Fire and Ice

by Hart, Catherine

She had chosen a flamenco dancer’s gown, to complement his outfit, of a flaming red-orange, with rows and rows of layered black ruffles. The bodice was extremely low and tightly fitted to the waist. From there the skirt flared out, with a generous portion pulled up and hooked near the waist, exposing a tantalizing glimpse of leg as she walked. Her hair had been parted down the center and wound into shining coils above her ears. A lacy mantilla hung from an ebony Spanish comb and was draped across her shoulders. A single red rose nestled behind one ear.

  “Mrs. Fitz is going to have to pay more attention to her work,” Reed went on. “She’s gotten your measurements confused with someone else’s.”

  “I doubt that. She is very competent and talented.”

  “And nearsighted.”

  “Just put your mask on and let’s get downstairs. Our guests will be arriving at any moment.”

  Mary was already waiting near the door. She made a charming Betsy Ross, a colonial flag draped across her shoulders for a shawl. Eleanore appeared in the black wig and clinging gown of Cleopatra, with Jean as the adoring Antony and, of all things, Dominique as Julius Caesar. He had powdered his dark hair, and sported a Roman toga and head wreath with much aplomb. Kathleen successfully stifled her laughter until she caught a glimpse of his hairy knees, and then she exploded in mirth. It took all her efforts to compose herself, only to collapse into giggles when Ted came down in kilt, sash, and bagpipes.

  “Will you hide that silly smile behind your fan and behave?” Reed grinned.

  She raised the fan from her bosom to her face.

  “On second thought, smile all you want, but lower that fan again.”

  Their guests started arriving in droves. Barbara and William came as Napoleon and Josephine. Amy had powdered her blonde hair and came as Marie Antoinette, as did seven other ladies. There were twelve Bo Peeps, eight dashing cavaliers, three court jesters, a doctor, a judge, a backwoodsman, an Indian and his squaw, three queens, and one king. Four knights complete with armor, five damsels in distress, and a devil or two showed up along with one Father Time, a six-foot leprechaun, two Puritans fresh off the Mayflower, and one Medusa, who turned out to be Kate in a green wig. Leif Ericson arrived in the form of Gerard Ainsley accompanied by Attila the Hun and a pirate. Susan made an exquisite and very believable angel.

  “That wouldn’t have worked for me,” Kathleen commented.

  “No,” Reed agreed, “but you could have come as the devil’s granddaughter.”

  “And you could have come as a snake and been right at home.”

  “Come to think of it, we could have come as Adam and Eve and really set Savannah on its ear.”

  “I could lower my decolletage a bit more if you wish, darling.”

  “You do and I’ll cart you back upstairs and lock you in!”

  “My, you are touchy tonight!”

  “Hmph!”

  The gala was going well and everyone was having a good time. About halfway through the evening, Kathleen slipped upstairs to the old schoolroom. There she changed into her pirate costume, which Kate had sneaked in under her cape, along with a black wig. She furtively made her way to the second-story veranda and scurried down the veranda stairs to the outside patio. From the shadows she watched until she spotted Reed. Quietly she slipped inside the ballroom and walked quickly to where he stood.

  A hush fell over the masked crowd, and then a buzz of whispers started and grew. Reed turned from his conversation with Jean to stare straight into emerald eyes behind a green mask. She stood before him, a mysterious little smile lurking at the corners of her mouth. A servant walked by with a tray of drinks and she calmly reached out and took one from the startled fellow.

  “Nice place you have here, Captain Taylor.” Her voice was as he remembered it, low and husky.

  Reed could not believe his eyes. “You’re alive,” he said stupidly.

  “I assume so,” she smiled, her eyes dancing with mischief. “I was when last I checked. It was so thoughtful of you to have a masquerade ball so that I could feel comfortable this evening.”

  Reed glanced around uncomfortably, looking for Kathleen. Guests were gathered in huddled little groups, whispering in astonishment and casting curious stares their way.

  “You are taking a great risk coming here. Aren’t you afraid I’ll call on some of my friends, tell them you are truly the pirate Emerald, and have you arrested?”

