Cheyenne's Lady, page 19
“Maria, I will not hide behind your skirts, so stop threatening the only blood family you will ever have. They mean well and in their place, I would do the same. Had I known they would arrive, I would never have taken you with me. The deed is done and there is no looking back. Face facts for once in your life, Maria.”
With his back to the others, Luke concealed the message in his eyes from all but her. He didn’t know whether she’d pay attention.
“Let me go, Luke,” she said, not meeting his gaze as she spoke.
He released her and stepped back so she might stand before her uncles. Keeping his expression as impassive as the arrogant Spaniard across the room, Luke crossed his arms and waited.
Maria’s voice was soft, but her words were so forceful no man dared to interrupt. “My mother and father loved each other. They fought and they cried when they lost the little ones, but through it all, they loved each other. They would not have survived otherwise.
“I do not know you or your families. I barely remember yours, Uncle Patrick, and I have never met yours, Tío Juan, so I do not know if you love them. I can only tell you that if you remember my mother and father with the same love in your hearts as there is in mine, you will listen to me now.”
Connolly abruptly turned his back on the room. Valencia rose and offered Maria his handkerchief to wipe the tears streaming down her face.
“We are listening, Maria.” He spoke gently. “I remember a time when I did not listen and lost my beloved sister forever.”
Maria waited until Patrick sat down in her father’s chair. He did not look at her, but played with the letter opener on the blotting pad. “Go on.”
Maria nodded and summoned all her inner strength, very aware that Luke’s life and her own were at stake. “I am my father’s daughter and my mother’s daughter. What you disapproved of in them, you will disapprove of in me, but I cannot be otherwise. I cannot obey rules simply because I am told they are rules. I must understand why the rules are there. I will not obey your commands simply because you tell me I must. Neither would I obey a husband who would demand the same subservience. I was not brought up that way. I see that now where I did not before.
“Out of love and trust, I listened to my father and mother. I would offer you the same if you give me half a chance. I cannot, however, be commanded to love and trust no more than I can be commanded to marry where there is no love.
“If you have any love for me or my father, you will ask Luke to stay and help find my father’s murderers. Had you listened, Luke would have told you my father’s death was only one incident among many. When you are ready to open your hearts instead of closing your minds, then we may talk. For now, I am very tired and wish to go to bed.”
With dignity Maria walked out, her heart pounding with fear. She had poured out her soul to all three men, and she did not know if they even heard. She wished desperately to look at Luke, but she could not. Instinctively she knew that would draw attention back to the fact of what they had done together. This way there would still be doubt in their minds.
Her fingers clenched the ivory handle of the derringer hidden in the depths of her pocket as she turned down the corridor. Luke might be needing his guns.
Chapter 2
All three men remained silent until Maria’s steps died down the hallway. Luke remained standing, unarmed, in the room’s center, but he had not been fooled by Maria’s performance with the cleaning rags. He had only to step backward to grab a newly oiled and loaded rifle ready for use off the rack. It was an old single-shot Springfield, but it would suffice for making his escape if necessary. He had no wish to harm these men, but he didn’t intend to hang, even for Maria.
Warily he waited for her uncles to return to the subject that most concerned him. Would they listen to Maria or ignore the pleas of a nineteen-year-old girl? He had told her he did not wish to hide behind her skirts, and miraculously, except for the rifle, she had obeyed. Luke wished he had the time to think about the significance of that, but he couldn’t allow his thoughts to drift. He had a battle yet to fight.
“All right, Walker, we’ll give you a chance to convince us,” Connolly said wearily, returning to his seat. “Maria’s letter said only that you had arrived with a letter from Mike and that Mike’s death might have been part of a bigger plan. She is a terrible letter writer, reserving only one sentence per topic, but it scared me enough to come all the way out here. The only problem I found when I arrived is that you had absconded with my niece.”
