Tides of Passion

by Sara Orwig

  “Si.”

  “I’ll go to my room to rest.”

  “Do you want help?”

  “No, gracias.” Lianna rose, paused for the benefit of Juanita’s watchful gaze, then left to go upstairs. Fletcher stood at his post, looking unconcerned, his handsome features impassive.

  The moment Lianna closed the door, she moved nervously to the window. First, Madryn and her problems; now the arrival of Quita and the count. Lianna clamped her lips together and shoved aside worries over Quita. More immediate was the problem of Madryn. Lianna’s gaze searched the quiet street. “Josh…” she whispered, “come home. Please, come home!”

  The night was long. Lianna paced the floor in her room, then lay in the darkness, her ears straining for sound of Josh. She dozed fitfully and woke early to gaze out the window as if she could conjure Josh up out of the gray sky. Something had to be done, and she couldn’t wait.

  There had to be some place of safety for Madryn and Rinaldo. She tried to think what she would do in their place. Where could they hide? Where could they live? They would have to leave Chile, but where would they find refuge?

  El Feroz.

  Lianna threw back the covers and went to sit by the windows while her mind raced. The ship could be a temporary haven until some decision was made about the future.

  Two hours later, when Madryn came to make the bed, Lianna was waiting with her plan.

  The day was one of the longest in Lianna’s life. She prayed that Josh would come home, that she could turn everything over to him, but when sundown came and he hadn’t appeared, she went ahead with her plan.

  At midnight she dressed in the boy’s clothing that Madryn had supplied earlier. Tugging on high black boots, she smoothed her black coat above breeches that were loose in the waist. She remembered the night Josh had climbed in the front window, and left the house the same way.

  Aware that she risked everything, that Josh might be furious with her, nevertheless, Lianna was compelled to save Madryn from Captain Caribe’s lust.

  She climbed down the tree slowly, then stood behind it in dark shadows, her heart pounding with fright. Dread washed over her, and she fought the urge to return to the safety of the house. She ached for the security of Josh’s strength and commanding presence—the night would hold no terrors for him. But for Madryn’s sake, Lianna had to see the plan through.

  Gritting her teeth, she walked cautiously, remaining in the shadows until she stepped outside the gate. Madryn had told her the way to go to Rinaldo’s, where they would meet.

  Lianna’s breath came in short gasps and her palms were damp, because if soldiers stopped her, she knew how little chance she would have to deceive them and escape. Another worry plagued her. If Josh returned and discovered her missing, what would he do? She had left a note that she had taken a walk, but how ridiculous it had sounded.

  She hurried along, moving quietly yet trying to walk purposefully and stay hidden. The moon was perfect for her needs, a mere sliver that left the town in darkness. With tall poplars and full alerce trees lining the street, her path was shadowy. Lianna’s eyes adjusted gradually, and she could make out pale walls and houses.

  How long would it take to escape safely from Santiago? Her seething worries changed abruptly when she heard a footstep behind her.

  It was slight but unmistakable. Her heart thudded against her ribs. She paused and strained to listen. A bird’s melodic cry carried in the night. Lianna moved forward, walking close to the high wall of a house, staying in the shadows. And she heard the footsteps commence again.

  Her breathing became ragged. She trembled as her thoughts raced frantically. It was many more blocks to her destination. Who followed? And why? If it were soldiers, they would have come forward to accost her, so it must be someone else.

  Was it a thief? Someone from the house who had followed her out? She walked faster. The footsteps increased, now easier to hear.

  Lianna racked her mind to think of some escape. The houses were walled, protected from intruders. She might try a gate and step into a patio, but she would be hemmed in.

  She turned a corner, stepped into a recessed doorway, and waited. A scrape sounded.

  Lianna flattened herself against the rough wall that still held heat from the afternoon sun. She held her breath, hearing her heart drum in her ears.

