Page 56 of In the Heat of the Jungle

“What are you doing?” Cynthia asked, wide eyed.

“Going swimming. It’s already hot this early. I’m miserable, and the men are at the river.”

“It’s dangerous,” the brunette warned.

“Not with you standing guard. Is your weapon loaded? That was very clever, how you removed Leigh’s bullets the other night. Too bad it gained us nothing. I wish that rhino had attacked her.”

“Thank you, but I meant that, Jace said the water is unhealthy.”

“That’s just Great White Hunter talk, scare tactics to keep us under control. Just like those bitter tablets. I can’t stand them.”

Cynthia worried. “You’re taking them, aren’t you?”

“If I’m in a mood to punish myself, which is rare.”

“Louisa, that’s foolish. Please obey the rules.”

“I do, but my own. Relax, I’ll be fine.” She wadded into the mucky water and took a short swim. After, she let the hot sun dry her flesh before pulling on her clothes. “That’s better. Now, listen carefully. Here’s what I want you to do.”

~*~

In Cynthia’s tent later, Louisa giggled. “You distracted them perfectly, my dear friend and accomplice.”

“Yes, but I got scratched up tangling myself in that underbrush. Of course, they never located that necklace I supposedly lost. Did you find anything important?”

“I didn’t search Jace’s tent. He’s too smart and could tell if I went through his things. No matter. I found what I needed in Leigh’s tent, and Chad’s. I never could look with them around all the time.”

“Well?” Cynthia prompted as the woman tended her injuries.

Louisa stopped removing thorn tips and dabbing on balm to reply, “I found plenty, more than I expected. Chad had his contract hidden well, but I located it. The sorry bastard,” she muttered, then revealed its contents to her astonished friend.

“So there is more to their wager than Chad led you to believe.”

“He certainly stands to lose more than money,” she scoffed in bitterness. “There is no way he’ll allow Jace to win and take everything. That means my treacherous lover has to get Leigh, not just prevent Jace from doing so. This isn’t a game or a joke, Cynthia.”

“But Reid assured me Chad wants you, not Leigh.”

“Reid lied, just like Chad. They’re in this together.”

“I don’t understand. Why would Chad bring you along and sleep with you beneath Leigh’s nose if he wants her? That’s crazy.”

“I’m confused about that point, too. Leigh would have come with him, even if you and I weren’t along. I wonder what he needs with me.”

“To distract Jace?” Cynthia suggested.

“No woman could distract Jace with a wager like that at stake. Perhaps there’s something we don’t know about Webster’s will. Perhaps Chad and Fionawon’tinherit if anything happens to Leigh. Perhaps the only way Chad can get anything is to marry that witch.”

“But Leigh is William’s only heir,” the brunette reasoned. “As his widow, Fiona would have to inherit, and Chad would get it later.”

“Not if William has an illegitimate heir somewhere, or he left everything to a friend. The old man was sly, and he might have caught on to Chad’s evil before he died. You have to admit, my lover has been acting strangely since the old man’s death and Leigh’s arrival.”

“If Chad can’t inherit, Louisa, he’s worthless to you.”

“Not if I let him get Leigh first, then get rid of her.”

“You can’t be serious! You would help your lover win and bed another woman?”

“If that’s the only way to succeed, I have no choice.”

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