"No," Selena cried, aghast. "I'd never do that. Why would I? It's not so."
"But he's sleeping with Raven."
"What difference does that make? He's my friend, not my lover. I don't care who he sleeps with. But maybe you wish it was you," she dared to suggest. "Maybe that's what this is all about. You want to get rid of her so's you can have him all to yourself."
Lisbeth held back her anger. "Don't be ridiculous. I'm not interested in Steve Maddox. As soon as it's proper, Barley Tremayne will officially court me, but that's none of your concern. The only thing you need to worry about is how you're going to be able to keep you and your baby from starving after Raven runs you out of here."
"Why would she want to do that?" Selena felt like her frightened heart was going to jump right out of her chest. Lisbeth was scaring her to death.
"Eventually, that's what she'll do because she won't be able to bear the thought that you've had a baby by Steve, and she'll worry that sooner or later the two of you will start sleeping together again. Heaven knows, she's probably thinking you are right now anyway—that he crawls out of bed with her and into bed with you. She won't want you around, Selena. That's understandable. You're a woman. You should realize she'd be jealous."
"She doesn't have any cause to be."
"But she thinks she does. Now listen carefully." Lisbeth slipped an arm around her and noticed how Selena cringed at her touch. "Steve is the only reason Raven is still here. She's half Indian, you know, and not really happy living around civilization. She's not used to wealth and luxury and doesn't care about it anyway. She'd go back to her old way of life if she didn't fancy herself to be in love with Steve. If not for him, she'd leave, and then my brother would move back home. And I could stay. You could stay. Everyone would be happy." She gave her a squeeze. "Cooperate with me, Selena, and together we'll get rid of her. If you refuse, you can be sure that sooner or later she'll get rid of you. And it might be too late for you to say anything then. She might be so much in love with him nothing could change her mind."
Serena frowned to think about it, then asked timorously, "Do you really think if I tell her Steve is Amanda's father she will be so angry she will leave?"
"Yes, I do, because I saw how upset she got this morning when your father told her he drinks because he's angry over Steve not doing right by you. When she hears from your own mouth that it's so, she'll be so upset she won't be able to bear being around him again. Now is the time to do it, while she's homesick for her people. Not later, when she's dug in her heels and made herself feel at home."
Selena shook her head. "I'm not sure it will work."
"Of course it will. It will crush her completely to hear it from you; she'll have to believe it. She already thinks everyone laughs at her. She has no friends. She knows my brother and I can't stand her. Once she finds out about you and Steve, she'll be so humiliated she won't dare stay."
"What if she's so mad at Steve she decides to run him off instead? Have you thought about that? You might be needlessly hurting her—and Steve," Selena added, awash with pity to think of how that would destroy him. They were good friends. He had told her how much Halcyon meant to him and how he would like to stay on after Ned died, if possible. He had not let on he was involved with Raven, but he was a private person, so she had no way of knowing if he really cared about her or not. And that was not the issue as far as Selena was concerned. She just didn't like doing anything that might hurt him.
Lisbeth was quick to dash her hopes. "I did think about that, and it won't happen, because you are also going to tell her that when you found out about them sleeping together, you went all to pieces, and Steve told you there was no need for you to be upset, because she didn't mean anything to him. He was only using her to keep his job and it's you he loves. You'll explain that the two of you had planned to get married before she came along, but he's afraid she'll fire him if you do. But for the sake of your baby, you're begging her to stay away from him, so your baby can have a name and not have to live in shame anymore. Take the baby with you to see her. That will needle her even more.
"And afterward," Lisbeth said with a shrug to indicate it was all quite simple, "Raven will be so brokenhearted and mad she'll leave without saying a word to him. Her pride won't let her."
"But if she does tell him—"
"She won't."
Selena persisted, "But if she does?"
"That's the chance you have to take for the sake of your baby." Lisbeth's patience snapped.
Selena felt the blood drain from her face. "What are you saying?"
