White Dreams (22 page)

Grady watched as his friend picked up the unconscious girl. Charles was furious. “Now that a white girl is involved, you’ll do something…but when I reported a missing servant who just happens to be a freed slave you couldn’t bother to find the time to search!” He glared at the officer, then addressed Grady. I’m taking this girl to the City Hospital. She’s in a bad way.”

“I’s goin’ with her,” the old slave declared, making it clear no one was taking the girl out of her sight.

Grady waved aside the officer’s protests and personally vouched for his friend. As soon as Manning left, he considered the four remaining women, noting their frightened yet hopeful faces.

“I’ll arrange for a place for these women to stay until Mr. Manning can identify them and confirm their freedom. Then, I think a talk with that Leo Dufour is in order.”

By the time Grady arrived home, it was late and he’d done everything he could. He’d found a church to take in the women until Charles could deal with the legalities. Leo still maintained he had been told the cargo was of runaway slaves, and he said he couldn’t tell them who’d paid him to transport them. He was lying, of course, but until Grady had more proof, there was little he could do.

And as the women had been bound for a brothel, there was little hope that Charles’s servant or Hattie’s family would be found there. Perhaps the two men now in police custody could be convinced to divulge their whereabouts. Right now, they apparently feared the wrath of the Dragon more than anything.

Disheartened by the discoveries of the day, Grady leaned against the front door and eyed the stairs. He longed to go to Star, but one whiff of his clothing told him he needed to bathe first. The small cabin on board the
Freedom’s Fancy
had been filthy. His clothes stank.

Zac and Zeke came into the hall, stopped, their eyes bulging. “Lordy, Colonel, but you stink somethin’ fierce!” This came from Zac. “I’ll heat you water for a bath.”

Though exhausted, Grady chuckled. “This from someone who doesn’t believe in bathing or washing clothes?”

The two brothers had the grace to look embarrassed. “Living in a fine house calls for changing one’s habits.”

Grady followed Zac to a room off of the kitchen where his large copper tub waited, wondering what the brothers were doing up but grateful anyway.

The bath was heavenly. Thirty minutes later, he felt human again. The scout handed him a snifter of brandy.

“Thanks, Zac.”

“Don’t go gettin’ sloppy on us, Colonel. Jest doin’ my job.”

Feeling incredibly fortunate to be surrounded by people who were not only loyal to him, but for whom he held the utmost respect, Grady headed up the stairs. As scouts, these men were the best. But only a few weeks ago, he’d have laughed if someone had suggested hiring them as household help. Once again, they were proving their worth. Grady couldn’t imagine surrounding himself with cold, distant strangers, as he once had done. In his room, he went eagerly to his bed. He felt a stab of disappointment upon finding it empty.

Checking the connecting door, he found it was unlocked. He stepped into Star’s room. She was sound asleep in her bed. Deciding not to wake her even though he wanted the comforting warmth of her embrace to erase the horrors of the day, he returned to his room, undressed and climbed into bed.

Hester Mae, bone-weary and emotionally drained from spending the day and most of the evening at her husband’s side in the hospital, stepped down from the carriage. “Thank you, Charles.”

Her husband’s solicitor rubbed his eyes and sighed heavily. “Get some rest, Hester Mae. I’ll come by for you early. I want to go back and check on that poor young lady.”

Hester Mae stopped him from climbing back into his carriage. “You don’t have to be so kind to me. Heaven knows I haven’t done anything to deserve it.” How she’d have made it through the day without this man’s support, she didn’t know. Once he’d returned with that young blonde girl he’d stayed, alternating spending his time with Hester, the girl and the slaves, until the blonde girl’s frantic parents at last arrived. They’d been searching for her for some time.

“I think we can put the past behind us, Hester Mae. Right now, your husband needs you. Be there for him.”

Be there for him.
She sniffled, wiping the corner of her eyes. “It may be too late.”

“No. Bax is strong. He’ll make it.” Charles smiled reassuringly.

