by Lora Thomas
“Leave, Peterson.” Michael warned.
Egbert gave Michael an intense look. “Swimming with your clothing on? A little on the unorthodox side, even for you, isn’t it?”
“Whatever you need to say, Peterson, say it or leave. But if you waste any more of my time with your nonsense, I will be happy to beat my frustrations out on you.”
“You sound just like your father. You know his temper is why he had to leave England. He nearly killed a Duke. So—”
“And if you don’t get the hell out of here, I’m about to kill an Earl.”
Egbert’s eyes lowered. He watched a blond curl float from around Michael. “I hope Mrs. Craycraft castrates you once she finds out you’re bedding one of her daughters.”
Michael heard Andi suck in her breath. He reached an arm behind him and held her in place. “You’ve had your only warning, Peterson. If I have to give it to you again, the only way they will be able to recognize you is by that overinflated ego you possess.” A malicious smile crossed Michael’s face. “Of course, they will think your death was caused by some of the people you have substantial debt with, so no one would even consider me. That gambling issue you have is a pesky problem.”
“Just keep your hands off my intended, St. John. I will not have your family interfering in my affairs again.” With that Egbert stomped off.
Michael waited several minutes before he released his grip from Andrea’s arm.
“Why, that no good, pompous-assed, snake in the grass!” Andi hissed, starting towards the bank, her anger making her forget she was not dressed.
A roguish smile crossed Michael’s lips. “Andi.”
“What?” she snapped, turning towards him.
“You’re naked.”
“What? Oh!” she chided as her eyes grew wide. “And you’re in my lake, so get out!”
He slowly shook his head and walked out of the lake. “Where’s your mount?”
“Why?”
“I’ll retrieve her for you while you dress.”
“I can manage to get Comet myself, thank you very much.”
“I am certain you can. I just do not want to leave until I know for certain that Peterson is gone.”’
“Oh, now you’re going to be chivalrous?” she asked with mockery.
“That’s correct. I don’t trust him. You shouldn’t be alone around that man.”
“And I can trust you?”
An overconfident smile crossed Michael’s face. “Of course. Your virtue is still intact, is it not? Did you not enjoy our kiss?” He turned towards her and took a step back into the water. “I can continue—”
“She’s over by the log to the left of the path,” Andi interrupted and pointed in the direction she had tied Comet.
“Call out when you’re finished dressing and I’ll bring your horse to you.”
“That’s all right. I’ll walk home. You can ride Comet. If Mammy catches us coming from here together, she’ll kill us both.”
Michael gave a deep laugh. “I imagine so. But, no, you ride your horse. I’ll wait around for about ten minutes, then return. Besides, I don’t think anyone would question us. I am soaking wet and you are your mother’s daughter.”
“Go get my damn horse,” Andi snapped. She watched as Michael walked in the direction of Comet, wondering how she had gotten herself involved with this man.
Chapter Nine
Michael decided not to attend the dinner after all. He didn’t know if he could be in the same room with Andrea without touching her. That little pixie was getting to him. She began consuming his thoughts constantly, making his mind lax. He needed to focus on completion of the shipping contracts, but his mind kept returning to her. Her eyes, her lips, her taste. She was a temptation that he needed to get away from, but didn’t want to. He was drawn to her like a moth to a flame. And like the moth, if he came too close, he knew he would get burned.
He soon regretted not going to the dinner for that would be the last time he would see Andrea for almost a week. She left the following morning. Stephen’s mother, Maude, insisted Abigail go with her to visit her sister in Savannah. Maude’s sister, Evelyn, was bedridden and would not be able to attend the wedding, but she wished to grant Abigail her blessing. Evelyn was also in possession of a ring that had belonged to Stephen’s great-grandmother. Since there had not been any male heirs in the family for two generations, the ring had remained in a locked box until the day a male was born and would give it to his bride.
