Only With Your Love (Vallerands #2)(70)

“Oh—” She stumbled to him, seeking the safety of his arms. They closed around her, warm and comforting.

“What the hell are you doing here?” he asked curtly.

“I-I saw you walking away from the house earlier,” she stuttered, huddling against his chest. “I did not kn-know that anyone else was here, I…” She was breathing so hard she could barely speak.

“Why did you follow me?” Although his tone was harsh, his hand was gentle as it rubbed up and down her back, soothing her shudders.

“I…wanted to tell you something…”

“If I ever again catch you wandering around the plantation alone, out of sight of the main house, there’ll be hell to pay. I’ll beat you, comprends?” He smoothed her hair and straightened her collar. “It’s dangerous for you to venture out here alone, especially down by the bayou. Don’t you know what kind of human filth makes its way to and from the river at night? They’d snap up a little treat like you in the blink of an eye. What if you’d come across some of Legare’s men? What if—”

“I didn’t think,” Celia said, her voice muffled against his shoulder.

“Well you should have,” Justin scolded gently, and would have continued had he not suddenly become aware of Risk’s and Aug’s astonished gazes. They had never seen him behave this way with anyone before. He looked at them over Celia’s head, his brows lowering in a challenging scowl.

Risk’s green eye widened, and he snorted in disgust. “Jesus, now I’m understandin’,” he muttered, looking betrayed. “’Tis all because of a woman. As bloody simple as that.”

“There’s nothing simple about it,” Justin replied, toying with a lock of Celia’s shining hair.

“For this ye’re givin’ up everything?” Risk demanded. “She’s only a woman—why, there are hundreds like her, thousands, everywhere! Tell him he can’t do this, Aug!”

Aug looked at Justin thoughtfully as he answered Risk. “There is a saying…you must tie your handkerchief to fit your head.”

Risk sputtered in indignation. “What the hell does that mean?”

Justin laughed. “It means circumstances change. And so do people.” He silenced Risk’s grumbling with a warning glance. “Enough, Jack. Go to the pirogue and wait for a minute. Madame Vallerand and I require some privacy.”

“’Tis come to that now, has it?” Risk muttered as Aug dragged him down to the bank of the bayou. “Privacy. Now he wants privacy…”

Left alone with Justin, Celia stared at him anxiously, rubbing her upper arms as if to ward off a chill. Earlier she had been too frightened to think, and she had run into his arms as if it were the most natural thing in the world. She had come in search of him in order to talk about what he’d said before, to tell him that he was right—she had wanted things of Philippe that he would never have been able to give her. And there was something between her and Justin, something she could deny no longer.

“Now,” Justin said. “What is it you wanted to tell me?”

Celia shook her head hastily. “Nothing. Nothing important. I am sorry I intruded. I did not intend to.”

He studied her in a leisurely way. “Actually your interruption was convenient. I want you to give my father a message.”

“What message?”

“Tell him I’ll be gone for the next few days. I’ll return no later than Friday.”

She flinched as if he had struck her. “Gone…but you cannot, you—”

“I don’t have a choice. In my absence my…business seems to have fallen apart. There are some things I have to salvage.”

“You cannot go,” she said frantically. “You are not well enough. This is only the fourth week since you came here! You could not protect yourself. Legare is looking for you. He will find you, and—”

“He won’t.”

“He did before, and you almost died! Is your greed so great that you must risk your life for the sake of money and property?”

“It’s not just that. If I’m going to take revenge on Legare for Philippe’s death, I need to find out how many men and supplies are available. I want to assess the situation for myself.”

“And then?”

“Then Aug and Risk and I will come up with a plan and set it in motion. It’s going to take a little time. I’ll return in two, maybe three days.”

Celia recoiled from the unpleasant reminder. When Justin had been ill, she had taken care of him with the sole intention of making him well enough to go out and kill Dominic Legare. But even if Justin succeeded, he would probably lose his own life in the endeavor. It was too dangerous. Legare was too powerful and well-protected. And now…now she wanted Justin alive more than she wanted Legare dead.

“Killing Legare will not do anything for me, or for anyone else,” she said. “It seemed necessary before, but now—”

“It’s still necessary.”

“You must wait. You must stay here and allow some time to pass before you—”

“There is no time.”

Celia felt blind, unreasoning rage sweep over her. It didn’t matter that she had no right to demand that he stay. It didn’t matter that he had made no promises. All she knew was that he was leaving, and that he might not come back. And he was standing there with that matter-of fact expression and mocking smile on his lips. “You know you’re not well enough!” she cried in passionate fury. “You fool!—You can’t even walk well, and you are going out there where you’ll be hunted by everyone on both sides of the law. I hope they find you!”