Virginia Henley (48 page)

“Alive,” he said firmly.

Her eyelids closed with relief, but the tears still seeped from beneath them.

He gripped the bottle of antiseptic. “Tony, this will hurt like hell.”

She raised her lashes to look at him. It told him plainly he could not hurt her more than he already had. She did not even cry out as he flooded her torn skin with the antiseptic, but he saw her bite her lips until they were blood raw as he coated her with the ointment, then bound her.

When her eyes finally closed in blessed drugged sleep he called in the guard from the verandah. “I want you to ride over to Government House with a note.” Savage scribbled the words quickly. They were brief and to the point.
Both twins are hurt. Come immediately. Bring the chaplain.

Savage stared curiously at the face before him. The resemblance to Antonia was uncanny, yet the jaw of the young man clearly sprouted dark whiskers. The infirmary team had stripped the wounded man to the waist and thoroughly cleansed both him and his wound. He lay on spotless linen, his lips and face pale beneath the tan.

“He is shot, sahib.”

“I know that, Adjit. Did you remove the bullet?”

“We dare not, sahib. You ordered us to keep him alive. You are bleeding. We must tend your wounds.”

“Just scratches,” he insisted. Savage lifted the gauze pad to inspect the wound. He doubted it had touched Anthony’s heart or lungs. If it had, the rough ride across the saddle would have finished him. Savage probed the oozing hole with his finger. He felt nothing and probed
deeper. At last he made contact with the lead ball. It was imbedded in the pectoral muscle, which may have prevented any bones from being shattered.

Adam decided against using his knife, but worked away with his finger until he was able to dislodge it and pop it out. The blood welled up afresh in crimson profusion. He covered it with a clean pad of gauze and pressed his whole weight down on it. Suddenly he found himself gazing into wide green eyes fringed with black lashes.

“Are you trying to kill me or cure me?” Anthony gasped with humor.

“You’ve as many lives as your sister, I think,” Savage said with heartfelt relief.

Anthony closed his eyes from the pain, then opened them again after a minute. “You know my sister?” His look was quizzical.

“I do. I’m Adam Savage.”

“My guardian?” he asked incredulously, once more gasping at the pain.

Savage nodded. “Soon to be your brother-in-law.”

Anthony laughed, then grimaced. “Christ, that hurts!”

“I just took a bullet out of you.”

“That bastard shot me!” Everything suddenly came back to him.

“That’s what I call him, Bernard the Bastard. I think the bleeding has settled down enough to bind you up, but I want your pledge you’ll lie quiet. If you don’t, you’ll set it off again. I can’t waste any more time playing nursemaid. Your cousin has put the torch to my tea factory and my precious bushes.”

Anthony was horrified. “I’ll kill the son of a bitch!”

“You will lie quiet. I give the orders here.” He turned to Akbar. “You’d better prepare some burn dressings. Casualties from the fire will be arriving any minute.”

They heard voices. Anthony said, “I think I’m hallucinating. I just heard Mr. Burke.”

Savage nodded. “Roz is here too. You’ll be in safe hands.”

He met them in the spacious living room. Their faces were ashen. He reassured them immediately. “They will both recover. Antonia was clawed by a leopard. I’ve dressed her wounds and given her a sleeping draft. Iߣm afraid Anthony was shot, but he’s awake and quite lucid. He’s back in the infirmary.”

“When your note asked for the chaplain we thought someone was dying,” Eve gasped.

“I’m sorry.” Savage turned to the churchman. “I sent for you to solemnize a marriage, but it must wait. Leopard’s Leap is ablaze.”

Bernard Lamb was almost delirious with joy as he stood in the shadows of a banyan tree watching the brilliant display before him. The flames would lick teasingly at a tea bush, then suddenly, when he thought it would never catch fire, it would blaze up in a frenzy. One sizzling fireball after another, spreading steadily outward and upward. The stupid wogs were so busy wailing and running about like ants in a futile attempt to save the precious tea bushes, he was able to climb to the second story of the tea factory to set his next fire.

He almost lingered up there too long, mesmerized by the flames and the smells he was creating. It was better than the pyrotechnical display at Vauxhall Gardens.

When he crept back to the massive banyan tree his horse had managed to free itself. He cursed the cowardly dumb beast, swearing to put a bullet into its brain if he caught up with it. Now he would have to get to the rubber trees on foot. It was almost a two-mile trek, but he knew exactly where they were located. He knew how many rows there were and how many trees in every single row. A rubber tree should make an even more spectacular display than a tea bush when put to the torch.

