by Sara Orwig
Louisa listened to what she had discussed at length with her parents. She flashed Dan a broad smile.
Dan didn’t know what was expected of him. All three stared at him, and Hortense Shumacher’s gaze was cold. He crossed the room to Louisa to take her hands in his. “I love your daughter and I’ll do my best to make her happy.”
“There is no engagement yet. You both must understand that clearly.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he answered, continuing to gaze at Louisa.
“Mother, we should leave the young people to themselves. We’ll talk later,” Shumacher said to Dan and offered his hand.
Dan shook hands with Charles, feeling as if he had just entered a contest. The elder Shumachers left, and Dan reached out to quietly close the door. He turned to pull Louisa into his arms. “Do you know how long they want me to wait for you?”
“Three months.”
“Three months plus an engagement that is to last until next fall,” he whispered, bending his head to kiss her. He had no intention of waiting that long to possess her.
She twisted her head and smiled. “Darling, it’ll take months to get ready for a wedding and the parties I want to have—don’t deprive me of it!”
He bent his head to kiss her hungrily, tightening his arms around her. In minutes she moved away. “Dan, Mother will be back in minutes.”
“Now you go out only with me,” he said in a husky voice, mentally stripping away her fancy dress.
“Except tomorrow night I have to tell Reuben, and I’ve already promised to go with him. Reuben has a right to know.”
He nodded. “I told Mary O’Malley I had asked you to marry me.”
“Why that O’Malley person? Oh, you knew the man she’s to marry.”
“Mary’s nice, Louisa.”
“There’s something else I want to know about.” She gave him a coy look, batting her eyes and smoothing her dress.
“What is it?”
“I don’t know how to say this. I’ve heard things. I know men do things.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Reuben says you have a woman, her name is Dulcie.”
Silently Dan cursed Reuben and wished he were crossing paths with him that night.
“She’s a friend.”
“I don’t approve. I don’t want my husband to be attending a bawdy house.”
“Louisa, I’ve known—” He thought about the last time he had stopped to see Dulcie and had ended up spending the night in Dulcie’s bed. “You’re right. I won’t see her anymore.”
“Good. It isn’t right, and I don’t care to share you with another woman.”
He was on the verge of telling her if she didn’t want to share him, she shouldn’t make him wait almost a year to get married, but he bit back the words and pulled her close again. His hand roamed over her breasts, and she gasped and strained against him while he kissed her.
“Louisa!” came a call from the other side of the door.
“Coming, Mother. I have to go now.”
“I won’t see you anymore tonight?” he asked, startled that he couldn’t take her for a carriage ride or stay to visit even if it meant chatting with the whole family.
“No, sorry. Mama said we must not. She wants me to go with them to the Claridges’.”
He kissed her long and hard. “Good night, Louisa.”
He felt as if his feet didn’t touch ground on his way to the O’Malleys’.
Mary had become accustomed to seeing him come in through the kitchen, where he could always find her and tell her he was starting work. Tonight she watched him dismount and tether his horse. When Dan strode to the back door, her heart seemed to skip a beat. He was dressed in a fancy black suit and silk tie, a white linen shirt, and he looked incredibly handsome.
Dan entered the back door with a rush of cold air as he pulled off his coat. She wore an apron over her blue gingham. “Come inside. I’m cooking for tomorrow. All the diners are gone.” Tempting aromas of chicken assailed him.
“Her parents said we can become engaged in three months.” He laughed and squeezed Mary, turning her to face him. “I’m going to be an engaged man soon.”
“You have to wait until summer?” she asked, returning to stir a kettle of chicken and noodles while Dan followed her into the room.
“They said we hadn’t known each other long enough. And don’t give me an I-told-you-so look, Mary Katherine!”
“What will you do about Reuben Knelville? She goes most places with him.”
“Louisa is going to tell Reuben, because he’ll want to know why she suddenly won’t go out with him any longer. Maybe Charles Shumacher will relent in a month when he sees that I’m reliable. Aren’t I reliable, Mary?” he teased, happy with the world.
