(THE LAST PARAGRAPHS OF CHAPTER 16)

She stood so close he could smell the rose water on her skin. Her pink lips were plump and inviting and the barn light lit up the shine on her dark hair. Her white breast peeked through the unbuttoned top of her soft blue blouse. He grabbed her by the shoulders so hard, a button flew off. He pulled her to him and kissed her long.

When they finally broke, she was breathing heavily, and the long kiss appeared to have taken her breath away. Still, her eyes told him she wanted more. She reached up and covered his mouth with hers. The warm wetness of her tongue shot a jolt to his loins that made his manhood double and throb. She wrapped her arms around him so tightly, he could barely breathe. And he didn't want to--if it meant leaving her arms.

Outside, a coyote howled at the moon. Dark clouds further unburdened themselves, while the moist air took on a slight chill, and the rain sounded as a thousand fingers drumming upon the roof.

Inside, Morning Girl lay quietly, as the lost lovers found a dark corner of the barn. Their tossed clothes marked a trail to where they lay: their flesh--hot and sweaty, their hearts racing, and their naked white bodies moving rhythmically against the flattened hay.

**************


(CHAPTER 17)
The long ride back to Ten Oaks gave Nathan time to reflect on what he’d done. How the hell did I let this happen? Joseph must have sensed that something was wrong. Not his chatty self, he kept quiet the whole drive back to the Daniels’ place.
 
Nathan climbed into bed—careful not to wake Grace. He just lay there staring up at the ceiling regretting and loving every moment he had spent with Margaret. A man can’t love two women, was his last thought before finally falling to sleep.
 
The next morning Nathan skipped breakfast—not able to look Grace in the face just yet.  I can’t keep this up; she’s going to get suspicious. He completed his rounds on the outskirts of town and headed back to Big Tom’s with the results of the lab test on Morning Girl. He was looking forward to seeing Margaret, but only to tell her that what happened the other night, can’t happen again.
 
“Hey, Nate,” Big Tom said, greeting him with an outstretched hand.
 
“Mr. Wainwright,” Nate said, shaking his hand.
 
“Are those the results? Margaret told me what you said about retiring Morning Girl.”
 
“Yes, it seems I was right. The horse is a bit overworked.”
 
“I want you to know that I would never intentionally overwork my animals. I honestly thought she could handle it—she being stronger than my other mares and all. Plus, she was in such demand. But she’s retired now.”
 
“Well—that’s good to hear. Nathan took in a deep breath and looked around. “Is Margaret here?”
 
“As a matter of fact, she is. Go on in. I’ll have Netty get her for you.”
 
Nathan walked ahead of Big Tom and got comfortable on the overstuffed sofa in the family room. Big Tom yelled to Netty, his Negro maid, to tell Margaret Nate wanted to see her.”
 
After a bit of small-talk, Big Tom stood and said, “Would you like a drink while you wait?”
 
“No thank you, it’s a bit too early in the day for me.”
 
“Aah, it’s never too early for a glass of Port,” Big Tom said, walking over to the liquor cabinet. “Best thing to have before dinner.” He poured himself a drink and gulped it down.
 
“I’ll go see what’s keeping Margaret,” he said, hurrying from the room.
 
Nathan eyes scanned the room. He’d never been this far into the Wainwrights' home before and he found it conservatively beautiful. The last time he’d been as far as the parlor, and he and Big Tom had exchanged harsh words.
 
“Nate,” Margaret said, flowing towards him and landing on his lap.
 
“Are you crazy?” He looked around nervously and gently pushed her away. He stood facing her.  “I came here to tell you that what we did was a mistake,” he said, above a whisper.
 
“You can’t mean that.”
 
“Keep your voice down. No, I do. We’re both married with children. I don’t know what happened to us last night. I just know it can’t happen again.” Nathan tossed the envelope with Morning Girl’s test results on the sofa and attempted to leave. She grabbed his arm, pulling him off balance.
 
“You can’t just leave it like that. You still love me. If I wasn’t sure before, I am now.” She looked into his eyes. “We felt something for each other last night. You can’t deny it.”
 
“I’m not sure what I felt. Or what you felt. I’m married and that’s that.” Nathan walked off.
 
“I’ll tell Grace,” she said. He stopped dead in his tracks as if his feet were stuck in mud. He turned slowly and the look on his face frightened her.  In spite of that look, she raised her chin and swallowed hard. “I will, I mean it.”
 
“Why? Why do you want to destroy my marriage?”
 
“I love you.”
 
“That’s too bad. You had your chance and you made your choice.”
 
“But I was young and didn’t know any better than to think I had to please my family.”
 
“It’s too late for us.”  She stepped forward and grabbed both his shoulders. “But no one has to know. I’m not asking you to leave Grace. We can still see each other.”
 
“So that’s it. You’ve gotten bored with your titled husband, so you want to fill the void with me?” He chuckled quietly. “No, you’re not going to use me for your little pleasure. And you’re not going to say anything to my wife. Is that clear?”
 
Margaret stood with a smirk on her face and said nothing. Nathan turned and left the house. A few moments later, Big Tom entered the room; he put both hands in his pockets and just stared at her.
 
“Anything you want to tell me, Margaret?”  She looked away.
 
