and bright with blooms... the river pulsing through the very heart of a boundless wilderness... nature and man in perfect harmony.... This is what the Garden of Eden must have been like. I have reclaimed paradise. "
How could a man with such depth of feeling live in the emotional isolation that Jason had fashioned for himself?
She spotted a boat as it rounded the bend and steamed toward her, and her heart leaped into her throat. It was too far away to see any markings, but
Caroline was almost certain it couldn't be the mail boat. It had just left going south with Senhor Aveiro aboard five days ago.
How would Jason react when he learned that his trusted bookkeeper had resigned and returned to Portugal and that she had taken over his plantation books? Well, that was easy enough to predict. He'd be furious. He'd be angry enough to find that she hadn't left in his absence.
When Senhor Aveiro made the announcement that he would be returning to Portugal, Caroline had been thrust into a dilemma. She had to get word to Jason in Manaus, but how? Mr. Baur had informed her that with so many men away in Manaus, the plantation needed every hand just to keep running. She couldn't take even one away from his work to make the two month trip to Manaus and back.
The smartest solution seemed to be to have Senhor Aveiro find Jason in Manaus and give him the sad news. But a third option occurred to her almost immediately. She'd kept books for Derek. She knew about balance sheets and accounts payable and accounts receivable, debits and credits. Why not do the job herself? When Jason saw how useful she could be, that she could be a partner as well as a wife, maybe he would realize that he needed her. At the very least, her keeping the books would force him to deal with her. If she held the purse strings of the fazenda, he would not be able to ignore her as he had done in the past.
Was he still angry about the letters? Would he finally talk to her or would he push her away again?
The doubt and fear that tugged at her soul weren't enough to keep her from bounding out the door and racing to the pier. She arrived in time to see the first boat dock and the occupants disembark.
Most of the men who stepped onto the pier were familiar to her. She'd treated many of them for everything from minor scrapes to serious contusions. They appeared tired and travel-worn, but glad to be home. Many of them had families who greeted them joyfully. Tears flowed freely, and it was only then that Caroline was able to look past her own loneliness and realize that not only had Jason kept himself away from her far longer than necessary, he had also forced his men to stay away from their loving families. Everyone had suffered because of Jason's stubborn pride.
As man after man left the boat, Caroline realized that Jason was not aboard and her attention turned to the second boat which arrived a few minutes after the first.
Again men disembarked one after the other and were greeted by elated family members. Ignacio stepped ashore, and his wife and son embraced him immediately. His expression when he pulled away from them and spotted her made her breath catch. She glanced up the river for the last boat, only to find the river empty.
Her pleading gaze followed Ignacio as he walked wearily toward her, his hat in his hand, his head bowed.
"I am sorry, Senhora," he said as he came to stand before her, his eyes reflecting some of the pain in her heart. "He would not come."
"Where is he?" she asked, struggling to keep her voice from shaking.
"We left him in Manaus," Ignacio told her.
"But what...?" A faintness washed over her; her body swayed slightly, trembling with dread that he might never come back as long as she remained here. "Why? When?"
"He will come home," Ignacio assured her as if reading her thoughts. "He cannot bear the city. He will grow weary of it and return soon."
Caroline lifted her chin high, her lower lip trembling with the tears that threatened to humiliate her. There was nothing left to say. A persistent pain burned inside her soul, but she beat it down, substituting anger for the hurt that she could not, would not allow to devour her. She walked slowly back