The sugar mill was a scene of intense activity. A half dozen slaves were piling heaps of newly cut cane in front of the mill for crushing, while toward the rear more slaves were shoveling out the golden mounds of "bagasses," or what was left of the cane after it had been chopped into pieces and crushed several times to extract the juices. From inside the mill came the sound of running water, which was added to the juice along with "milk of lime," designed to filter out any impurities. To one side of the mill were enormous flat troughs, where the water was allowed to evaporate in the sun from the juice mixture, leaving the thick, brown syrup that Jane wanted for the cake. Lilah was so familiar with the sugar operation that she scarcely paid any attention to the sounds or sights involved in the process. Instead she scanned the area for Kevin.
He was mounted on a bay mare, leaning on his saddle, a wide-brimmed hat on his head as he supervised a slave leading the mule that, because of lack of wind, was operating the stone crusher.
"Kevin!" Lilah waved, hailing him Even as she did, even as his eyes swung toward her, she realized that she had made a huge mistake. The sweat-drenched slave leading the mule in circles was Joss. He looked up to meet her eyes as Kevin smiled, waved, and urged his mount toward her.
Lilah stared back at Joss, feeling absurdly guilty, before tearing her eyes away to smile at Kevin, who was swinging down from his horse.
"Good afternoon," he said, smiling broadly, slipping the reins over his arm and tilting his hat back as he bent over to give her a resounding kiss. Lilah, knowing herself to be in full view of Joss, stepped back nervously. Kevin frowned.
"Is something wrong?"
"I… I… Jane sent me for a jug of syrup."
"Maisie's made tildy-cake, hmm? I can't wait. I love her tildy-cake."
"I know." She smiled up at him, feeling more at ease as she recalled the chunky boy who, upon first coming to Heart's Ease, had eaten so much tildy-cake one night at supper that she'd come upon him later, being sick out behind the orchard.
Kevin tied his horse to a nearby fig tree, took her arm, and strolled with her toward the troughs. Their route brought them within feet of Joss. Lilah cast him a sideways glance. She saw that though his face was impassive as he dragged the mule around, every muscle in his body was taut with tension. He didn't look at the pair of them ambling so cozily arm in arm, but she knew he was aware of them with every fiber of his being.
As she had been, when he had been with Nell.
"Jane has been after me to set a date for our wedding," Lilah said suddenly. They had stopped by the side of the mill, and Kevin sent one of the slaves to fetch a jug.
"Has she?" Kevin slanted a look down at her, shrugged. "Any time you say. The sooner the better, if you ask me."
Lilah hesitated. This was hardly the place for such a conversation, but unexpectedly, she wanted everything settled. If he gave the right answer, it would make what she very much feared she was going to do easier.
"Kevin, why do you want to marry me?" She asked the question earnestly, turning so that she faced him, one hand resting on his forearm that was bared by his rolled-up sleeves.
"Why do you think? Because I love you, of course, silly goose. You know I've been in love with you for years." It was not the answer she wanted, but she rather suspected he was telling her what he thought she wanted to hear. He looked down at her with a gathering frown.
Lilah gazed into the hazel eyes and weather-beaten face that she knew so well. Over his broad shoulder she could see Joss, naked to the waist, grimy and sweating in his loose white trousers, jerking savagely at the harness of the recalcitrant mule. Any sane woman choosing a mate between the gentleman planter and the half-naked slave would have no choice to make. So did that make her insane?
Whether it did or not, Lilah knew, suddenly and with no doubts at all about the correctness of her decision, that she couldn't marry Kevin. She didn't love him, and she didn't think he loved her either. Not like a husband should love his wife. Not like Joss loved her.
She would have to tell Kevin of her decision, soon. But not now. Not with Joss a witness to what she very much feared would be an unpleasant confrontation. Kevin was unlikely to take his conge lightly since it also meant losing Heart's Ease.
"You know I love you, don't you?" Kevin murmured, his hands stroking over her bare forearms, then tightening to hold her in place as he bent his head toward her. Before Lilah could answer he was kissing her, lingeringly this time, in full view of the slaves; in full view of Joss.
As Lilah walked back across the yard with her hand tucked in Kevin's elbow and her mouth throbbing from his kiss, she was all too aware of a pair of eyes turned vivid emerald with anger watching her from a suddenly savage face.