Tender Betrayal

By Rosanne Bittner

Stolen kisses and secret reunions lead to a passion that civil war cannot sever in this glorious historical romance from the bestselling author of Caress.
 
Beautiful, proud Audra Brennan feels like a stranger in a foreign land when she comes north from Louisiana to study music. But when she savors her first forbidden taste of desire in the arms of handsome lawyer Lee Jeffreys, his caresses spark a flame within her that burns away the differences between rebel and Yankee, all objections silenced by the fierce beating of two wild hearts falling impetuously, impossibly in love.
 
Suddenly cannon fire shatters the country. Principled, impassioned, and committed to a nation united, Lee answers the call to fight against the Confederacy, while Audra hurries home to a plantation shadowed by the darkening cloud of war. But in the most terrible of circumstances, can either afford to surrender their heart?
 
“Power, passion, tragedy and triumph are Rosanne Bittner’s hallmarks. Again and again, she brings readers to tears.” —RT Book Reviews

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Feb 2, 2016
• ISBN: 9781682303320

Rosanne Bittner

Rosanne Bittner has penned fifty-nine novels since 1983, stories about America’s 1800s Old West and Native Americans. She has won numerous writing awards, including the coveted Willa Award from Women Writing the West for Where Heaven Begins.  Her works have been published in Russia, Taiwan, Norway, Germany, Italy, and France. Bittner is a member of Women Writing the West, Western Writers of America, the Nebraska, Oklahoma, and North Berrien (Michigan) Historical Societies, Romance Writers of America, Mid-Michigan Romance Writers of America, and a Board member of the Coloma Lioness Club, a local charitable organization.

Book preview

Prologue

1867

Lee, my love,

Just as the sun shines

And the ocean wind blows wet and wild,

I love you as a woman loves,

But you see me as a child.

Audra read the words to the first verse of the song she had written for Lee Jeffreys so long ago, when her heart was full of innocence and dreams. The young see such hope in the impossible, she thought. If she had known what would come to pass after she met the handsome lawyer from New York, perhaps she would never have written the song.

But the past could not be changed, and now she must decide if the song she had composed with such passion years before still meant anything to her. She was so tired of having to make decisions that tore at her very soul, so weary from the pain of all she had lost. The war had finally ended; but just as the South would take a long time to mend, so would her heart.

It was still easy to remember their first meeting in Connecticut. She could almost smell the seawater, hear the cry of the gulls and the soft splash of waves upon the beach. It seemed a lifetime ago, a time when she had lived in a world that no longer existed. She laid the tattered papers in her lap, buttoned the top button of her woolen jacket against the cold November air, and leaned back in the rocker to watch the wide Kansas horizon and think of Lee…

Part 1

A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free…It will become all one thing, or all the other.

—ABRAHAM LINCOLN, 1858

1

June 1859

Lee guided his carriage beneath the row of huge maple trees for which his family’s estate was named. Maple Shadows held sweet boyhood memories for him. He remembered watching men chop down some of the stately trees when he was a child, clearing the way for the curved, bricked drive that led to the ornate octagon-shaped home his father had built here in Connecticut. The estate was to be a summer retreat from the filth and noise of New York City; but in the last few years his father and brothers had made little use of it, finding their lives just too busy to take advantage of the family paradise on Long Island Sound.

Lee figured he and his mother were the only ones in the family who truly appreciated this place. There was a time when they all would spend their summers here on Mulberry Point; but now that he and Carl and David were grown, and his brothers had wives and families, it just seemed as though getting everyone together at the same time for more than a few days was impossible. His mother still came every summer, staying from May until September.

Anna Harcourt Jeffreys loved it here, and Lee supposed she liked to pretend that her boys were still young, and at any moment they would appear at her door ready to take walks in the sand and climb the maple trees as they did a lifetime ago. He could hear the cry of the sea gulls on the beach beyond the house, remembered feeding them, chasing them as a child. He used to have a huge collection of seashells and snails, but somewhere in his growing-up years he had lost all of that.

He halted in front of a hitching post, then climbed out of the carriage and tied the handsome black gelding that had brought him here from New Haven. He studied the house he loved so much, remembering how he used to run all around it, counting all eight sides of the octagon-shaped structure. His mother had insisted on the addition of a porch that ran the full circumference of the house, its roof serving as a balcony for the second floor. The estate was so beautiful, she wanted to be able to sit on a veranda or walk out of her upstairs bedroom and see in any direction, the Atlantic to the east, Long Island Sound to the south, nothing but heavily wooded hills to the north and west.

A lacy-design black wrought-iron railing edged both the lower veranda and the upper balcony, and the white wood siding of the house was set off by the dark gray trim of the molded cornices and the decorative brackets that supported the eaves and ran around the groupings of double windows and French doors.

Everything was as pretty as ever, and he wished he could have come earlier; but at least the warmth of an early summer had already brought trees and grass and flowers back to life. He was the only family member who spent a good month here every summer, deciding he worked too damn hard the rest of the year not to take this time away. Before opening his own law firm, there had been the years of schooling, both at West Point and Yale. For four of those summers he had not been able to come here at all.

