by Ana Seymour
Chapter Six
It didn’t take long for the energizing effects of the free day to wear off. By the end of another five endless days in the saddle, tempers were frayed and the faces around the nightly camp fire looked drawn and weary. Nancy Trask had been too weak to sit up for her supper. She had retired to her tent the minute it was pitched. Left to himself, Hugh had broken a bottle out of his family’s packs and was soothing his fatigue with liquor.
Janie and Bridgett, normally so reserved, had had a fight, complete with hair pulling, and when Peggy had attempted to intervene, both sisters had turned upon their new friend and on Jacob, who had come to his sister’s defense.
Hannah heard the ruckus as she sat with Nancy Trask in the Trasks’ tent. She had been trying to urge Nancy to take at least a little broth so she would have strength for the trail. The pregnant woman had refused until Hannah had told her that Ethan had predicted that they would be at Fort Pitt by tomorrow. This brightened her spirits enough so that she was able to sit up and eat a little.
“I’d best go see to the children,” Hannah said.
“I can’t believe that’s my Janie and Bridgett hollering like that,” the sick woman said. “I should go out to them.” There were great dark circles under her eyes, and in the light of the lantern her features looked sunken and ghostly.
“I’ll see to it, Mrs. Trask. You lie back and rest. We still have one more long day to go tomorrow.”
Nancy gave Hannah a wan smile. “You’ve mothered Priscilla’s children, now mine, Hannah. I reckon we’re mighty lucky that Randolph brought you on this trip.”
“I’m happy to help, Mrs. Trask.”
Nancy put her hand in Hannah’s. It seemed to Hannah that she could feel each one of her bones through the tissue-thin skin. “I’d be pleased if you’d use my given name, like you do with Eliza,” she said.
The shouts from the children grew more strident. “I’d be pleased, too, Nancy,” Hannah said. “Now you lie back, and I’ll go see what’s going on with those youngsters.”
She crawled under the tent flap right into the middle of the fracas. Janie and Bridgett were heading toward their mother’s tent in search of a referee. Hannah shooed them all to the other side of the campsite, then gathered them around her in a circle. “You four have been brave and cooperative this whole trip,” she told them. “It’s been a great help to all of us. Now let’s not spoil the record our very last night on the trail. Tomorrow night we’ll be at the fort, and you’ll have several days to play and meet new people and see lots of new things before we start downriver.”
All four were listening to her intently. The quarrel seemed to be forgotten. “Can I count on you all to be mature and helpful for one more day of riding?”
One by one the heads nodded. Jacob was the last. “But Janie called Peggy a twit,” he said.
“When we’re tired we all do and say things we don’t mean, Jacob. What we need is to all get a good night’s sleep and start fresh in the morning.”
“I didn’t mean it, Peggy,” Janie said timidly, her long brown hair falling over half her face.
Peggy turned to give her new friend a hug. “I’m sorry,” she said.
“I’m sorry, too.”
“Me, too,” Bridgett added. And suddenly there were smiles all around and the four ran off to check on their squirrel trap before they went to bed. They had built a trap each night, but so far had not caught one.
“You’re wonderful with them, Hannah.” Randolph came up behind her.
“They’re good children. The Trask sisters are really quite nice.”
“I’m glad to see Peggy with some friends.”
“It would be nice if all the children could do their schooling together once we get settled. We could all take turns teaching them.” Hannah had had some basic schooling in London when she was a child, but her mother’s continuing illnesses had forced her to spend more and more of her time at home. She was able to help Jacob with his sums and his writing, but she felt that Peggy was reaching a level beyond her. Nancy had had much more education, and had actually been a teacher before she married Hugh.
Randolph nodded. “That’s a good thought. I’ll talk to Mrs. Trask about it when she’s feeling better.”
“I’ve just given her some soup. I think she’ll be all right for one more day. Then she can get some good rest at the fort.”
