Catalina's Caress (13 page)

❧

Benjamin watched Seth and Jake circle each other the next day, always at arm's length. Yet he had a feeling Seth was waiting for something.

In such close quarters it was difficult to talk to anyone privately, so Benjamin waited for Jacqueline to go to bed. When he was sure the others were asleep on deck he went to Jacqueline's small cubicle. He had expected to find her asleep, but the moonlight showed her lying with her hands folded behind her head, her eyes wide and thoughtful.

"Jake?" he whispered.

"Grandpa." There was surprise in her voice. "What are you doing up? Are you all right? You're not sick or somethin'?"

There was a fear in her voice Benjamin had never heard before, but he understood it She had had so many blows in her life that she couldn't bear another... and Seth had shaken her confidence.

"I just want to talk to you."

"About what?"

Benjamin sat beside her on the narrow cot and took one of her hands in his. He didn't speak for a while because he was searching for the right words to say.

"Jake ... are you happy here?"

"Grandpa, what's wrong?"

"I just asked you a question, Jake."

"I been here always, Grandpa, and you never asked me that before. It's that... I shoulda let him drown."

"You couldn't do that. Besides he has nothing to do with my question."

"Course I'm happy. Why shouldn't I be? I have everythin' I need here. You, the boat, everythin'. What else is there to have but this? I'm happy."

She had said what he had already known. If he kept her where she was now her life would be the same. Never changing, never growing. She would never know what kind of a woman she was or what kind of future she might have.

Now he had to find out exactly what Seth had in mind, and how far the man could be trusted.

"Okay, Jake. Okay. Give your old grandpa a kiss and get some sleep."

She threw her arms about his neck and he held her close, wondering what the future would be for her . .. and for him.

When he left, Jake lay still on her hard, board bed. She had slept in this bed almost from the time she could remember. Sleep had always come easily. Now she found it a very elusive thing.

She had never been battered by such confusing thoughts before. Her life had been simple. No responsibilities, no worries, and no rules. Now some slick-talking mystery man was doing his best to spoil everything. The things he had said to her spun in her mind, making her fight valiantly against something she did not understand ... and did not want to understand. She was safe here, away from the world that was a huge black void in which she could not walk. Still, questions poked holes in her resistance ...

Besides, she thought miserably, I am not ugly!

❧

Before Benjamin rose in the early morning, Seth came to him and asked if he had any books on the boat.

"Only my Bible boy."

"Would you mind if I read a bit?"

Benjamin was both surprised and suspicious, but he handed him the worn Bible anyway.

Seth curled up in a corner of the desk, opened the Bible, and waited patiently for Jake to get up.

When she did come on deck, he studiously ignored her and seemed to be deeply engrossed in reading. An accomplishment she had never achieved. He knew, although she kept her distance and moved about her work, that she kept an eye on him, so he pretended to be more and more deeply involved in reading.

He was counting on one feminine trait he hoped to arouse—curiosity.

He wanted to smile in satisfaction when he saw her working her way closer to him. Finally she was a shadow that fell across the book, and he looked up, pretending surprise.

"Oh ... Jacqueline. Am I in your way?"

"My name is Jake," she said defiantly, but she still dropped down on her knees near him. "What are you doin'?"

"What does it look like, or don't you approve of what I'm reading? You've probably read it already anyway," he said coolly, and went back to his book, totally ignoring her.

It was a good five minutes before she spoke again. "That's Grandpa's Bible."

"I know. He loaned it to me. You don't mind, do you?" Seth asked as an afterthought. "You weren't using it, were you? If you were ..." He didn't finish the sentence, only closed the book and handed it to her.

She gave an inarticulate sound that might have been construed in any way. But her eyes looked like two blazing emeralds and her cheeks were crimson.

She struck the book from his hand, sending it skittering across the deck. "Who needs to read a damn book anyway?" She sneered; then she walked away. But Seth smiled. He'd touched a vulnerable spot. Jake was too intelligent not to want to reach for the unknown, but she was afraid to do so.

Benjamin had listened to Seth's story and to his request to be returned to New Orleans. As he watched Jake being torn apart, he decided that the quicker he got Seth home and off his boat, the better it would be for all of them.

He motioned to Seth, who came immediately to his side.

"You want to talk to me, Ben?"

"Yes. I thought I'd tell you that I gave orders to my boys. We're turnin' back upriver. We'll get you home a day or two before you thought."

Seth was quiet for a moment; then he spoke firmly. "Getting rid of me is not going to get rid of the problem you've got."

"I don't have a problem."

"You don't? What would you call Jacqueline's future—something to play with?"

"What the hell is it you want, boy?"

