The Captain's Caress (24 page)

“You’d better send one of your girls along, too,” he said. “The countess didn’t bring her maid, and the girl the hotel provided seems inexperienced and undependable.”

“I have just the girl for you, milady.” Clothilde smiled. “Jeanne is quite mannerly, and expert in preparing a lady for a ball.”

“What about the other gowns?” Brent asked.

“I’ve been thinking about them.” Clothilde resumed her businesslike manner. “And I think I have found the answer.”

“I knew you would as soon as you stopped going on about how impossible everything was,” Brent said complacently. “You’re a resourceful old bird.” Clothilde couldn’t decide whether she was more pleased by the compliment to her intelligence or more irritated by his insufferable manner. She thought of the profit she was about to make and decided that it didn’t matter.

“I just happen to have a large number of gowns on hand because I’m preparing a trousseau. It will not be required for some time yet, so I will have a chance to replace any gowns the countess is able to use.”

“But I don’t look at all Spanish,” Summer protested.

“The young lady in question was educated in Europe and has demanded all of the most fashionable gowns. She will look like a chicken dressed in the feathers of a bird of paradise. Quite sad, really.” Clothilde shuddered. “It will be a relief to know that the countess will wear my creations. They are very lovely, really some of my best work.”

“Can they be ready by tomorrow?” Brent asked.

“Not everything, of course, but if you will let me have a list of your engagements, I will see that alterations are made on gowns as they are required.”

“Maybe Jeanne can serve as a go-between,” Summer suggested. Knowing that Brent thought her ravishing had changed her whole outlook on their stay in Havana. Meeting and being admired by complete strangers no longer frightened her. She even looked forward to it.

Clothilde agreed. “That’s an excellent idea. She will also know of anything that needs attention, or if madame has need of anything to complete her toilette.”

“Box up whatever she needs and send it to the hotel,” said Brent. “I want no effort spared in making sure the countess is the most beautiful woman there tonight.”

Clothilde looked at Summer, resplendent in the sumptuous gown and glowing with youthful innocence and beauty. “I don’t think there will be any difficulty with that,” she said. “Now if milady will come with me, I must see to the changes that have to be made.”

“If you’re going to be forever trying on dresses, I’m going back to the ship,” Brent declared. “I’ll send young Lane to escort you to the hotel.”

“I can have one of my girls accompany the countess if you like,” Clothilde offered.

“No, I’d rather have one of my own men bring her. I’ll be back in time to dine.”

The warm excitement that had blossomed in Summer upon Brent’s admiration began to fade at his departure. Now the dress didn’t seem quite so lovely, and the room was hot and stuffy. She didn’t want to spend the whole afternoon having pins stuck in her and being pushed, pulled, and tugged at by dozens of hands. She’d much rather be back on the ship in her thin muslins, the cool breezes on her face and her long hair tossing in the wind. She turned to Madame Clothilde, a definite pout on her ruby lips.

Clothilde had dealt with too many women for Summer’s swift change of mood to pose a mystery, but a possible affair between Brent and the countess was none of her business. It did make her wonder whether she should reconsider her plans, however. She knew of at least three women who considered Brent their own and who would not readily accept another candidate for his favors. Such rivalries could be bitter ones, and Clothilde had every intention of turning them to her advantage. If Summer was going to be at the center of the storm, then the clothes she wore would receive particular notice. Clothilde made up her mind that they would be the finest she had ever designed. Everybody else could wait. At this moment nothing was as important as turning Summer out in gown after gown guaranteed to make her clothes second only to her beauty as a topic of conversation.

Chapter 21

“Madame is a real pleasure to work for,” Jeanne told Summer, remembering the impatient and ungrateful young women that had driven her to give up being a personal maid and to work for Madame Clothilde. Summer had sat through having her hair dressed and her face delicately tinted without voicing a single protest. “It will only take a minute more,” Jeanne promised as she pinned the last of the flowers in Summer’s hair.

“The
señora
looks so beautiful,” Chichi sighed, repeating her litany of the last hour. “Every man in Havana will be driven wild at the sight of you. They will all want to make love to you.”

“You know that’s a very improper way to speak to the countess, Chichi,” Jeanne sternly reprimanded her. “Hand me those pins, and try to remember that you’re only a maid.” Chichi hated being scolded. She flounced away to find the required pins, then slapped them down within Jeanne’s reach. But her ill humor only lasted a few minutes; she could hardly have been more excited if she had been going to the reception herself.

“Are you sure I look presentable?” Summer asked nervously, seeking reassurance as she thought of the many strangers she must face. “I must seem attractive.”

“Attractive!” exclaimed Chichi incredulously. “The
señora
is
beautiful,
even more beautiful than the captain.”

“That is high praise indeed.” Summer relaxed a bit. “But don’t let the captain hear you. He might become jealous.”

“The captain frightens me a little,” Chichi said, indulging in a pleasurable shiver. “The
señora
must have great courage. Maybe if he likes you tonight, he will keep you for himself.” Summer stiffened.

“How many times do you have to be told to watch your tongue?” Jeanne admonished.

“A thousand pardons,
señora,
but the Captain looks at me as though he would like to make me disappear.”

“He doesn’t think you’re a proper maid,” Summer explained.

“But I am a wonderful maid,” Chichi declared indignantly.

“You are not,” Jeanne stated uncompromisingly. “You are flighty, and you talk when you should be working. If you don’t learn to control your tongue, you’ll be cleaning rooms for the rest of your life.”

Chichi puffed up, ready to defend herself, but Summer intervened. “Do try to watch what you say, Chichi. If you aren’t more careful, Captain Douglas is going to make Alonzo give me someone else. You really do come out with the most shocking things.”

The vivacious girl crumpled into a demoralized little flower. “I’m sorry,
señora,”
she whimpered dolefully.

