“I had a long talk with Grant’s parents back in Boston, and we’ve agreed that you both would make such a lovely couple.”
“Mother…” Caroline couldn’t quite get her mind around what she wanted to say. Her entire body went cold and prickly, and then she felt numb.
“Well, Mrs. Hartford.” The man smiled and dipped his head in the perfect semblance of modesty, but his eyes weren’t timid at all as they settled back on Caroline. “I think Caroline and I should get to know one another before we settle on calling us a lovely couple.”
Caroline clasped her hands before her so hard she was sure her fingers were turning red. Her own mother had invited this man all the way across the country to court her. It was the most outlandish thing she’d ever heard. “I’m not clear on what’s going on here,” she began, though she was pretty certain that she knew. “Mr. Miller is here to court me?”
Her mother laughed and linked her arm with one of Caroline’s. “It’s a little more than that. Why don’t we have some tea while we discuss it? Prudie? Could you arrange some tea and refreshments for us in—” They came to a stop in the front parlor where Caroline had so recently been daydreaming about Castillo. “This should do nicely. Have it brought in here, Prudie dear.”
Aunt Prudie squeezed her arm just before she hurried off to see to the tea. Before Caroline knew it, she was sliding down to sit on the settee while her father took the chair she’d vacated. Grant Miller was, mercifully, absent. Whether he’d stayed in the foyer or had been ushered off to some other part of the house, she didn’t know nor did she care. “I don’t understand what’s happening.”
“Caroline—” her father began, but her mother cut him off.
“Caroline, we feel—”
“Kathleen.” Her father’s sharp tone drew them both up short. He rarely spoke in any way that wasn’t calm and measured. When it was clear her mother would cede him the floor, he began again. “Caroline, as I explained to you, and as your mother’s letter explained, we feel that you need to be married soon before the opportunity seems less…attractive to some suitors. I, personally, feel that any man who would eschew your hand after your education, doesn’t deserve it, but we live in the world in which we live.” He shrugged as if he couldn’t comprehend that world. “Your girlhood friends are all married now, or at least engaged.”
“But, father, you specifically told me that you supported me going—”
“Yes, yes. I do support you going to medical school. I’ve made it my mission to find you a husband who also approves. Grant and I spoke before I left Boston, and he approves of your going. He actually spoke very highly of you and your pursuits.”
“As do I,” her mother put in. “I’m very proud of you for being accepted, Caroline. Very proud. But we have to be realistic. This is your future.”
“What are you saying? I am being realistic. I can be a physician. That is my future.”
“Of course you can,” her mother was quick to reassure her. “But eventually you’ll want a family. You won’t want to continue being a physician then, will you?”
Caroline had never thought about how having children would impact her profession. She assumed there’d be challenges, but she’d never thought about giving up being a physician. “Well, yes, yes, I think I will want to continue.” This wasn’t some passing fancy that she’d abandon to move on to something else.
Her mother frowned, but didn’t interrupt as her father took over. “As I said, I’ve spoken with Grant and he’s an upstanding young man. His father owns a foundry and invests in several downtown buildings. They’re an old family.”
“Are you…were you holding meetings with suitors to find one who’d take me?” A wave of nausea churned through her belly.
“No, of course not.” Her father frowned and darted a glance at her mother. “I did speak with a couple of gentlemen who’d expressed interest in the past in coming to call. Though I have to agree with your mother and say that I received fewer inquiries once your plans became known. And that’s no reflection on you. I fully support your decision. However, it did bring to my attention the particular challenges you might face in the future when it came time to marry. I confess that I hadn’t bothered to concern myself with the prospect of your marriage until your mother brought the question to my attention.”
Her mother nodded in agreement. “You know how your father tends to leave the day-to-day thinking to us sensible folk while he goes off into one of his books.” Then she leaned forward and took Caroline’s hand. “Please understand that we do not take this decision lightly. We only have your best interest at heart. We’ve spoken to Grant at length, and we do very much feel that he’ll be the best option as a husband for you.”
