She shuddered, recalling Dominick’s strange statement to her about Corliss on the night of her ball … something about slaves knowing their place and that they must be treated with a firm hand. Dear God, if she had married Dominick, she would have subjected all the innocent people under her care to the horrors Adam had described, and herself to endless unhappiness.
No doubt Dominick had had every intention of selling Briarwood to pay his debts. What then of her sworn promise to Camille? In one fell swoop she would have lost everything. No wonder Adam had claimed she would have made the biggest mistake of her life!
She really should thank him, Susanna thought as her stays fell from her body and Adam turned her to face him again. She should thank him for saving her from such a man—
No, he had used her! she reminded herself, looking into his striking brown eyes, which were so filled with desire. He had wanted her only for his revenge, and now, obviously, to satisfy his lust. Damn him, he had lied to her, saying he loved her just to sway her to his purpose!
Yet how could she blame him? a far stronger inner voice asked as he lifted her thin chemise above her head and cast it to the floor. She had hated her father for his cruel abuses, but his beatings had left no permanent scars on her body. His abuse hadn’t maimed her for life. She suffered from nightmares, but she could always hope that in time, her bad dreams would fade. Not so the marks that Adam bore. They would be a part of him forever.
She had harshly judged this man for seeking vengeance against another who had not only brutally mistreated him but also been responsible for the horrifying deaths of his parents. Wouldn’t she have done exactly the same thing if she had been in his place? She knew she would.
“Woman, you are so beautiful,” Adam said softly, gathering her close to kiss her bare shoulders, her throat. “Perfection.”
Susanna’s eyes dimmed as he knelt in front of her to kiss her breasts, and she tossed back her head so her tears would not spill down upon him.
How much she wanted to tell him that she found him equally beautiful, despite his ravaged flesh. That he was as whole and perfect in her eyes as no other man had ever been to her.
But she kept silent, remembering with blistering pain how he had said he didn’t love her. He only desired her and wanted her to play his docile, obedient wife. Nothing more.
Yet that couldn’t be all there would ever be between them! Susanna thought desperately as Adam rose and swept her into his arms, then laid her on the bed.
Regardless of the countless lies and deceptions that had brought them together, they were husband and wife now. They would be sharing the rest of their lives. Was she willing to settle for this constant warring and mistrust when there might be a slim chance that they could have much more? She used to think that love wasn’t important, that she could be happy without it, but now she wanted Adam to love her!
As he moved away, Susanna watched, awestruck, as he stripped off the last of his clothes, baring his hard, swollen arousal to her gaze. She felt such a rush of excitement that it shook her with its intensity.
Desire was a start, wasn’t it? It could lead to love. Maybe after he attained his vengeance against Dominick, Adam might find it within himself to forgive her for misleading him when she had mistakenly believed it was the right thing to do. Maybe then there might be room in his heart for something more than hate, anger, and all-consuming bitterness. She could hope
“No tears, no pity,” Adam whispered huskily, lying down beside her and blanketing her with his warm, powerful body. He kissed her eyelids, her damp cheeks, then found her mouth, his lips so wondrously demanding that all thoughts fled save one. As she wrapped her arms around him, her hands touching for the first time the roughened, raised scars on his back, she returned his kiss with all the passion she possessed.
Yes, she could hope …
Chapter 20
“I believe that concludes our business, Mr. Thornton,” said Benjamin Carter matter-of-factly, closing the large ledger in front of him. The stout Yorktown merchant leaned back in his chair and laced his short, stubby fingers over his stomach. “Mr. Spencer’s debts are paid in full as far as this shipping firm is concerned.”
“And you will relay a letter of our transaction to your London office?” Adam queried, grimly satisfied that the moment of his revenge had drawn that much closer.
“Yes, indeed. One of our ships is sailing this afternoon and that letter will be upon it. My superior will be most delighted with this sudden turn of events. We’ve been concerned about Mr. Spencer’s reluctance to offer any payment against the sums we’ve advanced him over the years. You’ve done an overwhelmingly gracious thing in covering his liabilities. Quite commendable.” The older man cleared his throat, his double chin jiggling above his frothy white jabot. “Might I ask what has spurred such generosity?”
Adam rose from his chair, telling this merchant what he had already informed a dozen or so others, none of whom were aware that he was making the rounds to every tobacco-shipping firm with which Dominick had ever conducted business.
“It has come to my attention that he is having some monetary difficulty and since my recent marriage has given me substantial means, I decided to make him a small gesture of assistance. It’s the least I could do after everything he did for me while I worked at Raven’s Point.”
“You’re much too modest, young man. Five hundred pounds is no small gesture—”
“And for that reason, Mr. Carter, I would very much prefer that no word of our transaction leave this room. You know that a planter’s financial status is his honor here in the Tidewater. Be it five pounds or a thousand, Mr. Spencer may take strong offense if he discovers by some other route than my own admission what has transpired here today. I’m sure he would not want his … difficulties to become common knowledge. You understand.”
