The Abolitionist’s Secret Read Online Free PDF

will have to agree to disagree, in order to get along, Lieutenant.”
    David laughed. “Very well, then. If I can’t entice you to the balcony for a lively debate, will you join me to talk about your life in New York?”
    “There’s really not much to discuss on that topic.”
    David smiled at her again. “You are really making this difficult for me, aren’t you? I want to spend some time with you when we’re not jostled about by other clumsy dancers, and when I don’t have to struggle to remember what the next step of the dance is. Please, I beg of you, join me on the balcony as soon as is convenient.”
    Heather drew in a deep breath, and her eyes began to twinkle, just as her dress was doing in the candlelight. She looked up at him again.
    “All right, then. I’ll meet you in fifteen minutes.”
    • • •
    David drew in a shaky breath as he leaned back against the balcony railing. He lit a cheroot and watched the people come and go from the ballroom. It had rained earlier in the day and the balcony floor had several puddles of water, but the air was quite pleasant. Although he had danced with two other women after Heather, he’d grown lost in his own thoughts during the dances and had been very poor company. He quit fighting his wayward mind now, and allowed himself a minute or two to think about Heather, the woman who had captured his heart with a single glance.
    Last year, when he met her sister, he’d thought her lively chatter about Amelia Bloomer and the rights of women was enticing, but Ginger could not hold a candle to his Heather. His Heather? When had he started thinking about her like that? He smiled to himself as he answered his own question. She had been his since the minute their eyes met in the restaurant. Now, all he had to do was to convince her of it.
    His spine straightened and he rose to his full military stance when he caught a flash of a sparkly white dress emerging from the ballroom. He had no trouble following her movements in the moonlight and in the glow from the sparsely placed candles on the balcony. Heather approached him and placed her hand on his arm.
    A bit surprised, yet pleased at her directness, David followed her as she led him to a shadowy area of the balcony. She turned toward him in the darkness and brushed her hand over his chest.
    “I have wanted to feel your muscles since the moment we met,” she purred.
    David’s mind reeled. This was not what he expected from Heather. He snuffed his cigar carefully before he looked at her. “So, Miss Fitzpatrick, since slavery and life in New York are taboo subjects between us, enlighten me on what it’s like to have a twin sister.”
    She glanced up at him through her lashes and he knew in an instant that this was not Heather, but rather Jasmine, in front of him. He now needed to figure out if she had been instructed to come here in Heather’s place, or if this was Jasmine’s own doing.
    “Well, it’s sometimes fun to have a twin. Jasmine’s always so lively and vivacious. Why, if it weren’t for her, we would never have men to talk to, since I’m normally so shy. In fact, I can’t believe I’m prattling on in this manner with you. But then again, you’re very special.” Her voice dipped low and she ran her hand over his arm again.
    He took a step back.
    She followed, her voice taunting him. “My, my. Is a big military man like yourself afraid of little old me?” She looked up at him, batting her eyes.
    He removed her hand from his arm. “No, I’m not afraid of you, Miss Fitzpatrick. I merely prefer the company of your sister, Heather.”
    Jasmine glared up at him, sparks of anger shooting from her eyes. “Well, I never! For your information, Lieutenant, she asked me to come here in her place, since she has no desire to talk to you, ever again. And, for that matter, neither do I!”
    Jasmine turned with a flourish and hastily stormed off. She got no further than three steps before she slipped on a puddle of