“It’s amazing that Mrs. Trask and the girls are so sweet with the loudmouthed father they have.”
“Mr. Trask makes me feel uncomfortable,” Hannah admitted.
“Has he been rude to you, Hannah? He’s not bothered you certainly?”
Hannah hesitated, then said carefully, “Not any more than one should expect in my position.”
To Hannah’s surprise, he suddenly took her hands.
“I don’t like to hear you talk that way, Hannah. You don’t have to think of yourself as a servant anymore.”
His hands closed warmly around hers, drawing her just a step closer. Hannah tried to think of something to say. For two years she had given this man the deference due an employer. Now he was holding her hands and looking down at her with an expression that was anything but impersonal.
“But…”
His thumbs moved back and forth across her palms. “We don’t need to go any further than that as yet. It will take some getting used to, I know.”
After a moment’s embarrassment, it didn’t feel so awkward to have her hands in his. She’d been taking care of him and his family for so many months, it seemed almost natural that their relationship would deepen. He was kind and considerate and attractive. In the depths of her despair before she got on the ship in London, she had never imagined that her indenture would bring her into a family where her labors would be rewarded with so much affection and even love.
“In truth, I hardly think of myself as a servant, sir,” she said.
Randolph dropped her hands. “Then why do you call me sir?”
Hannah blushed. “I’ll not do so anymore if you don’t like it.”
“I’d prefer just plain Randolph,” he said. “Do you suppose you could manage that?”
“But what would the others think?”
“They’ll think just what I want them to think. That things are changing between Randolph and Mistress Forrester. And people like Hugh Trask will realize that you are more to me than an indentured servant.”
Hannah tried not to interpret his declaration too broadly. “When you purchased my contract in New York, you offered me your protection, and it seems that you are offering it once again. I’m very grateful.”
Both looked a little uncomfortable at the apparent change in their relationship. Randolph was the first to speak. “So one more long day on the trail,” he said briskly.
“Aye, I’d better go see to it that the children are getting to bed.”
“Sleep well, then. I’ll see you in the morning.”
She bobbed her head and walked away, leaving him gazing after her. Her bright blond hair shone in the darkness long after he couldn’t see the gentle sway of her hips. He had loved Priscilla more than he had ever thought a man could love a woman, but she’d been gone now many months. Even his memory of her dear face had begun to fade. The sharp cut of grief was dulling, and nowadays when he watched Hannah laughing with his children, a new kind of ache had begun to grow in his middle. It had grown stronger during this trip, being around her all the time, next to her at the camp fire, behind her on the trail. She was grateful, she’d said. But it was more than gratitude he wanted from Hannah Forrester.
The last person Hannah wanted to run into after her unsettling conver-sation with Randolph was Ethan Reed, but he was leaning casually against a tree alongside her tent as she approached.
“It looks like you and Webster are getting more chummy every day,” he noted, chewing nonchalantly on the end of a stubby clay pipe.
Hannah was disconcerted. A few nights ago this man had kissed her, and she had let hi
m. Now he had witnessed her holding hands in the dark with Randolph. For a girl who had lived her life more protected from men than a cloistered nun, it had been quite a week. Would she now be accused of being the loose woman her mother had always claimed she would be if she paid the least attention to a man?
“If you’ll excuse me, Captain Reed. I have to find my children and get them to bed.”
“Your children?” The pipe in his mouth tilted up as he grinned at her.
“My charges,” she amended. “The Webster children.”
“Indeed. Don’t let me keep you, Mistress Hannah.”
Flustered, she turned the wrong direction in confusion, then recovered and headed toward the rear of the encampment.
The four youngsters had made their peace and were talking together happily when Hannah found them. They made no fuss about being told to come to bed. She crawled into the tent after Peggy and Jacob and gave them each a hug and kiss good-night, as was her custom since the time when their mother had become too weak to go to their bedside and do so herself.
