Deborah Camp (37 page)

Blade bowed his head for a moment. When he lifted his face to hers again, Elise didn’t like the stubborn glint in his eyes or the rock-hard set of his jaw. She knew the signs, but they were unexpected. She’d thought he would sweep her into his arms and that by now they would be in the midst of a loving, lustful celebration. But no. Elise sat back in her chair, dismayed. Not Blade Lonewolf, King of Pride.

“Blade, why are you looking at me like that? I thought you’d be thrilled!”

“You didn’t accept their charity for me, did you?”

“I accepted for
us
, and it’s not charity. They owe me, Adam and Penny for what they took from us. We have suffered because of them and they’re getting off lightly, believe me.”

“That’s good for you and your brother and sister, but you won’t use the money on this land.”

“Not their money—
mine
,” she corrected him. “My share will be enough to pay off the loan.”

He smiled quickly, there and gone, and removed his hands from hers. “Much obliged, but I won’t have you paying off my debts. They are
my
debts, Elise.”

She pushed herself up from the chair in a surge of annoyance. “Will you swallow your blasted pride just this once? I did! Why can’t you do it for me, and for Adam and Penny?”

“It’s not a matter of pride—”

“Oh, yes, it is,” she cut in, rounding on him, her hands clenched into fists and her voice cracking with strain. “It’s all about pride with you. Don’t you think it would have done my pride a heap of good to throw the Wellbys’ offer back in their smug faces?” She bent at the waist, glaring at him. He sat in the chair and refused to meet her gaze. “Oh, how I would have delighted in that! And I almost caved in. I almost did it, but Mr. Lancaster reminded me that I shouldn’t think only of myself and my own pride. I have others in my life, and so do you!”

“Elise, I appreciate what you are trying to do, but I can’t have you paying my debts.” He stood up and went to the bucket for a dipper of water.

Elise wished she could give his tight, well-defined butt a swift kick. “I accepted this trade, Blade, so we could have a future together. Can’t you spend a little of your pride on a better life for all of us?”

He braced his hands on the edge of the counter. “I thought they’d offer to take you all back to Baltimore.”

“They didn’t. Are you disappointed?”

He turned, scowling. “Of course not! I don’t want you to go.”

“Then you’ll accept the money?”

“No.”

“Then you’ll lose us. You’ll lose me.” She extended her hands to him, but he didn’t take them. “Don’t do this, Blade. Don’t throw away what we have just because you’re a stubborn jackass.” She nodded at his look of surprise. “Yes, you called me that once, but the ears and tail belong on you now. We could have a good life here, but it’s all in your hands. The money means nothing to me unless it can be used to save us.”

He closed his eyes. “I don’t know if I could live with myself.”

“Of course you could!”

“Your father was used to his wife handing over money, so this is natural to you, but it’s not natural to me, Elise. What kind of man would I be to spend my wife’s inheritance?”

“It’s not an inheritance, and you leave my mother and father out of this!” She wrestled for control of her mounting temper. “You might not think much of my father, but he wouldn’t have stood by and let his family be torn asunder if there was something he could do to stop it!”

Blade grabbed his hat off the peg and strode out the door.

“Where are you going?”

“Back to work.”

Elise stamped a foot in frustration. “Yes, you go on to your fields of futility,” she shouted at his back. “Get the place in order so it will be nice and pretty for Judge Mott when he takes it over!” She stamped her foot again as he continued to walk
away, never glancing back at her, never giving any indication that he had heard her. She slammed the door and flung herself into the nearest chair. “Stubborn jackass,” she said, banging her fists on the tabletop. “Stubborn, prideful jackass! He’s going to ruin us!”

T
he letter was a challenge. It had taken Elise most of the day to put the words on paper. Well, at least writing had given her something to do, so that she wasn’t pacing the floor and going crazy while waiting for Blade to return.

Where was he? She’d positioned the kitchen chair to give herself an unobstructed view out the window. She looked out now, but no one approached the cabin.

Picking up one of the balls of paper—her first attempts at writing the letter she’d promised which would remove her grandparents from the Balti more rumor mill—she tossed it angrily at the stove, which she hadn’t bothered to light today.

