Midnight (14 page)

“I would maybe later.”

Nicholas wasn’t sure if that was a sensible idea or not, after all she’d only been up and around less than a day. “We’ll see what your strength is like this afternoon.”

She nodded.

While they waited for the water to heat, he went into the kitchen and sliced her off some meat, added bread and a cup of coffee, placed everything on a tray, and took it into the parlor. “Here’s breakfast.”

“Thank you,” she said, eyeing the offerings with interest. “I am hungry. Is this coffee?” she asked, looking up from the dark-colored beverage in her cup.

Nicholas took his plate from the tray and took a seat on the floor before the blazing fireplace. “This is a rebel household,” he reminded her.

Coffee was the beverage of choice for rebellion supporters. They began consuming it in response to the boycott of British tea that culminated in the now infamous Boston Tea Party. She took a hesitant sip and frowned. “The taste may take some getting used to. Do you have any honey or molasses?”

He went in the kitchen and returned with a tub of honey. He watched her spoon some into her cup and watched as she took another sip. “Does it help?”

She grimaced. “Only marginally. Are you certain there is no tea?”

“Yes, I am.”

“I understand the political choice but this . . .”

“I won’t be buying tea.”

“I understand.”

He scanned her silently. “Is my treasonous household going to ruffle your Tory sensibilities?”

She scanned him in return. “No. Truthfully, I’ve secretly supported the rebellion for years.”

He froze.

“A group of soldiers made sport of Charity and me a few years back and we’ve both hated the redcoats since.”

“What happened?”

“We were walking home from the Negro Election Day festivities and they stopped us, questioned us about why we were out alone, and then took us into the trees.” She met his eyes. “They formed themselves into a circle and we were shoved into the center. They pushed us from man to man, laughing and touching us where they could, trying to lift our skirts. We were screaming and crying. I’d never been so terrified.”

Anger tightened his jaw.

“They finally tired of us, or maybe they had to be back at their barracks, I don’t know, but they released us with the warning that if they ever saw us alone again, it wouldn’t be a game the next time.”

“Did you tell your father?”

“I was afraid to. He’d forbidden me to go to the celebration. Charity’s, too. So she and I made a pact to—” Faith almost said
spy on the British
, but caught herself and finished with “secretly support the rebels, even if our parents didn’t.”

“What of Charity’s husband?”

“Ingram is a staunch loyalist. He shouldn’t see anything you don’t wish to get back to the patrols.”

Nicholas studied her. “Once again, you’ve surprised me, Faith Kingston.”

“I’m glad.”

He chuckled softly. “Any other secrets behind those eyes?”

She thought about Lady Midnight. Now that she no longer lived at the inn, her life as Lady Midnight had probably come to an end, but she had no intention of revealing that side of herself ever. Her disclosure might make him ask her to leave if she couldn’t give him the answers he was seeking about his father’s arrest. “If I tell you, they won’t be secrets anymore, will they?”

Hoping to change the subject, she looked up at the portrait above his head. “Is that your mother?”

“Yes.”

“You favor her.”

He looked up at it. “Wish I had known her.”

“I lost my mother, too. Something you and I have in common.”

He gazed at her face a few moments longer. “I wonder if we’ll ever learn the truth about the root of the trouble?”

“It would be nice to finally put the riddle to rest, wouldn’t it?”

“Yes, it would.”

By the time they finished the light meal, the water was ready. Returning to the parlor after having gone upstairs to check on it, he asked, “Can you make your way back up the stairs on your own?”

“Yes.”

“Will you need help getting into the tub?”

“I should be able to manage that, too. Is there soap?”

“Yes. It isn’t scented though.”

She stood. “That’s all right. I’ve never used any. My father said the extra money charged for it was a waste.”

