“Don’t you start tryin’ to hit me again!”
Both boys were on their feet, facing each other angrily. McKinney got up, too, and stepped between them.
“Both of you stop it,” he ordered. He glanced at Luke. “You have any kids?”
“Not that I know of,” Luke drawled.
“They’re a blessing, but they can be a sore trial, too,” the outlaw said. “You boys sit down. Aaron, you didn’t answer my question.”
“About why I came lookin’ for you?” Aaron dropped his gaze to the table. “I don’t really know. I guess . . . I guess I just wanted to see you again.”
Luke was reminded again that the boy was quick-witted. Aaron didn’t say anything about the homemade wanted posters or the desire he had expressed to see his father “get what was coming to him.” Stuck in the outlaw stronghold as they were for the time being, that wouldn’t have been a very smart thing to do.
Slowly, McKinney nodded. “I wish you hadn’t done it. But it’s a good thing in a way, I guess. Now that you’re here, I want you and your brother to go home. Both of you.”
“Wait a minute, Pa!” Thad exclaimed. “You said I could ride with you. I even held the horses for the gang on that last job, and you told me I did just fine.”
“That’s over,” McKinney said. “I never thought it was a good idea, and now that Aaron’s here, I know it wasn’t. You’re gonna go home and forget you ever saw me.”
“I can’t do that,” Thad said miserably. “I can’t go back to workin’ my fingers to the bone on that spread, all for nothing.”
“Helping your ma isn’t nothing. Neither of you is cut out for this life, and you know it. You’re going home, and that’s my final word on the deal.”
Luke said, “I don’t want to intrude on a family decision, but there’s something you’d better consider, McKinney.”
“Oh? What’s that?”
“We’ve already had one brush with Apache renegades, and it’s uncertain whether we wiped out that war party. There could be more of them roaming around. You send these boys back through the hills alone, they might not make it.”
“I wasn’t counting on them going alone,” McKinney said as he looked squarely at Luke. “I thought maybe you could take them.”
CHAPTER 22
For a moment, Luke didn’t respond. Then he asked, “Why would I do that?”
“You said you’d like to get to know my wife better. This is your chance.”
“She strikes me as the sort of woman who’s unlikely to forget that she has a husband.”
“So she won’t have a husband anymore,” McKinney said. “Get these boys back to her, safe and sound, and you can tell her I’m dead.” His mouth twisted. “I might as well be. She’ll believe you, especially if these two back up your story.” He nodded toward Aaron and Thad.
“Pa, that’s crazy,” Thad objected. “I’m not goin’ home, and even if I did, I wouldn’t lie to Ma and tell her that you’re dead. That just wouldn’t be right.”
“No, it wouldn’t,” Aaron said. “I agree with Thad this time.”
Luke said, “I don’t like the idea of lying to Mrs. McKinney, either. She deserves the truth.”
“What truth? That her husband’s a no-good outlaw who steals from innocent folks and guns down anybody who gets in his way?” McKinney laughed humorlessly. “What makes you think that’s gonna make her feel any better about things?”
Luke supposed the man was right about that. He was torn about what he should do next. He had ridden into these hills for a couple of reasons. He wanted the bounty on Three-fingered Jack McKinney, and he had promised Amelia that he would bring Thad back safely to her if he could. McKinney was offering him the chance to accomplish one of those goals.
There was one more thing he was after, he realized—an answer to the question why Jack McKinney had abandoned his family for the life of an owlhoot in the first place. He didn’t have that, and if he accepted McKinney’s proposition, he likely never would.
“We’re getting ahead of ourselves here,” he said. “You’re forgetting, McKinney, that I have an appointment with your friend Creager. I may not be around after sundown, if he has his way, so talking about me taking the boys home is a bit premature, wouldn’t you say?”
McKinney shook his head. “I’ll tell Creager to forget it, that he’s not going to fight you. He’s not my friend, but he is part of my gang. He’ll do what I tell him, or he’ll have to deal with me.”
