Midnight Masquerade

by Shirlee Busbee

  Josh shot Dominic a nervous glance. "Er, we don't need to go into that right now, m'dear," he said sheepishly. "Just wanted to tell you the good news and to invite you both to the party we are having the evening after next. Want to share our good news with the neighborhood."

  Melissa bit back a giggle, thinking privately that Josh was as transparent as just-washed windows. He might say he wanted to share the good news, which he did, but he also wanted to crow a little and to make certain that everyone knew that Josh Manchester was once more plump in the pocket, make no mistake about that.

  "Sally and I thought we'd put on a dinner and then the gentlemen could play cards while you ladies discuss everyone who isn't at the house." Josh said mischievously. "Will you both be there?"

  Dominic draped a possessive arm about his wife's shoulders. "Certainly," he said, grateful for his own reasons that Josh's ships had not managed to slip through the blockade any earlier. Who knew, if Josh hadn't felt so desperate for funds, he might not have been so quick to see Melissa married. Reaching out, Dominic shook Josh's hand enthusiastically. "Splendid news, sir! I am very happy for you."

  Taken aback by Dominic's enthusiasm, Josh said, "Well, yes, it is. Must be off now. Have to see several more people this afternoon."

  Josh had just started to walk away when Melissa decided to take advantage of his unexpected visit. She had been longing to speak to him about the things he had once said about Dominic, and in view of the past few weeks, especially in view of what had transpired last night, she did not want to waste this opportunity. "Uncle, wait!" she cried. "I wish to speak with you a moment."

  Throwing Dominic an uncertain glance, she asked, "Do you mind? I shall not be long, but I need to talk privately with my uncle."

  Dominic did mind, but since their intimate mood had been shattered and it seemed unlikely that they would be able to rekindle it immediately, he nodded. "Of course. I shall see you at the house in a few moments."

  When Josh and Melissa were alone in the small clearing, Josh eyed his niece with some misgivings. Surely she wasn't going to berate him for having arranged things so he could get his hands on Sally's share of the trust. He couldn't have known that the two ships would make port, could he?

  Testily, he muttered, "Now, Lissa, if it's about that damned trust, I don't want to hear it. I did what I thought was best and things worked out, didn't they?"

  "It isn't about the trust," she said with a smile. "It's about Dominic."

  "Eh?" he grumbled. "What about him? Think he's a fine man. A good man. As a matter of fact, he's a much better man than any of those other fellows I tried to push your way."

  "Then why," she asked levelly, "did you tell me all those awful things about him?"

  Having long forgotten his original plan, Josh was outraged. "Awful things!" he repeated with angry incredulity. "I never said one disparaging word about him! Why, from the moment I first clapped eyes on him, I thought..." What he had thought and what he had done during those first early weeks burst across his brain, and a guilty expression filled his face. "Ah... well... you see..." he began helplessly.

  Hands on her hips, one foot tapping, Melissa demanded, "Are you telling me that you don't remember warning me against him? You don't remember warning me that he was fond of a certain type of woman and that he was a gambler?" Josh's expression of guilt increased and Melissa was hard pressed not to laugh. The wretched dear had tried to make her think ill of Dominic. Hoping what was forbidden would prove attractive? Struggling to maintain her angry posture, Melissa narrowed her eyes. "I seem to remember you telling me that he wasn't the type of man you wanted me to marry."

  Running a nervous finger around the inside of his cravat, Josh mumbled, "Well, um... I just thought... that since you hadn't seemed to like any proper suitors... that maybe... if I made Dominic appear, um..."

  Josh had lied to her! Melissa thought blissfully. Dominic was none of the things he had implied. Controlling a strong desire to rain kisses over her uncle's discomforted features, Melissa still couldn't help teasing him. "You lied to me!" she exclaimed in horrified tones. "All these months I have been thinking that I have been married to a womanizer and a gambler!"

