"The British have her," he answered tersely. "Esperanza and Joaquin managed to escape."
Julia looked at Esperanza, who was obviously distraught. Blood finely covered her blouse and was smeared on her caramel skin. Shifting her eyes to Joaquin, Julia reached out for him and hugged him to her. "They are exhausted, Anton. We have to get them cleaned up and fed. They need to rest."
"We must gather the crew and rescue Simone," Esperanza said, tears leaving a reddish trail along her cheeks. "Anton, you must go for Laffite."
"I will leave at first light. Julia is right. There is little we can do now."
Joaquin looked up at Julia. "Faucon will escape. She will arrive soon," he said confidently even though his voice tremored.
"I know she will, Joaquin," Julia said without conviction as she stroked his hair. "Let's get you fed and ready for bed now." Looking over her shoulder, she said, "You cannot help Simone if you are too tired to move, Esperanza. Until Anton returns with help there is nothing to do but wait and hope she returns safely."
TWO OF THE longest days she could remember living dragged by as Julia waited for Simone to return. Alone at night she feared the worst, but refused to give up hope. To keep herself occupied, she continued tutoring Joaquin to take both their minds away from thoughts of Simone. They were in the middle of a mathematics lesson when Mr. Livingston rushed into the dining room.
"Jackson has arrived!" he announced.
Julia and Joaquin accompanied Livingston to the street and joined a gathering crowd of citizens trying to get their first glimpse of the man they hoped would be their savior. Julia had seen many pictures of Andrew Jackson astride his white horse leading a charge against British soldiers with barely a mark on him. The sight that greeted her didn't look remotely like the heroic figure in the history books.
Jackson sat in an open carriage as it made its way slowly down Rue de Royale toward the building he would use as his headquarters. He looked incredibly gaunt and pale, his face covered with wrinkles making him look much older than a man in his late forties. A thick head of white hair was combed back from his thin face. He waved unresolutely to the crowds that greeted him without smiling. This is the man who saves New Orleans?
Livingston glanced at Julia, seeing the worry on her face. "General Jackson has been quite ill with dysentery for several weeks, but he will be up to the task, my dear," he said.
Nodding, Julia said, "I am sure he will be successful in defending the city, Mr. Livingston."
"I am meeting with him shortly as he addresses the citizens and must go. He has assured me he will defeat the British or give up his life in the endeavor. I have known him for many years and his word has always been good. Is there any word concerning Captain Moreau?"
"Not yet," Julia answered. "When will Laffite arrive?"
"Soon. I must convince the General to meet with Jean as soon as possible."
Chapter Seventeen
THE STREETS OF the city were dark as Simone staggered through them toward Laffite's blacksmith shop on Rue de Bourbon. Damp clothing clung to her skin. She couldn't remember the last time she had been so cold. Scattered flickering streetlights did little to penetrate the darkness hanging over the city. Laffite's men would know where to take her. Her side throbbed ceaselessly and it was difficult for her to breathe without pain. While she stopped the bleeding from her wound by packing it with mud and moss, it was a temporary measure at best. More than two days had passed since her escape and frequent stops to gather her strength or seek temporary warmth made the journey even longer. She was feverish, but continued moving. If she stopped again she might not be able to get up. She was barely recognizable as she stumbled into the side entrance of the blacksmith shop. The two men inside were startled and stared at her for a moment before she collapsed.
The next time she opened her eyes, she could barely make out the glow of a low oil lantern. Her side burned and she groaned as she brought her hand across her abdomen to touch the wound.
"No, don't," a soft voice said as a warm hand swept down her arm.
Simone jerked away from the touch, crying out from the pain coursing down her side. A flash of blonde imprinted itself on her feverish eyes before she succumbed to the darkness once again.
"SHE'S BURNING UP with fever," Julia said. Wringing out a cloth in cool water, she pressed it against Simone's forehead. "Are you certain the doctor cleaned the wound well enough?"
