Dalton laughed, kissed her and was gone.
Just before she drifted off to sleep, she thought she heard a woman’s laughter coming from the smaller cabin next door, but sleep soon claimed her, and when she awoke, she’d forgotten all about it.
Suzanna stretched, lying on the bed for a while before rising. Her husband was right. She hadn’t slept much since hearing the details of Celeste’s death. While she and her grandmother were never close, it still pained her to think of the poor woman suffering such a fate. If it had indeed been at the hands of Suzanna’s own mother… well, it was a horrifying thought.
She’d always suspected there was something wrong with her mother. Her need for wealth and power seemed to surpass everything. Even as a child Suzanna knew she was expected to marry well and secure the family’s fortune.
Her father was much more reasonable, often telling her that her happiness was more important than wealth or political position. His views caused plenty of arguments between her parents and Suzanna would slip off to the slave quarters where she was accepted and allowed to eat without worrying about her figure.
Sighing, she tried to shake off her melancholy mood and slid from the bed. Soon she would be back in Seattle with her dear friends, people who loved her for the woman she was becoming and not because they could benefit financially or socially from her beauty. Washing her hands and face with the tepid water Charlie provided earlier, she stared into the mirror. Her blonde hair needed little attention and she smoothed the skirt of her traveling outfit. At the door, she tried the handle. It would not open. Her intention had been to go and find both her husband and a cup of tea. Now she was furious and would likely box his ears for locking her in their room like a child. How dare he?
Stomping her foot, she began to beat on the door.
“Hello,” she called, her fist pounding rapidly. “Open this door at once! Can anyone hear me? Dalton! I don’t think this is a bit funny,” she yelled.
After several minutes, her shoulders slumped and she rested the top of her head against the door in defeat. It was then she noticed the note on the floor of the cabin. Apparently it had been slipped under the door at some point while she slept.
Bending, she picked it up and slipped her nail beneath the seal.
Well done, daughter. I knew I could count on you to restore the family to its proper position in society. You have married a man of power and privilege, a man whose very name demands respect. You will indeed make a beautiful and extremely wealthy widow. Once he is dead we will leave this retched country and journey to Europe where we will live in splendor as I have always intended. Your beauty will attract many more admirers. Perhaps a Prince next time, one never knows.
Mother
Suzanna sagged against the door in shocked horror. My God, her demented mother was aboard this ship and plotting Dalton’s death. Perhaps she had already killed him while Suzanna slept. Shaking violently, she tried to pull herself together. She had to think, had to come up with a plan to save her husband and herself if it wasn’t too late, for there was no way she could go on without him. He’d become the center of her universe.
Frantic, she ran to her trunk and opened the lid. Digging through her things, she found the Derringer Effie had given her for ‘emergencies.’ Dalton had no idea she even possessed such a weapon, and she’d wanted to keep it that way, but now was not the time to question the wisdom of such a deceitful secret. Her hand tightened around the small gun.
“Thank you, Effie,” she breathed raggedly as she raced back to the door. “Is anyone out there?” she screamed. “I’m not prepared to stay locked in this cabin. If you are in the hall I would advise you to move away from the door immediately,” she shouted.
There was no answer, no sounds of movement and Suzanna aimed the pistol at the lock, shooting it clean off. The door banged against the wall as she grabbed it and flew from the room.
Frantically, she began to search the ship. In the next cabin, she found two young children huddled in the corner.
“Don’t be frightened,” she whispered before backing from the room after making sure her mother was not present.
Racing to the deck, she slipped and nearly fell face first when her foot made contact with the wet surface.
“I warned you about that, Mrs.” Charlie scolded, shaking his head.
Suzanna ignored his remark.
“Where is my husband? Have you seen my husband?” she demanded, keeping the gun hidden in the folds of her skirt.
“Last I saw him he was going to the galley to see about getting you some tea and biscuits,” he replied, obviously startled by her tone.
She spoke not another word but hurried back down the narrow steps and turned right before running down the passageway. At the door of the galley she paused, pressing her back against the wall. It took great effort to slow her ragged breathing, but Effie had persisted in teaching her that before firing a pistol it was imperative to locate your target lest you shoot the wrong person. “Stay calm and focused,” she’d repeated over and over. “Wait for the proper moment before revealing the fact you have a weapon. The element of surprise is crucial.”
Suzanna could hear soft voices. It seemed like a cordial conversation and the melodious tone of her mother’s voice brought back so many memories of her manipulation. She had a way, a gift for making people think she was the sweetest, most genteel woman on the face of the earth. Suzanna now knew she was, in fact, a viper, intent on taking the most important person in Suzanna’s life away from her.
Keeping the gun tucked behind her back, she rounded the corner.
“I see you’ve met my mother,” she stated coldly.
“Yes,” Dalton replied calmly. “We are just getting acquainted. Won’t you sit down, darlin’ and have some tea?” he asked smoothly.
“No, I’m afraid I can’t do that,” Suzanna replied, lifting the gun and pointing it at her mother’s head. “You see I don’t particularly care for her plans.”
