Savage Deception (Liberty's Ladies) (23 page)

Then he left.

~ ~ ~

Diana lay in bed, her hand clasping the note and the rose. She was too stunned to move. Not even Anne’s insistent knock on the door could rouse her.

“Diana! Diana! Answer me,” Anne cried.

“Go away!” came Diana’s half sob.

“I’m coming in,” Anne said, which is exactly what she did. She stood by the side of Diana’s bed, looking down at her younger sister with pity in her eyes. “You can’t stay in bed forever. Some time or other you’ll have to get up.”

“What difference does it make if I get up or not? I’ve lost my husband, Anne. Don’t you understand? Tanner’s left me. Left me,” Diana reiterated.

“He’ll be back. I’m certain of it. He loves you. Most probably he has business to attend to at Briarhaven. Tanner saw David before he left this morning, and he told him he’d try to return soon. For the life of me I don’t understand why you’re taking on so, Diana.”

Anne wouldn’t understand, and Diana couldn’t tell her sister that the man she suddenly and so hotly defended was a British spy, and not only a former spy, as Tanner had led her to believe, but a very active one. God, she wanted to die! Because of her stupidity and her own need to unburden herself she’d revealed too much. She’d told Tanner about the tunnel, about Clay Sinclair, even about the ribbon on the tree branch.

Diana groaned and faced the wall, ignoring Anne. Getting no further response to her prodding, Anne finally left Diana alone.

Tears fell from Diana’s eyes onto the pillow. What a fool she’d been to imagine for a moment that she could trust Tanner Sheridan. And what an even better spy he was. No wonder countless patriots had spilled information to him. He could seem so trustworthy, especially when he led one to believe that he was actually being honest, revealing his own dark secrets.

What appalled her more than her own foolish heart was that Clay, the Swamp Fox, and his rebels were now in danger because of her unthinking tongue. No doubt Tanner would rush to Farnsworth with his news and collect a large sum of money for the information and the rebels’ subsequent capture. And all because she had fallen in love with a man whose low birth and mercenary heart prevented him from loving. And he hadn’t loved her, didn’t love her, could never love her. Otherwise, Tanner wouldn’t hurt her like this.

“You are a bastard, Tanner Sheridan,” she whispered, choking on her tears. “I never want to see you again, never. You’ll never see your own child. I’ll make certain that when my baby is born, you know nothing about her.”

Somehow Diana knew that the child she carried beneath her heart, the child she had so desperately ached to give to Tanner Sheridan, was a girl.

~ ~ ~

“Why didn’t Diana return with you?” inquired Harlan of Tanner. The old man pulled the lap robe around his legs. “I miss her.”

Tanner hedged. “The island is quite pleasant now. Besides, I don’t think her being here is a good idea anyway.” Sipping his brandy, Tanner surveyed his father. “Why didn’t you tell me about what she’d been doing for the patriots?”

Harlan shot a glance at the bedroom door in confirmation that it was tightly closed and grinned at Tanner. “Old men like to have some secrets. Farnsworth treats me like an imbecile. My body may be going, but my mind is quite active. Those redcoats are a bunch of pansies. The girl sneaked away from the house right under their very noses and passed information to the Swamp Fox. She really kept things hopping around here.” Harlan leaned back against the pillows, a congratulating smile on his face. “Diana’s quite a woman.”

Tanner’s own face hardened. “Why didn’t you talk her out of it, old man? She could have been captured or killed.”

“Well, she wasn’t.”

“Stubborn old coot. Don’t you care about her?”

“I love Diana like my own daughter,” Harlan insisted, much affronted by this personal attack against him.

“Yes, I know how you love your children. I’ve been a recipient of your own special fatherly love in the past, and it’s a wonder Diana is still alive at all.”

Harlan’s trembling hands held onto the lap robe. “I … did my best.”

“Liar.”

“Get out,” Harlan ordered, his voice breaking. “I’m an old, sick man. I don’t need this… .”

