She stood up and stomped her foot. “I detest you! “
“Rosette, I never asked for your love, but I took what you offered me. If it were possible to love you, I would, but I’ve finally realized that Dera is the only woman I’ll ever truly love. Life is empty without her and I’m returning to her. I only hope she’ll take me back.” He took Rosette���s arm. “I’ll escort you home now.”
She wrenched her arm away. “I’ll go by myself.” She threw the glasses into the hamper, picked it up and ran away from him.
Her mind whirled, dismayed by his rejection but she wouldn’t admit defeat. She had one more chance to make him love her, and this time she decided it would be permanent. She wouldn���t lose him again.
CHAPTER FORTY
The bells of St. Louis beckoned the faithful to Christmas mass. Dera had hoped that Quint would appear, but when he didn’t, she tried to forget her loneliness.
She threw her cloak over a chair when she returned from church and carefully rearranged the gifts for Paul in the paarlor. Anna and Henri had taken Paul to visit Pere Noel who was arriving in New Orleans by pirogue. She could barely contain her excitement to see his little face brighten with pleasure when he opened his presents.
“If only Quint could be here,” she spoke aloud, then decided it would do no good to pine for him.
Rosette entered the room with a pot of hot tea. “I thought you would like something to warm your bones,” she said softly.
“How kind, but there was no need to go to such trouble.”
“Nonsense, I know how much you like herb tea.” Rosette smiled and placed the pot on the table and poured a cup for Dera. The steam rose from the cup and filled the room with its delightful aroma. Dera didn’t particularly want the tea, but she hated to refuse Rosette’s kindness. She asked her if she would also have some, but Rosette refused.
The liquid flowed warmly down Dera’s throat, however her tongue detected a difference. “This doesn’t taste the same.”
Rosette’s face shone strangely. “It’s a new blend, very soothing. Drink up,” she urged.
Dera and Rosette exchanged comments about the Christmas season, the weather and acquaintances, but there was something in the cat like way Rosette leaned forward that alarmed Dera. She felt as if she were a bird in a cage and Rosette a patient feline biding her time.
Dera put her cup down. “I fear something is wrong with you.”
“Everything is wonderful with me,” Rosette said. “However, you look quite pale. Are you well?”
Dera suddenly felt sleepy and stifled a yawn. She stood up to relieve the lethargy which crept over her. There was much to do before Paul arrived.
Why did Rosette look at her so oddly? Why did she sit there so still, as if she were waiting to pounce?
Dera tried to move forward, but her feet felt like blocks of wood; her head felt like it would crush her shoulders. Everything seemed to be happening slowly. She watched Rosette rise from her chair and move towards her. Dera wanted to speak, but the words wouldn’t form on her tongue. In fact, she couldn’t speak at all.
As if nightfall had descended, the darkness clouded her vision. Dera’s eyes darted wildly, imploring Rosette to help her, but the woman ignored her. Why won’t she help me, Dera asked herself? The answer was lost in the encroaching gloom when suddenly her feet gave way and Dera felt as if she slipped headlong into a vast black pit.
The clanging of a ship’s bell reverberated in Dera’s ears, causing her to waken. A cold draft streamed down from a hole in the roof and chilled her despite the rough blanket wrapped about her. She found herself in a room lit only by the smallest of candles. Where was she?
In a panic she struggled to sit up, but her head spun dizzily. As she fought to keep from falling back onto the crude cot, she sensed a presence beside her.
She jerked around, panic invading her, as Jem McConnell reached out to steady her.
He stroked her cheek. “Don’t be fearful, I’ll not hurt you. You’re mine now, for always.”
Her heart beat wildly and she suppressed the urge to scream, remembering how cruel he could be when crossed. She moved her face away from his hand and gathered the courage to speak in a steady voice.
“Tell me how I got here, Jem, and what you plan to do with me.”
He smiled. ���I plan to love you, Dera, and to have you love me.”
“Am I to be kept a prisoner here?”
