Where Does My Heart Beat Now- Chapter 12

A Chapter by Sympathy Heart

Chapter 12

Many people were already inside of the Jefferson Institute by the time the women arrived. Mae stepped through the double doors, her orange and white dress swaying from side to side as she walked, followed by Beth and Ava. They had made a plan for them to enter the ballroom first so that Kate could make a grand entrance in her gorgeous dress and catch everyone by surprise, including Gabriel.

The boys were standing by the band at the back of the room, talking with some artillery and infantry officers. They smiled when the older women and Ava joined them and curtsied before the officers. The men returned the greeting by bowing respectfully. After straightening, Gabriel noted that someone was absent from their group, but turned back to the officers.

After a while some of the people started murmuring about something, drawing Sean’s attention toward the noise, “Oh my sweet Atlanta!”

“What?” Gabriel questioned.

“You’re wife. Look at your wife.”

Gabriel turned around to see what his friend was getting so excited about, and his mouth literally fell open at the sight of Kate standing in the doorway looking positively radiant in her lavender gown. Damn. “Sean that is not my wife. There’s no way.”

“What do you think, sweetie? I think she makes a beautiful belle,” Mae leaned over toward her son and smiled warmly.

“What did you do to her, Mom? All I’ve ever seen her in is jeans and a t-shirt.”

“Well, now you can enjoy her presence in a whole new light.”

He turned back to face Kate, who was gracefully making her way over to him with a wide smile glowing on her face. There wasn’t a word he could think of to describe her at the moment for he was awestruck. My God, she’s so beautiful… Who knew she could look this amazing. His thoughts diminished when Kate joined him, her eyes glittering in the light, or perhaps it was from an internal source. Whatever it was, it made her stand out among everyone else in the room.

“Kate… Wow… Just… Wow,” Gabriel was at a loss for words.

“Yeah, I told your mom the powder was a little much, but she insisted that I wear it,” Kate began with her eyes fixed on the carpeted floor, but suddenly realized that he was referring to something completely different. “Oh, you were meaning me in general, not just the powder. Well, thank you. I have Beth and your mother to thank for that. Beth is an amazing seamstress.”

Gabriel chuckled as he thought about the older woman, “I know what you mean. I can’t tell you how many times she’s patched up my britches after I fell off Bo in a thorn bush and ripped them,” he gently placed his right hand on the small of her back, pulling her closer to his body before taking her other hand in his. “I assume you know how the Grand March goes, right?”

The question shocked her. Sean never taught her that dance! What was she going to do? She didn’t want to tell him that, but how would she be able to dance with him? Maybe he can teach me before we start. “Gabriel, I don’t know this dance.”

“Don’t worry, it’s easy. Just follow the dance master, he’ll tell you everything you need to do. Besides, it’s not actually a dance per se. Think of it as an introduction to the ball.”

“Oh,” Kate looked around the room and saw other couples, including Gabriel’s parents and Sean and Ava, gathering on the dance floor for the opening Grand March. “I pray I won’t fall on my face, tonight.”

Gabriel hid a laugh as he lined up behind his parents with Kate on his right side, “You’ll be fine, honey. You won’t fall.”

The March began with the couples splitting off either to the left or right, then joining another couple to form a line, which would go in the direction the dance master instructed. Eventually, a long line was formed and wound around the room in a snake-like pattern. At the end of the Grand March every couple turned and applauded the band before heading over to the chairs lined along the walls.

Once she arrived at one of the chairs, Kate stood, contemplating how she was going to sit in her large skirt, Great. I wish Mae or Beth would have taught me how to sit in this thing, “Uh, Gabriel… this is a stupid question, but how do I sit?”

“Well, considering I’m a guy and I don’t wear dresses, I can’t exactly show you, but I can tell you somewhat,” he turned her around so that her back was facing the chair. “Now, gently sit so you don’t break your hoops.”

As she sat, the front of her dress flew up, revealing her white pantalettes to Gabriel since he was still in front of her, “Oh God!” She quickly thrust her hands onto the skirt to lower it in an effort to keep others from seeing up her dress. “Gabriel!”

