That night after dinner, she sat on the porch steps with Paul. He had his arm about her, and she leaned her head against his shoulder.
"Texas grows on you," Paul said.
"Yes, it does." She looked up at his handsome face and wished with all her heart that she could love him.
"Tory, I have come to a crossroads," he told her.
"What do you mean, Paul?"
"If you love me, I will stay, and we can be married. If not, tomorrow I will return to Georgia."
Victoria felt tears come to her eyes. "Oh, Paul, I wish I could ask you to stay. I love you, but not the way you deserve to be loved."
"Do not cry, honey. I cannot stand to see you unhappy."
"I seem to do a great deal of crying lately."
"I have sensed for some time that your feelings for me have changed."
"I am sorry, Paul. Please forgive me."
"Are you sure, Tory, really sure?"
"Yes," she said helplessly. "I care too much for you to lie to you. I hope you find someone very special who will make you as happy as you deserve to be."
"Do not say it, Tory. I am hurting too much right now to bear your pity."
She reached up and touched his cheek. "Oh, Paul, I do not pity you. I pity myself. Why can I not love you? You are so wonderful."
He pulled her to him roughly and kissed her hard. "Oh, Tory, I feel as though my heart has died inside of me. I want you so badly. You are all I have thought about for so long."
"My dearest Paul, please forgive me."
He turned away from her. "I will return to Georgia tomorrow, but I will be waiting for you, Tory."
"No, you must not wait."
"Does Edward Hanover know how lucky he is?" Paul asked.
Victoria looked at him in surprise. Everyone seemed to know about her feelings for Edward. If they knew, did he also? She hoped not.
"Edward does not know how I feel, and he never will, Paul. He is going to marry someone else."
"Then he is a fool. If he hurts you, do not forget that I will be waiting."
"Paul, I must return your ring," Victoria said, removing it from her finger.
His hand covered hers. "No, Tory. Wear it for a while longer. You may change your mind. Do this one small thing for me." She slipped the ring back on her finger.
They watched the stars as they twinkled in the dark sky. Paul kissed her cheek and stood up. "I must pack, Tory."
After he went into the house, Victoria sat for a long time thinking. A part of her wanted to beg Paul to stay. She would miss him terribly. It would be painful to say good-by to him. With him went all her girlhood dreams. Before her was only uncertainty— and most probably, heartbreak.
18
The next day, Victoria and Old Ned rode into Cedarville with Paul. As Victoria watched the stage pull away, she thought her heart would break. Paul's last words to her had been: "If you change your mind, Tory, I will be waiting for you."
She watched until the stage was out of sight, feeling very empty inside. Then she made her way to the general store to pick up a list of goods her grandmother had ordered. As she left the store, a man blocked her path. She tried to side-step him, but he reached out his arm and grabbed her by the shoulder, causing her to drop the packages she was carrying.
"You sure are a pretty gal," he said. His breath reeked with whiskey.
"Take your hands from me," Victoria demanded.
"All I want is a little kiss."
She kicked at him, causing him to howl in pain. As he released her arm, Old Ned came to her rescue and plowed into the man. The man picked Ned up and threw him into the street, practically under Rebel's hoofs.
Victoria tried to go to Old Ned, but the hateful man grabbed her by the shoulders. She struggled to free herself, but he held her fast.
"Now for that kiss, little gal."
She struck out at him, hitting him hard across the face. He glared down at her. "No woman hits me and gets away with it." He gave her a shove that sent her tumbling down the steps and into the street. She felt a searing pain shoot through her body.
Victoria looked at the man in fear as he advanced toward her. She tried to rise, but the pain engulfed her. Closing her eyes, she waited for the pain to subside. When she opened them again she saw the man being jerked into the air by Edward Hanover.
"I will kill you," Edward hissed, his face murderous.
Edward slammed the man into the side of the building; then he brought a powerful fist down into the man's stomach, causing the man to crumple. Edward raised the limp body, and would have struck him again, if a man in a blue uniform had not intervened.