The very idea that they’d think she’d entertain the notion of marrying this stranger was perplexing. Her heart pounded so hard she could barely hear anything over the roar in her ears. “And if I don’t like him?”
Her father sat back in his chair, but her mother only smiled. “Please don’t be unreasonable, darling. Give him a chance. I’m certain you’ll find that you quite like him.”
“What if I don’t?”
Finally, her mother’s smile cracked a little. “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. We’ve made a good match for you.”
Caroline could hardly believe her ears. They were behaving as if this was normal. “I won’t commit to this engagement. I have not chosen him. I don’t even know him. We’re not in the Middle Ages. People don’t just marry off their children.” Yet, even as she said it, she knew that it happened all the time. Maybe not quite as straightforwardly as this, but she knew many women who’d had their suitors selected for them.
Her parents merely looked at each other.
Taking a deep breath, she asked, “Am I not to attend medical school unless I marry him?” The words echoed in her mind as the room stayed silent. Neither of them wanted to admit that they’d backed her into a corner. Had they thought she’d just allow them to do this to her?
“Miss Hartford? Caroline?” Grant Miller walked into the room as if unsure of his welcome. “If I could have a word with you, I think I could clear up a little of the confusion. You see, I approached your father months ago. After I met you, I was quite enamored with you and I knew that you had barely noticed me. You were too busy chatting with donors and making speeches to notice your admirers.”
He gave a small smile that softened his features and made him appear very young, almost likable if she’d been inclined to view him as anything other than a threat. “I heard every word of your speech that night and I highly admire your passion for the hospital and your chosen profession. If it sets your mind at ease, I support your ambition and would proudly call you my wife, as well as my physician.”
He smiled and it did seem genuine. “I apologize for the ambush. Your mother thought it would be fun to surprise you, and I can see now that we were wrong. I’d hoped that my coming here would be a symbol of my dedication. If I’ve overstepped my bounds, then I humbly apologize.”
Caroline stood, rubbing her wet palms down the skirt of her gown. If what he said was true, then he was caught in the middle of this awful scheme her parents had arranged just as she was. She couldn’t fault him for that. Knowing her mother, she’d probably played up Caroline’s enthusiasm to him a bit too much. “Thank you for your apology. I believe my parents are a little overzealous in their ambitions. I hope you don’t think I’m being rude, but they caught me off guard.”
“I completely understand. I’ll go and leave you to talk with your parents.” He turned to go, looking rather dejected, making her feel terrible.
“You don’t have to go, Mr. Miller.”
He smiled back at her. “I don’t want to be a bother. I have a room in town, a very nice room, actually. I’d never have believed Helena had anything to rival Boston, but the Baroness is one
of the nicest hotels I’ve seen.”
“Please stay. At least for refreshments. I’ll go see what’s keeping Aunt Prudie.” Caroline forced the same smile she used at the fund-raisers and left to go find her aunt. Inside she was seething and very aware that her parents had backed her into a corner. She refused to marry a man they had arranged for her, but she was already starting to wonder how she could get out of it. They very literally held the purse strings to her future. If they refused to allow her to attend medical school—and refused to pay her tuition—then she really had no choice.
As she moved into the hallway and left the parlor behind, thoughts of Castillo began to intrude. The very idea of touching some man who wasn’t him was repulsive. What would he say when he came back tonight to find this had happened? What if he didn’t care? She closed her eyes and came to a stop in the privacy of the little alcove beneath the stairs.
He wouldn’t care…would he? Despite what had happened between them last night, her being forced to marry someone else wasn’t his problem. And why should it be? He could do absolutely nothing about it.
Her heart pounded in her chest so hard she thought that it might try to leap out. Closing her eyes, she was afraid that she’d just fallen over the edge into the deeper feelings for Castillo that she’d been so afraid of.
