Deborah Camp (32 page)

“You can’t just take the boy, you know. I’m his legal guardian.”

“Take me to court.” He jabbed a finger at the man’s chest. “But stay off my land and keep away from my family.” Finding his hat, he picked it up off the ground and whacked it against his pant leg, dislodging dust and dirt, before putting it back on.

“Your family. What a joke,” the judge mocked as Blade walked away from him. “Think you can keep this wife happy? You sure made Julia’s life a living hell.”

Blade stood outside and took great gulps of the fresh air. Inside the shed it had been close and heavy with the stench of human sweat, blood and misery. Blade remembered now that it had been the whipping shed before the war, the judge’s private torture chamber for his unfortunate slaves.

“Julia would have left you if it hadn’t been for me.”

Looking over his shoulder at the other man, Blade issued a short, harsh laugh. “And I’m supposed to believe you?”

“She told me how you were rough with her, and I showed her how a gentleman makes love to a lady. She couldn’t get enough of me.”

Blade whirled, ready to kill the man, but the childish smirk on the judge’s bloody face took the urge to murder out of him. He swatted the air in a gesture of ridicule. “You’re an old fool, long past your prime. You couldn’t hump a knothole, so
don’t talk to me of Julia.” He grinned when the judge seemed to age twenty years right before his eyes. Striding away from him, he felt better, but only marginally.

That Julia had discussed their most private issues with Judge Mott made him ill. Clammy sweat beaded on his brow and slicked his palms. He walked toward the house, his mind staggering and surging like a wounded animal. Had she allowed the judge to touch her … to be intimate with her? He clamped his eyes shut for a moment in concentrated denial.

“Hssst!”

His eyes flew open and he cast around wildly, expecting another charge from the judge. At first he saw no one. Harriet Mott emerged from behind a tree and beckoned him closer. She wore the shapeless green shift and her hair was haphazardly styled, half of it piled atop her head and the other half straggling down her neck and in her eyes. The bruises on her face had become purple and blue. When he got close enough, she grabbed his shirtsleeve and yanked him toward her.

“You taking the boy?”

“Yes.”

“Take me, too.”

He retreated, shaking his head, but she held onto his sleeve and stumbled after him.

“I gotta get away from here.”

“Ride one of the horses into town. Someone there will help you. The church pastor, or Dixie Shoemaker at the boarding—”

“No, you take me to your place. You protect me.”

“I can’t.”

“I’ll be good to you.” She sidled up next to him,
rubbing her small breasts against his arm. “I’ll take you in my mouth if’n you want. Bet your little wifey don’t do that for you.”

Repulsed by her crass offer, he yanked free of her. “No. I’m sorry for your trouble, Harriet, but I can’t take you to my place. If you need money, I can give you a dollar or two.”

Suddenly her eyes filled with tears and her lips trembled. She plucked a handkerchief from her pocket and dabbed at the moisture.

“You don’t have to give me no money, but it’s sweet of you to offer. I just …” She shook her head. “I ain’t got the guts to leave him on my own.” Taking a quick, deep breath, she looked fearfully toward the shed, but the judge wasn’t in sight. “I heard him … I heard what he said about him and Julia. Don’t you go believing him.” When she met Blade’s eyes again, hers glittered with a hard brightness. “He got his pecker shot off during the war,” she revealed in a vicious whisper.

Stupefied, Blade stared at her, not sure he’d heard her right.

“He don’t want nobody to know it. He wants everybody to think he’s a standing stud, but he’s a gelding, I tell you. That’s why he’s a judge now. Some old pal of his—a colonel or something—felt so blamed sorry for him that he gave Lloyd that judge title. Why, he don’t know nothing about the law! He got a title to take the place of his johnson, is all.” Smiling wickedly, she winked with her good eye. “He couldn’t do nothing with your wife, so don’t you fret about that.”

“I’m grateful to you for telling me.”

Adam came around the side of the house. He had put on a shirt, but didn’t seem to have packed
anything. Leading Bob by the halter, he quickened his steps when he saw Blade.

Blade tipped his hat to Harriet. “Good luck to you, ma’am.”

“Y’all go on.” Harriet backed away, then turned and ran to the house.

“Let’s go.” Adam swung up onto Bob’s back. “Blade? We’re going, right?”

“Yes, so keep your britches on.” He ran his gaze over Adam, then the pinto. “I thought you went to get your things.”

