Free Compromised Hearts by Hannah Howell Page A

tell by the brightness of her eyes and the slight flush on her cheeks that she had already had more than enough.
    “Doctored? Oh. You mean someone had added spirits to it. That explains why it tastes so sparkling. Come along, James.” She towed a chuckling James out onto the dance area.
    “A delightful young woman, Cloud.”
    “I noticed you thought so, John.”
    “A true lady.”
    Cloud frowned as he heard censure in the major’s tone. “Spit it out, John. We’ve never minced words before.” He noticed the major glance towards Pamela, whose presence he had forgotten, and he scowled at her, roughly freeing his arm from her grasp. “Don’t you have some place to go?” He almost sighed with relief when, clearly deciding she had had enough, she flounced away. “You were saying, John?”
    John sighed and shook his head. “When there’s so many willing, easy ones about, why are you after Emily?”
    “I’m not after Emily. I have her.”
    “Cloud, we aren’t speaking about a woman like Pamela here.”
    “You think I don’t know that?”
    “You seem determined to work yourselfup into a temper. You won’t goad me into stepping outside. I have no intention of coming to fisticuffs with you over this, but I mean to have my say. I don’t like the game you’re playing this time. She’s a sweet, well brought-up girl and you could ruin her. She doesn’t deserve that.” “No, she doesn’t.”
    The major frowned. “Now I think you are playing games with me.”
    “Not at all. What’s between Em and me is just that—between Em and me.”
    “I find it difficult to step back and let you turn that girl into a whore.”
    “John, nothing I could ever do to Em would make her become one of those. Leave it be, John. And leave her be, too,” he added coldly. “Em’s mine.” He realized that he meant that wholeheartedly and wondered if he looked as surprised as John did. “I’ve got no intention of ruining her.”
    “No? You’re making her name a scandal at every post and stop between where you started and the valley. That could easily catch up with her.”
    “Then I’ll be there to divert it.”
    “You mean to stay with her?”
    “I believe I do.” He frowned when James returned to their side without Emily. “Where’s Em?”
    “Stepped outside for a moment. She said she was feeling warm. I think the punch has gone to her head.” James saw Pamela go out the same way Emily had and scowled. “Now,what’s she up to?”
    “Nothing good,” Cloud grumbled and set off hoping to stop a confrontation that could cause him a great deal of trouble.
    Emily sighed with pleasure as she sat down on a rough bench and a cool breeze eased the heat in her face. She was feeling both warm and lightheaded. It occurred to her that the ‘doctored’ punch she had had so much of could be the cause of that. She hoped some fresh air would instill her with a more sober attitude. The last thing she wished to do was to become drunk and foolish, an embarrassment to both Cloud and herself. Liquor, she reflected, was a troublesome thing.
    And here comes another troublesome thing, she thought crossly as she spotted Pamela approaching her. Even the thought that Pamela was at least not still clinging to Cloud did not ease the annoyance Emily felt. The expression on Pamela’s face told Emily that the woman wanted some sort of confrontation, most likely an unpleasant one. Emily decided that she was more than a little tired of facing Cloud’s seemingly endless collection of discarded lovers. This time, she decided, she was not even going to try to be polite.
    “I believe you can guess what I wish to speak to you about.” Pamela crossed her arms over her chest and looked down at Emily.
    “You look just like my old schoolteacher.”
    “What?”
    “When you stare down your nose like that, you look just like Miss Teasdale.”
    “Stop talking nonsense. I’ve come to talk about Cloud.”
    “Ah, what a surprise. Know him well, do