Wellington Cross (Wellington Cross Series) (15 page)

“Yes,” I said, gathering my wits again.  “What about
you?”  He was very brave to go running off to find the shooter.

“Yes, I’m fine.  Don’t worry about me.  My only
concern is for you.”  He hugged me for another long moment, and I felt
comforted in his arms.  He reluctantly let go and yanked the reins for the
horses to start moving. 

We stayed close and held hands for the trip back home, while
Ethan steered the horses with his free hand.

“Did you find the person who shot at me?”

“Yes, but he got away.  His name is Jefferson Banks, a guy
who fought in the war with me.”  I was shocked.  He knew
Jefferson?  That means Jefferson knew him.  Not only that, but he
knew I had been married to Ethan.  How dare he try to trick me into
thinking I was betrothed to him, when he knew all along that I had been married
to Ethan!  He was playing me for a fool.  How on earth had he gotten
my ring? 

  Ethan went on to say that he had met “Jeff” in the Battle
of the Wilderness in 1864.  They fought out the rest of the war together
and Jeff even came home to meet the family on his way home to City Point. 
Ethan hadn’t seen him since then.

“You met him, too.  Twice.  Do you remember?” he
asked.  “The first time was when I came and took you back to Edgewood with
me.  He was one of the soldiers with me there.  You also met him
after the war when Mother had a big gathering for all those who returned from
the war, and Jeff was with me then.  He had blonde hair.”

Perhaps that was why he seemed familiar to me.  As a matter
of fact, that must have been when he’d tried to kiss me, the memory I had the
last time I saw him.  My stomach was turned in knots over all of
this.  I wanted to tell Ethan about meeting Jefferson – Jeff – while I had
been away, but I was afraid to.  Would he be angry with me for keeping
secrets?  Would he be suspicious?  Especially when he found out
Jefferson had my ring.

Ethan told me that when he brought Jeff home with him, he
recognized his father, Edward, from the war.  He had apparently known
Edward but thought he was a Yankee.  Ethan wondered why Jeff would have
thought Edward was a Yankee.  That didn’t make sense.  It turned out
that Jefferson was actually a Yankee.  Edward had discovered that he had
been a spy, that he was actually from East Tennessee and a Unionist, and had
been sharing secrets with General Grant.

“I don’t know what became of him after the war, but he must have
come back for revenge.  After all we had been through in the war, I had no
idea he had been a damn Yankee!”  He wiped his face.  “I
apologize.  Please forgive my outburst.”  He controlled his
anger.  “I’m so distressed that he tried to shoot you, Madeline.  I
had no idea your life was in danger.  I don’t know what I’d do if I lost
you again.”  He hugged me tighter and kissed my head again.

We were quiet through a lot of the drive home then.  I
thought about Jefferson.  I knew I had to come clean about him or I
wouldn’t be able to live with myself.  I didn’t want to keep any more
secrets between me and Ethan.  It wasn’t fair to him.  After all, I
knew about him and Elizabeth.  I hoped he wouldn’t be angry with me. 
The thought of hurting him devastated me.

“Ethan, I have something I have to tell you.”  I took a
deep breath.

“What is it?” he asked, looking over at me a moment, then back
at the road.

“I met Jefferson in City Point while I was living with the
Washingtons.”  I let that sink in for a moment.

“You what?  You met Jeff?”

“Yes.  In the marketplace.”  I took my time and told
him the whole story, from beginning to end, how I ended it.  I also told
him that the time when I got the memory of his voice was when I saw my wedding
ring.  “I knew that Jefferson could never make me happy the way the person
with that voice had made me happy in my past.  I couldn’t remember you,
but I wanted to find you so desperately.”  I smiled at him, but then the
smile left me.  “But Ethan, he has my wedding ring, and I have no idea how
he got it.”

Ethan pulled the carriage over to the side of the road and
halted the horses.  He turned to me and took me in his arms for a long
while.  I felt tears come to my eyes, sorry that I had to tell this man
who had been my husband that I had spent time with another man.  I thanked
the heavens that I didn’t marry Jefferson, that I had waited for the one I felt
I was meant to be with.  Finally, Ethan pulled back from the embrace and
pushed a loose tendril of my hair away from my face and wiped my tears
away. 

