by Julia Tagan
They turned down a side street and passed several large wooden houses, box-shaped and plain with well-tended gardens. Catherine stopped in front of an imposing one in the Federal style painted a blinding white.
“This is the Allens’ house.”
“We can’t stand here,” he said. “It’s too obvious. Keep on moving.”
The front door swung open. Benjamin took Catherine’s elbow and pivoted her around hard in the opposite direction. “Don’t look back. We can’t let them see you.”
“Then look back for me. Tell me if you see her.”
Benjamin peered over his shoulder and saw an older man and woman with a girl walking between them. They were heading toward the main road, all carrying Bibles. He could see the girl had curly hair, in the same reddish hue of Catherine’s.
“I’m sure it’s them,” he said. “And they’re going to church, like you said. You can turn around now, they’re walking the other way.”
Catherine turned and caught her breath. “It’s her.”
They watched together as the trio turned left onto the main avenue of town. Before they did so, the man, whom Benjamin presumed was Mr. Allen, slid his hand down the back of the little girl’s head and let it rest lightly on the back of her neck. Catherine winced.
“Don’t worry, we’ll get her back,” he said.
When he turned back to her, she had tears in her eyes.
“It took everything I had not to scream out her name.”
“You need to wait,” Benjamin said. “This is not going to be easy. They have her on a short leash.”
“They also have no idea we’re here, so we have that advantage. I believe it’s time to repent for our sins.”
He was glad she was still able to joke with him. They needed each other more than ever right now. He still wasn’t sure how he’d ended up so far from his intended plan. But this detour, if it worked, would make Catherine happy and get him access to the documents he needed. He wondered which was more important to him right now.
Benjamin took Catherine’s elbow. “This way. We’ll take a back road and avoid the crowds.”
“Good idea.”
The road narrowed. Dilapidated shacks crowded either side, many with chickens and goats wandering aimlessly in their muddy enclosures. It was as different from the Allens’ street as Benjamin could imagine, even though it was less than a half-mile away. Catherine stopped in front of one of the shacks.
“This is where I grew up.” Her voice gave away no hint of emotion, and she spoke as if she were stating a fact about a bakery or butcher shop she used to frequent.
The roof had several holes in it, and garbage was scattered outside. Near a small shed, a couple of dogs lay in the mud, looking wet and miserable.
Benjamin didn’t know what to say. It was awful. To think Catherine had come from here and made her way to Paris and New York was astonishing. It also explained why New York high society wanted nothing to do with her. She probably only had a couple of good months after she first arrived as Mrs. Delcour before the gossip mill spread across the state border regarding her true origins.
“My mother died giving birth to Sophie. Here in this house. I tried to help, but I was just a child, and I didn’t know what to do. After that, my father began drinking. He’d be gone for weeks at a time, and I had to take care of Sophie.” Her voice faltered.
“You were barely a child yourself.”
“I should have done more to protect her. I tried stealing food and milk, or begging, but Sophie would cry in the night and all day. She was hungry and I didn’t know what to do.”
“How long did this go on?”
“For six months or so. My father would return and find work, and each time I thought we’d be fine, but eventually he’d get an odd look in his eyes. I knew he’d be disappearing again soon and we’d be on our own.”
“How did the Allens end up taking you in?”
“I was caught stealing from a neighbor’s garden. The judge decided to place us with the Allens, in the hope I’d mend my evil ways. And Sophie was better off, I believed. After we’d been there a few days she stopped crying, and giggled and smiled. I stayed with the Allens because I thought she was in good hands.”
“You couldn’t have known what was going on here.” He thought of his own family, torn apart. “You were a child.”
“Anyway, the old house hasn’t changed much. Maybe I should see if it’s for rent.”
Benjamin could see from her face she was partly joking.
“This is your past,” he said. “Let’s move on.”
