The other two hardly noticed his passage from the room, Dominic striding over to where Melissa was sitting. Grasping her hands tightly in his, he pulled her upright and, his eyes pleading for understanding, said urgently, "Melissa, I must go with him. But I swear to you that this will be the last time that I leave you like this."
Bitter and mistrustful, her dreams blackened and fading, she stared stonily at him. "It seems to me that we have played out this scene before. There is always someplace that you must go, some incident, such as your shocking behavior with Lady Bowden, that I must overlook." Her eyes full of pain and anger, she spat, "It has gone against my nature, and I have tried very hard to be a biddable wife, but I am afraid that you have tried my patience for the last time. Go tonight, if you wish, but do not expect me here when you decide to come home."
Dominic's face went white and he said tightly, "Don't be a little fool! I want to be here with you more than anything else in the world, but there is a pressing circumstance that requires my immediate attention—I don't like it any more than you do."
Her eyes burning with golden fire, Melissa said jealously, "Lady Bowden, I presume? She has suffered another crisis of some sort that requires your instant presence?"
Enchanted by this satisfying display of jealousy, Dominic grinned, his teeth flashing whitely against his dark face. "No, my green-eyed darling, it is not Lady Bowden! There is nothing that she could do or say that would ever take me from your side."
Melissa regarded him suspiciously, one part of her wanting very much to believe him, another part full of distrust. She could not help but be charmed by his words, but she was not willing to let matters end there. "If it is not Lady Bowden, then who or what is it that is so important?" she demanded.
Dominic hesitated. In the beginning he had been unwilling to tell Melissa of Jason's request because he had not known her, had been uncertain if she could be trusted. It occurred to him forcefully that his love for her would be a paltry thing if it did not also entail trust. By refusing, for whatever reasons, to tell her what he had been about these past months and why he was so intent upon leaving with Royce this evening, he was both insulting Melissa's intelligence and tarnishing his love for her. Love, he realized, was a powerful emotion able to withstand incredible adversities, but without trust it would neither grow nor endure; instead, the golden future he envisioned for them could very well turn to dross. Profoundly aware that he had come upon a fundamental crossroad in his relationship with his wife, Dominic did not hesitate any longer. Bluntly and succinctly he told her of the suspicion surrounding Latimer and of the reasons behind his indulgent manner toward Deborah.
Oddly enough, Melissa believed him without question. What he was saying explained so many of his contradictory actions. And perhaps because she loved him and wanted to believe, she did. Her eyes grew round, her mouth opening and shutting several times as the implications of his measured words sank into her brain. It was indescribably gratifying to learn that, far from being entranced by Lady Bowden, Dominic had only tolerated the other woman's demands in order to learn of Latimer's activities. It was also fascinating to discover that in addition to being a thoroughgoing scoundrel, Latimer was also involved in spying. Melissa was as patriotic as the next person, but it must be said that the part of the conversation she found the most riveting was Dominic's explanation for his apparent absorption in the other woman. Pushing aside Latimer's part in the situation for the moment, she lifted shining eyes to Dominic and asked wonderingly, "It was only to find out what she knew about Latimer's objectives that made you act so mesmerized around her?"
The gray eyes smiling, he nodded. "Can you really believe that having you as my wife, I would willingly endure her company longer than necessary?"
Melissa's gaze dropped, and assailed by the shyness that could overtake her at the most inopportune times, she muttered, "You didn't really want to marry me... Josh forced you to do it."
"Oh, Lissa, you little goose!" Dominic said half impatiently, half laughingly. "The situation that Josh found us in was unfortunate, but no one could have made me marry you if I hadn't been willing to do so in the first place. The incident in my room at the inn was shocking and regrettable, but there was no irreversible harm done. If I had held firm, Josh would have had no choice but to hustle you down the back stairs and think me the worst sort of blackguard. I would not have been happy or pleased with that reputation, but there is no way in hell he could have forced me to marry you if I hadn't wanted to."
Her heart thumping wildly in her breast, she glanced up at his lean, intent features. "You wanted to marry me?" she got out breathlessly.
