by Jo Goodman
"We make a fine pair, don't we, Lazarus? Both of us in need of new shoes and sweeter dispositions, I'll wager." The offending bit of rock fell back to the dusty road. She patted Lazarus's flank affectionately and began walking, limping slightly when she touched down on the tender portion of her foot. Beside her, the horse favored his left foreleg where he had taken a pebble that refused Rae's best attempt at removal.
Jericho could not quite curb his grin as he came upon them, limping in unison along the rutted road. He reined in his mount, a spirited bay mare that danced in front of Lazarus as if mocking his gimpy gait, and leaned forward in his saddle.
"Athena is as ill-mannered as her rider, Lazarus. They are both gloating over our misfortune. Pay them no mind." Rae encouraged her horse to keep going while Jericho held Athena to an ambling walk beside them.
"What happened?" Jericho asked, undaunted by Rae's cheek. Since the confrontation in the summerhouse not yet one week ago, she had thawed noticeably in her attitude toward him. At least she did not retreat from a room when he happened to come upon her, and Noah once timed them at twelve minutes before Jericho pushed Rae into the boughs with his provocation. That had brought a smile to the rest of the McClellans, and a scowl to Rae's finely cut mouth when she realized she had been the evening's entertainment. But the most important realization—that Jericho's provoking was all in aid of securing her heart—went right past her.
From his superior height Jericho looked down on Rae, thinking that the sort of provocation she needed at the moment required his mouth hot on hers. She always looked in need of kissing.
Her black velvet riding hat sat at an odd angle on the crown of her auburn hair and the feather accent dipped and waved as she limped along. He had a desire to pluck the jaunty creation, toss it to one side, and loose the braid that coiled so primly on her head. His fingers would tangle in the waves, trapping her, forcing her to quiet as he tilted her face upward and accepted the invitation on her parted lips.
"Did you hear a word I said?" Rae demanded with a touch of impatience. She glanced up a second too late to see the arrested expression on Jericho's face.
Jericho shook himself out of his reverie. "You said something about Lazarus catching a stone. I didn't get it all."
"Humph. I thought I was talking to the air. Shall I repeat myself or is it enough, do you think?"
Yes, her mouth truly did look in need of kissing. It was pursed comically to one side in Rae's version of exasperation. Jericho blinked. "It's enough. Have you been walking long?"
"Not above thirty minutes. Lazarus and I went farther from the house than was my original intention. It is such a lovely day for riding—"
"Or walking."
"That too. I expect we'll have a snowfall before long. Have you noticed how it grows colder each day? Winter will be upon us before we know it."
"Red, why are you talking about the weather?"
Rae thought about that a moment. "I suppose because I am not in the mood to be needled and I know you have a particular fondness for that pastime."
"You know, I admire that honest streak in you that makes you speak your mind. If I promise not to be objectionable, will you ride with me? Athena can carry us both." He showed her by moving back in the saddle and making a place for her to sit. Jericho would have been surprised if Rae hadn't studied him a bit skeptically before she took his proffered hand. There was a certain caution about her that had not been evident on the schooner. He could barely blame her for cultivating a little circumspection around him.
Athena pranced a bit as Rae settled herself in front of Jericho. The fit was tighter than she'd imagined it would be, especially when his arms came around her waist to take up the reins in both hands. Her hip was trapped in the cradle of his, and it was very hard to sit without leaning back into his encircling arm and shoulder. This closeness confused her, equal parts security and danger. She was sure she was ill-prepared for this assault on her senses. "I don't think this is—"
"Hush. You're up here now. Let it rest."
His voice was very close to her ear and his breath brushed a stray stand of hair past her lobe. Unconsciously she lifted her shoulder to rub the spot that he had tickled and glanced back self-consciously to see if he had noticed. She thought it was probably a mistake, because it put her lips in very close proximity to his, and she knew a swift desire to have that mouth on hers.
"Rae?"
"Hmm?"
"Would I be being objectionable if I kissed you?"
"Only if you didn't."