A dull ache returned to his heart when he remembered that one of those summers he had stayed away because of Mary Ellen Eastman. That was supposed to have been the best summer of his life. He was to have brought Mary Ellen here to marry her the summer after he graduated from Yale, but pneumonia had claimed her life before they could wed. He hadn’t been able to bring himself to come that summer without her. He still visited her grave back in New Haven, but not as often as he once had. She’d died six years ago. The past was just that now…the past.

He paused, listening then to piano playing so splendid that it gave him a chill at its glorious beauty. That would be his mother, doing what she loved best, her slender fingers flowing over the keys of the grand piano in the parlor. No one could play and sing like Anna Jeffreys, but in the next moment someone’s magnificent soprano voice joined the piano accompaniment. He knew his mother’s voice, and she was not singing now. Whoever it was, she ran a close race with his own mother’s magnificent singing abilities. The music flowed from the house, filling the air and the flowers and the trees beyond it, carried by a gentle breeze that drifted over the manicured lawn and brought with it the smell of the sea.

Music. It was his mother’s life. The sound of her playing and perhaps some student of hers singing only added to the comfort he always felt when he came here. They were familiar sounds, and they told him nothing had changed. He approached the front door, putting a finger to his lips to warn Katherine, the housekeeper, to be still. She had just come through the door to prune some potted plants on the wide veranda when she saw him approaching.

I want to surprise her, he said quietly.

Katherine nodded, her face lighting up with delight at his presence. She’ll be so happy to see you here, she answered.

Lee gave her a wink. He breathed deeply of the sweet scent of lilacs blooming at each side of the veranda steps. His mother loved lilacs, and hundreds of bushes bloomed throughout the thirty-acre estate.

Have old Tom take good care of that horse and buggy for me, will you? I rented them at the docks back at New Haven—took a merchant ship from New York. It was the only thing available at the time. Tell him to take the buggy back tomorrow for me. He can take an extra horse along to ride back home.

I’ll tell him. Katherine left and Lee entered the house, closing the screen door softly. The singing continued, floating through the many rooms of the house, filling every corner and stairway. All the windows and doors were open to the warm afternoon, and the music mingled with the soft spilling sound of waves as they rolled onto the beach at the back side of the house. A sea gull flew very near the front doorway, giving out a piercing cry before flying off again.

Lee removed his hat to hang it on the same cherrywood rack that had stood in the entranceway for years. The family’s summer home was not nearly as big and ornate as his parents’ home just north of New York City, but it was splendid in its own right. Nearby, on a beautifully carved pedestal, a Chinese vase full of fresh-cut flowers had been placed. Lee did not remember the vase or the pedestal. Perhaps his mother had bought them on her trip to Europe this past winter. She certainly did love flowers, but not as much as she loved her music. She had given up a career as a concert pianist and opera singer when she’d had her first son, his oldest brother, Carl. Then had come David, and then himself. There had been a fourth child, but he had died at birth.

Anna Jeffreys had missed being a part of the world of music, but wanted to be home with her sons, so she had found happiness in teaching voice and advanced piano to young people who had the potential to become the very best. At least he hoped she was happy. He remembered the day he’d caught her crying when he was younger, when she admitted that she had given up her career in part because his father had insisted on it. Maybe that was when he decided his father would never tell him what to do, that he’d rule his own life. He had, much to Edmund Jeffreys’s chagrin.

He pushed the old hurts aside. He was here, and he was going to enjoy himself and forget family problems. When it came to his mother, there were no problems at all. She was generous and loving, accepting of her children’s wishes. In her eyes he could do no wrong.

He headed toward the parlor, anxious to surprise her. She expected him tomorrow, not today. Her student’s voice was superb. Lee’s own ear for music had become trained over the years, but he had not inherited a talent at the piano, nor any particular desire to learn to sing or play. Still, being raised by Anna Jeffreys, he could not help but appreciate talent in others.

The last student that he could remember his mother having here was a young man who went on to play piano with a New York symphonic orchestra. Now his mother was apparently giving voice lessons to a young woman who dreamed of the kind of career his mother had had. Anna Jeffreys’s own voice was still surprisingly strong for a woman of sixty years, but not as strong or as lovely as the voice he heard now.

He walked lightly over Oriental rugs that led past the home’s wide central stairway, down an oak-lined hallway to the parlor. A teenage boy sat just inside the double French doors leading into the room. The boy peeked around a potted palm and smiled at Lee. Two students this year? Lee figured the boy was waiting for his turn at a lesson, either voice or piano.

He turned his attention to his mother’s cherished grand piano, a full nine-foot, concert-sized instrument his father had purchased for her when she quit her career. Anna sat on the padded bench playing rich chords while her new student stood nearby singing her heart out, and Lee found himself staring. The student was a young woman of elegant beauty, her skin white as pearls, her auburn hair falling in a cascade of curls down her back. That hair glinted pure red when the sun hit it, and it was drawn up at the sides, revealing a slender neck, high cheekbones, and an exquisite nose and jawline.

