"Remember, Amanda Virginia, don't toss yore head an' put up yore chin in dat willful way when somebody say somethin' yo' disagrees wid." Without taking a breath she turned to the elder girl, "An Jennifer Joy, don't yo' dast to wear nothin' but mourning colors, elsewise folks gonna talk somethin' scandalous!"
Nicholas gave last minute instructions to Samuel, then climbed into the coach and deliberately sat down beside Jennifer. She had to gather up her traveling dress that was spread across the velvet coach seat to accommodate him.
Nick's glance roamed with pleasure over his wife, who felt shy under his admiring glances. She looked out the window pretending an interest in the passing scene, yet she could feel his eyes upon her all the while, and it made her breathless as if a hundred butterfly wings fluttered beneath her breasts.
"I declare there is nothing so fatiguing as travel, and no matter what, you always arrive hot and rumpled," Jennifer declared. Amanda murmured a reply, and Jennifer chatted on, yet her younger sister could not have repeated one word of her conversation. Nicholas silently overwhelmed her with his presence and whenever she dared to steal a glimpse of him, he was caressing her with his eyes.
Now he fastened them on her mouth and, try as she might, all she could think of was the taste and feel of his lips on hers. His glance traveled to her breasts, so prettily displayed in the demure gray traveling dress, then he raised his eyes to hers and enjoyed her blush.
Then he had the audacity to wink at her, and she felt the corners of her mouth go up, and he knew the elusive dimples would appear.
Nicholas was filled with some kind of mischievous devilry today and he flirted outrageously with her under her sister's very nose, without Jenny being the least aware of what was going on.
After about an hour, when Jennifer lapsed into a cat nap, Nicholas stretched out his long legs, slid down slightly against the squabs, his hat tipped down over his eyes.
Gradually, Amanda relaxed and breathed easier. After a little while she got up enough courage to observe her husband. How handsome he is when he's dressed up. That navy blue coat shows off his shoulders that are surely wider than any man's I've ever seen. The pleated shirt with its snowy stock contrasted sharply with his deeply tanned skin and crisp black hair curling against his neck. His elegant boots shone so you could see your face in them, and above the boots, his thighs encased in cream-colored breeches were hard as whipcord with saddle muscles.
Her eyes lifted from the swell in the skintight breeches, and she was appalled to see that he was not asleep after all, but had been watching her appraisal from beneath the brim of his hat. He removed the hat and grinned wickedly.
A small "Oh" escaped her, and Jennifer opened her eyes and yawned prettily.
"How much further do you reckon?"
"We'll stop at the River Inn for lunch, that will break up the journey. It's still a couple of hours to Charleston."
After the lunch stop, the girls climbed back into the carriage and took the same seats they had occupied before. This time, however, Nicholas chose to sit next to Amanda instead of facing her.
She was relieved that his eyes would not be boldly teasing her for the rest of the journey, however she soon realized that he could make his presence felt in a way that could not be ignored. She tried to ease away from his large form, but to her dismay found herself anchored firmly close as he was sitting on the folds of her dress. She glanced up at him and his lips twitched in amusement at her plight.
Their bodies were so close she could feel the heat of him clean through the fine material of her gown. The coach jostled them together as it careened down the river road on its journey to Charleston. His arm brushed against the swell of her breast, but when she raised pleading eyes to his, he pressed himself even closer. His long thigh, hard and well-muscled, lay against hers and when he flexed that muscle, it sent a sensation through the flesh of her own soft thigh.
He was enjoying himself and there was nothing she could do without alerting Jennifer. When she relaxed a little and he knew she had accepted his attentions, he slipped her small hand into his, undercover of her voluminous skirt. His thumb stroked her wrist and felt the wildly beating pulse, and he knew without a doubt how much her heart was involved.
