AFTER HAMUNAPTRA
Chapter 8: Together at Last
The new Year had come, and Evelyn’s life was changing fast. She had come to accept the love that Rick was offering her, and though she was still afraid of how she felt about him, she was learning not to run from it. They had decided on a February Wedding, a small wedding with her closest friends, and his. Rick had sent an invitation to Jake, and his wife to attend, to be there as his family. January brought bitter cold weather and with that a bunch of snow. With Evelyn working at the museum days, Rick had worked to find something he wanted to do, and wasn’t having much luck with that. Currently he was out in the bitter cold chopping wood for the fire places. He had found the tool shed, and had asked Evelyn who supplied the wood. She had told him generally the Gardner chopped it for them. Rick had chopped down a fairly good sized tree, and after two hours of chopping, he had enough wood to last them for a good month, or so he hoped. Once he had finished that task he went inside and got a bath. Then he would go into town and get the list of things Evelyn had left for him.
It seemed everyone was out, and on this type of day, Rick wasn’t sure why. As he made his way to the market, someone walking toward him stopped.
“Rick O’Connell is that you?” the man asked. For a moment Rick didn’t notice him, then all of the sudden he knew who he was talking to.
“If it isn’t Sam Jennnings,” Rick said and the two men embraced. Sam had grown up with Rick, and they hadn’t seen one another in a very long time.
“I heard about your parents,” Sam said.
“Yeah I have a lot of regrets about that,” Rick admitted.
“Look I’m meeting my wife at Nicola’s Cafe, why don’t you join us,” Sam said. Rick nodded and the two of them headed off in that direction.
“So how did you end up in England?” Sam asked.
“That’s a bit of a long story. Actually I’m going to be married next month,” Rick said, and Sam laughed.
“Ahh I understand now, you found someone,” Sam said. Rick grinned, and then they entered the Cafe, and Rick met Sam’s wife Amy.
“Rick and I grew up together in Montana,” Sam explained as they sat down at their table.
“It’s very lucky that you two met up again,” Amy said as she sipped her tea. They spent most of lunch catching up, and Rick told Sam of his luck of finding a job, or lack there of.
“Well if your interested I’m thinking about starting up a ship building business, Sam said. That is something Rick had not thought of, and though he would have to discuss it with Evie, he thought that he might like that.
“I could go for that. I need to make sure Evelyn is okay with it,” Rick said, not about to make the same mistake his own father had made with selling the horses to go into a business with Jake at the Hotel. Once they had finished lunch, they parted, and after getting his errunds, run, Rick decided to go by the museum and surprise Evie.
Being at the museum was still a comfort to Evelyn, though now she missed being with Rick. As she sat at her desk, working on a proposal for the Bembridge Scholars, she thought about what it would be like to be his wife. Despite his reassurances, she was still afraid that he would decide he didn’t want that, and that thought made her shutter.
“Hey,” Rick said, noticing that as he walked in. He walked over, and stood her up then hugged her.
“Stop thinking negative things,” Rick said, knowing of her fears of not being able to satisfy him. That made her laugh a little.
“Your getting to know me rather well,” she said as they parted and she looked up at him.
“Then I’m doing my job,” he said as he leaned down and gave her a light kiss.
“What brings you by?” she asked as they sat down on her couch.
“Actually I ran into an old friend. I grew up with a chap named Sam Jennings, one of my very good friends, and we just had lunch. He wants to go into ship building, and I know to start it its going to take a lot of money, but I really want to do something like this,” he said. She smiled at him.
“Then you should. I trust you to do what you need,” she said, and trust for her was a big step.
“Why don’t we have them over for dinner in a few nights,” Evelyn said. Introducing Evelyn to Sam was something Rick wanted to do, so he was glad she had suggested that.
“I think that would be fun,” he said. She smiled, then stood when she heard the Grandfather Clock chime once.
“I would love to talk to you all day, but I have to get this proposal finished,” she said. Rick stood up, and took her hand, pulling her to her feet, then leaned in and gave her another light kiss against her lips.
“Will you be home for dinner?” he asked as they parted. She nodded sort of in daze. Rick’s kisses seemed to have that effect upon her. When he left, she had to force herself to keep her mind on her work, wanting more to go home and spend time with him.
A few nights later Evelyn and Rick had a nice meal prepared, a rack of lamb with a white cream sauce, some green beans, and fresh bread to go with that, as well as a bottle of Reserve Merlot. Now the two of them sat in the parlor waiting for their company to arrive, and Rick was telling Evie about his childhood and growing up with Sam.
“We went to the same school together, a little one roomed school house, and hit it off big, because neither of us were fond of the little girls.” Rick said grinning.
