Caroline (9 page)

Alec was beside her in an instant, wrapping her in his coat, then looking down at the man he had shot. When he spoke, his voice was like steel: "I should have tortured you first."

The man with the yellow eyes stared up at Alec in disbelief.

"Beauvisage!" he choked in a heavy accent, and then his head fell to one side. Caro began to weep convulsively and Alec bent down, picking her up in his arms to carry her back to the house.

* * *

The next two days passed in a blur for Caro. On the third morning, she woke up in a grand, sun-washed bedroom, feeling like herself for the first time. Her first impression was a blissful sensation of warm sunlight, and then she lay back on her pillow and tried to piece together the events since the attack in the barn. Very vaguely, she remembered that Alec had dressed her and given her a few sips of brandy, and she knew that his arms had held her through it all, his voice firmly reassuring her that everything would be all right. When they left the farm, Caro had ridden with Alec. She could recall very little of the journey and nothing at all of their arrival. It seemed they must be at Van Der Pat Manor, for that was their planned next destination.

To divert herself from memories of what had happened in the barn, Caro got out of bed and went to the window. Its panoramic view of the Hudson River in autumn was more beautiful than she could have imagined. The grounds beneath her window were perfectly groomed, dotted with beds of autumn flowers in shades of berry and gold. Beyond the gardens lay a road which wound perilously close to the sheer edges of the hills rising above the mighty Hudson. Chestnut, oak, spruce, and walnut trees covered the hillsides in an impossibly brilliant tapestry, contrasting strikingly with the vivid blue of the river. Across on the west bank were cliffs that plummeted straight down halfway to the water before they softened into tree-covered hillsides.

Her reverie was broken by a quiet click as the door opened, and Caro pivoted to find Alec at the threshold. Without thinking, she ran to meet him, longing to feel his arms about her, and he welcomed her with a strong embrace.

"What are you doing out of bed? You'll give me gray hair while I'm still in my youth!"

She drew back her head to look into his dancing eyes.

"It feels so wonderful to see the sun out—I simply had to get a look at that view!" Dimples winked in her cheeks as she added, "Besides, you are long past your first bloom of youth, and probably long overdue for gray hair!"

"My dear, you wound me! And now, back into bed. I'll not have you fainting again. My arms are weak from carrying you everywhere the past two days."

"Are you suggesting that I am growing plump?"

Suddenly she was close to him again, and his hands were resting on her hips. He put his face down near hers, breathing in the fresh scent of her hair as he murmured in her ear:

"On the contrary
.
Would you have me repeat my compliments?"

Caro was acutely conscious of the fact that she wore nothing but a thin batiste bedgown. Looking up at Alec, her throat constricted in a way that made speech impossible, and she couldn't have been more surprised when she felt his arms encircle her back, pulling her close so that her body was pressed against the length of his.

"Ah, Caro, you'll never know how happy I am to see you up and feeling so well. Believe it or not, you had me worried." He paused, the serious look in his eyes softening. "You look absolutely enchanting
.
All soft and sleepy..." His voice trailed off, and then he was kissing her.

Caro melted in his arms, overcome by a desire so strong it alarmed her. The warmth of Alec's skin, the appealing masculine scent that clung to him, and the lazy expertise of his kiss all combined to assail her senses with amazing intensity. Suddenly she found herself pushing him away and turning her face from his, her heart pounding so loudly she was sure he could hear it.

"Oh, please," she gasped. "You
must
stop. I feel so confused..."

He tipped her chin up and smiled down into her worried eyes. "I just wanted you to remember that a man's touch should be enjoyable. You won't deny that you like to be kissed by me, will you?"

Caro shook her head.

"Well, then, try to remember that kiss whenever you find your thoughts straying toward your experience the other day. Now then—let's get you into bed."

Impulsively, she gave him a hug, mainly to feel the comforting strength of his arms around her when he returned her embrace. Then he led her to bed, pulled up the counterpane, and perched casually on the edge of the bed. His next question was blunt:

"How much of the last two days do you remember?"

"Well, I remember the men—and what they did. I shall never forget. You know, there was something about that awful man with the yellow eyes that jolted my memory. He seemed to remind me of someone I knew—that's a gruesome thought, isn't it!"

"Indeed."

"And I killed the big man, I remember that, too, though it is all a horrific blur in my mind. It hurts to think of it. And... you shot the other one, didn't you?"

Alec didn't speak for a long moment as he mulled over her words about the yellow-eyed man. His expression was distant and he rubbed a brown knuckle against his jaw before refocusing on her question.

"Yes, but that's of no consequence," he said brusquely. "Do you know, I probably would have slept through it all if not for your burning bread! At any rate, I'm very proud of you for what you did. You've got an uncommon amount of courage. I want to urge you now not to dwell on those memories. You are a lovely girl in every way and you've been mistreated lately by a variety of villainous types—myself included. You must not let what's happened turn you against the majority of men in this world who are well behaved and respectful."

The impish gleam was back in Caro's eyes. "That certainly sounds boring! I believe I would prefer a rogue like you over some simpering milksop." Turning serious, she sighed. "But, you mustn't worry about me. I shall do my best to forget those men in the barn, as soon as I have thanked you for that daring rescue."

Alec raised one eyebrow and bowed slightly. "Damsels in distress are my specialty."

"Now tell me, where are we? Van Der Pat Manor?"

