Lily (Song of the River) (46 page)

“I’ll make sure she comes crying to you.” Steenberg’s laugh was as irritating as his greed. “Did you write another love note for me to leave for her?”

“No.” Jean Luc turned to go home. Then he stopped and looked at Steenberg. “Remember, if you do your job right, you won’t need to be looking for any more handouts. I’ll reinstate you as captain of the
Hattie Belle
as soon as the ownership reverts to me. But if you fail me one more time, you won’t work on the river again.”

Steenberg’s face twisted, and for a moment Jean Luc feared for his life. His heart pounded as he wondered if he had been a fool to come here alone. What would stop this man from killing him and taking the rest of his money?

Jean Luc straightened his shoulders. If he allowed his fear to show, nothing would stop Steenberg. He wished he’d been smart enough to bring his pistol, but he hadn’t thought of it as he was getting ready to go to his father’s office.

Someone stepped out of the warehouse, breaking the hold the other man had on him. Jean Luc began walking away, his shoulders twitching as he wondered if he was about to be attacked.

He was halfway down Silver Street before he looked back over his shoulder. Steenberg was still looking at him, wearing a grin made up of equal parts greed and malice.

Wondering if he had made a terrible mistake, Jean Luc headed back up the hill. He would be glad when this was over.

B
lake loved holding Lily close. He wished he had the right to do so all the time.

She was wearing the same outfit she’d worn the night they kissed—well, the night he kissed her. But he had thought for a moment she had responded to the touch of his lips. Maybe that was why it hurt so much when she pushed him away.

“I hope you’re enjoying yourself this evening.” Lily’s brown eyes searched his face. “I know you don’t know many of the townspeople.”

He wanted to laugh out loud at her naïveté. “You might be surprised how often I’ve sat opposite some of these men.”

Her pink cheeks made him want to cut out his tongue.

He hadn’t meant to make her feel bad. “I’m sorry.”

She shook her head. “I should have realized.”

They danced in silence for several minutes. Blake searched for something to talk about. What was wrong with him? He never had trouble making conversation. But Lily was a different matter. “Your sister seems to be having an exciting time.”

Lily nodded and favored him with a crooked smile. “The young men are lined up to ask for her hand in a dance. I knew she would be popular. She is so beautiful.”

“If you have a liking for porcelain dolls.” Blake bent his head closer to hers, his mouth almost touching her ear. “I prefer a woman with determination, courage, and intelligence. A woman who can take on the world with a smile on her face.”

She caught her breath, and her cheeks darkened, but this time he didn’t regret being the cause for her discomfort. It was proof she did care for him. “You are quite the flatterer, Mr. Matthews.”

“I am simply expressing my taste, Miss Anderson.” He turned his head slightly, his lips ever so close to her cheek. She was adorably awkward and would have stumbled if he had not held her so close. Taking pity on her, he straightened, allowing a few inches between them. He didn’t want to make her a target for the gossips.

When the music ended, he wanted to whisk her out to the veranda, but someone else was waiting to partner her. Jean Luc Champney. Smothering a snarl, he let her go and turned to find another partner. Maybe he could keep Lily’s attention better if she realized other women found him attractive.

One dance led to another. Too bad Blake could not recall a single name of his dance partners. His brain had been numbed by all their banalities, flirtatious glances, and suggestive movements. None of them stood out in his memory, none except Lily.

Mrs. Blackstone, Lily’s grandmother, had managed to introduce him to half the young ladies in attendance at what she was calling her “little dinner party.” Where he came from, this evening would be described as a formal ball. From the full orchestra providing the music to the chaperones sitting in chairs along one wall of the ballroom, this evening had little in common with a simple dinner party.

A familiar voice hailing him made Blake’s jaw tighten. He didn’t want to have to exchange pleasantries with Jean Luc Champney, not after he’d had to watch the man fawn over Lily.

“I wanted to congratulate you on your success.”

Blake bowed. “That’s kind of you since it was born on your ill luck.”

A polite smile camouflaged the scowl Blake’s words had caused. “I hope all of that is behind us now. I have taken a position in my father’s office to learn the shipping business from the inside. By the time I take to the water, I should know enough to make my own fortune.”

“Good. Then perhaps we’ll see you on the river soon.”

“I hope so.”

When Blake would have turned away, Mr. Champney put a hand on his arm. “I heard about the incident when you were docked here a few weeks back. I trust no lasting harm was done to the boat.”

The hair on Blake’s arm rose. How had this man heard of the burglary? Lily, Jensen, and he had decided to tell no one. Suspicion filled him. “Yes, but we have decided it was a random act of bored young aristocrats. The only thing they managed to do was destroy a couple of barrels of wheat. Since then, I have hired several guards to keep watch.”

Jean Luc shook his head. “It’s a shame you have to take such precautions. Perhaps one day the waterfront will be safe for everyone. Lily is so adventurous, but I worry about her remaining in that environment. I have tried to convince her that the river is no place for a lady.”

Thinking of the note he had discovered in Lily’s room, the one he had crumpled and later tossed overboard to keep Lily from seeing it, Blake gritted his teeth. “You need not worry about her or her sisters. Their safety is my primary concern.” He glared at the other man, wondering what role he had played in the burglary.

“Forgive me, I didn’t mean to insult you.” Surprise raised Jean Luc’s eyebrows, but the emotion seemed false to Blake.

He tried to temper his dislike of the man, but it was difficult. When he’d first met him, Jean Luc had been nothing more than a young man with more money than sense. Then Lily had put so much stock in Jean Luc’s advice while she managed to ignore his at every turn.

He looked across the crowded room for her brown hair and gray dress, a fierce pain in his chest. Even though she had spurned him, his love burned as intensely as ever. “I’d better not catch you anywhere near the
Hattie Belle.
If I do, you’ll find yourself treading water.”

