A BBQ Barkley Style – Part One
"Ok, so the steer is in good shape! Really though, having to put up with Macgregor is annoying! Wish the man would just give me his recipe! Damn Scotsman!" Nick came striding into the room, airing his comments in a loud tone. Macgregor had just finished lecturing him about the type of wood that was being used in the fire.
"Nicholas, you know that Ian is never going to share his recipe, especially when it makes sure that he gets invited to every party in the northern part of the state!" Katarina had heard her husband coming down the hall, before he even threw open the door to their bedroom. She smiled at him reassuringly, because she knew he was a man of strong opinions, and the will to back them up.
The man in question had completely forgotten his annoyance, as he looked at his beautiful wife. Her dress was a strawberry pink silk, embroidered with pale yellow thread that had a satin sheen to it. The ensemble was trimmed with ribbons that graduated in color from pale yellow to the pink of the dress, giving the bustle a colorful waterfall effect. Flowers of a creamy tone, with pink edges sat on top of bows of the multi-hued ribbon.
"You don't think I'm too old for bows, do you Nicholas?" Katarina turned to look at him, as she asked her question. For his part, he was too busy admiring the way the dress highlighted her figure, and her full bust line. Motherhood had only accentuated her figure, making her look absolutely luscious.
"Sugar, you are not too old for bows! You will always be my present, and I like the bows!" Nick declared, stomping his booted foot, as he crossed the room to take her in his arms. Her dark gold hair was upswept, and held in place by topaz pins. They echoed the necklace, bracelets, and earrings that Katarina wore.
"I was just wondering, now that I'm a mother and all." Katarina giggled, as Nick started kissing her. She put her arms around his neck, as he put his hands on her waist, to pull her closer to him.
"You are a mother, and a wonderful one at that, but you are still my Katarina! And what is this talk about being old? You're only nineteen!" Nick informed her, when they stopped kissing. "On the subject of birthdays, I still owe you a trip for your birthday." Her birthday had been in March, and by then she was quite far along. She wasn't confined yet, but Katarina had become cautious about going too far.
The family had given her a small party, because she'd said she was too tired for a big celebration. Nick's present was a gold bracelet, with a small diamond miniature picture frame hanging from it. He said that they would put the baby's picture in it, and that additional miniature frames could be added as the family grew. Nick took her arm, and saw that she was wearing it, along with the topaz bracelets.
"I'm thinking maybe in the fall we'll go east on a horse buying trip. We can bring Tab and Rosa along. You need to see more of America!" Nick suggested, and liked how her eyes lit up at the idea.
"What a perfect idea! I'll still be nursing, so I couldn't be separate from Tab, but having Rosa along will give us time together too. Oh Nicholas, you are the kindest, most thoughtful husband ever." Katarina kissed him, snuggling against him happily.
"It is very easy to be kind with someone like you, Katarina! I love you!" Nick responded. "There is some breeding stock I want to look at, and Zack Morton wants me to scout out some thoroughbred mares for him." They had talked about the project when he'd run Zack in town yesterday. Nick had wanted to ask about Emily, but had remembered his mother's advice. He told his wife that now, as a funny smile crossed his face.
"Zack does like those thoroughbred mares, especially ones with English blood lines." Nick quipped, chuckling at his remark. "What did Emily say about lunch at the Rising M?"
"I should slap you for that remark!" Katarina observed, even as she was giggling at what he'd said. Instead she settled for "You are so naughty!"
"Sugar that is one of the many reasons you love me!" Nick kissed her again, before going back to his original query. "So what did Emily say about the visit?" He was curious as to what her impression was of the house and family.
"Honestly, pretty much what you all said at lunch the other day. The interior of the house is very cold and dark, but she did say that Zack had told her that nothing had been done with it since his mother passed. According to Emily, he was very close to his mother." Katarina made an 'mmm' sound, as a thoughtful look came on her face. Nick asked her about it, and she sighed.
"I think Zack and Emily spent a great deal of time together, on the train. She knows a lot about him – his family, personal details, what he likes to drink, all that kind of thing. It is way too much information to have been collected over casual encounters." Katarina answered thoughtfully, thinking about her friend's rather evasive explanation the first night.
"Well, it is four days from Denver." He offered, and she nodded her head in agreement. Katarina remembered his question, about lunch.
"According to Emily Rufus asked her about her family, religion, and India. She did say though that he smiled and was very pleasant overall. He told her she needed to come back to visit!" Katarina hadn't been surprised at the outcome, because she knew her friend. She told Nick that now, continuing on "JR spent the entire time trying to be charming, and flirt with her. He wouldn't leave them alone, and tried to be the one to bring her back here, instead of Zack."
"In other words, JR was JR, but Rufus made an effort. I am picking up that JR didn't interest her, but do you think she still likes Zack?" Nick inquired, hoping that their English visitor had not been put off by the house or family. Of course, he reasoned, most women like to redo things and that house would be a nice big project. He also hoped, for Katarina's sake, that her friend would stay here in the valley.
"Oh yes, she does like him. If you ask her about him, she gets a silly smile and almost blushes. I think all those men coming tonight are going to find that they are too late." Katarina gave her husband a naughty look, as she made her comment. "Nicky, I think we could be a little late to the BBQ; no one ever comes on time. Ian can manage the meat, and your mother can introduce Emily to people. We'll just blame our being late on Tab."
Nick took note of how his wife was regarding him, before her slim white fingers moved down to the buttons of his shirt. He growled happily at her suggestion, and picking her up he carried her over to the bed.
The BBQ was being held in the open courtyard, between the barn and the corrals. Tables and chairs had been set up, and the area was festive with lanterns. A fiddle player was warming up, for the dancing that would take place later. The meat was already filling the air with its delicious smell, making everyone's mouths water.
