Caroline (11 page)

Everyone joined feelingly in the toast as dessert, a concord grape tart with the added delicacy of iced cream, was served. Caro made everyone laugh in disbelief when she insisted that she had never eaten, or even heard of, iced cream. Every spoonful she took elicited a new exclamation from her on its flavor and texture. Even Alec found himself smiling, unable to resist her artless charm.

Hot buttered rum was served last, and when Alec next glanced down the table at Caro he saw her sipping hers with flushed cheeks, giggling at some remark of Kosciuszko's. As Alec watched, he remembered their night together in the farmhouse after he had plied Caro with brandy. The memory of her warm-blooded response to his advances taunted him now as he watched her conversing intimately with his so-called friend.

"Sacha, why do you spend so much time watching your ward?" Gretchen asked petulantly. "Surely you are not that conscientious a guardian! I feel certain that she is quite adult and can take care of herself with Colonel Kosciuszko. Besides, she seems to be enjoying herself, which is more than I can say for you!"

Gretchen's words did not produce the desired effect on Alec. To her frustration, he seemed to watch Caro even more grimly.

Finally the party was adjourned to the parlor, where Alec virtually ignored Gretchen. She had been hoping to persuade him to take her outside for a stroll. However, Alec became engaged in a political discussion with her father which ended abruptly when he saw Kosciuszko pour another glass of wine for Caro. Turning from Van Der Pat in mid-sentence, he strode across the room and grasped Caro by the arm. She looked up into his flashing eyes in surprise.

"Alec, whatever is the matter with you?"

"Give me that wine. You've had enough." He removed the glass and handed it to Kosciuszko. "Go and drink this yourself. As far away as possible."

Thaddeus, far from seeming angry, smiled cheerfully. "My old friend, I feel sure you do not mean what you say. And I cannot credit that you would consider treating this charming young woman as a child!"

"The manner in which I treat my ward is entirely my own affair, though I might add that I am acting in her best interest. Now, if you'll excuse us, I will return to speak to you shortly."

Alec was propelling Caro across the room to Stephen Van Der Pat, who had been watching the drama in bewilderment.

"Miss Bergman wishes to bid you goodnight. Since we will be leaving early tomorrow she feels in need of her rest. Isn't that so, Caroline?"

Caro nodded and managed a small smile, and then they were out of the room. Alec shifted his grip from her arm to her hand and Caro rubbed the tender flesh above her elbow as she rushed along beside him, up the stairs and down the hall to her bedchamber. Her natural impulse to argue in indignation was squelched by an even more instinctive fear. She had never seen Alec look like this and had no idea what to make of it.

When they reached her room, he flung open the door and thrust her inside. She was surprised to see him follow, yanking the door closed behind them, but his first words were even more startling.

"Just what did you think you were doing out there tonight? How many glasses of wine would it have taken for Kosci to lure you into bed?"

Caro stood just inches away from him, staring up into his blazing eyes, and felt her outrage conquer fear. She slapped him, delighting in the surprise that flashed on his face.

"You are undoubtedly the
most
odious, insufferable, self-serving, confused man alive! What kind of twisted mind do you have?" Her own eyes flashed dangerously.

"My mind is not too twisted to see when a female is encouraging a man's advances, which is exactly what you were doing tonight! And I know Kosci well enough to be certain that he would have not hesitated to accept your invitation. I would have thought, if you are really as virtuous girl you insist, that you would have learned your lesson the night you lost your virginity after too much brandy. Or perhaps I've been wrong again and you really are just a clever actress?"

"Mr. Beauvisage, I do not have to stand here and listen to these insults from you! You repeatedly tell me to meet other men, and so I do, and I was only trying to have a good time! Which, by the way, was hardly easy with you glowering at me all evening like an overprotective grandfather! Are you saying now that I should not talk to other men? I do wish you would make up your mind!"

Caro's voice was getting stronger by the minute; her face was flushed, her eyes shooting angry golden sparks. Alec was suddenly struck anew by her beauty and found his own rage dissolving. She was astonished to see him smile at her ironically, raising one eyebrow in a now familiar gesture.

"For such a lovely, sweet girl you have developed the tongue of a viper."

"You, sir, have been an excellent teacher," she returned frostily, clenching her fists in an effort to regain control. He was regarding her in silent amusement when she suddenly raised her chin and exclaimed:

"I simply wish to make a point to you. All night long you have been behaving as though you really were my guardian—and one of little cheer at that! I would be better off with a sour-faced parson to look after me! The detail that truly irks me, though, is the fact that you are
not
my guardian, and if you tell me you were acting for the benefit of the others, I shall not believe it! I had thought, until today, that you were a lighthearted rogue and we were partners in a gay masquerade. I no longer attempt to understand the complexities of your mind, but I would like to be told the reason for your behavior this evening!"

She was looking him straight in the eye, patches of bright color on her cheeks.

"Have I really been so despicable?" he inquired softly.

"A toad! A tiresome toad, intent on ruining my first opportunity for a bit of fun!"

Alec gripped her elbows, pulling her closer. "You say I may not behave toward you as a guardian, but I can recall a time not so long ago when you were happy to agree to me overseeing your life! If I were not taking care of you, you should be lying long dead beneath a tree in Connecticut, or worse yet, in Wallingham's barn. Do you not think that the responsibility I have undertaken entitles me to a few rights?" He could feel Caro's heart beating against his, and her lips parted a little as though to receive his kiss.

