Just Imagine (32 page)

She might have been staring at a stranger. His face was empty of expression, his eyes distant. The passion they'd shared last night might have been something she'd imagined.

She searched for some trace of tenderness, some acknowledgment of the importance of what had passed between them. When she didn't find it, a chill went through her. She should have known this was how it would be with him. She'd been foolish to expect anything else. Still, she felt betrayed.

"Why is Miss Dolly calling you 'Major'?" She asked this question instead of the others she couldn't give voice to. "What did you say to her?"

He tossed his hat onto the hallway table. "I told her we were married. Then I pointed out that if she went on believing I was General Lee, she'd have to reconcile herself to the fact that you were living with a bigamist, since the general has been married for years."

"How did she react?"

"She accepted it, especially after I reminded her that my own military record was nothing to be ashamed of."

"Your military record? How could you frighten her like that?" Finally she had a target on which to pin at least a small portion of her pain. "If you bullied her—"

"She wasn't frightened. She was quite pleased to hear how valiantly I was serving under General Beauregard."

"Beauregard fought for the Confederacy."

"Compromise, Kit. Maybe someday you'll learn the value of it." He headed for the stairs and then stopped. "I'm leaving for Charleston in an hour. Magnus will be here if you need anything."

"Charleston? You're leaving today?"

His eyes mocked her. "Were you expecting a honeymoon?"

"No, of course not. But don't you think it's going to look a little strange if you leave so soon after our—our wedding?"

"Since when have you cared what people think?"

"
I
don't. I was just thinking about Miss Dolly and her cake." Her anger ignited. "Go to Charleston. Go to hell for all I care."

She pushed past him and stalked out the front door. She half expected him to come after her, half hoped he would. She wanted a fight, a raging argument on which to blame her unhappiness. But the door remained shut.

She went to the live oak behind the house and leaned against one of the great drooping branches. How was she to survive being his wife?

For the next few days, she stayed away from the house as much as she could. At first light, she donned her britches and rode Temptation from one corner of the plantation to the next, everywhere but the spinning mill. She talked to the women about their gardens, the men about the cotton crop, and walked between the long rows of plants until the afternoon sun drove her into the refuge of the woods or to the banks of the pond.

But the pond was no longer a sanctuary. He'd spoiled that, too. As she sat beneath the willows, she thought about how he'd managed to take everything from her: home, money, and finally her body. Except she'd given that freely.

Sometimes the memory filled her with rage. Other times she'd feel edgy and restless. When that happened, she'd jump on Temptation and ride him until she was exhausted.

One day slid into another. Kit had never been a coward, but she couldn't find the courage to face her callers, so she left them to Miss Dolly. Although she didn't think the Cogdells would ever reveal the details of that awful wedding, the rest was bad enough. She'd married the enemy in a hurry-up affair that would leave them all counting on their fingers for months to come. Just as embarrassing was the fact that her husband had abandoned her the morning after their marriage, and she had no idea when he'd return.

Only once did she agree to receive company, and that was early Saturday afternoon, when Lucy announced that Mr. Parsell had come to call. Brandon knew how she felt about Cain, so he must realize that she'd been forced into the marriage. Maybe he'd thought of a way to help her.

She quickly changed from her britches into the dress she'd worn the day before and hurried downstairs. He rose from the settee to greet her.

"Mrs. Cain." He bowed formally. "I came to extend my felicitations as well as the best wishes of my mother and my sisters. I'm certain that you and Major Cain will be very happy."

Kit felt a hysterical bubble of laughter rising inside her. How like him it was to behave as if there'd never been anything between them but the most distant of friendships.

"Thank you, Mr. Parsell," she replied, somehow managing to match his tone. Propelled by her pride, she flawlessly played the role for which the Templeton Academy had trained her. For the next twenty minutes, she spoke of the condition of the roses that grew near the front of the house, the health of the president of the Planters and Citizens Bank, and the possibility of purchasing a new carpet for the church.

He responded to each topic and never once attempted to refer to any of the events that had transpired between them less than a week before. As he took his leave of her, precisely twenty minutes after his arrival, she wondered why it had taken her so long to admit to herself what an idiot he was.