Nicholas made a mental note to purchase her a few bars as soon as he was able. He was getting the impression that while living under Stuart Kingston’s roof, she’d enjoyed very few of the feminine niceties many women took for granted. He’d found no perfumes, salts, or any other scented toiletries in her room when he gathered up her belongings. “When you’re done bathing, just pull out the stopper and it will drain the water. The bathing room is down the hall and to the left of my room. I set you out some towels.”

“Thank you, and I will remember your instructions for the stopper.”

“Are you sure you don’t need help?”

“I am, but if that proves wrong, I will call.”

“That’s all I ask. Enjoy your bath.”

She departed and he was left alone.

He waited for her call but when none came, he gave her a few more minutes then went up to his room to gather the things he needed for his daily morning plunge into the creek.

Chapter 14

F
aith eyed the bathing tub while she removed her clothing. It was odd contemplating sitting in a tub of water that reached one’s waist as opposed to standing up in a short little tub filled with water that was just above ankle high. She wondered how she was supposed to keep her shift dry. No God-fearing woman would lounge in the tub fully unclothed, would she? She’d have to ask Charity about it the next time they were together. Charity was one of the few people Faith knew who’d had such a tub in her home while growing up.

For now, though, she decided to keep the thin shift on and put on her clean one when she finished bathing. She owned only two. She realized Nicholas had probably seen how mended and torn her unmentionables were and that the two pairs of drawers he’d placed inside the pillow slips were old and frayed as well. The knowledge was embarrassing but there was nothing to be done about it. Maybe once she had a bit of extra coin she could ask Charity’s seamstress mother to sew her up new ones. Until then she would make do as she’d always done.

She knew of only a few homes that had a room dedicated for bathing, but apparently Primus had been a creature of comfort. The fireplace with its wide mouth held a roaring blaze, and inside sat a large kettle holding more water in case it was needed. The towels Nicholas had mentioned were folded on a three-legged stool at the foot of the tub. She ran her hand over the surface of the one on the top of the pile and noted how soft they felt and that they looked to be thicker than the quilts on her bed back at the inn. Knowing the water wouldn’t stay warm forever, she dipped her hand in to see if it needed heating up, but it didn’t. She stepped in and the novelty of all the available space when one was accustomed to a hip tub made her smile with wondrous delight.

Once she was in and seated, she decided that this form of bathing had to be a sin because it felt so glorious. She scooped handfuls of the warm water over her shoulders and neck and let it slowly cascade down her shift and back to its source. From that moment forward, a hip bath would run a poor second when she needed to bathe in the future. She could have lounged in the liquid decadence for hours. However, the need to wash away the grime and remnants of her sickness took priority, so she picked up the soap and began.

When she finished, she pulled out the wooden stopper and the water began to slowly drain away. Where it went she had no idea but would ask Nicholas when she had the chance. She’d enjoyed her first experience with a bathing tub very much and she stepped out feeling fresh, clean, and a bit tuckered out. She wrapped one of the towels around her body and the other around her wet hair. With no oils or dressings available, she fashioned it into one long braid. She would worry about dressing it at some point, but it was clean again and she’d settle for that.

There was a window on the room’s back wall, and once she was dried and dressed in a clean brown blouse and skirt she’d taken from her pillow slip, she walked over to the window and looked out at the drab day and the muddy open fields and outbuildings behind the house. And then she saw Nicholas walking towards the house. He was wrapped in what appeared to be an Indian blanket of some sort. Confusion lined her face as she wondered where he’d been and why the blanket. He was holding the edges closed against the wind, but his hold slipped for a moment and Faith got her first look at a man’s nakedness before he snatched the blanket closed again. She spun away from the window so quickly she almost fell down. With her hand pressed against her gaping mouth and the heat of embarrassment filling her face, she fought to catch her breath. What kind of man walked outside without any clothes? He’d mentioned living with a native tribe. Was this something he’d taken to doing while there, or— She was so speechless she couldn’t complete the thought.
Oh my word!
First the pelts and now this? It came to her that she didn’t know very much about him at all. Heart still racing, she took in a deep breath and forced herself to calm down. She couldn’t fathom having to face him after what she’d seen. Granted, it had been only a flash, but it had been revealing enough to leave her with vivid memory of his lean, dark, muscular legs, and a portion of his male anatomy no unmarried woman was supposed to see. She wondered if she was in the first stages of apoplexy, because she was still finding it hard to breathe. Gathering her belongings, she left the bathing room and hoped she’d recover before she had to face him again.