Lee walked farther inside the room, and his mother, a graceful beauty in her own right, glanced in his direction. Her blue eyes brightened, and her aging but still lovely face broke into a smile as she rose. Lee, what a nice surprise! She came toward him, and Lee felt proud of how she had kept her figure over the years. Her once dark, but now graying, hair was twisted into a mass of curls on top of her head. She wore a soft yellow day dress, her skirts rustling as she came closer to embrace him.

Lee gave her a hug in return, wondering if he had grown taller in the year since he had seen her. The top of her head came well below his chin, and he thought now neither he nor either of his brothers seemed to resemble their mother, except for their dark hair. In his own case, he had also inherited his mother’s very blue eyes. Carl and David both had their father’s dark brown eyes. His mother would sometimes brag that his blue eyes made him the handsomest of her three sons, and he grinned at the thought of how she was always boasting about him and his brothers.

He looked past her then to glance at the younger woman, who remained standing beside the piano, watching him with exotic green eyes. She quickly looked down and blushed, apparently embarrassed he had caught her studying him a little too intently. Pictures of the family were scattered across the top of the piano, Lee’s right in the center. He supposed she recognized him from that, and knowing his mother, the young woman had probably already gotten an earful about Anna Jeffreys’s boys.

How are you, Mother? He leaned back to get a better look at her.

I’ve been fine, except for still having so many headaches these past few weeks.

He frowned. Well, that’s part of the reason I’m here. I’m concerned about you.

The woman patted his arm. "I’m sure it’s nothing serious. Dr. Kelsey isn’t sure what’s causing them, thinks it’s just from worrying about your father and the rest of you too much. Your father and brothers work too hard, you know, but at least you find time to get away from the summer heat and filth of New York City. I wish I could get all of you here at once. I’m having a devil of a time getting your father to come at all this year."

You know Dad. He’s supposed to be letting Carl and David take over the factories, but he just can’t quite let go. He wondered if she knew deep inside that for the last few years he had made a point of not being here at the same time as his father and brothers. There would only be arguments, and he did not come here for that. His mother hated discord in the family, and he hated upsetting her.

Lee, this is Audra Brennan, Anna told him, turning from him and introducing the young woman at the piano. Her father brought her all the way from Louisiana by ship. She’s to spend the summer here for voice training.

Lee nodded to Audra. Well, I expect a summer in Connecticut must be much more comfortable than spending one in the unbearable heat of Louisiana, he told her with a smile. He watched her chin rise slightly, as though he had somehow insulted her.

When you’re born to a place, Mr. Jeffreys, you get accustomed to the weather there, she answered in a heavy but charming southern accent. "Only someone from the North would think the heat of Louisiana is unbearable."

Lee was intrigued by the way she stretched out her words in a rich drawl. North was Naawth, and she had put a strong emphasis on the word, with a tiny hint of distaste. So, he thought, she’s one of those stubborn southerners whose father has probably been preaching that anyone who lives north of Kentucky is some kind of enemy. My apologies, he answered aloud. "I didn’t mean to offend your lovely state. I haven’t even been there, but I have been in Florida in the summer, and it was unbearable. He grinned. To this northerner, at least. Maybe after spending a summer here in Connecticut, you’ll understand what I mean. Either way, I’m sure my mother will make your stay here comfortable and memorable. Is your father here with you?"

My father is very busy with the plantation this time of year, so he could not stay. He has gone back to Louisiana and will come for me in September. She paused, then added, Father owns one of the biggest plantations in Louisiana, and he dares not be gone for too long at a time. Brennan Manor takes a great deal of supervision, you know, especially with hundreds of Negroes running about.

Lee frowned. Pompous little brat, he thought. She spoke the words as though her father were the most important man ever born. And they owned slaves! God, he hated the concept of slavery. This girl apparently thought nothing of it. He’d like to have a damn good talk with her and her father about that.

I met Audra’s father at the opera in New York City the winter before last, Lee’s mother spoke up quickly. She gave Lee a chastising look, as though to warn him not to start arguing with the girl. Mr. Brennan was there on business. He is not only a farmer, but a cotton broker. He had brought Audra with him that year as an adventure for her, to let her see a bit of the world beyond their plantation, and because he misses her so when he travels.

Audra forced a smile as Anna Jeffreys spoke. Did the woman realize how she still suffered from a terrible homesickness? She had hated New York. It was cold and dirty and ugly. It made Brennan Manor seem like a piece of heaven.

Anna moved around the bench to stand near Audra. She put an arm around her. Mr. Brennan wanted his daughter to see a real opera, because of her own lovely voice and love for singing, Anna Jeffreys continued. When he discovered I had trained the lead female singer, he asked if it would be possible for Audra to spend a summer with me. He thought it might be a nice experience for her. Her voice has great possibilities.

I heard, Lee answered. Very beautiful.

Thank you, Mr. Jeffreys, Audra answered.

Audra was only fifteen then, his mother was saying. Mr. Brennan wanted to wait until she was a little older to send her so far from home. He refused to send her north again in winter, as she hates our cold weather. Sending her in summer meant he could not stay with her, as that is his busiest time on the plantation, so he allowed her brother to come with her, as well as her personal…servant.