His eyes widened with the hint of a smile peeking out from the corners of his mouth, “Whoops! At least you have panties on underneath your bloomers,” he pulled her up from the chair and fixed the bottom of her skirt. “Now, when you sit, lift the back of the skirt and sit, but be careful so as not to catch your skirt on the chair back, or you’ll flash some people… although, you pretty much just did that.”

After some careful maneuvering around, Kate managed to sit properly in her chair without going through what she had a few minutes earlier, “Is it normal for my dress to take up two entire chairs?”

“Yes,” Gabriel was scanning the room to see who was there, and then his eyes fell on two figures standing near the windows. D****t! What the hell are they doing here? He saw one of the two staring directly at him with a sneer on his broad face. This was definitely not the time for another confrontation, especially with Kate just a few feet away, “Kate, you’re looking a bit jittery, so go ahead and go to the restroom. I’ll wait on you.”

“What? No I…” she started to say, but was cut off.

“Yes, you do. Now, go to the restroom.”

“Gabriel, why?”

He sighed heavily, keeping an eye on the two across the room, “Nick and Max are right over there, and I don’t want them to see you,” with a gentle tug, he pulled her out of the chair and hurried her to the doorway. “Quick, get into the restroom… I’ll send Mom or Ava in to get you once I think it’s safe.”

Kate obeyed him and slipped out of the room just before Nick and Max approached her husband. As she made her way to the restroom she could hear Gabriel say something, but she couldn’t make out what he said. For the most part, she didn’t think she wanted to know. Now, where is that restroom? Ah, it must be where that lady just came out. She quickly stepped into the large restroom where she found herself thinking about the conversation between Gabriel and Nick. Hopefully they wouldn’t get into a fight in front of everyone.

It must have been ten minutes or longer before Ava’s head appeared around the door, “Kate? Gabriel wanted me to come and get you.”

“Is Nick gone?” Kate hesitantly looked out into the hallway before following Ava to the ballroom.

“Yes. The police came and arrested him for ‘disturbing the peace’. You can thank your husband for that.”

At least I won’t have to worry about Nick bothering me, Kate saw Gabriel discussing something with Sean until he caught sight of her and became quiet as if he didn’t want her to hear. A feeling of apprehension started to rise within her, making the situation worse. All around the room she could hear the people murmuring to each other, no doubt in her mind it was about the arrest. God, I wonder how bad it got, what with everyone talking. As she neared Gabriel she could see the latch on his pistol’s holster open, a clear sign he was ready to use the deadly device if the need arose, “Gabriel? What’s going on?”

He immediately wrapped her up in his arms and kissed her cheek, “Are you all right, honey? You wouldn’t believe how nasty it got in here.”

“Ava told me the police arrested Nick. Why? What happened?”

“I have no idea. One minute we were talking in a civilized manner, and the next I saw my life flash before my eyes,” Gabriel took in a large breath, trying to calm down. “He pulled his pistol on me.”

Hearing that her husband’s life had been threatened made her stomach flip. She could feel the bile rising in her throat before swallowing it, “My God,” her eyes moved over his body to confirm he was not injured, “And Mae?”

“Dad had to take her outside for some fresh air. She fainted as soon as she saw Nick pull the gun on me… and if it wasn’t for Sean I would be seriously hurt right now, or possibly even dead.”

The thought of losing her only love nearly made her cry, and then reality passed through her veins, igniting them with a fire so powerful she believed not a single person could harm her or Gabriel… that was, if she had a say in it. Nick will pay for all of the trouble he’s caused. I’ll make sure of that, Kate clenched her fists while seething within. No more would she have to deal with that b*****d.

“Kate,” Gabriel’s voice caught her by surprise. She had been pulled into her own thoughts of vengeance that she had completely forgotten about her friends and family around her.

With a shake of her head, the impediments of her life diminished, “Huh?”

“Do you want to go home, baby? Tonight’s probably been ruined, anyway.”

“I guess. I’m ready to get out of these clothes and go to bed,” Kate’s mood had changed dramatically since she had arrived at the ball. All she wanted was to go home and hide from the rest of the world, but she knew that wasn’t going to happen any time soon. Gabriel would be right there comforting her for whatever reason. Her attitude at the moment was understandable considering what had gone down while she had been in the restroom.

