Rebel Enchantress

by Leigh Greenwood

  “You can’t believe a farm bitch,” Oliver said to Serena. They’ll do anything to attract the attention of a man with a little bit of money.”

  Serena looked confused. She found it hard to believe that Delilah would attempt to seduce Tom Oliver. It wasn’t like her. On the other hand, Oliver was a man of her own station. How could she not believe him? Besides, he was married, about to become a father. Such a man wouldn’t waste his time on the sister of a poor yeoman farmer. Still, Serena didn’t really believe Tom. But she had been looking for a chance to get rid of Delilah. She couldn’t pass up this one.

  “I never wanted you here,” she said, turning on Delilah. “I told my nephew you would cause trouble, but I never dreamed of this, not even from one of your kind.”

  “You say ‘one of your kind’ like that again, Serena Noyes, and the bruise on Tom’s shin won’t be anything to what I do to your face,” Delilah announced. She was utterly furious, madder than she had ever thought possible. Oddly enough she wasn’t that angry at Tom. She had expected something crude from him. She wasn’t even too upset that Serena had sided wth him. She had expected that, too.

  What did make her so mad she was ready to fight them both with her bare hands was that she would be considered guilty of something she hadn’t done, especially such a sordid act. It made her even madder to know she was defenseless. No one had seen it. No one in the house would take her side.

  “I want you out of this house in half an hour,” Serena decreed. “And don’t leave anything behind.”

  Delilah started to object, but realized she had no ground to stand on. She faced Serena squarely, her eyes looking directly into the older woman’s, and for a long moment did not speak, the silence of the room becoming heavier the longer it lasted. Serena squirmed uncomfortably, but didn’t turn away.

  “I always knew you disliked the,” Delilah said at last, “but I gave you credit for common decency. You know Tom Oliver’s lying, but you choose to accept his obscene accusation because it suits your convenience. It doesn’t matter to you that my reputation may be ruined or my family may lose their only means of making a living. You’re a sick, twisted woman, Serena Noyes. I pity you.”

  Serena shrank back as if she had been struck.

  “You stop talking to Mrs. Noyes like that, or I’ll take a whip to you,” Oliver threatened.

  “You so much as lay a finger on me, Tom Oliver, and I’ll leave a set of scratches down your cheek you’ll not see the end of for a month. How will you explain that to your wife?” Delilah was so furious her whole body shook.

  Oliver drew back in some confusion.

  “I’ll pack my things and leave immediately.”

  “What’s going on?” Nathan demanded from the door. “Why are you packing?”

  No one had heard him come in. Delilah looked up to see confusion on his face. Even in the midst of the most all-consuming rage she had ever experienced, she was affected by his physical presence. The two powerful emotions battled briefly within her, and her physical response to Nathan won. Her rage at Tom and Serena started to subside with astonishing speed. Within seconds, it might never have existed.

  “I thought you wanted to stay until you’d paid off your brother’s debt.”

  Delilah couldn’t answer. How could she accuse one of his friends of lewd behavior, his aunt of using a lie to get rid of her?

  “I’m waiting for an answer.” He might have been speaking to all three of them, but he was looking at Delilah.

  She shook her head helplessly.

  “You can’t just shake your head. I want to know why you’re leaving.” When Delilah didn’t answer, he turned to Serena. “Can you tell me?” His aunt opened her mouth to speak, but Delilah sent her a look so filled with rage that her mouth slammed shut. “Have you also fallen dumb?” Nathan asked Oliver.

  “Hell, no” Tom said, as he shot Delilah a look of triumph. “The little whore made a pass at me, and Serena told her to get out.”

  The last word had barely escaped his mouth when a powerful blow from Nathan’s fist sent him crashing to the floor between an overturned chair and a broken table.

  He lay still.

  “Now,” Nathan said, turning to the two women, “will one of you tell me the truth.”