Lee noticed her hesitation at the word servant. Did the girl have a Negro slave along? He saw the look in his mother’s eyes and knew it must be so. The woman knew how adamant he and his brothers and father were that slavery must be ended in this country. What a disgrace America was to the rest of the world, preaching freedom but owning slaves! He had himself helped the governor of New York, who was a personal friend of the family, work on creating new legislation designed to eradicate the practice.

I am afraid our poor Audra has been quite homesick, his mother said. Anna Jeffreys had a way of loving and accepting all people, no matter what their way of life, especially if they were interested in music. Music rises above all prejudice and hatred, she had told him once. It is a common ground shared by everyone and can bring people of all walks of life together in joy.

Maple Shadows is almost as pretty as Brennan Manor, Audra spoke up.

Almost? Was she trying to be nice, Lee wondered, or did she intend the remark as an insult? Probably an insult. He had worked a few times with southern businessmen and aristocrats and found them a proud, pompous bunch who seemed to think their South was the most beautiful place in the world.

I did not at all like the bit of winter I experienced two years ago in New York, Audra continued. I am not accustomed to such harsh weather. My father feared I might take ill, and being so far from home… Her eyes teared, and Anna Jeffreys gave her a squeeze.

Lee felt a glimmer of sympathy for the girl at the look in her eyes, but her attitude still irritated him, as though she were doing them a favor by her mere presence. He bowed slightly. "Well, welcome to Connecticut, and what I am sure will be a very pleasant summer for you," he said as he straightened.

Audra was convinced both the bow and the remark were in jest and not out of respect. Lee Jeffreys was indeed Anna’s handsomest son, with the bluest eyes she had ever seen; but the way he looked at her right now did not make him terribly likable. He was laughing at her behind those eyes, she was sure.

I think I’ll go to my room and change, he told his mother. I’d like to go for a swim before supper.

Oh, Lee, the water is still very cold!

That’s the way I like it. Lee turned and walked over to the young man who sat near the door. He put out his hand. Lee Jeffreys. You must be Audra’s brother. What’s your name, son?

The boy rose and grasped Lee’s hand. He nodded, his face growing a little red as he glanced then at his sister, who was rushing to his side. This is Joey, she answered for him.

Lee smiled and squeezed the young man’s hand slightly. Well, nice to meet you, Joey.

Joey smiled in return, but he still did not speak. The three of them stood there rather awkwardly for a moment, and Lee let go of the boy’s hand, mystified by the embarrassing moment.

You go right up and change, Anna told her son. I’ll tell Helen to begin preparing supper for you, Lee. How long will you be staying?

Lee was grateful for her intervention. He turned to her and put an arm around her, sweeping her into the hallway. A whole month, he announced. How do you like that?

Oh, Lee, that’s wonderful!

Well, it’s my own law firm, so I guess if I want to take off for a month and leave everyone else in charge, it’s my right.

I just wish your father would look at things that way sometimes. He’s not coming until late August this time, and I have a feeling he’ll stay only a week or so. Carl and David aren’t coming until then, either. I do so wish I could get you all together at once. Do you see each other very often in New York?

Lee reached down to pick up his bags. You know how it is, Mother. New York is a big city, and I’m not anywhere close to the factories. All of us are so damn busy, we have to come here to Connecticut to see each other, only this year it looks like we won’t even accomplish that. He kissed her cheek. It doesn’t matter. What’s important is being able to spend some time with you. What’s this about gallivanting off to Florida and then to Europe? Usually you stay in the city with Father in the winter. My God, it’s been a whole year since I saw you last right here at Maple Shadows.

Anna put a hand to her forehead. "Yes, well, you know how I have always hated the city. This is the place where I always feel the best, but I’ve gotten so I can’t bear the cold winters, either in New York or Connecticut. I can’t get your father to leave, so I spent part of the winter in Florida with your Aunt Grace. The two of us sailed on to England for a holiday. I truly enjoyed it, and I had only two of the really bad headaches. Mostly they’re quite bearable."

She turned and headed for the stairway, and Lee suspected she didn’t want to talk about her health, which worried him even more. Come on up, she told him. I’ll show you which room to take. I’ve given Audra your room because it has such a wonderful view. I thought it would be nice for her.

The stairway curved past the parlor door, and Lee turned to glance down at Audra. She and her brother were both staring at him, but Audra quickly looked away again. Lee could not get over how beautiful she was, in spite of her haughty air. She wore a ruffled pale-pink muslin dress with tiers of white linen cascading in a V shape down the front and back. It fit her tiny waist invitingly, and he had already noticed earlier that it also fit her bosom perfectly, a bosom that looked very generous for a young woman so small otherwise. Too bad such a brat had to be so pretty.

A young Negro woman came down the stairway then, hesitating when she saw Lee. Lee felt instant irritation, realizing she must be the personal servant his mother had mentioned. She nodded to him, and he saw gentleness and intelligence in her dark eyes. What a waste of human life, he thought. She was a beautiful woman, her creamy brown skin clean and smooth. She moved past him then, looking over the railing at Audra. Shall I prepare your change of clothes for supper now, Miss Audra? she asked.