“Suzanna, how can you have such deplorable manners?” Marguerite Jeffries demanded. “Imagine my own daughter acting in such an ill-bred way. You must allow me to apologize, Mr. Vanderbilt. She was not raised to behave in such an uncivilized fashion. It must be this barbaric section of the country that has changed her.”
Suzanna almost laughed. What a fabulous actress she would have made. Still a lovely woman, the only physical sign of her mother’s anger was a slight flush on her cheeks. Her hands rested on her lap, a shawl delicately covering all but her finger tips.
“Put the gun away,” Dalton ordered, his voice deep with warning.
“I will not,” Suzanna replied. “She plans to kill you, my love, and possibly me as well if she can figure out a way to get her hands on your money once I am alone. This ends now. I will not spend the rest of my life wondering where and when she will strike.”
“Suzanna, I have this well under control,” he informed her firmly. “Give me the gun.”
“No. I believe she killed my father, as well as my grandmother and I suspect she managed to murder her own parents. She will not get the opportunity to kill again, especially one so very dear to me,” she stated, cocking the pistol.
“Suzanna, darlin’ look at her hands,” Dalton answered in frustration. “Do you think I would allow this woman to hurt you, to hurt us? I’ve known from the moment we boarded she was on the ship. That’s why I locked you in our cabin. Lift up your hands, Marguerite,” he ordered.
Marguerite Jeffries raised her arms and the shawl slipped away, revealing that her hands were securely handcuffed together.
“Now give me that damn gun before I blister your bottom,” he growled. “Where did you get it anyway? No,” he sighed, holding up his hand to stop her from speaking. “I already know. It was Effie wasn’t it?”
“Yes, and I’m not giving it up,” Suzanna insisted, lowering her weapon.
“My goodness, you’ve married a man who beats you,” Marguerite laughed.
“Shut u
p,” Suzanna barked, glowering at her mother. “You know nothing about it.”
“I know your father never raised a hand to me,” she drawled smugly.
“Perhaps if he had, he’d still be alive today,” Suzanna sneered in outrage.
“Be still,” Dalton snapped. “Captain Woodard,” he called. “Please come out now and see that Mrs. Jeffries is kept under lock and key for the rest of the voyage. Once we arrive in Seattle, she’ll be turned over to Marshal Hadley. I believe she’s wanted for murder in Georgia and is being investigated for multiple homicides. Only the most trustworthy man must attend to her needs. She’s wily and clever and will get away if she can. There’ll be a hefty reward for the man who watches her and makes sure she does not escape on this voyage, as well as an arrest warrant issued for anyone who helps her. They would be considered an accessory after the fact. Do you understand?”
“Aye, Mr. Vanderbilt. You have my word she’ll be well looked after while aboard this ship. In fact, I’ll assign two of my most trusted men to her. You have nothing to worry about. She won’t be unsupervised for a moment.”
“Thank you, Captain. Now if you will get her out of here, I’d like to have tea with my wife.”
Suzanna watched as her mother was escorted from the galley, never once looking back at her daughter. Sinking down on a chair, she placed her gun on the table and began to shake.
“Oh, Dalton, I was so frightened for your safety,” she cried. “She slipped a note under my door while I was sleeping outlining her plans for your demise. I had to shoot my way out of the cabin,” she sniffed in outrage.
“You were safe there,” he said, shaking his head and reaching for her pistol.
“Oh, no you don’t, “she snapped, yanking the gun back. “This is mine, and I’m not giving it up!”
“Suzanna, I had everything under control,” Dalton scolded her firmly. “You put yourself and others in danger firing that weapon aboard ship. What if there had been someone in the passageway?”
“Then they would have been very sorry they did not let me out of the cabin when I asked,” she replied haughtily. “Really, Dalton, you could have told me what you suspected. All this could have been avoided if you’d only been more forthcoming.”
“It also could have been avoided had you stayed in our cabin as I told you too. You, little lady, are in big trouble,” he stated seriously.
“I thought we were having tea?” she asked sweetly.
Dalton rose and left the table returning shortly with a pot of tea and a plate of biscuits.
“Here is the tea. Enjoy sitting while you drink it,” he remarked.
“How did you know? What made you suspect my mother was on this ship?” she asked as she poured their tea.
“I got a message from one of Jonah’s contacts a few days ago. It seemed Jane’s children went missing as they traveled out here with a woman she contacted through an advertisement. The woman was coming to locate her daughter. I had a hunch that if your mother was still alive she’d try to find you, hoping you’d married well. Most likely she would be traveling under an assumed name and the children would give her added cover. Of course there was always the chance she would get rid of them somewhere along the way. That was the part that frightened me the most, and with her history… well, it was a sickening possibility.”
“Oh my, the children,” Suzanna gasped rising. “They must be the ones in the cabin next to ours. I’m sure my shooting the lock off the door scared them half to death. I must go to them,” she insisted. “Imagine, Jane’s children with my mother,” she said in horror.
“Yes, a terrible thought,” Dalton agreed, rising with her and taking her arm. “I think we have some unfinished business to attend to before you see them,” he added as he escorted her to the doorway.
“You can’t be serious,” Suzanna replied in shock. “There is no lock on our door. It no longer even closes properly and the children will hear and be even more traumatized.”
