Moontide Embrace (Historical Romance) by Constance O'Banyon Read Free Book Online

children. I have wasted years waiting for Sebastian to ask for my hand in marriage."
    "It will be worth the wait. As his wife, you will be the envy of all your friends. Think of the power you will have as the mistress of Bend of the River Plantation."
    "He had better offer soon. I do not intend to wait much longer."
    "You were so sure he was getting close to asking you to marry him."
    "Oui, but when? I suppose I should be grateful that I am pretty and do not look like Liberty. When she comes of age, she will have a difficult time getting someone of worth to offer for her. She will have nothing but a dilapidated plantation, and no beauty to lure a man."
    Liberty caught the spitefulness in her sister's voice, but she did not hear her mother's reply. At the sound of footsteps approaching the door, Liberty moved quickly to the landing that led to the attic. Flattening herself against the wall, she waited until her mother passed before she allowed the tears to fall down her cheeks. She knew she was homely, but it hurt to hear it from her own mother and sister. And her heart was breaking for the trouble she caused her mother. Why could she not be a lady like Bandera? Why did she always have to displease her mother?
    Liberty sat down on the steps and buried her head in her lap. When she could cry no more, she dried her eyes and stood up. Liberty was never one to bemoan that which she could not change. She knew that no good ever came from self-pity. She was ugly, and that was all there was to it. She would accept that fact and learn to live with it.
    Liberty looked down at the pearl and diamond ring Zippora had given her. Then she stood up and went to her sister's room because she still wanted to share the day's adventure with someone. Perhaps Bandera would be im pressed. Liberty rapped softly on the closed door, and waited until Bandera invited her in before turning the knob.
    Bandera was seated before the table de toilette, brush ing her dark hair until it sparkled. She was beautiful, draped in a soft yellow dressing gown that showed the swell of her smooth breasts and the creamy texture of her skin. Her ebony hair shimmered like a midnight sky as it fell down her back. Bandera was a classic beauty like their mother, and men flocked to her like bees to a honey pot. Liberty wondered, for the hundredth time, why Bandera had chosen Sebastian when she could have any man she wanted.
    As Bandera coiled her hair on top of her head and secured it with an ivory comb, Liberty wished she had been blessed with lovely black hair instead of the straw- colored tresses that hung limply about her shoulders. Why were her eyes a nondescript color instead of soft brown like her sister's?
    Bandera gave her young sister a scathing glance as her eyes moved over her with disapproval. "Why must you always look like a gamin, Liberty? You never take pride in your appearance. Why could I not have had a well mannered little sister with pleasing looks? You are such an embarrassment to me."
    Liberty had heard all this before. It no longer hurt her when Bandera took her to task as it did when her mother criticized her. She merely shrugged her shoulders. "We cannot all be born beautiful like you, Bandera." Liberty smiled. "Besides you would not like it if I were beautiful. You have never liked to compete with other women."
    Bandera arched an eyebrow, looking very like their mother. "I never have to compete with other women. But . . . you could be right, ma chere. Perhaps I would not like it if you were beautiful."
    Even though Bandera had been born of Spanish parents, she chose to think of herself as French. She had never known her own father, and Louis Boudreaux had always treated her as his own flesh and blood. When she was twelve, he had even legally adopted her.
    Liberty kicked off her muddy boots and curled up on the edge of Bandera's bed, tucking her feet beneath her. "I had a wonderful adventure today. Would you like to hear about it?"
    Bandera applied rouge