"That I will stop at nothing"—she lowered her voice to an ominous whisper—"to get rid of her. I'll pay somebody if I have to. So if you don't do as I ask, if you refuse to help me, I promise you that when I have succeeded I'll personally chase you out of here." But though she made herself sound fierce and determined, Lisbeth doubted she could ever go that far to drive Raven away. If she failed now, she would try to marry Barley as soon as possible and move away as Julius had done—but Selena did not know that.
Selena looked at her sleeping baby and gave a ragged sigh of surrender. "Then God forgive me, I have no choice,"
Lisbeth bounded to her feet in triumph. "You won't regret this. I promise. And when my brother and I are in control of Halcyon again, we'll rebuild all these cottages and you'll have the nicest one."
She took the lantern and hurried out, washed with triumph that her plan would work.
* * *
Selena had fallen across the bed and cried until there were no tears left. Then, drained and exhausted, she lay on her back and stared up at the ceiling, hating herself for what she had to do. And when she heard the stumbling, scraping sounds on the porch, which meant her father was drunk again and coming to rail at her, she did not bound to her feet as she usually did, to snatch up her baby and flee out the back door to find a neighbor to go get Steve. Instead, she continued to lie there.
"Well, well, you're all ready for him, ain't you?" Masson slurred as he swayed to and fro in the doorway. "Yep. All ready for Maddox to fix you up with another bastard to bring shame on our family."
Suddenly, Selena could stand no more. Sitting up, she looked at him with so much fury that he reeled back a few steps. "Maybe I did bring you shame, but you shame me by how you act, Pa. I hope you're satisfied, because now I've got no choice but to go to Miss Raven and lie and say Steve is Amanda's father, even though God knows he isn't."
Masson blinked his eyes furiously, trying to figure out what she was talking about.
Selena lost all control, the frustration spilling out of her as she confided in her misery what Lisbeth was making her do. "And I hope you're satisfied," she repeated, chest heaving with her tears and pain.
Masson hiccupped . He didn't see what she was so upset about. "You ain't got to do it, you know."
"Oh, yes, I do, because she says if I don't she'll pay somebody to get rid of her. And if she has to do that, then Miss Lisbeth'll be the one to run me off. Oh, this is awful. I don't know if I can do it." She covered her face with her hands and fell back on the bed in a fresh wave of tears.
Masson reached with one hand for the door frame to steady himself, gripping his jug of whiskey tight with the other. He had not heeded Raven's warning but had drunk too much again and come to Selena's cabin intending to raise all the hell he wanted, because no little half-breed bastard of Ned Ralston's was going to tell him what to do. If she ran him off, fine, he'd find work elsewhere, but he would show her he wasn't afraid of her. Not one bit.
But now, after what he had just heard, his lips twisted in a crooked smile to think he didn't have to worry about it anymore. He would be the one to help Lisbeth. Selena would never be able to muster the nerve, so it was up to him. Lisbeth wouldn't have to pay him either. He just wanted to make sure she was so beholden to him that his future at Halcyon would be secure for the rest of his life.
And he knew just how to do that. He would get rid of the little upstart hims
elf.
But first he needed to sober up and think of how he was going to do it.
Chapter 24
Lisbeth was hardly listening to anything Barley was saying as they sat on the terrace facing the river. It was unbearably hot, and she fanned herself furiously, wishing for a breeze. He was not visiting as part of his courtship, since the house was still mourning, but instead, as a neighbor, dropping by to inquire about her welfare.
Looking coolly comfortable despite the heat in his white suit and blue silk shirt, Barley droned on. "Father says we're going to have an unusually good cotton crop this year. We've had just the right amount of rain. I'll be going to New Orleans next week to see if the prices are even better there. Mother is going with me. By the way, she sent her respects to both you and Raven. She really liked Raven. She says she has so much mettle."
He had her attention then. "Mettle?" Lisbeth gave an unladylike snort, fanning herself even harder as she drenched him with a scathing glare. "That's a strange way to describe rude and uncivilized behavior."
