Disclaimer: They are not mine, they are NOT mine, they are SO not mine! Sigh.
Dedication: This story is dedicated to Lady T for filling in for me, for putting up with my oddities and for going above and beyond the call of duty. The girl is a saint! ; )
It was the end of the page and it seemed to Logan like a good place to take a break. He got up and stretched gracefully on his way to the bathroom. He relieved himself slowly, relaxing and taking the time to close his tired eyes to rest them for a few moments. It was an interesting story, and he was surprised to find that he was actually enjoying reading it.
He finished and moved to the sink, washing his hands and splashing cool water over his face. He grabbed a towel, rubbing it over his face, then stopped and regarded at himself in the mirror. He looked old.
Maybe it was reading about beautiful young people or maybe it was the time of night, he wasn't sure, but suddenly every wrinkle around his eyes, every deep frown line seemed to stand out more than usual. His dark eyes took all of it in, and he was bothered by it.
He knew that he was still an attractive man, but he was definitely NOT a spring chicken anymore. He chuckled, what was the old line? It's not the age, it's the mileage? He nodded. That definitely applied to him.
Logan sighed and went back to the bed, pouring himself another glass of Scotch and sipping it slowly. He propped his pillows high and laid back against them, crossing his legs comfortably.
X~O~X
I'm not sure how long I stood there staring at his diminishing form, but eventually I came to my senses and walked the short distance left to the mill. When I reached for the front door of the office, my stomach turned as I saw Silas standing in the window, arms crossed, face like a thundercloud.
Silas Hamilton is large and overbearing, a bachelor with a nasty temper and an incredibly negative outlook on life in general. It was not a comfortable situation.
For the first time I realized that Thomas and I had been standing down the road, but had still been in full view of the mill. I was unsure how much Silas had seen, but I decided to pretend that I believed he was angry simply because I was late.
I tried to control the trembling in my voice. "Good day Mr. Hamilton, I apologize for being late, I trust you had ample work to keep you busy."
He regarded me with cold blue eyes filled with contempt. "I would think you could make it a point to come to our meetings on time Mrs. Richmond. It isn't as if you have much else to do with your time."
I chose to ignore the remark, setting down my book and handbag and sitting at the table as usual. "Will the meeting take long today, Mr. Hamilton?"
He sighed deeply. "The profits are rising, as usual, and there is nothing for you to sign, but I have come to a decision that you should be made aware of."
My heart leapt. Perhaps he was going to resign and save me the trouble of telling him that I was going to be replacing him. I sat forward eagerly, and that seemed to calm him. He pulled out the chair opposite me and as he sat, I sensed that he was struggling for the right words.
"May I call you Elizabeth?" he asked in a voice I would never have believed could come out of the mans' mouth. He didn't wait for an answer to the question. "I have given this a lot of thought, and I've come to what I believe is a wise decision concerning your future. It is obvious that you know nothing of commerce and even less about running this business. Your late husband left me in charge here, and I have done well for you. Profits have doubled since I took over and you have no one but me to thank for it."
He paused, evidently waiting for me to thank him, and all I could do was sit in shock and wait for him to finish.
"I spent much of the last two weeks looking at several homes close to the mill and I've found a suitable one less than a block away. We shall be married at once, and we will reside there. It's a larger house than the one you occupy now and should do well for entertaining guests, as I'm sure you will be inviting your lady-friends to..."
I cut him off sharply, my voice rising in intensity with every frost-bitten word. "YOU have decided that WE are to be married and you thought that MAYBE I should be -- MADE AWARE OF IT?"
I was trembling, not in fear but in anger. I had never been angrier in my life. "I have no interest in marrying you, Mr. Hamilton, and had you asked me beforehand, you would not have wasted your time and mine looking at houses for the last two weeks."
I was standing with my hands on my hips, and he rose to meet my gaze across the table, his cold blue eyes filled with a hatred I had never seen before.
"Never, EVER speak to me again in that tone," he said, his voice sharp and low. He reached across the table and grabbed my wrist with lightning speed. "You do not even have the sense to know what is best for you. You are a woman, and you will do what you are told."