“It’s a long story. Do I have your permission to sit?” At Connolly’s nod Luke pulled up Maria’s chair and set the old rifle down beside it. Luke sensed Valencia eyeing the weapon, but he launched into his tale before any objection could be made.
The two men listened without comment to the contents of the letter that had brought Luke here and the discoveries he had made since. His unfounded suspicions he kept to himself, but Maria’s uncles were not fools. They pounced upon the same questions that had eluded Luke.
“Why would anyone drive out those dirt farmers? Times being what they are, all the ranches are likely to go broke before the year’s out anyway. Are the same things happening on the bigger ranches? Or is it only on this one? Have you any proof that they’re not just accidents? Have you any motives for killing Mike?”
Luke hadn’t even known Irish’s real name, but then, few people out here did. It would be interesting to learn more about the man who had reared a daughter like Maria, if they let him live so long. He crossed his legs in front of him and shook his head.
“I’ve got plenty of suspicions, but they’re based on instinct and not proof. I need time to talk to the other ranchers; I’ve got a man I want to plant on one of the larger spreads; and I need to go back to Santa Fe and maybe even Albuquerque to trace the owners of those companies buying up the deeds. I smell a rotten odor, and I suspect Irish knew more about it than he let me know.”
“Have you called on the Vasqueros?” the man in the corner asked.
Not in the direct light of the lamp, Juan Valencia’s features were obscured by shadow, but Luke figured there was more than one reason behind his question. “I’m not here in any official capacity. I can’t question men I do not know, and the Vasqueros avoid being known.” He couldn’t put it any more politely than that.
Valencia nodded his head. “Have you an official capacity? What makes you think you can solve this problem? Why did Irish write to you?”
Luke shrugged. “I’ve been with the Rangers, and then I worked awhile with Mr. Hume of Wells Fargo. Are you familiar with him?”
Valencia nodded again. “A gentleman, rather eccentric, but extremely intelligent. You are one of his men?”
“No longer. By the time men reach the desperation of robbing a Wells Fargo stage, they’re only begging for a bullet to end their misery. I still lend a hand occasionally if Mr. Hume asks, but the lawlessness out here isn’t confined to men with guns. My partner and I have developed a reputation among some of the smaller ranchers back in Texas. Word travels slowly, but Irish knew me. He knew it was the kind of job that would interest me.”
Valencia studied him. “Are you certain that is the only reason he invited you out here? I do not remember my brother-in-law as being a man who asks for help. Did he mention Maria? Or her novio, the Vasquero boy?”
Connolly looked up sharply. “What in hell are you saying, Valencia? My brother wouldn’t invite this outlaw out here to seduce his own daughter away from her fiancé. Where’s the sense in that when she’s betrothed to a perfectly respectable family?”
Luke’s gaze met that of the Spaniard’s. The flicker of anger was so brief, he couldn’t be certain he read it right, but the animosity of the other man’s reply confirmed one suspicion.
“The Vasqueros stole my father’s land,” Valencia stated coldly. “They stole it legally, within the courts of law, but it was theft just the same. I do not think Irish had any fondness for them. He tried to warn my father of them when we moved out here to claim the land that my grandfather and his father had owned for decades. The American courts upheld only the Spanish deeds that brought them the most money. We had the land. Vasquero had the money. He is a wily, cruel old man. I do not know the son, but if he has grown up as his father, I would not want my niece to marry him.”
Connolly looked stunned. “Why didn’t you tell me this earlier? I let the man think I approved of the marriage. But I’ll be damned if I’ll marry a girl like Maria off to a gunfighter. By God, I have daughters her age and I wouldn’t let them in the same room with a man like this.”
Luke grimaced. “I beg your pardon, Mr. Connolly, but I doubt that your daughters could shoot a man’s hat from his head at a hundred yards. Maria has a way of keeping a man in his place. You’ve been too long from this land if you don’t remember how it is out here. You’re not likely to find many men suitable for sitting in the parlor with your daughters.”
