Love's Fiery Jewel (29 page)

"Did you think I would allow you to go running into
Sheridan's arms the moment my ship left shore?" At her
surprised expression, he continued snidely, "You should
have realized that no secrets could prevail against my
obeah!" Damien's short bark of laughter was directed
mainly at himself as he silently groaned under the weight
of his own ironic bewitchment with the small girl/woman
cowering with fear beneath him. "You belong to me,
Amethyst. I told you I would allow no one a part of that
which is mine and you most assuredly are mine! It is
unfortunate you chose to ignore my warning, but I am
not at all certain I will not come to enjoy your presence
on my ship. I may now, after all, look forward to many
long, full nights that otherwise would have been
spent..."

Damien's furious tone droned on as Amethyst began to
lose the drift of his angry words. The pain in her head was
increasing rapidly, interfering with her ability to
distinguish between one sentence and the next as
Damien's violent tirade continued. Suddenly unable to
bear the hot, searing jabs of pain piercing her brain with
maddening precision, Amethyst closed her eyes, simultaneously raising her hand to her temple with an
unmistakable grimace of distress.

Stopping abruptly in mid-sentence, Damien's anger
drained away as Amethyst emitted a soft groan, clutching
her head in pain that was obviously not feigned. He had
noticed her face paling rapidly, but had put her change in color to fear. Angry with his own stupidity, Damien
reached out to lay his palm against Amethyst's forehead,
breathing a quick sigh of relief when he felt it cool to the
touch.

"Amethyst..." His voice an anxious whisper, bore
no trace of its former hostility, "What's wrong, darling?
Are you in pain? You must tell me so I may help you,
darling."

Her own anger conquered by the pain stabbing
unceasingly through her brain, Amethyst stammered
weakly, "Damien ...my head... it hurts so badly...
It was painful when I awakened, but now it is..."

The laudanum! Damien started guiltily. He had given
her a heavy dosage last night so she might sleep straight
through until morning. She had probably not had enough
time to recover completely but had pushed herself
despite the effects of the drug until her body could no
longer withstand the strain. His anger dissipated, he
knew only the desire to relieve her pain. All other
thought swept from his mind, Damien sat on the side of
the bed, and leaning forward, pulled Amethyst onto his
lap. A flood of warmth rushing through his body as her
softness pressed against him, he rocked her as he would a
child, laying his head atop hers as he whispered
soothingly, "You will be alright, darling. Just close your
eyes and sleep. You have pushed yourself too hard today.
You will feel better after you have rested. Sleep,
darling.. .I'll stay with you...I'll take care of you,
darling.. .my darling Amethyst..."

A soft, gentle touch on her cheek awakened Amethyst
from her dreamless sleep. A sober-faced Damien still sat
on the side of the bed, his glance pensive as it moved
slowly across her face. His deep whisper finally breaking
the prevailing silence, Damien said huskily, "How are
you feeling now, Amethyst?"

Amethyst hesitated in responding, tentatively moving
her head on the pillow as she held her breath in
anticipation of a recurrence of pain. But there was none.
"The pain is gone, Damien."

Immensely relieved, Damien smiled for the first time,
leaning down to cover her lips lightly with his own as he
said softly, "You must remember that you are still
recuperating, Amethyst, and not push yourself too hard.
If you wish to go on deck, I will take you, but you must
first..."

"Why did you do this, Damien?" Blurting out the
question that still plagued her mind, Amethyst continued
haltingly, "Why? You most assuredly have a...a...
woman waiting for you in Philadelphia who can more
than adequately fill your needs. And you certainly have
become accustomed to doing without a woman's company for the duration of the voyage. Then why the need
to take me from my home.. .the life I have made for
myself

A hint of his former anger stealing back into his
countenance as his lips tightened convulsively, Damien
strove to control his emotions. "I have already answered
that question, Amethyst, and do not feel the need to
discuss it further."

