Free Thurston House by Danielle Steel Page A

over the hours he and Amelia had shared and it seemed almost like a dream, as he looked out over Atlanta. The Beauchamps were already forgotten. All he could think of was her.
    Good night, little love, he whispered as he went back inside, thinking of her words again' . Get married, Jeremiah ' have babies. But he wanted no babies now. He only wanted her. I love you, she had said to him ' I love you ' powerful words from a powerful woman' . His mind and his heart seemed full of her as he drifted off to sleep in the elegant canopied bed a short while later, feeling desperately lonely.
    JEREMIAH'S dealings with Orville Beauchamp's consortium were extremely successful, and within a week of his arrival in Atlanta, the deal had been made. Nine hundred flasks of quicksilver were to be sent to them for distribution, among them, for the manufacture of bullets and assorted minor war machines, and for mining throughout the South. Jeremiah had made slightly more than fifty thousand dollars on the deal. He was extremely satisfied with the terms, as was Orville Beauchamp, who took a commission off the top for making the deal. In fact, he had made several subdeals, involving the resale of his portion of the quicksilver. Unlike the others, it was not for use in factories of his own. He was more of a middleman and a wheeler-dealer, and he was interested in big money and quick deals. The deal complete, Beauchamp extended his hand to Jeremiah. I think we ought to celebrate tonight, my friend. From the moment the negotiations had begun, their socializing had ceased. Jeremiah had dined each night in his hotel, and the Beauchamps had not extended another invitation to dine, but now there was cause for celebration. The seven Southerners and their wives, as well as Jeremiah, were invited to dine at his home. Lizabeth will just be so almighty pleased, he insisted as he beamed. But Jeremiah couldn't imagine her being anything of the kind, particularly to have fifteen business people come to dine. But that was Orville's problem, not his, and he was tired after the long week and anxious to get home. He had been unable to get a satisfactory train connection for another three days, and he was trapped in Atlanta through the weekend with nothing whatsoever to do, and he was less than pleased about it. He wanted to get home as soon as he could.
    Once or twice he had toyed with the idea of going to Savannah for a couple of days while he waited, but he didn't want to embarrass Amelia. She was visiting her daughter and the sudden appearance of a strange man on the scene would have been difficult to explain. So he was faced with cooling his heels in Atlanta, and he just hoped he wouldn't have to see Orville Beauchamp much after tonight. It had definitely been a very long week, albeit a profitable one for him.
    The carriage picked him up once again at eight o'clock, and this evening he had been asked to wear formal dress. Apparently Beauchamp was going all out. Jeremiah had to admit when he got to their home that everything looked lovely. There were hundreds of candles ablaze in the chandeliers and sconces along the walls, huge bouquets of flowers everywhere, orchids and azaleas and jasmine and heavily scented blossoms that Jeremiah had never even seen before, which seemed to add a heady fragrance to the air as the candles danced and the guests arrived, covered in silks and satins and heavily bejeweled.
    You're looking very well tonight, Mrs. Beauchamp. But he knew instantly that it had been the wrong thing to say. Looking well was never an effect that Elizabeth Beauchamp strove to achieve. She seemed to enjoy her ill health and her pallor.
    Thank you, Mr. Thurston. She drawled over the words as her eyes wandered to the next guests arriving. Jeremiah stepped aside and began speaking to one of the men he'd been doing business with all week, and they were joined a few minutes later by Hubert, who was full of some tale of a horse he wanted to see in Tennessee.