ROSEDALE IN APRIL
Chapter Eighteen
Captain Jack Dalton came slowly into full
awareness. A small, furtive sound had disturbed his deep-exhausted sleep, yet
it wasn’t one that aroused any specific suspicion or apprehension. He lay still
gathering his wits and was on the verge of succumbing once again to slumber
before languidly reaching out for his newfound object of affection to draw her
closer to his side. Finding her gone from their bed, he bolted upright but then
gradually laid back down assuming she had left for private and delicate
reasons. The light scraping noise came again; nonetheless, Jack alertly
determined its source as the night guard’s scuffling boots overhead upon the
widow’s walk. Just as his eyelids began to lower, a louder scraping noise of
hurried feet approaching the master chamber’s door alarmingly prompted him to
throw the covers back and hastily pull on his discarded trousers.
"Captain…you better come quick!"
Bypassing the garconiere, Rose gathered up
the thin nightgown in one hand and broke into a mad dash. Navigating the dark
overgrown path like a creature of the night fleeing an ominous predator in
pursuit, her only purpose to get to the slough as quickly as possible before
the Sergeant realized her sly diversion and came after her. She stubbornly
ignored the stabbing pain of sharp stones, briars, and sticks tearing at her
slim bare feet and determinedly pushed onward increasing her swift pace.
Breathlessly bursting out into the glade, she was immediately met by Rafael
Bouvier who had been anxiously awaiting his beloved daughter’s belated arrival.
"Papa!"
"Rose!"
Father and daughter fell into each other’s
arms with tears of relief and worry coursing down the girl’s flushed cheeks.
With eyes as wide as the illuminated moon, Rose stared up into the familiar
loved face of her only surviving parent while fighting hard for an even breath.
"It…was…you," Rose softly probed
between strained gasps for air.
Rafael’s gaze never wavered. Interlocking
watery brown orbs with those of his daughter, he sighed deeply, and barely
nodded a dark silky head to her question. Yet he noticed right away that it
wasn’t an accusing or condemning statement but one of simple curiosity and fear
for his welfare. Never considering the possibility of lying to her for Rafael
was innately cognizant that Rose knew the honest truth. They held such an
intangible bond, he could never tell an untruth to his daughter. Consequently,
he was thankful beyond imagination that they could share and communicate
without speaking a single word.
"It’s best that I don’t answer that
directly, Rose. That way if you’re ever interrogated by the authorities, you
won’t be forced to tell a lie. This is the way it has to be, dear one. I don’t
have much time for I have to leave right away; the others at the camp left last
night. We’re headed for the hill country into Bandera until things calm down a
bit. We should be back at the end of summer or early fall. I had to see you one
more time before making my departure and to assure you that I love you. Just
remember that everything that has happened, I did for you."
"You’re leaving me? But…"
"Shh, little one. Show me that
unfathomable courage that defines my Rose…show the Yankees what you’re made
of." With that said, Rafael suddenly pierced his daughter with unfaltering
eyes of worried concern.
"Which brings us to another disturbing
matter regarding this Union Army Captain. What have you done, Rose? Have
you had to barter yourself for the safety of Rosedale?"
Rose tried swallowing the lump threatening to
close off her windpipe. Surprised for a split second that her father was aware
of her intimate relationship with the Captain but then in the next instant,
sure that he of all people might understand. Her heart was pounding so loud she
knew that her father could hear it against his chest.
"I love him, Papa. I never wanted
and expected it to happen but…" Rose softly declared with her brow
crinkled in confusion while huge tears streamed down her face.
"And does he love you, Rose?"
Rafael gently brushed the tears from her creamy ivory cheeks with his
fingertips.
Suddenly, Rose broke down into hysterical
sobs tightly encircling her father’s waist with trembling arms, muffling a
negative reply against his chest. Rafael gingerly stroked the copper tresses
away from her face and hesitantly asked the next question, nevertheless,
dreading its answer.
"Have you thought of the possible
consequences of this one-sided love, my Rose? Do you realize the unspeakable
hurt and hardships that can come from this unrequited affection?"
"I know the possibilities, Papa. I
really do, but I can’t help it," Rose pitifully cried.
Rafael furiously drew her closer, stroking
her back yet all the while savagely cursing under his breath the defiling,
repugnant bastardo responsible for breaking his daughter’s heart.
