Lessons of Love (11 page)

"I can take the girl and bathe her in the cellar. You ne
edn't waste your time on her."

Cole
sighed but kept his tone civil. Gr
egor had worked for him for many years and the man never once betrayed him or let him down. Loyalty was hard to come by.
Cole
wouldn't ruin the relationship he had with Gregor over a woman. He would send him to capture another girl to distract him from thi
s one. Celia would be off limits once she agreed to become
Jolie
's chambermaid.

"I need to instruct her on her duties and explain the consequences of speaking to
Jolie
about escape. You have more important things to see to. You must find a replacement for
her. Buckland is expecting a woman. Go down to the wharf and see if you can find a sweet young girl j
ust getting off a ship alone."

"Aye boss. I'll find a pretty one for Buckland. Keep your eye on this one though, she'
s willful like your new wife."

Cole
br
istled at Gregor's words. The man was becoming too forward. While it was true that he was a very important part of
Cole
's business, he needed to remember that he didn't run things.
Cole
knew he would have to watch Gregor's behavior around
Jolie
and Celia.
It wouldn't do for Celia to be raped by Gregor.
Jolie
wo
uld find that very upsetting.

Gregor departed and Celia stood before him quaking with dread. "Sit down, my dear, you have nothing to fear from me as long as you stick to the bargain I'm going to pres
ent to you."
Cole
waved Celia to on
e of the sitting room chairs.

"As you are very aware, your life is no longer your own. You now have a decision to make. Do you want to be sold to Mr. Buckland to be his personal whore or would you rather stay here in my
home and beco
me a chambermaid for my wife?"

Cole
looked at Celia, expecting her to speak. She stared at him mutely, terrified by what was happening to her. "Thos
e are your only two options
, I can assure you that my wife is a kind woman. She has recently be
en brought here herself under s
omewhat trying circumstances."

"The
…
the giant man. What of him?"

"Gregor will be instructed not to touch you. If you chose to be my wife's chambermaid your duties will be to take care of her needs alone, not mine, nor
any of
the men in the house."

"Does your wif
e know how I came to be here?"

"Yes, but that is where the bargain comes in. You are not happy to have been taken from your old life and brought here and neither is she, but here you shall both remain. If I hear so muc
h as one whispered word about escape I will sell you in an instant. I will also sell you if you try to aid my wife in fleeing from me. She will be told that you will be given to Gregor or sold if she even thinks about helping you. You will find that life
h
ere is not bad Celia. I would imagine it would be better than becoming a playth
ing for a man you don't know."

Celia chewed her lip and nodded. S
he was well and truly caught.

"I wish to be the Madame's chambermaid
, Monsieur. My mama and papa…
"

"They can ne
ver know where you are. Tell me Celia,
did you live in New Orleans?”

“
No Mon
sieur, I come from the bayou.”

“
Does your family frequent the city? Don
’
t lie to me girl or I shall give you back to Gregor.”
The terror
Cole
saw in the girl
’
s eyes at his threat a
dded fuel to his suspicion that Gregor was seriously misusing the women who they captured and sold. His actions must have
gone beyond simple punishment.

“
Please no, Monsieur. I am speaking the truth. My family never went to the city. My papa is a trapper a
nd hunter and my mama is a Creole healer. All we need to live comes from the bayou. Pap
a says evil lies in the city.”

“
So it does, it seems. How you got here and who you are must remain a secret, agreed?" Celia gave a curt nod. What real choice did she hav
e? A knock announcing the arrival of the men with the tub and bath water ended the conversation for a moment.
Cole
sat back and waited for them to finish and leave before continuing "Very well then, proceed with your bath. I have work to do."
Cole
went to
his desk and turned his back on Celia.
She stared at him in dismay.

"Monsieur, am I alwa
ys to bathe in your presence?"

Cole
turned at her words, a small scowl of irritation on his face. Treating his wife and her maid gently would take some getting used to
. Such a flippant question would normally merit a lesson in obedience. "Don't be insolent Celia, of course not. You haven't settled into your life here yet, and I feel I must keep a tight rein on you until I can be sure you won't try and flee. Let me assu
r
e you that you would be caught before you reached the front door and punished severely. You and my wife are here
to stay. Now take your bath."

Celia stripped off her chemise and wound her hair into a knot at the base of her neck. She then quickly made her
way into the tub.
Cole
watched her for a moment admiring beauty in its purest form. Lust was roaring through his veins, but although the woman before him could add fuel to his desire, she couldn't quench it. Bedding Celia would only serve to ignite his fir
e for
Jolie
. Celia's body was beautiful but it wasn't for him, nor did he want her.
Cole
wanted his wife.

He'd promised
Jolie
that he wouldn't force himself on her again, but
Cole
hoped for his sake that she would be warm, willing, and in his bed that nig
ht. The thought of being denied the pleasure of making love to her made his loins ache with need. His cock was rock hard and would most likely stay in that uncomfortable state until he spent the night with his little hellion wiggling beneath him as she cr
i
ed out in passion. He wouldn't force her, but he would do everything in his power to seduce her. The lust
Jolie
instilled in him was more intense than anything he'd ever felt and
Cole
didn't think he could resist touching
her for long.
 

