Whispered Kisses

by Taylor, Janelle

  “Have you told her?” Leigh queried, secretly glad.

  “Not yet. I don’t want to spoil our adventure. Louisa and I have been a twosome for a long time. I owe her that much. I don’t want to hurt or embarrass her. It’ll be kindest and best to let her go back home. I’ll even let her make me the villain in our parting.”

  Leigh wondered if he was being honest and if he’d done that before, considering his notorious reputation with women. “You’re a good man, Chad. She is in love with you.”

  He laughed. “Louisa doesn’t love anybody but herself, Leigh. Don’t let her fool you. I’m nothing but a conquest to her. She enjoys being with …” He halted and sent her a roguish look. “How shall I put this without sounding vain? I am considered a good catch. She likes to be seen with me. And she’d like to marry me for my position and money. I’m afraid that isn’t enough for me. I want love and respect.”

  “You amaze me, Chad. Being considerate of old flames is a rare trait.”

  A genuine smile flickered over his appealing face and settled in his blue eyes. “For some reason I’m changing, and I think it’s because of you, Leigh. You’re a good influence on me.”

  “Thank you, kind sir,” she responded, returning his smile. He had changed during the evening. He was relaxed and open. Maybe Chad was in love with her and Jace wanted to hurt him with her conquest.

  “Ready to go?”

  “Lead on, Chad; you can be the guide tonight.” While they walked, Leigh prayed that the forceful gaze she sensed on them was Jace Elliott’s. This should teach the traitor she wasn’t to be duped and used. This behavior should make him doubt his effect on her. This would show her if that effect was real …

  Jace was watching them, and he was furious. He was also baffled. Leigh was matching Chad’s every flirtation. What, he wondered, did she have in mind with this crazy ruse? Was she trying to get information? If so, it was perilous to tempt that man. He would tell her so later. He had set one woman straight today, and it looked as if he had another task awaiting him tonight. It hadn’t taken long to get his point made with the redhead, after which he had sneaked out the window.

  He had sent a cable asking Lord Salisbury to check into the men who had attacked Leigh in the London alley. Leigh had supplied the names she had heard them call each other and their descriptions, and a clue about their smelling of horseflesh. He had suggested all employees of Louisa, Cynthia, and Chad be investigated. If any men with those names and faces worked for either one, he would be notified. A friend in the Colonial Office was checking on her attack herein for him. With luck, it would be the same culprit, giving him only one villain—or villainess—to thwart.

  Jace didn’t like Leigh being alone in the garden with Chad. He headed downstairs to intercept them.

  Leigh walked beside Chad. She realized she could not allow him to kiss her or to touch her, not even to test his magic against Jace’s or to punish Jace. She let Chad know not to make advances by the way she talked and acted. They spoke of business and the London restaurant they were decorating. They talked about her days in Texas. “It’s late and I need rest. Let’s head back now.”

  “That was a pleasant walk, Leigh. You’re enjoyable company. We should do this every night for exercise and to get better acquainted.”

  “Sounds nice to me, Chad.”

  Jace met them at the next bend in the tropical path. Torchlight danced on his bronzed face and brown hair.

  “Hello, Jace,” Chad said. “You finish the preparations today? Our departure is still on for tomorrow, isn’t it?”

  “Yep. We leave by train at ten. Did you tell everyone to be ready? The train doesn’t wait for anyone.”

  Leigh and Chad glanced at each other and laughed at a private joke. “No such luck, Leigh,” Chad teased, “so be good.”

  “What’s so amusing?” Jace inquired, feeling jealousy bite him.

  Chad explained. “Cynthia is always running late. This time, she’ll get left behind if she tries to pull one of her grand entrances.”

  “If you two gentlemen will excuse me,” Leigh said, “I have to make certain my things are ready so I can get a good night’s sleep.”

  “Good night, Leigh. Sleep well. I’ll see you at breakfast.”

