Because of Rebecca Read online

  She half-grinned. The edge had gone out of his voice, and the talk of marriage meant he still wanted her, even after her deception. But the butterflies were back, playing havoc in her stomach. Her pulse quickened. “No,” she said playfully. “I don’t suppose so. I’d like the circumstances to be different.”

  “Different?”

  She considered for a moment. “More romantic.”

  “I see. What would make it more romantic? A large bouquet of flowers? I’m sure I could arrange it.”

  “That would do for starters.”

  “Followed by what? A dinner by candlelight with violins playing?”

  She smiled. “That would be pleasant.”

  He cleared his throat. “Will you be visiting any more brothels?”

  She laughed. “Not if I have any say in the matter.”

  “Will there be any more missions?”

  “If the committee needs me, I may consider it, but as my husband I would discuss it with you before deciding.”

  Jared nodded and held out his hand. She slowly placed hers in his and with one fluid motion; he pulled her into his arms. “Miss Davis, you utterly charm and amaze me.”

  “Is that a good thing, Mr. Hollingsworth?”

  “A very good thing.” He smiled, lowering his mouth to hers for a kiss.

  “Then you forgive me?” she asked, stopping him in mid-motion.

  “Yes. But you must promise to keep no more secrets.”

  “I promise.”

  Before she could distract him again, he tilted her chin upward and brushed her lips with his. Nibbling with kisses, he swiftly parted her lips and captured her mouth with his own. His tongue darted in and out joining hers in a glorious, fevered dance.

  As the kiss deepened, Rebecca slid her hands up his chest, over his shoulders until she wrapped her arms around his neck. A lusty moan startled her, and she pulled away.

  Breathing labored, she placed a hand at her throat and felt the open collar. She quickly buttoned it back and looked toward the door.

  “My heavens! I’m in your room with the door closed. If anyone found me here...” She turned back to face him. “Or if Aunt Josephine were to find out.”

  Jared pulled her back into his arms. “Let her.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Rebecca had difficulty convincing Jared to go downstairs for lunch. He kept pulling her back into his arms for another kiss each time she broke free.

  “That’s enough, Jared.”

  “It’ll never be enough,” he groaned, reaching for her again.

  Sidestepping him, she went over to the mirror and refastened a few loosened hairpins. When she turned, she found him sitting on the foot of the bed, watching her. He patted a spot next to him.

  “Come here.”

  “No, Jared. I have already risked convention by being alone in your room with you for more than a minute. You forget this is my hometown. If anyone I know were to see me coming out of this room…my reputation would be ruined. And if Aunt Josephine’s church friends were to find out...well, she’d disown me.”

  “Then that settles it. You’ll have to marry me now.”

  She laughed and placed her hands on her hips. “As if you’d have to force me.”

  “Is that a yes?”

  “Perhaps.” She turned back toward the mirror and checked her hair one last time to make sure every pin was in place.

  “What would it take to make it a definite yes?” He stood.

  “A real proposal. Not one in jest. Not one after an argument. But one when I least expect it.”

  “Fair enough.” He came to stand behind her and trailed kisses up her slender neck before nibbling at her earlobe.

  She smiled at him in the mirror, enjoying the tingles running over her body. “Jared, you must behave yourself.”

  “Only if you’ll marry me,” he said.

  “Jared, please,” she pleaded.

  He nodded. “All right. And to save your reputation, dear one, I’ll exit the room first, go downstairs, and wait for you in the dining room.”

  “Thank you.” She faced him and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him one last time before he left.

  He groaned, pushing away from her. “Don’t be long.”

  She swallowed and waited until he was gone before she walked over to the window and watched the hustle and bustle of the people going about their business. She spotted a few familiar faces, and then she saw Stuart Delaney leaning against the post outside the candy shop, smoking a cheroot.