Six
 

After read
ing through some documents,
Cole
locked his desk and strode to the door. It was time to tell
Jolie
who her new chambermaid was going to be. He had the feeling he was going to find himself at odds with the little vixen yet again, but it couldn
’
t be helped.
"I shall leave you to your bath, Celia. Your gown is on the chair.
You will receive several proper
dresses as soon as possible. I will be back to take you to meet my wife in a short while. See that
you are ready when I return."

Cole
walked down the hallway
to
Jolie
's quarters. He paused before her door, and knocked. If Gregor were present, he would have shaken his head in disbelief at
Cole
’
s actions. A woman shouldn't be allowed privacy. She should be kept on her toes, never knowing what was to come, trying
to anticipate a man
’
s every need, and jumping to serve him the moment he appeared.
Cole
had always believed such as well, but he still felt a deep aching in his heart when he thought about how he had treated
Jolie
, and caused her pain. The sound of her
so
bs still rang in his ears.

Cole
received no reply and knocked again. "
Jolie
, I must speak with you."

"Do as you wish."

Cole
unlocked the door and entered. He paused before going to her, somewhat unsure of himself. It was a feeling he wasn't familiar with
and it disturbed him. Would th
ere be damnation in her eyes?

She was sitting in the window seat with her knees drawn up. The sun shone through the glass giving her profile a glowing radiance. She looked almost angelic. The gown she
’
d chosen was one of che
stnut silk that gave a golden sheen to her flaxen hair. It had delicate lace adorning the cuffs and hem, and filling in the bodice to form a high collar that covered the swell of her breasts. It was a gown of both primness and alluring simplicity. The for
m
fitting silk covered her shapely body from chin to toe, but highlighted her narrow waist and hinted at the curvaceous hips concealed
under the bell of the skirt.

She
’
d tied back the shiny mass with a simple brown velvet ribbon, but errant wisps escaped h
er efforts at taming her locks, and brushed her temple and cheek. She looked so innocent and fragile, so young.
Cole
suddenly realized he didn
’
t even know her age. It must have been written on the marriage document, but he
’
d paid it no heed.
Jolie
didn't t
urn to look at him, but her shoulders straightened and her chin rose, showing her determination to appear strong. He wondered if his cruelty had caused a rift in her heart that would never heal.
Cole
closed the door and slowly moved towards his wife. "I wi
sh to speak with
you, little one. Look at me."

Jolie
's hands twisted in her lap and she bit her trembling lip. She fought the tears that threatened again. How could she look at him, let alone talk to him after he had shown her how little he cared for her?
It was true he
’
d told her he was sorry, apologizing and swearing it would never happen again, but which spoke louder, his bruta
l actions or his sweet words?

Jolie
's heart ached to believe him. She desperately wanted to be convinced it was an act of rage,
not heartlessness that drove him to take her with such violence. She had lain here alone after he'd left, trying to tell herself that if he cared he wouldn't have done that no matter how angry he was, but her heart cried out in denial at every turn, refus
i
ng to give up hope. She wanted to hate him, could even convince her mind that she did, but her heart refused to deny the fact that she was falling in love with
Cole
and she needed him to love her too. He was her husband, her life mate, and he
r heart needed
his tenderness.

Cole
moved closer, and brushed a curl from her forehead.
Jolie
jumped at his touch but didn't turn. Instead, she stared out the window, summoning up her strength, denying her pain, trying to find the way to conceal her turbulent emotions.
If he knew she was developing feelings for him but cared nothing for her in return, he would use her feelings to dominate her and break her spirit. Trying to calm her pounding heart,
Jolie
took a deep brea
th then turned to look at him.

"I thought it was yo
ur intention to leave me alone today. I'm not up for arguments right now
Cole
. You shall have to find another time to
torment me."

Her words were cold but her eyes shimmered with unshed tears.
Cole
saw anger there, but he also saw confusion and hurt. He di
dn't blame her for being upset. He had brutally violated her in a fit of rage. It was his fault that the tender feelings taking root
inside her had been torn free.

"
Jolie
, I didn't mean to…
"

Her face contorted in anguish and rage, she shook her head emphat
ically, her eyes accusing and full of pain. "Yes you did
Cole
. You were angry and you wanted to make me suffer for
not obeying you."

Her words went straight to his heart and filled him with regret. He searched her face for any remnants of the feelings she
once held for him. There had to be a glimm
er still there under the pain, a
small bit of the passion and happiness with which she had
gazed at him the night before. He wished for t
he woman who snuggled into his embrace
,
p
urring as he stroked her body, but i
nstead found a
woman who's broken heart shone brightly in her eyes after he had hurt her body and soul. Had he carelessly destroyed any love her heart harbored, battering it away as he punished her body? Would be able to make amends for his brutal actions?
It was at this moment that
Cole
finally admitted to himself that he cared for his wife. He cared what she tho
ught of him and how she felt.