Rebel Enchantress

by Leigh Greenwood

  “What are you doing here?” demanded Priscilla. “How did you find us?”

  “I followed you. I was in the library when you stole that paper from Nathan’s desk.”

  Hector looked down. The paper was in his hand. Instinctively he put it in his pocket.

  “You couldn’t have been. I saw no one.”

  “I was hiding behind the settle. Does Nathan know you have a key to his desk?”

  “I didn’t take anything important.”

  Delilah decided she had to appear to know more than she did if she was to force any information out of them. “You took the list of names Lucius Clarke gave Nathan. Why?”

  Bull’s-eye! Both Priscilla and Hector lost color.

  “It’s a letter I wrote to Ezra Buel long ago,” Hector told her. “I asked Priscilla to get it back for me.”

  “Let me see it.”

  “It’s private.”

  “I won’t read it.”

  Hector made no move to remove the paper from his pocket.

  “Why did you take the list?”

  Neither of them answered.

  “I know you want to use it to incriminate Nathan”

  “No.” Priscilla’s protest lacked conviction.

  “Give it to me, and I’ll forget all about it.”

  “No.” That was Hector.

  “Either you give me the list, or I’ll tell Nathan the minute I get back.”

  “You won’t if you don’t leave here.”

  “What do you propose to do? Keep me locked up here until you’ve ruined Nathan? Or something worse?”

  “No,” Priscilla said, fright causing her to lose any desire to remain silent. “Hector wouldn’t hurt you. He only wanted to give the note to Shays so hell—”

  “Shut up!” Hector commanded.

  Now Delilah understood. “You’re the one who informed on Shattuck. You’ve been spying for both sides.” A flash of scorn hot enough to scorch Hector’s cheeks flashed from her eyes. “I could understand your helping either side as long as you believed in its goals, but to lie to both of them!”

  “I didn’t lie.”

  “You accepted their trust. It’s the same thing.” She seemed to have difficulty finding adequate words to describe her feelings of disgust. “If Reuben ever finds out what you’ve done, he’ll shoot you. As for your friends … I imagine you’ll end up wishing Reuben had gotten you first.”

  “Nobody will know anything about it because you won’t leave here.” Hector pounced on Delilah and dragged her to a low-backed chair and forced her to sit down. She didn’t even try to escape. She just glared at him scornfully.

  “Are you going to kill me?”

  “Of course he isn’t,” Priscilla answered when Hector didn’t reply immediately.

  “I’ll keep you here while I decide.” He began to tie Delilah to the chair with a sheet pulled from the bed.

  “You’d be better advised to let me go. Nathan will search the countryside inch by inch when he finds I’m missing.”

  “Why should he care about a serving wench?” Hector asked sarcastically.

  “Because he’s asked this serving wench to be his wife.”

  Hector stared at Delilah in patent disbelief.

  “Ask Priscilla if you don’t believe me. He even kicked Serena out of the house because she was rude to me.”

  “He’d kill you himself if you hurt her,” Priscilla said.

  “Nathan Trent?” Hector laughed cynically. “He’s too much of a dandified fop to box his own shadow.”

  “You’re wrong,” Priscilla said. “He may seem quiet, but he’s a dangerous man.”

  “If Nathan doesn’t get you, Reuben will,” Delilah said, making no attempt to get away from Hector. “I don’t imagine you think he’s too foppish to fight you.”

  The look on Hector’s face showed how much he feared Reuben.

  “Of course if I can get that paper back in Nathan’s desk before he finds it missing, nobody need ever know it was taken,” Delilah said.

  “Why would you want to protect us?” Priscilla asked.

  “I don’t. I’m interested only in protecting Nathan,” Delilah explained. “If people think he has anything to do with spying, even if it’s not true, they’ll never accept him.”

  “But why should you care?”

  “No woman wants her husband to be an object of suspicion and dislike.”

  “What will you do for us?” Hector asked.

  “Isn’t keeping Nathan and Reuben from killing you enough?” Delilah asked. Hector flushed.