  Serena looked from Tom to Nathan and back to Tom, horrorstruck. Then she sank into a chair, one hand at her throat, the other at her breast. Speechless, she stared at Nathan.

  “Well,” he said, looking to Delilah.

  He hadn’t turned a hair. He wasn’t even breathing hard, yet Tom Oliver lay unconscious in the middle of the library floor.

  “Tom … he … I can’t … I really didn’t …”

  “Don’t try to explain that nonsense,” Nathan said impatiently. “Whatever happened, I know you didn’t make a pass at Tom Oliver.”

  Delilah looked at him in amazement, a great weight lifting from her chest. “How could you know that?”

  “I haven’t been around you this long without coming to a fair estimation of your character. I wouldn’t put it past you to stick a knife between my shoulder blades or to tell your brother and his friends everything that goes on here, but you wouldn’t steal so much as a crumb even if you were starving—and you wouldn’t make a pass at any man under any conditions.”

  Delilah’s world turned upside down.

  She had known for days her feeling for Nathan had become more than a mere physical attraction. So many things had happened to show her he wasn’t we man she had first believed him to be, but it had never occurred to her he would concern himself with her character. She had certainly never imagined he’d believe her rawer wan Serena or one of his friends.

  Yet he had. Without hesitation.

  The realization of what this meant made her so weak she wanted to sink down onto a chair as Serena had. But she didn’t. She stood facing him.

  “Tom Oliver brought a message for you. When you weren’t here, he got fresh. It made him angry when I rebuffed him.”

  She stopped. She didn’t want to say any more.

  “Is that all? I don’t see how that accounts for the state of we library.”

  Delilah looked down at Oliver. He was a weak man, but she really didn’t dislike him.

  That was all,” Delilah said. She sneaked a glance at Serena, who hadn’t moved.

  Then I suppose I shall have to have him arrested.”

  “Why?”

  “He must be drunk. He broke up my house. He could have become violent.”

  Delilah knew what Nathan was doing. “You would really have him arrested?”

  “Certainly.”

  “Even though you know that’s not true?”

  “How could I know that? No one has told the we truth.”

  Delilah didn’t see how learning the truth was going to help anybody, but she couldn’t allow Tom Oliver to be arrested.

  “I made Tom mad.”

  “How?”

  “Some things I said.”

  “What things?”

  “I told him he wasn’t very attractive.”

  “Why?”

  “Isn’t that enough?”

  “No. Why did you tell him? You don’t make a habit of being rude.”

  “He always resented me because I wasn’t attracted to him.”

  “And?”

  “He threatened me.”

  “How?”

  “He didn’t say.”

  “But you were able to keep away from him?”

  “If I hadn’t, he wouldn’t have been on his feet for you to knock down.”

  Delilah’s spurt of temper made Nathan grin. “Now tell me why you were getting ready to leave.”

  Again Delilah fidgeted. She knew she had to tell him this time. She was just trying to decide how much to tell.

  “Mrs. Noyes came in on us. Oliver told her I had made advances, kicked him when he’d turned me down.”

  “So why were you leaving?”

  “It’s impossible to keep a servant s
uch as Tom said I was. Mrs. Noyes had no choice but to tell me to leave”

  “But he was lying.”

  “How could she know that?”

  “I did.”

  That was unanswerable.

  “I promised your brother you’d be safe. I obviously haven’t done a good job.” He looked down at Oliver, who had begun to moan. “Get up,” Nathan ordered. When Tom didn’t move, Nathan roughly hauled him to his feet. “You’re not to come to this house—ever again.” The fires of deep anger flamed in his eyes once more. “If you have a message for me, send it by someone else.”

  “But-” Tom began.

  “Bother Delilah again, and I’ll horsewhip you.” A single push of powerful arms sent Oliver stumbling through the still-open door. Seconds later Nathan had thrown him out of the house and slammed the door behind him.

  “Now,” Nathan said to his aunt when he returned to the library, “why did you believe any of this nonsense?”

