Hannah Howell (5 page)

“Is she all right?” Cole asked a little worriedly, after Antonie's abrupt departure.

"Sí,"
Tomás replied with a grin. “Too much wine."

“Well, there were those four bottles we drank on the way here,” mused Justin, oblivious to the startled looks of his elder brothers.

“But she doesn't know what room is hers,” protested Patricia.

“I think Maria's still up there. She'll tell her,” Royal said.

“That's all right,
amigo,
we'll see to it,” Oro said as he and Tomás moved to the door. “The
chica
should at least have the right bed."

“And to be tucked in, eh?” Tomás added suggestively with a laughing glance toward a shocked Patricia as Oro urged him out of the room. “Must take her guns off,
sí,
and her boots. Ah, her hat,” he continued irrepressibly as Oro quickly closed the door to cut off his words.

Patricia broke the silence a moment later. “No more. I won't have it. Not in my house."

She was out the door before Royal could stop her. He hastily followed, as did Justin, although he needed Cole's strong arm for some support. Patricia was just storming into Antonie's room as they reached the top of the stairs and they crowded in the doorway. Oro had just taken off one of Antonie's boots and Tomás was struggling to remove the holster from her inert body. Royal moved aside when Maria edged her way into the room as quietly as possible.

“Get out! Out!” Patricia yelled, snatching the boot from Oro and pushing him toward the door. “You might not think there's anything wrong in taking clothes off willy-nilly, but I do, and I won't have it. Not here. You can't carry on like that here."

“Where is our room, eh? We go to bed now, too,” protested Tomás as he followed Oro in a hasty retreat out the door, pushing the Bancroft brothers ahead of him.

“Well it's not here,” snapped Patricia, getting ready to slam the door.

“Two doors down on the left,” yelled Maria even as the door slammed shut.

"Caramba,"
breathed Tomás. “The rabbit turned into the lion, eh?” He started to laugh.

Steering his giggling brother down the hall, Oro drawled, “Time for bed.
Buenas noches, señores.
Check the
chico's
bandages before he sleeps."

“What bandages?” asked Cole as he and Royal took Justin to his room.

“My ribs got pretty badly bruised,” Justin explained as he sat on his bed. “Antonie wrapped them."

Royal winced in sympathy as he and Cole undressed Justin and saw the bandaging. The wounds were not dangerous, but they were the sort that could be very uncomfortable. By the time they had him settled, his bruised ribs rewrapped, Royal could see that Justin was in a lot of pain. He hastily got his brother a drink and was pleased to see Justin recover enough to talk for a while.

“Patricia wasn't badly hurt, was she?” Cole asked quietly, as he sat at the foot of the bed.

“No,” replied Justin. “They ripped her bodice and one of them mauled her a bit, but he got a knife in the back before he could abuse her further. I think the killing bothered her more. The two hands with us, then five more men downed right before her eyes. She's never seen the rough side before. Then those three stepped out of the dark and weren't looking much safer than the ones they just killed.” He grinned slightly. “I think Antonie's calling her ‘the rabbit’ all the time snapped Patricia out of her shock quicker than anything else could have."

“Strange trio. Can't figure out what they are to each other,” Royal mused, thinking Justin might have a clue.

“That
is
hard to figure. They act like brothers and sister, but they sure didn't kiss her like brothers would. Yet, they thought it funny that she planned to kiss you and when she kissed me. That isn't a lover's way. Don't think so anyway."

“I'm beginning to feel sorely deprived,” Cole drawled, and the three brothers laughed softly. “What's all this about taking clothes off?"

“Ah, they went swimming. Stripped down right in front of us save for their underdrawers. Pattie kept her eyes covered which set Antonie and Tomás to laughing. Although, Antonie kept her chest covered which I think she does not usually do. They were just like kids, like we used to be at the swimming hole, not like two men, who probably know three times what I do, swimming with a lovely, half-naked girl. Except for showing more skin than she's ever seen, they did nothing Pattie could not have looked at.” He looked sharply at Royal. “Antonie said I was to ask you about this debt she keeps talking about."

