Reaching down and handing her the shirt she had discarded earlier, he helped her into it, his expression rueful. "I can't deny it. My only excuse is that I was a driven man!" He looked at her, a look that nearly made Savanna's knees buckle. One lean finger sliding tenderly down her cheek, he said huskily, "The only woman I loved, will ever love, would have nothing to do with me. What else could I do?"
It was an odd place to be sharing these intimate exchanges, but both of them had hidden what was in their hearts for too long and this frightening brush with death had made them, each in his own way, determined that not another moment would pass without the truth being told. Nothing mattered to either one of them but that they declare their love for each other, and if it was done with a dead man lying on the ground and alligators hissing and roaring just beyond the firelight, so be it.
Half annoyed, half teasing, Savanna pulled her breeches on and, giving him a dark look, muttered, "You could have told me that you loved me."
"Would you have believed me?" he asked steadily, the sapphire-blue eyes boring into hers.
Savanna started to answer with a vehement affirmation, but she stopped abruptly, thinking back to all the uncertainties that had beset her then. Would she have believed him? Probably not, she admitted with painful honesty. Confused as she had been, she'd have viewed his confession of love as just another ploy to convince her to marry him.
She smiled wryly. "Feeling as I did then, I'd no doubt have called you a liar and tried to put a knife in you!"
Adam smiled, nodding his head in agreement as he helped her finish putting her clothing to rights. "I almost told you the day I confronted you about the baby," he admitted suddenly. "You were sitting under that oak tree and I thought you had never looked lovelier... it was right at that precise moment that I realized what was wrong with me—I loved you!"
"Oh, Adam!" Savanna exclaimed breathlessly. "That's when I realized that I loved you!"
After that, what could he do but kiss her? Lost in the world that only lovers can enter, they were unaware of two things: the stealthy slide of Micajah's hand toward the pistol that lay next to him on the ground, and the soft thud of approaching horsemen.
Savanna's wound, while deadly, had not been instantly fatal to Micajah, and she and Adam had made the mistake of not making sure that he was really and truly dead. Micajah's face was twisted in a horrible grimace and his hard blue eyes were fixed in deadly concentration on the two lovers as his hand inched nearer the pistol. He knew he was dying, but before he succumbed, he was determined to kill the man who had upset all his plans—the desire to kill Adam St. Clair the only thing that was keeping him alive. His fingers closed unsteadily about the pistol and with a last, tremendous surge of power, Micajah lurched upright and aimed the pistol at Adam.
Micajah's dreadful chuckle was the first and only clue Adam and Savanna had that he was not dead. In dawning horror Savanna stared at the man she thought she had killed. Frozen in disbelief, she watched hypnotized as Micajah slowly began to pull back on the trigger. An anguished scream of denial was rising in her throat when a shot rang out through the night.
Incredibly, Adam was alive, his arms locked tightly around her, and dazedly she stared at Micajah as a bloody hole erupted in the middle of his forehead; the pistol slipped for the last time from his nerveless fingers. A sound behind her made her whirl around, and in stunned comprehension she watched as Bodene calmly put away his own smoking pistol and, followed by Jack and Toby, urged his horse into the firelight.
Tall and dark in the saddle, Bodene stared down a long while at Micajah's corpse. Glancing across at the two lovers, he finally said, "Always knew I'd have to kill that bastard someday."
Part Five
The Golden Armband
The wine of Love is music,
And the feast of Love is song:
And when Love sits down to the banquet,
Love sits long.
James Thomson
"The Vine"
From Sunday Up the River
Chapter 25
Pale November moonlight filtered softly into the bedroom that Adam and Savanna shared at Campo de Verde. Upon their return to the plantation nearly two months ago, considering all the events that had transpired, they had put off leaving for Natchez and Belle Vista until after the first of the year. This would be a holiday season to celebrate, and Adam had seen no reason that it shouldn't be spent at Campo de Verde. They had done enough racketing around this past half year, and it would be most pleasant to remain in one spot for a while before embarking upon another journey. And while Adam was eager for Savanna to see her new home, she would see Belle Vista soon enough.
