Moontide Embrace (Historical Romance) (5 page)

Bandera was seated before the
table de toilette,
brush
ing her dark hair until it sparkled. She was beautiful, draped in a soft yellow dressing gown that showed the
swell of her smooth breasts and the creamy texture of her
skin. Her ebony hair shimmered like a midnight sky as it
fell down her back. Bandera was a classic beauty like their
mother, and men flocked to her like bees to a honey pot.
Liberty wondered, for the hundredth time, why Bandera
had chosen Sebastian when she could have any man she
wanted.

As Bandera coiled her hair on top of her head and secured it with an ivory comb, Liberty wished she had
been blessed with lovely black hair instead of the straw-
colored tresses that hung limply about her shoulders. Why were her eyes a nondescript color instead of soft brown like her sister's?

Bandera gave her young sister a scathing glance as her
eyes moved over her with disapproval. "Why must you
always look like a
gamin,
Liberty? You never take pride
in your appearance. Why could I not have had a well mannered
little sister with pleasing looks? You are such an embarrassment to me."

Liberty had heard all this before. It no longer hurt her
when Bandera took her to task as it did when her mother
criticized her. She merely shrugged her shoulders. "We cannot all be born beautiful like you, Bandera." Liberty
smiled. "Besides you would not like it if I were beautiful.
You have never liked to compete with other women."

Bandera arched an eyebrow, looking very like their mother. "I never have to compete with other women. But . . . you could be right,
ma chere.
Perhaps I would not like it if you were beautiful."

Even though Bandera had been born of Spanish parents, she chose to think of herself as French. She had
never known her own father, and Louis Boudreaux had always treated her as his own flesh and blood. When she
was twelve, he had even legally adopted her.

Liberty kicked off her muddy boots and curled up on the edge of Bandera's bed, tucking her feet beneath her. "I had a wonderful adventure today. Would you like to hear about it?"

Bandera applied rouge to her cheeks, then wiped most
of it off so only a trace remained, before answering in a
bored voice. "From the looks of you, I would say that
you tromped through the swamps. What makes you think
I would be interested?"

Liberty watched her sister's eyes as she spoke. "I met the swamp witch today, but she isn't really a witch, at
least I do not believe she is." Liberty was bubbling with
excitement. "I even went to her house."

Bandera swung around, skepticism written on her face. "You did not. Even you would not dare cross Zippora's
threshold."

"I did. She invited me in, and I even ate at her table.
She gave me this." Liberty extended her hand so Bandera
could see the ring. "Is it not beautiful?"

Bandera sucked in her breath as she stared at the ring.
"Where did you really get that?" she demanded, standing up and crossing the room. She stared at the magnificent
pearl surrounded by diamonds that caught the sunlight and
sent a rainbow of color dancing across the walls. "Do not tell me that old Zippora gave you this thing, because I do
not believe it."

Liberty hesitated to tell her sister about the two slavers,
fearing she would press their mother to stop the excursions into the swamps. "It's true, Bandera. Zippora gave it to me."

Bandera held out her hand and said in a demanding voice. "Let me see it."

Liberty readily removed the ring and dropped it into
her sister's hand. Bandera turned it over and examined it
closely. "This is worth a great deal of money. However
you came by this, it is much too fine for you." Slipping it
on her finger, Bandera held it up to the light, admiring
the prisms of light that danced in the fiery depths of the
diamonds.

A devious gleam came into Bandera's eyes. "If you don't give me this ring, I will tell
Maman
that you went into Zippora's cabin."

"No! It is a gift to me. Zippora said it would bring me
good fortune."

Bandera turned a poisonous gaze on her sister. "It would appear the opposite has happened, little sister,
because I am the possessor now. Run along and dress for
dinner, while I finish my toilette. I am weary of your
company."

"Give me the ring back!" Liberty demanded, coming to
her feet and holding out her hand. "It's mine. You have no right to it."

Bandera grabbed a handful of hair and jerked until she brought tears to Liberty's eyes. When Liberty tried to free herself, Bandera yanked so hard that she sent her sister to
her knees. "The ring is mine," Bandera said through clenched teeth. "Mine, do you hear?"

Liberty felt Bandera's hand tighten on her hair even
more. Although the pain was excruciating, Liberty man
aged to land an elbow on Bandera's stomach. Bandera cried out in pain, and quickly loosened her grip on Liberty's hair.

At that moment their mother chose to enter the room.
Misreading the whole situation, she saw her precious Bandera doubled over in pain and assumed that Liberty
was the perpetrator. "What have you done to your sister?"
she cried, rushing to Bandera's side. "There, there,
ma petite,
what has happened?"

Liberty saw Bandera press her knuckles into her eyes to
make them tear—a trick Bandera had learned long ago,
and it usually won her mother's sympathy. "Liberty is a beast,
Maman.
She struck me!" Tears glistened in Ban
dera's eyes as her mother gathered her close.

"You will be punished for this, miss," her mother said
in a cold voice. "What have you got to say for yourself?"

Bandera raised her head and gave her young sister a
malicious smile.
"Oui,
Liberty, what have you to say?"

Liberty knew she was beaten, and merely shrugged her
shoulders in defeat.

