“Any time you can tear yourself away from deciding which miss to bless with your attentions, a hello would not be amiss.”
“James!” Cloud cried, turning to his old friend. “What the hell are you doing here?” He frowned as he surveyed James’s outfit while shaking his hand. “Where’s your uniform?”
“Ah, well, that fool wanted me to lead the men. Gave me a choice—go or resign.” James shrugged his broad shoulders. “I resigned. Came here on the stage.”
“So that’s how you got here before us.”
“Us?” James asked, his silver gaze revealing his puzzlement. “I thought you rode alone. Who’s us?”
“Miss Emily Brockinger and"—he placed a hand on Thornton’s head—"Thornton Sears. This is an old friend of mine, James Carlin.”
Nodding to the man as she started to curry her horse, Emily murmured, “You are slipping, Mr. Ryder. That is a man.”
“Don’t be pert,” he admonished with a grin.
“I wouldn’t dream of it.”
“How did you two happen to meet?” James asked “Well,” Cloud drawled, “I crested this hill and saw this little lady stumbling along, parasol in hand, dragging the stubbornest mule I’ve ever set eyes on and carrying the boy on her back. Naturally, seeing such damned foolishness, out of the goodness of my heart, I went and set her right.”
“I do believe I am going to be ill,” Emily muttered and slapped the currying brush into his hand. “I am going to see what goods the storehouse provides.”
“Need some money?”
She put her hands on her hips and glared up at him from beneath the brim of her bonnet. “I would not take your money if I was blind and maimed and propped up with a tin cup.”
“Got some of your own then, hmmm? What’re you buying?”
“New material for my parasol.” She started towards the door of the storehouse.
“Think you’re good enough to ride with the reins in one hand and the parasol in the other?”
“Not at all. I felt it would be useful for all those leisurely rest stops you give us.”
“See what happens when you’re kind, James? Nothing but base ingratitude.”
“The day you are kind, Mr. Ryder, I shall keel over, lilies clutched to my bodice.” She had just stepped inside the store when she called out, “Thornton? Coming?”
Cloud grinned at a laughing James as Thornton hurried after Emily. “Cute as hell, ain’t she? Little witch.”
“The girl thinks too much of herself,” huffed Justine, tired of being ignored.
“There does not seem to be anyone here to accept my money. Does that mean that everything is free?” Emily called from within the store.
The two men laughed as Justine rushed into the store just as Emily had clearly known she would. James then turned his hand to aiding Cloud in the care of the animals and cart. Cloud kept him well entertained with the full tale of how Emily had looked when he first saw her.
“Just can’t see you dragging a city-bred girl and a little boy along with you.”
“It has its compensations,” Cloud said as they entered the store to find Emily bent over a box of ribbons and he patted her backside.
“Do that again and I shall do you a serious injury.”
“Got a sharp tongue, doesn’t she,” James observed as they took a seat at a table in the half of the building that served as a tavern. “She certainly doesn’t cling like your others.”
“Nope, Emily’s no clinger. Three beers and something for the boy, Justine.” He smiled crookedly when Justine left the table with invitation in her every sway. “She’s in a tiff just now.”
“Leaving another behind, are you?”
“Oh, no. I’m taking her and the boy to the valley. That’s where she was headed when I found her. No, Em’s just miffed because I kissed Justine when I arrived—or rather, Justine kissed me and I allowed it.” He took a sip of the beer Justine set down before him. “Very good, Justine. Could you ask Emily and Thornton to come over here?”
“Is she a friend of yours or something?”
Cloud thought over the last few days of traveling with Emily. He was a little surprised to find that he could not think of one moment when he had been bored or had wished to be rid of her. Despite the fact that she was still learning many of the simple basics needed to stay alive in a still untamed territory, she was a very good companion.
“Yeh, Justine, she’s a friend of mine.”
“A friend, huh?” marveled James after Justine had flounced away. “Maybe that’s not such a good thing if she’s the jealous sort.”
“Don’t know if it was jealousy, but she was definitely angry. Said it made her look a fool and she’s got a good dose of stiff-necked Yankee pride. Thinking it over, she’s right and Emily doesn’t deserve to be made a fool of. She doesn’t know a damn thing about surviving out here and admits it, but she was doggedly pushing on anyway when I spotted her. Many another lady would’ve sat down and wept. For all her tart remarks, she doesn’t bitch either.”
“A high accolade indeed,” murmured James as Emily and Thornton arrived.
Emily sat down between the two men and Thornton scrambled up onto the chair opposite her. She was trying very hard not to be angry, but Justine’s behavior was not helping. The woman did not know about the deal between her and Cloud, yet she was acting as if she would be taking Emily’s place while they were at the fort. For all her remarks about being unwilling, Emily knew that that arrangement would sorely hurt and infuriate her. If nothing else, it would make her look the expedient bedwarmer she was trying hard to deny she was.
“What’s this?” she asked, studying the drink before her.
“Beer. Don’t tell me you’ve never had beer?”
“All right, Cloud. I won’t.” She took a sip. “It’s rather nice.”
“Just what’d you drink back in Boston?”