The decision to remain at Campo de Verde had proved to be a wise one. Ensconced in familiar surroundings, with a doting mother and an equally doting husband to cosset her, Savanna blossomed as never before in her life. There was a soft, contented radiance about her these days, and if she had been a striking woman before, she was a breathtaking one now. Her red-gold hair seemed to shine and curl with a life of its own; the beautiful color of her aquamarine eyes seemed to deepen and intensify in brilliance, and there was a luminous glow to her skin that reminded Adam of the rich sheen of a perfect pearl. Garbed these days in an expensive and fashionable wardrobe from New Orleans, the glorious hair tamed into a neat chignon at the base of her neck, Savanna hardly resembled the disheveled virago who had faced Bodene over the barrel of a long black rifle that spring day, or the flashing-eyed vixen that had been Adam's first sight of her. Despite the outward changes, Savanna was still both of those creatures and none knew better than she that there would come a day when she would embark upon some wild adventure with her husband.
Snuggling deeper into his embrace this particular night, she smiled as she thought about the places he had promised to take her—the wilderness trails they would travel together, the awe-inspiring sights never seen by a white woman that would be hers. She was looking forward to those days, but she was also looking forward to her first sight of Belle Vista and making the acquaintance of the rest of the family.
Within a month of Micajah's death, Jason and Catherine had come to visit them at Campo de Verde. Leaving their children with their nanny at the town house in New Orleans, Catherine and Jason had stayed with Jason's grandfather, Armand, who lived on the plantation adjacent to Campo de Verde, but they had spent most of their waking moments at Campo de Verde.
Savanna grimaced as she remembered her first uneasy meeting with Adam's sister. Catherine Savage, though slight in build, had been as regal as an empress when she had been introduced to Savanna, and though Catherine had tried hard to overcome it, it had been obvious that only the great love she bore her brother had allowed her to speak with anything approaching civility to Savanna. It had begun as a stiff, uncomfortable meeting and Savanna's heart had sunk. Because it would please Adam, she had so wanted for his family to accept her as his wife.
Adam had explained his relationship to Jason, and Savanna had been fascinated to hear the tale of Guy and Rachel, and eager to renew her acquaintance with the man she now knew was Adam's half brother. She had already formed a favorable opinion of Jason Savage, and Jason, greeting her affably and with great warmth when he and Catherine had come to call that first day, had confirmed her earlier good impression of him. That Jason had unconditionally accepted her marriage to Adam had made Catherine's less-than-enthusiastic greeting not as painful. But if Catherine had been politely aloof in the beginning, it hadn't taken long for her to thaw. That same afternoon, after having been regaled with the story of Adam's kidnapping by Micajah and Savanna's daring quest to save him, Catherine had immediately unbent. Obviously any woman, heedless of her own danger, who would undertake such a perilous scheme to try to save Adam was without question precisely the sort of wife Catherine would have wished for him. As Jason had said, there was nothing about Savanna to remind her of Davalos, and Catherine's manner, as the day progressed, had become warmer and friendlier. It wasn't until seve
ral days later, however, when the two women had been talking quietly about the loss of a child that they both had suffered, that the real bond had been forged between them. When it became time for the Savages to leave for New Orleans, it was with real regret that Savanna and Catherine had said good-bye to each other.
It hadn't been a long parting, however. Since the Savages would be spending the majority of the winter months in the city, like most of New Orleans society, Elizabeth and Savanna had invited the family to join them for a celebration dinner. With gratifying promptness Jason and Catherine had accepted. Swelled by the influx of the active Savage brood as well as their parents and Jason's grandfather, the house at Campo de Verde had been overflowing.
