Mirisa rang the dinner bell as she heard the children in the distance. The wildflowers were in full bloom giving the gardens such a whimsical look. They moved into the tavern three years earlier. It was a large old building that Meeks had renovated without taking away its charm. Mirisa stepped off the porch and walked toward the river as the children’s voices seemed to be coming closer. Cassie was the first to come in sight followed by Lizzie and Sara. Maggie was walking with her brothers. The girls stopped and picked flowers to put on the table.
Cassie kissed her mother’s cheek before running ahead with her sisters. She was so small with almost white hair and the most beautiful light blue eyes. Like her father, if she was awake she was either moving or talking. Lizzie was going to be the tallest of the girls. Her auburn hair had a slight wave to it, she had deep dimples when she smiled and her eyes were dark blue. Sara looked almost identical to Mirisa but as she grew her eyes were more like Meeks. Maggie looked the most like Meeks with straight auburn hair and green eyes. She was quiet but very intelligent. The boys hadn’t changed much.
Meeks had an orchard planted north of the house where the smaller stream was located. Both James and Garnett used the smaller river house when they were in town but stayed in Georgetown when congress was in session. Everything in New York was sold and most of the furniture was moved to the tavern.
Meeks washed up and stepped out onto the patio as the children ran around him to the kitchen to wash up. Mirisa wrapped around Meeks and kissed him. “How is my favorite girl today?”
“Missing you.”
“Well if you miss me than you can always come work with me.”
“Maybe I will. What have you been doing?”
“Working on a new piece for Sara’s birthday.”
“My father will be by soon to pick up the children.”
“He’s not going to the wedding tomorrow?”
“No, he said he would much rather spend time with his grandchildren. Are we going to stay in the city or at the townhouse?”
“I have reservations in the city for the entire weekend so I can take you shopping.”
Meeks stepped out of the carriage taking his wife’s hand. Mirisa met his eyes and he brought her lips down to his. Meeks knew when she came down the stairs that she was intentionally dressed as provocatively as she could. The dress was as beautiful as the first one James bought her in Richmond and not surprisingly he had picked out the beautiful dark green gown with a short jacket that buttoned up the front to her throat continuing in a short collar with gold threads. It did give the appearance of being appropriate.
They entered the church and were seated in the front pew. It was a magnificent old church with large stained glass windows along the walls. Dominic and Garnett walked out and James stood up talking to him for a moment.
The wedding was like everything Dominic did, extremely elegant and romantic. The dynamics of the five of them was like a wooden top spun with such precision causing it to remain precisely balanced on its tip from of magical inertia. It had started wobbling in Texas and everyone was watching it trying to anticipate if it would topple or right itself again.
Dominic planned a very exclusive private dinner following the wedding with over a hundred guests, mostly fellow statesmen and other politicians attending the reception at his house. His house was nothing like the plantation that was wrapped in tradition or the house in Texas that was rugged but functional. This house screamed of money and power, the two things he welded flawlessly. His extravagance had always been showered on her personally always to pay homage to saying she belonged to him. Dominic had returned all of her jewelry to her telling her that there would never be a woman who could make the most beautiful jewelry in the world pale the way she could. He was so handsome even at forty two. His hair was almost entirely grey but he still commanded the room when he walked into it.
Meeks and Mirisa mingled as the dancing began before Mirisa excused herself climbing the stairs to the second floor. She slipped into the powder room and looked at herself in the large gilded mirror. Mirisa put her purse down and reached out touching the small stone figurine of a venetian maiden tipping a pot into the sink. Mirisa touched the faucet and water came out of the ivory pot into the bowl. She ran her fingertip along the face of the young girl. Mirisa wondered who designed the house.
As she left the powder room, Mirisa looked into the last room finding the piano from the plantation. She walked in and thought about that anniversary and the seven years that led up to Richmond. Mirisa frequently flipped through her memories looking for an answer knowing she should just move on but she couldn’t. Unfaithfulness was like a mold that grew over everything living on the host of trust.
Mirisa saw them all in a different light that anniversary but they had been luring her down that road for a few years always using diversions to keep her from understanding.
Mirisa put her purse on the little table and lifted the fall board running her fingers along the keys before sitting down. It was such a beautiful piano and the pitch was perfect. She opened the music book and started playing.
HE WAS SUCH A NICE YOUNG MAN
M.T.A. Beckett
If pity dwell within your breast,
Some sympathy pray spare,
of Love that breaks young Ladies rest,
Indeed I've had my share,
His form is ever in my sight,
Forget I never can;
I'm haunted by Him day and night,
He was such a nice young Man.
'Twas at a Ball held in the West,
On me He first did glance,
So gently He my fingers prest
And asked me out to dance.
I blushed and whispered, no, no, no.
Then smiling dropped my fan,
For how could I refuse to dance,
He was such a nice young Man!
