Reese's Bride. Kat Martin

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СКАЧАТЬ sat in a carved, high-back chair at the head of the long, polished mahogany table in the state dining room. Elizabeth sat to his right in one of the other twenty-six chairs, Mason and Frances to his left. Tall candles burned in the huge, gaslit, crystal chandelier hanging above the table, and the gold-rimmed plates were of finest Sevres porcelain.

      It was too formal a setting for a shy little boy like Jared. But Frances had insisted, since it was his seventh birthday, and the issue didn’t seem important enough to Elizabeth to suffer an argument.

      The meal was as lavish as the setting: a rich vermicelli soup, roasted partridge with pecan stuffing, lobster in cream sauce, an array of vegetables and fresh baked breads. Dessert was an assortment of cakes and tarts and a fancy custard in the shape of a swan.

      It should have been a horse, Elizabeth thought. Jared had always loved horses.

      “All right, boy. Time to open your presents.” Mason snapped his fingers at the pair of footmen who stood along the wall. They rushed forward, gifts in hand, and set them on the table in front of her son.

      Jared looked at the gifts and beamed at Elizabeth. “They’re all so beautiful, Mama.” It was like her son to appreciate the packages as much as the gifts inside. A lovely silver-wrapped box with a huge blue satin bow sat on top of a larger gift covered in bright red velvet-flocked paper decorated with a red feathered bird. Her own gift was the smallest, but beautifully wrapped in dark brown silk with a simple gold ribbon.

      “Which one should I open first?” he asked, looking up at her.

      “How about this one?” Mason shoved the red velvet package in front of him, the crimson stuffed bird jiggling with the motion.

      Jared pulled the bird off the top and smoothed a hand over its feathers. “I wish it still could fly.”

      He was a gentle-natured child. He loved animals of any sort, even stuffed ones.

      “Open your gift, boy.” Mason pushed the box even closer and as Jared reached for it, nearly knocked it off the table.

      The smile died on his lips. “I’m … I’m sorry, Uncle Mason.”

      “It’s all right, boy. Here, let me help you.”

      Elizabeth gritted her teeth as Mason pulled the box to his side of the table and ripped off the red flocked paper. He tore open the box then shoved it back to Jared and she saw that it was filled with an army of miniature soldiers.

      Each wooden soldier was intricately carved and beautifully painted, half the army wearing the red-and-white uniforms of the British, Napoleon’s blue-coated soldiers forming the opposing force. They were the sort of thing a little boy would love and Jared’s brown eyes gleamed with appreciation.

      Elizabeth shivered. All she could think of Reese and how the army had torn them apart. A memory arose of him striding unannounced into the entry of Aldridge Park dressed in his scarlet uniform, so handsome her heart hurt just to look at him. He had discovered her betrayal and her hasty marriage to the earl. He had called her a liar and a whore and left her standing there shaking, her heart shattered into a thousand pieces.

      Elizabeth shook herself, forcing away the image. Her head was beginning to throb and her mouth felt dry. She watched Jared open the second gift, a woolen jacket that Frances had bought him. He thanked her very properly and reached for the last of his gifts.

      He looked up at her and smiled, knowing the gift was from her.

      “I hope you like it,” Elizabeth said. She was feeling terribly weary. She hoped it didn’t show.

      Jared carefully untied the gold ribbon, gently eased off the brown silk wrapping and set it aside, then lifted the lid off the box. Inside on a bed of tissue rested a small silver unicorn. It stood five inches high, its thick neck bowed, its powerful front legs dancing in the air.

      Jared reached into the box, carefully removed the horse and held it up with reverence.

      “A unicorn,” he said, his small fingers skimming over the shining horse that gleamed in the light of the candalabra in the center of the table. “He’s wonderful, Mama.”

      Jared had a collection of four other unicorns. He loved horses of every shape and size and especially the mystical creature with the magic horn in the middle of its forehead. “I’m going to name him Beauty.”

      Mason carefully wiped his mustache with his napkin and shoved back his chair. He had little patience with children and that patience was clearly at an end. “It’s getting late. Now that your birthday is over for another year, it is past time you went to bed.”

      Anger penetrated her lethargy and the pounding that had started in her head.

      Elizabeth came to her feet. “Jared is my son, not yours. I will be the one to tell him when it’s time for bed.” She felt a tug on the skirt of her blue silk dinner gown. Her head was spinning. She hadn’t realized Jared had gotten up from his chair.

      “It’s all right, Mama. Mrs. Garvey will be waiting for me.” Mrs. Garvey was his nanny, a kind, gray-haired woman whose own children were grown.

      Elizabeth knelt and pulled her son into her arms. “Happy birthday, sweetheart. I’ll have the footmen bring your gifts up to your room.” She smoothed back an errant lock of his thick dark hair. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

      Jared looked over at Mason, caught his scowl, and eased out of her embrace. “Good night, Mama.”

      Elizabeth’s heart squeezed. “Good night, sweetheart.”

      Clutching the silver unicorn against his small chest, Jared turned and raced out of the dining room.

      An hour later, Elizabeth sat on the tapestry stool in front of the mirror above her dressing table. It was late. Most of the household was abed. She had napped before supper and yet still felt tired. Lately she couldn’t seem to get enough sleep.

      She yawned behind her hand, wondering if she had the energy to read, when the doorknob turned, the door swung silently open, and Mason Holloway walked into her bedroom.

      Elizabeth shot up from the stool. She was wearing only a white cotton nightgown, hardly proper attire to receive male visitors.

      “What are you doing in here?” She reached for the quilted wrapper lying on the bureau, but Mason picked it up before she could reach it.

      “I saw the light under your door. I thought you might be in the mood for company.”

      “What … what are you talking about? It’s late, Mason. Your wife will be wondering where you are.”

      “My wife has no say in where I spend my evenings.” Instead of leaving, he tossed the robe aside and walked behind her, settled his big hands on her shoulders and began a crude massage.

      Elizabeth’s stomach tightened with revulsion. She knocked his hands away and whirled to face him, the movement making her dizzy, and she swayed a little on her feet.

      Mason caught her arm to steady her. “Still feeling poorly?”

      Elizabeth managed to pull free. “Get out,” she said, but her head was pounding and the words came out with little СКАЧАТЬ