An Undeniable Passion Ch. 16

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opels
opels
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"When I last spoke with him, he said he'd be back here soon. That he wouldn't stay in Liverpool long. So that would mean he'll be here in about a month."

"Yes, I know," she said. She hated to admit it but she had calculated approximately how long it would take before he would be back if he didn't stay long in Liverpool. She had been both looking forward to it and dreading it at the same time.

"I consider him my friend and would like to see him when he's back," he continued.

"That's fine. Of course you would."

"I'd like to show him the farm." He saw her go pale, and he quickly continued. "I know it's really your place, but I'm proud of what we've done here and would like him to see how well we're doing. Perhaps we can arrange for you to be visiting the Ogilvy's."

"I don't know, Billy," she said uncertainly. Even if she was visiting them, she would be distracted the entire time, knowing that Drake was in her home.

Seeing his disappointed face she said, "I'll think about it. Maybe I just need to get used to the idea."

"Alright," he said. "In foreign ports he never stays too long anyway. He usually wants to get back to Liverpool, so he'll probably only be here for about a month."

"Yes, I know how quickly he leaves," she said quietly.

They had arrived home and once inside, he asked "Ginny, can I ask you something? You don't have to answer, but I'm curious. What did he do, Cap'in Stratford, that is, to break your heart?"

"It's complicated, Billy. But I guess it boils down to, that he lied to me." Turning thoughtful she continued, "No, not lied. I think deceived is a better word. He led me to believe one thing while the truth was something else."

"Oh," he said in a small voice.

"But it doesn't really matter. He's probably forgotten all about me by now. And I should do the same about him."

"I don't think that's true," he said quietly.

"Why do you say that?" she asked him.

Hesitating he said, "If I tell you something, will you promise not to get mad at me and not to tell Cap'in Stratford that I told you?"

Bewildered, she asked him, "What are you talking about?"

"You promise not to be angry?" he asked again.

"Yes, I promise," she said impatiently.

He took a deep breath and said, "I didn't just work my way across on the Aurora," he began without looking at her. "I was a regular crew member all ready to return to England, but just as we were docking Cap'in Stratford asked me if I would like to stay here." He chanced a quick look at her. Her face was unreadable. "...stay here to keep an eye on you."

"Keep an eye on me? What do you mean?" she cried.

"He didn't want to lose track of you. He had to go back to England right away. But he also wanted to be able to find you when he came back here again and he wanted to know that you would be safe while he was gone."

"You've been lying to me all this time?" she asked him quietly.

"Ginny, you promised not to get angry!" he pleaded. "I've hated having to lie to you and make up stories."

"So why are you telling me now?" she asked with tears in her eyes. She never thought that he was capable of such deceit.

"Because I think you should know that he does care about you. I see you with all this hurt that you think he's caused you, but maybe he didn't mean it, or it's not as bad as you think," he said hopefully. "He set up a bank account in town for me, so that we would have some money, because he didn't know if you had any. I bought the horses and the cart with some of it."

"He just wanted to make sure that I would be alright?" she asked quietly, her eyes still glistening with tears.

He wordlessly nodded.

"He went to all that trouble?"

He again nodded.

Her mind was reeling with this information and she wasn't sure what she was feeling. "Billy, could you please send a message to Thomas saying that I'm not feeling well and will not be able to see him this afternoon? I need to go lie down for a little while." She slowly climbed the stairs trying to digest what Billy had told her and what it all meant.

She lay down on her bed and tried to sort out her feelings. She forgave Billy for the charade he had been putting on. He hadn't meant any harm. But she didn't know what to think about Drake. She pulled out her new amber pendant and stared at it. Why did he want to keep track of her? So that he had a plaything whenever he was in town? No, he wouldn't go to all that trouble for a few days of fun a year. There were establishments in town that could supply that for far less money and effort.

