Tarnished Angel (14 page)

    Hastily interrupting as George
Tillson
shot a surprised glance in his direction, Harvey again took his daughter's arm. Ushering her firmly toward his office a few feet away, he turned briefly back toward his partner. "George, if you'll excuse us for a few moments. Devina and I obviously have some things to discuss."

    Her perfect lips twitching with anger as her father ushered her into his office, Devina waited until he had shut the door behind them before facing him with the full extent of her anger.

    "Father, really! Your insistence on my having a maid accompany me when I wish to do some simple shopping is bad enough, but this fellow I found outside the door this morning, waiting to follow me around town, is beyond reason! I'm actually traveling with an entourage! You're making a fool of me before the whole town!"

    "Devina, calm down. There is no need to raise your voice."

    "I am not raising my voice!"

    Harvey Dale's well-groomed gray mustache ticked with annoyance. "I will not argue that point with you; neither will I argue any other point with you. I have no intention of seeing a repetition of the incident that came about yesterday. Had Charles Carter not come upon you at the moment he had, you might have suffered far more than embarrassment at the hands of that drunken cowboy."

    "Father, the incident was of little consequence. Charles handled it quite nicely, and I was made to see my error in judgment when I disregarded Lai Hua's advice. Once I am accustomed to Tombstone and become more familiar with the areas that are taboo to the genteel woman, I will not need even her guidance, much less a bodyguard!"

    "Devina, I've already told you, I do not intend to discuss the matter."

    The sunshine streaming through the windows to Devina's left illuminated her deepening flush, and Harvey winced inwardly. When would he ever learn his usual autocratic manner was like tinder to a spark when he assumed it with Devina? Well, judging from the heat in Devina's eyes, it was already too late to make amends. Taking the only course left to him, he firmly stood his ground as the fire in Devina's eyes became an all-encompassing blaze.

    "That is unfortunate, Father, since I do not intend to spend my life being trailed by that unkempt, unclean, disreputable-looking watchdog you've hired."

    "Appearances aside, Sam Sharpe is a very dependable man, Devina. You may rest assured he will defend you with his life, and he"

    "Defend me with his life! Father, that incident yesterday was a simple mistake! The fellow apologized and beat a hasty retreat after Charles explained the situation."

    "A mistake, yes. It was a mistake in many ways." His expression assuming an accusing quality, Harvey continued quietly, "It was a mistake on your part when you disregarded my advice and the advice of Lai Hua, whom I had put in charge of your orientation to Tombstone. It was a mistake on your part when you deliberately neglected to tell me of the incident. I am still less than pleased that I had to hear about it secondhand, after the story had been circulating Tombstone for hours. And it was a mistake on my part for having allowed it to happen."

    "You did not 'allow' it to happen, Father." Despite her annoyance, Devina was unwilling to have her father assume even part of the blame. She attempted to continue, only to be halted by an impatient wave of her father's hand.

    "I suppose whether I allowed it to happen or not is a matter of viewpoint, but the incident did call to my attention the supreme vulnerability of your situation."

    "
Am
I vulnerable? Vulnerable to whom?" Her expression tightening revealingly, Devina shook her head. "I fear you are seeing demons where there are none, and I do not expect to suffer for"

    "Devina, please…" Interrupting her growing tirade, Harvey reached out to place a gentle hand on Devina's shoulder, his expression changing dramatically as he attempted a smile. "Dear, it will do no good if we continue to rail at each other. I was wrong when I said I did not wish to discuss your objection to Sam Sharpe's presence. Please sit down, dear, and allow me to explain."

    Startled by her father's abrupt about-face, Devina hesitated before allowing him to usher her to a chair. Seating himself directly opposite her, he gave a short laugh.

    "I suppose you have a right to be suspicious. I've done nothing in the past to make you believe I would consider any    viewpoint but my own, but your point is well taken. You're a grown woman now and should not be treated like a child." Abruptly leaning toward her, Harvey took both Devina's hands in his. He held them tightly as he continued.

    "I spoke of your vulnerability a few moments ago, Devina, and you objected, but, in truth, it is not your vulnerability I'm worried about as much as my own." Devina's confusion was obvious, but Harvey's smile was patient. "Let me explain, dear. I've already told you about the robberies, six within three months. I've already told you only Till-Dale seems to be under attack, for some unknown reason. Larger payroll shipments from other companies, shipments protected no more heavily than ours, have gone unmolested. I would assume that reason has to do with some sort of twisted vengeance for an imagined wrong, but I haven't bothered to stretch my mind far in that direction at this point in time.

    "At the very moment you arrived this morning, George and I were working out a plan with which to entrap these men, or at least fool them long enough to get another payroll shipment through. It is urgent that we pay our miners. Do not misjudge my insistence on this point to be an attempt to convince you of my devotion to my employees. You know me better than that. Then men who work in the muck of my mines mean no more to me than the tools with which they work, but they are as necessary to me as those tools are to them.

    "I think you are aware, Devina, that a year or so ago water started seeping into the mines in this area. Till-Dale shafts have been particularly affected, requiring expensive pumping in order to allow work to continue. At present I am negotiating with a large San Francisco bank for a loan to finance the purchase of additional pumping equipment. Without it, we will not be able to continue more than six months.