"I understand, Rose. For I know how it
is to be in love and to never…but we won’t speak of what has gone before, my
dear girl. It’s too late to change that precious mind of yours, I know that
now. I just fervently hoped you’d never have to suffer the pain and anguish
that your mother and I had to endure. You deserve so much more than that."
Rafael hugged her as if he would never let her go. And Rose sobbed as if her
heart was going to break in two. Both hearts splitting and intermingling as
they knew each other’s horrific grief and the forthcoming pain of certain
separation.
"I’ll miss you so much, Papa. You
promise that you’ll come back to me? Promise?" Rose desperately implored
while her voice involuntarily cracked.
"Nothing but death could stop me, my
Rose. Now dry those tears and…" As if remembering something he reached
into his jacket pocket and produced a small cloth bag with a drawstring
gathered at the top. "Madame India sent you these…they’re preventative
herbs."
"Herbs for what?" Rose innocently
wondered slightly sniffling between her heart wrenching words. Taking a deep
breath, Rafael swallowed and uncomfortably revealed, "They could help
relieve the possibility of a child, Rose. Your mother used them relentlessly.
Why do you think she never conceived another babe besides yourself? She wanted
you and only you, dear one, to become sole heir of Rosedale. She had to give up
so much for that wish and was stubbornly determined it would be for naught.
This grand plantation and its people are your legacy, your birthright."
"And if it’s too late, Papa? If I’m
already with child?" Rose’s brow furrowing with worry and anxiety.
"Oh, my Rose. Then we’ll just have to
cross that bridge when we come to it. I’ll always be here for you when you need
me the most. Now I have to go." He bent down and was tenderly kissing his
daughter on the forehead good-bye when a sudden noise caused the pair to spin
around in alarm before Rafael deftly dove into the slough striking out for the
other side and safety. Realizing that her father was gone, Rose desperately
screamed, "Rafael!"
Captain Jack Dalton was seething in a black
furious rage. Upon hearing the obvious deliberate lies that Rose had falsely
spoken to his Sergeant, he had struck out with the blinding fury of a great
impending storm for he had never dreamed that she would actually attempt to
escape him. And after the shared intimacy in their bed together, he was
tragically convinced that Rose had duped him completely. He had foolishly let
his guard down and she had deviously taken advantage of that mistake. In his
addled brain, he was almost certain that Rose was the patriotic sort to risk
life and limb for her Confederate States of America. Up ahead in the clearing,
he heard a masculine and feminine voice conversing and stood stock still in
shock witnessing the desperate embrace and the dark headed man kissing Rose
farewell.
From Jack’s vantagepoint he acutely
determined that the man’s face was handsome, sun-darkened with dark brows that
curved neatly; a straight, thin nose; a firm but almost sensuous mouth. The
lean line of his jaw showed strength and determination. As tall as himself, the
man was finely muscled but the tiny fine lines around his soulful brown eyes
indicated he was probably two score of years in age. He was garbed in a white
linen shirt, black tight fitting trousers and a shortened tan vest. His raven
hair was long and he emitted a remarkable image of an untamed heathen. Gypsy
pirate was the immediate description that sprang into the Captain’s spinning
mind. The blood began pounding in Jack’s ears drowning out all rationality;
therefore, he recklessly stepped forward loudly snapping a twig and announcing
his presence.
As Rafael sliced through the murky black
waters, Jack raised his gun to fire a shot at the hated foe that would dare touch
his Rose. Consequently, the acute pain in his chest felt like a sharp knife
embedding deep into his aching heart at her revelation of the mysterious man’s
identity…Rafael!
Covering her face with quivering hands, Rose
helplessly sank to her knees in heaving sobs. Agitatedly, lowering his gun for
his target had stealthily thwarted his aim, Jack angrily stalked over and
viciously jerked the crying girl to her feet. His hardened face and cold blue
shards of steel were twisted with dark rage flooding his rigid countenance.
Clenching his fist, he brought it up as if to strike her. Rose involuntarily
flinched away from him staring in utter disbelief and shock. Jack stopped
himself a mere inch from her tear streaked face yet his arm shook as he fought
to control the uncivilized urge to harm her. Instead, he cruelly grabbed her by
the shoulders and violently shook her like a pale rag doll; the brutal force
threatening to snap her slender neck.