"Would you mind dropping me off at my friend, Sue Ann Winwood's house? She lives at the northernmost part of town and Lord knows if I'll get up here again once I get to Aunt Virginia's. You can tell her I'll get Sue Ann's coachman to drive me to the Battery in a couple of hours.
"I'll tell Jason, if you'll give me the address." Nicholas for once did not object to Jennifer's plans.
"It's the third, no I believe the fourth house on Rutledge Avenue, if you'd be so kind. Mandy, if Aunt Virginia makes any kind of fuss, tell her I'll be there in time for supper."
When the smart equipage drew up in front of the large house on Rutledge, Nicholas jumped out and handed Jennifer from the coach. She told Jason to take her baggage along to Aunt Virginia's, and Nicholas escorted her up to the door to make sure the young woman she wanted to visit was at home, then he returned to the carriage with all speed.
He did not take the empty seat, but threw his weight down beside Amanda and said huskily, "Alone at last. My God madam, the world conspires against us so we are never private." He scooped her up and sat her firmly on his knee before she could voice any protest, then his arms slipped about her and his head bent to steal a kiss.
As she gasped and turned her face from him, he leisurely enjoyed the soft blush on her creamy cheek. His closeness prevented her from breathing, and she feared that observers from the busy streets would see the carryings-on inside the coach. "Nicholas you mustn't," she whispered desperately. "People will see."
"You are my wife, Amanda. I don't really gave a damn if the world sees."
The dark, gold-tipped lashes self-consciously fluttered to her cheeks.
His hand came up to cup her chin and its firm pressure slowly turned her face to his.
When his lips captured hers in a thrilling kiss, it ignited a tiny spark of desire to be his. She reached up to caress his neck where the crisp hair curled darkly, and he pressed her back until she was lying on the seat.
As his weight came down to hold her captive, she realized what was happening and pressed both hands against his broad chest.
"My darling love, how you've enjoyed teasing me this long journey, now when I have the opportunity to make a little love to you, you would deny me and say me nay," he teased. His lips came down on hers in a searing, crushing kiss, demanding that she say yea.
She gave herself up to the pleasure of his arms and without hesitation he reached up her skirts, allowing his hand to caress the bare flesh of her upper thigh that stretched above her stocking. She struggled, but it was in vain. She begged him to stop, but he laughed at her.
With a deft movement, he pulled down her stocking and slipped it from her leg.
In desperation she realized the big carriage had drawn up before Aunt Virginia's house.
Nicholas kissed the filmy stocking and tucked it into his breast pocket. "You wouldn't deny me a keepsake, would you?" he whispered.
Amanda was scandalized. "I can't go in wearing only one stocking."
"Of course you can. No one will see, and every step you take will remind you of me."
The corners of her mouth went up at his outrageous behavior. He is a bold man to undress me in a carriage.
Nicholas did not simply drop her off on Virginia's doorstep, but suffered politely through afternoon tea, while the baggage was unloaded from the carriage and taken upstairs.
All the while Amanda sipped her tea and listened to her husband exchange pleasantries with her aunt and her daughters, she was acutely aware of her bared leg beneath her gown. Her blush would not subside and whenever she glanced at him, he gave her a knowing wink.
As he rose to leave he said, "Remember if you should need to get a message to me, I'll be at the Planters Inn."
Amanda spent the rest of the day
dreamy-eyed, while her cousins pumped her for details of her devastatingly handsome husband.
No entertainments were planned for their first evening in Charleston, as it was rightly assumed they would need to rest from the rigors of the journey. The following day however was given up to the pleasure of shopping, so while Aunt Virginia planned the details of the party she was giving that evening, her daughters escorted Jennifer and Amanda on a tour of some of the delightful shops.
Amanda bought with Nicholas in mind. She wanted dresses that would not only flatter her tawny coloring, but would also please a man's eye. She bought a pretty creation with a low, square neckline and the barest hint of a sleeve. The color was delightful. Above the waist it was butter-cream, then the skirt deepened into a golden yellow. The other was a ball gown. It was the subtlest shade of peach with the bustline petal-shaped to cup and flatter the breasts; a most eye-catching detail of design.