Creager was twice McKinney’s size, but the calm, confident way the outlaw made the statement told Luke that if it came to a showdown between McKinney and Creager, McKinney wouldn’t be using his fists . . . which meant he was probably pretty quick with the gun on his hip.
“I don’t run from trouble,” Luke said deliberately. “Creager made his challenge, I took him up on it, and that’s the end of it. We’ll settle matters between us without any interference from you, McKinney. Besides, I’m not sure Sir Henry would allow it to be called off now. He seems rather adamant about having his rules followed.”
McKinney grimaced. “I can talk sense to Stockbridge.”
“A man who built a castle in the middle of the Arizona badlands?” Luke asked. “He doesn’t seem like a good candidate for a reasonable approach.”
He hoped none of the servants were eavesdropping and would tell Stockbridge what he had just said. The Englishman might take offense, and for the time being, at least, Luke needed him to remain neutral.
With obvious reluctance, McKinney said, “All right. You settle things with Creager. But after that’s over . . . if you’re still here . . . we’ll talk more about this.”
“Fine,” Luke said. “I intend to survive.”
“You know,” McKinney said, “despite everything I’ve heard, I almost hope you do.”
Luke could tell that McKinney wanted to talk to his sons alone, so he got up and left the big hall, keeping an eye out for Creager.
There was no sign of the brutal, jug-eared outlaw, but as soon as Luke stepped out into the castle’s foyer, a woman stood up from the chair where she had been sitting and, evidently, waiting for him. He recognized her as the attractive blonde who had helped serve dinner.
“Good afternoon, Luke,” she greeted him. With a smile, she added, “I’m sorry to be so informal, but that’s the only name we know for you, isn’t it?”
“It’s enough. What’s your name?”
“Adele,” she said. “Is that enough?”
“Plenty. What can I do for you?”
“Actually, Sir Henry asked me to wait out here for you and show you around after you finished talking to Mr. McKinney and his sons.”
“That’s very kind of you,” Luke said. “I’d enjoy that. I have to admit, I’m curious about this place. It’s not the sort of thing you run across every day on the frontier.”
Adele laughed, a pleasant, musical sound that Luke enjoyed. “No, I suppose not. But then, Sir Henry isn’t a typical frontiersman, at least not from what I’ve seen of them . . . and him.”
Luke wondered just how close the relationship was between the Englishman and this obviously well-bred young woman. It was none of his business, he knew, but he wondered anyway.
He was also curious if she had overheard any of the conversation between him and the McKinneys, but if she had, she gave no sign of it. She seemed pleasant and friendly, but of course that could be an act.
As they walked along the tapestry-lined hallway, he asked, “Are you going to be showing me the room where I’ll be staying, as well? Or will I be bunking in one of the other buildings I saw when we rode in?”
Her smile didn’t waver, but she said, “About that . . . Sir Henry feels that it would be best to wait until later to decide about your accommodations.”
“Ah. Until after we’ve all seen whether I’m going to survive my appointment at sundown with Creager, eh?”
“You have to admit, it could be a moot point.”
“Will you be d
isappointed if I don’t? Survive, that is.”
“As a matter of fact, I will,” Adele said. “To be honest, there aren’t that many men around here who can carry on an intelligent conversation. Sir Henry is just about the only one. But I think I’d enjoy talking to you, Luke.”
“Better than Creager?”
Her calm, smiling mask slipped a little for the first time as she shuddered slightly. “Creager is an animal. I’m sorry that you have to deal with him.” A note of viciousness came into her voice as she added, “Since you had the choice of weapons, you should have chosen firearms. He’s fairly fast on the draw, but I believe you could have beaten him.”
“I’d just as soon not have to kill anybody on my first day at the Black Castle.”
“You wouldn’t be the only man who’s done so. But it is rare, I’ll admit.”
The great hall where Luke had been earlier was used for feasting, but in addition, adjoining it was a small dining room, also with a highly polished table and ornately carved chairs. Portraits of stern-looking men and pale women hung on the walls.
Luke nodded toward them and asked, “Sir Henry’s ancestors?”
