Katie Rose (19 page)

“We were just discussing her visit. Very odd, from all appearances,” Winifred said. “I tried my best to divert her and steer the subject to women’s rights, which I understand interests her, but she kept trying to discuss the séances. I think she plans to make trouble.”

“Do you think—” Jennifer turned pale at the thought “—that Gabriel is in on it with her?”

Winifred shrugged reluctantly. “I wouldn’t put it past him. It would be most unusual for a girl of Allison’s background to attempt to threaten us on her own. I don’t think it would be farfetched to assume that she and Gabriel are consorting together, and that she came here to spy on us.”

“Oh, no!” Penelope cried. “We have three good prospects lined up this weekend. Mrs. Weatherwill will be here Friday. She is very wealthy, and goes to spiritualists
all the time. She could be a wonderful client for us, but if Gabriel and Allison interfere, it could really set us back.”

“I just can’t believe he would do this!” Jennifer said. “He seems to have been softening toward me lately. I really thought—”

“Gabriel may not realize what she’s doing,” Winifred put in softly. “The woman is extremely bright. And you did give her a reading. If she complains to Gabriel, he might be compelled to go the police, particularly if he thinks we’re now taking advantage of Allison. We could probably fight the charges, but socially, it would ruin us.”

“I hadn’t considered that,” Jennifer said, appalled. “He was just starting to trust me! If Allison goes to him with a story like that …” She looked pleadingly at her brilliant sister. “What do you think we should do?”

“I don’t know.” Winifred shook her head, for once helpless. “I feel a little responsible, since I didn’t discourage you from giving her the reading. I’ve had second thoughts about it ever since she left. Every one of my legal instincts is aroused.”

The three sisters nodded. Jennifer had to admit it was a possibility. Allison and Gabriel could be pretending to befriend them, all the while setting them up for a fall. Her emotions threatened to get the better of her, but Jennifer forced them away. Survival came first, no matter what.

The three sisters pondered the situation for a moment, then Penelope’s eyes brightened. “I’ve got it! Let’s kidnap him!”

“What?” Jennifer appeared astonished, and felt Penelope’s head to see if she was ill. Her sister flung her hand aside impatiently.

“Yes, why not? Only for a few days, until the séances are done. Aunt Eve is insisting on visiting an old acquaintance this weekend in spite of her cold, and will be leaving Saturday morning. We could invite Gabriel to dine with us on Friday night. Eve has been taking her medicinal tea
every night, so nothing will wake her, and she’ll be gone before she knows what’s happened. No one expects Gabriel at the office until Monday. We could send him into the cellar for wine, and just turn the key on him! No one will be the wiser!”

Winifred frowned. “Kidnapping is a serious offense. We could find ourselves in real legal trouble if he pressed charges.”

“Silly goose, he isn’t going to press charges!” Penelope answered, very sure of herself. “What man would admit that three women kidnapped him? He’d be a laughingstock. And we’re not really kidnapping him … we’re detaining him for the weekend, as our guest.”

“Gabriel does value his reputation,” Jennifer said thoughtfully. “Penelope is right. He couldn’t possibly admit to such a thing. And if he’s helping Allison, it would keep both of them from causing trouble, at least until the séances are over.”

Winifred frowned. “I don’t like it, but I can’t think of anything better. Perhaps, by keeping Gabriel captive, we could find out what they’re plotting. But wouldn’t it be better to wait until Saturday, when Aunt Eve is gone?”

“Gabriel has plans for Saturday,” Jennifer said smoothly, not mentioning that she stole his book. “It’s Friday or nothing.”

Winifred sighed, then looked directly at her sister. “He will be furious, of course.”

“Of course,” Jennifer agreed, little put off by that fact. She turned the plan over in her mind. Although she was frightened by the thought of Gabriel’s reprisals, there was one benefit that no one mentioned, which would help only her. To have Gabriel close by for several days would give her even more opportunity to make him fall in love with her. And that possibility was irresistible.

