Midnight Flame Read online

  “Magnifique!” Lulubelle exclaimed and stood back to view her handiwork. “Monsieur Duvalier will be so pleased.”

  “Are you certain he chose this outfit for me?”

  “Oui, mademoiselle. That Tony has an eye for pretty ladies, and you are the prettiest of them all.”

  “Monsieur Duvalier has a great many lady friends?” Laurel asked, turning from the mirror.

  “Of course. He is a Duvalier, and like his father and grandfather, he is the heartbreaker.” Lulubelle smiled impishly. “I was Tony’s nurse, and I can tell you that he was a scamp even as a child and twisted poor Lulubelle around his finger.”

  Laurel wasn’t certain why this news about Tony’s love for the ladies distressed her. She wondered why he had picked such a daring costume for her.

  “I can’t wear this,” Laurel told the woman. “It isn’t decent.”

  “Pooh, mademoiselle! A lady is a lady, no matter her clothes. A whore will always be a whore even dressed in the finest silks. I have a feeling that you are hesitant about enjoying life. Am I not right?”

  Laurel nodded, fastening her eye on her reflection again.

  “Then it is time you lived a bit. Here. Wear this and no one shall recognize you.” Lulubelle took a small black mask from a bag that rested on her ample hip. She turned Laurel to her and positioned it on Laurel’s face, then tied the strings at the back of Laurel’s head. “Voilà, look in the mirror again.”

  Laurel swung around to see her reflection. The woman in the mirror couldn’t be herself. She appeared so mysterious, so unlike the proper young woman she really was. Seeing herself like this caused a tiny, half-wicked smile to form on Laurel’s mouth. The feeling that had originally possessed her to accompany Lavinia to Texas rose once again within her. A recklessness filled her, a strange wild yearning to taste life, to cast aside propriety. Dare she risk living for the moment?

  She dared.

  “What about shoes?” she asked Lulubelle.

  The woman shrugged. “Wear them or not, but the costume looks better without the shoes. No true gypsy woman owns a pair of shoes, mademoiselle.”

  “Then I won’t either,” Laurel laughed and twirled around the room, loving the swishing movement of the skirt against her bare legs. She stopped at the sound of a knock on the door.

  “Monsieur Duvalier,” Lulubelle said knowingly and winked.

  Suddenly Laurel’s palms perspired. What would Tony think of her? she wondered. But then, he had chosen this gypsy costume, and she was determined to enjoy herself tonight. For once in her life she would be reckless and throw caution to the four winds.

  Lulubelle opened the door. ‘The mademoiselle is ready,” she said to Tony.

  Tony was dressed as a pirate of the high seas in a red shirt, dark pants and boots, and a gold sash tied around his waist. A black patch covered one eye. Lulubelle winked and laughed huskily as she left the room.

  Tony entered and then faltered at the sight of Laurel. He hadn’t expected the gypsy costume to mold against her curves so distractingly or the peasant blouse to reveal her lush breasts so temptingly. He suddenly ached to touch the rosy tips of her nipples that strained against the thin material. Most distracting of all was the slit up the side of the skirt, revealing an ivory thigh that caused his breath to catch in his throat as he imagined the satiny feeling of her flesh as his fingers ran the length of her leg, and stopped at the apex between her thighs.

  “Is something wrong?”

  Laurel’s voice brought Tony out of his reverie. “I was thinking you look quite different.”

  “I know,” she admitted and flitted around the room. “Thank you so much for the costume. I love it!”

  A wry smile played around his mouth. He realized he had chosen the correct costume for Lavinia Delaney. Finally after all the ladylike pretense, her true colors were starting to show. He presented her with his arm.

  “Shall we go?”

  Laurel caught a slight hardness to his voice. Moments before, he had appeared stunned, almost paralyzed at the sight of her. She could have sworn she had seen a flame within his eyes for her, but she must have been mistaken, she told herself. Perhaps he wasn’t pleased with how she looked. Suddenly she didn’t care as the heady feeling of daring renewed itself.

  Laurel laughed up into his face and took his red-silk-covered arm.

  “Indeed, I am ready to go, sir!”

