Schulze, Dallas

by Gunfighter's Bride

  “Not his fault?” Logan turned to look at her, his expression incredulous. “How can you say that?”

  “I’ll explain later.”

  “There’s nothing to explain,” he snapped. “After what the bastard did to you, I can’t believe he has the nerve to show his face here.”

  “One thing I’ve never been accused of lacking is nerve,” Bishop said. He used the back of his hand to blot the thin trickle of blood from his lip, his icy blue eyes offering a challenge.

  “Stop it, both of you!” Susan’s hissed order was ignored.

  Logan’s arm was tight and hard under Lila’s fingers. She could feel the rage in him and knew he was a heartbeat away from taking another swing at Bishop. She also knew, though she couldn’t have said how, that Bishop wouldn’t allow a second blow to go unanswered, and she had nightmare visions of a fullblown brawl breaking out right in front of the altar where she’d been baptized twenty-five years ago.

  “Please,” she whispered. Though she still held Logan’s arm, it was Bishop’s eyes she sought. “Please don’t make it any worse.”

  “I don’t see how it could get much worse,” Douglas muttered, glancing over his shoulder at the assembled guests who were watching the remarkable scene at the altar with avid curiosity.

  “I think we’ve provided enough entertainment for one day,” Susan said briskly. She moved forward and slipped her arm around Lila’s waist. “Let’s move this into the vestry.”

  Lila was grateful for her sister-in-law’s support as the oddly matched group moved toward the door leading to the vestry. Though she was careful to keep her eyes down, she could hear the whispers rising up around them. The sound made her stomach twist. Speculation would be running wild, everyone trying to guess what could have caused the scene that had been enacted before them. Once Reverend Carpenter spoke—confidentially, of course—to one or two of his closest friends, the truth would spread through Beaton, Pennsylvania, like floodwaters sweeping the town.

  Lila Adams in a family way? And the father that wild western friend of her brother’s? Shocking! But, of course, she always was a wild one. Just look at her hair. Red—brazen, hussy red—it all but shouts Jezebel. Never mind that it’s natural—the Lord doesn’t give a woman hair like that without good reason. It was only a matter of time before her true nature was revealed. It’s just as well that poor, sweet Margaret is gone. It would have killed her for sure to see her only daughter in such a fix.

  She’d never be able to stay here, Lila realized. No matter what happened now, her life in Beaton was over. Whether Bishop stayed or went, whether she married Logan or not, she’d have to leave her home. If not for her own sake, then for Douglas’s. Her brother’s political career might, just possibly, survive this scandal, but only if she was gone. As long as she was visible, the gossip would stay fresh in everyone’s mind, doing irreparable harm to his future.

  As the full extent of this new disaster sank in on her, Lila leaned more heavily on Susan’s supporting arm. When she’d realized she was pregnant, she’d thought her life was over. But then Logan found out about the baby and offered to marry her, and she’d still been able to cling to the remnants of the life she’d always known. Now even that was torn from her.

  They’d reached the vestry. The room was used for occasional meetings of the church council. It was plainly furnished with an oak table and chairs and a hideously ugly horsehair sofa that had been donated by one of the ladies of the church. Douglas pushed the door open and shepherded his wife and sister through. Susan led Lila over to the sofa, urging her down onto the unyielding surface. Bishop and Logan hesitated in the doorway a moment, their eyes clashing, and then Logan brushed past the other man. Bishop followed him into the room and Douglas started to close the door, but Reverend Carpenter was suddenly there, having followed them from the altar, drawn by the scent of juicy gossip.

  “I know you’ll wish my counsel and guidance,” he said, his solemn tone at odds with the eager glitter in his eyes.

  “Thank you, Reverend, but I think we’ll handle this alone,” Douglas said firmly, blocking the other man’s entrance into the room.

  “I think the situation calls for God’s counsel,” the older man said, trying to slip past.

  “We’ll call if we need you,” Douglas said, not moving an inch.

  “But—”

  “He said we’ll call if we need you.” Bishop loomed up behind Douglas, his expression so coldly menacing that the minister actually took a quick little step back before catching himself and remembering that this was his church.

