Destiny's Daughter Read Free Page A

had seen her enter. It was rare for a young woman to travel alone, unless she was a woman of tarnished reputation. Everything about this woman spoke of breeding and education. She had the manner and bearing of a queen sitting there alone near the rail. The sun setting behind her bathed her in an amber glow, touching her hair with fire. Though she was now the only woman left in the salon, she did nothing to attract the men’s attention. She was no flirt. She seemed composed, content to simply watch and listen.
    The men discarded, then began asking for cards. The girl’s head turned to the sound of their voices. Her eyes locked on Chase’s for a moment. He winked, and was surprised when she winked back. Maybe his first impressions of her were wrong. With a sly smile he picked up his hand and gave his attention back to the game.
     
    *  *  *
     
    Annalisa felt herself blushing clear down to her toes. It had been a reflex thing. Yvette had taught her to wink. Yvette was the orphaned daughter of one of the wealthiest families in Natchez. Every summer, when the other girls went home, Annalisa stayed on with the sisters, with only Yvette for company. Every June Yvette spent a month in Europe with her grandparents, then spent the rest of the summer regaling Annalisa with stories of her month of complete freedom. It was from Yvette that Annalisa learned what men and women did when they mated, because after her trip of two summers ago, Yvette had described it graphically. Annalisa sighed. She would be better off in a convent, away from such things. Although Yvette had boasted that it was a feeling like no other, her descriptions had left Annalisa more confused than ever. To Annalisa it sounded wonderful yet terrible. How could such a thing be possible? She glanced at the table of men and felt herself flush. The man who had winked at her was now, thankfully, engrossed in the game.
    She studied his dark hair, gleaming blue-black in the lamplight. That wink had been a private signal between Yvette and Annalisa. One time Yvette had told Annalisa a racy story that made them both blush and roar with laughter. "Whenever Sister Clarisse rambles until you think you’ll die from boredom, just look at me and wink, and we’ll both think of this story and share a private laugh," Yvette had said. And it worked. Now, just thinking of Yvette and the naughty story, Annalisa found herself smiling and feeling less alone.
    Yvette was already on her way to Europe, where she would live with her grandparents and probably marry a count. At least that’s what she had hinted to Annalisa on their last day together. The friends had tearfully parted, knowing they would probably never see each other again. The girls she had known in her childhood would scatter across the South to rejoin families. Yvette would marry her count. And Annalisa would meet her mother to tell her of her plans to become a nun.
    Having been deep in thought, Annalisa looked up to see the man staring at her again. Heat stained her cheeks. Could he tell by looking at her that she had been thinking about men and women, and the things Yvette had told her? She lifted an embroidered handkerchief to her mouth to hide her discomfort. Tucking it into her waistband, she failed to notice that a corner of the linen tablecloth was trapped at her waist along with it.
    She glanced toward the open doors of the salon. She was too warm. She needed fresh air. It wasn’t, she told herself firmly, that she wanted to get away from the dark, unsettling gaze of the stranger. Standing abruptly, she began to walk. At her first steps the tablecloth came with her, knocking china, crystal, silver to the floor with a terrible crash.
    When the sounds of shattering glass were finally stilled, the entire room was cast into an eerie, expectant hush.
    Horrified, Annalisa stood frozen to the spot. All she could do was stare in awestruck silence at the destruction she had caused.
    After long, chilling moments,