She turned away and snuggled her back against his front, and between them was such a tension that Maddie knew her body was vibrating with her desire. Her hands were trembling and images kept forming in her mind: When she’d pulled the thorns from him and had run her hands over his legs; the day he’d helped push the coach from the water and he’d removed his shirt; the night he’d come to her wearing nothing but a loincloth.
“Maddie…” he said, and there was warning in his voice. “Think of something else.”
“How do you know what I’m thinking?”
He held out his hand toward the fire, and when he did so she could see that it was shaking, just as hers was.
“Why did you tell me no the day I took the thorns from you?”
“Because then I was Captain Montgomery to you. I was a good-looking, well-built man and we were alone and you are one passionate woman.”
She snorted at that. “Even your sister says you’re ugly.”
“Ugly in my family is relative.”
She groaned. “Spare me. I knew from the moment I met you that you were vain, but I had no idea of the depth of your vanity.”
“Who has the best voice in the world?”
She smiled in the darkness. “I get your point. So, now you think it’s different? Now you think I see you as anything besides a good-looking man?”
“What do you think?”
She held his hand in hers and looked at it. He had long, thin fingers and beautifully shaped nails. What did she think of him? At this moment she couldn’t imagine being without him. From the first he seemed to know her better than anyone had ever known her. He was right that at first she hadn’t paid much attention to him except as a beautiful man, but now…Now she remembered the times he’d risked his life to protect her, how he’d climbed up a cliff to be with her, how he’d come for her after she’d sung Carmen. She thought of all the wounds on his body that he’d suffered because of her. She thought of the times she’d drugged him and tricked him, yet he was still here with her, still trying to help her.
“General Yovington has been helping me,” she said softly. “Some men took my little sister Laurel, and if I’m to get her back, I have to sing in six camps, and at each place I am to meet a man and exchange letters with him. They promised I would see Laurel this time, but they lied to me.” She held up her hand. “The man gave me the ring I sent Laurel as proof that they have her. He said…he said that they would kill you if you didn’t stop interfering in this.”
She choked back tears. “They say that they’ll give me back Laurel at the last town, but I’m afraid. I’m beginning to think they won’t do it. I’m afraid they’ll kill her because of the stupid war they want to start.” She couldn’t stop the tears. “And now I’m afraid they’re going to hurt you too.”
He turned her toward him and held her tightly. He even put his leg over hers as though to protect her completely. “I know, sweetheart. I know.”
She cried for some time. “How can you know? You don’t know how dangerous these men are. He said—”
“You don’t have to tell me, I heard it all.”
“Heard it all?” She sniffed and he offered her a wet, soiled handkerchief. “What did you hear?”
“Everything the man said to you. You’re safe now, so why don’t you go to sleep? We’ll talk about this in the morning.”
She pulled away from him
. “I want to know what you know. What you heard.” There was some anger in her voice.
“All right, I’ll tell you. You didn’t think that I’d let you drug me a second time, did you? You and Edith were so obvious that a blind man could have seen what you were doing. While you were taking so long in the outhouse, I had Toby replace some of your drugged figs with something else. From the taste of them, I think he used horse manure, but at least I wasn’t put to sleep that time. I also found out that you cared enough about me to keep me from eating a lethal dose. You and Edith should stop playing around with that stuff until you learn how to use it.”
“You tricked me. You pretended to fall asleep. You flailed about that tent as though you were a dying clown. When I think of how…You make me furious!”
“I make you furious? What was I supposed to do? Tell you that I hadn’t eaten poisoned figs? You were so eager to get out of there that I was afraid you’d shoot me if I didn’t let you go.”
She started struggling to get away from him. “So you followed me, didn’t you? You knew I wanted to go by myself and yet you followed me.”
He gave her a look of astonishment. “Your fine Crow warrior friend is following you and you’re grateful to him, but I follow you and you’re angry with me. That doesn’t make sense.”
“Hears Good is protecting me.”
“And what do you think I’m doing? You think I want to sneak around among cactus and scrub oak and scratch myself, not to mention my horse? Is that what you think I want to do?”
She started to move away from him, but the chain was holding them together, and since he wasn’t moving, she couldn’t go very far. “I don’t like being spied on.”