“Tanner,” came Naomi’s curt tones from the doorway. “Please let your father rest.”

Tanner strode from the room, too angry to speak to his mother who followed after him. Finally she grabbed his arm and stopped him. “Make peace with your father. He has little time left on this earth.”

“He could make peace with me. Why should I be the first?”

Naomi’s features softened. “Because he has done wrong by you and he knows it. Harlan can’t say the words to ask your forgiveness. He is very much like a child who has harmed a parent and wants to say he is sorry but yet doesn’t wish to speak for fear that he’ll be rejected for his misdeed. Go to him, Tanner. Call him father. That’s all he wants.”

“He asks too much, Mother.”

“Ah, you are hardhearted, my son.”

“No just thick-skinned. Otherwise, the night he allowed Kingsley to beat me would have killed me.” Breaking from his mother’s hold, Tanner ran down the stairs and into the bright sunshine of the afternoon.

He was so aggravated that he threw himself onto a chair beside a window that opened onto the porch, unaware of the meeting taking place inside until he heard Farnsworth speaking to Smythe and McCall.

“Once we take Eutaw Springs,” Farnsworth said, “we’ll control the Santee. Camden is ours, though we did lose Cowpens, but Eutaw Springs will be the turning point. And we must win there. General Cornwallis is in charge of the troops in the area since Rawdon’s return to England. I should like to gain the old fellow’s attention and advance in the ranks.”

Tanner felt perspiration dripping down his forehead into his collar and onto his chest. He wasn’t warm, but excited, so excited that he had to contain himself to stay seated and remain quiet. He feared to move a muscle lest the chair squeak and give him away. This was what he’d been waiting for, this was the very reason he’d left Diana. Now the opportunity presented itself.

Tanner listened until he was certain that the details of the campaign had been thoroughly discussed. When he heard them moving about, their strategy at an end, he quickly disappeared from the porch and went to the room he’d shared with Diana.

He was in the process of rummaging through a drawer when Hattie entered. “What you lookin’ for, Mr. Tanner?”

“A ribbon, Hattie. Where does Miss Diana keep her hair ribbons?”

“What you want with a hair ribbon? You ain’t got a fancy gal in town now, do you, Mr. Tanner?” Hattie directed a condemning look in his direction, causing Tanner to laugh.

“No, but soon I expect Miss Diana to be home again. So, get me the ribbon.”

Hattie dutifully opened a drawer and took out a bright blue ribbon. “Will this do?”

Tanner hugged Hattie and lifted her off her feet and swung her around the room. “It’s perfect!” he cried and set the old woman on her feet again amid half protests.

“You sure is actin’ strange,” Hattie observed, her eyes wide with pleasure.

“You’re right, but love does strange things to a man, Hattie, mighty strange things.”

~ ~ ~

Mr. King was feeling better, Mike Candy could tell. He wasn’t grumpy as usual, probably because his leg was finally starting to heal. Maybe the warm weather helped. Mike Candy hoped so. He was tired of caring for his surly patient.

“So you took a small walk today,” Candy noted, and Mr. King nodded. “Where’d you go?”

“No place in particular,” said Mr. King. “But I expect to walk a bit each day, you know, to strengthen my legs. I’ve been off of them for a long time now.”

“Aye, that you have. So what you planning to do when you’re well again? You thinking of staying here?”

“Here? In Rawdontown? Candy, you must be crazy.” King dusted specks of dust from his threadbare jacket. “I’m going to be living in grand style as soon as I can reclaim my property.”

“I see.”

King shook his head and smirked. “No, you don’t see, but then I wouldn’t expect you to understand. However, I would appreciate it if you’d run an errand for me.”

Candy gritted his teeth. “I ain’t some toady, a menial to do your bidding.”

“My dear Candy, I’m aware of that. I need you to get some information for me, if you would.”

