Sophie continued to hum and sing, talking animatedly to several of his crew as they set up camp. Jose was expected shortly and energy was high. The crew seemed to share Sophie’s enthusiasm. Every last one of his men had a stake in what they would find. They had applied themselves to learning their chores aboard ship solely for the privilege of muddying their hands in the rich Yucatan soil. Only Jack’s mood was dour.
What price was he willing to pay for his pride?
How much was honor worth?
He thought about it for an instant, and wondered... had anyone even bothered to pay for the eggs?
He didn’t think so, but hell... Sophie’s bribe money would more than make up for it.
And everyone was bound to pay for it later.
He kept his mouth shut anyway, determined to allow Sophie a chance at her moment of glory. It meant a lot to her, and it meant a lot to him to see her succeed. But he wasn’t about to eat her food. From this point on, it was every man for himself.
It was no use: Sophie was a disaster as a cook.
She didn’t want to pout, but couldn’t help it. It certainly wasn’t easy to cook nearly sixty eggs in a single frying pan over an open flame. She took such care with the first few, but in the end they’d all ended up scrambled. And it was just as well. They were much too spicy to eat anyway. She nibbled at her bread as she stared at her plate.
The only thing that kept her from running away in utter humiliation and pouting in the privacy of the woods was the simple fact that it would be the easy way out. To abandon her food now, and leave everyone else to bravely force his down, was too cruel by far.
On the other hand... she might do them a mercy if she left, because then they might pour out their plates on the ground and bury the evidence, rather than sit there with their stoic expressions while they struggled to eat.
Sophie felt sorry for them. They’d been hungry and looking forward to a hearty meal to begin the journey.
“This is... very good,” Pete offered, as fat tears streamed down his mottled cheeks. His blue eyes glistened with as much sincerity as he could muster considering that his mouth was probably on fire and heat was burning through his nostrils. He struggled to swallow as Sophie watched.
She lifted up her fork and guiltily stabbed at a blackened crumble of egg... or maybe it was a pepper... or ham. She couldn’t precisely tell.
She swallowed convulsively and lifted the fork to her lips, saying a tiny prayer that she might be spared the pepper. Her water was practically gone... and everyone else’s as well. Desperation was setting in. She could see them greedily eyeing one another’s canteens, their expressions covetous. Sophie would have gladly offered hers... except that she was starved as well, and she would literally perish where she sat if she ended up with a mouthful of peppers and no water.
Meanwhile, Jack was feasting on some exotic dish of Maria’s concoction, a private meal for just the two of them.
That woman had arrived with her father and two other men—her brothers perhaps, because the resemblance was strong—and the five of them were seated separately from the rest, discussing something of import.
Jealousy reared again, and Sophie couldn’t help but notice how pretty Maria was, with her large, trusting black eyes. She wanted to draw her, capture her spirit, even as Harlan’s almost forgotten letter came to mind. His words haunted her:
... skin so velvet brown and eyes so deep a black a man may sigh to see his own reflection in her eyes. And hair... Christ, I have never had the joy of touching hair so rich it flows through your hands like the mane of a fine riding horse.
Sophie’s cheeks heated.
Was Jack enamored of her?
She was certainly lovely enough. Sophie couldn’t begin to compete. Her own hair was drab in comparison and her skin too pale, her nose slightly freckled, and her eyes ... well, her eyes were her best feature, she thought. They were different at least, and Harlan had often commented on their odd golden color.
Maria was the embodiment of everything wildly beautiful.
Sophie sighed wistfully.
It no longer bothered her in the least that Harlan was so smitten with the women here.
But Jack...
Her eyes couldn’t help but follow him wherever he went... whatever he did. She found herself even struggling to hear their conversation and felt guilty for eavesdrop- ping.
Absurd as the notion was, she wanted to go over and sit right in his lap!
