“Never?” His brow arched.
She flushed.
“Almost never. Lieutenant, do you realiz~ how very rude you’re being?
You’ve disturbed my sleep, and now you haven’t the decency to leave me alone to dress.” His eyes fell upon her. Lingered over her. He was still smiling.
“Do excuse me then, Miss. Stuart. But count on this—for the next few days, I’ll disturb your sleep often.”
He tipped his hat to her and strode from the room. Tess pulled the covers close around her, then she smiled and sank low into the bed.
It was a busy day for Jamie. Jon Red Feather was going to be accompanying him, but other than that, they would travel alone. Since he didn’t know quite what he was going to come up against, he spent a fair amount of time determining what he wanted to pack on the supply horses and what he might bring in Tess Stuart’s wagon.
Dealing with Colonel Worthingham hadn’t been hard. Eliza had been behind the trouble, he had known that.
Worthingham might be blind about his daughter, but he was a good officer.
Not that Eliza wasn’t careful. She had been with Worthingham when Jamie went to see him. She had spoken of the danger, of how Jamie was needed at the post, and she had been so sweet no one might ever have suspected her of having an evil thought.
Worthingham had suggested that another man might do the job; Jamie had politely reminded him that he wasn’t officially in the cavalry anymore, and that had done the trick. He had three months now, three months on his own.
And Jon was his own man. He always had been. Jamie was glad Jon was coming along, even if he was being a thorn in Jamie’s side over Tess. As if the minx needed any champions. The girl did know how to fight her own battles.
He didn’t want to battle, he thought. He closed his eyes, then remembered the way she had looked that morning, half dressed and completely seductive, the outline of her delineated by the sunlight against the soft white cotton.
And she 83 had smiled and thrown herself into his arms. He remembered the taste and feel and texture of her and had known that he had to get out of the room before he took a running leap and fell upon her in the disarray of her gown and covers.
He was a fool. He should be steering as clear of her as he could.
Instead, he had given his word to take her to Wiltshire. And he kept his word.
There was just so much he wanted from her in return. And she was desperate enough to give it.
That wasn’t the way he wanted her, he told himself. But then he reflected that he wanted her in any way possible, and he wasn’t quite sure ethics entered into the question. And he had to stop thinking about her. He clenched his teeth and set to work.
It took most of the day to requisition the weapons and ammunition he wanted to take. It was dark by the time he was ready to return to his rooms. He wanted a good dinner and a long, hot bath before he started out on the trail.
His orderly would have arranged for his bath. When he opened the door to his office and saw that the lantern had been lit and a steaming hip bath set in the bedroom, he breathed a sigh of relief. He tossed his hat onto a chair, unbuckled his scabbard and holster and set his weapons on his desk. He pulled off his boots and left them where they fell.
By the time he reached the doorway to the bedroom, his shirt was unbuttoned and he was flinging it on the floor. He was anxious for the bath.
But then he paused in his trousers, his eyes narrowing. He wasn’t alone.
Eliza was in the bedroom. And Eliza had been in his bath. She was curled up on his bed, her dark hair damp and forming tiny ringlets to frame her face.
She wasn’t exactly naked, but her appearance would have been less decadent if she had been. She was wearing a lace corset he could almost see through, and which lifted her cleavage to bold new heights. She wore some kind of silk and lace pantalets, and nothing else.
“I came to say goodbye,” she told him huskily. “Eliza, you’re a fool,” he told her irritably.
“What the devil do you think you’re doing in my room?”
“Aren’t you glad to see me?”
“Frankly, no.”
She curled up on the bed, watching him like a cat.
“I’m not letting you go off with that little blond slut.”
“Eliza, take a look at yourself and think about what you’re saying.”
“I’m in love with you!” She stood and walked toward him, swaying, her lips parted and damp.
“I’m in love with you, Jamie, why do you think I’ve made love with you? Do you think a secret rendezvous is all right, but you’re afraid of me being here because of my father?”
She had reached him. She started to slip her ams around his neck, but he caught her hands.
“Eliza, I’m not afraid of your father. You should be. He’d send you back east in two seconds if he had the least idea about your trysts.”
“He’d make you marry me!”
“No one will ever make me marry anyone.”
“You owe me!” She pouted.
“Jamie, I’ve lain with you” — “Hm. And half of Companies C, D and E,” he agreed. She freed a hand, ready to slap him. He caught her hand, and for a moment they were very close. Then he saw her smile. Smile like a wanton, with tremendous pleasure. She was looking over his shoulder.
Tess was standing in the doorway. Chaste and beautiful with her golden ringlets piled atop her head, her pure white blouse buttoned to the throat, her full skirt navy and subdued, her only jewelry a brooch at her throat.
She stood there, very still.
“I was told by a young officer that you wanted to see me here, Lieutenant. I wouldn’t have been so careless as to en85 ter myself, but he pushed open the door, and so here I am, to my great embarrassment. Good evening, Miss. Worthingham.
Lieutenant, did you send for me?”
“I did not!”
“Then I must offer my apologies. Excuse me.” She turned.
“Wait a minute?” Jamie thundered.
Tess ignored him.
