Lilac Temptress (24 page)

Chapter 10

When they finally arrived Sierra
audibly gasped when the doors to the coach opened and she was able
to fully take in Newhaven, and the beautiful grounds that
surrounded the estate. Lush, sultry greenery of blooming hibiscus
displayed large, showy, variously colored flowers. Banana trees,
jasmine and queen palms lined the courtyard, providing a pathway to
the antebellum mansion.

At the edge of the property were
swamplands, Drake had told her, but Sierra couldn’t see beyond the
massive oak trees and cypress trees enveloping the estate. She
stood transfixed, while she watched the paling light, which
dispersed through the clean, brisk air as the last embers of
daylight slowly faded.

Pivoting toward the mansion, she
spotted several figures—likely servants—beginning to line each side
of the numerous steps of the staircase at the entrance to the
mansion. Before Sierra could say a word, an older, tall, lithe
Creole woman greeted them with a curtsy. The woman gestured a
silent request that they should follow her toward the tall oak
doors of the house, where the other members of Drake’s staff
assembled. As she approached, the servants bowed their heads
waiting on their master to make introductions.

“
Welcome to my home,” Drake
said humbly. “This marvelous woman is Jeanette, he introduced the
gentlewoman who lead them. “She runs my household, as there is no
mistress. You’ve already met her husband Ben. And Thomas, my
valiant poker-faced Scotsman who sat beside him in the box seat,
oversees the guards.”

Sierra, never at a loss for words, was
stunned silent by the extravagance of Drake’s home and the
immensity of the staff employed to maintain it. She had no idea of
how one could ever be mistress of such a grand estate, and she
second-guessed the wisdom of her decision to take Drake up on his
offer and live there for the time being. She had never felt like
less of an equal to anyone then what she did at this moment, and
she loathed feeling like a charity case. She eyed Kyle, who met and
matched her uncomfortable glance—their silent discourse interrupted
by a stable-hand, offering to relieve Kyle of his beloved
steed.

“
Your stallion, sir,” he
said, gesturing for the horse’s reigns.

“
I should go with you,”
Kyle volunteered. “Shadowcaster is unfamiliar with these
surroundings.”

“
Hayden will show you to
the stable and back to the house to meet us for dinner in an hour,”
Drake said, sensing his houseguest would be more comfortable if he
could first assure the comfort of his steed. “That is, if you’re
hungry,” he quickly added.

“
More like starving,” Kyle
offered, seizing the opening to make a plea for an early supper,
before following behind the stable boy with Shadowcaster in
tow.

Drake gave orders to a few of his
servants to unload the stagecoaches, and then he ascended the front
steps to meet Sierra.

“
Feel free to help yourself
to anything,” he whispered in her ear. Then he addressed his
awaiting staff with a request that as his special guest, Lady
Maudet, should be afforded every courtesy to ensure that her needs
were adequately met.

If their curiosity was piqued by
Drake’s unusual request, their expressions were well veiled by
smiles of acceptance that graced their lips.

“
Sir,” Jeanette spoke at
Drake’s side, “Rosaline arrived today from Faircrest, and she is
down at the stable, as we speak. Shall, I send for her?”

“
No Jeanette. She will know
that I am here soon enough.” Drake smiled warmly at her. “Please,
help Sierra to a room.”

“
Which room,
sir?”

“
Whichever room she finds
to her liking.” Drake met Sierra’s eyes and read her feelings like
an open book. She was terrified. “Better yet, Jeanette, please show
her to my quarters instead,” Drake whispered in Jeanette’s ear so
that only she could hear. Drake gave Sierra a comforting smile,
noting her hesitant expression after hearing Jeanette’s sudden
gasp.

* * *

“
A Spanish Mustang?”
Rosaline whispered, catching sight of Hayden guiding a beautiful
horse into the stable. The other stable boy accompanying him
seemingly took no notice of her and she disregarded the pair,
continuing to brush her beloved chestnut thoroughbred’s
mane.