  "Oh, Lissa, no!" Josh expostulated feebly, upset at this news. "I never meant for you to think such a thing. I only meant to arouse your interest in him."

  Melissa dropped her head to hide her laughter-filled eyes. "Uncle!" she moaned. "How could you mislead me this way. I trusted you! Your lies have ruined my marriage."

  Utterly dismayed by these dramatic revelations, Josh said, "Oh, my dear child! It was never my intention to cause you one moment's distress. I shall speak to your husband immediately and explain matters to him." Suddenly aware that the gentleman in question might not take too kindly to his slanderous statements, Josh added dismally, "No doubt he will call me out when he learns the truth."

  Josh glanced uncertainly at Melissa, racking his brain to think of some further words of comfort to offer her, but something about the way she was hiding her face from him, something about the way she was holding her hand over her mouth... Suspicion sharpening his gaze, he reached over and jerked her hand away from her mouth.

  "Lissa, you little minx!" he declared half angrily, half laughingly when he saw the merry features lifted up to his. "You have been playing a May game with me!"

  Smiling warmly at him, his unrepentant niece freely admitted it. "It's true. But I think you will agree that you deserved such a trick after what you did to me."

  Josh nodded. "I should not have meddled as I did, but," he continued, "you must admit that it all worked out for the best."

  Melissa's smile became soft and tender. "Perhaps," she said dreamily. "Perhaps it has after all."

  After waving her uncle a fond good-bye, Melissa walked slowly toward the house, a sensation of delightful exhilaration building within her with each step she took. Dominic had not said that he loved her, but his actions were certainly those of a man in love. Why else would he have sought out Latimer and not only recovered what Latimer had received from her but added a tidy profit to it as well? She looked at the bankbook clutched in her hand. He was her husband, there had been no need for him to set up the money in a private account for her, but he had done so. Surely that indicated something more than just simple generosity. Oh, dear God, please don't let me be wrong.

  She had been insulted when she had learned that he had assumed she had married him for his money, but looking back over the events that had led to their marriage, she admitted fairly that her actions had appeared in a less-than-complimentary light. He had known hardly anything at all about her, and considering the circumstances, it would have been strange if he hadn't thought her a mercenary piece of goods, she finally concluded. A warm glow entered the topaz eyes. Even believing that she was a greedy schemer, he had treated her honorably and been generous to a flattering degree. Thinking of all the gifts he had lavished on her—the cottage itself, the beautiful clothes and costly feminine fripperies that cluttered her wardrobe and dressing table—Melissa was ashamed of the capricious way she had treated him on more occasions than she cared to think about.

  As she walked up the steps to the house, a troubling thought occurred to her, causing the light to fade from her eyes. Even though he now knew that she had not trapped him, that it was by accident she had been in his room that night and that Uncle Josh had compelled her to marry him, Dominic had still been forced into a marriage he hadn't wanted—he had told her so himself. A small chill slid down her spine. Perhaps he was just a noble man who was determined to make the best of a bad situation?

  That first heady rush of elation was ebbing, and with doubt creeping into her happy thoughts, Melissa entered the house and went in search of her husband. She found him in the salon, flicking through the pages of a newspaper.

  They had been poised on the brink of a precious moment when Josh had interrupted them, and although there was no impediment to their taking up where they had left off, it was diffic
ult to instantly recapture the mood that had prevailed such a short time ago. For no rational reason, there suddenly existed an odd constraint between them, each one eager to continue that most interesting conversation, but neither one quite certain how to begin.

  When Melissa hesitated in the doorway, Dominic smiled at her as he got up and went to her. "Your uncle gone?"

  "Yes. He said to tell you good-bye," she replied. Unconsciously her fingers tightened around the bankbook, and flushing , she crossed the room to stand in front of Dominic.

  "I want to thank you for what you did... and apologize for misjudging your motives," she said earnestly.

  Mutely they stared at each other, the sweetness and promise of their earlier meeting suddenly swirling around them.