"No matter what you think, Damien," Amethyst
persisted, "your obeah has failed you this time. Quaco
did come to my house yesterday with a message from
William, but I had no intention of returning to Sheridan
Plantation with William. I was going to tell him so when
he came..." Her words trailing off significantly,
Amethyst lowered her eyes as she continued indistinctly,
"I felt I should tell him myself... face to face ...to try
to explain..." Finally lifting her face once again, she
read the skepticism in Damien's expression. Barely
restraining the flash of anger that restored the color to
her cheeks, Amethyst continued with a hint of her old hauteur, "I would not have you believe I intended to
refuse William out of any misguided loyalty to you,
Damien. It was merely a matter of a change of
circumstance. I was and am no longer the person William
wanted to marry, and he was ignorant of that fact when
he proposed to come. Even should he choose to overlook
the fact that you.. .I.. .we have.. .been intimate, I
could not allow William to accept less in a wife than he is
worthy of receiving."

Her thoughtful consideration of the "worthy" William's feelings only serving to further tighten the knot
forming in his chest, Damien cut ruthlessly into her
statement, his voice harsh with suppressed anger. "I
have not released you from our bargain, Amethyst."

"Our bargain!" Her eyes widening expressively,
Amethyst responded incredulously, "I came to you,
Damien, simply because I was no longer strong enough to
oppose you and feared for William's life. But he has
recovered and our bargain is finished!"

Abruptly pulling himself back, Damien's voice was low
with suppressed menace. "I will be the one who
ultimately releases you from our bargain, Amethyst, and
I say our bargain is not absolved!"

Angry tears sparkling in her brilliant eyes, Amethyst
swallowed hard, lifting her chin to continue purposefully, "And when you are finished with me, will you
abandon me in Philadelphia, far from my home and
friends, my reputation ruined, fit for no other work than
that of a...a..."

Never having considered the thought, Damien was
struck by its idiocy. That he should abandon her at
all...

"You are talking like a fool, Amethyst!"

Her tone insistent, Amethyst continued, "I will know
now what you intend to do with me...how I am to
return home when I am once again free to do so. I have no clothes, no money ...I know no one in Philadelphia..."

Resentful and unaccustomed to being pressed for a
future commitment, Damien frowned darkly, his expression growing more ominous by the second as he pulled
back even further to eye Amethyst coldly. Somehow the
little termagant had turned the tables on him and he was
on the defensive, a position he did not enjoy playing. But
the damned little brat was not well yet, and he feared for
her health should the uncertainty of her future prey on
her mind. He had to give her some sort of answer.

His expression stiff, he began cautiously, "I will make
one thing clear to you from the start, Amethyst. You
force nothing from me which I am not prepared to give. I
speak only to demonstrate that I am keeping our bargain
in good faith. These are my terms. We shall have a truce
for the duration of the voyage, Amethyst, a loving truce.
Since your good name is so important to you, when we
arrive in Philadelphia you will come to my house and live
as my ward, with all the privileges and conveniences
entitled to your position."

Amethyst's scoffing expression drew his words to a
premature halt. "Who would believe such an unlikely
situation, Damien? I would be the laughingstock of the
city should I try to pass off such a ridiculous farce!"

His jaw hardening as he fought to retain control,
Damien said tightly, "I am a very well respected man in
Philadelphia, Amethyst. My word will not be challenged
unless your behavior reflects negatively on my claim."

Her expression still disbelieving, Amethyst lifted one
slender brow to say softly, "And then, Damien, when you
are finished with me?"

Her question striking a discordant note in his mind,
raising his ire to a volatile level, Damien spat out from
between clenched teeth, "When that time comes, Amethyst, I will see that you are returned to Jamaica, if
that is still your wish, to pursue whatever life you feel
will suit you!"

Her wide lavender eyes blinking hard at his final barb,
Amethyst could do no more than stare without expression into his face for long moments. Taking the
opportunity to press his advantage, Damien continued
emotionlessly, "However, I will give you one assurance.
On my honor as Captain of the Sally, I will not turn you
out penniless and destitute as you are wont to believe. I
will provide you with the passage home and funds
sufficient to hold you over until you have reestablished
yourself."