Hester Mae’s answering smile wobbled. “Stubborn is a better word.”

“That too, Hester Mae.” With that, he climbed back into his carriage and tapped the roof with his cane.

She waited until the conveyance faded from sight before moving up the long walk to her front door. Sighing, wishing she didn’t have to enter the dark, empty house and face the bleakness of her past, which had haunted her all during the silent hours spent at her husband’s side, she paused.

“About time you got home, Hester Mae,” a voice said as a dark shadow rose from the porch.

Startled, Hester Mae nearly fell back down the steep stairs. “Leo! What are you doing here?” She glanced around, but there wasn’t another soul in sight. Her neighborhood slept, as she longed to do.

“Ah, my love, what a touching display of concern you gave. I thought you’d
never
get home. We have all night, and soon we’ll have forever.” He grabbed her and kissed her, his mouth moving hungrily over hers, his fingers digging hard into her buttocks. His enthusiasm put her off, and where once she had found his alternating mastery and flattery pleasant, she now found him dull.

“No, Leo. Stop.” She shoved him away.

Looking annoyed, Leo frowned. “What’s wrong?”

Feeling guilty for her part in their affair, Hester Mae tried to be gentle. “It’s over, Leo. I’m sorry, but if Baxter survives, I want a second chance to be a better wife to him.”

“What? No!” Leo reached out and grabbed Hester Mae by her arm. “Don’t be ridiculous! The man is as good as dead. He won’t survive. Do you know how hard he was hit?” He yanked her hard against him. “And if he isn’t dead, we’ll have to finish him off. Then, Hester, it’ll be just you and me. Together, as we planned.”

Once more Leo started groping her, and something sharp and cold stabbed at her insides. With horror, Hester slapped his hands away but couldn’t free herself. “You! You’re the one who tried to kill Baxter today.”

Her lover laughed. “He had the nerve to fire me…and warn me away from you. He knows, Hester Mae. He knows about us. So you see? I had to do it. I did it for you…for us.” He lifted his head. “And don’t tell me you hadn’t been waiting for the old bastard to die so that we could marry.”

He bent his head to nibble on the soft flesh of her earlobe. His breath, hot and desperate, sent chills through her. “I did it for us. For you,” he repeated. “I can give you what he can’t,
ma chérie:
children. Lots of them.” His gaze, shadowed by the night, begged her to understand and accept him.

Closing her eyes against the stark truth, Hester Mae acknowledged Leo’s hurtful accusation and her own shameful role in the day’s events. But that had been before; before her talk with Baxter in the carriage, before she found the two adorable children who needed a home. And now Leo’s actions might have ruined everything.

“There’s a difference between dying naturally and murder. I never asked you to kill my husband, Leo. But thankfully, you
didn’t
murder him. He’s alive—and he’ll survive.” She paused, tearful. “Now, go! I learned today that I love my husband, and in a way, Leo, I have you to thank for that. Spending all day in that hospital made me take a good long look at myself and my life. I didn’t like what I saw, and I hope Baxter will forgive me.” She pushed Leo away and reached behind her for the doorknob.

“No! You’re ruining everything,” Leo shouted, reaching out for her.

Hester Mae turned the knob. “Don’t come here again, Leo.” She quickly slipped inside and locked the door behind her, ignoring his shouts and threats and pleas. After several minutes, she heard him stomp down the stairs.

Tugging the gloves from her fingers, she stared around. The fight with Leo, learning he’d tried to kill her husband—
for them
—left her shaking. How many times in the past few years had she walked through those double doors and wished she were no longer married? Too many. And today she’d nearly gotten her wish. Her knees buckled. She laughed, the sound humorless. “Oh, Baxter. What a fool I’ve been,” she sobbed softly, falling back to lean against the doorway.

She didn’t want her marriage to Baxter Olsen to end. For better or worse. In sickness and in health, she would go the distance.