  “Hector didn’t do this without a good reason,” Priscilla said, equally willing to defend the man she loved. “He was only trying to get back some of what Noah and Lucius took from him.”

  “Why didn’t you go to Nathan?” Delilah demanded. “Surely Nathan would help the man you mean to marry.”

  “How did you know?” Priscilla asked.

  “No woman would do what you’ve done unless she loved a man very much,” Delilah said in a softer tone.

  “Her mother won’t let her marry a pauper,” Hector said, his broken pride manifest in his unsteady voice.

  “Then don’t ask her. Talk to Nathan, work something out, but let me return that note before it’s too late.”

  “You won’t tell anyone?” Priscilla asked.

  “I’ll never tell a soul unless it’s to protect Nathan.”

  Priscilla looked undecided.

  “Are you crazy?” Hector exclaimed. “We can’t let her go.”

  “I thought this was a mistake from the beginning,” Priscilla said. “I begged you to talk to Nathan, but no, you had a better way. What has it gained us? Not one damned thing. Delilah’s right. If people find out what you’ve done, they’ll kill you. Maybe not Reuben or Nathan, but somebody will.”

  “Maybe I should have talked to Nathan, but it’s too late now. We can’t let her go. Come on.” He grabbed Priscilla’s arm and pulled her toward the door.

  “We can’t leave her here. She’ll freeze to death.”

  “She should have thought of that before she followed you” Hector said, pushing Priscilla out the door before him. He turned and faced Delilah. “Let Nathan comb the countryside. By the time he finds this place, you won’t be able to tell him anything.”

  Delilah tried to pull her hands free, but she’d been so confident Hector and Priscilla would give her the note she hadn’t noticed he had tied her so securely she couldn’t move her arms or her feet. She looked around the cabin hoping to get an idea about how to free herself, but except for the bed, the cabin was bare.

  She tried to stand up and pull her hands over the back of the chair, but Hector had tied them to one of the slats. She couldn’t free her hands unless she could find a way to break the slat.

  With a painstaking effort, Delilah jumped her chair in the direction of the doorway. If she could beat the slat against the door frame, maybe she could crack it. One attempt convinced Delilah she’d break her hands long before she broke the slat. Winded, she slumped in the chair while she considered her problem.

  Clearly she could not untie the sheet. Therefore, she had to attract someone’s attention and keep herself warm while she waited for Nathan to rescue her. By hopping around the room, she was able to locate some matchsticks on a shelf. It was impossible to reach them with her hands, but she nudged them with her nose until several fell to the floor.

  Before she could even think of the pain it would cause, Delilah turned her chair over.

  The sheets bit into her wrists and ankles, but instead of thinking about the pain, Delilah twisted her chair around until the matches were within reach of her fingers. It wasn’t difficult to pick them up, but she didn’t know if she could strike one. A fire was already laid. If she lighted a matchstick, her next problem would be to ignite one of the slivers of lighting wood next to the fireplace and somehow insert it in the grate between the pieces of wood.

  That was a lot of ifs, and everything depended on
her being able to light a matchstick. Ignoring the pain in her wrists, Delilah maneuvered her chair toward the fireplace until she could reach one of the bricks. She would use its rough surface to light the matchstick.

  The first one broke. So did the second, but she managed to light the third. However, once it was lighted, she was unable to pick up the piece of lighting wood. Just as she was about to drop the matchstick, let it burn out on the floor, and try again, she smelled burning cloth. Somehow her wrists were twisted about so the match flame reached the sheet. She couldn’t see what part of the sheet was being burned, but if she could burn it through, maybe she could free herself.

  She could only guess when the flame went out. She broke three more matchsticks before she lighted another. She could hear cloth tear when she pulled with her full strength, but it held. Delilah used up all her matchsticks before she was able to light another.

  And still the sheet held.

  She began the agonizing journey back to the shelf. From it, she dislodged two more matchsticks. This was her last chance.

