Midnight Masqerade

by Shirlee Busbee

  "Ah, well," Josh floundered, not about to reveal his fond hopes of seeing Melissa make an excellent match with Dominic. And still not willing to give up entirely on his original scheme-especially since the worst moment seemed to be behind him-he said craftily, "The animal might be purchased if my niece could be convinced that you will be a responsible owner and will not mistreat the horse."

  "I only want to buy Folly, not marry him!" Dominic retorted acidly, his temper flaring. But Josh's statement was encouraging, and, reluctant to abandon his plans with out at least seeing the horse, he finally said, "If what you say is true, with your permission I shall ride over to Willowglen and meet with your niece myself. Since she appears to be overly fond of the horse, perhaps I can convince her that I mean the animal only good will!"

  Josh beamed at him, greatly relieved to have the unpleasantness disposed of so easily. "Excellent!" he said happily. "And of course you have my permission! Why, you are already like one of the family!"

  Dominic cocked a derisive eyebrow at him, his suspicions fully aroused. Having Josh Manchester as an in-law was the last thing he wanted!

  Taking his leave from the older man, Dominic met Royce in the main hallway. Sending his friend a darkling look, Dominic growled, "I'm on my way to see Folly, Miss Seymour's horse. You, I'll talk to when I get back!"

  "Ah, found out, did you?" Royce asked with interest. "I wondered how much longer it would take you."

  A reluctant laugh broke from Dominic. "Damn you, Royce! You could have warned me!"

  Royce chuckled. "Yes, but it wouldn't have been half so amusing."

  A wry smile on his mouth, Dominic walked to the stables of Oak Hollow and very shortly thereafter, with directions from the head groom firmly in his mind, he was riding toward Willowglen. His thoughts were not kind as he rode along, and ironically, it was not Josh who aroused his ire but Miss Seymour! Inexplicably, he had convinced himself that it was at Miss Seymour's request that Josh had embarked upon the silly little charade that had had him wasting his time at Oak Hollow. He felt a fool and he was more than a little annoyed about the entire situation. If it weren't for the fact that the very delay and Miss Seymour's apparent reluctance to meet him had stirred a stubborn determination on his part, he would have departed immediately from Oak Hollow and given Folly no further serious thought. But as it was, against his will, he was curious about Miss Seymour and, of course, there was the stallion....

  His first sight of Willowglen was not encouraging. With a sardonic twist to his mobile mouth, he decided that Josh .

  Shirlee Susbee had greatly exaggerated the temporary reverses. To his expert eye, it was obvious that the condition of the main house was not due to some recent lack of funds but had been of a long-standing duration. The gracious lines of the wide and low, once-handsome two-storied house were still apparent, and the setting amongst the moss-draped oaks, giant mimosa trees and large crape myrtles was undeniably attractive, but it was glaringly apparent that it had been several years since any money had been spent on the upkeep of the house and grounds. The paint was blistered and peeling, the years of the hot Louisiana sun having inflicted great damage, and there were several unsightly gaps in the graceful though rusting wrought-iron railing which adorned the gallery that ran the entire length of the front of the house. The expanse of lawn which wandered through the various trees that surrounded the house was shaggy and choked with weeds, and there was a general air of neglect about the whole area. No, Dominic told himself grimly, this was no temporary reversal of fortune, and he wondered how much more Josh had misled him about Miss Seymour and her brother.

  When his knock upon the pair of double doors at the front of the house was not answered, he made his way with a sigh around to the rear of the house. Not only, he reflected dismally, did the Seymour place appear unkempt, but it seemed that they also did not keep a proper amount of servants either!

  At the back of the house, he cast a jaundiced eye over the untidy kitchen garden and the few scrawny hens in a sagging pen nearby. Seeing the small brick building which was set some distance from the main house, he approached it with a quickening step. Surely someone would be in the kitchen!

  Someone was. This time his knock upon a door was answered by Ada, her hands covered with flour and an expression of impatience on her shiny black face. She was not particularly welcoming, and a brief conversation elicited the information that Miss Seymour was not there (where she should have been, Ada informed him roundly, helping with the baking) but that she could be found at the stables. His reservations increasing with every moment, Dominic slowly walked in the direction indicated by Ada, but his interest in meeting the eccentric Miss Seymour was definitely piqued-none of the ladies he knew would ever be found in either the kitchen or the stables!

