Rebel Enchantress (21 page)

Maybe happy didn’t accurately describe his mental or emotional state when he was with her. There was the perpetual attraction which, at any moment and completely without warning, could cause his groin to swell with embarrassing rapidity. He had even considered purchasing some of the loose clothing preferred by Lucius Clarke and Asa Warner, but he could not yet convince himself to look so … so … He wasn’t sure what he thought he would look like, but he doubted he could ever become accustomed to such ill-fitting clothes.

If you don’t do something, you’ll embarrass yourself beyond redemption one of these days. You get worse about that woman with each passing day. And she hasn’t given you any encouragement.

But she hadn’t run away either.

She’d done what he’d asked and no more. Well, maybe she had done a litde more man was absolutely necessary, but he couldn’t pride himself on it being very much.

Don’t act like a fool. And stop trying to bend and twist everything she says or does to make it look as though she’s falling in love with you. She came here for a purpose, and when she’s done she’ll leave. You’ll probably never see her again.

“Nathan.”

Nathan sat up in bed as quickly as if he’d been stung by a hornet.

“Nathan.”

He wasn’t mistaken. The hissed whisper came from outside his door.

“Who is it?” he called out.

“Let the in.”

He hesitated to get out of bed. He was naked under the covers.

“Quick, let the in.”

It had to be Delilah. No one else needed to whisper, but what could she want with him at this hour? Whatever it was, it must be important. Despite his body’s response, he was certain that
wasn’t
what she had come for. Nevertheless, once the thought had taken hold in his mind it would not be dislodged. The stored-up desire, frustrating dreams, and hours of imaginings concentrated themselves in his groin until he was uncomfortably hard. And absolutely unpresentable.

He trembled with excitement. If she
had
come to him … He couldn’t keep himself from imagining her in his arms, her craving for him as strong as his for her. His body ached with hunger, his limbs grew taut with desire. No matter how strongly his conscience warned him that he would feel differently in the cold light of day, he couldn’t vanquish the hope she would invite him to satisfy his need in the warmth of her body.

He couldn’t get out of bed in this state, but he couldn’t leave her standing in the hall either. If Serena or Priscilla woke and found her outside his door, her reputation would be ruined.

“Just a minute,” he called out. He wrapped the sheet loosely about his body. Then after making sure the extra material was bunched in front of him, he climbed out of bed and tiptoed across the room. He turned the key in the lock and opened the door a crack. It flew open; someone rushed in and promptly closed the door.

Priscilla!

Nathan reacted as if he’d been dosed with a barrel of cold water. Priscilla’s reaction was just the opposite. She had no sooner taken in the fact that he stood wrapped in nothing but a sheet, her eyes glistened in the near dark of the room, and a smile curved her lips. She advanced on him, hands outstretched. Whether merely to touch him or to pull away the protective sheet, Nathan didn’t know, but he was of no mind to find out. With a leap which would have done justice to an antelope, he bounded up onto the middle of the bed.

“What are you doing here?” he demanded in a tortured hiss. “Your mother will kill us both if she discovers you in my room.”

“She wouldn’t care,” Priscilla said, preparing to climb onto the bed with Nathan. Her hand had fallen away from her bosom allowing her gaping robe to reveal a nightgown perilously transparent. “She wants me to marry you. She wants us to get married right now.”

Even as she lifted her leg to climb onto Nathan’s bed, he lowered his foot to slip off the other side.

“I’m not interested in getting married.”

“You don’t like women?” Priscilla paused, a confused look on her face.

“Now” Nathan amended. “I’m not interested in getting married now.”

“But I need a husband,” Priscilla said, reassured. She climbed across the bed, and Nathan moved around to the other side. “I want gowns. I want money of my own. I want a house of my own. I want all kinds of things I can’t have unless I’m married.” She giggled. “Do you ever have urges, Nathan?”

“What kind of urges?” he asked, pulling the sheet more tightly around him.

“Urges.
Sometimes they keep me awake. I feel that my body is burning up.”

She stalked Nathan.

“I feel I’ve got to touch secret places, and I can’t even stand clothing next to my skin.”