CHAPTER TWELVE
A trail of dust kicked up behind Johnson’s horse on the deserted road. Castillo clenched his fingers around the binoculars as he shifted them to evaluate the hills beyond the road. He didn’t see any movement, no sign of Derringer or one of his men watching for Johnson.
Castillo, Zane and Hunter had made the decision that it was time to act when there’d been suspicious tracks early that morning on the ranch’s southern border. They couldn’t wait around and allow Derringer to get desperate and do something stupid, like attack the ranch. They’d need to lure him out with the only bait they had. Rob Johnson.
Castillo had ridden to Victoria House that morning with a couple of the men from the ranch and Hunter, who’d insisted on coming despite Castillo’s protest. They’d concocted the plan to have Johnson ride out as if he’d been successful on his mission to capture Castillo. The gang would hide and ambush Derringer once Johnson brought him out of hiding.
It hadn’t taken much to convince Johnson to agree to the plan. They’d offered him more money, and it wasn’t hard to buy the temporary loyalty of a man like him. There was no question the plan was risky. Johnson could get jumpy. Derringer might smell a trap. A hundred things could go wrong, but it was the only plan they had right now. There’d been no other signs of Derringer and no clear way to find him.
After getting a visual on Zane hidden in the hills across the road, Castillo stowed the binoculars back in the case hanging from his saddle horn. They were only a few miles from town. They’d likely have another few miles before Derringer showed himself. Tightening his grasp on the reins, Castillo led his horse through the trees, careful to keep up with Johnson, but not get so close he couldn’t stay out of sight. In the intervening silence and the growing tension of possibly facing Derringer after all these years, misplaced thoughts of Carolina began to intrude. Truth be known, he’d barely stopped thinking about her since she’d left his room the night before.
Carolina. What a surprise she’d turned out to be.
Last night he’d nearly gone against everything he believed in and taken her. She’d come undone in his arms, her body slick with her need for him. It would’ve been so easy to move the sheet aside and slide between her thighs, claiming her as his. He swallowed hard and gritted his teeth against the half erection just the memory of her caused. Why did she intrigue him as she did?
He’d had his share of beautiful women, and not one of them had been as innocent as he knew Carolina to be. But none of them had gotten under his skin like this. They’d been fun and distracting while he’d had them, but he’d been able to move on with just the memories. He hadn’t even slept with Carolina and already she was on his mind more than she should be. Maybe that’s why he couldn’t forget her. He hadn’t had her yet.
No. Even as the thought flickered through his mind, he knew it was false. He liked her, and in some strange way he couldn’t quite understand, he understood her need to do something different with her life, to buck the restraints put on her. As much as he loved the hacienda in Texas and planned to rebuild as soon as this journey with Derringer was over, he couldn’t help but wonder what his life might be like if he didn’t have the yoke of that responsibility hanging over his head. What if he had Hunter’s freedom to live how he wanted?
He thought of Carolina as she’d spoken of her chosen profession. She’d been confident and alluring, even as Bonham—that bastard—had tried to demean her. She’d kept her composure and had looked like a queen patiently addressing her wayward subject. Castillo had been proud of her. No, he’d felt more than that. He’d felt proud to walk with her on his arm. Proud that she’d smiled at him when he intervened. His chest had swelled with something he didn’t recognize when she’d looked up at him in the light of that lantern with something like admiration in her eyes. It was why he hadn’t been able to resist kissing her that night, even though he knew he wasn’t good for her. He’d wanted to capture just an ounce of her goodness.
Then that image was replaced with one of how she’d looked last night in the candlelight of his bedroom when he’d kissed her. The dark pink of her nipple under the pale, wet cotton of her nightgown, her luminous eyes as she’d stared up at him, the pink glow in her cheeks. He could almost smell the lavender from her body. His palms tingled at the memory of her soft skin beneath them. It would’ve been so easy to peel off her gown and run his hands all over her silky body. He’d wanted to dip his tongue between her legs and taste her desire for him. Then he would’ve taken her.
