Beyond the Cliffs of Kerry (34 page)

The fiddlers struck up a tune, and Darcy watched the dancing closely. The dancers joined hands or held each other at the waist. Most of the steps were foreign to her and looked very difficult.

"I'll never get used to their crude style of dancing," said Nathan, as he joined Darcy in the doorway.

"What style of dance do you do, Nathan?"

"Certainly something more dignified and refined," he said with a sniff, "but I must be tolerant. They are peasant stock and know nothing else."

Darcy detested Nathan when he spoke of class distinctions, reminding her of his high-born breeding. She looked at him and gave him an insincere smile, as he leaned against the door frame smoking his pipe.

Almost as if he had heard Nathan, Jean Michel said to Moses sarcastically, "There's Colonel Lawrence, benevolent father to us crude provincials."

Next, he saw Captain Trevor approach
Lawrence
.
Lawrence
nodded his head, and Trevor swept Darcy out for a dance.

Darcy was grateful to Captain Trevor for his patience while she learned the different dances. It took several songs before she could master the steps, but soon she kept up with him. He was a big handsome curly-haired man with a broad smile, and Darcy found him amusing.

She accepted several more dances from other men then stepped to the side to catch her breath. As she was finishing a glass of cider, she felt someone take her hand and realized that it was Jean Michel.

He had removed his jacket and rolled up his shirt sleeves revealing the well-defined muscles in his forearms. He said nothing to her, and she followed him reluctantly out to where the dance area. They danced one time, Darcy refusing to look him in the eye. She stepped away immediately when the song was over. She was tense and uncomfortable in his arms, and she turned to look for Captain Trevor again.

As the evening progressed, spirits soared. Everyone was consuming more food than they had eaten the entire winter. Toward midnight, Darcy was starting to feel fatigued. The drinking and the dancing had taken its toll on her, and before another dance-starved soldier could grab her, she stepped into the shadows of the store room to hide and catch her breath. Pushing the hair off her wet forehead, she leaned against the wall of the building and sighed. She was warm, and her bodice was far too tight.

Darcy reached down and began to loosen the strings of her garment. Suddenly, someone said, “I should make my presence known before you go any further."

Darcy jumped. It was Jean Michel. He had followed her to the shadows. "How long have you been there?"

He made no reply. When she tried to leave, he stepped in front of her and demanded, "Why did you slam my drink down on the table this afternoon? Are you angry with me?"

"It was merely an accident, nothing more" and she stepped around him to go back to the dance.

"That was no accident," he said taking her shoulders and pinned her against the store room wall.

"Why were you asking Moses questions about me?" he murmured, looking at her lips. He was pressing his body so hard against her own that she could not breathe.

"Let me go," she demanded, trying to wiggle away from him.

Never had she felt such intensity from a man, and it confused and startled her. His passion was so extreme that she didn't know if he was going to strike her or kiss her.

"You were angry when you heard of
Elizabeth
, weren't you?"

He moved his lips close to her ear, and she could feel his warm breath as he whispered, "Tell me that you are jealous, Darcy. Say it!" he demanded. "I want to hear you say it!"

He brushed his lips along her ear, and Darcy closed her eyes, putting her head back. The pressure of his body, the masculine smell of sweat, and the sound of his breathing were too much to bear. She could not fight him. Her blood began to warm. His hands slid over her body, and she arched her back, pushing her breasts against him.

Just as he was about to kiss her neck, she remembered how
Elizabeth
's name sounded on his lips. She pushed him back and said, "You know that I love Nathan. Now let me go."

"Miss McBride!” a man barked. It was one of Nathan’s officers. “Colonel Lawrence would like you to retire for the night."

Darcy jumped back, panting. She straightened her hair and smoothed her gown, as the soldier watched with a smirk. Without looking back, Darcy retreated once more to the safe haven of Nathan Lawrence.

Chapter 26

Jean Michel lay on his bed and stared at the ceiling.
How could I have been so foolish? How could I have given that woman the opportunity to refuse me again?
He had allowed his passion to dictate his actions, and he vowed to curb his desire permanently with this McBride woman.

He rolled over and tried to sleep, but the minute he closed his eyes his mind would take him to the shadows with Darcy, and he could smell her scent once more. Although she wore lavender, another scent haunted him more--a deeper, more sensuous perfume which he knew was her own.

Jean Michel tossed in bed trying to forget her, but the memory of her body next to his, and her soft breasts as they pushed against his thin shirt bothered him. He wished that he could bed
Elizabeth
tonight and cool his desire for that arrogant Irish tease.
Elizabeth
never aggravated him. She was always a serene compliant companion never arguing, always generous and kind.