Bernard stared in disbelief when the smokehouse came
into view. It was surrounded by armed guards. That fucking Savage was almost as clever as he was, anticipating where he would strike next. He circled back and around, hoping to come into the rows of rubber trees from their farthest reaches. Christ, the stinking Indians were here, too, patrolling every row. He got down on his belly, watching the guards, seeking a pattern as they paraded about with their rifles at the ready. Bernard lay motionless, waiting, watching for the opportunity he knew would come. He felt omnipotent. He had eliminated the obstacle that stood between himself and Lamb Hall. Now he would destroy the thing that was most precious to his enemy: Leopard’s Leap. Once the latex was ablaze, he would finish the job by firing the spacious bungalow.

When Bernard calculated there was no one closer than a hundred yards, he crawled on his elbows toward the back row of trees. He cursed as he came upon a narrow irrigation ditch filled with water. He hadn’t seen it in the dark. He knew he would have to get beyond the ditch to set the fire, yet he could not bring himself to crawl through the water. He hated this stinking, infested country as much as he hated its pathetic natives. He was being eaten alive by mosquitos and the water undoubtedly attracted snakes as well. He got to his feet, still crouching, then slipped unnoticed across the ditch. Perhaps this was close enough. If his luck held, and he was certain it would, he would only need to ignite one tree. He reached for his long, sulphur matches. The moment he struck it a sepoy saw its flare and cried out an alarm.

Bernard reached for his gun, but it was gone. It had fallen onto the soft, rich earth as he had crawled toward the trees. He did not panic. His mind was sharper, his senses keener, than they had ever been. He leapt the ditch and ran in a zigzag pattern. The thick-skulled, clumsy fools were no match for him.

The sanctuary of the jungle closed its warm darkness about him. As he ran he felt his foot come down between
two fallen tree trunks. He heard the sickening snap of his anklebone, but before he could scream out in pain, his head smashed against something that knocked him senseless.

Savage ran toward the tea slopes, which were over a mile from the bungalow. When he reached the tea factory he saw that the top three floors were gone. Only the concrete foundation, protected by water that continually ran down its walls, remained.

A long line of workers formed a bucket brigade all the way from the lake. He had to shout to make himself heard over the roar of the fire. The lower slopes of tea bushes were destroyed and blackened. The fire raced ever higher. The slopes were dotted with men and women risking their lives to save the bushes on the higher ground.

Savage cursed. He took off up the slopes, ordering everyone he encountered to get back to safe ground. Sparks and soot flew everywhere, dancing in the air like swarms of fireflies. The smell of the burning tea bushes was pungent, acrid almost. It was a smell that insinuated itself into nose and throat and lungs. Savage knew the scent of destruction would be with him forever.

When he got the last workers off the slopes he joined the bucket brigade, salvaging what they could of the long row of storage sheds that held tea chests. Before he returned to the bungalow, Savage loped off toward the rubber trees almost two miles away from the tea slopes.

Denville met him at the smokehouse. “Were you able to save any of the tea?”

Savage shook his head. “Most of the fire is out, except on the high slopes. What remains won’t spread this way even if the wind changes. Any sign of the mad bastard who set the fire?”

“Yes! One of the guards saw someone among the rubber trees. He shot at him, but he ran west toward the jungle.”

“They didn’t get him?” Savage demanded with disgust.

“They wouldn’t go into the jungle at night,” Denville said apologetically.

“Well, I can’t fault them for that,” Savage admitted. “I’ll get him, never fear, but I think morning will be soon enough. Keep the guard posted. He might try to creep back.”

Five hours had gone by before Savage was able to return to the bungalow. It was three in the morning when he slipped into Antonia’s room. She was still asleep. Her grandmother, too, was sleeping in the big chair beside the bed.

He discovered Eve pacing restlessly in an adjoining chamber. He held a warning finger to his lips and she followed him back to the spacious living room. “How’s Anthony?” he asked.

“Mr. Burke is with him. He assures me there is nothing to worry about.” She stared at him in fascinated revulsion. He was naked to the waist and filthier than any man she had ever seen. The smoke and soot had blackened him. His sweat had streaked the dirt into black runnels. His face was caked with dried blood. Undoubtedly he would have more scars. He was too primitive, too savage for her.

“Eve, it’s not going to work between us.”

She hesitated, almost afraid to let go. She gave a nervous little laugh. “Did you ever get that title?”

“No. No, an English title proved elusive.”