“Tea, lemonade, an occasional glass of sherry. Beer or ale was a drink for a working gentleman.”
Cloud rolled his eyes in disgust. “Didn’t your sister’s husband work?”
“As little as possible,” Emily replied, her eyes alight with deviltry. “Work is so common, you know.”
“Never did understand the rich. Whole different species. Justine,” Cloud called, “still serve meals?”
“Yup.” She sidled over to press against his shoulder. “I have a fine stew on the menu today.”
He shifted so that the contact was broken. “Sounds fine. Can we have four bowls, please?”
Over the meal, which even Emily had to admit was good, James kept her talking about Boston. He had never been that far east and was honestly interested in a life that seemed to be lived in another world. He thought, too, that Emily’s world in Boston had been that of the financially well-off.
Thanks to James’s pleasant talk, and another tankard of beer, Emily’s mood improved. The arrival of a few more travelers kept Justine busy, which suited Emily just fine. It was a while before she realized that the beer was far more potent than she had thought.
“Where are we to sleep tonight?” she asked Cloud.
Grinning, for he suspected she was beginning to feel the effects of too much beer, Cloud drawled, “Why, Em, sweet, are you that eager?”
She scowled at him. “Your crudity is excelled only by your vanity.”
James snickered softly and Cloud grinned wider, then called, “Justine?”
That woman abruptly left the two young soldiers she had been flirting with. “Yeh, Cloud?”
“You still have those two private rooms upstairs for hire?”
While Cloud and Justine haggled over the price, Emily’s gaze went to the two young soldiers. One of them was eyeing her, but the other was glaring at Cloud’s back. Emily felt sure that the young man was more than casually acquainted with Justine and resented her fawning attentions to Cloud. She also felt sure that he was within a breath of starting a fight. When she saw how Justine kept glancing toward the soldiers as she
pressed against Cloud, Emily knew the woman was goading the poor young man.
She was just about to say something concerning Justine’s game when the soldier broke free of his companion’s restraining hold and lunged. “Look out, Cloud! Behind you.”
Cloud had already stood and turned to meet the attack when she cried out. She, James, and Thornton barely escaped going down with the table as the two grappling men crashed down on top of it. Emily noted sourly that Justine had anticipated the soldier’s move and stepped well out of the way. She now stood avidly watching the fight.
“Are you all right, miss?” James asked. “Just fine. They ought to be thrashing her instead of each other.” “Started it, did she?” James looked at Justine. “She’s sure enjoying herself.”
“Is there no way to stop this?”
“Not that I know of,” he said, then added, “It’s taking longer than it should though. I think Cloud’s trying not to hurt the young fool.”
Looking at the soldier’s battered face, Emily drawled, “Really? How kind.”
For a short while she stood by doing nothing, wincing at each blow that landed and scowling at the small, avidly watching crowd. She finally decided that she had had more than enough of two grown men pummeling each other for the gratification of a vain woman. Slipping away from James, she took a hasty tour of the place and was rewarded in her search.
Walking back to where Cloud and the soldier wrestled on the floor, she got as close as she dared and tossed the contents of the bucket on them. The cold water did the trick. They separated and sat up spluttering, allowing James and the other soldier to dash in and physically stop them from starting up again. Emily noted that, with some of the blood washed away, they were not as battered as she had first thought.
“What the hell did you do that for?” growled Cloud as he wiped his face with the towel James had fetched.
“It was becoming tedious, Mr. Ryder. Now, if you had been fighting for a worthy cause—”
“He was after Justine!” expounded the soldier. “I was fighting for her.”
Emily looked at the preening woman with a contempt that made Justine flush with anger. “This? To the victor goes the spoils?”
“Here now!” shrilled Justine.
“Mrs. Dubois,” Emily interrupted icily, “if you must satisfy your vanity by having men beat each other to a pulp over your disputable charms, that is your privilege. However, Mr. Ryder is my guide and guard. He would be of little use to me if he was beaten senseless.”
“Phew,” James breathed. “That sure cut Justine down a notch or two.”
Cloud grinned. “Em can talk like a damn duchess. She better watch it, though. Justine’s got a fierce temper.”
“It ain’t his guiding and guarding you’re fretting about,” Justine hissed, “but that he’ll get too beat up to serve you in bed.”
Emily stared coldly at Justine. In truth, she had not been all that concerned for Cloud. The younger, more slightly built soldier had been little threat to him. Her disgust had been all for Justine, and she had simply wanted to stop the fight that had fed her vanity.
“Justine,” Cloud said in a soft warning as he stood up.
“What’s she got to be so high and mighty for? She’s nothing but your whore.”
That stung and Emily said, in a soft clipped voice, “Your remarks reveal your low breeding.”
The slap Justine delivered nearly sent Emily to the floor. Emily reacted to the attack without any real thought, bringing forth lessons learned when, as a child ignored by her family, she had sought playmates among the children of the servants, children who had put her through many a trial before accepting her and had left her with an almost permanent black eye. As she had done so often back then, she balled up one small fist and delivered a sound right to Justine’s jaw. The taller woman fell unconscious with a soft grunt.
“Well, I’ll be damned,” Cloud said quietly, staring at the sprawled Justine.