"He is unconscious, Edward, let him be," Ray Courtney told him.
A crowd had begun to gather. Two men carried the unconscious man to the jail. Victoria saw it all in a haze of pain. She did not fail to recognize Major Courtney, and wondered what quirk of fate had brought him into her life again. She hoped he would not recognize her.
The man from the general store knelt down beside her, and would have helped her up, but Edward's voice stopped him. "Do not touch her. Go for Dan." Then Edward was beside her, lifting her head and resting it on his lap. "Lie still," he told her. "Dan will be here in a moment."
Someone gave him a coat to put under her head, but he refused it and continued to hold her. "Victoria, am I to spend the rest of my life keeping you out of trouble?" She smiled weakly.
"It does seem that way, doesn't it, Edward?"
Ray Courtney bent down beside her and looked at her intently.
Victoria looked about her. "Ned, please see to him."
"I am right here, Miss Victoria," Old Ned said, kneeling beside her.
"Are you not hurt, Ned?"
"No, not a bit. Are you in pain, Miss Victoria?"
She swallowed hard. "I cannot get up, Ned."
Ray Courtney looked from Rebel to Victoria. She saw recognition register on his face.
Edward was too concerned about Victoria to notice Ray's reaction. "Where is Dan?" he asked impatiently.
Major Courtney continued to stare at Victoria. She wished that she were not helpless. Her eyes were full of fear as she looked at the man in the blue uniform.
"Hello, Charley," Ray said softly. "I hoped I would meet you again."
Her eyes stared into his. She tried to move, but the pain was too great.
Edward looked quickly at Ray. "Stand back, Ray," he ordered, as Dan pushed his way through the crowd and knelt down to examine Victoria.
His face was grim. "Someone bring me a litter. Victoria, where does it hurt?"
"The same place as before, Dan," she said weakly.
"Dan, help her," Edward urged.
Two men came with a litter, and Edward and Dan lifted Victoria onto it carefully. "Take her to the hotel," Dan ordered, but Victoria did not hear them. She had lost consciousness.
Edward and Ray Courtney waited in the hotel lobby for Dan to come down and tell them Victoria's condition. Edward paced up and down.
"I should have killed that man."
"He will remember you when he regains consciousness in jail. What I am wondering is how I found Charley," Ray said. "It is a small world, full of coincidences. I thought I would never see her again, though I have thought of her often."
Edward stopped in front of him. "Her name is Victoria Lee Farraday."
"I have heard that name before," Ray said thoughtfully.
"She lived on a plantation outside Savannah, called Farraday. It was burned," Edward told him.
"Farraday Plantation, Farraday Plantation. Now I know where I have heard of her. Good Lord, how is it possible?"
"What have you heard?" Edward demanded.
"She killed two soldiers. There is a warrant out for her arrest. I told you I was handling war criminals in Georgia. Miss Farraday's name was high on the list."
Edward stared at him.
"I suppose I will have to arrest her and hold her until they can send her back to Georgia."
"Like hell you will!" Edward told him. Ray looked at Edward, whose face was wild. "That is the woman I am going to marry, Ray."
"You cannot be serious, Edward."
"I am very serious," Edward told him. "Tell me what you know about Victoria."
"As I got the story, an advance party of three men rode up to Farraday Plantation and only one rode away."
"Listen, Ray. I will get to the bottom of this, but in the meantime, I am going to ask you to do nothing. You owe me a favor, you know," Edward reminded him.
"Yes, I owe you my life," Ray said.
"Ray, I know Victoria. She is the most wonderful woman I have ever met. If she killed the men, as you say she did, it was for a good reason. I already have a hunch they tried to assault her, and I know they killed a black slave woman that Victoria loved. Give me one month to see if I can straighten this out. Say nothing until then. I will go straight to General Sherman, if I have to, Ray."