She should do it, too, she thought petulantly. And she would... except... except that she didn’t have any right to. Nor was she quite so bold as to interrupt their conversation and seat herself so rudely in his lap. So instead she sat there pouting, trying to swallow her food, endeavoring to be as brave as the rest of the crew, and was near certain that Maria would never, never burn her food.
Kell sat down beside her. “Don’t mind if I join you, do ye?”
Sophie shook her head, casting Jack a wistful glance.
“Don’t sweat it, Sophie,” he consoled her. “It wasn’t so bad.”
What in particular? Her envy of Maria, or her wretched breakfast? Sophie shrugged.
Kell smiled. “It really wasn’t. I swear.” She looked at him hopefully. “A little hot maybe,” he relented, “but tasty nevertheless.”
Sophie tilted him a glance, daring to hope. “Truly?”
He nodded without the least hesitation. “Truly.”
She eyed her plate a little dubiously. “It is rather hot,” she admitted, and glanced up at Randall, who sat across from her at a distance. “Poor Randall looks as though he could bury his head in a vat of water.”
Kell chuckled. “Some like it hotter than others, I suppose.” He winked at her. “But Randy is a wimp.”
Sophie lifted her brows at him.
“All right,” he confessed. “I’m a wimp, too, but I’m telling you... there are men who like their food so hot it makes ’em sweat. They aren’t happy until they’re snorting smoke from their nostrils.”
Sophie didn’t believe him, but she laughed anyway, and appreciated his efforts.
Her gaze returned to Jack.
He was smiling at Maria, holding his plate before him, lifting it up as though to thank her.
Maria beamed happily in response, her smile radiant only for Jack, and Sophie’s heart twisted with envy.
For an instant... just a tiny little instant... she hoped he would choke on whatever he was eating.
Chapter 29
Maria had brought him chocolate-covered cockroaches.
Jack didn’t know whether to be grateful or offended.
Jose had brought his sons along, as well as Maria, and Jack was uncertain whether it was simply because he wanted to do the best job for Sophie’s money, or whether it was an added warning for Jack to keep his hands off Jose’s daughter. In either case, her father and brothers didn’t seem the least displeased with Maria’s immediate attention.
He kept studying the four of them, trying to determine whether a bowlful of chocolate-covered insects was a normal thing for them, or whether it was their idea of some sick joke at his expense.
It didn’t appear to be the latter.
It seemed they didn’t give the bowl of delicacies a second thought. Only Maria seemed to be eagerly anticipating his verdict.
Damn... he cringed at the sight of the bugs—all those little charred legs. He knew damned well it would hurt her feelings if he didn’t try one... but he just couldn’t bring himself to put deuced insects into his mouth. He looked about at his men... at how they choked and sputtered on Sophie’s cooking ... eyes watering and nostrils flaring ... and longed to be eating beside them.
Some of his men ran for water, others were determined to sit tough. Jack marveled at how they tried so hard for Sophie’s sake to appear as though they loved her breakfast. She had them all—including him—in her spell.
He glanced down at his bowl of food and spied a bristly leg poking up from the creamy chocolate covering, a
nd nearly spewed his guts where he sat. First the rotting meat, now this...
Somehow, he managed to smile up at Maria.
Never again would he malign Sophie’s cooking. May God strike him dead the instant he considered it!
Gad! He couldn’t stand the sight of his dinner. He would have long ago set the bowl down and walked away but Maria continued to stare at him expectantly.
He swallowed convulsively, trying to talk himself into swallowing his pride along with a bug. It wasn’t so bad, he assured himself... just one... big... crunchy bite... and it would be all over.
Bile rose in his throat.
“Te gusta?” Maria asked him, nodding hopefully.
He lifted his brows as he looked at her, wishing she’d turn away and give him two seconds to shove a leaf into his mouth so he could pretend to chew one.
“Yes?” she persisted.
Jack prayed to God—any God—that the bowl would suddenly burst into flames. He forced himself to nod and smile appreciatively.
He glanced over at Sophie and saw her with Kell, their heads together in conversation, and wished he were there beside her.
What were they talking about? What was Kell saying?
