Moontide Embrace (Historical Romance) (18 page)

Judah smiled down at the little face that had become so
dear to him. He was about to make some joking remark when he looked into her eyes, and for a moment it was as
if he were being drawn into swirling, bottomless pools of
blue. The soft scent of her filled his senses, and he felt as
if the floor moved under his feet.

Damn, he thought, tearing his eyes away from hers.
What in the hell is happening to me? Liberty is a child — she trusts me like a brother. Why do I keep having these
disturbing thoughts about her?

Liberty watched Judah's dark lashes come down to
cover his blue eyes. She could feel something physical
between the two of them, and she wondered if Judah
could feel it also. Realizing there had been a long silence
she tried to think of something clever to say—anything to
cover up her confusion.

"Judah, you really should choose one of the ladies as a
partner after me."

He was silent a moment as his eyes rested on her golden
hair. "What if I don't want to dance with anyone but you,
little one?"

Her heart was hammering in her throat, and she had to
look away from the warm glow in his eyes. "I — "

The dance ended abruptly, saving Liberty from having
to answer. Judah escorted her back to his mother and
then disappeared through the door that led to the dining
room. Gabrielle smiled and patted Liberty's hand. "You and my son dance divinely together. It was as if each knew what move the other would make."

Liberty was too disturbed by her strange feelings to answer. She just wished the evening would be over and she could go home.

Sebastian pulled Bandera behind the wisteria bush and
clasped her tightly in his arms. He bent his head and swirled his tongue around her lips, then plunged it into her mouth. Bandera felt bile rise in her throat, but she knew it would not be wise to show her distaste for
Sebastian's crude lovemaking. She closed her eyes, allow
ing him access to her creamy neck, and his wet lips moved
down her throat to the valley between her breasts.

"I want you now," he breathed against her skin. By now
Bandera realized Sebastian was her only hope of being
mistress of Bend of the River. Judah had made it very
plain that he wanted no part of his grandfather's fortune.
She would have to do whatever Sebastian wanted. "It
would not be good if we were found in this compromising
situation, Sebastian. You said that every move we made
tonight had to be well planned. It would not do for someone to come upon us now."

"You are right," he said, stepping back on the path and looking around to make sure no one was about. "Did you
give Judah the note?"

"Oui,
I told you twice that I did. Are you sure this is the best way to discredit your cousin? If we are not careful, it could backfire on you, Sebastian."

"Not on me—on us." His eyes were cold as he stared
toward the ballroom. "I have thought this out carefully.
There is no other way, and we are running out of time.
My uncle has asked his attorney to come to Bend of the
River next week. I know he is going to change his will in
favor of Judah, if he hasn't already."

Bandera shook her head. "We cannot allow that to happen, Sebastian."

"We can stop it if we are very clever. Will you do exactly what I tell you?"

"Oui,
I will! But it will be so humiliating for me."

"No,
ma chere,
Judah is the one who will look bad.
You will have the sympathy of all our friends. It is getting
close to eleven; you had better start for the barn. I will just go back inside so everyone can see me."

Bandera shivered, thinking about what she must do,
but she would endure it. She must. Sebastian was clever. She would never have thought of so bold a plan. She only
hoped she could carry her part off. She had to! Bend of the River was within her grasp. All she had to do was follow Sebastian's directions.

Gustave was tiring, so Gabrielle excused herself to go
upstairs with him, and Liberty went out onto the gallery.
Weary of the gaiety, she was searching for a quiet place to
be alone. A painful lump formed in her throat. She was
hopelessly in love with Judah, and he still thought of her
as a child — his little one. She had come to the heartbreak
ing conclusion that no matter what she did, Judah would
never think of her as a woman. She has seen him
watching Bandera, had realized he cared about her sister.

Liberty heard someone come out onto the gallery, and
she flattened herself against the iron rail, hoping to go
undetected. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw it was
Judah. He was the last person in the world she wanted to
see.

"I know you are there, Liberty. I saw your shadow as I
came out. Why do you hide from your old friend?"

She stepped into the light, embarrassed at having been
caught hiding like a child. "We are not old friends," she
said evenly. "To tell the truth, we hardly know each other."

Judah whistled through his teeth. "I would say some
thing has you in a spin. Care to tell me what it is?"

"I just do not like men," Liberty announced breezily. "I
find them very tedious." She made a wide sweep with her
hand. "I am bored with all this."

His laughter was amused. "When one is so worldly as
yourself, other, less astute people tend to bore one."

She drew in her breath and straightened her shoulders. "I am wise enough to know when I am being made sport of. I do not care for your humor, Monsieur Slaughter. I
never have."

He reached out and cupped her chin, studying her face
in the soft moonlight. "I would never make sport of you,
Liberty. Of all the people I have met since coming to Bend of the River, you are the most memorable."

"You talk as if you are going away, Judah."

He smiled. "Are we back on a first-name basis?"

"Are you going away?"

"Soon. The
Winged Victory
will be docked at New Orleans. I will be leaving then."

Pain cut through Liberty's heart like a knife. How could she live if she never saw Judah again? Tears she
could not stop flowed from her eyes. She turned away not
wanting him to see her cry.

