As if believing every word, Leigh murmured, “You could be right, Chad. Jace didn’t know Grandfather was dead until last night. He seemed dismayed, as if he had wanted or needed to see Grandfather. Perhaps about those crimes in London, or maybe he was hoping Grandfather would finally and unselfishly clear him.” Doubts about both her grandfather and rescuer pained her. One thing she had learned about the mercurial hero was that he couldn’t conceal honest shock, or do it as easily and skillfully as he masked most of his feelings. She liked that.
“With William and Brandon Elliott dead, it’s doubtful we’ll ever know the truth.”
“I hate thinking such thoughts, Chad,” she said, “but this whole affair is so odd. Jace couldn’t have been playing games with Laura Leigh Webster because he didn’t know who I was. But what is he thinking now? What was his connection to Grandfather? Lordy, what is he planning with this gambling game?”
“Just delightful sport with an enchanting woman.”
Leigh recalled Jace’s warning: “Don’t tempt me to alter my first impression of you. That could be a dangerous and costly mistake.” Jace had told her she was “too beautiful and tempting,” but for what purpose? For revenge? For killing her to get back his losses to her grandfather?Stop being so suspicious of everyone, Leigh,she admonished herself. First, she had suspected Chad of deadly mischief. Next, she had suspected Louisa of it. Now, she was considering Jace as a threat. It was terrible to think the worst of everybody around her. She could not observe these people intelligently and clearly if she was so biased against them. Besides, she deduced, normal people didn’t go around killing and plotting against another person all the time, and they couldn’t all be crazy or evil. Her imagination was running wild. She was being foolish and unfair. But therewerea few puzzles to solve.
One was Jace Elliott. She was intrigued by him and strongly attracted to him. Going on safari with that secretive male was the only way to unravel his mystery. Too, she didn’t want to be bested by Louisa and Cynthia. She wanted this delving journey for many reasons.
“How did you convince Jace to take this job?”
“I didn’t. You did.”
“What do you mean?”
Chad needed to test a worry of his: Leigh’s possible attraction to Jace. “I think he’s smitten by a beautiful and charming woman, and hungry for all she has to offer. If he is, he might open up to you.”
Leigh’s blue eyes widened in astonishment. “You want me to romance that unpredictable, insufferable beast so I can spy on him? That would be just as offensive as the attack on me in London.”
At her heated response and expression, Chad relaxed. “Heavens, no! Jace Elliott is a wanted man. I don’t want you getting tangled up with the likes of him. I meant, make friends, or pretend to do so to see what you can learn about his connection to us.”
“Is that whatyou’redoing, Chad?”
“I would love to, but it wouldn’t work. Jace Elliott wouldn’t tell me anything important unless there was a motive behind it.”
“Are you two old enemies?”
Chad knew that Leigh was smart and alert, so he had to tell her something. Surely she had perceived the animosity between Jace and himself; it was better if he answered her rather than his rival. He wouldn’t mention Joanna Harris, and was certain Jace wouldn’t, either. “We’ve had problems in the past, but it was a long time ago. Jace and I were schoolmates and shipmates, but our friendship soured. He’s always been a cocky and reckless man, so we parted ways six years ago. He continued his worldly adventures, then settled here. I returned to England and went to work for William. We’ve only seen each other a couple of times since ‘90, and those brief meetings weren’t pleasant. The last time was in December of ‘94 when I warned him to escape from London before he was arrested.”
“You warned him? Why?”
Chad shrugged and said, “Because I was the first one to see him when he docked that day. Either he didn’t know about the crimes, which is what he claimed, or he didn’t know he’d been exposed. He was coming to tell his father about the loss of his coffee crop to disease. That’s the money Brandon was planning on borrowing to pay off his debt to your grandfather. In case you don’t know it, a coffee crop takes three to four years to mature. That’s why Jace needs money. He lost everything in ‘94 and had to replant the next season. Now he has to survive until his new crop is ready. So you see, my lovely ward, we’ll be doing him a favor to hire him. Maybe it will change his mind about liking us.”
“Obviously you never believed he was guilty or you wouldn’t have warned him to flee that day. You can’t totally hate him. Doesn’t he realize you helped him and now you’re trying to help him? Again?”
“He doesn’twantto realize it, Leigh. Jace has done some pretty wild things in the past, but murder and arson are not like him. It was an impulsive action to warn him and, to be honest, mostly I was taunting him. Even when friendship hits rough seas, you never forget there used to be calm ones. I won’t lie and say I forgive him or want to be friends again, but I don’t mind having him around for a while. We are adults.”
“That’s a very kind and wise attitude, Chad,” she complimented him. “I suppose I can entreat him to lead us, and make a silly bet with him. As you said, what difference does it make? I won’t lose.”
Chad practically beamed with the joy of what he considered a victory. “Thanks, Leigh. I’ll tell Jace and the others our safari is on.”
~*~
Less than an hour later, Jace Elliott knocked on the door to her suite. She opened it, frowned to vex him, and said, “You don’t waste any time claiming a victory, do you?”
Jace chuckled and walked inside. He seated himself on a short sofa, leaned back to be comfortable, then crossed his legs. “Nope, I didn’t want to give you time for second thoughts. You do have a stubborn streak, woman. You leave me no choice but to force you to chase me.”
Leigh frowned again, closed the door, and went to lean against the balcony doorjamb. She stared at the grinning man. For once, she wasn’t at a total disadvantage; she knew who he was and that he wouldn’t vanish into the night. He was certainly all male, and he looked enticing in his jungle khakis. His brown hair was windblown, and his emerald eyes sparkled with smugness. He looked utterly relaxed. But why shouldn’t he be? He was in his element, and he had won their first battle.
It seemed to her, Jace’s personality and character had been molded by the terrible events and perilous surroundings of his existence. He was cold, forbidding, and demanding one minute; then, tender, reasonable, and compassionate the next. He was a strong, proud, intelligent man, but he was filled with bitterness and resentment. There was a hint of touching tragedy and an aura of magnetic mystery about him. She knew the reasons for a few of his miseries, but she was positive the man had more secrets. What he had been like before his troubles?
Her gaze roamed the contradictory male who sat watching her. He was self-assured, but slightly arrogant on occasion. She liked the fact he wasn’t a quitter, as his daring visit to London had proven, and she was glad he wasn’t self-pitying. She liked his sense of humor, when she wasn’t the butt of it. He radiated fiery sexual prowess, but he hadn’t used his charms cruelly or meaninglessly. Yes, she admitted, he had teased, tormented, and tempted her. But, she confessed, he hadn’t taken advantage of her, not yet anyway.
She decided that Jace Elliott could be as wild and hazardous as the land in which he lived and worked. He could be as steamy and alluring as the lush jungles he clearly loved. His knowledge of this land, its people, and survival skills made him a valuable guide.
Jace was aroused by the way Leigh was studying him. He watched conflicting and changing emotions sail through her seawater eyes. He recalled how she had greeted him last night, and how she had responded to him in the alley and garden. Sunlight flowed into the room and dreamily bathed her in its golden glow. It danced off her tawny locks, caressed her face, and outlined her shapely hips and legs beneath her thin dress. Her eyes seemed so blue, and her lips so inviting. He knew how her mouth tasted, how she felt in his embrace, how her smile affected him, how she smelled. She touched him in ways he hadn’t been touched before. He wanted all of her, and for keeps. In self-defense, he coaxed, “Why don’t you have a seat so we can get on with our business?”