Tempting Torment Page 25

  "All the more reason for Noah to be there," Robert said, supporting his son though it pained him to do so. Charity was going to be disappointed. "And to be there on time. The sooner those damnable Articles are revised, the better for all of us."

  "Your father's right," Jericho told his wife. "And you know it."

  "Oh, very well. But that doesn't mean I have to like it."

  "That's very gracious of you, Red," he returned dryly.

  She made a face at him and turned to Noah. "How long do you think the work will take?"

  "I have no idea," he said honestly. "Is Patrick Henry going to be there?"

  "No," answered Salem. "He wants no part of it. Thinks the entire idea is ill-conceived."

  "Then I suspect it won't take long to rework the Articles. A few weeks perhaps."

  Robert disagreed. "Just because he won't be there to argue every point with Madison doesn't mean that others won't. I think you're being optimistic about the length of time the work will take."

  "I hope not." His commitment to the convention would sidetrack him from discovering what manner of trouble Jessa had embroiled him in. "I'm not looking forward to spending the summer in Philadelphia, nor the fall and winter."

  "Lord," Robert said fervently. "Let's all pray it doesn't take that long."

  Ashley stood, clasping her hands in front of her. "At great risk to myself for interrupting this discussion, I'd like to offer you something to eat. Are you hungry, Jessa?"

  "Starving," she said artlessly, bringing a smile to the lips of the men.

  "Good. You, Noah?"

  "This cold venison is looking very good to me."

  "There's no need for you to eat a cold meal," she said. "I'll see what Tildy can do for you in the kitchen. Anything but rice and animals, isn't that right?"

  "Anything but that," he agreed heartily, thankful she remembered.

  Laughing, Ashley cleared some dishes then left the room in search of the cook.

  Rae began collecting the dishes and platters that Ashley left and stacked them at Charity's end of the table. "So, Jessa, we know why Noah married you, but uppermost in my mind at least, is how you were persuaded to marry him."

  "Well, thank you very much for that, Rae," Noah said. "I think I have a few qualities to recommend me."

  "I don't want you to enumerate them," she said tartly, her green eyes amused. "I want to hear from your wife. Jessa? How ever did Noah convince you to marry him?"

  "Actually," Jessa said, darting a quick look at Noah, "I proposed to him."

  Salem's dark head reared back as he laughed out loud this time. Seconds later he was joined by his father. Even Noah began to chuckle.

  Jessa's face was a study in bewilderment and Rae took pity on her. "I don't suppose Noah ever thought to tell you," she said. "That's just like him. You see, Jessa, Mama proposed to Papa and Ashley had to propose to Salem. The McClellan men are notoriously reluctant to offer marriage. Even Darlene had to twist Gareth's arm, though not too hard in his case. You did the right thing by asking him, else it may have been months before he came to his senses."

  Jessa's smile was faint. If only it were as simple as that. She doubted very much that Charity and Ashley had proposed marriage in quite the manner she had.

  Noah took Jessa's hand again and brought it to his lap, threading his fingers through hers. Only she knew the pressure he applied was not for reassurance. "I told her once," he said to the others, "that strange things have happened in my family. I don't know if she really believed me."

  "Let's not regale her with those stories now," said Robert repressively, pouring himself another glass of wine. "Jessa, we're very happy to have you among us. Please believe that. You've been very gracious to put up with our ill manners."

  Before Jessa could reply, Charity and Ashley entered the room carrying large trays filled with warm biscuits, fried eggs, thick slices of ham, an assortment of jellies, and spiced applesauce. Jessa's mouth fairly watered as they placed the trays on the table.

  "Don't be shy," Ashley said, setting clean dishes and silverware in front of Jessa and Noah. "Eat as much as you want. That instruction was for your wife, Noah. I know you won't be backward."

  Noah merely grinned. He took Jessa's plate and filled it. "This should quiet your stomach," he said. He heaped food on his own. "Salem, you really ought to do something about the cook on the Clarion. I had better food during the war."

  Salem's snort conveyed his disbelief. "I know better. Other than the food, how was the voyage?"