“Alright, we’ll go. To tell you the truth, I really don’t feel like staying. Besides, it’s been a long day, and you look extremely tired,” almost instantly he remembered the tents set up by the mansion. “On second thought, we’d better stay in our tent. I promise everything will be fine. Just give it a chance.”

The night air had turned chilly when Gabriel led his wife through the camp, trying to find their tent in the dark with only starlight to guide them. Before too long they managed to find the pile of wood that was the campfire. While Kate disappeared inside the tent, Gabriel struck a match and tossed it onto the pile, setting it ablaze. The orange and yellow light of the flames cast a glow on the tent and surrounding areas, making the camp warm and inviting. From some other part of the cavalry camp the loud voices of men floated high above the white canvas rows and echoed into the, otherwise, silent night.

All the while Kate was changing inside the tent; Gabriel took to lounging back in one of the wooden chairs, staring thoughtlessly at the tongues of fire disintegrating into wisps of gray smoke. The light had a calming effect on his body after the fiasco at the ball. A sound off to his right made him turn his gaze, and he saw the silhouette of Sean striding over, his hands buried deep in the pockets of his overcoat. An expression of worry revealed the real reason for coming to see his friend.

“Hey, Gabriel,” Sean studied the empty chair beside his best friend. “Where’s Kate? She didn’t go over to see that creepy Schluter Mansion, did she?”

Gabriel chuckled smugly, “She wouldn’t be seen over there until Hell froze over and Satan called to tell her that his roses were covered in ice.”

The comment made Sean laugh before he pulled over a seat and sat next to Gabriel, “Listen, I know what happened back there was terrifying for all of us, but we don’t need to worry about him, any longer. And Kate will be safe,” the silence displayed between the two of them announced that it was time to change the subject. “Still no baby?”

A sigh escaped Gabriel’s lips, “No… I don’t think Kate is pregnant. She would have shown some signs by now if she was.”

“Hey, it’s only been two weeks. Give it time.”

“I guess you’re right, Sean. I need to be patient… but, God, it’s endless! When Susan found out she was pregnant it seemed like a few days, but this seems like an eternity. Maybe I didn’t do something right.”

Sean laughed and slapped his hand on Gabriel’s shoulder, “I highly doubt that, knowing you… but I’m sure Kate enjoyed it, nonetheless.”

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Gabriel started to blush bright red even in the darkness, “Can we talk about something other than mine and Kate’s love life?”

“Fine.”

Kate appeared a few minutes later, wrapped in a blue plaid fleece blanket with her hair down and blowing in the breeze. It looked as if she hadn’t bothered to remove her makeup or any of the powder. With a long sigh, she plopped down in the chair on the other side of Gabriel and then pulled out her cell phone to check her messages. After seeing that her inbox was empty, she quickly snapped the phone shut and tossed it back into the tent.

“Were you expecting a call?” Gabriel questioned with a small glance her direction.

“No, but you’d think my dad would have called me by now. He hasn’t even called me once since we left Washington,” she explained with her face in her hands. The scent of burning cypress wood caught her attention, making her raise her head. “Are you cooking anything?”

Her husband leaned over toward the fire and poked at the embers with a wrought iron rod, “Not at the moment. Why?”

That answer was all she needed before she pushed herself up from the chair and headed for the end of their camp, “I think I’ll go for a walk. Don’t worry about me,” and with that, Kate vanished into the darkness beyond the light of the fire.

Walking seemed to be the only way for Kate to clear her mind; she had gotten overloaded and needed to find a way to calm down and forget about everything. The laughter from another part of the camp became quieter as she tracked further away in the direction of the white mansion. The closer she got, the less ominous and unforgiving it appeared.

Hmm, I wonder just how scary it is? She thought as she stepped closer to the old house. For some reason she had a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach. With a swift turn behind her, she found herself staring directly at Max, who bore a wickedly sick smile, “Get away from me. I’m warning you!” Kate took up a defensive stance, preparing to use any form of protection she could think of. As he neared, her fist clenched until the knuckles turned white, and then, with one swift motion, she thrust it forward, breaking his nose. To finish the job, she brought up her knee and hit him square in the groin. “Now, don’t you ever, come near me or my family again, you…” she was cut off by a sound behind her, and turned around to see Gabriel and Sean running toward her.