“Will there be Indians at the fort tomorrow?” Jacob asked. He had a special skill for coming up with questions just at bedtime that required elaborate answers, but this time Hannah would not let herself be led into the game.
“I guess we’ll find out when we get there, won’t we?” she answered. Then she brushed the hair back from his forehead and gave his chest a little pat. “Go to sleep now, dearlings.”
As she turned to go, Peggy said, “Hannah?”
“Yes, dear?”
“This trip would have been awful without you along.”
For a moment, Hannah didn’t reply. She wondered if the children had heard that the MacDougalls had tried to persuade her to stay in Philadelphia. In particular she wondered if Peggy, who was old enough to speculate about such things, had been aware of her grandmother’s feelings about Randolph and Hannah. Children often knew more than one gave them credit for. “Your father would have taken fine care of you even if I’d not been here,” she said.
“But all the same, we’re glad you’re with us,” Peggy said firmly. “May I tell you a secret?”
“Certainly.”
“Sometimes when I see you riding along in Mama’s cloak, I pretend to myself that you really are Mama going west with us.”
Hannah’s throat closed. She leaned to give the girl a hug. “Your mama will always be with you, Peggy. No matter where you go. But I’m happy that I can stand in for her in some ways with you children.”
“I love you, Hannah,” Jacob murmured in a voice that sounded already half-asleep.
“I love you, too,” she whispered. “Now go to sleep. Happy dreams.”
She sat for a moment listening as the children’s breathing evened out into slumber. They were her children in many respects, and she had grown to love them both dearly. More than a servant, their father had said. Yes, she certainly felt that way with Peggy and Jacob. And now it seemed that she would be given the opportunity to see if she could feel that way with their father, as well.
Her thoughts were still on this startling idea as she walked down to the river to wash before going to bed herself. They had chosen to stop at a spot where a flat bar of sand rimmed the river’s edge, forming a little beach. Hannah was tempted to remove some of her clothes so she could really get herself clean, but decided it was too risky. When they got to the fort she would find a way to take a real bath.
She knelt in the gravelly sand and bent over the edge of the river. By now she was used to the icy water and didn’t even flinch as she splashed it over her face and neck. She lifted her skirt to dry herself, then turned abruptly as something gave her a sudden, uneasy chill.
Hugh Trask was standing at the edge of the beach, silhouetted in the moonlight. He had a bottle in his hand and a nasty grin on his face.
“Don’t let me interrupt you, Hannah,” he said, holding his bottle aloft in a mock salute. “I was just enjoying the view.”
She jumped to her feet. “I was about to retire,” she said hastily. “I’ll bid you good-evening.”
“Not so fast.” He came toward her with a lurching walk. Hannah’s heart began to beat as she realized that he was drunk. She’d seen drunks before on the streets of London and had learned to stay away from them. Her shoes slipping on the sand, she started to dart around him, but his free hand shot out and took a painful grasp on her shoulder. “What’s yer hurry?” he said, weaving slightly as he held her fast.
Hannah’s mouth went dry. Randolph may be telling her not to consider herself one, but that didn’t change the fact that she was a bonded servant. There was very little protection under the law against all variety of indignities that a free man might want to inflict upon her. “Please excuse me, Mr. Trask,” she said, trying to sound as haughty and unconcerned as possible under the circumstances.
But his hold on her shoulder only became tighter. His thumb pressed cruelly into her shoulder blade and she buckled under the pressure. “I think we should have a li’l moonlight shh…troll,” he said.
“Please, Mr. Trask, you’re hurting me!” Hannah could no longer keep the panic out of her voice.
“Get your damned hands off her, Trask, or I’ll ram that bottle down your ugly throat.”
Trask’s grasp on her shoulder loosened and Hannah sank to her knees in relief as Ethan came out of the shadows and strode toward them across the beach. He pulled the bottle from Trask’s hand and flung it out into the middle of the river. “You’re drunk, Trask, and this is my last warning. If you want to continue on with this expedition, you’d better sober up fast and stay that way.”
