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"You wouldn't!"
Hunter's face lit with a wicked grin. "I love you too much to promise that I wouldn't."
Alanna picked up her valise. "All right, I'll see what I can do. Wait right here."
Hunter crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against the wall of the inn that had refused them. "I won't stray."
Alanna had never stayed at an inn, but having watched Hunter inquire about a room, she crossed the street and entered the Owl's Eye. Pretending to know exactly what she was doing, she went straight to the desk. "My husband and I will require a room for the next two nights," she announced confidently. "Do you have something nice available?"
Charmed by her soft southern accent and elegant manners, the elderly clerk positively beamed with pleasure. "I'll show you up to our best room myself. Now if you'll just sign the register, Mrs.—?"
"Hunter," Alanna replied. She picked up the pen, dipped it into the inkwell, and signed Mr. and Mrs. Hunter, Williamsburg, Virginia. She had the money Elliott had brought for their trip, and paid for the two nights in advance. "Is it possible to have supper served in our room?"
"Certainly, I'll see to it personally."
"Thank you. My husband will be joining me soon, and he has an enormous appetite. Please be sure you send up enough food."
"Our portions are always generous. The cook has prepared an especially delicious stew this evening. I'm sure you'll be pleased."
"I'm pleased already," Alanna assured him. She followed him up the stairs and down the hall, to a neatly furnished room that was of sufficient distance from the public tavern downstairs to be relatively quiet. The windows provided a splendid view of the harbor, and the feather bed was wide and comfortable. Best of all, it was located next to the back staircase.
"I know it's late in the day, but could I still arrange for a bath?"
"Usually I would have to say no, but for you, my dear, I'll make an exception."
"Thank you so much." Alanna closed the door behind him, counted to ten, peeked out to make certain the clerk had returned to his post, and then made her way down the back stairs. At the bottom, the passageway to the right opened onto the kitchen, while a door at the left led outside. She went through it and waved to Hunter from the side of the building. When he loped across the street to join her, she took his arm.
"Come on, there's a set of back stairs. We can come and go as often as we like, without being seen."
"And if I prefer using the front door?" Hunter asked.
"You can use it tomorrow."
"If I have the strength to leave our bed."
Knowing how much he enjoyed teasing her, Alanna just shook her head. Because they had already been together, she didn't feel as though it would really be their wedding night.
Perhaps it was because their marriage ceremony had been so terribly unromantic. Nearly a year later, she could still recall Melissa's wedding vividly. They had all worn such beautiful dresses. The flower-decked church had been filled with friends, and the reception afterward had been the lavish one Melissa had dreamed of having. Only Hunter had been missing, and he had had every right to be there.
When they reached their room, Hunter pulled Alanna into his arms, but he felt her sadness despite the gracefulness of her pose. "I'm sorry," he began.
"Don't be."
"Don't you want to know why?"
"It doesn't matter why," Alanna assured him. "You needn't be sorry about anything."
"Your life will never be what it would have been had you married a white man, and I'm sorry for that."
Alanna reached up to touch his cheek. "I'm not, although you may have been better off with a Seneca maid, who would already know how to cook your favorite dishes." She reached up on her tiptoes to kiss him, and his response was so enthusiastic that when the maid knocked at their door, it took them a long moment to break apart. Hunter stepped behind the screen in the corner and remained concealed, until the maid had finished lugging in the tub, pails of hot water, and left.
"I've never given a woman a bath. May I help you?" Hunter then asked.
Alanna had been managing her own baths for a very long time, but the prospect of having his help was so appealing, she smiled invitingly, "Yes, that would be nice. I wish the tub were large enough to hold us both."
"I'm used to bathing in the river, but I can make a big wooden tub for you, when we get back home. Would you like that?"
"Yes, I would." She placed her hands over his as he unfastened the buttons on her bodice. "I'd rather not put on this dress again. They're going to send up our supper. Would you mind if I dined in my nightgown?"
