Tender savage

by Conn, Phoebe

  Viper glanced over his shoulder at Erica who was shaking her head emphatically. Disregarding her clear objection to his accepting that offer of employment. Viper slyly arranged to speak with Mark alone. "It is a beautiful morning. Is there a place where we might talk outside? A garden perhaps, or a porch?"

  "Yes, there is a nice garden at the rear of the house. Follow me and I'll take you there." Mark put his hand upon the wall to guide his way. "I can't see a blasted thing, but luckily I can find my way around the house."

  "That is indeed lucky." Viper turned again to find Erica now glairing at him with a malevolent stare. He caught the word "bastard" upon her lij>s and blew her a kiss to let her know he was so happy to see her again he didn't care what she called him. When they reached the french doors in the dining room, he helped Mark unlock them and flung them open.

  "Ah yes, the garden is lovely. Be careful of the steps." Viper reached out to take Mark's arm, but held back when he realized the man knew his way. He followed him along the stone walk until they came to a wooden bench placed beneath a fragrant peach tree. When they had both been seated, he leaned back to get comfortable and encouraged Mark to talk about the job he had to offer.

  "Tell me what it is you need, monsieur, and I will tell you if I can do it."

  "My wife is very pretty, isn't she?" Mark asked with another engaging grin.

  "She is a great b^uty," Viper responded quite sincerely, but he soon discovered as he tried to find out just what it

  was he would be expected to do if he came to work for the Randalls diat that seemed to be the last subject Mark wished to discuss. Mark asked if the gardener were keeping the garden well, then he promised that Mrs. Fer^son's meals were superb. He asked if Viper liked to fish and seemed pleasea when he replied that he did. At the end of their rambling conversation, the Indian was convinced that Mark did need someone to look after him, just as a small child did.

  "Am I to make my home here with you, or come and go each day?" Viper inquired when Mark suddenly fell silent, hoping his preference was not too obvious from the way he had phrased that question.

  "Our housekeeper has her own family, as do the maids who come in to clean, so you woiiici live here in the servants' quarters." Mark started to rise then. "Would you Uke to see them?*'

  "You needn't show me. I am sure they are very nice."

  "I couldn't say," Mark admitted readily as he resumed his seat. "I didn't live here when I could see. This is my father-in-law's house, not mine. My wife brought me here when I left the hospital, and I didn't argue with her. She is very good to me, and I'd do anything to please her. I'm glad you think she's pretty, too. Did you tell me if you wanted to work for us? Forgive me if you did. I forget two things for eadi one I remember. Erica is very patient, though. She never gets angry with me when I ask her the same question a dozen times."

  To realize the man he had once taken such delight in beating half to death could have changed so completely left Viper badly shaken. While he had lost a great deal of weight, Mark had also lost a good deal of himself as well, and Viper considered that a worse tragedy than the loss of his si^ht. "Yes, I would like very much to work for you, monsieur. I do not know if your wife will approve, however."

  Mark frowned at that remark. "But why not? If I like you, why shouldn't she? Oh yes, I forgot to ask if you can read. She will ask that for sure, as she reads to me each day. If you don't know how, say yes anyway, and we can just sit and talk and she will never know the difference." He laughed then, as though that were a very amusing thought

  "I know how to read," Viper assured him. He had come

  to Delaware to fetch his wife, not to become a blind man's companion, but from the way Erica had greeted him, he was certain the only way he would be able to see her was if he became a member of her household. Getting to his feet, he reached down to help Mark rise. "Shall we go talk with your wife? As I said, I am in need of work, and if she will agree, I can begin today."

  "Good. I have talked with a half-dozen men this week, but liked none of them. One talked to me as though I were a child, another shouted as though I were deaf rather than blind. The others, oh I don't even remember them now. I just didn't like them. I think you will be a friend to me. That's what I want." As they started for the house, Mark suddenly remembered something else. "My sister, Sarah, comes to see me each day. She can be a difficult person, but you'll be working for me, not her. Don't let her bother you."