  "Not difficult. No storms... for which I am eternally grateful." Noah slathered a biscuit with raspberry jelly and plopped half of it into his mouth. "Jessa likened the ship to an oversized rocking chair," he said. "She was completely comfortable and Gideon loved it ,of course."

  "And you were sicker than—"

  Noah held up his hand, cutting Salem off. "Don't remind me."

  "Gideon's a darling," Charity said, changing the subject. She winked at Noah when he sent her a grateful look. "He was a little fretful upstairs, though. I like to use a touch of spirits on a child's gums when he's teething."

  Noah nearly choked on a mouthful of food. Swallowing painfully, he said, "The last time I tried that remedy, Mother, I was shot for it."

  "It's true," Jessa added when they all regarded Noah disbelievingly. She explained to her rapt audience exactly how Noah had been shot during the robbery.

  "And afterward," Noah finished, arching one brow wickedly, "she took me home and wouldn't let me out of bed... even after I was well."

  "Noah!" his mother chastised. "You're embarrassing Jessa."

  Under the stern gaze of his mother, Noah raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. "I'm teasing," he said. "Jessa knows that." God, he thought, if ever a woman guarded her virtue it had been Jessa.

  Jessa thought he was taunting, not teasing, and her distress was evident to everyone even after Noah apologized. She was making a pretense of eating now, cutting her food into tiny pieces and only lifting a few to her mouth. Robert McClellan looked to his wife, a question in his eyes. He also noticed that the others were equally puzzled, though Noah continued his meal as if nothing were wrong.

  Jericho broke the silence, encouraged by Rae's gentle kick under the table. "Tell me about Stanhope, Noah. Were you able to straighten out the problem with the deeds?"

  "It's all taken care of. I don't think you'll be having any problems holding onto the estate. It would be better, of course, if you went there every few years."

  "We'll see," Jericho said, refusing to commit himself. "And Drew Goodfellow? How does he fare?"

  "Very well, considering his crippling condition."

  "What of Linfield?" asked Salem.

  "I've put Ashley's papers in order," Noah answered. "My advice to Jericho is the same for you, Ashley. You and Salem need to return every few years to maintain your claim on the estate. I took the liberty of hiring a new manager for you because the old one was bleeding the tenants. The house is in good repair, though I ordered some minor work done."

  "Thank you, Noah. I'm certain you handled everything admirably."

  "We can talk more about it later," he said agreeably, looking around the table. "If you wouldn't mind, I'd like to show Jessa the nursery and our room. Is it ready, Mother?"

  "Certainly. Everything's been aired and freshly dusted. Your belongings have already been brought up from the ship and they should be unpacked by now. Go on, Noah. Jessa's looking a trifle tired."

  Jessa would have liked to protest, but it would have been such a patent lie that she didn't dare. She felt incredibly weary.

  Noah pushed back his chair and stood up. He wavered unsteadily on his feet, and he almost knocked Jessa's chair sideways as he grabbed it for support. His face paled, and when Jessa looked up at him, clearly alarmed, he could only grimace.

  "Noah? What is it?" Jessa stood quickly and put one arm around Noah's waist, offering her shoulder. She didn't notice the knowing glances everyone else exch
anged or the smiles that hovered near their mouths. "Are you ill?"

  "I'll be fine. Just give me a moment." But he made no effort to stand without her assistance.

  "It's land sickness," Salem explained to Jessa. "After a long voyage it takes a little while to become used to walking on solid ground. You expect the floor to come up and meet your feet and when it doesn't it throws off your balance. A lot of people aren't bothered by it at all."

  "And then there's me," Noah said ruefully. "I thought it wasn't going to happen this time." His temples were thudding now and he was regretting every bit of the meal he had just consumed.

  Robert looked at his son sympathetically. "Salem, Jericho, help Noah to his room. Jessa can't take him up the stairs."

  "I'm not a damned invalid," Noah said, stepping away from Jessa. "It will pass."

  Robert's dark brows rose nearly to his hairline at Noah's sharp delivery, but he also suspected his son was embarrassed by his weakness, especially in front of his wife. "Very well," he said quietly, motioning Salem and Jericho to stay in their seats.

