, Obediah Stillwell, had insisted she come. Not one to make waves, Regina had complied.
Obediah’s second cousin, once removed, was traveling from South Carolina to New York to meet her. Apparently this cousin had also made Obediah her sole heir, having no children of her own.
Therefore, it was important that Regina make a good impression. Her father had built a fortune on his mother’s inheritance, and he wanted Obediah to do the same. He had handpicked her husband because he was the most promising business mind her father had ever seen. Or so he told Regina often. Unfortunately, that promising mind came at great expense to his personality.
At least in Regina’s opinion. Her father didn’t see it that way. He said she would grow to love him over time and he would keep her well cared for. Her father wanted her to marry a man like himself. Thomas Lafayette was a self-made man who had become one of the most powerful people in the country. He felt Obediah had the potential to do the same. In her heart, Regina didn’t believe it. Obediah would never command the respect that came so easily to the patriarch of her family.
There was no arguing with her father and so Regina had begrudgingly gone along with the engagement. But last week, Obediah had placed his thin, sniveling lips on hers and she knew in that moment that she would never grow to love him.
While she had a small inheritance of her own, set aside by her mother, to defy her father would surely mean that he would cut her loose. She would be left to fend for herself. And Regina had no idea how to do that.
And so she found herself standing next to tall, awkwardly thin Obediah as he wiped his sniffling nose and waited for his cousin.
A ship had docked to their left and Regina watched with amusement as sailors began to unload their goods. They called to each other and they bent and lifted and stretched. They did the physical labor with ease and she found herself transfixed. Regina opened her fan and began to flick it back and forth across her now heated skin.
A man stepped onto the deck, tall and straight. His chocolate brown hair glistening in the sun. His broad shoulders flexed as he crossed his arms over his chest and, even from this distance, she could see the flash of white teeth as he smiled. Regina fanned faster.
“Regina, would you stop with that infernal fan.” Obediah’s exasperated voice snapped her out of her reverie.
She sent a glare his way. He was perpetually cold, even as the warm spring sun burned the last of winter away.
“Don’t look at me so. You’re much prettier when you smile and look demure as a lady should.” Obediah was clearly on edge. He did not normally talk to her like this in front of her father. Their private conversations were a different story.
Regina stole a quick glance at the patriarch of her family and saw him assessing Obediah silently.
Without a word of response, Regina turned back to watch the sailors. She did not care one wit if he found her pretty. Then, she began fanning herself again. This small act of defiance was unusual for Regina, but Obediah was driving her to distraction.
“Look,” Obediah called. “My cousin’s ship unloads. She will have ridden first class and so should emerge shortly.”
Regina rolled her eyes. Obediah was constantly pointing out these types of things. She will have ridden first class. It didn’t need to be said. She turned her attention toward the boat as a group of sailors walked by them.
Several stared at her as they passed and Regina felt her cheeks pinken. She should be used to it by now. Men often looked at her so, but it still unnerved her.
She attempted to ignore it as Obediah grabbed her arm and pointed down the dock. A short, round woman was approaching them, walking while carrying no less than four dogs. She couldn’t have looked any more opposite from Obediah and Regina felt her eyebrows raise near to her hair. This could not be her fiancé’s cousin.
But it was. The woman approached them giving Obediah a large smile. “My dearest, you look robust as ever,” she proclaimed, wrapping the thin man in a beefy hug, dogs and all.
Regina tried to keep her eyebrows down. It wouldn’t do to be rude. She pasted a polite smile on her face as she turned toward Cousin Margaret Stillwell. “How do you do?”
“This little wisp of a thing is your fiancé?” Margaret’s eyebrows drew together as she looked at her. “Can she even bear you children?”
Regina’s eyes bulged in her head. Margaret was a spinster herself and had never had children so her comment might have been comical if it wasn’t so offensive. She wondered briefly if Obediah would end the engagement if Margaret didn’t approve. The thought brought about a genuine smile as she looked at the other woman.
“I can assure you, Mrs. Stillwell, I am the same size as my mother and she successfully delivered three children.” She would have liked to add that since the other woman had never married or had children, she might not understand what actually made for good childbearing. But Regina would never be so rude, so she kept these thoughts to herself.
“All girls, I hear.” The other woman frowned and turned back to her cousin. One of the dogs yanked out of Margaret’s hands as she moved her large frame and ran straight under Regina’s skirt.
Regina tried to move out of the way, but that only frightened the dog who yelped and jumped deeper into her petticoats. Regina spun around to see where the animal was, but it only became more entangled in her skirts. As she leaned over and free the animal, it crashed into her legs, knocking her off balance. Flailing her arms, she tried to regain her posture but she could feel herself falling.