    "In order to comprehend the situation more clearly you must understand the mentality of the men who work in the mines. They are for the most part bachelors who live for the day. There are a few family men who return home to their wives and children after each shift and save their money for a rainy day, but those fellows are definitely in the minority. The majority of our miners work their shifts, sleep, and work again, waiting only to collect their pay at the end of the week, when they'll go abroad in the streets of Tombstone and spend all they've earned     on rotgut whiskey, questionable women, and gambling. There has been a lot of talk among the Till-Dale miners lately, grumbling and suspicion that might cause trouble if these payrolls continue to be delayed. These fellows are becoming disgruntled at the inconvenience of having to wait a few days for their pay.

    "To put it bluntly, Devina, there is talk that the men may walk out to take jobs in nearby mines that are not experiencing the same difficulty. Till-Dale cannot afford a break in production at this time, not now, when the bank is considering the viability of our loan."

    Hesitating to survey his daughter's expression and satisfied that she was following him intently, Harvey continued. "Now, about our vulnerability. It occurred to me yesterday, when I heard of your being accosted on the street"

    "But, Father, that was my own fault."

    "Devina, kindly allow me to finish. That incident yesterday caused me to view the situation from another perspective. The men who have been stealing our payrolls are undoubtedly staging the robberies as a personal attack against George or me, and quite frankly, I've reached the conclusion that the attack is most likely directed at me. Since there have been no attempts to hurt me physically, I can only assume the thieves wish to hurt me in another way. With that thought in mind, I assessed the situation again. Where am I most vulnerable to attack? The answer is simple, through the finances of my company and through you."

    "Father, that is stretching it a bit, don't you think? If those men had wanted to get to you through me, they would've had the perfect opportunity the day of my arrival in Tombstone." Doing her best to ignore the assault of a dark-eyed glance that assailed her mind in memory, Devina continued, "And if we can believe the statement of the hoodlum who held me captive on the stage, I am not considered worth his trouble."

    "That was before he realized who you were, Devina."

    Devina's only response was a disbelieving laugh.

    Contrary to Devina's expectation, her father did not respond with anger to her disclaiming note. He continued, his voice dropping a notch lower with the sincerity of his tone. "In any case, Devina, I have come to the realization that my greatest vulnerability lies in you. Where you are vulnerable, I am vulnerable. So if you are angry that I am overdoing your protection, you may satisfy yourself that I am only protecting myself."

    "Father, I"

    "Devina…" Taking a deep breath, Harvey drew Devina to her feet. Still holding her hands tightly in his, he continued in a hushed voice, "I fear it has become fairly obvious to all but yourself that I cherish you above all things in my life. I could not live with the thought that something happened to you because of me."

    Touched and unable to find words to respond, Devina watched as her father's eyes moved
assessingly
over her face for a few long moments before he slid his hand to her arm and drew her toward the doorway to his office. Pausing with his hand on the knob, he continued softly, "So I ask your indulgence for a little while, dear. I assure you these hoodlums will be either caught and punished or driven from the area within the month."

    "And in the meantime I am expected to suffer Sam Sharpe's presence, day and night?"

    This time it was Harvey's turn to laugh. "No, dear, only during the day. Wally Smith takes over at night."

    "Father!"

    "Dear, it's only a precaution."

    Devina shook her head. "But I'm to go to Schieffelin Hall with Charles tonight. I don't want this Smith fellow following along at my heels."

    "There'll be no need for protection when Charles is with you, dear. I think he's proved he is more than capable of protecting you."

    Relief flooded Devina's face. "Well, I'm grateful for that, at least."

    Ushering her firmly across the outer office, Harvey smiled in George
Tillson's
direction. "Devina is leaving now, George. I'll be with you in a moment."

    Pausing to open the door, Harvey turned toward his daughter once more. "I appreciate your understanding, dear, and your cooperation. Enjoy your shopping."

    Within a few minutes Devina was again on the street.

    Her diminutive guide at her side and her villainous-looking watchdog trailing at her heels, Devina gave a low sigh and brought her step to an abrupt halt. Darting a scathing glance toward Sam Sharpe as he almost ran into her back at her unanticipated stop, she turned to Lai Hua.

    "I've lost my enthusiasm for shopping, Lai Hua. The morning room will just have to exist in its present state of questionable decoration for a little while longer. In any case, it's getting late, and I would like to take a bath before"

    Suddenly realizing the man behind her was listening to her conversation with Lai Hua, Devina abruptly stopped talking, her small nose twitching with annoyance. Without another word, she turned resolutely back in the direction of Fourth Street and home.

    Intent on her own growing irritation, Devina walked briskly. The persistent click of high-heeled cowboy boots against the board sidewalk behind her added to her growing agitation, and she increased her pace without realizing that admiring male glances followed the rhythmic bobbing of her well-endowed female form.

    Well, her father had done it again. Her sympathy for her long-suffering mother never stronger than at that moment, Devina closed her eyes briefly with self-disgust. She'd been manipulated just as easily as her mother had been countless times before her. The sincerity, the concern, the love in her father's eyes had been too potent a weapon to fight with simple annoyance. So here she was, as far as the population of Tombstone was concerned, a helpless, frightened female enjoying the protection of an adoring, doting father, when nothing could be further from the truth.

    Her mother's blood was strong in her veins, and now more than ever, she had realized that she suffered her mother's weakness. How many times would she have to remind herself that her father's love was limited, that it extended only as far as vocal acknowledgment, and that he would not allow love to discomfort him any way? Yes, he loved her as he had loved her mother. He was proud of his beautiful daughter, just as had been proud of his beautiful wife. He wanted what was best for her, but 'what was best' was not open to discussion. She knew he would be satisfied by the fulfillment of his own wishes and his alone. And if 'what was best' did not make her happy, it would make little difference to him.