He knew that Elizabeth Campbell was the woman he should marry, but for all of her loveliness and grace, she did not have the fire he longed for in a woman. Even before her husband had died, he knew that
Elizabeth
secretly loved him. Several months after Edward's drowning, she came to Jean Michel and told him of her true feelings, and for the following nine years they had been companions. During that time she had made no demands of him, never complained and always welcomed him with open arms.

Everyone described
Elizabeth
as beautiful, with soft blonde hair and large brown eyes, and although Jean Michel found her to be a satisfactory lover, she failed to inflame him.

Her docile, submissive attitude bored him, and in the nine years of their relationship, there had never been a cross word between the two.

The more Jean Michel thought of the serenely beautiful
Elizabeth
, the calmer he felt. He could see her soft brown eyes, hear her quiet voice, and he felt himself drowsing until finally he dropped off to sleep.

Jean Michel avoided Darcy over the next month, spending much of his time preparing for his field work. He was waiting for the ground to dry out and the air to warm enough to make an extended journey. By mid-May the days were long, the nights were warm, and Jean Michel was ready to set out.

The morning before he was scheduled to depart, Jean Michel met with Colonel Lawrence one last time. They spent the entire morning pouring over specifications, and finally Jean Michel asked, "Now, who have you commissioned to be my assistant?"

There was a long pause, and Nathan said, "I hate to tell you this Lupe', but I can spare no man."

"What? It's impossible for me to do field work without an assistant especially an engineering survey of this magnitude!" exclaimed Jean Michel.

"My company has not yet arrived from the south, and even with reinforcements it may be difficult to defend this fort. I expect a raid any day now," said Nathan, shaking his head. "I am sorry to inconvenience you."

"Inconvenience me? The job won’t get done. It's obvious, Colonel, that you know nothing of surveying. An assistant is essential for accurate calculations. If you cannot provide me with someone, then you are going to have to find yourself a different surveyor."

Jean Michel gathered up his things. As he put his hand on the door to leave,
Lawrence
said, "Please wait."

Heaving a sigh, Nathan opened a drawer of his desk and took out a letter. Showing it to Jean Michel, he said, "I received this correspondence today. In a little over a week my wife will be visiting me at
Fort
Lawrence
. She has no idea of the danger here, and I am allowing her to stay only a short time before I send her back to
Boston
."

Jean Michel crossed to the desk and read the letter. He tossed it down and asked, "What does that have to do with me?”

"Surely you can see the precarious position this puts me in. I cannot continue to share my bed with Miss McBride, but I do not want to sell her indentured service."

"I still don't understand what you're driving at," said Jean Michel, clearly annoyed.

"I'm offering you the assistance of Miss McBride during your field work."

Jean Michel's blue eyes grew wide with astonishment. "Have you lost your mind,
Lawrence
? I cannot cart a woman with me to the interior!"

"You underestimate the strength of this woman, Lupe'.
 
You know nothing of her. She has survived a famine, escaped hanging and without so much as a complaint, endured the starvation this winter. I have every faith that she will be an able-bodied assistant for you."

Jean Michel shook his head.
Lawrence
must be truly desperate to ask him to take Darcy to the interior for weeks. Anything could happen there.

Almost as if
Lawrence
had read his mind, Nathan warned, "Don't take me for a fool, Lupe'. I realize that she is a highly desirable woman, and I expect her to be returned to me unsullied. She is your assistant only, and I remind you Miss McBride is my property.”

Jean Michel turned and walked to the window. From where he stood, he could see Darcy building a fire under a crucible. He had vowed never to touch her again, and now he would be alone with her for weeks. Celibacy would be torturous, but the opportunity to be next to her day and night stirred him.

*
    
*
    
*

Unaware of how her life was about to change, Darcy added more wood to the fire, trying to get a large pot of water to boil. She was about to dump a basket of goldenrod into the water to dye some wool when a soldier approached her.

"Colonel Lawrence requests your presence in his office immediately, Miss McBride."

Wiping her hands on her apron, she walked to the Colonel's office, and the guard swung the door open for her. Nathan was seated at his desk, and Darcy's eyes narrowed when she saw Jean Michel standing behind him. When the guard shut the door, she sat down.

Nathan cleared his throat. "Darcy, I have some news for you that I know you will not like," and standing up, he continued. "For the next several weeks, you are to serve as assistant to Mr. Lupe' when he surveys for the new fort on the
Kensington
River
."

Darcy was stunned. She looked at Jean Michel then back at Nathan.

Her mouth dropped open, and she laughed with disbelief. “Surely you jest!"

"I assure you, Darcy, I am quite serious," returned Nathan.

Darcy looked from Nathan to Jean Michel and back again trying to make some sense of this turn of events. Jean Michel stood in the back of the room, remaining quiet.

"You are sending me into the wilderness alone with another man? Why?"

"Because Lupe' is in dire need of an assistant, and I can spare no man when we are under threat of an attack."