  Miss Seymour, presently hard at work raking and shoveling out one of the large box stalls which had been recently built to house the new mares, was not thinking about Mr. Dominic Slade in the least! But that wasn't to say that her interest in that gentleman hadn't been piqued too. During the days that Dominic had spent at Oak Hollow, Josh had been able to ride over to Willowglen only twice and he had been very careful not to overplay his cards with regard to Mr. Dominic Slade. Beyond his initial conversation with Melissa he had kept Dominic's name to a minimum, only mentioning the fact, on his second visit, that he was staying with them and that he was quite a horseman . and that he too was thinking of setting up his own stud farm at a plantation named Thousand Oaks, which it just so happened was located less than two days' ride up the river. Wasn't that a coincidence! Who knew-he might even consider purchasing Folly for his own stables!

  That information had not sat well with Melissa, and she had been aware of a feeling of great resentment. How dare this stranger ride into their midsts and decide to immediately set up in competition to her! Not, she admitted ruefully, that Willowglen was much of a threat to the newcomer. But it rankled, as did Josh's comment about selling Folly. She would never sell Folly and certainly not to some upstart, encroaching mushroom who might very well sabotage her fledgling attempts to establish her own stables! Irrationally, she even held his apparent wealth and handsomeness against him. It just wasn't fair for one person to have apparently been so generously endowed by fate! But she was curious about him and, to her shame, every time she had left Willowglen the past few days she had been secretly hoping to catch a glimpse of this paragon riding about the countryside. She wasn't, however, prepared to find him in her own stables-especially not when she was hot, dirty and sweaty and was holding a shovelful of horse, er, droppings in her hands!

  One moment she was bent over her task, longing for nothing more than a cool drink of water and a long, leisurely swim in the creek just over the hill, and the next she was spinning around to stare at a tall, handsome stranger. A stranger, she thought with a sudden, inexplicable tightening in her chest, who could only be Mr. Dominic Slade.

  Coming in from the bright sunlight, Dominic took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the quiet gloom of the interior of the stable. He had been slightly relieved to see that at least in this area some attempt at upkeep had been made, but he was strongly of the opinion that when he finally did view Folly he was going to be extremely disappointed. It was inconceivable that the horse he was searching for would be found in this place of genteel poverty, and he was fairly convinced that someone was enjoying a jest at his expense.

  Seeing signs of movement at the rear of the stable, he strolled in that direction. "Excuse me," he said as he came closer, "but could you tell me where I could find Miss Seymour?"

  Unbearably conscious of her dishevelment, of the ugly bun sagging at the back of her head, of the spectacles sliding down her sweat-slick nose, of the shapeless unattractiveness of the gown she was wearing and of the shovel filled with horse manure in her hands, Melissa wished violently that she were anywhere but here. The fact that Dominic was nattily attired in a superb-fitting jacket of blue superfine-a jacket, she noted crossly, that did nothing to d
isguise his broad shoulders and wide chest-didn't make her feel any better. With something between resentment and unwilling admiration, Melissa noticed the pair of buff breeches that clearly revealed the muscled length of his long, well-shaped legs and the pristine white cravat which only called attention to the dark, handsome features rising above its neat folds.

  It was, she thought breathlessly, unfair for any man to look as Dominic Slade did, to have such thick, curly black hair, such long, luxurious eyelashes, such beautiful gray eyes and a mouth ... Melissa swallowed with difficulty ... a mouth that made the most erotic thoughts flash through her brain.

  Appalled by and furious because of her unexpected reac tion to him, she glared at Dominic and said stiffly, "I am Miss Seymour." With Uncle Josh's warnings about his libertine ways ringing in her ears, she decided that the sooner he was out of her barn the better. "Just who do you think you are, walking in here this way?" she asked rudely.

