OnlyYou (5 page)

Kaitlyn turned and saw both Mrs. Washington’s and
Alexander’s hands on the back of the chair to her left. Alexander immediately
removed his hand and bowed before the General’s wife before strolling around
Kaitlyn and pulling out the chair at the end of the table. Using the same
sweeping gesture he had given to Kaitlyn just moments before, he motioned for
Mrs. Washington to sit.

“I shall have a much more pleasant view from this vantage
point,” Alexander declared in a low voice as he settled himself across the
table from Kaitlyn.

As the meal began, Kaitlyn swore to herself she would remain
as quiet as possible. Ever the dutiful student, she concentrated on picking up
as much information as possible from the various conversations surrounding her.
Besides, the last thing she wanted was to draw questions to herself or to
experience a slip of the tongue.

Unfortunately, she wasn’t able to escape participating.
After the desert course had begun, Mrs. Washington turned to her and asked,
“What does your father do, Miss McCann?”

Kaitlyn nervously set her wineglass back on the table,
concentrating very hard on preventing her hand from shaking. “He was a
university professor and a tutor before he died,” she replied softly, managing
a small smile.

“I am sorry to hear of your father’s passing, madam,”
General Washington offered from the other end of the table.

Several others murmured their condolences as well and
Kaitlyn nodded her thanks.

“At which university did he teach?” James asked.

Unfortunately, the University of Wisconsin didn’t exist
yet—not to mention the actual state of Wisconsin. She hurriedly stuffed a bite
of the moist honey cake into her mouth to gain some time to think and to
prevent that deer-in-the-headlights look she knew would be plastered all over
her face if it didn’t have something else to do. As she chewed, she glanced at
Gabriel pleadingly. Regrettably, he was probably going to be of no help to her
at all if the amusement in his eyes was any indication.

As she swallowed, she remembered that Gabriel had attended
the University of Paris and decided that it may be her best option. “He taught
in many places, the Sorbonne being one of them,” she answered.

“Did you not attend there as well, Captain O’Connor?”
Alexander asked.

Kaitlyn’s breath caught in her throat as she dashed a look
at Gabriel to see how he would handle the question. How stupid! She should have
expected that someone else in the room would know of Gabriel’s education.

Gabriel casually wiped his mouth with a napkin and nodded,
giving her a little wink. “Yes. I do remember Professor McCann. History, I
believe?” He turned to Kaitlyn.

She nodded dutifully, relieved that Gabriel was willing to
back up her thoughtless lie and that he actually remembered her father had been
a history professor. They had many conversations over the past few days, mostly
about their families. So many times in her life, Kaitlyn had experienced people
simply chatting with her and not really paying attention when she spoke. But
not Gabriel. He actually listened to her. She fought the small smile that
threatened to cross her face.

“Oh, so the two of you have met before?” Mrs. Washington
interjected.

Kaitlyn shook her head. “I did not go to Paris with my
father. The first time I ever saw Captain O’Connor was while I was wearing
men’s pants four days ago.”

Laughter erupted from the guests around the table. Kaitlyn
smiled and looked down at her plate, unused to anyone laughing at anything she
had to say.

Gabriel leaned toward her. “And if I remember correctly,” he
began in a low voice so only she could hear, “You fared a sight better in those
pants than any man ever could.”

His voice was deep and sensuous, causing her heart to skip a
beat. She forced her breathing to remain steady, certain that someone at the
table would be able to detect the sudden change in her.

“Well, ’tis probably for the best. A university is no place
for a young lady. Women and education are a dangerous combination,” Alexander
stated with a shake of his head as he set his empty wineglass on the table.
“They have too much power over us as it is.”

The word
power
was what caught Kaitlyn’s attention,
momentarily distracting her from the intense desires raging through her body.
Unable to hold back, she replied, “Power? According to the law, men have the
power over women’s bodies, inheritances and lives. Essentially, we are
considered the property of men in the eyes of the law. So, tell me, Mr. Ross,
just how does that translate into women having too much power over men?”