Sighing, Royal sat on the edge of the bed and reluctantly repeated the tale. “I've kept silent about it for seven years, then suddenly have to tell it twice.” He savored a little of his brandy. “I never expected any payment. I reckon Juan was just waiting for an opportunity."

“Antonie said it wasn't Juan pulling the raids on us or who shot our folks,” Justin said after a moment of stunned silence.

“I never really thought it was, Justin. That's how I thought Juan was repaying me. It was Mendez, right?"

Justin nodded. “That's what they say, Royal. Still, how can they help us? They must be wanted."

“Not that I know of,” remarked Cole. “Always stayed out of it, ‘cept that once when I got this."

“She flat-out admitted shooting you.” Justin shook his head. “I couldn't picture it, even though I think it was Antonie who threw that knife, ‘cause she pulled it out of the guy, wiped it off, and slipped it back inside her boot. She's just so dainty-looking, though."

“She's spent eleven years with Ramirez,” Royal pointed out. “He may have kept her out of things, but she'd know how to fight if she had to."

“I reckon,” agreed Justin. “She talked about how you'd told Juan what to do to make her a lady as we shared a bottle of tequila.” He grinned when his brothers laughed. “Are they right about someone close to us being after our ranch?"

“It's a very reasonable explanation for our troubles,” Royal answered as he collected the glasses.

“So they'll be staying around a while then.” Justin could not fully hide a yawn.

“Yes. It ought to be interesting."

Antonie could hear voices as if through a thick fog, but did not move as Patricia helped Maria slip a clean white shirt on her. As Maria tugged the sheet over her, Antonie vaguely sensed that she was being studied. She struggled to listen to what was said and hoped she would be able to remember.

“She's very pretty,” Patricia murmured.

"Sí,"
agreed Maria, “but I do not think she is Mexican."

“No, but she grew up in Mexico, I think. She has the accent and all. Spanish is more her tongue than English."

"Señorita,
why has the
patrón
let these three stay? They are
bandidos.
I am sure of this."

“Perhaps, but they say they owe Royal and they've come to help us keep our ranch. I think they are a little wild,” Patricia said with a weak laugh, “but I don't think that they're bad really. They were good to Justin and me."

“There can be good in anyone, but maybe not enough. One dress,” Maria muttered.

“She treats me just like I'm a child,” Patricia said, a little truculently.

“To her I think you are."

“But she's only two years older than me,” Patricia argued.

“She has seen and done much more than you,
chica.
Maybe more than your brothers, eh? This makes her older than her age.
Buenas noches."

"Buenas noches,
Maria."

Hearing the door shut behind the two women, Antonie stopped fighting to stay conscious. She had found out what she wanted to know. Everyone was willing to at least give her and the twins the benefit of the doubt. Only one thing troubled her, and that was the way that Patricia had constantly studied Oro. Antonie felt that that could lead to some real difficulties but, at the moment, she was too drunkenly exhausted to worry about it much.

In their bedroom, Tomás and Oro settled in for the night. As Tomás turned the covers down on the bed, he looked at Oro with a wide grin on his face.

“Like kings, eh, Oro?” Tomás asked with pleasure in his voice. “I did not expect to be treated as the guest."

“I think it is Antonie who gets us such good treatment. They cannot put her out with the hands, so we do not go either."

"Sí,
but I am not going to complain. I think there could be trouble with that Royal. He has eyes for the little one."

“The little one is now twenty, Tomás. It may be time to let her say
sí
or no."

“Maybe. That man is not one to take a woman who says no."

“This is what I think. Still, we will be sure that Antonie knows what her
'sí'
can mean before we relax our watch on her."

Royal stealthily moved away from the door. Cursing softly, he wished that the twins had said more, enough to let him know if they were Antonie's lovers. He told himself to be content with what he had learned, for they could have talked in Spanish and he would have come away with nothing.

He had felt relief when he had started past their door and heard the murmur of their voices. At least, for now, neither of them was sharing Antonie's bed. Royal intended to fill the vacant space as quickly as possible. Her kiss had not been all fun, even though inspired by it. Passion had flickered in her lovely eyes and he wanted to turn that flicker into a raging fire, a fire as strong as the one that already burned within him. He hoped fervently that the twins would not convince Antonie to ignore that fire, that they would soon be relaxing their guard as they had implied that they would.

