desire. He moved to follow, then withdrew, unsure. The last thing she needed right now was to be frightened again.
Crossing the loft floor, he watched as she ran across the grass and disappeared down the trail leading to the stream. He spread his arms wide above his head and pushed on the aging beams until they creaked in strain. Now he knew that the origin of his dreams lay with Perry.
She had sparked his mind into conjuring up a vision of an angel of mercy, an angel whose form haunted his every dream, an angel who made all other beauty dim in the light of her memory. Reason told him there was no way this poor creature could be the beautiful woman he'd seen in the shadows of the night. Perry was a dirty farm girl, whereas his angel was a grand lady with a shining halo of hair. Her kiss had ignited a fire within him. His longing to see her was a hunger so great, he felt he might die of starvation if he couldn't have her.
Lately he'd questioned his sanity. For when he held Jennifer close, he longed only for the woman in his dreams. She danced like a playful nymph across his thoughts. Appearing, disappearing. Close, faraway. Sometimes she was a fierce fire he would douse from his mind. Yet at other times his arms ached with desire for her. Hunter realized his dream had been given its beginning in this darkened loft. Now this dream haunted him even into his waking hours. No woman, not even Jennifer, could clear the angel's beauty from his mind. It puzzled him how touching Perry could have brought back so strongly the desire to hold his imaginary woman. Maybe he should marry, before his longing for a dream drowned reality.
He hurried down the ladder to follow Perry, but she was already out of sight. He couldn't blame her for avoiding men if one had so damaged her face.
Slowly walking back to the camp, he tried to push the memory of his angel back in his mind. She belonged in his dreams, not in his waking hours. By the time Hunter reached the balloon, Abram was already loading supplies. They worked hard readying the balloon for flight, Perry pulling her share of the chores.
Perry avoided his glance until the
They sailed effortlessly in a gentle, northern current for almost an hour before either spoke.
Hunter broke the silence. 'Perry, look!' he yelled as he pointed out a small farming town. People were waving frantically from below. Children danced around as their voices drifted up in contagious excitement. Perry laughed at the sight.
'They love seeing us,' she said, leaning as far as she dared over the edge to return their greetings.
'True.' Hunter grinned, watching her. 'But we balloon flyers haven't always been so lucky. Not only did farmers mistake balloonists for monsters, but some early balloonists were beaten by the crowds if they were unable to take off on time. One French aeronaut failed to go up in Philadelphia years ago. The sightseers didn't seem to notice that winds were close to hurricane force. They rushed him from all sides. His aerial carriage and silk balloon were shredded for souvenirs. Even a mansion close by was burned to the ground by the angry mob.'
'It sounds like ballooning could be a very dangerous hobby.' Perry didn't look at Hunter when she spoke.
'Oh, it is,' Hunter answered, his voice filled with a happiness that only showed when he talked of ballooning. 'But it gets in your blood. I've dreamed of being able to fly since I was a kid. I used to build kites and tie frogs to them. The frogs never seemed as excited about being able to sail through the sky as I was.'
Perry laughed. Her musical voice danced among the clouds. Hunter turned to watch her but found that her face was hidden by her hat. He tried to remember what she had looked like before her skin was so blackened and puffy. The last time they'd been together he'd been very weak from loss of blood. Those days in the barn, and later on the road, were a jumble of memories. He'd spent the time drifting in and out of consciousness.
'Perry,' he began, 'you don't have to wear that hat now. I know you're a girl.'
Abram snorted in the background but didn't speak.
'I feel better wearing it,' she lied. She longed to let her hair blow in the breeze, but she couldn't stand for Hunter to look at her blackened face again.
Hunter sensed her uneasiness and continued talking to cheer her. 'You know you're not the first woman to fly. Marie Antoinette wanted to once. But an actress named Letitia Sage actually went up for about an hour in 1784. They say she was a beautiful lady, but as a balloonist, she was lacking. She was no help as a crew member and weighed over two hundred pounds.'
Abram laughed, interrupting him. 'She'd make two of our Perry.''
Hunter noticed the way Abram spoke of Perry, as if she belonged to them. He found this surprising because Abram usually just observed people and rarely became involved with them. However, he seemed to have adopted this poor girl. He watched her with the protectiveness of a mother grizzly.
Turning to smile at Perry, Hunter found her head averted as always. He could feel her watching him when she thought he couldn't see her, but she never looked directly at him. Maybe, if he kept talking, she would lower her guard and look at him.
'Another woman went up about two years ago. I got a letter from a friend visiting Paris in '63, telling me that a Frenchman called Nadar took his wife up for more than sixteen hours. They say he built a huge craft. The balloon could lift more than four and a half tons. He made the basket more like a small summer cottage. It even had a darkroom to develop pictures. He has this idea about developing pictures taken high up to use for maps.' Hunter moved slowly as he spoke, trying to see Perry's face. She met his every advance with a withdrawal.
'Anyway, five men and one woman went. Just after dawn on the second day the six passengers were admiring the beautiful sunrise when one started worrying about what the hot sun might do to all that gas. They decided to land but encountered a storm close to ground, blocking their descent.
'The balloon went crazy, acting like a large sail, dragging the little house across the countryside.' Hunter placed his hand high on the same rope Perry was using to steady herself.
'The cottage tore apart everything in its path, including telegraph poles. Finally, after fifteen miles of havoc, a dense forest caught the balloon, which, once trapped, exploded within minutes. Nadar's wife was the only one left in the basket. All the others had fallen out along the way.' He moved his hand down the rope a few inches and frowned as Perry moved away slightly.
'The miracle of it all was that no one died, though all were injured.' Hunter moved his hand lower once more, and again Perry moved away.
Abram broke into Hunter's story. 'You're really making Perry feel safe up here.'
Giving up his quest to see her face, Hunter moved back to his instruments. 'We've got easy sailing today. We're moving north and there's not a cloud in the sky.'
By nightfall, his words would no longer ring true.
Chapter 18
Dark, moody clouds danced their turbulent ritual in an indecisive wind as the balloon whipped first in one direction, then in another. Perry clung to one corner of the basket, absorbed in her battle against motion sickness from the constant pitching. Though the sky blackened and lightning flashed all around them, she was far too sick to be afraid.
Hunter and Abram worked together in a harmony of movement that only close friends understand. They seemed to read each other's slightest signal, which was essential now, because both knew the balloon must touch ground before the full fury of the storm broke. Otherwise the trio might be cast into the Delaware Bay.
'Brace yourself!' Hunter yelled, only seconds before the basket slammed into the earth. A sudden wind caught the
Suddenly, when she should have been lost in fear, she remembered the feel of him when he'd pinned her to the floor of the loft. He'd been strong and sure in his movements with no hint of the injured soldier remaining. The memory of his muscular leg sliding across her as he'd rolled from her was as real as the storm about her now. Her face reddened, and she was thankful no one had time to notice her discomfort.
Hunter began deflating the balloon with great speed as Abram jumped out with ropes slung over his shoulder.
