A Heart for the Taking (35 page)

Taking a long drink of his brandy, Jonathan smiled to himself. Simmons was a good man. He knew to keep his mouth shut. Since it was Simmons who had made all the arrangements in the gun-smuggling endeavor and was the person the Thackers had always dealt with, Jonathan had no fear of ever being connected to the sale of illegal weapons to the Indians. And if Simmons did decide to talk? Jonathan shrugged. It would be Simmons’s word against his, and he never doubted that his valet would be the one who suffered if the weapons smuggling came to light. All the evidence pointed clearly to Simmons; he’d arranged it that way.

Jonathan’s smile deepened. After all, why would the heir
to the great Walker fortune sully his hands in such a sordid manner?
He
was a Walker of Walker Ridge—not some whining weasel. And as for Simmons speaking of arranging a meeting with the Thackers for him? Piffle. It would be dismissed as a desperate man’s attempt to create whole cloth out of a pack of lies.

Feeling rather smug and satisfied with the situation, Jonathan poured himself another snifter of brandy. Seated once more, an ugly smile on his lips, he lifted the snifter in a silent toast. To Chance . . . and his numbered days.

J
onathan’s idea to murder Annie worried Constance. She was truly fond of her longtime servant, and despite Annie’s dismal failure to get rid of Letty’s son all those years ago, Constance trusted her implicitly. Annie would
never
betray her! But Constance also knew that, at present, Jonathan could not be convinced of that fact, so she was going to have to come up with a plan to keep Annie out of her son’s murderous path for the near future.

Alone in her spacious rooms, she wandered about irritably. It really was too bad of Annie not to have carried out her orders all those years before, but she certainly did not deserve to die for an attack of conscience. While Constance did not have much of a conscience herself, she recognized it in other people and had often manipulated it. As long as Annie’s conscience didn’t cause any harm, she was willing to put up with it. But Jonathan . . .

Constance sighed. Jonathan would not be swayed. So how was she going to protect Annie, without causing a great deal of bother and discomfort to herself?

A loud thumping noise in the hallway caught her attention. A frown on her face, she threw open the door and glared at the offending source. Two young black boys had
obviously been struggling with a large trunk, and it had slipped from their hands and clattered to the floor.

“What do you think you are doing?” demanded Constance. Before the frightened youths could answer, Fancy suddenly appeared, a look of dismay on her pretty face. “I knew that trunk of mine was too heavy for you,” she said kindly to the servants. “Now run along and find someone else to help you take it downstairs.”

Smiling faintly at Constance, she said, “I hope they did not disturb you. We are trying very hard to get everything loaded today so that there will not be such a rush tomorrow.”

Constance’s frown vanished as a solution to her problem instantly occurred to her. “Oh, it was no bother at all. I was just curious about what had caused the noise,” she said lightly. Her earlier displeasure with Fancy vanishing, she asked warmly, “Are you rather excited to see Devil’s Own? I have heard it is a handsome place. Of course,” she couldn’t help adding, “nothing as grand as Walker Ridge.”

“I imagine that few places in the Colonies are,” Fancy replied politely. “You have a most beautiful home. But I am sure that I shall be quite happy with the house that Chance is providing for me.”

“Well, yes, naturally you would be,” Constance answered quickly. “But will you not find it somewhat lonely? Your nearest neighbor is several hours away. Except for yourself and Chance and”—her voice hardened a trifle—“your sister, your only discourse will be with servants and the like. It is too bad that you have no older experienced woman to keep you company and help you adjust to life here. You may not find Devil’s Own as genteel as Walker Ridge.”

“I am certain that there will be times when I would wish for the advice of other women,” Fancy said, “but I am confident that there will not be many problems that Ellen and I together cannot solve.” A dimple appeared in her cheek. “We grew up in the country, and we are quite resourceful when we have to be.”

“Er, yes, but I still think . . .” As if suddenly struck by a marvelous idea, Constance said happily, “Oh, silly me! I
have the perfect solution: Annie shall go with you. A change of scenery would be nice for her, and she can help and guide you for the first few months in your new home.” Beaming at Fancy’s stunned expression, she prattled on, “Oh, it shall be perfect. Why, just the other day Annie was saying that she would like to go away for a while. She gets so bored here at home month after month. And staying with you would be just exactly what she needs; she would feel useful and yet she would be away from the same humdrum surroundings. A new setting would be like a tonic for her. I shall tell her immediately.” Shooing Fanny away, she said gaily, “You do not have to thank me, my dear. You will be doing me a favor. Now go along with you. I have to see Annie and tell her the wonderful news and get her busy packing. After all, you are leaving tomorrow. Oh my, how convenient this is going to be for all of us. Run along, dear—we both have many things to do.”

Leaving Fancy standing there staring at her as if she had been pole-axed, Constance shut the door and walked over to the velvet pull rope that would summon Annie. A few minutes later, when Annie appeared in her rooms, Constance met her with a wide smile.

“My dear, I have such news for you: you are going to stay with Chance and Fancy for a few weeks. It will be like a pleasure trip for you, and you will be doing the newlyweds a great favor. Fancy is so very new to the Colonies; you will be able to guide her and teach her our ways. Won’t that be nice? Just think, you will not have to put up with my grumpy moods for the next several weeks, and you will have a much needed change of scenery. I hear that Chance’s plantation is very pleasant. Besides, it has been nearly a year since you have been away from Walker Ridge. ’Tis time for you to shake all those nasty old cobwebs from your mind.”

If Fancy had been pole-axed, Annie was dumbstruck. For several long moments she stared dazedly at Constance’s smiling features. “Go to Devil’s Own?” she finally croaked out when she found her voice.