  Jace was vexed by the way his rival bid his woman good night and by the way Leigh totally ignored him in Chad’s presence. He hoped it was nothing more than a means by which to conceal their affair, but he feared it wasn’t. Leigh gave off a chill that alarmed and confused him. He didn’t say good night to her; he would do that later in her room …

  After she was gone, Chad informed him, “Leigh came to my room late this afternoon and demanded to know about our quarrel, Jace. I had to tell her something, or she was going to call off the safari and sail home. She was upset.” He related what he had said to her. “If you don’t believe me, ask her yourself.”

  “After hearing how wicked I am, she still wants to leave tomorrow?”

  “Don’t be suspicious. It was the truth, and we both know it. I didn’t mention Joanna. I thought it was a disadvantage to both of us. Don’t you agree?”

  “For now,” Jace replied flippantly.

  “Getting worried about losing your pay and our bet, old chap?”

  “Not in the least,” Jace replied with confidence.

  “You should, because I’m going to win,” Chad told him with just as much confidence. “Leigh is mine; I’ll make certain of it.”

  Jace shrugged and grinned. “See you at nine, old friend.”

  Chad watched Jace vanish into the shadows. For some crazy reason, he was feeling mellow tonight. Seeing Jace didn’t sting as usual. And Leigh, she had his heart pounding and his body flaming. As for Louisa, he dreaded to see her, even to sate his aching loins. He didn’t even want to talk with his close friend Reid. What, he mused, was wrong with him?

  Leigh headed for the front desk and asked for a new room for the night, explaining she couldn’t sleep well in the bed in her suite. Hurriedly she fetched what she needed and went to the room where she hoped Jace could not locate her. When —because she had no doubt he would sneak to see her—he found her suite unoccuppied, let him think what he would, she decided. Until she learned the truth about the incidents with the beautiful native girl and the sultry redhead, she did not want to see him in such a dangerously intimate setting.

  By eight the next morning, Leigh was packed, dressed, and ready to depart. She joined the others downstairs for breakfast. Chad was in a happy mood. Louisa was quiet for a change. Reid and Cynthia seemed bored. Jace was gone.

  “Jace is waiting for. us at the train stop,” Chad told them. “Since he does so much work for them, they’re letting him pay to have the train take us near the end of the line. The railroad isn’t halfway to Nairobi yet. He’s having all our supplies and baggage loaded and we’re to be out front at nine with any remaining luggage. He’s arranged for a man to fetch us.”

  The depot was nothing more than a small business office of the Uganda Railroad and an area from where supplies to continue the rail line were unloaded from cargoes and transported to work camps along the winding route into the adjoining protectorate. Everything and everyone was aboard within twenty minutes. The whistle blasted loudly, and the engine began to take them to their destination.

  Leigh sat in the last car, the only one with seats and windows. She was to the rear, while the others were near the front. She wanted a last glimpse at Mombasa and the ocean as they moved inland. Jace was riding up front with the engineer. She wondered if he had come to her suite, last night to find her missing. If he had, did he believe she had spent the night with Chad?

  Leigh turned to watch the large seaport outlined against a vivid blue ocean, and realized how glad she was she’d come to Africa. The light structures with their red or white roofs, numerous mosques, and jungle greenery were striking against glittery sapphire water and cerulean sky. Soon, ferns and trees of several varieties ended the breathtaking sight. The engine
picked up speed and traveled smoothly along the rails. It rolled through picturesque hills; passed plantations of coconut, mangoes, and bananas; and provided magnificent views.

  The forest halted for a time. Stretches of small shrubs, baobab and acacia trees, thornbush, grasses, and other unfamiliar vegetation surrounded the short train as it chugged along. Here and there she spotted waterholes where animals were drinking. Everything intrigued her. She saw gazelles bound away at the noise of the engine, leaping gracefully. She saw huge elephants at the edge of the forest they had departed. Wildebeest and zebra mingled in herds as they grazed contentedly until the engine also startled them into speedy flight. She noticed several lions stalking the fleeing herd of brown and striped prey. Nature, she decided, could be very beautiful, and also very brutal.