Judah gripped her shoulders and turned her to face him. With his thumb, he wiped a tear away. "Little one, are those tears for me?"

"Will you not stay?" she sobbed, burying her face against his chest. Judah gathered her close, feeling anguish at her tears. He was besieged by a flood of emo
tions he dared not put a name to, and there was a sudden
emptiness in his heart at the thought of never seeing Liberty again. He would like to be around to watch her grow into a woman.

"I cannot stay, Liberty. My life is not here."

She shrugged his hands off and turned away. If her
heart was going to break, she certainly was not going to
allow Judah Slaughter to watch. Running back inside the
house, Liberty made her escape. Hearing Judah call out to her, she ducked into the empty library and sank down
in a window seat, where she lost herself to total misery. She wished Bandera would tire of the ball, so they could
go home.

Judah glanced at the clock on the mantel and saw that it was five minutes until the appointed time he was to meet Bandera. Pushing Liberty to the back of his mind, he left the house and walked in the direction of the barn.

Perhaps Bandera had decided she loved him and was willing to go away with him after all.

When Judah entered the barn, it was pitch-dark inside.
He called out. "Bandera, are you here?"

"I am at the end of the stalls," she called softly.

Judah thought the whole situation was odd, but he made his way slowly toward the back of the barn.

Sebastian was hidden in the loft. As he heard Judah
approaching beneath him, he removed the small flintlock
revolver from his breast pocket and fired.

Judah saw a flash of light, felt something hit him in the
chest; then he knew agonizing pain. For a moment he was
too stunned to react. His hand went up to his shirtfront
and he felt something warm and sticky oozing from his
chest. It was blood —his own blood. He had been shot!

With a gasp, he crumpled to his knees as pain drained him of his strength.

In the pinnacle of light that came from the loft, Judah
watched a shadowy figure materialize from the darkness. His face showed his confusion when Sebastian bent over
him, gun in hand.

"I don't understand, Sebastian," Judah gasped out. His
head was swimming, and blood now covered his whole
shirtfront. “ . . . Why, Sebastian?"

Sebastian's face was drawn up in anger. "Don't you know? Haven't you guessed?"

Judah tried to stand, but there was no strength in his limbs and he fell back to his knees. "Yes, it must be
because of Bandera. You . . . found out . . . that I was to
meet her here, and you are jealous." Sweat had popped out on Judah's face and he felt as if the barn were
spinning. He watched helplessly as Sebastian hastily re
loaded the gun and pointed it at his head.

Sebastian's laughter was threaded with hatred. "I have
nothing to be jealous of. You can come out now, Bandera. I believe Providence has smiled on us tonight,
ma
chere.
Judah fell for the oldest trick known to man. He
allowed a woman to lure him into a trap."

Judah watched in disbelief as Bandera stepped out of
the shadows. He was dazed and his thinking was unclear.
"Bandera, help me," he said, reaching out to her.

For a fraction of a second there was pity in her eyes,
until she remembered that Judah Slaughter stood between
her and all that she desired. Lifting her skirt, she stepped
over him, and stood beside Sebastian.

The harsh taste of disillusionment filled Judah's mouth
like bitter wine. Bandera read the contempt in his eyes, and raised her chin to hide the shame she felt.

"What are we going to do now, Sebastian?" Bandera
asked, in a calm voice that surprised her.

Sebastian glanced at his cousin while he took aim with his pistol. "I'll tell you what we are going to do,
ma chere.
I heard you scream and ran to investigate. I found my cousin dragging you into the barn, and before I could prevent it, he had practically ripped your gown off. Alas,
I had to shoot him to get him away from you. It took two
shots."

"No!" Bandera cried, looking at Judah. "We cannot get
away with this. I will not be a party to his death. You said we would only dishonor him."

"Perhaps you are right. We do not want him dead, at
least not yet, Bandera," Sebastian said in a silky voice. "If
you back my story, we will have Bend of the River in the
palm of our hands."

"I do not-"

"You must back me up in everything that I say. Is that
clear, Bandera?"

"I- no."

By now they could hear voices in the distance. Several
people from the house had heard the shot and were
coming to investigate. "Hurry and make up your mind,
Bandera.  There isn't much time.   If you want to be mistress of Bend of the River, I suggest you do exactly what I say."

Bandera glanced back at Judah, who was lying in a
pool of blood. He was having trouble focusing his eyes,
and he was so pale. It appeared that he was already half-
dead.
"Oui,
I will do what you say."

Sebastian startled Bandera when he grabbed the neck
of her gown, and with a swift jerk, ripped it to the waist.
She tried to cover her nakedness as Sebastian turned his
attention back to Judah. "You see how it is, cousin. You
tried to rape Bandera, and I had to stop you the only way I could."

Judah slowly turned his head and stared at Bandera.
He was too heartsick to care what they did. When he saw
her lower her lashes to keep from meeting his eyes, he
realized what a fool he had been. Bandera had only used
him. He should have seen through her, but he had been too blinded by her beauty. Apparently she would lie, cheat, and even kill to get her hands on Bend of the River.