"Nothing." Walking on her knees, she moved closer to him. She picked up his right hand and, sliding it along her back, wrapped his arm around her waist. Jack, who was wide-awake now, pulled her closer. He watched her in wonder as she explored his face with gentle, questing fingers, across his lips, down his nose, smoothing out the tiny laugh lines around his eyes. Again and again, her fingers traveled his face as if she was trying to memorize it. She leaned forward and whispered against his mouth. "Stay with me tonight.” Then she kissed him.
With a groan Jack pulled her to him even tighter and kissed her with desperate hunger. He buried his hands into her hair. His kissed her eyes, he kissed her lips, and he kissed her throat. Shuddering with need, he took a ragged breath. "Do you know what you're asking? If we do this, there's no going back."
"I don't want to go back,”she whispered, running her tongue along his chin. He sucked in his breath. "I want to go forward. Don't you?"
He wanted to shout with joy. Instead he tumbled her back onto the bed. Smiling down at her, his eyes shone with all the love he had been afraid to reveal for so long. He kissed her with such heart-shattering tenderness she wanted to weep from it. "Finally,”he whispered.
Chapter 8
The gray outside of Dana's window was just beginning to lighten when she woke. Momentarily startled by the feel of someone's foot sliding along her calf, she smiled lazily in remembrance. Jack... Jack was with her this morning.
His scent, warm and manly, permeated the room and Dana inhaled deeply. While this wasn't the first time she had awoken with a man in her bed, this was the first time it had felt right. Dana had never understood why she always felt awkward and uncomfortable the morning after spending the night with a man. She was beginning to realize that it was because she had been waking up with the wrong man.
Dana felt an arm snake around her waist, pulling her across the bed until her back pressed against a solid, muscular chest. Her whole body tingled.
"Hey,”he said, burying his face into her hair.
"Hey, yourself."
Jack stretched languidly beside her. "God, I feel good."
Dana linked her hand in his and pulled it up to her face, cupping her cheek with his strong fingers. She kissed his palm. "Me, too."
"Why haven't we done this before now?"
"Beats me."
Trailing kisses down her spine, Jack paused. "Do you hear that?"
"Mmmhmm."
"What is that?"
"It sounds like-"
"Good morning, Good morning!" Tap, tap, tap.
If anyone had imagined that the fear and excitement of earlier would have kept Grace in bed past 6 a.m. to catch up on her beauty sleep, they would have been wrong. This time, however, only Rose bothered to emerge from her room.
"Grace, shut the hell up!" Rose shouted.
"Good morning to you and you and you and you!" Blowing kisses to an imaginary audience, Grace tapped her way down the stairs and out of sight.
*****
It was some time later before Dana and Jack made an appearance at breakfast, Jack playfully chasing her into the room. Seeing the broad smiles on their faces, Rose exchanged a telling glance with Henry. "Well,”she said, taking a sip of her coffee, "like Mama used to say, looks like somebody's been getting their pain eased."
If there had been a hole in front of her, Dana would have gladly dived in headfirst and dragged Jack in behind her. But it took more than a little teasing to dim her grin.
Mark, however, was immediately concerned. "Were you hurt, Miss Dana?"
Henry coughed and cleared his throat. "I'll explain it to you later, son."
"Oh. Must be about sex," Mark said. Henry coughed and sputtered some more. Mark gave him an irritated look. "Well, I'm not ten, you know."
Her cheeks flaming, Dana buried her face into Jack's shirt. "Please, Lord, just take me now."
"I just love French toast,”announced Grace, waving the bite speared on the end of her fork, gallantly attempting to change the subject.
Oscar was only too happy to oblige her. "It's Lost Bread."
"Excuse me?"
"Mrs. Babineaux calls it Lost Bread or pain perdu."
Grace eyed her plate suspiciously. "It looks like French toast to me."
In addition to the warm platters of Lost Bread, which were indeed crisp-crusted deep-fried pieces of bread similar to French toast sprinkled with powdered sugar and nutmeg, breakfast, once again lavishly laid out.