“I don’t really know, but I doubt it. When he came here from England, he didn’t bring much with him, according to what he’s told me about those days.”
“That’s right. He was a remittance man, wasn’t he?”
Adele frowned. “I’d suggest that you don’t use that term around him. He doesn’t care for it. And it’s no longer true, actually. He cut off any contact with his family long ago. He doesn’t take any money from them and hasn’t for a long time. As far as he’s concerned, he has no family anymore.”
“The system over there does seem unfair at times,” Luke said. “Everything depends on an accident of birth. Of course, that could be said of a lot of things in this country, as well.”
“Let’s go look at the courtyard, shall we?” Adele suggested in a murmur.
“That’s where Creager and I are supposed to meet,” Luke said as she took him along another hallway to a heavy wooden door with iron straps nailed on it. It looked more like the entrance to a dungeon than a courtyard.
When she swung it open, though, making a little noise from the effort, he saw that the castle was built around an open central area not visible from outside. There were gardens with flowers and plants that were especially lush for Arizona, and a fountain where water bubbled.
“Stockbridge sunk a well to that underground stream.” Luke was impressed by what he saw. “I wondered if he might not be using it as a water supply, but I didn’t expect that he’d created a little oasis here.”
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Adele gestured with a slender hand toward a bench near the fountain. A cottonwood tree provided shade over it. “Why don’t we sit down?”
As they sat on the bench, Luke said, “Your real job is just to keep me occupied until it’s time for my showdown with Creager, isn’t it? Sir Henry doesn’t want me trying to get away.”
“You couldn’t if you tried. There are too many guards. You’d never get down the trail without being cleared from up here.”
“Stockbridge must have some way of communicating with the men down below. Signal flags? A system of bells with ropes running to them?”
Adele smiled faintly and shook her head. “Visitors don’t really need to know about things like that.”
“There must be a back door to this place. I can’t imagine anyone as intelligent as Sir Henry would build it so there was only one way in and out.”
“Again . . .”
“I don’t need to know that,” Luke finished for her. He chuckled. “I understand. I suppose Sir Henry might grow to trust me enough to share some of this information with me . . . provided I live long enough.”
“There’s only one way to find out,” Adele said coolly.
“Well, then, why don’t we talk about something more pleasant? Tell me about yourself. You’re originally from Philadelphia, aren’t you?”
Her blue eyes widened in surprise. “How in the world did you know that?”
“The accent. It’s not that strong, but I can hear it. I’ve known some upper-class ladies from the Main Line.”
“My, you’re just full of surprises, aren’t you? Are you sure you’re not from back east yourself?”
He grinned. “Nope. Raised on a farm in Missouri, up in the Ozarks. But I’ve traveled in a lot of different circles since then.”
“I’d say so. I know that Sir Henry is impressed with you.”
“The feeling is mutual.” Luke paused. “So, you were going to tell me about yourself . . .”
She laughed and shook her head. “There’s not that much to tell. My father was a wealthy man, with the emphasis on the word was. He got involved with some rather . . . shall we say shady . . . associates and lost all his money. Desperation gave him the idea of going west. After all, that’s what Horace Greeley said to do, and despite not being a young man, my father decided to take that advice. He packed us up and we all headed west.” Adele’s voice hardened as she went on. “We made it as far as Kansas City before he was robbed and murdered in an alley. That left my mother and me to fend for ourselves. She died six months later from drinking too much laudanum. An accident, I’m sure.”
Adele’s tone made it clear she didn’t believe her mother’s death was an accident at all. Luke didn’t say anything. He had heard similar stories many times before and was willing to allow his companion to disclose as much, or as little, as she wanted.
“Since then, I’ve been here and there and done this and that,” Adele continued. “No need to rehash all of it. Then I came to the Black Castle and met Sir Henry. It’s not a bad life. I’ll stay here as long as he wants me to.” She smiled again. “Tell me about you. How did that farm boy from Missouri transform into a worldly gentleman?”
By being betrayed and almost killed in the war, Luke thought. By spending decades riding lonely trails and risking my life to bring in bad men. But he said, “It’s not an interesting story. Like you, I’ve been here and there, done this and that.”
