Over the next few days, Trevor and Leanna settled into life on the plantation. Trevor usually awoke very early, leaving Leanna sound asleep, as he took an early breakfast with Steven and they went about the business of running the plantation. Steven was clearly relieved to have his brother back to help make some of the important decisions, and the two of them worked in perfect harmony together.
The household decisions were left to the women, and unfortunately, Amanda didn't seem at all happy about sharing those duties with Leanna. Amanda clearly felt that she didn't need any help from Leanna to run the household. Leanna didn't want to force the issue, so she was most often left with nothing but idle time on her hands.
Two days after their arrival, Leanna was sitting in the dining room with Amanda and Eliza, having just finished lunch, when Trevor came in from overseeing some work in the fields. He was dirty and sweaty, but he had been gone the whole morning, and Leanna thought he had never looked more appealing. She missed him, having gotten used to having him always nearby during their time on the ship, and she gave him a glorious smile.
Amanda rose and turned to Eliza. "Why don't we take a walk to get some fresh air? It's not too cold this afternoon. Let's just fetch our cloaks."
Eliza looked as if she would like to refuse, but she couldn't without sounding shrewish. "Alright, Amanda." She turned a brittle smile on Leanna, loathe to leave her alone with Trevor. "Leanna, dear, you will join us won't you?"
"No, thank you," Leanna murmured politely. She much preferred to spend the time with Trevor. "You two go ahead."
Eliza hesitated, wanting to change her mind, but seeing no way out, she turned and followed Amanda up the stairs. As soon as they were alone, Trevor pulled his wife against him and kissed her with devastating thoroughness. His hands wandered down to cup her bottom, and he pulled her firmly against him. She could feel the hard ridge of his growing erection cradled against her belly, and her pulse began to race.
"Good afternoon, my sweet," he murmured, giving her a tender smile.
Leanna could smell his sweat and his musky male essence, and she buried her face in the crook of his neck to breathe deeply of the heady scent. "Ummm," she whispered, "Good afternoon. I've missed you this morning." She looked up at him, and twin dimples appeared beside her lovely mouth as she smiled with delight. "Are you hungry? Shall I fetch you a plate?"
Trevor bent to capture her lips once more as he rocked his hips suggestively against hers. When he spoke, his voice was a low growl, elementally male.
"I'm definitely hungry my sweet, but more for you than for lunch. Why don't we go upstairs, and you can show me just how much you've missed me?"
He nibbled at her ear causing delicious shivers to race down her spine. Before Leanna could reply, there was a loud yelp from the foyer, and they ran to see what had happened. Eliza was sitting on the steps, clutching her leg and yowling in pain. Trevor frowned and went to kneel beside her.
"What happened, Eliza? Are you hurt?"
Eliza clutched at his arm and looked up at him with pitiful eyes. "It's my ankle," she whined. "I think it's broken! Can you check it?"
Eliza thrust her ankle under Trevor's nose, pulling her skirt up well past her knee to reveal a shapely calf encased in a sheer silk stocking. She twisted as if in pain, bending toward Trevor and providing him with an unhindered view into her bodice.
Trevor froze with her leg in his hands. He was rigid with anger at the woman's brazenness. He could tell from her pathetic performance that she wasn't really hurt, and he couldn't believe the depths she would sink to in her efforts to seduce him. His eyes raked her bosom dispassionately, as he wondered how she could possibly imagine that she could compete with his wife. Remembering that he held her leg, Trevor brusquely felt of her ankle to make sure there was no underlying injury. Satisfied that his intuition had been correct, he flipped her skirts down and frowned up at her.
"Your ankle is fine, Eliza. Why don't you stand up?"
Eliza gave him another pitiful look, her bottom lip quivering. "Alright," she sniffed, "can you help me?" Trevor stood and reached down to lift her by the arm. When she got on her feet, Eliza let out another loud yelp and threw herself against Trevor's side, clutching his arm against her breast. "Ouch, it hurts. Please, Trevor, could you carry me to my room?"