“You’ll be here a few more hours, until the ship is readied in the morning for our voyage.”
Her heart plummeted. “Where do you intend to take me?”
���To Canada, where no one will find us. Not even your Quint.”
She resisted the urge to cry, to tell him he was crazy, but she had to keep her wits about her. “I have no clothes, Jem. Really, I should pack.”
He grabbed her arm and pulled her against him. “You’ll have no need for clothes, not for the purpose I have in mind.”
“I’d rather die!���
“Such brave talk from such a frightened bird. Perhaps if you relax a bit, you’ll find you might enjoy a romp with me. But a warning, my pretty Dera. I will hurt you if you refuse me.���
���Then kill me now and be done with it,��� she told him, nearly suffocating in his arms.
He laughed, tossing her back onto the cot. “I want you alive and although I like your sass, I’ll have you when it suits me. I’m your master now.”
She could barely see as the candle dimmed, but she sensed Jem was moving to the doorway of the room. She still had no idea where she was or how she had gotten there. All she could recall was Rosette offering her tea, then sitting like a vulture while she drank it.
“She drugged the tea,��� Dera muttered aloud.
Jem heard her and took a piece of rope from his pocket. “Rosette is a crafty one,” he said, roughly forcing her arms behind her back. “I hate to be tying you so, Dera, but ‘tis for your own good.”
The rope burned her sensitive flesh, but she knew it was useless to protest. He positioned her where her back rested against the wall.
“I’ll not be needing to gag you, will I, Dera?”
“I promise I won’t scream,” she said, looking at the dirty piece of cloth he held.
He shrugged. “It wouldn’t do much good. No one would hear you. It’s Christmas night and people are in their homes. Rosette doesn’t want you heard.”
“Why is she doing this to me?”
“You should know the answer to that. She aims to have your Quint. She has written a note, telling him you’ve left of your own free will. That way, he won’t be looking too hard for you.”
“Quint is my husband. He’ll search for me.”
“He cares naught for you. You know his weakness for other women and Rosette has been one of them.”
“You’re lying!”
���Think what you will, but I know what my own eyes saw the day at the barracks when she came sneaking in to sleep with him.���
Dera turned away from his prying eyes. Whimpers of pain escaped her as the agony of Jem’s words penetrated her soul. This time it hurt worse than the time Quint had dallied with Peg McConnell. She knew Quint well enough to know that a woman as beautiful as Rosette could turn his head.
He had betrayed her again.
CHAPTER FORTY ONE
���Dera didn���t write this note,” Anna said, handing it back to Quint. “The handwriting resembles hers, but she wouldn’t have run off and left Paul. She loves him, and you, too, Mr. Quint.”
Quint held the paper in his hands. “She may have gone. Look at the way I’ve treated her. I’ve been a poor husband to her,” he said, sagging in a chair. “I���ve got to find her.���
���Henri is already searching the neighborhood,” Anna said.
Rosette played with Paul in the adjoining room. Her laughter floated through the doorway.
“That one isn’t the least upset,” An
na whispered to Quint. “She has been higher than a cloud all day.”
“Are you saying she had something to do with Dera’s disappearance?”
“I’m leery of her, Mr. Quint. She has never liked Dera and I know the girl isn’t to be trusted.”
Quint stiffened, the hairs on his neck rose. Rosette had been upset when he saw her last, but he didn’t think she would do anything to Dera. Yet, Anna knew her better than he and her suspicions might be valid.
Rosette’s laughter died away and she joined them. “Still no word of Dera?”
“None,” Quint responded.
“I’m certain she’ll turn up. Probably left out of pique.” She threw on her cape and headed towards the door. “I believe I’ll pay a call on the Lefevres and wish them happy Christmas.”
“It’s very late, miss,” Anna reminded her.
“I know the time, Anna!” Rosette retorted. “Now you two stop looking so mournful. Dera will turn up.” She blew a kiss in Quint’s direction and was gone in an instant.
“Follow her,” Anna urged.
