Surrender the Stars (54 page)

"What the hell?" he muttered in bewilderment while drawing the green hat off. Lustrous honey-colored hair spilled out over the rusty leaves and Alec let out a low whistle as he bent over the girl's face. She looked little more than eighteen, and for a moment he felt that he must be dreaming. The girl had the face of an angel. Her eyes were fringed by long lashes that brushed her creamy skin. Alec's gaze took in her tiny nose, and came to rest on appealing lips. Gently, he raised her head and cradled it in his arms. Almost instinctively, he tipped her chin up with his forefinger and covered her mouth with his own.

When he felt her lips move gently in response, he drew back, thinking, Who do you think you are, Beauvisage—a damned Prince Charming? Involuntarily, his mouth twisted in a smile of cynical amusement. What do you suppose I've got myself into this time? he wondered, and grinned in spite of himself.

* * *

The girl felt as if she was gliding down to earth from a great height, and seemed to touch ground with only the smallest jolt. She opened her eyes slowly and looked up into a most remarkable face. It was brown and lean, framed by shining raven-black hair drawn casually back and tied at the neck. The man wore a short beard, but it failed to disguise his charming half-smile or the contrast of his gleaming white teeth with tanned skin. Above a straight nose sparkled eyes of an amazing turquoise color which held her own almost against her will. As she became more fully conscious she realized that she felt no fear, although he held her in his arms and his muscles were hard against her cheek.

Alec, for his part, found himself looking into warm caramel-brown eyes flecked with gold. The girl was simply exquisite!

"M'lady, I would, be extremely gratified if you could attempt to explain your presence here. I must confess to a curiosity that grows stronger by the minute!"

As the girl struggled to sit up, Alec braced her with his arm. Gingerly, she raised her hand to touch what proved to be a large lump. Alec gently parted her glossy hair and looked closely at the swollen area. His forehead creased at the sight of the nasty bump and a patch of dried blood.

"Tell me now, what has happened here? What is your name and where do you come from?" His deep voice had grown sharp with concern.

The girl covered her eyes as though collecting her thoughts. Then, slowly, she drew her hand away, her eyes brimming with sudden tears.

"Oh, sir—I don't seem to be able to remember! I cannot recall a thing—not even my own name!"

* * *

Several minutes of questioning brought Alec no closer to the truth. He surmised that the girl had probably been riding and caught her head on a low-hanging branch. Perhaps something had frightened the horse, causing her to lose control. At any rate, the steed was gone, and Alec was left with an injured woman-child dressed in boys' clothing who had no memory of her past.

He had propped her up against a tree trunk and was pacing through the dry leaves. The girl was alternately investigating the contents of the green silk bundle and watching Alec stride to and fro. He moved with a natural grace and suppressed strength that were easy to admire. His fawn-colored breeches were close-fitting and showed the play of muscles in his lean thighs with each step he took. Leather boots, softly shining, rose to his knees, and a linen shirt split halfway down the front to reveal a hard brown chest.

Suddenly the girl's soft voice broke the rhythm of Alec's rustling stride through the leaves.

"Sir, you wouldn't be a pirate by chance, would you? Perhaps you're ashore to bury your treasure...?"

He threw back his head and laughed with pure delight.

"Why do you ask that, pray tell?"

"You look the way I suppose pirates must look. Quite swashbuckling and adventurous, really. Rather unscrupulous, too." She found him grinning at her and blushed. "I'm sorry about that last. It wasn't a very nice thing to say, was it?"

Alec strolled over to drop down beside her and clasped one soft hand between his strong ones.

"Think nothing of it. I admire your candor and I must confess that I laugh in part because you hit quite near the truth. My father was indeed a pirate—a French buccaneer of the first water. If the war had not intervened, perhaps I would have followed in his footsteps!" Alec's smile held a hint of mockery, but there was warmth in his eyes. They darkened, however, as the problem at hand returned to his thoughts. Gesturing at the clothes which lay on the piece of green silk, he asked:

"You don't see anything there that sparks your memory?" He had already been through the bundle himself, but found little that looked informative. There was another simple white smock, one of the loose shirts worn by Colonial men as part of their working attire. Also inside the bundle were a few items of well-made underclothing, a lacy fichu, and some dainty shoes. Lastly, there was a lovely gown, simple but pretty, the color of buttercups and trimmed in lace. Inside of it were wrapped a fine china hairbrush, two satin ribbons, and a bar of jasmine-scented soap.