"Go to your room at once, Liberty." Her mother spoke
in bitterness. "You are getting out of hand. Your father will hear of this."

Liberty slowly crossed the room, her eyes locking with
Bandera's, in which a self-satisfied gleam was reflected.
She knew from long experience it would do no good to tell her side of the incident, her mother always took Bandera's word as truth.

As Liberty left the room, her mother's voice followed
her. "You will come down to dinner tonight, but you will
speak only when spoken to — is that clear? I will no longer
tolerate your bad conduct. If your father does not punish
you, I will deal with you myself."

As Liberty made her way back to her own bedroom she
felt a coldness around her heart. Could her mother not
see the games Bandera always played? Today Liberty had
turned fifteen, but no one seemed to remember or care.
In the past she had always made excuses for her mother and Bandera, but the truth of the situation had finally hit
her full-force. Neither of them cared about her. She was
nothing but a troublesome child to them. It was a heart
breaking lesson for Liberty. With bitter disappointment,
she realized her only friends and allies were her father and
Oralee. Of course, today she had found a new friend in
Zippora.

Dressed in a hand-me-down yellow empire-waist gown
that Bandera had discarded, Liberty descended the stairs.
While the bright yellow gown had been lovely on her
sister, she knew its color made her look pale and washed out. Instead of wearing her hair in soft Grecian curls like
Bandera, Liberty's hair was shoulder length and pulled back in a yellow ribbon.

Her footsteps quickened as she neared the salon, for she dared not be late for dinner. She was already in
enough trouble; she did not need to add more fuel to the
flame. Liberty paused at the door, drawing in a deep
breath and gathering her courage. On entering the room,
she walked slowly toward her mother. Ursula Boudreaux
offered her younger daughter her cheek and smiled stiffly. Liberty gave her a quick kiss, then moved past her sister,
barely noticing her. Knowing it was expected of her, she
made a quick curtsy in front of Sebastian Montesquieu.

"Good evening,
Monsieur.
I trust your uncle is in good
health."

Sebastian smiled down at her. "The truth of the matter
is he is not quite himself lately,
Mademoiselle.
He sends
his regards and his regrets that he cannot be with us tonight. He always asks about you."

Liberty felt her mother's eyes on her, warning her not
to make a mistake. "I find your uncle a very enlightened
conversationalist,
Monsieur."

Sebastian's eyes moved across Liberty's face, then low
ered to her high-cut neckline. Something about him repulsed
her. "You are one of the few people my uncle consents to
talk to,
Mademoiselle.
For some reason he seems to find
you fascinating."

Liberty had never liked Sebastian. He was what she
termed a dandy. Even so, his lineage was impeccable, for his father was of the old French aristocracy. Sebastian's
short-clipped black hair was disheveled,
a la Titus
as was
the fashion. He wore sage green, tight-fitted trousers, and his elaborately tied neck cloth was complimented by an
upright collar. He was clean-shaven, but wore side-whis
kers. For some reason his features did not seem to go together. His square-cut jaw seemed out of proportion with his aquiline nose. His blue eyes were dull, and he had the annoying habit of never looking into the eyes of the person he was addressing.

Bandera's laughter rang out as she slipped her arm
through Sebastian's. "La, but our little mouse has pretty
manners tonight, does she not, Sebastian?"

At last Liberty turned to her sister, knowing she could no longer ignore her. As usual, Bandera wore a lovely
gown, smelled of some sweet, exotic scent, and looked
beautiful. No one but Bandera could have worn the deep
purple and carried it off so well. Beside her, Liberty indeed felt like a homely little mouse.

A deep French voice spoke up from the other side of
the room.
"Ma petite,
is not a mouse. She will show us all
one day how the bud turns into the rose."

Liberty's father had just entered the room, and her eyes lit up when she saw his encouraging smile. Evidently he
had just returned from New Orleans, because he wasn't dressed for dinner, and he still wore mud-splattered riding
boots. Louis Boudreaux was a handsome man of forty-
five. His sandy hair held no hint of gray and his blue eyes
twinkled as he held a hand out to Liberty, who raced across the polished cypress floor, and threw herself into his comforting arms.

"I am so glad you came home tonight," she whispered
against his ear, feeling like a condemned felon who has
just been handed a reprieve.

"Did you think I would miss your fifteenth birthday?"
he said, so only she could hear. "We will speak of it later,"
he added in a soft voice. "I see your mother is feeling
neglected."

Taking Liberty by the arm, Louis strode to his wife.
Reaching for Ursula's hand, he raised it to his lips. "You
are lovely tonight,
ma chere,"
he said with warmth.

Ursula blushed with maidenly delight as her husband gave her a tender look. That she loved him was apparent
to everyone in the room. Not to be left out of the family
circle, Bandera elbowed her way forward to receive a kiss
and a hug.

"Do you wish to change before we dine?" Ursula asked
her husband. "We can hold dinner if you wish."

"No, no. Let us proceed with the meal. I assume there is a party tonight. I feared I wouldn't make it home in time for the festivities."

Ursula looked puzzled for a moment; then she smiled.
"No, you have the dates wrong, Louis. Bandera's mas
querade party is not until next Saturday. Did you remem
ber to pick up Bandera's gowns from the dressmaker?"