“Course not,” she said in a disgusted voice. “There’s some allure the Clarke women have I don’t understand.” She glared at him with a look of triumph. “That surprised you, didn’t it? Well, she ain’t a Campbell. She’s a Clarke, her mother’s daughter all over again, strutting around decent folks with her soft smile and big eyes always looking down like she was the shyest thing in nature. All an act.” She threw her head back. “My Ben hankered after her, some exotic beauty plumb out of his reach, but that never stopped his yearning after her. I tried to tell him, but he wouldn’t listen.”
“You can’t hold her accountable for Uncle Ben’s obsession.” He didn’t blame Elizabeth. He wanted to stop his aunt’s rant, to shut her mouth, to stop the flow of ugly words spewing forth. Her sharp language flew against him, burning him, setting fire to his temper.
Without pause, she continued, “A half-breed squaw, but he paid me no never mind. Wouldn’t leave her be, no matter how hard I pleaded with him. He couldn’t see me for her. Campbell Clarke beat my Ben near to death for yelling at her on the street.” Maude clutched her hands together, her statement filled with rancor. “After the beating, Ben never was any use to me again. The beating left him cripple in mind and body.”
“None of that was Elizabeth’s fault.” JP clenched his jaw against the need to yell at his aunt’s accusations.
She bounded out of her chair, her head thrust forward at a belligerent angle. With a heated gleam in her eyes, she shouted, “You didn’t know she’s part Indian, did you?”
Exasperated, he said, “Of course I knew. I was twelve years old when I lifted her and her sister into the wagon. I remember her family quite well.”
“Knowing all that, you still think to marry the girl?”
“Certainly. She had nothing to do with what happened to Uncle Ben. She was only five years old when she rode out of here in a wagon.” JP drew himself to his full height, as intimidating, aggressive, and persuasive as he could manage. “I hope you can find it in your heart to overlook the past and accept her into the household as my wife. The situation would be much more pleasant for everyone.” He elevated his jaw. “I intend to marry her, so be ready.”
He turned on one heel and left Maude staring after him. He hated to leave his aunt so full of rage and hurt. Still, he couldn’t let a single word slip through and upset Elizabeth. Her life had been hard enough without his family adding to her burdens. He wanted to hit the wall with his fist, but he refrained and made his way up the stairs to his rooms.
~ ~ ~
Elizabeth had no idea how long she’d sat mindlessly staring at her reflection while grappling with what her life had become. She took up the comb, but before she could braid her hair, a light tap fell on the door.
Elizabeth called, “Enter.”
The door softly moaned open. Amy held the knob. “Uncle JP asked me to fetch you to the dining room.”
“Hello, Amy,” Elizabeth said. “Let me braid my hair and I’ll be right with you.”
Still holding the door ajar, Amy shifted from one foot to the other. “The uncles are already there. Mrs. Maude don’t like to wait.”
A wave of sympathy washed through Elizabeth. If Amy referred to JP as uncle, surely Maude should be aunt, but maybe her chilling regard made the child uneasy. Understandable enough. Elizabeth pinned the sides of her hair up and allowed the rest to hang down the middle of her back. That would have to do.
She gave her curls a final pat and rose, holding out her hand to the child. “Please do show me the way. The house is so big I may not find it otherwise.”
Amy giggled and took Elizabeth’s hand. “I’m glad you’re here in this house with me. I won’t be the only stranger.”
Elizabeth squeezed the girl’s fingers. “Indeed not. We’ll face whatever comes together.”
She walked beside Amy down the stairs where hallways separated into three different corridors. Turning to the left, she followed Amy and the direction of muted conversation drifting out into the hall.
Amy stopped in the door, glancing up at Elizabeth. “See. I told you.”
Elizabeth peered through the opening at the oak wainscoting before her gazed traveled to the three brothers standing in a knot of conversation. Maude, her attention fixed on the men, sat at a long table. A bowl of yellow roses splashed color in the center of the pristine tablecloth.