She had stowed away on his ship of her own free will so making sure that she was able to support herself once here wasn't his responsibility, yet he had taken that on by setting up a bank account for Billy. She tossed and turned on the bed trying to make sense of it all, but it seemed that no matter how hard she tried to see it differently, it always came back to appear that he did care about her after all. But even if he did come back and tried to see her, would she be able to trust him? And what if he left again after only a few weeks? She remembered how often she had seen him in Liverpool. He obviously preferred it there to here. So, even if he did care about her and wanted to make sure that she was safe, it didn't matter. There was no future with him, so it would be best if she just forgot about him and moved on with her life. After all, she was only twenty years old, far too young to cast love aside. She no longer needed a husband for security, but she did want a family and children someday. She thought Thomas could offer her that. But did she love him? Would she ever love him?

She groaned aloud and turned over in the bed again. She was back in the same dilemma as she was in Liverpool. No, the dilemma was not the same she reminded herself as she sat up and tossed her hair out of her face. In Liverpool she was in a situation where she didn't have much choice but to marry a man she didn't love. Here, because of the treasure upstairs, she could truly marry for love. She would find that man who caused the heavens to part and the angels to sing. Feeling better she dropped the amber stone back inside her dress and got up and began to fix her hair. She would meet lots of men at her Christmas party. Maybe he would be one of the guests. She ignored the little voice in the back of her mind telling her that she had already found that man.

"Are you feeling better, my dear?" Thomas asked her.

"Yes, it was just a headache." Virginia replied.

It was few days later and she was enjoying lunch with Thomas at his home. He was very concerned that she had broken their date earlier in the week.

"I'm glad to hear it," he said, placing his hand over hers.

"Thank you," she replied.

"Doris tells me your cousin is quite serious about the Robbins girl. Is that right?"

"Yes, he's planning to ask her to marry him. But don't tell anyone. He doesn't want anyone to know."

"Is he in a position to take a wife?" he asked, surprised.

"Oh yes, Billy is actually very well off. He has a small fortune," she said with a smile.

"I had no idea," he said, obviously impressed.

"He didn't either. He just recently discovered it," she said, almost telling the truth.

"Long lost relatives?"

"Something like that," she said, still not quite telling a lie. "He's very excited though. The fact that he didn't really have anything to offer her was weighing on his mind. There's an out-building on the property that we're planning to expand and they'll live there."

"It sounds like you've given this quite a bit of thought," he mused.

"Actually it's Billy who's given it a lot of thought. I think he fell in love with Elizabeth the moment he saw her," she said wistfully. The memory of how she felt the first time she had looked into Drake's eyes as he held her on that icy street in Liverpool flashed through her mind. She knew only too well how love at first sight felt. Mentally shaking away the feelings she said "I'm afraid I'll be rather lonely in that big house all by myself, though," she said.

"Perhaps your living arrangements will have changed by then," he said.

"What do you mean?" she asked, although she was sure she already knew.

"Just that things change," he replied, cryptically.

She was sure he was alluding to her moving into his house as his wife. The idea didn't thrill her. She didn't want to give up her house. For the first time she actually owned something and she liked the feeling. Although, she could hardly expect any prospective husband to give up his home and move into hers.

"Yes, they most certainly do," she replied, just as cryptically.

"Doris, I had no idea how much work went into planning one of these," she said with amazement. She had finished her lunch with Thomas and was attending to the details of her party with Doris. "I've attended countless balls and parties and never truly appreciated the efforts behind them."

"Yes, my dear, they are quite time consuming, but once you get used to it, they can be quite a bit of fun as well," she said gaily. "And you should use that beautiful ballroom while you have the chance," she said with a smile.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Well, you won't be living in that house for much longer, now will you? I daresay you'll be getting married soon and moving."

"Yes, I suppose you're right," she said slowly. Brightening she continued, "Well then, you're right, I should make the most of it while I can, shouldn't I?"

"Now what did you want to serve your guests for dinner? Oh, and there should be a midnight buffet as well."

They spent the next two hours discussing menu options.

Elizabeth was worried. She hadn't seen Billy for more than a week. He had declined a lunch invitation and hadn't even been to the store. She was afraid she had done something wrong or that something had happened and he was no longer interested in her. She had seen him walk by the store on the other side of the street a couple of times, but had not come in. She had asked her mother what she should do, but her mother had cautioned her about chasing after him. Polite young women didn't chase after men, she told her. She also told her to be patient, that she was sure he had his reasons and that everything would be fine.

