Mail Order Match Maker (6 page)

Amaryllis tilted her head to the side.  “That’s not a bad idea.  Violet could even paint pictures of us all to help.  She’s really good at that kind of thing.”

“That would be wonderful!”  Harriett was only half joking.  She turned to look at Max who was engrossed in conversation with Fred.  She hadn’t even realized Fred was still in the room.

Fred seemed like a jovial man who was happy with his life and his family, though, which was nice to see.

Mary came bustling in then.  “Lunch is ready.”  She grabbed Lily, who was running through the room by her arm.  “Stop running and go get your sisters for lunch.”

Lily stopped running and yelled, “Lunch time!”
 

Mary shook her head.  “I could have done that, Lily.  I asked you to go get your sisters.”
  Her look was clearly exasperated as she stared at her second oldest child.

Lily
shrugged sheepishly and ran off down the hall.

Max took Harriett’s hand and tugged her in the direction Lily had run.  “Now do you see why I married you before introducing you to my family?”
  He looked down at her with a grin on his face.

“I may have to see about getting an annulment.”
  Her eyes danced with merriment, telling him that she wasn’t too bothered by her strange nieces.

He laughed.  “Too late.  I’m whisking you away to my den later, and an annulment will not be possible.”
  He waggled his brows at her to be certain she didn’t miss his meaning.

Harriett sat next to Max and across from Rose during the meal.  Rose still had her hand mirror and kept making faces into it.  Harriett was afraid to ask what she was doing as she applied herself to her meal.

After a moment, Mary noticed her daughter.  “Rose, how many times do I have to tell you, no mirrors at the table!”

Rose sighed and put the mirror down. “How will I know if my chewing is pretty, then?  I can’t eat in front of my suitors, because Lily said that I look like a cow chewing its cud when I eat.  So I have to practice!”
  Rose looked perfectly serious as she made her argument to her mother, but Mary just ignored her.

Harriett began wondering at that moment if she’d entered a circus.  She said little as she watched the children.  The youngest kept looking down at her lap, and after a few minutes, Harriett realized she must have the squirrel in her lap, because she was deliberately dropping pieces of food.

Fred eyed Iris with a grin.  “Is the squirrel getting enough to eat, or should we go get some pecans from the kitchen?”  Fred obviously had no problem with his youngest bringing a rodent to the table.

Iris’s eyes were dancing.  “I think he’s getting enough.”
  She did her best to hide her giggle from Mary.

Mary glared.  “Iris Jane, if you have that squirrel at my table, so help me...” she trailed off, obviously having no idea what to say t
hat would be a sufficient threat.

Iris held up the baby squirrel with one hand.  “He was hungry, Mama.  What could I do?”
  She had blond ringlets and blue eyes, and Harriett found her sweet look captivating.

“Put him back in his cage.”  Mary waited for a moment while her daughter stared at her before adding, “Now!”

Iris jumped up from the table, cradling the squirrel in her arms, hurrying to put him in his box.

Mary looked at Harriett.  “I’m very sorry.  It’s not always a zoo at our house.”
  Her eyes apologized as they met Harriett’s.

Fred shook his head.  “She’s lying, Harriett.  It is always a zoo here, but we like it that way.”  Fred was a tall
, thin man who was the opposite of his wife in appearance.  Mary was short and dark while Fred had blond hair and blue eyes.  The girls ranged in coloring from blonds to redheads to brunettes. 

Mary sighed sadly and nodded.  “He’s right.  I just don’t want to scare you off right away.”  She shrugged.  “I do my best, but there are eight of them, you know.”

Harriett started giggling and put her hand over her mouth.  Her shoulders were shaking she was laughing so hard.  She’d been so nervous about meeting Max’s family and the reality of them was so different from what she’d been afraid of.  This mass of confusion was just what she needed.

Max looked at Harriett’s red face and shrugged.  “I don’t think she minds too terribly much, Mary.”

Mary looked at her new sister-in-law with a grin.  “No, she doesn’t seem to.”

Harriett was laughing so hard she was unable to speak.  She simply put her head down on the table next to her plate.  Max patted her back understandingly.

Amaryllis looked at her new aunt and then looked at her mother with a baffled expression.  “Is Aunt Harriett okay?”

“She’s just happy to have such an interesting new family,” Mary responded as she took another bite of her roast.

*****

Harriett was still chuckling when she and Max left his sister’s house an hour later.  “How can you be around them and not just laugh?” she finally asked.
  She still couldn’t believe the antics she’d seen from the girls.  They were going to be a fun addition to her life.

Max shrugged.  “I really wanted to be married for at least a month before you saw them in all their glory.  I don’t know what Mary was thinking...”
  He sighed heavily.

“Your nieces are absolutely delightful.  I can’t wait to get to know them all better.”  Harriett hadn’t had that much fun in years.  She felt like she’d spent the last ten years of her life floating through life, but not really living.  Coming to Seattle was what she’d needed.

“I hope you still think so the first time Jasmine hides your gloves.  Or the first time Lily knocks you down because she hasn’t learned the difference between walking and running.”  Max pulled back on the reins in front of a large house.  “This is home.”  He watched her face as she looked at the house for the first time.  He assumed it was smaller than the house she’d lived in back in Beckham, but he hoped she wouldn’t be disappointed.

He jumped down and
hurried around the buggy to help her down, immediately stepping back so she could look up at her new home.  “I only have a cook and a maid.  I hope that’s enough.” 

Harriett smiled.  “I’d have been happy with just Higgins.  I don’t need much.”
  She had always had servants, but she’d learned long ago that she could take care of herself if she needed to.

He frowned at her mention of Higgins, but led her to the door.  “I want to give you the tour of the house later.”

