Desperate (Harris Trilogy Book One) (25 page)

“Hello, Jacob.
I hope you are doing well.”

“Yes, Abigail.
I’m fine.”

Abigail glared at her. “Miss Monroe
, I just wanted you to know I still haven’t found my missing slave. Are you sure you don’t have some information that might help me? He is such a strong buck, and I need him back in the fields where he belongs.” She shook back her curling mane of coal black hair.

A
pprehensive because of Abigail’s questions, she gripped her hands into fists under the table. She wished she could wrap them around her neck and choke the life out of her. If Jacob discovered she had been harboring Jim, he would be mad as hell. “As I told you the last time you asked me about your slave, I have no idea where he is.”

“You do know it is against the law to harbor
an escaped slave don’t you, Miss Monroe? If I find out you have helped Jim escape to the North, I will make sure you are arrested. You had…”

Jacob’s me
nacing tone cut Abigail short. “Abigail, I suggest you take your accusations some where else. I will not stand here and listen to you threaten my fiancé with these unfounded accusations.”

Eyes sparkling, Abigail said,
“I knew you two were courting, but I had no inkling you were engaged.” It was obvious Abigail was ecstatic with the news. She was absolutely beaming. With her out of the way, nothing would stand in her way to marry David. As quick as lightning she turned and walked away with a huge smile plastered on her face.

“She can be a littl
e strange can’t she?” Kate couldn’t believe how quickly Abigail’s mood changed from fury to delight. Her behavior was almost comical. That is until she looked at Jacob and all humor evaporated.

Angry green eyes glared at her. A sexy eyebrow lifted. “D
o you have something to tell me?” 

By his tone he was suspicious.
“What would you like to know, Jacob?”

“Don’t be coy with me.
I could tell by your expression you were not telling the truth. You know something about Abigail’s slave. Will you please tell me what it might be?” 

“I would rather not involve you in this, Jacob.”
She leaned over and squeezed his hand. “Trust me, everything is under control.”

Strong fingers twined with h
ers and she could feel his power and strength. “We are to be married. I’ll have no secrets between us. Tell me what you know about Jim.”

Without a doubt he
would not relent until she told him. Besides he was right, they were to be married. Bending close, she softly whispered, “Jim is recuperating at grandfather’s townhouse from the lashing he received because of Abigail’s orders. His wounds were life threatening. His sister, Lila, my grandfather’s maid, has been hiding him in her room for several days, but he is not well enough to travel. I have been secretly assisting Lila in nursing him back to health. We just don’t know what we will do with him when he has recovered. I will not send him back to Abigail. So if that is what you were thinking forget it.”

The intense look in his eyes had her squirming in her chair.
His voice firm, he ordered, “I want to see Jim now.”

She
stood and extended her hand pulling him close as they left the restaurant. Maybe Jacob would be able to help with the problem of getting Jim to a safe place where Abigail would never find him. He would know how to handle delicate situations like she had found herself. 

Neither noticed the lone fi
gure sitting at a nearby table. They walked past the stranger never realizing they were being watched. He took note of the tall young woman who held so much hostility for Miss Monroe. He heard most of the confrontation between the two women. Maybe he could use that hostility to help him with his plan to get Kate Monroe alone.

****

When Kate entered her room with Jacob, Lila bolted to her feet. Her arms dropped to her sides as she balled them into fists. It took some effort but she held her tongue.  

Jacob walked to the bed, dropped to his knees, and touched
his fingers to Jim’s back. Sound asleep, he never knew they were in the room. Even though the wounds inflicted on his back were healing, they had been severe. It was pure luck he survived.

It wasn’
t the first time Jacob had seen this kind of punishment doled out to slaves. Lashing was a common deterrent to keep slaves from attempting escape or rebelling against their owners. Thankfully, he seemed to be out of danger from infection. Terrible scars would mar his back for the rest of his life. 

However, he wasn’
t too thrilled that Kate never bothered to ask for his help. His voice stern, he asked, “How long has he been here?”

“For five days.” Guilt showed on her face.
“I didn’t want to involve you because I didn’t want to cause you any trouble with the law.”

Hand to his shoulder,
Jacob leaned over and whispered, “Jim, I’m Dr. Jacob Greene. How much pain are you in?”

Jim
’s eyes blinked as he tried to fight off the sedative Lila had given him. His whole body began to tremble in fear. “Not near as much pain as in da beginning. Miss Kate and Lila have taken good care of me.”

“Yes, they have, Jim.
You have healed remarkably well for such deep gashes. You could have gotten infection and died if not for their help. I’d say you owe them your life.”