I was terrified by the look in his eye, and his strong hand seemed about to break my wrist, but I managed to speak. "I would not marry you if you were the last man alive." Before I could finish, the door opened and he let go of my arm immediately. I nearly dropped to the floor in relief when I looked up to see that it was Thomas. He had obviously heard what I said, and his eyes flashed darkly.
"I think it is time for you to go, Mr. Hamilton," he said softly, the clenching and unclenching of his jaw the only sign of his inward fight for control.
Silas turned toward him, furious. "I am in charge here, and who are you boy?" he bellowed.
"Who I am is of no importance. I believe that Mrs. Richmond owns this business, does she not?" Thomas glanced my way, and I gave him a small appreciative smile. He looked back at Silas. "I don't believe she'll be needing your service any more, will you Mrs. Richmond?"
I shook my head numbly, trying to form the words. "I am relieving you -- of your duties here -- Mr. Hamilton. I will not be needing your services any more."
Silas was incredulous. "You can't do that..." he started, but Thomas broke in.
"She can, and she HAS, Mr. Hamilton." He turned to me, "Perhaps you should seek the help of a lawyer, Mrs. Richmond, I know of a good one."
"That will not be necessary," Silas gritted out through tightly clenched teeth. "I will go..." he turned toward me for the last, "but you haven't seen the last of me -- "Elizabeth."
He slammed the door behind him and, without thinking, I ran to Thomas and threw myself into his open arms. We held each other tightly for a moment before I came to my senses. I withdrew from him quickly, my face turning scarlet. "I'm sorry, I just -- I'm so glad you came in when you did, I..." I shuddered at the thought of what might have happened had I not met him earlier that afternoon.
"You needn't apologize," he said softly, then smiled. "In fact, I rather enjoyed it," he chuckled, repeating my remark from earlier that day. My heart skipped a beat, but it was short-lived as I realized I had no idea what to do next.
My foreman was gone and I had a business to run. Thomas recognized my helplessness and took over immediately. "Go through the drawers, take out anything that looks important. Do you have a safe?"
I nodded and he continued, "Do you have the combination? Good. Take out everything in it, and put it in a bag, or anything suitable that you can find." As he was speaking he quickly moved to lock the front door and place the "closed" sign in the window. "I will deal with your employees. How does a surprise week of paid vacation sound to you?" He smiled as I nodded in relief. "I will be right outside, in the mill, I am not leaving you, do you understand?"
I nodded and watched him go, thanking God or whoever was responsible for bringing him to me that day. I immediately locked the rear door behind him and began emptying the contents of the safe, surprised at the rather large amount of money that I found there. I shook my head in shock as I stuffed the money into a bag, realizing with utter certainty that had Thomas not been here, I would never have had the forethought to take it with me.
I emptied the safe and began searching the drawers of the desk for anything that looked to be of any importance. I had found several bags near the safe and I filled them with folders, ledgers and everything else that seemed appropriate to take. I was just putting the book Thomas had bought for me in the last bag as he tapped on the door.
"The men were happy to go. We dealt with several of the most urgent matters, and now they are on their way to their homes. They wished me to thank you for the time off -- it seems Mr. Hamilton has been a rather ridged employer."
He took the bags from me and led me to the door, looking back to make sure we had locked the back door. As we stepped out, he locked the front door behind us. "I did not bring the carriage with me today, I'm afraid it's just my horse. With all of this money, I would prefer to go directly to your house. What is it, about three miles?"
I looked at him in amazement, "How do you..." he shook his head.
"Elizabeth, how I know is of no importance at the moment. Do you ride?" I nodded in disbelief. "Good. You will ride behind me." His horse was beautiful and very large. Thomas put down the bags and grabbed hold of my waist. I jumped, but it was mostly him, lifting me high onto the back of the horse. His strength surprised me, and my hands were trembling as he handed me the bags.
I was sitting side-saddle, of course, and I nearly fell when Thomas mounted the horse. He turned slightly and took the bags from my hands, placing them across the saddle in front of him. As he kicked the horse and we began moving I reached instinctively around his waist, not even thinking to care if anyone was watching us.
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