  His face flushed with indignation. “Really, I—”

  “Thank you, Reverend Carpenter.” Douglas shut the door quietly, cutting off the man’s gabbled protest.

  There was a moment of deep silence and then Douglas turned to look at the room’s occupants. His eyes touched on Logan and Bishop, each in turn, drifted over his wife, and then settled on his sister. Lila read the questions in his eyes and felt her stomach twist. Of all the things she stood to lose, her brother’s respect and love was the most painful. Unable to sustain his look, she lowered her eyes to her lap. Her fingers smoothed an imaginary wrinkle in the heavy white silk of her gown.

  “Would someone like to tell me what’s going on?” Douglas asked, his tone deceptively mild. “Bishop?” “Ask your sister,” Bishop said shortly.

  “You bastard!” Logan’s voice vibrated with rage. Lila looked up in time to see him turn to face Bishop, his hands clenched into fists at his sides, his whole body rigid with anger. “You don’t even have the guts to admit what you did to her. Maybe you’ve forgotten, but I haven’t.”

  “Logan, no!”

  But Lila’s quick protest was drowned out by Logan’s next words, spit out as he turned to Douglas. “He raped her!”

  “Rape!” Bishop hadn’t looked nearly as shocked when Logan hit him. He opened his mouth and then closed it without speaking. He glanced at Lila, and she physically winced away from the contempt in his eyes. His jaw flexed as if he were literally biting back words of denial.

  “Rape?” The color drained from Douglas’s face. He looked from Logan to Bishop, his expression stunned and disbelieving. “Bishop?”

  Bishop met his friend’s eyes squarely but said nothing, offering neither denial or defense.

  “Lila?” Douglas looked at his sister. She met his eyes for a moment and then looked away.

  If she said nothing, it would be as good as confirming Logan’s accusation. She knew her brother well enough to know what his reaction would be then. Douglas was the most civilized man Lila had ever known, a staunch supporter of law and order. But when it came to his family, he was fiercely protective. He would never let such an attack go unpunished. Bishop would be lucky to get out of Pennsylvania alive.

  What do you care? a small voice whispered. Bishop

  McKenzie will be out of your life for good. Douglas will take care of you. He’ll make everything right, just like he always has.

  But at what cost? At the cost of his political career? At the cost of her own self-respect?

  “Lila?” he said again, asking her to confirm or deny. He’d believe whatever she told him, Lila knew. He’d never question her word.

  “It wasn’t rape.” The words were dragged from her in a painful whisper, but they seemed to echo like thunder in the small room.

  “It wasn’t—” Logan stared at her in shocked disbelief. “But you told me that’s what happened; that that was how you—”

  “You assumed it and I let you believe it.” Lila looked at him, feeling weary all the way to her soul, too weary to feel much pain at admitting to yet another lie, yet another betrayal. “I was ashamed to tell you the truth.”

  “You didn’t have to lie to me.” Logan’s eyes darkened with anger. “I’d still have married you.”

  “I’m sorry,” she said, knowing the words were hopelessly inadequate.

  Logan clearly thought so too. “Dammit, Lila, you—”

&
nbsp; “Leave her alone.” Oddly, it was Bishop who gave the order. “And watch your language in front of the ladies.”

  “You’re in a fine position to give lessons on how to treat a lady,” Logan snapped, turning his anger and frustration on Bishop. “You apparently didn’t give it much consideration three months ago when you—”

  “That’s enough, Logan.” Douglas put his hand on the other man’s shoulder. The two of them had grown up together, had been friends since boyhood. “I’m the one with the right to demand explanations.”

  “There’s no point in explanations,” Bishop said impatiently.

  “I think I’m owed a few,” Douglas snapped. “More than a few. When I invited you into my home, I didn’t think it would be necessary to lock my sister away to keep her safe from you.”

  “It wasn’t like that,” Lila said. She could hardly believe that she was defending Bishop. But it seemed he was unwilling to defend himself. He just stood there, listening to Douglas’s harsh condemnation, saying not a word, and she suddenly found that she couldn’t let her brother’s accusations go unanswered.

