Each Time We Love (37 page)

Jeremy was not best pleased with Micajah's ideas, but he also
wasn't immune to the lure of the flesh and drink that Micajah spoke of
so winningly, and he finally caved in and grumpily agreed to the delay.
Ensconcing themselves in carnal luxury at Micajah's favorite
whorehouse, they drank and whored and made drink-sodden plans to take
care of Mr. St. Clair—if Jem gave them the good news that their
gentleman was still willing to pay. Once the St. Clair matter was
settled, they would then travel to New Orleans to visit with Savanna's
cousin…

Arriving at midmorning on Tuesday at Campo de
Verde, Bodene would have gladly welcomed a visit from Micajah and
Jeremy rather than have to face Savanna's wrath when she found out how
he had betrayed her. Elizabeth's unabashed delight, however, when he
told her of the meeting with Adam and what Adam planned to do,
lightened his spirits considerably and he was soon
almost
looking forward to Adam's arrival. It had been decided that Adam would
simply arrive at Campo de Verde, Savanna was to have no warning and
Bodene and Elizabeth were to make themselves scarce before Adam showed
up. It was planned for Adam to arrive that afternoon, and Bodene and
Elizabeth went to great lengths either to avoid Savanna or, when forced
to be in her company, to act as naturally as possible.

If Savanna noticed that there was a soft gleam of excited
anticipation in her mother's eyes or that Bodene's lips twitched now
and then with a secretive smile, she gave no sign of it. Actually,
Savanna was so lost in her own misery that she was barely aware of what
was going on around her. The enormity of the burden that she had taken
upon herself had painfully dawned on her the morning after she had so
proudly stated that she wanted nothing to do with Adam St. Clair, and
she was grappling with the grim reality of her position. It was not
pleasant, and it occurred uncomfortably to her that the child deserved
a better future than the one that she was busy creating for it. Not
only would Adam be able to provide more materially for the child, but
she remembered with painful clarity her own childhood and the scorn and
the contempt with which others had looked at her because her parents
hadn't been married. Was she right in condemning her own child to that
fate? And what about her mother? Was it fair to make Elizabeth suffer
the embarrassment of having her friends and neighbors know that her
daughter had borne a bastard child? Wouldn't that shameful revelation
lead to the crumbling of the respectable facade that Elizabeth had
created over the years for herself? Did Savanna dare risk even one tiny
crack in that facade?

And then there was Bodene. She might pride herself on her
independence, but it would be more than just cowardice if she tried to
ignore the fact that it was Bodene's money that would be supporting her
and the child for the next several months. Bodene was very discreet
about it, but Savanna was very aware that for years he had been
generously spending his own money to shore up their meager finances,
and that if Elizabeth and the others had to live
solely
on the proceeds earned from Campo de Verde, life would not be quite as
comfortable as it was now. One of the reasons she had left Campo de
Verde in the first place had been so that she would not be a burden to
either
Elizabeth or Bodene. And now to return nearly penniless and pregnant?
To what depths was she willing to sink to keep her pride? And how could
she even lay any claim to pride if she merely exchanged one keeper for
another? Bodene for Adam?

Miserably aware that she might have painted herself into a
very lonely and empty corner, Savanna only picked at lunch that
afternoon, her thoughts on the wretched future that seemed to stretch
out interminably before her. Would it, a sly voice in her brain asked,
be so
very
terrible to be married to Adam St.
Clair? Your child would have a name and be the
legitimate
heir to a respectable, possibly vast, fortune. It was true that there
might be those who would turn up their noses at
her
antecedents, but Adam's acknowledged child was unlikely to face such
prejudice. Was she fair in denying the child its rightful place?

