The Emperor's New Clothes

by Victoria Alexander

  “Where are you off to now?” Sedge said.

  “I’m going to saddle up Whiskey and go talk to Big Jack,” Tye called over his shoulder. “There might not be a ceremony for a new count the day after tomorrow, but there will damn well be a wedding.”

  “I wouldn’t wager on it,” Sedge said under his breath. He’d never seen Tye quite this impulsive before. Or quite this stupid. The man was obviously smitten. Sedge shook his head. It was a sorry fate for a once-noble warrior in the never-ending battle between men and women.

  Any idiot could see Tye was going about this all wrong. Ophelia would view Tye’s telling Big Jack as betrayal. And Sedge wouldn’t be at all surprised if she did indeed choose rotting over marriage.

  “Bloody hell.” Sedge rose to his feet and started for his horse, noting vaguely that Tye’s problems took his mind off his own. He pulled himself into his saddle and spurred his horse. Well, this was the least he could do for his friend and men in general. He hated to see a good man like Tye brought so low by a woman. It was humiliating. It was pathetic.

  And Sedge envied him every agonizing moment.

  Chapter Seventeen

  “Tye, is that you?” Lorelie called into the night from the brightly lit porch.

  “Yeah, sorry to come over so late.” Tye slid from his saddle. “Jack around?”

  “Right here, son.” Big Jack Matthews appeared from the shadows at the far end of the porch.

  “I need to talk to you.”

  Lorelie and Jack exchanged glances.

  “What about?” Jack said.

  “Why don’t we sit down first?” Lorelie led Tye to a old rustic rocker, then joined Jack on the porch swing. “Now then.”

  “It’s about Ophelia.” Tye drew a deep breath. How was he going to say this?

  “What about Ophelia?” Jack raised a brow.

  Tye leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. “You remember when you said you’d call off the deal with her if I could prove she was a fake?”

  “I remember.” Jack’s voice was quiet.

  “Well, I learned something very interesting today.”

  “Did you?”

  “Yeah, I…” Tye’s voice faltered.

  Don’t tell them.

  It wasn’t what she’d said aloud, but what he read in her eyes. She didn’t need to say the words. If he loved her he wouldn’t tell. And he did love her. Really love her. But that was exactly what had brought him here in the first place. He loved her and he wanted to keep her right here in his town and his arms. Sure, she probably wouldn’t buy his rationalization, that he had only promised to let her tell Big Jack and hadn’t agreed not to reveal her secrets himself. But surely that was a minor point.

  Love, real love, demands nothing in return.

  And he was demanding something from her, wasn’t he? He was demanding her love. He was demanding that she share his life. He was demanding a future together. Was that wrong? Or was this simply the wrong way to go about it? Didn’t his whole scheme smack of coercion and blackmail? Now who was the liar and the cheat and the fraud?

  Loving and offering love was enough.

  Was it? Was it worth the pain that had nearly crippled him from the moment she said she didn’t love him until Sedge fanned the spark of anger he’d been too anguished to notice? Could he really selflessly let her go?

  “Tyler?” Concern colored Lorelie’s face.

  And what of these people and this love? Big Jack and Lorelie had raised him as their own. Didn’t he owe them the truth? They’d taught him right from wrong and brought him up to be an honorable man. Was there any integrity in this? In betraying the woman he loved to get what he wanted? Maybe the truth wasn’t all he owed them. Maybe he owed them honor as well.

  “Tye?” Jack frowned. “What did you learn about Ophelia?”

  “She…um…” He groaned to himself. He couldn’t tell them the truth. He couldn’t reveal Sedge’s proof, let alone divulge what he’d learned in the creek. “Can swim! That’s it. She knows how to swim.”

  “She does?” Jack said slowly.

  “Yep.” Tye nodded. “You know, there aren’t many women who can swim. It can sure come in handy.”

  “Does it, dear?” Confusion underlaid Lorelie’s words. “And how did you learn about this skill of Ophelia’s?”

  A vision of her wet and naked and wanting sprang to his mind, and he struggled to keep a smug smile from his lips. “We were at the creek.”