She didn’t, but she masked it well enough so that when he made his appearance a short while later, he didn’t ask if something was wrong. She was in his bedroom seated in the rocker before the fire.

“Did you enjoy your bath?”

“I did.”

“It’s starting to snow so we’ll have to cancel your outing. I don’t want to risk you slipping back into sickness.”

“Neither do I.” But she was disappointed.

“Maybe in a few days.”

“We’ll see.”

“So is there anything I might do to help you pass the time? Would you care for a tour of your new realm? I don’t think that will be very taxing.”

That sounded like a great idea to Faith. “I think I’d like that. You said there were three bedrooms available. May I see them so I can decide which one might be mine?”

“Of course. There’s this room.”

“Which is yours so I’ll not take this one.”

“You may if you like.”

She wondered how a man’s eyes could be so potently inviting. “No, that wouldn’t be right, so let me see the others.”

He led the way.

The first room was a smaller room at the back of the house. There was a window and a bed. It was larger than the one she had at home and thus very suitable. “This one will do.”

“You should look at the others before making a final decision.”

“This is more than sufficient.”

“We may have to put you back in bed. I think your hearing’s been affected again.”

She dropped her head to hide her smile. Looking up into his innocently set face, she gestured to the door and she followed him out.

“Did Primus build this house?” she asked as they walked back down the hall.

“No, he purchased it from a Quaker farmer who wanted to sell so he and his large family could relocate to Pennsylvania. Here’s the other room.”

The first things she noticed upon entering were the two large windows that looked out over the road. She could see almost to the horizon, and for a moment she stood there and marveled at the magnificent view. Behind her was a large, polished stone fireplace, and near it an enormous, four-poster canopy-topped bed made of gleaming dark wood. A beautiful armoire made from the same wood drew her eye, as did a matching chest with filigree handled drawers and curved claw feet. The bed sat atop a beautiful indigo- and cream-colored rug that she sensed would feel like heaven beneath her feet on a cold winter morning. It was a sumptuous room, larger than many parlors she’d been in, and Faith knew that claiming it for herself wouldn’t be proper for the housekeeper. “This is very lovely, but I’ll take the other.”

“May I ask why?”

“These aren’t quarters for a servant. They’re far too grand. This should be your room.”

“I’m happy where I am.”

Faith looked around the interior again almost wistfully. She turned back and found him watching her. “Whose room was this?”

“My mother’s.”

She stilled.

“My father kept it swept and dusted, and the furniture polished, the entire time I was growing up. When I returned a few weeks ago, the room was shrouded with tarps, so I pulled them back, wondering if everything was the same, and it was.”

She viewed the space in a new light.

“I don’t think my mother would mind, nor would my father.”

In his eyes she saw something she couldn’t name; something that reached inside and touched her inner feelings. “No, Nicholas. I can’t take this one. This isn’t where a housekeeper is supposed to sleep.”

“Why not?”

She shrugged. “Because.”

“Very succinct reply.”

“Stop mocking me,” she said, amused.

“Then you will have to come up with a better rebuttal.”

She took in his lean, tempting presence standing in the doorway, and wondered how many other women had had this same difficulty telling him no. Probably legions.

Faith scanned the beautifully appointed room again. Her eyes touched the low-slung vanity table with its scrolled, wood-framed mirror and padded bench, then traveled over the elegantly carved writing desk and its companion chair by the windows.

He asked quietly, “Well?”

