Hannah Howell (24 page)

Clover did notice, but that did not change her mind. All her life she had been trained to be dignified, not to cause scenes. Such matters, if mentioned at all, were to be dealt with in the strictest privacy. She ached to go and yank Elizabeth away from her husband and throw the woman to the floor, but everything she had been taught told her not to succumb to that raw emotion.

“Lookee here, girl,” Mabel continued, grasping Clover’s arm and giving her a little shake. “Elizabeth wants your man and you know it. Hellfire, the whole
cursed county knows it. That hussy got into his breeches once and liked what she found. Ballard had the wits to button himself up tight after that, but it ain’t stopped her. ‘Tis clear his marriage ain’t gonna deter her neither, especially not if his wife just sits by twiddling her thumbs. Do you think that Scot would sit idly by if some man was lifting your petticoats?”

Clover stood and calmly brushed down her skirts. “No, Ballard would not just sit by. However, Mrs. Clemmons, if I discover that you have advised me poorly in this, I shall find some way to make you regret it.”

“I ain’t got no doubt about that. You be a sprightly one.” She gave Clover a light push toward the dancers. “Go and set that hussy straight, girl. Old Mabel will be watching.”

“I am sure you will.”

As Clover wended her way through the dancers, she thought she saw looks of approval on the women’s faces, but she could not be certain. When she failed to find Ballard and Elizabeth among the dancers, she grew unsure. A woman nudged her and pointed toward open doors leading to the stairs. Clover could think of only one reason that Ballard and Elizabeth would escape the crowd. The last thing she wanted was to catch the pair in a heated rendezvous, but she took a deep breath and started after them. It was best to know the truth, she decided, no matter how painful it might be.

Once outside, she walked around to the rear of the church. She wanted to trust Ballard, but she had to wonder why he would take a moonlight stroll with a woman he claimed he did not want. As she rounded
the corner she came upon Elizabeth in Ballard’s arms, and winced at the painful sight.

“Curse it, woman,” Ballard snapped as he yanked Elizabeth’s arms from around his neck and held her at a distance. “I didnae come out here for that.”

“Well, that is a relief,” Clover drawled.

Ballard cursed, pushed Elizabeth away, and stepped closer to Clover. He had allowed Elizabeth to drag him outside because he thought it would be kinder to rebuff her in private. Before he could say a word, however, she had clung to his neck and covered his face with kisses while rubbing her fulsome body against his in blatant invitation. He did not have to see the cold anger in Clover’s expression to know how the scene had looked to her. He heartily cursed his attempt to be considerate of Elizabeth’s feelings. The woman did not deserve such courtesy.

“Lass, I didnae come out here for an adulterous tussle. I swear it,” he told his wife.

“Everyone believes you did. After that tasteless display on the dance floor, most people think you slipped outside to continue your rutting in private. Now you tell me this moonlight stroll was not inspired by a sudden desire for decorum?”

For a moment, Ballard just stared at Clover, somewhat impressed at how she could say such biting, angry words in such a cool, polite voice. Most women he knew would be screaming at him and trying to do him and Elizabeth bodily harm. Since the look in Clover’s eyes told him she longed to do just that he had to admire her restraint.

Elizabeth stepped closer to Ballard and took hold
of his arm. “It should be clear, even to you, that Ballard has finally come to his senses,” she told Clover.

“Aye, I have.” He yanked free of her hold. “I have been trying too hard to play the gentlemon and spare your feelings. ‘Tis clear ye misunderstood my kindness. I didnae want to marry ye before I left for Pennsylvania and I sure as hell dinnae want to leave my wife for ye now. Just let me be, woman, before ye make an even greater fool of yourself.”

Elizabeth glared at Clover. “He wasn’t being so coy before you arrived.”

“Was he not? I would have thought you would have more pride than to keep hurling yourself at a man who says he does not want you.”

“He wanted me once—badly.”

“That
once
is now past.” Clover stepped closer to Elizabeth and said softly, “This had better be the last I see of you, Elizabeth Brown.”

“I live here too!”

“I know, but whether you do so comfortably or not will be up to you.”