“All right, girls,” Jennifer said, her eyes twinkling. “Let’s do it.”

When Gabriel returned home from his offices on Friday, he removed his business clothes and dressed carefully for dinner in his best jacket and fine linen shirt. Using very little of the popular pomade, he combed his hair meticulously, then shaved once more. Finishing with a dusting of powder, he called for his carriage.

As he pulled on his gloves, he examined the cream-colored invitation that smelled of lilacs. He could now recognize Jennifer’s flamboyant hand, with its neatly dotted
i
’s and crossed
t
‘s. He opened the card, still amazed to see the elegant lettering inviting him to dine.

He had to admit, she had gumption. He’d been shaking his head ever since he received the invitation, amazed at Jennifer’s audacity. His first impulse had been to toss the pretty card into the waste bin, but on second thought, he’d decided to accept. Curiosity, overriding his common sense, compelled him. He was simply intrigued enough by the invitation to wonder what the notorious Miss Appleton was up to now.

He didn’t question his own motives, although he was also aware that Allison’s interrogation had gotten him thinking. Jennifer was everything he decried, and everything
he normally avoided. Yet she’d converted his mother, his best friend, and half of New York society into her camp, and was becoming more popular every day. It seemed that he couldn’t attend an elegant soiree or a simple lawn fête without the bewitching sisters coming up as the topic of conversation. Worse, many of the women and some of the men were openly curious about Jennifer’s ability to perform séances, and talked of making appointments. Yet Allison’s subtle threats of befriending Jennifer alarmed him. He didn’t think she would stoop to causing the Appletons trouble, but then again, he wasn’t sure. Allison, he knew, could be very determined.

His carriage pulled up to the curb, and Gabriel sat inside, giving the driver the now familiar address. As he rumbled through the streets of New York, he wondered if any other man was on such a fool’s errand that night, or if there was just himself. He was very much afraid he knew the answer.

The house looked much as he remembered, if anything, more spooky. The overgrown rose bush, he admitted, was a nice touch, and the kitten, which he’d supplied, looked oddly menacing on the front step. The windows were shuttered, as many of the other houses’ were with the onset of colder weather, but the Appletons’ looked completely closed up. It should be, he thought dryly. They certainly had enough secrets to hide.

As he approached the door, he wondered again what it was about this woman that enchanted everyone so. She had beauty, but her sister was even more beautiful. She had intelligence, but there again she was bested by a sibling. No, it was Jennifer Appleton herself, and her own potent charm, that was the force to be reckoned with. The memory of her in his arms, of her kiss, refused to leave him. It was as if he’d been intoxicated by a gypsy love potion, one that grew stronger with every passing day.

“Gabriel!” Jennifer opened the door and invited him
inside, appearing delighted to see him. “Come in! Dinner is almost ready.”

Wonder seized Gabriel as he stepped inside the house and into the parlor, followed by the kitten. He thought he remembered it well from his first time there. Now, although he recalled the room as being worn and a little shabby, it looked immensely improved. Good velvet drapes adorned the windows, and a new rug graced the floor. Cobwebs still adorned the chandelier, but they had probably been left for effect. A new cranberry-colored lamp threw a rosy glow about the room, and sweetly scented apple logs burned freely in the fireplace. The parrot appeared to cower inside his cage, watching the tiger-colored ball of fur beneath with considerable trepidation.

Gabriel turned to his hostess. She was even more beautiful than ever. Her hair had completely grown back, and now framed her face with a cloud of ringlets. She appeared properly demure, but her eyes were still all Jennifer. They twinkled and danced as if she knew his thoughts, and enjoyed every moment of his dilemma.

“You’re looking well, Miss Appleton,” he reluctantly conceded.

“Thank you.” Jennifer put her hands sweetly into his. “I am so glad you could come! We have pheasant and stuffing, new potatoes and corn, apple pie and coffee. Here it is, all laid out. Can I take your coat?”

Gabriel handed her the garment, glad to withdraw from her handclasp. That simple touch left him tingling, and he needed to be in full control of his faculties around this woman. He gestured to the room. “I can see that you’ve come up in more ways than one. I suppose your investments paid for all this also?”