Eliza was laughing softly. He caught her and shook her hard.
“You did this!”
“Min. You’ll never get beneath her skirts now, Jamie!” Eliza said happily.
Jamie didn’t reply. He shoved her from him and walked away. He didn’t give a damn that he was barefoot or bare chested he was just glad he still had his trousers on. He didn’t know why it was so damned important that he catch Tess, he only knew that it was.
“Tess!”
She was walking away from him, ignoring him. He caught up with her and took hold of her shoulders, swinging her around.
“Tess!”
“What?” She wrenched herself from his hold. He circled her, determined to catch her if she moved.
“I called you! Why the hell didn’t you stop?” Tess looked at him, wishing she could be half as calm or serene as she was pretending.
She hadn’t suspected a thing. The young soldier had appeared at her door just minutes ago, and he had been very proper, and she had imagined his mission to be a true one. Lieutenant Slater ‘had requested her presence at his office.
She hadn’t even known that his office and his bedroom were connected.
And she had thought that the summons sounded just like Jamie. He would give her some other trivial order about the next morning. Don’t oversleep, don’t be late, don’t touch anything of mine that I set in your wagon.
And so she had come without a thought. Without a single thought.
She had never imagined what it would feel like to see him in another woman’s arms. It had been awful seeing the brunette worse than naked, draped all over him. Her hair curling over his naked flesh. Her breasts cast against him, his arms locked upon her, the fever between them. She inhaled and exhaled. She wondered if she had heard the words right between them. No one can make me marry anyone. That was what he had said to her. Wasn’t it?
They had been lovers. He had all but admitted it. And mayb
e they would be again. Maybe he would take Tess to Wiltshire, and he would come back. Maybe he shouldn’t go to Wiltshire. Because if he did, if they were together, they would become lovers. And maybe he would be just as cool to her. Maybe making love meant nothing at all to him, when the desire within her was something that had never happened before. It was special, unique, precious.
But then again, she couldn’t allow the brunette to win the game. Not this way. She didn’t deserve to win anything this way.
“Damn you, Tess, will you listen to me?”
“I don’t see what difference it makes, but go ahead.” He stared at her hard.
“That was a setup.”
She didn’t reply. He caught her shoulders again, pulling her against him.
“I’m telling you, it was a setup!”
She still didn’t reply, and he looked into his eyes and swore suddenly.
“Why the hell am I explaining this to you?
Think what you want, Miss. Stuart. To hell with you.” He left her standing in the street. She heard his angry stride as he started away.
“Lieutenant!” she called. She didn’t turn around until she sensed that he had stopped. Then she turned to meet his eyes.
“I’m very aware that what I just saw was a setup. I’m sorry for Miss. Worthingham, that she felt it necessary to put 87 on such a show. Perhaps you might want to provide her with a bit more tenderness or care.”
He swore and walked away.
Tess smiled and started to her room. But then her smile faded. It had been a setup, but she had sent him right back to the enemy’s arms.
When she went to bed that night she lay awake in torture, wondering what had happened next. She had advised him to offer tenderness.
Had he done so? Had he slept with the bewitching brunette in his arms, against his heart?
She tossed and turned in wretched anxiety and she very nearly overslept. If it wasn’t for the timely arrival of Dolly Simmons, she would have done so.
“Up, up, now, Tess, dear! This is the cavalry, you know! Things are done by the dawn here. Lieutenant Slater will want to be on his way!”
Dolly had brought coffee. She slipped a tin mug into Tess’s hands, then, chatting, picked up things in the room.
“What are you wearing, dear, this nice brown cotton? Perfect choice for a hot day on the trail. And just one petticoat-no corset, of course. You’ll be much more comfortable that way.
Come on, now, Lieutenant Siitter and Jon Red Feather are already out by the wagon.” Tess gulped down the coffee and was grateful When Dolly helped her slip into the brown traveling dress she had chosen. Then she frowned, realizing that Dolly was dressed for travel in a mauve suit with a huge, wide-brimmed hat on her head.
“Dolly?”
“I’m coming with you, my dear.”
‘ “You are?”
“Yes. You don’t mind, do you?”
“No, no, I don’t mind. It’s just that …” She paused. In the outpost, it had almost been possible to forget that yon Heusen offered death.
“Dolly, no one wants to believe me, but it could be very dangerous for you.”
“Miss. Stuart!” Dolly drew herself up and looked terribly dignified—and menacing. It would take a hearty soul to go to battle against Miss. Simmons.
“I have met danger all my life. I have lived in places that would make the ordinary woman’s skin crawl. I have fought Apache, Comanche, Shoshone, Cheyenne and Sioux. I think that I will hold my own wherever I may go.” She was quiet for a minute.
“And besides,” she added softly.
“I’ve really nothing left here. I’d like to come with you.. I’m a wicked good cook, and I can organize any type of household in a matter of hours.”
Tess smiled.
“Dolly, you’re welcome,” she assured her. She finished dressing quickly and stuffed the last of her belongings in a portmanteau. She and Dolly gave the room a last look, then they departed together.
She almost didn’t recognize Jamie when they came to the wagon.