  Viper was glad to have that wsiming, for he had not counted on the presence of anyone other than the hired help Mark had already mentioned. A sister, a housekeeper, maids, a gardener, how many people would he have to fool? With a determined frown he decided if he had to convince the whole town of Wilmington he was a Frenchman from Canada, he would do it.

  Erica was seated in the parlor, crocheting the trim on a tiny garment obviously meant for her unborn child when they joined her. When Mark said he had hired Viper, she regarded the Indian with a triumphant smile, thinking she had outsmarted him. "Just one moment, dear. Mr. Bouchard, was it?" she asked with what sounded like innocence. She had no idea what sort of a stunt Viper was trying to pull, but she heartily disapproved of it. "There is the matter of references. Since you will be living here in our home, I must insist upon at least three references attesting to your fine character before you begin working for us."

  Wiper had never heard of references before, and he didn't even know three people in Wilmington, let alone three who would swear he was an honest man. "As I said, madam, I am Canadian," he announced with an imploring look to the woman he adored. "Those who know me are a long way away, but I can assure you you will be pleased with my work."

  Mark sighed dejectedly, clesffly unhappy widi Erica's request. **I want him to stay, Erica. If he proves to be a thief, or fails to be helpful, then I will let him go. We agreed I was to be the one to choose the man, and I want Etienne. If I like him, then you must, too."

  Erica cursed Viper silently for tricking her husband so cruelly, but she could not ignore Mark's woebegone frown, and not wanting to upset him, she let him have his way. "Of course, Mark. If references are not important to you, then I will not insist upon having them."

  Grinning happily, as he relaxed his wary stance. Viper excused himself. "All my belongings are outside on my horse. If you will permit me a few minutes to see to the animal's comfort, I will bring my things inside and be ready to do whatever it is you require."

  "Take your time, Mr. Bouchard. We will have dinner soon, and then my husband rests during the early afternoon. We won't need your services before three." Erica found it exceedingly difficult to sound sweet at the same time she was giving Viper furious looks, but she knew it would become easier with practice.

  Viper went to her then, and with a courtly bow bait forward to bestow a light kiss upon the back of her hand. When she looked up at him with a hate-filled glance, he turned her hand over to place another far more lavish kiss upon her palm. "As you wish, madam. If there is anything I might do for you while your husband is resting, please let me know. I will be happy to perform any service tor you." He winked as he straightened up, his suggestive gesture saying far more than his words, but Erica shook her head emphatically.

  "Thank you, Mr. Bouchard, but my needs are few."

  "Please call me Etienne, madam." Then turning to Mark, Viper again excused himself and left to attend to his horse.

  "I like him," Mark quickly restated, pleading for her approval. "Please let him stay. Erica, please."

  "The matter has already been decided, my darline. Unless Mr. Bouchard, Etienne, proves to be a scoundrel, he may stay."

  Mark went to her side then, and with only slight clumsiness managed to kiss her cheek. "Thank you. I do not want to be a burden to you. Erica, and I know that I am."

  Taking his face between her hands, Erica kissed his lips tenderly. "No, my love, you are no burden, no burden at all." But she was grateful he could not see the tears that filled her eyes as she told that loving lie
.

  Regarding that Wednesday as one of the most wretched days of her hfe. Erica could not wait for it to draw to a close. When Viper went with Mark to his room to help him prepare for bed, she paced angrily in hers. She had waited all day for the opportunity to talk with the Indian alone, but from the adjoining room she could hear the two men talking and laughing together long after the hour Mark was usually asleep. Exasperated, she finally climbed upon her bed to rest, out she didn't dare disrobe and don a nightgown. When finally Viper came through her door, as she had known he would, she could barely contain the fury of her temper.

  "Have you lost your mind?" she asked accusingly. "How dare you play so horrible a trick on Mark? How
  He had already discarded his coat, and 21s he sat down upon the edge of her bed. Viper began to unbutton his shirt. The frills that adorned the front of the white cotton garment provided a sharp contrast to the deep bronze of nis chest. He was a handsome man and knew it, but Erica reached out to stop him before he could remove his shirt.