“Yes, of course,” the merchant agreed, rising ponderously to shake Adam’s hand. “Discreet business arrangements, I’m proud to say, are a hallmark of our firm.” Clearing his throat again, he rounded the desk and walked Adam to the door. “Please give your lovely wife my congratulations on your wedding. I remember the day she arrived on Captain Keyes’s ship. Hard to believe it was only a little over a month ago. I miss that old salt. James Cary, too.”
“So do I,” Adam said, donning his tricorn. “A good day to you, Mr. Carter.”
“Likewise, young man. Likewise.”
Stepping outside into the bright midday sun, Adam slowly exhaled. His plan of buying up Dominick’s debt from the man’s creditors was proving as effortless as he had imagined it would be. Not one merchant had asked him any more pointed questions than Benjamin Carter, which confirmed for him that cold hard cash on the table silenced even the most inquisitive of men.
During the week since the wedding he had seen everyone he needed to in Yorktown, Williamsburg, Newport News, and Hampton. Now he had only a few more merchants to visit, which would require an overnight trip to Norfolk starting tomorrow morning.
He didn’t like the thought of leaving Susanna alone at Briarwood for an entire evening, but her presence would only slow his journey. He wanted to travel swiftly on horseback rather than by a cumbersome coach. If all went as planned, by the beginning of next week he would be ready to confront Dominick at Raven’s Point. He could hardly wait!
Preparing to mount his chestnut stallion, Adam spied a silversmith’s sign down the street and was reminded that he had yet to purchase a real wedding band for Susanna.
She had spent the entire week at home—refusing to accept any of the flood of invitations addressed to Mr. and Mrs. Adam Thornton because, as she had explained to him, she wanted to become better acquainted with the domestic workings of Briarwood—so there hadn’t really been any need for her to have a proper ring. But at the Byrds’ summer ball on Saturday, an event he had decided would make the perfect occasion to introduce themselves into Tidewater society as husband and wife, it would be an embarrassment for her not to have a ring, and he
wished to spare her that. She deserved some reward for complying with the code of behavior he had demanded of her.
In fact, she had complied a bit too well for his liking, Adam thought with irritation as he strode toward the silversmith’s shop. She was playing the sweet, obedient wife too expertly. Something was going on in that devious mind of hers, and he didn’t know what it might be. All he knew was that her behavior had drastically changed toward him, starting with the morning after their wedding night.
She had actually awoken beside him with a beautiful, sleepy smile upon her face and greeted him not with the sharp, defiant words he had expected, but in a soft, playful tone like the one she had used with him before he had discovered her true identity. And when he had captured her in his arms, overcome with desire for her lush body pressed against his, she had offered no protest, seemingly welcoming his embrace with a fiery passion that fully matched his own.
So she had done all week. They had made love countless times. It had gotten to the point where they elicited knowing smiles from the servants when they retired early to their chamber each night, and the same reaction when they finally came downstairs together at mid-morning. On several afternoons he had even whisked her to their room after arriving hot and sweaty from his journeys to meet with Dominick’s creditors, and she hadn’t seemed to mind at all.
He couldn’t forget what she had said to him yesterday afternoon in the privacy of their chamber after he had returned from Williamsburg, her hands running eagerly over his bare chest.
“I like the way you smell after a long ride, Adam … sweat, horses, leather.”
Then, with the wanton look in her eyes that never failed to excite him, she had flicked at his nipple with her pink, darting tongue
“Damn!” Adam muttered to himself, wishing he could forgo the blasted ring and ride straight home. It was a good thing his long waistcoat hid his sudden and uncomfortable arousal. Willing himself to be patient, he entered the shop, determined that this would be the fastest purchase he had ever made.
***
“Where’s your mistress?” Adam asked Corliss as he entered the sunny hall and saw the waiting-maid coming down the stairs carrying some gowns which must be destined for the laundry. “Is she in our room?”
“No, sir, Master Thornton, she’s been with Prue in the kitchen since you left this morning.”
“Doing what?” he inquired, disappointed to hear that Susanna wasn’t even in the house. His ride home had been fueled by the seductive image of what they would do when he found her, whether it be in their chamber, the drawing room, or the library.
“Baking bread, I s’pose,” Corliss replied, appearing just as bemused about how her mistress had chosen to spend the day as was Adam. Then, shaking her head, the waiting-maid gave a shrug. “Mistress Camille told Prue that she’d never done it before and she wanted to learn how.”
Without a reply, Adam threw his hat on the table and left the house, wondering why Susanna was troubling herself with such a chore. Becoming more familiar with the domestic workings of the plantation was one thing, but actually participating in them was another.
Bread-baking was no proper pastime for a planter’s wife. He would have to explain to her that her duties were to oversee the household from a discreet distance, and to let the servants do the real work. She probably didn’t yet understand the distinction. Yet if she continued on as she was, Ertha would begin to wonder why her gently bred mistress had a stronger interest in such mundane tasks than in the appropriate diversions of a lady of leisure.
As Adam neared the large brick outbuilding that served as a kitchen, the wonderful aroma of fresh-baked bread wafted to him. Although most of the windows were opened to the light breeze, he imagined it must be very hot in there from the summer heat and oven fires.