“You’re incredibly reliable,” she said. “You took me out, just as you promised Silas.”
“Hey, I almost forgot. Paddy’s carvings are selling. Edward Ringwood is going to contact him to do some special ones for him.”
“You can’t be serious!”
“I am. You’ll see.”
“Isn’t that amazing. The thing that Pa gives the least attention to is something worthwhile. Thank you, Dan. This is because of you,” she said, standing on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. She stepped back quickly, her cheeks flushing. “You’ve been so good to us!”
“In spite of having skillets heaved at me and almost getting my skull split open,” he teased.
“Oh, please! I’m sorry.”
He laughed. “C’mon, Irish, let’s celebrate my engagement. I brought a bottle of brandy. Have a little drink with me.”
“The only time I drank brandy was when the house burned.”
“Just this once.”
He poured two drinks. “Shouldn’t you be doing this with Louisa Shumacher instead of me?”
Startled, he focused on her. “I’m delirious with happiness. Yes, it should be Louisa, but her family let me know when my visiting time was over.”
Mary gazed at him, trying not to care, but Dan was too good for people like the Shumachers. They wouldn’t appreciate him until he had wealth and position in the community.
“Here’s to our happy future.”
“Futures, Dan,” she said softly, wanting to reach up and stroke the lock of yellow hair that fell across his temple.
He lowered his glass. “Well, I might as well go to work now,” he said.
“You’re dressed in your best clothes.”
“I’ll go home and change and then come back.”
“Before you go, you can sit down and eat.”
“Do you still have customers?”
“No, the last one has finished and gone.”
“Have you eaten?”
“Yes, but you sit here in the kitchen and I’ll talk to you while I work.”
“Fine.” He felt that nothing could mar his happiness tonight. They talked for over an hour before he realized how late it was getting and rode home to change his clothes.
While he worked, Brian joined him. Dan hammered with fury to give vent to the restless excitement that gripped him. He wanted Louisa to be with him, and his thoughts veered constantly to her, imagining her in his arms and in his bed. He talked to Mary and Brian over cups of hot tea late that night, and he finally pulled on his coat and left, waving good-bye to Mary from the edge of the yard. He intended to go straight home, but he still felt wide-awake and full of energy. He was happy beyond measure. He went to Dulcie’s without giving it a thought.
She moved away from a crowd in the parlor the moment Dan appeared in the door, and they went back to her room.
“Want to drink a brandy with me?” he asked soberly, knowing he was going to miss Dulcie in his life.
“Sure, Dan. She said yes, didn’t she?”
“Yes. Her father put conditions on his consent, though.” Dulcie poured two generous brandies and handed one to Dan.
“Here’s to your marriage, Dan Castle. I hope you’re supremely happy.
”
“Dulcie, you’re a good woman,” he said gently, moving forward to give her a squeeze. “God knows you turned me down enough, it’s time someone accepted.”
“Yes, it is.” They both drank, and when she lowered her glass, she refilled his. “What are the conditions of this wonderful engagement?”
“We have to wait three months before we can become engaged.” He took another long drink of brandy and sat down on the settee. “Her parents are scared I won’t be able to support her. Her mother doesn’t approve. She’s barely said two words to me. Her father knows more about my potential. If I get to build the houses for Corning and Ringwood, my future will be secure here.”
“Did you just leave Louisa?” Dulcie asked, lighting a cheroot and exhaling a stream of smoke.
“No, I’ve been with Mary. You know, when Silas comes home, I’m going to knock him flat. She’s sweet, Dulcie, and damned smart. That Silas is a fool.”
“Men can sometimes be obtuse,” Dulcie said dryly, removing her shoes and unbuttoning her bodice. She crossed the room to refill his glass with brandy.
“He should have come home and married her, taken her with him. Or he should have at least stopped here for a time before going prospecting.”
“No one is going to take her away from him, from what I understand. She’s plain and stays at home.”
