Read Online Love and War: The Coltrane Saga, Book 1 by Patricia Hagan - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Patricia Hagan
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The most beautiful house she had ever seen.
The yard was filled with people, and she could see the women in their finest hoop dresses, bright colors contrasting against the men resplendent in short coats and fawn and gray trousers. The shrieks and laughter of children playing on the wide, sprawling lawn reached her ears, and she smiled. It was going to be a grand party, and she shivered with anticipation.
Beneath the grove of pecan trees, where the branches were not quite stripped of leaves and would offer some shade, long trestled picnic tables, covered with fine linen cloths, had been placed. The setting was far enough away from the long barbecue pits to avoid the smoke from the red embers with the meat turning on spits above, juices dripping down to hiss upon the coals.
The smell of crisp fresh pork tickled her nostrils deliciously, mingled with the succulent odors of barbecue sauce and Brunswick stew bubbling in huge, iron wash- pots. She could see black house servants bustling about the tables with bowls of rich roasted yams and crisp, chopped cabbage.
Their carriage moved around the tree-lined curving driveway, which was filled with saddle horses and carriages. Their driver brought them to a stop directly at the front steps. Nathan moved to get out so that he could help her descend, and Kitty checked the bodice of her dress one last time before making her appearance. She had pulled up the tight stretch of taffeta so that the pinkness of her nipples did not show—still, the dip was perhaps an inch lower than the other young ladies’ dresses that she had seen, and if she happened to lean over, her breasts would be exposed. But no matter, she thought defiantly, everyone would be talking about her, anyway, after that horrible scene in town.
Nathan reached for her through the open carriage door, his hands fastening about her tiny waist. As he lifted her up, his lips were close enough to whisper, “God, you’re so beautiful, Kitty…”
Once again the warmth of pleasure pounded into her face, and a shiver of happiness spread through her body. But the glow was quickly dimmed once her feet touched the ground, and she realized that everyone milling about had turned to stare—and not with the admiration and envy she had hoped for. The men looked at her with curious eyes, and the women were obviously hostile. A few of them busily whispered back and forth behind their nervously fluttering fans, as they glared at her.
Chin jutting high, Kitty lifted her skirts as Nathan took her arm, and started up the steps. She was not going to let them bother her. This day belonged to Nathan, and no one else mattered.
And then she found herself staring up into the angry eyes of Nathan’s mother, Lavinia Collins. Her gaze took in the low bodice disapprovingly, and her lips tightened even more on her pinched face. She was a short woman, rather dumpy, Kitty thought. Her dress was brown taffeta, stiff and high-collared with a trim of fine lace. Her hair was pulled back into a tight bun at the nape of her neck. She had probably once been a pretty woman, but now she looked unpleasant and…Kitty searched for the right word… sour . That was it.
She was standing beside Aaron Collins, and it was impossible to tell how he reacted to her presence. Known for his charm, Aaron would never be so ill-mannered as to make a guest feel uncomfortable in his home. Bowing graciously, he kissed the hand Kitty extended to him as Nathan made the introductions.
“I’ve heard so much about you from my son, Kitty,” he said quietly. “I feel as though I should know you, since I’ve been seeing you with your father delivering honey ever since you were a child.”
Kitty thought he resembled Nathan, except that his hair was salt-and-pepper gray, and he was taller, heavier, but still a fine figure of a man with deep-set eyes that crinkled at the corners when he smiled.
“Welcome to Collins Manor.” Aaron bowed again slightly.
Lavinia Collins did not
The yard was filled with people, and she could see the women in their finest hoop dresses, bright colors contrasting against the men resplendent in short coats and fawn and gray trousers. The shrieks and laughter of children playing on the wide, sprawling lawn reached her ears, and she smiled. It was going to be a grand party, and she shivered with anticipation.
Beneath the grove of pecan trees, where the branches were not quite stripped of leaves and would offer some shade, long trestled picnic tables, covered with fine linen cloths, had been placed. The setting was far enough away from the long barbecue pits to avoid the smoke from the red embers with the meat turning on spits above, juices dripping down to hiss upon the coals.
The smell of crisp fresh pork tickled her nostrils deliciously, mingled with the succulent odors of barbecue sauce and Brunswick stew bubbling in huge, iron wash- pots. She could see black house servants bustling about the tables with bowls of rich roasted yams and crisp, chopped cabbage.
Their carriage moved around the tree-lined curving driveway, which was filled with saddle horses and carriages. Their driver brought them to a stop directly at the front steps. Nathan moved to get out so that he could help her descend, and Kitty checked the bodice of her dress one last time before making her appearance. She had pulled up the tight stretch of taffeta so that the pinkness of her nipples did not show—still, the dip was perhaps an inch lower than the other young ladies’ dresses that she had seen, and if she happened to lean over, her breasts would be exposed. But no matter, she thought defiantly, everyone would be talking about her, anyway, after that horrible scene in town.
Nathan reached for her through the open carriage door, his hands fastening about her tiny waist. As he lifted her up, his lips were close enough to whisper, “God, you’re so beautiful, Kitty…”
Once again the warmth of pleasure pounded into her face, and a shiver of happiness spread through her body. But the glow was quickly dimmed once her feet touched the ground, and she realized that everyone milling about had turned to stare—and not with the admiration and envy she had hoped for. The men looked at her with curious eyes, and the women were obviously hostile. A few of them busily whispered back and forth behind their nervously fluttering fans, as they glared at her.
Chin jutting high, Kitty lifted her skirts as Nathan took her arm, and started up the steps. She was not going to let them bother her. This day belonged to Nathan, and no one else mattered.
And then she found herself staring up into the angry eyes of Nathan’s mother, Lavinia Collins. Her gaze took in the low bodice disapprovingly, and her lips tightened even more on her pinched face. She was a short woman, rather dumpy, Kitty thought. Her dress was brown taffeta, stiff and high-collared with a trim of fine lace. Her hair was pulled back into a tight bun at the nape of her neck. She had probably once been a pretty woman, but now she looked unpleasant and…Kitty searched for the right word… sour . That was it.
She was standing beside Aaron Collins, and it was impossible to tell how he reacted to her presence. Known for his charm, Aaron would never be so ill-mannered as to make a guest feel uncomfortable in his home. Bowing graciously, he kissed the hand Kitty extended to him as Nathan made the introductions.
“I’ve heard so much about you from my son, Kitty,” he said quietly. “I feel as though I should know you, since I’ve been seeing you with your father delivering honey ever since you were a child.”
Kitty thought he resembled Nathan, except that his hair was salt-and-pepper gray, and he was taller, heavier, but still a fine figure of a man with deep-set eyes that crinkled at the corners when he smiled.
“Welcome to Collins Manor.” Aaron bowed again slightly.
Lavinia Collins did not
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