Because of Rebecca

chapter Fifteen

Heart racing, she re-read the note and couldn’t understand why Jared had followed her. He could have jeopardized the mission by showing up at the wrong time. Why hadn’t Rory stopped him?

Rory!

She fully understood Jared’s disdain for his cousin. Rory was insufferable. She was still upset that he’d taken her to Madame Monique’s. He could have met her near the train depot with Ruth. If she hadn’t been dazed by his resemblance to Jared, then she would have insisted upon it.

Going to the wardrobe, she selected a different dress and changed into it, preparing to meet Jared. A troubling thought crossed her mind as she repinned her hair. She’d not left Jackson on the best of terms with him. She’d turned down his marriage proposal, and then he’d no doubt seen her going into Madame Monique’s with Rory. He must be livid with her. Had he followed her to Memphis to have it out with her because he couldn’t wait to do it when she returned?

Taking a deep breath to settle the butterflies in her stomach, she closed the door and went to meet him.

****

Reaching the second floor landing, Stuart Delaney watched the woman he’d seen the day before come down the hallway. Her hair was swept up on her head, showing off her tempting slender neck. She truly was an exquisite creature.

“Good afternoon.” He tipped his hat.

She glanced his way, and nodded slightly. “Good day.”

“Pardon me, but haven’t we met before?”

The woman stopped and turned back in his direction. “I don’t believe so.”

“I’m almost certain we met in New Orleans?”

She shook her head. “I’ve never been there. Sorry.”

He frowned. “You look so familiar. Are you certain we’ve never met?”

“Positive,” she said. “I think I’d know if I’ve visited New Orleans.”

“You’re right.” Delaney rubbed at his chin. “Again, I beg your pardon.”

She turned and began walking, but his words stopped her again. “Perhaps a sister?”

“N-No.”

“Maybe it was another city?”

He’d already mistaken the identity of one man. And it confounded him how much that man looked like the fool Hollingsworth he’d won the plantation from. What he was going to do with it he wasn’t sure, but maybe he’d finally settle down and become respectable. Once he did, perhaps he’d even try to find that girl Mariah and really make her his wife.

The woman turned, fixing an icy glare on him. “No. I believe I’d recall meeting you.” She pursed her lips together. He could feel her gaze roaming from his head to his toes as she sized him up. “Now, if you’ll excuse me.”

“Of course.” He tipped his hat again. “It’ll come to me eventually.”

She looked exasperated by his insistence. “I tell you we have not met before today.”

“I think we have.”

A door opened, and the man he’d mistaken as Hollingsworth stepped into the hallway.

“Rebecca, is something wrong?”

The woman quickened her pace to join him. “Jared. Thank heavens. This man believes we’ve met before, and I can’t convince him otherwise.”

The man looked at him. “First it’s me, now my friend? Do you make a habit of mistaking the identity of people, sir?”

“Stuart Delaney’s the name,” he offered, startled to see the woman go ashen and swoon.

“Rebecca.” The man she’d called Jared looked as pale, but caught her before she fell to the floor. He scooped her up in his arms and carried her into his room.

“Is she all right?” Stuart asked, following close behind.

“I’m not sure,” Jared said. “But it’s none of your concern. You’ve caused enough trouble. Good day.” With his foot, he kicked the door shut.

He laid her gently on the bed and then loosened two buttons on the collar of her dress before he patted her cheeks. “Rebecca. Rebecca. Rebecca, can you hear me?”

“Jared,” she murmured moving her head back and forth as she came around. Her eyelids fluttered before she fully opened her eyes.

“I’m here, darling. You’re safe. No need to be frightened.”

“Oh, Jared.” She clutched at his hand and tried to sit up, but he stopped her.

“Lie still.” He went to the washstand and wet a towel. He came back and blotted her face and neck. “Does that feel better?”

“Yes,” she murmured. “What happened?”

“You fainted.”

“I did?”