“Don
be mad at Miss Kate and Lila.” The brief conversation had worn him out. His labored breathing filled the room. Out of pity, Jacob asked him no more questions.

Lila pleaded, “Please, Dr. Greene, don be angry
with Miss Kate. She wanted to tell ya but I begged her not to. I couldn’t take the chance of you turning my brother in. He is a good man and never hurt anyone. Miss Weatherly is a mean Mistress. She beats her slaves for the least little ting. He won’t survive another flogging. He can’t go back.”

The moment Jacob turned his attention toward Lila she lowered her head in submission. Little did she know she had nothing to fear from him. Slavery had always seemed barbaric to him.
    

“I’m not here to return him to Abig
ail, but we can’t let him stay here. Miss Weatherly is suspicious and I’m afraid she will find out you are harboring your brother.” An awkward silence filled the room as a plan formed in Jacob’s mind. “I will wait until tomorrow night and move him to my townhouse until he is well enough to travel. I promise I will help him escape to the north when he is strong enough.”

Immediately, Lila calmed.
It was apparent she was not accustomed to white people showing her kindness. Most would have returned Jim because Abigail did own him. Few people in the south sympathized with slaves. 

“Leave the servants’ entrance unlocked for me and I will handle everything tomorrow night.” 

A tear slipped over her coffee colored cheek. “Tank you so much, Dr. Greene. I’ll always be beholding to ya. Miss Kate said you would help us, I should have listened.”

He took Kate by the arm and propelled her out the door. He
did not turn her loose until they were sitting on the sofa in the parlor. She did not protest knowing she deserved his anger.  He leaned back so he could look directly into Kate’s beautiful green eyes and snapped, “We are going to be married. I never want you to keep a secret from me again. Do I make myself clear?”

She wrapped her arms around his
neck, and teasingly bit him on his bottom lip. “I will be a dutiful, sweet wife. I promise.”

He
scoffed, “I have a feeling you will bring nothing but trouble to my life.” She tried to kiss him, but he pushed her at arm’s length. Palm over her mouth, he said, “Behave yourself. We still need to talk to your grandfather, so save it for later.”

Jacob, Kate, and her grandfather arranged everyt
hing for the upcoming wedding. They decided to have a simple, quiet, ceremony. Since a war was going on it would be in bad taste to have a huge wedding anyway. No one would suspect anything out of the ordinary.

Chapter Fifteen

Dr. Jerry Taylor removed the bandage from the injured soldier’s arm. Fresh blood dripped to the floor. “Miss Monroe, will you please clean the wound so I can see what we’re up against?”

“
Yes sir.” She rung out the cloth in the pan by the bed, and began to dab at the place where the young man had been hit by shrapnel. He clenched his teeth together and bared the pain in silence. “I’m sorry.”

Instead of speaking
, he nodded his head in understanding. Jerry moved to her side and pulled the piece of metal from the young man’s arm with a steady hand. He dropped it in the pan of water and stitched the wound up with small perfect stitches. He placed his hand on the soldier’s shoulder and replied, “A few days stay in the hospital to make sure you won’t get infection, and you should be as good as new. Now, I will hand you over to the prettiest nurse we have to clean and bandage your arm.”

Kate smiled.
“I bet you say that to all the nurses.”

“Only the pretty ones.” He rolled his shoulders from fatigue.
It had been his fifth surgery and it was still early morning.

Jerry wasn’t as tall as Jacob, but he still towered over her. Dark hair sprinkled with gray covered his head. One of Jacob’s best friends, she had come to admire him.
Happily married and a father of three, he always had a smile on his face.

Her
palms broke out into a cold sweat when she turned around to find David staring at her. Could he tell? Did he know she was pregnant? It had taken an enormous act of will to keep from wrapping her hands around her stomach. She couldn’t put two rational thoughts together. 

David
let his eyes skim over her face. He reached to take her hand, but she pulled back. She stuttered almost too nervous to speak. “They’re- too- bloody.” 

Blue eyes moved to her hands where he
saw the blood from the injured soldier she had been giving medical attention. His eyes swept back to hers. “I need to talk to you.”

S
he should tell him no, but could not seem to find the words. There was a pause that lengthened into silence as she just stood there staring at him. Her mouth was dry, her skin hot.

David tore his eyes away long enough to ask
Dr. Taylor, “May we please use your office so we can have some privacy?” Dr. Taylor nodded his consent.