  She truly didn’t understand what Mariah had seen in the man. Sure he was handsome to a fault with dark hair, broad shoulders, and brooding eyes. But Rebecca would take ten Jareds over him any day. She only prayed Lucas took after the Davis side of the family in looks when he grew older. She didn’t fancy the idea of being reminded of Delaney every time she looked at her boy.

  Sighing, she turned away from the window and went downstairs to the dining room. She found Jared at a corner table already enjoying a cup of coffee. He stood when she approached and pulled out her chair.

  “I went ahead and ordered for us. I hope you don’t mind. I remember you liked pot roast.”

  “That’s fine. I have a meeting at two o’clock with my lawyer. Would you like to come with me?”

  “Are you sure?”

  “I wouldn’t have asked otherwise.” She smiled and placed her napkin in her lap.

  “Then I’d be honored to join you.”

  “Good. I’ll show you around town afterward.”

  Jared reached for her hand and squeezed it. “I’m glad you aren’t upset with me for following you.”

  “I should be very angry that you didn’t trust me enough to take care of my business without following me, but I understand why you came. And now that you’re here, I’m glad.”

  “You were being so mysterious that night, wearing a cloak and going into the shadier part of town where no woman in her right mind would go during the day, let alone at night.” Jared’s brows arched. “What was I to think? I feared for your safety. I don’t know what I would have done if something had happened to you.”

  Rebecca nodded and her stomach knotted with regret for her deception. “I’m sorry I worried you, but I didn’t have a choice. I had to see Ruth made it safely to Memphis.”

  He squeezed her hand again. “Until I thought I had possibly lost you, I didn’t truly understand the depth of my feelings for you. I need you in my life, Rebecca. I truly do.”

  “I-” she began, but was interrupted by their food arriving. Jared released her hand and they ate, but she noticed him watching her from time to time as she cut up the meat and placed it along with portions of the vegetables on her fork to make the perfect bite.

  “Is it as good as you are making it out to be?” he finally asked.

  “Only because I’m sharing the meal with you.” She laid her knife and fork aside and picked up her water glass.

  “Pot roast is one of Mary’s specialties at Oak Hill,” he said. “She can make it for you anytime you like.”

  “I’ll remember that.” She took a sip of her water and set the glass down.

  “If you do decide to come live at Oak Hill—”

  “Jared.” She interrupted him. “You don’t have to persuade me. In fact, I’m honored you want to marry me knowing I have a child and an overbearing aunt as part of the bargain. Though Josephine may be making her own plans for the future.”

  He wiped his mouth with his napkin and laid it on his plate before he pushed back from the table. “Would you consider letting me adopt Lucas?”

  Rebecca’s vision blurred with unshed tears. “Y-you’d really want to do that?”

  “Yes. That is what I was going to say before you interrupted me. I want to raise Lucas as my own. I want to make it legal.”

  She quickly rose from her seat, and her napkin fell to the floor in her haste to round the table. He stood and she practically flung herself into his arms. “Yes, oh yes. I’d like
that very much.”

  “Of course, you’ll have to marry me first,” he whispered into her hair. “There would be no point in an adoption without you becoming my wife.”

  She looked up, her cheeks glistening with tears. “Yes. Yes, I’ll marry you.”

  He laughed, hugging her close, and lifted her feet off the floor. Applause erupted from the occupants at the next table who’d heard their conversation.

  “So much for not making a spectacle,” he muttered and set her back down.

  Rebecca softly laughed and brushed the moisture from her cheeks with her fingertips. She couldn’t stop smiling, nor could she remember being happier in all her life.

  Their waiter appeared. “May I offer you a bottle of our best champagne? Compliments of the management on this special occasion?”

  “Thank you, but no, we have an appointment,” Jared explained.

  “Very good, sir. I’ll bring the bill.” The waiter nodded and hurried away.

  Rebecca sat again and hand trembling, she reached for her water glass. “Goodness I’m shaking.” A few more tears ran down her cheeks and she swiped them away, but more fell. She rose. “Please excuse me while I run back up to my room and compose myself.”

  “I’ll wait for you in the lobby.”

  “I won’t be long.”