Removing her hat, she stepped toward the stairs. She’d get a few hours of rest, then head back to the hospital.

Halfway up the stairs, her maid called up to her.

“Mrs. Olsen, you’re home.”

“Yes, Clare. I won’t need you tonight. You may go to bed.”

The maid looked uncomfortable. “But, ma’am, you’ve got company.”

Hester Mae frowned. All the downstairs rooms were dark. “Who is it?”

Before the maid could answer, a short, plump woman bustled out of the parlor, her traveling dress wrinkled and her hair rumpled. She’d been asleep. Hester Mae descended the stairs. The woman handed her an envelope. “They be sleeping in there.” She jerked her thumb over her shoulder. “I done me duty now, so I’ll be on me way.”

“Wait,” Hester Mae begged, confused and too worn out to be dealing with any of this. She stared at the envelope. “Please, tell me what’s going on. Who are you?”

“I be the children’s nurse—um, I mean, I used to be their nurse. Got me own family to look after, and I can’t look after these no more. Me husband is out in back with the carriage, waitin’ for me. We wants to head back to our house right away.”

“What children?” Hester opened the envelope. In the dim light, the words were hard to read. She hesitated. The letter was addressed to Baxter.

From the parlor came a soft, frightened cry, followed by bare feet slapping against the wooden floor. Hester Mae turned. Standing in the doorway, a dark-haired little girl blinked and rubbed her eyes. She was joined by another child, a boy with tousled black locks.

The woman, now wearing a threadbare coat, pointed. “The girl is Edith. She’s four. And the boy is Adam. He just turned two.” She strode to the door with hurried steps.

Hester Mae ran after her. “Why are they here?”

The woman turned pitying eyes on her. “Their ma died. I was asked to accompany them to their father. As he didn’t see fit to come meet us at the dock tonight, I asked questions and learned where he lived. Now they are here where they belong, and I’ve done what I was paid to do. They are none of my concern now.”

“These are Baxter’s children? There must be some mistake.” She turned to stare at the brother and sister standing silently, watching her. The little boy stuck his thumb in his mouth while the girl gathered him close to her.

“No mistake, ma’am. It’s all there in the letter.” The door closed, ending any hope Hester had of trying to learn more from the woman.

Hester Mae hadn’t thought there could be any more surprises this day, but how wrong she’d been. In the parlor, she lit a lamp and skimmed the letter. The truth pounded in her head. Baxter had had a mistress who’d borne him two children.

The ugly truth slammed into her. Her inability to conceive hadn’t been Baxter’s fault. And she’d blamed him for years. The fault lay with her. She was infertile. Another flaw reared its ugly head. Voices of the past sounded in her head, whispering that she was stupid, awkward, plain and odd. Now they added barren to their chants. She couldn’t even bear children. As a woman, she was a failure.

Hester Mae closed her eyes, wishing her sister were here. Margaret Mary had loved her, hadn’t cared that she’d been too tall and ugly. Her sister, graceful as a bird, beautiful as a china doll and so full of vitality, wasn’t here, though. No one was. She was alone. So alone. She sank onto the settee.

From the doorway, Clare appeared to usher the two children up the stairs to a guest room, leaving Hester Mae staring at the letter. She slapped it against her palm.

Oh, they were a pair, all right, she and her husband. And it was a good thing he’d survived, because right now she was angry enough to finish him off.

Orange-and-red flames burst from the windows and the wooden roof, leaping high, sending billowing gusts of black smoke out into the air to obliterate the brick building. Star turned in her sleep, moving across the bed to the far side, as if she could run from the dark dream. But the heat from the fire followed, burning as if it were real.

She tossed and turned, her fingers clutching the sheet she’d drawn over her face. The smoke shifted, took shape. As if looking down on the scene from the sky, Star spotted a blurry group of women huddled together, with smoke and flames surrounding them. They had nowhere to run. They were trapped. They called out to her, held out their hands, beseeching her to save them.