"I don't want anything." Seth looked at Benjamin levelly, trying to make him feel his honest intent. "Jacqueline and you, you saved my life. That's worth a lot to me. I'd like to repay the debt somehow. The only way I can think of doing it now is to give her a future. Would you or Jacqueline take money as a reward?"

"No. We don't expect to make money from doin' our Christian duty."

"Well then, I have a debt on my shoulders that my honor and my pride says I must repay. Can you see another way?"

"Suppose you just forget it."

"I've a supposition for you. Suppose you tell me what you would do if I saved your life. Would you let me tell you to forget it? Besides, I think Jacqueline is a very intelligent young girl. Once you peel off that facade of hers, I think you'll find a girl who's trying to get out. I just happen to think she deserves the chance. Of course"—Seth smiled as he turned to walk away— "it's your decision."

Benjamin watched his retreating figure, wanting to do battle with his words, but unable to fight the reasoning behind them. His eye caught Jake working with one of the men to untangle some nets. She laughed, and he saw the beauty that could be hers under different circumstances. He also saw the ragged and patched men's clothes that hid her completely, and the old hat she wore to cover her mass of beautiful hair. With a sinking heart he knew Seth was right. He didn't know yet what Seth's plans were, but he intended to find out.

For the balance of the day, Jake avoided Seth to the extent the limitations of the boat would allow, but Benjamin, who knew her better than any other, was aware that she was watching him. And he knew that she was frightened. He even knew of what.

That night, when the boat rocked gently in the shallows, and everyone slept, Benjamin went on deck.

He sat beside Seth, not surprised to find him awake.

"Beautiful night,'' Seth said after a few minutes.

"Most times it is on the river. Guess that's why I gave my life to her. She's a beautiful lady."

"It's been a good life for you, Ben?"

"Yes... for me. But maybe you're right. I been givin' it some thought"

"What's really troubling you, Ben?"

"Troublin' me?"

"You didn't come out here to tell me it's a beautiful night."

"No, I came out to ask you some questions."

"About what?"

"About what you got in mind for Jake."

"I'll tell you what I was thinking would be best for her. I have an aunt... Charlotte. She's about the grandest lady I know, well-traveled, rich, and intelligent. And I have a sister, Catalina. She's beautiful. Aunt Charlotte and Catalina would be more than grateful for what you've done for me, and they'd be delighted to take Jacqueline under their wings and give her all the advantages she deserves. Ben, Cat could be almost a sister to her. She could teach her how to laugh and have fun, how to dress pretty. Maybe"—he laughed—"she'd be the belle of New Orleans with all the men at her feet. And Aunt Charlotte, well, she could do for her what she's done for Cat, sort of keep her level and teach her how to be a lady. No one is as honorable or respectable or capable a lady as Aunt Charlotte. Ben, she could have a new life."

"And you, boy," Ben said softly. "What is it you plan to teach her?"

Seth turned to look at Ben. At first he was surprised; then he smiled. "I'll tell you what I'd like to teach her, Benjamin," he said quietly. "I'd like to teach her what it's like to have a brother, a sister, an aunt—a whole family who'd like to love her if she'll give us half a chance."

"She'll fight it, boy."

"From the past two days I'd say I agree. But I'll fight too. Maybe she'll be so busy being mad at me, she'll make it easier on Aunt Charlotte and Cat." Seth grinned.

"I'd want to see her."

"Ben!" Seth grew impatient. "I'm not trying to cut her away. You're her grandfather for God's sake. You can't lose touch with her. I just sort of want to ... borrow her." He laughed. "Sort of polish her up. I wouldn't ever try to separate you, Ben. She loves you."

"I can't find anythin' wrong with it," Benjamin said, as if he were puzzled by that fact.

"That's because there isn't anything wrong to find."

"You're a damn stubborn man."

"Who's run up against a girl who's about twice as stubborn."

They both chuckled over the truth of that. "Seth ... she's scared," Benjamin said quietly.

"I know."

"Her world's been destroyed so often. She's gonna take this hard, if she takes it at all."

"I know that too."

"I don't know what to do about it," Benjamin admitted. "I can't just tell her I'm cuttin' her loose. I couldn't stand the hurt in her eyes. I've seen it too often."

"It'll be another two days before we reach New Orleans you said?"

"Little better than two days."

"For these two days why don't you let me try to handle it. If I fail, then well tell her together and just let her scream out her anger until she's exhausted enough to weaken ... then we can carry her off."

"Well, you give it a go, boy. Damn if I believe you'll get her to go. But it looks like you're stubborn enough to try."

"Thanks, Ben."