The Savage children had returned to New Orleans with their grandfather and several servants only yesterday, Jason and Catherine having decided to remain for a longer visit with the newlyweds. Fascinated by the stories of the time Adam and Catherine had spent with gypsies and by Jason's riveting tales of his early adventures with Blood Drinker, Savanna was glad that they were staying longer. Two nights ago, Jason had, at Savanna's request, again told the story of the Aztec gold and, after much prompting by the others, reluctantly stripped off his upper clothing to reveal the emerald-and-gold armband that he always wore on his arm. It was such a beautiful object to have wreaked such violence and bloodshed, and Savanna had stared at it utterly mesmerized. For a long time after Jason had shrugged back into his clothing, she had been very quiet, realizing that it had been the discovery of the twin of that band that had started her father down the tragic path that had led to his death. Then she had smiled at Adam. If it had been Nolan's golden armband that had brought her father death, it had been that same armband that had brought her Adam. If Jeremy had not heard the tale from the dying Davalos, she and Adam would never have met....
While Jason had dark, bitter memories of her father, he also had some good ones, memories of when they had been boys together, memories of a different Davalos, of a lighthearted young man who had been a boon companion. After the tale of the golden armband, as if aware of Savanna's brooding thoughts about her father, Jason had made a point of recounting some of the pleasant times he had shared with Davalos before events had twisted the Spaniard into a vicious, soulless man. Savanna had been grateful to him for it. It comforted her to know that there had been a time when her father had been a good man, and watching the soft glow on her mother's face as Jason talked of those days, Savanna had been deeply moved.
The slight coolness of the room made her snuggle closer to her husband's warm body and she was wiggling about, trying to get comfortable, when Adam, a teasing note in his voice, said somewhere above her head, "Are you attempting to tell me that I did not satisfy you earlier? That I'm already failing in my duties as a loving husband?"
Her cheek resting sweetly on his broad naked chest, Savanna smiled. Oh, he had satisfied her, all right. He always did. During these past months Savanna had learned a great deal about the pleasures of the marriage bed—that and the fact that her desire for her husband was as insatiable as his seemed to be for her. She moved experimentally against him, not surprised to find that in spite of having made thoroughly passionate love to her less than an hour ago, he seemed to be more than willing to do so again—if the size and hardness of his manhood pressing urgently against her hip was anything to go by.
She angled her head upward and dropped a swift kiss on his chin. "Why do I have the feeling," she asked demurely, "that you are the one who is unsatisfied?"
Adam shifted , pushing her down into the softness of the feather bed as he loomed over her. In the faint moonlight, the sensuous glitter of his dark blue eyes was apparent, and kissing her lazily, he muttered, "You satisfy me in all ways, my love...."
When he finally lifted his head, Savanna was breathless and her body was thrumming with sexual anticipation.
"The problem," Adam went on in a thickened voice, just as if a long, carnally explicit kiss had not interrupted them, "is that I never stay satisfied. You're a damned seductive baggage and I can't seem to get enough of you."
Savanna stretched, letting her tingling nipples rub against the thick black hair on his chest. "And what," she asked huskily, "do you expect me to do about it?"
"Oh, God, nothing!" Adam growled. "Just be the woman you are and let me love you."
He proceeded to do just that, and it was some time later before Savanna drifted back to the present. Her head was on his shoulder and Adam had one arm wrapped possessively around her, their legs tangled beneath the sheet, when she became aware of her surroundings. In the glowing aftermath of their joining, they lay there together, murmuring the tender words that lovers have always shared.
Eventually talk of the future drifted in and Adam said casually, "After the spring planting, how would you like to retrace our path through Texas?" Rising to stare down at her bemused features, he said mockingly, "I have several, ah, fond memories of that trip and would like to see if my memory compares with reality." He brushed his mouth against hers. "One place in particular appeals to me... the place where I first discovered just how sweet and exciting making love to you could be...."
Recalling that tear-shaped pond, the sparkling blue clarity of the water and Adam's passionate lovemaking, Savanna was not adverse to the idea, but not this spring.... A soft, mysterious smile on her mouth, she stared up at him. "Not this spring, my dear," she said. "This spring, I expect that I shall be too clumsy to ride all day in the saddle."
Adam frowned. "Savanna, you're the least clumsy woman I know. Why will you be clumsy this spring?"
Gently her hand reached up to caress his lean, handsome face. "Because," she said softly, "I shall be very pregnant!"