Shouting furiously, "You whore of a
slut!"
"Please, Captain, you don’t understand.
It’s not what you think!" Rose desperately pleaded.
Ignoring her pleas, Captain Jack Dalton
ominously commanded, "Sergeant! Take some men and hunt him down like a
dog!"
Jack rounded on her trembling form and
snatched a delicate wrist to drag her back to the manor house. "Captain,
please don’t hurt him. He’s done nothing…" Rose helplessly begged as she
stumbled along in his wake.
Jack stopped dead in his tracks and spun on
his heels. He was consumed with an insane jealousy to the point that it blocked
out all sense of civility or reason.
"Who is he, Rose? Tell me. A
potential or past lover?" Jack ground out as he viciously shook her again.
"You of all people should know that I’ve
had no previous lovers, Captain Dalton!" she heatedly spat.
Nevertheless, Rose instantly caught the
reason for the Captain’s violent disposition. He was merely jealous! Yet
anger suffused her own flushed face at his misplaced emotion for he had no
right to treat her in such a hostile manner because he had never professed his
love for her. Jerking out of his grasp, her green eyes glowered her fierce
conviction and dared him to deny her words as truth.
"I admit that maybe I’ve been your only
physical bedmate but that doesn’t extend into emotional lovers, now does
it?" Jack prayed she would deny her love for the despised man and to
correct his accusing words that their relationship was merely sexual yet he was
unfortunately to be disappointed.
"It’s none of your business, Captain
Dalton! And if you harm him in any way, I’ll…"
Jack never let her finish.
"Like hell it’s not! Tell me, Rose,
NOW!" he savagely bit out.
"No! Stop the jealousy, Captain! You
have no right!" Rose angrily yelled back in return.
Jack’s fury turned darker than the pitch
ebony night sky. Threading his hands into her tousled hair, he fiercely jerked
her to his heaving chest.
"Don’t toy with me, Rose. I’m just this
far from wringing your pretty neck!" he snarled between clenched teeth,
baring them like a rabid wolf.
Rose tried to break loose from his grasp and
inadvertently dropped the small bag of herbs given to her by Rafael.
"What’s this?" Jack suspiciously
probed as he reached down and opened the sack, his blue eyes brittle, while
Rose stood stunned not knowing how to answer. Jack mistakenly misread her
widened eyes and snarled, "Poison? You and your confederate lover
conniving and plotting to kill me, Rose?" he questioned in disbelief and
mistaken dawning.
Rose began coldly laughing which further
infuriated the Captain tenfold.
"You fool! It’s just herbs! Now give
them to me!" Rose bitterly exclaimed.
"You’re a liar, Rose," Jack
forcefully barked while deliberately rejecting her claims of innocence.
"How dare you!" The open palm of
Rose’s empty hand cracked hard across Jack’s cheek and returned with the back
of it against his other while her eyes blazed with fury. She stood in shock at
her violent actions watching the line along his jaw quiver in barely suppressed
rage awaiting his forthcoming retaliation in dread and sudden fear. Of a sudden
her wrist was seized in a grasp of iron and her arm was twisted behind her
back, crushing her against his naked chest.
Rose’s temper soared higher at the restraint,
and she tried to raise her other hand to claw at the livid weals across his
cheekbones, but his arms encircled her until she could not move a solitary
muscle. She was caught to him, her breath hissing between clenched pearly teeth
and her bosom heaving against his bare chest.
"Stop it, Rose! You have taken both
cheeks before I could turn the other!" Jack bade sharply and dangerously.
His embrace tightened about her until her toes cleared the ground and Rose lay
against him, gasping for breath. His mouth swooped down upon hers, twisting,
bruising, rousing, punishing, his tongue thrusting through like a brand,
searing her, possessing her. Rose struggled weakly, trying to summon some logic
from the tumultuous chaos in her mind. Pleasure seeped through the barrier of
her own fighting will. The brutal crush of Jack’s lips on hers, his strong arms
holding her clasped to his work-hardened frame became somehow bearable, and she
was answering, not fighting anymore, growing warm. Then his arms were gone, and
she stumbled free of him. And she tragically realized that he could have her
when and anywhere he desired.
The anger began leaving her miserable body at
the hilarity of the situation. Her inborn pride took over her weakened resolve
and she drew her shoulders back aghast at her shameless naked will.