Rae was not certain what she expected, but it was not the whisper of his mouth across her own, more a promise of a kiss than a kiss itself. She leaned into him, following as his head lifted, and this time she initiated the sweet brush of their lips. Her mouth parted invitingly, touched him once, twice, then lost contact as Athena grew restless beneath them. She felt Jericho's legs tighten on the horse to still her movements. Rae smiled nervously and her tongue wet her lower lip. "Mayhap this is not a good idea."
With a mouth like she had it was always a good idea. But what he said was, "Slip your arms around my neck."
No doubt it was another mistake to obey the husky command in his voice, and she would have cause later to wonder at her sanity, but for now there was naught else she wanted in the world. Rae's arms circled his neck, and if Athena had reared up on her hind legs Rae thought there would be no dislodging Jericho from the firmness of her embrace. Jericho's mouth now made good on its promise, tasting the fullness of what Rae offered. His tongue slipped along the edge of her teeth and traced the soft underside of her lip, and when he pressed harder, nudging her teeth apart, Rae eagerly accepted his charged hunger.
Neither of them could have said where that kiss might have taken them had it not been interrupted. Jericho liked to think he would not have ravished her in the road. Rae liked to think he might have at least considered it. But the intervention of a dusty stranger and his nag made their thoughts come to nothing as they pulled guiltily apart. Neither of them knew when he had come upon them or how long he had been staring at them.
Rae did not particularly care for the looks of the stranger. It was difficult to tell his height while he was mounted, but she thought him shorter than she was and possessed of a braggadocio manner that she often found in men who had nothing at all to boast of. He completely ignored her, which did nothing to win her favor, and addressed Jericho, a sly smile on his lips and a gutter wink in his dark eyes that made his apology ring false.
"Beggin' yer pardon, sir. But I didn't see you till I took the bend. Then I says, 'Well, Sam Judge'—that's what I call myself—'Well, Sam Judge,' says I, 'mayhap they won't take no notice of you if you go quietly on by.' But Berry here..." He patted his animal on the neck and the nag tossed her head in agitation. Sam Judge rolled his eyes as if he didn't know what to make of the horse's skittishness, while Rae thought personally the horse was well within her rights. "Berry here ain't known for goin' silently about, and she's the one what ought to beg your pardon."
Rae did not have to turn around to know that Jericho had taken the full measure of the man in front of them and that his eyes would be glacial. That was why the warmth of his reply startled her. "Then we'll accept her apology. Where are you headin', Sam Judge?"
"That's jest the thing. I don't rightly know. I'm lookin' fer a place called McClellan's Landing. I've got a packet here fer a Miz Ashley Lynne, but folks I asked in Norfolk says they only know Ashley McClellan and directed me this way. Had to ferry the river and hire me this nag to git this fer."
"I'm Ashley McClellan," Rae said calmly. "Lynne is my maiden name."
Jericho nearly groaned aloud. Had he really thought she was learning caution? Oh well, in for a penny, in for a pound. "I'm Jerusalem McClellan," he said easily, surreptitiously squeezing Rae's waist to remain quiet and let him handle this. "Ashley is my wife."
"Hear that, Berry? The one you thought was a doxy is the wife. Jest shows you can't be too quick to sit in judgment
. Oh, but it's good to see a marriage what ain't ended after the vows been said."
Rae stiffened. He had called her a doxy! If Jericho didn't smash his face she was going to—as soon as she found a way out of his steel embrace. Sam Judge's insolent gaze was all over her, and Jericho wasn't lifting a finger to poke the blighter's eyes out.
"You said you have a packet?" Jericho prompted.
"That I do." He unfastened two buttons on his jacket, reached inside his vest and pulled out a rather thick packet wrapped in oilcloth and bound neatly with twine. Sam Judge turned it over so they could see there was also a seal and that it remained unbroken. "So there's no doubtin' Sam Judge's honesty," he said, kicking Berry forward and delivering the goods into Rae's hands.
Her fingers gripped the edges tightly and willed Jericho to ease up on her arms so she could bat Sam Judge over the head with it. Jericho had even taken his foot from the stirrup and trapped her ankles beneath his calf. He knew she wanted to get one good kick in before the stranger departed. She supposed they must look very cozy to Sam Judge.