  ~

  Tony turned his head. He had been contemplating the velvet black night through the window of the carriage, and now his gaze rested on the woman who sat across from him. Her features were obliterated in the darkness, but he didn’t need to see her to know she was beautiful, breathtakingly wanton in her gypsy costume. He silently cursed himself for having chosen such a revealing creation, thinking that she would somehow understand the implication behind his choice. Once again this woman had caught him off guard. Instead of a woman shamed and humiliated, she absolutely glowed with sensuality, an excitement that seemed to reach out and touch him in the carriage.

  Even now he felt himself harden to think of her voluptuous beauty, to hear the rhythmic cadence of her breathing. Somehow, though he wasn’t certain when, this wanton creature had woven a spell over him, the same spell she had apparently cast upon his poor uncle. The thought of Auguste St. Julian and the vengeance Tony intended to wreak upon Lavinia Delaney caused his fists to curl into balls. Beautiful she might be, but she was not the innocent she pretended to be. He wouldn’t allow her beauty and his desire to sway him from his plan.

  ~

  Laurel heard his sharp voice that cut knifelike across the short distance between them. “We’re heading for my home, Petit Coteau.”

  “Lulubelle told me there is to be a dance there. You’ve never mentioned your family or your plantation very much. Are you involved in cotton growing?”

  “I doubt very much if you’d be interested, but I do grow some cotton. However, my prime interest is cattle.”

  She caught the unmistakable hint of scorn in his voice. He sounded almost patronizing, as if she wouldn’t know anything about plantations or cotton growing. Why, if he only knew her father had owned one of the most lucrative plantations along the river. Laurel had sold it last year, and she could tell him a thing or two about cotton growing, but she kept quiet, not wanting to get into an unpleasant discussion that was sure to follow.

  She expected him to speak further, but he didn’t. Instead, in a surly mood, he retreated into a stony and puzzling silence. Again, Laurel wondered if he was displeased with her or the costume. Had she done anything to cause him to be barely civil to her?

  Finally, after a ride unbroken by further speech, they swung off Grand Prairie Road onto a drive that led to a house blazing with lights. From Laurel’s vantage point, she could see many carriages parked in front of the large two-storied structure with six large columns and two dormered windows on the third floor. White balustrades trimmed in green enclosed the upper and lower galleries.

  Inside the house was a large front hallway with a curved stairway that wound up to the third floor. From the ceiling hung a huge chandelier, its crystal teardrops sparkling and reflecting a myriad of prismatic colors on the walls. Tony led her into a double parlor where guests had already assembled. Ornate chandeliers twinkled in the parlor, also, in direct contrast to the iron reproduction of the Duvalier cattle brand above the fireplace.

  When Laurel caught sight of herself in an exquisitely carved Venetian mirror, she nearly cringed. The other women guests were attired in silks and satins, some with glittering masks over their faces, but none of the costumes were as simple or revealing as her own. She even noticed a woman dressed as Marie Antoinette, another as Elizabeth I … the sort of costumes she would have chosen. Suddenly she wondered if Tony Duvalier had wanted to make her appear foolish in front of his guests.

  She swung around and faced him, her hair falling across her creamy shoulders. “Is the reason you chose this costume, the reason you brought me here, to
make me look obviously out of place?”

  Tony arched a dark brow and shot her a penetrating look. “Do you feel that way?”

  Laurel guessed that for some reason unknown to her he might be testing her. However, she wouldn’t allow herself to be used as an amusement for his warped sense of humor. She couldn’t fathom this man. Sometimes he was so kind and gentle, other times she didn’t know what to think about him. Like now when his handsome face was scowling at her in disapproval, a disapproval she didn’t feel she had earned.

  Rising to her full height of five feet and three inches, she straightened her shoulders and stared him down. “I feel confident, Mr. Duvalier. I’m not quite certain what you’re up to, but understand, sir, that nothing you do can destroy the good time I expect to have tonight. I have decided to enjoy myself.”

  And before his amazed eyes she did just that. Within seconds of walking proudly away from him, she was surrounded by men who begged her for a dance, much to the vexation of the other women in the room. A lively French tune played by two fiddlers drifted through the parlors, and before they ceased playing to indulge in some wine, Laurel had danced with every costumed duke, king, and clown. But not with the tanned frowning pirate who watched her from across the room.

