“Diana.”
Diana looked at him, really looked. The incredulity written on his face matched what she felt. “Oh, no!” was all she could think to cry. She didn’t know whether to be glad or more afraid, because the man staring back at her was Tanner.
“How did you get out of the house?” he asked her, his shock abating as he pulled her into a sitting position. “Farnsworth has every door and window guarded. But more important, what in hell are you doing out here?”
“I can ask the same of you,” she retorted.
Tanner shook his head. “God, I don’t think I want to know.”
“Then don’t ask, Mariah!” she shot back.
He expelled a deep breath. “So you know about me.”
“I know enough.”
“I can assume that you’re the one who’s been spying and passing information to the Swamp Fox.”
“You may assume nothing.” She sounded haughty, and she was quite unprepared when Tanner shook her by the shoulders.
“This is serious,” he reminded her. “I’ve been sent to do a job and I have succeeded. Now, I find that my quarry is my own wife. What am I going to do with you?”
She really didn’t know either. In fact she realized she knew very little about Tanner and his past. So Tanner was the great Mariah, a British spy. No wonder he was so very wealthy. There was no doubt he’d earned his money through nefarious deeds. No telling how many patriots he’d turned in to the British. Diana’s teeth chattered from the sudden chill that flooded her with the realization of who her husband really was. He wasn’t merely a Tory sympathizer, he was a British spy. He was one of them, the enemy!
“I suppose you’ll hand me over to Farnsworth. How much did he offer you for my capture? I do hope I’ll fetch you a good price, because I’m the only one you’ll be paid for. I’ll never tell anything about anyone else. You can torture me, you can force me at the point of a rapier, but…”
“Be quiet!” Tanner rasped, “I have to think.” He took a clean kerchief out of his coat pocket and dabbed at the blood on his face. A wave of compassion flooded Diana and she very nearly reached out to help him, but then she stopped herself. He was her love, her enemy. If their situation had seemed impossible before, she knew it was hopeless now. Tanner was a trained spy, and trained spies were able to harden their hearts to situations and people. He’d have to turn her in, otherwise he’d be committing treason against the Crown. He didn’t have another alternative.
Finally, when she thought his sullen silence would drive her mad, she stood up. Tanner followed suit. “Afraid I’m going to run away?” she taunted.
“That’s what I want you to do.”
Her mouth fell open. “What?”
“I don’t know how you left the house,” he said. “I don’t want to know, so don’t ever tell me. Just return the same way. I’m going to leave before you do. I’ll tell Farnsworth I didn’t see anyone. Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
Tanner grabbed her arm before she could move. “You better be waiting in our room for me. We have to talk.”
She nodded and he let her go. After he’d mounted the horse and headed back to Briarhaven, she ran to the cemetery and wasted no time in opening the tomb. She practically flew through the tunnel and made it up the back stairs and into the bedroom minutes before she heard Tanner speaking to Farnsworth in the hallway.
Hattie had helped her out of her wet clothes and had just pulled Diana’s nightgown over her head when Tanner entered. The blistering look he shot at Hattie caused her to leave the room without a backward glance. Diana, however, stood in the center of the room, prepared to take the great brunt of his rage. But she was angry, too.
“That black scowl doesn’t frighten me, you traitor. Hattie may scurry away like a timid mouse but I won’t.”
The only indication that she’d hit home with him was the slight tensing of his jaw. She expected him to grab her by the arms again and shake her. Instead, he calmly sat in a chair by the fireplace, his long legs extending near hers.
“Consider yourself lucky, Diana, that I was the spy Farnsworth engaged. Anyone else, believe me, and you’d either be dead right now or in a worse situation.”
“What could be worse than death?”
“Remember Kingsley and all the nasty things he did to you and made you do to him? Remember how he beat you into submission? If Farnsworth knew you were the one passing information all of Kingsley’s perversions would be child’s play in comparison to what would be happening to you right now. Believe me, you’d consider death a mercy.”