  It was quick wits that prevented Dominic's mouth from falling open in astonishment. Not only did her appearance surprise him, but her hostile attitude caught him completely off guard. Surely, he thought with stupefaction, this unfashionably tall and scrawny creature in a deplorably fitting gown squinting so fiercely at him above a pair of ridiculously large spectacles could not be the Miss Seymour of Josh's descriptions! But it was her attitude that caused the polite smile to fade from his lips and the gray eyes to lose their usual good-humored glint.

  Not in the best humor himself after his interview with Josh, and not at all pleased with what he had seen of Willowglen so far and most of all, not at all used to being greeted in such a fashion, particularly by the females of the species, Dominic asked with insulting disbelief, "Miss Melissa Seymour?"

  Vividly aware of the frightful picture she must present, her shabby gown sticking unpleasantly to her back, through gritted teeth she got out, "Yes! Miss Melissa Seymour!" Confident of his identity but wishing to be positive, she asked, "And you are . . .?"

  She wasn't the least surprised when Dominic said flatly, "Dominic Slade. Your cousin Royce and I are old friends, and I have been visiting at your uncle's plantation for the past several days."

  "And-?" Melissa inquired hostiley, not about to fall victim to the perfidious charms that Josh had warned her about. But, to her dismay, that didn't stop her from wishing irrationally that she were wearing her best gown and that her hair were newly washed and curling about her shoulders!

  Dominic's mouth tightened. What an ungracious witch! Resisting an urge to turn on his heels, he said grimly, "And, I have heard of a horse that you apparently ownFolly, a bay stallion. My brother Morgan saw the animal {

  race in the New Orleans area several weeks ago and he was quite impressed by his speed and appearance. If you are agreeable I would like to see the horse with a view to possibly purchasing him."

  A gust of completely unreasonable rage swept through Melissa. After all she and Zachary had been through, after all the dreams they had shared, how dare this-thispopinjay speak so confidently of buying her horse! How dared he come uninvited and unannounced into her stables with his fine clothes and arrogant airs and act as if anything he wanted would be instantly forthcoming! She was dimly conscious that part of her hostile reaction to him was caused by embarrassment at being caught garbed as she was, and it didn't help her temper one bit for her to know that it was her own fault she looked as she did! Still, it wasn't just the awkward situation that prompted her hostility. There was something about the tall, darkly attractive gentleman standing in front of. her which aroused an inexplicable animosity-and she never took instant likes or dislikes to anyone! He was far too handsome, she thought savagely, and far too confident and sure of himself.

  A little ashamed and shocked by her uncharacteristically churlish reaction to a perfect stranger, but heedful of Josh's warnings and determined to get rid of Dominic's distracting presence immediately, she snapped ungraciously, "If it was only to see Folly that brought you here, you have wasted your time as well as my own. Under no circumstances will I ever consent to sell Folly-not for any price you might care to offer!"

  Thinking that Miss Melissa Seymour was one of the . most unappealing, ill-tempered shrews it had ever been his misfortune to meet, Dominic nodded curtly. "Then I would say that we have nothing more to discuss." With a derisive gleam in his gray eyes, he glanced at her shovelful of highly aromatic manure and drawled, "I see that you have much more, ah, important things to do, so I shall not waste any more of your time."

  He took another long look at Melissa, his gaze moving slowly over the pulled-back hair of indeterminate color, the old-fashioned spectacles and the pinched mouth as he wondered cynically if it was common knowledge that Josh E and Royce were mentally deficient. A beauty? Ha! If this was their idea of a beauty, it was obvious that they both should be shipped to England for a stay at Bedlam!

  Shrugging his broad shoulders at the strange quirks in human nature, he was about to. turn on his heel when from the front of the stable a voice called, "Lissa! I've brought a jug of lemonade. Do you want some?"

  At the sound of her name, Melissa left off considering dumping her shovel of manure on Mr. Slade's highly polished boots, and a warm smile suddenly spread across her face. "Oh, Zack!" she cried in a far nicer tone of voice than Dominic had heard from her.yet. "How did you know that I was longing for something to drink?"

  Her brother laughed, and with a pitcher of lemonade in one hand and two glasses in the other, Zachary approached. Glancing at Dominic, he sent him a friendly smile and said, "Hello, you must be Dominic Slade."