"Oh, come on, Lisbeth. Don't be so hard on her. Maybe she does come from an entirely different background than we do, but you have to admit she tries. As for what happened with Julius, you know he was drunk. Everybody could see that, just like everybody knows he gets obnoxious when he is. He was probably disrespectful and she had no choice except to throw him in the rosebushes." He couldn't help laughing to remember how ridiculous Julius had looked.
Lisbeth threw down her fan. "That's enough, Barley. I'll not have you criticizing my brother or laughing at him. Nor will I stand for your taking up for Raven. She's done nothing but make my life miserable and embarrass this household since she showed up, purely to get her greedy hands on Ned's fortune. She ran Julius off; he couldn't abide her any longer. And now I'm starting to wonder how much more I can take."
Barley took a sip of the lemonade Mariah had brought him earlier and did not say anything, knowing there was no reasoning with Lisbeth when she was upset. He also did not want to encourage her impulsive remark about how much more she could endure, for he well knew her only alternative was marriage. Since he was the one officially showing interest in courting her when the time became proper after her mourning period ended, she naturally would look to him to propose. And he wasn't sure how he felt about that anymore, not since he had begun to see, more and more, a very unpleasant side to her nature.
"Maybe I'm fretting for nothing," Lisbeth said, more to herself than to him. "Maybe all my problems will soon be over."
Something in her tone alarmed him. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"That maybe she'll be leaving."
He laughed again. "Oh, I rather doubt that will happen. From what I hear, she's doing a marvelous job of running things. My father says the other planters are very impressed at how she's gained the respect of her overseers in such a short time. And from the numbers of cotton bales coming out of Halcyon, it would appear the slaves like her and want to produce for her. I've ridden in your fields. The spirit among the workers is the best I've seen since Ned took sick. No"—he shook his head firmly—"she has no reason to leave."
At that, Lisbeth leaped to her feet. "How can you say such things? How can you continue to defend her when you know how miserable she's made me? I think you'd better leave, Barley, right now. And I don't want you to come back until you're ready to be on my side."
"Now, Lisbeth, there's no need for you to behave like this, and there's no need for anybody to choose sides." He was up in a flash to try and take her in his arms but gave a startled cry as her hand cracked across his face.
"I asked you to go. Right now!"
He rubbed a hand across his smarting cheek. "All right, I'll go. But don't expect me to come back."
"Oh, you'll be back because you want to marry me, if only for my dowry. But you'd better change your attitude."
He had started to walk away but turned to look at her in pity. "I'm afraid, my dear, that, unpleasant as you are to be around lately, there's not a large enough dowry in the world to make me want to live with you for the rest of my life."
She ran to the edge of the terrace as he walked to the hitching post where he had left his horse. "You can't talk to me that way! And don't you dare ever set foot on Halcyon again, do you hear me, Barley Tremayne? You are no gentleman, and I'm going to see that your parents hear about this."
He did not look back.
Lisbeth was blinking back tears, determined not to cry, even though she felt as though she were dying inside. Oh, what was wrong lately? Why did the whole world seem to be crashing down around her? And how could she have done something so awful as to slap Barley?
Raven! she muttered under her breath. It was all Raven's fault. If she had never come to Halcyon, none of this would be happening, would it?
But a tiny voice inside whispered that maybe things could have been different if she had tried a little harder to accept things as they were, tried to accept Raven.
"No!" she said out loud, and suddenly feeling the need to get away from the house, she ran down the steps and across the lawn to the stables without even changing to her riding habit.
"Saddle up Belle," she ordered Joshua.
He could tell she was upset and hated saying anything but knew he had to warn her. "I don't think that's a good idea if you're going riding by yourself."
Crossing her arms over her chest and tapping her foot, Lisbeth challenged him. "And why is that, Joshua?"