She spent the evening curled in a chair in the rear sitting room, her old, battered copy of Emerson's
Essays
on her lap. Across from her was the mahogany desk where Sophronia worked on the housekeeper's records. Cain would expect her to take over now, but Sophronia wouldn't appreciate her interference, and Kit had no interest in counting linens. She didn't want to be mistress of the house. She wanted to be mistress of the land.

As night settled in, Kit sank deeper into despair. He could do anything he wanted to her plantation, and she couldn't stop him. He cared much more about the mill than the fields. Maybe he'd decide to slice up the fields to make way for a road. And he was a gambler. What if he squandered the money from her trust? What if he decided to sell off the land for ready cash?

The clock in the hallway chimed midnight and her thoughts grew darker. Cain had always been a wanderer. He'd already lived here for three years. How long would it be before he decided to sell Risen Glory and set off for someplace new?

She tried to tell herself Risen Glory was safe for now. Cain was preoccupied with the spinning mill, so he wasn't likely to do anything drastic right away. Even though it went against her nature, she had to bide her time.

Yes, Risen Glory was safe, but what about her? What about that hot pounding in her blood when he touched her? Or the heightened awareness that shot through her every time she saw him? Was history repeating itself? Was Weston blood calling out to Cain blood as it had done once before in the union that had nearly destroyed Risen Glory?

"Katharine Louise, why aren't you in bed?" Miss Dolly stood in the doorway, her frilly nightcap askew, her face puckered with worry.

"Just restless. I'm sorry I woke you."

"Let me give you some laudanum, dear, so you can sleep."

"I don't need any."

"You need your rest, Katharine. Now, don't be stubborn."

"I'll be fine." She led Miss Dolly upstairs, but the older woman refused to leave her alone until Kit forced down several teaspoons of the laudanum.

She fell asleep, only to have her rest disturbed by opium-induced shadow-images. Toward dawn, a great tawny lion came to her. She smelled his male, jungle scent, but instead of feeling fear, she wove her fingers through his mane and pulled him closer.

Gradually, he changed into her husband. He whispered love words and began to caress her. Through the fabric of her dream, she felt his skin. It was warm and as moist as her own.

"I'll fill you now," her dream-husband whispered.

"Yes," she murmured. "Oh, yes."

He entered her then, and her body caught fire. She moved with him, and climbed with him, and just before the flames exploded, she called out his name.

The laudanum dream was still with her when she awakened the next morning. She gazed up at the pink-and-green silk bed hangings, trying to shake off the groggy aftereffects of the medicine. How real it had seemed… the lion who'd changed beneath her hands into—

She shot up in bed.

Cain stood at her washstand shaving before the mirror that hung above it. He wore only a white towel draped around his hips. "Good morning."

She glared at him. "Go into your own room to shave."

He turned and stared pointedly at her chest. "The scenery is better in here."

She realized the sheet had fallen to her waist, and she yanked it to her chin. Then she saw her nightgown lying crumpled on the floor. He chuckled at her sudden intake of breath. She lifted the sheet and stuck her head under it.

Sure enough. She wasn't imagining the dampness between her thighs.

"You were a wildcat last night," he drawled, clearly amused.

And he'd been a lion.

"I was drugged," she retorted. "Miss Dolly made me take laudanum. I don't remember anything."

"Then I guess you'll have to take my word for it. You were sweet and submissive, and you did everything I wanted."

"Now who's dreaming?"

"I took what was mine last night," he said with deliberate relish. "It's a good thing that your freedom is a thing of the past. You obviously need a strong hand."

"And you obviously need a bullet in your heart."

"Get out of bed and get dressed, wife. You've been hiding out long enough."

"I haven't been hiding."

"That's not what I hear." He rinsed off his face, then reached for a towel to dry it. "I ran into one of our neighbors in Charleston yesterday. She took a great deal of pleasure in telling me you weren't receiving visitors."

"Forgive me if I wasn't anxious to listen to everyone clucking their tongues over the fact that I married a Yankee who abandoned me the morning after our wedding."

