toward her, grabbing her by the arm and pushing her from the

saloon. A towheaded boy of thirteen years or so rushed by

them toward the small boat at the rear of the deck.

It was difficult to walk, she thought dimly. Her legs felt as

heavy as if she were still wading through the water on the

boiler deck. But there was no water here. How puzzling.

„Are you all right?“ Nicholas asked quietly. „I’d carry you,

but I don’t want to touch your back.“

Her back. Oh, yes, Bassinger had been whipping her. It all

seemed like such a long time ago. The pain was now coursing

not only in her back but in every muscle of her body. „I…

can… walk.“ She was almost to the rail. Only a few more

steps. „I… didn’t scream.“

Nicholas’s hand tightened on her arm. „I know you didn’t.“

„He wanted me to scream. He kept saying it over and

over.“

„Lord.“ Nicholas’s voice was hoarse, ragged. „For God’s

sake. Silver, shut up. You’re killing me.“

„I’m sorry… I didn’t…“ What had she been going to say?

Then Valentin was reaching out to help her into the boat,

seating her beside the towheaded young boy who had passed

them on the deck.

Cork life preservers floated on the surface of the river, and

she could see several men clutching them and swimming

toward the Rose.

Nicholas untied the rope, jumped into the boat, and sat

down beside Valentin. „Let’s go. The Mary L can’t stay afloat

much longer taking on this much water.“ He grabbed an oar

and he and Valentin began to row with powerful steady strokes

away from the river-boat.

The Mary L was listing and, except for the hissing of the

escaping steam from the broken smokestack and the harsh

whoosh of flames, was ominously silent. Tears began to flow

down Silver’s cheeks as she gazed at the wreckage. How many

lives had been lost? How many might still be lost in this river

tonight?

„It won’t be long now,“ Nicholas said gently. „You’ll be

back on the Rose in a few minutes.“

„Some of those men in the water will have burns.“ She

spoke haltingly, trying to think clearly through the pain and

horror clouding her comprehension. „I’ll have to use linseed

oil and wrap them in raw cotton.“

„You won’t do anything but go to bed,“ Nicholas said

grimly. „We’re heading back to St. Louis and they’ll get plenty

of medical help there.“

„No, I can – “

„Savron!“

The cry was a shriek of terror and Nicholas turned in his

seat to look back at the Mary L. The red glare of the fire on the

hurricane deck was mirrored on the waters. A dark head was

bobbing on the wavelets spread by the slowly sinking

riverboat. „Savron, help me!“

Bassinger!

Bassinger was clinging to one of the supports separating

the hurricane deck from the boiler deck, a rivulet of blood

running down his face from a cut on the temple. „Come back!

I can’t swim!“

Nicholas gazed at him, his face as hard and stone cold as

the men who had died on the Mary L this night. He turned and

looked at Silver sitting ramrod straight, bearing her pain and

exhaustion in silence.

He started to row again.

„Savron, come back.“ Bassinger’s voice rose to a panicky

screech. „You can’t leave me!“

„Can’t I?“ Nicholas took another long pull at the oar.

„Watch me.“ Then he remembered Silver’s words.

His voice was savage as he called back over his shoulder.

„Scream, you son of a bitch!“

Bassinger screamed, a piercing wail of terror in the night.

A moment later the Mary L slid slowly, sluggishly, beneath

the waters of the Mississippi.

Nicholas was sitting in the tufted olive wing chair beside,

the bed, the soft glow of the lamplight casting an aura of

radiance about his golden head. He was wearing dark blue

trousers and his white linen shirt was immaculate. He was

immaculate, Silver thought with resentment. It was unfair that

he look this faultlessly elegant when she felt so unkempt. She

found she was on her stomach and tried to roll over and voice

her displeasure.

„No.“ His hands were immediately on her shoulders,

keeping her from moving. „The doctor said there would be

less pain if you don’t rest on your back for a while.“

„You’re not dirty any longer.“

He smiled. „Neither are you. Your nurse cleaned you up

quite nicely.“ He straightened the sheet over her. „She thought

you quite a docile patient until the doctor told her he was

keeping you that way with morphine.“

„Morphine? I’ve been asleep?“

„For almost three days. We’ve been docked in St. Louis

since the night the Mary L went down.“

„The Mary L,“ she whispered. She closed her eyes and

then quickly opened them again as the horrifying visions of

that night came back to her. „How many were lost?“

„We don’t know exactly. At least four passengers and ten

crew members. Robert says it’s a miracle more didn’t perish.

Quite a few of the crew suffered bad burns.“ His face clouded.

„A few died after we docked here in St. Louis. We weren’t

able to move all the survivors to the hospital immediately so

the parish priest has been coming daily to hear confession and

give last rites.“

Silver swallowed. What a tragic loss of life Bassin-ger had

brought about. So much suffering. „I can help.“ She struggled

to a sitting position and started to toss the covers aside.

He stopped her again. „They don’t need your help. There

are any number of volunteer nurses watching over the victims,

and they’ll be moving the last of them to the hospital this

afternoon, You stay where you are.“

He stood up and poured a small quantity of water into a

goblet from a pitcher on the nightstand. He knelt beside her

and held the glass to her lips. „Drink. I’ve been moistening

your lips with water while you slept, but you have to be

thirsty.“

She was thirsty. She took a careful sip and then another.

„You’ve stayed here with me?“

He nodded. „Since we arrived in St. Louis and had ample

help for the survivors.“

She looked at him wonderingly. „Why?“

He deliberately gave her almost the same answer she had

given him in the saloon of the Mary L. „How could I leave?

You were still here.“

She could only stare at him as the silence resonated with

his words. She could feel her heart start to pound and she

moistened her lips with her tongue. His dark eyes were gentle,

deep, holding her gaze effortlessly. „I don’t understand you.“

„And I don’t understand you,“ he said softly. „But I think

it’s time we started. We’ve been strangers too long.“ He set the

goblet back on the nightstand but remained kneeling by her

side. „Tell me about Hell’s Bluff.“

She frowned in puzzlement. He had started to ask her

something about Hell’s Bluff in the carriage the night

Bassinger had forced her on board the Mary L. „Hell’s Bluff is

a mining town near Killara.“

„I know that,“ Nicholas said impatiently. „I want to know

about what happened there. You told Valentin you had never

met a count before, but that couldn’t have been true. You had

to have known Andre Marzonoff.“

„Andre Marzonoff? Well, I didn’t actually know him,“ she

said slowly. „And I forgot he was a count. It was a long time

ago.“

Nicholas looked away from her. „What do you mean, you

didn’t know him? You watched him die.“

„No, we were too late. Elspeth was there and tried to stop