Amanda was hesitant to let Abigail go, but agreed only if a chaperone would be allowed to go. Andi quickly volunteered. Amanda was suspicious of her middle daughter’s agreeable nature in the matter of chaperoning. In the past, Andi always protested the job but now she was volunteering. Amanda was not fooled. She knew something was vexing her daughter, but she could not figure out what. As Amanda watched the carriage carrying her daughters disappear though the gates of Double Oasis, she spotted Michael in the corner garden talking to Old Amos. Her eyes narrowed and her mouth dropped. He had come from the same direction as Andi yesterday, only minutes later, soaking wet.
Amanda turned and stormed into the house. She went into her sitting room and pulled open the drawer to her white desk. Pulling out her pistols, she exchanged the tightly packed rock salt in each gun with lead slugs. She slammed the drawer shut and marched out to the garden.
Michael was engrossed in the conversation with Old Amos and did not notice Amanda’s approach. Old Amos did and stated, “Aw, now, Miss Mandy’s spittin’ mad at someone.”
Michael turned just in time to see her raise her pistol and take a shot at him. He jumped back as the bullet hit just inches from his feet. She raised her second pistol and aimed it at his head. “You’ve got five seconds to tell me what you did to Andi to make her leave.”
Michael’s eyes grew wide. “What?”
“Four, three,” Amanda kept counting.
Michael held up his hands in surrender. Amanda was too far away for him to charge and wrestle the gun from her. “Look, Miss Amanda, I don’t think this is the place for such a conversation. Now, if you would please lower your weapon—”
Before Michael had finished his sentence, Amanda fired her pistol at him. Time seemed to pass in slow motion as Michael watched the lead slug sail towards him and pass just inches from his right ear. The bullet was so close he could feel it pass though his hair.
His eyes locked onto Amanda’s. Her eyes resembled those of a demonic hell beast. “You have two minutes to be in my study or I won’t purposely miss the third time,” she warned coldly and turned.
Old Amos gave a “tee hee” laugh and patted Michael on the back. “You certainly made Miss Mandy mad.” He nudged Michael and offered the younger man his walking stick. “You might need this.”
Michael looked at the large cedar stick the old man was carrying. He shook his head. “There isn’t a woman on this earth that I cannot handle.”
Old Amos gave another “tee hee” laugh. “Well, Miss Mandy ain’t from this earth. She’s a mixture of fire and brimstone. I’ll be listenin’ outside her winda. If it sounds like yer in trouble, I’ll fetch Mr. Ott out of the fields.”
Michael walked towards the house. “That won’t be necessary, Amos, but I appreciate your concern.”
When Michael entered Amanda’s study, he found her behind her desk reloading her pistols. “Those won’t be needed, Miss Amanda.”
She didn’t look up as she packed the barrel of the gun. “It depends on what you have to say,” she said and laid both pistols on her desk with the barrels facing Michael. She sat down behind the desk and motioned towards the chairs in front of her. “Now, as I asked earlier . . . what did you do to make Andi want to leave?”
“I don’t know.”
Mandy stood, slammed both hands on her desk with such force that the vase sitting on the corner bounced off to the floor, shattering. The angry woman leaned over towards Michael. “Don’t lie to me, boy! She volunteered to chaperone, a c
hore she detests. I saw you come from the same direction as she did yesterday, from my lake.” She slammed her fist on the table. “Now I’ll ask you again, what did you do?!”
Michael studied the woman and the perplexing situation at hand. Normally this was a conversation he had with fathers, not mothers. But, then again, this family was far from normal. The adults had role reversals for the most part. Ott was the kind one, the one you could reason with, the one who kept Amanda’s temper in check. Amanda was the fiery one, the one who worried about protecting their daughters’ virtues and who apparently would call one out to protect them.
“Yes, we were at the lake together, but it was not what you assume.”
“Enlighten me,” she hissed.
Michael took a deep breath. A little white lie would not do any harm. “I saw Andrea head towards the lake and then a man. I went to investigate and noticed the man spying on her. We fought and I got pushed into the water.”