“
Amazing,” Kyle mouthed to
no one in particular as he assessed the stable and the fine
specimens residing within. “Splendid animals—this Shire in
particular,” Kyle whispered as he made his inspection, strolling
near a tall black stallion.

“
Knight,” Hayden answered.
“Mr. McCalister’s personal favorite,” he said as he led
Shadowcaster into a nook.

Kyle made a critical assessment of the
massive animal noting its muscular form, and shiny black mane.
White markings lined the well-developed thoroughbred’s face and
feet, and all his legs were white up to the knees and hocks. “It’s
a fitting horse for Mr. McCalister,” Kyle grinned.

Kyle stroked Knight’s mane before he
glanced around the stable once more. “This will do,” he spoke
softly to himself, and then he realized that he an Hayden were not
alone as he took a moment to assess the female that he hadn’t
noticed when he first entered, standing at the far corner of the
room—her back to him. She wore a green riding habit, which did
little to conceal her luxurious dark shiny locks of waving hair
falling to her waist. He cleared his throat in an attempt to garner
her attention.

Rosaline turned to meet a young man’s
stare speculatively. She had never seen him before this evening,
but his smile was warm and friendly. He wore a plain cotton work
shirt with gathered, cuffed sleeves and loosely cut trousers with
suspender buttons. Probably a new hire, she surmised. His ash-blond
hair that fell past his shoulders gave him a boyish charm, she
thought, and his eyes were a fierce icy blue. She had never seen
any man more handsome, she realized.

“
I’m glad you and Hayden
are here,” she said, managing to sound indifferent. “My horse needs
to be fed.” She pointed to the far end of the stable where brown
bags were marked as oats, pellets, cubs, extruded and textured
feeds.

Kyle gave her an enormous grin. It
wasn’t a surprise to him that she would think of him as another
stable hand. The way that he was dressed, and countless other
nuances from the way he stood to his manner of speech, likely
conveyed the fact that they were from two different
worlds.

“
I’ll see to him for you,”
Kyle answered briefly, eyeing Hayden, who tended Shadowcaster
quietly.

“
Of course you will,” she
said curtly, not taking her eyes off Kyle. “Just be gentle with
him, he’s not always so trusting of strangers.”

Kyle maintained eye contact with her
but was careful to conceal his growing discomfort. She was a
beautiful young girl with luminous blue eyes and delicate oval
features, but it was her demeanor, and not her looks that bothered
him. A stiff smile creased his pursed lips. “I will,” he responded
to her directive as he finally turned away and headed to gather the
feed.

“
Good,” she added, staring
after him while he bent to pick up some feed, afterwards returning
to her stallion—nearly brushing her shoulder as he passed to begin
the feeding.

“
I think he likes you,”
Rosaline offered, her assertive voice softening
considerably.

“
I’m more interested in
what you might think of me,” Kyle flirted impulsively, regretting
his words immediately. He was no longer in Jadesville and this was
no ordinary girl.

Rosaline flashed her angry eyes at
him, appalled by his audacity. “Leave us, Hayden,” she called over
her shoulder and crossed her arms stiffly. She watched the boy exit
the stable.

“
I want you to understand
something. It is distasteful and unacceptable that you disrespect
the woman of the house. And when my brother hears that you were
fresh with me—”

Kyle chuckled at her despite her
offended tone.

“
You find me amusing?
Obviously you don’t know who I am,” she snapped.

“
Then tell me,” he
challenged. “I take it from your tone that you think that I should
be fearful.”

“
I am Rosaline,” she said
with an air of authority. “Drake’s sister, and yes, you should be
very afraid that you might be unemployed very soon. All I have to
do is tell him of your conduct.”

Kyle stared at the pretty girl more
seriously now. All her outside beauty couldn’t account for her
ugly, self-important behavior. Too bad, he thought, considering how
incredibly beautiful she was. And then he remembered his pledge to
stay away from such lovely creatures. His time spent with Claudine
and this raven-haired beauty’s demeanor cemented his belief that
such women were nothing but trouble.

