sure ethics entered into the question. And he had to stop thinking about
her. He clenched his teeth and set to work.
It took most of the day to requisition the weapons and ammunition he
wanted to take. It was dark by the time he was ready to return to his
rooms. He wanted a good dinner and a long, hot bath before he started
out on the trail.
His orderly would have arranged for his bath. When he opened the door to
his office and saw that the lantern had been lit and a steaming hip bath
set in the bedroom, he breathed a sigh of relief. He tossed his hat onto
a chair, unbuckled his scabbard and holster and set his weapons on his
desk. He pulled off his boots and left them where they fell.
By the time he reached the doorway to the bedroom, his shirt was
unbuttoned and he was flinging it on the floor. He was anxious for the
bath.
But then he paused in his trousers, his eyes narrowing. He wasn't alone.
Eliza was in the bedroom. And Eliza had been in his bath. She was curled
up on his bed, her dark hair damp and forming tiny ringlets to frame her
face.
She wasn't exactly naked, but her appearance would have been less
decadent if she had been. She was wearing a lace corset he could almost
see through, and which lifted her cleavage to bold new heights. She wore
some kind of silk and lace pantalets, and nothing else.
'I came to say goodbye,' she told him huskily. 'Eliza, you're a fool,'
he told her irritably.
'What the devil do you think you're doing in my room?'
'Aren't you glad to see me?'
'Frankly, no.'
She curled up on the bed, watching him like a cat.
'I'm not letting you go off with that little blond slut.'
'Eliza, take a look at yourself and think about what you're saying.'
'I'm in love with you!' She stood and walked toward him, swaying, her
lips parted and damp.
'I'm in love with you, Jamie, why do you think I've made love with you?
Do you think a secret rendezvous is all right, but you're afraid of me
being here because of my father?'
She had reached him. She started to slip her ams around his neck, but he
caught her hands.
'Eliza, I'm not afraid of your father. You should be. He'd send you back
east in two seconds if he had the least idea about your trysts.'
'He'd make you marry me!'
'No one will ever make me marry anyone.'
'You owe me!' She pouted.
'Jamie, I've lain with you' -- 'Hm. And half of Companies C, D and E,'
he agreed. She freed a hand, ready to slap him. He caught her hand, and
for a moment they were very close. Then he saw her smile. Smile like a
wanton, with tremendous pleasure. She was looking over his shoulder.
Tess was standing in the doorway. Chaste and beautiful with her golden
ringlets piled atop her head, her pure white blouse buttoned to the
throat, her full skirt navy and subdued, her only jewelry a brooch at
her throat.
