Page 17 of Tanglewood Legacy (The Three Sisters 3)
His gaze settled on her lips again. “I feel the same way.”
After a moment more, she said, “It’s late, and I have a long ride back to our plantation.”
“You don’t live in the square?”
“Non. I thought I shared this when you helped me with the horses. We’ve secured a land grant for a parcel along the Mississippi to raise indigo.”
“Indigo?” Fascinating. “I’ve grown it—mind, in the botanical garden as a scientific pursuit—but as of yet, no one has farmed it at any scale here. You may be the first to do so. The Jesuits have made a success of other crops, but their indigo production is negligible. I’m not surprisedCommissaireSalmon charged you with its production. He’s desperately wanted to expand the yield of the parish. It seems an unsurmountable undertaking for a small family such as yours, however. You must manage a significant number of slaves.”
She raised her chin, seemingly disgusted by the idea. “I thank you for your concern, Pierre, but my family has always had a way with growing things, and we would not think of owning other human beings for our own comfort and profit.”
He gaped, struck speechless. Although he agreed with her principles, in theory, there were practicalities to consider, and he’d never met anyone quite so opposed to the status quo.
“You are an intriguing woman, Isis.”
She slanted him a wicked grin. “You have no idea.”
He tried to think of a response to that and came up short. She challenged him on so many levels. How could he convince her to see him again?
Turning, she headed for the door and then the stairs. Pierre followed her into the night, calling for the stableboy to bring her horse. In the moonlit courtyard, they waited, the silence unspooling between them.
“Pierre?”
“Yes?”
“What was in the kegs? What is it you bring to the tavern?”
A grin spread across his face as he recognized his opportunity. “You must come back so I can show you.”
Her face lit up, and didn’t that just make his heart sing? “An engineer, an astronomer, a botanist, and something more?”
He arched an eyebrow. “As I said before, I am a man of many talents, Mademoiselle Tanglewood. You simply must see me again so that I may show them to you. Or perhaps next time, you will allow me to call on you at your plantation.”
“No,” she said quickly. “I will come to you.” She lowered her chin. “I look forward to it.”
With the flash of a crooked smile, she mounted her horse and headed for the gate. “It’s been a pleasure, Pierre.”
He opened the gates for her and said his goodbyes. “Henri,” Pierre called for his stableboy.
“Oui,monsieur?”
“Take a horse and follow her to ensure she makes it home safely, but take care not to be seen.”
“Oui,monsieur.”
Pierre waited as the boy quickly saddled his fastest steed and trotted out the gate. Meanwhile, he jogged back into the house, up the stairs, and to the telescope he’d just shown Isis, but instead of pointing it toward the sky, he swung the arm in search of her. He found Henri first, and then, a distance ahead of him, Isis. By the light of the moon, she traveled toward the river. He blinked when she passed into the shadow of a great oak tree—and never came out the other side. He swiveled the arm again, desperately searching for her. There was Henri, frantic. He’d lost her as well. Pierre lowered the viewer and then raised it to his eye again, scanning the entire area for any hint of her. Impossible. She was simply gone.
Returning to his courtyard, he waited for Henri. When the boy returned, his face was sickly white, and he dropped from the saddle with a lack of grace Pierre hadn’t seen before in the boy. Breathlessly he reported, “The lady, monsieur! She disappeared.”
Pierre didn’t argue with the boy; he’d seen it himself. “I’m sure there’s—”
“Like a specter! Even the horse’s footprints ended in the shadows.” The boy trembled with fear. “Do you think she is a witch?”
Everything in Pierre recoiled from the thought. “Of course not, Henri. Mademoiselle Tanglewood is a friend.” He patted the boy on the back. “Moonlight can play tricks on the eyes.” When the boy didn’t seem to be soothed by his words, Pierre did something he rarely did; he lied. “I was watching, from the observatory. She turned right only a house-length past where you stopped. I think there is a rocky patch just there. You must have missed her.”
Henri blinked twice. “You saw her continue on her way?”
“Oui.She didn’t disappear,garçon. People don’t just disappear.”