Did his friend appreciate the scent of her hair the way Jack did? Jack’s brow furrowed. Damn it, it seemed he did, as close as Kell was leaning into her, and Jack’s gut churned violently, but it had nothing to do with the dish in his hand.
Damn … what he wouldn’t give to be sitting beside her... eating her blackened eggs and ham.
He heard her laugh and it made his heart jump. Her smile made his belly flutter. Her scent made him want to kiss her ... and her eyes ... he could look into them a lifetime and never have it be long enough.
She stood suddenly, looking saddened, and Jack’s heart twisted for her.
Was she disheartened by her cooking efforts? Had someone said something to hurt her? Jack would skin the bugger, whoever he was!
She slipped into the woods, and he waited a few moments to see if she would return.
She didn’t, and he set the bowl down at once, apologizing hastily to Maria, and went after Sophie.
The woods were lush and cool.
Sophie couldn’t bear to sit and watch Jack with Maria any longer. She’d tried to be a big girl about it, but the sight of the two together had been much too painful. No matter that Kell had been kind enough to keep her company, she couldn’t bear it, and she’d retreated like a coward into the sanctuary of the woods.
She hadn’t intended to go far, but somehow she lost herself in thought and wandered deep enough to lose her direction.
Everywhere she looked now she found the same thick vines and bush. Still, there was no need to panic, she told herself. Camp must be somewhere very near. She could still smell the scent of charred food.
Or maybe it was her imagination. Good lord, this was all she needed... to lose herself in the woods. Wouldn’t that be a perfect addition to her long list of catastrophes?
Barely, she could make out a path in the bracken, and she followed it, hoping it would lead back to camp.
It ended abruptly at the edge of a deep chasm.
She gasped in awe at the miracle of nature she had stumbled on.
Mesmerized, she moved carefully to the edge to peer down below and found the chasm filled with crystal-clear water. It was incredible, almost surreal. Magical even. Ten feet below the surface, silvery fish darted in schools among the thick, dark tree roots. Beams of light pierced the green canopy above and stabbed deeply into the pool like airy icicles. They formed a prism of sorts below the water’s surface. Color radiated from them, painting fish as they passed through the watery rainbow.
Entranced by the sight, Sophie knelt at the edge of the chasm. Pebbles rolled from beneath her into the pool below, startling fish.
She had never seen such a beautiful sight. Her fingers itched to draw it. Sucking in a breath, she knelt there on the brink and stared in fascination, imagining how she would capture it.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?”
Starting at the voice, Sophie turned to find Jack watching her. Her heart leaped a little at the sight of him, both in relief and something more. “Yes,” she said on an exhale. “I’ve never seen anything quite like it!”
It left her breathless.
So did Jack.
She peered down again as he came to stand at her side, enthralled by her discovery.
“It’s called a dzonot,” he told her. He placed a hand on her shoulder. Sophie felt it and her breath caught. “They’re created when cave ceilings collapse.”
Sophie peered up at him.
“The Maya believed these were doors to the watery underworld which were inhabited by rain gods and jaguar spirits. There are many of these types of pools here. The land is riddled with them, but this one is particularly beautiful.”
“It’s...” She peered down once more into the pool. It was so clear she could see every pebble at its bottom. “There are no words to describe it.”
He squeezed her shoulder. “I was going to bring you here later to show you, but seems you found it on your own.”
She turned to smile up at him. “You were going to bring me here?”
The thought that he intended to share something so incredible with her warmed her beyond words. When was the last time anyone had taken the time to bring her into his world? To share with her the things that pleased him? Fascinated him? She couldn’t remember.
He sat beside her. More pebbles scattered into the pool below as he boldly hung his legs off the edge.
Sophie smiled and sat as well, sliding her legs over the chasm’s edge.
He looked at her then, giving her a particularly wicked glance. “There is a Mayan legend about an evil princess named Hechicera, who couldn’t marry the man she loved. It’s said when lovers come too close to the dzonot, Hechicera seizes them and drags them into her cave where she turns them into aluxob.” He arched a brow suggestively, and said, “We’re pretty close to the edge.”
