Harnessed Passions (64 page)

"Just exactly how
often
has Miss Farnsworth
been here since I've been away?" Julia's suspicions were mounting
and she found holding her mounting anger difficult.

"Now Miss Julia," Mrs. Lester replied
sternly, picking up the tray of vegetables and thrusting them at
the maid, ordering her to take them in the dining room and set the
table. "Ya can't believe ever’thin’ that little chit tells ya. Miss
Sharon's been here right ‘nough, I won't lie ta ya, but Mr. Daniel
ain’t paid her a lick a notice."

"Tell me the truth Mrs. Lester," Julia
insisted, urging the woman to relinquish her own observations. "I
have to know what's been going on around here; what's been going on
with my husband."

"Well Miss Julia, the truth
is that Sharon Farnsworth has made a down right nuisance a herself,
there’s no denyin’ that. She's been here practically ever’day since
ya went back east, orderin’ ever’one ‘round as though she's the
Queen of Sheba. Mr. Daniel's been right polite ‘n all, but he’s had
ta practically throw her outta here ever’ night ‘fore supper. He's
really missed ya, honey, I'm certain a that. He's been right down
depressed; always talkin’ about his
Little
Princess
‘n how long before ya came home.
Did ya know he's been keepin’ track a the days on a piece a paper
he carries in his pocket?" Julia smiled shyly recalling her own
private calendar she'd kept while she was away.

"Mr. Daniel's worked himself ta a frazzle
tryin’ ta keep his mind off ya not bein’ here. When yer tel’gram
arrived, it was as though life suddenly sprung back inta him. He
started whistlin’ ‘n had the whole house in an uproar, insistin’
ever’thin’ be spotless when ya came home." Julia sighed, feeling
the earring rubbing against her palm. She had to know more, she had
to find out how it had made its way into her bed.

"I found this in my bed this afternoon,"
Julia announced drawing the older woman's attention to the gold
object; feeling the special bond of friendship only years of trust
could develop. "I've seen Sharon wearing it."

"What Bridget said were true ‘nough. Mr.
Daniel ordered the bed made up as he was leavin’ ta fetch ya. There
ain’t no way he could have been up there with her even if he did
want ta, which he don’t. He loves ya, honey. I won't believe
an’thin different."

Julia smiled and offered Mrs. Lester a
loving hug before stepping to the back door and opening it, jumping
jumped back in surprise to find a stunned Sharon Farnsworth
standing on the opposite side of the barrier. Her hand poised in
midair as though she was preparing to knock.

"Why Julia, dear," Sharon cooed softly. "I
didn't know you were back. When on earth did you get home?" Julia
bit her tongue, trying hard not to call the woman a liar to her
face, forcing a smile across her lips as honest as she could
invent.

"I just arrived," Julia answered, closing
the door on the disapproving snort from the family cook as she
stepped outside to talk with the woman. Her hand toyed with the
golden bobble as she slipped it in the small pocket of her skirt,
wanting nothing more than to throw it at the woman and call her all
the horrible names she was thinking.

"I got tired of Boston and decided to cut my
visit short. Shopping, parties; there’s only so much a body can
handle."

"Oh yes, I do recall Daniel mentioning
something about it the other night...I mean evening." The woman's
lilting voice was sweet and well-rehearsed, making Julia force the
bile down her throat as she smiled. She cautiously removed the
earring from her pocket, and tossed it unnoticed to the path in
front of them as they continued to walk. A moment later Julia
stopped, bent over and picked the earring up again, brushing it off
and looking at it as though it was the first time she'd laid eyes
on it.

"What's this?" she asked, examining the
object with forced interest. "It looks like an earring." Sharon
gasped and sputtered when she noticed the object in Julia's slender
hand. Her eyes grew round and her hand went directly to her ear, as
though to check for the mate.

"I do believe this is yours Sharon, dear,"
Julia commented, reveling in the shocked expression on the woman's
face. "Don't you have a pair like this?"