She felt that the breath had been knocked from her body. She’d never considered any of that. “Have you ever, I mean, have you ever done such horrible things to … a woman?”
“No, but I know men who have.”
She felt supremely glad to know this. At least Tanner wasn’t that much of a monster. “What will you do with me now?”
“You tell me.”
Diana didn’t care for the tone of that. Tanner was making it sound as if she had done something wrong. Stiffening her back, she stood ramrod straight, not aware of how the action caused her breasts to strain against the front of her nightgown. “I’ve committed no crime. You, however, are a traitor to your own people, to your family. Harlan is a patriot, and never forget that your brother, horrid as he was, died bravely in defense of the rebel cause. Perhaps you should tell me what I should do with you. Maybe I should turn you into Marion as a spy.”
“You won’t do that.”
“Why not?”
“Because you love me,” he said levelly.
A sob shook her. “Yes … I do love you, but I no longer like you, Tanner, or trust you. You can’t trust me either.”
Considering her for a long moment, he said, “We’ve reached an impasse with but one thing to do. I’ll send you away.”
~
Tanner and Diana bade a fond farewell to Harlan, who was much aggrieved at their departure. Naomi stood stoically by, her cold eyes slicing through Diana. Farnsworth, however, wasn’t the least bit upset by their leaving. He slapped Tanner on the back as they stood on the porch. “Have a happy honeymoon trip, and don’t return too soon. And you, Mrs. Sheridan, take care of your condition. I’m certain the sea air will greatly improve it.”
“Thank you so much, Captain Farnsworth, for caring.” Diana extended her hand to the man to kiss at the same time she daintily coughed into a kerchief. Farnsworth pretended he didn’t see it, but he looked ready enough to bolt all the same.
“Go now, Sheridan! The sloop is ready.” Then he abruptly headed inside.
Tanner helped settle Diana into the carriage for the drive to the dock, where a sloop waited for their journey to a British frigate at the mouth of the river. A soldier guided the sloop away from the shoreline as little Jackie came running, waving his small arms. “Bye, Miss Diana, Mr. Tanner. I’m gonna miss you.”
They waved farewell and soon were on board the frigate and ensconced in a small room.
“Why that silly Farnsworth,” Diana groused. “He actually believed the lie you told him. And such a horrible lie it was, too. The very idea that I have a touch of consumption.”
Tanner’s dark eyes danced with devilment, and he stood so close to her that for an instant Diana thought he might kiss her. Instead, he threw himself into a straight-backed chair. “He believed it, didn’t he? That’s all that matters. Farnsworth detests illness. He’s frightened he’ll catch something and die. I had to give him a good reason why you should leave Briarhaven, and consumption was the best I could do.”
“You’re impossible. I think you enjoy lying.”
His eyes darkened to the color of onyx and were just as hard. “You’re very adept at it yourself.”
“There you go again.” She sighed her exasperation. “You’re always insinuating that I’m dishonest. I wish you’d tell me what it is I’ve supposedly done.”
Tanner thrust his hands into his jacket pockets and
stood up. “I’m going on deck. We should spot Oak Island soon.”
He left her and Diana flounced into the chair he had vacated, irritably tossing her reticule onto a nearby table. What in the name of heaven had she done to earn his distrust? Granted, she’d spied on Farnsworth and caused Tanner a great deal of upset. But she had as much right to her political opinions as he did. And he was saving her life by spiriting her away from Briarhaven with the lame excuse of consumption. Probably she wouldn’t be able to return until the war was over, because Farnsworth would expect her to be quite ill. Tanner knew all of this, she also knew that he still loved her though he hadn’t made love to her since that night four days past, before he found her in the swamps.
Tanner admitted to her that he told Farnsworth he had found the spy and had killed him during a fight and buried the body in the swamp, something Farnsworth didn’t dispute. Diana knew Tanner was taking her away from Briarhaven because he couldn’t trust her. He might love her, but he didn’t trust her not to pass on more information to her nameless informant. Even if she got on her knees and swore never to spy again, he wouldn’t have believed her. So it always came down to trust between them.