  She held his gaze coolly. “I think not. First, I am not stupid enough to have come alone. Second, how could you prove I am not just some innocent young lady in masquerade? Third, you would not want your wife to learn of our activities the night of the hurricane.”

  At his raised eyebrow, she said, “Yes, I know of your wife. I have been watching for some time. I saw her go upstairs a few minutes ago, if that is who you are watching for. ”

  “How did you know where I live?”

  “You told me the night of the hurricane. At least, you mentioned Savannah. The rest was easy. Everyone in town knows of you.” She set down her glass and glanced at Jean, who was eyeing her intently. “Aren’t you going to introduce me to this handsome gentleman, Captain Taylor?”

  “Emerald, may I present Jean Laffite. Jean, my troublesome lady pirate.”

  Jean bowed and kissed her hand. “I have been longing to meet with you, mademoiselle. You are even lovelier than I had been told.”

  “Merci. You are very gallant. You make me wish I could reconsider and join your crew.”

  “You still can, Emerald. Why don’t you?”

  “For personal reasons, I assure you I cannot. I met your brother Pierre at Matanzas. I do not care for him. He is definitely not the gentleman you seem to be. I did, however, enjoy Dominique You’s company. Is that not he over there?” She gestured with a gloved hand.

  “Oui.”

  “Why have you come here, Emerald?” Reed asked impatiently.

  “Dance with me and I shall tell you.”

  “Do you dance?” he asked doubtfully.

  “Take a chance and find out. That is a waltz they are playing, is it not?”

  He took her gingerly into his arms, praying that Kathleen would stay upstairs for a few more minutes, until he could figure out what to do about Emerald. He had no doubt sbe would hear all about this, but he did not want her to meet Emerald. He feared what Emerald might say and what Kathleen might do.

  They danced for a few minutes without speaking. Kathleen knew she was taking an immense risk. Both Eleanore and Kate had told her she was crazy to pull such an idiotic stunt, but once the idea had taken root, she could not shake it.

  She made quite a startling picture dancing in Reed’s arms. Her long black hair was loose about her shoulders, and her equally long legs were a sight to behold. Every man under eighty was either openly or secretly lusting after her. In their minds they imagined those exquisite limbs wound with theirs, that tiny waist in their hands, those half exposed breasts fully exposed to their touch. The women, of course, were outraged, and if they would admit it, jealous.

  “Have you ever seen such a vulgar display!” one whispered vehemently.

  “Who is it, do you suppose?”

  “Who would dare such a thing?”

  “Do you see that heathen bracelet she has on her arm?”

  “Why, she even has a knife in her boot, and a sword!”

  “Do you suppose her gun is real?”

  “Surely that isn’t the real pirate lady we’ve heard about!”

  “It couldn’t be. She’s supposed to be dead. Drowned, I heard. It has to be someone in costume, but who?”

  “God forbid that it is the daughter of any of my friends!” one old crone exclaimed.

  “But we are all friends here,” her neighbor reminded her.

  One young man leaned over to his best friend. “I’d give my best stallion to know who she is. I’ve never seen such legs!”

  “Of course not. All the nice girls are in skirts to the tip of their dainty slippered toes. Who owns those
legs? That is my question, and how will we ever know?”

  “Well, it can’t be Mary Jane. She came as a lady of King Arthur’s court.”

  “It can’t be Elizabeth Drury either. She’s a shepherdess.”

  “It couldn’t be the real piratess—could it?”

  “Could it?”

  “I don’t care if it is. One night with her and I’d die a happy man!”

  Reed spoke first. “You could at least have worn a shirt under your vest.”

  “What? And spoil the view?” she laughed. “No. You might have had trouble recognizing me then.” She tossed back an inky length of hair.

  “That’s odd,” Reed mused as he leaned closer. “You are wearing the same perfume as my wife. I couldn’t mistake it.”

  Kathleen almost missed her step. “What is so odd about that, Captain? I often wear perfume. Just because I am a pirate doesn’t mean I cease to be a woman.”

  “But the same scent?” he questioned.