  "I can manage," Jessa said softly, her eyes apologetic. "He doesn't mean to be insufferable." Not to his family anyway, she thought.

  Noah groaned, rubbing his temple with his thumb. "Thank you for that spirited defense," he said sarcastically. He took her small hand in his with enough strength to make her wince. "Come along, Jessa. I'll apologize for my rudeness when you've taken away this headache."

  Chapter 10

  "Aren't you going to say something?" Noah demanded. "Take me to task for my behavior?"

  Jessa's fingers paused in their gentle rotation over Noah's temples. His head was in her lap and his hair looked especially dark against the pale rose fabric of her gown. His eyes were closed but Jessa was not lulled into thinking he was relaxed. Even before he spoke, his voice tight and faintly accusing, she could feel the rigid tension in his shoulders as they rested on her thigh. He was lying across the high tester bed diagonally, his feet crossed at the ankles, but he hadn't spared a moment to remove his shoes. The ivory counterpane was wrinkled where he held it bunched in the tight curl of his fists.

  Leaning wearily against the headboard, Jessa refrained from comment and resumed massaging Noah's temples. Her fingers sifted through his hair, rubbing his scalp, and kneaded the taut cords of his neck and shoulders. She attended to her task without concentration though the movement of her hands was sure and deft.

  Jessa glanced about the bedchamber, truly seeing it for the first time since Noah had fairly dragged her across the threshold and onto the bed. The room was cheerful and warm, a marked contrast to her husband's black humor. The ivory walls were dappled with the late evening sunlight not contained by the drawn window curtains. The hardwood floor and woodwork was all dark walnut. There were patterned area rugs around the bed and one in front of the brick hearth. Logs were stacked on the hearth's apron in anticipation of a cold spring night. The wardrobe and highboy stood against the wall at opposite sides of the room and the brass pulls on the dresser drawers gleamed from a recent polishing. A large rocker sat at an angle in front of the window, and Jessa could imagine sitting there with Gideon in her arms, sunlight streaming over her shoulder and resting on his dear face.

  Jessa's gentle musings were shattered by Noah's impatient interruption. "Well?" he demanded again, annoyed by her continued silence.

  "What is it you want, Noah?" she asked, striving for calm. "I can hardly credit you want me to rail at you. I know you don't feel well. If I can find it a reasonably acceptable excuse for your rude and churlish manner, I'm certain your family can also. You can make your apology tonight or on the morrow and all will be forgiven. They know you well enough. They must be used to you blowing hot and cold by now."

  "But they're not," Noah said testily. "I'm the even-tempered McClellan, the peacekeeper."

  All the more reason to leave him, Jessa thought. It seemed obvious to her that she brought out the worst in him, made him unrecognizable to himself and his family. "Then I shall have to be very careful around the others, won't I?," she said tartly. "They must have been on their best behavior earlier. If you're even-tempered, I can't imagine what they must be like."

  Noah's eyes opened and he looked up at Jessa, searching her face. "I've been spoiling for a fight, haven't I?"

  "It's nothing new."

  Perhaps not, he thought, but he was supposed to be trying to win her confidence, not give her another reason to throw up more barriers. His hands unfolded around the bunched counterpane as some of the tension seeped out of him. "God, you have the gentlest touch," he said feelingly, closing his eyes again.

  "Feeling better?"

  "Mmm. The room's not spinning any longer." One of Jessa's hands had come to rest on his chest Noah reached for it lacing his fingers in hers. "I'm sorry for dragging you out of the dining room the way I did. I'm surprised no one leaped to your rescue. That would be just the sort of thing they would relish doing."

  "I doubt anyone but me thought you were bent on murder."

  "Did I hurt your hand? I know I grabbed it hard."

  "It's all right now," she said, dismissing his concern. "No bruises."

  "That doesn't mean I didn't hurt you. I know better." He paused, turning his head in her lap while her free hand continued to stroke the side of his neck. Her fingers were light as they moved upward, tracing the outer edge of his ear. "Do you like the room?"