Adam froze. The blue eyes blazed with delight and in a voice of awe, he asked huskily, "Are you certain? We're to have a child?"
Savanna nodded, and a quiver of laughter in her voice, she confessed, "I believe that our child will have had the dubious honor of having been conceived on the top of its father's desk."
"Oh, sweetheart," Adam breathed, raining sweet, soft kisses over her face, "I love you more than life!"
Naturally such good news could not be kept a secret, and that morning as they joined the others for breakfast, Adam proudly made the announcement of their impending parenthood. The reaction of the family was gratifying and most the remainder of the morning was spent in talking about the baby.
It was only later in the day, when, taking advantage of a fine afternoon for this time of year, the two couples were strolling around the grounds of the plantation, that the subject strayed to the golden armband. A thoughtful expression on her face, Savanna mused, "It's strange isn't it? The way that Nolan's golden armband was the beginning of so many tragedies and yet, in the end, it was the catalyst that brought us all together?"
In varying degrees the others all nodded in agreement, and Adam's arm, which had been resting casually about her waist, tightened and he pulled her nearer to him. Dropping a kiss on her cheek, he said bluntly, "I'm not sorry that they are dead, but I can't deny that I have every reason to be grateful to Micajah and Jeremy."
A frown on his face, Jason glanced at Savanna and asked, "Once you had learned of its existence from Micajah and Jeremy, did you ever look for Nolan's band? After all, Davalos did say that you would have it."
Savanna smiled wryly. "I have to believe that those words were simply the ravings of a dying man. Over the years since I inherited Campo de Verde, we've been over the house from top to bottom. We didn't know of the armband's existence, so we weren't looking specifically for it, but if he had hidden it in the house, we would have found it. The place was practically falling down about our ears when I first inherited it, and since then, during renovations and what not, either my mother or Bodene or I have discovered every nook and cranny in the house." She smiled up at Adam. "And during the past couple of months, Adam has poked and prodded and tested every brick, panel and step to see if he could discover a secret hiding place wit
hin the building."
Looking rueful, Adam admitted, "Jason, there isn't any place that it could be—I know, believe me. Davalos must have been out of his head, or Jeremy misunderstood him."
Jason's frown didn't abate. "No. Davalos wasn't out of his head, and the one thing we all have to remember is that Davalos did have Nolan's band. It was because he had Nolan's armband that he knew of the gold's existence."
Savanna was frowning now, too. "But if he had the band, where is it? Where would he have hidden it? And why did he say I would have it?"
"Because," Jason said slowly, thinking out loud, "you have Campo de Verde. You were his heiress and the only thing you inherited from him was a run-down plantation...."A gleam in his emerald eyes, Jason looked impatiently at the other three as they viewed him skeptically. "Don't you see, he said Savanna will have it—the plantation... the golden armband."
"But where is it?" Savanna demanded, puzzled. "If it is hidden here, he didn't leave me any instructions or clues, or anything. And it's not in the house." She swung her arm wide, encompassing the oak-dotted area some distance from the house where they were walking. "And if it's hidden out here or in the cane fields, we'll never find it."
Suddenly there was an arrested expression on Jason's handsome face. The emerald eyes narrowed. "I could be dead wrong, but it's worth a try...."
"What the devil do you mean?" Adam asked, aware of Jason's rising excitement.
"I mean," Jason admitted, "that when we were boys, Davalos and I roamed over these lands together—we knew every tree, every bush, every bayou. We had our secret places and we had places where we would hide, our private treasures—and it just occurred to me that I might have known all these years where Davalos put Nolan's armband."
Startling them all, he set off at a brisk pace, the others following behind him. He hadn't gone far before he stopped in front of a massive oak, its thick, heavy branches liberally strewn with gray-green Spanish moss. At first glance, it didn't look any different from a dozen other oaks in the same vicinity, but when one looked more closely, there was something that differentiated it from its neighbors. A few feet above the ground, in the trunk of the tree, there was a small, irregular-shaped hole where a branch had rotted off years ago.
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