  “I didn’t know. I couldn’t … it’s impossible to … Tom would have told everybody mat she—”

  “I don’t intend to mold my behavior to fit what Tom Oliver or anyone else says. When you know a person of character, no matter what their station, it’s your responsibility to stand up for them. You can’t believe Oliver just because he has money. You can’t be afraid of him for that reason either.”

  Both women stared at Nathan. He had said more in the last five minutes than he’d said in the last two weeks. He had defended all people of integrity, had attacked the honor of the wealthy merchants, and had backed a servant’s actions rather than his aunt’s.

  “You may want to consult Mrs. Stebbens about dinner,” Nathan said to Serena. It was a dismissal, however politely worded, and they all knew it.

  Serena fled in haste.

  “Now tell the what really happened,” Nathan said, turning to Delilah. He came closer, so close she could hardly breathe.

  “I told you… .”

  “Only in part. What did he do?”

  “He did exactly what I said. He got angry when I said some unkind things about him. He wanted to punish me.”

  “Punish you! How?”

  Fury blazed in Nathan’s eyes, and Delilah knew right away she had used the wrong word.

  “I don’t mean punish. I suppose he only wanted to scare me, to bolster his vanity by proving he was bigger and stronger man I am”

  “Did he touch you?”

  “No.”

  “Is that the truth?”

  “Yes.”

  Nathan stared hard at her. Delilah didn’t let her gaze waver.

  “Why are you trying to protect him? Why won’t you tell me what happened?” He advanced a step toward her.

  “I have.” She stepped back.

  “No, you haven’t.” She saw his eyes flicker from her face, hold, and then grow vivid with fiery anger. “How do you explain the bruises on your shoulders?”

  She had forgotten them.

  His right hand reached out and touched the bruised spot on her left shoulder. As Delilah stood transfixed, his left hand reached out to the right. Delilah hardly knew what was happening to her. She could barely think.

  “He didn’t mean to do that. I said he was vulgar and crude, and that made him mad.”

  “You shouldn’t have let him touch you. You should have called out.”

  She felt she would jump out of her skin as an incredible amount of energy surged through her; then she was sure she would faint from the weakness that invaded her limbs.

  “I’ve known Tom all my life. He’s nothing but a braggart. He can’t stand it when a woman doesn’t find him attractive.”

  She wanted to run away because she couldn’t control the way he was affecting her; she wanted to stay rooted to the spot and let him touch her again and again. She wanted to tell him how happy she was that he cared about her; she was afraid to say a word lest it break the spell.

  “If you knew what he was like, why didn’t you stay away from him?”

  Delilah stepped back, breaking contact with Nathan’s fingertips.

  “Why are you getting mad at me?” she demanded. “I had no idea anything would happen, or I wouldn’t have opened the door. And if you believe I did anything to suggest I would welcome his advances, I’ll leave this house immediately.”

  “I don’t believe anything of the sort” Nathan said, the fire in his eyes cooling. “I suppose I’m feeling guilty for not protecting you, and I’m taking it out on you.”

  He stepped forward and allowed his fingers to caress her skin from the arch of her shoulder to the curve of her neck.

  “It’s not your fault,” she said.

  “Yes, it is. This is my house.”

  Nathan stroked her cheek with the back of his hand, gently, tenderly.

  “None of this would have happened if I had been home. I’ve been a fool to dunk I could accomplish anything by running away. It won’t happen again.”

  Delilah sensed that he was talking to himself more than to her, but she didn’t care. Her whole being seemed to become focused on the hand that moved down the side of her neck, brushing her skin ever so slightly, burning like fire, causing her muscles to go weak.

  “I want you to feel safe here.”

  “I do.”

  “If anything happens, anything at all, you’re to come to me. You understand?”

  Delilah nodded. His touch had rendered her helpless. Her whole body shivered uncontrollably.