She shuddered with relief. “Adam, I’m extremely sorry about Leopard’s Leap. It’s a cruel tragedy to come all this
way only to see your plantation destroyed.” She shrugged helplessly. “You won’t even be returning with a wife.”

He looked at her with compassion. “I’m in love with Antonia. I’m going to marry her tomorrow.”

When Bernard Lamb regained consciousness he felt the agony of his ankle radiate all the way up his leg into his belly. He imagined he could feel the pain searing his brain. It throbbed in rhythmic waves with each and every heartbeat.

He willed the pain to cease and when it did not, he decided the only way to overcome it was to separate his mind from his body. He was able to concentrate his mind so well that he was partially successful, but when he tried to free himself from the vise grip of the tree trunks the agony flooded back to rack his whole body.

He realized his ankle must have swollen to an alarming degree. Fear began to seep into his bones and travel through his veins with the pain. He tried to keep the fear at bay. Hadn’t destiny taken his hand tonight? Was he not the new Lord Lamb? Had he not put Leopard’s Leap to the torch? Somehow he would survive this nightmare.

Adam Savage soaked in the sunken bathing pool, easing the fatigue that engulfed him. Ten years of backbreaking labor had been wiped out in hours. He closed his eyes, letting go of the tension that bunched his muscles.

Gradually it dawned upon him that he was not cursed, he was blessed. No lives had been lost in the devastating fire. All who had received injuries would recover. He still had the land, nothing could destroy that. He would rebuild the tea factory. Best of all, Antonia slept safely beneath his own eaves. A great joy welled up in him. He was going to be a father. He knew he had been blessed by the gods.

* * *

Bernard’s ankle was numbing to the point where he could now bear the dull pain. His whole focus had been centered, so that he had been unaware of anything else for hours. Now, however, he became aware of a creepy, crawling sensation. His imagination was working overtime. His skin felt so cold and clammy, he began to shiver. He gathered his wits and told himself he should get some sleep. When dawn arrived, giving him enough light to free himself, he must have enough strength to get far away from this place even if he had to crawl.

He closed his eyes, feeling dizzy and weak. Even his breathing was becoming faint and jerky. He dozed a few seconds at a time, his skin spasming convulsively every once in a while. As dawn broke, the blackness of the jungle receded.

Bernard jerked out of a doze and tried to struggle to a sitting position. He could not move. He had no strength in any of his limbs. He looked down at his body, then screamed, horror stricken at the loathsome things that covered his entire torso. Hundreds of black, blood-engorged leeches, some as long as ten inches, were feeding on him as he lay helpless. The ones that were replete fell off him, but there were countless others to take their place, irresistibly drawn by the smell of his blood.

Suddenly he looked destiny in the face and realized that his destiny was death. A bloodcurdling scream erupted from his lips as he felt the leeches attach themselves to his throat. As he opened his mouth they slid inside and Bernard lost his last remnant of sanity.

Adam opened his eyes wide just before sleep overtook him. It was fortunate the animal cry had alerted him to his surroundings. He climbed from the water feeling refreshed and ready to meet the new day. It was strange how human a simian’s scream could sound.

His left cheek had been deeply scored by the leopard’s claws. He realized if he shaved, the gashes would bleed, so
he put down his razor and shrugged. At least one side of his face was unmarred.

He encountered Mr. Burke and invited him to join him for breakfast. “What sort of a night did young Anthony have?”

“Not bad at all, considering you removed a bullet from his chest. The change in him is absolutely amazing. The last time I saw him he was just a boy. Now he’s a man. I don’t just mean physically, though his back is twice as broad as it was. I mean he has matured.”

“Working your passage on an East Indiaman isn’t exactly a Sunday-school picnic. It broadens the mind as well as the back.”

“I would have given my eyeteeth to see Antonia’s reaction to him, but I knew the twins would like a private reunion. Never saw children closer than they were, but the separation has done them both a world of good.”

“Keep tabs on that chaplain for me,” Adam said, winking at Mr. Burke. “We’ll need his services today.”

“He has finally gone to bed. He was helping in the infirmary all night, and a hell of a night it was for you and Leopard’s Leap.”

Adam grimaced. “Hard work built the place; hard work will rebuild it. This exotic land has a way of renewing itself no matter what destruction the white man wreaks upon it”

“Anthony said you would rebuild. I believe he’s fallen in love with Leopard’s Leap.”

At that moment Anthony was sitting on the end of Antonia’s bed, relating his miraculous rescue. “The
Earl of Abergavenny
was the name of the ship. It had all hands on deck watching a pod of whales that had been driven off course by the storm. In the last rays of light someone spotted the yellow oilskin.

