Moontide Embrace (Historical Romance) (46 page)

"I am going to take you where you will be safely out of
British hands, and where they will not find you," Judah told her.

"You cannot take her to Bend of the River," Zippora said, leaning back and allowing Judah to do the rowing.
"It is surrounded by the
Anglais.
They might capture her
again."

"I know," Judah said, allowing the current to sweep
them downriver. "I am taking her to the
Winged Victory.
You should stay aboard with her, Zippora."

"No, 1 will return home. I am in no danger."

By the time the mist had cleared, they had passed the
enemy position and were approaching Colonel Jackson's
headquarters at Chalmette. Judah rowed ashore and helped Zippora and Liberty to disembark.

Liberty looked from her husband to her dear friend
Zippora. "How can I say thank you?" she asked, tears shining in her eyes. "I am most grateful to both of you."

Judah flashed her a smile, and Zippora turned away to
climb back into her boat. "I have no time to listen to this," she said in a gruff voice, but Liberty saw that her
eyes were shining with happiness. She watched the old
woman pull away from shore and paddle to the middle of the river. Liberty raised her hand to wave good-by, and
Zippora acknowledged her with the merest nod of her head.

"That is an amazing woman," Judah observed. "I wager
there is not another like her anywhere in this world."

Liberty nodded in agreement.

Judah's eyes were warm as they rested on her face. "Are
you tired, little one?"

"A little."

"Come, I will have Philippe escort you to my ship. You can rest when you get there." Taking her arm, he led her
through the camp.

Disappointment showed in her eyes. "Will you not be coming with me?"

"I am afraid not. Like many of my countrymen, I am
committed here, Liberty. The English want New Orleans,
and they know they have to go through us to get it."

For the first time Liberty noticed the activity going on
around her. Walls built of mud ran along a deep canal. Fence posts had been driven into the ground to reinforce
the rampart, and artillery was placed behind it at strategic points. Some men were drilling, while others were clean
ing their rifles. A few slept on the cold ground, and Liberty suspected they must have been on night duty.
There was tension in the air, a premonition of things to
come.

For the first time Liberty felt the horrors of war. Men
were preparing to fight, to kill one another. Perhaps
blood would be spilled on the very ground where she now
stood.

"Come away with me, Judah," she said, in a moment
of weakness, looking at him with pleading eyes. "Please
do not stay here."

"I cannot, Liberty, and I do not believe you really want
me to. Could you respect a man who would turn his back
on his duty?"

"I . . . no. It's just that-."

"I know," he said, smiling down at her. "You haven't
had anyone to look after you since your father died. It's
only normal that you would be concerned about the only stability in your life, which at the moment happens to be
me."

Liberty looked at him strangely. "Was that the way
Judah thought she felt about him, as someone she could
depend upon?"

"Judah, you are my husband."

His eyes moved across her face. "I haven't forgotten,
Liberty."

Suddenly she was terrified for him. Suppose he was wounded, or even killed, in battle? "Judah, what will really happen here?" she asked.

"I won't lie to you, little one. There will be a battle
such as we have never known before." He glanced about him at Jackson's strange-looking army. The British know
they will have to go through us to get to New Orleans, but
we intend to stop them here—we have to!"

Liberty's eyes came to life with flames of patriotism. "I
wish I were a man. I would stand beside you and fight to the bitter end." She turned to him, her eyes expectant. "I
don't suppose you would allow me to stay?"

He smiled and shook his head. "No, I will not. And
none of your tricks either. You are going where you will
be out of the line of danger."

"Will you have the fire power of the
Carolina
when the
battle starts?" she asked, remembering the ship had helped Colonel Jackson in the last battle.

"No, she was set afire by the British. We saved some of
her guns, however. They are mounted and ready to fire.
Her crew members hope to get their revenge."

"What of the cannons that we brought through the swamps?"

"They are primed and ready. My gunners from the
Winged Victory
will man them when the battle commences."

By now they had reached a tent, and Judah led Liberty inside. There she saw Philippe and several other men she
recognized from the
Winged Victory.

"Gentlemen, I would like to present to you my wife,
Liberty Slaughter. Liberty, this is Rojo. Philippe you
already know. James Brent, Robert Massey, and George
Cummings. The others are either in camp or downriver
guarding the ship."

Each man quickly removed his hat and faced Liberty
with shining eyes. Philippe appointed himself as spokes
man. "Madame Slaughter, we are indeed honored to be
presented to you. We stand ready to help you in any way
we can."

The others shook their heads in agreement, except Rojo. He stared into clear blue eyes and lost his heart. Surely she was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. "The captain is a most fortunate man,
Senora.
I
have never seen anyone more pretty," he blurted out,
provoking rib gouging and snickers from some of the other crewmembers.

Judah looked at each man through lowered lashes,
which brought immediate silence. "Philippe, choose three men and escort Madame Slaughter to the
Winged Victory.
You can send the others back, but I want you to remain with my wife until further notice."

"Aye, aye, sir," Philippe answered. "Are there any other
instructions?"

