Page 92 of Moonshine and Magnolias
People crowded around the walkway as the family crept to the enemy camp, but none of them stood out to her. No history professor with warm hazel eyes. Warm eyes that had looked at her with passion and longing. Eyes that had lied to her.
A soldier in blue approached from the other side. Showtime.
“Halt!” said a guard. “Who goes there?”
Wendy snapped open her fan with slightly less panache than she wanted and dipped her chin to look up at the guard through her mascaraed lashes. Behind her, her sisters gasped and gave small shrieks of surprise.
“Please don’t hurt us, kind sir,” she recited. “We are only travelers looking for safety.”
“The woods are no place for ladies at night, especially not one as beautiful as you. You will come with me.” The guard turned and Wendy followed him to the Captain, who waited with his back to her on the opposite side of the stage.
“Sir, these girls need shelter and security for the night.”
“Thank you, Sergeant,” the Captain said. “You are dismissed.”
The guard saluted and disappeared into the crowd.
The Captain was supposed to recite the next line, but the silence stretched out far too long for her to be certain. Maybe she was supposed to say something?
The Captain’s shoulders moved like he had sighed, furthering her belief she had messed up her line. But then he turned around, and she couldn’t speak.
She couldn’t breathe.
And she couldn’t blame the damn dress.
Rob and his stupid hazel eyes stood in front of her. She struggled not to react, but his sudden appearance sent a thrill through her and constricted her chest more than her clothes. How had he managed this?
“Ma’am.” Rob kissed the back of her hand, lingering too long for what wasproper. The skin beneath her glove burned with his touch. “I am Captain Butler.”
Wendy forced air into her lungs as she dropped a curtsey. The pure male smell of him took over her senses and she struggled to remember her line. “Miss Pansy Hamilton, sir, and these are my sisters.”
“What are you doing in the woods? These are dangerous times.”
“But you and your soldiers, sir. You look like you can protect us.” She was going to kill Brandi for this.
He smiled then, a small lift of his lips, his face reflecting regret. Even sorrow. “Things aren’t always what they seem.”
The burning anger that had filled her for the past few weeks continued its slow decline at his words. She glanced at the audience to see how they were taking the new dialogue, but everyone stared at them with rapt attention. The place had never been so quiet.
Wendy drew her attention back to Rob when he began speaking again. “My soldiers and I had tried to approach the town previous to this, but there were some barriers that couldn’t be broken. I hope that time has made those barriers surmountable.”
Maybe they had. But she wasn’t going to figure that out on display for the entire O’Hara county. “The only barriers were of your own making, I’m sure. The path to town, in truth, has always been clear.”
“As you say.” His eyes gleamed with understanding, and he cleared his throat. “You are very beautiful, Pansy Hamilton. Perhaps we can talk a bit while my troops set up a tent for you and your sisters.”
Hearing Rob recite the actual lines brought her a flicker of disappointment. The marked interest in his eyes couldn’t be faked, not even by a skilled deceiver. And being in his company gave her the warm feelings she experienced so often when he was at the Hall.
“Allow me to take you for a stroll while my soldiers set up your quarters.” He offered her his arm. “I give you my word as a gentleman. You and your sisters will be safe.”
The crowd did an impressive imitation of the Red Sea, clearing the way to the orchard.
The storyline said they were to walk around the grounds in full view of the audience. The Captain and Pansy were supposed to delve deep into each other’s souls in that scant half hour. A stroll away from them was not in the script, not what was planned.
But what the hell. Planning hadn’t been worth the paper it was written on. She hadn’t planned to fall in love this past summer, but look at what had happened there.
She tucked her arm under Rob’s and let him lead her away.
***