"All right," Ray told him thoughtfully. "I will give you one month and no more. I will also do whatever I can to help you. She is bewitching, is she not?"
Edward looked at him. "She is the woman I love."
"It would seem I lost out to you again, Edward," Ray told him. "Just think how close your paths came in Georgia. You missed meeting her by less than an hour."
Edward looked at Ray. "I had come to suspect that she was your Charley, but by my stupidity, I revealed her identity to you, not realizing I was putting her in danger. I will not rest until I see these charges against her dropped."
Ray checked his pocket watch. "I have to get back to the fort, Edward. I wish I could wait to hear about Miss Farraday's condition. Send me word on how she is."
The two men shook hands and Ray left for San Antonio.
Dan came down the stairs and walked over to Edward.
"How is she?" Edward asked.
"It is not as bad as I had feared, but she is in considerable pain."
"May I see her?"
"No, she is sleeping now," Dan told him.
Old Ned had ridden home with the news and Bodine and Alice Anderson rode into town. Dan told them that he did not want Victoria moved for at least a week. Edward continued to wait in the hotel lobby, as he wanted to talk to Bodine. He had been waiting for well over an hour and was pacing back and forth. The desk clerk watched over the rim of his glasses.
When Bodine finally came down the stairs, taking them two at a time, he walked over to Edward. "Where is the man who has done this to Victoria?" he asked quietly.
"He is in jail," Edward told him.
"Then he is a lucky man," Bodine said, "for if I could get my hands on him, this would be his last day on earth. No matter, they will release him sooner or later." Bodine's gray eyes narrowed to icy pinpoints.
Edward pitied anyone who crossed Bodine.
"You can rest assured that he is feeling none too well at the moment," Edward told him.
"Victoria told me that you came to her rescue."
"I need to talk to you, Bodine," Edward said, changing the subject abruptly. "It is important."
"Sure, go ahead."
"Not here. What I have to say must be said in private."
"Alice has taken a room upstairs. She is with Victoria. We can talk there."
The two men made their way upstairs. Edward stood by the window and looked down on the street below. "Clear up something for me, will you?"
"If I can," Bodine told him.
"I seem to remember vaguely your bringing me to this hotel one night when I had had a bit too much to drink. The next morning when I awoke you were gone. It is all a bit hazy."
"I don't doubt it. You tried to drink Cedarville dry."
Edward sat down on the window ledge and crossed his legs in front of him. "Sit down, Bodine. What I have to talk to you about is most important."
Bodine sank down in the only chair, and studied Edward's face. "You have my attention. Shoot."
"Did Victoria tell you about seeing Maj. Ray Courtney?"
"Yes. What has this got to do with you?"
"Ray knows all about her. I am afraid I unwittingly told him her name. Until I let that slip, he knew her only as Charley."
"What is your point?"
"He knows that she is wanted in Georgia for killing two Union soldiers."
Bodine was on his feet in a flash. "Then I must get her away."
"Sit down, Bodine. That will not be necessary."
The giant man looked at him for a moment. "Perhaps you had better tell me what you mean."
"First of all, Victoria cannot be moved; and second, Ray Courtney is a friend of mine. He has given me his word he will do nothing about Victoria for one month."
"You can trust him?"
"Yes. Tell me what happened in Georgia."
"Like hell I will."
"I only want to help," Edward said, "and I cannot do that if I do not have the facts. Tell me how she came to kill the two men in Georgia."
"She only killed one of them. I broke the other one's neck," Bodine said matter-of-factly.
Bodine told Edward all that had occurred. Edward listened quietly, interrupting every so often to ask a question. "I have been putting the pieces together. That is much the way I suspected," Edward said, when Bodine had completed his story. "The way I see it, we need to find this Corporal Fish and get him to tell the truth."
"That will not be easy," Bodine told him.
