Chapter Six

Eli continued to dance with the swarm of women who followed him around the party looking at him as if he was a prize for the taking but he also watched Meela from afar as one man after another asked her to dance. At that moment Eli was dancing with a pretty brunette named Sonya. “Can I ask you a question, Eli?”

Taken by surprise Eli smiled down at her “Of course Sonya anything.”

Sonya watched as he took another quick look at Meela “The whole time you’ve been dancing with me you have only looked at me twice, who is it that you keep looking at?”

Eli was embarrassed “I’m so sorry Sonya I’ve been rude.”

Sonya shrugged “Who is she?”

Eli looked at Meela then back at Sonya “Her name is Meela that’s her over there dancing with that big guy.”

Sonya blushed when Meela glanced at them “Does she love you as much as you love her?”

Eli was taken aback by her question “Love hasn’t been mentioned we have only known each other for a few months.”

Sonya shrugged “Well that’s all it takes sometimes I guess, haven’t you ever heard of love at first sight?”

Sonya smiled as she shyly pointed to a man in his early thirties that stood by the fireplace watching her intently yet still trying to pretend like he was interested in the conversation he was having, “His name is Edward Messing he’s a widower and I have never wanted a man more. Sometimes I’ll catch him looking my way but I’m way too shy to approach him.”

As the music ended Eli bowed and kissed her hand “I have a feeling your lucks about to change.”

More women flocked to him but Eli excused himself and headed over to where Edward stood, walking up in the middle of their conversation Eli apologized. “Sorry to interrupt Edward but can I have a quick word with you in private?”

Edward excused himself then followed Eli out onto the balcony, Blake followed curiously to hear what Eli’s reasons were “Edward I’m Eli.”

Eli looked out over the garden and pointed to Sonya “Her name is Sonya but I’m pretty sure you knew that, we danced and she and I told each other about the men and women we have feelings for, any way’s that attractive woman walking alone has one and only one man she’s head over heels for.”

Edward couldn’t help but smile as he watched her “I know it’s not my place but she’s too shy to do it herself and she’s such a sweet woman I’d hate to see you and her miss out on love.”

About to walk away Edward stopped him “Thank you for coming to me I guess it’s rather obvious I have feelings for her as well, what was your name again?”

Eli stood proudly “Eli Mansfield at your service,” he said with a bow. When Blake heard him he smiled, Eli looked back down at Sonya in the garden all alone “If I were you I’d get down there before some other man does.” Edward laughed “You know Eli I think your right thanks again.”

When Eli returned to the hall, Blake was waiting with a proud smile and a manly hug. “I have to admit Eli to hear you introduce yourself as Eli Mansfield is like a dream come true, I couldn’t be any prouder of you than I am right now.”

Eli laughed then hugged his father again before going in search of Meela; Blake laughed at Eli’s persistence “She’s by the punch bowl son.” Eli chuckled “Thanks, dad.”

Edward took a deep breath before walking up to Sonya in the gardens watching her as she smelled the roses, “There isn’t a rose in this garden as stunning as you.”

Sonya about fainted when she heard his voice “I doubt that but it’s a nice thing to say, thank you, Edward.”

Normally only watching her from afar Edward found himself nervous, feeling rather bold he moved in closer “What would you say if I told you I have wanted you since the first time I saw you two years ago.”

Sonya took a deep breath as she turned and looked up into his smoky grey eyes “I’d say that’s good news since I feel the same.”

Edward held her hand to his mouth moving even closer. “I’d really like to call on you sometime, maybe even tomorrow if that’s all right with you?”

Sonya felt like jumping up into his arms and kissing him but being a lady she accepted his offer with a smile and again later in his arms with a dance. At the end of the night Blake, his son’s and Maddi and Meela said their goodbyes then walked out and waited for their coach. Searching Eli out Sonya found him just as the Mansfield coach was approaching. “Eli, Eli wait!”

Eli smiled at Sonya as she ran up and jumped into his arms hugging him and kissing him on the mouth. Meela watched with concern unsure how she should respond. “Thank you so much Eli, you may have just saved my life, I’ve never been happier and I owe it all to you.”

When she saw Meela she took her hand “You’re so lucky to have Eli, I wish you both the best of luck.”

Turning back to Eli she hugged and kissed him again before running back toward the house, stopping mid-way she turned and shouted: “Next time I see you I may have some good news of my own thanks to you.”

