Harnessed Passions (59 page)

"Just for that, I won't spend a single
penny," Julia sniffed, straightening her back against his hand.
Daniel and Louise chuckled and winked at each other as though to
say they didn't for a second believe her.

The sound of the train whistle echoed
through the morning air and the deep voice to the heavy set aging
conductor yelled out, "All aboard." Julia looked at Daniel and
lifted her chin. She was determined to prove to her husband she
planned on having a good time, regardless how many regrets or
reservations she may have.

He kissed her with the passion and love he
had shown her last night and again this morning then hugged her
against his chest once more. He watched the two women walk up the
train steps and mount the smoking black beast, before Julia turned
back around to wave to him. He smiled and waved back, fighting the
strain of tears that flooded to his eyes. He refused to make a
spectacle of himself in front of so many strangers, even though the
urge to run after her and drag her home swelled up inside him.

Daniel stood there, demanding his body obey
as he watched Julia move past the rows of seats, seeing her fully
through the large glass windows. He had told her and showed her how
much it hurt him to let her go, but insisted it was for the best
and they would be together soon. He couldn't allow her to think he
was regretting his decision to protect; after all, he was her
knight in shining armor.

Julia found her seat, stored her small
satchel beneath the leather cushion and quickly turned to the
window waving eagerly at the man watching her. She quickly pulled
her hat from her head and stuck the pin in the tip of her finger,
flinching from the sudden pain. She would use that small amount of
pain to help her focus on restraining her tears. She knew it was a
stupid thing to do, but learned a long time ago a small amount of
pain - a very small amount - was useful in distracting her thoughts
from those more threatening. She refused to let Daniel suffer any
further for her unwillingness to surrender to his logic. She had
seen him take a step toward her when she boarded and knew he was
fighting the urge to come after her. She wouldn't make him regret
this day or the decision she eventually agreed to.

Daniel continued to watch as the train
slowly pulled away from the station, waving one last time to Julia
before her beauty vanished in a puff of dense, black smoke. One way
or the other he had to put an end to all these accidents and the
accusations leaning toward her. He had to put Julia's ghosts to
rest and see to it she never had to fear them again. He would do
whatever it took to provide her with a quiet peaceful, boring
existence; one where the only thing she had to fear was being loved
too much by the man who adored her.

The buildings were large, many old and most
looked as though they went on forever, each one reaching out their
roof tops toward heaven, eager to mingle among the clouds. People
passed by taking little notice of Julia standing there beside her
mother, observing their every move. She frowned so deeply her brows
creased her delicate forehead, the corners of her mouth pulling
down in a very obvious manner of rejection. This wasn’t the Boston
she remembered; it had been a different place, a friendlier place
with smiling faces, handsome men in tall hats, beautiful women in
expensive gowns. This was not the same place she had left a few
short months before. It was as though someone had come by and
replaced her memories with ones she didn't recognize. The sights
before her were so strange; nothing seemed to be as it should. This
Boston was larger, colder and contained people she didn't recognize
with names she had never heard.

Julia thought about the last time she stood
on this very platform preparing to leave Massachusetts for what she
assumed was to be for only a few days - a couple of weeks at the
most. She had dreaded seeing her father again, listening to his
endless arguments and insisting on her staying at the family ranch.
She remembered telling her aunt how desperately she wanted to get
her visit over with so she could return to a normal routine.

Her plans were once very narrow minded; her
life was an endless array of parties and shopping with her friends
and aunt. The sport of her harmless flirting with handsome young
men of the wealthier side of Boston life, were on her list of
utmost importance, but that was then. Now she could hardly wait to
go home.

Mayfield may be smaller and less active than
this congested town, but it held more interest for her than parties
and nobility once did. It held her heart, her very life; by reins
of firm, solid muscles, longer than normal blondish-brown hair and
turquoise eyes, bluer than the deepest sea. Her life was wrapped
tightly in a cocoon of passion amidst the embrace of her husband's
harnessed passions.

Julia stood beside her trunks and bags still
staring out over the crowded streets until Louise nudged her elbow
gently and nodded toward the tall thin woman waving eagerly to
them. Her hair, much like Julia and Louise's was dark and long,
pinned neatly on the top of her head in an elegant bun; her slender
frame draped in dark orange chiffon and her energetic smile flashed
like precious pearls as she hurried to them.

"She certainly doesn't look like the mother
of four, does she?" Louise complained with envy as she watched her
younger sister hurrying toward them.

"You never looked like the mother of two,"
Julia smiled, reminding her mother of just how much stock she had
always put in her own personal appearance. Louise lifted her chin
slightly and smiled, pleased by her daughter's compliment.

"Jules, Louie," Lena shouted, hurrying over
to them with as much dignity as a mayor's wife could provide in
public.

"I hate that name," Louise grumbled, forcing
a smile across her lips while she waved back to her approaching
sister.

"It could be worse," Julia added with a wave
of her own. "You could have been named after Grandma Horner. Just
think, Hilda Horner Turner," the two chuckled softly thinking about
Victor’s overbearing British grandmother, who adored her family and
lived to be a hundred and four.

Hugs and kisses were exchanged as the three
women greeted each other on the platform of the train station.
Louise had not seen her little sister, since she had brought Julia
to live here, five years ago. In all that time, Lena had not aged
or changed a bit. She was still starkly attractive and as hyper as
a pent up hornet as Louise's brother-in-law Rupert had been heard
to complain.

Lena took hold of her
sister and niece by the arms, ordering the young man she had
brought with her to bring the bags. They walked casually toward the
waiting
Victoria
.
Louise stared at the slipper shaped carriage and groaned. She knew
her little sister had an expensive taste, but to own something as
elegant and extravagant as this, went beyond
imagination.