"There are many things in the swamp," Esperanza said, watching the concern on Julia's face. "If something made its way into her blood, there is no way for the doctor to remove it. Faucon will have to fight it. The mud she placed on the wound kept her from bleeding to death, but could kill her."
"She will not die!" Julia said, her eyes flashing as she looked up at Esperanza. "She is a strong woman."
"Only time will tell." Esperanza said.
"One of us should be with her at all times, talking to her. If she hears our voices, they will guide her back to us," Julia said as she gazed at Simone. She had never seen the strong, arrogant woman look so vulnerable.
Esperanze placed a hand on Julia's shoulder. "I will send Joaquin up to speak to her in a while. You must eat something less you fall ill as well."
"I am fine," Julia said as she wrung out the cloth again and placed it along Simone's neck. The truth was she had been terrified when Laffite's men brought Simone by carriage to Livingston's home. In the four days since Simone was brought to the house, Julia spent virtually all of her time watching over the captain's unconscious body. The wound from the musket ball tore a festering hole in her side. Aside from the germ-laden swamp, there was the possibility the musket ball lodged in her body had begun to poison her as well. Julia was heartened by the fact Simone seemed to be breathing easily while her body worked to heal itself.
As Esperanza withdrew from the room, Julia looked at Simone. The peacefulness of her face was occasionally broken by a light groan or frown and Julia couldn't imagine what might have been in her dreams.
"You'll be fine, Simone," Julia said softly. "Do you understand me? I couldn't bear not having you with me. We will win this battle and all return safely to Martinique. There's nothing for me to go home to so you're stuck with me for a while longer."
Julia rested her head on the edge of the bed and soon was overcome by exhaustion. Mental pictures of Simone standing tall and strong on the deck of her ship flipped through her mind. Other than the single kiss the day they first met, nothing more had happened between them other than in Julia's dreams. But she had seen more in Simone's eyes and didn't know what word to put to what she saw. Want. Need. Desire. She was certain Simone must have seen the same in her eyes and couldn't deny she had fallen in love with Simone based on little more than a look. Not even after a night of desperate passion had she felt the same way about any other woman. Smiling in her sleep, she was startled by a hand stroking her hair and sat up quickly. Pale eyes looked at her. "Oh, my God, Simone," she breathed.
"Why are you here?" Simone rasped.
"To care for you."
"I ordered you to leave. The British are south of the city awaiting their main force."
"I couldn't leave while you were injured. I know you are used to everyone jumping when you issue an order, but I am not a member of your crew."
"You are my...captive," Simone said.
"And you are mine," Julia whispered as she looked into the depths of Simone's eyes again, eyes that spoke more than words could ever hope to.
Over the next few days Julia, Esperanza, and Kitty, usually accompanied by Joaquin, assisted Simone in getting up from her bed in order to increase her strength. At first she was too weak to take more than two or three steps, but with each day, her strength slowly returned. Her appetite gradually improved and she regained some of the weight she lost during her ordeal. Julia enjoyed the times she spent with Simone, supporting her as she took halting steps around the enclosed garden courtyard of the Livingston home. She came to look forward to the times Simone
gripped her shoulders to steady her body. Despite the cold weather, the sunlight seemed to rejuvenate the injured woman and occasionally she would rest halfway through her walk to soak in the sunshine, the color slowly returning to her face.
JULIA SLIPPED QUIETLY through the partially opened door, the only light from a small oil lamp on the dresser of the room, its wick set low, casting the room in a soft reddish glow. She hadn't intended to nap so long, but the exhaustion of the past two weeks finally caught up with her and she slept for several hours. The weather outside was humid and a cold, skin-penetrating rain began to fall, reminding everyone that even New Orleans was capable of experiencing winter. The household staff in the Livingston's home was already beginning to make preparations for the Christmas holiday that would be upon them in two weeks. It was Julia's favorite season of the year. She loved the smell of Christmas, the scent of freshly cut pine boughs and spices from foods simmering in the kitchen. She remembered holidays as a child when she and her brother frolicked in the snow surrounding their Virginia home, pelting one another with snowballs until their clothing became wet and heavy before warming themselves with their mother's homemade hot apple cider. Taking a deep breath, she could almost smell the cinnamon melting into the warm liquid.