“
Now why would you go and
do a thing like that, Rosaline?” Kyle braved up, moving closer to
get a whiff of her sweet, fruity fragrance. Even the smell of the
stable couldn’t distract him from it. His imagination was going
wild and he found himself tempted to stroke her long dark
tresses.

Rosaline’s pulse quickened and she
stepped back away from him. “Who are you?” She tilted her head
slightly.

“
My name is Kyle, and if
you want to tell your brother about my detestable behavior, then do
so. He’s just arrived.” Kyle turned his back to her and started
walking toward Shadowcaster.

“
I will most certainly do
just that!” Rosaline yelled at his back, and left the stable as
quickly as possible. Her heart thumped wildly as she tried to
ignore her choppy breathing and damp palms. She didn’t know what
had just happened back there, but she knew one thing for certain,
and that was that she wanted Kyle to stay around. She had no
intention of telling Drake anything.

Her spirit lifted and she brightened
at the thought of her brother. She hadn’t seen him for months and
he would be surprised to see how much of a lady she had become in
such a short period of time.

* * *

Drake entered his upstairs bedroom to
find everything perfectly as he’d left it. A tall four-post
mahogany bed sat against the right side of the wall. His tidy
cherry wood desk and the antique furnishings were polished to a
sparkle. The cool night breeze coming from the open bay doors blew
against his skin, inviting him to an impressive view of his
gardens.

Drake stepped out onto the veranda,
breathing in the fresh, crisp, evening air. He strolled back into
his room, and then saw Jeanette exiting his water
closet.

“
I’ve run your bath,”
Jeanette said making her way to quickly withdraw.

“
And where is Sierra?”
Drake asked promptly, not seeing her anywhere. “I expected to find
her here.”

Jeanette halted at the door. “I’m
sorry, she insisted on another room... She has such strange
behavior for one of your women. She has me thinking that she is
petrified of you.” The older lady laughed speaking freely as she
always had done.

Jeanette and her husband
Benjamin had served Drake’s family all his life, and when Drake
left
Faircrest
, he
all but pleaded for his mother’s consent to allow Jeanette and
Benjamin to come look after him.

Jeanette had been unable to have
children of her own and had taken a special liking to Drake,
treating him like her own son. His mother, Elaine McCalister, was
very reluctant to let Jeanette go. When Elaine was away, Jeanette
ran the household, keeping everything tidy and the other servants
in order, much the same as she did now for Drake. Often Jeanette
kept Drake inline making sure his pride didn’t grow too
pronounced—always telling him that he needed to settle down and
find a wife.

Jeanette cocked her head sideways at
him in the way that she always had since he was a child. It was the
look, which suggested that he had done something terrible like
bringing lizards into the house or tracking mud through the parlor.
But she didn’t say a word to Drake. She was too sharp-witted to
interfere in his personal love affairs and pretty much minded her
own business unless Drake asked for her opinion.

Drake stared blankly across the room
at nothing, engrossed in his private thoughts as he ran his fingers
through his hair and began to pace.

“
Everything will work
itself out,” Jeanette said reassuringly. “I have to see to dinner,
and you should be getting cleaned up. You’ve had a long trip and
must be hungry and fatigued.” Jeanette placed her hands on her hips
in a motherly fashion. “It is good to see you again. You’ve been
away so long this time,” she said as she imagined his own mother
would, if she’d been at Newhaven to greet him then she exited his
room, closing the door to give him complete privacy.

Chapter 11

After bathing in the claw foot tub,
Sierra stared at herself in a mirror. She was wearing charming,
white-organdy eveningwear; trimmed with lace inserts, narrow
ruffles and a yoke of handmade Brussels lace. It was the best dress
she had brought with her after deciding to pack light and leave
most of her clothing behind. It complimented her assets perfectly,
she thought, while she stood in the center the room taking in her
appearance. She could only hope it was enough to make her look
convincingly refined.