“Dare I ask what you did to the poor young ladies in your class?” Evelyn asked as she sipped some hot tea. Rick shook his head.
“Oh I think one time before class Sam and I found a garter snake, and once Miss Mcgregor started to teach class we let it go. All the girls stood on their desks screaming, and all the boys laughed. It was fun until I got home,” he said and sighed. Evie noticed the frown creasing his face, and put a hand on his.
“You and Jonathan share the same sense of humor, though it was always me who was the victim,” Evelyn said. They would have said more, when both heard knocking at the door. Rick stood up and took Evelyn’s small hand in his then led her out of the parlor to the front entry. When he opened the door his friends were there and were invited inside.
“Sam this is my Fiancée Evelyn. Evie this is my very good friend Sam and his wife Amy,” Rick said as he took their coats. Evelyn greeted both of them then they all went back into the parlor.
“This is a beautiful house,” Amy said as they sat down on the couches closest to the fire place.
“Thank you. My father purchased this before I was born, and has kept it up since then,” Evelyn said as she sat down across from Sam and Amy, and beside Rick.
“Your father was Howard Carnahan, the famous explorer wasn’t he?” Sam asked. Evelyn nodded, and for a while they talked about his explorations, and some of what she, Rick, and Jonathan had been through when they were in Egypt. It was then that Marie came out, and told them dinner was served, and they all followed her past the stairs, and down the hall to a large room on the right. The dining room was very elegant. There was a large Redwood table with ornate chairs around it, all with velvet cushion backs and seats. Over the table was a Crystal Chandelier, which sparkled with the soft light it let out. Over on the far wall was a redwood China cabinet with several china dishes of various sorts, and other knick knacks. There was another cabinet with a Marble top, and on that a few vases with blue flowers on them, and a porcelain wash basin with a pitcher sitting inside of it. The floor was wooden, with an dark blue oriental carpet, and the walls were deep burgundy.
“This house is so lovely,” Amy said not able to get over the simple elegance of it all.
“Thank you,” Evelyn replied. Once they were seated Marie served them with the lamb and Merlot, then left them alone to enjoy their meal.
“So, did you talk to the man about purchasing the warehouses down by the docks?” Rick asked his friend.
“Yeah I was going to get to that. He want’s several thousand pounds for the land,” he replied, not sure how much money they had to work with. He and Amy were scraping to make ends meet, and he knew that they couldn’t afford much for their half of the deal.
“I don’t see a problem with it,” Rick said as he took a bite of lamb, and looked over at Evelyn who nodded. The rest of the night, the guys talked about what they wanted to accomplish with their business, and the ladies spent time getting to know one another.
“How did you and Sam decide on England?” Evelyn asked as they had started to talk about themselves more. Amy smiled as she took a sip of tea.
“Sam’s father owns a shipping Business in New York, I think he bought it after Rick left home but we met there, and Sam always had an interest in England, so we took our chances and came out here,” she said simply. By the end of the evening, Sam and Rick had everything worked out to go meet with the man who wanted to sell the property by the port, and Amy and Evelyn had made fast friends. When they left, Evelyn turned to face Rick and accepted his hug, and the comfort of his arms around her.
“I like them,” Evelyn said as she snuggled her cheek against Rick’s chest. Rick smiled as he rubbed his hand up and down her back.
“I’m glad you do, I think we might have to do this more often,” he said. After a little more hugging, they retired to their rooms. In her room, Evelyn removed her evening dress and hung it up, putting it in the walk-in closet with the rest of her cloths, then walked over to the dresser against the outer wall next to the doors leading out to the balcony, and opened the top drawer. She took out a soft warm flannel night gown and pulled that on, then went to the fire and opened the iron curtains putting another log on the flame. Being Evelyn, she wasn’t watching what she was doing, and caught the sleeve of her gown on fire.
In his room, which was two doors down from Evelyn’s, Rick had just gotten in bed when he heard her high pitched screams, and was out of bed, and in her room in five seconds. She was patting at her arm which was smoking, and she was also coughing, and crying.
“Shhh,” he said, as he eased her against him for a moment. He knew that she had burned herself, and likely bad with how dark the gown was around her arm. Gently he led her over to the bed, and once he had her calmed down a little pulled the sleeve up to find her arm blistered.
“Do you have any burn ointment?” she nodded, and led him to her bathroom, and got all he asked for and in a few minutes he had her arm bandaged up.
“I feel like such an dolt. I should have pushed my sleeves up,” she said as she looked up at him.
“Evie we all do things at times and don’t think about the consequences,” he said. She nodded.