Instead of a uniform he wore a blue denim work shirt and pants and his knee-high boots. His sandy hair fell over his eyes as he cinched the girth on his huge horse, then cast her a quick stare.
“It’s about time.”
“It’s barely dawn.”
He didn’t reply, but nodded Dolly’s way. He must have known that the older woman had determined on coming, because he didn’t say a word about her appearance. “Get up—I want to get started. Jon and I will take turns driving with you—there’s no reason for you to completely destroy your hands again. And for God’s sake, keep your gloves on.”
“I can manage” — He caught her arm as she was about to crawl up.
“And don’t tell me that anymore. I know you can manage. It’s ]nst that you can manage better if you listen to me. Got it?” She saluted, gritting her teeth.
“Got it, Lieutenant.”
She climbed up and took the reins and Dolly got up beside her. The mules were harnessed, Jon was mounted and two packhorses were tethered to the rear of the wagon. All was ready for their departure.
Colonel Worthingham walked up as they were about to leave.
“Goodbye, Miss. Stuart, good luck.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“Lieutenant, Red Feather, take care. Remember, we’re here if you need us.”
“Thank you, sir!” Jamie wasn’t in uniform, but he saluted smartly. The colonel stepped back.
“Jamie! Jamie, take care!” Eliza ran dramatically from the shadow of the command post. She raced to Jamie’s horse and clutched his hands where they lay casually over the reins.
“Eliza, thank you, I’ll be just fine,” he said harshly. “Eliza, come back, dadin’. Lieutenant Slater has ridden out again and again. You know he always makes it back.” The colonel set his hands on his daughter’s shoulders, drawing her back. Eliza didn’t even glance at Tess, but Tess felt the hostility that rose from her.
She wondered again about what had happened after Jamie had left her last night, and she was infuriated that it should bother her so much, that it should hurt and dig into the very center of her being.
Maybe he would turn around now. Eliza was stunning this morning, her hair ebony against a yellow dress, her eyes huge with anguish. Tess held her breath. Then she realized that Jamie had picked up his reins, that he was shouting to her, telling her they were going.
She called out to the mules. The wagon rumbled forward.
She didn’t look back. She followed Jamie and Jon Red Feather through the open gates of the compound, and she sighed with a soft sound of relief as she heard the gates closing behind her. They were really on their way. Jamie Slater was coming with her. Eliza hadn’t been able to convince him to stay.
About last night. She didn’t know. She just didn’t know. She needed a gun, she reminded herself. She needed a gunman.
It didn’t matter that she wanted the man. If rumor was right, he was one of the fastest guns in the west.
Maybe fortune was beginning to smile upon her just a little.
And maybe, just maybe, she was setting herself up for the heartbreak of a lifetime.
She couldn’t think, and she couldn’t worry. He was with her, and they were on their way, and for now, that just had to be enough.
Chapter Five
Jamie Slater didn’t seem to do anything by half measures. When he set out to move, he moved.
They pushed hard throughout the morning, either Jamie or Jon riding ahead to scout out the road, the other riding with Dolly and Tess. Jamie was true to his word—some- where around midmorning he called a halt, and Jon came up to take over the reins of the wagon. Dolly and Jon were comfortable together, old friends who knew one another well and respected what they knew. And both of them seemed genuinely fond of Tess, which was nice.
Dolly was full of stories. She didn’t chatter, but she kept Tess amused with tales of Texas in times before Tess had been born.
�
�Why, Will and I came out here long before Texas was a state. Before there was a Republic of Texas!
And long, long before the Alamo. Why, I remember some of those boys, and it was a privilege to know them.
Mountain men, they were good men. They were the stuff that Texans were made of. Will missed being at the Alamo by just a hairbreadth. He’d been sent out to deal with Cheyenne. By the time he came back, the boys were dead.
They say that Davey Crockett was killed there, but that ain’t true.
The Mexicans took him prisoner, and they tortured him to death, that was what the boys said. He was a fiery old cuss.
They never broke him. You can’t break a mountain man. You can kill him, but you can’t break him. Kind of like a Blackfoot, eh?”
“A Blackfoot—or an Englishwoman, eh, Dolly?” Jon agreed, grinning.
Dolly chuckled gleefully and agreed.
Tess found herself studying Jon’s handsome features. There was no denying that the man had Indian blood, proud blood. His cheekbones were wide and broad, his flesh was dark bronze.
And his hair, too, was Indian, black as ink and straight as an arrow. But his eyes were a deep, startling green.
He caught her studying him, and she blushed.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be rude.”
“It’s all right. You’re welcome to wonder about me. I’ll tell you, because I like you. My father was a Blackfoot chief.
My mother was the daughter of an English baronet.”
” A baronet?”
“Urn. Sir Roger Bennington. Actually, he’s a very decent old fellow.”
He smiled.
“What does that make you?”
Jori laughed softly.
“A half-breed Blackfoot. Sir Roger did not marry his daughter to an Indian.
She was kidnapped, but she discovered that she was in love with my father.
She stayed with the Blackfoot until my father was killed. Then she went back to England. She died there.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. They were both happy while they lived.” Tess hesitated.
“Did you go to England with her? Is that where you acquired your accent?”
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