“What sort of information? If it’s illegal…”

“No, no, just find out for me if the owner of a certain townhouse is about … that’s all.”

“Nothing else?”

“I assure you that’s all you have to do, and I’ll reward you handsomely as soon as I recover my property.”

“All right,” Candy reluctantly agreed.

Mr. King basked in the bright September sunshine. For the first time in well over a year he actually smiled.

15

By the early part of October, word had spread to Oak Island of a decisive American victory at Eutaw Springs. The British had withdrawn from the Santee region and had taken refuge in Charlestown, the only part of South Carolina to be under British rule and the remaining bastion of British power in the war for independence. “It’s just a matter of time now,” David sagely predicted, “before we can return home. The war is all but won by our forces. God, how I wish I could have been at Eutaw Springs!”

“David, you’re not considering joining your regiment again.” Anne’s brow creased into a worried frown.

David assured her that he wasn’t, and Anne believed him, causing a twinge of envy to slice through Diana. David’s word was good enough for Anne because David wouldn’t deceive her. He always followed through with whatever he said. Diana couldn’t say the same for Tanner.

She received a letter from him two weeks before, informing her that a schooner would soon be arriving to take her home to Briarhaven. The messenger, whom Tanner had sent with the letter, had waited patiently for a reply while Diana read it. Her face had turned scarlet with rage at Tanner’s nerve. Didn’t the impossible, deceitful man think she possessed any pride at all? How could he possibly consider that she’d return home after he had tricked her so? Apparently the information she’d provided about Clay and Colonel Marion had garnered him nothing. The American rebels had won, and the knowledge that the great Mariah had failed filled her with immense satisfaction.

But she penned a hasty note, telling Tanner that she’d be waiting for the schooner, that she couldn’t wait to return home to savor the American victory, and that she wanted to see Harlan. Finally, she wrote that she didn’t wish ever to lay eyes upon Tanner Sheridan again, and asked him to be gone when she arrived home. If he chose not to obey her wishes, then she’d take up residence someplace else. He had deceived her and she didn’t trust him, not after he’d extracted information from her and then hurried to inform Farnsworth. As far as she was concerned, their marriage was over.

Since she hadn’t received a reply, Diana wasn’t at all certain what situation she’d be walking into at Briarhaven. But on a misty morning, filled with the hint of autumn, the schooner duly arrived. Tanner wasn’t on it. Anne and David chose to remain at Oak Island until the British left Charlestown, so Diana boarded the schooner alone.

She arrived at Briarhaven after dark. Her body ached, the early stage of pregnancy sapped her energy and she felt slightly nauseated, having eaten very little that day. In fact, she found it impossible to force even a small amount of food down her throat, so worked up was she over whether or not Tanner had vacated the house.

Diana needn’t have worried. Hattie met her at the door and imparted the information that Tanner had packed his bags and left shortly after receiving her note to him. “Did he leave a message for me?” Diana asked, feeling foolish for even inquiring when nothing Tanner could say would change her mind or soften her heart.

“No letter, no nothin’.” Hattie sadly shook her head and tears welled in her eyes. “But that boy was in no mood to say or do nothin’ when he left here. I guess you don’t know, but Mister Harlan done died last week.”

Diana’s fingers ceased unbuttoning her cape. “Harlan is dead?”

Hattie nodded and wiped her eyes on the edge of her apron. “Got pains in his chest real sudden like and called for Mr. Tanner. Mr. Tanner was with him when he died.”

Disbelief and shock shrouded Diana’s features, and she barely made it to the sofa in the parlor before she started crying. “I should have been here.” Sobbing out her misery and pain, she knew that she’d miss Harlan. The old man had saved her from Kingsley and she owed him her life. She’d anticipated his pleased reaction when she told him about the baby, but now that pleasure would be forever denied her. As much as she tried to block out Tanner’s face from her mind, she couldn’t. How he must have suffered, she found herself thinking. No matter their differences, Diana had always thought that Harlan and Tanner had loved one another, that it was their pride that had kept them apart. Now they’d never make amends. Sometimes life was like that, Diana thought, very much aware of her own pain.

