Rebel Temptress (Historical Romance) (16 page)

Meagan was given one of the upstairs bedrooms, and the house at Green Rivers settled into an uneasy peace as everyone waited for the master to return.

11

The running of the plantation consumed much of Honor's time. She was up before daylight each morning, going out into the fields where she would supervise the planting and the weeding. At night she would be in the study going over the books long after everyone else was in bed.

Each day she waited for some word of Jordan. She feared when he returned that he would turn to Meagan. She felt her days at Green Rivers were numbered, and she was not sure how she felt about Jordan anymore. Aaron was his son, and she did not intend for Meagan to push him out of Jordan's life, no matter what happened.

Maggie seemed to improve somewhat, but still kept mostly to her room. She and Meagan did not get along well together, and Honor felt they were all living in a void, waiting for Jordan.

Honor often thought of Adam. She felt she would never see him again, and that left her with a deep hurt. Life was strange. The only thing she was sure of was that one did not always have the last word in how one's life would turn out.

Green Rivers seemed to be thriving, while many of their neighbors had fallen on hard times. Honor knew they would be suffering from the same fate if Landau had not been sacrificed to save them.

Since the argument the first day Meagan had arrived, the two sisters seemed to have reached a truce, although Honor's patience was often pushed to the limit. Meagan seemed to feel she was queen of the manor, and expected to be treated as such. This only served to antagonize Maggie. Meagan made no attempt to find a place to live, but seemed content to remain at Green Rivers for the time being.

Honor was still stinging from her last encounter with Meagan. She had asked Meagan to help her with the running of the house since she had to spend so much time in the fields. Maggie no longer took an interest in her home, and Honor was too exhausted from trying to handle both the house and the fields.

Meagan had laughed at her. "I am not a servant. Look at you, little sister. You work in the fields like a common field hand while I take care of myself. Have you looked in the mirror lately? You skin is positively brown. Jordan always did like my white skin," Meagan had taunted.

Honor knew her sister was right. Her complexion was dark, but there was no help for it. She had a job to do and there was no one to help her.

* * *

Maggie was the first one to see Jordan when he came home. She was sitting on the balcony of her upstairs bedroom, which viewed the front of the house, when she saw him walking slowly up the driveway. His tattered gray uniform was soiled and dirty, and he needed a shave, but she had no trouble recognizing her own son. Clutching her heart, she rushed downstairs and out the front door into her son's open arms.

"My son, my son, you have come home," she cried against his shoulder.

"Mother, I have missed you," he told her with tears shining in his gray eyes. Then he held her at arms' length and studied her face. "Have you been ill, Mother?"

"Oh, Jordan, I am loathe to tell you that your father is dead." Maggie's grief had found an outlet at last as she and her son cried together for the man they had both loved. They stood on the veranda locked in each other's arms, and after a while they walked into the house together.

"Where is Honor, Mother?" Jordan asked. He had hoped she would be on hand to greet him when he arrived home.

"She is not at home at the moment, son. I think you will be surprised when you see her," Maggie said, thinking how pleased Jordan would be when he found out he had a son.

"Run upstairs, Jordan. You could do with a bath, and shave that awful beard off," his mother said, feeling alive and happy for the first time in over a year.

After he had bathed and shaved Jordan rejoined his mother in the dining room. He ate the food that Darcy set before him with relish.

"You look so thin, Jordan. Why is it that you are so long getting home when most everyone else returned months ago? I began to fear you were not coming back."

He took his mother's hand in his. "I was a prisoner, Mother, and there was no way to let you know I was safe."

Her eyes filled with tears. "Oh, Jordan, how you must have suffered."

"Not as much as you might think, Mother. The food was not all that bad, and the conditions were most humane," he lied.

"I am glad you are back home with us, Jordan. I have been so worried about you."

He stood up and looked around the dining room. The chairs were newly upholstered, and there was the smell of fresh paint. He had noticed that everything seemed in good repair.

"How is it that Green Rivers seemed to escape the malady that has befallen its neighbors, Mother? After seeing the devastation on the way home, I feared what I would find when I arrived."

"Jordan, it is all because of Honor. She is working herself to death to keep this place going. She even sold Landau to have money to pay the taxes on Green Rivers and fix the place up and lay in crops. Poor little thing, she has labored until I thought she would drop, and I was no help to her. I am glad you will take the heavy burden from her tiny shoulders and give her a rest."

"When will she be home?"

"Who can say? It may be late. I believe she has gone over to the Robertsons'. Mamie just had a baby and Honor took her some of the baby . . . some things for the baby," Maggie corrected herself. She had almost spoken of Aaron, and Honor should be the one to tell Jordan about his son.

"Jordan, you are home. Chauncey told me, but I would not believe it until I saw it with my own eyes." Meagan raced across the room and threw herself into Jordan's arms with tears swimming in her eyes.

His arms went around her automatically as she raised her beautiful face to him.

"I have missed you, Jordan."

"Where is your husband, Meagan?" he asked pointedly.

"Horace is dead, Jordan, and I am all alone," she told him, giving him her most helpless look.

He looked at her for a long moment. She was still as beautiful as ever, though she had put on some weight. Jordan wondered why he felt unmoved by her. He had not known how he would react when he saw her again. He was relieved to find she meant nothing to him.

"Are you glad to see me, Jordan?"

"Of course, Meagan, why should I not be?"

Maggie looked at Meagan in disgust, and turning on her heels, left the room. Honor would do well to send her sister packing, she thought.

"Why did you marry my sister, Jordan?" Meagan asked, laying her head on his shoulder.

"Why did you marry Horace Elderman, Meagan?"

"I knew it, I knew it. You did it to get back at me. You love me, Jordan." She locked her hands about his neck. "I know you still want me, Jordan. You cannot deny it."