  Jessa hesitated. She liked it very much, but she wondered if he would be angry if she said so. He hadn't been pleased when she expressed enthusiasm for the landing. "It's fine," she said, carefully noncommittal.

  "I want you to be comfortable while you're here, Jessa. You should know that our bedchamber in Philadelphia is similar to this one. Only larger."

  But she wouldn't be going to Philadelphia with him. In Jessa's mind it was a certainty. "Has it always been your room?"

  "Since the time I moved out of the nursery. If you look along the baseboard near the door you can still see where I carved my name into the wood. Salem and Gareth put me up to it, then they both went straight to Mother and told her what I had done."

  "What happened?"

  "You have to know my mother. She was suspicious of my brothers immediately, probably because they had been doing that sort of thing to one another for years. She congratulated me for having spelled my name so neatly and made the three of us polish every bit of woodwork in the entire house."

  "How wonderfully just."

  "None of us thought so at the time."

  "She was very good with Gideon."

  "There was never any doubt of that. You don't have to worry that she'll take the upper hand where Gideon is concerned. We'll only be here long enough for her to spoil him. She'll enjoy that."

  "Would you mind if I looked in on Gideon now?" Jessa asked after a moment's pause. She needed to get away from him. His sharing of childhood memories made her uncomfortable. It was the sort of thing he might do if he really cared about her, and Jessa was not about to be duped by that unlikely fancy.

  Noah wanted her to stay with him. He felt as if he had just begun to make some small headway. But perhaps there was more to be gained by giving her a measure of freedom. "The nursery's two doors down on the left. Do you want me to come with you?"

  "No," she said quickly, panicked by the thought. "I can find it. I should think you will feel more the thing after you've slept a little while."

  Raising her hand to his lips, Noah's lips brushed her knuckles. He felt her stiffen but didn't take issue with it. He knew he had a great deal to answer for in regard to his treatment of Jessa. She was correct when she said he blew hot and cold with her. It was no longer a matter of simply trying to keep her off balance; he couldn't seem to control his reactions any longer. If he didn't completely understand it how could she?

  He dropped Jessa's hand and lifted his head so that she could ease away from him. When she was gone Noah slammed his fist into the headboard. The force of the blow shoo
k the bed, the canopy fluttered above him, and a sudden wave of nausea turned his muscles to butter. Groaning, Noah stretched out on his stomach and closed his eyes. He fell asleep praying that he would never have to make another ocean crossing in this lifetime.

  Ashley McClellan looked up as the nursery door was cautiously opened. It could only be Jessa. No one else in the household would have shown such reticence. "Please, come in," she called, biting back a smile. "I'd welcome adult company." She guided her young son back to her breast and motioned to Jessa to enter.

  "You're certain?"

  "Most certain," she said, starting the rocker in motion again. She pointed to the small child's bed in one corner of the room. Gideon wasn't in it. Rather he was under it playing with several brightly colored cloth balls he had found on the nursery floor. "I've tried to coax him out but he seems to like it under there."

  Laughing, Jessa pulled Gideon from under the bed and rolled the balls to other parts of the room. Gideon immediately set out to get one, churning his chubby legs along the polished floor with amazing speed. Jessa looked around the room and noticed the larger bed behind Ashley's rocker. "Does someone sleep with the children at night?" she asked.

  "Mm-hmm. Ruth stays here. She's Tildy's granddaughter so she's fiercely protective and naturally bossy."

  "I've heard Tildy is a force to be reckoned with."

  "That would describe her," Ashley said with undeniable affection. She lifted Christian away from her breast and righted her scooped bodice. Laying the infant across her lap, she began patting his back to make him burp. "How is Noah?" she asked casually while Jessa wandered about the room.

  Jessa's fingers stilled on the carved mane of the wooden rocking horse she had been examining. "He's feeling better," she said, giving the horse a nudge to set it in motion. The daffodil yellow wallpaper was flocked with tiny white flowers. It lent a golden hue to Jessa's hair as she moved through a pale beam of sunlight. She bent picked up a ball, and tossed it in Gideon's direction. "I massaged his head and shoulders for him. It seemed to help."