“Then damn it, I will take Maria home with me! We’ll sell the confounded ranch, and she can come live among civilized folk. Why in hell Mike insisted on remaining in this hellhole is beyond my comprehension.”
Before the conversation could drift too far from the subject, Luke interrupted. “A word of warning, if you mean to end Maria’s betrothal, I would keep the news quiet until—”
A small figure in a simple cotton wrapper appeared in the doorway. With her long silky hair spilling over the pale yellow material, Maria didn’t appear old enough to be out of the nursery. Only the angry slant of her Irish eyes gave her away.
“Excuse me, Luke, but it sounds as if it may be time to defend myself. May I come in, gentlemen?” The sarcasm wasn’t meant to be concealed.
“Maria, you should be in bed.” Valencia spoke softly and without reproof.
“Thank you, Tío Juan, but it is somewhat difficult to sleep while worrying over a friend who might be hanged for no crime of his own. But since the subject seems to have changed, perhaps I might add my thoughts to the discussion of what is, after all, my future.” Maria did not move into the circle of light.
“I cannot see where you have any choice, Maria,” Patrick admonished. “I have gone over the books. You don’t have money even to buy feed when winter comes. You will have to start selling the herd to keep the cattle from starving. At today’s prices, you won’t get enough to cover half of your debts. You will have to sell or marry a rich man who can feed the herd until times get better.”
Maria tilted her head and considered this. “I don’t believe I would be comfortable in St. Louis, Uncle Patrick, and I can’t believe your wife and daughters would be comfortable having me around. Wouldn’t it be easier if you helped me obtain a loan to keep the ranch operating until beef prices go up?”
Luke smiled to himself and sat back in his chair. He didn’t fool himself into thinking Maria would win this battle, but the compromise point between her position and her uncles would buy time. He just hoped Maria understood when she had pushed them as far as they would go.
The argument went on for some minutes with offers to take her to the Valencia ranch in California, promises that she would have all the proceeds from the ranch to do with as she wished, under her uncles’ protection, and barely concealed threats to send her to a convent if she must remain unreasonable.
Maria remained implacable. “The ranch belonged to my father. It is all I have of him and my mother. I would not mind visiting St. Louis or California and meeting my cousins. The life out here is lonely and, as you say, if I do not marry, my reputation will suffer. I can agree with you on that. But I cannot leave until I know who killed my father, and I certainly won’t sell the ranch until I can be certain it is not his killer who buys it. I would prefer not to sell the ranch at all, but as you give me no choice in the matter, you must at least give me satisfaction in the others.”
She had them there. She would not sell unless they found her father’s killer, and the best hope they had of that was Luke. Both men turned to him.
“Leave us alone, Maria. We will take up the matter together and discuss it with you in the morning.”
Maria grimaced at her Uncle Patrick’s order, but turned to do as told. On her way out, she gave Luke an audacious wink. He had to swallow his laughter with a cough. A female might not possess all the powers of a male, but there was more than one way to wield what power they possessed. Perhaps Irish might not have accomplished it in as devious a manner as his daughter, but Luke felt certain he was sitting back smiling proudly from above.
“Well, Mr. Walker, it looks as if the only way we can control Maria is through you.” Patrick Connolly hadn’t missed the exchange. “Unless we wish to sell the ranch over Maria’s wishes and alienate her forever, we must find my brother’s killer.”
He turned to Valencia. “Do you feel free to write this Mr. Hume for a reference on this scoundrel? I would feel better if we knew at once whether we dealt with a crook or a con man.”
“I will write.” His piercing dark eyes turned to Luke. “If you try to leave this area, we will come after you. Between us we can command a fairly large army of pursuers. I do not believe you are the kind of man who enjoys living on the run.”
Luke met his gaze evenly. “I seek trouble in my own way, señor, and running is not one of them. I will use everything within my power to find the man you want. I would have without your interference.”