  Jack narrowed his eyes. “The creek’s not nearly deep enough for swimming.”

  “No, no, of course not.” Tye’s mind raced, and he barely noticed his words. What had she done to him? How could he even have considered giving her up without a fight?

  “It just came up.” No, if he had to drag her kicking and screaming back into his life, so be it. “Swimming, that is.” No matter what she said, she loved him. He knew it in the deepest recesses of his soul. Besides, she was a terrible liar. Why hadn’t he remembered that sooner? “In the conversation.” And now that he knew about her father, so much of what she’d said made sense. No wonder she was scared of any man declaring his love.

  “Actors.” He fairly spat the word.

  “What do actors have to do with swimming?” Lorelie turned to Jack.

  “Nothing, darlin’.” Jack smiled. “The boy’s just a little rattled, that’s all. So, Tye, did you come up with the proof you needed about Ophelia’s legitimacy to win that little bet of ours?”

  Proof? What did he have really? Sedge’s word was pretty damning evidence, of course, but how could you expect an American like himself to remember such nonsense about the geography of Britain or counts and earls and such? As for his own evidence, in spite of his threat, he would never tell anyone, let alone his uncle, of Ophelia’s innocence. He grinned. Or rather, her loss of innocence.

  Tye shook his head slowly. “I hate to admit it, Jack. I don’t know much more now than I did when I made that bet. There’s really nothing to say. I guess I lose.”

  Jack’s eyes twinkled. “Are you sure? You seemed so certain she was a fake.”

  Tye shrugged. “My mistake. Whoops. Speaking of Ophelia, have you seen her tonight?”

  Lorelie tapped her chin with her forefinger in a thoughtful manner. “I saw her, oh, about fifteen minutes ago, I think. She was heading toward the corral. I believe she muttered something about a ride. She seemed rather distracted, possibly even upset.”

  “She talked about a ride?” His heart thudded against his ribs. Surely she hadn’t already left? He hadn’t even considered the possibility that she’d leave on horseback. Damn.

  “Why don’t you go find her?” Jack’s voice was nonchalant.

  “Yeah.” Tye stepped toward the barn, stopped and turned back. “And thanks.”

  “For what, dear?” Lorelie said.

  “For teaching me right.” He grinned and strode off.

  Big Jack put his arm around his wife’s shoulders, and they watched Tye disappear into the night.

  “He was right about her, wasn’t he?” Lorelie said.

  “Um-hum.”

  She sighed. “You knew it all along, didn’t you?”

  “Damned near.”

  “Then why did you give her all that money?”

  “Lorelie, darlin’.” Jack settled back as if preparing for a long story. “It’s only money and we’ve got plenty of that. Besides, it was the only way I figured we could get her to hang around here long enough.”

  “Long enough for what?”

  He gave her a loving glance. “You know for what.”

  “Oh, dear.”

  “Well, that’s what you were planning, wasn’t it?”

  “More or less.” She sighed. “I simply knew from the moment I first met her she was the woman for him. Something in her eyes, I think. It just took him a while to recognize it.”

  “It’s not always easy to see what’s right in front of your nose.”

  “Like in the fairy tale?”


  His arm tightened around her. “Just like that.”

  She reached up and kissed his cheek. “But you knew from the very beginning that she wasn’t who she said she was.”

  He chuckled. “Well, I’m a pretty good judge of character. Women, horses, cattle. I always knew she was a decent person in spite of her little masquerade. And as for that, Sedge filled in all the specific details for me.”

  “When did you talk to Sedge?”

  Jack grinned. “About a minute before Tye showed up. And if I’m not mistaken, he’s probably still around here somewhere. Sedge?”

  “Yes, sir?” a voice from the bushes called out.

  “He’s gone, you can come out now.”

  “Thank God,” the voice muttered. A moment later, Sedge strode into view. “I think that all worked out quite nicely, sir.”

  Jack studied him for a second and nodded. “I appreciate your telling me about Ophelia.”

  Lorelie glanced from one man to the other. “I don’t understand.”