Yes, Toosie, but we are not finished here. Mrs. Jeffreys is just taking her son to his room first. We have another half hour of lessons yet.

Lee could not help staring. The woman surely carried white blood, for her skin was much paler than any Negro he had ever seen. He had heard stories about some white men in the South having literal harems of Negro women, with dozens of mulatto babies running about. Were the stories true, or just exaggerated by people who didn’t know what they were talking about? Hello, he spoke up. I’m Lee Jeffreys. I take it you came here with Audra.

The woman glanced down, appearing suddenly nervous. Yes, sir.

How do you like it here in Connecticut?

Just fine, sir. I—

Toosie, don’t be rattling on to the owner of this house, Audra called out sternly to the woman. It’s not your place.

The woman twisted her apron in her hands, still not having met Lee’s eyes. Yes, ma’am, she answered quietly. I will go help the kitchen maid until you are ready to change, Miss Audra. She hurried past Lee and on down the stairs. When she walked past Audra, she kept her eyes averted, and Audra gave her a scowl. Lee noticed Audra’s arrogant posture, and it annoyed him. He had never spoken to a servant the way she had just spoken to hers.

Audra looked up at him then, seeing his anger. Toosie has been my personal servant since I was six years old, she explained. She was thirteen when father gave her to me. You have to understand, Mr. Jeffreys, that slaves cannot be treated the way you people treat your help here in the North. If you are too easy with them, my father says they become cocky and belligerent. Please do not try to make idle conversation with her. I have already explained to your mother.

Lee felt his temper rising. "Look here, young lady, this is my house, and I’ll speak with whomever I want, whenever I want, be it idle conversation or discussing important issues, one of which is slavery, I might add. He frowned in disgust. And I don’t like the idea of having a Negro slave in my house!" How dare this young female tell him what to do and say! She had spoken to him as though he were some ignorant idiot who didn’t know how to conduct himself. He was, by God, a grown man, a successful attorney in New York City, and his family was probably ten times wealthier than this little snob’s slave-owning, arrogant, southern bastard of a father! What the hell was wrong with these people from the South, still dealing in the abhorrent practice of slavery, talking about separating from the Union?

He glanced at her brother again, who just stood watching him. The young man still had not spoken a word. He turned his attention back to Audra. I’ll see you at supper, Miss Brennan, he said, a strong note of authority in the words.

He glanced at his mother then, who looked distraught, then stormed past her and on up the stairs. He was anxious now to change and let the ocean water cool his anger. It irritated him to no end to think that Miss Audra Brennan would be here the whole length of his own visit. He would rather have found just his mother here. If the girl had not brought her own damn personal slave along, it wouldn’t be so bad. He’d by God talk to that poor Negro woman if he felt like it. Slavery was wrong, and he didn’t like the idea of someone who believed in such things staying in his house. He gave his mother an angry glare as she hurried to catch up with him.

I’ll not go treating that slave woman like she’s something to be squashed under a man’s heel! he told her, his blue eyes flashing with indignation.

Calm down, Lee. You always did have the worst temper of you three boys. Please remember that Audra and her brother are our guests, and try to be more open-minded. Anna led him to the room he was to use and urged him inside, closing the door. Owning slaves is all Audra has ever known, she continued. "If you want to talk to her about the right and wrong of it, you’ve got to approach the whole thing gently, calmly. She’s only seventeen, son! She was brought up in that culture. It’s as natural to her as breathing is to you."

She patted his arm and walked to a window to draw the curtains aside. Audra is actually a very sweet young lady, and immensely talented. This is her first time so far from home by herself, and I think she is a little bit intimidated about being in the North, surrounded by people who think it’s horrible that she has a slave with her. She’s actually scared and very lonely, so be kind to her.

"Well, she’s not by herself! She’s got her brother with her, for whatever he’s worth. What’s the problem with him? He hasn’t said a word since I got here!" Lee dropped his bags and walked over to help her open a window that was stuck. His irritation was enhanced by the fact that he had to give up his room with a view of the ocean. This room looked out on the front lawn, away from the sea.

The boy stutters, Lee. I’m sure being in the presence of a successful lawyer like you, he feels very embarrassed for you to hear him talk. I think part of his trouble is his father. The boy seems to be very close to his sister, but his father did not treat him very nicely when he first brought them here. I noticed the man gives Audra all his attention and almost none to the boy.

Lee sighed, feeling like a bit of a heel. He shook his head in resignation. Ever patient and understanding, aren’t you? What would this family do without you, Mother? He gave her a faint smile. "I’m sorry. I just don’t like a woman I don’t even know giving me orders in my own house, especially when she’s more girl than woman!"

I’ll talk to her. Just remember she was raised by a very wealthy, slave-owning plantation owner. That’s the only life she’s known, and on top of that her mother died ten years ago. She’s had no mother since she was seven years old, so she has grown up being trained to give her own orders and run the household.

