The Scent of Jasmine Read Free Page B

about the dark countryside and thinking about how she was to meet a man who had probably committed murder.
    Hope had gone downstairs with Cay, helped her cover her gown with the big wool cloak, and given her the map T.C. had drawn that showed where Cay was to go.
    “It’s not too late to say no,” Hope said as she fastened the hood around Cay’s head.
    Cay put on the bravest face she could manage. “I’m sure I’ll be all right. Besides, I doubt if this man is actually a murderer.”
    Hope lowered her voice. “You didn’t read the newspaper accounts. The doctor and the judge found her locked inside the room with him, and he was sound asleep. He had no conscience about what he’d done. He is pure evil.”
    Cay swallowed. “What did he have to say about it all?”
    “That he’d had a glass of wine then fallen asleep.”
    “Maybe he was telling the truth.”
    “You are so very young,” Hope said in a patronizing way. “No man falls asleep on his wedding night.”
    “But maybe—” Cay tried to say, but Hope interrupted her.
    “The sooner you go, the quicker you can get back. I’ll be waiting for you at the ball. I won’t be dressed as richly as you are, but I’ll have on my rose-colored silk, so look for me at the back.” Hope put her hands on Cay’s shoulders and looked at her for a moment. “May God go with you,” she said, and quickly she kissed Cay’s cheek. In the next minute the two of them were running for the stables where the horses awaited them. Hope helped Cay adjust the voluminous cloak over her dress and the lower part of her legs, which were exposed in their silk stockings. The ball gown was narrow, and when she was on the horse, it rode up on her legs.
    “No matter what our godfather says, please be very cautious with this man,” Hope said when Cay was at last in the saddle and covered.
    Trying to lighten the serious mood of the moment, Cay said, “Can I bring you back anything?”
    “Your safety will be enough,” Hope said without a smile, but when she saw Cay’s disappointed look, she said, “A husband. Not too tall, not too short, not rich, not poor. I just want a man who can stand up to my father.” She gave a little smile. “And I want a man who won’t fall asleep on our wedding night.”
    “Which father?” Cay quipped and instantly realized she was more nervous than she’d thought. She started to apologize, but Hope laughed.
    “The complaining one, of course. The other one, I have no trouble with—except that he won’t obey me. Now go!”
    Cay kicked the horse forward and rode west toward the place where she was to meet the murderer.
    Now, she sat on the horse and waited. They should have been there by now, but she heard or saw nothing. Had something gone wrong? Had the escape attempt failed? She was aware that she knew remarkably little about what Uncle T.C. had done to make this plan and she should have asked more questions. She should have been more like her brother Nate, who loved to solve puzzles. He liked to figure out who did what and why. In the dark silence, she thought about the first time Nate had solved a dilemma that had put her entire family and all the people who worked for them in a tizzy. The flour in the kitchen was disappearing at an alarming rate, but no one would admit to taking it.
    Smiling, Cay’s mind began to wander back to that time, but a sound to her right made her pull back on the reins to her mare. She’d securely tied the other horse to a tree about fifty yards away, and when she glanced that way, she could see nothing.
    But her senses told her that something was different. “Who’s there?” she called out.
    Out of the darkness slipped a tall, bearded, older-looking man, who stood so close to her that she jerked the reins and started to flee, but he caught her by the calf—and when he did, her silk-clad leg and a bit of her gown were revealed. The crystal beads sparkled even in the blackness of the night.
    “Bludy heel,” the