  Jared paid their bill and went to wait for Rebecca. To his chagrin Stuart Delaney was standing by the front desk.

  “Mr. Hollingsworth is it?” Delaney tipped his hat and sauntered over to him.

  “I am.” Jared wondered what the man wanted.

  “The hotel clerk tells me your name is Jared Hollingsworth, but I know for certain you’re not the same fellow I played cards with and won the plantation from some months ago.”

  Jared’s jaw twitched. “No. I’m not. In fact, that was my ungrateful cousin Rory. He holds no claim to Oak Hill, your IOU is a forgery, but he will pay you the debt he owes.”

  Delaney grinned. “How can you be so sure?”

  “I will see to it, that is how I am sure you will be paid. He has the funds to do so and is waiting at Oak Hill for you to come collect.”

  “Maybe I don’t want the money.” Delaney sneered. “Maybe I want the plantation.”

  “Why? A man of your means is a free spirit. A place like Oak Hill will bind you in shackles and drain you dry. What good would come of it?”

  “Ah, I see you, too, are a gambler, Mr. Hollingsworth. Your game is not at the table, but with your words.” Delaney pulled a small case from his pocket, took out a cheroot, and offered one to Jared, which he declined.

  “If by a gambler you mean I take a chance daily on the land to provide for my family, then yes I am one, but I do not mince words with you Mr. Delaney. Oak Hill is not for the taking and if you do not accept Rory’s payment on the debt he owes I will take legal action to retain what is rightfully mine.”

  Delaney chuckled. “We’ll see about that, Mr. Hollingsworth. We’ll see.”

  Jared looked up and saw Rebecca descending the staircase. Her eyes enlarged and her pallor paled at the sight of them.

  “Jared? I’m ready to go now.”

  He nodded and glanced back at Delaney. “Remember what I said.”

  “Is that a threat?”

  “Take it as you like.” Jared did an about face and offered her his arm and they left the hotel.

  Once outside, he relaxed and looked down at Rebecca by his side.

  “Whatever did that man want?”

  “Nothing. And that is all he will get.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  At Mr. Merewether’s law office, Rebecca settled into one of the matching Chippendale leather chairs opposite his large desk and took the legal documents he handed her. She read through the papers regarding the sale of her country home and the surrounding property on his desk awaiting her signature.

  Looking up, she smiled at the man. “Will a surveyor be going out to draw the boundary line for the two acres of land and the family burial plot I wish to give to my aunt?”

  “Yes, I’ve made all the arrangements,” he said. “I’m sorry I couldn’t get someone here to do it while you were in town, but your request was sudden. When those documents are ready, I will forward them to you in Jackson.”

  Rebecca signed the document and took a sheet of paper from her purse with Mitchell Cooper’s name and address on it. She handed them to him. “Mr. Cooper, a friend’s husband, will be happy to handle my affairs while I’m in Jackson.”

  Mr. Merewether looked over the document and nodded. “It seems everything is in order,” he said. “As soon as the property sells, I’ll have the house closed and the pieces of furniture you specified shipped to you.”

  Relief surged through her. “Excellent.”

  He escorted her to the outer chamber where Jared had waited while they conducted their business.

  “It was a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Hollingsworth.” Mr. Merewether shook his hand. “I wish you and Miss Davis many happy years together.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Good day, Miss Davis.” The attorney bowed.

  “Good day, Mr. Merewether.”

  Late June heat greeted them when they stepped outside of the brick building. “We need refreshment. Let’s have tea. There’s a lovely shop a few doors down,” Rebecca suggested, taking his arm.

  He smiled and nodded. “I think that a wise decision.”

  A few minutes later a smiling hostess led them to a corner table and took their order.

  “I’m sorry Mr. Merewether wouldn’t allow you to join us in the meeting,” Rebecca said

  “It’s understandable,” Jared said. “Mitchell is very private about my affairs as well. We never discussed business in front of Charisse when she was alive.”

