Caroline (5 page)

Caro's eyes were wide and serious.

"All right. I don't seem to have much choice, for my fate appears already to be in your hands." She ventured a small smile, unaware of how appealingly lovely she was. "Didn't you inform me earlier that you intend to manage my life?"

Chapter 3

Angry gray clouds scudded across the sky as Alec broke camp the next morning. The wind was bitterly cold, whipping brown leaves up into his face, and the woods looked dark and desolate.

"For God's sake, be quick!"

Her cheeks bright in the cold air, Caro was hastily braiding her hair. "You needn't bark at me! I'm going as fast as I can!"

She scrambled up, tucking her braids beneath her tricorn hat. Alec was saddling Molly, and Caro wrapped up her green bundle to tie on the side. A moment later, he grasped her arm and she turned to find him holding out his coat.

"Here," he said curtly, "put this on. It's going to be colder than the devil today."

Caro let him help her into it, and couldn't repress a giggle when she saw that it nearly reached her ankles, and her hands were lost under the thick cuffs. Alec's face softened, and Caro perceived a tiny twitch of his mouth. Seizing the opportunity, she laid her hand on his arm.

"Please don't be cross with me today. It already looks like it will be a long, cold ride and I shall be miserable if you are scowling at me all day."

He looked down at the little face gazing up at him so earnestly. Damned if she didn't look ridiculous, her forehead covered by the hat, her body swimming in his heavy blue coat. Without thinking, he reached inside the coat and put his hands on the appealing curves of her hips, as if to reassure himself they were still there.

"All right, point taken." He smiled ironically. "And I wasn't really mad at you, but at this weather. We've got to attempt to outrun the storm; thank God we'll have a roof over our heads tonight."

His brown fingers fastened the heavy buttons before he lifted her effortlessly onto Molly's back. Caro hitched the coat up so she could sit astride, then looked down into Alec's gleaming eyes.

"One more thing," he admonished. "No games today! Understood?"

Beaming, she gave him a mock salute. "Understood!"

They were riding into the biting wind when Alec thought to himself that he'd be lucky to make it through the day without contracting pneumonia—especially if the storm broke before they reached the Wallingham farm. He was wearing his buckskins, grateful that he'd had the foresight to bring them along. He frowned again as he remembered the way he had spoken to Caro that morning and the bewildered look on her face. Damn the chit—was it possible that she was so innocent that she was unaware of the effect she was having on him? Where had she come from? A convent? He could feel his blood rising all over again when he remembered last night.

She had flirted with him so artlessly that he was perplexed by it all. And, if that wasn't bad enough, she had given him the most beguiling smile when she announced she was sleepy, and brought the blanket roll over to him as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Her skin had been beautiful and soft-looking in the firelight. She'd arranged the blanket cozily to cover them both, then had snuggled on her side against the length of his body, her back against his chest. To his further horror, Caro had then reached over to pull his arm around her waist, murmuring:

"That's much better. I'm quite warm now. Goodnight, Alec..."

Her eyes had closed contentedly, and there was a faint smile on her lips—those lips which he had decided had surely been created just for kissing. Her long eyelashes swept across her cheeks and he had instinctively bent his face down against her soft, glossy hair. He saw the lovely curve of her neck and, longing to press his lips against it, realized that Caro had placed his hand so that his thumb was barely an inch from her breast. She was asleep, and slowly he moved his fingers up to graze the curve that swelled beneath her muslin shirt. Caro smiled and cuddled closer in her sleep. Alec had been shocked to feel the almost unbearable pressure and heat in his loins, to realize that every nerve in his body ached for this girl. Suddenly the ironic absurdity of his situation struck home and he'd drawn his hand away as though it were aflame. He rose, covering her with his half of the blanket, and hunkered down next to the smoldering fire to light a cheroot.

"Fool," he had chided himself. "Next I'll be breaking out in sweat whenever the chit comes near."

He had paced through the leaves, swearing to himself while casting dark glances at the sleeping Caro. He had vowed then that no virgin would be his undoing, deciding that all he needed was to return to Philadelphia where there were beautiful women who would welcome him to their beds. "I've just been away too long," he decided at last. But still he had been unable to sleep, staring broodingly into the dying fire.

Now, as they rode through the slate-gray morning, Alec glanced worriedly at the threatening clouds overhead. The weather hadn't improved his mood any, and to top things off, his head was pounding from so little sleep and such a great deal of tormented frustration.

Since they hadn't taken time for breakfast, when he spotted a grove of apple trees he decided that a quick lunch might be in order. Signaling to Caro to stop, he swung himself down from Ivan's back.

She was only slightly surprised that he didn't come to help her as she watched him load his gun before she dismounted. Alec went off to look for game while Caro made herself comfortable on the ground, ravenously devouring two juicy apples and half the remaining johnnycake, washing it down with cold water from Alec's canteen. She was feeding Ivan and Molly apples when Alec appeared looking slightly more cheerful, two plump rabbits in hand. Caro couldn't help admiring the way he looked in his buckskins.

"Well, at least one problem is solved" he said. "We can count on a hearty meal tonight."

She watched him tie the rabbits across the back of his saddle, then stroll over to pick a few apples from a nearby tree. She came over to give him the remaining johnnycake and water, sitting down beside him as he ate.

"Alec, I just wanted to ask you what you meant when you said that we would have a roof over our heads tonight. I've been terribly curious!"