Clover was a little surprised when Elizabeth glared at her and strode away. It was clear that the woman blamed her for Ballard’s rebuff. There had been a flash of fear in her eyes, which Clover had rather enjoyed. She hoped that Elizabeth believed her threats and stayed away.

She turned her attention to her husband, who was regarding her as if she were aiming a loaded musket at his head. It amused her that such a strong man could look so afraid of her. That hint of amusement told her that her anger was already fading. She prayed common sense was prompting her trust in him, and not blind loyalty.

“I swear to ye, lass, I wasnae out here to have meself a wee bit on the side.”

“What a crude expression.” She sighed. “I really want to believe you.”

“Good.” He quickly closed the distance between them and tugged her into his arms.

She looked up at him. If he was just not so heartbreakingly handsome, it might be easier to cast aside her doubts and fears. But she still found it a little hard to believe that such a man could be fully satisfied with her as his wife.

“I am not sure you have solved the problem of Elizabeth yet,” she murmured.

“She has to ken that her pursuit of me is already a joke around here.”

“That might make her all the more determined to win you.”

“Then she is an even bigger fool than I thought.” He touched a finger to Clover’s lips when she started to reply. “Someone is coming.”

“It sounds like Mama and someone else.” She gave a little cry of surprise when Ballard dragged her behind a thick tangle of lilacs. “Why are we hiding?”

“I would like a minute or two alone with ye, just to make sure ye dinnae still doubt me.”

Before she could reply, she glimpsed her mother through the foliage, arm in arm with Colin Doogan.

“I was sure Clover and Ballard would be here,” Agnes said. “Elizabeth looked furious when she came back inside.”

Colin took both of Agnes’s hands in his. “They have probably slipped away to make amends. I think we should use this moment of privacy to our own advantage.”

“What do you mean?”

“There is something I have wanted to ask you since I set eyes on you tonight. I want to court you, Agnes.”

“Colin, my husband has been dead for only a few months.”

“And you loved him. I know that. I knew it all those years ago. I loved my wife too, then and until the day she died. But that does not change the fact that there was something special between us, Agnes. It is still there.”

“I should be draped in mourning, but I did not have the money for mourning clothes.”

Colin kissed her forehead. “You will not have a great deal of money if you hitch up with me either, but I can keep you in some comfort.”

“Colin, it is too soon.”

“I do not expect you to stand before the preacher with me tomorrow. I just want to start courting you.”

“I would feel disloyal.”

“Why? I do not ask you to forget him, just as I could never forget my Anne. Hell, I have ten children as living reminders of her. I also do not expect you to set aside that part of you that still loves him and probably always will. But that does not mean we cannot care for someone else. Our loved ones would not expect us to pine for them forever and live alone for the rest of our days.”

“No, of course not.”

“Then why wait for some arbitrary mourning period to pass? The worst of your grief is over. Now is the time to pick up the threads of your life. All those years ago we could have loved each other if we had not already given our hearts and our promises to others. Not many people are fortunate enough to
have a second chance. I do not want to spend the rest of my life alone, Agnes.”

“Neither do I, Colin. I am just not sure everyone will understand that.”

“Hey, I was listening,” Clover protested when Ballard started to tug her even farther away from the couple, deep into the thick wood behind the church.

“Would ye eavesdrop on your own mother?” he demanded.

“Yes.” She frowned when, once out of earshot and sight of her mother and Colin Doogan, Ballard pulled her into his arms. “I thought we were going back inside.”

“I want to be sure ye dinnae still think poorly of me.”

“No.” She sighed, then smiled faintly when he gave her a quick, exuberant kiss. “If there is a next time, however, do you think you could give Elizabeth her setdown in a public place? Unfortunately, the first thought that enters people’s heads when a couple tiptoes off into the moonlight is
not
that the man is going to explain a few moral truths to the lady.”

Ballard laughed, then grew serious. “I was feeling a mite alarmed for a moment. You looked prepared to shoot me.”

“The thought crossed my mind.” When he backed her up against a tree and began to spread soft kisses along the neckline of her gown, she made no effort to push him away. “Should we not be getting back to the revel?” she finally asked.