"Don't thank me too soon. Far as I can see you just got yourself into one hell of a fight. Me, I'm safe, I'm just the referee."

"Well, we'll see what happens in two days. I've a few tricks up my sleeve too."

"Good night, boy." Benjamin rose and went below to his own bed. Surprisingly, he felt relaxed and comfortable, and went to sleep almost at once.

It wasn't quite as easy for Seth, who spent a long night pondering just how he was going to reach an independent, angry, and frightened girl.

❧

The next day would offer generous proof that Benjamin was right in his warnings and Seth was right in his misgivings: it started with a fight.

Jake took quick revenge when she found Seth, who had not slept until the wee hours of the morning. She looked at him for a moment, and a half-smile touched her lips, bringing a glow to her eyes. He was curled with his face toward the rail, and the curve of his buttocks beneath the blanket was too great a temptation for her to resist.

She swung her foot with enough force to bring him awake with a yelp of surprise. He came scrambling to his feet, angrier than he had ever been in his life, then turned to glare into green eyes filled with satisfied laughter.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Breakfast is ready, bilge rat." Her smile broadened. "We eat early and we work around here."

"What kind of a way is that to wake someone up?"

She shrugged nonchalantly, but he could read the satisfaction in her eyes. "One good kick deserves another," she declared flippantly. Before he could answer, she went below.

He followed and sat opposite her at the table, trying to control the urge to strangle her or to slap the smug look from her face. He finished his food, and as they all stood to get about their work, he reached across the table and grabbed Jake by the front of her shirt, half dragging her across the table.

"The next time you call me a bilge rat, you little brat, I am going to turn you across my knee, strip down your breeches, and smack some sense into the only end of you that seems to understand anything."

Her eyes widened, and he saw the first drop of respect he'd noticed in them. Then he let her go and walked out.

Benjamin stood by silently, but he had to contain his laughter. For the first time he thought that Seth might just succeed in what he planned to do.

Jake worked in belligerent silence, but she was thinking. Seth knew it, and it was what he wanted. He intended to give her a lot more to think about. He started when they were all seated on the deck eating a hasty lunch. As if he had totally forgotten that Jake was a girl, he brought up the subject of girls he had met and parties he'd attended.

He was, ostensibly, talking to Benjamin and the other two men, but he knew quite well Jake was listening intently. He spoke of beauty, the kind she had never tasted. He spoke of music and fine silk dresses, of elaborate tables set with crystal, china, and real silver. He spoke of dancing and laughing, and then he began to tell them about his family, dwelling on Aunt Charlotte and Cat.

The meal was over much quicker than Jake wanted it to be, for Seth's words were like rain falling on drought-touched earth. She sat at the table after the others had gone about their business and only Seth remained, hoping she could at least ask a question or two.

"Is it really true?" she whispered. "You're lyin' aren't you? Nobody lives in a house like you say. Nobody eats like that." She stood up and he thought he saw the glint of tears in her eyes. "You're a damn old liar!" she cried. "A damn old liar! I wish Td let you drown!"

Seth didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He had reached her, only he'd hurt her too. He just hoped he would have the chance to do something to ease her hurt. Time was running out on him.

He made a decision. Tonight he was going to try to talk with her. That was going to be a battle he really had no taste for.

He laughed to himself. Would any of his old friends believe what he was involved in? He wondered just how many of them were out looking for him ... and he wondered if Cat had had any luck in buying back the
Belle
or in telling Marc Copeland to go to hell.

Anyway he'd see Cat soon, tell her he was all right and they would be fine.

Another thought, not quite as pleasant, intruded upon him—one he had been too involved to think about until now. Someone had tried to kill him in a most unpleasant way. Marc Copeland? Why would Marc Copeland want to kill him? But then, why would anyone want to kill him? It was certain he was going to move heaven and hell to find out when he got home. Remembering the beating and the heartless way he had been thrown into the river to drown, Seth knew a furious need to avenge himself.

Then he turned his thoughts to Jake and Cat, setting his anger aside but quite prepared to make locating his attackers a priority when he reached home.

With help from friends, he would search every tavern and disreputable place until he found the men who had attempted to kill him. Then, one way or the other, he would find a way to get from them the name of whoever was behind this. No one was going to attempt to kill him without his finding some way to get revenge.

Seth thought of the change in himself, and he wondered if the old Seth would have cared enough to try to rescue Jake from the situation she was in. He didn't know for certain, but he wanted to do it now and that was all that mattered. With new resolve, he got to his feet. It was time to renew his campaign. He was going to bring Jake—Jacqueline, he had to remember that—home to his family if he had to resort to kidnapping her.