"Yes, we left as soon as I got you quieted down, which amounted to your lapsing into a sort of trance. We arrived here that same evening, and you've been asleep in this bed ever since."

"I imagine the Van Der Pats will be happy to hear I'm up and around. It certainly has been nice of them to take care of me this way."

"They're very good people. Stephen Van Der Pat has been a shipowner and trader for years, and he and my father are old friends. I've known them all since I was a child."

Caro smiled. "I find it hard to believe that you were ever a child!"

She was interrupted by a knock at the door and a voice calling, "Sacha, is everything all right?"

Alec did not move from his place on the bed, but replied, "Come in, Gretchen."

The door opened to admit a vision of pure loveliness, and suddenly Caro understood why Alec hadn't been bored at Van Der Pat Manor. The girl who was approaching the bed was tall and fragile with a beautiful pink-and-ivory complexion. Her pale hair was arranged elegantly, falling over one bare shoulder in three long ringlets. Large china-blue eyes dominated her perfect face, their color accentuated by a fashionable gown of blue silk. Above all, however, Caro noticed the way the girl was looking at Alec. There could be no mistaking the fact that she felt possessive toward him, for as she smiled at Caro her eyes were relaying a very different message.

With a lazy grin, he offered: "Gretchen Van Der Pat, may I present Caroline—ah—Bergman, my ward. Caroline, this is Gretchen."

They smiled at one another most charmingly.

"Miss Van Der Pat, you must allow me to thank you for your hospitality these past two days. You have been very kind."

Gretchen turned a dazzling smile directly on Alec. "Miss Bergman, my parents deserve all your gratitude. I was only glad to help in my own small way—hmm, Sacha?"

Alec's eyes sparkled with such unconcealed amusement that Caro longed to poke him. "You're an excellent hostess
,"
he told Gretchen.

"There is a friend of yours who has arrived downstairs and Papa sent me up to get you. Don't forget that you promised to take me riding this afternoon, though. Friend or no friend!" Gretchen turned her blue eyes directly on Caro. "Miss Bergman, I'm sure you're anxious to get some rest, so I'll shoo Sacha out of here. I know how tiring he can be!"

Alec made no move to get up, only gesturing to Gretchen to leave the room.

"You go on,
ma petite.
Tell your father and my mystery guest that I shall join them directly."

Gretchen barely managed to repress a pout before making her exit, and Caro watched with relief as her rustling silk skirts disappeared out the door. When she turned back to Alec she felt curiously teary. It was impossible to disguise the bite in her tone as she inquired:

"Sacha?"

He looked completely unperturbed, but his eyes were alert as he answered, "Yes, that's my family name. Maman has called me that since the day I was born. I imagine you'll be hearing it a great deal from now on."

"I suppose that only your closest friends are permitted to call you that?"

Alec's eyebrow lifted as he replied drily, "On the contrary
.
You are free to call me anything you like."

"Well, I choose to call you Alec!"

"Fine." There was a sharp note in his voice as he stood up and continued: "Jealousy does not become you. I know many women well, and you will doubtless meet some of them. You and I are no longer alone in the woods, my dear, and you had better begin adjusting to that fact."

From far away, Caro heard herself exclaim, "In that case, sir, may I suggest that you begin treating me more like your ward and less like your mistress!"

Every muscle in Alec's face was rigid and his eyes were angry blue flames. "You go too far. Clearly, I should leave."

Then, with a mocking bow, he was gone, closing the door sharply behind him. Caro thought she heard Gretchen's voice in the hallway, and hot tears pricked her eyes. Even the sunshine pouring into the room could not cheer her as she realized that from that moment on nothing would be the same between her and Alec. For a time, it had seemed that they were the only two people in the world, but those days were in the past.

Chapter 7

Caro was sitting up in bed, poking at a light lunch, when there was a knock at the door. A moment later, a plump, cheerful face appeared.

"My dear girl, it is I: Katrina Van Der Pat. May I visit with you for a short while?"

Mrs. Van Der Pat was a small, round, flaxen-haired Dutch woman with twinkling blue eyes as friendly as her daughter's had been cool. She settled herself on the edge of the bed and clasped Caro's hand.

"Dear Caroline, I want to welcome you to Van Der Pat Manor. We are so pleased to have you here. We have known Sacha since he was a boy, thus as his ward, you are one of our family, too!"

Caro found herself smiling back, some of her gloom dispelled by her hostess's infectious good cheer.

"But I should be thanking you. It has been so good of you to take me in. I can never express the depth of my gratitude, Mrs. Van Der Pat."

"You must call me Katrina. Sacha tells us you are all alone in the world, so we must step in to remedy that situation!"

"I'm so grateful. You are very kind!"

"Perhaps you are curious about my family?"

She opened her mouth to speak, but Mrs. Van Der Pat went right on.

"There are only four of us—myself, my husband Stephen, our son Peter, who is fourteen, and our daughter Gretchen, who is eighteen." She paused then, eyeing Caro with concern. "I understand you have already met Gretchen, and I wish you hadn't—at least not before I could speak to you. I do hope she wasn't rude! You must realize, my dear, that Gretchen has been infatuated with Sacha since she was a child. Secluded here, she has had little exposure to other men, and our families have been friends for years. After the war broke out, we became even more isolated, but Sacha was in and out of the Hudson River. He always visited us and Gretchen's attachment to him deepened with each passing year."