She bought slippers and underpinnings to match, and then the party moved along to Church Street to a very fashionable milliner's shop that sold the prettiest bonnets in town. The girls sat in front of mirrors trying on one chapeau after another. Amanda had seen one in the window that was very elegant. She moved toward the display, and there in the street was her husband.
"Nicholas just went past the shop, I wonder if he's looking for us?" she remarked to Jennifer. She darted out the door just in time to see him turn the corner onto Tradd Street. When she reached the corner, he was entering the third house from the corner.
She called, "Nicholas!" but he did not hear her, and she felt rather self-conscious shouting down the street. She quickened her steps, wondering whose house it was, as she climbed the brick steps and tapped timidly on the door.
A young black woman opened it and held it wide. There stood Nicholas in the entrance way with a child in his arms. The beautiful little girl between two and three years old was laughing excitedly.
Amanda stepped forward with a puzzled look on her face, then as the light from the open doorway fell upon the man and child, Amanda saw that the little girl had aqua-colored eyes, the same unusual shade as her husband.
For one unreal moment the world swung upside down for Amanda. She backed away from him, then turned and ran blindly back toward the shop or anywhere that would get her away from him.
Nicholas, alarmed, quickly handed the child back to Solange and strode after his wife.
The moment Amanda entered the milliner's shop, the walls swam together and the floor came up to hit her in the face.
Nicholas had her in his arms instantly. He said shortly to Jennifer, "She's unwell, I'm taking her back to the Planters Inn."
He strode out into the street and hailed a carriage to carry them the short distance.
When Amanda opened her eyes, the pain in them was hard for Nicholas to bear. They burned with accusation, and her face had gone so deathly pale, he feared for her.
He did not carry her, but he assisted her upstairs to his room. He could feel her small back was rigid and unyielding to his arm that tried to give her support. Quickly, he poured a small amount of brandy into a glass and held it to her lips.
With one sweeping gesture Amanda knocked the glass away and it shattered into a thousand shards. She flew at him, and with clenched fists that hammered into his chest, cried, "Damn you, damn you, damn you!"
He caught her hands firmly and said sharply, "Amanda, stop it. It happened before I ever met you."
"My God," she cried aghast, "you don't even attempt to deny it!"
"That would be rather gutless of me."
"I thought you were different, but you're the same as all the other men. Exactly the same! You have the morals of a libertine." She struggled fiercely until he freed her. "You were a hero to me. I've worshipped you for over four years,since I was thirteen, and this is how you repay me."
He tried to take hold of her arms in an effort to calm her.
"Don't touch me!" she cried passionately, her fury growing along with the volume of her voice.
"Keep your voice down, Amanda, you're becoming hysterical," he ordered.
"I have every right to be hysterical, and I shall not keep my voice down. I want everyone to know you've betrayed me with a black woman, and that you have a yard child."
"Don't you dare to call Nicole a yard child," he shouted, his anger rising rapidly.
"Nicole? Nicole by God! The name that should have been reserved for our child. How could you?" She dashed the tears from her eyes with angry fists, and Nicholas decided that enough was enough.
He lifted her feet off the floor and sat her upon the high bed that stood in the center of the room. "You will be silent while I explain the situation to you. I seldom explain myself Amanda, but for you I will make an exception, this once."
She set her chin at a very aggressive angle and glared at him.
"I bought the female slave Solange and freed her the same day. She came to my bed one time only, and much to my shame I got her with child. I do not love Solange, I have never loved Solange, but I do love my child. I have accepted the unfortunate situation, and you will have to do the same."
She jumped down from the bed. "Are you finished, sir?" she demanded, showing that her anger had not lessened by one jot. "When I married you, in name only," she emphasized sarcastically, "you assured me that if I was not happy, and changed my mind, I could get the marriage... annulled... I believe the word was. I shall write to my father and tell him I wish the marriage dissolved."