“In a wee bit. I need reassurance that ye have really forgiven me.”

She welcomed his slow, hungry kiss and returned it in full measure. When he ended the kiss she realized he had reached up under her skirt and untied her drawers, letting them fall to the ground. After a brief hesitation she stepped out of them. She ought to be scandalized by what he planned, but instead she felt a growing excitement. The dark wood sheltered them, and rays of moonlight gave their trysting place an exciting secrecy. Only one thing checked her sudden urge to be daring.

“I cannot return to the revel in a rumpled, grass-stained gown,” she murmured, shivering with delight when he loosened her gown just enough to free her breasts for his kisses.

“Then we shall have to be verra careful that ye dinnae fall on the ground,” he replied, as he freed himself from his breeches.

She gasped in soft surprise when he lifted her up in his arms. Without thinking, she wrapped her legs around his waist. He slowly joined their bodies. She shuddered with delight. Her desire had been strongly stirred by his caresses and the thought of making love outdoors in the primitive privacy of the tall trees, but now it totally engulfed her. As her release swept over her, his mouth on hers smothered their cries of ecstatic fulfillment. He sank to his knees, their bodies still united, and they clung to each other as they tried to regain their senses.

Later, back inside the hall, Clover left Ballard talking with Jonathan and hurried over to Molly, who was perusing the remaining food on the table. “Do I look presentable?” Clover asked.

“Except for this piece of bark in your hair.” Molly fished it out and surreptitiously brushed off the back of Clover’s gown. “Apparently you and Mr. MacGregor sorted out your differences. Although I guessed that when that hussy came stomping back in here alone, looking like she had been sucking on lemons.”

“Did my mother and Mr. Doogan return?” Clover asked, nibbling on a piece of cake.

“Yes, they are sitting over there talking quietly.” Molly frowned. “Here is something interesting. It looks to me as if those men who just walked in are not welcome.”

Clover looked toward the door and nearly gasped. Everyone in the room was falling silent and keeping a close eye on the four men. Big Jim Wallis and his three friends were clearly disliked by nearly everyone. She wished that had been enough to make the man stay away, but realized it had been foolish to hope they would never cross paths in Kentucky. When he fixed his dark gaze on her and started toward her, she resisted an urge to look for Ballard, and struggled to meet Big Jim’s glower calmly.

“I’da thought you’d be hightailing it back to Pennsylvania by now,” he said as he stopped in front of her.

“This is my new home. Why should I leave?” She heartily wished there was more than the food table separating them.

“‘Cause you ain’t built for this life and there ain’t gonna be a husband here for you much longer.”

“Is that a threat, Big Jim?” Ballard asked, stepping up to the man’s side.

Big Jim glared at him. “We got some unfinished business, you and me.”

“I dinnae think so. I believe we settled everything that day at the riverfront in Langleyville. We have no quarrel between us, unless ye are thinking of starting one.” He glanced around. “It would appear that ye and yours are nae exactly welcome here. People have long memories, Big Jim, and ‘tis hard to forget that ye nearly killed William Sutter at last year’s spring revel. Maybe it would be better if ye left. A lot of his kin and friends are here.” He nodded toward a large group of men edging toward Big Jim, their fists clenched and their expressions hard and angry. They outnumbered him and his friends nearly three to one.

Big Jim spat on the floor. “I ain’t here to have fun anyhow. Just came to warn you.”

“Warn me?”

“Enjoy her while you can, MacGregor. The day is coming fast when the enemies you done made are gonna get you. You ain’t gonna be standing so tall and cocky then.” He glared at everyone in the room. “And these fools ain’t always gonna be at hand to save your hide. Or hers.”

Ballard frowned as Big Jim and his friends turned and swaggered out the church door. It would be foolish to ignore the man’s threats, but he did not know what to make of them. Briefly he considered gathering up a few men and going after Big Jim to beat a few facts out of him, but he decided against it. It would not be wise to stumble around in the dark after a man who would have no qualms about stabbing someone in the back.

“What the hell was that all about?” demanded Lambert as he and Shelton hurried over.

“I dinnae ken, but I think it would be wise if we keep a close watch out for trouble,” Ballard answered.