Payton's Woman (19 page)

“And I prefer that you
wear it.” Betsy crawled from the chair. She placed both hands in the center of
the desk and leaned forward. “Do you have any idea how much that gown cost me?”
she asked, but didn’t give Julia time to answer. “All your gowns have to be
special made. You’re such an oddity of nature that I can’t have the old gowns
altered to fit you. You’re way too tall for a woman. And those shoulders of
yours. They’re much too broad.”

She glared at Betsy before
getting her anger under control. Her gaze shifted to the carpeted floor. “Nonetheless,
I’m afraid I’ll have to wear something else. Elsie can’t find the gloves that
match.”

“It doesn’t matter. After
what that gown cost me, I intend to get some use out of it. You’ll wear it with,
or without the gloves.”

“White gloves should do
quite nicely,” Sylvia said. “Although I believe your hands will be that last
thing any of the men will be looking at tonight.”

“Why is your hair up
that like?” Betsy’s grating voice asked. “I told Elsie I wanted it loose and
hanging down your back.”

“It was down.” Her hand
fluttered over the simple circle of hair she’d fashioned at the nape of her
neck. “Since we’re going to an evening affair, I decided to pin it up so it was
off my shoulders.”

“It wasn’t necessary to
put it up. Young, unmarried women can wear their hair down. That is, if they are
virgins. You are still untouched, aren’t you?”

“Most certainly,” she
blurted out, shocked by such a personal question.

After staring at her for
a moment, Betsy agreed. “Of course you are.” Her voice displayed annoyance.

“Frankly, Julia darling,
I’m surprised,” Sylvia said, although she didn’t look surprised. “You don’t
seem a bit worn out by fighting off the captain’s advances these last few
weeks.”

“He’s been a perfect
gentleman,” she defended him.

“I don’t believe that
for a moment,” Sylvia said. “That first night on the terrace, the lusty captain
couldn’t keep his hands off you. Then the next night at the theatre, he
practically forced your hand into his crotch.”

She sucked in a gasp of
air at the crude remark. Payton had only behaved that way to get rid of Sylvia.
“He hasn’t conducted himself in that manner since that night.”

“Oh, come now,” Betsy
said. “The next day, if I hadn’t returned with Sylvia when I did, he would’ve succeeded
in deflowering you right there on my sofa.”

“He hasn’t tried to do
anything like that again. In fact he hasn’t even kissed me.”

“You’ve been alone with him
several times over the last few weeks,” she pointed out. “Do you really expect
me to believe he hasn’t tried to steal a kiss?”

“But it’s true.” Julia felt
as perplexed as they. Her mind searched for an answer. “Perhaps it’s because of
Olivia. I mean, Mrs. Baxter. The first night at the ranch, she warned Captain
Tyler to behave himself. Otherwise he’d answer to her.”

“Mrs. Baxter may exert
some influence on the captain while he’s under her roof,” Betsy said, “but once
he’s out from under her watchful eye, I doubt the captain concerns himself with
her opinion.”

“The two of you went
somewhere alone just the other day,” Sylvia said. “Didn’t he try to take
liberties with you then?”

She shook her head. “He
was probably distracted with everything happening around us.”

“And what could possibly
distract him?” she asked.

“Well...” Her mind
whirled as she recalled all the exciting distractions. Her exuberance flowed
out into her voice. “This one man walked across a little rope that was
suspended way above us. And another man blew fire from his mouth. And then this
other man kept sticking his head into a lion’s mouth.”

“What in God’s name?”

When Julia realized they
stared at her with puzzled looks on their faces, she subdued her excitement. “Captain
Tyler took me to the circus.”

“The circus?” Sylvia
said in surprise, but her tone changed to tedium. “How droll.”

“I didn’t think so. I
found it all very thrilling.”

“Too bad the Captain
didn’t find you equally as thrilling,” Betsy said. “Then we would be done with
this.”

“Done with what?” Julia stared
at Betsy, hoping to divine the meaning from her face.

“Never mind.” She waved
her hand through the air. “It’s time for us to go. We’ll be just late enough so
when we arrive at the party, we’ll attract an appropriate amount of attention.”