  Kathleen shrugged. “We have the same taste in men. Why not perfume?”

  Now Reed shrugged. “You haven’t told me yet why you came, Emerald.”

  She gave him a tantalizing smile. “Perhaps I was curious about your life, or maybe it was just to harass you. I’ve heard you thought me dead. Perhaps I came to see if you grieve for me. Or perhaps I decided to try a bit of piracy on land and relieve your home of a few items—or it could be I came only for my rapier.” She patted the blade at her side.

  Reed glanced down and immediately stopped dancing. Emerald was wearing the sword he had taken from her that foggy day when they had last fought. Or was it a twin to the rapier he had locked in his study?

  Kathleen laughed at his stunned look. She had taken the rapier earlier in the day and hidden it. Now that she was in charge of the house, she held in her possession keys to all the rooms. It had been so easy.

  “Captain Taylor, why are you so surprised? You know me for a thief already. Yes, it is the same rapier. I took it from your study. After all, I consider it still mine. I assure you I took nothing else, only what was mine.”

  Kate chose that precise moment to approach Reed. “Excuse me, Reed, but shouldn’t you circulate among your guests? Kathleen will be down any time now.”

  “You are quite right, Kate.” He turned to speak to Emerald, but she was gone. They had stopped dancing near the patio doors.

  “Damnation!” he swore as he stormed out the door. A quick look into the dark night gave him no sight of her. He charged up the veranda stairs, Jean close behind.

  “Perhaps she came up here instead. We’ll check all the rooms.”

  It was a fruitless search. By the time they returned to the ball, Kathleen was there in her flamenco outfit, standing near the bottom of the stairs, and talking quietly with Eleanore. She glanced at him over her champagne glass, and her look nearly froze him in place. Someone had already told her, he knew.

  He hurried to her side. “Kathleen, darling, I can explain.”

  “I can hardly wait,” she snapped in a low voice. “However, now is neither the time nor the place, dear husband. Right now it would be better if you could convince our charming guests that you adore me. We will discuss the latest gossip later, if I am still talking to you then. Now we must present the perfect, loving couple. Smile, Reed. Be charming and sweet, and rest assured I could claw your eyes out this very minute!”

  Eleanore, who had heard Kathleen’s words, choked into her champagne glass, trying to hide her laughter. Kathleen gave her what passed for an indignant look.

  “Bubbles!” Eleanore gasped as a lame excuse. “Champagne always tickles my nose.”

  “Then try another wine, Eleanore, for pity’s sake.”

  Fixing a serene smile on her face and trying not to burst into laughter herself, Kathleen put her hand on Reed’s arm and let him lead her onto the dance floor. Several times he tried to explain as they were dancing, but she put him off. She let him hold her closely, and when he chose to kiss her in view of their guests, she responded.

  “That was for appearances only, you know,” she hissed in his ear, and giggled to herself.

  Much later she sat calmly brushing her hair as Reed explained as best he could. She hid her smile behind her cascading locks as he stumbled over his words.

  Finally he stopped talking and walked to where she sat. “Aren’t you going to say anything?” he demanded. “Damn it, Kat! Put down that brush and talk to me!”

  She set the brush down on her dressing table and faced him. “What would you have me say, Reed?”

  “I’d like to hear you say you believe me, that you understand.”

  “That I absolve you?” she suggested.

  “Of what?”

  “Of your fascination with this creature, of course. You are smitten with her, aren’t you?”

  “Absolutely not!” he denied hotly.

  “Not even a little bit?” she goaded. “I hear she is quite stunning, even exotic.”

  “Yes, she is a beauty. I would be lying to say differently. I do have eyes, Kat, and I am a man, but you are my wife.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “You have no cause to judge me or behave jealously.”

  “Oh?”

  “I married you. You will share my life and bear my children. Besides, you are every bit as beautiful as she, and you are a lady. She may be a woman, but she is not a lady. She is a thieving pirate! Now can we drop this subject and go to bed?”

  “You are the one who insisted on explaining, Reed,” she reminded him. “All evening you have acted as guilty as a child caught with his hand in the cookie jar.”