S
ince he did not know which office belonged to Dr. Taylor, he waited for her to lead the way. Seconds ticked by before she was able to move toward the hall where the doctors’ offices were located. 

He
shut the door behind them causing her to jump. Why didn’t she refuse to talk to him? Jacob would be upset when he discovered she had been alone with David. The man had forgiven her transgressions, and here she stood with her ex-lover. 

She crossed to
the basin in Dr. Taylor’s office and washed the blood from her hands. A clock ticked relentlessly behind her. The sound only added to her frayed nerves. Even though she wasn’t looking in his direction, she could feel his eyes watching her. When she turned around and saw his look of desire, she snapped, “Don’t look at me that way!”

“I’m sorry, Kate. I have missed you so much.”
David crossed the room and stopped mere inches from her. “You look tired.” 

A
fraid of her reaction if he were to touch her, she took several steps back. “Why are you here?” Her stomach jittered.

Sadness flickered in his eyes.
“Mom telegraphed me and informed me that you are getting married.”

Her voice quavering, she
said, “Yes, Jacob proposed and I said yes.”

Grip
ping his hat in his hands, he murmured, “I think you are being hasty. You hardly know Jacob.”

“I know him well enough.  He is a wonderful man.”

He whispered as he closed the distance between them, “I can’t get you out of my mind, Kate. I’ll never forget our last night together. We are meant to be together.”

Her heart began to race.
“Have you changed your mind about marrying Abigail?” 

As if he were too asham
ed to look her in the eye, he looked at his feet. “I told you why I have to marry Abigail. Nothing has changed except the fact I need you in my life more than ever. I can not imagine living without you. Please don’t marry Jacob. I’m begging you to be my mistress.”

Ang
ry color rose to Kate’s cheeks. “As I told you in my last letter, leave me alone. Do not write me; don’t try to contact me. I am marrying Jacob. If you will not break your engagement to Abigail and marry me, I never want to see your shadow darken my door ever again.”

Not giving up, h
e dropped his hat on the desk and reached for her. “We are meant to be together.”

Both
hands in the air, she pleaded, “Please don’t, David. Don’t ruin what I have with Jacob. He has been wonderful to me. He knows we made love and wants to marry me anyway. He is offering me a stable home. All you are offering me is a life of sin.” If he tried to kiss her, she would succumb to the passion she still felt for him.

“I love you. I can’t sleep. I can’t think.”

“If you love me, break your engagement to Abigail and marry me. Love me. Spend the rest of your life with me.”

“I can’t.”

The words sounded so hollow and dead. “I will not be your whore. Maybe that is all I am to you anyway. Good enough to sleep with but not good enough to marry. Perhaps I’ve just been a fun time before you marry the woman you really love. Our love has been nothing but deceit.”

“No, our love is pure, something special.”

****

Jacob was m
aking his rounds when Jerry approached him. “I know it is none of my business, but Captain David Harris is in my office with Kate.” Dr. Jerry Taylor and Jacob had been friends for years. By Jerry’s expression his friend was curious as to why his fiancé was alone with David. 

Whi
te hot fury erupted from Jacob. He had the most primitive urge to protect what belonged to him. He turned on his heel and hurried to Jerry’s office. 

Both Ka
te and David turned when he stormed through the door in a huff. “Why are you alone with my fiancé?” Mouth curled into a snarl, the rage boiled over. Nothing would give him more pleasure than to take his anger out on David’s hide. 

Back stiff,
muscles bunched, David moved closer to Kate as if to protect her. “I came to talk to Kate.” Before he could say more Jacob was looming over him. His fist landed against David’s right eye. He stumbled back and would have fallen if not for the wall against his back.

Jaco
b raised his fist to punch him again but Kate intervened. She stepped between them placing her hand on his chest. “He came to wish me luck. He is marrying Abigail and I am marrying you.”

With a sigh
of relief, he dropped his balled fists at his side. He was so afraid Kate had told David she was carrying his child. He wanted to yell for joy because she had not.     

Abruptly, David turned intending to leave, but chang
ed his mind at the last minute. He whipped around to face Kate, took her hand, and kissed it tenderly as Jacob stood by watching. “I hope you will be happy, Kate.” His fingers touched her cheek. “If anyone deserves happiness, it is you.”

When she opened her mouth, Jacob thought she was going to tell him
she was carrying his child, but nothing came out. David disappeared through the door. Jacob touched her on the shoulder. She fell into his arms as the tears streamed down her face. “I did not tell him, Jacob.  He does not know.”

