"Good morning, Arlie." She glanced around for Caleb, but didn't see him.
" 'E's gone, Miss. Took off sometime afore dawn. Left ye this note, 'e did. Found it on a nail in front of Grand Coeur's stall." Arlie dragged a folded piece of paper from the pocket of his breeches and held it out to her.
Her heart was thundering. She could hear the pounding in her ears. Reaching out, she took the note and broke the drop of candle wax he had used for a seal.
Lee,
A problem has arisen and I am called away. Jacob will be returning to resume his duties on the morrow. Perhaps we shall meet again.
Your servant, Caleb Tanner
Her heart beat painfully as she read the note again, searching for some hidden meaning, some small word that told her what they had shared had meant something to him, that leaving her wasn't what he wished to do. But there was nothing of comfort in the message.
She surveyed his parting words, Your servant, Caleb Tanner. No man had ever been less of a servant and of course Caleb knew it. It was the sort of closing a gentleman might use, but Caleb wasn't a gentleman.
Or was he?
There had always been things about him that simply did not fit. His speech was that of an educated man, his manners those of the upper classes—along with his arrogance. Perhaps he was a highborn man, fallen heavily into debt and running to avoid debtors' prison. Perhaps he had done something worse. Whoever he was, she had cared for him greatly and now he was gone, casting her aside as if she had meant nothing to him at all, leaving only a brief note of farewell.
Lee's heart filled with a weighty despair. She had tried so hard not to love him, but part of her was deeply in love and that part would never forgive him. She told herself it was better this way, better he was gone and she could go on with the life laid out for her.
Crumbling the note in her hand, she swallowed past the tight knot in her throat and ignored the sting of tears. Caleb was gone. That part of her life was over.
Vermillion tossed the paper into the waste bin and vowed not to think of Caleb Tanner again.
The afternoon slipped past and the hour grew late. The moon slid away, disappearing behind a cover of dense black clouds that boded rain. A heavy mist hung over the earth, dampening the long black woolen cloak draped over the woman's shoulders. Beneath the hood, her hair was damp, and fine strands clung to the nape of her slender neck.
She didn't like being out on a night like this. As she walked the narrow path toward the village, every shadow seemed a villainous creature ready to spring out of the darkness, and the damp, spongy ground distorted the sounds in the inky night.
It didn't matter. She had to see him. He would expect her to have something for him by now and she didn't want to fail him.
They were meeting at their usual place in the village, a small attic room above the Red Boar Inn. They never spoke at the house. It was too dangerous, he said, people might see them. It didn't matter. She didn't mind slipping away, even on a night like this. Not for him. And here she didn't have to share him.
He was waiting as she climbed the outside stairs along a shadowy wall protected by dense gray-green ivy. Standing in the darkness lit only by a single tallow candle, he was as attractive as he had been the first time she had seen him, more so with each passing year. His eyes ran over her, surveying her from head to foot, and she smiled at the gleam of interest that appeared in his eyes.
"You look extremely fetching tonight, my sweet."
She blushed and smiled, pleased that he seemed to approve of the new blue muslin gown she'd had made with the money he had given her the last time they were together.
He eased back the hood of her cloak, then pulled the drawstring and removed the wet garment, draped it over the back of a wooden chair.
"The gown suits you. It brings out the color of your eyes." The room was small and stark, with only a slatted bed and nightstand, a dresser with a chipped basin and pitcher, and the lone wooden chair. Perhaps that was the reason his elegant figure seemed such a powerful force.
"I 'ave learned something," she said with her soft French accent. "It may be important. I knew you would wish to 'ear it as soon as it could be arranged."
He moved closer, till she could smell a hint of brandy on his breath and his expensive cologne. "I thought perhaps you had simply missed me." His hands were encased in butter soft kidskin. He tugged on the end of each finger, slowly removing the gloves, then he tossed them onto the seat of the chair. "I was hoping you might wish to continue where we left off the last time we were here."
The last time they were there. A little thrill went through her. She hadn't forgotten. She never forgot the brief hours she'd spent with him. "I always wish to be with you. It 'as been far too long since we are together."
He reached up and stroked her cheek and her insides trembled. All he had to do was look at her and she melted a little inside. His hand encircled the nape of her neck, drew her toward him. He reached out, cupped one of her breasts, squeezed it, gently at first, then harder, just to the point of pleasure-pain.
She sucked in a breath, unconsciously tried to draw away, but he pulled her back and his touch turned gentle. He stroked her nipple through the bodice of her gown and pleasure washed over her again.
"What have you brought me?"
She told him what she had learned, knew by the slight curl of his lips that she had pleased him. She knew the taste of those lips, knew the feel of them moving over her body, knew the sweet, unbearable excitement they could bring.
But first she would give to him. He had come to expect that now and she would never disappoint him. When he rested his hands on her shoulders and gently urged her down, she knelt in front of him. She waited while he opened the front of his breeches and freed himself, admired the length of him, the hardness that would soon be inside her.
She knew exactly how to please him. She felt his fingers on the back of her neck, holding her immobile as she took him into her mouth. She had told him something of value and in return for her loyalty, soon he would make her his.
Once this was over and his job was complete, they would go away together, leave this country, travel to a place they could live together in luxury and peace.
She thought of those things as his body tightened and he spilled his seed, then drew her to her feet. He brought her hand to his lips, then led her over to the bed. Soon he would be ready to make love again and if he used her a little roughly she didn't care. As long as she could be with him, she would give him anything he wanted.
And he would see to her pleasure as well.
"Tell me," he commanded. "Say it." Reaching out, he cupped her breast, massaged the fullness, pinched the end.
She told him what every man wanted to hear and especially this one, that he was what she needed, fully aroused and embedded deeply inside her. The words seemed to please him. It was always better when she pleased him, and it seemed she had done so tonight.
He took her hand, pressed it against the front of his breeches, and she could tell that he was hard. A little shiver went through her as she turned her back so that he could help her remove her gown, then he paused to remove his own clothes.
Soon you will be mine, she thought, enjoying the sight of him naked. Soon I will have you all to myself. She smiled as he drew her down on the bed, leaned over, and kissed her. Sliding himself inside her, he slowly began to move.
Four days had passed since Caleb had left. As he had promised in his emotionless note, Jacob Boswell had returned that same day to resume his job as trainer and groom. In the time that had passed, Lee had become surprisingly adept at banning Caleb Tanner from her thoughts.