Caroline (15 page)

Caro could see that they were different spiritually as well. Hamilton had the air of an aristocrat with his urbane charm and ambitious intelligence. She surmised that he had already accomplished a great deal in his short life and she felt he would not stop until he had left his mark on the emerging nation.

Alec, on the other hand, had an aura of vital energy which was masked by his caustic wit and reckless charm. She thought that he could have been a well-known hero in the war but he would rather take the excitement and leave the glory for others.

And it seemed he would never change. His cynical voice interrupted her thoughts: "After all, my father was no gentleman. Seems to be a family trait!" Caro looked at him, feeling unaccountably tearful. Alec was reclining in his chair, white teeth agleam as he laughed, and he seemed to have forgotten her presence.

A plump woman with powdered hair under a mobcap appeared in the doorway to announce dinner. They went into the long, narrow dining room, where Hamilton sat at the head of the table flanked by his guests. After asking Caro a few polite questions and commenting soberly that he had heard fine things about her father, he turned back to Alec. Inwardly, she breathed a sigh of relief and Alec's eyes met hers momentarily, flickering with amusement. Her fear that Alexander Hamilton would ask her something specific about her origin was bad enough, but when he mentioned her "father" she panicked as she tried to search her mind for a memory of what her family had been like and could recall nothing.

Hamilton apologized for the plain meal, explaining that he had no opportunity to set in many foodstuffs, and supplies were difficult to come by in the ravaged town. The two friends then launched into a discussion of the Wallingham family and the general problem of Tory persecution.

"The problem your friends encountered was by no means unique, Alec," Hamilton declared irritably. "Already I have been besieged by would-be loyalist clients here in New York. The people who left the city during the occupation are prepared to bring charges against those who stayed here and lived in their houses—behind enemy lines."

"I've heard about that so-called Trespass Act! How can it be justified under the Peace Treaty? The end of the war was supposed to have guaranteed everyone a clean slate!"

"You needn't attempt to convince me, Beauvisage. The time I've spent in New York has made me angrier than ever before. This city is in a deplorable state and in desperate need of respectable citizens with capital to return it to its former state. And yet we see these foolish Americans trying to expel their fellow citizens, untried and unheard. I tell you, it is a mockery of everything this war was fought to attain!"

"What is worrying me, Hamilton, is the effect this will have on our image in the eyes of the rest of the world," Alec replied. "As a new country badly in need of trade, we can hardly afford to be seen blatantly ignoring the promises of our Peace Treaty!"

Caro tried to stay alert as they continued their animated conversation, but her lack of sleep the night before was beginning to catch up with her. Alec broke off in mid-sentence when he noticed that her long lashes were sweeping against her cheeks as she struggled to keep her eyes open.

"My dear," he called in an amused voice, "if you can just endeavor to remain with us a few moments longer, I shall take you home. I told Pierre I was sure you would have had a better time with him!"

She gave them a sleepy smile. "I'm so sorry, Mr. Hamilton. I'm sure this is very ill-bred of me. Every time I eat at a formal dinner with Alec I seem to fall short in one way or another."

Alec shot her a withering looking that she was too drowsy to notice, but Hamilton merely smiled in well-concealed surprise.

"Miss Bergman, I do hope you haven't felt that this meal was formal. I realize that it probably was not very interesting for a young lady, but I certainly did not intend that you should feel formal."

She laughed lightly. "Mr. Hamilton, after eating quail over an open fire in the woods, this meal seems to me to be very elegant in comparison!"

Hamilton raised his eyebrows and looked at Alec, who was frowning at Caro. She, in turn, merely smiled drowsily at both men. Alec managed to quickly toss off the remainder of his brandy and minutes later they had said goodnight to Alexander Hamilton and were inside the carriage. After preparing himself for a heated quarrel, Alec was quite disconcerted when she snuggled up against his shoulder, wearing an angelic smile, and proceeded to go to sleep. He held her tightly against him and wondered why he hadn't left this impossible minx where he found her.

Chapter 11

The journey from New York to Philadelphia took them two long days, but Pierre informed Caro that they had made remarkably good time. Alec's carriage was lightweight and well-sprung, and Caro, riding inside, scarcely felt the bumps. Alec rode Ivan most of the way, and she watched them through the window, admiring the picture they made—two graceful, strong, elegantly arrogant creatures.

The morning they left New York, Alec had appeared at breakfast with several books for Caro to read on the journey. For her own part, she had procured a deck of piquet cards from Pierre to keep in her reticule, hoping for many enjoyable games along the way. She tried to act pleased when Alec presented her with the books, but the realization that he would not be sharing the carriage with her was disappointing. Caro had hoped that the hours of enforced togetherness would serve to bring out the old Alec. His air of impersonal courtesy was making her feel frustrated and lonely, for it seemed that he had detached himself from her. She found herself wishing that he would shout at her, but his manner remained coolly unruffled and there was no way that she could have guessed the effort he was exerting to retain his poise.

During the carriage ride the night before, Alec had stared at her sleeping face and determined to sever all the emotional bonds that had formed between them. He was certain that it would serve the best interests of them both, a conviction that he sometimes felt he was reminding himself of every damned minute. En route to the inn, he had come frighteningly close to gathering her close and kissing her. Alec was unaccustomed to feeling disturbed by his feelings for a woman, and his relationship with Caro had been fraught from the beginning with a frustration that he decided he could gladly live without.