Next morning dressed and breakfast done,
Heart beating with desire,
The Hall door Bell was loudly rung
Enough to break the wire!
I thought I should have died with fright,
Up come our Servant Ann,
"A gentleman, Miss, waits below.
He is! such a nice young man!"
Almost had sunk 'twixt hope and fear
I wish'd I was afar,
Guess my surprise Him now to hear
Conversing with Mamma,
Such language elegant he used
Her Heart He did trepan,
She said She no objection had
He was such a nice young Man.
From House He scarce was out of sight
Whence from the lower rooms,
A Servant Maid came in a fright
And cried, "He's stole the spoons!"
"Ah, fetch him back Mamma!" she cried.
Off went our footman Dan
Who brought him back-we found the Spoons
Yes! Upon the nice young Man.
A caution Ladies give I must,
The Moral I well know.
'Tis never the appearance trust
Of any dashing Beau,
For this is what I should have done
When to notice He began.
But who'd have thought he was a thief,
He was such a nice young Man!
“Mirisa.”
She didn’t look up and continued to play. "I love the way you say my name."
Dominic closed the door and locked it. She looked up at the sound. Finally, she was the other woman. He read her face as he walked over to the piano.
“No, you are the only woman. I’ve never lied to you about that part.” Dominic slowly brought Mirisa to him. “I believe you dressed tonight to make me regret my behavior.”
“Is everything about you?”
“Yes. You know it would not be unthought-of for you to sleep with me.”
“Are you propositioning me?”
“I would give everything in the world to spend just one hour with you.” D
ominic pulled up her hand and looked at the small gold band on her left hand. “You were right to give him a second chance. I would feel it appropriate to seduce you for I believe he deserves little sympathy.” Dominic kissed her long and with such longing that she could feel herself giving in to him.
She reached up putting her finger on his lip. “What of your marriage?”
Dominic laughed. “No one marries at my age for love and no one forgets the greatest love of their life. The one thing I have learned is that the things I can throw off with no guilt or regret always have a devastating impact on you.”
“Why do you hide the piano up here?”
“Sometimes I just need the solitude of playing.”
“You are a very accomplished pianist.”
“So was my mother.”
Mirisa looked at him. “I didn’t know that. You never had a piano at the plantation until you bought this one.”
“My father removed the piano after she died and my lessons were always at the music teacher’s house. It was forbidden to play in front of my father. I never understood his anger or pain when I was young and my brothers were too closed minded to think they needed to talk about her. I think it is the only thing that I had in common with Meeks.”
Dominic went back downstairs as Mirisa sat down at the piano and began to play a very haunting melody when Garnett came in and sat on the piano bench with her.
“It has been too long since you have played with me.”
“And have you missed me Garnett?”
“Mirisa I miss you before you walk out of a room and I believe you are intentionally enticing tonight.”
“I believe you spend too little time opening my carriage door.”
“True but then I’m not the one who decided to get married.”
“I never told you how much I loved “The Dock Worker”. I thought it was so clever to center the whole story about the attorney and his disastrous marriage. I actually forgot that he was in the middle of the trial.” Mirisa put her hands in her lap. “When are you going to decide to get married again?”
“Why would I even get in a position that it would require any decision?”
They continued to play as Meeks and David stood in the doorway listening.
Mirisa enjoyed the evening as she danced in her husband’s arms Dominic finally took her out on the floor and it was obvious to all three of them that he wanted to take her off the floor. James thought that it was only fitting that on his wedding night that Dominic would want to sleep with someone else’s wife.
“And here I thought he had changed his ways.”
Meeks looked at Garnett then back at Dominic. “You can only hold back from her so long before it consumes you.”
Garnett walked out onto the floor and Dominic twirled Mirisa into his arms Garnett looked at Dominic and nodded. Despite the fact that they all danced as differently as they made love, Mirisa went from one to the other without missing a cue.
Mirisa looked into Garnett’s eyes and ran her fingers softly along his temple. “You know you were the target tonight?”
“And how is that Garnett?”
“One woman is picked and all four of us must lure her off the floor for sex.”
“And does Dominic always start this game?”
“No, the game starts when the first of us gets her off the floor. We always pick the one we believe would be the most resistant.”
“So just because I refused Dominic’s proposition doesn’t stop the game?”
“No, it actually makes the odds higher.”
“And Garnett what are the odds?”
“It started at five thousand dollars and now that you have rejected Dominic’s attempt, it has doubled.”
“What happens if none of you are successful?”
“I’m not sure because it always works.”
“Is this how you make sex challenging? Are you so unfeeling that it isn’t about the attraction of a woman but on which one of you is better?”
“Darling, when there are no emotions, no feelings it is only about the challenge.”
“I hope this isn’t how you behave when you are trying to convince a woman to have sex with you.”
“And how should I behave?”