"Captain Dalton, Rafael was merely here to say good bye and to bring me
preventative herbs against…a possible delicate condition." Rose furiously
blushed a deep shade of scarlet dropping her eyes to the dark ground although
her face still burned where his unshaven chin had rasped against her tender
flesh.
Jack deliberately opened the bag and
purposefully scattered the herbs in the brisk night air as a menacing glower
marred his rigid visage. Jack wasn’t taking any chances because what little
trust he had was severely worn thin.
"Probably too late for that
anyway," Rose snidely commented crossing her arms as the herbs were
ruthlessly disposed of by the angry Captain.
"So, this Rafael intends to step in when
I’m gone, is that it? Marry you and spare your honor? Tell me, Rose. Who is
he?"
"Why should you care?" Rose stabbed
but Jack stubbornly refused to answer her clever plea for a denial. Realizing
he was deliberately ignoring her question, she sighed a deep breath.
"I assure you Rafael is no one to be
jealous of, Captain!"
Jack heard how she caressed his name with
such a deep regard and the rage that was simmering began to boil. The Captain
inwardly raged, You freely call him Rafael so lovingly yet you deliberately
refuse to call me Jack!
"Then who is he? And this has
nothing to do with jealousy, Rose! Answer me!" At that moment the only
thing he wanted to hear was her confession for the unknown was ripping at this
tormented soul. Yet, the fact that he was jealous and she knew the obvious,
infuriated him further.
"A family friend, okay?" Rose tried
to step past him but was brought up short of her goal when Jack grabbed her
wrists again bringing her to his muscular shirtless chest.
"I doubt that, Rose. He’s a damn gypsy
and they don’t cotton to socializing with proper southern families," Jack
skeptically growled.
"How would you know, Yank?" Rose
furiously railed.
"You tell me right now or I’ll…"
Again, Jack raised his clenched hand threateningly, his control on the verge of
collapsing at the stubborn defiance of his lover.
Rose vehemently interjected, "What? You
gonna kill me like the Colonel murdered my mother?"
The color left Jack’s reddened face and he
immediately loosened the tight hold on her. Rose saw his shock and partially
revealed as her stubborn resolve increasingly continued to wane.
"What did you say?" Jack shockingly
asked.
"It’s a personal matter to be disclosed
in private, but Rafael is no one to be concerned about, Captain Dalton. I
promise." Jack didn’t believe her in the least yet was overly curious of
the crime that Rose was accusing her father of committing. And furthermore,
every time she spoke Rafael’s name, the Captain’s stomach twisted in pain and
jealousy.
"Are you harboring a fugitive, Rose?
This Rafael…who is he and tell me right now!"
"It’s none of your God damned business,
Captain Dalton and I refuse to answer that!" Rose stubbornly held her
ground.
Jack stared in growing anger and vehemently
threatened, "All right, you give me no choice. We’ll just see about
that!" Turning to the Union soldiers scouting the area, Jack ominously
directed, "Sergeant Ryan! We’ve got a confederate spy in the area hiding
out. Hunt him down and bring him to me before we hang him high from the nearest
tree."
Rose lost her steadfast stubborn composure.
"No! You can’t do this, Captain. I’ll do anything, but please don’t hurt
him!"
"You know what will save his life, Rose.
Now let’s see how much you care for him…who is this Rafael?" Jack
yelled with each syllable his entire body as rigid as his imposing face.
Rose crumbled to her knees. Jack’s heart
throbbed painfully at her overwhelming grief and defeat. He felt like such an
unimaginable bastard for causing her pain yet was furious just the same at
Rose, for he was hurting equally as well.
"Are you ready now to tell me,
Rose?" Jack evenly warned as he watched her nod her bowed head while
covering her face in desperation.
"He’s…he’s…my…my…father." Jack had
to strain to hear her softly spoken words. He felt like he had been viciously
punched in the stomach.
Reeling from disbelief, Jack stammered,
"But your father is dead. I read the missive myself." Jack denied the
truth to her words yet his anger had been effectively smothered leaving only a
small suspicion to nibble at the edge of his conscience.
"No, Captain Dalton, you read about my step
father’s murder. Rafael Bouvier is my biological father, the father of my
blood. As a matter of fact, I found this out just before you arrived here to
disrupt my life and make it a living hell."