“They told me later what a coordinated exercise in ingenuity it took, to say nothing of courage. It must have
looked like a dramatic water ballet. They lowered a gutsy seaman on a rope into the sea until he finally hooked me with a gaff. It took a dozen hands to pull me aboard. I was hall-drowned and unconscious. It was my lucky day, Tony. The Indiaman was outward bound for Bombay.”

“Oh, God, Tony, you’ll never know what we felt like, thinking you had drowned. We concocted a scheme to keep Lamb Hall from falling into our cousin’s greedy hands.”

“It never dawned on me that you would lose the Hall. What the hell did you do?”

“I took your place. I became Lord Anthony Lamb.” Anthony was appalled.

“Don’t look so shocked! Confidentially, I had a hell of a good time playing bachelor, sowing my wild oats. Remind me to tell you about it someday when you’re feeling stronger.”

“Catty little bitch, are you implying you were more of a man than I was?”

“I gave it a bloody good try,” she said, laughing. “We don’t look much alike any longer, though. You’re sprouting a beard and you’ve filled out unbelievably.”

He eyed her softly rounded cheeks and the lovely curves evident beneath her nightgown. “You’ve filled out a bit yourself. You’re positively blooming.”

Tony blushed beneath his close scrutiny. A low knock interrupted them. The door opened to admit Adam Savage. Anthony was on his feet immediately. “Were you able to save any of the plantation?” he asked anxiously.

“The tea is gone, but we saved the rubber.”

“When you rebuild, I want to help,” Anthony said firmly, hoping Savage wouldn’t remind him he was wounded.

“Thank you,” Adam said with genuine gratitude.

Anthony looked at his sister, but she had turned her face to the wall. He could clearly see these two had unfinished
business between them, and he left the room as he was damned if he was going to be caught in the crossfire.

When they were alone, she kept her face stubbornly to the wall.

“I’ve come to change your dressings, Tony.”

She faced him immediately, her green eyes brilliant with defiance. “Don’t even think of touching me,” she spat.

“I must see that those gashes don’t become infected.”

“I’ve been mauled by a leopard before!” she flung at him. “If I can survive you, I can survive anything.”

“Tony, this morning I told your mother that I loved you; that we were being married today.”

“There will be no wedding! You lying swine. You deceived me all along, playing your seductive games of conquest. Be honest for once. What is between you and my mother?”

“Whatever was between your mother and me happened before we met and quite frankly, Tony, none of your business.” His ice-blue eyes held hers mercilessly. “While we’re speaking of honesty, have you examined your own? You say and do exactly as you bloody well please, simply to get your own way about absolutely everything!”

“That’s not true,” she cried. “The deception I played was necessary.”

“I’m not talking about that one.” He abruptly sat down on the bed and laid his hands on her belly. “I’m talking about this deception. This is my child. How dare you keep it from me? We should have been wed months ago!”

“Child or no child, I won’t marry you,” she vowed furiously.

He got to his feet, looming above her. He put a finger beneath her stubborn chin and raised it until they were glaring into each other’s eyes. “You can change your mind, or I can change it for you. The choice is yours,” he said flatly. He strode from the room more frustrated than he had ever felt before in his life.

Tony was the most maddening, most exasperating creature
he’d ever encountered. She knew he loved her with every fiber of his being. What the hellfire did she want from him? The impossible, that’s what she wanted! How could he change the past? He decided he needed help.

Adam found Roz in the breakfast room. She came to him immediately.

“Adam, I am so very grateful. You saved both their lives. I thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

“Roz, you’ve got to talk to her. She’ll have nothing to do with me.”

“Have you settled things with Eve?”

His eyes searched hers. “Of course I have. As if I could marry Antonia without informing Eve of my intention.”

“Adam, Antonia believes you were in love with her mother. Even as a child she had to take second place to her mother’s great beauty.”

“That’s ridiculous! Antonia is twice the woman Eve will ever be. I didn’t love Eve. I simply believed she’d make a good chatelaine for Edenwood, and Eve certainly never loved me.”

“I know that, Adam. I think Eve is only capable of loving herself.”

“I should have told Antonia, but I didn’t want to hurt her. I was a fool to think I could keep it from her.”

“Yes, your vast experience with women should have told you Eve would make sure Antonia knew.” Her eyes were filled with amusement that men really knew so little about what went on in a woman’s mind. “Give her time. I know Antonia loves you desperately. In a few months she’ll come around.”