Trask blinked hard as though trying to focus on his antagonist. “You ain’t got no right to be telling me what to do, Reed,” he said. “You heard what Webster said the other day—we’re paying you, not the other way around.”
Ethan took hold of Trask’s shirt and pulled him within inches of his face. He spoke in an undertone that Hannah could barely hear. “If you lay a hand on her again, Trask, you’ll see just what kind of bloody rights I have. I’ll be eating your liver for breakfast.”
Trask turned his head to one side and looked as if he were about to be sick. “Do you understand me, you miserable sot?” Ethan asked. He gave Trask a push that sent him stumbling up the sand toward the woods. Then he dropped to the ground next to Hannah. “Are you all right?”
“Thanks to you. This is the second time you’ve rescued me from a disagreeable encounter with Mr. Trask.”
“I should skewer the bastard.”
Hannah shook her head. “I don’t want trouble on my account.”
Ethan turned to look at her. “You’re shaking,” he said with concern. Before Hannah knew what was happening, he had lifted her in his arms and held her cradled like a babe against his broad chest.
“I’m fine,” she protested.
“Your heart is beating like a moth’s wing.” He put one hand on her soft muslin dress, just above her right breast.
“I’m fine,” she said again, but it came out as a whisper.
His hand stayed where he had placed it, which meant that her heart continued its erratic dance. Hugh Trask was forgotten, and both had become aware that she was sitting in his lap on a darkened beach. “Let me see for myself,” Ethan said. He moved his hand finally, but only to bring it up to cup her chin as he turned her face toward him.
She knew that he was going to kiss her. She tried to think about Randolph and how steady his hands had felt around hers earlier that evening. About Jacob’s tiny voice saying “I love you.” She tried to think of anything but Ethan’s strong arms moving around her and his warm lips descending on hers. But the battle was lost before the soldiers had taken the field.
Unlike the gentle caress they had shared the other evening, this kiss was demanding from the start. His hand held the back of her neck as his mouth molded itself to hers, then skillfully, patiently, explored and teased and aroused until Hannah’s entire world was reduced to t
his incredible union of lips and tongues.
“I’m sorry, lass.” Ethan’s shaky voice reached her through a haze. “I fear you’ve robbed me of my senses.”
Slowly the earth tilted back into place. Hannah opened her eyes to see Ethan watching her with a rueful smile.
“I had just planned on a simple kiss,” he said.
“It wasn’t.” Hannah stated the obvious. She might be untutored, but even she knew that something special had passed between them. Her rapid heartbeat had been replaced by a slow, steady throb, and her body felt warm all over.
Ethan shifted her in his arms to widen the distance between them. He took a long breath. “I’m not sure what I intend to do about it.”
His words made Hannah feel uncomfortable for the first time since he had taken her in his arms. He sounded as if this were an entirely one-sided proposition. He decided. He intended. What about her?
“You needn’t do anything at all.” She pushed herself off his lap and turned on her knees to face him. “You rescued me, comforted me. That’s the end of it.”
Ethan made no move to retain his hold on her. “I think we both know that that’s probably not the end of it, Hannah.”
Hannah folded her hands in front of her and pressed them down on her knees. This would be easier if she didn’t still feel so unsteady. First Trask, then the captain. All at once she wasn’t sure which man had upset her more. “As I believe I have explained to you, Captain Reed, I’ve not had a great deal of opportunity in the past for—” she gave a vague wave of her hand back and forth between them, then cleared her throat and continued “—for dealings with men. Nor do I intend to have for some time in the future, at least for the duration of my contract.”
He frowned at her. “Don’t you think you could call me Ethan, considering what has happened between us—twice now, by my count? And what is likely to happen between us again, no matter how many damned contracts you sign?”
Hannah stood, looking down at him. “No, Captain, I don’t. I must admit that I’m not unaffected by you. But all things considered, I believe it would be best if we kept our distance from one another.”