Mischief and Magnolias by Marie Patrick Read Free Book Online Page A

honey that settled in her stomach spread outward, speeding through her veins one pulse beat at a time. Excused, she pushed through the swinging door and let out the breath she’d been unaware she’d been holding.
    Brenna, bless her heart, sat at the small table where the servants—when they had had servants—had taken their meals, two plates heaped with food in front of her. Her hands were folded in her lap as she waited, but her eyes were bright, and the smile Shaelyn loved so much softened her features.
    As soon as Shaelyn slipped into a chair, Brenna reached across the table and grabbed her hand.
    She prayed, thanking God for the food on the table, asking Him to watch over them and to bring Ian home safe. To Shaelyn’s surprise, her mother included the soldiers in the dining room in her prayer.
    While she picked at her meal, she listened to the conversation in the other room. She learned that Daniel Bonaventure had a wife and three strapping boys in Pittsburgh. He hadn’t seen them in quite some time and sadness reflected in his voice.
    Aaron Falstead had a fiancée in Keyport, New Jersey, where he grew up and where his father owned a steamboat company that plied the shoreline from New York to Red Bank. They planned to be married once the war ended.
    Cory Ames had a new daughter he hadn’t yet met.
    Peter Williams had no wife or fiancée waiting for him, but said he planned to remedy that as quickly as possible. Life was too short, he said.
    Captain Becket didn’t contribute much to the conversation. Out of all the men in her home, he was the quietest. If he had an opinion, he didn’t share it.
    Captain Davenport had neither wife nor sweetheart and didn’t seem interested in obtaining either one. Or so he claimed in his clipped New England tones.
    Major Harte said very little, although he did laugh, which for reasons she couldn’t fathom, warmed her. A long sigh escaped her as she pushed the mound of mashed potatoes around her plate. Her appetite fled as a startling realization came to her. The men who had invaded her home were not monsters. They were just men who happened to wear blue uniforms. They felt sadness and happiness, loneliness and companionship, just as she did.
    “You’re not eating.”
    Shaelyn glanced up from her plate to find her mother’s gaze on her. “I’m not hungry.”
    “Of course,” she said, then pushed away her own plate. “I know it doesn’t seem like it now, but having them here may well turn out to be a good thing, Shae.” She stood and moved to the butcher-block table, where she opened the jars of peaches and poured them into one of her beautiful serving bowls. She added a serving spoon then took several smaller bowls from the cabinet and put them all on a tray. “Try to finish a little more, dear, then bring that other pot of coffee.”
    Brenna pushed open the swinging door separating the kitchen from the dining room, the tray in her hands. Before the door swung closed, she heard her mother say, “My apologies, gentlemen, I have no dessert for you this evening, but I thought some peaches Shae and I put up last year might be the perfect thing to end your dinner.”
    Shaelyn dragged herself from her chair, grabbed the coffeepot from the stove, and followed. As she refilled their cups, every one of the men around the table said “thank you,” which didn’t surprise her. All of them were courteous and kind and polite to a fault.
    A short time later, the officers left the dining room, and a hush fell over the house as they closeted themselves in the study. Shaelyn glanced at her mother and noticed the fine lines around her eyes seemed deeper and more pronounced. “Why don’t you go to bed, Mama? I’ll clean up.”
    “Thank you, dear. Having all these men here just reminds me of how much I miss Ian and your father.” She sighed. “It’s been such an eventful day. I must be tired.”
    As Brenna slipped inside her room, Shaelyn filled the sink with hot soapy water then