Neither had heard the dining room door open, nor did they see Honor and Aaron until Honor spoke:

"Hello, Jordan," she said in a cool voice.

Both pairs of eyes turned to see Honor standing in the doorway with Aaron's hand clutched tightly in hers. Meagan did not release her hold on Jordan, and she gave Honor a malicious smile.

Jordan pried her hands from around his neck, and took a step toward Honor. My God, he thought as his eyes moved over Honor. This was not his little one with the sparkling green eyes and the freckles sprinkled over her nose. There had to be some mistake. This woman was not a child, and she was the loveliest woman he had ever seen. Her silver hair hung to her waist. Her body was slim and curved in all the right places. His eyes rested for a moment on her now fully developed breasts that were thrust forward against the gray cotton gown she wore. Her beautiful green eyes were cool as they looked at him. His eyes went to her finger, to note she did not wear his ring.

"Hello, Honor. It has been a long time." He cursed himself silently. That was not what he wanted to say to her. He wanted to hold her in his arms close to his heart and tell her how he had come to love her. He wanted to tell her how she had haunted him for so long now. If she had been as he remembered her, he might have done so, but she was changed, she had grown up, and in doing so had rendered him speechless.

Her green eyes burned with an inner fire. She had witnessed the tender scene between Jordan and Meagan, and felt disgusted by them both. She herself felt like the intruder. Jordan was thinner, but he still had the same boyish good looks. His face had changed but little. He just stood staring at her. Was he comparing her to her sister? She wanted to yell at him, she wanted to hit out at him for the pain she was feeling.

"It has been four years, Jordan," she told him.

Seeing the hostility in her eyes, he cursed the fate that had caused her to witness the scene between Meagan and himself. She could not help but draw the wrong conclusion. He had dreamed of their reunion for so long. He had planned to go down on his knees to her if need be and beg her to forgive him for his past misdeeds. Would she believe him if he pledged his love to her? Oh, God, how he loved her.

Then Jordan noticed the young boy who stood beside Honor. The boy seemed to be assessing him with his big gray eyes.

"Who are you?" Jordan asked, bending down to the boy's level and smiling. "Don't tell me, let me guess. You must be Meagan's son."

Honor felt as if he had struck her. Aaron looked like a young version of Jordan. Did he think that Meagan had borne him a son?

Meagan gave a deep, throaty laugh. "Lord, Jordan, you are dense."

"My name is Jordan Daniels," he said, ignoring Meagan, and offering the boy his hand.

The boy took his hand. "My name is Aaron Landau Daniels, sir," the boy told him.

Honor watched in satisfaction as the smile left Jordan's face. He looked at her quickly for confirmation.

"Aaron, this is your father," Honor said.

Jordan felt as if the wind had been knocked out of him. "I do not understand," he said, looking into Honor's eyes. "How can it be?"

Meagan moved across the room. "Did your father never tell you what can result from bedding your wife, Jordan?"

Honor's face burned with anger. "Leave us, Meagan," she said in a quiet voice.

Meagan swept past her, giving her a haughty glance. "Until later, Jordan," she said.

Jordan paid no heed to Meagan. He was staring at his son. He had blond curly hair like his own, with the same gray eyes. He was a miniature of himself.

Aaron placed his hand on Jordan's face. "You are my father?" he asked, looking into Jordan's gray eyes.

Jordan picked Aaron up in his arms, and the little arms went around his neck. Aaron placed a kiss on Jordan's cheek. Jordan swallowed a lump in his throat as he held the small boy close to him. He had a son. He had never dreamed that the night he had spent with Honor would result in a child.

"I am a father," he said in a voice filled with wonder. He turned to Honor. "I never suspected. Why did you not let me know?"

"How could I, Jordan? You never gave me an address so I could write to you."

"Honor, I tried to write you many times. You must believe me."

Honor seemed to look right through him. "I will leave you alone with your son so you can become acquainted. Aaron has waited impatiently for the day his father would come home."

Jordan watched her walk away from him with a feeling of helplessness. Nothing had gone right since his arrival. He had moved from one mistake to another.

"I am glad you are my father," Aaron told him.

He hugged the boy tightly. "I am glad you are my son, Aaron."

Jordan looked about his bedroom. There was nothing of Honor's in his room. It was clear she did not wish to share his room. How could he blame her? He looked out the balcony toward Landau. His mind was in torment. Everything was changed since he had been away.

His father was dead, and he had a son. One Daniels was dead, and another took his place He felt he himself had changed most of all. He was not the young idealistic youth who had ridden away to war so long ago. He was a man sick of the sight of war and death. He slammed his fist into the wall. Damn, was nothing going to go right for him? There was one thing he must do. He would visit his father's grave.

Honor stood beside Clayton Daniels' grave. Bending down, she placed a bouquet of chrysanthemums by his headstone. She felt tears of self-pity wash down her face. What was she to do now? It was clear from the scene she had interrupted in the dining room earlier that Jordan and Meagan were still very much in love. She wished she could just go away and forget all about them, but she could not. She had never been one to run from the unpleasant.

She tried to imagine how Jordan must feel to be in love with one sister and married to another. If only he had known Horace Elderman would die so soon he could have waited for Meagan, she thought bitterly.

Honor felt another presence, and looked up to see Jordan standing beside her. She noted the tears in his eyes as he reached out to her. She was enclosed in strong arms, and against her will nestled her head against his shoulder.

"Why do you cry, little one?" he whispered against her ear. "Have I made your life unbearable?"

Honor was incapable of answering him.

His arms tightened around her. "I have wanted this for so long. Let me make it up to you for all the pain I have caused you in the past."