In a sickening slow motion, she was going backward. Her arms reached out to thin air when suddenly her back met a solid form. She wasn’t even close to the ground and her mind frantically searched for the reason she was still partially upright, then she registered two strong arms wrapped around her. They were firm, muscular, and tan. Slowly she tilted her head back where she met the warm brown eyes of the man she had seen minutes before on the deck of the other ship. His full lips were curled into a half smile that only accentuated his strong jaw, stubbled with a day’s growth. Regina had the most curious urge to run her hand along it.
Her back was pressed against his chest. She had never felt more secure in her life. Giving out a chuckle, their eyes met. His low rumbling voice washed over her, “Are you all right, miss?”
Regina felt her cheeks flame with color. She had just been leaning there staring at him. How much time had passed? “Of, of c-course. Thank you, I am so terribly sorry.” She began desperately trying to straighten but he gave her a tiny squeeze.
“Allow me.” He tilted her fully upright and slowly released her from his arms. Then he bent down and shook out her skirt. His face was deliciously close to her stomach and she had the urge to place her hands on his broad shoulders. Maybe even press close to him.
He removed the d
og from her tangle of petticoats and then handed it back to Cousin Margaret who gave a humph in response.
Her father stepped next to her and held out his hand. “Thomas Lafayette. Pleased to make your acquaintance. Thank you for aiding my daughter.”
“James Carter. Happy to be of assistance. Miss Lafayette, I presume?” His eyes met hers again.
She curtseyed and gave him a blushing smile. The memory of his strong arms had heat spreading through her body again. “Thank you again, Mr. Carter.”
“That is a fine ship you have, Mr. Carter. May I ask where you purchased it?”
“You may, sir. I built it myself. I’ve started my own company. This ship is my own but four more like it have been purchased recently. I am escorting them to their new owner.”
James’ face glowed with pride and her father looked intently at the other man. He purchased ships often; it was part of the shipping business where he’d made his fortune, but he must really like the look of this vessel. Regina could feel her father’s intensity.
“Mr. Carter you must join us this evening as a token of our appreciation.”
James’ eyes flicked to her briefly. Then he nodded and shook hands with her father again. “I would be delighted.”
Her father gave him their address as Obediah stepped up next to her. His hand came possessively to her waist. He bent down and whispered in her ear, “That was a terribly clumsy thing to do. You must watch yourself, Regina.”
She did not respond but she saw both her father’s and James’ eyes flick towards them.
“Until tonight,” her father said. He reached for her elbow and turned them both toward their carriage. Obediah and his cousin fell in line behind them.
Regina was glad for the momentary respite from Obediah’s company as she tucked her hand in her father’s elbow. “I think spring is my favorite season, Papa. It is always full of such hope.”
“I agree, Regina. In spring the possibilities are endless.”
James Carter watched Regina Lafayette walk away. Dear Lord, he was in trouble. Never in his life had he been so instantly attracted to a woman. She was utter perfection. She had a mass of honey blonde hair that was artfully pinned up. But a strand had tickled his nose as he caught her and its soft caress made him long to unpin it and tangle his hands in those tresses. Large blue eyes danced with every emotion that crossed her beautiful face. They were the color of the sea during a storm and tilted ever so slightly at the corners making them stunningly beautiful. Finally, her soft, full pink lips had smiled so deliciously. Everything about her face, turned up to his, had set him on fire.
Her dress had highlighted every asset she had while being the perfect example of decorum. His hands could have easily spanned her tiny waist.
But as much as he wanted her, he had to keep his distance. First, he knew the Lafayettes. They were the aristocrats of America. Second, her father was interested in his ships. He knew that. And he wanted this contract. He would have to keep his hands and his eyes to himself tonight at dinner.
Besides, the other man was most likely her intended. He had heard him chastise her about clumsiness. His fingers clenched into a fist. They itched to land on the other man’s hawkish nose. In addition to the fact that it had completely been the dog’s fault, a woman like Miss Lafayette should be worshiped. That man was a fool.
SEEDS OF LOVE
CHAPTER TWO
Regina sat at dinner, gritting her teeth. First of all, her younger sister, Clarissa, was making not-so-subtle eyes at James Carter. Secondly, her mother had sat her next to James, so she could not look at him without being completely obvious. Third, she was sitting across from Cousin Margaret, who was feeding her dogs at the table.
Because she couldn’t unclench her teeth, she had largely remained silent for the meal. This normally would have pleased Obediah, but tonight he was shooting glares in her direction.
She sighed to herself; she would have to make conversation with Margaret and the dogs. “Mrs. Stillwater, how was your journey?”
“Dreadful, the ocean is simply awful to travel upon and the weather here is beyond repugnant. How do you stand the cold, Obediah?”
James shifted in his seat and his knee brushed hers. A tingling sensation shot through her leg and she shuddered slightly. It was a delicious feeling but Obediah’s eyes narrowed at her movement.
That was the fourth reason she had remained silent. James’ presence next to her was completely and utterly distracting.