  She broke the first one. She broke the second as well. Her only choice now was to search around for one of the broken pieces and hope it was long enough to burn through the rest of the sheet. She had to roll the chair until it was practically on her hands before she could reach a broken matchstick. But was it enough to burn through the rest of the sheet?

  Luck was with her. She was able to light it without breaking it again. Soon the gratifying smell of burning cotton assailed her nostrils. She held the matchstick in place until it scorched her fingers. Dropping the charred end, she said a short prayer and pulled with all her strength.

  She was rewarded with a satisfying rip. Two more tugs and Delilah’s hands were free of the chair slat. With great effort, she was able to raise her arms over the back of the chair. Tucking her body into a tight knot, Delilah passed her feet through her arms and brought them in front of her. In a matter of moments she had untied her ankles. She had just cut her wrists free with the knife she’d found on the shelf next to the matchsticks when Priscilla entered the cabin.

  The two women stared at each other.

  “So you got yourself free.”

  “Yes.”

  “What were you going to do?”

  “Why did you come back?”

  Priscilla hesitated then held out her hand. “To give you this.” It was the note.

  “Does Hector know?”

  Priscilla shook her head. “He’s sleeping. I made a copy. This is the original.” The note had the additions and deletions in Nathan’s hand. “You promise you won’t say anything to anyone.”

  “Not unless I must to protect Nathan.”

  Priscilla handed the note to Delilah. “I’ll give you the key when I get home.”

  “You’re not coming?”

  “I have to stay. If Hector knew I gave you the original, he’d follow you.”

  “He’s not worthy of you,’ Delilah said.

  “He’s the only man I want.”

  Loving Nathan as she did, Delilah could understand. “Don’t stay too long,” she said, and left without a backward look.

  It was past three o’clock when Delilah finally crawled between the sheets on her bed. She meant to stay awake until Priscilla returned, but she fell asleep less than an how later.

  Nathan wakened her with a kiss.

  Delilah struggled to fight through the bonds of sleep, aware of the softness of lips upon her own, of feathering kisses across her eyelids, of the soft brush of his warm breath against her skin. Her arms encircled his neck, imprisoning him. He laughed softly.

  “Open your eyes.”

  “I can’t,” she murmured sleepily.

  “Don’t you want to look at me when I talk to you?”

  “I’ve memorized every part of your face.” Something nagged at the back of her mind. Something she wanted to tell him.

  Nathan sank down on the side of the bed. “Very well, lie there like a sleeping Venus. Just listen. I have to be away for most of the day, but I’ll be back before nightfall. Will you be waiting when I return?”

  That was what she wanted to tell him. “I’ll always be here. I’ll never go away.”

  “I hope you mean that,” Nathan said, his kisses tender and sweet.

  “I do.” The mists of sleep began to close in on Delilah. “I have something else to tell you,” she said, trying to free her brain of the fog which clouded it.

  “You can tell me later.”

  “I must tell you now.” But it was hard to wake up. Easier to sink back into oblivion.

  “It’ll keep until tonight. I’ve never seen you look so tired. I’ll tell Mrs. Stebbens not to wake you.”

  “It’s important” Delilah said, but she was already drifting away.

  “Tell me tonight,” Nathan said.

  He kissed Delilah back to sleep.

  Delilah came awake slowly. She lay in bed, eyes closed, and stretched luxuriously. Her legs ached as never before. What on earth could she have done to make her so stiff?

  Then she remembered Priscilla and Hector and the note.

  Her eyes flew open. The sun poured in her window. It must be close to noon. Delilah jumped out of bed and dressed at a record speed. She was driven by pangs of guilt at leaving Mrs. Stebbens and Lester to cook and serve breakfast alone. Then she remembered Nathan would be gone for the day, and she slowed down. Priscilla and Serena never came down to breakfast when Nathan was absent.

  Still she had her work, she had to get the key to the desk from Priscilla so she could return the note, and she had to tell Nathan she loved him more than anything else in the world.

  She pinned her cap to her hair, adjusted the neckline of her dress, and hurried downstairs to face Mrs. Stebbens’s probing questions, Lester’s inescapable scolding, and Tommy’s complete indifference.