  “You are beautiful, mademoiselle,” the young man dressed as a clown told her. He said his name was Jean DuLac. “Tell me your name, please. Remove your mask so that I may gaze upon your most lovely face.”

  Laurel, though not used to receiving attention from men, knew she had nothing to fear from DuLac or any of the other men in the room. All of them seemed to be neighbors and friends of Duvalier’s, and since she had arrived with Tony, she received the impression that no one would make an untoward comment to her, almost as if they respected and feared him. Throughout the evening she had noticed her partners casting wary glances in Tony’s direction, and DuLac unwittingly gave her the answer.

  “Perhaps Tony wishes to keep your identity secret and wants you all to himself.”

  “Is that what you think?” Laurel asked and watched as the woman dressed as Marie Antoinette familiarly hung on Tony’s arm.

  “Oui, but you see I thought he was to wed—”

  “What?” Laurel’s head snapped back to DuLac’s face.

  The man placed a long, thin hand to his mouth, dismay on his face. “Pardon, mademoiselle, I said nothing.”

  “Tell me.”

  Apparently DuLac noticed the fire emanating from Laurel’s eyes, framed by the black mask, and knew it would do no good to lie. “The lady with him is Simone Lancier. It is expected they will marry as soon as her father recovers from an illness.”

  Suddenly the room felt stifling to Laurel. She had to get away from these people and the music, which was starting up again. Until she learned about Tony and this Simone woman, she had enjoyed herself and had basked in the unaccustomed male attention. Now, she felt a strange sensation like a hand squeezing her heart. Inwardly, she cursed herself for being a fool to get involved with Duvalier in the first place. The man was a womanizer, but that was no reason to single her out on the boat, to kiss her the way he had, and now to choose a revealing costume he had known would humiliate her in front of his friends.

  Why was he doing this to her?

  “I should like some air,” she murmured to Jean DuLac.

  “Certainly.” As he took her arm and escorted her outside onto the gallery, Laurel was aware that Tony watched her leave with Jean and saw Simone plant a loving kiss on Tony’s lips.

  Outside, the sound of locusts crying for rain filled the air. A rush of wind rustled the leaves of the large oak trees nearby, and a jagged streak of lightning scorched the sky, followed by the inevitable rumble of thunder.

  “Ah, I think we shall get some rain,” Jean noted. “Perhaps there will be a change in the weather, too. I hope so since it has been very warm lately.”

  Laurel barely heard him, her mind not on the weather. Everything could have been so wonderful tonight, she thought, if only Tony hadn’t been so distant suddenly. If only he wasn’t getting married. But what difference did that make? she asked herself. She had no hold on him and would never see him again after she departed for San Antonio in a day’s time. Sometimes Tony was so insufferable she could barely tolerate him. Unable to decipher his motive for wanting to embarrass her with the costume, Laurel willed herself to stop dwelling on Tony.

  She removed her mask as an unbidden tear slid down her cheek. Quickly she wiped it away, convincing herself she was more angry than hurt at Duvalier’s strange behavior. After all, he didn’t know her, and most certainly she didn’t want to know anything more about him. So why should she be upset over the news that he and Simone Lancier were to be married?

  “Here, mademoiselle.” Jean handed her a kerchief. He placed an arm around her shoulders. “I think Tony has hurt you.”

  “No. I’m worried over my uncle who hasn’t been well. I must see him soon before it’s too late.”

  Jean shot her a pitying look, but he apparently didn’t believe her sadness was entirely over her uncle’s health. His embrace grew tighter, and he smiled in a brotherly fashion. “A lady as beautiful as yourself should smile.”

  The sound of booted feet scraping on the wooden gallery drew their attention. Tony loomed over them like a dark specter. He had removed his patch, and now a black fury caused his eyes to appear blacker than usual. “Would you please leave us alone, Jean?”

  Jean hesitated, but Laurel smiled at him, assuring him she would be all right. After Jean made a reluctant departure, Tony moved in front of her, blocking her view of the inside parlor where people danced to the fiddlers’ music.