“And don’t start to cry.” Summer spoke quickly. “I might cry too, and that would ruin Jeanne’s work. The captain would be in a awful temper if he had to wait while Jeanne did it over again.”

“The captain is not patient with you?” Chichi asked, wiping her eyes.

“Not in the least,” said Summer, underscoring her words with a grimace.

Chichi’s sadness evaporated, and her big black eyes began to sparkle with curiosity. Her romantic soul sensed that something lay behind Summer’s words, and she regarded her mistress very much as a cat would regard a mouse hole.

“Don’t you like the captain,
señora?”
she asked,

“The captain is a friend of my husband,” Summer said with deliberate calm. It was essential that
no one,
especially a chatterbox like Chichi, suspect her real feeling for Brent. “He takes very good care of me, but he is used to commanding men and is unaccustomed to the ways of women.”

“But that’s impossible,” protested Chichi breathlessly. “All of Havana speaks of his success with the ladies.”

“If you don’t watch what you say,” snapped Summer, turning on the maid with a tigerlike pounce, “I’m going to have Alonzo send María to me
tonight!”
As Chichi quailed before her sudden fury, Summer rose to her feet.

“Am I finished? Am I ready to receive the captain?”

“Madame is ready to meet anyone,” Jeanne assured her. “There won’t be a more beautiful woman present tonight. You will break hearts.”

Summer was greatly heartened by that thought. “I wouldn’t want to do that, but it’s nice to know that I will be presentable. I want to thank you both,” she said to Jeanne and Chichi. “If I’m a success, I will owe it to you and Madame Clothilde.”

“Oh,
Dios!”
Chichi exclaimed, unable to remain quiet any longer. “Are you blind? You would stop carriages in the street if you wore rags.”

“She’s right,
señora,
even though she shouldn’t have said it,” Jeanne said.

“Don’t say another word,” Summer commanded, “or I’ll burst into tears. Convey my thanks to Madame Clothilde for sparing you. And, Chichi, please wait up for me. I can’t possibly undress myself.”

“Muy bien,
señora!” Chichi laughed. “I couldn’t sleep a wink without knowing all about the party.”

“You’re an impossible girl,” Summer chided, “but I’m glad I have you. Now open the door. I can’t wait to see the captain’s face when he sees my wig.”

Summer sat without moving, her back ramrod straight, her eyes staring directly ahead. She had waited for two hours and still Brent had not come to her. She knew he wasn’t going to; she had known it for some time, but she still couldn’t admit it to herself. It was easier to search for excuses for his lateness than to admit that he cared so little that he had forgotten her.

She tried not to let herself think of the implications of his absence, but doubts and worries assailed her. She feared that she was unimportant to him now that he was back on his old hunting ground. Why should he restrict himself to the penniless daughter of a small plantation owner when he could attract the heavily dowered daughters of powerful, aristocratic Spanish families? What could she offer him to shift the balance in her favor? She had already given him her innocence and her love, but apparently that wasn’t enough.

Chichi’s words kept coming back to taunt her. How could she, an inexperienced novice, hope to hold a man whose prowess in the bedroom was on the tongues of everyone in Havana? Hadn’t he repeatedly teased her about his women? Even Smith had tried to warn her. Why hadn’t she listened to them instead of being so satisfied with her new gown and her flower-bedecked wig that she had completely forgotten about everything else?

Well, she was paying for it now. For the last hour jealousy had been eating away at her like hot acid. She struggled to curb her demon of resentment, to banish all thought of the partners who might be filling his arms. She tried to look at things less emotionally, but it was a futile task. She kept telling herself that he was only staying away from her because she had made him promise to do so. She tried to make herself believe that, but a headache was all she got for her pains.

“It’s ridiculous to be sitting around dressed like this,” she finally said aloud. Rising to her feet, she rang for Chichi. “I’m sure he’ll be here first thing tomorrow with a ready explanation tripping off his tongue, but staying up won’t bring the morning any quicker. I’m going to bed.”

“We’re not talking about your duties on the ship,” Summer said furiously to Brent. “I realize they must come before me or a reception. We’re talking about your abandoning me to go roistering about with your women. Don’t expect me to believe that you were tied up with your business deals all night. Your carriage was seen leaving the hotel a little after midnight.”

Summer shuddered when she recalled the embarrassment of explaining to Chichi why she had not attended the governor’s reception after taking over an hour to get dressed. She had barely slept at all, she still had a throbbing headache, and her mood had not been improved by Chichi’s chatty report over her morning cocoa that the captain had been seen in the company of a particularly beautiful and notorious marquise.

Brent was not accustomed to being raked over the coals by anyone, but particularly not by a female.
Any
female! “You can’t expect me to give up all my pleasures,” he exploded. “I have to have something to do with my time if I’m to stay out of your bed. Besides, nothing can protect your reputation better than to have it publicly known that I’m occupying myself in another quarter.”

Summer couldn’t tell him, for she hadn’t even admitted to herself, that she didn’t want to give up having him in her bed. When she had demanded that he protect her reputation by keeping away from her, she’d never dreamed that she would have to watch him pursue another female, or that his interest in someone else would cause her such great agony. She’d told herself for so long that she didn’t want his attentions that she had come to believe it. It was quite a shock to discover the opposite was true.

“Can’t you ever think of anything else?” she demanded hopelessly.

“I think about you all the time, but I’ll go crazy if I don’t have something to do besides sit around torturing myself in thinking about your loveliness and the nights we spent making love. Why should I neglect all those lovely ladies just waiting to throw themselves into my arms?”

“You’ll stop at nothing to satisfy your bestial cravings, will you?” Summer’s tone was scornful, but she was torn between happiness at knowing that Brent still wanted her and agony that he would put someone else in her place.