After lunch, when Bodene proposed accompanying Elizabeth on a
visit to some friends, Savanna's thoughts were in such a turmoil she
barely paid them any heed. It didn't even occur to her that they hadn't
extended an invitation to join them and that they departed somewhat
hastily. After they had driven away in Bodene's snappy new red road
cart, she wandered desolately about the oak-studded grassy area that
lay in front of the house. Even though she was preoccupied, she was
careful to remain in full sight of the house—she wasn't going to risk
having Micajah rise up out of nowhere to whisk her off again! Selecting
a spot of dappled shade beneath one of the huge trees, she sat down on
the grass, her back resting against the gray-brown bark of the trunk.
Her legs were tucked demurely under the flowing skirt of her
apple-green cambric gown, the high neck with its standing ruffle
framing her lovely features. With her glorious red-gold hair half tamed
by a loose knot and a ribbon in the same shade as her gown on top of
her head, she hardly resembled the grubby, boy-clad, young Amazon of
Adam's memory!

After Adam and Bodene had parted in the early hours of the
previous morning, Adam had found himself strangely restless despite his
lack of sleep, and instead of seeking out his bed, after refreshing
himself he had strolled aimlessly about the city. But mostly his
thoughts had been on Savanna and the need to make her see the sense of
their immediate marriage. His mind full of images of her and the way
she had looked that last time he had seen her, he'd happened to pass
the discreet shop of a well-known New Orleans modiste and his steps
slowed… A grin suddenly crossed his handsome face. Savanna was going to
be furious with him no matter what he did, and so he might as well
please himself! A gleam of anticipation in his blue eyes, he had
blithely entered the shop.

The next morning, Adam, having elected to ride along the River
Road instead of traveling by boat down the Mississippi River as Bodene
had planned, left the city several hours ahead of his co-conspirator.
They had decided that Bodene needed to arrive first so he could alert
Elizabeth of their scheme, and since Adam had no inclination to lurk in
the underbrush for a few hours, the separate means of travel seemed
ideal. Besides, Adam needed the time to get his thoughts in order
before he faced Savanna. But even as he turned his horse onto the
rutted road that Bodene had explained led to the main house, Adam still
wasn't precisely certain what his first words to Savanna would be.
Certainly he had not expected to come across her sitting on the soft
green grass like a beguiling wood nymph beneath the outspreading arms
of one of the many oaks that dotted the area.

It was obvious from her distracted expression that she was
totally unaware of the horse and rider on the roadway, and taking
advantage of her abstracted state, Adam quietly halted his horse and
dismounted. Leaving his horse to crop grass at the edge of the road, he
walked slowly toward her. With stunned appreciation, his blue eyes
roamed across her sun-kissed features, noting the finely arched brows,
the patrician cast of her nose and jaw, the full, inviting curve of her
mouth, before his gaze dropped to the generous lines of her body that
the gown modestly revealed. Staring at her, he found himself oddly
breathless, as if he had run a great distance, and his usual sangfroid
utterly deserted him.

He must have made some sound because Savanna suddenly looked
up, her incredible aquamarine eyes widening in shock as she recognized
him standing there before her. If Adam had been startled at her
appearance, the same could be said for Savanna at her first sight of
him. Gone was the shaggy-bearded, ragged-haired, unkempt rogue who had
kept her captive, and in his place stood a well-dressed, extremely
handsome man. The thick black hair waved attractively back from his
broad brow; the bronzed skin was clean-shaven, revealing once again the
chiseled perfection of his hard jaw and prominent cheekbones, the
carnal slant of his lower lip and the proud set of his head. He was
dressed impeccably, the bottle-green jacket molding the powerful
shoulders and arms, the pale brown, figured waistcoat contrasting
nicely with the yellow nankeen breeches which clung tightly to the
long, strongly muscled legs. The only thing that hadn't changed, she
realized half dreamily, half angrily, was the mocking expression in
those unforgettable sapphire-blue eyes and she stiffened, all the
reasons that she shouldn't be happy to see him flooding through
her—that and the fact that her cousin was an underhanded, lying,
conniving son of a bitch!

Her jaw clenched and, the light of battle blazing in her eyes,
she glared up at him and in a voice filled with loathing said one word:
"Bodene!"

Adam smiled grimly. "Of course." Ignoring her indrawn hiss of
wrath, he settled himself on the grass beside her and continued dryly,
"I'm grateful that at least
one
of you has shown
some sense and had the wisdom to inform me of my impending fatherhood."