****

Nearly everyone in the room
paused with their gaiety, their gazes directed on the latecomers as they appeared
in the entryway. Sylvia walked beside Betsy as she slowly and dramatically made
her way into the crowded room with the help of the ebony cane. Julia trailed at
a respectful distance, her eyes downcast, her white fan opened in front of her
in an attempt to hide her exposed breasts.

“Let’s find somewhere to
sit,” Betsy snapped. “I don’t want to chance being trampled in the rush.”

“So much for being an
oddity of nature,” she heard Sylvia quip.

Julia attempted to
follow after Betsy and Sylvia, but a circle of men gathered around her and gave
her no quarter.

“Miss Anderson, may I have
the pleasure of this dance?”

“Thank you for asking,”
she said to no one in particular, for she wasn’t certain who had asked, “but I’ve
only just arrived. I need to catch my breath.”

They all agreed. The men
stood motionless as she did exactly that. It seemed a natural function—the
taking of air into one’s lungs, and then expelling it. But the men stared at
her as though transfixed with the process. Each intake of air made her breasts
appear to swell. The movement caused the sapphire-blue silk that barely
contained her heaving bosom to strain at the seams.

Aware of the direction
of their gazes, she pressed her opened fan closer to her breasts. That action
made the men stare more intently. Some even appeared to stand on their toes in
an attempt to peek over the edge of the fan.

“It’s warm in here.” The
temptation to use the fan for its correct purpose occurred to her, but she held
it motionless in front of her. “I should think something cool to drink would
refresh me.”

A couple of the men
scrambled off to do her bidding, but the others crowded closer to take up the
vacated space.

“You’ll all have to move
back. I’d like to find a place to sit down. This present situation doesn’t
allow me to walk without stepping on someone’s toes.”

A few of the men moved
aside, and a pathway opened for her. She wanted to leave the crowd of men
behind, but she hesitated when she spotted Payton on the far side of the room.

Height did have its
advantages, but at this particular moment, Julia wished she could make herself
very small and inconspicuous. Too late for that. She saw the snarl on his face.
His lips curled back, exposing his bared teeth. His eyelids narrowed to slits
as he glared at the men around her.

As he strolled toward
her, his slow, deliberate manner reminded her of the wild beasts she’d seen at
the circus. His body exuded power and strength. His movement across the floor looked
lithe and graceful.

Just before he reached
her, he changed his direction. He veered off to the side and circled her like a
predator stalking his prey. His angry expression conveyed his mood. The air
about him seemed charged with the sense of barely contained fury. The other men
must have sensed his agitation, for they backed away.

When he’d completed his
circling, he stopped in front of her. He grabbed her fan and squeezed it shut. He
held out his hand to her in invitation. “I believe you were about to ask me to
dance.”

Nervously, she glanced
around the room. No one else danced. She looked back at him. “There isn’t any
music.”

As if on cue, the musicians
struck up a waltz. She stepped into his arms. They were the only couple on the
floor for several moments. Everyone stared at them, as if waiting for a
frightful scene to develop. When it appeared an incident wouldn’t happen, the
tension in the air dissipated, and other couples joined them in the dance.

She chanced a look at Payton.
Fire flashed in his brilliant blue eyes, but the sight gave her a chill.

“It appears as though
this gown you’re wearing may be cursed.” His voice sounded calm, but it contained
an edge. “There seems to be a significant number of men who, if refused a mere
dance with you, would resort to suicide. Isn’t that approximately what happened
the last time you wore it?”

Julia had expected him to
be upset about her wearing this gown, but she’d not realized the extent of his
anger until this moment. When she didn’t answer, he directed his attention to
her hand he held as he guided her around the dance floor.

“How did you explain not
having gloves to match the gown?”

She chewed at her lower
lip as she recalled her duplicity in the deception. “I blamed it on the maid.”

“Why didn’t you just
wear a different gown?”

“I didn’t have a choice.
Mrs. Collins insisted I wear this tonight.”

“You always have a
choice, Julia.”