Noah, who had been piling his plate high with banana fritters when his sister and his friend had walked into the room, continued to lurk next to the sideboard, adding far too much apple butter to his plate while he waited for them to approach. He knew they looked happy, but what did that really mean? Looking everywhere but at them, he found himself unaccustomedly at a loss for words. "Um, you guys all right?"
Dana looked at Jack, who simply nodded. Grabbing a couple of beignets and a cup of coffee, he gestured towards the kitchen. "Come on, pal, let's eat out back this morning." Leading Noah out of the dining room, Jack looked at her and smiled reassuringly. This wasn't the first man-to-man talk Noah would have with Jack and probably not the last. Jack was a whole lot better at it than Dana had ever been.
Taking her plate and settling at the table, Dana watched Rose brush crumbs off of Henry's t-shirt with a distinctly territorial gesture. She hid a smile. Apparently, it wasn't only her and Jack that had been infected by the romance of this place.
"I was telling Henry all about our little run in with the world of voodoo last night."
Looking vastly disappointed at having missed it, Mark added, "Miss Grace said she was scared to death. How come you weren't scared, Miss Dana?"
"I'm just not scared of chickens, I guess,”she said with a laugh.
"Aren't you scared of nothin'?"
"Anything,”Henry corrected automatically, not even looking up from his plate.
"Oh, sure. If it had been a spider, say, I would have been tearing down the walls." She shuddered. "I can't imagine a more horrible feeling than a spider's web on my skin. If I accidentally run into a cobweb, I totally freak out."
"Grandpa once had a kid in his class that used to throw spiders on all the girls. Is that what happened to you?"
Dana was surprised. Ignoring Mark's question, she asked one of her own. "You're a schoolteacher?"
"Retired. Fifth grade. Wasn't very good at it I'm afraid. I'd try to teach them, but I really spent more time fussing at them, telling them to straighten up and fly right. Once I had dreams of shaping young minds, you know? But spit in one hand and wish in the other and see which one gets full the quickest."
"You taught me, grandpa,”said Mark loyally.
Henry's eyes twinkled with warmth. "That I did, boy, that I did. Which reminds me," he said, turning to Oscar, "you said something about a school teacher bandit the other night. I've been meaning to ask you more about it."
"Yes, Roan Davis was his name. He lived here in Raven Keep Castle as the schoolmaster for the Randolph children."
"Randolph. You mentioned that name before."
"I remember,”said Grace.
Oscar seemed surprised and delighted that she remembered. "That's right. By all accounts, he was very well thought of by Mr. Randolph and very popular with the children. But, the story goes that at night he was secretly preying on coaches. There were also claims that he robbed banks and trains, but I believe those were simply embellishments, since he was only supposed to be doing his thieving at night. I would imagine it would be quite difficult to rob a train in the dark."
"I believe that Josie said that my room was the old schoolmaster's bedroom," Dana said.
Oscar nodded at Dana. "That's right, Roan stayed in that room as well as several other teachers throughout the years. Many wealthy children were home-schooled in those days. Originally, there was a door that connected it to the nursery. But that was boarded up when I remodeled. Jack and Noah are sleeping in what had originally been the schoolroom
and nursery."
"At least Noah is,”Rose cracked.
"So what happened to Davis?" asked Dana, ignoring the remark.
"Eventually he was caught and sent to prison amidst much scandal, as you can imagine. A legend sprang up that he had hidden his treasure somewhere in this castle, taking the secret of its location with him to the grave. One story has it that a fellow inmate claimed that Davis told him just before he died that the secret to the location was hidden in a letter. What became of the letter, or if it ever really existed, no one knows. But off and on people have been looking for the treasure ever since."
"But I remember you saying that you didn't believe the story,”observed Rose.
"Oh, there is historical evidence of Davis and the fact that he went to prison for robbery. But I have always had difficulty believing in stories of hidden booty."
"Like pirate treasure?" asked Mark.
"Exactly. The mere idea that bandits and thieves would hide their money rather than spend it always seemed a bit ludicrous to me."