Gritting her teeth, Rae smiled sweetly. "Thank you kindly, Mr. Judge. Would you like to come to the landing for some refreshment?" My brothers will put your eyes out. "I imagine you've had a tiring trip." And I'll stomp all over your dirty grin. "Most couriers bring our mail by way of the river. It's an easier journey." Then we'll ask questions about why you're sniffing around our home with packages for Ashley.
"That's your home over there?" he asked, pointing to the east wing of the house that was the only part visible from the road.
"My parents' home," Jericho answered for Rae. "Will you have that refreshment? Perhaps a reply will be necessary and you can carry it back for my wife?"
Sam Judge was looking distinctly uncomfortable, and Rae mentally applauded Jericho's inventiveness. They really did need to bring Judge in so they could question him, though how they would keep it from Ashley she didn't know.
Judge pretended to give the cast of the sky a great deal of thought before he replied. "I'd like that refreshment, o' course, and I'd like to oblige you with yer reply, but it looks like a storm's brewing over yonder. Wouldn't be surprised if it snowed a might. Berry and me don't want to be caught in that."
Rae wondered what he would have done if the weather had not been so accommodating. There were some ominous-looking clouds in the northwest. "Are you certain? We can put you up for the night."
"Don't want to get snowed in, Mrs. McClellan." He kicked Berry hard in the flanks and turned her. "Nice bit of luck, chancin' upon the two of you this way. Saved Berry's agin' legs." He tipped his dusty hat to each of them in turn. "Hope I've been the bearer of good news." He gave Berry another nudge and she picked up her pace. His voice trailed off as he continued to talk to his animal. "Nice folks, ain't they, Berry? Don't know when I last seen a wife that kissed like a..."
"Ooh!" Rae struggled in Jericho's arms.
"Stop it! Don't listen to him. We have to get back to the house. Will your horse find his own way?"
"Of course, but he's hurt. I hate to leave him to make his own way back. Go on, boy. Go on, Lazarus." She leaned over, slapped him on the rump, and watched him go. "Why didn't you run him through?"
Jericho gave Athena a light kick. "Lazarus?"
"No. Sam Judge!"
"Oh, we're back to him? And what should I have used to do the deed? I know it's gauche of me to have left the house without my dress sword, but there it is. I would have my knife, but your mother frowns on me carryin' a weapon all the time."
"Do not make light of me, Jericho Smith! You know what that man was!"
Jericho gave Rae a small shake. "Exactly. Which is why I was not goin' to try to take him while I had your safety to think of. I consider myself lucky to be alive as it is. Did you see the piece he was carrying in his breeches? Loaded too, I'll wager, and ready to cut me down once he had a clear shot. It was you he wanted, or rather Ashley. I don't doubt he would have taken you, if he thought he could have got you away from me."
"Then you weren't trying to keep me from landing him a facer? You were using me as a shield!"
"A bit of both, I'm afraid. Not very chivalrous, but undeniably true. And your own fault, I might add. What possessed you to tell him you were Ashley?"
"Because I wanted to see that packet before Ashley saw it. Only her uncle would have the audacity to send her something after all these years and still refuse to recognize her marriage. That it was addressed to Ashley Lynne was a deliberate cut, and I will not have her hurt again. My family has suffered aplenty at that man's hands! Anyway," she said, calming herself, "you did not have to say you were Salem."
"What? And ruin Ashley's rep after you announced Lynne was your maiden name? Who exactly was it she was supposed to be kissing if not her husband?"
Rae frowned deeply. "I take your point. Oh, Jericho, what are we going to do?"
Jericho reined in Athena at the summerhouse. "Let's have a look at that packet before we go in the house. I don't want Ashley accidently coming upon us." He helped Rae down, then dismounted himself, favoring his injured leg only the slightest degree. He gave Athena a nudge in the direction of the stables.