“She’s not so plain. She might not be plain at all if she’d take her hair down. I asked her once if she sleeps with it braided. She runs that boardinghouse all by herself.”
Dulcie studied him while he talked and sipped his brandy. “What about her father? Everyone in town laughs at him, and this last peccadillo—blowing away half his house with blasting powder—that must make it uncomfortable for her.”
Dan swirled his brandy and chuckled. “Paddy is one of a kind. He whittles, Dulcie, and he’s good at it. I took some of his carvings down to Workman’s store. Lyle’s sold some, and Edward Ringwood wants to commission Paddy to do some special ones for him.”
“I’ll be damned. That must make the O’Malleys happy.”
“Paddy is always happy. I wish Mary would have more fun, though. I get angry with Silas every time I stop to think about it.”
“Silas should have come home to her,” Dulcie said, sitting down on his lap. “How’s the house building?”
“The weather’s good now and I just hired another hand. Hiram is a good carpenter. People pour through this town on their way west or on their way back east, so they’re only here a few weeks. It makes it difficult to keep regular help.”
“It makes for abundant help, though.”
“With the train coming to Denver, this ought to become a center of activity for the West. I wish Noah could build a hotel here.”
“You miss your family.”
“I worry about my ma and pa,” he said, his voice changing as she leaned forward to refill their glasses. Her unbuttoned bodice revealed an enticing glimpse of soft curves, and Dan bent his head to trail kisses across her flesh. She smelled like lilacs and was soft and beautiful. He pushed away her silk dress and stroked her full breasts. Her hands fluttered across his chest, down over his belly as she leaned forward to kiss him on the mouth.
Early the next morning, he lay with his arm around her in bed, a cheroot between his teeth while he talked about the O’Malley boardinghouse. “Once I’m through working there, I’m going to miss the best meals I’ve had since we lived in Montana. I know when Silas comes back, I’ll build a house for them, but Mary won’t say what kind of house she likes. She says she never thinks about tomorrow. She barely even remembers her mother.”
“Dan, do you think she really loves Silas?” Dulcie asked quietly, studying his profile.
“Of course she does. She wouldn’t wait for him if she didn’t.”
“Maybe she doesn’t have a choice about waiting. She’s plain and she limps.”
“Her limp is barely noticeable, Dulcie. It doesn’t keep her from dancing at all. She’s as graceful as a ballerina and light as a feather to dance with. And she’s not really so plain. Her eyes are downright beautiful. No, she loves him. I’ve seen men stop to eat and try to cozy up to her. She won’t give them a second’s attention.”
While he continued to talk about Mary, Dulcie studied him. She was aware that he had talked five times as much about Mary O’Malley as he had about Louisa Shumacher. Dulcie made a mental note to try to encounter Mary O’Malley again. “Dan, are you sure you’re ready to marry? To live with Louisa Shumacher for a lifetime?”
“Yes, I am,” he said, growing quiet.
“Do you realize you’ve talked more about Mary O’Malley than Louisa?”
He rolled over and sat up, looking down at her. “I see Mary O’Malley every day. For Lord’s sake, Dulcie, she’s Silas’ woman!” He threw back the covers and crossed the room. Her gaze ran down his length, and Dulcie thought he was the most handsome man she had ever known. She was curious now, and she loathed Louisa Shumacher. She sat up, watching him, wishing she hadn’t stirred his anger, because now he would leave.
“Come back here, Dan. Just relax and let’s talk a little longer.”
“I should go, Dulcie. I have too much to do to waste away the morning.”
“Waste away dawn is more like it.” She pulled on her wrapper and slippers, watching him as he washed and dressed.
“You can stay for breakfast.”
“I’ll go by the O’Malleys’—” He broke off and looked at Dulcie, scowling suddenly. “Dulcie, Mary O’Malley is Silas’ woman. She loves him. I’m engaged to Louisa Shumacher, and it isn’t Mary O’Malley who…Never mind.”
She shrugged, knowing he was angry and would leave, no matter what she said. “Marriage lasts for a long time. And you sure do talk about Miss O’Malley.”