  “It’s simple, darlin’. Sedge knew if Tye told me about Ophelia, she’d never forgive him. So he figured he’d tell me, and if I was willing to go along with him, I’d refuse to believe Tye. Tell him he was full of—well, he was mistaken about her.” Jack laughed. “Tye had some crazy plan about throwing her into jail until she agreed to marry him.”

  “Oh, dear,” Lorelie murmured. “Ophelia wouldn’t like that one little bit. And it’s not at all typical of Tye to be so, well, stupid.”

  Sedge and Jack traded knowing glances.

  “He’s not stupid, darlin’” A wide grin stretched across Jack’s face. “He’s in love.”

  “Damn you, you nasty beast, you laugh at me one more time and I’ll shoot you.” Ophelia glared at the horse in the stall before her, only to get a grin in return. A very smug grin.

  Ophelia brushed her hair away from her face with an impatient gesture. It was already late. She’d been so devastated after leaving Tye that she’d collapsed onto her bed the moment she’d walked into her room. Collapsed and cried until she fell into an exhausted sleep. She didn’t find Jenny’s letter until she woke up.

  Jenny’s letter.

  Tears welled and spilled down her cheeks. She sank down in the straw and swiped at her eyes angrily. She hated weak, whiny women. She’d never cried like this in her life. Of course, she’d never known heartache like this either. First with Tye and now with Jenny.

  Damn him anyway. If she ever had a second chance to shoot him, it certainly wouldn’t be a minor scratch. No, this time she’d aim lower than his shoulder. Much, much lower. The nerve of the man. Telling her he loved her. And adding insult to injury by asking her to marry him. Not that the thought hadn’t crossed her mind long before their afternoon in the stream.

  She plucked at the pieces of straw clinging to her skirt. She’d never imagined how very hard it would be to tell him she didn’t love him when all the while she wanted to scream the truth. And she didn’t doubt what would happen if she did admit she loved him and agree to marry him. Oh, they might be happy for a while, but sooner or later, just like every other man she’d ever seen, he’d leave her for the next conquest. No, you couldn’t count on a man. Not like you could count on family.

  Jenny.

  Ophelia scrambled to her feet. She’d noted her sister’s unusual quiet when Ophelia had announced they’d leave on tomorrow’s train, and she should have paid more attention to the defiant set of her chin, but she’d never dreamed Jenny had other plans. When had the child gotten so close to that ranch hand? Ophelia knew someone was teaching her to ride, but apparently she was too distracted by Tye and everything else to realize what else the boy was teaching her. Well, she’d spent way too many years looking out for Jenny to let her go off and destroy her life now.

  “I hope you’re ready, you vicious animal.” Ophelia clenched her jaw and forced a smile. The horse tilted its head. A saddle hung over the top of the stall wall at about the level of her chest. She glanced from the saddle to the horse and back. How in the hell did you get this thing on that thing?

  She squared her shoulders, grabbed the saddle and yanked it off the wall, putting all her strength into the effort. Perhaps too much strength. The saddle nearly flew through the air, the momentum throwing her backward, and she stumbled and fell, trapped beneath the leather. Ophelia stared up at the overhead beams and heaved a sigh. Then she heard it.

  The horse snickered.

  “When I get up from here”—she put as much menace into her voice as she could muster—“you’re going to be sorry.” Ophelia gritted her teeth and tried to ignore the snickering that verged on the edge of a full-fledged laugh. She sat up, pushed the saddle off and pulled herself to her feet. The contraption was certainly a lot heavier than she’d expected. She glanced at the horse. It bared its teeth in a malicious grin. She narrowed her gaze. No vile, stupid brute was going to get the best of her.

  She grasped the knob-like thing at one end of the saddle, hooked her fingers on the other end and lifted, trying to balance some of the rig’s weight on her legs. She inched toward the horse.

  “Now, then you disgusting creature, stay right there. Don’t move. Just stay put….” She lunged toward the animal, thrusting the saddle out in front of her like a shield. The horse laughed and stepped out of her path. Ophelia barreled into the wall, bounced and landed once again, flat on her back, staring upward, trapped by leather.

