Napoleon's Gift (15 page)

After I drank my fill, h
e pulled me to him, took the glass from me, placed it on the side table, then laid me on the bed. His weight on top of me, however not enough to crush me. As his lips crushed mine, I sighed, and my body molded into his.

He cupped my face, then deepened the kiss, and a soft moan escaped my lips as he drew back to look at my face.

       “
Mon dieu, tu es belle
.” My god, yer beautiful, he whispered, and before I could respond, he kissed me again.

        I fe
lt it to the tips my toes.

       His head dipped to my throat, he sucked the warm skin in the curve of my neck into his mouth, and I gasped. I opened my mouth to say something, and he shook his head.

“
Ce soir, je veux vous aimer, comme vous le méritez.
” This night, I want to love ye, as ye deserve, he whispered. His head dipped again, and the kiss he gave me astounded me. He pulled the chemise from my shoulders, and as his cool lips touched my heated skin I cried out, which caused him to bring his lips back to mine.

  I touched his face then.

He looked at me searching my eyes.

        “
Vous ne ressemble à aucun homme que je connais.
” You are unlike any man I have ever known. I whispered, and he smiled.

        
“
Et vous êtes à la différence de n’importe quelle femme que j’ai jamais connu.
” Ye are unlike any woman I have ever known. He whispered back, and something inside me seemed to regale in the elation I felt at his vow.

Samedi (
Saturday
)…

Madame was back to her tricks, because as I looked into the looking glass, the pirate’s patch caused me to moan from sheer aggravation.  Equally, the garters were once again introduced. However, as he walked into the room, what I assumed would be an amusing expression on his face was one of pure lust.

He noticed the vats of oil, the extra candles
dispersed around the room, and his brow rose. I shrugged grinning.

“Come.” He said, I
smiled, then walked to where he was.

He removed the eye patch with a chuckle, then commenced to undress me. He gave me a slight frown as he threw the get-up to the other side of the room. He was suddenly next to me again, lifted me, then placed me in his lap, and I forced the moan back down.

   He took the oil from the vat, smoothed it over my skin, and this time I could not control the moan. He grinned, took the perfumed cloth, rubbed it against my shoulders, then placed his nose in the curve of my neck and inhaled deeply.

     “My god yer
stunning.” He whispered in English, as he brought the cloth across my breast, up my thighs, then looked up at me. His eyes had darkened, and they looked remarkable as he smiled at me.

He brought his hand up, brushed it across my nipple, and my back arched as I moaned. My eyes closed, so I did not see the grin on his face.

    I moaned as he slipped his fingers inside, and my hips moved to meet the rhythm of his hand on their own accord. When his lips brushed across my nipple, a deep moan logged itself in the back of my throat as he took it into his mouth.

“Ye are mine, and it shall remain so.” He whispered, I nodded, and that was my last coherent thought.

Dimanche (
Sunday
)…

I thanked the merciful lord that even though she plied her craft Madame had some small respite in decency, because as I lay awake in bed, I was grateful I was not expected this day.
My caller was one voracious man, and I was not at all sure my body was up for the challenge.

I sighed, as I closed my eyes, and sleep claimed me once again.

Rouge Oiseau…

Plantation…

“I want something done immediately Jefferies! I shall not be bested by some third rate Earl from her majesties arse!” Mr. Charles spat, and the constable sighed.

“I’m not rightly sure, what there is that can be done Charles. If he has Tobias’ last will and testament, what further action do you think I can muster?
I may be constable, but it does not allow me to arrest people who have not actually committed a crime. Not to mention, he is an Earl Charles. I am behooved to wait this one out.” Jeffries cried, and Mr. Charles gave him a nasty look.

“Then I shall attend to it myself.
I don’t need ye.” Charles hissed, and the constable frowned.

“Now, now Charles, let us not allow this to get the better of us. We must do this the proper way.
If the magistrate were to get wind of this, especially with him being an Earl, this could indeed come back to haunt us, whatever shenanigans you’ve planned.”

“Proper be damned! I have not waited on
Tobias to die for the last two years, to allow this to slip from my grasp! Ye will not stop this Clinton!” He yelled, and the constable frowned.

“Is your want of the girl this fanatical, that you would jeopardize all that we have worked for
here? Cantor will not cotton to this, and you know it. Not to mention, I have no desire to deal with Younger. Just leave this be, you can find plenty of colored girls!” The constable lamented, and Charles shoved him onto the settee.

The constable drew back, but it
was not enough to keep Charles face from his.

“Know yer place! It was I
…who put you where ye are. I shall have her, and no one will stand in my way! She is not just some colored trollop. She is a symbol, to all that Tobias has kept from me in the last ten years. I will not allow him to best me, even from the grave. I will handle this myself!” Mr. Charles spat, snatched up his topcoat and gloves, then left Jefferies where he was.

The constable frowned
.

He would never understand why Charles and Cantor would set themselves up with the lot of them in the first place.

From what Jefferies knew, during the Civil War, savage guerrilla warfare wracked most of the state of Missouri. Thomas Cole Younger fought as a guerrilla under William Clarke Quantrill, and the fighting in Missouri during the Civil War was largely between pro-Union and pro-Confederate Missourians, though the bushwhackers held special hatred for the Union troops from Kansas who frequently crossed the border and earned a reputation for ruthlessness.