Yes, yes, don’t worry. I won’t cause a scene at supper. He picked up a bag and threw it on the bed. Go on back downstairs and finish the lessons. The poor girl had no mother. He felt like an ass, and he had probably embarrassed her brother, who could not readily speak up in his sister’s defense. I guess I’m just tired from the long trip here. It takes a while to wind down from life in Manhattan.

I know, son. It’s the same way for your father and brothers when they first get here. Anna stepped back and looked him over. Lee, every time I see you, you’re handsomer than before.

He laughed lightly, feeling some of the steam going out of him. He removed his gray waistcoat. Your sons could be the ugliest things that walked the face of the earth, and you’d still say they were handsome. Go on with you. I want to change.

Anna breathed deeply, looking him over lovingly. I’m glad you came, Lee. She wished she could tell him how frightened she was by her headaches. She carried a deep fear she could not name, fought the suspicion that the cause was something more than any doctor had been able to detect. She turned away so that he could not see the tears that suddenly filled her eyes. I’ll see you at supper.

Anna left the room, and Lee removed his clothes, putting on a cotton robe. He had always swum naked, and he damn well would today, guests or no guests. He went to the doorway and again heard his mother’s lovely piano playing, joined by the incredible singing of Audra Brennan. He went down the back stairs and through a rear entrance, out to the beach. Soon the sound of the waves nearly drowned out the music. He threw off the robe and jumped into the cold water.

He swam out far enough that he could no longer hear the piano or the singing, but the icy wetness did little to cool his continued irritation at having an unexpected guest at the house when he had planned on being alone.

He came out of the water shivering. He quickly picked up the towel he had brought along and briskly rubbed his hair with it, then put on his robe. He stood watching the house for a moment, began to catch bits and pieces of Audra’s singing again. He was surprised at how easily the girl had riled him. It was true he had a temper, but his years as a lawyer had taught him to control it, especially in the courtroom. He was a grown man who normally did not get upset so easily, especially at pretty young women.

He rubbed the towel at his hair some more as he headed toward the house. He told himself that Audra Brennan simply did not understand the folly of her own ways. She didn’t know any better than to be rude to the help and give orders to others. She had been brought up that way, by a domineering father, and with no mother to teach her the gentler side of life.

He hated to admit it, but he knew his anger did not come so much from her bringing her personal slave here with her, but more from the fact that she was so damned beautiful, and he had no right thinking of her that way. She was just a kid, and a mighty spoiled one at that.

The hell with her, he muttered. He had come here for a badly needed vacation, and he would enjoy it as much as possible, in spite of the unwanted company. As long as Audra Brennan stayed out of his way and didn’t try to tell him again what to do in his own house, everything would be fine.

2

Audra opened the French doors that led to the balcony outside her room. She breathed deeply of the sea air and walked past an array of lawn furniture and plants to the wrought-iron railing. She gazed at the water, glittering from the light of a full moon. She liked it here at Maple Shadows well enough, but it was not Brennan Manor. At home she was the one in charge, adored by her own father, and by Richard Potter, the fine southern gentleman who, it was more or less understood, she would marry in another year.

She was not at all sure she wanted to marry Richard, but she hated disappointing her father, who was eagerly in favor of the match. Right now, the way people here were treating her, and the way Lee Jeffreys had deliberately tried to upset her this evening at the supper table, Richard seemed like the most wonderful man who ever walked. He was twenty-five years her senior, more like a father than a suitor and her future husband; but at least he respected her, understood her way of life. After all, Richard was the son of Alfred Potter, whose plantation was nearly as big as Brennan Manor. After their marriage, the two plantations would be melded into one huge enterprise that would dwarf all other plantations in Louisiana, perhaps the whole South. She would be the mistress of it all. Mr. Lee Jeffreys simply did not understand her father’s importance and political standing, nor did he have any conception of life on a plantation, or why the Negroes were necessary to the survival of their way of life.

It was obvious Lee did not like her at all, and now she would have to put up with his arrogant attitude for a whole month. If not for Anna Jeffreys’s uncompromising kindness, she would have asked to be sent right back to Louisiana. She missed Brennan Manor so much that she felt sick. At night, when she was alone like this, tears of loneliness came easily. The only reason she refused to give in and ask to be sent home was that her father thought the trip, and studying under Mrs. Jeffreys, would serve as a kind of finishing school for her. Through some of the opera music Anna Jeffreys was teaching her, she was even learning some Italian, French, and Spanish. Friends and family back home would be very impressed, especially Aunt Janine and Uncle John McAllister in Baton Rouge. Aunt Janine was her mother’s sister, and she was always fussing that Audra did not have a well-rounded education, that she lacked refinement because she had grown up without a mother.

Aunt Janine’s daughter, her cousin Eleanor, had been sent to Europe last summer. Audra didn’t doubt that the reason her aunt was always flaunting her daughter as a well-traveled, worldly debutante was because she was trying to make up for the fact that Eleanor was so unattractive. Eleanor, who was four years older than Audra, had a heavy body with no curves, and a round face that was usually peppered with blemishes. Her dull brown hair was straight and difficult to manage, and even though Aunt Janine dressed her in the finest, most expensive European designs, the clothing did little to help her appearance.