Elizabeth surveyed three cabinets with bowed glass doors standing against one wall filled with delicate, possibly rare, certainly expensive china. Usually dining on crockery, she found all the grandeur a trifle overwhelming.
JP headed toward her. “Welcome, Elizabeth.” He escorted her to the table and slid out a chair for her. “Sit here, please.”
Maude managed a fierce glare at Elizabeth while JP had his back turned. The minute his aunt came into JP’s line of vision again, she switched to a very insincere smile. “We’re pleased we could accommodate an unexpected guest so readily. I hope your stay is a pleasant one.”
Elizabeth dipped her head slightly. “Thank you for your kind welcome.”
She gazed at Maude through lowered lashes. Dressed in a blue velvet gown with a necklace of sapphires around her throat, Elizabeth considered the woman a little overdressed for a dinner at home.
Maude smiled. “We rarely dress for dinner, but the boys all change after a hard day’s work with the cattle. I usually do as well.”
Uncomfortable to say the least, no doubt as the woman had intended, Elizabeth held Maude’s gaze determined to stand her ground. “I only brought a few things. I pray I won’t need to impose on your hospitality for long.”
Ham grinned at her. “We always have a place at the table and a spare room ready for a guest. Aunt Maude loves to entertain.”
Maude cocked her head to the side. “I suppose that’s true.”
Elizabeth took a deep breath. “Thank you again for including me at your table.”
“At least,” Hud said, bursting in, “you’re easier on the eye than our last houseguest. Aunt Maude’s second cousin by marriage could walk into a room and stop a clock with a cold stare.”
Maude’s chest puffed out. “Hudson Honeycutt, that’s a foul thing to say. The way you boys pulled pranks on her, it’s no wonder she glared at you.”
Hud ducked his head, but a grin stretched his lips. Ham laughed and spooned a bit of soup into his mouth. Elizabeth wanted to laugh at the men’s antics but managed to control herself.
Maude continued with scarcely a pause. “I invited Rupert and Valeria to dinner this Friday night. Since you and Rupert are keeping company, I thought to let you know he is welcome here.”
Alarmed at the implication, Elizabeth shook her head. “He’s a nice gentleman, but we are not keeping company.”
“You’ve been seen with him,” Maude retorted.
“I allowed him to escort me to dinner a few times. But that’s all.”
“Well,” Maude drawled, “Valeria and JP go way back to when she first arrived last year.”
“Not keeping company, either,” JP interjected. “I’m friends with both of the Landows.”
Maude opened her mouth, closed it again, glancing down at her plate without further comment. Ignoring JP with a shrug of one shoulder, she frowned. Finally she said, “The Landows are still invited to dinner as my guests. I’m certain you won’t object to that.”
“Certainly not. Haven’t I mentioned both are friends of mine?” JP lifted his dark lashes to gaze directly into Elizabeth’s eyes. “It’s to be hoped the real culprit will be caught soon. Everything can then return to normal.”
The look, warm and promising, captured her attention and held. She had to blink to dispel the connection.
With a tremble and a slight rise in her voice, Amy said, “But I want her to stay.”
“Here, here
,” Ham added.
Every head turned toward JP. He cleared his throat and leaned forward. “Elizabeth is most welcome. I’m not in a hurry for her to leave either, but we don’t want the unwarranted suspicion that she killed Franklin hanging over her head.”
Maude lifted her brows, her jaw tight. “No indeed. Killers belong in jail. Not at my table.”
JP cut her off with a threatening glare. “I wouldn’t welcome a killer at my table either. However, Elizabeth is not a murderer. She is therefore a welcome guest.”
A silent tension pulsated through the room. The twins and Amy hurriedly began to eat while a battle of wills, fierce glare meeting fierce glare, dueled across the table. Finally, Maude allowed her stare to drop.
The remainder of the meal disintegrated into a strained hurry instead of a relaxed family gathering. The end couldn’t come soon enough for Elizabeth. She breathed a sigh of relief when JP stood.
