He faced her. “Won’t Chad be angry if you fail to enchant me? With a little effort, Miss Leigh, it could be an easy and possibly enjoyable task. Try it. I know Chad will be pleased since he wants me here so badly. Don’t fail twice in a mission.”
Leigh looked at him in utter bewilderment. Since he was dressed for the occasion and was inside the house, he must have been invited by their host. He seemed at ease, not cautious and alert as he had been those other two times. Why had he come to Africa, and how had he wrangled an invitation to this party? And what was all this about Chad? She stared at him, then said, “I don’t follow you.”
He threw back his head and filled the room with a hearty laughter which belied his fury with William Webster for giving his mother’s most prized necklace to Chad’s ward—or for selling it to Chad to use as a seductive token. The items in his father’s safe had been special family possessions, belonging to Jace. The old man had no right to those sentimental and ancestral treasures, or to get rid of them without giving Jace the opportunity to reacquire them himself. No doubt it had been part of the settlement for those faked debts! Then, for Chad to use Laura’s lovely neck to flaunt it in his face tonight was too much of a challenge, something that demanded repayment. To make matters worse, according to the hotel desk clerk, Webster hadn’t even come with them to Mombasa. Now Chad was trying to hire him,him,to lead their safari! No doubt his ward was the bait to entrap him, since Chad had a mistress along. But, Jace mused, was her role a willing one? He had to be firm to provoke information from her. “I don’t understand. I don’t follow you,” he mocked. “I warn you, Miss Leigh, don’t tempt me to alter my first impression of you. That could be a dangerous mistake.”
Leigh gaped at the man as if he were insane. She was too stunned to jerk free and run from the room. Why, she wondered, was he threatening her, taunting her, playing crazy games with her?
“I thought you were only a beautiful woman in trouble that night in London. For your sake, I hope that’s true. If you’re under Chad’s spell, I’d advise you to break it and sail home on the first ship to America. This is no place for a delicate creature, and Chadwick Hamilton is a voracious beast who will devour a careless victim like yourself. Did you tell him about our meeting, or did he already know I was in London? Did he arrange our little encounter near the docks? Were you supposed to snare me for him?”
That burst of words clearly told Leigh the two men were not friends. As for his other questions, she was completely confused. Dismay, and a little fear, flooded her seawater eyes. She yanked her arm from his light grasp and glared at him. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, sir. How could I tell my guardian about you when you’ve never told me your name—or anything about you? He’s going to be furious that you followed me here and that you’re being so hateful. If you want to stay out of trouble, then steer clear of me. I don’t want to hear any more of your accusations.”
Leigh brushed past him and headed for the door, then she halted and turned. Something strange was going on, and she needed—wanted—to discover what was afoot. With bravery and boldness, she approached him and said, “Yes, I do want to know. Whatdoyou mean and why are you so angry?”
He focused that challenging gaze on her. “Were we supposed to meet that night in London? Did Chad want us to meet and get acquainted? Were you supposed to lure me here for some reason? I know how sly Chad can be, and I know he wants me here with you.”
Leigh mistook his meaning. She recalled Chad’s words about “stunning a friend of mine.” This stranger had been dressing for dinner when he had rushed to rescue her. He had gotten angry when she mentioned Chad’s name and her dinner appointment. Could he have suspected that Chad was throwing them together, and he didn’t like it? Had their first meeting been arranged to make this man interested enough in her that he would come along with them? That would be ridiculous and dangerous. Yet she questioned, “Are you the man I was supposed to meet that night? Does Chad want you to come on safari with us? Tell me exactly what you’re accusing me of doing.”
It was Jace’s turn to be unintentionally misled by her words. She had taken a long time to come up with an answer, a bad one. “Come, Laura, don’t play more games with me. I’m here now. We both know that meeting on the wharf was no accident, and your mention of this safari wasn’t, either. The woman I rescuejust happensto be Chad Hamilton’s ward. This wardjust happensto mention they’re leaving Monday on safari. Her guardianjust happensto want me along. Tell the truth. It was a clever ruse to catch my attention, to get me here with you, wasn’t it? How did Chad know I was hiding there?” Cold lights glittered in his verdant gaze. A tight sneer controlled his mouth and a tic appeared along his chiseled jawline. “Well?” he demanded. “Did you lose your courage after getting a look at me? Was old Chad angry after you seemed to fail in your assignment?” he almost snarled. “I’m here now, so what do you two want with me?”
Leigh shook her head to clear her wits. “I wasn’t trying to meet you, and I didn’t tell you I was coming to Africa so you would track me. I was trying to discourage your interest because you seemed devilish and smug, and maybe dangerous. I take it you know Chad?”