“Who was it?”
Michael shook his head. He was not about to let Amanda know that Peterson had been around the lake. He knew she would kill him over this fabrication—even though no one would care. Considering the tension between the States and England, he did not doubt that Amanda would hang for killing a Lord of the Realm to help smooth the ties.
“I don’t know who he was. But rest assured, he will not be spying on anyone again.”
Amanda sat down. “That still did not answer my question. Why did Andrea leave?”
“I do not know. Why didn’t you ask her?”
“I did and she said ‘it would be fun to go to Savannah’. She hates Savannah.”
“Miss Amanda, I know how close you are to your family, and I sense Miss Andrea is the same. Maybe she just wanted one last outing with her sister, before Abigail is lost to her by marriage and the responsibilities that go with it.”
Amanda slowly nodded her head and blinked rapidly. Michael could sense this proud woman’s sorrow. “Yes, I suppose you’re right. Abigail and Andrea are very close.” She sniffed and pulled a lace handkerchief out of the sleeve of her gown and dabbed her eyes.
“Stephen is a good man. He’ll take excellent care of Abigail.”
“I know. It’s just hard. You prepare them every day of their lives to run a household, to host parties, to manage the day-to-day duties of being a wife. But when it’s actually time for them to do so, you wish for one more second, one more day. When Annabel married, Ott had to replace three front porch pillars and buy a whole flock of chickens.” She gave a pain-filled laugh. “Everyone was tired of eating chicken. I believe we ate it every night for a month. Sally even threatened to pluck me if I shot one more.”
Michael laughed. “I imagine so.”
Amanda stood and walked over to Michael. “Thank you.” She patted him gently on the shoulder and walked out of the room.
Michael took a relieved breath and shook his head. He would never understand this family. One minute they were ready to kill you and in the next they made you feel like you were one of their own. They were constantly at each other’s throats, but would kill anyone who spoke badly about the other.
He eyed the pistols on the desk. Leaning over, he picked them up and unloaded the lead slugs, placing them in his breast pocket. Opening the desk drawer he placed the pistols back inside. He walked over, looked out the window and spotted the top of Old Amos’s head.
“You may leave now, Amos. My head is still intact.”
Old Amos looked up sheepishly at Michael. “Just makin’ sure,” he replied and hobbled off towards the boat dock.
Michael turned his gaze back on the plantation. It amazed him how well Ott ran his farm. He made sure all slaves were well fed and had the best medical care money could buy. He refused to let them work during the heat of the day and granted them several days off during the week. He even worked side-by-side with his workers during planting and picking season. Ott treated his slaves like they were part of his extended family. He had seen the pain in Ott’s eyes when one of the slaves had a child that was stillborn. Ott loved his land and the people who tended it. Michael wished the world was as kind as Ott Craycraft. But unfortunately it was not and one had to deal with the Egbert Petersons in it.
The next day, Michael learned that when Andrea and Abigail returned there was to be a pig roast. It was the kickoff to Alyssa’s debutante ball. The day would begin with a pig roast and end with the ball. Alyssa had been so excited when she informed him about it last night. She had spotted him in the hall as she made her way down to dinner and informed him that plantation owners from as far away as Charleston were coming—which was apparently a big deal. She spoke excitedly about it for over ten minutes, until her maid, Ruth Ann, reminded her of her prior engagement.
After the lake incident, Michael had planned on leaving on Monday. But he could not pass up the opportunity to discuss business with the Charleston plantation owners. Plus, he owed an apology to Andrea. Having that decision made, he decided to wait until after Abigail and Stephen’s wedding before he departed for New York. The wedding was still two weeks away, which would give him the allotted time to complete any contracts that would need to be constructed. Feeling rather pleased with his decision, Michael decided to visit Colonel Red’s. He needed a strong drink, plus he needed to win back the money he had lost playing cornhole with Higgins.