"Now there's a point I've never considered,”mused Rose. "Oh well, I know this is our last day here and all, but I'm kind of bored with looking for treasure. And Grace has always been more interested in the ghosts than a pot-load of cash that may or may not exist. I'll tell you all the truth; I've had more fun just hanging out with you folks. It's kind of been like a cruise that never left land."
Yawning mightily, Josie wandered in. "I didn't miss breakfast did I?"
Oscar smiled indulgently. "Just about, sleepy head. Why so late, didn't you sleep well?"
"Not really, I had these weird dreams about maniacal laughter."
Dana turned red and Rose hooted with laughter of her own. Josie looked around. With another yawn she asked, "Where's Noah and Jack?"
With an evilly gleeful look at Dana, she replied, "They're out back discussing the consequences of maniacal laughter."
*****
Noah wasn't laughing when he asked, "So are the two of you getting married?"
Jack gaped at him. "Whoa, aren't you jumping the gun a little bit?"
"Why not, you're with each other almost all the time anyway. You just don't live together. You love each other, don't you?"
With a shock, Jack realized that he hadn’t actually told Dana that he loved her. But then again, she hadn't told him either. "Your sister and I have always loved each other."
"Don't treat me like a kid. You know what I mean." With sudden wariness, Noah studied him. "Or was last night just about sex?"
"It wasn't just sex,” Jack replied with some heat. Not for him. And dammit, he thought, not for her either. Hadn't she said she wanted to move forward? But maybe she meant something different by that than he had. Did she just want to be friends who slept together sometimes? No, he told himself fiercely, the way she felt in his arms, the way she responded to his touch, it couldn't have been just sex for her. Could it?
"Jack, now you're worrying me."
"Why?"
"Because you look worried."
Jack sighed. "The truth is, we really haven't talked about it."
"About marriage?"
"About any of it."
Noah stared at him, quietly astonished. "Don't you think you should?"
"Probably,”he said with a rueful chuckle.
"Jack, aren't you in love with my sister?"
At least this was one question he could give Noah a definitive answer to. "Yes, I have been for quite some time."
"And she's in love with you?"
Of this Jack was less sure. He shrugged. "I don't know, I think so."
"But you don't know for certain."
"Not until she tells me, no."
Noah was silent for several minutes. It had seemed so simple at first. Try to get Jack and Dana to see that they belonged together. He knew it and they knew it, too, whether they acknowledged it consciously or not. At least now Jack had. Surely after last night Dana did as well. So why hadn't she said anything? Why hadn't Jack? "This is a lot more complicated than I expected it to be."
"You and me both, brother. You and me both." Jack got up from the steps, dusting off his rump. "I'm going back in for some more coffee. You coming?"
*****
"Dana," Noah exclaimed as he came back in the dining room. "You wouldn't believe the kitchen. It's as clean as a whistle and there's no sign of Mrs. Babineaux. It was spooky."
"I've been saying all along that she was one of Oscar's ghosts,”Dana answered with a grin. "While you're up, toss me another beignet." Her smile dimmed a bit when she caught sight of the brooding expression on Jack's face. Whatever had been said between them on the back steps appeared to have eased Noah's mind. It seemed to have had the opposite affect on Jack, however.
"I was surprised to see that Austin came down for breakfast," Josie said, as Noah seated himself next to her. "Neither of them bothered yesterday." She looked with some surprise at all of the blank stares. "I saw him heading down the hall from this direction. Wasn't he coming from here?"
"Maybe he started to and heard we were all still in here. Those two sure aren't inclined to socialize," Henry said and shook his head. "I don't think all of their Easter eggs got colored."
It was Josie's turn for a blank stare. Noah leaned over and whispered in her ear. "Oh, I get it now," Josie said.
Rose watched as Dana studied the sugar bowl with a thoughtful air. "I've noticed you doing that before. Look at things like you know what you are looking at. Is there something special about that bowl?"
"I believe it's a Lamente’sheen sugar bowl."
"Meaning what?"
"Meaning that it's probably worth about six-hundred dollars."
