The Enchanted Land Read Free Page B

welcome.” Her words were confident, but her eyes betrayed her. She touched Seth’s arm and fluttered her lashes at him. “Seth, dear, I believe this is our dance.”
    Morgan saw the frown crease Seth’s broad forehead, and guessed that he did not like Cynthia’s possessiveness. She spoke loudly, “There is my Aunt Lacey. If you would escort me to her, I’d like to sit down.”
    He turned to Cynthia. “If you will excuse us, I will take Miss Wakefield to her aunt.”
    They left, arm in arm, Cynthia glaring.
    As they approached Aunt Lacey and the other women, a hush fell over the women’s talk. Morgan seated herself, and Seth said in a low voice. “I will see you tomorrow.” His smile held the same mocking quality that she had seen before.
    “My dear,” asked the lady next to Aunt Lacey, after Seth had gone, “do you know who that is?”
    “His name is Seth Colter.” She was curious to find out what the women knew.
    “Have you heard of the Colter plantation outside Louisville?” At Morgan’s silence, she continued. “It is one of the largest and richest in the state, and it is all to be his some day. Yet he is throwing it away to live in some unholy place out west.”
    Yes, Morgan knew this. She wanted to know more of this man who would be her husband in another day. She smiled when she thought how this overweight woman in damp, green satin would react to the news: “Do you mean that that dowdy little thing, Lacey’s niece, married rich, handsome Seth Colter?” Morgan caught herself before she laughed aloud.
    She looked at the Green Lady and said innocently, eyes wide, “But I thought he and Cynthia Ferguson were practically engaged. Surely Cynthia wouldn’t go out west to live?”
    “No,” said another woman, the lady in black whom Morgan had heard earlier. “That’s just what Caroline Ferguson would like to think. But that daughter of hers hasn’t snared him yet.”
    “She’d just like everyone to assume they’re engaged,” echoed the Green Lady.
    Morgan saw her Uncle Horace approach then, and she rose, knowing he and Aunt Lacey probably wanted to depart.
    The three of them took their leave of Mr. and Mrs. Ferguson, and Morgan searched the crowd to find Seth. She needed some reassurance from him. She saw his broad back far across the room, next to a pretty young woman, and she felt a wave of anger. Then she told herself that was silly.
    All the way home in the plush-lined carriage, Morgan thought and planned. She would secretly rearrange her baggage so she’d be ready to leave when Seth came the next night.
    With a start she remembered that she had not told him which window was hers. She would leave a light, and hope he would find it.
    They arrived home after the short journey. After goodnights, she was at last alone in her room.
    She took off the ugly brown dress and tossed it across the settee, unfastened her blond hair, and sighed. On impulse, she removed all her undergarments and looked at her nude body in the mirror. She looked at firm, round breasts, tapering to a small waist and flat stomach and then rounding out again to full hips and thighs. She ran her hand down the smooth skin of her waist, onto her hip. She shivered, shocked by what she was doing. No decent woman ever looked at her own naked body, much less at a mirror reflection.
    Quickly, she turned from the mirror and slipped her nightgown over her head. But still, she remembered the image of her body. And she thought maybe she wouldn’t be so plain if she left her hair in curls.
    Morgan climbed into bed and snuggled deep into the warm covers. Soon she was asleep.
     
    She was up the next morning before the rest of the household. She had always liked the early morning and was at her best then. If she were at Trahern House, she could go to the stable, saddle Cassandra, and ride across the dew-covered fields.
    Instead, she quietly went to the kitchen and made her own breakfast. One of the many indulgences her mother had given