JP held out his hand to Amy. “If you ladies are ready to retire, I’ll see you to your rooms.”
Elizabeth laid her napkin aside and rose. “Certainly, I’m ready. It has been a rather long day.”
Amy pushed back and grabbed Elizabeth’s hand. “I’m ready, too.”
The rustle of Elizabeth’s skirt accompanied the tread of boots and the tap of slippers up the stairs. This day had been long and tiring, and it wasn’t yet over. She couldn’t keep her shoulders from sagging.
“Don’t let Aunt Maude’s attitude get to you,” JP said. “You are most welcome. This was a surprise to her, is all. She’ll come around as good manners dictate.”
Amy peeked up at Elizabeth and squeezed her fingers. When they reached Elizabeth’s room, Amy patted her hand. “It’ll be all right. You’ll see. After all, you said we can face anything together.”
Elizabeth aimed a soft smile at Amy. “Indeed we can.”
JP peered around Amy and said, “You won’t be alone. I’ll watch out for you too. Good night.”
Amy grinned and waved. “Good night. I’ll see you in the morning.”
Elizabeth watched Amy and JP disappear down the hall. She entered her room and slumped against the closed door, emotionally drained, staring at the lamp’s low flame.
Whew. She’d escaped from the dining room only slightly wounded in spirit yet saved from complete defeat by JP. Due to his kind heart she hadn’t been shoved out into the cold, but rather welcomed as a guest of his family, well, most of his family.
She crossed her arms over her chest, clasping her elbows, while a shiver crawled down her spine. At this moment, she admitted she was afraid of Maude Honeycutt, the tartness, the coldness, the rude attitude. The glare the woman hurled at her, filled with resentment close to hatred, had penetrated deep into her being. How long could she prevail against Maude? How long would it be necessary? How long would it take to clear her name?
Chapter 21
Elizabeth stepped out of Amy’s room into the long hallway, quietly shutting the door behind her. In the flickering flames of the candle sconces, shadows leaped into her vision and danced across the flowered paper covering the opposite wall. She stood there a moment, her senses taking in the faint scent of oiled wood lingering in the corridor. The echo of a closing door and the heavy tread of boots sounded before JP appeared.
He raised his brows. “Checking up on Amy, I see.”
“I thought I heard her cry out, but she was asleep when I entered her room.” The excuse seemed to trip off her tongue against her will. She wasn’t a schoolgirl in need of a reprimand, but she continued in spite of trying to shrug off the need to explain. “I remember when I was young, sometimes at night a ghost would hide under the table waiting to pounce. I thought it might be the same with Amy.”
He gazed deeply into her eyes. “Such beautiful eyes. Dark, mysterious, even haunted. By any chance, did ghosts wait for you?”
She shuddered. “There was always one lurking about, but my brother would let me hold his hand. Nothing could get me then, if I stayed under the covers.”
JP approached her lifting her chin with one finger. “If you’d let me, I could chase the ghost away for you.”
She moved her head until his hand dropped away. “No doubt you could, but you’re not my brother.”
“Absolutely not, but I could still banish such hauntings.” The light from the candles slipped across his face, his eyes questioning, inspecting, and watching intently.
Elizabeth cocked her head to one side. “I didn’t say the phantom still lingered.”
“It’s not something you need to say. Your eyes speak volumes. Secrets abide in each glance, especially when you forget to guard your expression.”
His breath touched her forehead sending shivers down her spine. Trapped in his gaze, she couldn’t look away. If her eyes held secrets, his were plain to read, enticing and weaving magic.
He kissed one eyelid, then the other, closing her eyes. His words came slowly. “Beautiful eyes.”
Intoxicated with his presence, she leaned against the wall. He had only to touch her and she wanted more, much more: his kisses, his passion, him.
He drew back. “That’s one secret. How many more do you have hidden?”