“I don’t have anything here I want. The judge burned everything I brought with me from Baltimore.”

Blade heaved a sigh, distressed by the judge’s deep-down depravity. He grabbed a handful of Bob’s mane and hoisted himself up behind Adam. Taking the reins from the boy, he nudged Bob into a walk.

“Will he come for me?” Adam asked.

“I don’t know. He might try something, but we’ll be ready for him.”

“Did Elise send you?”

“No, but she’s worried about you.”

“Let’s not tell her about … about what was happening in the shed.”

Blade angled his head sideways so that he could see Adam’s profile. He saw pride and shame on the lad’s face. “We’re not going to lie to your sister, little brother. I’ll tell her about how you and me beat the living daylights out of that old coon.”

Adam’s lips twitched into a lopsided grin. “Okay.” Then his shoulders slumped as if he were suddenly bone tired.

Blade rested a hand lightly on Adam’s shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “We’ll be home soon. A
good meal and a night’s sleep will make the world look better to you.”

“It looks better already,” Adam said. He swallowed hard, and Blade saw the glimmer of tears in his eyes.

Halfway home, Adam’s head dropped forward and he dozed. Blade wondered how long it had been since the boy had enjoyed a peaceful, fearless night’s sleep.

A
fter making sure Adam was comfortable in her bed, Elise knelt beside him and kissed his forehead.

“I’m so glad you’re here,” she whispered, finding his hand and clutching it tightly between hers. “Are you sure you aren’t hurting anywhere? How about those welts on your back? You want me to put more medicine on them?”

“No, Sis, they’re fine.” He smiled sleepily. “I’m worn out. Like Blade said, by morning I’ll be full of spit and vinegar again.” His fingers tightened around her hand. “He won’t let the judge take me back there, will he?”

“No.” She brushed his hair away from the tops of his ears with her free hand. “And neither will I. Now that we’re back together, no one is ever going to separate us again.”

He closed his eyes and wiggled into a more comfortable position, lying on his side. “Good night, ’Lise. I can hardly wait for breakfast.”

Smiling, she let go of his hand and tucked the light cover around him. Her brother had eaten enough for two grown men tonight, and he was already dreaming of another meal. Her smile
faded, chased by thoughts of what he must have suffered at Judge Mott’s.

Rising, Elise crossed the room to check on Penny, who was sleeping, an angelic expression on her round face. She, too, was glad her big brother was home. When Elise and Penny had spied Blade riding toward the house with Adam slumped over the pinto’s neck, Elise had screamed in sheer terror, thinking her brother had been killed. Her bloodcurdling screech had awakened Adam and he’d sat bolt upright, his blue eyes blinking like an owl’s. Elise had rushed forward, sobs of joy clogging her throat.

Elise stood by the bedroom window and looked at the quarter moon hanging in the sky. She felt as if she should pinch herself to make sure this wasn’t a dream. She glanced over her shoulder to confirm that her sister
and
brother were, indeed, with her again. And she had Blade to thank for that.

Blade and Adam had forged a closer relationship. She’d noticed it at supper when Adam had looked to Blade for confirmation or a quick wink or smile. Their recitation of what had happened at the judge’s had been sketchy, with Blade glossing over the violent parts. Elise could tell, however, that he had become Adam’s hero.

Turning, she enjoyed the sight of the two lumps in the narrow beds. Smoothing her hands over her hair, then down the front of her peach-colored dress, she gathered her composure and left the dark bedroom. Blade sat on the porch steps, his back against a post. He looked up at her questioningly.

“Oh, Adam’s fine,” she answered, assuming he was wondering about their new boarder. “How are
you?” She tucked her skirts around her legs and sat opposite him on the top step.

“I was just thinking that I feel damn good for a man who’s lost his land.”

“Oh, Blade.” She reached out to take his hand. “I wish there were something I could do.”

Sadness lurked in his eyes. “Ah, well. Only a fool fights fate.”

“Maybe something will happen. There is still time.”

“For a miracle? Do you think someone will show up at our door and offer me money? Or maybe we will print money ourselves.” He pulled his hand from beneath hers and folded his arms against his chest. “No. It’s better to prepare for one’s fate.”

“You don’t mind if I remain optimistic? It won’t dampen your pessimistic outlook?” She smiled, showing him that she was partly teasing. “I want to thank you for bringing Adam here, Blade. I know what you’ve sacrificed and I’ll never be able to repay you.”