  “Are you going to stay angry over this, Kat? None of this has anything to do with you and me.”

  She decided to let him off the hook. “Then how can I be angry with you?” she countered seriously.

  “You aren’t?” he asked incredulously.

  “Let’s compromise. I’ll be just a bit angry, and you talk me out of it.” She wrapped her arms about his neck and raised her lips to his. “Without words,” she whispered.

  Chapter 25

  THEY spent the next couple of weeks in relative quiet. Kathleen diligently applied herself to learning how Chimera operated. It was not so very different from the estate in Ireland, except that instead of free white servants there were slaves to manage, and the crops were different from home. She found it relatively easy, incurring no real difficulties.

  Some evenings they rode into Savannah to the theater or opera, but usually they spent cozy evenings alone with their friends. Kate visited often, and life became routine.

  Halfway through January, Jean decided he must return to Grande Terre, and Charles and Eleanore departed for New Orleans. Reed wanted Kathleen to return to the Bakers’ when he sailed, but she chose to visit Kate instead.

  “That way I won’t be tempted to scalp Amy,” she reasoned.

  “I’m going to miss Eleanore.”

  “I’m going to miss you,” Reed countered. “I’ve grown used to having you near, kitten.”

  “You could always take me along.”

  “Let’s not go through all that again, Kat. I’m not up to another six-month war with you, and I’ll tell you right now I wouldn’t put up with anymore of your nonsense. Your place is here at Chimera now. There is plenty to keep you busy here during the times when I am gone, and perhaps soon there will be children to occupy you.”

  She gave him a disgusted look.

  “I thought you wanted children, Kat.”

  “I do. It is just your attitude I object to. Why is it all men think about? And why on earth do women stand for it?”

  “I don’t understand you sometimes,” he commented.

  “That is because you don’t really try. I’m not so hard to understand. You are trying to fit me into a mold not made for me.”

  “It is you who won’t try, honey. If you give it a chance, you’ll settle into it.”

  She threw up her hands in dismay. “I give
up! It’s like talking to a brick wall. When are men going to realize there is more to a woman than being a wife and mother? You think all you have to do is give a woman a home and children and she’ll worship at your feet! Well, I have news for you! Behind a pretty face and trim figure is often a fine mind that works as well or better than yours, and I want to use my mind. My body, too, has other uses than pleasing you and bearing children. My hands can do more than sew and pour tea and flutter a fan.”

  “Then paint or sculpt. I’ll even agree to having Kate teach you horse breeding, though heaven knows that is not exactly an acceptable, ladylike occupation either. Take up gardening, ride that unpredictable creature you call a horse, redecorate the house. Read if your mind needs exercise, do charity work, plan parties. Do what all the other women do.”

  “Exactly!” she pointed out indignantly. “But above all, do not step into the man’s world! God forbid I should want to learn the more earthy workings of a plantation, eh? Don’t learn about crops and export taxes or the price of rice in China! Don’t bother about the field hands, the planting, the harvesting, or when to spread manure. Don’t pester the overseer to ask to see his books. Turn a blind eye when they castrate the bulls or turn one loose to service a cow! Delicacy forbids I notice the sow suckling her piglets or the hog being slaughtered, or that the bitch hound is in heat! I’m not supposed to know that the kitchen maid is five months pregnant by that big, muscle-bound buck who works the horses, or that you deliberately bred her to him, am I?”

  “Enough, Kat!” he roared angrily.

  “You had no idea I noticed all that, did you, Reed darling?" she cooed sarcastically. “Well, I have eyes and ears and brains!” She was past caring how angry he became. “I’m not a marble statue!”

  “No. What you are is a very stubborn, spoiled brat! You obviously were let to do as you pleased as a child. It is a wonder you had any upbringing at all, and I’ll guess Mrs. Dunley drilled that into you by force!” Reed grabbed her arms so she couldn’t turn away from him. “Let me tell you right now, my willful little wife, that I am fed up with your headstrong ways, and you are going to do things my way from now on, if I have to resort to force. I’ll beat you if I have to, Kat, so don’t push me too far!” His hands on her arms tightened.