CHAPTER

34

I spent a sleepless night waiting for Kindle to return. My shock at what I had witnessed evolved into anger as my imagination ran rampant and the minutes ticked into hours. When the sun rose and I was alone still, I calmly rose, donned my wedding dress, and went in search of my wayward husband.

John Lyman sat in the long salon drinking coffee. He saw me and stood. “Would you like to join me?”

I didn’t hesitate. Lyman held out the chair for me, and scooted it in when I sat.

A waiter brought me a cup, served coffee from the silver pot on the table, and left. Lyman sat down, put his napkin in his lap, and said, “I apologize in advance for the coffee. I’ve told Captain Theigen to invest in better for years.”

I sipped mine and placed the china cup back on the saucer. “I’ve had much worse.”

The gambler raised one eyebrow. “Have you? I’d like to hear that story.”

“Some other time, perhaps.”

“You have no idea how persuasive I can be.”

“Oh, I think I do, Mr. Lyman.”

Lyman wiped his lips with a napkin. The waiter returned with a plate of bacon, eggs, and toast. I declined when asked if I wanted breakfast.

Lyman salted his eggs generously. “Your husband took quite a bit of money from me—money I intended to win back.” The emphasis on the word husband was slight, but significant. “You must have made him feel guilty. He left right after you and didn’t return. Did you sock away his winnings?”

When I didn’t answer, Lyman’s pencil-thin mustache twitched. “He didn’t return?” Lyman buttered his toast and said, “I’m sorry to hear it, but I’m not surprised. Rosemond can be very persuasive.”

My cup clattered in the saucer, but Lyman continued as if he hadn’t noticed. “I got the impression they were acquainted. Do you know Rosemond?”

“I haven’t had the pleasure.”

“I’m surprised, considering the circles you both run in.”

I hardly heard a word he said. I stared out the window and tried to keep my emotions from showing on my countenance. My imagination had been bad enough when I thought Kindle was with a random whore. Knowing it was Rosemond reignited my anger into a roaring bonfire. How he could stay with her for the entire night was incomprehensible.

The hum of the boat’s motor dropped to a low rumble, the silence highlighting how loud the motor had actually been.

“We’re pulling into Cape Girardeau,” Lyman explained, “to take on more fuel and passengers.” Lyman lifted the coffeepot on the table between us and poured more into my cup. “You look pale, Mrs. Ryan. Are you feeling quite well?”

“No, actually. I’ve been slightly seasick since we boarded.” I lifted my cup. “The coffee is not helping.”

In truth, I’d felt the first stirrings of the dark days coming in the middle of the night, feelings that I attributed to the nausea I felt at seeing Kindle kiss another woman. Even now, I wasn’t sure if it the uneasiness in my stomach was physical or emotional sickness.

Lyman wiped the corners of his mouth with his napkin, folded it, and placed it next to his plate. “I have an errand to run in the cape. Would you like to join me? Walk on solid land for a while?”

I opened my mouth to instinctively demure, knowing full well it would be unseemly for a married woman to go ashore with a strange man. Knowing full well Kindle would be livid.

I smiled and batted my eyes. “I would.”

“Wonderful.” Lyman’s knowing smirk faded as his gaze traveled over my shoulder. “Speak of the devils.”

I plastered a smile on my face and forced it to stay natural as the shock of seeing Kindle with Rosemond on his arm flooded my veins with cold water. I felt Lyman’s eyes on me, waiting for what kind of scene I would create. I widened my smile and said, “Well, there you are, darling. Mr. Lyman and I were talking about you. He’s sore you didn’t return to the game last night so he could win back his money.”

There was a certain amount of satisfaction in the glare Kindle shot Lyman. “But, when he told me your … companion … was Rosemond, I wasn’t surprised at all.” I held my hand out to the tart. “I’m Sophia Ryan, as I’m sure you know.”

“Rosemond Barclay.”

“Barclay? Are you related to Lord Barclay?” I turned to Lyman. “I met him when I lived in London. A randy old fellow, but perfectly harmless, really.” I turned back to Rosemond with a questioning expression.

“If I am, it is a distant relation.”

I flicked my eyes up and down Rosemond’s length, before settling pointedly at her low-cut neckline. “Yes, I imagine it would be,” I said wryly to Lyman before turning a beaming smile on Kindle. “Well, darling, Lyman here has offered to take me ashore so I might get my legs under me again. You know, my stomach hasn’t sat well since we boarded and I’d love to stand on solid land for a bit. Is there anything you need me to pick up for you while I’m ashore?”

