Winds Of Eternity Part 9

In her room later, Angelique pulled the talisman from its hiding place. "Barnabas is your reincarnation, Aaron. I am sure of it. He does not remember. One look at this - " She stopped, closing her fingers around the golden ship, feeling its contours bite into the palm of her hand. "No. The time is not right. If I went to him now, he would not believe me. There is time. Now that I have found him again, I will not lose him. Most certainly not to Josette du Pres."

Barnabas stood by the window of his room later that evening, unable to sleep. He was haunted by a pair of blue eyes. A movement in the garden below drew his attention. There was a flash of moonlight on blonde hair. She was down there. It was a chance to speak to her alone, without the Countess' presence. Unless she was there to meet another man. That thought sent a surprising haze of jealousy through him. Shaking his head to clear it, he left the room and made his way quietly downstairs and out the garden doors.

She was beside a fountain on a terrace hidden from most of the house, surrounded by flowers. "Excuse me."21.

She turned, surprised, her blue eyes wide. "M'sieu Collins. You startled me."

"I did not mean to. I was unable to sleep and decided to take a walk." It was a lie, but he found himself loath to tell her that he had come down to see her.

"I always come down here at night after my mistress is in bed. It is the only time of the day that I can truly call my own."

"Would you prefer to be alone?"

"No. I do not mind the company."

Almost against his will, Barnabas reached up to lightly touch the brightness of her hair. "You are so beautiful."

Angelique moved away. "Please, m'sieu."

"What is wrong? I only spoke the truth."

"We should not be here. You are my mistress' guest, and I -I am but a servant."

"That does not matter. The fact that you are a servant makes you no less important than I." Her blue eyes were shining up at him. "Why is this happening? When I first saw you this afternoon, I felt - as it if had happened before. As if I had seen those blue eyes before. I wanted - " He stopped, afraid of frightening her.

"What did you want, m'sieu?" she asked softly.

"To hear you say my name."

She smiled. "That is very easy, m'sieu. Barnabas."

The feelings evoked by hearing her say his name were strong, and he fought the urge to pull her against him. "Oh, Angelique. This is madness."

"Is it?"

"Yes. Please. Forgive me. I have never acted this way before."

"I am sure you have not." It was happening too quickly, she realized, watching his confusion. It had happened quickly the last time as well, but Barnabas was not Aaron in one important way: He did not take what he wanted without regard for the consequences. But strangely enough, the realization deepened her growing feelings for Barnabas until they were at least as

strong as those for Aaron. In that moment, she knew she would never show him the talisman. "It is late, and I have work to do in the morning. Goodnight, M'sieu Collins."

"Goodnight, Angelique." Barnabas returned to his room soon after, but he still did not sleep until almost dawn, his mind still too full of Angelique's soft voice.

He saw her several times the next day, but she continually refused to meet his eyes, always lowering or averting her own. Unable to remain confined in the house with her so near, he went for a ride, but the memory of Angelique stayed with him.

He could barely recall what he had seen later when the Countess quizzed him. She laughed at his preoccupation, mistaking the reason for it. "No doubt you are anxious to meet my niece. The time will fly. Until then, enjoy the island."

Again finding himself unable to sleep, and he went to the terrace to wait. To wait for her. She came down the path and stopped. "Excuse me." She turned as if to go.

"Angelique, don't go. I hoped you would come."

She didn't turn. "Did you, m'sieu? Why?"

"I have not been able to get you out of my mind all day. Everywhere I looked, I saw you. Did you think of me at all?"

She took a deep breath. "Oh, yes, m'sieu."

"Stop calling me that, Angelique. It makes you sound like a servant."

"But that is what I am. A servant. A lady's maid. And you are a fine gentleman who thinks it good sport to flirt with the poor little servant."

"That is not true. I forget that you are a servant when I am with you."

She trailed her fingers in the water of the fountain. "Can you do that?"

"Yes."

"But you do not think of me as a lady, either. Else you would not be here now."

"Angelique, stop this -"22.

At last she looked up at him. "Can you deny that if I were a lady, you would not have come out into the garden after dark to see me?"

"Yes. Because I cannot stay away from you," he said, his voice deep with pa.s.sion. "I need you." He pulled her into his arms and kissed her with more pa.s.sion than he had intended. Concerned that he had frightened her, he started to pull away. "Forgive me -"

She placed a finger to his lips to silence him. "Do not apologize for doing what you wanted, Barnabas."

Seeing no fear in her eyes, Barnabas took her hand and kissed each finger, making her knees weak. He smiled at her quickly drawn breath.

Angelique considered her next words carefully. "I -I know of a place that is more private -"

She expected him to release her, to become concerned about her apparent willingness. But he continued to caress her fingers. "Where?"

"Follow me." She led him by the hand to a small summerhouse. This was her favorite place. No one ever came here anymore - except Angelique. She told him as much as he held the door open for her. "The Countess kindly agreed that I might use it. She seemed to understand that I needed a place where I would not be disturbed."

She lit a candle, revealing the chair and table, and the narrow bed against one wall. Barnabas said nothing, merely held out his arms, allowing her to make the final decision.

Angelique hesitated over the feeling that she was about to betray Aaron's memory. The thought brought home to her how totally she had managed to separate the two men in her mind. There was something very special about Barnabas.

She moved easily into his embrace and returned the pa.s.sion of his kiss with an equal pa.s.sion of her own. When his deft fingers unfastened the bodice of her dress, then slipped inside, Angelique moaned soft-

ly. Barnabas lifted her from the dress and into his arms, carrying her to the bed.

She lay there, watching him remove his own clothing, then lifted her arms to him. Barnabas devoured her white, waiting body with his eyes before lowering himself to the bed as well, wanting to feel her silken form beneath him.

Later, much later, in her room in the house, Angelique forced herself to admit that she had never responded to Aaron as she had to Barnabas. Closing her eyes, she could still remember how out of control she had been at his touch. Nothing had mattered save she and Barnabas. And it had been the same for him. Angelique was certain that when Barnabas left for his home, she would be at his side.

They met almost every evening for the next two months. Their pa.s.sion for each other never wavered; if anything it grew stronger. Some nights they talked more than they made love. Barnabas told her about his family, his home in Collinsport. He seemed closest to his mother, his sister Sarah, and his uncle Jeremiah. Angelique listened carefully, learning all she could about these people. She wanted to make Barnabas proud of her. In return, she told him a little about her own mother, who had been a healer who used the local herbs for her cures. Barnabas sensed that her childhood had not been a happy one, and wanted her future to be better. He decided that he would take her back with him. To leave without her at his side would be unthinkable. She was a part of himself that he had been missing. As soon as his business with Andre du Pres was completed, he would ask her to marry him.