  Onward they traveled. They traversed a narrow gorge where tumbled rocks revealed how they had been blasted out of the path. They entered the Taru Desert. It was flat, sunbaked, and looked as endless at the western plains. The only signs of life were bunches of browned grass, stunted trees, twisted scrubs, and an occasional thornbush and acacia at its beginning. The earth was a dry blood-red, much like Georgia soil, and it seemed to coat everything. It was a cruel and challenging landscape. She could not imagine how the workmen had endured the oppressive heat, choking dust, and hardships while laying tracks through this forbidden area.

  The heat had increased, and the train did little to create a refreshing breeze. Leigh felt her clothes and body growing damp. The air was dry and dusty. She knew she looked a mess with red powder on her skin and garments. She knew, because she saw the others covered in it.

  Leigh observed how the rails stretched out like glittering silver snakes beneath the tropical sun. She remembered Jace telling them at dinner that this desert had been the great barrier to Swahili/ Arab caravans in search of slaves and ivory. She was relieved the train would take them beyond the Taru and that they didn’t have to cross it on foot to begin their safari. The Taita Hills loomed before them. Soon, she realized, the Serengeti Plains would be to their left: their first destination.

  The others enjoyed a picnic packed by the hotel, but Leigh wasn’t hungry. All she wanted was water to soothe her dry throat. She was glad Chad remained with Louisa, despite his glances at her.

  The landscape altered its face once more. They entered grasslands with thorn trees, flat-topped acacias, and scrubs, then woodlands. Soon, greenery surrounded them again and sand-colored rocks loomed in the fertile hills. The train slowed and halted.

  With strength and agility, Jace pulled himself into their car. “I thought you women might like to refresh yourselves here. We’ll stop for fifteen minutes, then be. on our way again. We have an hour to go. Our bearers will be waiting for us. We’ll load up and walk until dusk. There won’t be any privacy at our next stop, so take advantage now,” he informed them, not once looking at Leigh.

  “Can we bathe and change clothes, Jace. We’re filthy,” Louisa whined.

  “Sorry, Miss Jennings, but we don’t have time. The train has to back its way to Mombasa before dark. It’s fifteen minutes break, no more.” When he briefly glanced at her, Jace noticed the cold glare in Leigh’s eyes and wondered—worried— about it.

  When the redhead and brunette began to complain, Chad scolded, “Remember, Jace is the boss out here. Don’t be childish; do as he says.”

  “There’s a river nearby. Use it if you want to wash your face, but be careful of hippos and crocodiles. Call out if you get into trouble.”

  Leigh was furious with Jace and Louisa. From the way they behaved, nothing was between them.

  The two women walked toward the river first to scrub their hands and faces. Leigh vanished into thick bushes and excused herself. The men did the same in another direction, then headed for the river.

  When Leigh reached the water, she noticed it was as red and dirty as she was. The others had already discovered that fact and returned to the train to use their canteen water. Leigh gazed over the landscape as she knelt to wet a cloth. It came back soaked, but red. She sighed deeply, then washed as much of the dust as possible from her face and hands. She blew her nose and cleaned the stifling dust from it. Quickly she brushed her hair, knowing how awful it must look. As for her clothes, they looked ruined. If this red dirt was truly like fiery Georgia mud, the red soil would never wash out completely.

  As Jace observed Leigh at the river, he recalled his meeting at the hotel with Louisa. “I don’t want this to happen again, Miss Jennings,” he admonished her after she had made her desires clear. “It could cause trouble for everyone. I work for Chad. Even if I were interested in your curious offer, I wouldn’t mess with the boss’s property. I suggest you cool your interest in me and behave yourself.”

  “Why?” the redhead had asked, trying to caress and kiss him. “I have plenty to offer, jungle man. Chad won’t care what I do. He has his lustful eye on his little ward. If she looks his way, I’ve lost him. Frankly, I’d like to drop him before he discards me. Being tossed aside for another woman is most damaging to one’s pride, Jace.”

  “If you feel this way, why did you come along?” he had asked.

  Louisa had grinned, shrugged, and replied, “Chad is a good catch, and Leigh might not be able to steal him from me. Women have to worry about such things as their futures. Besides, with that nasty problem at home, you’re unavailable for more than a little sport.”

