Ever After

  Hallie knew she was dreaming. She was standing outside the tea room, the doors were open, and the interior was beautiful. There were four little tables in the middle of the room, each one draped in divinely thin and floaty white cotton. At the side of the room was the big dresser, its shelves filled with dishes she and Jamie had found, only they were new and sparkling clean. In fact, everything was warm and inviting.

  But what drew Hallie’s eyes weren’t the objects but the beautiful woman who was sitting on the window seat on the far side of the room. Hallie didn’t think she’d ever seen anyone as pretty. Her dark hair was piled onto her head, framing every exquisite feature on her face. Hallie could imagine her on the cover of every fashion magazine published, and from the look of her body under that pretty silk dress, that included Sports Illustrated.

  Hallie wanted to say something to the young woman, but before she could take a step, another woman, equally pretty, walked through her.

  Hallie gasped in shock, but neither of the women seemed to be aware that she was there. This is a dream, she reminded herself, and stood at the doorway and watched and listened.

  “I wondered where you were,” Hyacinth said to her sister as she walked into their pretty tea room. She was halfway across before she saw the little man sitting in the shadows behind the far table. “Oh!” she said in surprise.

  Juliana was on the window seat, staring out at the garden. She had on her wedding dress, a grayish-blue silk that exactly matched her eyes. “He was Parthenia’s idea, and Valentina backed her,” she said. “They insisted that I have a quick portrait done on my wedding day. Come and sit with me.”

  Hyacinth stretched out by her sister, her pale pink dress a complement to her complexion, and looked at the small, dark man as he set out pots of ink. “Does he speak English?”

  “Not a word.”

  “Then his silence will be bliss,” Hyacinth said. “The house is already so full of guests that I want to run away and hide.”

  Juliana wasn’t fooled by her sister’s lighthearted tone. They’d been together every day since Juliana was born, but tomorrow she was leaving the island to live with the family of the man who would soon be her husband. She opened her arms and Hyacinth put her head on her sister’s shoulder.

  The new positioning caused a flurry of angry-sounding words from the artist, but Juliana just waved her hand. He could draw them together or neither of them.

  “How will I function without you?” Hyacinth whispered.

  “It won’t be for long. Leland said you’re to come to us in the spring. He has a cousin who is to visit. I think Leland means to wed you to him.”

  Hyacinth laughed. “He plans to turn the tables on us? Now I am to be matched with someone rather than find a mate for another? But poor Father could not bear for both of us to leave him.”

  Juliana glanced at the artist, who had stopped complaining and was now sketching the two young women. “Do you think Father will show up in Boston with his great oar and pelt your suitors?”

  “Probably,” Hyacinth said. “I saw him just moments ago and I’ve never seen anyone look so forlorn. He was in a chair by himself and brushed away anyone who came near him.”

  “After the ceremony I must remember to spend time with him. I cannot give everything to Leland. Not yet, at least.”

  When Hyacinth lifted her head to look at her sister, the little man again started complaining. He wanted them to remain still. Turning back, she gave him her sweetest smile and he quieted.

  “Do you love your Leland very much?” Hyacinth whispered. “With all your soul? To the end of time?”

  “I do,” Juliana said, then laughed. “I didn’t at first, not like everyone thinks I did. Only you know the true story of that day.”

  “Tell me again,” Hyacinth said. “Tell me a thousand times.”

  “Everyone believes it was love at first sight, but Leland…” She waited for her sister to add to the story. They’d laughed about it many times.

  “Leland had fallen asleep at his desk,” Hyacinth said. “He was lying on a freshly printed woodcut.”

  Juliana smiled. “The ink had come off, and on his cheek was a picture of two geese and—”

  “The word ‘sale’ written backward,” Hyacinth finished.

  “Yes,” Juliana said. “His cheek was facing me, so only I saw it and I couldn’t help staring.”

  “And everyone thought you’d fallen in love with him at first sight,” Hyacinth said.