Trevor gritted his teeth to keep from yelling at her. He was tempted to strangle her. He gave Leanna a grim look and without a word, Trevor scooped Eliza up and carried her up the stairs. Eliza wrapped her arms around his neck, and laid her head on his shoulder, moaning loudly. All the way up the stairs, Trevor could feel Leanna's steady gaze on his back, and his irritation mounted when he thought about the delicious interlude that Eliza had interrupted with her little charade. Reaching Eliza's room, he shouldered the door open and carried her to her bed. He dropped her unceremoniously in the middle of the feather mattress, somewhat mollified to hear her shocked gasp.
Eliza wasn't one to miss an opportunity, and she grasped his arm, entreating him with sultry eyes. "Oh, Trevor darling, please help me to adjust my pillows so I won't be in so much pain."
Trevor bent over and braced his hands on the edge of the bed to meet her gaze squarely. His eyes were brittle with anger, but his voice was deceptively low when he spoke.
"Eliza, knock it off." Her shocked gasp didn't sway him as he continued. "I only carried you up here to tell you that your little games won't work. You are fine and your ankle is fine, so stop pretending."
Eliza tried once more to convince him, "But Trevor, I'm not pretending. I really am injured."
Trevor rolled his eyes heavenward, no doubt praying for patience, before meeting her gaze once again. "Eliza, I'm not that big of a fool," he raised his brows in self-mockery, "at least, not anymore. Let me remind you that I am a married man. I have a wife, and I won't stand for your little shenanigans anymore. Do I make myself clear?"
Eliza's own temper began to flare, and she gave up trying to pretend. Hopping off the bed, she flounced past Trevor, sneering at him over her shoulder. "You can't seriously expect me to believe that you prefer that snobby little bitch to me!" she cried indignantly. She turned back to face him, crossing her arms beneath her breasts. "You know you've always wanted me, and you only married that little trollop when you thought I wasn't available. She's nothing but a cheap little fortune hunter."
Trevor's temper snapped, and he grabbed Eliza by the shoulders, glaring at her down the length of his flaring nose. "Shut up! I won't listen to any more of your slurs against my wife!" He released her so abruptly she had to grab the edge of a nearby chair to keep from falling as he stalked to the door. When he turned to look at her, his eyes were as cold as ice, and his voice was even more frigid. "Grow up, Eliza. The past is dead." He left without another backward glance.
Standing alone in her room, Eliza raised her chin to a haughty angle and narrowed her eyes as she seethed. "We'll just see about that, Trevor darling. I'm not finished with you yet. You will be mine again, just wait and see."
*********
Leanna kept to herself as much as possible, often retiring to the music room to play the piano. She sat for long periods at the instrument, her fingers flowing effortlessly over the keys as her mind was busy trying to understand the complexities of her husband. Sometimes, she felt that he was starting to truly care for her, but then her fragile confidence would be shattered by some scene with Eliza.
Leanna's jaw clenched remembering two days before when Eliza had collapsed, claiming to have a sprained ankle. It had been obvious to Leanna that Eliza was faking, but Leanna had been shocked to see that Trevor had believed her theatrics. Worse, Leanna had stood helplessly by while he caressed the other woman's shapely leg and ogled her bosom. The crowning blow to Leanna's heart had come when Trevor had carried Eliza to her bedroom. Leanna had stood watching them, feeling very much excluded from their intimate exchange, as her throat had ached with unshed tears.
Thinking about it, Leanna pounded out an angry, strident crescendo on the piano. She stopped abruptly, realizing that she was behaving like a child. She took a deep steadying breath and began playing again. This time, without conscious effort, her fingers glided over the keys, and the haunting strains of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata floated through the room. Leanna poured her emotions into the music, and the resulting performance was poignantly bittersweet. As the last echoes faded, Leanna hung her head and cried softly into her hands, feeling helpless and alone.
That evening, Trevor sat down on the bench behind Leanna as she sat brushing her hair, straddling her thighs with his. He was wearing only his trousers, and his warm chest pressed intimately against her back. Leanna slid forward, breaking the contact between them.
"Trevor, I'm really quite tired," she said, trying to ignore his nearness as she went back to brushing her hair.
He took the brush from her hand and laid it on the table, then lifted the heavy mass of her hair and dropped it over her left shoulder, leaving the right side of her neck exposed. "That's alright, sweetheart," he murmured, running his fingers lightly down the side of her neck to where the fastening of her gown sat on her shoulder. He met her eyes in the mirror. "I can do all the work."