  A man came into sight, moving silently. A wide-brimmed Spanish hat was set low on his head, hiding his features; a serape was flung across his shoulders. He was as tall and broad-shouldered as Josh or the general. He passed her swiftly on quiet feet in spite of his boots. Lianna let out her breath and forced herself to count to ten.

  She bit her lip as she cautiously leaned forward and looked out. Nothing. The dark street was empty, full of shadows that could hide anything.

  Quickly Lianna slipped out of her hiding place and rushed back around the corner in the direction she had come. She had to get away from the man who followed her.

  There were other routes to her destination. She paused in another doorway to listen. Only silence. Far in the distance a horse whinnied. She stepped out again, wiping her damp palms on her breeches as she turned to retrace her steps.

  Behind her a footfall sounded. Lianna glanced over her shoulder as hard arms locked around her. A hand clamped over her mouth.

  25

  “Lianna!”

  She recognized Josh’s voice and closed her eyes. Faintness came, and her weight sagged against him in relief. As his strong arms held her, he pulled her into the shadows of a wall.

  “I’m sorry I frightened you. I had to find you without making noise.” He removed his hand from her mouth and held her. “Fletcher knew what you’d planned and got word to me. When I arrived home, I read your note and saw the window open. The wax was warm from the candles, so you couldn’t have gone far.”

  “I prayed you’d come!” She clung to him tightly, relishing holding him, her fear momentarily forgotten.

  “I was watching out the window and saw you go through the gate. I couldn’t call, so I had to follow and try to catch you.”

  “Why didn’t Fletcher let me know he could reach you?” she asked.

  “There wasn’t time or opportunity. We’re watched constantly. Fletcher didn’t have details, he simply said that you planned to help Madryn escape with Rinaldo. I came as soon as I could.”

  “I didn’t know what to do, and tomorrow will be too late. All I could think of was to get them to El Feroz.”

  “You can’t take them to the coast!”

  “I had to try. I couldn’t think of anything else to do. I’m going now to Rinaldo’s. One of your men, Simms, will lead them, and he’s waiting there now.”

  “There’ll be trouble.”

  “I couldn’t bear to think about Madryn going to Caribe. I’m sorry if I’ve endangered you, but the man is foul.”

  “I’m glad you did,” he said softly. “A year ago you wouldn’t have done this.”

  She was startled at the satisfaction in his voice. He frowned as he said, “I’ll have to do something, because they’ll arrest her parents.”

  “No. They’re going too.”

  He held her away and looked down. “They’re going? Four of them and my coxswain? Five people?”

  “What’s wrong with that?”

  “They’re trying to hide and escape. Each additional person cuts their chances.”

  She drew a breath, bracing for his anger. “There are more than five.”

  “Who else, for heaven’s sake?”

  “All their relatives on both sides of their families,” she answered rapidly.

  There was a moment of silence; then he exclaimed, “I’ll be damned! And I thought I was daring! How many, Lianna?”

  Her face burned in the darkness, but she raised her chin defiantly. Josh couldn’t stop them! “Forty-three.”

  “Forty-three people!” he swore softly. “Forty-three to hide for miles across Chile?”

  “If they reach El Feroz,
it’ll give them time to plan their future safely.”

  He chuckled, holding her away to lean down and look into her eyes. “And now who’s foolishly risking all to help people you don’t even know!”

  She blushed, and warmth raced through her that he was so pleased. “Madryn is my friend.”

  “You’ve changed, Lianna,” he said quietly.

  Always, at every encounter, a dazzling invisible tension flared between them, and something in his solemn observation shook her to her soul.

  Josh held her, momentarily lost in thought over how much she had changed since that first month on his ship. Right now, when they needed to get off the street, to meet Simms and the others, he wanted to step into the shadows and pull her into his arms and kiss her.

  “Come, let’s get this over,” he said abruptly.

  Lianna hurt when she heard the harshness return to his voice. If only he weren’t so strong-willed, so bent on this revolution that he was blinded to all else! She gripped his wrists. “Josh, did Fletcher tell you about the Count of Marcheno?”

