hit him!
“Captain, Kiernan, please!” Lacey implored. “I must protest! This just isn’t proper.”
“That’s because nothing at all is proper about Jesse,” Kiernan said sweetly.
“Now I protest!” Jesse said. “I can be extremely proper, Mrs. Donahue, when the occasion warrants. But Kiernan and I are very old friends. Actually, Mrs. Donahue,” he whispered conspiratorially, moving very close to her and offering her his most charming smile, “I even saw Kiernan buck naked when she was a little thing.”
“Oh dear, oh dear!” Lacey breathed as she buttoned Kiernan furiously.
“Never!” Kiernan snapped.
“Oh, yes,” Jesse assured Lacey charmingly. “As a child, she used to love to strip off every blessed bit of clothing and jump into the lake.”
“You’re absolutely despicable to remember such things, Jesse,” Kiernan told him sweetly, “and to bring them up!”
“Ah, but you speak of my fond memories!” he protested, as if he were wounded.
The last of her tiny buttons was done up. “Really?” Shechallenged him with a superior air. “Lacey, I’m quite certain he hasn’t thought a thing about me for the last year or so until the moment he came after me.”
“Came to your rescue,” he reminded her.
“Humility is his greatest asset,” she murmured with dripping sarcasm.
Jesse grinned. “Her kind and gentle ways are surely Kiernan’s greatest attributes!” he countered.
“Oh dear, what is going on here, Captain?” Lacey interjected. “This just is not proper, not with Kiernan practically engaged.”
“Engaged?” His brows lifted with surprise. A flurry swept Kiernan’s heart at his obvious interest. “Who’s the lucky man? Ah, never mind, I know. It’s young Anthony Miller, the arms heir, I do imagine. Well, there’s a nice mannered pup for you, Kiernan.”
“Anthony is the very soul of propriety,” she assured him angrily.
“Indeed. I imagine you maneuver him about with the twitch of your little finger,” Jesse agreed. He was laughing at her, she thought, and once again she wanted to hit him. But there also seemed to be a bit of an edge in his voice. Could he possibly be jealous?
“He is completely charming,” she said sweetly.
“Then you
are
engaged? My congratulations.”
“No,” Kiernan admitted. “We’re not engaged yet.”
“He’s madly in love with her!” Lacey said.
“And well the lad should be!” Jesse stated, still laughing. “Beauty, grace—and a mind like a whip!”
Kiernan kept her smile intact. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to size up the situation in town myself.”
She swirled around, but he caught her arm. “Kiernan, stay in. Come downstairs, and I’ll tell you both what I know.”
He didn’t wait for an answer but went downstairs ahead of her. Kiernan shrugged to Lacey, who was concerned that she had completely failed to chaperone a young and innocent woman.
Kiernan wished she could have told Lacey that anyonewould have failed with Jesse around. And she was furious with herself because he always had the ability to lead her along, then step back. The older, wiser, very masculine—male!
Times have changed, she wanted to shout at him. I’m very much grown up now, and I can hold my own in any battle!
But she wondered if she really could hold out in a battle with him.
She gritted her teeth. She could—and she would!
Jesse found his way into the parlor with Lacey and Kiernan following behind. The teasing was gone from his eyes and his manner as he politely waited for both women to perch upon the loveseat. He pulled up a chair before them and straddled it backward to face them very seriously.
“What I’ve managed to get so far is that John Brown has been planning this raid for months. He was over in Sandy Hook, Maryland, laying out his strategy. He must have hoped that many more people would rise to fight against slaveholders with him. I imagine that he wanted a revolution to start here, with slaves rising
“Captain, Kiernan, please!” Lacey implored. “I must protest! This just isn’t proper.”
“That’s because nothing at all is proper about Jesse,” Kiernan said sweetly.
“Now I protest!” Jesse said. “I can be extremely proper, Mrs. Donahue, when the occasion warrants. But Kiernan and I are very old friends. Actually, Mrs. Donahue,” he whispered conspiratorially, moving very close to her and offering her his most charming smile, “I even saw Kiernan buck naked when she was a little thing.”
“Oh dear, oh dear!” Lacey breathed as she buttoned Kiernan furiously.
“Never!” Kiernan snapped.
“Oh, yes,” Jesse assured Lacey charmingly. “As a child, she used to love to strip off every blessed bit of clothing and jump into the lake.”
“You’re absolutely despicable to remember such things, Jesse,” Kiernan told him sweetly, “and to bring them up!”
“Ah, but you speak of my fond memories!” he protested, as if he were wounded.
The last of her tiny buttons was done up. “Really?” Shechallenged him with a superior air. “Lacey, I’m quite certain he hasn’t thought a thing about me for the last year or so until the moment he came after me.”
“Came to your rescue,” he reminded her.
“Humility is his greatest asset,” she murmured with dripping sarcasm.
Jesse grinned. “Her kind and gentle ways are surely Kiernan’s greatest attributes!” he countered.
“Oh dear, what is going on here, Captain?” Lacey interjected. “This just is not proper, not with Kiernan practically engaged.”
“Engaged?” His brows lifted with surprise. A flurry swept Kiernan’s heart at his obvious interest. “Who’s the lucky man? Ah, never mind, I know. It’s young Anthony Miller, the arms heir, I do imagine. Well, there’s a nice mannered pup for you, Kiernan.”
“Anthony is the very soul of propriety,” she assured him angrily.
“Indeed. I imagine you maneuver him about with the twitch of your little finger,” Jesse agreed. He was laughing at her, she thought, and once again she wanted to hit him. But there also seemed to be a bit of an edge in his voice. Could he possibly be jealous?
“He is completely charming,” she said sweetly.
“Then you
are
engaged? My congratulations.”
“No,” Kiernan admitted. “We’re not engaged yet.”
“He’s madly in love with her!” Lacey said.
“And well the lad should be!” Jesse stated, still laughing. “Beauty, grace—and a mind like a whip!”
Kiernan kept her smile intact. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to size up the situation in town myself.”
She swirled around, but he caught her arm. “Kiernan, stay in. Come downstairs, and I’ll tell you both what I know.”
He didn’t wait for an answer but went downstairs ahead of her. Kiernan shrugged to Lacey, who was concerned that she had completely failed to chaperone a young and innocent woman.
Kiernan wished she could have told Lacey that anyonewould have failed with Jesse around. And she was furious with herself because he always had the ability to lead her along, then step back. The older, wiser, very masculine—male!
Times have changed, she wanted to shout at him. I’m very much grown up now, and I can hold my own in any battle!
But she wondered if she really could hold out in a battle with him.
She gritted her teeth. She could—and she would!
Jesse found his way into the parlor with Lacey and Kiernan following behind. The teasing was gone from his eyes and his manner as he politely waited for both women to perch upon the loveseat. He pulled up a chair before them and straddled it backward to face them very seriously.
“What I’ve managed to get so far is that John Brown has been planning this raid for months. He was over in Sandy Hook, Maryland, laying out his strategy. He must have hoped that many more people would rise to fight against slaveholders with him. I imagine that he wanted a revolution to start here, with slaves rising
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