There was a brief pause as Amethyst appeared to
consider Damien's statement and suddenly infuriated
that the little twit should have succeeded in putting him
to such disadvantage that she now appeared to be
mistress of the situation, Damien exploded vehemently,
"And that is all I will guarantee you, Mistress Greer! You
do realize I do not need your consent to do whatever I will
with you? You are on my ship and I am master here! You
are dependent entirely on my good will! I will have you
remember that! The assurances I have given you I give
only out of consideration for..."

"Consideration!" Amethysfs outburst was followed
by a shrill, mirthless laugh. "You are not capable of
cin..."

"Amethyst!" Damien's face a frightening red as he
leaned forward to peer threateningly into her face,
seriously damaged her shaky confidence, as he growled
further, "I will hear nothing else from you except
acceptance or refusal of our bargain as I propose it!"

Staring wordlessly into the handsome, wrathful face as
it hovered above her in blatant intimidation, Amethyst's
mouth tightened stubbornly. "The heartless beast," her mind raged. "He knows no need or desire save his own,
yet still professes consideration and generosity to his
captive. Well, if he will give me no assurance save the
pitiful commitment for the future he has just declared so
magnanimously, then I will see he receives the same from
me! No commitment past the present day...no
affection past the present moment. As he uses me, I will
use him, to gain all I can while I am able, to finally
conclude our `arrangement' in a far more satisfactory
position than he!"

Her voice when she finally spoke was low, its tone
steeled with a determination that was not lost on the
angry man peering savagely into her face. "Alright, I
accept your bargain, Captain Straith. We will have a
truce..."

Suddenly more relieved than he dared show, Damien's
anger began to dissipate, to be replaced with a glow of
victory and anticipation immediately obvious to the
woman who lay stiffly beneath him. His lips finally
softening into a small, rakish smile, Damien stated in
persistent clarification, "I said a `loving' truce, Amethyst..."

Tillie's words flashed fleetingly across her mind...
"Him be obeah-man ...him steal you soul..." The
curving of his sensuous mouth sent little shivers chasing
up her spine. Abruptly, Amethyst realized further
resistance would be futile while her own body played
traitor to her mind. Her body's will to oppose Damien
Straith was dangerously short-lived however determined
her mental resistance. It was useless... she would not
be free until he chose to withdraw the obeah he practiced
upon her. There was no other sensible explanation for
the strange fascination she felt for the man she had
despised since childhood and who now seemed to control
her emotions at will. She would have to be patient... use her time well... reinforce her resolve with each day
that passed...

All other thought slowly drifting from her mind,
Amethyst became totally engrossed in the strong, firm
lips slowly descending toward hers. Her only response
the sensual lowering of heavy lids over deep purple eyes
as her own lips parted invitingly, Amethyst's ultimate
capitulation was unmistakable and complete.

The rapid quickening of his pulse as desire effectively
eliminated the last remnant of his hostility rang a
warning bell in Damien's mind. Damn her! Why was he
feeling so smug? He had committed himself despite his
best efforts to an indefinite period of subservience to a
passion that consumed him more with each passing day.
Even as her slender body yielded under his, sending the
blood rushing through his veins in unmistakable prelude
to the tumultuous emotion only she stirred within him,
his mind nagged relentlessly, "You fool, who is the victor
here? And who the vanquished?"

Endless green fields of Creole cane stretched out on
either side of the road, the bright sun overhead gleaming
brightly on the perspiration-covered black backs bent
laboriously between the narrow rows. The morning air
hanging in a heavy humid cape around William's
shoulders increased the discomfort of glaring sun and
buzzing insects as he rode silently toward Kingston, but
he was oblivious to all but the meeting soon to come.
Even the furtive glances sent in his direction by Quaco
from his position in the driver's seat of the black-andgold Sheridan carriage went unnoticed. Still staring
unseeingly to the side, William closed his eyes briefly in a
supreme effort to control his soaring spirits. It had been
so long since he had seen Amethyst... almost three
weeks.. .and so much had happened in that time! But Quaco had assured him that Amethyst was recuperating
nicely, and if she was still weak, the carriage would
certainly be comfortable enough to transport her back to
the plantation in complete safety. At any rate, he had
made up his mind that he would not leave Kingston
without her. No! He was tired of separation... had had
his fill of endless days without the spark of Amethyst's
presence.