Last night she had tried to talk to Blade again after supper, but he’d given her nothing but stony silence. He’d gathered up his bedding, announced that he needed to be alone to think and headed outside for that blasted tepee of his! He’d stayed in there all night. Oooo, how she hated that thing!

When she’d arisen that morning and come into the main room to light the stove and prepare breakfast, Blade, already dressed, had been heading out the door.

“Just where do you think you’re going?” she’d demanded.

“Out.” His face set in stern lines, he’d aimed a warning finger at her. “You all stay put and wait for me. Don’t take the children to school today. Stay here, and no back talk. I’m not in the mood for an argument.” He had rammed his hat on his head and glared at her with bloodshot eyes. She had glared back, her eyes more bloodshot than his. “I mean it, Elise. You stay here and wait for me.”

“Where are you going?”

But she’d gotten no more out of him, and she’d known better than to trot after him and beg for tidbits. When he had that look in his eyes, there was no reaching him.

Stubborn jackass
.

Ah, but she loved him. And she would do anything for him. Anything. He had made great sacrifices for them, so why couldn’t he relinquish an ounce of his blasted pride?

Where was he? What had he done today? How dare he stalk off and fiddle with their futures while leaving them all in the dark!

She caught a glimpse of Penny and Adam, who were playing a game of chase with Gwenie in the grassy paddock. Janie munched on grass nearby, keeping a motherly eye on the antics. Bob was off someplace. He preferred the outer pastures and his own company until it was time to mate, of course, and then he was more than happy to prance around the paddock with Janie. Just like a male!

She signed the letter, blotted her signature and folded the heavy paper into thirds. All done. Her part of the bargain was complete, but her hopes for a happy resolution hinged on Blade and what he’d decided to do.

Her greatest worry loomed in her mind again. Had he gone to the judge’s to surrender his land? Had the prideful fool given in to Judge Mott when he could just as easily have paid off the old devil and been done with him?

“Blade, please, please,” she murmured, begging a man who couldn’t hear her and wouldn’t listen even if he were standing before her right now. He’d made up his mind during the night and had set off with a purpose this morning. But what purpose?

Moving out to the porch, Elise glanced up at the sky. It was late afternoon—around five, she guessed by the position of the sun. Where was he?

Staring at the road, she felt her senses flutter when she saw a puff of dust rise in the distance. A buggy? A wagon? Her muscles tensing, she stood on tiptoe and gripped the porch support while she waited for what seemed like hours instead of minutes. The dust ball grew, coming closer. Yes, yes! A buggy and a horse and a rider.

She left the porch’s shade and went to the end of the road to wait for them. The rider was Blade, but who was in the buggy? Propping one hand at her waist and shading her eyes with the other, she stood sentinel and prayed that Blade had done the right thing—the sensible thing. The day’s travails burdened her, planting an ache in her temples and an uneasiness in her stomach.

The expression on Blade’s face didn’t allay her discomfort. The buggy was driven by the livery owner’s son, and Giles Lancaster sat in the backseat. Elise looked from the solicitor to Blade. Neither man seemed the least bit pleased with the day’s events.

“You did it, didn’t you?” Elise accused Blade as
he dismounted and gave Bob a whack on the backside to send him trotting to the barn.

“Elise, let’s go into the house. You need to sit down when you hear—”

“You did it!” Fury and despair collided within her and she struck like a copperhead, landing her fists on Blade’s chest. He caught her wrists, and she twisted and fought to get free. “Blast your stubborn pride, Blade Lonewolf! You sacrificed our future because you couldn’t take money from a woman—a woman who happens to be your wife and who loves you, you pigheaded fool!”

“Stop this and listen to me,” Blade said, shaking her. “What’s gotten into you?”

Sobbing, she finally wrenched out of his hold and spun away. She covered her face with her hands and let the tears come. “I hate you for this, Blade. I swear I do.”

“Mrs. Lonewolf.” It was Giles Lancaster. “Won’t you come inside? We have sad news to tell.”

“Elise, please …” Blade laid a hand on her shoulder, and she jerked away from him again.

“It’s too late to comfort me now, Blade,” she told him, wiping her tears with the heels of her hands. “Because of you, it’s too late for everything.”

