Master Of Paradise (23 page)

"No thank you. I couldn't manage another thing. I think I'll go up now. It's been a long day, but a very happy one, Nicholas."

I can't bear to part with her.
"Come on then, time for an old married woman like you to go up to bed. You must be worn out."

She glanced over at Aunt Billie and raised an eyebrow.

"Samuel will see that she gets upstairs."

Amanda hummed as she prepared for bed.
I'm going to enjoy being Mrs. Nicholas Peacock excessively. This bedroom furniture is so beautiful. It must be hand-painted cypress.
She ran her fingers over the pale green wood decorated with cabbage roses and tiny wood violets. The wardrobe and dressing table matched the bed that had a curved foot and headboard designed in the shape of a sleigh.

Two maids came in to hang up her clothes and close the shutters, then Mammy Lou arrived to turn down her bed and tuck her in, as she had every night of her life. Finally, she got into bed and Mammy turned the lamp down low and said goodnight.

I don't even feel drowsy.
Her thoughts chased each other, all of them centering about Nicholas. The house was quiet now.
I've been in bed almost two hours and I'm still wide awake.
Mandy had hoped against hope that her husband would come to say goodnight to her, and she felt disappointed. Then on an impulse she decided she'd go and say goodnight to him. She slipped from bed and put on her dressing gown. Softly, she opened her door and closed it gently so none would hear her.

She moved quietly down the hall out of the east wing and made her way into the west wing. She hesitated only a moment with her hand on the doorknob, then turned the handle and slipped inside. The room was empty. Nicholas hadn't yet retired.

She moved swiftly out of the west wing with the intent of going downstairs to seek him out, when suddenly she paused as her sister's voice came to her clearly.

"How could you do this to me?" Jennifer demanded.

"What is it I'm supposed to have done?" Nicholas drawled.

"You know very well. You led me on with kisses and promises, taking advantage of my innocence. Naturally I assumed you intended marriage."

An ice cold hand closed about Mandy's heart as she waited for her husband to answer the accusation.

"Jennifer Joy, I don't intend playing games with you. Let's put our cards on the table and speak plainly. I didn't take advantage of your innocence. You lost that long ago."

"Jennifer, I saw you naked with him. I saw you making love, and while the thought of it has often made me desire you, it did not make me desire you for my wife."

Mandy had heard enough. She ran back to her room, shocked beyond belief. Would Jennifer really do those things? What is between her and Nicholas? What secrets do they share?
Fiercely, she dashed the tears from her eyes and got back into bed. Jennifer had managed to cast a dark shadow across her day after all.

When Nicholas reached the top of the stairs, he paused as if undecided about something. He turned into the west wing reluctantly and left his bride to her slumber without disturbing her.

While Mandy quietly soaked her pillow before falling into an exhausted sleep, Nicholas fared no better. He was usually a good sleeper, but for once he found the heat oppressive as he restlessly turned from side to side, then savagely threw off the covers in a futile attempt to cool his hot blood.

If this was the result of spending the evening with Amanda, then he knew his only salvation would be to avoid her as much as possible. He would observe the formalities, keep a cool distance between them at all times, and never, ever, be alone with her.

As the hour topped midnight and slipped down the slope toward morning, he drifted down, down into slumber. He could hear her siren song calling to him, and he was helpless as she beckoned him to Paradise.

Chapter Thirteen

The next morning Amanda Virginia bathed her swollen eyes and chided herself. Hadn't she realized that other females would throw themselves at Nicholas?
I must be the envy of every girl in the county, yes and half the women too, married ones included. Great balls of fire, he is so handsome, just looking at him makes me want to swoon. It's obvious Jennifer made a play for him. I know she plays dirty too and would try to compromise him. That must have been what happened. It was probably the first rejection Jenny ever received, and if I know my sister she'll keep trying.
Amanda decided to keep a very close eye on Jennifer and Nicholas. If Jenny was promiscuous, Mandy realized she'd be stiff competition for a sixteen-year-old virgin.

Amanda went downstairs, determined to begin learning everything about running the household. When she entered the kitchen, she unknowingly walked into a hornet's nest. Mammy Lou was standing in the center of the room, feet firmly planted, hands on hips. Mandy recognized it as her most stubborn position, from which she could never be made to back down.

Samuel stood erect, nostrils flaring, his head at a proud angle, his icy glare chilling everyone in the room. Between them stood a young black girl, terrified.

"Ah has overseen bakin' of de bread evry mornin' for over twenty years. Ah don' intend t'relinquish dat duty now, yo' triflin' black varmint!"

"Woman, yore black skull mus' be so thick, yo' don' hear what ah's tellin' yo', so ah'll explain one mo' time. Masta Nick bought Sarah here jist fo' the express purpose o' bakin' on dis here plantation, so stand aside yo' interferin ol' bat an' let her git on wid it."

"Ma mistresses have eaten bread prepared de same way every day o' der lives. A handful o' cornmeal in de dough makes all de diffrence in de world. Also any fool knows yo' don' grease de pans wid butter, cause it burns!"

"Servants at Paradise are not about t'take orders from any but me, woman, so depart dis kitchen before I knocks yo' on yo' fat, black ass!"

Mandy waited only long enough to see Mammy Lou pick up a rolling pin. She ran from the kitchen and out through the dining room. She ran into Nicholas who had been in the fields for the last two hours and had come in for breakfast.

Nicholas said simply, "Lou, you are far too valuable a servant to waste your time with baking. It's menial, hot work. I'm expecting my friend Rafe Collins. Would you select and prepare a guest room for him?"