“Yes. I have a mind to go after that Delaney fellow for frightening you. Why did he think he knew you?”

She slowly sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed. Reaching for the damp towel, she ran it across the back of her neck. She looked at him and bit her bottom lip, shaking her head.

“Because he’s Lucas’ father,” she blurted.

“What?” Jared stood and stared at her. “I don’t understand. I thought you said your husband was dead.”

“I never said that. I’ve never been married.”

“Never married? But at Mitchell and Elizabeth’s wedding you said…”

“No, you assumed I had come out of mourning for a husband when it was my sister who had passed.”

“Then why didn’t you correct me?”

She licked her lips and shrugged. “It seemed easier to let you believe I was a widow than explain being a single woman with an infant child.”

Jared turned away not understanding any of this. He gripped hold of the dresser. “If Delaney is Lucas’ father, how could he not know who you are?”

“Because I never met him before today,” she said. “I’m not Lucas’ biological mother.”

He turned back and felt as if the floor had disappeared from beneath his feet. He couldn’t believe what he heard. She’d lied to him. Pretended to be something she wasn’t. Yet, he’d fallen in love with the woman he thought she was, and she claimed to return his feelings. Could he believe her? Should he believe any of what she was saying?

He crossed his arms, leaning back against the dresser, and stared at her. “If you aren’t Lucas’s mother then who is?”

“M-my sister. Mariah.”

“And she’s dead?”

“Yes.” Rebecca nodded, twisting the hand towel. “She died shortly after giving birth to Lucas, but before she passed, she begged me to take him and raise him as my own. Sh-she didn’t want Stuart Delaney to ever know he’d fathered a child from their union.”

Rebecca looked up at him and he saw moisture in her eyes, pain, and uncertainty. “You see, he’s not an honorable man. He tricked Mariah into thinking they were married by a priest on a riverboat while she and Aunt Josephine were in New Orleans. She was young and too naïve. If only I’d been there—”

“You can’t blame yourself for that.” God help him, but he believed her for no other reason than the man he believed Stuart Delaney to be.

“Aunt Josephine blames Mariah. She said Mariah died for her sins. But how can she have sinned if she thought the ceremony real?”

Jared sat beside her. He took the towel from her and laid it aside before taking her hands in his. “I don’t believe she did, and I don’t believe your aunt truly believes it either. She’s blaming Mariah as a way to deal with her own guilt for allowing this to happen. I should know. I blamed myself for Charisse dying.”

“Oh Jared,” Rebecca said, running a hand up his arm. “You must forgive me for allowing you to think I was a widow. I hated deceiving you, but I had to do it to protect Lucas. You understand that, don’t you? I regretted not correcting your misconception of why I had come out of mourning, especially after you told me how Charisse died in childbirth.”

Jared stood, ran a hand through his hair and walked across the room. He turned back. “Where does Rory come into the picture? Is it because he gambled away Oak Hill and Delaney bought the markers?”

She gasped. “Delaney is the one who holds the markers on Oak Hill?”

“Yes.”

“You must not let him get your plantation, Jared. I cannot stand the thought of that vile man living at Oak Hill. Let me cover the markers if Rory is unable to pay his debt.”

He shook his head. “Rory has the money. He showed it to me before I left Jackson.”

“That is a relief. But can we trust him not to gamble it away before he sees Delaney?”

Jared felt his jaw twitch at the notion. “It makes me uneasy to think about it. But tell me, how do you know Rory?”

“Ruth. But that’s another confession all together. I can’t tell you everything.”

He leaned against the dresser again. “Then tell me what you can.”

“I wish it was that easy.”

“I want to hear it all.”

Rebecca swallowed and stood, clutching the skirt of her dress. She’d confessed about Lucas, so she might as well confess about her secret life. “We’re much alike in our principles, Jared. You use hired labor on your plantation, and I work with a committee that supports emancipation. I joined an organization while at the Women’s Seminary in Virginia where I met Elizabeth. I know you’ll find it hard to believe, but Rory works for them too.”