Minutes passed as she clung to him soaking the front of his shirt. I
f she would have told David she was carrying his child, he would have broken his engagement to Abigail and married Kate instead. He would have lost her forever. Still, he felt he needed to ask. 

He pushed her at arm’s length and p
eered into her sorrowful eyes. “This is your last chance, Kate. If you are going to tell him you are carrying his child, you need to do so now. We will be married in a few days and then it will be too late. Once we are married he will never know. You will belong to me forever.”

He held his breath as he watched the play of emotions on her face.
He feared she would go after David. Tears streaming over her cheeks, she softly whispered, “I want to marry you, Jacob.”

****

Standing on the other side of the door, David wanted to go back inside and tell Kate he would marry her. How could he let the woman of his dreams marry another? He was such a fool.  If only he had not promised Abigail’s father he would marry her on his death bed. He doubted Abigail possessed any of the compassion he had seen in Kate as she nursed the wounded soldier. A life without her left a sour taste in his mouth.

Just as his parents had said, Abigail was mean, petty, and selfish. But then he didn’t need them to describe her personality. No one knew better than him how life would be with her. In her letters all she ever spoke of was the huge wedding they would have after the war.
Appearances meant more to her than he did. He rubbed at the headache brewing behind his eyes. He was as miserable as he’d been in his life.

On the other side of the door was the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. Hand on the doorknob, he almost opened it. Suddenly, he turned and walked away.
             

****

Abigail sashayed into her parlor to find a complete stranger sitting on her sofa. He quickly rose to take her hand and gave her a firm handshake. The corner of his mouth tilted into a smile as his eyes raked over her. But then she was accustomed to having that effect on men. She knew she was beautiful. 

“I’m Jeb Slade; I’m honored to meet you, Miss Weatherly.”
He bowed at the waist.

She
wondered why a man of his low standing wanted an audience with her. He definitely was not of high breeding. When she was informed she had a visitor, she almost refused to see him, but her curiosity was aroused. His note stated it was imperative he speak with her. 

She gestured to the sofa he just vacated. “Please, sit down.”
Abigail sat in the chair across from him so she would not be close to him. “What brings you to my home, Mr. Slade?” 

A tall,
stout somewhat handsome man, he made her feel uncomfortable. Something about his eyes seemed evil.   

“I’m hoping you ca
n help me with a small problem. You’ve heard the term I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine.” He took out a cigar. “Do you mind if I smoke?”

“Yes, I do mind.” He tipped his head in understanding and placed the cigar back in his pocket.

Impatient, Abigail asked, “What could we have in common? I’ve never seen you before today. I know nothing about you.” Looking down her nose at him, she whined, “It is apparent we don’t travel in the same social circles.”

His back became straight as an arrow
. So she had insulted him. Of course she could care less about his feelings.

“Miss Kate Monroe is what we have in common.
” He crossed his legs and leaned forward. “I have been hired to find her and return her to Durham, North Carolina by her family. You see, they are very worried about her because she ran away and it has taken me five months to find her. I have been paid handsomely to return her home without harm.”

Why would Kate run away from home? For some reason she did not believe him. He was hiding something.
“What does that have to do with me, Mr. Slade?”

“I have been following her for several da
ys and can never get her alone. Her grandfather makes sure she is escorted at all times, or her fiancé is always close by. Both her escort and fiancé are huge, formidable men, and I don’t intend being injured. I thought you might assist me by getting Miss Monroe alone so I may convince her to return home with me.”

B
ored with the conversation, Abigail stood intending to escort Mr. Slade to the door. “I don’t think Miss Monroe will go with you willingly. Her fiancé is a gorgeous, prominent, doctor. She seems content with her life here. Surely her family wishes the best for her.”

“It seems Miss Monroe is in the habit of getting engaged. She is promised to another man in Durham. Her family will not be embarrassed by her untimely disappearance.”

Abigail didn’t believe a word out of his mouth. She had heard bits and pieces of gossip that Roy Talbert was Kate’s only living relative. “It is of no concern of mine.”

“Maybe I didn’t understand your confrontation with he
r last night at the restaurant. I am sure I felt a little animosity when you confronted Miss Monroe. I thought maybe you would assist me because it would also benefit you.”

Int
rigued, Abigail sat back down. “How can I be sure she won’t run away again and return?”

“
I give my word, Miss Weatherly. Once her family in Durham gets her back, she’ll not run away again.”

It was
exactly the right thing to say. Abigail thought how wonderful it would be to never worry about Kate interfering with her life. She feared she would steal David away from her. It was obvious they had feelings for each other. He couldn’t keep his eyes off her at the ball.