He obviously didn’t like her response. Leigh saw his furious gaze return to her necklace and linger, growing colder and narrower by the minute. For an instant, she thought he was going to snatch it off her throat. Yet, when his gaze returned to hers, it was relaxed and enticing!
In case she might be telling the truth, Jace decided to soften his approach. “What else will you take from me, my tawny lioness?” he asked in a lazy voice.
His abrupt change took her by surprise, and she found herself gazing into those hypnotic green pools. She broke herself from their spell and queried, “Why should I want anything from a total stranger with such a quicksilver manner?”
“Well, I don’t suppose you want to come to my hotel room and retrieve your possessions. I can see you’ve already replaced them, or Chad did it for you,” he stated in an insulting tone.
Leigh’s cheeks flamed with vexation. “That is quite enough, Mr.— Whoever you are! I told you to keep them. I don’t need any reminders of that horrible night.”
“You really shouldn’t have worn such an elegant gown that night after agreeing to that little ruse with those … so-called sailors. I wondered why they gave up so quickly and easily. I imagine they weren’t paid enough to get beaten up by me, just enough to catch my interest and attention. Tell me, Laura, how far would you have gone with them while awaiting my rescue? What if I’d already left my hiding place and wasn’t there to be ensnared by your little game?”
Leigh wasn’t one to react violently, but at his implication her hand lifted before she even realized it.
He seized it in midair and pinned it behind her, bringing their bodies into intimate contact. “Temper, temper. Such potent fire in those entrancing eyes. So beautiful and devious. Not such a delicate lady after all. Chad has taught you well about wild perils and sweet passions. Sometimes it’s dangerous and costly to walk a wild trail, Laura. You should retreat before it’s too late.”
“I don’t know what’s behind all this, but I don’t like it, oryou!When I returned to the hotel that night, I checked the dinner invitation. It said Stems Street, not Stams, so the mistake was mine, not Chad’s. Stop accusing him and me of trying to entrap you. Our first meeting was an accident, andyouarranged the second one! First, you entice me to chase you, then, you threaten me to go away. I don’t understand you, and I don’t like your behavior.”
Her defense of his enemy annoyed him. Yet he was captured by the innocence in her eyes and tone. Maybe it had been fate’s design. Her eyes seemed to freeze into chips of blue ice, warning him of rising fury.
“Take your hands off of me this instant. If there’s a problem between you and my guardian, your quarrel does not include harassing and insulting me. I won’t respond to your absurd accusations further, except to say I honestly was attacked that night in London. No tricks were involved on my part. If you don’t release me this minute, you brute, I’ll scream very loud.”
“And spoil Chad’s plans for all of us?” he taunted, appearing not the least troubled by her threat. He started off using the crazy coincidence to provoke her into revealing something—anything—useful, then summoned a crafty ruse. When she twisted in his arms and looked ready to call out, he added, “Not to mention the humiliating scene it would create in Alfred’s home. You’ll ruin the party and start a lot of nasty gossip. Naturally I’ll announce it’s a lover’s spat. After all, we met secretly twice in London. If Chad didn’t sic you on me, he’ll be most vexed and intrigued by that news. Shall we tell him?”
Leigh ceased her struggles but panted in frustration, “You rattlesnake! At least explain what’s going on inside that head of yours! Why do you dislike and distrust me? What have I supposedly done to you? In fact, who are you?”
He grinned as he lessened his grip on her. “I don’t dislike you, Laura. In fact, I feel just the opposite. You know who and what I am, my cunning enchantress. And you know exactly what I mean.”
Exasperated, Leigh sighed heavily. “Think what you will, but I don’t have the vaguest idea. Besides, if you think you’re being tricked, why did you come to Africa? That’s an awfully long and expensive journey to undertake merely to scold me. Unjustly, I might add.”
When her blue eyes looked dewy and she drew in a ragged breath of air, he suspected again that Chad was using her without her knowledge. “It was no trouble, Laura. I live here. I sailed home the morning after our talk in the garden. That is what Chad wanted, isn’t it?”
“You live here! Who are you?”
“Jace Elliott, coffee grower, safari guide, and whatever else you’d like me to be, Laura.” He watched her eyes widen and her face pale, and heard her sharp intake of air. But it was the curious array of emotions—alarm, hesitation, disbelief, confusion, even fear—in her eyes that caught his complete attention and interest.
“You’re … Jace … Elliott? Brandon Elliott’s … son?” When he nodded both times, she licked her dry lips and stared. Part of it made sense now. She understood why the mention of Chad’s name that night on the dock had altered him. She grasped why he had been hiding, and why he had been cautious and alert, and why he had been certain they would meet again soon. He had risked capture by coming to her aid. But why did he think she and Chad knew he was there? Why did he consider Chad an enemy? Was there something between the Elliotts and Websters that she and Chad did not know?