Jared laughed, but sobered when she did not break a smile. “Go on.”

“My visit to Jackson was to attend the wedding, but also to complete a mission. Rory was my liaison. We’d never met, which is the way the committee works to protect all involved. After arriving in town, I received a correspondence from him and it was signed Hollingsworth. He said I’d know him by the yellow rose in his lapel. When I met you at Elizabeth and Mitchell’s wedding you wore a yellow rose. A simple mistake for me to make, don’t you agree?”

He stared at her. “So our relationship has all been a charade?”

“Oh no, Jared.” She rushed across the room and stood before him, taking his hands in hers. “You mustn’t think that. My feelings for you are real.”

His expression was unreadable and she held her breath, fearing he didn’t believe her.

“Why did you agree to have dinner with me after Elizabeth and Mitchell’s wedding?”

“I won’t pretend I didn’t hope we’d discuss our mission,” she admitted, “but I was also interested in getting to know you better. If I may be so bold as to say, I found you very attractive. I still do.”

A quirk of a smile formed at his mouth, but a stern look quickly replaced it. “And the weeks that followed? Were you toying with my affections, especially after you realized I wasn’t your contact?”

“No.”

“But that’s what happened in the library, isn’t it? You realized your mistake. That’s why you rushed away.”

She nodded. “I’m sorry. I feared my mistake had cost Ruth her life. I’d been spending my time falling in love with you instead of getting her out of Jackson.”

His brows arched at her confession. “And in the carriage that day, is Ruth the reason you refused my proposal?”

Rebecca swallowed. “It broke my heart you chose that moment to propose because the last thing I wanted to tell you was no. But, until my mission was complete, I couldn’t even begin to think about a future with you. That’s the only reason I turned you down. If I was caught...”

His features softened. “And is your mission over now?”

“Yes.”

The beginnings of a smile formed at his mouth. “So if I knelt down right now and asked you to marry me, would you say yes?”

She half-grinned. The edge had gone out of his voice, and the talk of marriage meant he still wanted her, even after her deception. But the butterflies were back, playing havoc in her stomach. Her pulse quickened. “No,” she said playfully. “I don’t suppose so. I’d like the circumstances to be different.”

“Different?”

She considered for a moment. “More romantic.”

“I see. What would make it more romantic? A large bouquet of flowers? I’m sure I could arrange it.”

“That would do for starters.”

“Followed by what? A dinner by candlelight with violins playing?”

She smiled. “That would be pleasant.”

He cleared his throat. “Will you be visiting any more brothels?”

She laughed. “Not if I have any say in the matter.”

“Will there be any more missions?”

“If the committee needs me, I may consider it, but as my husband I would discuss it with you before deciding.”

Jared nodded and held out his hand. She slowly placed hers in his and with one fluid motion; he pulled her into his arms. “Miss Davis, you utterly charm and amaze me.”

“Is that a good thing, Mr. Hollingsworth?”

“A very good thing.” He smiled, lowering his mouth to hers for a kiss.

“Then you forgive me?” she asked, stopping him in mid-motion.

“Yes. But you must promise to keep no more secrets.”

“I promise.”

Before she could distract him again, he tilted her chin upward and brushed her lips with his. Nibbling with kisses, he swiftly parted her lips and captured her mouth with his own. His tongue darted in and out joining hers in a glorious, fevered dance.

As the kiss deepened, Rebecca slid her hands up his chest, over his shoulders until she wrapped her arms around his neck. A lusty moan startled her, and she pulled away.

Breathing labored, she placed a hand at her throat and felt the open collar. She quickly buttoned it back and looked toward the door.

“My heavens! I’m in your room with the door closed. If anyone found me here...” She turned back to face him. “Or if Aunt Josephine were to find out.”

Jared pulled her back into his arms. “Let her.”