The girl looked up at Alec and shook her head in bewilderment.

"I cannot place a thing. This is all so confusing—and frightening! Sir, what will you do with me?" Her brown eyes were wide and her tiny chin trembled. Alec reached out and gathered her into his arms. Although he was uncomfortably conscious of two ripe breasts pressing firmly against his chest, he managed to restrain himself so that he only stroked her hair in a brotherly fashion.

"What did you imagine I would do—leave you here alone in the woods? I may look unscrupulous, but I believe that you will find I have a definite streak of decency! You shall come with me back to my home and we'll find out who you are. In the meantime, perhaps you'll recover your memory."

Impulsively, she hugged him, and Alec could smell the sweetness of clover in her rich hair. Her voice was warm with excitement in his ear:

"You would do that for me? How shall I ever thank you?"

He could think of a few ways, but feared that none of them would meet with her approval. He could not resist smiling to himself as the girl loosened her grasp on him to look up and ask:

"Could you please tell me your name? And what shall
mine
be?"

"Ah, yes! Forgive me for neglecting to introduce myself. I am known as Alexandre Beauvisage, but you must call me Alec. As for your own name, I think it should be your choice."

A smile lit her face, revealing deep dimples. "What fun—being able to choose one's own name! And yours, sir, is wonderful and most fitting. 'Handsome face'!"

He colored beneath his beard and bit his lip. "Yes, unfortunately, that is the meaning. A constant source of embarrassment to me, I assure you."

"But why? Certainly it is perfect for you! It would only prove embarrassing if you were a homely man, I should think!"

Alec relaxed and was chuckling softly when a sudden realization struck him.

“You must have some education in the French language. You know, that's no small accomplishment for a female, especially one who has grown up during a time of war in a relatively undeveloped country. You must have come from a good family...." His voice trailed off and he frowned. "Why, I wonder, were you running away?"

"Do you think that is what I was doing?"

"My dear, that is the only reasonable conclusion I can draw from this rather inexpert disguise. Also, you were more than a little off the main road. To be precise, you were miles from the nearest house. I can't imagine what you were planning to do before you had this accident, and I feel certain that you were well on your way to being hopelessly lost." He paused. "I suspect that you were running away in great haste from someone or something. Your belongings were quickly assembled... and you were taking an escape route to which you could not have given much thought. As a matter of fact, you must have deliberately crossed over the Boston Post Road some miles back."

He glanced over at the girl next to him only to find her in perfect profile, staring dreamily into space. He lifted one honey-colored curl from her shoulder and teasingly flicked it across her tilted nose. His voice held a note of ironic amusement.

"You do wonders for a man's ego. I can see that you hold my brilliant conversation in high esteem!"

"Oh—sir—please do not be offended!" Relief spread across her face at the sight of his flickering. "You are teasing me! I am glad you’re not angry, because I was daydreaming for a good reason. My name! To me it is so important, and I hope you'll approve of my choice." She moved closer to him and paused dramatically. "It is... Caroline. Don't you think that is the loveliest-sounding name?"

She spoke the syllables with such warmth that the name Caroline did indeed sound beautiful. His face softened as he regarded this girl who was smiling at him so radiantly in the midst of what should have been a terrible crisis for her. It occurred to him that most young ladies of his acquaintance would probably be carrying on quite hysterically if they were in Caroline's position. She was lost, unable to remember anything, and perhaps worst of all, left in the woods with only a hot-blooded rogue to rely on. Alec was just beginning to realize how truly different from other females this one was. Gently, he touched her soft cheek and smiled.

"I believe that you have chosen the most beautiful name in existence, little Caro."

