Defiant Impostor

by Miriam Minger

  “Yes, that was it! The Market Square Tavern. A delightful old parson who resides there was only too happy to marry us.” She held out her trembling left hand to display the thin strip of metal wrapped around her finger. “See? Adam had to improvise and use a bed-curtain ring until we have time to buy a proper wedding band. It was clever of him, don’t you think?”

  She wasn’t surprised when her inane comment was greeted with dead silence.

  “Oh, dear, here I am chattering on about my happiness while I can imagine what a shock this must be to you. How terribly insensitive of me.” She turned to Celeste and Matthew. “I hope you can both forgive me and that we can remain friends. We’ve had so much fun these past few weeks that I’d hate to see—”

  She didn’t get to finish as Celeste burst into tears, flung open the door, and rushed from the room. Mumbling an apology, Matthew ran after her, while Dominick was obviously so angry he could find few words with which to speak.

  “I congratulate you, Mrs. Thornton,” he said with a stiff bow, pointedly refusing to address Adam directly. “Your husband is a most fortunate man.” With that, he brushed past her into the main hall, his footsteps resounding across the floor. Then the front door was closed with cold finality behind him.

  “Bravo, my love,” Adam said, caressing her waist. “I knew you could do it. Lied like a true expert. I’ve waited many long years to see that arrogant bastard outdone, and today won’t be the last time.”

  His taunting tone hit Susanna like a cruel slap in the face and she rounded on him. “That man should have been my husband, not you! I’m sure you can well imagine who I think is the bastard here. Go to hell!”

  Dashing into the hall before he could stop her, she was so furious that she paid no heed to the startled housemaids coming down the stairway who offered her good wishes on her marriage. Nor did she answer Corliss who asked her if there was anything she needed as they passed each other in the upstairs corridor. Storming into her room, Susanna slammed the new door and drew the bolt, her fingers shaking. Then she flung herself on her bed, dreading the familiar footfalls that she knew would come.

  ***

  “Open the door, Camille,” Adam repeated for the third time, growing more irritated as he was greeted by the same stony silence. He imagined Prue would probably be up soon with their supper, and he didn’t want to face embarrassment because his new bride had locked him out of their room.

  He had already explained to an understanding Corliss and the other housemaids that their mistress was experiencing the normal fears any young woman might have before her wedding night. But enough was enough, and such rationale grated on him, anyway. He doubted strongly that Susanna was a virgin, despite what she had claimed the other night. He had tumbled enough ladies’ maids to know they were a lusty lot, and prone to easily giving their favors if a gentleman caught their eye. Why would Susanna be any different?

  Hot desire erupted within him as he recalled the voluptuous beauty of her body and how her skin, glowing like pale alabaster in the moonlight, had been satin-smooth and warm beneath his hands. How many lovers had she known at Fairford? Adam wondered jealously, resisting the urge to pound on the door, knocking firmly instead. How many men had touched her as he had done two nights ago?

  She had played the sweet innocent so well, protesting convincingly against his wish to give her pleasure, while all along she had no doubt possessed the experience of a true wanton. The devil take her! Her kisses had told him as much! And how expertly she had spoken earlier that same day of their wedding night being only a few weeks away, when in actuality, she had intended to betray him for Dominick Spencer, a man she thought was good enough to marry while he, Adam Thornton, a mere hired servant, was not.

  Well, their wedding night had finally arrived, he thought bitterly, his fury rekindled at the thought of how close he had come to losing her to that murdering scum. But tonight wouldn’t be the gentle sexual awakening of her that he had long imagined. He couldn’t wait to sheathe himself in her beautiful, treacherous body and ease the torment she had caused him. If by some slim chance she did prove to be a virgin and he hurt her, it would serve her right.