  Juliana smiled in memory. “Especially Leland.”

  “But then he did fall for you the very moment he saw you.”

  “He says he did,” Juliana said. “But whatever his true feelings, it gave him the courage to…” She took a breath.

  “Kiss you in the pantry.” Hyacinth sighed.

  “I will always wonder if he would have been so brave if he’d ever felt Father’s oar on his backside.”

  “That sent many of our prospective suitors running,” Hyacinth said. “I still long for a man who dares to brave his wrath.”

  “There have been plenty of them,” Juliana said. “Caleb Kingsley climbed up the rose trellis almost to your bedroom window before Father heard him and began the chase. Caleb can certainly run fast! He would have made you a fine husband.”

  “I’m not so sure. I think he and Valentina are the better match. She returns Caleb’s grand emotions. I prefer a quieter life.” Hyacinth took her sister’s hand. “How will I have our tea parties without you?”

  “How will I bear meeting all of Leland’s relatives alone?” Juliana said. “They are such an elegant set. His mother got seasick just from the trip over to the island. And his sister asked how well I can play Mozart.”

  “And what did you reply?”

  “That I didn’t know any Mozart, but I could play ‘Lame Sally’s Jig’ on a brown jug.”

  “You didn’t!”

  “No,” Juliana said, “I didn’t. But I wanted to.” For a moment she looked around at the familiar setting and thought of all the laughter and good times they’d had there. “I will miss this room and this island every day of my life. Promise me something.”

  “Anything,” Hyacinth said.

  “That if something should happen to me, if—”

  “No!” Hyacinth said. “Don’t think like that on your wedding day. It’s bad luck.”

  “But I feel that I must say this. If all does not go well with me, bring me back here to this house, to this island. Let me rest here forever. Will you promise me that?”

  “Yes,” Hyacinth said softly. “And I ask the same of you. We must stay together always.”

  Juliana kissed the top of her sister’s head. “We’d better go or Father will think someone has stolen us away, and get out his oars.” She looked at the little man. “Finished?”

  He nodded as he got up and put the sketch on the big dresser to dry. It was of two beautiful young women, sitting side by side, heads together, the window behind them. Beside the drawing of them was one he’d done earlier of the bridegroom.

  The sisters, with the artist behind them, were nearly to the door when it was flung open by their friend Valentina. She was beautiful too, but in a colorful, flamboyant way, a striking contrast to the quiet loveliness of the two sisters.

  “You must get to the church,” Valentina said. “We’re all beginning to think you two ran off with a couple of handsome mermen.”

  “I’d rather have Leland,” Juliana said.

  “And I’m holding out for Neptune,” Hyacinth said. “I like his trident.”

  Laughing, they all left the room. None of them noticed the way the wind caught the pictures on the dresser and lifted them flat against the backboard. When the door closed, the papers fell straight down behind the big cupboard, hidden from view. And later, in the tragedy of what happened that day, no one thought to look for the drawings.

  When Jamie woke, he didn’t know where he was. As now seemed to always be the case, he felt a sense of panic. Where w
as his gear? Where were his fellow soldiers? Where were the exits and entrances?

  He flung out his arm, searching for what he needed. Why had he slept?! Why hadn’t he made sure that everyone was safe?

  When he heard a woman’s soft weeping, he remembered Valery. He’d tried to help her, but a medic had held him down. “Hold on there, sir. You can’t get up. Most of you looks like Freddy Krueger went to work.”

  “Sergeant!” someone yelled. “Zip it!”

  Jamie kept trying to get up. It was his job to help, his responsibility. He owed them. They were his to protect.

  He flailed about until someone shot him full of morphine and he passed out.

  It took minutes before the panic subsided and he remembered that he was on Nantucket. He was surprised that Hallie was in his arms, but she wasn’t the one crying. She was restless, her bare legs moving against his, and she seemed to be trying to say something, but he couldn’t understand her words.