The coach pulled up and Sonya waved goodbye as the five of them rode off ready to get back home, the coach remained quiet then Meela asked. “So who is Sonya?”

Eli smiled proudly “Just a friend.”

Eli paused then laughed “Okay this is what happened, we danced and she asked me who it was I kept looking at, and I told her it was you, at the time you were dancing with that big guy with curly brown hair. Anyways she confided in me how much she liked Edward Messing but had been too shy to tell him so when we were finished dancing I approached him I let him know how she felt and the great opportunity he had waiting for him in the garden.”

Blake chuckled “You should have heard Edward when Eli told him; the funny part was that Edward felt the same way about her.”

Meela smiled at both of their excitement “So you were there as well?”

Blake nodded “I followed Eli and Edward outside and listened from afar.” Meela still looked confused “Why were you listening in the first place?”

Blake laughed “Because after Logan scared the shit out of Matthew by slamming him into the wall I didn’t want Eli to get in the same situation.”

Now it was Maddi’s turn to look confused “Why did you get mad at Matthew?”

Logan ran his hand through his hair and Blake laughed “For one the bastard was putting his hands all over you and second of all he was looking down the front of your dress the entire time he danced with you.”

Eli nodded in agreement “That’s the truth.”

Maddi laughed “He was rather sleazy I had to keep moving his hands back to their proper place.”

Logan watched Maddi from across the coach “Sorry Paige, I hope you enjoyed yourself, I guess it just bothered me to see you surrounded by men who couldn’t seem to keep their hands off of you.”

Blake quietly listened, Eli also apologized “Sorry Meela you probably would have had a lot more fun if I wasn’t watching you the whole time.”

Meela laughed as she pulled out her last bottle of brandy from out of under the seat followed by five glasses. “No need to apologize, I’m sure I speak for Maddi as well when I say I hated seeing you with all those eye fluttering frilly dressed girls’ following you around everywhere you went. I hope you don’t mind the brandy, I don’t know about you but I definitely need a stiff drink.”

Blake stared at Meela and Maddi from across the coach and laughed “If you think I’m not going to ask you’re wrong.”

Logan and Eli looked confused; Blake continued “What exactly took place in the women’s powder room?”

Maddi started to explain while Meela finished her brandy and poured herself another “We went in for obvious reasons and it was packed so we sat down to talk.”

Blake laughed “And.”

Maddi sighed “We heard Amy Johnson and Belinda Spears talking about us loud enough for everyone to hear.”

Meela continued “They said Maddi and I were fucking all three of you, they called me a Pirate whore and said we must be sleeping with you why else would you keep around a Pirate whore and a girl that even her father would rather kill himself than be with her.”

All three men were shocked and beyond upset. “They said it was obvious. I was fucked by my whole crew and a bunch of other things.”

Maddi smiled at Meela “So we ripped down the privacy screen and confronted them.” Blake was getting red in the face “What did you say?”

Meela laughed “Well after hearing them call me an Irish dwarf and a pirate whore I pulled out my dagger but Maddi stopped me, I asked them if they wanted to know how us Pirates dealt with trash like them but Maddi really got them good, she asked them why they were still single, Maddi told them the reason they had no one on their dance cards was that everyone knew they were more than just friends, and told them that men are attracted to women who actually desire men and that they would receive more calls if they weren’t so busy fucking each other to notice any interested men. Then I threatened them and we left them on their asses surrounded by women that now know their little secret.”

All three Mansfield men went silent Blake was astounded “Woman can be so awful to each other; I hope you two are all right.” Meela and Maddi laughed “I’d say we got them good.”

After everyone had refilled their glass Blake made a toast “To strong-minded women that can definitely take care of themselves and on a different note I don’t know how I feel about you all coupling off, I love my son’s and I love you girls and all I can do is trust my son’s to be gentleman and hope you all will find happiness in the end.”

After drinking their brandy in silence Meela laughed “Talk about getting smothered, the men that were around me were so close I’d swear I felt one humping my leg like a dog.”

Everyone laughed then Meela turned to Maddi with an excited smile “So Maddi did you dance with Victor Abbott?’

Maddi shook her head “Yes, don’t remind me he’s dry-witted and his palms are sweaty not to mention he stares down your dress the entire time.”

All three men were no longer laughing, but Meela was “Do you want to know what happened when I danced with him?”

