Moontide Embrace (Historical Romance) (44 page)

"I have been trying to see you all day, but they wouldn't let me. I see you are very pale and have lost weight. Have
you been mistreated in any way?"

"I have not been physically harmed, if that is what you
are asking, but I have been confined to my room like a
common criminal."

Zippora turned her yellow eyes on Colonel Newman.
"Hey,
Anglais,
I will take
Ma'dame
away with me today.
It is not seemly for a young lady of delicate upbringing to
be confined with so many soldiers in the house."

Colonel Newman seated himself at the desk, and stud
ied the old woman intently. Picking up the feather pen, he
rolled it between his fingers. "I think not . . . Zippora. Mrs. Slaughter will continue her stay with us."

It went against everything Colonel Newman believed in
to say the next words. "I find Mrs. Slaughter a very
attractive woman. I have only begun to enjoy her com
pany. Who can say? I may decide to send her to England.
I am sure she would make a fitting trade for some of
our
prisoners." Colonel Newman knew the British government
would never hold a woman hostage for any reason. He
could only hope that Mrs. Slaughter was unaware of that
fact.

Zippora's yellow eyes took on a strange glow as she
stared at the Englishman. "It is a dangerous game
you
play,
Anglais. Ma'dame's
husband will never allow that to
happen."

That was what Colonel Newman was counting on. He
stood up, eying both women. He placed the pen down
and crossed to the door. "Just to show you that I am a
gentleman, I will leave the room and allow the two of you
to have a few moments of privacy."

Zippora's eyes followed the man. She frowned and
turned to Liberty when he closed the door behind him.
"There is something not right here. That man is up to
something. Do you know what he is trying to accomplish?"

"Like you, I know he is up to something. But I cannot
yet see what it is. I cannot be of any importance to the
British government. I do not even know why he keeps me
confined to my room. I begin to think it might have something do with Judah."

"I believe you could be right,
ma petite.
The word is out that Judah Slaughter is a hero. He sunk one
Anglais
ship and captured another. It is even whispered that he
captured a high-ranking admiral. I believe this man
knows that and plays games with you because he wants
something."

"Oui,
but what does he want, Zippora?"

The old woman chuckled and picked up the pen that had been so conveniently placed at their disposal. "I believe it is intended that you should write your husband
a note and I should deliver it to him. However clever the
Anglais
thinks he is, we will be even more clever."

Liberty took the pen and smiled at Zippora. "I believe I
am beginning to understand too. They want me to beg
Judah to come for me, and then they will be waiting for
him." She lowered her voice. "I would just hate to disappoint the man —shall I write Judah a note?"

Liberty had no sooner handed the note to Zippora than
the door opened and the colonel entered. He pretended not to see Zippora push the note into the bodice of her gown, but his eyes swept the desk and saw that the pen
had been moved. With a self-satisfied smile, he spoke to
Liberty.

"I fear your friend must leave now. As soon as my aide
returns, he will escort you back to your bedroom."

Liberty hugged Zippora, and the old woman whispered in her ear. "Have courage, little one. Judah Slaughter is a
clever man. He will find a way to get you out of here."

When Zippora left, Liberty again experienced the heavy
loneliness. She walked over to the window and watched
Zippora make her way down to the river. She was aware that the colonel had come up behind her, but she did not
acknowledge his presence. He, too, was watching Zip
pora's departure.

The old woman untied her skiff and got inside. As the
boat caught the current, it disappeared around the bend to be lost from sight.

Liberty turned to find a gratified smile on Colonel
Newman's face. "I trust your little note will bring your
husband to the rescue in due time."

"What makes you think I wrote my husband a note,
Colonel?" she asked, pretending innocence.

The colonel walked to the desk and picked up the pen.
"I know you wrote your husband a note, Mrs. Slaughter. It will do you no good to deny it."

Liberty stalled for time, knowing that each precious moment meant Zippora was farther out of reach of the colonel's men. "What are you implying?" she wanted to
know, still playing the part he expected her to play.

His self-satisfied laugh grated on her ears. "You think
me a fool, Mrs. Slaughter, but it is you who are the fool
this time. I purposely left the room to allow you time to
write your husband a note." His eyes held a hint of superiority. "Did you beg your husband to rescue you?"

Liberty knew that Zippora was already far beyond the
colonel's reach. "You have found me out,
Monsieur.
I do
not know what ever made me think I could fool you."

He smiled indulgently. "Do not feel too bad, Madame
Slaughter. I set a trap for you, and you fell into it. There is no shame in being outwitted by a man of experience."

"Why did you not try to keep me from getting in touch
with my husband, Colonel?"

"Your husband has been a thorn in our side for some
time now. Lately he has become bold in his raids on our
ships. When he comes to rescue you, he will be walking
into a trap, because we will be waiting for him."

Laughter danced in Liberty's eyes. "I am sorry to disappoint you, Colonel, but my husband will not be coming for me. You see, he has never been accused of being a fool."

Colonel Newman watched her closely. "I would be willing to wager he will come."