  His dark face intent, Dominic fastened his hands around Melissa's shoulders and pulled her gently to him. "It isn't your gratitude or apology that I want," he murmured.

  Breathlessly, a quiver of hope surging through her, Melissa swayed closer to him. In a voice barely above a whisper, her soft mouth just tempting inches from his, she asked, "If not my gratitude or my apology, what do you want from me?"

  Absorbed in each other, they did not hear the sound of footsteps crossing the gallery, but the thunderous knocking on the front door made Melissa jump and Dominic curse beneath his breath.

  A menacing expression in the gray eyes, he gently put Melissa from him and snarled, "If that is your blasted uncle again, I vow I shall..."

  Striding out into the entry hall, he reached the door and flung it open. His unwelcoming countenance did not change in the least when he discovered Royce on the other side of the door. "What the blazes do you want? I'm beginning to think that you damned Manchester are deliberately trying to keep me from finding any marital harmony at all!"

  "Come at an awkward time, did I?" Royce asked with interest, apparently not the least perturbed by either Dominic's black expression or his unfriendly greeting. Ignoring his host's decidedly unwelcoming air, Royce smiled and said, "It is not me you should vent your spleen on, but your brother's friend Jason Savage—he is the reason I am here."

  "Jason?" Dominic repeated darkly. "When did you hear from him?"

  "If you will invite me in," Royce said sweetly, "I shall be most happy to tell you."

  Ungraciously Dominic did so, wondering viciously why he had ever envied Morgan his friendship with Jason, or why he had ever thought that it would be exciting to be involved in some of the adventures he had heard Morgan and Jason discuss over the years. Right now, if he never heard Jason's name again it would be far too soon.

  Knowing that Royce would not have come to see him if the matter were not important and having the uneasy premonition that it would be some time before he would be able to renew the tantalizing mood with Melissa, Dominic resigned himself to the present. Stopping at the doorway of the salon, he stuck his head inside and said to Melissa, "Royce has arrived and wishes to speak with me. I have no idea how long I shall be with him."

  Melissa nodded, having recognized her cousin's voice. Walking up to Dominic, her eyes glowing with promise, she smiled at him and, her hand gently stroking his cheek, she murmured, "Go with him. We'll have time to talk later tonight... when we're alone."

  At the implication in both her look and her voice, Dominic was struck by an overpowering wave of love for her, and heedless of Royce's presence behind him, his eyes dark with emotion, he jerked her to him and crushed her lips to his. Lifting his mouth from hers, he muttered, "Believe, madam, I shall be waiting most impatiently for us to finally be alone with each other."

  Leaving Melissa standing there with a dazzled expression on her lovely face, he spun on his heels and disappeared with Royce. Fingers on the lips Dominic had kissed, she stared at the empty doorway, willing him to reappear, willing him to continue kissing her in that same deliciously ferocious manner. Thinking of the sweet promise of the night to come, she felt a flutter of anticipation stir throughout her entire body. Wrapped in a rosy haze, she floated from the salon and up the stairs to her room.

  There was no rosy haze to cloud Dominic's thoughts as he showed Royce into the tiny study at the rear of the house. Slinging himself into one of the three chairs the room contained, he snapped, "Now what brought you here in such a hurry? I would have thought that after our late night last night you would have decided on a better way to spend your afternoon than badgering me."

  "But you know how much pleasure it gives me to annoy you," Royce returned. "And, of course, we both know that I have nothing else to do with my time than to think up ways in which to irritate my friends."

  A reluctant laugh was dragged from Dominic. "Oh, have done and tell me what Jason wants now."

  Extracting an envelope from his coat pocket, Royce handed it to him, saying, "I believe I know what your letter from Jason contains. In addition to yours, there was one waiting for me when I returned home from town this afternoon. I suspect that your letter will reveal the same information as mine." It did. The letter was brief, but the news substantial.