She gave him a look of gratitude and they set off to the church. The sermon had already begun when they arrived at the front steps, but the doors were open. It was packed inside and smelled of perspiration and mildew. Benjamin led Catherine to a back pew where they settled in as quietly as possible.
“She’s up near the front,” she whispered.
The minister introduced a young preacher, who came forward to the pulpit. He scanned the crowd and then launched into a tirade against sin and sinners that made the hair on the back of Benjamin’s neck stand on end. The preacher had a narrow, long face and he jabbed his pointy finger toward his audience for emphasis. When the sermon ended, members of the congregation made their way back down the aisle two by two. Benjamin gave Catherine a signal, then stood and moved forward. After Mr. and Mrs. Allen passed by, he stepped in front of Sophie, and Catherine pulled the girl aside. The crowd filled in behind him, and he stayed in his position as they moved down the front steps. A couple of times Mrs. Allen glanced back to find Sophie, and Benjamin blocked her view with his body while pretending to be oblivious of her. She scowled at him, turned and pressed forward. Benjamin followed closely behind.
* * * *
“Sophie, it’s me,” said Catherine in a hushed tone.
The girl initially pulled back from Catherine’s grasp on her wrist, but after a couple of seconds her face lit up with recognition.
“Don’t say a word, follow me quickly,” said Catherine. She led her sister toward an alcove at the side of the church where they could speak in private.
“You came!” Sophie launched into her sister’s arms. Catherine cradled the girl’s face and gazed at her in astonishment.
“My lovely girl, I missed you so much.” She smothered Sophie in kisses.
“I missed you too. I knew you’d return for me.”
“Of course, I’d do anything for you. Are you all right?”
“I wouldn’t have been if you’d come any later,” said Sophie. She pointed to the pulpit. “Did you see, that’s the preacher. That’s the man the Allens are sending me away with.”
“We won’t allow that,” said Catherine. “I’m here with a friend, and we’re going to get you away.”
“I knew you’d come back. And you’d take me with you back to your fancy house in New York and not let me be taken away.”
“We’ll see about the fancy house. My dear girl, I’ve missed you so much.” She hugged Sophie again. “We don’t have long. Will you be going out tomorrow morning, running errands or anything like that?”
Sophie scrunched up her nose, thinking. “Tomorrow I have to go to the baker in the morning.”
“The one on Arch Street?”
“Yes.”
“We’ll be waiting there for you. Don’t give any sign to the Allens you’ve seen me. Do what you always do, and look for us tomorrow at the bakery.”
“I want to go with you now. I can’t wait until tomorrow.”
Catherine desperately wished she could whisk Sophie away. Waiting another day seemed interminable. “It’s too risky. Mrs. Allen will be expecting you outside, and if she spots me we’ll lose our chance. If you wait until tomorrow and it appears you’ve disappeared into thin air, she’ll presume you’ve run away. Will you go along with our plan?”
“I will. As long as you promise you’ll be there tomorrow.”
“I promise.” She gently pushed her siste
r out of the alcove and waited until Sophie disappeared out the front doors before putting up the hood of her cloak and exiting. Benjamin stood at the top of the stairs, and he pulled Catherine around to the side of the church, away from where the crowds had gathered.
“Are we all set?” he asked. Catherine squealed and, without thinking, threw her arms around his neck.
“Thank you,” she said.
He put his arms around her waist for a second, before releasing her and stepping back.
She breathlessly filled him in on what had occurred, and together they headed back to the inn.
At Benjamin’s suggestion, they stopped and bought some provisions at a small grocery. Catherine picked out some ripe peaches, bread, sausages and wine. They arrived back at the inn and the proprietor was nowhere to be seen. Catherine insisted Benjamin join her to eat in her room. “There’s no use you going upstairs alone, after all this, and no one will know. You’ll eat, and then we’ll both separate for a good night’s sleep.”