Shifting her eyes to the far side of the room, a smile crossed her lips. Simone was still resting and Julia carefully approached the bed to set a mug of warm cider on the small table beside it. She couldn't stop herself from being amazed at how beautiful Simone was in repose, nor could she prevent her fingertips from lightly tracing the contours of Simone's cheeks and gently squared jaw. She didn't detect further sign of the fever that had ravaged Simone's body a week earlier and the doctor was amazed at how well the wound in her side was healing. Brushing aside a short lock of hair, Julia smiled down at Simone as she slept and turned to leave the room.
"Bonsoir," Simone said softly, causing Julia to look back at her, meeting the light golden eyes she had come to expect.
"I didn't mean to wake you," Julia replied.
"I was awake when you entered the room, but waited for the touch of your hand against my brow. I missed seeing you when I awoke earlier."
"I took a little nap while you were resting. Are you hungry?" Julia asked in almost a whisper. Looking down at her hands she knew there was so much she wanted to say to Simone. How scared she had been when she saw the ugly, festering wound in her side. How she couldn't go on living without her. But she couldn't bring herself to say any of the things she had said only to herself.
"I ate a light supper with Joaquin earlier. Please, come sit with me," Simone said as she pushed her body farther up on the bed. Quickly Julia went to her side and placed pillows behind her back. Simone grunted lightly at the effort. As she leaned back against the pillows, her face softened and she took a deep breath. "What is that delicious aroma?" she asked.
"Oh, I brought you a cup of apple cider. The weather is quite chilly today." Julia picked the cup up and held it to Simone's lips. As she drank, Simone brought her hands up to cover Julia's. When she swallowed and felt the warmth of the liquid flow down her throat, she smiled.
"It tastes even more delicious than it smells.
Thank you. Did you make it?"
"Yes. Although not quite as good, it is almost like the apple cider my mother makes this time of year."
"One day I shall have to thank your mother for teaching you to make it."
Julia continued holding the cup as Simone's hands covered hers. The warmth of her touch spread through Julia as if it were warm cider. Catching herself, she moved to set the cup back onto the table. She reached behind her to pull the wooden chair that had been her place since Simone's return closer to the bed.
Still holding Julia's right hand, Simone shifted slightly and said, "No. Please sit here beside me. I am much better now. Tell me what has happened while I was recovering."
Sitting on the edge of the bed, Julia turned her body to face Simone. "Joaquin and Esperanza have been worried about you, especially Joaquin," she said.
"What happened was not his fault, nor Esperanza's," Simone said as she looked at Julia's hand in hers and stroked the back of it lightly with her thumb. "We were betrayed by someone we trusted."
"General Jackson has arrived in the city with his men and everyone seems to be in better spirits because of it. Mr. Livingston has sent word to Laffite and they expect him to arrive within the week," Julia continued. Simone nodded at the news as she turned Julia's hand in hers and let her fingers travel to Julia's wrist, brushing the sensitive skin softly.
"Anton...Anton has gone with a small party of men to the German Coast to meet with Laffite and bring your men back as well. Kitty is beside herself, naturally. They have become quite an item," Julia chuckled.
Bringing her eyes up to meet Julia's, Simone smiled. "An item? This is a good thing?"
"Sorry," Julia answered. "I meant I think they care for one another." She couldn't pull her eyes away from Simone's.
"She loves him?" Simone asked as her fingers stroked farther up Julia's arm.
"I believe she does," Julia said. She put her hand over Simone's to stop it from continuing its slow tortuous journey. "Please, Simone. You don't know what you are doing to me."
"If it is half of what looking at you stirs within me, then I cannot imagine anything more painfully sweet," Simone said, her voice deep and husky. Raising her hand to Julia's face, she let it linger along her cheek.