“Mrs. Lonewolf,” Mr. Lancaster said, his voice soft and soothing, “we’ve just come from the Mott farm.”

Elise closed her eyes, preparing herself for the final blow.

“Judge Mott has been murdered.”

“Mur—” Elise turned wide eyes on Blade, her heart heaving in her chest, her ears ringing with alarm. “Blade, you didn’t!”

He shook his head and caught her around the waist as her knees turned to jelly. “No, I didn’t.
Now, will you please come inside the house and sit down? We must talk, and Mr. Lancaster and I need a drink.”

Elise let him guide her into the cabin, Mr. Lancaster bringing up the rear. She noticed the darker circles under Blade’s eyes and the tight set of his mouth. He looked as if he’d been to hell and back. Maybe he had.

Penny and Adam came running, but Blade gestured for them to stay outside.

“We have grown-up things to talk about now,” he told Adam. “You and Penny do your chores. I’ll call you for supper in a while.”

“Yes, sir.” Adam took Penny by the hand and pulled her away from the house.

Elise sat at the table, where she’d been sitting all day, it seemed. She’d thought that Blade had wanted a drink of water, so she was surprised when he accepted a flask from Mr. Lancaster and poured whiskey into a cup. He handed the flask back to Mr. Lancaster.

“I need this.” The solicitor glanced at Elise. “Would you care for a jot, Mrs. Lonewolf?”

She shook her head, and he tipped the silver container to his lips and took a swallow.

Blade sat at the table and drank his measure of whiskey quickly, tossing the liquid to the back of his throat and downing it in two gulps.

“Ah.” He wiped his mouth on his cuff, and his shoulders slumped with sudden weariness. “Much obliged, Mr. Lancaster. Please sit down.”

“Thank you. Excuse me for a moment.” The solicitor stepped to the open door. “Young man, you may water the horse and yourself! I have business here; then I will require you to take me back to town,” he shouted out to the buggy driver before
he joined Elise and Blade at the kitchen table. “It’s been quite a day. Full of nuts and jolts.”

Blade laughed shortly. “That’s for sure.”

“Who murdered the judge?” Elise asked as she massaged her throbbing temples.

“Harriet.”

“His wife?” Elise stared at Blade in shock. He nodded. “Did she confess? Is she in jail?”

“She’s dead, too,” Blade said in a flat, colorless voice. “It looks as if she shot herself after she shot the judge.”

“My God!” Elise stared blankly out the window, shock stripping her senses.

“Mr. Lonewolf came into town this morning to fetch me,” Mr. Lancaster related. “He was going to the judge’s to settle the loan business and to discuss Adam.”

Shimmering tears stung Elise’s eyes. “Blade, you …” She gripped his forearm with both hands. Chains fell away from her heart and it floated free in her chest. “I was so afraid you were going to throw all of this away.”

He glanced at Mr. Lancaster, and Elise sensed that he was uncomfortable discussing their private affairs in front of the solicitor. She stared into his eyes, wishing they could be alone so that she could throw her arms around him and smother him with kisses. Oh, how she loved him in that shining moment!

A hint of a smile poked at one corner of his mouth, and he rested a hand on top of hers in a gesture of comfort and understanding. Drawing in a shaky breath, she forced her mind away from her devotion to him and tried to concentrate on the horror he’d recently witnessed.

“How long have they been dead?”

Mr. Lancaster finished his spot of whiskey. “What would you say, sir? Hours? No more than a day.”

“Probably happened yesterday,” Blade said. “The blood had dried.”

“Yes, that’s true.” The solicitor removed a handkerchief from his breast pocket and dabbed at his forehead. “Awful business, it was. And no one was around. The place was deserted.”

“Really? Where were his workers?” Elise asked. “Every time I’ve been there, the place has been crawling with field hands.”

“They lit out, I guess,” Blade said. “When they found out what had happened in the house, they all left. Guess they were scared they might get into trouble somehow.”

“And now that the wicked king is dead, they’re free,” Elise said with a grim smile. “I think Judge Mott kept those people there mainly out of fear. He had something on all of them or had threatened them. Poor Harriet. She had obviously reached the end of her rope, but who knew she was so desperate?”

“I didn’t,” Blade murmured, “but maybe I should have.”

“What do you mean?”