Ecstasy's Promise (Historical Romance) Read Online Free PDF

lady is accosted in her own home and forced to flee for her life."
    Victoria kissed her cheek. "Please do not be sad on my account. It will all work out somehow. Will you cut my hair, or shall I?" she asked smiling at Martha O'Brian.
    "I will do it." Martha sighed. She took the golden locks, and snipped them off just a little above the shoulders. The hair that remained curled profusely about Victoria's face. "I refuse to cut it any shorter than this. You will just have to pass as a young boy who needs a haircut," Mrs. O'Brian said defiantly.
    "Here," she added, handing Victoria a mustard-colored cap. "This will serve you well."
    "I must hurry," Victoria said. "Bodine will be wondering what is keeping me."
    Bodine and Tom O'Brian stared at Victoria when she joined them at the back door, where they had been waiting. There was no evidence of the lovely young lady who had left them less than an hour ago. In her place was a slim youth. They were both too tactful to comment on her appearance, however.
    After a tearful farewell and a promise to try to get some word to the O'Brians when they reached Texas safely, Victoria and Bodine slipped off into the swamp where their mounts were waiting.
    Victoria saw that the fancy English sidesaddle her father had given her one Christmas had been exchanged for one much like Bodine's. She looked at Bodine helplessly for a moment, not knowing quite how to mount Rebel. He smiled at her.
    "A young boy could hardly ride about the country sidesaddle." He showed her how to put her foot in the stirrup and swing her leg over to the other side.
    She smiled down at him. "It feels a bit awkward."
    "It will be second nature to you before we get to Texas," he told her.

 
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    For the first few days they rode hard. The destruction of war was all about them. Sometimes they found a friendly family to take them in, and other times Bodine and Victoria would seek the shelter of a deserted barn. The Yankee soldiers were everywhere; they tried to avoid the main thoroughfare whenever possible. Victoria found a new freedom in the clothes Martha O'Brian had given her. After the first few days of feeling embarrassed by her appearance, she began to delight in being unencumbered, and wondered if she would ever feel at ease in feminine attire again.
    There was a chilled wind blowing out of the north. Victoria pulled her coat across her chest and wished she could build a fire. They had camped the night before beside a small creek and had slept under the stars, thankful for the warm blankets Paul's mother had provided them with.
    Bodine had ridden off early that morning scouting out the countryside. They had been told the day before by a shopkeeper where they had stopped for supplies that a large body of Union troops was in the vicinity.
    Bodine had warned Victoria to stay out of sight until he returned. It seemed he had been gone for hours, but glancing at the sun, she saw it was no much past noon. Victoria went in search of Rebe and found him grazing nearby. She rubbed his neck He tossed his head and pawed the ground. "Poor boy," she soothed him. "You could do with a good brushing." He had mud caked on his hind legs. "I wish I had thought to buy a brush for you," she said deciding that the next time they stopped for supplies, she would purchase one.
    She heard a twig snap and looked about frightened. "Bodine, is that you?" She received no answer. Fear prickled her spine. She waited for £ moment, wondering if she should jump on Rebel's back and ride away. When she heard no other sound, she sighed in relief. Probably some wile animal, she thought, a deer most likely. Giving Rebel's neck a final pat, Victoria returned to the campsite. She lay down on her blanket and fell herself getting drowsy. She intended to close her eyes for only a moment, but the warmth of the blanket soon lulled her to sleep.
    She awoke with a start. A shadow had fallen across her face. Victoria's eyes widened in horror. Standing over her, with a