“Not if you take your spanking like a good wife,” he drawled as they moved along the passageway. “You’ll just have to keep your caterwauling to a minimum.”
“You are an evil man,” Suzanna accused. “The children need me. They have no idea what is going on and probably have doubts about ever seeing their mother again. I must go and care for them, tell them about Jane and how anxious she is to see them, unless, of course, you insist on playing the irate husband.”
It was all she could do to hide her smile when he shook his head and gave in.
“All right, go to the children, but leave the gun with me,” he insisted, holding out his hand.
She handed it to him, rose to her tip-toes and kissed him on the lips.
“That’s all very nice, you brazen little brat,” he called after her as she hurried away, “but at some point you will pay the piper.”
“I don’t know any pipers,” she called over her shoulder.
“You’ll meet him later, after he has the door to our cabin repaired.”
She spent the day with the children, eating dinner with them and strolling carefully on the now dry deck. Dalton kept a close eye on them all.
Once they were settled down for the night, she crept quietly into their cabin and closed the repaired door behind her.
“Is the piper here?” she asked, holding her hands behind her back as she twisted to and fro.
“He is,” Dalton replied, rising from the chair where he’d been reading.
“Is he still angry with me?”
“I’m not sure ‘angry’ is the right word. He’s frustrated and annoyed that you would have a weapon all this time and never think to mention it to him. He’s slightly insulted by your lack of faith in his abilities, and he’s very anxious to spank your pretty little bottom until it’s as red as an apple. Then he has every intention of starting his own family with you,” he said with a grin. “You were wonderful with the children today.”
“Has that managed to dampen your interest in punishing me?” she asked hopefully.
“Not a bit,” he replied as he began to roll up his sleeves.
“I was afraid of that,” she sighed forlornly.
“You should be afraid. What were you thinking? If your mother’s hands had not been securely cuffed she might have managed to take the gun from you and shoot us both,” he pointed out.
“That would not have happened. If she made one move I would have pulled the trigger,” Suzanna insisted passionately.
“And gone to prison for killing a woman who had no way to defend herself,” he added. “No, you have it coming and I’m not going to let this one go, darlin’. Get undressed.”
She undressed as slowly as she possibly could, putting on quite a show and obviously hoping to distract him. It did not work. Once she allowed her thin gown to fall over her body he took her hand and led her to the bed.
Sitting a bit sideways, he pulled her over one leg and arranged her comfortably on the mattress.
“You might want to grab a pillow for this one,” he advised as he lifted the gown and caressed her cheeks. “It’s going to make an impression and you wouldn’t want the noise to carry,” he said cheerfully.
“You’re a miserable… ouch!”
The rest of her words and most of her cries were muffled in the pillow. Dalton enjoyed each and every swat enormously. She’d obviously expected his annoyance to fade throughout the day. Instead it had done just the opposite. As he watched her, saw how loving and kind she was with Jane’s children and realized her actions might have robbed them of the opportunity to ever have a family of their own, he became more incensed.
How dare she keep a weapon and not tell him? How dare she put her life and their future at risk by confronting her mother in such a manner? She should have sent for him and showed him the note. By then her mother would have been safely locked away and it all could have been avoided. But no, she had to respond as Effie would, act first, think it through later. No wonder Sam often spanked his wife on a daily ba
sis! He’d implied it was for pleasure, but Dalton had to wonder if that was the case, for right this moment he could see himself giving Suzanna a nightly reminder to behave.
When she was sobbing into the pillow and her legs ceased to kick, he paused and assessed her bottom. It was indeed as red and rosy as an apple. Smiling in satisfaction, he slid her off his lap and lifted her hips, positioning her so she was on her knees with her head and chest down. Standing and freeing his cock he wasted no time in lining it up with her sweet little center. One tiny nudge was all it took for her to open to him.
Suzanna was slick and he had to wonder which end of her wept more. Grasping her hips firmly, he followed through on the rest of his promise, taking her deeply over and over until he filled her with his seed. When he’d regained his mind, he slapped her several more times on her punished cheeks before withdrawing. On the last swat, he felt her clenching tightly around his shaft as she smothered her moans of pleasure.
Well, well, maybe Sam was partly correct after all. This spanking certainly brought them both pleasure, him more than her, of course, for he would sleep easy in any position and she would get what sleep she could on her tummy as her sore bottom blazed a good part of the night.
It was a good bargain, for he was no longer peeved at her and, in fact, seemed to be feeling very loving. Stripping off his clothes, he climbed on the bed, pulled her into his arms and kissed her tears away.
“Try and be good, Suzanna,” he whispered. “I could learn to like this.”
She pinched him.
Chapter 19
They arrived on Saturday. Jane and Dr. Martin were waiting on the dock and her reunion with her children was heart-rending.
“Well, it looks as though another bride has bitten the dust,” Suzanna teased, spying the ring on Jane’s finger. “I’m so happy for you.”
“Thank you, both,” Jane gushed. “You don’t know what it means to have my children with me, and once I learned you were sailing on the same ship, I felt ever so much better. What has happened with their companion?” Jane asked looking around.
Martha (The Marriage Market Book 5) Page 18