She hadn’t forgiven him for leaving her all of those years ago, and for some reason he wanted her to admit to something — what she didn’t know — but the thought persisted that it was somehow related to what had happened before her marriage to Kingsley.
“I’ll go crazy if I keep dwelling on Tanner and what he wants,” she grumbled aloud. But she couldn’t help herself. No matter what had happened between them seven years ago, she still loved him and always would.
~
Oak Island was a windswept paradise off the South Carolina shoreline. A soft breeze rustled the skirt of Diana’s cream-colored skirt and fluttered the lace on the collar of her long jacket. She breathed deeply of the fresh sea air upon stepping onto the dock, which ran fifty feet across the glistening sand, ending in a thatch of grass, emerald green, and thick scrub.
How beautiful was this enchanting island, whose live oak trees were silhouetted against the golden sunset like black obelisks. Diana couldn’t help but be appreciative of the natural beauty surrounding her. When she and Tanner reached the end of the dock, she became aware of the white house in the distance. A small creek, interlaced with patches of green marshland and fringed with a mixture of oleander and oak trees, lazily meandered beside the two story cottage.
“What a lovely place!” Diana gushed. “Who does it belong to?”
“Us,” was his terse reply, and he took her hand to lead her across the verdant lawn to the front porch, whose banisters cast long thin shadows on the grass.
Diana had no time to be surprised, but then nothing Tanner did should surprise her any longer. However, she did get a delightful shock when Anne suddenly burst through the front door, followed by the children. The four of them bounded down the front steps, the children giggling, the two women crying and embracing.
“I never thought to see you again!” Anne squealed and sent a chastising glance in Tanner’s direction.
“Oh, Anne, I’ve been so lonely, so worried about all of you. Tanner told me that all of you were well. How is David? How are you? I had no idea you were here.”
Diana knew she was gushing, but she couldn’t contain herself. It wasn’t until after she was inside the cozy, well-furnished house sipping tea in the parlor and eating freshly baked cookies served by Ruthie that she missed Tanner. She swore he had followed them inside, but she’d been so engrossed in catching up on what had happened to her family that she hadn’t realized he had not come inside at all.
“Where’s Tanner?” she asked.
“I haven’t seen him since his arrival.” Anne sounded curt and cold. Her voice became a hiss. “How could you have married him, Diana? The man spirited you away from the house. I thought something awful had happened to you until that Curtis person came for us.”
“Anne…” David’s tone warned her to be quiet.
“It’s true, and you know it, David.”
“He saved my life,” David reminded her.
“Hah! Who said so?”
“David’s right,” interjected Diana, growing a bit miffed with Anne’s attitude toward Tanner. “If Tanner hadn’t intervened, David would be dead now. I’d think you’d be more than grateful to my husband. He didn’t have to help David, and he didn’t have to bring the lot of you here. You’re living in grand style now. If you were in Charlestown, you might be starving, if not dead.” Diana took a deep breath. “I need to find my husband.”
David gently patted her shoulder. “I intend to thank him personally for all he’s done.”
A grateful smile lit up Diana’s face and she went out onto the porch. She had upset Anne, she knew that, but it was time Anne learned that she couldn’t expect her to feel about things the same way she had. If Diana had known that seven years ago, she’d never have encouraged Kingsley merely because Anne had approved of him.
A gentle twilight bathed the island in lavender and blue hues. The ocean surf could be heard above the sorrowful cry of the seagulls overhead. Suddenly Diana felt bereft, felt that a part of herself was missing. She ached to find Tanner.
Leaving the porch, she walked along the creek, which she had learned was called Oleander Creek, and crested the top of a large sand dune. The beach stretched below her and she spotted Tanner, sitting some yards away on the sand. He’d removed his jacket, and though Diana found the evening to be quite chilly, Tanner didn’t seem to mind the cool breeze whipping through his dark hair and ruffling the white lace on his shirtfront. He gazed out at the endless stretch of purple, swelling sea, oblivious to everything.