A heavy silence fell over the room as all eyes turned toward
Alexander. Under normal circumstances, Kaitlyn found most social situations a
bit awkward. Though she understood the dynamics between the sexes at this time
in history, she couldn’t help but challenge Alexander’s notions about women.
She loved a good argument. After all, she didn’t obtain an undergraduate minor
in Women’s Studies for nothing.

“My dear lady,” Alexander began with a laugh, “women already
rule the domestic sphere. And should you question your power over men, I ask
you to simply walk among our soldiers for a few moments.”

Kaitlyn smiled as the others broke out into laughter once
again. When the table finally quieted, she retorted, “So, you are saying that,
despite all of your education and all of your worldly experiences, you do not
think with your head when you are around women but with another part of your
anatomy?”

Wide eyed, Eileen yelped in surprise and immediately covered
her mouth. James and Henry snickered uncomfortably as they cast their eyes to
the tabletop. The Washingtons, on the other hand continued to eat their cake as
though Kaitlyn had said nothing out of the ordinary.

Only Alexander burst into full-fledged laughter. When he
finally gained control of himself, he replied, “And here is the perfect example
of why women should not be educated.”

“What do you mean, Ross?” James asked, wiping the tears from
his eyes, which indicated that he found the conversation more humorous than he
had let on.

“Because then we will never be able to win an argument,”
Alexander stated, looking straight at Kaitlyn.

Even the General and his wife joined in the laughter at that
point. After a few moments, one of the servants walked into the room, bowed
before General Washington and announced that the parlor was prepared for their
party.

Everyone stood at that time and began walking out of the
dining room. Gabriel, who had been just as quiet as Kaitlyn during dinner,
immediately grabbed her hand once she stood.

Surprised, she glanced up at him, marveling over the warmth
and strength of his hand. What she saw in his eyes, however, caused her breath
to catch in her throat.

Possessiveness.

It was the only word she could think of to describe how he
was staring at her. As he placed her hand around the crook of his arm, his
fingers closed over hers assertively.

The intensity of his gaze was too much for her. She dropped
her eyes to the floor, allowing him to guide her out of the dining room and
down the hallway to the parlor. Once inside, Kaitlyn noticed a gentleman poised
at the piano, his fingers raised slightly above the keys as though he had been
frozen in time, waiting for the party’s arrival.

General Washington immediately found Gabriel and began to
engage him in conversation. Gabriel released his hold upon Kaitlyn’s arm and
turned his full attention to his commanding officer.

Immediately intrigued by the thought of eavesdropping on a
personal conversation between Gabriel and
the
General George Washington,
Kaitlyn quietly folded her hands in front of her. The last thing she wanted was
for one of them to realize she was still there and shoo her away with the
excuse that women needn’t concern themselves with a man’s conversation.

Unfortunately, Kaitlyn felt someone pull at her elbow and
she turned, finding Mrs. Washington smiling gently at her.

“The floor needs to be clear for dancing,” the older woman
explained, pulling her back toward the wall.

Kaitlyn mumbled her apologies and followed Mrs. Washington
over to where Eileen was sitting near the piano.

After a few minutes, James strolled toward Kaitlyn with a
shy smile on his face as he used his index finger to push his glasses back up
onto the bridge of his nose. “Would you do me the honor of dancing with me,
madam?”

“I really don’t know how,” Kaitlyn replied with a nervous
laugh, wishing that she could somehow blend in with the wallpaper. Part of her
was fearful to interact too extensively with anyone other than Gabriel and
Eileen. Who knew what blunders her tongue would make? One wrong word spoken to
the wrong person could potentially change the course of history.

And people’s lives.

He offered her his hand, his smile determined yet gentle. “I
would be happy to teach you.”

She shook her head and waved her hand at him. “Oh, no. I
couldn’t possibly—”

“Of course you can,” he replied with finality as he took her
hand and assisted her to her feet.

She laughed and allowed him to draw her out into the middle
of the room, with Eileen and Henry following suit. James began showing Kaitlyn
a simple dance, which she picked up rather quickly, much to her surprise.
Within the course of several minutes, she could move through the steps without
treading on James’ toes. Well, not too often anyway.