  “Yes,” he answered as if he relished the news. His reaction was far different from what she had expected. “Yes, Lianna, I heard he’s brought his new wife to Chile on their honeymoon. Now I shall get my revenge.”

  “You are possessed by it! It makes a devil of you!”

  “You can’t understand. The Marchenos are barbarians, and particularly the count. I have a score to settle.”

  “I understand your loss and the terrible things Don Armando did, but you let revenge rule your heart,” she said violently.

  “You do protest!” He looked at her intently. “What causes you to feel so strongly about the matter?”

  She blushed hotly as she answered, “You are consumed with hatred, which benefits no one.”

  He caught her chin in his hand, holding tightly while he raised her face to peer at her. The darkness could not reveal much, and she gazed back unflinchingly.

  “I wonder what runs through your mind,” he said softly.

  It was on the tip of her tongue to cry out, “I love you!” But if he laughed at her or made a sneering gibe, she wouldn’t be able to bear it, so instead she asked, “What if Quita reveals our secret before you can do anything?”

  He released her and answered, “She won’t reveal our identity because we can reveal hers.”

  “How can you be sure? She’ll know instantly what you’re doing. Can she sit by and watch you pass the Spaniards’ secrets about military strength and defenses to the patriots, or cause her husband’s life to be in danger?”

  “That’s all she can do if she wants to survive and remain the Countess of Marcheno. I’m gambling on time.”

  “So our risk grows! Where’d you learn about them?”

  “I hear what happens in Santiago, what ships dock at Valparaiso. Our plans are forming. Now, we must see about Madryn.”

  The grim note in his voice made her fear increase, but he was correct. At the moment, more pressing problems concerned them.

  He held her hand, and together they went on to bid Madryn and Rinaldo good-bye and to watch the group start for the coast.

  Finally they were back at home, climbing in the front window so the servants would not see them. As Lianna clung to the windowsill, Josh reached down to place his hands around her waist and lift her inside. While he turned to light a candle, she closed the shutters.

  Light danced to life in a small circle, leaving dark corners in the room. When she looked at Josh, her heart thudded violently. The black hat was pushed behind his head and a serape was flung across his broad shoulders over a brown leather coat and breeches. His boots were dusty, and short locks of hair escaped his queue. A gunbelt was fastened around his hips.

  Even dusty and disheveled, he looked so appealing, so virile, that she trembled. She held her breath as his gaze lowered leisurely, drifting down to appraise her boy’s clothing. One corner of his mouth curved in a crooked smile.

  “You would fool no one, cara.” His voice was husky, strumming over her nerves like a summer wind across a pond, stirring ripples in its wake. And she knew without question what an enormous, disastrous folly she had committed.

  It wasn’t Edwin Stafford who held her heart, but Josh Raven! She was in love with a man who was dangerous, reckless, and tough, who would never leave the sea that he loved more than all else. Lianna knew Josh desired her; it showed in his eyes. But she wanted more, and she didn’t want to wait at home while the man she loved fought battles at sea. She had flung her heart to a savage man who would laugh in her face if he knew. He was as hard as stone, and all the smiles and kisses from now until they reached England wouldn’t melt his iron heart or change the way he lived—and it wasn’t the kind of life she wanted.

  He crossed the room to remove the hat from her head, and in spite of the reasons she didn’t want to love him, her pulse fluttered. As he lifted the hat, locks of her hair tumbled down. Flickering candlelight danced over Josh’s features and she couldn’t get her breath. The room was hot; her knees felt weak. Josh put his hand in her hair and slowly tugged, gently pushing pins free. He removed his fingers, and the remaining black tresses cascaded over her shoulders.

  With a bemused smile he pushed her coat off and flung it aside, then tilted her face up. “Forty-three people you helped to escape because of one peasant girl. You always amaze me. You risked your life for Madryn tonight. Do I recall a taunting question about why I would help these people?”

  She couldn’t think about his question. Her mind was captured by his long thick lashes, his mouth that made her ache to be kissed.