“Will you...you stay with me tonight?” she asked. Rick didn’t hesitate. He had on only his boxers, but she didn’t seem too worried, so he helped her stand then lifted her into his arms. Evelyn nestled her head against his chest, then felt him place her on her mattress, sitting up. He left her for a moment going over to her chest of drawers, and got out another night gown. While she changed he moved over to her balcony and watched outside as the snow fell. It was her hand taking his which made him turn around, and her beauty took his breath away. The night gown that she had on was another flannel one, but it brought out her hazel green eyes, and he leaned in, taking her mouth in a passionate kiss, then pulled away when he realized he shouldn’t be doing that. Evelyn reached up, and pulled his head back down to hers, and initiated a second kiss. Rick kept a slow pace, and let her lead, and once the kiss ended they went back to her bed and slipped beneath the covers.
“I love you,” she whispered as he eased her against his strong form.
“I love you too,” he said.
The next few weeks were busy for Rick, and for Evelyn both, with setting up Rick and Sam’s shipping business, and getting ready for the wedding. With Evelyn’s skills in organization, Sam and Rick were able to purchase the land they wanted, and actually get things set up with workers, and supplies. The week before the Wedding everything was running smoothly, and Sam assured Rick that he could manage while Evelyn, and he were on their honeymoon. Today Jake and Angela were arriving at the port to be a part of the wedding, and now both Rick and Evelyn waited for their arrival. Snow still covered the ground but the crews at the docks had cleared away the foot paths and loading areas to make it passable for the passenger, and the crewman of the ships.
“So he was your fathers best friend?” Evelyn asked as she held Rick’s hand. He nodded.
“Yeah he and Angela came over to my parents house a lot, dinners, and such, and my mom really liked them even after Dad and he bought the hotel,” Rick said, then looked up as he heard the ship whistle, which meant that the steamer from New York had finally arrived. They watched as it docked, and the ramps lower, then people started to come off, and finally Rick put his hand up waving. Jake was a tall man, even more so than Rick, with brown hair and a mustache. His wife Angela was a small woman smaller than Evelyn, and had blond hair, and blue eyes.
“There you are,” Rick said and let go of Evelyn’s hand giving his friend a hug.
“Good to see you. Angie and I were worried about you, and who might this be?” he asked speaking about Evelyn.
“Jake this is Evelyn,” he said. Jake didn’t hesitate to give her a hug, and when he parted he smiled.
“I’m glad you are making him settle down,” Jake said, and Angie slapped his arm.
“Don’t let my husband frighten you,” she said noticing how surprised Evelyn looked.
“I won’t,” she said, then smiled and gave Angie a hug. Once their luggage had been tended to, and loaded in Rick’s new Buford, they left for the Manor. On the way both Jake and Angie marveled at the landscape, and how beautiful everything looked covered in a white blanket of snow. Then when they pulled up to the manor Jake asked if they were going to take a train some place.
“No sir this is our home,” Rick said as he got out of the car, and opened the door for Evelyn, then for Angie.
“My father bought this house and another one we have in Cairo,” Evelyn explained. When they went inside, Evie gave the grand tour while Rick got the suitcases put up in the guestroom they had cleaned for them. When he finished, with that, he went back to the parlor, and Marie brought out the tea and some wine. As Rick was getting everything ready, Evelyn returned with their guests.
“Well you two have a beautiful place,” Jake said.
“Thank you, but I can’t take credit for that,” Rick replied, then they all sat down and talked.
“The first time I met Rick here, he was two, and had wondered off. See our farm was the next one over, and I’m not sure how he managed to find his way, but we heard the chickens squaking something terrible, and when we walked out there he was,” Jake said. Rick in the mean time, had turned a bright shade of red.
“Thanks Jake,” Rick said. Evelyn laughed in spite of her best efforts not too, and leaned against him.
“Then there was the time we were all in church and Rick was four. He decided to bring in his pet frog, only none of us knew he had it,” Jake said. Angie sighed.
“Jacob your embarrassing him,” she said.
“I know I’m sorry but I just have to let Evelyn know what kind of kid he was, I think Al would have wanted that,” he said speaking of Rick’s father.
“Hey I remember him, I think I named him Todd,” Rick said, referring to his toad, and they all laughed, then Jake finished.
“Well the next think you know the lady in front of us is screaming something terrible and Rick had crawled under the bench to get his frog. I think Al did a search on him ever Sunday after to make sure he didn’t do that again,” Jake said.
“Well then Rick and I are meant for one another, because I had my fair share of hair raising experiences,” Evie said, and Rick started to say something but she put her hand over his mouth and he decided to be nice and not say anything about Evelyn and a certain book. As Jake finished with his stories, Marie came out and told them dinner was served, and it was then that Jonathan made his appearance.