  Nathan didn’t move. He seemed almost as transfixed as Delilah. His fingertips continued to travel over her skin, sending shivers through her. His face came closer to hers until she was burningly aware of his lips.

  Nathan’s body stiffened with desire. The feel of Delilah’s skin was like an aphrodisiac. He was consumed with an uncontrollable craving to do more than touch its softness and gaze longingly at her parted lips. He wanted to experience the intoxication of being alone with her, to take her in his arms and smother her with kisses.

  Their lips touched. Briefly. Gently.

  They drew apart. Each gazed at the other with new eyes.

  “You’re beautiful,” Nathan whispered. He cradled her face in his hands. “Very, very beautiful.”

  “You’re beautiful, too,” Delilah replied. “I’ve thought so from the moment you opened the door to me. You confused me so much I asked for tea. I didn’t even know how to serve it.”

  “I wanted you here so much I invented something for you to do.”

  “Reuben almost didn’t let me come.”

  “I would have found a way”

  Nathan kissed her again. He could feel Delilah’s lips quiver under his, then tense in response. The tension left his body, and his kiss became more insistent, more hungry. But a kiss wasn’t enough. He wanted to caress her, hold her, crush her to his chest.

  They broke apart, each aware of what they had done, each aware of how much more they wanted to do.

  Just as Nathan was about to yield to the tide sweeping over them both, the door opened and Mrs. Stebbens entered the room.

  “Her brother’s come,” she said. “He’s waiting for her down by the river.” She disappeared as silently as she had come.

  Nathan stepped back. “Hell see those bruises. He won’t let you stay.”

  “Do you want the to go?” Delilah said, her voice sounding as weak as she felt.

  “No,” Nathan said softly.

  “I’d better see Reuben. He’s not very good at waiting.”

  Neither am I.

  Chapter Eleven

  Delilah fled to her room. She needed time to calm her racing pulse and cool her flushed cheeks. She needed time to sort through the jumble of thoughts in her mind, to analyze the tangle of emotions in her heart.

  She also needed something to cover her shoulders. She was completely incapable of answering another question about her bruises.

  The hope that Nathan would become interested in her was no longer a daydream. No man touched a woman in that w
ay unless she was very special to him. She could still feel his kiss. He’d kissed her like a man making a wondrous discovery, like a man kissing a woman for the first time—no, like a man who kisses the woman he cares for, for the first time. If Mrs. Stebbens hadn’t interrupted them, he might be kissing her still.

  She might be touching him.

  That thought sent shivers all through her.

  From the first, he had held an unexpected fascination for her. And it wasn’t just his handsome face. It was the sheer impact of his physical presence on every part of her anatomy. That made her feel she was about to explode. She had never responded to anyone that way before. Now he had touched her, and she knew she wanted to touch him. Nathan wanted her just as much as she wanted him.

  What was she prepared to do about it?

  Delilah didn’t know. The differences caused by a war, an ocean, an entirely different way of living, and several thousand pounds had kept her from giving serious thought to anything more man that he was attractive and she wanted him to notice her.

  His understanding and sympathy for people like her was more sincere and more profound than the feelings of many of her countrymen. Could she have found her greatest ally in this most unlikely man?

  She would have to think about that. After she thought about Reuben.

  His arrival served to point up the fact mat she hadn’t done any of the wings she’d been sent to do. She had never wanted to spy on Nathan, but it would be even more difficult now. How could she spy on a man who constantly concerned himself with her comfort and happiness? Who gave more attention to her than his own family? Who looked at her as if he’d never seen a woman before?

  It would be a betrayal.

  But wouldn’t going back on her word be a betrayal of her family and Captain Shays? Who had the greatest claim on her loyalty—a handsome, seductive stranger, who had every reason to support her enemies, or the family and friends who loved her and had supported her through the most trying hours of her life?

  They hadn’t asked her to hurt Nathan or deprive him of anything. They were merely asking for a chance to hold on to their property so they could pay their debts. Wasn’t that a good enough reason to spy on him?