Southern Seduction by Brenda Jernigan Page B

he tried to hide it. Was there any pleasing his cruel grandfather? Hadn’t Travis heard more than once how his birth had ruined his mother? “I don’t give a damn what the old bastard thinks. It will please Mother and that’s enough.”
    “And that’s a reason to get married? What if Hesione is cold? Who will warm your bed? From my observation, I believe the woman has ice in her veins.”
    “ I appreciate your concern, Jeremy, but a mistress will always supply what a wife cannot. And I care for Hesione. She was the best choice.”
    “ Should I remind you that your last mistress has left New Orleans?” Jeremy leveled his gaze coolly on Travis. “Perhaps you can talk your new partner into filling the role.”
    “ It was Travis’s turn to chuckle, knowing full and well that would never happened. “I consider that an exceedingly slim possibility. As you just said, she is different from the other women I’ve known. The only thing I want from Mrs. Hammond is for her to sign her portion of the plantation over to me, then she can be on her way.”
    “Have you asked?”
    “Yes.”
    “And?”
    Travis shrugged. “She told me that I would never be rid of her.”
    Jeremy couldn’t resist a wry grin as he slapped Travis on the shoulder. “I’m sorry, but I can’t feel unhappy for you, my friend. The last thing I’d want to do is get rid of her. She is one of the most stunning women I’ve ever seen.” A wicked smile touched his lips. “My blood raced from the moment she spoke. Now there’s a woman to die for. Perhaps I should try for her.”
    Travis scowled. “You need to get control of yourself,” he warned. “The woman is lethal.”
    Jeremy could see how tight Travis’s jaw had gotten. “You mean you don’t want to share?”
    “I’ve nothing to share,” Travis snapped. “And I’m damn tired of this conversation. Don’t you have a plantation to run?”
    Instead of being insulted, Jeremy grinned. “My, my. You certainly are getting angry over the woman you claim not to care about.”
    “I’ve been angry since she arrived.”
    Jeremy saw right away that Mrs. Hammond had gotten under Travis’s skin, something no other woman had ever been able to do. “Then maybe you should ask yourself why,” Jeremy pressed as he mounted his horse, “because I think that Brooke makes you feel something you haven’t experienced before.” He turned his horse to the side. “And do send over a sugarmaker if you can spare one,” he said, looking back over his shoulder.
    “Get the hell out of here before I change my mind about helping you at all,” Travis gritted out. He smacked Jeremy’s horse on the rump, causing him to bolt. “I’ll send Ben over tomorrow.”
    Travis needed to do something to work off his aggravation. Jeremy had done a good job of needling, and it had done nothing to ease his simmering anger. Turning, Travis gazed at the mill. Maybe heat from the cane house could make him sweat the woman out of his system . . . he could always hope.
     
     
    When Brooke returned to the main house, Mammy greeted her with the news that Prosper, the cook, had returned and would like Brooke’s input for the upcoming party.
    Brooke forgot her irritation with Travis. Finally, she was going to meet the famous cook whose cooking she’d yet to taste. “Lead the way,” she said with a sweep of her hand.
    Mammy wrinkled her nose. “What’s dat smell? Smells like smoke.”
    “I almost forgot. I singed my ridding habit,” Brooke said, pulling up her skirt for her to see the singed material. “Perhaps I should freshen up. I will be back in half an hour.”
    After Brooke had changed, she and Mammy went to the kitchen, located at the very back of the house. The moment Brooke entered the hot kitchen, she saw the cook acting like a petty dictator, giving instructions to one of his kitchen staff who was stirring a big, black pot hanging over the fireplace.
    Prosper was tall and thin, and his skin was a little darker