“Something tells me you're staking a claim,” Cole drawled as he lounged in the doorway to Royal's room, moving only enough to allow Royal to enter the room.

“Really? What makes you say that?” Royal took off his jacket and started to unbutton his shirt.

“Perhaps it's the way your mind's distracted but your body is at attention.” He grinned when Royal laughed. “She could belong to one of the Degas twins. Maybe even both of them."

“Could, but won't for long."

“Maybe a trip to the saloon would be safer."

“Safer, but not half as enjoyable. Don't worry, I intend to be persuasive, and I have reason to believe that she'll be persuadable. I also think that whatever does exist between her and the Degas twins is not ironclad. They watch and protect her, but do not own her."

Cole shrugged. “You won't really know until you try, will you? Don't reckon I can talk you out of trying either, can I?"

“Nope. Antonie's got the face of a angel and a body that could tempt a saint, and I'm no saint,” he said dryly.

“Just don't end up being a martyr,” Cole retorted and left with a murmured good night.

As he got into bed, Royal wondered just how much he would be risking by pursuing Antonie. It was something he just had to test, for there was no way to know the true situation between her and the twins without trying. That they were in their own room did not necessarily mean all that much, for Antonie was, after all, useless to a man at the moment. Neither did their apparent lack of possessiveness prove much, for they could be casual lovers, enjoying the passion and not suffering the jealousy.

To see a saloon girl to ease his ache would be safer, but he had only resorted to that type of female when he had been desperate. It was not to his taste to use women any man with the right amount of money had access to. Even Louise's girls rarely got his business. Sighing, he gave in to sleep knowing that none of those outlets would satisfy him this time. At the moment his body craved Antonie and Antonie alone.

Despite the disapproval Maria let show on her face, Royal brought Antonie her morning coffee. He slipped quietly into her room, set her coffee down on the table by her bed, and then studied her as she slept. The urge to crawl into bed with her was almost too strong to resist. There was no doubting her womanliness, yet there was a childlike innocence on her sleeping face. He sat down on the edge of the bed, bent toward her, and gave in to the urge to kiss her.

Antonie woke slowly as warm lips brushed over hers, their pressure growing more and more persistent. Even before she was fully awake, she knew it was Royal and she slipped her arms around his neck as she murmured his name. She parted her lips to let in his tongue, her own tongue greeting his with unrestrained delight. A purr of enjoyment echoed in her throat.

“I brought you some coffee,” he said huskily as he traced the delicate features of her face with his lips and tugged the covers down.

“You are very kind,
señor."
She savored the heat he stirred in her, wondering how he did it.

“You taste like honey,” he whispered against her throat as he edged his lips down the open neck of her shirt. “Honeyed silk."

Her eyelids grew heavy with the weight of her mounting passion. She watched him unbutton her shirt, his warm mouth lingering over each newly exposed patch of skin. She realized that she should stop him, but she did not want to. It felt so good. Antonie delved her hands into his hair, finding it thick and soft, even as she reprimanded herself for letting him continue. She suddenly recalled what had always happened in the past to men who had paid her too much attention and tensed, waiting for the gunshot and dreading it.

“What's wrong?” he rasped, looking at her even as he slid his hand inside her shirt to cup one full breast.

“I was expecting you to get shot,” she gasped, amazed at how swiftly and fiercely her body was reacting to his light touch.

“Is that how Juan handled your lovers?” He exulted over the evident passion he was stirring in her.

"Sí.
He shot the men who would try to have me."

“Well, Juan is no longer here, so I won't be shot, will I?” He readied himself to open her shirt so that his eyes could enjoy what his hands already relished.

“I would not bet on that,
señor,"
drawled a deep voice.

Royal wondered how the twins had gotten into the room without his hearing them even as he eased his body off Antonie's. Both young men stood there, guns steadily aimed at him, their handsome faces unreadable, although their dark eyes were hard. He also wondered if they were really guarding her against him or against her straying away from them.