Gregory, Lisa (50 page)

"Mum,
why are you sleeping in the chair? And what is he doing here?" Pegeen
blushed. "I—I mean, all bandaged and all; he looks—"

"Well,
he isn't," Katherine snapped. "He just passed out, that's all."
She rose and went to feel his pulse—still strong. "Oh, Pegeen, we are in
the most terrible mess." Hurriedly she described the events of the night
before. "And now what are we to do? I don't even know what to do about a
broken rib." She felt on the edge of tears.

"Well,
my brother Tommy once got three ribs broke in a brawl at a pub, and all they
did to him was wrap a bunch of bandages around him real tight. I can do that; I
watched."

Katherine
attacked her petticoat again, and they pulled Matthew up and Pegeen tightly
bound his ribs. By the time they finished, Katherine had regained control of
herself.

"All
right, now, Pegeen, I am going to stay in here all day. You go out and say I
have the vapors from fear, because of the explosion last night. Make sure no
one comes in here except yourself; I will keep the door locked. Bring me my
meals on a tray, as big as you can make them without arousing suspicion,
because Matthew will need to eat, too. Don't let Angela call a doctor; convey
the idea that I am just having an attack of ladylike fear. And find out all you
can about that ironclad's being blown up."

"How
did you know already that—" Pegeen began and then stopped, her eyes wide.
She swung her gaze toward Matthew. "You mean he had something to do with
that?"

"Pegeen,
the less you know about this the better for you. He is a dead man if they find
him, and I probably will be, too."

Pegeen
gulped. "Yes, miss. I understand. I will keep my mouth shut and my ears
open."

After
the girl left, Katherine settled down in the chair to wait, her gaze fixed on
Matthew's pale face. Terror welled up in her, but she stubbornly fought it
down. Somehow she would find a way to do it

He
did not regain consciousness until midafternoon. She jumped, her heart
pounding, when at last his eyelids fluttered open. He looked bemused; then his
eyes fell on her and he smiled weakly.

"Katherine."

"Shh."
She rushed to his side and leaned down close to his face to whisper. "You
must not talk or make any noise. You are in my room at my cousin's house, and
they must not discover you."

He
nodded to show his assent and took her hand and brought it to his lips. In a
moment, he drifted back to sleep. He slipped in and out of sleep all afternoon,
but she managed to keep him awake long enough to get some food into him. Again
she spent the night in the chair, afraid to sleep beside him where she might
bump against his sore ribs. Toward morning she was awakened by the sound of his
voice. He was mumbling in some dream. She covered his mouth with her hand to
muffle it, and that awakened him. He caught her wrist and tried to rise; the
pain in his side brought recollection and he relaxed.

"Can
we talk now?" he whispered.

Katherine
sat on the bed beside him and leaned down so that their faces were inches
apart. "I guess so, if we whisper. Everyone's asleep, and the walls are
thick."

"Kathy,
you were a fool to bring me back here; you are risking your neck."

"Well,
I could hardly leave you there to be caught, could I?"

"Now,
don't get all ruffled," he grinned. "I am very grateful to you. But I
am also very concerned about what might happen to you."

"Well,
nothing is going to happen to either one of us so long as we keep quiet; no one
here will suspect. I played sick today. Tomorrow, I shall lock the door
whenever I leave. Pegeen is the only servant who ever comes in here. And Angela
won't come in if I am not here. Peg and I will sneak food up to you, so you
won't starve. You can just lie here and be lazy while they are searching for
you all over the place. They will never think to look here. No doubt they think
you have fled New York."

"I
cannot stay here forever."

"No,
but you can stay here a few days until the search has cooled a little and you
have grown a beard to make you less recognizable. You are in no condition to
travel anyway."

He
frowned, but acquiesced and went back to sleep. Katherine could not sleep,
however, and waited impatiently for Pegeen to bring their breakfast. At last
Pegeen came in with a huge tray filled with food. "What on earth will the
kitchen staff think?" Katherine giggled.

"I
told them you always ate like a horse after one of your attacks."

"Attacks?
Good heavens, Pegeen, what did you tell them was the matter with me?"

The
maid laughed merrily and did the imitation of a grand lady having the vapors
which she had performed for the servants. Katherine protested lightly as she
ate one of the rolls and sipped at a cup of coffee.

"Matthew,"
she whispered, "wake up. Here is a huge, hot breakfast."

She
helped him sit up and solicitously fluffed up the pillows and put them behind
his back. He attacked the food hungrily, while Pegeen dressed Katherine's hair.
Pegeen chattered about the general shock over the explosion, which the
newspapers were attributing to local copperheads.

"I
haven't heard a word about Commander Forrest," she said, setting down the
brush to admire her work.

"Whatever
that may mean," Katherine said, getting up and beginning to dress.

As
Pegeen helped her into her clothes, she felt Matthew's gaze on her and glanced
over at him. He was looking at her, a slight smile on his face. She blushed;
she had been used to dressing and undressing before him, but somehow Pegeen's
presence made it embarrassing. His smile broadened, and she looked away.

She
spent the day pretending to be terrified at the bombing. "Madmen!"
she declared to Angela. "Absolute madmen, and they are still on the loose!
We might all be murdered in our beds. I know I shan't sleep a wink until they
are caught. In fact, I think I ought to leave New York altogether and return to
Boston, where it is safe."

Katherine
played her part so well that she soon had her susceptible cousin wondering if
perhaps she ought to remove her household to their summer estate on the Hudson,
even though the Season was in full swing. Katherine did nothing to dissuade
her; if Angela was not in New York, there would be no danger of discovery if
her father sent a letter to her in New York after she was supposed to be at
home in Boston. For Katherine's intent was to pretend to return to Boston; in
reality, she would take Matthew south. The only problem was how she was to
accomplish that.

