“Ada, please,” he begged.
“I told you, he’s claimed to Mrs. Turner that he is my husband.” She walked a few steps and pivoted back. “I wasn’t in a position to call him a liar, as he sat down here, having tea with her while I was at the hospital!”
Will’s brows rose with surprise. “He’s recovered enough to walk. You are an angel, I do declare.”
“Stop crowing. Yes, he’s managed, in a shamble of his boot, to hobble his way with a cane. But that is beside the point. The main fact is,” She stopped and glared at him. “I can’t take him back to Pennsylvania with me. What if Richard is there?”
Will snapped his head around to face her. “Richard? That man is a scoundrel, Ada. Why do you continue to pine away for a vermin that is not worthy of your attention?”
She sighed.
“Because we love each other, Will.”
“Poppy-cock! That man has no morals, I can assure you.”
Her anger flared. “The rebel is your problem! One that you foisted on me and now, you think you can just leave him in my hands? I’ll turn him in tomorrow, if needs be! He’s the enemy, for Christ’s sake! And a slave-owner!” That final title made her want to retch.
“Ada, please. I know you. You would not abandon a patient.”
She growled. “He’s not my patient.” It came out as a snarl.
Will shook his head. “I know you too well. His wound was a challenge for you. Plus, you’d never leave a man to fester. That’s not our job, to decide who lives and who dies.”
“Dying wasn’t his problem.” She clenched her teeth.
“Ada…”
“No, he’s your concern. You need to take him.”
“And have my career ruined and be imprisoned for helping him escape?” He moved closer, his tone dropping. “Would you do that to me?”
Ada glared at him. Will had stood by her when every other man wanted to throw her out of medical school. He was her supporter in the medical corps. But now, he was infuriating her. Obviously, he was taking advantage…. though, she knew his skills were not ready to handle this. Damn, he was so correct. She couldn’t leave. “I still can’t take him with me.”
Will took her hands in his. “Please, take care of him till I can sort this out. It is very important to me to repay his family for what his did for mine. Take him to New York. To Sweet Briar. No one will be there, so it will be safe. I’ll do my best to have a solution by the end of your leave.”
Her insides twisted. Will’s plead ate at her desire to rid herself of the man. Plus, Richard had not stated he was on any leave, so her probability of seeing him wasn’t high.
“Sweet Briar is your retreat. How is it I can suddenly arrive and just assume your servants will heed my word that you said I could stay there?”
On that, Will withdrew an envelope from his coat pocket. “I had it written, in high hopes you’d accept. This will explain it to them.”
Very slowly, she took the letter, never taking her gaze from him. “Your debt to me is growing large.”
“Thank you.” He kissed her forehead.
That undid the last of her civility. Like so much of his life, Will found himself in over his head, like medical school, and relied on her to save him. But his time, the complications outdid the good. Anger flared and she snapped. “Get out of here, before I scream.”
His eyes widened in surprise, but she saw the thread in them that told her he knew what he’d done to her. Jamming his hat back on his head, he slid past her out the door.
With her head pounding, her heart thudded as the fire inside her escalated. It was the last that made her slam the door shut behind him, which she instantly regretted. So much for quiet, she thought. She shoved the letter into her reticule and stormed up the stairs. The next two weeks would be anything but restive, she knew. Instead, it’d be hell.
Francois smiled, relishing the moment as he stroked her hair. “You are beautiful.”
La Joyce snorted, but her eyes sparkled. “And you, monsieur, have quite the mouth.”
He winked at her. “And, as I recall, you enjoy that.”
She laughed and rolled out of his arms, getting off the bed. As she padded across the room to the washstand, he watched, admiring her body. She was lithe with large hips, small waist and breasts that begged for his attention. He drank in her curves, accentuated by her ebony skin that glistened in the oil light. The slight bounce to her bosom and the hint of the apex of her thighs as she splashed her face, nearly drove him mad with desire. He always imagined her as his and his alone, which she wasn’t, but….
Suddenly, the heat of her gaze drew his attention upward, to where he could see her staring at him through the burnished looking glass poised above the washstand. Her almond colored eyes, one of the most mesmerizing pair of orbs he’d ever seen, grabbed his attention.
“Darlin’,” she cooed, grabbing her wrap off the chair and shrugging it on, hiding herself from his view. “As much as I enjoy your company, you need to be finding a woman for yourself.”
“You, my dear La Joyce, are all I need.” He pulled up and swung his feet over the edge of the bed. The moment he moved his right one over, pain streaked up his leg, starting in his heel.
La Joyce spun, a concerned frown etched across her brow. “Massa, whatever did you do?”
Fighting through the burning stab of his ankle, he managed to reply, “La Joyce, you don’t