“I’m sorry you had to deal with Jeff and all his lies,” he
said.  “It makes me sick to my stomach that he tried to court you. 
But the fact that you felt something for me, heard my voice in your head, it
touches my heart.  I’m sad that he has your wedding ring – and we will get
it back, I promise you – but if not for that ring, you wouldn’t have had that
memory of me.  So for that, I am grateful.”

He
then took my chin in his hand and gently kissed me on the mouth.  It was
short but so very sweet.  He took the reins again and pulled back onto the
road.  I sighed in relief and realized how lucky I was to have such a
wonderful man who genuinely cared about me.  He could have been angry or
suspicious but instead he was considerate and sympathetic about everything I
had told him about my interactions with the man who had betrayed him, his
family, and the South.

That evening, I was in my room changing for supper when I heard
a light tap on the door.

“Madeline?”  It was Clarissa.  I opened the door, and
she rushed into the room, all smiles, asking how the day went.

“It was very nice until I got shot at,” I said.  I told her
the whole story about the man that Ethan was in the war with, and also about
how I had met him when I was staying with the Washingtons.  Her eyes got
big when I told her about Ethan chasing the guy but unable to catch him.

“I remember him.  You could’ve been killed.  I’m so
glad you’re both safe,” Clarissa said with concern.  “Did you get really
upset?  Do you need to see a doctor?  I could have Doc Parsons come
over and give you something for your nerves.  I’d been meaning to have him
come over since you arrived, seeing as how you lost your memory and all.”

“No, I’m fine, really, except for losing my memory.  Ms.
Washington had me examined by a country doctor when I was living with them, and
the doctor just said that I would get my memory back if and when I was ready
to.”

“Ah, I see.  Well, maybe you’ll get it back the longer
you’re around familiar surroundings and people.  How did it go between you
and Ethan?” she wanted to know.

“It was very nice.  He’s wonderful.  You’ve raised a
fine gentleman.”  I began to smile, thinking of the day we had spent, from
our kiss by the river to our conversations by the lake and during the carriage
ride, of his second brief kiss, of his bravery in Williamsburg, and of his
empathy about Jefferson’s attentiveness towards me.  “I got some more
memories back, too,” I added.

“Oh, I’m so glad,” she said, hugging me.  “Well, I’ll let
you change for supper.  See you in a bit, dear.” 

I nodded as she left the room, smiling after her, grateful for
someone to talk to.  Clarissa made me feel part of the family.  And
somehow through all my muddled memories, I was glad to be a part of this
family.  I was falling in love and would do everything possible to stay
here and be with him and his family.  I couldn’t bear the thought of
living without him now.

All through supper that night, Ethan and I exchanged glances and
grins, and he even held my hand for a while under the table.  I was
right-handed, so when I held his hand with my right one, I had to hold my fork
and eat with my left hand.  I dropped food off of the fork more than
once.  It was very amusing.  Lillie even laughed once, and Ethan
struggled to keep a straight face.

Lillie Rose once again sat in her high chair by me on my other
side.  She placed one of her hands on my arm through the whole meal, while
I stumbled to eat with that unfamiliar left hand.  Elizabeth noticed what
was going on and cleared her throat more than once, glaring at both me and
Ethan.  She even asked me to pass some potatoes to her, hoping I’d use
that hand that was holding Ethan’s, but I just used the other hand instead to
spite her.

Edward cut out early, saying he had business matters to go over
in his study.  Clarissa told us that the hired brothers, who ate in the
kitchen with Cora and her girls, were making repairs to the chicken coop for
the chickens I had brought with me.  They had seen a fox earlier and
wanted to make sure the chickens were secure.

Supper came to a close for the rest of us after dessert, and
Cora scooted us away from the table so she and her girls could clean up. 
Clarissa managed to distract Elizabeth into the family sitting room.

“Would you like to take Lillie for a stroll with me down by the
river?” Ethan asked me.

“Yes,” I answered quickly.  “I’d love that.”