“You are a natural, Miss McCann,” he said with a genuine
smile.

She rolled her eyes. “And you, Mr. Clark, flatter me.”

He chuckled. “I was uncertain that your guard dog would to
allow you to leave his side.”

Kaitlyn stared at him for a moment, unsure of his meaning.
“I don’t understand.”

Gracefully spinning her around, James nodded toward Gabriel.

Her eyebrows rose in surprise. “You mean Gab—Mr.—Captain
O’Connor?” she stuttered, catching Gabriel’s intense gaze in her direction.

A knowing grin crossed James’ face. “He has not taken his
eyes off you since Mrs. Washington escorted you into the drawing room before
dinner.”

She shook her head, her cheeks burning from being stared at
so openly. “No, really it’s nothing. I’m sure it’s just because he feels
responsible for me.”

“You did not see the look on his face as you were sparring
with Mr. Ross at dinner,” James replied. “The truth is that I would have pegged
you as an innocent myself had I not heard you speak with my own ears.”

Kaitlyn laughed, shyly casting her eyes just over James’
shoulder.

“I must say,” he continued, lowering his voice to a bare
whisper as he leaned closer to her ear, “It is refreshing to be in the presence
of a well-educated woman rather than a giggling girl.”

Shit.

She may not have had a great amount of experience in the
area of come-ons but she certainly knew one when she heard it. Her stomach
tightened in reaction and she bit her lower lip, her eyes worriedly darting
toward Gabriel. The last thing she wanted was for him to think she had more of
an interest in James than him.

Her heart skipped a beat as Gabriel’s gaze easily met hers.
The possessiveness in his eyes returned with a vengeance and her breath caught
in her throat.

Her head told her that she should feel appalled at this new
look of ownership in his eyes but her body had other ideas. A wave of warmth
surged through her abdomen and she felt her clit swell as his stare
intensified. A sudden need to feel his hard, roped arms wrapped securely around
her swept through her body.

Damn it. Why didn’t he just cut in instead of staring at
her?

“May I cut in?”

“Of course, Mr. Ross,” James said, releasing her from his
arms and bowing before her.

As James walked away, Alexander quickly swept her up into
his arms and began another waltz.

“Slow down, Mr. Ross. I only just learned this dance.”
Kaitlyn forced a laugh, worriedly attempting to hide what she was certain was a
look of lust plastered all over her face.

Alexander simply smiled. “You are the very picture of grace,
my dear lady.”

This one was certainly a charmer. She wondered if he worked
this hard with other women.

“That Captain O’Connor can certainly be a brooder,”
Alexander commented as he nodded toward the door.

Kaitlyn turned and watched as Gabriel walked out the door
without so much as a look back at her. A sudden feeling of disappointment
settled into her stomach and her shoulders slumped.

She forced her attention back to Alexander. What did she
expect anyway? She was a bit of an odd duck in this world. Gabriel would
probably prefer a nice, quiet, submissive girl—one who wouldn’t tell a guy she
barely knew that she believed he thought with his cock instead of his head.

“But he is a good man,” Alexander continued with a bit of a
shrug. “He is a brilliant soldier and an excellent lawyer. I have had the
pleasure of watching him in the courtroom a time or two.”

“Really?” Kaitlyn asked immediately intrigued.

The music finally came to an end and Alexander released her
from his arms, bowing low before her. Kaitlyn curtsied clumsily, disappointed
that her chance to learn more about Gabriel was ending and turned to walk over
to the women gathered in one corner of the room and deep in conversation.

Unexpectedly, Alexander grabbed her arm and leaned down to
her ear. “I am married, as I am certain the ladies will be more than willing to
tell you. I will not, therefore, openly pursue you, Kaitlyn but I want you to
know that my door is always open to you.”

Double shit.

Kaitlyn felt frozen, her mouth dropping open to reply but no
words forming. Just what the hell was going on? In her time, she could barely
get a guy to look at her, let alone proposition her. Now, in the eighteenth
century, she was a hot commodity.