If he had the luxury of freedom, he would claim her as his.
Castillo took in a deep breath, letting it expand his chest, filling him up with hope and possibilities, before he let it out and the weight of his life settled over him again, indifferent to his musings. She had a life in Boston, and his life was nowhere near Boston. Even without the hacienda, he belonged out here in the wide open spaces, not in the city. She needed to be far away from him where he couldn’t hurt her.
He shook his head to clear it, but he couldn’t help wondering what she was up to today and how she felt about what had happened between them. He’d grabbed a quick breakfast before the sun came up, but he missed taking breakfast with her.
Johnson quickened his pace, catching Castillo’s attention. Retrieving the binoculars, Castillo held them up and saw some movement about a mile ahead at the tree line. It wasn’t a very dense copse of trees, so after a moment he was able to make out a man on horseback. He raised the lenses to the hill behind the trees and caught the tail end of a horse skirting around behind it. That’s probably where Derringer was camped, out of view of the road but close enough to keep watch. The only problem was that Castillo had no idea how many men Derringer had with him.
Castillo quickened his own pace to catch up with Hunter. But before he could, Johnson yelled out a warning to Derringer. “Son of a bitch,” Castillo muttered and put the binoculars away so he could draw his gun.
The first gunshot came out of nowhere and slammed into Johnson’s chest, unseating him so that he landed spread-eagled on his back in the dirt. He lay there unmoving. A figure crested the rise just ahead, and Castillo knew that Derringer’s man had pulled the trigger. Another one came over the hill to the east and fired in Zane’s direction. Castillo wasn’t close enough to see if he’d found his mark, but figured he hadn’t when the man narrowly missed getting hit by the return fire. Castillo turned his attention to the man who’d shot Johnson and pulled the trigger. The man lurched backward, pulling up on the reins of his horse. He wasn’t dead, but he turned around and moved out of sight.
And then it was chaos. Hunter darted from the trees to cross the road and get to a closer and better position, but he drew gunfire, revealing the positions of two other unknown attackers. Castillo was able to take out one, but the other had set himself up behind a rocky embankment. His heart pumping, Castillo followed Hunter and disappeared into the trees where the others were waiting for him. None of them had been hit, but the gunfire kept coming, breaking off bits of the cottonwood trees around them. This wasn’t somewhere they could ride out the fight indefinitely.
“We have to get around the hill to that camp,” Castillo said. “I saw a man heading over in that direction.” He pointed east around the hill, where he’d seen the horse going.
Zane nodded.
Another bullet ripped into a branch, filling the air with the sharp smell of green wood and gun smoke. “We’ve gotta get out of here,” Hunter said, aiming and firing in the general direction of the gunfire.
More shots echoed from the valley behind the hill and Castillo prayed that it was the two men from the ranch they’d brought with them. His prayer was confirmed when one of them let out a whoop of victory. From the pitiful cover of the cottonwood trees, Zane, Hunter and Castillo fired on the attackers still out there. One of them went down, but there was still the man behind the embankment of rock.
“I’m going around that embankment. Keep shooting until I get there,” Castillo called. As long as Hunter and Zane were shooting, the man likely wouldn’t chance a return fire. It was a risk, but one that Castillo was willing to take to end this. Even in the midst of this madness, he thought of Carolina and was glad he’d stopped when he did last night.
The two men from the ranch were just riding out behind a trail of dust that headed east, probably Derringer attempting escape. Castillo longed to follow them, but had to take out the man behind the embankment first so that Hunter and Zane wouldn’t be vulnerable. He circled around, using the top of the hill as cover, until he’d managed to work himself so that he could see the man’s shoulder. Dismounting, he edged around until he could see a dark beard.
Marriage Deal With the Outlaw & the Warrior's Damsel in Distress & the Knight's Scarred Maiden : Harlequin Historical August 2017 (9781488021640) Page 14