The polite mask disappeared as Jean Luc’s face filled with bitterness and hatred. “If you were a gentleman, I would call you out for that threat.”

“Lucky then that I am not.”

“One of these days your luck will run out.” Jean Luc’s voice was little more than a growl. “I only hope I am there to see it.” He turned and pushed his way through the crowd.

Blake watched him then decided it was time to make his excuses to Lily and return to the
Hattie Belle.
He had a sudden urge to make sure their boat was safe. He moved toward Mrs. Blackstone.

“Is there someone else I can introduce you to, Mr. Matthews?” Her widow’s dress seemed dull in this room of pastel-skirted debutantes.

“Not at all.” He bowed and reached for her hand. “I’m afraid I must take my leave. I need to check on the men I left aboard my boat.”

“What is this about
our
boat?” Lily put extra emphasis on the word as she joined them.

Mrs. Blackstone put an arm around her granddaughter. “I won’t have the two of you arguing in my home.”

All of them laughed, and Blake winked at the two women. “I stand corrected.”

“I’ve enjoyed meeting you, Mr. Matthews.” Mrs. Blackstone’s smile included both of them. “I hope you will not be a stranger. Anytime you and my granddaughter are in Natchez, I will expect to see you.” She turned and left the two alone.

“I wish you would not go by yourself, Blake. I will be glad to join you.”

Blake shook his head. “I don’t think I need a protector.”

“At least promise you will be careful.”

He tweaked her nose. “Don’t worry. Jensen is there, as well as the two men we hired. I’ll be safer there than I have been amongst these matchmaking matrons.”

Her frown lingered as he headed for the door, but Lily would probably forget about him when the other guests claimed her attention. He only hoped she avoided Jean Luc Champney. The thought of her dancing with him again made Blake’s jaw harden. The self-absorbed Monsieur Champney was not a man to be trusted.

During the quiet ride to the dock, Blake began to think his overreaction could be attributed to a lack of sleep. Water lapped at the bank, its surface reflecting the light of the moon above. Natchez Under-the-Hill was rarely quiet, but sometimes in the hours before dawn, the community slumbered, exhausted by its wickedness. Even the stray dogs that normally wandered the streets had found safe places to rest.

Blake had to wake the liveryman to return his hired horse. After settling his account with the sleepy man, he walked the dark street to where the
Hattie Belle
was berthed, relieved to see her as quiet as the town.

“Jensen, where are you?” He crossed the gangplank and headed for the galley. He needed a cup of strong coffee if he was going to stay awake until the sun rose. The boat rocked under his feet, setting off a warning in Blake’s mind. He brushed the feeling aside. Probably just a guard making his rounds.

Opening the door to the galley, Blake was blinded by bright lantern light. He raised his arm to shield his eyes and tried to look into the room. “How many lanterns do you—”

“What are you doing here?”

The voice sounded familiar, but Blake couldn’t match it to any of the men he’d hired for the evening. He squinted, trying to see who was in the galley. He was so focused on who was in front of him that a blow to the back of his head caught him by surprise.

Fighting off the blackness that threatened to overtake him, Blake realized he’d been ambushed. The floor rushed up to smack him in the face, and the light became a dark chasm into which he fell … and fell … and fell.

J
ean Luc worried when he noticed Blake leaving. He glanced at a clock above the fireplace mantel. Steenberg should be through by now. At least he hoped so. He should have been done an hour ago. Blake would find nothing more than anonymous destruction.

Taking a deep, steadying breath, he moved toward Lily. Perhaps she would be more cordial now that her business partner was gone. He had noticed how her gaze followed every step the gambler took. He had never dreamed the two of them might have more than a business partnership.

Were they lovers? He rejected the idea. They had half a dozen chaperones on the boat. And he was experienced enough to know that Lily was still a wide-eyed innocent. He walked to where she stood talking to her grandmother. “May I have the pleasure of a dance with you, Miss Anderson?”

She glanced around before nodding. Was she looking for an excuse to turn him down? The polite smile on her face held little warmth as they moved to the center of the ballroom. They stood facing each other, waiting for the orchestra to begin.

“Your family must be pleased with the number of guests in attendance this evening.”

Her smile warmed a fraction. “Yes, especially Camellia.”

He looked to the pretty blond who was laughing and flirting with a group of young bucks. “You do not mind her popularity?”

“Of course not.” Lily’s brown gaze returned to him. “She’s my sister. I love seeing her so happy.”

Jean Luc realized he had offended her … again. A sigh filled his chest, but before he could begin an apology, a disturbance at the entrance to the ballroom claimed his attention.

A man had pushed his way past the servants. He stood swaying in the doorway, his clothing ragged.

“What’s going on?” Lily began moving toward the man, her concern showing on her face.

Jean Luc followed her, as did most of the other people in the room. As he drew closer, he heard two words that struck fear into his heart. “Blaze … steamship.” He gasped as realization flooded his mind. Steenberg had set the
Hattie Belle
on fire! He knew it! On the heels of his thought came remorse. What had he done?

Several of the women fainted, falling gracefully into the arms of the nearest men.

Jean Luc fought his way through them to a white-faced Lily. “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of this.”

He didn’t stay to see her reaction. What she or anyone else thought was secondary to his need to stop this disaster. He’d never meant for the boat to be destroyed or for anyone to die. All he’d ever wanted was to get his boat back and regain his father’s approval.

As he tried to mount his horse, the enormity of Steenberg’s actions pressed against Jean Luc’s shoulders, threatening to pin him to the ground. He finally managed to struggle into the saddle, desperation strangling him as he pushed the horse to a gallop. The
Hattie Belle
could not be destroyed. If the stern-wheeler was lost, he would never be able to earn redemption.