Savage Deception (Liberty's Ladies) (12 page)

She had no idea how pale and distraught she appeared from her humiliating memories. “I was thinking about Kingsley,” she said sadly.

Tanner examined his well-manicured nails. “Yes, of course.”

“Have you eaten?” she asked, needing to change the subject. “Cammie fixed a most appetizing breakfast.”

“I ate before I saw General Lord Rawdon. I’m glad you liked the food.”

Diana raised an eyebrow. Rawdon again. “I was quite happy to taste tea with real sugar and to have pork. At Briarhaven, we’ve been living on what we stored over a year ago, but all of the animals were slaughtered and eaten by Farnsworth and his men. Sometimes a British supply wagon does get through and Captain Farnsworth shares his rations with us.”

“I’m certain you repaid him for his kindnesses to you.”

The remark went over Diana’s head. “Oh, yes, Harlan and I made certain Farnsworth and his officers were welcome.” She tried to hide the blush that stole across her face when she recalled how Farnsworth and his men
were
repaid. She wondered what Tanner would say if he knew their small kindnesses had resulted in her relaying information about British activities to the Swamp Fox. After all, it seemed Tanner was quite chummy with Lord Rawdon. Only someone well connected could obtain the release of a condemned man, purchase a piece of confiscated property, and have food that other people would kill for, not to mention the expensive and elaborate gowns in the wardrobe. “Captain Farnsworth has been most accommodating.”

Tanner scowled blackly, picked up the silver teapot on the table, and filled a cup, foregoing the sugar and cream, and took a large sip. Diana could tell something was bothering him, but since Tanner didn’t see the need to tell her what it might be, she ignored his dark look.

“Would you care to know how your father fares?”

Holding the small china cup in his huge hand, he hesitated for the fraction of a second before placing it on the matching saucer. “I doubt he cares how
I
am.”

Diana shrugged a milky white shoulder. “He may care more than you believe, but Harlan hasn’t been well. His heart is weak.”

Did the bronze of Tanner’s complexion pale a shade? She thought it did, but when he spoke he sounded quite uncaring. “My father is a basically weak man.”

“You’re being very unfair to him. Harlan is a strong-willed individual. I don’t know why you persist in…”

Tanner held up a warning hand. “Let’s not argue about my father, Diana. It will only lead to what happened between you and me that night on the bluff. I doubt you want to remember any of that again.”

This time she blushed furiously. If only he knew how many times she went over that night, how often she had wanted to feel that same way again. But she saw that Tanner didn’t seem the least bit disturbed by the memory or anxious to speak about how he’d ruined her life with his touch, his melting kisses, and the lie of loving her. Well, she too could be nonchalant about the whole disgraceful episode. Shaking her head, she gave a lilting laugh. “I was so young and silly then — so inexperienced.” Where had that come from?

His eyes darkened to the color of pitch, but a tiny flame of amber leaped into them. Tanner bent forward until he was so close that the top of his dark head touched hers. She caught the unmistakable masculine scent of him, enveloping her in such a torrent of warring emotions that she grew dizzy and warm. His lips were but inches from hers, and her eyes traced the contours of his sensual mouth. Was he going to kiss her? Did she want him to kiss her? Dear God, she nearly choked on her breath. She did!

“Perhaps I shall benefit from your experience,” she heard him say. “I suspected you were a whore at heart.”

Tanner rose quickly to his feet, nearly pushing over the Queen Anne styled chair in his haste to leave the room. Diana felt as if the wind had been knocked from her body. It took a few seconds for her to regain her breath and her tongue. She screamed at his departing back. “I detest you, Tanner Sheridan! I’ll hate you forever and always!”

He stopped in the doorway and turned around. When he did so, his gaze seemed to strip her of her gown. Out of nowhere she realized that she’d dressed to please him and that he hadn’t said a word about how she looked. “That’s quite a long time to hate someone, my dear, but I’ve had a head start on you.” Spinning on his heels, he left. The door slamming behind him told her that he had gone.

