manage our affairs.”
Which meant Barbara might yet have to go through the son to reach into the mother’s pockets. Oddly, the prospect didn’t disturb her as much as it had a few days ago. She was discovering the lieutenant to be a man of many talents, but he was still a man. She didn’t doubt her ability to bring him to his knees.
She didn’t have much time to accomplish the task, though. The lieutenant had been released from his military duties for only a few days. She’d have to begin her campaign soon, she decided, as Louise Morgan rose and shook out her skirts.
“Shall we take dinner now?” her hostess asked politely. “We will speak again tomorrow.”
With a nod, Barbara rose and followed her to the door. The wooden panels slid open and caught the attention of the two men deep in conversation at the far end of the hall.
“There you are.”
The older of the two came forward to greet his wife and guest. Barbara recognized him at once as the lieutenant’s father. He was every bit as tall as his son and carried himself with the same square-shouldered erectness. The resemblance went deeper than mere physical traits, though, and had more to do with his calm, confident air. This was a man who recognized his strengths and compensated for his failings, she thought.
She had only to see the light that came into his eyes when they caught his wife’s to know Louise Morgan held his heart in her hands. Suppressing an unexpected pang of envy for the older woman, Barbara returned Daniel Morgan’s warm smile.
“Welcome to Morgan’s Falls, Lady Barbara. I confess, I’m as eager as my son to learn the reason you’ve journeyed so far to meet with my wife.”
His tone was cordial and the words polite, but neither fooled Barbara. Like his son, he would allow no one to harm the petite, black-haired woman who slipped her arm in his.
“She comes because she and I share ties by marriage. Lady Barbara is Henri’s great-niece.”
“The devil you say!” her husband exclaimed.
Her son, too, expressed astonishment, but it was obvious from the glance the two men exchanged they didn’t believe Barbara had journeyed all this way simply to visit with a long-lost relation. Louise forestalled the questions she saw in their faces.
“We must feed our guest or she will think we mean to starve her. Zach, take the lady’s arm.”
“Please, call me Barbara,” she urged as Zach stepped forward. Like his parents and their guest, the lieutenant had dressed for dinner. He’d shed his well-worn buckskins in favor of a green velvet jacket with claw-hammer tails and a double row of brass buttons. His gray wool trousers were tucked into knee-high Hessians polished to a shine that would raise instant envy in the breast of any dandy on the strut in Hyde Park.
Every time she thought she had his measure, Barbara reflected wryly, he changed his stripes. First the rough woodsman, then the officer. Now it was a sophisticated gentleman who escorted her into the dining room.
The noisy chatter that had been emanating fromthe room stilled instantly. No fewer than ten people turned in their direction. Three were servants who caught their mistress’s nod and scrambled to remove covers from the silver dishes on the sideboard. Four were the children of the house.
The others were introduced as Mr. Harris, a young missionary who taught the school on the Morgan property; Singing Bird McRoberts, a broad-cheeked woman in braids and a stunning necklace of silver and turquoise; and Jeremy, her husband. McRoberts was a little raisin of a man with reddish hair, clacking wooden teeth and a cast in one eye. Squinting at Barbara, he pronounced her pretty as a goose and promptly demanded his dinner.
“Yes, yes,” Louise said, not the least perturbed by this breach of etiquette. “First let me introduce Lady Barbara to the children.”
Chubby-cheeked little Sarah giggled. A scrubbed and clean-suited Theo made an awkward bow. Urice turned out to be a
Which meant Barbara might yet have to go through the son to reach into the mother’s pockets. Oddly, the prospect didn’t disturb her as much as it had a few days ago. She was discovering the lieutenant to be a man of many talents, but he was still a man. She didn’t doubt her ability to bring him to his knees.
She didn’t have much time to accomplish the task, though. The lieutenant had been released from his military duties for only a few days. She’d have to begin her campaign soon, she decided, as Louise Morgan rose and shook out her skirts.
“Shall we take dinner now?” her hostess asked politely. “We will speak again tomorrow.”
With a nod, Barbara rose and followed her to the door. The wooden panels slid open and caught the attention of the two men deep in conversation at the far end of the hall.
“There you are.”
The older of the two came forward to greet his wife and guest. Barbara recognized him at once as the lieutenant’s father. He was every bit as tall as his son and carried himself with the same square-shouldered erectness. The resemblance went deeper than mere physical traits, though, and had more to do with his calm, confident air. This was a man who recognized his strengths and compensated for his failings, she thought.
She had only to see the light that came into his eyes when they caught his wife’s to know Louise Morgan held his heart in her hands. Suppressing an unexpected pang of envy for the older woman, Barbara returned Daniel Morgan’s warm smile.
“Welcome to Morgan’s Falls, Lady Barbara. I confess, I’m as eager as my son to learn the reason you’ve journeyed so far to meet with my wife.”
His tone was cordial and the words polite, but neither fooled Barbara. Like his son, he would allow no one to harm the petite, black-haired woman who slipped her arm in his.
“She comes because she and I share ties by marriage. Lady Barbara is Henri’s great-niece.”
“The devil you say!” her husband exclaimed.
Her son, too, expressed astonishment, but it was obvious from the glance the two men exchanged they didn’t believe Barbara had journeyed all this way simply to visit with a long-lost relation. Louise forestalled the questions she saw in their faces.
“We must feed our guest or she will think we mean to starve her. Zach, take the lady’s arm.”
“Please, call me Barbara,” she urged as Zach stepped forward. Like his parents and their guest, the lieutenant had dressed for dinner. He’d shed his well-worn buckskins in favor of a green velvet jacket with claw-hammer tails and a double row of brass buttons. His gray wool trousers were tucked into knee-high Hessians polished to a shine that would raise instant envy in the breast of any dandy on the strut in Hyde Park.
Every time she thought she had his measure, Barbara reflected wryly, he changed his stripes. First the rough woodsman, then the officer. Now it was a sophisticated gentleman who escorted her into the dining room.
The noisy chatter that had been emanating fromthe room stilled instantly. No fewer than ten people turned in their direction. Three were servants who caught their mistress’s nod and scrambled to remove covers from the silver dishes on the sideboard. Four were the children of the house.
The others were introduced as Mr. Harris, a young missionary who taught the school on the Morgan property; Singing Bird McRoberts, a broad-cheeked woman in braids and a stunning necklace of silver and turquoise; and Jeremy, her husband. McRoberts was a little raisin of a man with reddish hair, clacking wooden teeth and a cast in one eye. Squinting at Barbara, he pronounced her pretty as a goose and promptly demanded his dinner.
“Yes, yes,” Louise said, not the least perturbed by this breach of etiquette. “First let me introduce Lady Barbara to the children.”
Chubby-cheeked little Sarah giggled. A scrubbed and clean-suited Theo made an awkward bow. Urice turned out to be a
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