  “Damn you, woman, unlock this door or I swear I’ll break it down!” he said in a low voice, his patience at an end. “I warn you that you’re not entirely safe from prison or the hangman’s noose. Ertha may still suspect you despite what I told her last night. If she sees you acting unlike the good and gentle wife her Camille would have been, she’ll be convinced all the sooner—”

  Adam was suddenly rewarded by the scraping sound of the bolt being drawn. He pushed open the door to find Susanna hastening toward the sitting area on the opposite side of the room from the bed. As she spun to glare at him, her long, honey-blonde curls spilling over her shoulders and down her back, his breath caught deep in his chest.

  Standing there so outraged and defiant, her chin lifted high and her creamy skin flushed rose, she looked more gloriously lovely than ever before. He almost regretted that she must play the obedient wife, for he far preferred the rebellious spirit shining from her eyes. He was finally seeing the real essence of this woman, vibrantly passionate and alive, and it made his pulse race like wildfire just to be in the same room with her.

  Yet he had only to remember the vehement curses she had hurled at him downstairs, delivered in an unladylike accent reminiscent of Polly Blake’s, and he knew he had no choice but to tame her spirit. Their lifelong charade depended upon her proper behavior and so did his revenge, which was of consuming importance to him now.

  Since the night of her ball, he had allowed his impossible dreams of love to overshadow his vengeful plans, but no more. In the morning, he would concentrate again on the goal that had driven him for long, bitter years before he had ever seen her face. Surely such a preoccupation would lessen the pain of her betrayal.

  “A very wise move … opening this door,” he said with deadly quiet, shutting it behind him.

  When she continued to glare at him, Adam strode purposely across the room. Despite the raised windows, the air was still and warm. He propped open the balcony doors, noting how black and ominous the sky had become, thunder rumbling in the distance. He hoped the coming storm didn’t bring a three-day downpour as the last one had. The tobacco would soon be ready to cut, and he didn’t want anything to threaten what he had already judged to be a bumper crop.

  Turning back into the candlelit interior, he met her truculent gaze. “A word of caution, wife. Don’t ever draw that bolt against me again.”

  “It’s my room. I’ll do what I please.”

  “Correction, Camille,” he replied, emphasizing the name. “Our room. Yours and mine. From now on, we share it … the sitting area, wardrobes, dressing tables, balcony, and, not least of all, that bed.”

  Her face paled, but her gaze did not waver. Skipping over the charged topic he had just raised, she asked him tartly, “Will you not be calling me Susanna, then, even when we’re in the privacy of our room?”

  “You’ll never hear that name from my lips again, nor do I want to hear it from yours. As far as we’re concerned, that name was forever laid to rest aboard the Charming Nancy. Do you understand?”

  Before she could respond, a knock sounded, and Adam strode to open the door, imagining it was Prue. He wanted no more interruptions this evening, and as the cook entered followed by three kitchen maids carrying large silver trays, he quickly checked to see that they had brought plenty of wine. It was going to be a long night.

  Oh, child, I’m so happy for you!” Prue exclaimed, tears glistening in her eyes, the minute she saw Susanna. “Married, this very afternoon! I just knew in my bones there was something going on between you two.” She cast a fond glance at Adam. “You’ve got yourself a real fine man there. ‘Course, you already know that, else you wouldn’t have married him. Your papa never had anything but good to say about our Master Thornton.”

  Susanna smiled her thanks, not trusting herself to speak. She did
n’t know how she was going to suffer through such congratulations from the rest of the servants, however heartfelt, or such absurd assessments of Adam’s character. These people had no idea of his true nature!

  “That Corliss surely misread your trip to Mr. Spencer’s yesterday,” the cook continued, shaking her scarf-covered head. “She told me and Ertha this morning that she was afraid you were thinking of marrying that planter. I’m sure glad she was wrong. She saw some mighty awful things at his place that made me shudder—”

  “Something smells absolutely wonderful, Prue,” Susanna broke in when Adam glanced at her sharply, no doubt realizing that Corliss must have described those same things to her on their way back from Raven’s Point. She wasn’t surprised that her gabby maid had been unable to keep their secret, but she certainly didn’t want to discuss yesterday’s events any further. “What did you bring us?”