Honesty made Dominic admit, "I don't know that I wanted to marry you exactly. I just knew, at first, that I wanted you in my arms and bed and that I didn't find the idea of being your husband at all objectionable." He smiled crookedly. "It was only as time went on that I knew I most desperately wanted and needed you and that whatever the reasons behind our hasty marriage, I could not imagine life without you."
"I didn't mind being married to you either," Melissa confessed.
"Mind?" Dominic questioned teasingly, one brow flicking upward. "Is that the best you can do when I have just laid my heart at your feet?"
Her eyes wide and questioning, she asked, "Have you really laid your heart at my feet?"
Mindful of Royce waiting, no doubt with increasing restlessness, Dominic exclaimed,"Lissa, you little fool! I adore you! You have to know that. Why else would I buy Folly from you at that utterly ridiculous price? Why else would I bestow this cottage and land, the gifts and everything else I have, on you if it wasn't because I was mad about you and wanted you to have anything you wanted?"
Smiling dreamily at him, Melissa drew his face close to hers. "I never wanted anything," she murmured against his lips, "except you!"
Dominic's response was swift and satisfying to both of them. His arms tightened fiercely around her and his mouth sought and hungrily found hers. With ardent eagerness Melissa met his powerful embrace, her body arching against him as his tongue darted into the warm recesses of her mouth. Arms locked around each other, they swayed together in a passionate embrace, the emotions they had both fought so hard to hide and control bursting forth.
The blood thudding in his brain, his arms full of warm and yielding flesh, Dominic forgot everything but the sweetness of holding his wife. He kissed her with increasing urgency, the desire to lose himself in the silken heat he knew awaited him driving him as his arms dropped and his hands cupped her buttocks and he pressed her even closer to his swollen, aching manhood. He had wanted her in the past, but never like this, never knowing fully that it was love that drove him, love that made the wanting and hunger so sweet, so intoxicating.
Drowning in the honeyed warmth of his kisses, her body on fire to know his touch once more, Melissa was caught in the same elemental maelstrom of emotion, her body straining against his, her hands running feverishly over his broad back as Dominic's kisses grew wilder and more passionate. Her breasts were full and heavy, her body boneless with wanting, the pressure of Dominic's thrusting, rigid flesh rubbing against her, exciting and arousing.
It was the sound of Royce's voice that brought them, instantly and jarringly, back to their surroundings. "Ahem," Royce said politely from the doorway. "I hate to interrupt, but we do have an appointment, old friend."
Melissa sagged against Dominic, her thoughts of her cousin not at all kind. Dominic's were perhaps even less kind than Melissa's as his lips buried in her soft curls. "Royce, remind me to call you out when this is all over. I shall take great pleasure in putting a hole through you."
"Whatever you say," Royce returned. A smile on his handsome mouth, he added, "I take it you and Melissa have settled your differences?"
Resolutely putting Melissa from him, Dominic smiled down at her and murmured, "Yes, I think you can safely say that—but not because of any help from you!"
"Well, you know that I make it a rule to never interfere
in domestic affairs," Royce teased.
Melissa and Dominic both sent him a look that spoke volumes, and Royce, feeling that he would be no match against the two of them, shrugged his shoulders. "I shall await you outside."
Dominic grimaced and turned back to Melissa once Royce had disappeared. "I excessively dislike leaving you tonight, particularly now, but..."he murmured.
Melissa sighed. "I know. The sooner you find that list, the sooner we can put Latimer and..."A militant sparkle lit the golden-brown eyes "...his sister from our lives." With great feeling she added, "And it cannot happen soon enough for me."
Laughing, Dominic hugged her to him. "Sweetheart, you never had anything to fear from that quarter. I resented every moment I had to spend in her presence mainly because it kept me from you."
Comforted by this knowledge, Melissa rubbed her cheek against his. "Oh, I do hope that I am not dreaming, that you really are saying these delightful things."
Dominic smiled, and dropping a kiss on the top of her head, he promised, "It is not a dream and I have many more delightful things to say to you later, but I really must go now."