The four-wheeled, elegant contraption
actually resembled a giant slipper. It's collapsible top, although
presently up, promised an excellent experience when driven through
the park; top down and the wind and sun brilliantly tinting the
cheeks of its occupants. As beautiful as it was on the outside, was
nothing compared to the lush interior. Its plush upholstery was
made of soft leather in the brilliant shade of blue-green, which
reminded Julia painfully of her husband's eyes. Just the thought of
Daniel forced Julia to suddenly restrain herself from crying out
his name.

"Julia," Lena said, brushing a loose strand
of dark hair from her face. Julia had been so consumed with
memories of the man she hoped was waiting for her back home, she
hadn't noticed the conversation between sister's had wound down. "I
asked about this man you married. What's his name, David?"

"Daniel," Julia was quick to correct her
aunt, feeling the emptiness build inside her again.

"Well, what's he like? Knowing your taste in
men he has to be handsome." Julia smiled softly, the image of her
husband danced in front of her emerald eyes as she envisioned how
to describe him.

"He's not bad," was all she could think to
say and this she did with a soft blush.

"Not bad?" Louise snorted through the
comfortable confines of the elegant coach. "For heaven's sake,
Julia, you make him sound like a new pair of shoes. Daniel," she
continued, turning to enlighten her little sister, "is the most
handsome man in all of Kentucky, and he used to be the most sought
after bachelor until my beautiful daughter here got her claws into
him. He's tall and dark and muscular, but he's in desperate need of
a haircut, although I can't complain about the way he treats Julia.
He positively adores his wife."

The ride back to the mayor's mansion flew by
as Louise described Daniel down to the small dimple in his chin,
which most people over look; Julia certainly hadn't noticed it the
first time she'd seen him. Daniel's vision took on clarity as
Louise continued with her verbal appraisal of the man, making her
feel even more homesick than she had a few minutes ago. She
mentally began counting off the days until she returned home where
she knew she belonged.

Forty-five days and forty-four nights; but
unfortunately it was the nights that were going to be the hardest.
Julia sighed. She was tired and hungry and her feet and legs hurt
from the many long hours of sitting in one place. Although they had
private berths, the train had been hot and dusty and she longed to
be in a cool tub, surrounded by tons of fragrant bubbles; a luxury
for having indoor plumbing.

Julia closed her eyes,
feeling the warmth of the sun shining through the side window of
the carriage. She envisioned Daniel again, his chest bare and his
eyes smiling at her as he joined her in the bath as had had at his
flat the morning after he introduced her to
the device
. He kissed her lips and
brushed the bubbles from her nose, before kissing her there too. He
held her wet eager body against his warm hard chest, thrilling her
beyond the point of ecstasy. She could feel his body pressing
against her, her fingers tangling in the dark wet locks her mother
insisted needed cut. Her skin tingled as she imagined Daniel
kissing her - everywhere. His hands molded to her, caressing and
pleasing her until Julia felt herself blush. She glanced up hoping
her mother and aunt had not seen her expression. Their talking and
gossiping was all too consuming for them to notice she was even
with them until the horses came to a halt.

"We'll get you two settled and I'll have
cook prepare you something to eat," Lena announced, stepping out of
the rolling slipper. "Rupert will be home soon. He's been just as
anxious for you to arrive as the children have."

"What about their new nanny?" Julia asked
suddenly, remembering she was no longer her cousins’ center focus.
"Won't my being here distract her schedule?"

"Heaven's no. Beatrice knows you're a part
of the family and she also knows how attached the children are to
you. I'll tell you though; if it wasn't for the children's school
lessons I'd have had to bring them along with me. They were so
excited when we got your telegram."

"What's this Beatrice of yours like?" Julia
felt a strange twinge of jealousy, wondering if the children took
to their new governess better than they had her.

"Oh she's fine I suppose. I don't much care
for her personally, but she comes highly recommended and the
children seem to respect her. She's nothing like you though. She's
five hundred years old, skinny as a twig, solid grey hair and wears
little glasses on the tip of her nose, plus she has a nasty habit
of snorting, bad sinuses she says. Good heavens, would you believe
she even snores?" The three women laughed aloud with the image Lena
was painting for them.

Later that same day Julia met the woman who
had taken over her position. She wasn't quite as bad or as rough as
Lena had described, but she did snort often and quite loudly and
that evening the sound of heavy snoring could be heard echoing down
the hall. Rupert would have sworn - and he often did - the house
was going to collapse under the woman's annoying vibrations.

The day's hectic schedule
of visiting, reminiscing and settling in, had made for an early
night and Julia found herself asleep before the sun set in the
clear blue sky. Before blowing out the lamp though, she took the
small diary she had brought with her from the nightstand and slid
the calendar out from between the pages. With a large red
X
, she marked off her
first day. Only forty-four more to go before she'd be back in
Daniel's arms; the thought of him rocked her gently to sleep,
lulling her in a dream of love, security and happiness.

The smell of fresh baked pastries floated
out to the street from the small bakery, making Julia's stomach
complain with a soft grumble. Lena and Louise had practically
dragged her from her bed, insisting they go shopping before the
stores began to get overrun. Julia knew however, there was little
chance of this happening. The shops her aunt was most familiar with
were privately owned and very expensive. Few people patronized them
and those who did, spent an outrageous amount of money and rarely
stopped by without an appointment.

"I think we should feed this girl before the
city begins to think we brought Beatrice along with us," Lena
teased upon hearing Julia's stomach again. Deciding on an early
lunch; early to Lena's standing since it was only eleven forty-five
and she rarely ate before two; she led the way into the small cafe
on the corner and exchanged greetings, waves and smiles with
several of the customers present as they proceeded to their
table.

"It must be hard being so popular," Louise
teased, sitting down in the chair the waiter held out for her.