Page 142 of Seduced

Bernard’s ankle was numbing to the point where he could now bear the dull pain. His whole focus had been centered, so that he had been unaware of anything else for hours. Now, however, he became aware of a creepy, crawling sensation. His imagination was working overtime. His skin felt so cold and clammy, he began to shiver. He gathered his wits and told himself he should get some sleep. When dawn arrived, giving him enough light to free himself, he must have enough strength to get far away from this place even if he had to crawl.

He closed his eyes, feeling dizzy and weak. Even his breathing was becoming faint and jerky. He dozed a few seconds at a time, his skin spasming convulsively every once in a while. As dawn broke, the blackness of the jungle receded.

Bernard jerked out of a doze and tried to struggle to a sitting position. He could not move. He had no strength in any of his limbs. He looked down at his body, then screamed, horror stricken at the loathsome things that covered his entire torso. Hundreds of black, blood-engorged leeches, some as long as ten inches, were feeding on him as he lay helpless. The ones that were replete fell off him, but there were countless others to take their place, irresistibly drawn by the smell of his blood.

Suddenly he looked destiny in the face and realized that his destiny was death. A bloodcurdling scream erupted from his lips as he felt the leeches attach themselves to his throat. As he opened his mouth they slid inside and Bernard lost his last remnant of sanity.

Adam opened his eyes wide just before sleep overtook him. It was fortunate the animal cry had alerted him to his surroundings. He climbed from the water feeling refreshed and ready to meet the new day. It was strange how human a simian’s scream could sound.

His left cheek had been deeply scored by the leopard’s claws. He realized if he shaved, the gashes would bleed, so he put down his razor and shrugged. At least one side of his face was unmarred.

He encountered Mr. Burke and invited him to join him for breakfast. “What sort of a night did young Anthony have?”

“Not bad at all, considering you removed a bullet from his chest. The change in him is absolutely amazing. The last time I saw him he was just a boy. Now he’s a man. I don’t just mean physically, though his back is twice as broad as it was. I mean he has matured.”

“Working your passage on an East Indiaman isn’t exactly a Sunday-school picnic. It broadens the mind as well as the back.”

“I would have given my eyeteeth to see Antonia’s reaction to him, but I knew the twins would like a private reunion. Never saw children closer than they were, but the separation has done them both a world of good.”

“Keep tabs on that chaplain for me,” Adam said, winking at Mr. Burke. “We’ll need his services today.”

“He has finally gone to bed. He was helping in the infirmary all night, and a hell of a night it was for you and Leopard’s Leap.”

Adam grimaced. “Hard work built the place; hard work will rebuild it. This exotic land has a way of renewing itself no matter what destruction the white man wreaks upon it”

“Anthony said you would rebuild. I believe he’s fallen in love with Leopard’s Leap.”

At that moment Anthony was sitting on the end of Antonia’s bed, relating his miraculous rescue. “TheEarl of Abergavennywas the name of the ship. It had all hands on deck watching a pod of whales that had been driven off course by the storm. In the last rays of light someone spotted the yellow oilskin.

“They told me later what a coordinated exercise in ingenuity it took, to say nothing of courage. It must have looked like a dramatic water ballet. They lowered a gutsy seaman on a rope into the sea until he finally hooked me with a gaff. It took a dozen hands to pull me aboard. I was hall-drowned and unconscious. It was my lucky day, Tony. The Indiaman was outward bound for Bombay.”

“Oh, God, Tony, you’ll never know what we felt like, thinking you had drowned. We concocted a scheme to keep Lamb Hall from falling into our cousin’s greedy hands.”

“It never dawned on me that you would lose the Hall. What the hell did you do?”

“I took your place. I became Lord Anthony Lamb.” Anthony was appalled.

“Don’t look so shocked! Confidentially, I had a hell of a good time playing bachelor, sowing my wild oats. Remind me to tell you about it someday when you’re feeling stronger.”

“Catty little bitch, are you implying you were more of a man than I was?”

“I gave it a bloody good try,” she said, laughing. “We don’t look much alike any longer, though. You’re sprouting a beard and you’ve filled out unbelievably.”

He eyed her softly rounded cheeks and the lovely curves evident beneath her nightgown. “You’ve filled out a bit yourself. You’re positively blooming.”

Tony blushed beneath his close scrutiny. A low knock interrupted them. The door opened to admit Adam Savage. Anthony was on his feet immediately. “Were you able to save any of the plantation?” he asked anxiously.

“The tea is gone, but we saved the rubber.”

“When you rebuild, I want to help,” Anthony said firmly, hoping Savage wouldn’t remind him he was wounded.

“Thank you,” Adam said with genuine gratitude.

Anthony looked at his sister, but she had turned her face to the wall. He could clearly see these two had unfinished business between them, and he left the room as he was damned if he was going to be caught in the crossfire.

When they were alone, she kept her face stubbornly to the wall.

“I’ve come to change your dressings, Tony.”

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