“Jonathan this is my friend Jake, and his wife Angie,” Rick said and introduced Evelyn’s brother. After introductions they all went to the dining room, and sat down to a meal of roast duck, and mashed potatoes with green beans to go on the side.
“Well now Rick, what have you gotten into since I last talked to you?” Jake asked.
“You remember Sam Jennings don’t you?’ Rick asked.
“Yeah I do,” he replied as he put butter on his roll.
“Well he and I happened to run into one another, and we now have our own ship building business.” Rick filled him in on that, and Jonathan perked up not realizing that Rick had started to do something aside from staying at the house. While they talked, Evelyn and Angie got to know one another and she told Evie about the fire, but was quiet so she would not upset Rick.
“I can’t imagine what that would be like,” Evie said, then again she knew what loosing parent’s was like, but to loose all of her family, would have been too much. Once dinner had ended, Jonathan bid everyone good evening and went out to his night on the town. Rick and Evelyn led Angie and Jake to their room, then settled down in their own room. Since the night she had burned her arm, Evelyn and Rick had shared her bed, though they had not been intimate. At her Vanity, Evelyn sat brushing the tangles out of her hair and smiled when Rick came up behind her, and took the brush setting it aside.
“I can’t believe that in five days we will be husband and wife. How are you feeling?” he asked, wanting to make sure she wasn’t feeling overwhelmed or wasn’t having second thoughts.
“I will admit to be terrified but I want this for both of us.” Rick stood her up and led her over to their bed. When she was sitting down, he settled next to her.
“Listen to me. I love you, and with every day that passes that love grows, and I want us to be together as husband and wife. I want us to share our lives, the good and the bad, and I’m not going to leave you,” he said with all sensarity. Evelyn took a deep breath, and let it calm her, let his words sink in.
“Then I will trust you, and stop worrying so much,” she said. He smiled.
“You wouldn’t be you if you didn’t worry,” he teased then leaned down and kissed her. They settled in to bed, and sleep took them leaving them to dream of their future together.
The morning of the wedding, Amy arrived early with Constance, and Angie, who helped Evelyn get ready for her day. The men had stayed out to party the night away, and it had not been easy for Evelyn to be away from her husband to be, but she had wanted him to celebrate with his friends, and she trusted him fully. Now she sat in her room letting Constance file her nails, and Amy fix flowers in her hair. She already had on the wedding gown which her mother had worn. It was ivory in color, long flowing, with silk sleeves that went down her arms and v’d off at her hands. The train was long and elegant with Lace around the end, and all the woman told her she looked like something out of one of the Faery tale books. When they were ready, Amy drove them to the small village, to the church Evelyn and Jonathan had gone to as children. There were a few other people there, but only the closest of friends. As Amy parked the car Jonathan walked out in his tuxedo, and helped Evelyn out of the car, pulling her into his arms for a hug.
“You look beautiful,” he said, and for Jonathan to compliment her, she knew it must be true. Once inside the church, Angie found Jake, and they went in to sit down, and in a few minutes the music started. Amy and Constance were both there as Brides Maids and after fluffing out her train, Amy opened the door and they walked in first. Jonathan held Evelyn’s arm, and when it was time they walked down the Isle. Rick stood in his place with Sam as his best man, and Evelyn kept her eyes on his so she wouldn’t get too nervous. They stopped at the last bench, and Jonathan gave her a kiss, then she walked the rest of the way to Rick alone. When he took her hand in his, all of her worries disappeared. They faced the priest and knelt down as he made the sign of the cross over them, and then they stood and faced one another. Rick took her hand in his, and placed a beautiful gold band around her left ring finger.
“Evelyn Before I found you, or before you found me, I was ready to die for the cause of the Legion. I cared only for myself. Now I care about you, and making a life with you as your husband and you as my wife,” he said. She smiled and took his hand in hers. Constance handed her the Ring and she put it on his finger.
“I marvel at how strong you have been for us. Sometimes I think this is all just a dream, but now seeing you here, makes me realize that all I have ever needed, and wanted stands before me. I will do my best to make you happy, and I want to be a supportive wife for you,” she said as a tear slipped down her cheek. Rick reached out and wiped it away then they turned back to the priest who took their hands and put them together holding them with his hand he said a prayer for them. When he finished he smiled.
“Now Richard O’Connell, you may kiss your wife,” he said. He moved back as the two in front of him came together. Rick kissed her with a passion born of love, one love that would bind them together, and pull them threw all that life had to offer.
THE END...
NOTE: I’m leaving it like this, The rest of the story is written, and Alex’s story is up in many forms the latest of which is my Life with Alex Series so go read.
Love Shell