  “I’m unavailable for anything, woman, so cool your ardor. I don’t want any trouble.” Afterward, he had slipped out her balcony door. He gazed at the woman who had stolen his heart. Red dust clung to her blond hair and colored it to a curry shade. “Your hair’s as red as Louisa’s,” Jace said from ehind her, choosing the wrong comparison.

  “I’m not complaining,” Leigh retorted in a cool tone, provoked by his remark. She finished her task and glared at him.

  Jace teased, “Don’t want to break rule one, eh?”

  “I’m not going to break any rules, Mr. Elliott.”

  Jace knew for certain he hadn’t been mistaken about her suddenly cold mood. It was best to be direct and settle the manner now. “I tried to see you last night. You didn’t return to your room.”

  “I assumed you would,” she revealed, “so I rented another room for the night. I had skipped lunch, so Chad and I had an early dinner. I wanted to make sure I began this promising trip well rested.”

  “Are you upset about what Chad told you? He’s wrong about me.”

  She looked at Jace oddly and wondered why Chad had revealed their private talk to his enemy. “You wouldn’t tell me what happened, so he did. I had to make certain you two wouldn’t involve me.”

  “If that news made you so miserable, why come here?”

  Forgetting it was a joke, she scoffed, “And lose our bet by breaking rule three? I keep my word, unlike some people I know. Did you say good-bye to all your women in Mombasa?”

  Jace was baffled. “I don’t have any women there or elsewhere, only the one standing here and confusing me with this sudden coldness. What have I done wrong, Leigh? Don’t I get a chance to defend myself?”

  “Don’t you mean, tell more lies and practice more deceits? Who was the native girl you’re obviously so fond of at the hotel? I saw you two in the garden, and it looked so sweet to me.”

  Jace thought a minute, then laughed. “Her name is Ka’arta. She’s my housekeeper’s daughter. She was in town for monthly supplies. She and Johi have a hot romance going, but he’s getting nervous about marriage. I’ve known her for years, Leigh, since she was a young girl. She wanted me to speak with Johi and settle him down. Jealous?”

  Leigh realized his explanation fit with the words she had overheard. “What about Louisa and your ‘old times’ she mentioned?”

  He sighed heavily. “I explained that note to you.”

  “The first one, yes. But what about the second one, Jace? You haven’t mentioned spending all afternoon in her room. I was coming down the hall and sa
w you enter and I heard how she greeted you.” In a thick southern drawl, she repeated those tormenting words. “Three hours later I gave up waiting for you to come out and explain.”

  Jace laughed once more, this time in relief. He related what he had said and done with Louisa and how he had departed unseen. “I swear it’s the truth, Leigh. I know how those incidents must have looked, so you had a right to be angry and jealous. Just as I did about Chad. I saw you two having that cozy dinner and romantic walk. It took all of my willpower not to come down and whip both of you.”

  “I know you saw us. At least I hoped that was your fierce stare I detected,” she confessed with a mirthful grin. “I believe what you told me, but I’m still vexed with that wanton redhead. I don’t blame Louisa for desiring you or for being afraid of losing Chad to another woman. But the vixen shouldn’t be so deceitful!”

  “You sly wench,” he jested. “You had me worried and scared.”

  “You had me worried and scared. But it was mean to spite you.”

  “When you didn’t return to your room …”

  “Nothing happened between me and Chad.”

  “I know, because I know you. Acting is harder than planning.”

  “You’re right, thank goodness. I was a little dull-witted.”

  “Let’s go before the others get suspicious of us. We’ll talk later.”

  Louisa and Cynthia were in their seats while the others strolled around to flex their bodies. “I thought Jace ensnared her Sunday night after that foiled attack,” Louisa whispered. “He certainly stayed in her room a long time and left in a happy mood. He couldn’t have seduced her, or she wouldn’t have been after Chad last night. Damn the greedy bitch. She wants to play with both of them, the little tease. It looks as if little Leigh isn’t so sweet and gullible after all. No one plays me for the fool. I’ll teach her a lesson or two. She won’t get either one of them, and neither of them will get her. Once we’re in that jungle, she’s dead game, Cynthia; I swear it.”