"Why yes I do," Sharon replied, taking
several shallow breaths to collect herself. "I lost it the other
evening when I was here, but I couldn't find it in the dark," she
lied. Julia forced herself to remain calm. She knew the woman's
tricks, knew she was trying to make her jealous over something
Julia now knew with all her heart, never happened.

"Well, I'd say it's lucky we found it. This
path is used so often I'm surprised it wasn't buried in the dirt,
or broken under someone's foot." Julia handed the earring to the
woman, relieved to have it out of her grasp at last. The imprint of
it still marred her delicate palm and in her mind as she forced her
fingers to lay it gently in Sharon's hand.

"I wonder how it got all the way out here."
Sharon asked, tossing the tiny bobble in her beaded handbag with a
force that surprised even her. "I was certain I had lost it
inside."

"Obviously you were mistaken," Julia replied
with a soft smile. "Otherwise we wouldn't have found it here, would
we?" The two women walked on, talking about other things as they
neared the stables. Julia could see Daniel in the near distance,
his shirtless chest glistening with sweat in the sunlight. She
could almost sense his anger and the regret she felt swelled up
inside her, nearly cutting off her air. Out of desperation she
turned to the woman next to her and smiled.

"I understand you've spent quite a bit of
time here at the stables since I've been away." Julia forced as
much friendliness as she could create to her tone.

"Yes, well..." the woman began, but before
she could invent any tales or stories, Julia continued with the
pretense of little or no true concern.

"I'd like to thank you. I was worried Daniel
would be bored out of his skull with no one around to talk with
except the hired hands. I can't tell you how pleased I was to hear
you've kept him company for me."

"I...yes, well..." Sharon stuttered
unprepared for Julia's reaction, certain she would be rewarded with
at least a twinge of jealousy from the wife of the man she had
tried unsuccessfully to seduce over the past weeks. Julia however
patted herself mentally on the back. She hadn't planned on making
the woman speechless, though she was very pleased with herself that
she had. It took all the self-control she could muster to keep from
laughing gleefully at Sharon's reactions.

"You don't have to say
anything," Julia insisted, eager to be done with this woman once
and for all. "I'm just so grateful for all you’ve done. After all,
if it weren't for you heaven only knows what Daniel might have
done."
Bravo
, Julia
cheered herself, delighted in the woman's look of shock and
complete exasperation.

"Well...yes," she stammered again. Turning
and spying her horse, she quickly added, "I really must be going
now. I just wanted to make certain you got home safely." Julia
nearly called her on the lie of not knowing she was returning, but
chose not to respond to it. She had gotten the best of the woman
and it was all the revenge she really needed.

"It was nice to see you again, Sharon,"
Julia added politely. "You'll have to stop back around now that I'm
home to stay."

"I'll try, but you know how busy things can
get."

"Yes I do. I know Daniel's been so busy
getting things ready for the annual sale; the only time I expect to
see him is in bed. If you know what I mean?" Julia nearly choked,
when she saw the shock on the woman's features deepen. She hadn't
intended on being so brazen or expected such a pleasurable
reaction.

"Yes well, good-bye." Sharon hurried to her
horse, mounted and rode off as quickly and gracefully as possible.
Julia waited until she was out of sight before bursting into
laughter. She couldn't imagine how she had held back her amusement
for so long. Sharon's reactions were priceless and proved without a
doubt, how much Daniel truly did love her and how faithful he had
been while she was away.

Julia wiped her eyes with the back of her
hand, turning and gazing across the distance to where Daniel still
labored. Her amusement faded as she inspected his lean, muscular
frame. She noticed the way his muscles rippled and bulged beneath
the dark layer of tanned flesh, while he pulled and tugged at the
bales of hay he was loading in the back of the large dray. He was
magnificent and yet she knew his anger was just as powerful as his
arms. He had been deeply hurt, his pride injured and his ego
insulted; a fact she had to accept full responsibility for. She
knew from the angry grunts that echoed through the still summer
breeze, he was still too angry to talk with; he wouldn’t listen to
her apology, even if she were to get on her knees and beg.