Rose stared at her, momentarily speechless. "You lie!" Dana simply shrugged. "Come on up to my room. There's something I want you to take a look at."
Rose led the way upstairs and turned down the hall to her room with Dana trailing behind her. Flicking on the light, she said, "It's there on the wall."
But it was the floor, not the wall that caught Dana's attention. "Oh my God,”she breathed reverently as she dropped to her knees by the bed. She stroked the faded yet still lovely rug cushioning the floor under the bed. "It's a Dubisson."
"Are you kidding me? I've heard of those. I've never seen one though. Are you sure?"
"I think so. My mum was the expert, she was nuts for antiques, but I did manage to pick up a few things from her." Dana looked at Rose wide-eyed. "Rose, Oscar can't know this is up here."
"What makes you say that?"
"I'm not sure exactly how old this rug is, but I've seen Dubissons’of this era sell online for twenty-five to even seventy thousand dollars. If it was you, would you want to take a chance on one of your guests sneaking a smoke and burning a hole in seventy grand?"
"Hell, no! Okay, what about the mirror on the wall?" Rose pointed to the reason she had brought Dana to her room to begin with.
Dana looked up from her perusal of the rug. She smiled. "That's a Granera painted mirror. Pretty old, too. That alone is probably worth fifteen-hundred." She shook her head in amazement. "Oscar has mentioned a couple of times about money being tight. I keep meaning to tell him about the furnishings, but I've never found the right time."
"Well, what are we sitting on our butts for? There's no time like the present. Don't go without me. I have to make a pit stop,”Rose said as she headed towards the bathroom.
Dana made her way down the hall only to find Austin leaning lazily against the wall, blocking her way. He smiled at her arrogantly. "If you get tired of playing with little boys, let me know." Since Jack was neither little or, at thirty, hardly a boy, Dana didn't even deign to answer. She tried to brush past him. Austin thrust his arm out, barring her attempt. His eyes were hard but he smiled silkily. "I think you could do better."
An artic chill blew up in Dana's eyes. Coldly, she replied, "I doubt there is anyone better."
Austin leaned into her, further violating her space. "Baby, you don't know w
hat you're missing."
Catching Austin off balance, Dana quickly shoved, pushing her way past him. He stumbled heavily against the wall. "Yes, and I intend to keep it that way."
Growling with irritation, Austin heard chuckling behind him. He swung around angrily. "Mind your own business, you old battle-axe."
"And why don't you go piss up a rope?" Rose replied sweetly. Joining Dana at the top of the stairs, who was trying and failing not to snicker, she muttered, "When it comes to women, that boy don't know his ass from a hole in the ground."
The dining room was empty when they returned save for Josie, who was still trying to wake up with a cup of coffee. "They're all outside" Josie replied to their inquiries. "Jack mentioned that it looked like it might rain and everyone went outside to look." Josie gave an elaborate 'why bother?' shrug. Dana knew what she meant. If it rained, it rained. Why bother to look?
They found Oscar and Henry outside deep into a conversation about, of all things, fishing. "Never been fly-fishing myself,”said Henry. "Looks like a lot of work to me. Put me in a boat with a worm and a hook, and I'm a happy camper."
"Fly-fishing isn't just about catching fish. It's about poetry, artistry and style. It's about skill and concentration melding into relaxation."
Rose rolled her eyes. Oh brother, her eyes said.
"Oscar,”Dana began, but broke off when they all heard a keening sound from around the castle.
"Aaahh!"
A terrified chicken burst into view from around the corner, beating its wings frantically and squawking as if the devil itself was after it. Rounding the corner behind it raced Grace, flapping her arms and screeching at the top of her lungs.
She skidded to a halt at the sight of four sets of mouths hanging open in dumbfounded surprise. "I thought,”Grace panted, "I thought it was another poltergeist."
"No, Grace, that was just our rooster," Oscar said.
"That was your rooster,”said Rose, who was about to fall down laughing. She was clutching Henry's shoulder with one hand and her side with the other. "He's probably halfway to Japan by now. I would be, too, if I saw a crazy woman chasing me, flapping her arms and wagging her tongue."
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