“I’ll go with you.”

I flicked my hand in dismissal. “I wouldn’t want to tear you away from your old friend. Did you have a nice, long visit last night?”

“It was divine,” Rosemond said. She smiled up at Kindle and ran her hand up and down his arm. “Just like old times.”

“Well.” Lyman rose from the table. “As entertaining as this is, I must be off.” He held out his arm to me. “Sophia.”

I stood and waited for Kindle and Rosemond to move out of the way. Kindle glared at me.

“Why don’t we all go?” Rosemond said.

I inhaled and placed my hand over my chest. “Excellent idea! Lyman, I must go to the cabin first.”

He bowed slightly. “Of course. I will meet you at the top of the gangway.”

I smiled. “Perfect.” Rosemond stepped back to let me pass. “Thank you, Rosie.”

“Rosemond.”

“Such a mouthful. But, I’m sure you’ve heard that before.”

Rosemond laughed, and though I was trying to goad her and insult her, I feared she liked me. I supposed I would have to be more directly hateful.

I walked off without acknowledging Kindle, but heard his tread behind me before he grasped my elbow. We turned the corner and I ripped my arm from him and kept walking. “You’re hurting me.”

“What in the hell are you doing?”

“Going to the room.”

He grabbed me, spun me around, and pulled me close. “You know what I’m talking about.” A couple stared at us as they walked by. I smiled sweetly at them. When they were out of our vision, I dropped the smile and glared at Kindle.

“Let’s have this conversation in private, shall we?” I jerked my arm away and walked to the cabin.

When the door closed behind him I turned around and slapped him across the face. He grabbed my wrists and pulled me close. “Rosemond, of all the whores on the Mississippi.” I tried to twist my wrists from his grasp but couldn’t. He pulled my arms behind my back and held me tight.

“Jealousy doesn’t look good on you, Laura.”

The more I twisted my hands, the more he tightened his grip. My breathing quickened and my heart pounded in my ears. “It didn’t look good on you, either. Or were you recovering from reliving old times? Tell me, did she remember what you like? Did she remind you of me?”

He pushed me backward against the wall, still holding my hands behind me. “If you’d give your wit a rest and think for a Godamn minute, you’d realize Rosemond recognizing me is a nightmare for us.” My eyes widened and I stopped moving. “There it is.” Kindle released me and walked to the center of the room. He ran his hand through his hair.

“Rosemond is not a charitable woman. She won’t let us go out of the goodness of her heart.” I covered my mouth with my hand. Kindle rounded on me. “I might have been able to buy our freedom cheaply if you hadn’t been so rude to her.”

I dropped my hand. “Forgive me for bristling at the sight of my husband walking arm in arm with the whore he spent the night with. Does she know who I am?”

Kindle shook his head. “She believed Henry’s newspaper story about Catherine Bennett dying in Indian Territory. I told her you’re a hired companion.”

“You did not.”

“Laura,” Kindle said in warning, “shut up and listen for a minute. I’m trying to save your life.”

“And yours. She could turn you in to the Army.”

“She won’t turn me in.”

“Oh, but she’ll throw me—a stranger—to the wolves.”

“She will if she thinks there’s more between us than paid companionship. I’d hoped to get to you before you left the room, to get our stories straight,” Kindle said.

“Did you tell Lyman the same?”

“Yes.”

I grasped the bedpost and lowered myself down on the bed to keep my legs from buckling beneath me. “I waited for you until dawn.”

“I wanted her to believe you were a paid companion, not my wife.”

“How far did you take the ruse, William?”

He at least had the grace to look abashed. “Not that far. I feigned drunkenness and passed out.”

I studied him for a long moment. I wanted him to beg, plead with me to believe him. Instead, he defiantly held my gaze, challenging me to question his honor. With horror, I realized I didn’t believe him, but I didn’t want to know the truth, either.

“How long will we have to play this charade? All the way to New Orleans?”

“No. We’ll get off at Cairo.”

“What if we miss our ship?”

“We built in time before it leaves. We’ll make the ship.”

I stood and almost reached out to Kindle, but pulled my hand back. “Let’s go ashore.”

“What will you give Lyman as the reason for coming to the cabin?” Kindle asked.

“Nothing. The fewer specifics we use the better. Let him use his imagination.”