“That’s all it is, talk. She’s a friend and she’s going to marry my best friend. And she’s a little plain. Not real plain, just a little.”
“You’re arguing with yourself. Earlier you told me she wasn’t plain at all.”
“She’s not, Dulcie,” he said evenly. “I’m in love with Louisa Shumacher, not Mary O’Malley!”
“Sure, Dan. I hope you like Louisa as well as Mary.”
“Of course I do! I just don’t see her as often. I see Mary every night, and we talk a lot. She’s a friend. She’s one of the best friends I’ve had. So are you. We talk. I’m in love with someone else; she’s in love with someone else. She’s a friend.” Suddenly he relaxed and grinned. “And she’s a damned good cook! Almost a match for you.”
She laughed, wishing she could get him back in a better humor. “And does Louisa cook?”
“I’ll hire a cook. I should get dressed and go to work.”
She crossed the room to him, and he rested his hands on her shoulders. His gaze lowered to the half-open wrapper and he ran his fingers along her bare flesh, pushing the folds of silk farther apart.
“You’re one of the most beautiful women in the world, Dulcie,” he whispered, and kissed her. “If I don’t leave now, I’ll be late to work,” he said in a husky voice.
“It’s all right with me if you stay.”
“I won’t earn my living if I don’t get going. See you later, hon.” He winked and left, and she moved to the window to watch him. She wondered how many times she had watched him go and wished she could hold him. She stared at his golden head, his broad shoulders, and wondered if he really loved Louisa Shumacher or was simply dazzled by her beauty and her body. He talked about Mary O’Malley constantly, too much to simply be a friend. Dulcie had known many men and women, and to her it looked as if Dan Castle was falling in love with Mary O’Malley, whether he knew it or not.
She watched him and thought of the cold Louisa. And Silas. Silas and Dan were best friends and Silas was wildly in love with Mary O’Malley. Dulcie leaned against the cold windowpane. She hoped that Dan wasn’t headed for years of heartache if he married the wrong woman, but men were fools where beautiful women were
concerned.
Eight hours later, Reuben Knelville was ushered into the Shumacher house to escort Louisa to the new Denver Musical performance. Louisa took his arm, gazing up at him as they left the house. She wore her red taffeta, hoping to stun Reuben and catch the attention of everyone tonight. She was excited beyond measure because she could tell Reuben of her engagement to Dan. Once in the carriage, Reuben turned to her, caressing her throat. “You look beautiful, Louisa. And you look as if you have a secret.”
“I do have! How amazing you’d guess, Reuben!”
“So what is this great secret?”
“It’s a secret, so I shan’t tell you,” she said, and his amusement vanished.
“You think you’ll tease me all evening, Louisa?”
Her heart skipped because she heard the underlying threat. “And if I do?”
“I’ll have to punish you,” he said, catching her wrists and holding her arms behind her back while she struggled playfully, wiggling and pressing her breasts against him.
“Set me free, Reuben!”
“Tell me, Louisa. Tell me!” He kissed her forcefully, stroking her, and she gasped. She finally felt his hand release her wrists, and she wound them around his neck, grinding her body against his, hearing his sharp intake of breath. She kissed him wildly, relishing his kisses, forgetting briefly her purpose.
Suddenly he turned her chin up. “Tell me,” he ordered.
“I’m about to become engaged to Dan Castle. This is the last night I can go out with you.” She had meant to wait and torment him for hours before revealing her delicious secret, but now it was out.
Suddenly he threw back his head and laughed. “You little liar. You don’t have a secret. You did that so I would kiss you!”
Her annoyance quickly deepened to anger. “It’s so. This is the last time I’ll go out with you. I’ll marry Dan Castle next fall.”
As Reuben’s smile faded, she felt a glimmer of satisfaction.
“You can’t be serious.”
She slanted him a look, a tickle of delight coming. “I’m very serious.”
He grasped her arms painfully and turned her to face him. “Your parents won’t want you to wed a man like Castle! Our fathers have discussed a union between you and me.”