Preparing himself for the stifling warmth, Adam was almost to the door when it suddenly flew open. His heart lurched as Susanna rushed out to greet him, smiling prettily and carrying a wicker basket covered with a red-checked cloth. No matter how hard he had tried to stifle his powerful feelings toward her this past week, they always hit him with renewed strength whenever he saw her again after being apart for even a few moments.
Damn, if this woman hadn’t bewitched him entirely! When she smiled at him like that, as if she was really glad to see him, it was all he could do to remind himself of her callous deception.
“Adam! I saw you ride up to the house,” she said excitedly, wiping a damp tendril from her flushed face, “and I was just coming to meet you after Prue quickly prepared us a picnic.” She turned back the cloth, proudly revealing a crusty loaf of bread. “Look, I made this myself. Isn’t it lovely?”
Adam wanted to say that she was the loveliest thing he had ever seen, but he held his tongue. It wouldn’t do to let her know he might be softening toward her. His compliments were profuse enough when she lay naked in his arms, her sea-green eyes liquid with passion. He was surprised that he hadn’t yet let slip how much he loved her. He seemed to lose his head at their most intimate moments.
Recalling with an impatient ache in his loins what he had planned for their afternoon, he nodded in answer to her query and asked, “What’s this about a picnic?”
“It’s such a pretty day, Adam. I thought we could visit that pond you took me to the day after I got here. You know, your favorite place. I’ve been thinking about it all morning. It was so beautiful there, so cool under the willows, and it was so hot in that kitchen …”
She was looking at him so hopefully, he couldn’t refuse her, despite his desire to throw her over his shoulder and carry her upstairs to their room like a barbarian with his captive.
And, he reasoned, noting how her simple day gown clung damply to her body, a trip to the pond didn’t sound like such a bad idea. Perhaps after their meal, she might be willing to strip off her clothes and join him for a swim …
“Done,” he agreed, his pulse racing when she threw a bright smile at him that could light any man’s heart, even one as suspicious as his own.
“Give me a minute,” she said, handing him the basket. “I just have to fetch my straw hat.”
As she raced to the house, her skirts fluttering around her slim ankles, Adam wondered anew about her unsettling change of attitude. He could almost swear she was deliberately going out of her way to please him. Maybe she too had imagined them swimming together and what might come afterward …
Whatever that cunning wench’s plans, Adam thought with sudden unreasoning anger, berating himself for his weakness as he strode to the stable, he didn’t trust her. For all he knew, she might be acting so agreeable purely out of pity, for once she had seen his ravaged body on their wedding night, her mood had completely changed toward him.
Yet he didn’t want her pity. The only thing he wanted from her was love, and from such a conniving, manipulative woman as Susanna Jane Guthrie, that was impossible. From now on he would watch her with extra care. He didn’t trust her as far as he could see.
***
“Adam, would you like some more apple cider?” Susanna asked, trying to hide her disappointment. It seemed that her plan to build some rapport between them with a lighthearted picnic at one of his favorite places was failing miserably. He had said little to her during their ride here, and now he was acting just as distant, barely touching Prue’s savory chicken pie, corn and cucumber relish, or her own freshly baked bread. “I’m sorry I didn’t think to bring any wine—”
“Cider is fine,” he replied, scrutinizing her as he held out his empty cup. He seemed to be trying to read her thoughts.
She quickly refilled the cup, her hands trembling a little.
Why was he looking at her as if he was angry with her? She hadn’t done anything to upset him. Lowering her eyes and sighing to herself, she twisted in the stopper and set the bottle back in the basket.
How strange that the more she tried to please him, the more he seemed to retreat from her. She had done her best this last week to act ex
actly as he wanted her to, even down to curbing her natural temper which was still pricked that he would have so cruelly lied about being in love with her, but she didn’t think she had gained the slightest favor with him at all.
The only time he dropped his guard was during their lovemaking.
Thankfully his desire for her had not flagged; instead, it seemed he couldn’t get enough of her, which perfectly matched the way she felt about him. When he held her in his arms, his throbbing body buried deep in her own, it was easy to believe that he could one day grow to love her.
Yet she wanted to feel that same harmony when they were alone like this, sitting close together but not touching. She wanted him to talk to her the way he did when the servants were around, a teasing, affectionate banter she knew was feigned for their benefit but which she desperately wished was real. She wanted to feel as if he might start to trust her, as he had before he had discovered her deception. Oh, she wanted … she wanted …
You’ve got to be patient, Susanna Jane, she chided herself, glancing out across the placid pond. Adam hadn’t won his vengeance against Dominick yet. She would have to bide her time, then, she hoped, begin to make inroads into his heart. Meanwhile, she would keep on as she had been, trying to rebuild trust between them.
“What are you thinking about?”
His question, almost a demand, startled her, and her wide gaze flew to his face.
“Nothing, really.”
“I don’t believe you. You were frowning to yourself.”
How she hated those words … I don’t believe you. She had heard them so often from him. When would she hear him say, “I believe you” or “my love” again, and mean it?
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