“I wish you’d stop slamming the door whenever you take your leave!” she shouted at the air. “I wish just once you’d stay and finish a fight and not run away.”

But Tanner hadn’t heard her. Diana sank into her chair and refused to believe that the dampness on her cheeks was tears.

8

Diana stood on the dock that ran the distance from the bay to the offices and warehouses on Vendue Range. She had no idea why she’d come here and now was sorry that she had. She sniffed from the combination of the cold and her sorrow when she saw the condition of the building that had once been her father’s brokerage house. Broken panes of glass hung in jagged shards at the windows, and the oaken front door had been kicked in. No doubt vandals had done their dirty work inside, probably destroying the dark paneling in the room that had served as her father’s office.

Her father had supplied slaves to the nearby plantations, and it was because of his work that her family had come into contact with the Sheridans, who were always in need of good slaves. She recalled standing on the street with her father beneath one of the wide sheds, waiting for the slaves to take their turns on the auction block, raptly listening to her father’s soft, well-modulated tones as he explained why a certain slave would fetch a huge price and another wouldn’t. At the time, Diana hadn’t thought too much about how those poor people must feel, how traumatic it must be for them to be spirited away from their homes and families along the Madagascar coast and transported thousands of miles to South Carolina, and to lose their freedom in the process.

Well, she possessed some inkling about how they felt now.

She wasn’t a slave, but she had lost her newfound independence by being forced to wed Tanner. No longer could she come and go as she liked without reporting to him. And the arrogant man had the nerve to prohibit her from strolling by herself. “Too dangerous to be out alone, Diana,” he had cautioned whenever she mentioned leaving the house. So Curtis was enlisted to bring the carriage around and take her wherever she wanted to go. Diana guessed Curtis always told him where that was.

The cold wind stung her eyes and she returned to the carriage. “Where to, ma’am?” Curtis inquired kindly.

Diana wasn’t certain. She didn’t know too many people in Charlestown any longer, and she hesitated going back to the townhouse. Tanner was gone so often. Not that she cared, but the time seemed to drag without someone to talk to or fight with. Suddenly she remembered Marisa Delaune, her young cousin who she hadn’t seen since before Kingsley joined the army. Marisa’s mother, Frances, was Diana’s mother’s only sister. She’d been remiss in visiting them, but with all of the commotion concerning David and Anne and Tanner, she hadn’t given the Delaunes a thought. She gave Curtis her aunt’s address and smiled to think what an enjoyable afternoon she’d pass with her aunt and cousin.

Marisa was more lovely and sweet than Diana remembered, immediately embracing her when a servant announced her presence. “It’s been much too long since we’ve seen one another,” Marisa gushed. “You’ve been secluded on that plantation and I’ve been here in town with mama. You must join us for dinner. Please say you will, Diana.”

Diana laughed. “I’d love to stay, but I notice that you have guests.” Strains of animated conversation drifted from the parlor into the foyer where they stood.

Marisa wrinkled her nose in distaste. “Lady Gabriella Fox is staying with us over the holidays while her husband is fighting for the British. You remember her, don’t you?”

Clutching her muff, Diana nodded. How could she forget Gabriella Fox? The woman’s insatiable carnal appetite had been thrown up to her by Kingsley more than once. Gabriella, it had been rumored, would have married Kingsley except that he’d decided he wanted Diana as his wife. Marrying a wealthy man shortly after Kingsley married Diana hadn’t stopped her from seeking out Kingsley every time she and Fox attended a ball at Briarhaven. Whenever Gabriella was in residence, Kingsley never bothered Diana. Diana had decided this was fine with her, but each time Kingsley returned to her bed, he’d tell her what he and Gabriella had done and what a ninny she’d married. Then he would comment on the lush fullness of Gabriella’s breasts, her voluptuous body and perfect tongue, which knew how to drive a man to ecstasy.

Diana hated Gabriella Fox, not for those stolen minutes with Kingsley but for the hours afterward when she had to emulate Gabriella’s performance.