* * *

It was late afternoon when they ferried across the Delaware River, somewhat upstream from Philadelphia. The process was slow, and Alec joined Caro inside the carriage.

He found her looking surprisingly fresh after the tedious two day journey, wearing the striped dress that Madame Vontaine had made. The boned bodice could not conceal the shapely curves of Caro's breasts, which showed appealingly above the stiff ruching at the neckline. As Alec settled himself in the seat across from her in the carriage, she was aware of his eyes undressing her and she felt her cheeks grow warm. However, when he looked up and spoke, his tone was courteous.

"We're almost home now. Actually, we're almost to
my
home. It is later than I had planned, so I have decided that we shall go directly to my house while there is still daylight. After we wash and have supper, I'll take you down to Philadelphia to my parents' home."

"Why do you say 'down to Philadelphia'?" she inquired in puzzlement.

"I live away from the actual city," Alec explained. "I have only recently acquired my home in Germantown, through the misfortune of the original owner. Germantown is more of a village, located out in the country, and six years ago this month it was the scene of one of the war's major battles. The owner of my house was killed accidentally, and after his family fled, the house was occupied by various British officers. After Yorktown I was heading north, and just happened to be there at the right time to purchase the house."

"So you live in the country—and your parents live in the city?" Caro asked apprehensively.

"A splendid deduction
,"
he replied lightly. "I suppose you cannot see me as a country squire, and indeed the role may not suit me at all. However, I've grown weary of society in Philadelphia. My ardent hope is that, by removing myself from town, I may be more discriminating about the functions I attend and the people I associate with. Also, Belle Maison is an incredibly lovely estate with a wonderful library. I can keep a large stable and the garden was a showplace in the past. It needs a lot of work, but I'm rather looking forward to it." He laughed then, as though he didn't believe his own words, and Caro ventured a smile.

"Do you call it Belle Maison, then?"

"Yes—that was my sister Natalya's idea. By the way, did I mention to you that my grandmother lives on my property?"

"I believe you said she had come to Philadelphia lately and had her own house."

"Yes, well, that house is located behind mine. We are even connected by an underground tunnel, and she takes devilish pleasure in surprising me at the oddest moments!"

Caro laughed, her dimples showing. "She sounds like an unusual grandmother! I believe I shall like her!"

"That is part of the reason I intend to get you away from my house—Grandmere is almost more unpredictable than you are, and I shudder to think what would happen if I had both of you to contend with at once." Alec smiled and reached out to touch her chin. "Of course, Natalya is a little hellcat as well, and no doubt you two will be stirring up all manner of mischief. However, that will be Maman and Father's problem, not mine. Thank God!"

He leaned forward then, looking outside as they reached shore. Caro had little opportunity to ponder his words, for the next half-hour was filled by the ride to Belle Maison. The countryside was lovely as they journeyed northwest from the Delaware River.

Caro occasionally spotted a large house set back in the trees, but somehow she recognized Belle Maison even before Alec brought Ivan alongside the carriage and called to her: "There is my humble abode."

In the deepening twilight the house was bathed in a rosy glow that made it even more beautiful to her eyes. Built of red brick, it was solid and imposing in its simplicity. To Caro, there was an aura of confidence and strength about the house which instinctively reminded her of Alec. There were fourteen many-paned windows across the front, all with pure-white casements, beautifully plain against the bricks. When Alec jumped from Ivan's back to help Caro down she found herself standing on a wide brick pathway that led to the white front door. He raised an eyebrow, looking down at her face to glean her reaction, and she gazed back at him with shining brown eyes.

Just as she was about to speak, the front door flew open and a figure clad all in blue appeared.

"Sacha! You are home at last! I declare I thought you would never arrive!"

The girl came running down the walk, throwing herself into Alec's open arms. He smiled indulgently as she hugged him repeatedly, finally managing to disentangle himself from her grasp.

"Natalya, you little chicken, will you kindly curb this display of sisterly affection? Please unhand me and then tell me what in God's name you are doing here?"

When she moved back a fraction from Alec's chest, Caro got her first clear look at Natalya. She was quite tall and willowy, with the same fine bone structure as her brother. Her lustrous black curls were pinned up on her head, revealing a graceful neck. She had brilliant sapphire-blue eyes, as clear in their color as Alec's were. Her face was proud, yet beautiful and full of humor.

"Sacha, you shall never know how I've missed you—life has been exceedingly dreary. However, I have confidence that matters are going to improve rapidly, for Maman and Papa have left for France and I am to stay here with you! Grandmere has been in wonderful spirits and I know that we three shall have a marvelous time!"

Suddenly she seemed to see Caro for the first time, and her eyes filled with friendly curiosity.

"Sacha—"

"I thought you would never ask. Don't panic, for I've not married, and remain your same sane brother. This young lady is Caroline Bergman, my ward. She is the daughter of the man whose farm I now own in Connecticut. Caro, this is Natalya, my—uh—sister."

Natalya made a fist and poked at his arm. "You needn't say it as though you wish I weren't!" She leaned toward Caro then, whispering loudly, "Actually, he adores me, but just refuses to admit it."

Alec rolled his eyes heavenward, but a smile played at the corners of his mouth and Caro found herself laughing.