Meela took another drink and smiled “Well it started out nice enough, but it only took me a minute to see him for what he really was a pig, I don’t mind when a man glances at my chest but he was foul and directly stared right at them he may have as well been slobbering. So I told him with the sweetest smile I could come up with at the time, my daddy always used to say women are only good for two things and you sir aren’t getting either of them so keep your eyes off my chest or I will introduce my knee to your balls, then I winked at him and walked away.”

Blake laughed as he put his arm around her shoulder “Well Honey Baby you just never know what’s going to come out of your mouth and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Blake watched how his son’s watched Maddi and Meela unable to take their eyes off of them. “So girls I have a question for you two, if I had not made you dance and socialize with the other men would you have done it?”

Eli and Logan’s ears perked up waiting to hear their answers, both Maddi and Meela started to talk at once, then Meela stopped and told Maddi to start Maddi shrugged.

“I understand why you wanted me to dance with them, we both are of a marital age and the only way to really meet men are at parties and socializing but no I wouldn’t have, I would have rather spent the night dancing with just Logan.”

Blake smiled when he saw Logan’s eyes light up at Maddi’s confession. Meela could tell everyone was waiting for her answer. “Think of it from our perspective, we get all dolled up and arrive with three of the most handsome men around and when we get there they throw us to the dogs to get manhandled and slobbered on while the three of you dance the night away with a bunch of painted up ninnies, so my answer is no I definitely would have rather spent my evening dancing with Eli, the only fun I had except for dancing with the three of you of course was trying to shock and embarrass everyman I danced with. I liked sending them away not really sure if they had heard me correctly, confused and shaking their heads trying to figure out if I had just insulted them or if they had just misunderstood me.”

Blake stayed silent a few minutes then rubbed his hands together “This is what we are going to do, Meela and Maddi tomorrow you two will move into the cottage near the tree line of the forest. I’ve already had the boys clean it out and you can fix it up any way you please any repairs needed Logan and Eli can help you with.”

Meela looked at Blake a little confused “Have we done something wrong?”

Blake paused “Of course not, I just can’t leave the four of you living and sleeping in such tight quarters.”

Meela laughed “You consider the Mansfield house tight quarters try living on a ship?”

Blake laughed “I can’t stop how you feel about each other I can only try to prevent any ...…... Well damn it Meela I’m just trying to put a little space between you.”

The boy’s seemed bummed out while Meela and Maddi were making plans for their new living quarters, Blake laughed as he watched his son’s. “And Logan and Eli we still have a lot to talk about. I cannot just ignore all of this.”

After a long night at The Michael’s party and the long drive home Meela couldn’t sleep and after lying in bed and staring at the ceiling for an hour she decided to throw on her britches and head to the pond to swim. Sneaking out of the house and hiding in the shadow’s through the courtyard she reached the pond at around midnight the water was flat and calm the only sounds to be heard were the sounds of crickets and of wildlife around it. After shedding her clothing she dove in hardly causing a splash, surfacing she floated on her back as she stared up at the moon and stars just enjoying the silence when a large splash hit her. Nearly jumping on top of her Blake surfaced with a shocked expression on his face.

“Damn it Meela you scared the shit out of me.” Meela shrugged “Sorry Blake.”

Blake looked at her then quickly turned away “Could you swim farther away, I think I’d feel like an old pervert if I saw you naked.” Meela laughed “Do you come here a lot?”

Blake smiled as he swam around her at a distance “This is where Violet, Eli’s mother and I used to meet. I almost built her a cottage out here but she wanted for her and Eli to be as close to me as possible.”

Meela ducked under the water and swam toward the center of the pond when she serviced she looked around and found Blake watching her with a smile “So I know you like to swim, did you swim in the ocean a lot?“

Meela nodded “When I could, it’s really a weird feeling to swim with no land in sight and a jungle of sea life below, it’s scary to not know what’s coming.”

Blake smiled as he watched Meela’s eyes light up at even the thought of the ocean. “So how long have you and Eli been sweet on each other?”

Meela laughed “I guess since the day I got here.”

Blake shook his head “So like three months then?”

Meela shrugged “Yes, I guess so but I wouldn’t worry too much if I was you, Eli has been a complete gentleman, he really doesn’t want to disappoint you.”

Blake smiled “It’s getting late I’m headed home, so do me a favor and turn around so I can get dressed.”