Emily was standing with Victoria and Jarrod, while Samantha sat next to them. They could hear wagons starting to come up the drive, so people would be arriving shortly. The English girl adjusted her dress, glad that Catherine had helped her pick out something to wear. The dress was several layers of yellow silk gauze, with bunches of embroidered violets scattered over the skirt, and at the neckline. It had small puff sleeves, and a slightly decollate scooped neckline. The skirt was bustled back and trimmed with violets held together by pale green ribbon. The same ribbon fluttered down the front as streamers, and ornamented the bodice.
Her hair was put up in the front, but several ringlets hung over her right shoulder. Her only jewelry was pearl drop earrings; she'd been concerned about wearing too much for an outdoor event, albeit an evening one. Emily was wondering where Nick and Catherine were, when she was surprised to find Heath and Lily standing in front of her, as the first arrivals.
"You look lovely Lily! That pale shade of pink is gorgeous with your hair." Emily enthused, admiring the blush tone silk of the woman's dress. Her strawberry blonde hair was elaborately put up, with a gold ribbon threaded through it. The blush silk was shot with faint gold ribbons, giving it a shimmering affect which almost glowed.
Lily was taken aback by Emily's praise, even though it had echoed what Heath had told her at their house. He had in fact teased her about keeping her at home, and getting the dress off of her. She was feeling very unsure of facing everyone in the valley, and would have gone along with that idea happily. Lily, since the loss had not been into town until just this week, and only to her family's shop. It had been ages since she'd been at church, and was struggling with God on why he'd done what he had to her.
"Where are Catherine and Nick?" Emily asked to take the attention away from Lily, who seemed to be uncomfortable with the praise she had received. Keeping in mind what she'd learned about Lily and Heath, Emily wanted to give them another chance. Having grown up on army posts, and because of the climate of India, the English girl had seen death before, even of children. She knew from her own experience that the pain only went away slowly, with time and love.
Emily noticed that Jarrod and Heath had exchanged knowing glances at her question, and she wondered what it meant. The men looked like they were sharing some private joke, and then she noticed that Samantha was giving Jarrod a 'knock it off' type of look. Emily wasn't sure if Lily knew what was being referenced, because the woman was looking off into the distance, as if in her own world. The English girl hoped that Lily would be able to make it through the evening.
Those thoughts were sidetracked as people started to arrive, and Victoria was busy with introductions. Nick and Catherine showed up finally, with the excuse that Tab had been extra fussy. Emily saw Heath roll his eyes, which she found, not quite offensive, but at least rude. She really wanted to give him a chance, but both he and his wife seemed to be very complicated and moody, even allowing for their recent loss.
Catherine interrupted her thoughts to introduce a young couple who were holding hands and looking very much in love. She was surprised to learn that the young man was a Reverend, and the assistant pastor at the church the Barkley's attended. His wife, a pretty young woman with hazel eyes, soft brown hair, wearing a lovely fern green dress trimmed with lace in the same color, was named Susannah.
Emily found out that they had just married last month, and there was no doubt how happy they were. An older man accompanied them, who was introduced as the headmaster for the Stockton boy's academy, and Susannah's father. It was a school that prepared boys to go back east to college, and Dean Alderson had come from New England a year earlier to take the job. Emily thought it a sign of how God worked, when she found out that Reverend Kelling was also from New England, but had met his bride in California.
"You wouldn't know it now, but the first time we met Susannah she was this scared wisp of a thing, couldn't talk in a group, and jumped every time Nick talked." Catherine said Soto voice, after the couple had moved on. Emily saw Nick nod his head in agreement, and then noticed that her friend's eyes were dancing. She inquired as to why, and her friend enlightened her.
"Just between us, we met her at the fourth of July picnic – it is a big American celebration, I'll tell you more later- anyway, Heath was seeing her and brought her to have dinner with us. It was really hard to talk to her, and all of were concerned about her and Heath getting together." Catherine started to explain, "Then Heath met Lily, and somehow Susannah met Edison, and blossomed into this happy person. She is great with the members of the congregation, and has been a big support for Edison, even before they married."
"So Heath was seeing her, but it wasn't going well? How did he meet Lily? Does she know?" Emily was reminded of the dramas that went on in British India, and occupied everyone's time in talking about the people involved.
"There was something going on with her mother; she was sick or something. Heath likes to, as Nick will say, rescue stray dogs and at that time Susannah looked like one. He then met Lily at her family's chandler shop, down on the wharf. As to what, or how much Lily knows I couldn't say and I've never asked." Catherine had been merry has she'd been telling her gossip, but then she turned serious. "Emily, you need to understand that none of these men are choir boys. They have all had many kinds of prior relationships, and it is best to respect their privacy. I've never asked Nicholas, but I can guess with no problem. It is probably the same with Lily, but she and I don't have those kinds of conversations."
Catherine's comment made her curious as to the relationship with Lily that her friend had. It didn't sound like they had anything in common, other than being married to brothers. Emily had already seen how concerned Catherine seemed to be about her sister-in-law. There was almost an element of her friend feeling sorry for Lily, but maybe that was just because of the loss, Emily reasoned. Turning her mind away from that, she thought about what she'd just been told.
"I see what you are saying Catherine, about 'boys will be boys'. Mama told me that you should never ask a gentleman about his past affairs." Emily replied to her friend, understanding what she was trying to tell her. The comment though made her wonder about Zack, and his past affairs.
He had been on her mind almost constantly, since their interlude at the stream. Especially at night she replayed what had gone on, still shocked at how much she had enjoyed what they'd done. Emily now appreciated her mother's words, about the importance of relations between a husband and wife. Bringing her mind back to the BBQ, she realized that Zack had not arrived yet.