The week passed and it was time to return to the jewelers to pick up the engagement ring. Virginia was huddled under a blanket in the cart. "Billy I think perhaps we should buy a carriage. We can use some of the gold and get one. I'm freezing."

Distracted, he didn't hear her comment and instead asked, "How should I ask her, Ginny? Should I do it today? Should I walk right into the store and do it?"

"No, you should invite her to the house tomorrow and ask her there. You can do that right before we visit the carriage makers."

"Carriage makers?" he asked, making it obvious that he had not been paying attention to her earlier.

"Yes, Billy. We need a carriage. We can afford one now and we're going to buy one today. Although we probably need to order one and it'll be weeks and weeks before it's ready," she said still shivering.

"Maybe the Ogilvy's have a spare one we could borrow until ours is ready," he suggested. "I've noticed that they have more than one."

"Perfect. That's what we'll do," she said climbing down from the cart. They left it a few blocks down from the jewelers so that it wasn't obvious that that's where they were. They entered the store and were greeted with a large smile from the goldsmith.

"Ah yes, Mr. Billy, your ring. I have it right here," he said producing a velvet covered box. He opened it to display the ring. It flashed and sparkled in the weak sunlight coming through the windows.

Billy stared at the ring in amazement and slowly took the box from the jeweler's hand. He tipped the small box causing the light to flash off the surfaces of the ring. He took it out and held it up for Virginia to see. "Isn't it beautiful?" he asked with wonder, smiling broadly.

She took the ring from him and looked at it closely. She examined the work of the goldsmith and satisfied that the stone was secure she handed it back to Billy. "She's going to love it."

The jeweler put the ring in its box inside a velvet pouch and Billy paid him. Virginia put the small bag into her purse and they went to see Elizabeth at the mercantile.

The bell above the door jingled and Elizabeth looked up expectantly. She had seen Billy and Virginia walk by on the other side of the street and she wondered if they would come in. When she saw Billy's eager and happy face, she almost fainted with relief. He approached the counter. After exchanging greetings Virginia asked for Elizabeth's help in finding some items in the store. While they were gone, Billy located Mr. Robbins and spoke with him briefly. The older man inquired about Billy's financial situation and after he assured him that he had recently come into a small fortune and that Elizabeth would never want for anything Mr. Robbins gave him his blessing.

Elizabeth was helping Virginia decide between two different hair combs when she tentatively asked, "I haven't seen you for awhile Virginia. Is everything alright at the farm?"

Virginia knew that Billy was so nervous about his pending proposal that he had been avoiding Elizabeth for the last two weeks. She had every right to be worried.

"Oh yes, everything is fine. We've both been very busy. Repairing things and getting the place ready for the ball we're planning.. I never realized how much work it is." Still seeing the worry in those blue eyes, she said, "Don't worry, his feelings for you haven't changed. He's just had things on his mind."

Billy and Mr. Robbins were shaking hands just as the two young women reappeared.

"What was that about?" Elizabeth asked after seeing the exchange between the two men.

"Just saying hello," Billy said, smiling happily. "Elizabeth, would you like to come out to the farm for lunch tomorrow?" he asked.

She was so relieved to see him so happy and excited that her worries immediately evaporated. She looked to her father, who nodded before she said, "Yes, I would love to."

"Wonderful. I'll see you tomorrow then, around noon?"

"Yes, noon, tomorrow."

They exited the store and after a few steps, when they were out of view, Billy jumped in the air and let out a whoop.

Surprised but also delighted by his joy Virginia exclaimed, "You certainly are happy. I take it Mr. Robbins gave you his blessing?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" he said, barely able to contain himself. He was so happy he thought he might explode. "I don't know if I can wait until tomorrow!" he said.

"Well you have to. Now come help me buy a carriage," she said, hurrying him along the street.

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AnonymousAnonymousover 18 years ago
I am loving every second of this story...

But please hurry back Drake!!!

AnonymousAnonymousover 18 years ago
Yes

All hope isn't lost. Drake is coming back, Yeah!!!

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