Explaining to him the
necessity of catering to Betsy’s demands didn’t seem to be a wise decision. The
day quickly approached, though, when he would understand. In the meantime, she
wouldn’t allow anything to spoil her treasured moments with him.

She gazed into his chilling
blue eyes while searching for a shred of warmth. “I could’ve refused to come
tonight, but then I would’ve missed the opportunity of dancing with you.”

“You didn’t look too
eager a moment ago.”

“That’s because I’ve
never before danced with a wild tiger.” Hoping to lighten his mood, she forced
her lips into a tentative smile. “I wasn’t certain if you intended to devour me
immediately, or if you planned to toy with me for awhile before you ripped open
my throat.”

“Are you suggesting that
I behaved like a wild beast?” His angry expression didn’t change, but the
coldness went out of his eyes. He leaned closer so his warm breath flowed
across her neck. “Your throat does look inviting. Perhaps I’ll help myself to a
nibbling little taste.”

Disregarding the
protocol of maintaining a proper distant from one’s dance partner, he nuzzled
his face into the crook of her neck. His teeth nipped at her skin while he
emitted a low growl.

She muffled a shriek,
but couldn’t contain her laughter. Extremely tense situations always caused her
to giggle at inappropriate times.

“Don’t do that again,”
she said, her bubbling laughter almost under control. “You’re causing everyone
to stare.”

“You can’t blame that on
me. You had everyone’s attention the moment you walked into this room. It’s not
that your gown is any more revealing than what some of the other women are
wearing, but holding that fan in front of you caused every eye to stare at what
you were trying to hide.”

“Is that why you closed
my fan?”

“I had to do something
with my hands. Either grab that fan of yours, or take a swing at a couple of
those men.”

“I’m relieved you didn’t
take a swing at me,” she said playfully as his mood lightened.

“I’d never hurt you.” He
looked at her with such intensity that it nearly took her breath away.

The music stopped, but
they stood poised on the ballroom floor gazing into each other’s eyes.

“Would you like to go in
search of some food?” His voice broke the spell of the moment. He led her
toward the dining room. “I’ve suddenly developed a hunger.”

“That’s an excellent
idea. For some reason, I’m very hungry also.”

The buffet table overflowed
with numerous choices to appease everyone’s appetite. After they had their
fill, he escorted her through the various rooms so they could visit with the
host and hostess as well as guests.

She understood what
motivated him. With his show of possessiveness, he silently conveyed to the
other men that she belonged with him. He also deliberately kept her away from
Betsy and Sylvia, and anyone else of the Dunbar ilk. But it didn’t matter. She enjoyed
every moment with him.

Listening to him
converse with other well traveled and intelligent people fascinated her. He
kept her close to his side and included her in the conversations. He even asked
her opinion on different subjects.

Surprisingly, he didn’t
object to any of the men who’d found the courage to ask her for a dance. But
due to his attentive behavior toward her, each man made certain to secure
Payton’s permission first. And when the dance ended, they promptly returned her
to his side. As the lateness of the evening approached, he seemed less inclined
to share. He led her away from the others in search of some private area where
they could spend their last few moments alone.

They wandered out to the
terrace and gazed up into the night sky. He stood behind her, his arms wrapped
around her waist, his lips pressed against her temple.

“Do you remember what
that one’s called?” He pointed to a cluster of stars shining in the heavens.

“It’s Orion.” She stretched
her arm out next to his and pointed to another grouping. “Right there is the
Big Dipper, and that’s the North Star.”

“You’d make an excellent
navigator.”

“Oh, look! A shooting
star.” Her arm stretched upward to the heavens. “Or perhaps a meteor, but no
matter, you still have to make a wish.”

“I already did. Now you it’s
your turn.”

She made a humming noise
while she thought.” I know. I wish we could stay just like this, with you
holding me in your arms, for the rest of the night. Now tell me your wish.”

“Believe it or not, it
was almost the same as yours.” He squeezed her gently against his body. His
lips glided over the sensitive area of her temple until his mouth hovered close
to her ear. “Only we weren’t standing on someone else’s terrace. And we didn’t
have on so many clothes.”