She looked at him and asked anxiously, "You will be careful? There is no real danger to you?"
Dominic shook his dark head. "No. Latimer is away from the house and Royce will be with me. If all goes well I should be home within a few hours—hopefully having successfully found that list of names." Gathering her close to him, he kissed her eager lips deeply and then, pushing her away, said huskily, "And now I must go or Royce will come in and interrupt us again."
A soft, warm glow surrounding her, with only faint misgivings Melissa waved the two men on their way. She did not watch them entirely out of sight, superstitiously fearing bad luck if she did so. She turned away and, a half smile on her lips, dreamily made her way inside.
Chapter 28
Dominic did not fear bad luck, but he could have wished that the timing to search Latimer's rooms had come at a less inconvenient moment—and that, he thought sardonically, was putting it very mildly indeed. Still, it was a task that had to be done, and determinedly he put away thoughts of Melissa and concentrated on the hours ahead.
It did not take them more than an hour to reach the house that Latimer had leased just beyond town, and as darkness had fallen nearly two hours earlier, they were able to conceal their presence by simply remaining in the rambling, untamed forest that surrounded the house and grounds. Dismounting from their horses, they tied the animals securely to some sturdy oak branches and then turned to consider the house.
The house was not large, but it was two-storied and, as was usual for houses in Louisiana, the bottom story was completely encompassed by a wide gallery. The kitchen was set a little distance from the main house and beyond that, Royce knew, the stables and servants' quarters were situated. From the faint glow of candlelight in one or two rooms of the main house, it was apparent that someone was still stirring; whether it was Latimer and Deborah or a busy servant remained to be seen.
The hour was shortly after nine o'clock, and as the moon was waxing full, silvery light clearly outlined the house and grounds. Leaning back against the trunk of a tall beech tree, Dominic said softly, "I could wish that there was a little less moonlight, but hopefully there will be no one around to see us." Motioning toward the house, he asked, "What do you make of those lights... a change of plans or servants?"
Royce rubbed a hand across his chin. "I don't know. I suppose we shall have to go to the stable and see which horses, if any, are missing."
It took them but a few moments to gain the stable, and after slipping past the nodding stable boy, Royce gave a quick check around in the murky darkness and was able to say, "The buggy and pair are missing, so I would assume Latimer and his sister kept to their original plans. It must be servants still moving around in the house."
They made their way back to their horses and settled themselves to wait for all signs of activity to cease. Lying on the ground, propped against the smooth trunk of a tree, Dominic yawned hugely after several moments and muttered, "I don't know about you, but after last night, I am not as alert as I would like to be."
Royce grunted in agreement and suggested, "Why don't you try to sleep and I'll keep watch for a while? Hopefully, whoever is in the house will seek out their quarters before much longer. If not, and I grow sleepy myself, I shall wake you."
Dominic needed no urging and within moments was asleep. The light within the house continued to shine and Royce, having underestimated his own stamina, nodded off a short time later.
The snapping of a twig nearby as some night animal moved through the forest brought Dominic instantly awake several hours later, and sitting upright, he glanced across at Royce. Grinning, he saw that Royce had succumbed and was deeply asleep. He looked quickly to the house and seeing that it was in darkness, he examined the black sky; judging from the moon's position, it was past midnight. They had no time to waste and hurriedly he prodded Royce awake.
"Oh, Jesus!" Royce groaned. "I had no idea that I was that tired. It is a good thing that our lives did not depend on my keeping watch."
Dominic made some reply and then they both concentrated on the matter at hand. Deciding that the sound of Latimer's return would have awakened them, it was agreed to go ahead and gain entrance to the house despite the lateness of the hour and the possibility that Latimer could appear at any moment.
"We'll hear his approach and should be able to escape the house without notice," Dominic said.
Conscious of the passing minutes and using the cover of the forest, they made their way to the far side of the house and swiftly, silently scaled the gallery roof. It took but a second to gain entrance to the house via a window that had been left unlocked. Inside, Dominic struck a flint and lit the candle he carried for tonight's foray. Lifting the candle high, he surveyed their surroundings, discovering that they must have entered the house through Deborah's bedroom window.