She was sure her aunt was upset that Eleanor was twenty-one years old and still had no prospects of a husband. She did have plenty of suitors, but none of them offered marriage. Audra suspected that was not just because of Eleanor’s looks, but because the men who courted her did not respect her. Eleanor had whispered shocking stories to her about young men and the things she let them do to her that Audra knew would make Aunt Janine faint with shame.

Audra did not understand much about secret things men and women did behind closed doors, and she didn’t care to know. No man, not even Richard Potter, was going to humiliate her that way, or court her just because she behaved like a harlot, whatever it was that harlots did. She only knew it was a label that carried shame with it. She had heard two young men at a party once talking about Eleanor. They had called her a slut and a harlot in the most disrespectful, insulting tone she had ever heard. She had never told her cousin about it.

Right now she actually missed Eleanor, missed everything about home. Brennan Manor might as well be a hundred thousand miles away as a thousand, but for her father’s sake, she vowed to be strong and proud and stay the full summer. Ever since she could remember, she had been doing what she could to please Joseph Brennan, hoping she could make up for his disappointment in Joey. She felt a need to protect and defend her brother. Why couldn’t their father see what a loving son he had? The man expected so much of Joey. That was another reason she felt she must marry Richard. Joey would never be capable of running the plantation himself. She had to marry someone who could take over when their father was gone, someone who would let Joey live there forever but who understood he would never be able to take full responsibility as master of Brennan Manor. Richard was the perfect answer.

She loved Joey so, had always felt responsible to care for him since their mother died. That was when he had begun stuttering. The problem had grown worse over the years instead of better, and she was sure it was because their father had made such a fuss about it and had made Joey more self-conscious about his speech.

Poor Joey had been embarrassed earlier when Lee introduced himself, and that made her even angrier with Lee. He had arrogantly ignored both of them during supper, had even talked to his mother about the next elections, accenting the fact that when it came time to vote for a new President, he would want someone who would support the total abolition of slavery. I think Abraham Lincoln is our man, he had said, glancing at Audra as though just waiting for her to argue his remark.

She had deliberately held her tongue, not wanting to express opposing views at the dinner table. According to her father, Abraham Lincoln would be the worst thing that could happen to the South. If that man became President, a lot of states would secede, but she was not about to go into all that with Lee Jeffreys. These northerners were so ready to preach to the South about what they believed was right and wrong, but, then, politics was a man’s game. She felt uneasy getting into a discussion about any of it.

She closed her eyes and pictured Brennan Manor, the beautifully manicured grounds, the smell of azaleas and dogwood, the cypress and oak trees. The plantation was like a mother to her and Joey. So often she tried to remember her real mother, but there were few memories for a child of seven who took it for granted that mother would always be there. All she could remember now was a terribly thin, pale woman who lay in a bed groaning in death. Her face had no form. There was only the lovely painting of her mother that hung over a fireplace to help her remember the woman.

She turned away from the railing and sat down in a wrought-iron chair to rest her head in her hands. She was so homesick and so upset with Lee Jeffreys that she knew she would not be able to sleep tonight. She tried to fight the unwanted tears, but now they came again. She had nearly gotten over this intense desire to go home, until today. She let herself have a good cry, feeling enveloped in loneliness. It was only when she stopped to retrieve a handkerchief from the pocket of her night robe that she realized someone was standing near her.

You all right, Miss Brennan?

Audra jumped at the voice, looking up to see Lee Jeffreys watching her. She felt angry and humiliated that he, of all people, had caught her bawling like a baby. She quickly wiped at her eyes. "Do you really care? I should think you would enjoy seeing me cry. It is certainly obvious you don’t much like me. She drew her robe closer around her neck, realizing then that he had not only caught her crying but had caught her sitting out here alone in her night clothes. It was highly improper. Do you always sneak up on people this way?" She started to rise, but he caught her arm.

No. I didn’t know you’d be out here, but since you are, please stay. I’d like to talk.

There was something different in his eyes tonight, and she was amazed that she actually saw an apology there. His touch on her arm brought a rush of warmth to her blood, and it surprised her so that she sat back down without arguing. She thought of how good and kind this man’s mother was. Maybe some of those good qualities ran in her son’s blood after all, and she finally admitted to herself that deep inside she wanted Lee Jeffreys to like her. "Fine, Mr. Jeffreys. I think we should talk."

He knelt in front of her. You can start by calling me Lee. May I call you Audra?

Why did she suddenly have so much trouble turning her eyes away from his? I suppose that would be all right.

The night breeze stiffened some, and it ruffled his dark hair. The grip on her arm had been firm, a big, strong hand, yet it had been gentle. She realized he looked even handsomer in the moonlight, and it struck her that she had been so concerned with her own problems and with the way he had treated her at first, that she had not really thought about how dashing he appeared when she first saw him come into the parlor. She remembered how strangely moved she had been at the way he had looked in that fine gray silk suit, smiling that brilliant smile. She had never seen a man with such blue eyes set in such a handsome face, framed with such nicely layered dark hair.

