1795

Barnabas faced Angelique in the drawing room. He was gritting his teeth. She wasn't going to like this, but he had made up his mind, and he wouldn't allow her to change it, no matter what she said.

"Angelique," he said, squaring his shoulders, "I know I promised to marry you after you cured Sarah of her mysterious illness. . ."

"Yes, Barnabas?" Angelique said, suspicion flaring in her astonishing blue eyes.

"Well, I have decided not to keep that promise," he said defiantly.

"WHAT?" she shrieked.

"I don't owe you any explanation," he said firmly. "I don't want to marry you. I still love Josette, and I hope we will one day find our way back to each other and keep the plans we made before she married Jeremiah."

"I see," Angelique said. She reached into the pocket of her dress and pulled something out of it. Barnabas couldn't make out exactly what it was, but she held it in her hand and mumbled a few words over it.

Seconds later, Barnabas was transformed into a jackass!

Angelique led the creature out to the barn behind the house. When Ben came out, his eyebrows quizzically raised, she said, "Remember you asked me to turn Joshua Collins into a jackass, Ben? You said if I did, you'd ride him out in the fields until he was near death? Well, meet Joshua Collins, jackass, Ben! He's all yours!"

A huge grin split Ben's face, and he smacked the animal hard on its ass.

A sound of terror came from the jackass as Ben hitched him up to a plow and led him into the acres of land adjacent to the house. Ben, a whip in his hand, raised it over the hindquarters of the mewling jackass and pummeled it mercilessly.

Angelique, arms crossed over her chest, watched from the back door of the house, smirking. "That will teach you, Barnabas," she burbled. "I'm going to have Ben geld you, too. I don't think Josette will want you when you regain human form--if Ben lets you live that long!"

And her evil, cruel laughter resounded and rebounded through the woods.

Love, RobinV