Younger joined the Confederate guerrilla leader Quantrill in a raid on
August 21, 1863, taking part in the killing of some 200 men and boys at Lawrence, Kansas, which the guerrillas looted and burned.

Likewise, Younger later claimed he left the bushwhacker ranks to enlist in the Confederate Army, and was sent to California on a recruiting mission. He returned after the Southern defeat to find Missouri under the rule of a militant faction of Unionists, the Radicals, who soon took over the regular Republican Party in the state. In the closing days of the war, the Radicals pushed through a new state constitution that barred Confederate sympathizers from voting, serving on juries, holding public office, preaching the gospel, or carrying out any number of public roles.

On Election Day 1866, Clement led his men into Lexington, Missouri, where they intimidated Radical voters and secured the election of a conservative slate of candidates. A state militia unit entered the town shortly thereafter and killed Clement when he resisted arrest.

Jefferies
righted his shirtfront, frowning even more.

Younger could not be trusted, whether Charles could
perceive that or not.

His reputation preceded him, and Jefferies believed every aspect of it.

Why was he even in New Orleans in the first place?

Jefferies wondered as he
left the parlor.              

He would need to contact
that Pinkerton immediately, before Charles sent the entire operation to pot, and got them all killed to boot.

Canal

Street…

“Yes, I want it done as soon as possible, however, leave no trace. This cannot come back to either of us.
Make it look like ardent pickpockets. Nevertheless, it must be done soon. I shall not wait any longer.” Charles hissed as he handed Declan the pound notes, he nodded, then Declan hurried off replacing the hood on his head.

She would be his!

Mr. Charles swore frowning.

The
years of simply waiting for her to ripen for the taking, and some self proclaimed Earl to come in and snatch that away from him.

He thought not!

Moreover, he was not above killing to get what he wanted either, especially for her. He had waited far too long to taste her, and he would be damned if anyone else would do it before him. It was the very reason he had broken Billy’s arm down on Basil-leaf plantation, because Sissy told him they had been intimate. He watched her closely after that, but Billy was the only one she had ever allowed to touch her, and Charles believed it because of the wine, so he deemed her a good girl.

He would not allow her to be soiled by this rakish Waverly!

Charles smiled evilly, then hurried to his carriage.

Ab
el frowned, then removed himself from the shadows. The sun was just about to set, but he knew the transaction of evil when he saw it. He would have to keep an eye on Mr. Charles, because he was certainly up to no good.

Chapter Six…

Haven

An additional three weeks passed, and Granny fared no healthier.

I would care for her each day, pray that she would wake, and even go so far as to open her eyelids to see if I saw any movement or recognition; but there was nothing.
She had lost a dreadfully large amount of weight, and everyday, I feared for the worst. Doctor Augustine came the day before yesterday, and told me that I needed to prepare myself for the worst.

Nevertheless,
I just could not!

Not have
Granny here; I did not even want to think about that!

My only solace of late, was my caller, and Claudette.

Claudette was a marvel.

If ever I had found true friendship, it was in her. I often wondered if it was peculiar, that I had such feelings for a woman. I loved her in every
way; nevertheless, it was much different from what I felt for my caller. Ms. Millie continued to regal me with the town’s ferocious gossip concerning Claudette, yet in spite of that, I could not see it. She was one of the most tentative people I knew, and she loved me for me. I was drawn to her very deeply. Nevertheless, what I felt for my caller surprised even me.

I had begun to develop deep feelings for him.
He was a very conscientious man, he would just listen, never judging, and each day, I drew closer and closer to him. He reminded me so much of someone else, but my mind would shut down whenever I thought of Benjamin. If ever in my life I had been cut deeply by love, it would have been with Benny. I was inexperienced, and did not truly understand the relationships between whites and coloreds at the time.

I just knew that I was a girl, and he was a boy. Never in my life would I have imagined, that two people so young could love each other so deeply, however he’d let others come in and taint
it to become something it wasn’t.

He would have been my first lover,
but thank the merciful lord, I found out who he truly was. It seemed as if we were both avoiding each other, because each time I would go to the big house when summoned, he was never there, and each time he would come to Granny’s seeking me out, I was at Madame’s, or on my way. I had yet to see him face to face, and secretly, I was grateful for it.

I looked up as Ms. Millie came through the door.

          “How is she today
chér
?”

           “No better Ms. Millie, I fear for the worst.” I moaned, then touched
Granny’s forehead. It was cool to the touch; however, she did not stir.

        
“She’ll come through chil, you just have to believe.” Ms. Millie lamented, and I nodded blinking back the sting of tears.

I
did not think so, but I would hold onto Ms. Millie’s faith for now.

      
“The sun is almost down chil, you had best get.” She said, and I sighed looking at Granny one last time as I headed for the door.

French

Quarter…

When I reached Madame’s I was in a somber mood, she noticed it and frowned.

“Here.” She said and made me drink a full glass of wine. “Whatever has you disposed, put it from your mind. We are here to entertain, and nothing more.” She snapped, and I nodded as Aribel and Monique led me up the stairs to dress me.