  “You should congratulate yourself,” Tony told her. “My cousin Jean isn’t easily swayed by women.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Let’s just say he’s drawn to young men rather than young ladies.”

  “Oh,” she said, immediately comprehending. “I think he is very kind.”

  “Yes, he is, but then he’s the only man in the room I’d have allowed to escort you outside. If any other man had taken it into his head to bring you out here, I might be tempted to call him out. Every man in the room is half in love with you.”

  “I can take care of myself,” she said, not quite believing what Tony said about the men or the duel. Her gaze turned upward to his, wondering what game he was playing with her.

  Laurel was inexperienced with men, but an awakening of her own sexuality had begun this night, a sense of power. Every man but Tony had complimented her on her beauty, had secretly desired her. She had acted the coquette, the flirt, to rile him and get even with him for bringing her here to humiliate her.

  For some reason he wanted to believe the worst of her and see her in a bad light. She decided she could give as good as she got. Duvalier had dressed her as a creature with no morals, flaunted her before his friends, but she had turned his game to her own advantage by unwittingly making him jealous. And he was jealous. Why he should be, she didn’t know. After all, he was going to marry someone else. Yet she wouldn’t leave for San Antonio until she had gotten some revenge on Tony Duvalier. The perfect way to do that, she realized, was to act the role he had written for her.

  Through long, sooty lashes, Laurel fastened her gaze on Tony’s full, sensual lips. “Are you half in love with me, too?”

  Black eyes measured her for a moment before he said, “You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

  She shrugged a bare shoulder. Lifting her hand, Laurel ran her fingertips over the deep vee of his red shirt; then slowly, so slowly that she felt Tony catch his breath, her nails stroked the soft down of hair on his chest. She knew her actions were brazen, but dressed in the gypsy costume, she no longer felt herself to be the proper and staid Laurel Delaney, the woman who regally entered a room with her head held high. A shiver at her own daring coursed through her. However, she wouldn’t stop and took perverted delight in knowing that this time she was the one affecting Tony Duv
alier.

  “I think I’d be immensely pleased if you were in love with me, but I can have any man I want. I left a pack of drooling men in the drawing room. Why aren’t you drooling?”

  Brazenly, almost as if she were someone else, her mouth lowered to his chest, and she planted a warm, moist kiss on the spot where her fingertip had just been.

  As Tony sucked in his breath, she felt the rapid beating of his heart against his rib cage. His skin tasted slightly salty and was hard and smooth beneath her lips. Delighting in Tony’s rapid breathing, she trailed tiny kisses up the fur-planed expanse to the hollow of his throat.

  A groan of intense pleasure mingled with a sound of pain escaped from Tony. In one motion he pulled her to him, trapping her with an arm around her waist, and with the other hand he grabbed a handful of silky tresses so she would be forced to gaze upward at him.

  “I’m not like the others here,” he ground out. “I’m not so easily taken in by a beautiful face, a voluptuous body. But I know what you are, though you pretend to be virginal and innocent.” He laughed hoarsely. “In fact, I’d probably have let you alone and never touched you again. However, my gypsy temptress, I am only a man, and you’ve ignited the spark.”

  His mouth came down upon hers in a searing kiss that took her breath from her. The world spun crazily. Laurel realized she had gone too far with this man. What did she know about men? Nothing. Not even enough not to tempt one, especially not this one. She broke away from his mouth’s possession, knowing she had to stop the inevitable.

  “Please, please,” she croaked when he moved his head to the valley of her breasts and buried his tongue within the hollow. “Stop. I was playing a game, Tony. I’m not what you think.”

  “You’re everything I thought you’d be and more,” he said in a muffled voice. He scooped her up into his arms just as lightning streaked the night sky.

  Laurel struggled to escape. “Put me down, Tony. I apologize.”

  His voice sounded ragged and harsh when he spoke. “Maybe this will teach you not to play games.”

  He carried her from the gallery into a dark grove of oak trees that blotted out the sky and lowered her onto the soft grass. Realizing that her skirt had ridden up to her upper thighs, she attempted to pull it down and sit up, but Tony held her fast.