Savage
Heart is the sequel to Indian Summer. Set in 1740, things are heating
up between the Spanish and British. A war in Europe, between the two
nations, has dribbled over the ocean to the New World. As the
situation worsens, the Governor decides to send the women to Jamaica
for safety. Gabriella, of course, refuses.
"You're
insufferable!" Manuel threw up his hands, tugging at his hair.
"How can I do my job when I'm worried about you?"
"And
what will your job be? The most unavoidably difficult and dangerous?
Why would you choose something easy? You live for the
adventure, Manuel. Admit it. You hunger for the active life of a
soldier again."
"Nothing
of the sort, Gabriella," he muttered unconvincingly.
"Well,
what then? Tell me. I demand to know!"
"Very
well." Manuel rubbed his chin, pursing his lips. "I am
going to spy on the British soldiers and try to infiltrate the ranks
as an Indian compatriot."
Gabriella's
blue eyes chilled as she glanced from her husband to her father. "I'm
not happy with that," she said quietly. "I know whatever we
learn from them, they can learn from us. What's to prevent them using
you against us?"
"They
won't know who I am," he tried to explain.
"Manuel!"
Anguish filled her voice, her heartbreak plain. "You can't, you
simply can't! Papa, I won't let you send him!"
"Me,
send him? My girl, this is the first I've heard this wild notion."
Gabriella
slapped her husband, bursting into tears. Manuel grasped his cheek,
face reddening as he fought his anger. He could understand his young
wife's hysteria, but that made it no easier to deal with. A man well
known for his temper, he sought to control it.
"You
promised me," she growled. "You promised after we were wed
that you'd never leave! As we came together that first night, you
said, Cariña, I'll never leave you
again. This I swear. So what of your
promise now?"
Her
father and brothers-in-law looked extremely embarrassed. This
conversation tread on intimate secrets between man and wife.
"I
do this to protect you, Cariña," Manuel said,
tight-lipped, his fingers pressed against the red mark on his cheek.
"I do this for us all."
"What
if I told you I am with child?"
"Forgive
me, my love, but you're above such manipulations. Even if I thought
it was true, I'd still go. It is more than just our love and
happiness at stake here. This is for everyone, including any children
we may have."
"You're
impossible!" Gabriella raised her hand to strike him again,
bursting into angry tears.
Manuel
put up his arms to block another strike, but it never came. Her
father insinuated himself between them. Manuel stepped back, bowing
slightly. Gabriella stamped her foot, crossing her arms angrily
across her chest.
Turning
abruptly, she stalked from the room, back to the loggia, leaving the
door open behind her. "You promised." her voice drifted
back to them, lingering on the breeze.
"Don't
just stand there," Jason said, moving toward the door himself.
"Go after her!"
Hesitantly,
Manuel raced out the door. He found Gabriella wandering in the plaza
across from her father's house. Approaching cautiously, he saw that
she wasn't crying. Tears streaked her face, but she was calmer now,
her sobs had subsided. She slumped to the ground as he approached.
"May
I sit? Or do you wish to slap me again?" He held himself
stiffly, his anger still bubbling near the surface.
"Sit,
damn you. I can't stop you from doing what you want."
"Bella,
I—"
"Don't
say anything. Don't tell me again how you do this for me and our
children. I don't want to hear that. You swore to me, Manuel! You
promised!"
Tucking
the tails of his coat in front of him, he dropped gracefully to the
grass. Taking a deep breath, he bent his head ignominiously. "A
man may say many things in the heat of passion, Bella. It doesn't
make them any less true, but it certainly makes them less—accurate."
He shrugged, staring across the moonlit water. His long fingers
absently tugged at tufts of grass.
Gabriella
laughed suddenly, her bright giggle filling the cool night air. "How
can you wiggle out of something so important by claiming it was said
in passion and therefore not binding? Words spoken when you're in my
arms should be even more of a firm promise."
"Firm,
eh? I'll remember that. A very firm
promise, eh Cariña?"
"You're
very fortunate I love you, else I'd be tempted to slap you again. Get
that expression off your face."
"Which
expression is that, my sweet? The one that shows you how much I love
you?" He moved closer, pulling her to him. "Or the one that
says you are the most beautiful woman in my world and I can never get
enough of loving you?" He buried his face in her hair, inhaling
deeply. "God, I love you, Bella," he purred.
©
2016 Dellani Oakes
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