  "You can't sleep here!" she insisted in an anguished whisper. "My God, did you think I would invite you to share my bed?"

  "I am your husband. I do not need an invitation," Viper responded as he leaned forward to brush her lips softly with his. "Mark told me he sleeps by himself out of regard for your comfort. I would prefer to make you comfortable in my own way."

  His words were not spoken as a threat, but Erica took them as such. "Nol Can't you understand what I have been trying to make you see all day? I can't have you here. I won't betray Mark's trust. Can't you tell how much he has suffered? Today was one of his good days. There are times when he has headaches so severe he can't rise from his bed without getting dizzy and sick to his stomach. He's not well and—"

  Viper slipped his hand around Erica's throat and drew her hps to his for a soft, Ungering kiss he did not end until he felt the tension behind her resentment completely melt away. She had never been able to resist his affection, and he was glad to see that at least in that respect she hadn't changed. "Do you really think I have suffered any less?" he finally whispered as his lips brushed her temple. "Or you? Can you swear to me you are happy?"

  When she could not reply, he enfolded her in his arms. Still torn between her duty to Mark and her love for Viper, Erica did not attempt to draw away but rested her head lightly upon his shoulder seeking to enjoy his comforting warmth as she tried to reason rather than argue with him. "Mark was hurt just after I found out you weren't going to hang. I was so happy that you were going to live that I knew I could stand whatever I might have to face here. I thought I'd never see you again." She leaned back then, looking up at him with the openly loving gaze he had longed to see all day. "I loved your hair." She caressed the deep wave that fell down over his brow, then ran the back of her fingers along his cheek. "You're very handsome with it worn short, but still, it was absolutely magnificent long."

  Overcome with despair at that memory. Erica raised her hands to cover her face as she began to cry. "Oh please, you < must leave," she begged between heart-rending sobs. "It is so difficult for me to always be cheerful for Mark. I have tried so hard to be the wife he deserves, but it will be impossible with you here."

  As Viper pressed her face against his chest, he pulled the pins from ner hair to spill the perfume-scented curls about her shoulders. When finally her sorrow seemed j spent, he spoke. "I love you too much to leave, Erica. Don't you know that? If you must stay here and care for Mark, then I will stay and help you. He likes me. If I keep him occupied, then you will not find being his wife so difficult."

  Determined to make him understand her plight. Erica struggled to dry her tears. "I want you to go," she insisted once again. "Stay a week or two and then tell Mark you've been called home to Canada. You seem to be hill of imaginative stories, so I know you'll be convincing. Who is Etienne Bouchard, anyway?"

  She was attempting to dismiss him as though he really were a servant, but Viper ignored that insult, since his mind was already made up. "It was my grandfather's name, and I knew he would not mind if I borrowed it for a while. Had I known I had any hope to live, I would never have given you to Mark. I came to take you back, and I mean to do it. Stop asking me to leave, because I will not leave here without taking you with me.*'

  Erica had not forgotten what a fiercely determined individual Viper could be, but she had hoped he would see the depth of her emotional turmoil and understand why she had asked him to go. "This is wrong. Viper, don't you see that? This is wrong. We can't constantly lie to Mark and expect to find happiness with each other."

  "You must remember to call me Etienne," Viper reminded her before lowering his mouth to hers for a gentle yet loving kiss, which proved to him her fears were completely unfounded. "You see," he whispered as he drew away. "We will always be happy together." When she simply stared at him, her deep blue eyes filled with a glistening mixture of awe and sorrow, he stood up and peeled off his shirt.

  "I will stay with you tonight and every other night I am in this house. We can make love without harming your child. I can make it nice for you. You know that I can."

  It was the way he had said "your child" that gave Erica the strength to refuse his offer. He didn't realize the babe was his! She had thought he would sense the truth, if not see it in her eyes, but he didn't. Clasping her hands tightly in her lap, she replied in the most forceful manner she could. "I asked you to marry me in a church. Viper."