“Most of it involving gunplay, I imagine.”
Luke just shrugged.
Adele changed the subject. “Why don’t we talk about more pleasant things? Have you actually been to Philadelphia?”
“I have. I haven’t spent much time there, but I’ve visited a couple of times. It’s a beautiful city, full of history.”
They spent the next couple of hours talking about Philadelphia and all the history and culture to be found there. Adele was a good conversationalist and a charming companion, and Luke enjoyed the respite from the grit and danger of his normal life. He was aware, though, that the sun was dipping steadily toward the battlement-like cliffs on the western edge of the cup that contained the Black Castle.
The respite came to an end when the big man called Creager stalked into the courtyard from the castle, followed by Sir Henry Stockbridge—the self-styled Black Knight—as well as Three-fingered Jack McKinney, Aaron, Thad, and a dozen more hardcases.
Creager stomped up, planted himself in front of Luke, and growled. “All right, mister. It’s high time for you to die.”
CHAPTER 23
From the corner of his eye, Luke saw Adele cringe a little. Clearly, she was frightened of the big outlaw. He wondered if Creager had made advances toward her in the past . . . and if he did, had he gotten what he wanted? Were Adele and the other women who worked here essentially prostitutes, expected to go along with any of the men who approached them?
Luke pushed those thoughts away as Stockbridge said, “Time to settle the differences between the two of you, Luke.” He nodded toward the cliffs. “The sun will be setting in just a few minutes. Are you ready?”
Luke stood up from the bench and nodded. “I am,” he said as he took off his hat and handed it to Adele. “If you’d be so kind as to hang on to that for me, my dear . . .”
“Of course,” she murmured.
&n
bsp; Stockbridge smiled. “I see that the two of you have been getting along. I hoped that you would.”
“Adele is beautiful and charming. I’m obliged to you for suggesting that she show me around and spend the afternoon with me.”
Creager’s mouth twisted in a snarl. “Can we get on with this, damn it? I’m tired of waiting to kill this son of a bitch.”
Luke unbuckled his gunbelt and motioned Aaron over to him. “Would you mind holding this?”
“Me?” Aaron said as he stared up at him. “Sure, Luke, I’d be honored to.”
Luke pointed to the Colt Creager wore and said, “I believe you should disarm, too.” He unbuttoned the sleeves of his black shirt and rolled them up over muscular forearms.
Creager sneered at him, and for a second his hand hovered over the revolver as if he were thinking about snatching it from the holster and blasting away at Luke.
Stockbridge noticed the same thing and said in a sharp tone, “I’ll have that gun, Creager. Now.”
Creager growled deep in his throat, but he unbuckled the gunbelt and handed it to Stockbridge. He took off his hat and sailed it away, unmindful of where it landed on the paving stones near the fountain. He stripped off his vest and shirt, revealing a pale, almost hairless torso covered with thick slabs of muscle. His hands clenched into fists. Knobs of bone stuck out at his knuckles. “I can’t decide whether to beat you to death or just tear you apart.”
Luke didn’t respond to that, saying to Stockbridge, “You’ll call it?”
“I will,” Stockbridge answered. “Adele, come here and stand with me.”
She followed his command but kept her eyes on the ground and Luke thought she looked like she wished she were somewhere else. Stockbridge didn’t give her leave to go and so she stayed, standing next to his tall, broad-shouldered form.
“All right, gentlemen,” Stockbridge said after another tense minute had gone by. “Commence.”
Creager didn’t wait. He sprang forward with surprising grace and speed for such a big man and whipped a left at Luke’s head.
That blow might have ended the fight then and there . . . if it had connected. Luke swayed back and the huge fist missed him by several inches. Instantly, with Creager’s left side turned toward him and open, Luke leaned in and hooked a right into the man’s ribs. Creager grunted and swung the left in a backhand that Luke avoided as well. Creager’s belly was defenseless for a split second. Luke twisted at the waist and hooked his left into it, a short punch but one that packed considerable power.
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