Now he wore simple cotton pants and a plain shirt that was partially unbuttoned, revealing a good deal of his bare chest in the shaft of light that came through the open doors of her room. There was dark hair on that chest, and she quickly looked away. What on earth was she feeling? A moment ago she hated this man, yet it struck her only now that she had actually been attracted to him. Was it because of the challenge he posed? Maybe it was because he was a lot like her father in some ways. He was not afraid to express his beliefs. He was a man who took charge, just like her father, and to her chagrin, she realized he had been right to chastise her earlier today. She had literally given him orders in his own house. After all, she was a guest. She must show these people how gracious and mannerly a southern lady could be, but she would not swallow her pride.

I was walking around the veranda, he was saying. Came to this side because I like to look at the ocean. I heard you crying, and I can’t help feeling I’m probably the reason. He rose and pulled a chair over close to her and sat down. I want to apologize. I was rude to you at dinner tonight, and I damn well know it. I don’t generally judge people without even getting to know them, and your being so young and away from home and all—our guest here—I’ve been way out of line, and I’m sorry.

Audra sat a little straighter, looking out at the ocean, suddenly unable to meet his eyes for fear she would get the odd feeling again that made her shiver. I accept your apology, sir, and I apologize in return. I should not have spoken to you the way I did. However, I know that you don’t like the way we live in the South, but it is our way of life, just as you have your own way. She heard him sigh deeply.

Audra, you must know deep in your soul that slavery is wrong.

She wiped at her eyes once more. Of course it’s wrong.

What? Lee frowned in surprise. I don’t understand—

She glanced at him for just a moment. Contrary to what you might think, Mr. Jeffreys, most of us in the South, especially the women, wish the whole practice had never been started. She looked away again. But, you see, it is like…let me think…like a large stone rolling down a hill. Once it starts tumbling, it cannot be stopped. We have lived this way for so long that now our whole economy would come crashing down around us if we could not use slaves to work our plantations. Men like my father would be ruined. She looked at him again. I am not ignorant just because I am a woman and young, she told him. I have heard my father talk many times with his fellow businessmen. I understand the politics of it better than you think. The North knows that the abolition of slavery would ruin us, but they don’t care. Each state should have the right to decide if it will continue allowing slavery, and neither the Federal government nor the President has the right to step in and cause our ruination.

Lee could not help smiling a little at the quick pride she showed. God, she was pretty, and that soft, southern drawl of hers somehow made her more enticing. He loved listening to her talk. It can’t go on forever, Audra. People like your father should begin preparing for that.

She wanted to look away from him again, but those blue eyes held her own. She caught the gentle warning behind his statement, felt a vague fear she could not quite name. Each state will do what it must do, Mr. Jeffreys. People like you have to give us much more time. Our investment in slaves is very heavy. To set them all free and lose all that investment and have to pay our help on top of it would destroy us. Besides, it would be dangerous.

Dangerous?

Audra rose, walking closer to the railing again. Perhaps you do not realize that there are nearly as many Negroes in the South as there are whites. If they were freed, where would they all go? Where would they live? There would surely be an insurrection, Mr. Jeffreys. They would murder us, take over our homes and farms. There have been uprisings in the past, my father tells me. You probably think it is cruel of me to be so stern with Toosie, but it is necessary, you see, to keep them in line. They can quickly become quite insolent. If one is not careful, it will be the slaves who run the household instead of the master. They must be constantly disciplined.

She heard his chair scraping the wooden floor as he rose, felt him move closer to her. There came that strange shiver again.

Reviews for Tender Betrayal

[strawberryga · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Another entertaining story from Ms. Bittner. I was not as fond of this book as I have been of her others, but it is a good story in it's own right.

[sarah_gruwell · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Ah Bittner, you know how to take me on an emotional journey. More used to her Westerns, this take on a Civil War tale still pleased on all fronts. I appreciated the new environment but still enjoyed the classic Bittner elements.At first, I didn’t like Audra; I found her immature and blind to the world around her. Yet, she quickly aged as the Civil War years approached and the harsh North/South divide played a part in her life. By the time we’d reached the climax, she was a strong, resolute woman, determined to make a difference in the world and to create new lives with those she never thought to rub elbows with.Her relationship with Lee was heart-felt from the beginning. Despite such different backgrounds and family circumstances, there’s an instant connection that laid the groundwork for a relationship to develop through the war years. While they may not share much time together page-wise, there’s still a very tangible love between these two that the reader is sure to feel.From a historical standpoint and as a tale of the Civil War in general, this book also entertains and excels. The harsh reality of a civil war comes to vicious life as the author explores the institution of slavery itself, the toll of the war took on all, and the common place death that stalked the American South.I was reminded of a mini-series from the ‘80s that I enjoyed, North & South, with Patrick Swayze. That also combined a historical familial saga of the Civil War years with romance. This book is similar in that it has plot points and characters that ring close to those others. I have to wonder if the author didn’t pull some inspiration from Patrick Swayze and his flowing locks. LOLA nice shake-up from Bittner’s usual Westerns, this tale of Civil War romance and bleakness stands out. The characters change with the circumstances, being relatable to the audience. The romance is sweet and emotional. If you like Bittner, you’ll love this title.