“No!” she cried, staring in horror at the trapped people. From this distance they seemed familiar, yet between the smoke and her wavering vision, she couldn’t see them clearly.

She didn’t want to see them clearly. She was afraid.

Look,
she commanded herself, but it was too late. The smoke had obscured them. She tried moving closer. Through the clouds of billowing smoke she flew. She had to try to stop the tragic deaths in her vision from becoming reality.

She fought wave after wave of smoke and heat. The closer she got, the louder were the screams. Female screams. Children’s screams. She shuddered. Before she could reach them, a winged creature slammed into her; talons as thick as her arms grabbed her, kept her from going to the women. She fought.

Low laughter, mocking and menacing, drowned out the screams. Cold blue eyes filled her vision, and the form holding her took the shape of a snake. It had a bestial face and wings.

Star screamed, over and over. Then, as it had in past visions, the shape of an eagle appeared in the sky. It swooped down, but hesitated between coming to her rescue or that of the women who were trapped by the flames. The eagle’s form shimmered and shifted until it became Grady. He stood before her and the snake creature, then ran toward her, shouting for the vile beast to release her.

A shot rang out. Grady fell, blood blossoming in an ugly circle across his white shirt.

High above them, the screams continued. The face of her daughter appeared. “Save me, Mother. Save me!”

Star’s heart raced. No. Not Morning Moon!
Save her. Save her,
she screamed.
Save them all!

Star turned to fight the death grip the creature had on her arm. “Let me go,” she sobbed, over and over. The hands dragged her from the place of death…

A voice called out to her. The blackness faded to blinding light. She reached for the figure, sought the voice pulling her through the darkness of her vision.

“Star! My love, wake up.”

Opening her eyes, she nearly screamed into the darkness.

“Shh, it’s all right. It was just a dream.” Grady’s soothing voice washed over her.

Star trembled and held on to him. Her heart raced and she was cold. She shivered, her teeth chattering. “Not a dream, a vision.” She sobbed.

Grady pulled back. She clutched him tighter. “Don’t leave me.”

“I’m not leaving.” Grady scooted her over and climbed into bed beside her, then drew the covers over them. He gathered her close.

His scent and the warmth of his bare flesh surrounded her. She buried her face against his shoulder and slid her legs between his as she sought the hard feel of him against her. On board the ship with the two girls, she’d adopted the white woman’s nightdress, but here, in her own room, she preferred to sleep as she had at home—in nothing. The warm feel of naked flesh sliding against naked flesh gave her comfort as nothing else could. She needed Grady, needed his toughness, the strength of his arms around her, the feel of his rock-hard chest to hold. Yet, she couldn’t get close enough to blot out the horror of her vision.

His large hands roamed up and down her back, clasping her shivering form tightly.

Star, her gaze still wild and filled with terror, drew her head back from where she’d buried it in the hollow of his shoulder. She reached up to kiss the hollow of his throat, her teeth nipping lightly. Then she fiercely pulled his mouth to hers. “Love me, Grady. Love me now.” She wrapped her legs around his hips, pulling him on top of her, refusing to let him go.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

Grady’s breath tickled the sensitive skin below her ear. Exhausted, Star shook her head. “I can’t.” After the savage loving—he’d read her silent desires and brought her to a powerful release—she couldn’t bear to meet Grady’s eyes. She’d never acted in such a manner. She’d been totally selfish in her lovemaking.

“Star?”

“I’m sorry,” she cried.

“For what?” Grady brushed the tears from her face.

Star’s lips trembled. “I used you. That wasn’t loving.”

Smiling, Grady traced her lower lip. He seemed both awed and amused. “It was incredible. It was wild, with no pretense. Natural.” He laughed. “You know, for most animals, the mating act is violent.”

“But we’re not animals.” She tried to bury her head but he wouldn’t let her.

“Ah, but we are. Beneath the social-climbing and gossipmongering, beneath the veneer of our society, we’re just animals. I’m surprised you can deny it.” He laughed. “But what are you worried about? Did you hear me complaining?”