“I count the days until I can move to the South.” Obediah shook as if he were chilled.
“Move to the South?” Obediah had her full attention now. No one had mentioned leaving her family.
“Of course, dear. You’ll live with me. I’ll need to see how Obediah is using my inheritance to build the next piece of your father’s business. Besides, it is a wife’s duty to go where her husband commands.” Margaret waved her fork, and the dog snapped at the meat as the fork went by.
Regina’s eyes sought her father’s. Was he really going to send her to live with Margaret and Obediah to build a southern shipping hub? It seemed a fate worse than death. His eyes met hers, but his face was an unreadable mask. Next her eyes traveled to her mother. Her look mirrored Regina’s feelings.
“I’ll want full reports, Obediah. And…” Margaret turned to her father, “some additional information on your business would be helpful. Truthfully, I expected your daughter to be of sturdier—”
Her father’s voice cut the conversation short. “We do not discuss these matters at the dinner table.”
Regina’s cheeks flamed with color. She was going to spend every day with this odious woman and her sniveling nephew.
“Before the gentlemen retire, I would request we all join the ladies in the music room. I would love for Regina to play the piano for all of you.” Her father’s voice did not hold a question. It was a command.
Clarissa, who had just turned seventeen, smiled at James. “Is it true you rescued my sister today?” She batted her eyelashes.
“I don’t know if I would call it a rescue, but I did break her fall.”
“How divine,” Clarissa murmured coyly. Regina instantly knew her sister was teasing her. Since Regina was so careful to follow the rules, her sister delighted in being outrageous. Her youngest sister, Macie, smirked and then quickly covered it with her napkin. She was also well aware of Clarissa’s antics.
“Felix will not come out of my room after the incident.” Margaret held her hand to her forehead, looking as though the world had ended. Regina, however, was thankful that one less dog had joined them for dinner.
Regina saw her mother give Clarissa a pointed glare. Regina wanted to hide in her chair. This dinner could not be anymore humiliating.
As dinner finished, James stood and pulled back Regina’s chair as she rose. It was a small gesture, but one of grace. Obediah often lacked them, and Regina appreciated it now.
Her fiancé came around the table and offered her his arm, which she accepted. His touch sent a different type of shiver skittering across her skin. It was not at all pleasant.
Regina smoothed her dress as she went to sit on the bench of the piano. She was rather fond of the gown. It was the perfect shade of blue to match her eyes. It fit her well and seemed to accentuate her tiny waist. It showed just a hint of cleavage, which was all her father would allow.
Her skirts rustled slightly as she settled herself on the piano bench. She flipped through the music as the group chattered and dogs barked. She wanted to pick the perfect piece. Her father often asked her to play at gatherings and she took great joy in it. She glanced at James. Would he like her playing? Finally, she settled on a light popular piece of music that suited the mood of the group. Obediah came to stand next to her. “Shall I turn the pages for you?”
“Please,” she murmured as her fingers perched over the keys. In truth, she barely needed the sheets of music. She knew the piece by heart.
She struck the keys and the m
usic began to flow from her fingers. The happy notes jumped about the room and her sister Clarissa began to clap along. She was always eager for fun.
She couldn’t see James, but she could actually feel him moving closer as her fingers danced over the keys.
Obediah turned the pages, leaning in close to her every time he did. She felt his cheek brush her hair and she resisted the urge to pull away. Her sister stepped next to Obediah. Regina nearly missed a key when Clarissa’s hand rested on Obediah’s shoulder. Was Clarissa being outrageous again?
As the song began to crescendo, Margaret’s dogs started an ungodly howl. Whether they enjoyed the music or not, Regina couldn’t say, but their racket nearly drowned out the piano.
Halfheartedly, Regina finished the piece. The group clapped in a distracted manner; everyone was shooting curious glances at Margaret. The other woman hadn’t said a word.
Finally noticing the glances, Margaret cleared her throat. “They can’t abide the music, I don’t have any in my house.”
Regina stared at the woman. She absolutely could not live in a house without music. “Surely, you have a piano?”
“No, I do not.” Margaret stood and crossed the room to pour herself a glass of wine. The dogs followed.
Regina looked over to her mother and father. She needed to speak with them. Despair was rising inside of her. She simply could not marry Obediah. Neither parent made eye contact, their eyes were on Margaret, who had poured herself a liberal glass of wine.
Even Obediah was looking at Margaret. “Surely we can get Regina a piano while she lives at the house.”
Regina turned to her intended, slightly amazed. It was the first time he had spoken up on her behalf.
“I don’t think so,” she took a swig of her wine. “As I said, the dogs can’t abide it.”
Regina’s mouth hung open. It was as if this woman was attempting to make her as miserable as possible.
Seeds of Love: Prequel to Lily in Bloom Page 1