“I see all is under control,” Rosette said to Jem a short time later, gazing with hatred at Dera. “How are you, my dear, dear sister in law?”
���How wrong I was about you and how much Dominick loved you. I should have listened to Anna.���
���Yes, Dominick did love me until you married him and took him away from me. Now, the tide has turned. I am taking Quint from you. The note I left has caused him to believe you will never return.”
“He’ll search for me,” Dera said, straining at her bonds.
“No. He sits with the faithful Anna in a quandary and half believes you don’t love him.” Rosette smirked. “I hope you and Jem will be happy in the wilds of Canada. I’ll be quite content with Quint and your son.”
Rosette���s strange smile and the evil look in her eyes unnerved Dera. Anger surged within her at this girl whom she had trusted. She pulled herself from the cot and threw herself at Rosette, knocking the girl from her feet.
Rosette lay stunned for a second, but quickly recovered. She got up and slapped Dera hard across the face and pushed her against the wall. “I’ll kill you for that and be well rid of you,” she hissed, raising her hand to continue the assault, but Jem, who had been watching from the doorway, seized her arm.
���You’ll not hurt her!” he shouted.
���Take your filthy hands off of me!���
���I know what you are, I know what you���ll do to her.��� His huge hands encircled Rosette’s small neck. Her eyes grew wide with fear, and her arms flailed against his powerful chest in a vain attempt to save herself. It took no longer than a minute for the life to ebb from Rosette’s body. Jem allowed her to slump to the floor, unconcerned about what he had done. “I told her I’d not allow you to be harmed.”
Rosette lay like a rag doll on the floor. Shock and fear mingled on Dera���s face. When Jem came closer, she shrank from him.
“Don’t fear, Dera. I’d never hurt you. I killed Rosette for you just as I killed Lord Fairfax.”
She was more dismayed by the deceptive softness of his tone than by the words. She suddenly glimpsed a lonely and disturbed man who was obsessed with her. This new dimension to him alarmed her more than the ruffian she knew.
He took out his knife and untied her hands, but he kept a firm grip on her arm.
“Please let me go, Jem.”
“Nay, you’ll run from me. I could not bear it if you ran away,” he said and stroked her cheek. “So beautiful you are.���.
��� Please take me home,” she begged.
The lonely look left his face and a harshness returned. “I’ll not. You think I am so bewitched by you that I will free you. You would be with Quint in an instant and my hide hanging from a rope. From this day forth, you���re mine. I shall take you with me now. Away from him. You belong to me!”
His strong hands pulled her up and dragged her from the small, delapidated house. She stumbled as they made their way to the Place d���Armes and he pushed her into the deserted square which was illuminated by torchlights. She attempted to break free, but his strength overpowered her. Dera never knew where they were bound when a figure appeared from the shadows and Quint leaped forward to break Jem’s hold of her. She found herself flung beside Quint as Quint tightened his grip on his sword. “Dera doesn’t belong to you, Jem,” he said in a ragged voice.
Jem spun around, momentarily startled. “Aye, she has always belonged to you, you conceited bastard. I know what you���re thinking, I can read your thoughts. What would the likes of her want with rubbish like me?��� He quickly recovered his stance and snarled at Quint like a rabid dog.
���I don���t want to hurt you, Jem.���
���Aye, but you���re the noble one,��� he scoffed. ���You don���t want to hurt me to have her. Then I will tell you how much I wanted her and better off she was for it, too. I killed Fairfax to have her and planted evidence to blame you. I was the one who told his lordship where the meeting place was.” He grinned, proud of his deed and pleased to see the startled look on Quint’s handsome face. The smile disappeared, replaced by hatred. “Dera told you the truth about us. She didn’t want me to take her and fill her with my seed, but she did it for you, always you!” Jem drew his sword and cautiously made an arc in the air. Quint followed suit and pushed Dera further away.
The two men circled each other, their swords glinted in the torchlight, testing each other, going round and round. Their eyes bespoke the hatred in their souls. Finally, Jem struck the first blow. The clanging of steel against steel echoed in the silent night.