Meela smiled “No problem, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Blake nodded “Try to get some sleep you and Maddi have a busy day tomorrow moving into the cottage.”

Having not followed through the night before Blake sent for his sons’ early the next morning, when Logan and Eli reached their father’s chambers he was standing naked from the waist up shaving his face in the mirror. “Morning father.”

Both boys sounded like an echo. Logan sat on the bed while Eli looked out the open window both waiting to hear their fathers rebuke. “So I was bored last night and decided to go swimming funny thing was when I got to the pond and jumped in I nearly landed on Meela.”

Eli laughed “She goes their almost as much as I do.”

Blake shook his head “The woman is a ball of fire just like her mother, it’s our jobs to not get burned. By the way Eli I was happy to hear you have been conducting yourself as a gentleman, I’m sure denying Meela’s advances is one of the hardest things you have ever had to do.”

Eli laughed “You have no idea.”

The cottage Blake had in mind for Meela and Maddi wasn’t far from the main house and was large enough for both of them to have their own rooms it had a large front room and a fairly spacious kitchen. Blake and his sons did an inspection noting all the repairs needed before the ladies could move in. While Eli and Logan got busy with the repairs Blake sent Maddi and Meela into the attic to go through Cheryl’s material and the decorations that she had saved including baby girl stuff for the nursery that she had put aside for when she and Blake would have had their second child. Meela smiled as they looked around. “Wow Maddi Blake wasn’t lying she really did want to have more children and it looks as if she wanted it to be a girl.”

Maddi laughed as she went through an oak chest filled with fabric, after going through the fabric and finding some they could use for curtains and a tablecloth Maddi went to close the lid but Meela stopped her.

“Wait what’s that wrapped up at the bottom?”

When Meela pulled out the bundle and unwrapped it she was surprised to find two identical outfits one had Logan stitched on it and the other Eli. “My God Meela Cheryl knew the whole time.”

Curious Meela pulled out their family bible and took a peek at their family tree “This is strange Maddi, Cheryl has also added Eli to their family tree, I wonder if Blake has ever seen this?”

Maddi shrugged “Grab the fabric and I’ll get the bible and outfits, we can show them tonight at dinner.”

That night before dinner Meela took the bible and baby outfits and hid them in a drawer in one of the dining room cabinets. Later that night at dinner the men stood as Maddi and Meela entered the room and sat down.

Blake sat down and poured them both a glass of water “Good evening ladies I hope you two were able to find some material you can use, the cottage repairs should all be done by tomorrow.”

Before dinner was served Meela stood up and walked to the cabinet a little nervous to show them what she and Maddi had found. “Maddi and I found a few things you three might find interesting.” The men looked confused as she unwrapped the outfits and handed them to Blake “Look what Cheryl stitched into both of them.”

After Blake looked at them he didn’t say anything he just handed them to Eli and Logan, after reading them both Logan and Eli looked at their father confused “My mother knew the whole time.” Eli swallowed hard as he handed the outfits back to his dad “She must not have cared that much if she made me one too.”

Meela sat the Mansfield family bible down in front of Blake and opened it to their family tree “She must have had love for Eli as well, she wrote his name down right next to Logan’s.”

Blake was overcome by emotion “Excuse me I need to be alone for a moment.”

After he had left the room Eli and Logan remained silent neither sure how to react, Eli scooted out his chair and stood up “Cheryl was always very good to me, she was a very loving and kind woman, Logan can you please entertain the ladies I’m going to go talk to dad.”

Logan nodded then watched as Eli left the room. Eli found Blake sitting at his desk in the study “How are you doing in here?”

Blake smiled then gestured for Eli to take a seat “I loved your mother Eli and that wasn’t something I could hide or deny she meant the world to me and I loved Cheryl as well and couldn’t stand the thought of hurting either of them. If I could have married them both I would have, together they completed me and they both blessed me with a son, their death’s nearly killed me, you and Logan are the only reasons I didn’t die myself. I guess what I’m trying to say is to find out seventeen years later that she knew about you and Violet and loved me still is crazy to think about.”

Eli leaned back in his chair “My momma used to say, women are complex and follow their hearts while men follow their heads both of them.”

Both Eli and Blake laughed as they walked back to finish dinner. When they walked back into the dining room Blake smiled at the girls “Thank you both for showing us what you found I’m sure I speak for my son’s when I say thank you.”