During the next few days, Diana busied herself around the house. Since the British had withdrawn things were much quieter but the pantry was also emptier. Still, she couldn’t complain. Thanks to the British occupation, Briarhaven was better off than its neighbors along the Santee.

One morning Diana rode across the plantation on the last decent horse left. She knew riding was dangerous in her condition, but since Tanner now resided in Charlestown — news that Naomi had been only too pleased to impart — she decided that the business of rice growing would commence in earnest the following spring. However, the fields were in pitiful condition, and with only a few loyal slaves remaining at Briarhaven, the possibility of even a small crop within the next year was remote.

Somehow they’d survive, they always did, but now the responsibility for Briarhaven and its occupants rested on her frail shoulders. They’d need money and help and both were in extremely short supply.

When she returned to the house she couldn’t conceal her surprise and delight at finding Marisa and Aunt Frances sitting on the sofa in the parlor. “Whatever are you two doing here?” Diana asked after the three of them had embraced.

“Why, Tanner came to our house,” Aunt Frances explained and sipped her tea. “He looked awful, just terrible, didn’t he, Marisa?” She didn’t wait for Marisa to answer but continued heedlessly, “What happened between you, Diana? The man is beside himself, but he refused to speak about your troubles. He told me he stopped by to tell us that Harlan had died and he wanted to know if Marisa and I could visit since he felt you might be lonely.”

“I am lonely,” Diana admitted and brightened just a bit. “But now my favorite aunt and cousin are here with me. How long do you plan to stay?”  

“As long as you allow us, Diana.” Aunt Frances began sobbing into a kerchief. “Those damnable British. Things in Charlestown are more impossible now than before. The entire city is packed with redcoats, and we were forced to give them quarter at our home. I couldn’t stand it another minute. Marisa and I had to leave.” Aunt Frances sent Marisa a teary-eyed smile and the two women clasped hands.

Diana could tell that something was being left out of the conversation, but when Frances asked if she could rest, Diana didn’t hesitate to show her aunt to one of the guest rooms. It was not until Diana was opening the window in another bedroom that she noticed Marisa appeared distracted. Diana sat on the bed and patted a spot for her cousin to sit next to her. “Tell me what happened in Charlestown,” Diana said gently.

Marisa surprised Diana by burying her face into the hands and sobbing. “Oh, Diana, it was awful! Just terrible! I feel so dirty.”

“What is it?” Diana removed Marisa’s hands away from her cousin’s face.

Marisa gulped back her tears and wiped her eyes with the kerchief she took from her reticule. “What Mother told you about Tanner coming to see us was the truth. He did ask if we’d come to Briarhaven and he did tell us about Harlan. We were shocked, but he didn’t want to leave our home. It wasn’t until,” and here Marisa faltered, but then went on in a trembling voice, “Captain Farnsworth commandeered our home that we knew we had to leave.

“You see, he tried to take liberties … with me. And he would have done more than kiss me and … touch me … if not for Tanner. Oh, Diana, I’m so grateful to him. He happened by the house just at that moment and saved me. And he gave that nasty Farnsworth a good punch in the nose.” Marisa started to giggle. “The man bled terribly, but he deserved it. I can’t stop thinking about what might have happened to me if Tanner hadn’t been there to intervene and to get us out of Charlestown so quickly.”

“You poor dear.” Diana hugged Marisa and patted her back, feeling extremely worldly and maternal. If Marisa only knew the horrors a man could inflict upon a woman… . But a warmth suffused her face, in fact, her whole being, to know that Tanner had saved her cousin and sent her and Aunt Frances to Briarhaven and safety. “I’m grateful to him despite the fact that our marriage is over.”

Marisa crumpled the kerchief and stood up to stand near the window. Her eyes held a question. “Is it really?”