“You should tell me I am beautiful, that my eyes are more enticing than emeralds that my lips beckon you from across the room and my skin is like a freshly bitten ripe peach. You should tell me that the thought of slowly removing my gown to reveal what you can tell is a sensuous woman waiting to bend to your deepest desire is all you can think about.” Garnett watched her eyes as he tried hard not to react to her. “You should tell me that I am perfect when my wrists are bound and my eyes blindfolded. That with the heat of a mountain lion, you wish to pin me against the world exploding from the pure adrenaline that takes away your breath and your lips hungrily seek out mine.”
Meeks watched them closely as James poured him a shot. “I didn’t think I would ever see anyone take Garnett off of his mark.”
When the dance ended Garnett walked her back to her husband and immediately walked over to the bar and ordered a shot.
Meeks walked over and got a glass of wine for Mirisa. Dominic smiled. “Don’t ever think I won’t take her back if you get tired of her.”
“Don’t ever think that I don’t know that.” Meeks lit a cigar and blew a ring. “Not a bad choice for eye candy.”
“She’ll work for what I need.” He lit his cigar from Meeks. “She’s a little upset with Garnett for the papers she had to sign but she needed my position more than I needed her connections. She’s proper and that’s all that is important.”
Garnett was standing at the window looking out over the city when Mirisa walked into Dominic’s library. “Whoever built this house had a great love for looking over the city. If you are quiet enough, you can hear the heartbeat of the power that breeds just below the surface.”
“It’s a beautiful library but all of you create the most comforting libraries. What do you want in life?”
Garnett turned and looked at her. “I’m not sure. At the moment, I want you to take off your clothes so I can feel you up against me with no physical or emotional barriers.” Garnett turned back around as Mirisa thought about not only his statement but his tone. Garnett watched her image in the window which was transposed over the view of the city lights. Garnett took off his jacket and tie and threw them on the couch.
The room was so quiet that you could hear the mantel clock’s metallic rhythm. Garnett lowered the lanterns until the room was lit only by the fire which softened the shadows of her face. Garnett held her wrists putting her hands behind her. Mirisa’s eyes watched his as he began reacting to the scent of her skin. Garnett kissed Mirisa’s neck as he subtly leaned her back until she was against the edge of the oversized desk.
Garnett took in his breath as his grip tightened. “A woman’s response is the crux of a man’s deepest desire to please her so as to please himself.” He slid his fingers along her stockings. “The warmth of your body belies your ability to remain in control and it is that control that I want to steal tonight. It is that control that I love.”
Garnett backed away pulling Mirisa back to the edge of the desk. “I am afraid tonight you have taken away my ability to merely admire you. It is so hard not to break my promise.”
“Your promise?”
“I love you but I believe I need to find someone to release your hold on me tonight. You fail to understand that it is our love that weakens the ability to not hold you.” Garnett picked up his jacket and left the library as she ran her fingers along the desk thinking about the night.
Garnett was standing at the bar talking to Dominic who was watching her come out of the library. Dominic said something and Garnett turned around as she turned into her husband to avoid making eye contact. Meeks lifted her chin.
“It’s been a long time since you have been shy. Are the boys being too aggressive?”
“They are being gentlem
en.”
Meeks took her out onto the dance floor and told her not to worry because no matter what they thought, he was the one who would always have the last dance. Her quietness didn’t go unnoticed as she stayed by Meeks side.
James put out his hand and took her out onto the dance floor. She wondered why none of them were stepping out of the room with other women. “James, are there not enough women here tonight?”
He smiled. “In politics, the men are rich and do what rich men love to do but they are also extremely powerful so to surreptitiously lure their wife away would be a bad decision.”
James leaned into her and whispered in her ear. Like the others, James slowly took her back in time as the room continued to swirl past them in a blur. “I believe you are still one of the most beautiful women to take to the dance floor. I can’t be near you without wanting to kiss your lips or run my hands along your hips as I am overcome with the desire to hold you. My good senses understand that I can’t but my heart never will.”
“Then you will be going out with Garnett tonight?”
“Probably.”
“And what were the odds when you took me to the dance floor?”
“I think it was ten thousand but it will go up to twenty when the song ends.”
“And if my husband is successful?”
“Doesn’t work that way. Everyone has to be successful or no one is.”
“But three of you have propositioned me before you told me that none of you would sleep with me again.”
“We’re not real good at keeping promises so don’t take odds on that but sometimes you have to sacrifice for friends.”
James finally brought her off the floor and Meeks handed her his glass of whisky. She leaned up against him as he wrapped his arm around her as she controlled the building emotions.
She looked across the room at Dominic who was holding his wife close and he just smiled. Mirisa thought she really was naïve and there was so much about them that she pretended didn’t exist. Meeks finally retrieved her jacket and bid everyone good evening as he took her hand.
The Visitor_The Final Ride 1875_1928 Page 11