  It took Dominic a moment to register that he was being spoken to-he was still reeling from the fascinating change a smile made on Melissa's face. With an effort, he tore his eyes away from the delightful dimple that had appeared near her suddenly not-so-prune-shaped mouth, and looking at Zachary, he said politely, "Yes, I am." A faint expression of puzzlement showed on his handsome face as he asked, "But how did you know that? I don't believe that we have met. "

  Zack grinned. "Uncle Josh," he answered succinctly. "He was quite eager to tell us of his impressive visitor."

  Dominic laughed deprecatingly, instantly liking this young man. "I would hardly call myself impressive, but then neither would I want to shatter your illusions."

  Melissa's spinsterish expression returned firmly again, since she was not at all pleased with the way the two men were being so amiable with each other. "Well, you won't shatter mine, Mr. Slade!" she cut in sharply.

  Ignoring Zachary's shocked "Lissa! " she put the shovel down perilously close to Dominic's booted foot. Her voice dripping with dislike, she said, "And since you were just on the point of leaving, we won't keep you any longer."

  His smile fading, Dominic gave her a cool nod of his dark head. Deliberately turning his back on her, he sent a friendly glance toward Zachary. "Since it is obvious that I have come at an inconvenient time," he said to Zachary, "perhaps you would be so kind as to join Royce and me at the Whitehorn tavern in Baton Rouge tonight for dinner .., we thought it would be a pleasant change to escape from the petticoats for a while."

  Throwing his sister a defiant look, Zachary replied quickly, "It will be my pleasure, sir! What time do you suggest that I meet you?"

  The two gentlemen, oblivious to Melissa's glowering figure, decided upon a time, and without another word or glance in her direction, Dominic sauntered out of the stable. Though he left Willowglen behind, that wasn't to say that the sharp-tongued Miss Seymour had vanished from Dominic's thoughts. Quite the contrary! He was convinced that she was everything unpleasant that he had first suspected and there was no doubt that she was a veritable termagant of the worst sort, but he was ... he was, he admitted reluctantly, intrigued by her. Of course, he told himself cynically, it was only her oddity that intrigued him. Yet when she had smiled ... when she had smiled he'd had a fleeting, baffling hint of the beauty that Josh had been babbling about. But those clothes and that hair!

  , Not to mention her
waspish attitude! Shaking his head in mystification, he slowly guided his horse toward the Manchester plantation. She was certainly a novel female!

  Her flat refusal to even let him see Folly had angered him as few things had done in his life. While he had originally entertained only mild hopes of adding the horse to his stables, the unexpected and unwelcome setbacks he had received of late, specifically Miss Melissa Seymour's ' actions, had suddenly made him perversely determined to own the animal. She wouldn't sell the wretched horse at any price? Ha! He was going to buy her damned Folly and make her eat her insolent words! One day very soon, Dominic vowed grimly, Folly would be his, and it didn't matter very much to him just then if he paid a fortune for an unsuitable animal-he would have the great satisfaction of having bested Miss Melissa Seymour!

  With just a hint of regret, he admitted to himself that his careless invitation to Zachary had been prompted as much by the unworthy impulse to annoy Miss Seymour as by a very real desire to further his acquaintance with the young man. He had liked Zachary on sight, something that couldn't be said of his feelings about Miss Seymour, but whether he would have sought out Zachary's company without the added pleasure of irritating Miss Seymour re- . mained to be seen. Still, he was looking forward to the evening, and when he later mentioned Zachary's addition to their private dinner to Royce, Royce seemed rather pleased.

  "An excellent idea-I should have thought of it myself," Royce said slowly as they walked from the stable at Oak Hollow where they had met. "Zack needs to get out from behind Lissa's skirts more. She tends to hover over him."

  A glint in his gray eyes, Dominic began with mock wrath, "And speaking of 'Lissa,' would you mind telling me what in the hell you are playing at? I do not mean to offend you, but if your cousin is your idea of beauty, then I strongly suspect that you, my dear friend, have been rusticating here in the wilderness far too long!" Pretending to shudder, Dominic went on. "What a sharp-tongued vixen! She terrified me! And a dowdier, more unappealing creature I have never met!"