“I’ll visit with you and Aunt Frances another time,” Diana said.

“Indeed not! I won’t have you leaving because of that — that — trollop. You’re family, and besides, all of the guests are acquaintances…” Marisa’s voice dripped with sarcasm, “… of Gabriella’s and will soon depart. They were invited just for tea. Come into the parlor and greet mother, Diana. She’ll be thrilled to see you again.”

Following her dark-haired cousin, Diana saw that Marisa, who was five years younger than she, had grown into a beautiful young woman.

They entered the parlor and Diana immediately saw her aunt sitting on the divan. Laughing and talking at once, the two embraced, oblivious of the men who gathered round a sloe-eyed Gabriella. “It’s been so long,” Frances told Diana as she patted her niece’s hand maternally. “What are you doing in Charlestown, dear? Do you plan to stay for a while?”

Diana hesitated, not certain whether she should tell Frances and Marisa about her marriage. She decided not to say anything for the present. There were too many people in the room. Instead she gave a slight smile. “I don’t know how long my stay shall be.” This was true. Tanner might send her packing to Briarhaven if he decided he wasn’t pleased with his new wife. Oh, she hoped so!

Diana wore a lilac day dress, trimmed in green at the tight-fitting waist and long sleeves. She felt dowdy and plain when Gabriella, who wore a stunning gold silk gown, excused herself from a British officer and walked over to where Diana sat. The vibrant gold matched her hair, and her ruby red lips formed into a parody of a smile before dutifully pecking Diana’s cheek.

“Diana, darling, how nice to see you’ve reentered the world of the living for the moment and left Briarhaven. But such a little homebody as yourself must be incredibly lost here in Charlestown. Your little heart must flutter from sheer anguish to be so far from the cows and pigs.”

Diana pasted an equally false smile on her own face. “I assure you, Gabriella, dear, that I can handle it.”

Gabriella opened her Chinese fan, her movements hasty and stiff. She slyly narrowed her eyes. “If I recall, you had a difficult time in handling, let’s say, the hard part of something.”

What a horrible, uncouth woman,
Diana thought, struck by Gabriella’s audaciousness. A sick feeling clutched at Diana’s stomach as she grasped the true meaning behind Gabriella’s words. Frances and Marisa both wore puzzled expressions, but Diana knew that Kingsley must have confided to his erstwhile lover about her lack of response in bed. She swallowed her dismay, not bothering to give Gabriella the satisfaction of a response.

Gabriella fluttered her fan, a gleam of triumph in her eyes. “Oh, by the way, Diana, I must congratulate you on your marriage. Everyone is talking about the suddenness of it.”

“Marriage?” Frances and her daughter repeated at once.

“Yes,” Diana admitted, not able to hide the flush from her face. “I was married last week to Tanner Sheridan.”

“I always say it’s best to keep things in the family,” Gabriella continued with a wicked grin. “And, Diana, I shall be certain to tell Tanner when I meet him for an intimate, late-night supper tonight that I saw you today — and that you look well. Adieu, dear.” With that, Gabriella swept away to join the enclave of her fawning admirers.

“Diana, you should have told us about your marriage,” Frances whispered. “Aren’t you happy about it?”

“Certainly, I’m happy.” It was a lie, but there was no reason to distress her family. She attempted to smile but failed, feeling wretchedly chilled to know that Tanner was acquainted with Gabriella Fox.

“But the awful thing that Gabriella said about a late-night supper with your husband…” Marisa broke off at the chastising look Frances threw her way.

“I don’t believe a word of it,” protested Diana. “Gabriella’s lying and wants to upset me.” And she had.

~ ~ ~

“More brandy, darling?”