“No, but—”

“Then, no more. Tell me what prompted it.”

Star sighed. “Not tonight. In the morning.” She couldn’t bear to relive her vision. She needed time to sort it out.

Strong fingers brushed along her jaw, slid up into her hair and held her close. “Will keeping it to yourself prevent it from coming true?”

Star groaned. It wouldn’t, and that was the truth of the matter. She didn’t want to acknowledge that he might die…or someone else might. “Oh, Grady, I’m so frightened.” She burrowed her head beneath his chin.

“Of what?” He brushed his lips across her temple.

“Fire. Death. Losing the ones I love. Losing you.” And she would, if she couldn’t warn him not to come after her. He had to save the others. She lifted her head. She had to warn him. Tonight… Now. She’d hesitated once and lost her chance to warn her husband. She’d not make the same mistake twice. And she knew she didn’t have much time.

Grady held her tenderly and stroked her arms. “I know how much this upsets you. We’ll talk in the morning…if that’s what you want.”

Star sat up and faced him, feeling cold and bereft. “No.
Now.
You must know. There’s going to be a fire. There are going to be women and children…trapped.”

Grady sat up and drew her up with him. “Where?”

Star closed her eyes and tried to place the burning building. “I don’t know.” Her voice broke. “I don’t know. There was too much smoke.” She clenched her fists in frustration.

“Come here.”

Star allowed Grady to settle her in front of him with her back resting against his chest. His bent legs cradled hers, his arms wrapped around her, their fingers entwined. They were linked together as one. She and her eagle.

“Relax. Lean your head back and breathe slowly.”

Obeying him, Star freed her mind, allowing the images to replay.

“What do you see?”

“Women and children trapped by fire. And you.” At the recalled sight of him falling to the ground, she tried to break free, but Grady held tight. His strength infused her. She released her breath in a shudder.

“The women: how many and where are they?” His voice remained low, soothing.

“I don’t know. It was too blurry, there was too much smoke. They were screaming.” Squeezing her eyes in concentration, Star sought details but they evaded her.

“What else?”

Frozen in time, the image before her taunted her, as did the evil gaze of the monster holding her, preventing her from going to help Grady. She opened her mouth to tell him, then hesitated. If he knew she’d be in danger, what would he do? Would he come after her or save the others? With certainty, she knew he would come after her and fight the monster—and those trapped by the fire would die…with him.

Turning, Star straddled Grady’s lap and cupped his face in her hands. “If you have a choice between saving me or those women and children, you must save
them.
One of them is my daughter, and the other must be yours. Save them. I don’t know why I feel this, but you must promise to listen to me.”

He hesitated.

“Say you will save our children.”

As if in great pain, he closed his eyes. “I promise.”

She sagged against him. “I’m so frightened, Grady. What if those women die? Or our children? What if something happens to you?”

“Nothing will happen to me.”

“How can you say that?” Her heart contracted.

“I’ve been given a second chance at love. No—we’ve been given a second chance, and I won’t let anything destroy it.” Grady reached up and drew her head to his. Their breath mingled. “We will take it one day at a time.”

Moving beneath her, his body reacting to the sensation of her pressed against him, he cupped her breasts. “Take me in you, my love, my bright Star. Let me feel you. Ride me, and let us soar with the stars.” He slid down onto the bed, lying beneath her.

Star’s heart thudded painfully within her chest. She couldn’t lose this man. Ever. Nor could she ignore her own desire to be one with him.

Grady gripped her buttocks, lifting her and bringing her down on him hard. She sheathed him, impaling herself deeply. Star’s thighs gripped his hips and they remained still for a moment, savoring the newness of the position, building their passions with only their lips and tongues.

She bent her head down and he plunged his tongue into her mouth, teasing her with the rhythm they each longed to match with their hips. She tried to move, to initiate the thrusting that would drive them both through the heavens, but he held her tightly against him. She moaned, and without moving her hips, she flexed the pulsing walls surrounding his swollen flesh. He gasped and broke the kiss.