  "Etienne," he interrupted.

  "Whatever you wish to call yourself." Erica was getting angry again, and that reinforced her resolve to continue. "I wanted God's blessing, but you didn't care anything about my beliefs. I consider my marriage vows to Mark sacred. I will not break them. Adultery is a mortal sin. You can't ask that of me, you simply can't."

  "Do you really think God would send so pretty a woman as you to hell?" Viper asked with a teasing smile, but he was deeply disturbed that she appeared actually to believe she would be damned for loving him.

  "Being pretty has nothing to do with having high

  morals." Erica kept her eyes focused upon her trembling hands rather than Viper's half-clothed body. She wanted him still, and desperately, but Mark loved her with a childlike trust she knew she ought not to betray. She was already living one lie, and she could not bring herself to begin another when it could have such disastrous consequences should Mark ever leam of it Should he discover she was unfaithful, it would simply destroy him, and that was far too terrible a price to pay.

  Viper looked down at Erica, loving her more dearly than he had thought possible. "To me you are still beautiful, do you think you are not?" he asked softly.

  "I know how I look," she replied with a bitter laugh. "And it certainly isn't seductive."

  "To me you still are. I have never wanted another woman as I want you."

  Hatinp^ herself for having to resort to threats, in desperauon Erica used one anyway. "If you so much as rouch me I'll tell Mark who you really are and he'll make you leave," she swore in so serious a tone her sincerity could not be (foubted. "I'll do it. If you won't leave on your own, I will see you're thrown out."

  Incensed by that vow, since he considered it absurd. Viper leaned down to grab a handful of her hair and forced her gaze up to his. "You will say nothing!" he hissed. "If you do not want me in your bed I will sleep in my own, but by God, I am staying in this house. Do you understand me?"

  His eyes were smoldering with a silver fury, and Erica swallowed hard as she tried to nod, but she found his hold upon her hair far too tight for that. "Yes," she whispered breathlessly instead.

  "Good." Viper released her then, picked up his shirt, and stormed out of her bedroom. Erica stumbled as she got down off the bed, but managed to catch herself and cross the sf>acious room to lock the door. She was not locking him out, however, but rather locking herself in before the passions of her heart overruled the sensible thoughts of her head and she ran after him to beg him to come back a
nd share her bed.

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  Sarah gestured dramatically with a yellow silk fan whose exquisite color and embroidery exactly matched her stylish gown, as she confided her opinion to Erica. "Please, do not misunderstand me. I think Etienne's presence has been an enormous asset. Don't you think Mark looks better? They spend so much time out of doors he's gained some healthy color.

  "Sitting with them in the garden just now, I was every bit as amused as they were by their efforts to play chess while Etienne is just learning the game and Mark is unable to see the board." She paused a moment, and smiling happily, continued, "I guess that's what I like best about Etienne. He keeps Mark not only occupied, but happy. On the other hand, it still disturbs me that we know so little about the man. I must have spoken with him half a dozen times, and I still don't know where he is from or what he did there. Doesn't it strike you as rather strange that he would be so reticent about himself? He is well mannered, so he must have come from a respectable family, and yet he never mentions them. That worries me, too. Most bothersome of all, isn't it remarkable that so handsome and intelligent a man would be content to accept work here as a servant?"

  Erica scarcely knew how to respond, since the man Sarah and Mark knew as Etienne Bouchard was merely a charming fa^de Viper seemed to be able to adopt at will.

  "He is an unusual man in many respects, I'll agree, but he is the only Canadian I know, and perhaps they are all such private people. I am so thankful for the happiness he gives Mark, however, that I think his past is really quite unimportant." Truly, Erica had been amazed when Viper had taken his duties so seriously. He wasn't simply lurking about the house keeping an eye on her as she had feared he would do, he had instead become the perfect companion for Mark. He was both attentive to her husband's needs, and resourceful in satisfying them, for which she was extremely grateful.