Nathan climbed back on the bed. Priscilla followed without hesitation.

“Mama says those urges disappear when a girl gets married. Mama says a man makes them go away.”

Priscilla tumbled off the bed right behind Nathan. He took refuge behind a high-backed Windsor chair.

“Please marry me, Nathan. I don’t think I can stand it much longer.”

Nathan forced himself to be calm, though he kept imagining Serena bursting into the room with Lester and Delilah in tow and announcing to everyone in the western half of Massachusetts that he must marry her daughter because he had ruined her.

And if she and he were found in this compromising position, he would have ruined her, even if he’d never touched her. Bitch. Why couldn’t she find someone else to stalk?

“Pull your robe together and stop this nonsense” he said as sternly as he could in a whisper. “I’m not marrying you or anyone else.”

Then let me sleep with you,” Priscilla pleaded, reaching for him across the chair. “Mama says that works just as well.”

“I can’t believe your mother said any such thing,” Nathan said, certain in his own mind Serena would have in order to incite Priscilla to just such an exhibition as this.

“Mama said men like to have women sleep with them. She says then are terrible that way.” Priscilla giggled. “Lucy says the same thing, only she says some women like to sleep with men.” She giggled again. “Do you think I would like it? With you, I mean?”

“I doubt it very much,” said Nathan, feeling exceptionally hot in his sheet. “You should only marry someone you love a great deal.”

“But I like you a lot.”

“Like is not enough. It is very important in a marriage for two people to be in love.”

“If I can like you this much already, maybe I could love you after we got married.”

“I will bet if you were to go away tomorrow, you would forget me in a week.”

“I can’t go away. Mama has no money.”

An idea popped into Nathan’s head. It was a coward’s way out, but he didn’t feel he had many choices just then. “I can give you some. Would you like to go on a visit?”

“I’ll have to ask Mama. I can’t go anywhere without her permission.”

“You can ask her first thing tomorrow. Maybe I’ll send both of you to Boston. Would you like that?”

“I don’t know. I’ll ask Mother.”

Empty-headed bitch. Why does she have to be my cousin?

“Go back to your room. If you don’t, you won’t be able to go to Boston.”

Priscilla seemed to be thinking it over. Nathan could only hope the offer of going to Boston was more attractive than sleeping with him so she could get rid of her urges.

“You promise I can go to Boston?”

“I promise.”

“Very well” she said, but Nathan thought she still looked doubtful. He held his breath as she turned and walked toward the door.

“Are you sure I wouldn’t prefer to sleep in your bed?” she asked as Nathan started to open the door for her.

“Positive.” Nathan held back a sigh of relief. “You will enjoy Boston much more. You might even find someone you would rather fall in love with than me.”

“I don’t know.” Priscilla did look doubtful. “Mama says you may be a bloody fool, but you sure can fill out a pair of breeches.”

Nathan almost burst out laughing.

“Well, I don’t have them on now, and if I’m caught with you in this state, there’ll be hell to pay. You hurry back to your room and dream about Boston. Well talk in the morning.” He turned her around and pushed her out the door. As he turned the key in the lock, he made a silent vow never to open the door again except in full daylight.

He had already decided Priscilla lacked common sense, but he’d never thought she lacked sense altogether. If Serena thought he would marry her, she had better think again. No intelligent woman would have come to his room on such an errand. He only hoped she would forget what had occurred by tomorrow.

But if Nathan had seen Priscilla a few moments later, he would have seen the episode in a different light. She scampered to her room as quickly and quietly as she could. Once inside, she dashed to her bed, buried her face in the pillow, and laughed until her entire body shook. It was ten minutes before she grew calm enough to consider going to sleep.

“Are you sure you feel well enough to be up this morning?” Nathan asked his aunt. Serena didn’t look well. Her eyelids drooped, and she looked as though she had a bad headache. ‘You can go back to bed if you like.”

He had been making a concerted effort to engage her in conversation, but Serena made only minimal responses. Priscilla had said nothing about the past night-indeed, she seemed to have forgotten all about it–and he avoided her eyes. He didn’t want to do anything to jog her memory.