  Dominic,

  A spy for the British, a fellow named Anthony Davis, has been captured here in New Orleans. He was reluctant to talk at first, but after a while with some persuasive gentlemen I know, he was induced to do so. Roxbury, he told us, had sent him here and he was to meet with Julius Latimer on the fifth of December. Apparently, during his travels Latimer has been preparing a list of various men who would be inclined to deal with our spy. I want those names. But you must obtain them without alerting Latimer. Do nothing about him yourself—we will be waiting for him when he arrives in New Orleans. In the meantime, find that list and copy it. Either you or Royce bring the copy to me in New Orleans, as soon as possible.

  It would seem that you were right—Latimer is not our spy. His task for Roxbury was merely to observe and to select those men he judged the most likely to turn traitor. Armed with the list of names, our spy would do the rest.

  In light of what we have discovered, once you have your hands on Latimer's list, you may cease your agreeableness to the fair Deborah—which I am certain will delight you.

  I have sent this letter to Royce's address, as I was not certain if you would still be domiciled in Baton Rouge or if you had left for Thousand Oaks. I have written Royce a letter that duplicates this one almost exactly. I hope that you and he will be able to strike quickly and that you have no difficulty in finding that most important list of names.

  My best to you and your bride,

  Jason

  Dominic handed the letter back to Royce, and Royce scanned the contents. "Hmm, there is nothing in this that is any different from mine," Royce said when he was done reading.

  Dominic remained silent for a long moment; then, running his hand tiredly over his face, he said, "I suppose the first place to search for that list would be among Latimer's personal possessions. I can't say that I relish going through his things, but for my own sanity and to comply with Jason's request, the sooner we do it the better."

  "I agree," Royce said as he settled his long length in a chair across from Dominic. "From my regrettably close association with him, I happen to know that Latimer and his sister are to dine this evening with the Richardsons out at Rose Mount. It should be quite late before they return home. Richardson is an avid gambler but an unlucky one, and after last night, I'm sure that Latimer will be trying to recoup some of his losses."

  Dominic threw back his head and stared gloomily at the ceiling, his visions of recapturing those enthralling moments with his wife vanishing. Ruefully he murmured, "It would have to be tonight." Not yet willing to relinquish all hope, he glanced across at Royce. "I don't suppose that we could do it tomorrow evening. A day or two shouldn't make that much difference."

  "What if we don't find it tonight? It's conceivable that it may take us several days to discover where he has hidden it. Besides," Royce added in a reasonable tone, "he may have plans to remain at home tomorrow night, and Friday night is my father's little celebration
, which we both must attend. If we strike tonight and luck is with us, I will be able to leave for New Orleans on Saturday morning."

  Sending him a sardonic look, Dominic drawled, "You're not planning on having me deliver the list to Jason?"

  "Oh, no!" Royce replied angelically. "You are newly married and your time is far too valuable to be taken up with having to traipse down the river to that wicked city."

  "Hungering for a little excitement and some new vices, are we?" Dominic asked with a grin.

  The two men began to seriously consider the task that lay ahead of them. Since it was already gone six o'clock, Dominic invited Royce to stay and dine. The meal that followed was not unpleasant, Melissa fulfilling her duties as hostess, Dominic being the friendly host and Royce acting the part of the polite guest, but it cannot be said that it was the most enjoyable repast that the three had ever shared—especially since two of the trio were violently wishing the third member in perdition.

  Leaving the gentlemen to their port and cigars when the meal was over, Melissa wandered into the salon, her warm, rosy thoughts dwelling on the evening which was surely to follow Royce's departure. It was only when the gentlemen, having hastily finished their liquor, joined her that she received the unwelcome news that Dominic would be going out... again. Looking at her husband with bewildered disbelief, she repeated stiltedly, "Leaving? You're going out with Royce this evening? But I thought that..."

  Royce glanced from one unhappy face to the other, and plumbing the situation, said instantly, "I believe that I shall step outside and enjoy a cheroot. Join me when you are ready to leave, Dominic."