  The cook smiled broadly, lifting one of the domed lids. “One of my specialties, brought out from the smokehouse just for this happy day, Mistress Camille. Bourbon-glazed ham, scalloped potatoes, and buttered green beans fresh-picked from the garden. There’s an iced lemon cake for dessert, too, with wild strawberry filling, and the best wine from the cellar, just like you ordered, Master Thornton. I didn’t know how much you’d be wanting so we fetched up three bottles.”

  Too bad she didn’t have any appetite, Susanna thought with regret as Adam ushered the cook to the door, her excited, whispering helpers already waiting for her in the hallway.

  “Thank you, Prue. You’ve prepared us a fine wedding supper,” he said. “But I think my bride and I would like to be alone—”

  “Oh, my, I’m sorry,” the cook interjected, glancing at Susanna with embarrassment. “Here I am, talking on and on. Of course you two want to be alone, it being your wedding night and all. Have a good evening, then.”

  As Adam closed the door after Prue and drew the bolt, Susanna tried not to panic, reasoning that he must share her room, and her bed, for the sake of appearances. It also made sense that they would retire early, which would give the servants the impression of conjugal bliss.

  Actually, she doubted she had anything to worry about. Adam had made no move to touch her or even to come near her all day except when other people were about, which there certainly weren’t now. Maybe he would sleep on the divan to avoid coming into contact with her. She felt much calmer now that she had thought through the situation. Yet that didn’t stop her heart from leaping in her breast when he met her eyes, his handsome features set inscrutably.

  “Very good, Camille. That’s exactly how I want you to act from now on around the servants and everyone else, for that matter. No different than you did before I discovered the truth about you. That shouldn’t be too difficult, considering your remarkable gift for deception.”

  Susanna bristled at his mocking tone. “You seem to have deceived everyone at Briarwood as well, Adam, beginning long before I arrived here. Why, even poor Mr. Cary didn’t guess what a mercenary bastard you really are—”

  “That’s another thing you’re going to stop,” he said sharply, walking toward her. “In light of your upbringing, I’m not surprised you also have a gift for cursing, but you’ll do well to sweeten your language from this moment on. A lady doesn’t spout oaths like a common guttersnipe. Do you hear me?”

  Determined to vent her anger, Susanna ignored what he had just said, despite his uncomfortable closeness. If he insisted she had become an impostor out of greed, then she could bloody well express her interpretation of his actions!

  “I saw many of Mr. Cary’s letters to Camille, Adam. I heard him speak of you the last time he came to England. I think you purposely worked your way into his good graces, leading him to believe you were industrious and trustworthy while the whole time you couldn’t wait to possess his daughter and his plantation! You seem to believe that I’m capable of murder. How do I know that you didn’t murder Mr. Cary to win what you so coveted?”

  He stopped within arm’s reach of her, his stunned expression hardening into one of restrained rage.

  “It’s amazing how close you’ve come to the mark, my love, but you need to be told the truth. It wasn’t me who murdered James Cary for the reasons you describe, but the man you would have married, Dominick Spencer.”

  “What are you talking about—” She gasped, her eyes widening in fright as Adam suddenly grabbed her shoulders and shook her hard.

  “No,” he said harshly, his furious gaze burning into hers. “You just listen. Dominick knew James Cary would never allow him to court his daughter so he rid himself of the man, very cleverly staging a hunting accident only one day after he came here to Briarwood to harass James again about the matter. They had a violent argument out in the fields—and if you don’t believe me, ask Josiah Skinner. We both saw and heard it. James had no intention of letting Dominick near his daughter, and do you know why?”

  Susanna shook her head, in complete shock over what he was telling her.

  “Because he believed me when I told him that Dominick was a monster, a cold-blooded killer. I was never going to reveal any of this to you for fear of hurting you, but in light of the circumstances I don’t see any reason not to now. After what you did to me, you deserve to know that I’m not the only one who has been manipulated, and why. Then you tell me how it feels.”