Exhaling a deep sigh of relief albeit regret,
Jack knelt down beside Rose and gently with his fingertips raised her chin to
interlock turquoise eyes with watering twin orbs of jade.
"I…I don’t know what to say, Rose. I
thought…well, it doesn’t matter what I thought."
"Call your men off, Captain.
Please!" Rose beseeched while her eyes continued to mist.
"All right, for now, but we have to
talk, Rose. Your real father…he flees for a purpose and it’s my duty to find
out what that is."
Rose clutched the Captain’s hand and pleaded,
"I’ll tell you everything, Captain Dalton but please, please, promise to
never harm him. He’s all I have left." Rose’s voice broke into deep
grieving sobs of anguish, her narrow shoulders shaking.
Looking deeply into her eyes, he relented and
softly declared, "Go in the house, Rose and wait for me. I’ll be there
shortly; I just need to call my men off the search and we’ll talk this through.
But I can’t promise you anything until I hear the full truth. I have to be up
front and honest with you, because I have sworn to uphold honor, duty, and
justice to my country. Do you understand?"
Rose impulsively wrapped her arms around his
waist and they held each other tight melding their bodies into one. Pushing
away, Rose raised reddened eyes to regretful and sorrowful eyes of blue.
"Thank you, Captain Dalton. All I ask is that you hear me out. Listen to
his defense before judging."
Gingerly stroking her wet cheek, he suddenly
and fiercely crushed her to his chest before clenching his glinting eyes filled
with guilt and relief. Finally, he pushed her to arms length, and softly
whispered, "Go on, Rose. I’ll be inside shortly."
Before the sands of the hourglass had sifted
halfway through the confines of the glass, Jack silently came into their room
carrying a decanter of sherry and two glasses. Setting them on the nightstand,
he poured them both a cup and sat down on the edge of the bed where Rose was
curled into a tight ball.
"Here drink this, Rose. It’ll calm your
nerves. I think we both need a stiff bracer, don’t you?" Jack slightly
grinned at the beautiful woman whose face was only made lovelier by her flushed
visage.
Slowly she took the offered drink, and took a
long gulp before her eyes came up to meet those of her Captain. They stared at
what seemed like an eternity, each not wishing to break the silence with words
that might change the delicate balance of their truce.
"Captain? Would you just hold me
tonight? Hold me while I tell you what I must?"
Jack’s heart cracked into a thousand pieces.
He smiled a lop-sided grin at her vulnerability and stood up and began
divesting himself of his breeches and boots. He lifted the covers sliding into
the bed and tucked the edges around Rose’s body pressed intimately into his
side for comfort. Wrapping an arm around her, his other came out to gingerly
stroke her long jasmine scented hair. Kissing the top of her head, he softly
breathed, "Tell me about your parents, Rose."
"Captain Dalton, promise that you won’t
have Rafael condemned or hanged for what I’m about to tell you?"
Lifting her chin to meet his sympathetic
stare, "What kind of beast do you take me for, Rose?" At Rose’s
desperate plea, Jack’s warning that he had to do what was right for love of
country flew right out the window into the April night air. He could never deny
her anything at that precise moment in time.
"Your promise, Captain. I need your
promise," Rose adamantly implored.
"I promise, mia," Jack solemnly
vowed.
Rose’s story tumbled out in a rush. Crying
and then collecting herself to continue until she was near exhaustion. She
inexplicably felt relief at sharing her life’s story with the Captain. Jack’s
caring, empathetic words encouraged her to go on as she stalled on a
particularly hard fact to relate. And his protective arms made her feel safe…so
secure and somehow loved even though he refused to admit any emotional
stirrings of affection whatsoever. Yet she knew and she secretly smiled in
peace. Just before she succumbed to sleep, Rose softly whispered,
"Captain? Why do you call me mia at times?"
"You tell me why you refuse to call me
Jack and perhaps I’ll enlighten you, Rose." Jack huskily sidestepped her
question yet inwardly begging for her answer.
"Good night, Captain. I’m so
tired." Rose yawned and sighed.
Lightly chuckling at her stubborn resistance,
Jack nevertheless pulled her closer to his side, "Get some rest, mia. It’s
been a hell of a long night." Yet it was an even longer time before Union
Army Captain Jack Dalton could rest his warring heart and mind to the peaceful
realms of sleep.