“Undoubtedly.” Realizing with she had done, Emily began to feel sorely embarrassed.
“Didn’t learn that at a tea party,” he observed with a grin.
“No. From the stableboy.”
“What the hell’s going on here?” bellowed a deep voice.
James hustled Emily and Thornton back to the table he had set right. Cloud took over the chore of talking to the huge bearded man who was Justine’s father. Justine’s brother took her to her room and then took over the job of serving beer. Emily did not really think she wanted another glass but began to drink it anyway, for it soothed the intense embarrassment she felt. It was several moments before Cloud returned to the table, still grinning from his exchange with Justine’s father.
“We’ve got two rooms. You’re welcome to share with Thornton, James.”
Emily felt color flood her face and tried to hide it by taking a drink. She did not doubt that James had already assumed that she shared Cloud’s bed. It was, however, a little disconcerting to hear it referred to so casually.
“Think I’ll take you up on that. In fact, I was hoping to join you on your journey.”
“Planning on settling in the valley?”
“Maybe. Whether I find something there or not, I’d like to see the place I’ve heard you lauding for years.”
“I’d welcome your company—and your gun. We’re starting out early in the morning. Got to keep pushing or we’ll have to race the coming of the snows.”
“Fine with me.” He looked at Thornton. “Mind if I share your bed?”
“Nope. I like company and he stoled Mama.”
When Emily groaned softly, both men stifled a laugh. She hurriedly excused herself and Thornton, saying the boy needed to put to to bed. Following Cloud’s instructions, she found her way to the two rooms where their bags had already been stowed.
“Are you gonna sleep with dat udder man, too?” asked Thornton.
“Certainly not,” gasped Emily as she hastily tucked the boy into his bed.
“It’ll be real good having anudder man.”
“Yes. Yes, it will. Mr. Ryder is quite capable, but it never hurts to have added protection.”
She sat down on the bed and told him the bedtime story that had become a ritual, but tonight grew a little silly as a result of the beer she’d drunk. Emily was afraid that all the giggling they indulged in would keep him awake, but Thornton was asleep before she had finished folding his clothes.
Looking down at the sleeping boy, she briefly contemplated staying with him. Then she sighed and started toward the room allotted to her and Cloud. He would simply pick her up and tote her to his bed. It was a form of resistance that was not worth the effort. The man did not seem to understand what he was doing to her sense of morals, nor did he seem to be interested in her quandary.
Undressing proved more difficult than usual. She alternated between giggling over and cursing at her sudden incompetence. The last of her clothing had just dropped to the floor when she heard footsteps; she leapt into bed, pulling the covers up to her neck just as Cloud entered the room.
“Just what I like—the woman all ready and waiting,” he drawled as he latched the door.
“Do you never knock when you enter a bedroom?” she grumbled.
“Not too often. Especially not when it’s my bedroom,” he said cheerfully as he began to undress.
Try as she would, she could not take her gaze from his body as he undressed and washed. He really was a glorious example of manhood. Her gaze moved with ill-hidden appreciation from his broad shoulders over his slim hips and on down his long, muscled legs. She suddenly sensed his gaze on her and hers flew up to meet his, finding his brown eyes decidedly warm.
“Like what you see?” He slipped into bed and reached for her.
“Yes,” she blurted out and blushed furiously, knowing she had had too much to drink.
He immediately guessed that she was somewhat tipsy and grinned even while he felt unusually flattered. The drink had released her inhibitions even th
ough there was still enough of the old Emily there to be startled by her own words. He knew she meant what she said even if she had not really wanted to say it. The idea of Emily liking how he looked pleased him far more than he thought it ought to. When she started to move her hand over his chest, he stopped thinking about it. Plainly, more than her control of her tongue had been affected. Cloud turned his thoughts to finding out just how little reserve she had left.
“You really are an extraordinarily handsome man,” she murmured, then groaned when she realized what she had said.
Cloud smiled into her hair. “What about my scar?”
“It makes you look like a real devil. How did you get it? A woman, I should imagine.”
“Well, there was a woman involved.” His voice grew increasingly hoarse as she moved her hands over his body slowly and shyly, almost exploringly. “She was married, but even at nineteen I wasn’t one to turn my back on something freely offered. Her husband caught us.”
“That poor man,” she whispered as she slid her hands over his smooth slim hips. “You fought?”
“Yes,” he croaked as her touch reached his thighs. “Right there in his bedroom.”
Emily was fascinated by the changes, however subtle, that his growing passion made on his face. His strange eyes burned into hers, the amber ring seeming to grow brighter. She knew the drink was prompting her feeling of sensual abandon, but she could not seem to gain control of herself.
“You did not kill him, did you?” she breathed as she brought her stroking hands to the juncture of his thighs.
“No,” he ground out. “He cut me and the woman’s screams brought the servants. In the confusion, I grabbed my clothes and ran. God, that feels good, honey. Such a sweet touch.”
“I’m feeling very wanton,” she said with an odd mix of shame and delight. “Is it the drink?”
“If it is, I’m taking a keg along with us,” he growled against her throat.
Compromised Hearts Page 5