“Now, let’s not start that,” Jennifer said, giving him a mischievous smile. “We’re going to be friends now, aren’t we?”

Friends. He gazed at her as she swept across the room
and put aside his coat. Clad in a tea gown of simple beige muslin, with white lace at the neck and sleeves, Jennifer looked elegant and pretty. Her glowing burnished curls were drawn up and swept back behind her ears, showing her creamy neck and throat to perfect advantage. A pale pink rose, the last of the season, adorned her bosom, and tiny garnet earbobs danced from her ears. Her slender figure, perfectly proportioned, was shown to keen advantage in the tight dress, and the small bustle in the back swayed enticingly.

Gabriel felt his blood pound, particularly when she led him to the round table in the corner. Only two places were set, and he glanced in confusion at the candlelight, the flowers, and the sparkling white linen cloth.

“Where are your sisters?” Sweat began to accumulate beneath his collar as he realized that, in all probability, she meant for them to dine alone.

“Penny and Winnie are out, and Aunt Eve is not feeling well. She has a cold.” Jennifer shrugged. “It seems it’s just us.”

She looked at him from under thick lashes as if daring him to object. Dimly, Gabriel remembered Allison’s words, and her subtly veiled hint that his interest in Jennifer was not entirely aboveboard. “Miss Appleton, this is most improper,” Gabriel said stiffly, fighting the desire that raged inside of him. “You must know that young girls do not see men unchaperoned. Nor do they break into men’s houses, consort at the stock market, or conduct séances. If someone discovered us tonight, it could ruin your reputation.”

“My reputation is dubious at best,” Jennifer replied, her voice sparkling with unreleased mirth. “Please don’t be frightened, Mr. Forester. I have no intention of … taking advantage of you, if that is what you fear.”

Gabriel took his chair, amazed at her boldness. He was tempted to take her in his arms and teach her a few things about taking advantage, but he was well aware of who
would emerge the victor of such a battle. Still, it outraged his male ego that this little slip of a girl could understand him so well and laugh at him at every chance. She was just too much of an enticement, and he felt like a little boy, eyeing a confection that wasn’t permissible, but always close at hand. He decided to take charge of the situation and state the ground rules, for his own sake as well as hers.

“Jennifer, I accepted your invitation because I think we need to have an amicable relationship. You are now friends with my mother, and although I’ve expressed my disapproval, both of you have ignored me. My presence here doesn’t condone your behavior. I was hoping once again to talk some sense into you tonight. I’m sorry if I offend, but I want to make myself clear.”

“No offense taken. You are entitled to your views.” She shook his hand as any gentleman would, then took the seat across from him. “Can we at least put our differences aside while we eat?”

Gabriel nodded, satisfied, yet when she gazed at him with those meltingly pretty gray eyes, he knew he was lost. She poured the wine herself, and then served him, putting a nice portion of the perfectly cooked pheasant on his plate. Her hand brushed his in the process, and again the contact heated his skin. He wondered if she knew what she was doing to him, if she really was that clever—or was she as innocent as she appeared?

“Where is the maid?” he asked hoarsely, fighting the urges of his body. Why did she have to look so damned pretty.…

“Oh, she has the night off. She made the dinner, though. All we have to do is eat it. You don’t mind?”

Gabriel shook his head, although he did mind. He knew he should get up right then and there and take his leave, for surely “the Appleton” was trying to seduce him. Perhaps this was her way of getting even with him, or attempting to control him. Whatever it was, it was potent
as hell. And he found he could do nothing but see where it led.

He turned his attention to the meal, grateful for the distraction of the food. It was, admittedly, one of the best suppers of his life. He fought to keep his composure as Jennifer worked her charms on him, entertaining him with funny tales about her childhood with her two sisters. When she told him a story about being in church, wearing a coat with a huge hole in it, which she’d tried to cover while the other girls laughed, his heart went out to her.