Tanner looked up from where he lounged on the elaborately carved settee in General Lord Rawdon’s private chambers. Gabriella stood over him, holding a crystal decanter filled with brandy and smiled enticingly. Her voluptuous, pale flesh beneath a pink bit of fluff and lace was enticing too, and left very little to Tanner’s fertile imagination. His loins fired at Gabriella’s blatant sensuality. It had been months since he’d been with a woman, the last time having been in New York when he’d walked out on a beguiling female spy named Annabelle who’d turned out to be conniving and heartless. But the half-clad beauty before him wasn’t particularly heartless or conniving, or for the most part, anything special. She was beautiful and eager for him, a potent aphrodisiac for a man who was married to a woman who couldn’t bear the sight of him.

Holding out his empty glass to her, Tanner watched Gabriella refill it. She placed the decanter on a small round table beside him, her movement causing the heady scent of her perfume to waft over him as she sat next to him. Pressing close, she artfully arranged herself in a pose that Tanner guessed was meant to arouse him with the view of her lovely exposed thigh. Shrugging, she allowed the gown to fall from her shoulders and reveal the milky white swell of her breasts. Tanner smiled at the contrivance but he didn’t mind. He liked the fact that a beautiful woman wanted to seduce him.

Gabriella batted her long, golden-tinged lashes at him and whispered huskily, “Do you have everything you need?”

“Yes.” His answer was abrupt even to his own ears. He did not care for the sudden image he had of a dark-haired temptress in Gabriella’s place and he tried to drive it away.

Gabriella didn’t seem to notice as she planted warm kisses on the part of his chest revealed by his open shirt. “You’re certain that Rawdon won’t return tonight, Tanner?”

“He’s in Camden, so no one will bother us.”

“How accommodating of him.” Gabriella made a purring sound and swirled her tongue in lazy circles on the taut expanse of bronzed flesh. Pushing aside Tanner’s linen shirt, her hands trailed wantonly in the wake of her tongue. “You’re so handsome and strong, Tanner,” she whispered hotly against him. “I want you, ache for you. Do you remember how it was between us years ago, that spring night I attended the ball at Briarhaven?”

Tanner closed his eyes and moaned. He really didn’t remember too well. Apparently it was during a ball or some festive occasion when Gabriella had snuck away from the main house to join him in a tryst, one of the many ladies who sought out Harlan Sheridan’s bastard son for pleasure. He grunted his response because at the moment it felt wonderful to be touched and kissed, to feel a woman’s soft body against him, to ignite beneath fiery fingers. He was in a rapturous void, growing harder and larger as Gabriella’s practiced hands opened his breeches to stroke the hot length of him. Grabbing a thick handful of Gabriella’s hair, he imagined the curls were brown … and did the unforgivable by moaning aloud another woman’s name.

The stroking stilled, the hands instantly departed, and a high-pitched cry reverberated in the room. “You called me your wife’s name!” Gabriella instantly rose from the settee and Tanner opened his eyes, his desire waning. The woman who stood so angrily before him certainly wasn’t brown-haired and blue-eyed. “How dare you insult me like this,” she ended on a high note.

“Did I? Forgive me.” Tanner sheepishly sat up and began to button his shirt, suddenly weary and wanting to go home. To what he wasn’t certain, for no doubt a cold reception awaited him there, but this late supper was a dreadful mistake. He didn’t really like Gabriella, finding her to be too conceited and much too sexually aggressive. Sometimes he liked the woman to take the lead, but this night he’d wanted a more leisurely lovemaking session. This clearly wasn’t what Gabriella had in mind, but he was expert enough to know that he would eventually have taken control and slowed the pace, allowing both of them to enjoy each other’s body. No matter now, he’d spoiled everything by calling Diana’s name. He felt unnerved to know that he couldn’t put Diana’s face and form from his mind when another woman pleasured him. What was happening to him?

Gabriella paced, the gown swirling around her. “I’ve never been so insulted in my life. And to think I gave up an evening with a British major. Well, no more bedazzled married men for me.” She twisted around and faced him. “What do you see in such a mousy woman? I never understood why Kingsley married her or how he endured bedding such a frigid bitch all of those years. He told me she hated lovemaking and acted like she was doing him a favor by opening her legs for him. All she ever did was lie there like a martyr, thrown to the lions.”