The brush of his breath against her skin sent shivers all the way to her toes. Bemused, she could barely understand his words. Finally, his meaning dawned on her. “You are absurd. Secrets indeed.” She lifted her chin. “You accuse me of harboring secrets, what secrets do you have tucked away?”
He silenced her with a finger to her lips. “Your eyes look haunted, fearful. I told you I wouldn’t hurt you. Letting me know about your ghost didn’t hurt now, did it?”
Telling him about the ghost of her baby sister, waiting, always waiting, did hurt. Elizabeth envisioned her small ghost everywhere in the night, under the table, by the fire, forever waiting for a loved one to find her grave.
“That’s not a secret, only the past. I lost my mother and sister, both. That also is not a secret. It’s the past.”
“I’ll settle for the past in place of secrets.” His lips lightly brushed over hers. Cupping her neck in one hand, he drew her closer and kissed her again. When she softened against him, he deepened the kiss.
Heat invaded every part of her body, pooling in her core. She was lost. There was nothing but sensations racking her frame. She couldn’t get close enough to him. Blind to everything except him, deaf to each sound, longings she never knew existed gripped her. When he stepped back, she couldn’t believe he’d ended the embrace. Standing in a daze, she wasn’t ready for the end.
He whispered in her ear, “We have company.”
A small gasp escaped her and heat crawled up her face. She couldn’t look at the intruder. At the point of tearing down the hall to her room, she forced herself to stroll away in a leisurely fashion. She didn’t look back.
~ ~ ~
JP waited until Elizabeth closed the door to her room before elevating his chin toward his brother trying to stare down the glimmer of amusement in Ham’s eyes. JP pleated his brows in a fierce frown daring his brother to say a word about the encounter. Blast the nosey puppy.
Ham leaned against the wall with one shoulder, his arms crossed over his chest, his lips curved in a knowing grin. “When are you going to marry the girl?”
“I don’t marry every pretty girl I kiss. If I did, I’d have been hitched long ago. About age thirteen if I remember correctly.”
Ham straightened. “I think you were doing a little more than kissing a pretty girl. It looked to me like you were branding her. You wanted to swallow her up, prove she belonged to you.” He gestured with both hands. “All that. So when?”
JP glared at his brother. “Mind your own doings and don’t be sticking your nose in where you’re not wanted.”
Ham chuckled. “What’s stopping you?”
“If you want to walk away with all your teeth, back off. I’ll marry when I get around to it. And, don’t blab to Hud about what you think you saw.”
Ham laughed so hard he had to lean against the wall again. “You gonna pay me extra to keep it to myself?”
JP doubled his fist and started after Ham. His brother took to his heels and raced to the corridor leading off the other hall, laughter floating behind him. JP grinned and headed to his room.
With each step, a wayward thought tumbled through his mind only to be overtaken by another. Why wouldn’t Elizabeth accept his proposal? Surely his aunt wasn’t that big of an obstacle. He’d find a way to make it work. He knew Elizabeth cared for him. She wasn’t standoffish. Not when it came to his kisses. She liked being with him nearly as much as he liked being with her. Money usually appealed to women. Valeria certainly appreciated all money could buy. Could wealth solve his problem? Could be, but he didn’t have the answer—yet. He shook his head.
She did think her position would be untenable because of Aunt Maude? What to do about that? He didn’t want to hurt his aunt. The windmills in his mind came to an abrupt halt. He could always build another house, but if he moved out he would hurt his aunt. If he asked her to occupy the other house, she would be hurt as well. He couldn’t think of a single answer to his dilemma. He opened the door to his room stepping inside.
Quietly shutting the heavy panel, he strode over to the window and gazed at the stars. How could he leave his cake on the plate but enjoyed the flavor at the same time? He couldn’t. What choice did he have? Please his aunt or please his woman? He took a deep breath and let the air hiss out between his teeth. His woman must come first. He hated to put it like that to his aunt, but if worse came to worst, he would. He needed Elizabeth like he needed air.
Chapter 22
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