Catalina's Caress (36 page)

❧

Marc's carriage stopped before a house he knew well. He was puzzled, for it was not a house China would frequent. But he walked up the steps and knocked.

The door was opened by a woman who, at one time, must have been pretty. Now she was slatternly and disheveled. Her painted lips widened in a smile, and her eyes raked him appreciatively.

"Well," she said suggestively, "she said ya was a handsome one. She sure was right."

"Is China here? What's the problem, where is she?" Marc replied, ignoring her rapacious gaze.

"She was here. She said she had to do somethin' and she would be right back. You wuz to wait for her. It's real important that ya do. She said she could tell ya somethin' you have to know."

The last thing Marc wanted to do was spend time with this creature, but if China felt it essential, he would wait He walked into a hovel.

❧

Catalina waited patiently, but as time ticked slowly by she couldn't stop thinking that Marc had put her from his mind to attend to things he considered more important... perhaps even to see another woman. At that thought she became depressed. Perhaps it would be better to admit defeat and go home without the
Belle
. Travis would escort her. Perhaps Seth had returned since Marc had continually protested that he didn't know where Seth was. After all Seth had never been the most predictable of persons.

She sighed deeply, and tried to imagine a future without Marc in it. How had she come so far from her goals? How had she let herself be brought to the point where she would sacrifice her pride and a promising life for a man who cared nothing for her, a man who would discard her as he had many other women. Hadn't she seen an example of that when Nina had been set aside?

But Catalina answered her questions as fast as they formed. She had fallen in love with Marc, and as a result she had put herself in this position.

Catalina Carrington, who had never vied for the favors of any man, now trembled at the thought that the one man she wanted didn't want her. Could she still win him? Before they reached Memphis, could she convince him that they could have a world of love together?

She pictured the way Marc's green eyes grew warm, yet faintly puzzled when he looked at her, the way they crinkled at the corners when he laughed. She could feel the touch of his hard mouth against hers, sense the masculine scent of him pervading the cabin.

My God, she thought wildly, will I ever be able to forget him? To wipe the taste of him from my lips or the feel of him from my body? At this moment these were thoughts she could hardly entertain.

She stood again and began to pace the floor, seeking some way to ease her anxiety. Finally she decided that when he returned, she would tell him the truth, would declare how she felt and then face staying on his terms or finding her way back to New Orleans alone to face whatever the future offered her without Marc.

She shivered with expectancy. When she told him she was in love with him, would he laugh and deride her for being so foolishly easy? Would he force her to complete their bargain, give her more enchanting nights, then destroy her world by leaving? But she had no other choice. For her own peace of mind, she must tell him.

She walked over to the bed and sat upon it. The night had deepened so she lit the oil lantern, flooding the cabin with mellow gold light.

But the cabin felt emptier than it had before. If only Marc would return ... If only they could face the truth so she would not have to live with uncertainty any longer.

Someone came down the passageway, and Catalina leapt to her feet. The person approaching stopped before her door.

"Marc," she breathed softly.

But when the door swung open, Nina walked in, a defiant and victorious smile on her face.

"I'm afraid I have some news for you."

"Where's Marc?"

"He's chosen to stay ashore until you vacate his cabin. You see ... he's asked me to move back in. It seems he's tired of you and he finds it time to make changes. He'd like you to leave with your friend. Mr. Sherman is waiting for you in his cabin. I'm sure if you ask him nicely he'll be pleased to take you back to his bed—at least until you get back home."

"I don't believe you," Catalina gasped.

Nina shrugged. "Go ask Travis yourself. My baggage is being brought here, so I'll just have to toss yours into the passage." Nina laughed. "Like a stray cat, you'll just have to find a nook somewhere."

Catalina was stunned momentarily, but at the sound of Nina's soft laughter her pride returned and she walked from the room. Nina slammed the door, very solidly and very finally, behind her.

T
ravis stood just within his stateroom listening for Catalina's approach, sure that in her defeat she would come to him. But it had been over a half-hour since Nina had gone to Catalina's cabin to break the news as brutally as she could.

All had been arranged, and he was certain that Catalina would be so devastated, he would be able to persuade her that to save her family's reputation and hers they should immediately marry. That way they could tell everyone at home that they had eloped.

Now his uncertainty was growing. Cat had had more than enough time. He opened the door and looked down the passageway, but no one was in sight. Going rapidly to Catalina's cabin, he listened for some confrontation between Nina and Cat... but the cabin was silent.

Finally he opened the door to find in the cabin only a very pleased Nina.

"Where did Catalina go?" he asked.

"Go? I thought she'd come to you. I told her exactly what we'd planned."

"Well she didn't. Are some of our men on the docks?"

"Yes."

"Go down and tell them to grab her if she leaves the boat. We'll take her to Belle's."

"What are you going to do?"

"I'll look around. She can't be too far away. One way or the other we'll find her and finish what we started."

Nina and Travis left the cabin both intent on seeing through their plan.

❧

Cat had stood in frozen disbelief, Nina's words flooding her mind with excruciating pain. Her logic told her that Nina could only be telling the truth, but her heart, her senses, and her very disobedient body told her the woman lied. But if so, where was Marc?

She fought a battle in the quiet hallway. She could deny all things except the fact that she loved Marc and was not going to let him push her away without explanation. If he didn't want to face her, that was because he felt guilty. She would have to make him look into her eyes and tell her why he had so suddenly denied a bargain she had lived up to.

China! China would give her honest answers, she thought, and China would know where Marc had gone. It did not even occur to her to go to Travis. She made her way quickly to China's cabin and knocked. There was no response so she knocked again.