Twilight gathered quickly, and Caroline did not notice the approaching darkness until she felt a chill in the air. She and Alec were both astride the black stallion, Ivan, who was patiently making his way through the trees. Caroline sat in front of Alec, who held her securely around her petite waist. His nearness unnerved her, and during all the hours they had been riding she had found it difficult to think—and heaven knew she had plenty to think about! She realized that the discomfort she felt wasn't because he repulsed her; instead, it seemed that all her senses were full of him. His arm was strong and her skin seemed to tingle beneath it. She would watch his brown hand holding the reins, and find herself fascinated by its deft movements. She was leaning into his broad chest and his chin brushed the top of her head. She thought he smelled wonderful.

Riding into a clearing, Alec brought Ivan to a stand-still and Caroline came back down to earth.

"Well
,"
he inquired lightly, "how does this strike you as an inn? Ceilings of tree branches and carpets of leaves are the latest fashion, I'm told."

She smiled up at him. "These look like very comfortable accommodations, sir!"

Indeed it was a lovely spot. The trees joined overhead to form a perfect canopy and the blanket of leaves on the ground looked almost plush. Alec swung down from the horse's back and reached up to grasp Caroline around her waist. He lifted her off Ivan and suddenly they were face to face, his hands still resting on her hips. He looked down into her brown-and-gold eyes and saw in them something he could not read. Moving his palms up her back slowly, Alec could feel the hot blood rising in him, and then Ivan pushed his nose against them and whinnied gustily.

Nervously, Caroline laughed and turned to pet the horse's neck.

"Well, Ivan, I suppose you'd like to have the rest of those things off your back, too!"

It was not yet dark when the three of them set off through the trees to find a stream. They didn't have far to go, and while Ivan drank and Caroline washed, Alec went in search of food and firewood. He had good luck, and before long they were seated by a cozy fire feasting on dried beef and johnnycake from his saddlebags, nuts, berries, and sweet water. They drank from a small wooden cup which Alec produced, explaining that he had carved it in camp early in the war and still carried it with him in his pack. After they finished eating, Alec leaned back against a tree to smoke a thin brown cheroot. Caroline sat nearer the fire, and as they talked he watched her face, which was framed by molten-gold firelight. Her hair spilling over her shoulders, she looked poignantly young and vulnerable in her voluminous shirt.

"Will you tell me about the future?" she asked. "Where are we going? And what will you do with me after we get there?"

He smiled behind the thin curls of smoke which drifted up and dissolved into the darkness.

"Ah, yes, I imagine your head must be full of questions! We are going to Philadelphia, where I live. I’ve decided that after we arrive I shall install you at my parents' home. It wouldn't help you at all socially to be living at my house! As it is, if I were any sort of gentleman at all I'd marry you as soon as we encounter a parson."

Caroline's eyes were wide with astonishment.

"Marry me! Whatever for?"

"Why, to make an honest woman out of you, my dear. Moral codes these days don't have clauses allowing men and women to spend the night together unchaperoned—no matter how innocent the circumstances may be. And in our case, I have a feeling we'll be alone together several nights." He was smiling at her as if the prospect delighted him, and Caroline shifted uneasily. "However, no one needs to know what our circumstances have been before we arrived in Philadelphia. I will solve this problem by explaining that I am your guardian..." He grinned again, looking to Caroline like a scoundrel, "I am not a particularly honorable man, especially where women are concerned. Take that as my warning,
cherie!
Also, I have no intention of ruining both our lives by trapping us into a marriage neither of us wants—just for the sake of propriety. You are young and very beautiful, Caro, and I'm certain that there will be scores of young swains in Philadelphia who will be eager to win your affections. Besides, we must make sure that you are not already married!"

Caroline's eyes had been growing larger with each sentence Alec spoke, but with his last words her mouth dropped open.

"Married! Me? But—but—"

"It is entirely possible that you were running away from a husband."

Alec had no doubt that she was old enough, for he had become quite familiar with the attractive curves beneath her smock during their ride on Ivan that day. He knew a great deal about women, and there was no doubt in his mind that she was indeed a delightfully fully grown woman.