The Beloved Woman by Deborah Smith Read Free Book Online Page B

Never be fooled by this man, she told herself. His sympathies were of the most selfish sort.
    “I didn’t undress you,” he said immediately. “Rebecca did.”
    He might as well have, she thought, the way his green eyes studied her. She pulled the covers over her breasts.
    “I’ll get out and give you some privacy in a minute.” Unfazed, he poured tea into a heavy ceramic cup, dribbled honey into it from a small pitcher, and handed the cup to her. “But I’m not budgin’ until you finish the whole cup.” He met her eyes. “It’s not drugged.”
    She drank the tea quickly.
    “You wanted some answers yesterday,” he said when she finished. He took the cup and thumped it on the tray angrily. “I won’t put you off any longer. I just wanted to wait until you were a little stronger, that’s all.”
    She shut her eyes. “Who took the Blue Song land?”
    “Easy, now. I want you to know how it was from the start.”
    “It won’t make it any better.”
    The regret in his eyes changed to grim determination. “Right after you went off to Philadelphia the state held a lottery for the Cherokee lands.”
    “I know that. It was illegal.”
    “Maybe then, but not now. People went to Milledgeville and drew their lots, most of ’em without knowin’ anything about the Indians, havin’ never seen the land they were drawin’ for.”
    He frowned. “So a dirt-poor, hardworking man won a lot, and he got the deed, and he spent his last dollar to hurry up here and start a new life. But when he got here he saw that his land had your family livin’ on it, and they’d built it into the finest farm he’d ever seen. He felt bad about showing ’em the deed. But if he hadn’t claimed the farm, some other white man would have stolen it from them.”
    When she didn’t comment, he looked disappointed. “But this hardworking man had a conscience, and he couldn’t kick a family off their farm, even though the state gave him the right to do it. So he made a deal with ’em, and it turned out real well.”
    “For the white man,” she interjected, rubbing her forehead. “Hurry. I feel strange.”
    “Your family showed him where to find gold, and in return he left their farm alone—even made sure that nobody else bothered them. That white man was willing to live and let live, and he did the best he could under the circumstances, wouldn’t you say?”
    She felt sleepy again, and her lips moved slowly. “Sounds like a saint. Too good to be … true.”
    “He’s sure not a saint, but he’s not a bad feller either. And he got real involved in your family’s problems, and the problems of the tribe, and he made a lot of enemies among his own people because he took the Injun side of things. How can you fault that man?”
    Katherine sank down into the comfort of her feather pillow. “I miss my family,” she whispered raggedly. “And I want … to go back to sleep. Tell me the rest … later.”
    Something was wrong, she realized hazily. This wasn’thow she’d felt a minute before. The reason managed to seep through her thoughts.
    “You lied,” she said, frowning. “The tea … was drugged again.”
    He moved closer to her. His thigh pressed lightly against her side. As he leaned over her, she gazed into his eyes and found them shadowed with regret.
    “I lied, sure enough,” he whispered. “I wanted to make things as easy for you as I could—and for myself. Katie, I’m that man who won the Blue Song land in the lottery.”
    She moaned bitterly, then turned her face to one side. “Get out.”
    He smoothed the backs of his fingers up and down her cheek. “Katie, try to understand.”
    “You tricked me … all along. You own the land. You think you … own me too.”
    “No, I’m your friend.” He grasped her hand, holding it gently. “You’re a fine, beautiful lady, and I can’t let you go off alone in the world. There’re too many men who think Injun gals are theirs for the taking, and when they