Read Online Rebel Temptress (Historical Romance) by Constance O'Banyon - Free Book Online Page B

Dearest Wife,
    This ring was purchased especially for you. The emerald matches your eyes. When you feel you can forgive me, slip the ring on your finger. When I next see you, I will hope to see my ring on your finger.
    Jordan
    Honor wanted to rip the note into shreds, but the presence of her father-in-law prevented her from giving in to that impulse. She snapped the ring case shut. "Would you like some tea, Mr. Daniels?"
    "No, if you are not coming home with me, I had better get back. Maggie is going to be very disappointed when I return without you."
    "Tell her I will visit, and I would be glad to welcome the both of you any time you can come over."
    "I will tell her." He squeezed her hand. "We will drop in on you often. We would not want Jordan to think we were neglecting his little bride."
    Honor thanked him for his kindness as she walked him to the front door. After he left, she sighed with relief. She then went to her bedroom, where she remained for a week.
    She did a lot of thinking while she was alone. The ring Jordan had given to her she put in the bottom bureau drawer. She knew that she would never wear it. The events of the last few days had changed her life, but she was determined to take her life into her own hands now. She would work hard and show everyone that she could take care of herself as well as this plantation. But most of all she would prove to herself that she was a person in her own right.
    Her self-esteem had been badly shaken by Jordan. She felt insignificant and homely. If only I were beautiful, she thought. Jordan must have been disgusted by her skinny body after comparing it to Meagan's. She pushed that thought to the back of her mind. She did not care what Jordan thought of her, she told herself.
    When Honor finally rejoined the human race, as Darcy put it, she came armed with self-confidence in her ability to fill her aunt's place as mistress of Landau Plantation. She spent long hours riding with her overseer. He was patient with her and taught her many things that she had not already known about running the place. At night she would work on the books until she thought she would go blind from eye strain.
    It had not taken long for word to get out that Honor and Jordan were married. Many visitors came to wish Honor well. She took her friends' well-meaning remarks with good grace when they hinted at their surprise at the marriage, knowing how Jordan had always felt about Meagan.
    Honor found no need to enlighten them. Let them think what they will she told herself, it would not bother her in the least. Honor was arming herself with confidence, if not in her beauty, then in her ability to cope in a man's world and stand on her own two feet.
    Honor was determined that she would justify her Aunt Amanda's faith in her. She vowed that even with a war going on, Landau would not become run down, as had many of her friends' plantations.
    Apples were the main crop at Landau, and vinegar with the Landau label had once been shipped all over the United States. With the war the production had come to an end, but Honor knew that if she could only outlast that war, Landau would rise like a phoenix out of the ashes.
    * * *
    Honor often welcomed Jordan's parents to her home, and she even visited them on occasion. No one but she and Jordan would know what had transpired between them on their wedding night, she vowed.
    Honor was hardly aware that she was changing until Maggie Daniels commented on it one afternoon at tea. "I am glad that you have made such a complete recovery after your illness. You have put on weight, and you are quite stunning."
    Honor laughed. "Not beautiful?"
    "Yes, my dear, beautiful. I declare, Jordan was most fortunate when he married you, but even he could not have known that you would turn into such a beautiful woman overnight. It is quite remarkable."
    Honor could not credit that what her mother-in-law had told her was the truth. That night she stood before her mirror and studied herself