Leaning into the touch, Julia whispered, "It is a most exquisite pain."
Sitting up farther and leaning forward, Simone brought her lips within centimeters of Julia's, pausing a fraction of a second before pulling Julia gently to her, kissing the edges of her lips and feeling the pulse in her neck increase. She teased her with the tip of her tongue until Julia's lips parted. A moan came from Julia's throat as she savored the first intimacy between them and encouraged Simone to explore her mouth fully and deeply, her tongue as anxious as Simone's to discover the pleasures within. It was the slowest, most gentle, sensuous kiss Julia could remember experiencing. She wasn't ready for it to end when Simone finally broke their connection and held her cheek to Julia's.
"Lie with me," Simone whispered, her breath hot against Julia's ear, sending a tremor through her body.
"Your injuries...," Julia breathed back.
"I shall surely die if I cannot touch you, mon amour. I will deny my feelings no longer."
Julia stood and began unlacing the bodice of her blouse. Simone took in the tempting cleavage. Gazing down at Simone, Julia said, "I must forewarn you I am incapable of being a passive lover."
"Then give of yourself freely and with as much passion as you feel," Simone said with a smile as the blouse rose over Julia's head and dropped to the floor. Placing a hand on Julia's waist, Simone drew her closer, kissing along her side as her skirt began to fall away. Julia saw the smoldering desire in Simone's eyes and brought their lips together once again, restraining herself from devouring her. She knew it must have hurt as Simone pulled the shirt she was sleeping in over her head and drew Julia close against her, breathing in her scent, their breasts brushing against one another. Julia moved onto the bed, kissing Simone and straddling her lower body as she wrapped her arms around her lover's neck and cradled her head to hold her in their kiss. With Simone's hands exploring her naked body, Julia's mind went blank and she drank in the exquisite lightness of her touch and the feel of soft lips against hers, a feeling she had been unable to erase from her mind since the day they met on board the Viper. Now those lips were used not to demonstrate control, but in complete surrender to passion.
Julia arched her neck back, exposing it to Simone's searching mouth. Relishing the maddening slowness of Simone's tender caresses, Julia gasped as she felt Simone enter her quickly and then withdraw. She opened her eyes, breathing heavily as Simone brought her fingers to her mouth and licked them. She felt as if she was drowning in the pupils that expanded with ever-growing desire. "Like your cider
, you, too, are more delicious than your scent," Simone said as their lips met again.
Tasting herself on Simone's lips was more than Julia could bear. "Simone, please," she choked out. "I..." But her plea was answered before she could speak it as Simone sought her mouth again, her tongue thrusting into it in rhythm with the thrust of her fingers entering Julia's body. As she rode Simone's hand, her thumb finding the swollen clitoris with each stroke, Julia was lost on an ocean of indescribable pleasure, its waves crashing onto the shore of her body just as relentlessly. She clung to the only thing that kept her from drowning. The safety of her lover's arms.
THIN SHAFTS OF light crossing the floor though a crack in the closed shutters of the bedroom window greeted Julia as she blinked her eyes open. Disoriented for a moment, she moved. A hand sliding up her hip and across her waist, pulling her into the warmth of the body lying behind her brought her back to reality and she smiled contentedly. This time it was not a dream.
"It is too soon to get up, mon amour. I have only now fallen asleep," Simone mumbled against Julia's hair.
Moving the covers enough to turn, Julia rolled over to gaze into Simone's eyes. Stroking back disheveled black hair she leaned closer and gently kissed her lover, bringing a crooked smile to Simone's lips. "I have to move to look at you. You are very beautiful when you sleep and I love looking at you." Trailing her fingers down Simone's arm, she said, "Go back to sleep so I can stare at you a little longer."
"How can you expect me to sleep when you touch me in such a way?" Simone said with a chuckle.
"You will have to get used to it."
"I shall never tire of it. Even when we have grown old and gray, many, many years from now." A grimace crossed Simone's face as she drew her arm up and propped her head on her hand.
The Sea Hawk Page 17