"Much easier than you might suppose. I will have my man, Price, check into army records and find out where Fish lives. Now, here is what I have in mind. I want to ask Victoria to marry me. My name will offer her some protection. General Sherman is a personal friend of mine, and if all else fails, I will ask him to intercede on my behalf for Victoria."
Bodine looked at Edward long and hard. So it begins, he thought. "When will you ask Victoria to marry you?"
"The sooner the better. I thought if she was up to it, I would ask her tomorrow."
"You said this Major Courtney gave you a month. That does not give you much time."
"No, it does not. If I can convince her to marry me, we should be married right away."
"She is in no condition to become your wife," Bodine told him meaningfully.
"You need not worry about her health. I will take the greatest care of her."
"If I did not believe that, you would probably not be standing here right now," Bodine told him. "This is all hypothetical anyway. Suppose she will not accept your offer?"
"That is the part that has me worried," Edward told him.
"She would say yes to you if she thought she was doing it to save me," Bodine told him.
Edward looked at the big man in astonishment.
"One day I will tell you my reasons for giving you my support, but not now."
Edward knew that Bodine loved Victoria and would not give her over to his keeping if he did not have a very good reason for doing so.
"Where is Paul O'Brian?" Edward asked.
"Victoria was seeing him off just before the man attacked her. He has gone back to Georgia to wait for her. Now, if you will excuse me, I am going to drop in on our friend in jail just to let him know what he can expect when he is free."
* * *
That night Edward drafted several letters. After he finished them he called Price Williams into his study. He told his bookkeeper all the facts.
"You are to go to Georgia and see this thing through. I would go myself, but I cannot get away at the moment. This is the most important thing I have ever asked you to do for me. I know you will not let me down. Here are letters of introduction that will open doors for you and make your job easier."
"You can trust me, Edward," Price told him. . "That is why I am sending you. You get some sleep now, and leave first thing in the morning. Take the quickest transportation available." Edward handed him an envelope filled with money. "Spare no expense, Price. Pull this off for me, and there will be a bonus waiting for you."
"I will do my best," Price t
old him.
"I am depending on that. Now the hour is late, you had best get some rest."
After Price left, Edward walked over to the wall safe and removed a box that contained his mother's jewelry. He found the ring his father had given his mother when they were married. It had a huge diamond and was surrounded by eight smaller ones. Edward held it up to the light and watched as it shimmered. It will fit, he thought.
Edward sat at his desk long after the rest of the household slept. Tomorrow would be the most important day in his life. His whole future depended on Victoria's answer.
19
Victoria awoke to find Bodine sitting beside her.
"You cannot stay out of trouble, can you, Imp?" he teased.
"What is my condition, Bodine?"
"You have two bruised ribs, honey. We are lucky that they were not broken like last time."
"When can I go home?"
"Not for a few more days, honey. How do you feel?"
"Not so bad, Bodine."
"Liar," he said affectionately. "Honey, I want to talk to you, but you are not to get upset. Just try to remain calm."
"What has happened?" Victoria asked, expecting the worst.
"Maj. Ray Courtney knows who you are."
"I was afraid of something like that," Victoria said, anxiously. "What can I do? Will he arrest me?”
"No," Bodine told her. "Edward Hanover has interceded on your behalf and has bought us some time."
Her eyes grew cloudy. "Edward knows all about me?"
"Yes, I told him everything."
"Bodine, why would Edward want to help me? I do not understand."
Bodine shifted his weight. "Edward wants to talk to you this morning. He will explain everything to you then. You must listen to him and put your trust in him."
"He is coming here?" Victoria asked. "I do not think I can face him now that he knows about my past.”
Bodine looked at Victoria for a long moment. "Edward understands it was not your fault, what happened to you in Georgia. Now I am going to ride back to the ranch. I will see you tonight. Try to rest." He started to the door and came back to stand by her bed. "Do you still love Edward?"
"Yes, Bodine, I do," Victoria said with tears in her eyes. "I wish I did not."
Ecstasy's Promise (Historical Romance) Page 23