He lounged against a tree trunk, talking while he ate the apples. "We're going to a farm that belongs to some old friends of mine, near the Hudson River, not far from here. The story is damned sad. The Wallinghams had cattle and sheep and James worked hard to make things grow. How we met is a long story—suffice it to say that the war brought me to their home when I needed help. Elizabeth Wallingham took me in and cared for me until I was well—even though James was a loyalist, fighting for the British. Years went by that she didn't hear from him, and since I was a loner during much of the war, I checked on her and the children periodically. I was worried about the consequences for them when the war ended. James finally made it home, just in time for the outcry from all the neighbors that the Tories be banished. Even now it's at a fever pitch and the loyalist families are still moving out—thousands of them. The persecution has been merciless."

Caro had never seen Alec so serious, or heard such bitterness in his voice.

"The Wallinghams deeded their farm to me before the patriots could take it away from them. All the other loyalists in the Hudson River Valley have lost their property and possessions, as if they were less than human. I am keeping this farm against the day they may be able to return. In the meantime, I'll look after it and I plan to install a friend of mine as a tenant. We'll stay there tonight and I have an idea we may find some clothes as well."

"I'm so sorry for the Wallinghams. How did they get away, and where did they go?"

"Most of the Tories are going up to Nova Scotia. I hear they're shouting 'Hell or Halifax' from the transports. However, I managed to get the Wallingham family on board one of our ships bound for France. They can cross the Channel to England after they arrive, where they at least will have friends and family. If it looks like they'll be staying on indefinitely I will sell their property and send them the money."

"It's wonderful of you to do so much for them!" Caro exclaimed, impressed by his courage and honesty.

Alec shrugged, his eyes opaque. Rising to his feet, he brushed off his breeches and held out a hand to her.

"Come on. I don't like the looks of that sky."

* * *

They rode all afternoon without speaking. Thunder rumbled ominously, echoing through the hills around them, and every now and then a silver branch of lightning would split the black sky. Mercifully, the rain did not come, but the clouds overhead were roiling with their burdens.

The land around them was undergoing subtle changes the closer they got to the Hudson River. The forests of Connecticut softened into the rolling hills and lush woodlands of New York. Caro had still not seen a single house when suddenly they reached the crest of a hill and she found herself gazing down at a quaint stone dwelling nestled in the valley below. There were fields of Indian corn, rye, and buckwheat sloping up the sides of the hills, and near the house was a small apple orchard. Caro saw a stone barn, and a field covered with pumpkins and other vegetables. Everything was ripe for harvest; the farm, though small, looked cozy and prosperous.

Alec had stopped beside her, his hand shielding his eyes in the cold wind as he gazed at the scene below them. He turned to speak when suddenly there was a deafening explosion of thunder and lightning all at once, and the clouds burst open. Without a second's hesitation, he rode straight into the icy sheets of rain toward the farmhouse. Caro managed to follow him though she couldn't see a thing through the torrent. Minutes later, they were outside the stone barn, the door of which was open several feet, space enough for the horses to pass inside. To Caro, it was heaven, and she was so grateful for the refuge that it was several seconds before she noticed a cow and horse already occupied the barn.

Alec had already dismounted and he came over to help her down. Caro realized then that the heavy wool coat she wore was soaked through. He helped her shed the sodden garment, unable to avoid the sight of her breasts swelling against the clinging wet shirt. With an effort, he dragged his eyes away and put an arm around her shoulders.

"This is the Wallingham farm, thank God. I doubt we could have gone much farther in that storm."

"That's the truth! But, if they are gone why is the barn door open, and why are there animals here?"

He smiled without amusement.

"They departed only a month ago—this is the first time I have been here since then. James told me that he had no means of disposing of these animals, and decided to merely leave the barn door ajar so that they might go out to the pasture and pond. God knows what we shall do with them when we leave here. Perhaps Van Der Pat will buy them."

Caro was shivering by this time, and Alec hurriedly began to unsaddle their horses and supply them with feed. Soon he and Caro were dashing through the rain to the house; the key was already in his hand and with one deft movement he had opened the door.

The room they entered was large and sparsely furnished. The floor consisted of huge wooden planks and the ceiling was sturdily beamed. The room's dominant feature was a magnificent stone hearth laden with fresh logs and rimmed by cast-iron kettles and pots of every size. Caro walked slowly around the room, running her hand over the dusty furniture. There was a worn high-back settle before the fireplace, flanked by a tiny cradle and a ladder-back armchair with a crewel-embroidered seat. In the center of the room stood a gate-leg table ringed by chairs, and near the window was a spinning wheel still threaded with flax. Deep windows with wide sills provided more seating and rain pelted the tiny glass panes relentlessly.

"It was thoughtful of James to lay this fire for us," Alec said as he kindled the logs with a tinderbox. Before long they were burning cheerfully and he gathered some coals in a tin fire scoop and moved to tend the other hearths in the adjacent rooms. Meanwhile, Caro had positioned herself on the pine settle before the fire and was peeling off her wet boots. The warmth of the blaze felt delicious, and she stretched her legs out, wiggling her toes contentedly. Alec chuckled softly from the doorway.

"You make that simple act look very enjoyable! Wouldn't you like to put on some dry clothes? I see that Elizabeth left behind quite a few things, and I'm certain you're nearly the same size."