She wore only her cotton gown, having forgotten to reach for a shawl or coat when she left the house. Folding her arms about herself, she stood beside him. “Don’t you want to come inside?” she asked.
Tanner barely glanced at her and threw a shell into the swelling surf. “Maybe later.”
Suddenly she felt ill at ease. How strange that was, she found herself thinking, after all of the nights she’d spent naked and panting in Tanner’s arms. Now something had changed between them. Certainly her secret life had something to do with it, but then again he was Mariah, a trusted and trained British spy, a close friend of General Lord Rawdon. Her escapades in the swamp were nothing in comparison to what Tanner must have accomplished on his missions, the people he must have hurt. Diana didn’t want to think about any of it, but she couldn’t stop her thoughts. Perhaps it wasn’t so much that he had changed but that she now knew the truth about him and saw him in a different light. Maybe now that the mystery about him was unfolding, he sensed a difference in her attitude.
“Anne’s prepared a room for us. She had to move the girls and put them in the attic bedroom, but they don’t mind. You know how children love an adventure, a change.”
“No, not really,” Tanner admitted. “I wasn’t allowed to be a child.”
“Why not?”
“Because I spent all of my life preparing to take my rightful calling as Briarhaven’s overseer. I was even tutored with Kingsley, much to the displeasure of Kingsley’s mother. I wasn’t allowed to cry; my mother told me that. She told me that I had to be strong and accept my place, not to let anyone know how much I hated them. When lessons were over, I was dismissed by Kingsley’s governess, a hateful old hag who hated me as much as I detested her. I can’t count the number of times she cracked me across the knuckles with her wooden ruler. God, it hurt, but I didn’t cry.”
“Tanner, why are you telling me this?” Diana’s voice was a whisper. She could see he was in pain, and though she wanted to hear about his childhood, she didn’t want to know about his suffering. It made him more human to her, more human at a time when she wanted to put a distance between them.
Glancing up at her, his eyes expressed his inner torment. “Maybe because I want to hurt you, or have you feel sorry for me. I don’t know.”
Dropping
to her knees, Diana wanted to touch him, but nothing intimate had passed between them in days and she hesitated to do so. Instead she licked her lips and smiled sadly. “I wish I had known you then. There’s so much about you that I don’t know.”
“Be glad of that, Diana,” he said harshly, causing her to flinch. “If you had known me then you’d have treated me the same way you did when you first came to Briarhaven. You thought I was beneath contempt and you were right. What could I have given you if you’d left with me? Nothing, absolutely nothing. Your family would have disowned you. I can imagine Anne’s reaction. She’d probably have suffered some sort of a fit. As it is, she can’t abide me.”
“Anne doesn’t know you, Tanner. You must be patient with her. David is quite grateful to you, however.”
Tanner sighed and pushed a stray curl from Diana’s face. “Are you grateful to me, Diana?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Is that all you are, grateful?”
She knew he wanted her to tell him that she loved him and had forgiven him, but the man she had come to love so desperately in Charlestown didn’t seem to be the same man sitting on the beach. In her mind, she’d built up an image of a noble but scarred man, but since learning the truth about his past, about his dual identity, she thought of him as mercenary rather than noble. Though she cared about him and worried about him, even craved for him to kiss her and make love to her, he was her enemy. He was Mariah.
“Your silence speaks more eloquently than any words,” Tanner mumbled when she didn’t respond. Standing up, he dusted the sand from his pants and handed her his jacket. “Put this on and go back to the house.”
“You’re not coming with me?” Diana slipped into the too-large sleeves.
“Not at the moment.” He placed a light kiss upon her forehead. “Good night, Diana.”
“Tanner…”
He turned and started walking down the deserted, wind-tossed beach with his hands thrust into his pockets. Should she run after him? she asked herself, and knew she should. That would be the appropriate response for a wife, but she didn’t, because the man who had just walked away from her was a stranger.
Savage Deception (Liberty's Ladies) Page 19