His words and brazen air, as well as Bodene's flagrant
betrayal, rankled, and Savanna struggled manfully to keep her volatile
temper under control. She would have liked to pretend that his
unexpected presence meant nothing to her, that she hadn't wished for
just such an incident, but she would have been lying—and Savanna was
usually very honest in her dealings, even with herself. Angry as she
was at Bodene, the fact that Adam was here beside her sent a dizzying
thrill careening through her veins and to her horror, she had to fight
an almost overpowering urge to fling herself into his arms. But Adam's
words were not precisely conciliatory, and forgetting for the moment
all the doubts that had beset her lately about her decision not to tell
him of the child, she replied stiffly, "There was no reason to inform
you. I am perfectly capable of raising my child myself—without your
help!"

Adam sent her a long look. "You know," he said casually, "when
you make stupid statements like that, I'm never certain whether I want
to beat you or kiss you senseless."

Savanna glared at him. "Try either and you'll wish you
hadn't," she warned, her eyes promising all kinds of trouble.

Propped up on one elbow, he stared at her, exasperation and
admiration in his gaze. God, but she was lovely, the loveliest creature
he had ever seen! he thought moodily as his eyes slid slowly down her
face and body.

Infuriated by his slow appraisal, Savanna clenched her fists
and muttered, "Would you mind not stripping me with your eyes? You may
have had me in your power once, but I'll be damned if I'll let
that
happen again!"

"Why?" Adam inquired silkily. "Afraid that you might learn to
like it?"

From the furious expression on her face, it was obvious that
she was not going to rise to his teasing, and Adam discovered uneasily
that her unbending attitude toward him had the ability to hurt.
Rejection was not something that had come his way very often and he
found it galling that in spite of her hostile manner toward him, he
could not negligently shrug his shoulders and simply walk away from
her. Almost absently, he said aloud, "I just can't understand why in
hell I find you such a fascinating baggage!" His mouth curved wryly.
"Oh, you're beautiful, I'll grant you that, and I'll even admit that I
find you vastly appealing, but you are also aggravating beyond belief!
You have the witch's own tongue and temper, and with one lift of your
eyebrow you can infuriate me faster than anyone I have ever known."

He shot her a dark look. "I wasn't completely jesting when I
said I never know whether to beat you or kiss you, but one thing I do
know—when I'm away from you I feel only half alive, almost as if part
of me were missing…"

To say which of them was the more startled by his unexpected
admission would have been hard to do. Certainly Savanna's stunned
features revealed her reaction, but it was Adam who was shaken to his
very core by the enormity of what he had said and what it implied. With
the suddenness of a thunderbolt, it dawned on him precisely
why
Savanna seemed to have such power over him—
he loved her!

His heart slammed painfully into his ribs at what he was
admitting and, torn between abject terror and a strong sense of
injustice, he glanced away, grappling with this new, unexpected and
unwanted knowledge. Jesus! It would have to be her, he thought
sourly—the daughter of the one man he hated above all others; the one
woman whom he truly wanted and who had made it clear she wanted nothing
to do with him! An ironic smile curved his mouth. Probably my just
deserts, he admitted with black humor, recalling vividly some of the
unflattering things that certain young women had hurled at him in the
past when he had deftly eluded their traps. Oh, God, wouldn't Betsey
Asher enjoy his predicament!

Adam was silent for several seconds as he struggled to make
sense of what had befallen him. Unfortunately, his own introspection
gave Savanna enough time to gather her scattered wits about her. His
words had wrapped her in a decidedly rosy glow until, insidiously, the
thought occurred to her that Adam had a very good reason for making
such an astounding statement—he had come here because of the baby, and
because of the baby, he was intent upon making their liaison
respectable. What better way to get her to go along with him than to
offer the dazzling lure that he might actually
care
for her?

Unable to contain the wrath that coursed through her at the
idea of his mendacity, she said furiously, "Of all the underhanded,
conniving, rascally nonsense! Do you really think that I'm so green
that I don't know what you're up to?"