Lynna's Rogue (29 page)

             
But she must not acquiesce to him again! Make the same mistake twice? She wrenched from his arms
,
thinking she was no bet
ter than a common harlot
, behaving as she was. Rubbing her fingers over lips that ached for the touch of his, she admonished, “Captain Jordan, I warned you once before about your effrontery.”

             
“So you did. Ah, my love, but
you are
such a tempting morsel
that I sometimes
fail to remember.”

             
“And
I am
not your love! Please, remember that!”

             
“Me
thinks the lady doth protest too much,” he quoted and grinned rakishly. “You are a rare blossom, Lynna, my sweet. And since
I have
already explored your bounty once before
,
it leaves me with an insatiable craving for more. Believe me when I say you are a unique flower, and one that I intend to pluck and explore to the fullest.” Joshua struggled with the impulse to take her in his arms and make her dismiss from mind all else save him, and he had no doubt he could. “Now, could we continue where we left off?”

             
“Certainly not!” she retorted
with an impertinent tilt of her head. “Joshua, as
I have
expressed to you on numerous occasions, I
do not
anticipate a repeat performance of my previous error in judgment. Unlike Suzanne, I
do not
drool at the mere prospect of a few hours spent in your
arms. Do not confuse us
.”

             
He brushed a soft curl from her face with a tender hand. “
It is a
pity
, really
. When Suzanne desires something
,
she surmounts all obstacles to have it. You should be more like her in that aspect, if nothing more.”

             
“Pray tell, enlighten me, sir. What precisely is it that I desire?”

             
“Me, of course.”

             
“Of all the nerve! You, sir, are a vile cad, a blackguard
,
and worse, a conceited imbecile.” Thus said, she left him grinning like the vai
n cretin he was and raced
into the house without a backward glance.

             
The following morning before daybreak
,
a rider arrived with an urgent missive from the neighboring plantation owned by Thomas Morehead. A fire had swept through the main house and several slave cabins. Thomas Morehead had perished, and at least five
of his
slaves had been severely burned. The rider was unsure how many others had lost their lives. Silas took every
available
man and rushed to the plantation, with Mary and Judith accompanying them to care for the injured.

             
With her aunt still caring for the burn victims at the Morehead plantation, Lynna entered their quiet
house alone that night, with
a strong sense of foreboding. Something was awry, but what? Entering the kitchen
,
her apprehension proved correct. Her uncle sat at the table
,
slouched in a drunken stupor, with an empty whiskey bottle in his hand. She
had
smelled him, a combination of liquor and unwashed body, even before seeing him.

             
Hearing her approach
,
he glanced up with angry, bloodshot eyes, and his hand shook as he pointed to the cold stove. “Why ain't you got supper cooking, you lazy, good for nothing wench? I been keeping you up for the last three year
s
and you
cannot
even keep a pot boiling on the stove! Where’s my wife?”’

             
“There was a fire,” Lynna answered stonily. “S
he is
at the
Morehead plantation helping to nurse
the injured.”

             
“Well, do something besides spread your legs for the son of the wealthy plantation owner and fix me something to eat!”

             
The desire to turn tail and run was strong in Lynna, but knowing that would give him too much satisfaction, she stood her ground. When she failed to respond quickly
enough to his order, he leapt
from his chair
,
sending it crashing to the floor. “
Don’t
just stand there when I tell you to do something
,
girl! Get busy and fix me some damned supper!”

             
“Fix your own damn supper!” Lynna gritted through clenched teeth. She was fed up with his constant demands and abuse
.
She was beyond fed up with everything about the drunkard, in fact. If he ate tonight, it would be food prepared by his own hand.

             
For having the impudence to disobey his direct order, Tobias slapped her so hard she stumbled
backward and landed hard on her bottom
. Thankfully
,
this time her aunt was
no
t home
,
and Lynna
did not
have to w
orry about protecting her. Glancing around for a weapon, she
spied her aunt’s sewing basket with
a
large pair of s
harp scissors on the table and
made the error of eyeing the scissors covetously. Tobias saw where her eyes lingered and wheezed with harsh laughter before sweeping the basket
to the ground,
scattering its contents to the other side of the room. “When did you grow a backbone, you little tramp?”

             
She had to find another weapon, and quick! His empty whiskey bottle was on the table between them, but she refused to look at it. She
would not
make that mistake again. Lynna stood up slowly and painfully. “I have no coin, so you might as well leave.”

             
He licked his
lips in a sickening manner,
with his gaze fixed fi
rmly on her heaving breasts.
“I ain’t leaving here without some recompense for my journey.”