Sophie blushed at the implication.
Indeed, they were indeed lovers now.
She didn’t want to forget a single moment she’d spent in his arms. As scandalous as the thought was, she didn’t have a single regret.
Sophie’s breath quickened. She wished he’d kiss her again … right now... brush her hair aside as he was inclined to do. “What is an Aluxob?”
Jack nodded. “Little people like leprechauns.”
Sophie lifted her brows. “And what does she do with these unfortunate lovers?”
His brows knit. “Well, I’m not certain exactly, but small huts are built in cornfields after each harvest. And the first ears of corn are left there to feed the aluxob.”
He went quiet, staring at her like that again... as though he wanted to kiss her.
Sophie held her breath. “Why?” she asked, when he didn’t.
His voice was seductively soft as he told her, “For the farmers who honor them, the aluxob will push up their corn plants and rock their hammocks at night.”
Sophie thought about it a moment, picturing herself in a hammock with Jack, while little leprechauns rocked them beneath the stars. “That’s a lovely legend.”
His eyes sparkled as they watched her. “It is,” he agreed.
“They must have been a wonderful, benevolent people!”
He shrugged. “I’ve a suspicion they weren’t as benevolent as some wish to believe.”
“Why not?” Sophie asked, truly curious. He was so filled with knowledge. She wanted him to teach her everything he knew.
He looked down into the pool, nodding. “For one... there is a place called Chichen Itza.” The name means ‘mouth of the well of the Itzas.’”
“Itzas?”
“Water wizards,” Jack explained. “Some believe the pyramid there was erected as a sacrificial altar.”
Sophie made a face. “As in Abraham and his son?”
Jack shrugged. “Anyway, this parti
cular pool measures almost two hundred feet across. Below the surface of that green scum you see are also the remains of countless sacrifices and offerings... animals and sometimes humans, along with gold and jade jewelry.”
Sophie shuddered at the thought. “You mean they just threw people inside ... and let them die?”
“That or they were already dead.”
“How terrible!”
“That’s nothing next to some of their rituals.”
“I want to know the things you know!” Sophie exclaimed.
Sophie wished she could stay at his side forever and discover things with him. She wished she could spend quiet moments in his company just sitting and reading. She wished she knew as much as he did. But right now, she wished more than anything that he would shut up and kiss her.
Her face warmed under his scrutiny.
Silence fell between them... except for the trickle of water falling somewhere down below. It was a beautiful, musical sound.
“What are you thinking, Sophia?” His voice was as soft as a caress and her stomach fluttered at the sound of it.
“I was thinking...” She blinked as she stared longingly at his mouth. “... that I love...”
You, she wanted to finish.
His hand reached out suddenly, touching her face, startling her, and she swallowed her words.
Jack held his breath, waiting for her to speak.
“Yes,” he prompted when she didn’t continue.
She blinked, and he could tell she was struggling. “That I love... how you know these things.”
Disappointment slithered through him.
He caressed her chin with his thumb. “I love ... your curiosity, Sophia.”
Her eyes seemed to reveal an inner battle. Jack waited, hoping she would speak those three words he so longed to hear from her.
“And… I really, really love...” she began again, her brows twitching a bit with what seemed to be confusion. “I love …”
“What is it you love?” he asked her, his heart hammering fiercely.
She swallowed visibly. “That you are so willing to share your knowledge with me!”
His thumb touched her lower lip, rested there, and she blinked. “And I really ... really love your beautiful smile, Sophia.” Her lip trembled just a bit, and he teased it, willing her with his eyes to speak those three little words. He encouraged her, telling her also, “And I love the sound of your voice... and the way you laugh…” He leaned close to her, his nostrils flaring. “And the way you smell.” He took a deep breath, craving the taste of her.
To Love a Lord: A Victorian Romance Collection Page 50