“Yes, but I can’t speak about what happened.”

“I’m sorry, because I like Tanner, but I think you need to be aware of something. It’s better that you hear the news from me than from someone who won’t be as kind.”

Fear clutched at Diana’s stomach and she jumped off the bed. “Is something wrong with Tanner?”

“He’s perfectly healthy,” Marissa assured her. “Very healthy. Oh, I should just come out and tell you because there’s no easy way. Tanner has a mistress living with him at the townhouse.”

Diana’s stomach flip-flopped. She should have expected this news, but somehow she hadn’t thought about Tanner seeking out a woman. “Gabriella Fox, I presume.”

“Oh, no. Gabriella is home with her husband now and no threat to you. This woman is quite unlike Gabriella. In fact, from what I’ve heard of this woman and seen of her, I much prefer Gabriella.”

“What have you heard? Who is she?” demanded Diana, despite her resolve not to care about Tanner.

Marisa’s earlier distress vanished, and she pulled Diana down on the bed, eager to confide. “I heard Farnsworth talking to one of his men about this woman. Her name is Annabelle Hastings. She’s some sort of a spy, at least she was. I don’t think she is now. From what I gathered there was unpleasantness connected with her in Philadelphia and she lost her value to the British. One day she came to the house to visit Farnsworth and I thought she was his kept woman, but it seemed that she wanted to know about Tanner. She’d seen him from a distance and needed to know where she could find him. Farnsworth told her, and ever since that time she’s been living at the townhouse.” Marisa grew suddenly quiet. She squeezed Diana’s hand. “I didn’t mean to upset you, but I have, haven’t I?”

“Heavens no!” Diana rose to her feet, hoping she hid her lie well. It would never do to have anyone think she still had feelings for Tanner, that she could be jealous of him and this Annabelle Hastings. She knew very well who Annabelle Hastings was. Tanner had told her about his affair with the woman in New York. He had even thought he had loved her. “Whomever Tanner wishes to trifle with is none of my concern any longer.”

“But Diana, you’re having a child.”

A beet red blush consumed Diana’s face. “I didn’t know it showed yet.”

“Don’t you think you should tell Tanner about the baby?”

“Definitely not! And don’t you tell him, Marisa. That deceitful bounder doesn’t deserve to know.”

“All right, I won’t,” Marisa promised and sighed. “Still, if I had a husband as handsome and rich and kind as Tanner I’d tell him about the baby. I’d fight for him, too. No conniving woman would steal him away from me.”

Diana winced, not wanting to admit that Marisa might just be right.

~ ~ ~

“Well?” Mr. King asked Mike Candy upon his return from the townhouse. “What did you discover?”

Candy practically snarled at the man who waited like a huge black vulture, ready to pounce and prey upon the unsuspecting just like the vultures who now sat upon the roof of the market. But he hid the smile in his heart. No matter what it was this Mr. King wanted, he was going to be denied it. “The master is at home,” Candy proclaimed, “and you should have told me that the townhouse belonged to Mr. Tanner Sheridan. If I’d have known that I wouldn’t have been sneaking around like a damned thief. That servant fellow who works for Mr. Sheridan discovered me nosing about.”

“Good Lord, man! You didn’t open your mouth about me, did you?”

“I ain’t stupid, King,” Candy shot back. “I told him I wanted something to eat, that I was hungry, and he sent me to the kitchen for some grub. Filled me up real good, too. I was going to ask the cook about the master being there, but I didn’t have to. I saw him eating in the dining room. Recognized him as Mr. Sheridan. He was with a lady, so you see, he’s home.”

“Dammit!” King kicked at a rock out of frustration. “So Sheridan and his wife are both there.”

“I said a lady was with him, not that it was his wife.”

“What lady? Tell me!” King demanded.

“I don’t know who she was. She had pretty, silver-blonde hair, and from the looks of things they knew each other real well.”