“Then let us understand one thing more. If you come within a hundred yards of Maria, it is more than your hat that will be blown off.” Connolly rose to impress his meaning on him.
Luke pulled himself from the chair. It had been a long day. His arm hurt and his patience had worn thin. “That is a risk I will have to take. Good night, gentlemen.”
Without asking their permission, Luke strode out.
When Maria went in search of breakfast next morning, she discovered her uncles waiting for her in the massive dining room that she never used. She could hear Pieta banging pots and cursing one of the dogs in the kitchen, but she did not dare antagonize her uncles by passing them by while she greeted the cook. Wearing her usual work shirt and boy’s britches, she stopped in the doorway.
“Good morning, Uncle Patrick, Tío Juan. I did not expect you up so early. Let me speak to Pieta and I will join you.”
The disapproval of her attire was frank in both pairs of eyes, but the command that followed did not mention her clothing.
“Sit down, Maria. The maid can serve you when she serves us. We need to talk.”
Pieta was family, not a servant, but Maria was aware her Uncle Peter with his aristocratic ways would not understand this. After her mother had died, Pieta had been the only woman remaining on the ranch to mother her. Maria sat but not without a measure of impatience.
“I trust after last night that you have come to some sober, sensible solution of how to deal with me.” Not disguising her irritation, Maria poured herself a cup of coffee from the pot left on the table.
“Other than suggesting my brother could have used the rod on you with a little more frequency, yes, we have, but we expect your cooperation.”
Pieta entered wearing a new gingham gown from the material Maria had sent back. She frowned at Maria, but instead of the tongue-lashing and hugs she usually would have administered, she set the platter of huevos rancheros on the table and departed.
“To what am I to agree?” Maria waited politely for her uncles to serve themselves, though her stomach roared a protest.
“We have hired your gunfighter to discover what he can of your father’s death. Once he has made his final report, we will begin accepting bids for the ranch. Much as we regret having to do it, neither of us can remain to oversee the operations of a spread this size, and we cannot possibly allow you to continue to do so under present circumstances. We had thought you safely betrothed to a neighbor who would look after you. Since it seems both your father and now Juan object to this marriage, it appears imperative that we remove you from the vicinity. Both our homes are open to you. With railroads crossing the country, it will not be so difficult for you to visit with both of us until you decide what you wish to do.”
Breaking open a roll and spreading it with butter, Maria listened to Patrick’s ultimatum. As they had told her, she really did have little choice, but it went against the grain to knuckle under. Perhaps she would be better off with Manuel.
She kept her thoughts to herself. “Luke will be free to do as he pleases? You do not hold any more threats over his head?”
This time her Spanish uncle spoke. “He will go free for so long as he stays away from you. Stay away from him, Maria. You will do him no favor by disobeying us in this.”
Maria’s gaze grew mutinous, but she made no reply as she bit into the roll. It was one thing for her to tell Luke to get out of her life, quite another for them to do so. Surrounded by men and everyone of them dictating to her—Lord, how did other women endure it?
Without any definite plan in mind, Maria wandered into the kitchen after breakfast. Pedro threw himself into her arms and she hugged him, the first warm greeting she had received since returning. Sitting with the little boy in her lap, she talked to Pieta, slowly getting information on what had been happening these past weeks.
After discussing the dresses to be made from the various lengths of material she had sent—she did not inform Pieta that there was no longer a need for a trousseau—Maria steered the conversation to other subjects. Carmelita had arrived safely. Her Miguel had been hired on by the uncles. Mr. Connolly had arrived several days after Maria’s departure and had sent for Señor Valencia when Carmelita arrived without her. No, Manuel had only been by once. He was gone on business for his father somewhere, they said. No, there had been no more accidents here. The barn had burnt at the O’Brien’s, but he drank too much and it could have been a spilt lantern. No, she knew nothing about how the sheep were. Charlie would have to tell her that.