  Wondering wildly at his cryptic words, Susanna struggled to no avail against his cruel grasp as his voice fell almost to a whisper.

  “Let me tell you about your precious Dominick, the charming, well-respected gentleman you wanted so badly to wed. I’ve seen him whip slaves to death without blinking an eye, his face flushed from the pleasure of it. As a punishment to those who disobeyed him, I’ve seen him use curry combs to scrape away flesh and then add salt to the wounds. And with equal relish, he’s cut off the hands and feet of slaves who dared to run away and slashed out the tongues of men, women, and children foolish enough to mumble resistance.”

  “No,” she breathed in horrified disbelief. He rushed on, his eyes tormented in his remembering.

  “There’s more, my love. Much, much more. I’ve seen him wrest squalling babies from their mothers’ arms and sell them on the auction block. To give you a clearer insight into his despicable nature, he did that to the six children his longtime mistress, Cleo, bore him while I was at Raven’s Point. He sold his own flesh and blood into slavery, hating the thought that his superior blood was mixed with a race he so despised. Did you meet Cleo yesterday? She also works as his housekeeper. She’s one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever known. Other than you,” he added bitterly.

  Attempting to force from her dazed mind the unsettling pity she had seen in Cleo’s eyes and shocked to discover the woman was Dominick’s mistress, Susanna could make no response.

  “I’m surprised Dominick has kept her for as long as he has,” Adam went on. “He must know she hates him. That Satan’s spawn must fancy himself in love with her, though it’s unbelievable to me that he could care for anything. Cleo told me five years ago, just before I left Raven’s Point, that someday she would find a way to break him for selling away her children, but she’s obviously failed. Or maybe she simply lost the will to fight …”

  As Adam fell silent, seemingly lost in memories, Susanna finally found her voice. “How could you have convinced Mr. Cary of these terrible things? He wouldn’t have taken your word for such accusations!”

  Adam gave a grim laugh, hauntingly hollow, his eyes filled with cold hatred.

  “James didn’t have just my word. To understand the depths of that man’s depravity, he had only to look at what that devil did to me to know I spoke the truth. He had only to hear of how Dominick horsewhipped my father to death right in front of me and my mother, and then how he raped her while two of his overseers held her down. My mother lost the will to live after that and a week later, drowned herself in the York River.”

  He drew a ragged breath, his voice laden with bitter regret.


  “God help me, I was too young to save them, only fifteen. But I swore that one day I would have vengeance, if not by killing that monster, then by finding a way to make him suffer the cruelest torture. I didn’t want to marry James Cary’s daughter for her land or her fortune, as you so wrongly accused, but for the revenge her wealth could bring me.” Adam drew Susanna closer, crushing her against his chest. “Revenge that you will now bring me, Mrs. Adam Thornton.”

  Though Susanna was horrified by what he had described, she could see in his agonized gaze that he spoke the truth, just as she realized with heartrending clarity that he could never have loved her. What a fool she had been to think that he had pursued her because he cared! In an embittered heart such as his there could be no room for love. He had lied to her to secure his revenge, and that was the most crushing revelation of all.

  “There’s something else you don’t know about your beloved Dominick,” Adam added grimly. “Something only his creditors know about him. Even James Cary had no idea that the man was on the verge of bankruptcy.”

  “Bankruptcy?” she blurted, thinking that this accusation must surely be false. What of Dominick’s fine clothes, his luxurious carriage, the costly gifts he had given her which Adam had already told her would be sent back first thing in the morning—

  “Why else did you think he wanted to marry you?” he scoffed. “Out of affection? Dominick needed your fortune to pull him out of debt because his addictive gambling has finally gotten the better of him. He’s been on the brink of losing Raven’s Point for months. His wretched financial state isn’t common knowledge only because he’s a master at hiding it.” Adam laughed dryly. “Think how completely he fooled you, my love. But I’ve made it my business to know everything about that bastard. A few well-placed bribes have provided me with all the information I needed to plan my revenge. All I required was a very rich wife, and since I now have one, I can finally push him over the edge.”