  He wondered why she was in bed with him. Had she been telling the truth when she said she was frightened by the ghosts? Damn! he thought. If he didn’t take those blasted pills to help him sleep, he would have heard her. He certainly would have known when she needed help.

  “Shhhh,” he said, stroking her hair back. “Be quiet. I’m here and you’re safe.”

  “Juliana,” she whispered, her voice fretful. “Juliana has died.”

  She was dreaming of the ghosts, he thought, and he held her close to him. Maybe she was right and they should stay at Jared’s big house. Maybe they—

  He broke off his thought because there was a flash of lightning outside, and in the quick light he saw a young woman standing by the bed and looking down at them. She was extraordinarily pretty and wore a high-waisted dress that was the color of…What had Dr. Huntley said? Something about a storm. On her dark hair was a white veil. She was a bride.

  For an instant, she smiled at Jamie, then nodded, as though telling him she was pleased with the way he was comforting Hallie.

  “Juliana?” he whispered and held out his hand toward her. But in the next flash of lightning, she was gone. And with her went all of Hallie’s restlessness, and she grew quiet in his arms.

  For a few seconds Jamie was frowning, wondering what he’d just seen, but then a deep sense of calm came over him. For the first time in over a year, his mind filled with something other than the memory of guns and bombs and fear and…and death.

  As his body relaxed, he began to see a house. It was two stories, with a deep porch across the front, and to the right was a glassed-in room. He felt himself floating, hovering above the earth, and he could see inside that room. It was off the master bedroom, and he knew Hallie had made it into a nursery. There were two cribs, but one was empty and for a moment, Jamie felt the all-too-familiar sense of panic. But, no, the second crib had two little boys, identical, just as he and Todd were. And just like them, these boys refused to sleep apart.

  The vision, the dream, whatever it was, made Jamie feel the best he had since…He couldn’t remember ever having felt so good. He pulled Hallie even closer to him, smiled at the way her legs entwined with his, and fell into a deep and peaceful sleep, the first he’d had in a very long time.

  Chapter Ten

  “He’s asleep,” came the loud whisper of a little boy.

  “I told you he would be,” his sister replied.

  “Mom said not to wake him.”

  She looked around. “We could knock over that chair, and that wouldn’t be us. Or we could—”

  “Who’s she?” asked the boy. He was pointing across Jamie to Hallie’s head, which was barely visible above the covers.

  “The exercise lady,” said the girl, trying to sound as though she knew. She was three minutes older than her brother and she took the age difference quite seriously. When she saw a little flicker in Jamie’s closed eyes, she knew he was awake, and she had to resist a giggle of anticipation. “She probably got cold. Jamie is really fat so she’d be warm near him. She—”

  “Who is fat?!” Jamie growled, then with a twist pulled them both up into the bed.

  The girl threw herself onto Jamie and he began tickling her, but the boy stepped over Hallie and lay down to stare at her.

  “Shhhh,” Jamie was saying to his little sister. “Hallie’s trying to sleep. She’s worn out from taking care of me.”

  The girl lay still on Jamie’s chest and looked at him with a frown of concentration. “Did you fall on the floor and roll on her?”

  A flash of guilt ran through Jamie’s mind. When he’d first returned from the hospital had been the worst. Every noise, every quick movement, every closed-in space had set him off. But then he smiled at his little sister. “Only twice, and you know what? She liked it.”

  “If she likes you, she must be crazy,” his sister said seriously.

  “I’ll get you for that.” Jamie started tickling her again.

  When Hallie began to wake, she thought maybe she was still in her dream. In her mind, there were homemade cakes and champagne that she knew had been brought over from France by one of the Kingsleys. And she could hear children laughing. Smiling, she opened her eyes to see a little boy who looked like Jamie staring at her. He had the most beautiful eyelashes. She smiled back at him.

  But then Jamie’s arm landed on her head just in time to keep another child from rolling on top of her. He moved onto his side so his whole body was pressed against Hallie’s back, and she looked into the eyes of the two children who were both fixated on her.