Inside the cabin, Shawna stirred and came up from dream-filled slumber. At first she did not pay attention to the persistent knock on the door. China had a key, and no one else would come to her cabin. But finally, struggling against her fear, she climbed from the bed.

Opening the door slightly, Shawna saw Catalina, smiled, and opened it wide.

"Catalina, how nice to see you. Come in."

Catalina quickly stepped inside, expecting to see China within. She was momentarily silenced by her absence.

"Shawna, Where's China?" she said at last.

"China? Oh, China is in town."

"In town! I thought women didn't run around Natchez-under-the-hill without escorts."

"They don't, but nobody would hurt China. They know Marc would hurt them back ... he'd hurt them real bad."

"Shawna, Marc has gone into Natchez-under-the-hill and I've got to find him." Catalina was desperate.

"Find Marc? Why? He'll come back."

"Shawna"—Catalina tried to calm herself—"I can't explain, but I've got to find Marc and to do that I've got to find China first. So please, Shawna, tell me where I can find China."

Shawna's eyes widened. "But you can't go into Natchez-under-the-hill-alone! Marc would be ever so mad—you can't."

"I have to. I can't stay here."

"But"—Shawna was near tears—"you'll be hurt. There're so many bad people there. You don't know how bad they are. You just can't go alone."

"This is important, Shawna. If I don't find China and Marc, then I have to stay here when the ˆ leaves."

"Stay here," Shawna cried. She, of all people, knew the terrors that could befall Catalina in Natchez-under-the-hill. No woman could remain there alone and survive.

Shawna trembled with fear, but her profound ability to love began to battle that fear. She knew where China might be. She blinked tears from her wide gray eyes.

"I'll go with you," she whispered raggedly. "I can find China. I can take you to her."

Catalina was aware of the sacrifice Shawna was making, but she knew she could not find China alone.

"We'll take a closed carriage, Shawna. Nobody will know us. We'll keep hoods over our faces so no one can tell."

"You don't know the people of this town," Shawna said solemnly. "They make it a point to know everything."

"We need a man—some kind of a guard," Catalina mused. Then her face brightened. "Jacob! Jacob is big enough to protect the entire boat. Come on, let's go below and ask Jacob to go with us."

Now Shawna brightened again. She could control some of her fear if she had someone like Jacob along. She nodded. They took two dark cloaks with hoods from a cupboard and left the cabin to go down and talk to Jacob.

Jacob, stripped to the waist, his huge body glistening with sweat, was working diligently in the hold of the boat.

His eyes widened with surprise when he saw the two women, and they widened even more when he heard the words they spoke.

"Wha fo' yo wants ta go inta a city lik dat one be. Yo kin gets yoself awful hurt in dere. Miz Cat, yo'all jus' can't do dat," he protested.

Catalina sensed the big man's vulnerability, and she hated to use it against him. She promised herself she'd give him a profound apology and a nice gift at a later time. Now she needed him.

"Jacob, if you won't go along," she said gently but very firmly, "Shawna and I will go alone."

Jacob looked both confused and pained. He couldn't let them be hurt or Marc would be angry, yet he couldn't stop them for they could easily slip away. No, he couldn't let them go into a city like Natchez-under-the-hill alone.

"All right, Miz Cat... Miz Shawna. I goes wit yo, but yo'all are askin' for trouble. Yassuh, yo'all is askin' for trouble and Mister Marc is goin' to be powerful mad."

"Don't worry, Jacob. I intend for Marc to know it was all my idea and you only agreed to go to protect us."

"Yessum," Jacob agreed glumly, for he doubted that Marc was going to listen to explanations.

Jacob dried off his sweaty skin, then put on his shirt and a ragged jacket before the three of them walked onto the deck. The night was dark, the only lights being the few on the boat, and the dock was still as they descended the gangplank as quietly as possible.

On the dock, Jacob turned to both heavily cloaked women. "Yo'all stands right here 'til I gets a carriage. It'll only take me a minute or two. Don't move, and if anybody cums yo doan knows, yo'all runs up de gangplank. Yo hears me?"

"Yes, Jacob," Catalina said quickly. "We understand." She would have said anything to pacify him, but she had no intention of reboarding the boat until China led her to Marc and she heard the truth from him. If what Nina said was true, she would never board the
Belle
again.

Jacob was only gone for a few minutes, but they seemed like hours to the two women.

Neither of them knew that Nina stood beside Travis on the shadowy deck above them, both smiling. Very soon they would be rid of Catalina, and it bothered them not at all that the innocent Shawna and Jacob would be hurt as welL

The, carriage appeared phantom-like from the mist-filled darkness. It stopped before them and the door swung open. The women couldn't see into the interior, but neither of them expected anyone but Jacob.

Catalina pushed Shawna before her and paid little attention to the inarticulate sound she made. Then, as Catalina gripped the side of the carriage to enter, a hand reached out, gripped her arm, and jerked her forcefully into the equipage. She landed on a man's lap, and he held her in a grip of iron. Catalina got out a half-scream before a hand closed over her mouth to stifle all sound. Then the carriage moved forward with a jolt, and was soon rattling through the streets.

In the dim light within, Catalina could make out Shawna huddled in wide-eyed terror next to a completely unconscious Jacob. From the look of Jacob, Catalina knew he had been beaten severely before he'd been tossed into the carriage. She could imagine the force it had taken to overcome him.

As the carriage moved on through the night, Catalina cried soundlessly because of the rough man who held her. Her misery was enhanced by her awareness of Shawna's utter terror and Jacob's unconsciousness, for she blamed herself for their situation.