             
That was a
ll the impetus she needed! Lunging
for the bottle,
she
grabbed it before he could, and with all of her energy
,
swung it toward his face. Whiskey dribbled down her arm as she made a full circle before coming to a startling halt. Even drunk,
he had
dodged the bottle.

             
Chuckling, he advanced around the table with a wicked gleam in his eyes and a wide grin splitting his face, as his fist connected with her jaw with such force that she saw stars and nothing more.

             
Lynna came to through a haze of blinding pain. She lay absolutely still
,
listening for any sound or sign he was still in the house. Hearing nothing
,
she stood slowly, grabbing for the wall as the room spun around her. When the vertigo had passed
,
she moved to her room and paused before her mirror. Tears filled her eyes and she grimaced at her bruised and grossly swollen face, the same face
she had
seen so many times in the past. The bruises from his previous attack had only begun to fade.

             
Hot tears rolled down her swollen cheeks as she gave vent to her misery. She was so alone, so frightened and miserable
, with neither
the will nor strength to continue fighting. She just wanted to go home. Back to France
,
where she was pampered and spoiled
,
and no one would dare lift a hand to her. But that was out of the question, since her father had undoubtedly forgotten she even existed.

             
When was her aunt coming home
,
anyway? She dried her sniffles and remembered her promise to help Jasmine make blackberry cobber the following m
orning. S
he
could not
go up to th
e big house looking like this, but h
ow could she possibly endure
another
week of forced confinement?

             
Hoping to force her misery to the back of her mind, if only momentarily, she prepared a hot bath. After heating the water and filling the tub, she sighed blissfully as the heat penetrated her tired, aching body. She soaked until her skin was a glowing pink, then dried off and slipped into a sleeveless pink nightgown cut low and gathered under her breast. It was too hot for anything else. The cotton was soft and cool against her heated skin as it enveloped her abused body. Seated at her dressing table
,
she was lost in troubled thought as she brushed her hair until it shone and fell in rippling waves over her shoulders.

             
By the time she we
n
t to bed, feeling miserable and defeated
,
she had
convinced herself
that
the only
solution to her wretched life
was to wed Daniel. She would never be lonely again. Daniel loved her, of that she was certain, and, as
he had
told her so many times in the past, she would grow to love him given time. If she married Daniel, she could move her aunt into the big house, so Tobias could never torment either of them again. The Fletchers would hire another seamstress and her aunt could relax and enjoy her golden years
in peace
. It was the perfect solution. She closed her eyes, not blissfully happy at the notion, but satisfied
that
she had arrived at a decision that would be agreeable for all concerned.

             
A few hours later
,
she was startle
d from a deep sleep by a noise
in her room.
A cool breeze caused the curtains to flutter and she wondered if that was the so
und that had awakened her. F
ear gnawed at her, as she worried that
her
uncle had
no
t left after all. Peeking from swollen eyes, she
gasped to find Joshua standing over her
,
holding a candle
,
with a look of stark horror on his face. What was he doing here?

             
“I had a feeling…
that… you needed
me. Just tell me who did it?” H
is voice was cold as ice and
filled with rage
. “That
i
s all I ask of you, Lynna. Please! Tell me who did this to you.”

             
She
could not
tell him the truth
,
no matter how much anguish her uncle had caused her. She knew Joshua would search until he found him and end his deplorable life. For this she would be grateful beyond measure, she felt nothing but deep hatred for her uncle. But she
could not
tolerate th
e notion of Joshua rotting in a
damp, dark, and filthy jail cell for avenging her.

             
“Lynna,” he spoke softly, too softly. “Please tell me.”

             
“I
cannot
!” she cried brokenly. “Please,
do not
ask me! I
cannot
!”

             
He desperately wanted to tell her he already knew it was her own uncle who was abusing her. But he
did not
admit it, knowing the humiliation it would cause h
er. He vowed to find the deviant
and take great pleasure in watching his life’s blood drain away. If he departed immediately
,
perhaps he could apprehend him before he left the taverns. He turned to leave, but hearing her softly speak his name
,
his stern resolve deserted him.

             
“Please!
Do not
leave me alone, Joshua. I beg of you! Just hold me.”

             
Seeing the tears glistening on her bruised and swollen cheeks, he placed the candle on a table and gently drew her into his arms. As he tenderly brushed away the tears
,
she shrank from the pain his gentle touch caused, but said nothing. She never complained. His heart went out to the poor girl who had withstood so much abuse. Joshua blamed himself for a portion of that pain. Overwhelmed by the love and tenderness he felt for her, he comforted her as he had the night of Malcolm's savage attack.