“I seek no payment. Do you understand that I didn’t know how bad things were for the boy?”

“Yes, I know. You thought the judge was toughening him up, making him sweat for a living.”

“I couldn’t believe my eyes!” He shook his head. “I know the judge used to beat his slaves, but to beat that boy! I’ll never back down from him again. Today I saw a jackal in his soul and a weasel in his eyes.”

Elise watched him uneasily, disturbed by his shuttered expression. He had made an enemy today, she thought. A dangerous enemy. She hoped he didn’t take the judge too lightly. To Elise’s way of thinking, Lloyd Mott was a hair away from being as crazy as a loon. There was no predicting how
he might react, what he might do next.

Restless with a need to reach out to Blade, but not sure how to do it, Elise directed her gaze to the quarter moon. Blade sat, arms crossed, as remote as the stars in the sky.

“It’s a pretty night, but a little warm,” she noted.

“Ummm.”

She didn’t know what to gather from his grunt. “I couldn’t help but notice how fond Adam has become of you. You’ve made an impression on all of us.”

“Ummm.”

Expelling a sigh of exasperation, she started to rise, thinking that he wanted to be alone. “You’re tired, so I’ll just go—”

His fingers gripped her wrist, keeping her seated. “No, don’t go.”

Elise met his level gaze. “What is it, Blade?”

“What will you do when the land is gone?”

She shook her head, baffled. “Wh-what will I do? Whatever I must, I suppose. But if there is any way to keep it, we should investigate. Maybe a bank will loan us the money.”

He frowned. “Not to me.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I have nothing to put up for the money.”

“The land! The note can simply be transferred from Mott to the bank.”

“Well, maybe. Mott is the biggest depositor at the bank, though, so I don’t imagine they’ll be too quick to go against him.”

“Oh. Then we’ll go to a bank in a different town.”

“Deal with strangers, you mean?”

She was beginning to see that there was no way
out. Still, she hated facing defeat. “Perhaps I can sell my brooch—”

“No! You will sell nothing.” His eyes flashed a warning. “That brooch means something to you. You will keep it and pass it on to your children.”

Your children
. She diverted her gaze, afraid he might see the disappointment in her eyes. Not
our
children.
Your
children. Was he planning to break free from the marriage if his land was lost?

“Blade … I must ask …” Her words died as his fingertips played lightly over her lips. She blinked, realizing that in the span of mere seconds he had gone from mild irritation to desperate desire. His quicksilver moods made her dizzy! Ah, but she liked him in this mood. She liked that his eyes blazed with banked desire and his chest rose and fell beneath his shirt as if he’d run a mile.

Longing blew through her like a hot wind. She swayed toward him, knowing full well that her expression gave her away, and not caring that it did.

“Oh, Blade … oh, how I want …”

He wrapped her in his arms and smothered her words with his warm lips and probing tongue. “I want you, too, but not like the last time. I took from you what you were not wanting to give.”

“I was upset about Adam. I’m sorry … so sorry.” She pressed kisses to his eyelids, his cheekbones, the bruise along his jaw. “What you did today, what you’ve done for all of us …”

“I did it for me, too. I want to make you happy. I want Adam and Penny to be happy.”

“We are.” She smoothed a lock of hair off his forehead. “That’s why it hurts so much to even think about losing this place. Penny and I have come to think of it as our home.”

He smiled. “You’ve made it a good home for me
again.” His dark gold eyes moved, taking in her features. “Let’s not think about tomorrow. Tonight is ours.”

Elise stood up and drew him up to stand beside her. In the next moment she was being carried to the bedroom, where she wanted to be with him. Her emotions overflowed as her mouth flowered over his. Once inside the room with the door closed behind them, Blade set her on her feet and began unbuttoning her dress.

“I need you tonight, my wife,” he whispered, sliding his lips over her shoulder and into the valley between her breasts. “I don’t want to think of tomorrow … only of tonight and what your body can do to mine.”

“Oh, yes, that’s what I want, too.” Elise touched the welt on his cheek and kissed it gingerly while he undressed her. Then she undressed him, bestowing kisses down his bare chest and stomach. He’d taken a bath earlier and the scent of lye soap and rain water clung to his skin—rain water they’d caught in barrels while they had made love on the floor in front of the fireplace that first time.