  Chapter Twenty

  Delilah was irritated. Even though Serena hadn’t gotten up until noon, she had immediately sent her off on an errand. Though Delilah had been allowed to take the buggy, she still got behind in her work. Everything seemed to fall to her today. Worst of all, she couldn’t find Priscilla. The young woman had disappeared; no one knew where she had gone. Desperate to return the paper before Nathan returned, Delilah ventured to speak to Serena.

  “Priscilla’s whereabouts are no concern of yours”

  “There is something I must ask her.”

  “Tell me. I’m completely in her confidence.”

  “It’s rather private.”

  “What can you possibly have to say of a private nature to my daughter?”

  It required all of Delilah’s ingenuity to get away without telling Nathan’s aunt everything. Then, to completely ruin her day, Priscilla came in five minutes before dinner and rushed up to her room to change. Delilah probably wouldn’t be able to return the paper until everyone had gone to bed. She hoped Nathan didn’t look for it this evening.

  The back door to the kitchen burst open, and Nathan strode in, mud-spattered from riding over countryside still soggy from yesterday’s rain. Nonetheless, Delilah thought him the most beautiful sight she’d ever seen.

  Oblivious of everyone else, he swept her into his arms and kissed her soundly.

  She blushed furiously.

  “I thought I’d better warn you to set a place for me,” he said.

  “Your place is already set,” Delilah said as she tried unsuccessfully to wriggle out of his arms.

  “What do you mean coming in the back door?” Mrs. Stebbens asked, scandalized. “If people get to hear of it, they’ll think you’re touched in the head.”

  “I wanted to kiss Delilah without having to explain to my aunt and cousin,” Nathan said without the least show of embarrassment.

  “In that case, it’s all right,” Mrs. Stebbens said. “Anybody who knows Mrs. Noyes can understand that.”

  Nathan took a more secure hold on Delilah. “What was it you wanted to tell me this morning?”

  “No
t now,” she hissed.

  “What did you say?” Nathan teased.

  “I’ll tell you later,” she said, still in a whisper.

  “I suppose it’s the cold in my ears, but I can’t understand you.”

  “There’s nothing to understand,” Delilah snapped, out of patience with his joking. “It’s been so long I’ve forgotten. Besides, I’d never talk confidences here, not with three pairs of ears straining to hear every word I say.”

  “If this meat stays on the spit much longer, it’s not going to be fit to eat,” Mrs. Stebbens announced. “Lester’s ready to ring the bell. You’d better hurry if you want to change your clothes.”

  Nathan didn’t want to leave.

  Mrs. Stebbens vacillated. “Of course I could hold off a spell if you wanted to have a quick chat.”

  “He may, but I don’t,” Delilah said. “He took the whole day to get home. He can wait another hour to hear what I have to say.”

  “’Tis a cruel maid you be,” said Mrs. Stebbens, grinning from ear to ear. “Take care he doesn’t seek consolation elsewhere.”

  “If he gets discouraged that easily, he’s welcome to look anywhere he pleases,” Delilah snapped, becoming truly angry. Didn’t anybody understand that she wanted to talk to Nathan alone, that this was not something she could joke about? She wrenched herself out of his arms.

  “I’ve got work to do. And you have to get dressed”

  Nathan looked a little surprised and hurt.

  Mrs. Stebbens started to make a remark, but the expression on Delilah’s face caused her to change her mind.

  “You’d better hurry up and get dressed, Mr. Nathan. I think I smell the haddock. It’s about done.”

  “In the library, after dinner?” Nathan asked.

  Delilah looked a little less irate. “When I’ve finished helping Mrs. Stebbens clear away.”

  “Is it worth waiting that long?” Imps danced in his eyes again.

  “Nathan Trent, if you can’t wait a few minutes for something that’ll affect the rest of your life, then you’d best not waste any more time.”

  Nathan studied her so closely Delilah couldn’t prevent a telltale flush from flaming her cheeks.

  “Change your clothes before I change my mind.”