“I feel it’s my responsibility to be up when you are here,” Serena said in response to Nathan’s solicitude. “I never missed a morning for my husband or Ezra. They would have thought it very odd if I had.”

“Well, I don’t. You can stay in bed any morning you don’t feel well.”

An uncomfortable silence fell over the group. Priscilla ate her breakfast in a desultory style–actually she played with her food rather than ate it–her mind apparently far away from the table or the people seated about it.

Nathan felt his best first thing in the morning. He enjoyed breakfast, and he liked being up early. But apparently no one else did today. Except for Delilah. She had come in only moments before, looking brighter than spring sunshine. Somehow it seemed inappropriate to feel the stirrings of desire at this early hour, but one look at her and his body responded as it always did.

Nathan placed his napkin in a strategic place.

Delilah entered the dining room again. “Mrs. Stebbens wants to know if you would like any more batter cakes. There’s also more fried apples and veal croquettes.”

Neither Priscilla nor Serena responded. “I’d like some apples” Nathan said. “And coffee.”

Delilah disappeared through the door. She reappeared a moment later with a small bowl of apples and a blue speckled pot of steaming coffee.

This is the last of the winter’s supply,” she said as she set the bowl of apples next to Nathan’s plate. There won’t be any more until picking time.”

Nathan handed his cup to Delilah. She poured the coffee and handed it back. He had a brief intimation of how it might be to have breakfast with her every morning, her pouring his coffee, both of them sharing plans for the day,
then
his looking forward to seeing her again in the evening.

Nathan shook his head to get rid of the daydream. She was not sitting at the table with him, so there was no use teasing himself.

“Did you know the Supreme Court met at Worcester two days ago?” Nathan asked.

Delilah stiffened. For the first time that morning Serena showed interest in the conversation.

They indicted Luke Day and ten others in the group that closed the court at Northampton last month.”

It’s about time they did something,” Serena said, a smile of satisfaction on her thin lips.

“Was Reuben with that group?” Nathan asked Delilah.

“Of course he was,” Serena stated. “He’s probably hand in glove with half the rebels in this part of the state.”

“Reuben wouldn’t follow Luke Day anywhere,” Delilah said. “Luke’s got a terrible temper and uses his size to bully his men.”

“Sounds a lot like your brother,” Serena commented.

They don’t get along,” Delilah explained, ignoring Serena. They never have.”

“Probably both wanting to be the leader.” Serena apparently wasn’t going to pass up any opportunity to annoy Delilah.

“Captain Shays doesn’t trust Luke Day either” Delilah said.

“Heaven help us,” Serena exclaimed. “We have a servant in the house who’s intimately acquainted with half the rebels in the state. Shell tell them everything she knows.”

“She could tell
us
everything she knows,” Nathan pointed out.

Surprised, Delilah looked squarely at him. What she saw reassured her. “But you won’t ask me.”

“No, I won’t.”

“Why not?” demanded Serena. “You could force her to tell you.”

“I know more about the insurgents than she does. You didn’t know about Luke Day or the Supreme Court, did you?”

“No.”

“That’s fine in the ordinary way,” Serena said, “but someone may let a vital piece of information slip.”

“If someone did such a thing, would you tell your brother?”

Delilah had never expected Nathan to put this question to her. For one wild moment she thought he must know she was a spy and was about to expose her. Then she remembered the extent of her spying had been looking in the window. The existence of the list was the only thing she knew that he hadn’t told her. And her mentioning it to Jane probably didn’t matter. Shays had to assume they had such a list.

But that wasn’t what Nathan asked her. He wanted to know if she would give Reuben any information she uncovered. I ought to lie, she told herself. She knew she was more likely to learn something if he didn’t suspect her. But she couldn’t he to him, even though that didn’t make sense when he was opposed to what Shays and Reuben were trying to do.

“Yes, if I thought it would keep him out of danger.”

“I told you,” Serena said. “Get rid of her.”

“Would you tell the rest of your friends?” Nathan asked.

Delilah’s hand fiddled with the hem of her apron. She didn’t want to answer this question because she wasn’t sure of the answer. She would do almost anything for Reuben, but for the others?