  Jamie began nibbling at Hallie’s ear. She was still in such a dream state that she smiled at all of it, for surely none of it could be real.

  “Are you in love with my brother?” the girl asked.

  “I think she is,” Jamie said. “She can’t stay away from me even at night.”

  Hallie was coming awake. “Stop that!” She batted at his head and twisted around to face him. “For your information, I’m in bed with you because—” She broke off, her eyes so wide they nearly touched in the middle.

  “Good morning,” came a deep male voice.

  Jamie rolled onto his back, his eyes closed. “Tell me that’s a recording and he’s not really here.”

  Hallie’s first thought was to get out of bed, but she had on only a beat-up old T-shirt, and besides, Jamie’s heavy leg with the big brace on it was half thrown across her.

  She managed to sit up, a child on each side of her, and they looked across the wide expanse of Jamie. What she saw were two truly gorgeous young men. They were both over six feet, broad shouldered and slim. They had on cotton shirts and trousers with a crease down the front. Their faces were like something off a runway show: chiseled, with long aristocratic noses, lips like on a Greek sculpture. One had thick, coal-black hair and eyes that were almost as dark. In the right clothes he would look like a pirate. The other one was equally handsome, but his hair was lighter, his eyes a golden brown. In a movie he’d play Captain America.

  “Are they real?” she whispered to the little girl.

  The men smiled, eyes twinkling.

  “I guess,” the girl said, unconcerned. “They’re bad on horses, but that’s because they’re—”

  “Let me guess,” Hallie said. “They’re Montgomerys.”

  The young men laughed. “Our reputation precedes us.”

  The darker one said, “I am Adam and this is my cousin Ian.”

  Jamie finally opened his eyes. “I thought you weren’t going to be here until next week.” He sounded annoyed.

  “Aunt Cale wanted to see the old house they bought,” Ian said, smiling at Hallie, who was trying to comb her hair with her fingers.

  “Who’s here?” Jamie asked.

  “Everybody!” the little boy said as he stood up on the bed. “I’m Max and this is Cory. Jamie and Todd are our brothers.”

  Hallie took Max’s hand so he wouldn’t fall off the bed. She was still looking at the young men, smiling at them, when another man entered the room a
nd she started blinking rapidly. He was a bit shorter than the others, but still tall, and built like a bear. His T-shirt clung to muscles that seemed to ripple even when he was standing still. As for his six-pack…she wasn’t sure but he just might have a twelve-pack.

  Finally, she looked up at his face. “Sweet” was the only word she could think to describe it. Short dark hair that had a bit of curl in it, blue eyes, a cleft chin.

  Max yelled, “Raine!” and launched himself off the bed.

  Without breaking his look at Hallie, the man caught the boy, then nestled him in the crook of his right arm. When he held out his left arm, the girl used Jamie’s stomach to push off. Raine caught her, then held both children, who snuggled up to him, faces buried in his strong neck.

  All Hallie could do was sit on the bed and look across at them. There were the two elegant, lean men on the left, and on the right was the big man holding the two beautiful children. And Jamie was stretched out on the bed.

  “I think I’ve died and gone to Heaven,” she whispered.

  “Out!” Jamie yelled as he sat up. “The lot of you, get out!”

  None of them so much as moved. “Are you and James a couple?” Adam asked.

  “No, not really,” Hallie said. She motioned at the bed. “This happened because we, uh…I mean, we…” She didn’t want to embarrass Jamie about the nightmares, but neither did she want them to think there was an attachment when there wasn’t. And all in all, the beauty of all four of the men was making her a bit incoherent.

  “Out!” Jamie growled. “This minute.”

  With dazzling smiles, the three men left, and the children followed them.

  When they were alone, Jamie turned to her. “Why are you in bed with me?”

  She didn’t want to explain anything. Instead, she threw back the covers and got up. “I need to dress. See you downstairs.” She took off running.