Chapter Ten
During the week Andi was with Abigail, Michael managed to get the contracts from earlier deals completed for Ott as well as several other plantation owners. Amanda had granted him usage of her desk for his work. Completing the paperwork was a grueling task, the part of the job Michael hated, but it was necessary. He completed it quickly, especially since the house was basically empty. Ashton had gone to visit a cousin at Edisto, Andi and Abigail were in Savannah, and Alyssa was visiting her best friend, Margaret. The house was eerily quiet. The only noise was Amanda occasionally shooting at the roosters. Even Ott had been preoccupied most of the week making arrangements to have a pig roasted.
The pig roast was tomorrow. The day Alyssa was so excited about. She came through the front door all smiles. She was so excited for her debutante ball. Alyssa and Margaret had their heads together as they headed up the grand central staircase, excitedly discussing which dresses they would wear to the pig roast and which one to the ball.
Michael went into Ott’s study and grabbed a bottle of brandy. He then walked out of the house and onto the front porch. Sitting down in one of the many rocking chairs, he began rocking slowly, methodically allowing his mind to wander. It had been a week since he had seen Andi and he wouldn’t get to see her again until she arrived home tomorrow morning, just before the pig roast. He had overheard Mandy state that Peterson planned on occupying the majority of Andi’s day to get better acquainted with his bride-to-be.
The thought of Peterson marrying Andi infuriated Michael. She was an exotic flower who needed to have her wild nature tamed, but encouraged just the same. Peterson would not tolerate Andi’s spirited nature. He would attempt to beat it out of her and there would be nothing her parents could do about it since he planned to return to England just after they were wed in July.
Michael looked across the yard and placed the decanter of brandy to his lips, taking a long drink. A disgusted grunt escaped him at the thought of never being able to have Andi in his arms again. What spell had she cast over him to consume his thoughts so? He took several more drinks and watched the sun begin to slowly make its downward descent in the evening sky.
It would be dark in a couple of hours. If he wanted to cool off, now was the time. Tomorrow the plantation would be crawling with guests. He stood and set the bottle down on the porch railing, descended the steps and made his way to the barn. Hezekiah was nowhere to be found, so Michael took the liberty of saddling Ghost himself.
He took a ride around the plantation before heading towards the lake. Tying Ghost up beside the bench, he quickly undressed. Entering the water, goose bumps covered his fles
h. Michael proceeded deeper into the cool water. When the water rested mid-thigh, he dove in. The water caressed his skin in a most welcoming way, cooling his body and easing the stress of the last week. When his head emerged from underneath the water, he shook it, and the droplets went out in every direction. He took his right hand and pushed his long hair out of his eyes.
“You know, you look like a pirate with that long hair of yours,” a voice from behind him said.
Michael quickly turned to find Andi sitting on the bench. Excitement filled his soul at the sight of her. “I thought you wouldn’t be back until the morning?”
“Yeah, I had a change of plans. Stephen’s aunt, God love her soul, is just soooo annoyin’. I had to fake an illness so we could leave early.”
Michael raised a dark brow. “Did you now?”
“Yes.” Andi tilted her head to the side. She was watching him. A twinkle entered her eyes as she spoke. “A bit of consumption is a wonderful excuse to come home.”
Michael laughed. God, he had missed her. “So once home, your ‘illness’ was miraculously cured and you needed a swim?”
She smiled mischievously and crinkled her nose. “Somethin’ like that.”
“I hate to disappoint, but I just got here.” He saw the sadness in her eyes. He knew she loved to swim just as much as he. He took a slow breath. “Don’t give me that look.”
“I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about,” she said and she stuck her lower lip out in a small pout, unaware she was doing so.
“Let me swim back and you can have your lake. I have enjoyed it daily since you have been away. It would be only right to allow you to enjoy it since you have been away.” He watched a pleased expression cross her face. “But you are sitting on my clothing.”