"Yes." Judah lowered his voice. "Should the war go
against us, you are to get my mother, and my grandfather
if he will go with you. Then I want you to take the
Winged Victory
to Boston. Is that understood?"

"Aye, Captain." There was a grave look on the first
mate's face, because he usually went into battle with his
captain. The two men shook hands. "God keep you, Captain," Philippe said.

Liberty felt a sob building up deep inside her. How could she walk away from the man she loved, knowing she might never see him again. She tried to think of Colonel Jackson's wife, Rachel, and how hard it must
have been for her to send her husband off to war—but it
didn't help. She held her back straight and refused to cry
in front of Judah's men. She would show everyone what it
meant to be Judah Slaughter's wife.

Judah took Liberty's arm and led her back toward the river, while the four men escorting her followed, just out
of earshot. Neither of them spoke until they reached the
longboat, then Liberty turned to her husband. "Take care
of yourself," she said bravely.

"I shall. You will be well cared for, Liberty. Philippe
will guard you with his life. I trust him completely, I hope
you will too."

u
Oui,
of course." She clutched his shirtfront and gazed
into his eyes. "You will not take any unnecessary chances,
will you?"

He smiled. "You have my word, I will not."

She drew in a ragged breath, wishing he would take her in his strong arms and assure her that they would soon be
together. The wind ruffled her golden hair, and he
smoothed it down with his hand. He touched his finger to
his lips and then pressed it gently to hers. "We will be
together again soon, little one . . . soon."

Liberty turned away, knowing she could no longer hold
the tears back. Judah helped her into the boat, and the others climbed in after her, taking up the oars. She
refused to look back at Judah until the boat had moved a
safe distance downstream.

When Liberty could trust herself to turn, Judah was too far away for her to see his expression, but he raised
his hand to her and she waved back. She wished she dare
ask Philippe to turn the boat around and take her back.
What would she do if anything happened to Judah? She
hadn't had the chance to tell him she loved him.

She pulled her hood over her head so it would hide her
face from the others. Only then did she allow the tears to
flow freely. Soon they rounded a bend, and she could no
longer see her husband. The men must have known what she was feeling, because no one spoke. The only sounds that could be heard were the distant singing of a mock
ingbird and the swish of oars as they sliced through the
water.

Sebastian slammed his fist down on the desk and
winced in pain. "What imbecile allowed Judah Slaughter
to come into this house and spirit Liberty away right under our noses?"

Colonel Newman smiled. "Since I am in charge here, I
suppose you could say I was that imbecile."

Sebastian cleared his throat. "I did not mean to imply
that you were at fault, Colonel. I was referring to the guards who were on duty last night. They were careless and unprofessional. I demand that they be reprimanded."

"You are in no position to demand anything. And since
you are not a military man, how would you know what was professional and what wasn't?"

Sebastian chose to ignore the insult. He realized he had
spoken rashly. The one thing he did not want to do was turn Colonel Newman against him. The man was in a
position to help him get his hands on Briar Oaks, maybe
even Bend of the River.

"I have to hand it to Slaughter," Colonel Newman
stated, admiration threading his voice. "He took us com
pletely by surprise. I wouldn't have thought any man could have navigated in that heavy fog and mist last night."

Bandera had been sitting near the fire, trying to keep
warm. She got up and crossed to her husband. "What is
to be done to recover my sister, Colonel? Have you sent
men to search for her and bring her back?"

"I don't mean to sound indelicate, Mrs. Montesquieu,
but I no longer have an interest in your sister. I admit it
would have been nice to capture Judah Slaughter, but since that did not happen, we still have a war to fight."

"Does it not bother you that my cousin made fools of
us all?" Sebastian wanted to know. "I would think, if for
no other reason, you would want to retake Liberty to redeem your honor, Colonel."

Colonel Newman laughed aloud. "My honor was never
at stake. Judah Slaughter is the one who redeemed
his
honor last night. We held someone who belonged to him,
and he took her back against impossible odds. I would have attempted the same had I been in his place."

Sebastian stared at the colonel in astonishment. "If I did not know better, I would think you admire my cousin."

"I do admire him. He has courage beyond that of most
men. I'd bet you are not even aware of some of his exploits at sea."

"No, nor do I want to know about them," Sebastian said pettishly. "I do not admire his kind."

Bandera tapped her shoe against the floor in vexation. "I see that old witch Zippora's hand in this. Only she
could have guided Judah here last night." She turned her eyes on the colonel and flashed him a smile. "Surely you
are going to help us get my sister back. We cannot leave
her in the clutches of that pirate Judah Slaughter."

Colonel Newman's mouth tightened into a firm line.
He had been in close contact with Bandera and Sebastian since Christmas. It was all he could do to stay in the same
room with them. "Your concern for your sister is very
touching. But I believe she would rather be in the hands
of her husband than locked in her bedroom. I have been
astounded that you never asked me to release your sister
from her confinement,
Madame.
Indeed, I was told that
you did not once ask to see her." A devilish smile lit the
colonel's gray eyes. "At least your husband showed enough concern to ask to be admitted to her room on several occasions."