"It be ma pleasure, suh," Mammy Lou said, meek as a lamb.

Nicholas beckoned Mandy into the dining room. "For God's sake Amanda, I haven't time to settle domestic disputes. Couldn't you have handled it?" he asked shortly.

Still hurting from last night, and now upset because he had spoken sharply, she flared, "Well, excuse me. I'll just run along and play on my swing and let you grownups get on with your business."

Nicholas grasped her wrist in his strong brown fingers to prevent her departure. "Amanda, I'm sorry I snapped at you. I had a bad night." He looked at her closely and knew her night had been spent in tears. "I know you're not getting the attention a young bride deserves. No second and third day dresses, no wedding trip, no honeymoon visits."

He braced his arms, imprisoning her against the wall, an arm on either side of her. "I'll make it all up to you someday. I thought you were a good, sensible girl, and it would be enough just to know that we were married."

He was so close, her senses began to swim. She missed half of what he said when she looked into his eyes. Their color held such fascination for her.
Turquoise or aqua? I can never quite decide.
She turned her face away so she could think more clearly, but there was his strong arm braced against the wall, muscles tanned and bulging. She felt strangely weak because of his nearness.

As Nicholas looked down at her lips and saw them tremble slightly, he wanted to cover her mouth with his until she cried out for breath. As her breasts moved up and down with each breath, her fragrance stole to him, making him almost light-headed with desire.

"Oh Mandy," he breathed, 'it's a blessing in disguise that I'm busy with the cotton, or you would have more of my attention than you could handle." He removed his arm so she was free to go.

She looked at him saucily. "You were smooth as silk with Mammy Lou. Do you get your way so easily with all women?"

"Always," he promised.

Well I've decided you won't get your way too easily with me.
She blushed at her daring thoughts.

He called back to her. "We're having a guest dine with us tonight. I know he's dying to meet you."

"Your friend, Rafe Collins, the sea captain?"

He nodded. "Consult with Samuel about dinner, and look beautiful for me. I've a full day's work ahead of me. Go now and stop distracting me," he teased.

She went back into the kitchen. "Samuel, I'm so sorry about Mammy interfering in everything. It's just that she's done for me for so long, it's hard for her to stop."

"An' what kind o' house servant would she be if'n she didn' want everythin' jest so fo' yo', Miz Mandy?"

This attitude was so completely opposite the one he'd taken in Mammy's presence that Mandy began to laugh. It was infectious, and Samuel laughed with her. She decided the best way to handle him was to ask his advice rather than give him orders. "What will we give Captain Collins for dinner tonight?"

Amanda went through her wardrobe twice, threw up her hands in despair, and decided she'd better make friends with her sister again if she wanted something decent to wear.

As usual, Jennifer's room was a hive of activity. Petticoats and dresses were strewn everywhere. "I came to see if you wanted to dine with us tonight. Nicholas has invited Captain Collins."

"Oh Mandy, I'm so deathly tired of all this mourning. I want to dance and laugh. Please don't tell Mammy; she'll never stop her prating."

As Amanda looked at her sister's pretty blue eyes and blonde curls, she found it hard to believe that Jenny wasn't as innocent as herself.
She looks gentle as an angel.
In face if they were compared with each other, it was Amanda who looked enticingly wanton with her slanting golden eyes that hinted of unplumbed passion and wilfulness. She looked seductive next to Jennifer's Madonna-like sweetness. "I know exactly how you feel. I came to borrow one of your pretty dresses."

"I was just deciding what I would wear." She picked up a crimson taffeta and held it against her, then put it down quickly. "Even I wouldn't dare wear red."

"I would." Mandy picked up the rustling gown.

"Be careful with it. I haven't had a chance to wear it yet."

A sense of excitement began to build in Amanda. She chose one of Nicholas's new house servants, a pretty young girl called Juel to help her get ready. Mandy bathed with lavender-scented soap, then washed her hair and polished her nails while it dried.

"Juel, in the bottom drawer of my dressing table, hidden under some nightgowns, you'll find some hairpins and face power... and rouge," she added boldly.

Juel laid them out for her, giggling at such daring.

"Will you please go below and see if Captain Collins has arrived yet? I don't want to put the dress on until just before I go down. Oh, I have an awesome idea. Will you pick me one of those red hibiscus blooms from beside the front door. I'll put it in my hair."

When the girl left, Mandy powdered her face and applied a small amount of rouge to her cheeks and lips. Then she rubbed her finger on the inside of the glass chimney on the bed-lamp. She touched the lamp black to her brows and lashes, then washed her hands. She took the brush and began to sweep up the hair from the nape of her neck and fasten it on top.

A look of dismay clouded her eyes when she saw her petticoat frills showing above the gown's low-cut neckline. "Oh dear, that won't do. I'll have to take off the petticoat."

"But what will yo' wear, Miz Mandy?" Juel asked, puzzled.

"Nothing. I'll just wear my pantaloons and nothing on top. There now, lift the gown over again."

"Oh my!" Juel exclaimed as Mandy's breasts thrust tantalizingly from the crimson taffeta. "Ifn yo' go down like dat, yo' gonna drive him crazy."

"I hope so." Amanda smiled. "Now if I just pin that hibiscus behind my ear, I'll look exotic as some night-blooming flower."

"Yo' headin' fer trouble-- ah recognize de road."

Amanda paused at the top of the staircase. She could see through to the room where the men were laughing. As she began to descend, the two men came to the foot of the stairs to greet her. Rafe Collins dark face gazed up at her with rapt attention. "
Bellisima
," he whispered.