"But Alec," she said huskily, "why must you be autocratic? Can't you see that I am not a person to be controlled—especially not by coldness or harshness! Even your protection would not be worth my freedom to me."

Alec's head came down then, his mouth crushing Caro's as their mutual desire began to build and her arms wrapped around his waist, pulling him closer. Abruptly, feeling that he was drowning in her soft lips, Alec released her arms and started to walk away, frowning. When he reached the door he turned back, looking at Caro's stunned expression.

"I'm sorry, for the thousandth time it seems. Even I do not know what demon has possession of me, but I shall take pains not to interfere anymore. I can't promise total neutrality," he smiled bleakly, "but I'll do what I can. I'll see you at breakfast."

"Are we still leaving tomorrow?" she inquired softly, not permitting her voice to betray her pounding senses.

"God, yes!"

Chapter 8

Kosciuszko was waiting in the hallway when Alec emerged from Caro's room.

"Kosci, I hope you have not been eavesdropping!"

"If I have, then the entire household is also guilty! Everyone in the parlor could hear the shouts of 'odious,' 'insufferable,'and 'toad.' To be honest, I only came up when you two turned quiet—I was afraid you might have killed her!" Spying the darkening stain on Alec's cheek, he smiled. "I can see now that my worries were unfounded—the girl can obviously take care of herself!"

Alec recognized the twinkle in his friend's eye and felt himself relax.

"I'll admit that she has a streak of hellcat in her. Quite the colorful vocabulary, yes?"

"Quite!"

"My friend, let us repair to the library for a glass of brandy. I have been in constant need of a drink ever since I first laid eyes on Caro!"

The two handsome young men headed down the hall together and soon were settled in matching wing chairs before the fire, brandy and cigars in hand. At length, Kosciuszko inquired:

"Wherever did you find that treasure?"

"Ha! You have never encountered a more troublesome treasure than that one! That chit is like a perfect rose with innumerable hidden thorns—each one more surprising and painful than the last."

"Perhaps, but I've never known you to waste time and energy on troublesome females. Are you getting soft in your old age?"

"I am beginning to believe it. Since Caro has come into my life everything has been topsy-turvy. The game which I have prided myself on playing with such finesse suddenly has a new set of rules in some foreign language I cannot translate!"

"You are speaking in riddles. Are you in love with the girl?" He searched awkwardly for his next words. "You know, since Emily, I have wondered if you would ever..."

Alec cut him off, ignoring the last, and exclaimed in mock horror, "God forbid! If this is love, then put a gun to my head! Listen, Kosci, I am really very weary of this entire subject. Let us just say that my actions tonight were prompted by Caro's uncommon innocence and naïveté. She is too damned trusting for her own good, particularly after a little wine, and I know you very well, my friend."

"Do not tell me that you have gotten mixed up with a virgin! What would be even more improbable is the notion that she had remained one after what appears to be a reasonably long acquaintance with
you."

"Let us pursue another topic. What have you been doing other than visiting General Washington? What do you hear from General Gates?"

"All right, Sacha, I shall drop the subject—after one last remark. If you could have you two arguing tonight—you would have been convinced, as I am, that you two were quarreling as only lovers can. If you are not, which I doubt, then you should be. Your young ward is like a delicious piece of fruit, ripe for the picking, to be savored by someone who could appreciate—"

"
Enough!
That, my friend, is exactly the reason why I removed her from your sight! And I cannot believe what a meddler you've become! Now, let us speak of other matters; I am beginning to feel smothered by that vixen even when she is not present!"

Kosciuszko grinned devilishly. "That sounds to me like an enviable predicament!"

* * *

In her room, Caro was just leaning over to blow out her candle when there was a knock at the door.

"Who is it?" she called, pulling up the covers.

Katrina Van Der Pat peeped in, wearing a distracted smile. "Are you all right, my dear? It sounded as though you and Sacha were having a royal row! Whatever was he so perturbed about?"

Caro frowned. "Your dear Sacha was playing the role of the grouchy, straitlaced, puritanical guardian to the hilt. He was warning me about the evils of wine and male companionship!"

"Sacha—straitlaced and puritanical? My dear, I can hardly credit—"

"Neither could I! He is determined that I shall never have a moment's amusement."

Katrina hardly knew what to make of someone interrupting her, not to mention Caro's accusations Caro was leveling on Alec. "I can't help feeling a tiny bit relieved to hear that Sacha is taking his responsibilities seriously, for I had my doubts when he told me you were his ward."

"Your... doubts?" Caro's voice was barely audible.

"Well, I hate to say it, but Sacha is not my idea of a guardian for a beautiful young girl. Truth to tell, I could hardly imagine what your papa was thinking of when he decided to entrust you to his care! He's always been such a dashing, devil-may-care fellow that I was half afraid he might look on you—well, not as a ward. So, my dear, I must be frank and admit that it's a weight off my mind. He must be feeling very fatherly toward you!"

"Yes, I know," she agreed miserably.

"Now, now, you must cheer up," advised Katrina. "No doubt you and Sacha will see very little of each other once you reach Philadelphia, for he tells me he plans to install you at his parents' house. I only wish my Gretchen had your opportunities; Sacha is practically the only man she sees, and he is far from the ideal son-in-law, for all we love him. I feel nothing but sympathy for the woman he marries, for trying to tame Sacha would be tantamount to leashing a panther—and just as impossible."