Lynna's Rogue (26 page)

             
“Yassum, I
‘
spect
you will. I
jus
’
‘
spect
you will.”

             
As usual
,
when she was feeling disheartened
,
Lynna went to work in the flower garden
,
pulling weeds, snipping dead blossoms, and loosening the soil around her roses. She
had
been on her hands and knees digging for some time when she heard a horse whinn
y and looked up into the beaming
faces of Joshua and Suzanne. Suzanne's smile was actually more of a smirk. She was delighted for Joshua to see Lynna with smudges of dirt on her face, her dress filthy,
her damp hair falling out of its
pins, and her nose sweaty and pink from exposure to the sun.

             
“Good morning, Lynna. I was giving Joshua a tour of the property, since yesterday’s tour was interrupted, when he asked to see where you and Judith lived. This is it.” She gestured grandly toward the small yet well-kept little cottage before turning back to Lynna. “
I
am
truly sorry if we caught you at a bad time.”

             
Di
smounting, Joshua came to take
Lynna's hands in his and assist her to her feet. “You have an absolutely charming home, Lynna.”

             
Her skin burned where he touched and she felt a familiar knot tightening in the pit of her stomach. Quickly she removed her hands and brushed soil from her skirt. “No, this is
not
a bad time. Would you care for something cool to drink?”

             
Joshua opened his mouth to accept when
,
as usual, Suzanne answered for all concerned. “Thank you for the gracious invitation
to share a quaint meal with you all
, but we really
cannot
. We promised
M
other to return in time for the noon day meal, didn’t we
,
Joshua?”

             
“Yes, I suppose we did.” Although,
Lynna's sensuous lips were so tantalizing, so moist, so near, and her clear blue eyes so inviting.

             
“Joshua!” Suzanne's exasperated voice at last broke th
rough his heated reflections. “
I declare, the two of you are
like
two peas in a pod!
It is
almost dinner time and
M
other will be sorely vexed if we keep them waiting.”

             
Before he pivoted back to
Suzanne, Joshua
gave Lynna his most beguiling smile and a sly wink. “Perhaps I could persuade you to give me a tour later this evening
as well
.”

             
This remark made Lynna blush and Suzanne’s blood simmer. Suzanne was quick to answer for Lynna. “
I’m
sure Lynna will be too busy assisting her aunt today, Joshua, if they are to complete my dresses for the Harvest Ball. You
would not
care for me to embarrass you by arriving in a frock your neighbors had already seen,
now,
would you?”

             
Joshua was about to inform her
that
he
would not
give a fig if she arrived in a feed sack, when Lynna spoke up. “
You are
absolutely correct, of course. In fact, I should be assisting her now. If
you will
both excuse me
.
”
S
he scurried inside.

             
Lynn
a did
no
t see Joshua for the remainder of the day, but then,
she hadn’t expected to. She was certain Suzanne
would not
let him out of her sight, or clutches, for the remainder of his visit.

             
Enjoying a quiet evening at home, Lynna and her aunt stitched yards of lace on the pink satin gown until their fingers were numb, and tumbled into bed after supper
,
exhausted. Still
,
she found sleep impossible as visions of a raven-haired sea captain swam behind her closed e
yelids. Joshua was so near, yet
so far. She slipped out the door, hoping the eveni
ng air would clear her
head.

             
“Ah, my love…you had difficulty sleeping as well.”

             
Gasping in alarm
,
she spun around to face the vision that haunted her. He was barely visible in the shafts of moonlight filtering through the trees and Spanish moss that floated eerily around him. “You startled me!”

             
“That was never my intent. I was being plagued by a golden haired goddess and found sleep elusive. I decided to take a walk and see if perchance she would appear.” He grinned, causing his sea green eyes to twinkle. “You are living proof that if you wish intently upon a star
,
your dreams will indeed come true.” She could only stare at him, since no words seemed to be forthcoming. “Will you take that walk with me now, Lynna?”

             
“No. Captain Jordan, I have told you on more than one occasion that I have no intention of ever being alone with you again.” She
could not
trust herself with him, even after all these years. “Now, I really must go inside before Aunt Judith discovers me missing and sets up an alarm. Good day to you, sir.” It was a pitiful excuse, but her defenses were rapidly d
windling. She turned to go, but
he caught her and pulled her into his arms. Before she could protest
,
his lips descended to hers and
succeeded in snatching
her breath away.
Placing her
hands on his chest
,
she attempted
to push him away, but he grabbed her hands and put them around his neck
,
holding them there until all resistance faded. He
r arms moved of their own volition
to encircle his neck. She would love nothing more than
to succumb to his passion
, just as she had on the ship. To feel his soft kisses and lips…No! This
could not
happen! She jerked her arms to her sides and without looking back
,
fled to the safety of the house.