I have no choice now. I will have to consummate the marriage so that an annulment will be impossible. The intensity of her anger showed him clearly how deeply she felt for him, and he was elated that she loved him and could not conceal it from him.
He decided his best course of action would be to divert her. If he gave her something else to worry about, her temper would cool over the other matter. He took off his coat and turned down the bed.
She eyed him with suspicion. "What are you doing?"
"My dear, you fainted on the street. The only place for you is in bed. You need to be coddled. I'll send down for some chamomile tea. Come, let me undo your gown."
"I'm perfectly well. I just had a shock... a shock I might add that will last the rest of my life!"
He removed his cravat and began to unbutton his shirt, then in his most persuasive voice invited, "Come, I'll lie down with you."
She put the width of the bed between them and warned, "Stay away from me, Nicholas Peacock."
He shrugged. "You may as well get used to it-- we will be sharing the bed tonight."
"Are you mad?" she cried, "I shall go back to Aunt Virginia's of course."
"Not, of course, Mandy. Only if I choose to let you." He was around the bed in a flash and she was enveloped in his arms. He took her down to the bed with him, half rolled her onto her back and commenced to kiss her thoroughly and deeply. She fought him, but his strength pitted against her prevented her from freeing her body in any way. While he had her under his control he caressed and stroked her breasts until her nipples stood out like hard little spears.
"Please, Nicholas, don't."
"Ah, so it's 'please Nicholas' now, is it?" He looked deeply into her eyes and saw that in spite of her protests, her eyes were dilated because her body was receiving pleasure. "If I only wanted you physically, I could have taken you any night in the garden, but I want more than that Amanda."
Her lashes swept down and she refused to look at him.
"You know, don't you, that if I choose, you will have to join me in this bed?"
She raised pleading eyes to his and nodded.
He lifted his weight from her and pulled her to her feet. "I'll leave you to freshen up, then I'll take you back to Virginia's," he said, not unkindly.
Charleston, in the grip of election fever, already reeling from social surfeit, was almost felled with the stunning news of Lincoln's victory.
Amanda bade Jennifer and her Aunt Virginia a reluctant goodbye after her two week's stay
The drive home to Paradise Plantation was a sombre one, with Nicholas much preoccupied, yet he was well aware of Amanda's coolness toward him. The quality of her silence told him she would have none of him.
The heat still held, then turned so sultry and oppressive with low, bruise-colored clouds, that even the animals became restless and bad-tempered.
Nicholas stayed in the garden until after midnight thinking Amanda must come outdoors for a breath of air, but when she did not come, he reluctantly sought his room. He put off retiring as long as he could. The last thing he wanted tonight was another dream.
Amanda had known for two days a storm was coming. It took so long to build, she knew it would be a bad one, and she dreaded it with all her heart. By the time bedtime arrived, her nerve endings were tingling with the old anticipated fear to the point where she was ready to scream. She lay rigid in the bed, waiting, waiting. Then the first streak of lightning flashed across the sky and with a cry she flew to the window and tightly closed her jalousies. The thunder rumbled in the distance, and her limbs began to tremble uncontrollably as she heard the next rumble come unmistakably closer.
Nicholas had just drifted off to sleep when the first crash came. He sat up and murmured under his breath, "Mandy!" He knew how very real her fear was. He covered his nakedness with a robe and moved quickly out of his wing and along to his wife's room.
Her bed was empty and she was nowhere to be seen. On impulse he took up the hurricane lamp and opened her closet door. He saw Amanda huddled on the floor with her arms wrapped protectively over her head.
"My love, don't be afraid," he soothed gently. He quickly set down the lamp and reached to lift Amanda from the darkened niche. She clung to him desperately, and his name came out on a half-whisper, half-sob. "Nicholas."
Master Of Paradise Page 24
