The Awakening (Montgomery/Taggert 11)

“Or did you just try to hold his cold hand?”

She looked away from him.

He leaned close to her, his lips near her ear. “Or did you maybe kiss him?”

Amanda sank onto the chair. “Would you please leave?” she whispered.

He put his hands on her shoulders and lifted her up to face him. “You ready to admit I was right? Your Taylor doesn’t have any blood in his veins. He’s incapable of anything resembling passion.”

She twisted out of his grasp. “He’s a good man and I want to please him.”

“Why don’t you please yourself?”

She gave him a false little smile. “It would please me to get back to my studying. And it would also please me if you left my room. Better yet, it would please me if you left America.”

He pulled his watch from his vest pocket. “We’re going to be late. I’m supposed to meet Reva at eight, so that gives you about ten minutes to dress. You’ll like this dress I bought you.”

“Does it have a bodice? Or is the skirt missing? Dr. Montgomery, I am not going to some loud, beer-swilling party with you and your equally disgusting friends.”

He grinned at her. “You’ve already lost one bet today; what d’you want to bet you lose this one too?”

Chapter Ten

By the time Hank entered the dance with a woman on each side of him, he was ready to enter a monastery. Reva was angry because he’d shown up for their date with another woman and Amanda was angry because he’d threatened her until she had to attend the dance with him. Added to this was the fact that the two women were natural enemies and they’d had to share the passenger seat in his Mercer and Hank was beginning to think pleasantly of Amanda’s suggestion that he leave the country. Maybe a long cruise on a ship. Maybe a cruise on a Navy ship where he’d see only men for months at a time.

“There’s a table,” Reva said over the noise of the ragtime music. “Of course it has only two places.” She gave Amanda a withering look. Reva thought she could cheerfully kill Amanda right now. She finally got a chance at a gorgeous, rich, educated, rich, respectable, and, most of all, rich man like Dr. Montgomery and who should show up but Amanda? And to make it worse, Amanda was wearing a stunning white satin dress with a slant-cut overskirt that dripped with a fringe of crystal beads. Reva didn’t know dresses like that existed, and it made her frilly blue dress that had cost her a week’s salary look cheap and gaudy.

“It doesn’t look like there’s room,” Amanda said. “You two go on. I’ll find another table.”

Hank’s hand clamped down on her upper arm.

“Maybe I should be the one to leave,” Reva said, then Hank took her arm, too, and began pulling both women toward the tiny table.

No cocktails were being served but beer and wine were abundant, so Hank ordered a bottle of champagne for their table. The three of them sat in silence, laughter all around, music playing, couples dancing, and waited for the wine. When it came, Reva and Hank drank greedily, but Amanda ignored her glass.

“Drink,” Hank commanded her.

“And what will you do to humiliate me if I don’t?”

“I’ll make you dance with me,” he said so just she could hear.

“I’ll drink out of the bottle to escape that,” she said, picking up her glass. The wine was heavenly, sour, effervescent, cold. She emptied her glass and the waiter refilled it.

“You don’t have to get drunk. Is there any food you don’t like?”

“There are just men I don’t like.”

“Excuse me,” Reva said, “but I don’t think I’m needed here. There are some people over there I know. I think I’ll join them.”

“Wait,” Hank said, “let’s dance.” He took Reva’s hand, and as he rose he looked down at Amanda. “You leave and you’ll be sorry.”

She just looked into her third glass of champagne and smiled.

“And slow down on that stuff.”

Hank led Reva onto the dance floor and she nuzzled as close to him as was decently possible, but she didn’t think he was aware of her. He kept looking at Amanda and frowning. Reva took his chin in her hand and turned those beautiful blues so they looked at her. “What’s with you?” she said. “Are you in love with her or something?”

“God no,” Hank said in horror. “I happened to have been cursed with a social conscience. I hate to see anyone who’s under the rule of someone else.”