 
**************
 
 
Back home, Nathan struggled to forget that night.  He concentrated on a new horse treatment for the throat where soft diet, warm coverings in winter and ventilation of stables worked well for the overall wellness of this condition.
 
Grace had noticed Nathan moping about but said nothing. It seemed Nathan’s sudden dark mood had put everyone in the household at arm’s length. All except his baby girl. She had taken her first little steps without the presence of her father. Nathan was so busy with his practice, that there just never seemed enough time for his family—and now, this thing with Margaret. He felt every bit of a heel.  A knock came on the door. A few moments later, Pearl handed him a taped note.
 
“The driver is waiting for an answer, Sir,” she said.
 
He took the note and tore at the tape. It was from Margaret. She threatened to reveal to Grace about their affair if he failed to meet her tonight at the little cabin in Somners Creek. Nathan’s face became flushed. He tore up the note and burned it in an ashtray. Then he went to the door where the Negro driver waited and whispered something to him. The driver tipped his hat and left.
 
“Honey, wasn’t that the Wainwright’s driver?”
 
“Yes,” he said, his eyes dancing about. “Mr. Wainwright needs me. I shouldn’t be too long,” he said. He kissed Grace on the forehead and headed for the door.
 
“Nate, you’re forgetting your medical bag and you’re wearing your slippers,” Grace said.
 
“Oh,” he said, smiling nervously.  He rushed back, changed into his shoes and grabbed his bag.
 
“Sir, I’ll have Joseph to bring the car around.”
 
“Aah...No. I’ll take the car. Don’t wake Joseph. He’s had a long day. I won’t be long.”
 
Pearl and Grace just looked at each other as Nathan drove off in a blitz.
 
When he arrived at the cabin, Margaret had Champagne chilling and fragrant candles burning. She wore a black lace negligee and black satin slippers. She looked up at him and smiled. He rushed to her and grabbed her by her shoulders and shook her so hard, her long, dark locks smacked against his face. She stumbled out of his grasp, threw her head back and laughed.
 
“I could choke you, you little bitch.”
 
“Oh stop it. You love me and you know it. Why keep pretending?”

"Margaret, my home--where my wife and baby lives. How could you?"

She ignored his anger and stood looking at him. "Tell me you don't love me," she said.
 
He lowered his head and then looked up at her. “All right, Margaret. Yes, I do love you. I’ll never get over you; I know that now. There was a time I would have forsaken everything to be with you. But that was a lifetime ago. I’m not risking losing Grace. I had a long talk with myself driving over here.”
 
“And just what did yourself say to you?” she asked playfully.
 
“I’m going to tell Grace everything. And pray to God she’ll forgive me.”
 
“Don’t be a fool. Of course she won’t forgive you. Oh, Honey, what’s the harm in our being together? We’re not hurting anybody. No one has to know. I’m only going to be here for two more weeks anyway. Then you can come to visit me. Think how much fun we’ll have in England.”
 
“Are you serious? And what about your husband?”
 
“We live separate lives. All he ever wanted was the Wainwright money and I get to play duchess to some tiny place on the edge of the world. Some bargain daddy made. You know—we are so far down the royal ladder that we haven’t even been invited to Buckingham Palace, or any major event they’ve had.”
 
“Am I supposed to feel sorry for you?”
 
“No, I guess not,” she said, flopping down on the cot.
 
“It’s too bad things didn’t work out for you.  It’s been hard for me too, but I’ve moved on. I think you should do the same.”
 
She jumped up from the cot. “How can you say that?” Her eyes filled when she spoke. “Please, don’t punish me for being young and stupid. Please.”
 
Nathan held her. “I’m not punishing you, Baby. As much as I still love you, I can’t—no, I won’t betray Grace.”
 
Margaret drew closer. “Look at me and say you don’t want me right now.”
 
“Margaret, don’t—someone is going to get hurt.” 
 
She pressed her lips to his and he grabbed her and kissed her. The taste of her lips filled him with ecstasy. They began peeling off their clothes, their lips still locked together. She fell back onto the cot and he fell on top of her. They made love more than once; the first was like they were the only two people on earth: it was loud and wild—with Margaret like a cat in heat. The second time was more surreal and calm—their bodies moving like slow waves on the sea.  The ice in the Champagne bucket melted and the candles went out.
 
The next morning, the cabin shone bright as the sun lit up the sky.  Birds tweeted in a tree outside the window. Nathan lifted his head.
 
“Oh, God—what time is it,” he said, jumping up. Margaret rolled over, still in a sleepy daze, and stretched.  Nathan rushed his clothes on. He went to the sink and splashed cold running water on his face and checked his eyes. “Why didn’t you wake me, damn it?” He looked around for his socks. He could only find one. “Shit.”  He slipped the shoe on his naked foot and then walked back to the sink, wet his hands and ran his wet fingers through his hair.
 
“Well, you did say you were going to tell her about us.”
 
“You act like you’re enjoying this. This is serious. I didn’t want her to find out like this. Oh, God what the hell am I going to say?” He stood bent over the sink.
 
“Nate, for whatever it’s worth, I wasn’t really going to tell her.”
 
“Now, you tell me?” He grabbed his bag and stormed out of the cabin. On the way home, he rehearsed over and over in his brain what he was going to say to Grace and in between, he prayed. God if you never answer another prayer of mine, Please, Please answer this one.