Darling? That was a familiar greeting from a stranger. Catherine tried to lift herself onto her elbows.

"Please."

The girl put down the bowl she was holding and packed pillows behind Catherine's back so that she didn't have to support herself.

"How long have I been here?"

Sally spooned hot chicken broth into her mouth as she answered.

"A.

day. You slept the clock around, then woke up this morning and went

directly back to sleep again. Your body needed time to gain strength.

"This time Catherine glanced around. She'd never seen a bedroom quitelike the one where she was resting. The walls were covered in lilacfabric. The bed was of polished wood that seemed to smile in thesunlight coming through large glass-encased windows that stood open tothe hint of cool air.

Elegance beyond her imagination was displayed in the furnishings. But it was the girl who caught her attention. She was young and very blondand she was only half-dressed. The tops of her breasts spilled overher chemise, and her undergarments were openly displayed so as to lookas if she'd just stepped from her bed. But her hair was artfullyarranged and her face gently blushed with color. Stockings, slippersand a lilac wrapper completed her wardrobe. Catherine was confused.

"Where am I?" she asked.

"Heaven."

Catherine shook her head.

"I can't be dead."

"You came pretty close."

"Well I'm not likely to make it to heaven, so where am I?"

"Well, darling, there are them who might argue with you about this

being heaven. You're in Natchez-under the-Hill.""Then I made it.""Depends on where you're going. Being as you were brought here instead of coming of your own free will, maybe you really don't understand."

"Who brought me?"

"The two sailors who pulled you out of the water. He said to bring you

to Heaven. That's what they did.""Who said?""Stone. He apparently floated downstream with you tied to his body.Course if it were me, I wouldn't have to be tied. Just let me plant my body next to his and I wouldn't even charge him for the privilege. "

"Charge him?"

Sally filled Catherine's mouth with soup again.

"Say, you sure do ask a lot of questions, don't you?"

"I don't mean to pry," Catherine said in a low voice, "but what kind of

place is Heaven?"

"It's a house of pleasure, darling, and the closest thing to realheaven our gentlemen callers will ever find." "Gentlemen? I find it hard to believe that there are any gentlemen here."

"Well, there's them who pretend to be legitimate when they ain't, and

them who don't make any bones about being what they are. We don't ask questions."

"You work here?"

"That I do. Working for Isabella is a good way to make money, darling,if that's what you're aiming for. Then when you're ready to take ahusband, you can pick the one you want."

"Me? I didn't intend to work here.""Oh? Isabella likes her girls to be well filled out and have golden hair. You have a ways to go on the womanly body parts, and your hair is more red than blond, but I suppose that's close enough."

"About Stone," Catherine said hesitantly.

"You say he brought me here?"

"That he did."

"And where is he now?"

"He's in Isabella's room, at the end of the hall, where he always stays

when he comes. But he ain't usually dazed when he gets here.""I'd like to talk to him.""Wouldn't we all. But he's off limits, even if he was in a mood to talk."

"What does that mean? I only want to ask him about-someone."

"He's still sleeping but even if he were awake, you'd not likely get

past Isabella. Stone's hers and everybody knows to leave him be."

"But I only wanted to talk to him. I'm not interested in him. As aman, that is.""What's your name, darling?""Cath" -She stopped herself. Suppose Charles were looking for her?She'd do better to use another name."Cat," she corrected, "Catrina 0" Conner, and I'm looking for my fiance, Patrick McLendon. I'm hoping that Stone might know him? ""Cat 0" Conner, huh? Well I guess you do have cat's eyes. And your man has disappeared. " Sally looked at Catherine for a long time, then gave her a sad smile.

"Maybe, darling, but I've been down that road myself.

If you're with child, this is as good a place as any for you to stop

off. Isabella won't turn you away. And nobody will know you'rehere.

Isabella has already seen to that. " "Thank you," Catherine hastened to say, "but" -- "Just you rest. It's time for me to get downstairs. Our guests will be arriving soon. The gents will be looking for me. Then at midnight, Isabella willentertain."

Sally took the tray with the empty soup bowl away. When she opened thedoor, Catherine heard the sound of a pianoforte and laughter.

Bruised and sore, she slid her feet from beneath the covers and sat up.Through sheer determination she managed to stay upright. But sit upwas all she could do. After watching the corners of the room cave inshe lay back down. Maybe she'd wait a bit longer before confrontingthe pirate. If Charles should come looking for her, Isabella wouldprotect her. Sally had made that clear.