Claiming the room for herself went against everything Faith had ever been taught about a person’s proper station in society, but in the end, she surrendered to him and to yet another of his grand proposals. “All right, I will take this room, but only temporarily. If you marry, it rightfully belongs to your wife.”

“That won’t be for some time to come, so thank you for pleasing me.”

His softly pitched tone sent ripples across her senses and she found herself unable to look away. An inner heat flared up inside, reminding her that he was responsible for its birth, and that if she wasn’t vigilant it could consume her as his kisses had done that night on the darkened streets of Boston. “Thank you for yet another boon.”

“My pleasure.”

Faith wondered why it seemed as if time were slowing and that they were the only two people in the world. With his unshaven face and ever watching eyes, he exuded power like the dominant wolf of a clan and she was scenting him like a bitch in heat.

Nicholas didn’t know how much longer he’d be able to hold back the urge to take her into his arms and treat her to the passion he wanted her to taste again. His promise to keep reins on his attraction was wearing on him, and the parts that remembered the sweet taste of her mouth wished he hadn’t made such a limiting vow. “Let me show you the rest of the house.”

Neither of them wanted to move, but knew they were heading down a road that led to each other and that it would only be a matter of time before they succumbed.

“May I see the kitchen?”

“This way.”

He stepped back to let her precede him. When she passed, her fresh scent wafted across his nostrils and his manhood hardened in response.

In the kitchen, Faith saw that the fireplace was large enough to handle meals of all sizes and that it offered more than enough space for the loaves of bread and biscuits she planned to bake and sell.

“Will this do?” he asked.

“Oh yes. This is more than sufficient.”

She glanced around at the wealth of Dutch ovens, kettles, and other cooking vessels and utensils stacked neatly on the shelves attached to the far wall. There was also a large table that could be used for dining or for preparation work. The room was well stocked and she couldn’t wait to begin. Granted it might take her a short while to learn to adjust the fire to the temperatures that worked best for cooking the different dishes, meats, and breads, but it was that way with any new kitchen.

“There is also a grate outside for summer cooking.”

She marveled at that. That would a godsend on the hot sticky days of July and August. “May I see it?”

“Might be prudent to wait for better weather.”

He was right of course. She was so excited she’d forgotten about the snow falling outdoors.

“There’s also a large cellar, a smokehouse, and an icehouse.”

“I’d like to start my duties in the morning.”

“Are you sure you’re well enough?”

“It’s the only way to know, and I’m anxious to begin. I will make you a promise that if I tire, I will rest. And I won’t be lifting the furniture or attempting to have all the floors mopped by noon.”

“That’s a relief.”

Their smiles met and lingered.

A thick silence rose between them, making them even more aware of each other, and Faith wondered if a woman could melt under the heat of a man’s eyes. “So shall we talk about my duties? I’d like to know what you expect. You indicated meals, laundry, and cleaning, but is there a certain schedule you’d like for me to adhere to for, say, wash day. Is Monday better than Tuesday? That type of direction would be helpful.”

“I have no preference. You can set up a routine that works best for you and I’ll follow. If there’s anything the household lacks, let me know. I’ll be going into Boston in the morning to pick up some items. If you’re up to it, you’re welcome to ride along, providing the snow has stopped.”

She thought about being seen with him and how much gossip might be already in the wind about them, but she told herself she would do her best to face it head on.

“And if you are worried about people whispering behind your back, don’t,” he said as if having read her thoughts. “Anyone who utters anything other than ‘Good day, Faith, how are you’ will answer to me.”

She nodded and smiled. “I’ve never had a champion before.”

“You do now, and I take my charge very seriously.”

“I’ve noticed.” She thought back on poor Ingram.

“When we go into town, I also want you to purchase any personal things you need, like scented soaps, bath salts.”

“I don’t need scented soaps or bath salts. I’d rather you spend the money on dough bowls or beeswax for the furniture.”