She frowned at him.  “Later?  Why not now?”  She really wanted to see the new house.

They reached the front door then and he picked her up in his arms.  “Because right now, I’m taking my new wife to bed.”  He nodded to the door which she opened for him.

“But it’s the middle of the day!  It’s still light out.”  He couldn’t possibly be thinking of consummating their marriage in the daylight, could he?

He strode through the house to a room on the first floor at the very end of the hall.  He carried her in and kicked the door closed behind him.  “I don’t care what time of day it is.  I’ve been watching you all day, and I can’t think of anything but making love with you.”

He set her on her feet carefully and she stood staring up at him.  “But…we can’t make love during the day!”  Arthur had always waited until it was dark and then he’d made her turn her head away anyway.  She’d never understood why she was allowed to feel him against her but not look at his body.

H
e carefully unpinned her hat, set it on the dresser and turned back to her.  “I don’t know why not.”  He cupped her face in his hands and lowered his mouth to hers, kissing her passionately.

She felt a frisson of fire shoot
through her as his lips traveled to her ear and he tugged her lobe between his teeth.  “The servants will know.”

He laughed.  “I gave them the day off.  I’ve been thinking about today for two years.”  He pushed her back until she was sitting on the side of the bed, and he dropped to his knees to remove her shoes and then rolled her stockings down her legs.

She swallowed hard as she watched him kneeling in front of her.  He was being as gentle as she’d imagined a man could be.  Once her stockings were off, he stood back up, and taking her hand, pulled her to her feet.  He stepped behind her and unbuttoned her dress all the way down her back.  His lips brushed against the side of her neck as his fingers trailed over the skin he uncovered. 

Slowly he pushed her dress of
f her shoulders, leaving her standing before him in her corset and petticoat.  He trailed one finger along the curve of her breast pushing high above the corset.  “You’re so beautiful.”  His voice was husky with passion, making her feel powerful.

“Oh, Max.”  She leaned forward to rest her head against his shoulder, wondering if she could go through with this.  He made her blood sing in a way that Arthur never had, but she was afraid of what would happen if she didn’t satisfy him.  Would he become angry?

His hands went to her back, untying the knots of her corset and dropping it to the floor, leaving her in her petticoats.  She stood tall in front of him, afraid she’d displease him somehow.
 
His hands traveled down her sides from her shoulders all the way to her hips.  His brown eyes were filled with fire as he stroked her.

“Okay?” she asked, wondering how he felt about her after seeing her and touching her.

He frowned as he looked into her eyes.  “Is what okay?”

She bit her lip at his frown.  “Am I okay?”
  Why did his answer mean so much to her?

He blinked a few times.  “You’re more than okay.  You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”

She breathed a sigh of relief.  She’d been so worried she’d disappoint him.  Her hands reached for his jacket and she pushed it off his shoulders, before moving her hands to rub his upper arms.  “You’re so strong.”  She was surprised that his strength didn’t scare her.  If Arthur had been as strong as Max was, he could have done a lot more damage to her.

He smiled slowly before dropping his lips to hers, his hands caressing her through her petticoats. 
He cupped her bottom in his hands and pulled her hips up against his.  “I want to make love with you.”

She sighed against his lips, realizing she wanted the same thing.  He picked her up at the waist and placed her on the bed, leaving her petticoats in place as he followed her down, his lips never leaving hers.

She moved her hands to his shoulders and became annoyed when she could feel only his shirt.  She wanted to feel his skin against hers.  Her fingers went to his tie, loosening the knot and throwing it on the floor.  She worked the buttons from their holes and pushed his shirt off his shoulders, letting it fall where it landed.

Once he was uncovered, she spread her fingers wide, stroking his back and shoulders, loving the feel of his bare skin against her.  She moved her lips from his and kissed his shoulder.  “I like
touching you,” she whispered, wondering if she should really admit to such a thing.

He smiled down at her, his eyes staring into hers.  “I like being touched by you.”  He tucked his arms under her and rolled to his back, pulling her down on top of him.  “Touch away.”

She looked at him for a moment in surprise.  Arthur had never liked it when she touched him.  “You wouldn’t mind?”  She studied him carefully to make sure he wouldn’t be angry.

He laughed softly.  “I think I can bear it.”  He took her hands and placed them on his chest.  “Just don’t hurt me,” he said with a wink.

“I’ll try,” she whispered solemnly as her hands explored the muscles of his chest.  She moved her fingers through the hair on his chest, and squeezed his nipple between her thumb and forefinger.  At his moan she stared at him, startled.  “You like that?”

He nodded.  “I like it a lot.”

She looked down at his hard little nipple for a moment before pulling it into her mouth and sucking on it.  He moaned and moved his hands through her hair, scattering pins everywhere.  His moans spurred her on and made her feel like she had permission to explore him more freely.  She ran her hands down to the waistband of his pants while raining kisses on his chest, but stopped at his pants.  She didn’t quite have the courage to go any further.

His hands covered hers.  “You’d better not go any further than that.”
  He moved her hands away from his waistband and put them back on his shoulders.

Her head jerked up.  “I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean to do anything wrong.”
  Was he angry with her?

He reversed their positions, looming over her in bed.  “There’s nothing to be sorry about.  There’s nothing
that’s wrong between us.  You’re my wife.  You have my permission to touch me wherever and whenever you want.  But if you touch me there right now, I’m not going to last long enough to make love to you.”

She blushed as she understood his meaning, and he laughed.  He tugged at her petticoats and pulled them off her and onto the floor.  Once she was uncovered, she saw his eyes go to the scars on the calf of her right leg.  “Is that from the surgery you told me about?”