He readied a wicker baby carriage, put Lillie inside it, and
picked up a lit lantern, in case it got dark before we made it back up to the
house.  We left through the river-front door and sauntered down the hill
to the river.  The sun was just going down, painting the sky with rich
reds, pinks and purples, which reflected on the water.  It was
breathtaking.  Cypress trees dotted the shoreline, which were filled with
large white herons.  The crickets and frogs sang together in harmony a
strangely beautiful melody.  I was grateful to share this beautiful moment
in nature with Ethan and Lillie.

We reached the dock at the bottom of the hill, close to the
water, and then Ethan led us to the left through some trees to a bench
identical to the one in the gazebo.  We were well-hidden from the
house.  I recognized it as the same bench that he had mentioned earlier
when I found him and Hannah together.  He angled the baby carriage so that
Lillie could look out over the water.  I sat down on the bench, and he
turned towards me and took one of my hands in his, kissed it, and bowed
briefly.  “How are you feeling this evening, Miss Madeline?” he asked,
very politely, very formally, amusement in his eyes. 

“Very well, thank you, kind sir,” I said, reflecting his playful
formality.  

He sat down beside me, still holding my hand.  “Have you
recovered from the afternoon’s adventures?”

“Oh, yes.  I’m feeling quite well, as a matter of
fact.  I have this most handsome and brave man who’s trying terribly hard
to woo me,” I said playfully, batting my eyelashes.

“Indeed, I am trying to woo you,” he agreed, smiling, and began
playing with a loose tendril of my hair.  Then he looked deep into my
eyes, amusement gone.  “I’ve missed you so much.  You don’t know how
happy I am to have you back.”

“I am happy to be here, Ethan.  It’s been terrible for me,
not knowing who I was for the past year.  I haven’t felt right, haven’t
felt complete, and sometimes I’ve felt lost…lost and alone, like something was
missing.  Now I know it was you,” I said, whispering the last part. 
“You and Lillie.”

Ethan kissed my hand again and then slowly leaned himself closer
and closer to me and reached around to the left side of my face to kiss my
ear.  My heart started pounding.  “Madeline?” he whispered softly
into my ear, giving me chills.

“Yes?” I whispered back.

He kissed my cheek then.  “May I kiss you?” he whispered.

“You already are,” I said, which made him grin.

“I think you know what I mean,” he said softly, looking into my
eyes then.

“Yes,” I said breathlessly. 

“Yes what?  Yes, you know what I mean?  Or yes, I can
kiss you?”  There was amusement in his eyes again. 

I laughed, enjoying this.  “Yes, kiss me,” I begged.

And then he did. He gently wrapped his arms around me and drew
his lips to mine.  I reached my arms around his waist, grasping his frock
coat in the back.  My heart pounded loudly inside, as if trying to get
out.  Those adult feelings took over me again in earnest.  I kissed
him back deeply.  Our mouths moved slowly, leisurely.  I forgot to
breathe.  Somewhere inside me, I felt our souls intertwine.  I felt
that closeness again that I’d longed for.  I couldn’t remember feeling
happier.

We paused for air, and I let my head rest on his chest. 
Lillie was cooing softly in the carriage, seemingly content. 

“I’ve been waiting all day to do that,” Ethan said.  He
hugged me tighter.

I felt the same but started feeling guilty.  “Ethan,
something has to be done about Elizabeth,” I said.  “I don’t feel quite right
about doing this to her.”  I couldn’t put her completely out of my mind,
much as I wanted to.

“Don’t worry.  I’m in the process of getting the marriage
annulled so we can be together again.  I love you, Maddie,” he whispered
in my ear.

That took me by surprise, but it really shouldn’t.  Hadn’t
he told me before that he still loved me?  Somehow, because I’d started
getting more memories of him as a man and since I remembered our wedding day,
it touched me more this time.  I suddenly realized that I felt the
same.  I raised my head up to look at him.  “Oh, Ethan.  I love
you, too.  I don’t know how I could, but I do.  It scares me to death
because it’s all happening so fast, but I feel so happy when I’m with you, and
like something is missing when we’re apart even for a minute.  I didn’t
expect to love with you so quickly, and yet it feels so easy, being with you,
so natural.  You’re not just the childhood friend I cherished
anymore.  You’re the man I long to be with.”