She was glad when he agreed. After all they’d been through the past couple of days, she hoped he saw her in a different light. It was as if the two of them were working together in a kind of partnership, something she’d never experienced before. Even though it was indecent to have a man in her room, no one would know any better, and it was only for a quick meal.
* * * *
Benjamin pulled up a chair to the small table in Catherine’s room and uncorked the wine as she laid out half of their food on the table, saving the rest for tomorrow.
Her face was shining. He watched her sniff one of the peaches and then bite into it, the juice dripping down her chin. She saw him staring at her, and laughed.
“They’re delicious.” She held one out to him. “Try one.”
Benjamin bit into it and savored the sweetness. Then he poured two glasses of wine. “I don’t know if this wine goes with peaches or not, we’ll have to take our chances.”
“Here’s to taking chances.” She touched her glass to his.
“I want you so badly.” Benjamin couldn’t believe the words had come out of his mouth. The way Catherine’s lips wrapped around the peach drove him senseless, and he had voiced his thoughts out loud.
She sat still, perched on the end of her chair. “I know.”
Benjamin kneeled down at the floor in front of her, between her legs. He pulled her face toward his and kissed her on the lips. She tasted of peaches.
She put her hands on his shoulders. “That’s awfully forward of you, being my servant and all.”
“It certainly is,” he teased.
“Stand up.”
He pulled back a little, and stared intently into her face.
“You are the servant, I am your mistress,” she said. “You must do what I say.”
“And what if I refuse?”
“I wouldn’t recommend it.” A corner of her mouth twitched. “Now do as I say and stand up.”
Benjamin did as he was told. He could see Catherine was enjoying herself immensely, and it made him want her more.
“Take off your shirt.”
Her eyes didn’t leave his as he pulled his shirt up and over his head. He tossed it on the floor beside him and only then did he see her gaze greedily flicker over his shoulders and chest and down to his stomach.
“Now the rest.”
When he was fully naked, she motioned him to come toward her.
“No. Now it’s your turn. Take off your clothes. Everything.”
Catherine dutifully rose. She pulled her dress down and he undid the stays. He loved the way her waist tapered down from her strong shoulders, and ran one finger down her spine. After she’d taken off her chemise and petticoat, Benjamin led her to the bed. He grabbed a slice of peach and held the fruit to her lips, gliding it over them so the juice made her mouth gleam in the light. Then he planted his lips over hers, sucking up the juice.
Benjamin slid down the length of her body, kissing her soft skin and listening to her cries. He glided the peach over her nipples, sucking them afterward and enjoying the taste of her skin.
She reached down for his cock, but he pulled away.
“You have to wait.” Benjamin wanted to sustain the pleasure. From what he could imagine, she had known very little of it. She deserved to be tantalized and he knew instinctively what would do it.
Her eyes closed. She placed her palms over her eyes and sighed. “I need you inside me.”
The thought almost made him release immediately, but he controlled himself, keeping his hips far away from her body. Any contact with her skin would make him explode. A kind of heat emanated from her body, and he’d never felt so on fire or desired a woman as much as he did now.
He looked into her eyes and smiled. “You must wait.”
He lowered down between her legs, and rubbed a slice of peach gently over the soft folds of her sex. He licked her tiny nub and her hips moved slowly, rhythmically in time with his sucking. When he sensed she was on the verge of crisis, he raised his body, easing his cock inside and pulling out where his lips had just been, drawing deeper and deeper. She reached around and grabbed his buttocks. She was wide-eyed, desperate.
“Please. I have to feel you. I want everything you have.”
They matched each other, wave for wave, as they both peaked. Her nails dug into his back as they reached their last spasms and he lowered his head into her neck, breathing in the scent of her hair and the peaches and still tasting her juices on his lips.
He drew away from her, and lay back on the bed. After a minute, he stole a look at her and saw she’d fallen asleep, her curls tousled over the pillows. Quietly, he got up and put his clothes back on, then had another sip of wine.