  “This was my fault,” Douglas said, his eyes anguished as he looked at her.

  “No, it isn’t.”

  "I brought him here. I allowed this to happen to you. You’re young and innocent and he seduced you—”

  Lila felt something snap inside her. She’d been living a lie for weeks, pretending that everything was going to be all right; that she could somehow patch the pieces of her life back together in some recognizable form. But that wasn’t going to happen. There was no going back. She could only go forward, and she was suddenly, fiercely, determined that there were going to be no more lies.

  “Stop it!” She stood abruptly, her heavy silk skirts rustling around her. “That’s not the way it was at all.” “Lila.” Susan had remained silent throughout the discussion, but she rose also and put her hand on her sister-in-law’s arm. Her china-blue eyes were soft with concern. “You’re upset. Don’t say something you’re going to regret.”

  Regret? Lila had to catch back a hysterical laugh. She had so much to regret. What was one more thing? Stepping away from Susan’s touch, she faced her brother, her face porcelain pale, her eyes blazing green and filled with an angry pain.

  “He didn’t seduce me, Douglas. In fact, it was the other way around. I seduced him.”

  “That’s enough,” Bishop said sharply.

  “Trying to protect my reputation?” Lila asked, shooting him a mocking look. “I think it’s too late for that, don’t you? I might as well tell the truth, if I can remember how. Why shouldn’t Douglas know what happened that night?”

  “It doesn’t matter anymore,” Bishop told her. “It’s over and done.”

  “Of course it matters. That’s why we’re all here, isn’t it? Because of what happened that night? Don’t you think Douglas has a right to know why he’s in the midst of a scandal? Don’t you think he should know what kind of woman his sister is? That I’m nothing but a—”

  Bishop moved with shocking speed for a man his size. One moment he was across the room, the next he was looming over her, his fingers wrapped around her arm in a grasp that stopped just short of being painful.

  “Not another word.” His voice was low and hard.

  Lila stared up at him, reading the warning in his expression. Green eyes clashed with blue. Hers were the first to drop. She focused her gaze on the hard thrust of his chin, and it occurred to her that here was another example of how much she’d changed. The girl she’d been three months ago would have met the challenge in his eyes with one of her own. The woman she was now recognized a battle she’d surely lose.

  “What happened is no one’s business but our own,” Bishop said in that same quiet tone. “It doesn’t matter anymore.”

  Lila nodded slowly. “It doesn’t matter,” she whispered.

  He smelled of dust and leather and horse, a distinctly masculine amalgam of scents. He was solidly muscled, overwhelmingly male, the reason her life was destroyed, and Lila wanted nothing more than to be able to lay her head against his shoulder and let him deal with everything and everyone.

  The thought was so shocking that she stiffened and pulled away from him. He let her go and turned to look at Douglas.

  “Lila and I need to talk.”

  “The way you ‘talked’ three months ago?” Logan asked, his mouth curling in a sneer.

  “Logan!” Susan’s shocked protest made him flush. Bishop stiffened but Douglas spoke first.

  “That was uncalled for.”

  “You’re right. I apologize.” Logan spoke to a point somewhere between Lila and Bishop, his tone flatly polite, his expression rigid and as empty as his apology. “I don’t really think I’m needed here. If you’ll excuse me.” He executed a stiff little bow before turning on his heel and walking out.

  The door closed behind him and Lila felt her heart crack just a little more than it already had. She’d known Logan all her life, had counted him as a friend, almost as a second brother. Now he was gone, and she had the terrible feeling that she might never see him again. The repercussions of that one night seemed never ending.

  “You’ll marry her as soon as I can make the arrangements,” Douglas said, breaking the taut silence left in the wake of Logan’s exit.

  “No!” Lila’s gasp of protest was swallowed up in Bishop’s response.

  “Why do you think I came back?” he asked, sounding tired and angry.

  “I don’t know.” The look Douglas gave him was sharp with dislike. “Apparently, I don’t know you at all.”