Unlike the last time they had been in the summerhouse, Jericho and Rae did not choose opposite sides. Rae sat close at Jericho's side, huddled for warmth. A brisk wind had kicked up, and the sky was gray now as the dark clouds Sam Judge had seen moved toward them with surprising speed. The feather in Rae's hat tickled her cheek once too often, and she tore the thing off impatiently. Jericho took the packet from her lap and examined the seal.
"Recognize it?" he asked, lifting it for her inspection.
An elaborately scrolled L was at the center of the seal and on its perimeter was a Latin inscription Rae could not read. "It's the Lynne seal," she said. "Ashley showed it to me once. She told me what those words mean. I've forgotten now."
"Vestiga nulla retrosum. It means no returning footsteps. Fitting, don't you think? Nigel never turns back."
Rae's head snapped up, her coiled braid lost its moorings, and her hands fell slowly to her lap. She looked at him shrewdly. "This is not the time, but be warned, Jericho, I will discover how it is you can read Latin. Heavens! You're more a mystery than a certain lightskirt who could read the King's English."
"Don't refine on it, Rae," he said tersely. "Are those the words Ashley told you?"
"Yes. It's the Lynne seal."
Jericho took off the twine and broke the seal. Inside the oilcloth were a number of letters, all individually sealed. Jericho hesitated. "Should we?"
"Absolutely." She took the first one from the pile and cracked the seal. "You take the next," she told him as she unfolded the vellum. She began to read in silence while Jericho opened another missive. Minutes later she folded it again and set it down, her hands trembling, her face pale. She looked askance at Jericho. He had just finished reading, and a muscle leaped in his clenched jaw. "He's obsessed with having her back at Linfield, isn't he?" she asked in a choked little voice. "He writes over and over for her to return to her home."
"There were some very ugly threats scattered among those pleas in the letter I read. Yours?"
She nodded. "His mind isn't right. It can't be. Some of the things he said he would do..."
Jericho picked up another letter, ripped it open, and carefully read the contents. He would not let Rae touch them again, but his impassive face told her that each was like the one she'd first read. In the end he gathered them up and wrapped the oilcloth about them, slipping the twine around the packet. "They date from as long as two years ago to as recently as ten weeks ago. There are threats against the children, Courtney first, and later Trenton is mentioned."
"Dear God!"
"Rae, he must have been getting reports on Ashley while she and Salem were in New York. There are some threats directed at you, also." Jericho's fist slammed into the bench. "Dammit! Why didn't your brother have something done about Nigel Lynne five years ago?"
"I believe he tried, Jericho," Rae said quietly. Her chest felt tight as she thought how much Jericho must love Ashley. He had to know that Salem did everything in his power to protect his wife, but for Jericho it still wasn't enough. "There were few recourses available to Salem. Have you forgotten there has been war these last years?"
"Pray, do not be stupid."
"Then, pray, what would you have done? Sent someone to kill him as he has sent people here?"
"No. I would have seen to the matter myself."
Rae had guessed as much. "Which is precisely what Ashley would not permit! Did you know my father suspects she is really the owner of the Linfield holdings? Papa thinks Nigel was disinherited, but Ashley will have none of it! She wants nothing to do with her uncle, and that includes not letting her husband within striking distance of him. He is a dangerous man, Jericho. We are all safer here, and that is why Ashley would never let Salem go to England and finish it."
Jericho's knuckles whitened on the packet. "Rae, listen to me. I know what you say is true, but these letters are something else again. These threats to you and the children cannot be dismissed. I have some assurance that you might, just might, be able to defend yourself. But what of Courtney and Trenton?"
Rae clutched Jericho's arm. It was only the thickness of his riding coat that prevented her nails from scoring him. "Don't speak of that! I tell you we are safe at the landing!"
He knew she wanted to believe it was true. He wished to God it were. "I'm going to bury this packet out here. I refuse to take it into the house. I cannot conceive of the place where it cannot be stumbled upon. If Salem demands to see the evidence, though I doubt that he will, he can see it here."
Rae agreed numbly. "Whatever you think best." She leaned back, shutting her eyes while Jericho stepped to the back of the summerhouse and vaulted gracefully over the rail, dropping to the ground out of view of the house. It was not long before he was back and pulling Rae to her feet.