"That really rankles, doesn't it?" He tossed down the towel. "I didn't have any choice. The spinning mill has to be rebuilt in time for this year's crop, and I needed to make arrangements for the lumber and building supplies." He walked to the door. "I want you dressed and downstairs in half an hour. The carriage will be waiting."

She eyed him suspiciously. "What for?"

"It's Sunday. Mr. and Mrs. Cain are going to church."

"Church!"

"That's right, Kit. This morning you're going to stop acting like a coward and face them all down."

Kit jumped up, taking the sheet with her. "I've never acted like a coward in my life!"

"That's what I'm counting on." He disappeared through the doorway.

She'd never admit it to him, but he was right. She couldn't keep hiding like this. Cursing under her breath, she threw aside the sheet and washed.

She decided to wear the blue-and-white muslin forget-me-not dress she'd worn on her first night back at Risen Glory. After she put it on, she pulled up her hair into a loose chignon, then perched a tiny confection of chip straw and blue satin on her head. For jewelry, she wore her detested wedding ring and eardrops set with moonstones.

It was a warm morning, and the worshipers hadn't gone inside yet. As the carriage from Risen Glory drew up, Kit watched their heads turn. Only the young children darting about in a final burst of energy were indifferent to the arrival of Baron Cain and his bride.

Cain helped Miss Dolly out, then reached inside the carriage to assist Kit. She stepped down gracefully, but as he began to release her arm, she moved closer to him. With what she hoped was an intimate smile, she slid first one hand and then the other up the length of his sleeve and clung to it in a pose of helpless and adoring femininity.

"Pushing it a bit, aren't you?" he muttered.

She gave him a blazing smile and whispered under her breath, "I'm just getting started. And you can go to hell."

Mrs. Rebecca Whitmarsh Brown reached her first. "Why, Katharine Louise, we didn't expect to see you this morning. It goes without saying that your very sudden marriage to Major Cain has surprised us all, hasn't it, Gladys?"

"It certainly has," her daughter answered tightly.

The young woman's expression clearly told Kit that Gladys's own eyes had been fixed on Cain, Yankee or not, and she didn't appreciate being passed over for a hoyden like Kit Weston.

Kit went so far as to press her cheek to his sleeve. "Why, Mrs. Brown, Gladys, I believe you're teasin' me, 'deed I do. Surely everyone in the entire county who possesses a pair of eyes guessed from the very beginnin' how Major Cain and I feel about each other. Although he, bein' a man, was much better able to hide his true emotions than I, a mere women, ever could."

Cain made an odd choking sound, and even Miss Dolly blinked.

Kit sighed and clicked her tongue. "I fought and fought our attraction—the major being a Yankee interloper and one of our most
evil
enemies. But as Shakespeare wrote, 'Love conquers all things.' Isn't that so, darlin'?"

"I believe Virgil wrote that, my dear," he replied dryly. "Not Shakespeare."

Kit beamed at the women. "Now, isn't he just the smartest man? You wouldn't think a Yankee would know so much, would you? Most of them being dim-headed and all."

He squeezed her arm in what looked like a gesture of affection, but was, in fact, a warning to mind her manners.

She fanned her face. "Gracious, it certainly is warm. Baron, darlin', maybe you'd better take me inside where it's cooler. I seem to be feelin' the heat this morning."

The words were barely out of her mouth before a dozen pairs of eyes traveled to her waistline.

This time there was no mistaking Cain's wicked amusement. "Of course, my dear. Let's get you inside right away." He steered her up the steps, his arm around her shoulders as if she were a delicate, fruit-bearing flower in need of his protection.

Kit felt the churchgoers' eyes piercing her back, and she could hear them mentally ticking off the months. Let them count, she told herself. Soon they'd see for themselves that they were wrong.

And then a horrible thought struck her.

The Conjure Woman had lived in a ramshackle cabin on what had once been Parsell land for as long as anyone could remember. Some said old Godfrey Parsell, Brandon's grandfather, had bought her at a slave market in New Orleans. Others said she'd been born at Holly Grove and was part Cherokee. No one knew for certain how old she was, and no one knew her by any other name.