  “Damn.” She glared at the beams. “I can do this. I will not let one of these animals make a fool out of me.”

  Once more she struggled to her feet, clutched the saddle and stood before the horse. She stared the animal straight in its eyes, or rather, straight in one of its eyes.

  “Let’s get something clear here. You are the horse. I am the person.”

  The horse chuckled.

  Obviously, reason wasn’t going to work. How can you reason with a laughing horse? She’d already tried threats, and ended up on her well-bustled backside. Twice. Perhaps it was time to—she shuddered—be pleasant.

  “Why don’t we both be reasonable, shall we?” She smiled as sweetly as possible and stepped closer. “I need to put this saddle on you so we can go find my sister. Doesn’t that sound like fun?” The horse pricked its ears. She sidled up next to it. “We’ll have a nice, long ride in the moonlight. Just you and me. It will be great—hah!” She leapt forward and slapped the saddle on the beast’s back. The animal didn’t move so much as an inch. “Got you! That will teach you to try and make a fool out of me.”

  She stepped back and grinned. “Man, or in this case woman, has always been more intelligent than creatures like yourself. That’s why you can chuckle all you want, but I have the last laugh.”

  “It looked to me like that horse let you win.”

  She gasped and swiveled at the familiar voice. “Tye!”

  “Horses making fun of you again, Ophelia?”

  Her breath caught in her throat, and her heart leapt with hope and fear. He leaned casually against the stall gate, his arms crossed over his chest, his expression unreadable. She forced an icy calm to her voice. “What do you want?”

  “You.”

  She shook her head. “Why don’t you just leave me alone?”

  “I can’t.” Why did he have to stand there looking for all the world like every secret dream and desire she’d ever had but didn’t recognize until him?

  “We’ve been all through this, Tye,” she said quietly, trying to hide the desperate longing and temptation to surrender his presence aroused. “I don’t love you.”

  “A few hours ago you accused me of not being able to recognize manure when I saw it. Well, I sure do recognize it now.” A dangerous spark flared in his eyes. “You don’t lie well, Ophelia.”

  She sighed in resignation. “I don’t lie at all. I act.”

  He shrugged. “You can call it whatever you damn well please. The point is I love you.”

  “But I don’t even like you.” She gr
oaned.

  He laughed, and she knew she was lost. It wasn’t the laugh of a heartbroken man, or a man ready to give up, or a man who accepted the fact that he was about to fail. No, his was a laugh tinged with success.

  “I don’t have time for this now,” she said, tossing her head and turning back to the horse. She’d managed to get the saddle on the horse’s back, but what in the hell did she do now?

  “What are you doing?” His voice sounded beside her ear, and his lips nuzzled her neck.

  She jerked and whirled around. “What are you doing?”

  “Kissing your neck.”

  “Why?”

  “Oh, I don’t know.” His eyes widened with innocence. “Because it’s a lovely neck?”

  She glared at him, struck by the sure and certain knowledge that she would fall into his arms with the least provocation, and then, no doubt, willingly sacrifice her soul, and eventually become what she’d vowed she never would. Unless…she could buy a little more time.

  “I can’t discuss this right now, Tye. I have other things to do.” She pivoted toward the horse, but he caught her arm and pulled her back to face him.

  “I’m not letting you leave Dead End.” Determination shaded his face. “I love you and you’re staying here.”

  She pulled her brows together. “Well, I don’t love you and this has nothing to do with us. It’s my sis—maid. Jenny.”

  He raised a brow. “The girl with the speech problem?”

  “She’s disappeared.” Ophelia shot him a pointed glare. “With one of Big Jack’s ranch hands.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “She left me a note. She said she wanted to stay right here in Dead End forever with this boy Zach. But first they’re going to Laramie, to get married. Married!” Fear and panic, forgotten during her battles first with the horse, then with Tye, rushed through her. “I’ve got to find her.”

  Tye’s gaze narrowed thoughtfully. “Why?”

  “Because I…I care for her. She’s my—”