Riverbreeze: Part 1 Read Online Free PDF

pleased she had noticed.
He had hopes of catching the attention of a pretty female at the
party and now he felt confident he would.
    “You’re welcome.” And she returned to the
fireplace to fill a plate for herself.
    “Hoping to impress anyone special?” Robert
teased him also.
    “No, but I am looking forward to meeting our
cousins.” He said, then he bowed his head and quickly said, “Thank
you, Lord, for this fine food. Allow it to give me the strength to
persevere in all that You expect of me. Amen.”
    “A-men!” Robin copied his uncle, clapping his
small hands together.
    Jamie smiled at him. “Good boy, Robin.”
Robert made some kind of growling noise in his throat, but Jamie
ignored him. He scooped up a large spoonful of eggs. “So, what do
you think the twins will be like?”
    “Snooty and boring, I expect.” Robert said,
breaking up a corn cake for Robin. He then poured a little honey
from a small pitcher onto another cake for himself before biting
into it. “Everyone from London is boring.” He ended, licking his
fingers.
    Jamie frowned at Robert. “Oh come on,
Rob.”
    “You asked.”
    “Well, I disagree. I expect they’ll be
sophisticated but sweet. And if they’re anything like Maureen and
Kathleen, they’ll be as gentle as lambs.”
    Robert said nothing, just glared at Jamie. It
was obvious he did not like that statement.
    “What are their names again?” Abigail asked,
returning to the table with her plate along with a bowl of stewed
apples. She placed the stewed apples in the middle of the table,
then sat down beside Jamie.
    Jamie scooted over a bit. “Elizabeth and
Evelyn Tyler.” He answered around a mouthful of ham and eggs.
    “I’m sorry I’m going to miss meeting them.”
Abigail said, wiping her hands on her apron.
    “Then why won’t you come with us?” Jamie
asked. “You are invited.”
    “Because she’s smart.” Robert retorted.
    “Oh Rob, be quiet.”
    “You know I’d rather not attend social
gatherings, especially now that I’m still grieving for my friend.”
Abigail said quietly, her eyes downcast.
    “I know and again, I’m sorry, Abby.” Jamie
said, then addressed his brother. “At least you’re dressed and
ready to go.”
    Robert shrugged his shoulders while finishing
off his corn cake. Then he took a swig of cider. “It would be rude
of me to not go. Besides, I admit I am looking forward to seeing
father and Maureen again.” He said grudgingly.
    “Hallelujah!” Jamie exclaimed. “The crab has
finally come out of his shell!”
    * * *
    Jamie finished his breakfast in record time.
It was already well past daybreak and normally he would have been
down at the stables feeding and watering his horses long before
now.
    As he strode along the crushed oyster-shell
path, he whistled a merry tune. At nineteen years of age and not
quite six feet tall, he was no longer that small, frail boy of nine
years ago. Despite succumbing to the intermittent fever his first
summer in Virginia and having had several relapses throughout the
years, good and plentiful food, fresh air and hard work had
nourished his body, so much so, that it had been a challenge to
keep him decently clothed. Francis Tyler had often joked that it
took all his profits to keep the two growing boys in proper-fitting
clothes and he couldn’t wait for the day when they would experience
the same frustration of trying to clothe and feed their own growing
sons. Jamie still hadn’t filled out as much as his brother had, in
fact he was so lean one might think he was still starving, but he
was strong and healthy, as long as the intermittent fever lay
dormant.
    The stables were approximately one hundred
feet behind and slightly left of the main house, just recently
completed. Jamie was quite proud of himself; he had built these
stables with the help of his brother, their good friend, Roger
Wentworth, and Phillip Archer, their brother-in-law. And it didn’t
matter to him that the building was a far cry