They toyed with one another, each probing for an opening. Jem grinned devilishly, imagining what it would be like when Quint lay dead at his feet and Dera would love him at last. He wished to be rid of Quint, to be finished with this game. He grew tired of playing and dealt a furious blow which nearly knocked Quint from his feet.
Quint recovered quickly and struck in a vicious assault. Jem stumbled but regained his bearings and lunged at Quint, but Quint nimbly sidestepped the blow. Jem knifed the air and this time he fell to the ground when his foot tripped over a tree root. He dropped his sword and was unable to retrieve it. By the time he looked up, the tip of Quint’s sword glinted on his throat. “You’re a big man, Quint. Go on and kill me,” Jem said hoarsely.
Jem was despicable. Quint knew he was evil, but he was a human being. Killing armed English soliders was easy in comparison. After all, Jem had been his friend. Quint clutched his sword and raised it, but he couldn’t bring himself to lower it. “I can’t,” he whispered. By now a small crowd, drawn by the commotion in the quiet night, had gathered and watched. Some of the soldiers under Quint���s command were in the group.
In disgust Quint dropped his weapon to his side and backed away. He motioned to the soldiers to arrest Jem. He was finished with Jem and wanted Dera, ached to feel the sweet warmth of her pressed against him. He turned away from Jem, and headed toward Dera, so lost in his relief that she was safe and so in love with her that he barely had time to react to her piercing scream. He turned in time to see Jem heading straight for him with his sword raised.
Quint attempted to dodge the oncoming blow, but the steel point punctured his side and burned like fire. He refused to fall and this infuriated Jem. Jem rushed him, but Quint���s blows were more powerful and violent than ever. Quint���s men surrounded them, ready to tackle Jem but unable to reach him in time. For a split second, Jem’s eyes were drawn to Dera, and while his attention was on her, Quint took advantage of his weakness and struck, driving his sword into Jem’s belly with a swift, deadly aim. Jem grabbed the sword, which protruded from his abdomen, and crumpled to the ground. The last sight he would take with him to his private hell was the image of the woman he loved running towards Quint and taking him in her arms.
CHAPTER FORTY TWO
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Dera sat at Quint’s bedside. Days and nights merged into one, and as she administered cold compresses to his burning brow, she prayed. He was so pale; his fever hadn’t broken. At times in his delirium, he mumbled, but none of his mutterings made any sense. She feared he would die before she could tell him how much she loved him and how sorry she was for not seeing him after the miscarriage.
“The army doctor has done all he can.” Anna comforted Dera, stroking her hair. “His life is in God’s hands. I pray he’ll pull through, for the Almighty knows how much you love each other.”
“Perhaps our love isn’t meant to be.”
“It is -if you have the strength to forgive each other—if he recovers.”
Dera knew each had quite a bit to forgive. But would Quint ever really be able to forgive her or would pride prevent him?
She drifted into sleep, but awakened when she heard him whisper her name. She touched his forehead and found it cool. ���I think you’re going to be all right,” she said, her voice breaking with emotion.
“My guardian angel,” he mumbled weakly.
���I don���t know about the angel part. I didn’t realize you knew I was here.”
���I always know when you’re near me, Dera. We have much to say to one another.”
“It can wait until you’re stronger.”
He grabbed her hand. “Forgive me for being such a fool.”
She bent down and kissed his cheek. “Just know that I love you.”
He grew quiet and slept.
The river was calm and resembled a strip of silver satin. Dera watched from the levee as the last of the Spanish ships lifted anchor and sailed for Cuba. Her heart thumped when she saw Quint leave the barracks and head for her. He was more handsome than when they met years ago, on the day she begged him to pay rent to Avery Fairfax. A cool breeze ruffled his hair and reminded her of the winter meadow, blowing softly in the wind. He stopped before her.
���‘Tis important that we speak.”
Emerald Desire (Emerald Trilogy) Page 24