Star laughed softly in his ear, then traced its shape with her tongue before returning to his mouth. Beneath her, Grady squirmed and moaned, his breathing harsh. Burying her fingers in his hair, she bore down on him. She’d discovered quite by accident, by listening to his sounds of pleasure, that he liked this.

She squeezed tight around him, drawing him in and holding him within her. He tried to break the kiss and pulled at her hips, but this time she plunged into his mouth, stroking and dipping her tongue in time to her inner muscles closing around him. She developed a rhythm that had them both pulsing with lust.

Her moans grew as her need built. Her hips rocked, her buttocks clenching with each sweet pulse. Faster.
Harder.

“No more. God, no more!” Grady’s fingers clutched her waist and lower, his fingertips brushing against her sensitive inner flesh. Yet he didn’t pull her away. Instead, one hand slid around and found that part of her that needed touching, and his head lifted up. He opened his mouth and latched on to one breast.

His fingers stroked and pressed, his mouth suckling until in a burst of frantic need, Star cried out and lifted her hips.

“Yes, my darling Star. Now! Harder.” He rose to meet her and when they again were fully joined, the storm broke. He gripped her hips, she clutched his shoulders, and they began a frantic tempo, pounding into each other with wild need.

She gasped with each deep thrust, and he moaned beneath her. Then she found release, and he did too. They rode wave after wave of sweet ecstasy, and at the end they were both left trembling.

Sweat drenched their bodies as they collapsed against each other. “I love you, Star. I love you,” Grady murmured.

Star threaded her fingers through his. “You are the warrior of my heart. Together we are one.” Somehow, she had to remember that. She and her eagle. Flying together. Always one. Forever.

That was the one thing that would see her through.

Voices woke Grady around seven. He slid from Star’s bed, slipped into his room and donned his robe just as a knock sounded at his door. He opened it. Zeke stood there, obviously woken from sleep.

“Your lawyer is here to see you, Colonel.”

Keeping his voice low, he nodded. “Tell him I’ll be right there.”

He washed and dressed quickly and found Manning waiting for him in his den, pacing. “What is it, Charles? Is it Baxter? The girl?”

“No. I think I’ve found the plantation where Maurice and maybe Hattie’s family were taken.”

“Where? How?”

Charles grinned. “I spent the night looking through Baxter’s papers. Leo got sloppy, and I found some manifests taped to the bottom of a desk drawer. There are four plantations south, and several brothels north, all along the Mississippi River, each listed as a destination for the shipment of slaves. The night you arrived in the harbor, there was only one plantation name with a shipment. I have a steamboat waiting to take us down the Mississippi to Alabama. It leaves in less than thirty minutes.” He put his hat back on.

“Let me get my coat. And I have to inform Zeke where I’m going. We’ll take Zac with us. We might need some help.” Grady left the den and thought about Star, wondering if he should wake her before he left.

Turning, he found her awake and coming down the stairs. She wore the same blue dress she’d donned the first time she’d worn the clothes of his daughter. His eyes roamed over her in appreciation.

“Grady, what’s going on?” She joined him and Charles in the foyer.

“I have to leave. We may have found the plantation where Hattie’s husband and son were sold. But I don’t want to say anything to her yet, just in case we’re wrong.”

“Oh, I hope you’re not,” Star whispered. Her eyes darkened and her mouth pinched with worry. “Grady, please be careful.”

“I will. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” He reached out to cup Star’s face. Behind him, Charles slipped quietly out the front door.

Grady drew Star to him and kissed her tenderly, quelling his hunger. “I love you, Star. And when I get back, I’m going to ask you to marry me. I’m warning you here and now, so you can think about it.”

“Oh, Grady—” Tears misted her eyes, but he also saw fear and worry. “Don’t ask that of me. Not yet. I’m not ready.”