Sighing deeply, she laid her hand over her
still small stomach; there was so much to say and even more to make
amends for, but now was not the time. It wasn't going to be easy to
get Daniel to listen, though it was something she had to do. He
would listen, she assured herself with determination as she turned
and walked slowly back to the house, even if it took until their
baby's seventh birthday.

Julia caught up to Daniel two days later
when he finally slowed down enough for her to approach him. He had
managed to stay away from the house until she was asleep, refusing
to come up even to eat. When Julia awoke in the morning the only
sign of her husband was the rumpled blankets next to her and
smashed pillow balancing on the edge of the mattress. She tried
countless times to speak with him at the stables, but there was
always someone around and talking about private matters proved
impossible.

The evening of the third night since she
arrived home, gave her the perfect excuse to search for Daniel.
Harold had been out earlier in the day looking for him and when he
proved to be as evasive with his friend as he had his wife, Harold
had no choice but to leave the documents he had brought out for him
with Julia. With the papers sealed securely in an envelope, Julia
snugged her shawl around her shoulders and strolled out into the
twilight in search of her husband.

Daniel was in the stables as Julia had
predicted; his noble face and thick neck was covered with dust and
sweat, his shirtless chest heaved heavily with the breath of hard
labor. A long gash ran down his forearm, caked with dried blood and
dirt and Julia gasped when she saw it; her stomach swim and her
head feeling very heavy for her shoulders.

She knew her reaction was more from her
condition than the sight of her husband's injury, yet she felt
faint nevertheless. She backed up against a bale of hay and leaned
down, her face pale, her hands shaking. Before she could think
clearly or collect her raging insides, a strong band of steal
circled around her legs and waist and she was lifted into the
air.

Julia tried to struggle, but the effort
seemed impossible, leaving her to fall helplessly against the hard
wall of muscles like a timid kitten. The smell of sweat stung her
senses and the dampness of skin beneath her cheek made her nose
crinkle in retaliation, but she remained a willing prisoner
nevertheless. She didn't have to open her eyes to know Daniel had
hold of her; she knew the familiar feeling of his body against her,
feeling the security as he wrapped her in a blanket of love and
warmth.

"Are you alright? What's the matter with
you?" Daniel demanded as he sat down with her on the bale of hay
she had abandoned for his arms. Julia smiled and nodded her head
weakly; her hands trembling as they circled his filthy neck. She
did feel better, but the closeness of his body and the concern in
his voice made her want to prolong his closeness as long as she
could. She knew he was the cure for what ailed her and was eager to
fill the prescription with his love.

"I guess I'm just tired," Julia lied, laying
her head against his sweaty chest. She wrinkled her nose against
the offending smell and pushed herself away from the man she so
desperately wanted to embrace. Perhaps the cure in this case,
needed a little doctoring itself.

"You scared the hell out of me woman,"
Daniel scolded, easing her further away and inspecting her pale
features with a frown. "I thought you were going to pass out in the
middle of all this horse shit."

"At least we'd smell the same," she teased
him with a smile. Daniel sat her down on the straw next to him then
quickly moving some distance away from her. He picked up the pitch
fork he had thrown down when he noticed Julia and glanced back to
make certain she was alright before returning to his work of
cleaning the soiled hay from the stalls.

"I suppose you'll have to go to the ball
without me, Princess," Daniel snarled with heavy sarcasm. "My fairy
godmother is on strike."

"Daniel I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like
that. I only meant..."

"Did you come down here for a reason Julia
or are you just out for a breath of fresh air?" Julia lowered her
eyes; how could she have allowed the situation to get so far out of
hand? She remembered the envelope and fumbled with the sealed
contents.

"Harold stopped by a little while ago," she
said softly. "He couldn't find you and he had some papers for you
to look at."

"I've been busy," Daniel retorted, his back
turned toward his wife. Julia sighed. There was no chance of
apologizing now, he wasn't willing to listen.

"He left these for you," she continued,
stretching the envelope out to him. Daniel took it, saw the simple
'SF' scrawled on the corner and quickly stuffed it in his back
pocket.