The two stopped dead in their tracks when they saw Max on the ground, moaning in pain with his hands between his legs. Gabriel stared at the scene in front of him with disbelief, “Damn, girl! What did you do to him?!”

Kate swallowed a lump in her throat while still seething in disgust, “He angered me for the last time, and I guess I snapped. Oh well, at least I got my point across.”

Gabriel wrapped his arm around her shoulders, leading her away from the mansion, “Come on, I’ve made hot chocolate, and it looks like you could use some,” he leaned over and pressed his cheek against hers while breathing in her sweet lavender scent. It always had a calming effect every time he caught a slight whiff of it. “You look tired, honey. Do you just want to go to bed?”

She shook her head feebly, trying to hide a yawn, “No, I’ll try to stay awake, but I don’t know how long that will last,” another yawn caught her by surprise as they neared their camp, which had started to fill up with people returning from the ball. The smell of chocolate and marshmallows wafted through the air, awakening Kate’s senses. It smelled absolutely delicious as they neared the 1^st Texas Cavalry camp, but when she saw the black kettle sitting on a grate over the fire, steaming, she quickened her pace.

“There she is,” Mae stepped out of her tent with a relieved smile on her face. She had already changed out of her dress and was wearing her flannel nightgown with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. “Are you hungry? Gabriel made fish fry as well as hot chocolate.”

“A little, but I don’t know how much I can eat after being squeezed in that corset,” Kate chuckled, and then sat down in one of the chairs nearest the fire. She gratefully accepted a plate of the catfish when Gabriel passed it to her and took a large bite after realizing how hungry she was. While chewing, a sickening feeling grew in her stomach, and she immediately hopped up and ran for the nearest trash bin before throwing up violently, her body leaning halfway over the bin.

“Oh, that’s really nice, Kate. My cooking’s not that bad. Sure, Sean added some garlic powder to the breading, but it can’t be that terrible,” Gabriel called jokingly, but cringed when he heard the sound of her throwing up, again. “Are you all right?! It sounds like you’re trying to upchuck everything in your stomach!”

She returned to the group wiping her mouth on the sleeve of her nightgown and looking rather green in the face, “Why didn’t you warn me that was catfish? I hate catfish! That’s why I only eat cod,” she threw a nasty glare in Sean’s direction. “And your concoction of garlic and Worcestershire didn’t help, either.”

“That’s what that other ingredient was?!” Gabriel questioned incredulously. “No wonder the girl got sick! Gross!” He set the plate of half-eaten catfish on a stool and hugged Kate. “Sorry about the catfish. I didn’t know, but I’ll make note of it for next time… and I’ll be sure to hide the garlic and steak sauce from Sean.”

Over the next thirty minutes, Kate cuddled up against her husband, who had his feet propped up on one of the stools and was mindlessly braiding a section of Kate’s long hair while listening to some of the 1^st Texas members chattering away about the upcoming reenactment at Elk Creek.

“Hey, Gabriel.”

When his name was called he looked up from what he was doing to see everyone waiting on him to answer, “Huh?”

“Are you going to Elk Creek in September?” An older member named Jonathan asked.

“What?”

Sean intervened to help his obviously confused friend, and tugged on Gabriel’s ponytail, “He asked if you were going to Honey Springs, Gabe!”

“Oh. Yeah… Sorry, I’m not really paying attention at the moment,” he repositioned himself in the chair, pulling Kate onto his lap and wrapping her up in his arms in an effort to keep her warm. Before long, he felt her body go limp and motionless, and her breathing softened to that of a sleeping baby’s. Poor thing. She’s probably sound asleep, and I don’t pity her, he thought as he pulled the blanket around her delicate body to block out the chilly air; the type of weather they were experiencing was unusual for early May in Jefferson.

“Are you going to bed, sweetie? You need to get some sleep for tomorrow,” Mae rose from her chair and walked around to hug her son. “Aw, she must be tired. Shh… don’t wake her.”

Gabriel nestled his slumbering wife closer, resting her head on his broad chest, “No, we’ll just sleep here, tonight.”

“Are you sure? It might get pretty chilly.”

“We’ll be fine, Mom.”

As the night wore on, the two in the chair became more and more comfortable, not even thinking about the cool air nipping at their skin. Still, they remained motionless in the canvas-backed chair with the blanket tucked around them.

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