Tomorrow, she'd ask him about Patrick. Tomorrow, she'd check out theplace called Heaven.

Chapter Three "are you certain she wasn't on the barge? " Charles Forrest was furious as he faced the rescued crewman from the missing flatboat they'd found on the riverbank just beyond Necktie Bend. He'd found it hard enough to accept the finality of Catherine'sdisappearance, but that she had hidden herself on the flatboat to fleehim and their impending marriage was simply too insulting for him tocomprehend. Had it not been for her note, he would never have believedwhat she'd done.

"What happened, Frenchy?" the captain asked the burly first mate."Somebody cut the rope. We got washed away in the storm.""Si!" the Spaniard agreed."And the boat got hung on the sandbar.""An' before we could get free, that pirate, Stone, sent his men to board us. When they found out we were carrying little cargo they tookour boat and left us on shore.""What about Miss Caden?" Charles asked again."Where is she?"

"Don't know, my frien'," the Frenchman answered.

"It was all we could do to stay afloat. If she was on board our barge she was either stolen by that pirate, or washed overboard during the ride down river."

"Maybe she took the small pirogue," the captain suggested.

"It, too, was missing."

"Don't be a fool," Charles snapped.

"A woman, alone? In a storm? It was one of your crew members who

stole the barge and cut the pirogue loose so we couldn't follow. I

want Miss Caden found and I want her found now!"

"Then, senor, you'd better find that pirate. Sure as my name is Carlos de Ortega, she's in his lair right now."

"And he has my barge, Mr. Forrest," said the dismayed captain who'd

brought Charles to the trading post.

"I think your crew is right," agreed the Spanish captain of the ship who'd promised to transport them back down river.

"We'd best shove off.

When we get back to New Orleans you can petition the governor to look for the woman. "

Charles reluctantly agreed. If Catherine were with Stone, she wasalready lost to him. Unless--unless he could turn this to his advantage. If he found Catherine, he'd find Stone. Delivering thepirate to the authorities would gain him badly needed favor from the governor.

He'd simply offer a generous reward for the return of CatherineCaden.

The boat they'd hired passage on was stopping atNatchez-under-the-Hill, a good place to announce the reward. The Spanish captain they were traveling with seemed unconcerned aboutdocking his goods-laden boat among such notorious criminals. That suggested to Charles that he might be well known there.

"Captain, might we not overtake the pirate at Natchez-under-the-Hill?

I believe the village is known as a safe harbor for thieves. There is already a reward for Stone's capture, which I'll double if you find mybetrothed. "

"Well, I am a personal friend of the captain of the Spanish garrisonnearby. Perhaps I could send for him and report your missingbride-to-be."

The men on board the flatboat concurred with the captain's decision toput in for the night. They doubted that Stone would be waiting forthem; he was much too wily for that. A night in the taverns was anunexpected treat. Charles was satisfied that the story of the rewardwould travel fast enough once the crew reached Natchezunderthe-Hill.

Either way, Catherine would lead the governor to Stone. Stone would be destroyed and the governor would be in Charles's debt. And Catherine--well, Charles would deal with her when the time came.

Catherine was awakened by music.

She listened to the strains of what sounded like a harpsichord for amoment, then a sudden silence followed and she wondered if she'd beendreaming. No, she'd been rescued and brought to this place, as hadbeen the man who was her rescuer. It was all coming back to her. She'dbeen found by the very man she'd been seeking: Stone, the riverpirate.

Carefully she slipped her feet from beneath the satin sheet to thethick rug covering the polished floor beside the bed. There was a creak as she slowly stood, balancing herself against the high bed asshe tested her feet. Her body was sore, bruised, but it still seemedto function.

At the door she paused, pressed her ear against the wood andlistened.

Nothing. She tested the knob. Unlocked. It opened easily. The girlcalled Sally had said that Stone was in Isabella's room, at the end ofthe hall. The music had begun again, loudest at the far end of thecorridor; Catherine slipped out into the candlelit hallway and hurriedin the other direction.

A series of open doors revealed small, unoccupied rooms like the one in which Catherine had been sleeping--tastefully decorated rooms thatmight have been found in any luxury home in Augusta or Petersburg.