"Then you would lose,
Monsieur,
because my note was
not an appeal for help; it was a warning to Judah that you were setting a trap for him and that he must not come anywhere near Briar Oaks."

Colonel Newman's neck turned red, and the color soon
spread to his face. He rushed across the room and called
out to his orderly. "Get to the boats and stop the old woman that just left. I want that note she is carrying!"

Liberty swept past him. "I will just go to my room, Colonel. It has been a most trying day ... for fools."

He stared after her as she climbed the stairs. By God,
she was some woman. She had been aware of what he had
been trying to do. Amused laughter met Liberty's ears,
and she turned back to see the colonel's eyes dancing with
mirth. He gave her a sweeping bow. "You have won the
day, Mrs. Slaughter. I pray the American men are not as
clever as their women. If so, we are done for."

Andrew Jackson's camp was buzzing with activity. Men
were coming and going as they prepared for battle.

Zippora had been directed to Judah's tent, and she now
waited for him to finish Liberty's note before she spoke.
"I do not believe Liberty is being mistreated in any way.
She will be fine as long as the
Anglais
keep Sebastian and
Bandera away from her. Liberty tells me that her sister and brother-in-law believe the
Anglais
will give them Briar Oaks if they win the war."

Judah's jaw clamped together in anger. "I will not have her remain under that roof one more night. I don't trust
Sebastian or Bandera."

"I believe the
Anglais
will protect Liberty. She is too
valuable to them to let any harm come to her. I, too,
share your concern for her where Bandera and Sebastian
are concerned."

"Damn, I was a fool to let her go back there. I tried to get her to stay with my mother, but she insisted on returning to Briar Oaks."

"Liberty can be stubborn when she wants her way. I am
sure the colonel found that out after I left," Zippora said,
smiling.

A grin touched Judah's lips as he thought of the clever
way Liberty and Zippora had dealt with the Englishman.
"I would like to have seen the man's face when he learned
that you and Liberty tricked him." Suddenly a troubled thought came to him and the smile left his face. "I hope it
didn't make him angry enough to punish Liberty."

"No, he was a gentleman. I read in his eyes that his
business was very distasteful to him. However, like you, I
believe that the sooner we get Liberty away from Sebastian, the better. He is touched with greed and a thirst for
power, and one never knows what he might do."

Judah glanced down at Liberty's note, folded it, and
poked it into his pocket. "Tomorrow night, I will go after
her. I believe I can come up with a plan, but I will need
your help."

"I will help you, Judah Slaughter. You have only to tell
me what to do."

"Once again I am indebted to you, Zippora. I do not
know what good angel put you in my path, but you have
saved my skin more than once."

Zippora smiled. "The good angel is Liberty." She went
out of the tent and Judah followed her. "I will await word
from you tomorrow," she told him.

"I will come for you at sundown."

He watched her walk away holding herself straight and
tall. To some, Zippora might be a frightening figure, but to him she was a guardian angel.

The night winds blowing through the tree branches
caused eerie shadows to dance across the window. Liberty
lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. Today, as the colonel had talked of Judah's daring adventures, she had realized how
little she really knew about the man she had married.
She got out of bed and moved to the window, her feet
noiseless against the cold floor. Glancing out, she knew there was no way she could escape through the tree now that the branches had been cut back. Judah was out there
somewhere and she hoped he would heed her warning and
not attempt to rescue her. She did not want to see him end up a prisoner of the English.

Sebastian lit a cigar and watched the smoke fan out
about his head. "I wonder if you have overestimated my
sister-in-law, Colonel Newman. Liberty is not as clever as
you seem to think she is."

"I believe it is you who underestimate Mrs. Slaughter.
She knew from the beginning that I was playing a game
with her today. In underestimating her, I lost the chance to get my hands on her husband."

"Knowing Judah as I do, I would not discount the possibility that he may yet try to rescue Liberty."

"I am very aware of that. I have two guards posted
below, watching her bedroom window, and no one can get
past the men who guard the house."

"Any word on the war, Colonel? Do you know where
Jackson is?"

Colonel Newman looked at the foppish man who sat
across from him. He had little liking for Sebastian Mon
tesquieu, but the Creole had been very useful to him. "It is said that Jackson is held up at a place called Chalmette, getting ready for a hard push. Since the ground is too wet for trenches, the Americans are building mud walls."

Sebastian laughed scornfully. "Do they think the mud
will hold back your armies? I can see you are dealing with
imbeciles. It is but a matter of time before you march
triumphantly into New Orleans."

Colonel Newman took a sip of his wine and glanced
around the book-lined room. What a showplace it must
have been at one time. "How little you know the Ameri
cans if you believe that. I admit they have fought several
disastrous battles in this war, but that was before General
Jackson was put in charge. The man is a genius at
strategy." Newman took a puff on his cigar before he
continued. "I heard an interesting story about him. It is said that he blames us for the death of his mother and
two brothers. What we are facing here is a man with a
personal vendetta—that's the most dangerous kind of man."