  Josh looked at her more intently. He saw the candlelight reflected in her blue eyes, watched her lips part and her tongue dart across her soft, full lower lip. He felt as if all his senses were drowning in blue. The look in her eyes was a blatant invitation. She wanted to be kissed.

  His blood heated and desire surged through his loins, making him long to crush her in his arms. And as always, the specter of her love for Stafford rose to haunt him.

  He shook his head as if to clear it. Never once had she declared her love for him. She loved England and Edwin. Desire, her own lusty nature, consumed her in intimate moments, but her heart was elsewhere. He would not bind himself to a woman who didn’t love him.

  “What will we do about the Count of Marcheno?” she asked softly.

  Josh’s gaze rested on her mouth. When he didn’t answer, Lianna looked up at him. She felt empty, and only Josh could make her feel whole, complete. She drew her breath and held it, wanting him more than she had ever dreamed possible.

  He reached up to frame her face with his hands, his thumb drawing lazy circles over her cheek. “Lianna, I want you.”

  She clung to his hard wrists, closing her eyes. “You make me melt. Feel me tremble—it’s because I want you.”

  “Look at me,” he demanded, watching her closely.

  They faced each other in the dusky light of the flickering candle. Her breath was ragged as she gazed at him. “You have taught me the ways of love. I’m human. I’m a woman…with an appealing man…” Her voice trailed off in a whisper.

  “You know the risk you run!”

  She frowned as if in pain. “Yes,” she whispered, aware the risk was not in having his child, but in loving him with her whole heart.

  He felt as if his heart had stopped beating. “You want me to touch you, don’t you?”

  “Yes,” she whispered, and his pulse drummed. “You know I do.”

  His mouth came down on hers violently, opening hers to his hot demands. Lianna met his fire with her own flame. Eagerly she wound her arms around his neck and kissed him, trembling at his touch. Desire exploded in her, consuming her like dry brush burning in summer heat. Josh wound his fingers in her hair and pulled her head back to look at her. His chest heaved with his ragged breathing, expanding to proportions that made her want to run her fingers over him.

  “My treacherous Spanish lady, is it your tempe
stuous blood that boils and makes you cling to me? Or are you after something?”

  She fought back a sob. She wanted him, more than she had ever wanted anyone else’s love…more than she would have guessed possible to need someone.

  “I know how much time you’ve been spending with Farjado. Have you given him your kisses as freely?”

  The question was like a blow. Lianna gasped. Shocked and hurt, she reached up to slap Josh.

  The sound broke the silence. She stepped back as a startled look flashed across his features.

  “Get out,” she whispered, shaking to hold back her tears. If only he would go before he saw her cry!

  His eyebrows arched, then drew together. She expected anger, not curiosity, and her fear rose. “Get out!”

  “Lianna…”

  She looked at him intently. “And you, Josh, have you kissed another?”

  His face flushed. “Perhaps I have, to get you out of my blood! And there’s only one way you could have learned about it—Farjado!”

  “There’s a Spanish fleet at Valparaiso now. Let me go—”

  “It sailed,” he said curtly, and left, slamming the door behind him.

  Hot tears streamed over her cheeks as she stared after him. How close she had come to revealing everything! She must never tell Josh of her love. His derision would destroy her. He had kissed another! Perhaps he now loved another and wanted out of the marriage. If only she could forget him, but it was the same as forgetting to breathe—impossible. In spite of everything, she ached for him, clenching her fists as she stood without moving, long after he had gone.

  And she knew how angry he had been by the way he had slammed the door. He was so careful to keep their movements quiet, to keep up the appearance of newlyweds who loved each other.

  She discarded her dusty male clothing, sponging off and dressing in a white nightgown. She brushed her hair, gazing out the window at the night, thinking about Madryn, who was with the man she loved, safely aboard El Feroz—in the same town as Quita and her husband.

  What a shock it would be to Quita to learn that Lianna and Josh Raven were wed and posing as Spaniards. Lianna’s curiosity heightened as she wondered if Quita were happy with the exchange.