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governess and healer.” He led her down the stairs to the bar
room. “He will well get his money’s worth.”
    She thought she detected a note of sarcasm
in his last words, but he didn’t speak again.
    What he did next confused her. Lucian placed
a hand on the small of her back and led her through the crowd. As
he did, she felt his hand tremble.
    ~ * ~
    The carriage rattled its way along twisting
dirt roads, leading them away from the ocean’s edge into the
Pamlico Sound area.
    Will virtually risked death—his head hung so
far out of the carriage window in a vain attempt to drink in every
piece of scenery.
    “Stanzy, look at those bogs!” His voice
barely discernible on the inside of the carriage. “Do you know what
kind of animals they have at the plantation? Do you think it will
be all right if Jack sleeps in my room? How many boys are
there?”
    Constanza yelled, doubting he could hear
her, “Will! I have no idea how to answer any of those questions,
except there are two boys I know of—Mr. Hopkins’ boy, Lucas, and
the farm manager’s boy, Benjamin Blackwell.”
    “Yes, Mr. Blackwell is very easy on
the eyes!” This from Katrina, who was busy wrapping her dark brown
ringlets around her fingers attempting to curl them into
submission. “This air makes my hair straight. I thought once we
were off that floating death trap the air would improve. Only Mr.
Teache made the trip tolerable.”
    “Katrina. Katrina, pay attention! I realize
he was attracted to you, but let us try to set our sights higher
than the likes of Mr. Teache.”
    “Oh, do be honest. Before things went awry,
I saw you examining his fine male anatomy on a number of
occasions.”
    “Well, in a barbaric sort of way, he is
attractive—very tall and muscular, but I am afraid I will need more
than that to hold my interest.”
    “Oh, you are so tiresome,” Katrina retorted
and resumed staring out the window.
    They were silent when the carriage turned
the corner onto the path to StoneWater and an imposing manor came
into view. It was one of the largest manor’s the three had ever
seen. The estate proper sat on a raised area, evidently by design
in case of flooding, and slave quarters, barns and liveries were
situated about the property.
    “Will, you must sit still and behave. I have
no concept of how staunch the Hopkinses may be in their puritan
ideals, so we must not offend them. We have spoken before of the
rules and expectations in a puritan house.”
    “Yes, I know. Not too much running about or
playing, no yelling or screaming...”
    “Or acting too happy or sad, for that
matter,” chimed in Katrina, never removing her eyes from the manor.
“Oh, sister, perhaps this long journey will have been worth the
risk after all.”
    “Do not be too hasty—we have not even met my
employers as yet.”
    The carriage rumbled to a stop in front of
the manor and within moments several slaves rushed forward to
assist with their meager belongings.
    Lucian appeared and opened the door. His
hand rose to grasp hers, steadying her down the stairs. He held it
a few seconds too long. As she slid it away, his thumb traced a
line down her palm, sending shivers up her spine.
    The door of the manor opened and a man
boldly strode across the porch. Stanzy assumed this was her
employer, Mr. Hopkins.
    She curtsied and said, “I am—”
    “Yes, you must be Constanza. I’m Mr.
Hopkins. I have had many a correspondence with your fine uncle,
Channing. He has already written to inquire as to your
arrival.”
    “This is my sister, Katrina, and my brother,
Will.”
    Constanza noticed Mr. Hopkins’ eyes slid
immediately to Kitty’s ample curves, until he heard the slam of a
door and averted his gaze.
    “Welcome to StoneWater.” The lady of the
manor was very plain—there was no other way to describe her. She
made the most of her features, however, and her face virtually
shone with a well-scrubbed complexion. To offset her lack of
beauty, she dressed in the latest