Catherine drove him mad. She had captivated him. But now he had complicated matters. She was a married woman. He remembered, too late, his vow to Dolly, and her sad face.
Leaving Catherine asleep, Benjamin made his way down to the main hall of the inn and sat in a chair by an empty fireplace. A woman with a severe expression on her face was behind the counter, and he guessed it was the proprietor’s wife. She scowled at him and he was sorry for the poor maid who had to work here. It couldn’t be easy. He wondered if this is where Catherine would have ended up, miserable and exhausted, if Delcour hadn’t taken her away. Her beauty and her intelligence had brought her out of this morass, but the future was murky. As was Benjamin’s.
“You’re the one with the lady, right?” The women leaned over the counter, elbows out, and sneered at him.
“I am, yes.”
“You know, I’ll tell you a secret,” said the woman, spitting out the last word. “That’s no lady. That’s Cathy Bowen. She grew up here, daughter of a drunk. She’s no better than you or me.”
He tried to control his reaction. They’d been caught. It was only a matter of time before word got to the Allens and their chance of spiriting Sophie away would be ruined.
“You must be mistaken. My mistress is the wife of a New York merchant.”
“Oh, you’d be surprised. I wouldn’t forget a face like that. Or that hair. She always thought she was the queen of the town. And here she is returning like she’s better than the rest of us.” The woman cackled a throaty laugh. “The things I know about that one. She may be a beauty, but she’s right out of the gutter, and she knows it.”
Benjamin rose. “I best be going.”
“Oh, you’ll be going soon enough. Now word’s gotten ‘round, you’ll get to see the truth. We don’t forget our own. And we don’t let them forget us, neither.”
Benjamin walked up the stairs slowly, but once he was out of sight of the proprietor’s wife he dashed down the hallway and burst into Catherine’s room. She sat up from the bed, her face still flushed from sleep and their lovemaking.
“What? Benjamin, is it Sophie?”
Although his first instinct was to rush to her and hold her in his arms, Benjamin instead bundled up the food and wine that was still on the table.
“We have to go. They know who you are. You’ve been recognized.”
“By whom?”
“The wife of the innkeeper. Quick. We have little time.”
Catherine quickly dressed and put on her cloak. She gave him a trusting, expectant look, but he didn’t acknowledge it. Instead he turned away and headed for the door.
“I’ll get the horses ready. Keep an eye out the window and come down as soon as you see the carriage.”
“I will.”
Benjamin left before he could see the pain in her eyes from his curtness. He was glad they had no time to discuss what had happened between the two of them. But as he fastened the buckles of the harness, he smelled her sex on his hands, and it made his head spin. He focused on the task at hand, and led the horses around to the front of the inn. He spied Catherine looking through the second floor window, and before he could nod to her she’d disappeared from view.
The harsh voice of the owner’s wife rose above the street noise outside. The door flung open, and Catherine ran toward the carriage. The woman followed right behind her.
“You look at me when I talk to you, Cathy,” she barked. “Don’t be putting on fancy airs around this town. I knew your mother, and your father. Perhaps you can repay his debts, now you’re a lady and all.”
Benjamin held out his hand and helped Catherine into the seat. Her face was stony.
“Enough,” he said to the woman. “Leave the lady alone. She is your guest, and you will treat her as such.”
“Leave it,” Catherine said through her teeth. “She’s not worth the trouble.”
“I’m not worth the trouble, am I?” sputtered the woman. “I heard that. Maybe you’ll think differently when I tell Mr. Allen you’re back. He’ll give you the beating Mrs. Allen always said you deserved.”
“Let’s go,” said Catherine.
Benjamin snapped the reins and they were off, leaving the woman screeching behind them.
13
The moment after Benjamin expressed his desire back at the inn, Catherine realized she’d fallen in love with him. What they had done together was so right and true. She loved being in his presence every minute of the day, and making love to him. She wished they’d had time together afterward to talk about what had happened between them.