  Bishop’s jaw tightened but all he said was “Make the arrangements.”

  “Don’t I have anything to say about this?” Lila demanded, feeling as if the jaws of a trap were closing around her.

  “What is there to say?” Douglas asked. He jerked his head toward the door and the church that lay beyond. “Setting aside everything else, after the scene out there, I don’t think you have much choice.”

  He was right. She knew he was right. Even if Reverend Carpenter didn’t spread the news of her condition, Bishop’s dramatic appearance would set the gossip mill in motion. It wouldn’t take long for some clever soul to put the pieces of the puzzle together in more or less the correct order. She wouldn’t be able to show her face in public without the whispers following her. And, even if no one guessed the truth, in a few weeks there would be no hiding it anyway.

  “Besides, aren’t you forgetting something?” Douglas glanced at her still-flat stomach, reminding her of the child she was carrying. As if she needed a reminder, Lila thought, swallowing against a wave of panic.

  “Make the arrangements,” Bishop said again when Lila didn’t answer her brother. “Now I’d like to speak to Lila alone.”

  “I think that’s a good idea,” Susan said, rising from the sofa and shaking out the skirts of her pale-blue dress.

  “Well, I don’t.” Douglas shot Bishop a look of acute dislike. “I’m not going to leave her alone with him.”

  “I’m not going to ravish her in a church,” Bishop snapped impatiently.

  “They need to talk,” Susan put her hand on Douglas’s arm. “We’ll wait right outside.”

  Though he clearly wasn’t happy about the idea, Douglas allowed himself to be shepherded from the room.

  Their departure left behind a thick silence. For the first time since that night three months before, Lila and Bishop were alone.

  “It’s true then,” he said. “You’re pregnant.”

  Lila flushed. In polite society, no one used such blunt terms. If they referred to it at all, they might mention that she was in an interesting condition or in a family way. But considering the situation, it was probably a bit late to be worrying about polite conventions.

  “I am with child,” she said stiffly.

  “Why didn’t you write me?”

  “How would I have addressed the letter? Mr. Bishop McKenzie, west of Pennsylvania?”

/>   “Douglas knew where I was.”

  “Of course!” Lila widened her eyes in mock amazement. “Now, why didn’t I think of that? All I had to do was ask Douglas for your address. And if he happened to ask me why I wished to contact you, I could have told him that I was sending you a receipt for strawberry jelly that you’d requested.”

  She was perversely pleased to see Bishop’s jaw tighten at her tone. When he spoke, it was in the tone of a man nearing the end of his patience, and that pleased her too.

  “Look, I’ve done a lot of traveling the last few days. There was a bridge down about twenty miles back and I had to buy a horse and then nearly rode it to death to get here. I’m not really in the mood to stand here listening to you sharpen your tongue on my hide.”

  “I didn’t ask you to come here. Why did you come?” she asked, her eyes narrowing. When he’d first appeared, she’d been too stunned to question his presence. It had seemed as if the divine hand of justice had descended to punish her for her sins. But now that the shock was starting to wear off, it occurred to her that there was probably a more earthbound explanation. “How did you find out...” She let the question trail off, unable to say the words.

  “That you were going to pass my child off as another man’s?” Bishop asked, his voice sharp enough to make her wince. “Susan wrote me.”

  “Susan!” Lila stared at him in shocked disbelief. “I didn’t tell her about—I didn’t tell her anything. How did she know? And how did she know to contact you?”

  “I don’t know. But she did.”

  “She had no right! It was none of her concern.” Her sister-in-law’s interference felt like a betrayal.

  “Maybe she thought it was my concern,” Bishop said sharply.

  “Why would Susan assume that you ... That you and I... that we—” She flushed and looked away from him, her voice trailing off. “I didn’t tell her. I didn’t tell anybody.”

  “Well, don’t look at me.” Bishop ran his fingers through his hair, feeling weariness settle over him like a heavy cloak. “It’s not something I discussed with anyone. Maybe she saw you sneaking out of my room.”