"One of the stableboys saw some rowdies down by the river a little while ago. You know them tramps are up to no good. All they do is drift up and down the river looking for something to steal. Ordinarily, Mister Steve would go chase 'em off, but he left early this morning to go help John Hulse with a horse he's having trouble breaking. And there ain't no need in even asking one of the overseers to run 'em away, 'cause they ain't about to leave the fields with picking season at its peak. So you'd best not to go out riding by yourself."
"I'm not worried in the least. Now go and saddle Belle," she said firmly.
A few minutes later, he led the mare out and tried once more to dissuade her. "If you insist on going, why don't you ask Miss Raven to go with you? She knows how to use a gun. My, my"—he shook his head and grinned to think of the day he had seen her practicing—"she sure can shoot. You wouldn't have nothing to worry about with her along."
"Oh, I imagine she can handle a gun, Joshua. As well as a spear, a tomahawk, a hatchet, or any other primitive weapon the rest of those savages used where she came from. But I don't need her along, and I certainly don't want her along. I'm not afraid." She tucked her toe in his cupped hands and allowed him to boost her up into the sidesaddle. "Rowdies would never dare bother me. They know who I am."
"Yes, ma'am, but they might not care."
She tossed him a glance of disgust and rode out.
The day, despite the insufferable heat, was beautiful. There were no clouds in the brilliant blue sky; the river, a deep, dark green, rolled lazily toward the coast. Lisbeth was glad she had decided to go for a ride so she could be alone to think how wonderful it was going to be when she and Julius were at last rid of Raven.
And why, she wondered, annoyed, did everyone like her anyway? Everything she did was positively barbaric. Like the way she dove right in to deliver Belle's colt, not carrying about how messy it was. That was certainly unladylike—even if she had probably saved the colt's life, Lisbeth grudgingly conceded. Then there was the time Raven had not hesitated to save her from breaking her neck when Belle had run away with her. Lisbeth had cursed her instead of being grateful. But the fact was, no one else had gone to her rescue.
As for Julius, Lisbeth well knew how repugnant he could be when he was in his cups, and as much as she hated to admit it, he probably had made a complete ass of himself to provoke Raven enough to throw him into the rosebushes.
Lisbeth allowed Belle to set her own pace, not really caring which of the trails they took as she yielded to the strange emoti
ons sweeping over her.
She had to admit Raven had never really seemed greedy. If money was all she was after, she would have accepted the offer she and Julius had made and taken off. Instead, despite being ostracized and humiliated at every turn, she had stayed and worked hard. Apparently she had done a good job, too, because there had been no complaints from anyone.
Something else Lisbeth was forced to acknowledge was that Raven had not appeared out of the blue to claim her inheritance. If Ned hadn't wanted to ease his conscience before dying, no one would ever have known she existed.
And a prickling of her own conscience began as Lisbeth thought how, if Steve were the only reason Raven wanted to stay, she had to care for him deeply.
"What is wrong with me?" Lisbeth asked herself, appalled. She reined Belle to a stop, confused over why she was suddenly having second thoughts. It was only right that Raven go back to her primitive way of life. She knew she didn't belong here.
But might she not feel she did belong if she had been welcomed, if she had not been made to believe people laughed at her?
But she was a whore, Lisbeth reminded herself angrily, then quickly admitted that no, that was not so. Just because she and Steve were lovers did not make her a whore. Lisbeth didn't consider herself to be one for offering herself to him. She did not, in fact, consider it altogether immoral. After all, she was a woman with natural instincts and desires too, and what woman wouldn't want to sleep with Steve Maddox?
Then, too, the scene with Barley bothered her deeply. She pretended on the surface not to care for him, but actually she did. A lot. He had begun to call upon her often during the time Steve was gone, and of all her potential suitors, he was the only one she could imagine marrying. There had been stolen kisses, too, and Barley had made her experience emotions that made her think she might not want to take a lover after she was married after all.
And now she had done something so stupid as to slap him, and he would probably never call on her again.
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