As
the days passed, she found she had another problem: keeping Matthew down. He soon
regained full control of his faculties and was climbing the walls with
impatience and boredom. Katherine gave him books to read, but that helped
little. He wanted to be up and gone, and forced rest and silence and the pain
in his side which kept him there all combined to put him in a black mood.

"Katherine,"
he whispered one night after she had undressed and slipped into a nightgown.

"Shh,"
she admonished and went to him.

"I
am leaving tomorrow."

"Don't
be silly. How far do you think you will get? You know your side won't allow you
to ride a horse, and they are watching the train station."

"Well,
it is better than lying here starving to death."

"How
unfair! Pegeen and I bring you plenty of food."

"Yes,
and you are going to get caught. Katherine, can't you understand that the
longer I remain here, the more likely you are to be discovered?"

Katherine
sighed. "I know." She looked at him thoughtfully. "I guess your
beard has grown enough. Shall we leave the day after tomorrow?"

"We?"
he
repeated ominously.

"But
of course. Surely you don't think I would just throw you to the wolves."

"You
are not going."

"I
am."

They
glowered at each other. Finally Katherine said, "Oh, be reasonable,
Matthew. You are going to need help and you know it. Besides, I have thought of
a ruse, and you need me to carry it off."

"What?"
he said warily.

"I
thought of it while looking at your bandaged head. I shall bandage your entire
head and eyes, and you will be a poor blind soldier and I your devoted wife
taking you home. Who would suspect us?"

"No."

"Why
not?"

"It's
too dangerous for you. What if someone asks me for identification or my
discharge papers?"

"Who
would badger a blinded soldier? And if they did, I would simply burst into
tears and embarrass them so they would take any lame excuse of ours, just to
get rid of us."

"They
will be looking for a commander."

"Yes,
but not a private in the Army."

"And
where do you intend to come up with a private's uniform?"

She
smiled. "Pegeen has cousins here in New York, one of whom is a private in
the Army—or was, rather. He got shot in the leg and is home again and quite
willing to sell his old uniform."

He
swore softly. "All right, then, damn it. Would you like to tell me where
we are going?"

"Well,
I wasn't sure about that," she faltered. "I was going to ask
you."

"I
find that surprising."

"Oh,
Matthew, please don't be cross." Tears started in her eyes.

He
touched her face tenderly. "I am sorry, Kathy. Sweet girl; here you are
being so brave and resourceful and saving my neck, and I growl like a bear at
you. It's just that I feel so helpless lying up here all day, and I hate myself
for putting you in danger." He kissed her hand. "We shall go to
Philadelphia. There is a shipper there who has traded with us from time to
time; I can sail on one of his ships." He paused and then said, "And
you can, too, if you wish."

"Thank
you, I don't want your gratitude."

"Well,
you have it, whether you want it or not. You also have my heart."

She
jerked her hand back and said shakily, "Hush. Go to sleep now."

"Katherine,
if you sleep in that chair again, I will scream the house down."

"I
am afraid I might hurt your ribs."

"Then
lie on the other side, goose. I want to tell you something, and you are going
to listen."

She
lay beside him, nestling naturally against his shoulder. "Kathy, did you
mean what you said to Perkins the other night? That you loved me?"

"What
if I did?"

"Don't
be so damn prickly, or I will have to take my whip to you yet. Do you love
me?"

"Yes!"
she hissed.

Softly
he kissed her ear. "And I love you. Now, don't protest. If you will think
for a minute, you would realize that I am not the sort to pretend to love
someone out of gratitude."

She
lay stiff and unyielding against him. "Then why did you send me
away?"

"Because
I loved you. I didn't
want
you to go. But you recoiled from my
touch—"

"Oh,
Matthew, I couldn't let you touch me. I felt so soiled and unclean; I could not
let you dirty your hands on what they had touched."

"Katherine,
my love, why didn't you tell me?"

"I
was so ashamed."

"Girl,
I wanted to keep you and hold you and make you forget those bastards, but I was
sure you despised me. You had told me so all the way across the ocean, and I
was to blame for your escaping and getting thrown into that brothel. I was
being so damned noble—and it's the last time I will ever try that, believe
me."

"Oh,
Matthew." A laugh gurgled from her lips.

"Anyway,
I want you to know; in case I die."

"Don't
say that."

"I
love you. I have never loved any other woman in my life." He nuzzled her
neck. "You are the most beautiful, intelligent, brave, desirable creature
I have ever met."

"Matthew,"
she breathed, and raised her lips to his.

His
mouth consumed hers hungrily. "Katherine, please, let me love you. Give me
my last night—the one you offered me the other night." His lips roamed her
neck. "Did you mean it?"

"Oh,
yes, Matthew; but you shouldn't—your ribs!"

He
grinned wickedly. "You shall just have to be gentle with me, my
love." His hands tugged at her nightgown and eagerly she helped him pull
it off. "Kathy," he breathed. "You are so lovely. It's worth the
pain; I shall welcome it, enjoy it."

His
hand traveled her body; she quivered beneath his touch, shy and uncertain as a
virgin. "Matthew, I don't know what to do—to please you, I mean. I'm not
resisting. I want to please you. It's just that I don't know how."

"Just
relax; that will please me. Relax." He kissed her deeply as his hands
caressed her. His mouth strayed down her body, his lips searing her skin, while
his hand found and aroused her soft, secret places. Katherine, for the first
time letting her defenses down, trembled with passion at his touch. She
returned his caresses and smiled to hear him moan with desire at her
inexperienced touch.