Wasting no time, they crept out into the wide hallway, and seeing but one door across the hall, they entered it, both sighing with relief as the dancing golden light revealed a man's bedchamber. Methodically and efficiently, they searched through Latimer's effects. It was a distasteful, nerve-racking business. With one ear cocked for the sound of an approaching carriage, they moved silently about the room, poking and prying into every conceivable hiding place, even searching through Latimer's clothing. Nowhere did they find anything that resembled a list of possible traitors, and Dominic's heart sank. Were they going to have to come back again? And again?
Moodily replacing the garment he had just checked, Dominic happened to glance at the floor of the wardrobe and Latimer's boots and shoes. Almost idly he picked up a pair of boots and in the dim, flickering light of the candle examined them. Finding nothing within the boots, he was on the point of dropping them onto the floor and reaching for another pair when something about the heels caught his attention. Frowning, he stared and then he called to Royce. Royce left off his unenthusiastic search through Latimer's supply of neatly starched cravats and hurried over to Dominic's side.
Pointing to the built-up heel, Dominic murmured, "I didn't know that our friend needed any extra height, did you?"
"By God, no!" Royce muttered, his topaz eyes glittering with suppressed excitement.
Carefully they scrutinized the boots, comparing the heels with another pair in the wardrobe and discovering that the ones Dominic had first examined were taller and bulkier than the others. It took them a few minutes to find the tiny secret compartment concealed in the hollowed-out heel of the left boot, but find it they did, and reaching inside, Dominic drew out a many-folded piece of paper. Holding the candle close, both men scanned the list of names, Dominic giving a small exclamation of surprise when he recognized a few of them.
"There are some powerfully connected people on this list," he whispered to Royce. "And most of them are near the capital. It is a good thing that Jason caught his spy and we knew what to look for."
>
Royce agreed, but they wasted no more time in speculation. Bringing out the quill, paper and ink he had brought with him from home, Royce sat down and quickly copied the names. It took but a second to return the original list to its hiding place, and Dominic had just blown out the candle as they prepared to leave, when he lifted his head and said urgently, "Listen! I think I hear horses."
He did, the creak and jangle of harness as well as the sound of hoof beats carrying through the night air. As one, Dominic and Royce moved toward the door and drifted across the hall to Deborah's room. Nimbly both men slid out the window and down the gallery roof, the noise of the nearing vehicle becoming louder and more distinct with every passing second. The vehicle was approaching on the opposite side of the house, and Royce and Dominic rushed for the concealing forest the moment their feet hit the ground. Mounting their horses, they spun them about and urged the animals deeper into the moonlit forest. It was only when they had put some distance between themselves and the Latimer place that Dominic allowed himself to comment on their successful venture.
A laugh in his voice, he said, "We may not be professional spies, but I do believe that we deserve congratulations for this night's work."
Royce gave a satisfied chuckle. "Indeed, I agree with you, although I must admit that we escaped with not a moment to spare. But I have to confess that I found the entire episode exhilarating!" He grinned. "I wonder if friend Latimer's night was as successful as ours."
* * *
Latimer's evening was not one that he cared to dwell on, even though he had managed to walk away from Richardson's card table a winner. Compared with what he had lost to Dominic, the amount won, however, had been trifling, being a mere thousand dollars; and even telling himself that tonight had been a good portent did nothing to soothe the hatred and fury that roiled in his breast whenever he thought of Dominic Slade.
Nothing, he thought sourly, had gone right for him since Dominic had come onto the Baton Rouge scene. If it had not been for Slade, Melissa would have given in to his demands, and if it hadn't been for Slade he would not now be in the precarious position of not being able to keep up appearances for very much longer—appearances he desperately needed if he was to retain any chance of recouping his disastrous loss by gulling the nearest ripe pigeon. His sights had been set on Franklyn for some time, but now he was reduced to even plucking someone like his host tonight.
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