             
“Go
od night, my love,” he called as
she bolted the door behind her.

             
After tossing and turning for what seemed like an eternity, remembering the taste of Joshua’s lips on hers, Lynna had just drifted off to sleep when she
was jerked awake by a loud voice
. She recognized the voice immediat
ely. Her uncle was home, and
as usual,
he was
drunk.

             
“I told you, Tobias, I
do not
have any money,” Judith cried. “Please lower your voice before you wake Lynna.”

             
“You always keep money hid around here somewhere, so quit lying
,
bitch!”

             
“Even if I did, I
would not
give it to you to waste on rot gut whiskey. We need that money to live!”

             
Lynna heard a dull thud and knew her aunt had been struck. Leaping out of bed
,
sh
e ran to the kitchen with light
ning speed. Tobias had her aunt pinned against the wall with his hands on her throat
,
squeezing the life from her.

             
“Let her go!” she screamed, grabbing his arm, pulling and kicking
until he released her aunt. Judith
colla
psed to the floor with a sickly
white pallor. Before Lynna could slip
unnoticed
out the back door, he unleashed the full force of his fury on her.

             
She tried to dodge the blow she knew was coming, but backed into the table and was cornered. He stood before her
,
smiling broadly as his fist smashed und
er her right eye with a painful
crunch. The last thing she remembered before the floor jumped up to greet her was the look of absolute horror on her aunt's bloodless face. Thank God! At least she was still alive!

             
Lynna came to later with a pulsating headache that seemed to hammer in her temples. Her aunt was holding Lynna’s head in her lap and sobbing quietly. Judith’s tears fell in earnest when her niece at last opened her bruised and swollen eyes.

             
“Is he gone?” Lynna mumbled, feeling her face to see if any bones were broken.

             
“Yes, he found my reticule and took what little coin we had. I pray he rots in hell for the pain he
has
caused you, Lynna.”

             
“My pain? What about
your pain?” Lynna
struggled to sit up
, wincing at the throbbing pain the effort caused her
. “How badly did he hurt you?”

             
“He only shoved me against the wall and choked me, nothing out of the ordin
ary. It is you I am worried about.” She turned
Lynna’s face to the light for a
better look. “That is an awful
bruise.”

             
“
I will
just remain inside until i
t
fades. We have so much work to do here I
would not
be spending much time outside
,
anyway. Look on the bright side. We
will not
have to worry about him returning for at least a fortnight.”

             
A silent tear rolled down Judith's cheek as she broke down and sobbed. “Please forgive me for allowing this to happen to you, darling. I should have protected you somehow. Why, if
your father knew this, he would…
”

             
“Au
nt Judith, do not
blame yourself.
There is
no way you could have stopped that madman. You
cannot
reason with him when
he is
drunk. We both are all too well aware of that, and my father
would not
hold you accountable for his sins.” That was a lie and they both recognized it as such. Nathan Rhodes would indeed fault his sister if he knew of her husband's abuse toward his daughter, and heaven help Tobias Mathison if he ever found out.

             
“Maybe
he will
take his ill
-
gotten gains and never come back.”
Unfortunately, they
both
were also
well aware he
would
return the minute his stolen funds had been exhausted.

             
Lynna
did
no
t
feel up to getting dressed the following morning. Why bother, when she
would not
be showing her face outside the house
, anyway
? She lay in bed
,
wondering for the thousandth time why her dear father had
no
t sent funds to make her and her aunt’s life easier. There was simply no excuse for it. Forcing her mind away from the pain thinking about her father caused
,
she slipped on a lavender flowered dress and went barefoot into the kitchen, grinning sheepishly when her aunt gasped at her black and blue face.

             
“I must look a fright, Aunt Judith.”

             
Before she could answer
,
a knock sounded at th
e open kitchen door. Luckily
, Lynna's back was to the door and she pleaded with her eyes for her aunt to send whoever it was away. She breathed a deep sigh of relief when Judith moved to the door and then went numb all over when she said, “Good morning, Joshua.
You are
up and about early this morning.”

             
His husky voice floating through the open doorway caused Lynna's pulse to throb. “Good morning, la
dies. Silas and I are riding in
to town. Silas was coming to see if he could bring you anything, but I volunteered to come in his stead.”