  The waitress returned with their pot of tea. “Will there be anything else?” she asked.

  “No. Thank you.” Rebecca smiled as she waited for the tea to steep and realized it was the first time Jared had spoken of his beloved by name. “Your wife had a lovely name.”

  Jared nodded. “She was just as lovely in person. Sparkling blue eyes, golden hair, and the prettiest smile I’d ever seen until I met you. We were happy.”

  Rebecca laid her hand on his. “I’m glad.”

  After their tea, she took him to several stores she thought would interest him. Then he insisted on going into one she’d never visited before. Michelo’s Estate Sales.

  “This must be new,” Rebecca said.

  The store had an interesting collection of antiquities. Furniture with a distinct European flair took up the majority of the store’s space while the remaining contained curios, filled with figurines, and a display case with a wide assortment of jewelry.

  The delighted proprietor showed them necklaces, brooches, and rings of several styles and color.

  “Do you have any emeralds?” Jared asked.

  The man held up one finger, stepped to another case, and brought a wooden box to the counter. “I believe you will like this.”

  Nested in black velvet, a three-tiered emerald and diamond choker sparkled in the lamplight.

  “Oh.” Rebecca let out a long sigh. “It’s exquisite.”

  The man carefully picked it up, came from behind the counter and draped it around her neck. “You’d be the envy of all your friends,” he said proudly.

  Rebecca hesitated, reluctant to hurt his feelings. “I’d prefer not to evoke envy,” she finally said.

  “No?” the man questioned.

  She shook her head, and he immediately removed the choker.

  Rebecca gave him a smile of thanks, and moved to look at several items on display in the curio.

  “Actually, I was thinking about something smaller,” Jared said, pointing to his ring finger.

  The man looked thoughtful. “And it must be emerald?”

  “If you have it.”

  The man searched his cases and returned holding a ring with a square cut stone set in a gold band. “How would t
his suit?

  “It’s perfect.” Jared took the ring and inspected it for clarity. “May I see if it fits?”

  “Anything you want, sir,” the clerk told him. He looked at Rebecca and added, “Though I think the lady would look lovely in any stone you chose for her.”

  Jared walked to where Rebecca sat on a gold brocade settee. He knelt and took her left hand in his.

  “Jared? I’ve already said yes. What are you doing?”

  “You did,” he agreed. “But I didn’t have a ring. May I try this on you?”

  She gave a slight nod, and he slipped the ring on. It was an exact fit. “Do you like it?”

  She held up hand and inspected it. “It’s gorgeous. But why’d you choose an emerald?”

  “It reminded me of your eyes and the dress you were wearing the first time we met. I’ll never forget that day.” He moved to sit beside her. “But if you’d prefer another stone?”

  “No,” she said, taking his hand. “It’s perfect. I’ve always loved emeralds. I thought perhaps Aunt Josephine might have told you.”

  He shook his head. “Let me settle the bill and we can go.”

  When they left the store, Jared asked, “Will you marry me today?”

  “Today?” Rebecca stopped, certain she’d misheard him.

  “Yes. If we can find a parson to do the ceremony, would you marry me today? I don’t want to risk something stopping us if we wait until we return to Jackson.”

  She slipped her arm around his. “What could possibly go wrong?” she asked.

  “Stuart Delaney,” he said grimly, as they continued their stroll down the street. “I don’t trust him, and the less time he has to learn about Lucas the better.”

  Rebecca squeezed his arm. “I know a parson who’d be delighted to marry us if you are certain you want to risk invoking Aunt Josephine’s wrath.”

  He grinned. “I think your aunt will understand.”

  ****

  Mawsy’s mouth dropped open as she stared at Rebecca. “Lord love ya, girl. What brings you back again so soon?” But upon seeing Jared, her brows furrowed. “Who’s that?”

  “Mawsy, I came to see Ben. Is he around?” Rebecca asked.

  “Sure he is. Are ya in some kind of trouble?” Scowling, Mawsy nodded in Jared’s direction.