Constance nodded happily. “Yes, you shall act as, ah, mentor to dear Fancy.”

Her eyes locked painfully on Constance’s face, her hands clasped tightly together, she asked disbelievingly, “They have agreed to this?”

“Oh, yes, Fancy and I discussed it just a few minutes before I rang you. She thinks it is a marvelous idea.”

Gathering up all her courage, Annie blurted out, “Why are you doing this? Why are you sending me away?”

Not meeting her eyes, Constance turned around and fiddled with a bottle of scent on the top of her dressing table. “Oh, there is no reason. I just think it might be for the best if you were
safely
away from Walker Ridge for the time being.” Their eyes met. “Do you understand me?”

Annie nodded slowly. She did indeed. And she did not know whether to be grateful or terrified.

*     *     *

Fancy was not certain how she was going to explain to Chance the addition to their party of Annie. She was not certain herself how it had come about. She only knew that there was no way of getting out of Constance’s stunning offer without appearing ungracious. She pitied Annie’s plight in having to work for someone as demanding as Constance, but she wished there was a way that she could refuse Annie’s presence in her own household without causing even more dissension. A rueful smile curved her mouth. She and Ellen had lived all of their lives with hardly a ripple of contention stirring their day-to-day affairs, yet look at what had happened to them since they had arrived in the Colonies. Abduction. Misunderstandings. Broken relationships. She shook her head. Perhaps it was something in the air?

She went in search of Chance and found him overseeing the loading of one of the wagons that was to accompany them to Devil’s Own. Requesting a word in private with him brought a surprised flick of one brow, but he politely escorted her some distance away, guiding her down a pleasant walk edged with roses.

He suddenly looked very formidable to her, this tall,
broad-shouldered man who was her husband. To her annoyance, she found herself asking diffidently, “Would you mind if there was to be another addition to our household for a few weeks?”

Warily, Chance eyed her, something in her voice alerting him to the fact that he was not going to like what she had to say. And he didn’t.

At first he thought that he had misheard her, but when she repeated Annie’s name and somewhat haltingly, in the face of his growing scowl, relayed the entire tale, he realized that there was nothing wrong with his hearing. A stinging reply hovered on the tip of his tongue, but something in the expression on Fancy’s face stilled it.

“Do you actually want that old crone to come with us?” he demanded with astonishment.

“Not exactly,” Fancy admitted, “but the more I thought about it, the more I decided that it might not be such a bad idea.”

Chance snorted.

“I feel sorry for her,” Fancy said quietly, “always at the beck and call of that woman. And there is much in what Constance said: there may be times when Ellen and I would be grateful for her knowledge and company.”

Chance made a face. “I doubt that Annie Clemmons will be of much help to you. But if you want her to stay with us for a while, I have no serious objections.” He smiled charmingly at her. “You see what an amiable bridegroom you have?”

Fancy gave him a look over her shoulder as she walked toward the house. “Amiable? No indeed, sir, I see a man plotting to win his way into my good graces.”

Chance grinned, and after watching for a few minutes the enticing sway of her skirts as she walked away, he returned to his task. But he was troubled by Annie’s addition to their party. What was that scheming witch Constance up to? Not for a moment did he believe that she was showing a kindness to her old servant—or Fancy, for that matter. There was
some reason she wanted Annie to go with them, but damned if he could think of what it was.

The rest of the day passed swiftly, and there was no time for a private moment between the newlyweds until they prepared for bed that night. Alone in their room together, Fancy again brought up the subject of their expanded household.

“You really do not mind that Ellen ... and Annie are coming with us?” Fancy asked uncertainly.

Seated in one of the chairs, his long legs sprawled in front of him, Chance shrugged. “I cannot say that I am overly pleased to have that prune-faced Annie coming with us or that the prospect of having my sister-in-law following my every step is precisely how I envisioned my first few weeks of marriage, but under the circumstances, I do not see that their presence is going to cause any difficulties.” A teasing gleam suddenly lit his blue eyes. “And of course, if I am very kind to Ellen, mayhap it will soften your hard heart against me.”

Fancy snorted. “Now why would it do that? Especially since you have just told me that the only reason you would be so accommodating is for your own means.”

“I did not say it was the
only
reason,” Chance murmured, enjoying watching her temper rise. Fancy sent him a speaking glance, and he grinned before adding, “I like your sister. She is a sweet child, and even if I had hoped to have all of your attention to myself, I would never deny a member of your family the hospitality of our house. Ellen has a home with us for as long as she wants.”

“That is very generous of you,” Fancy said softly, wishing she understood him better. Used to her first husband’s cold, supercilious manner when she had displeased him, she found Chance’s easy acceptance of the situation between them confusing. Spencer had been a generous man, but she could not imagine him agreeing to terms that were not to his benefit without a great deal of open displeasure. Yet no one seeing Chance with her would have guessed of the bargain they had struck. He was as considerate and attentive as any bride could have wished. Perversely Fancy wished that he
had been an utter beast. She would certainly feel more justified in the stance she had taken. Her eyes narrowed. Perhaps that was why he had been so agreeable?

Seeing the expression on her face, Chance cocked a brow. “What? What have I done now to vex you? I thought you would be pleased that Ellen will be coming with us to Devil’s Own and that I have not been bloody difficult about Annie’s sudden inclusion.”

“I am,” she admitted slowly. “I just do not understand you.” At Chance’s look of inquiry, she muttered, “I thought you would be angry about what we agreed this morning, but you have been most pleasant all day.”

Chance shrugged again. “I cannot pretend that I will not find the next month a burden, or that it will be easy for me
not
to avail myself of your many charms. But I did agree to your terms. Having agreed to them, why should I act in a disagreeable manner?”