"They did not. I do not think they would exchange her. They would take the money and then kill her. She has seen them and could identify them."
"I see. You do not intend, then, even to try to pay the ransom."
"What use would it be?" Don Gilberto asked with a shrug.
Dimitri ignored the hard, grudging tone and put another question. "Why don't you have men out now looking for her?"
"What could they do with dusk approaching?" Don Gilberto said defensively.
Dimitri swung his cloak about his shoulders and gave Don Gilberto a hard, furious look. "I will let you return to your wife. Apologize to her for the inconvenience of my call."
"But . . . What do you intend to do?"
"More than you are, Don Gilberto, but, as you so succinctly told me, it is not your concern."
Without another word, Dimitri stalked past Tomas, opened the door for himself, and strode down the stairs.
Sergei met him at the stable door. "You have heard? I thought they would tell you. I have the groom here who was with her. I thought you might like to talk to him yourself. Also, Andres is here with ten of our men."
Dimitri gave Sergei a grateful glance and clapped him on the back. "Good man." Andres appeared at his elbow and Dimitri turned questioningly to him. "How did you learn of this, Andres?"
"Paquita, Senorita Leonor's maid. She came to us for help. Senor, I have brought men with me, since I thought you would need them without delay."
Dimitri nodded, thankful for his overseer's quick thinking, and turned his attention to the lad Sergei was pushing forward.
"Paco, this is my lord. He will ask you some questions and you give him clear, truthful answers."
Paco gazed nervously at Dimitri, twisting his small hands together.
"There is nothing to fear, Paco. Just start at the beginning and tell me the whole story. You accompanied the senorita on her ride?"
"Si, senor, I did. Don Gilberto had told her she could not ride without a groom, because of all the trouble," the boy added vaguely, "and I was the only groom available. The rest were helping Don Gilberto break some new horses at the main corral. We rode to the little valley by the stream, to the north, and she was to meet someone there."
"Who?"
"She didn't say, sir. Just that she would be meeting a man there and I was to water the horses while she talked to him. I did what she said," Paco said simply. "Then I heard her cry out and turned around and two men had come out of the trees and one had grabbed her. I ran to help her and the other man hit me. When I awoke, I found a note tucked under my belt. Senorita Leonor was gone."
"And the horses?"
"Still there, grazing by the stream. I brought them home and Pedro, the head groom here, took me in to tell my story to Don Gilberto. I did and gave him the note."
"What did the note say, Paco?"
"I cannot read, senor, and neither can Pedro. But we heard Don Gilberto tell Eduardo that it was a note for ransom. That's all he said."
"I see. What time did this happen, Paco?"
"We reached the valley at four of the clock, senor, and it was at least six when I awakened. Senor, is it true that Don Gilberto is not going to search for her tonight?"
"It is true but I will search now. Can you give me directions to that stream in the valley, Paco?"
"Please, sir, let me show you. It is my fault," he cried, brushing away fresh tears. "If I had been stronger, I could have helped her! Let me go with you!"
Dimitri and Sergei exchanged glances. "Son," Dimitri said gently, "it was not your fault and there was nothing one man could have done against two of them. You did very well, coming back here and raising the alarm." He glanced at Pedro, who was shaking his head. "Yes, Pedro?"
"The boy was hit on the head, senor. I do not think a long ride in the dark would be good for him."
Paco cried out in dismay and Dimitri put his hand on the boy's shoulder. "Pedro is right. You need sleep, lad. I promise you we will do everything we can for Senorita Leonor." It was difficult to ignore the boy's beseeching face but Dimitri knew that the child was not well enough to accompany them. He looked at Pedro and said "Do you have a good tracker on the estate that I can have?"
Pedro smiled. "We do. His name is Felipe and, at your man Sergei's suggestion, I have already sent for him. If you think you might need additional men—" he began.
"I will have enough. This is Felipe?" he added, seeing a middle-aged man hasten toward the stable.
"Si. Felipe, the senor has need of you tonight. You are to go with him and do whatever he tells you, understand?"
Felipe, who had managed to pry the news from the groom who had been sent to fetch him, said promptly, "Si, I am ready, senor. Do we go now?"
Dimitri took Adan's bridle from Sergei and nodded. "We go now. We have to pick up the trail as quickly as possible."
"It will be dark within the hour, senor," Andres murmured. "I have asked Pedro for food, in case we must camp and wait for daylight."
Dimitri, his jaw tight with tension, nodded. "Gracias, Andres. We stay with the trail until we find her."
Daunted by his face, they silently went to their horses and followed him out of the courtyard.
Chapter Nine
Leonor shifted her position on the horse, trying wearily to find a more comfortable seat. It was difficult and awkward riding through the hills in the dark without the use of her hands. She clutched tightly to the saddle horn, cursing her bound hands. How long had they been riding, she wondered? It seemed as if she had been struggling to stay in the saddle all night but surely it could not have been so long! The horse stopped abruptly and the man leading her horse turned.
"We will rest here," he said.
"Juan, we are not far enough away yet."
"We've put enough distance between us and the valley," the man leading her horse said shortly. "The horses need rest and so do we. They will never find us in the dark, Vicente. You do not need to worry about that. They don't even know what direction we took. Here, hold the reins while I get the girl down."
Vicente grudgingly moved back to hold the horses while Juan swung Leonor to the ground. Her knees buckled and Juan caught her arm in a tight grip and half led, half dragged her over to a large tree on the edge of a dark clearing.
"Hobble the horses and bring me that rope from my saddle."
Vicente brought the rope and watched as Juan firmly secured her to the tree. "There, Senorita! You'll not run off while we rest."
Leonor, half choked by the gag, glared at him, unable to relieve her feelings by telling him what she thought of him.
"I will find wood and build a fire," said Juan.
"No, you fool! A fire can be seen for miles. Are you not interested in succeeding with this job?"
"It is cold!"
"So? Get your blanket and that bottle and we'll have some wine."
It was done and the two men wrapped themselves in tattered saddle blankets and opened a bottle of wine and appeared to ignore Leonor.
Leonor shivered in the cool night air. She glanced around the clearing and began to twist her hands, testing the rope that bound them. It was no use, she thought despairingly. Both the rope binding her hands and the rope securing her to the tree were too tightly knotted to work free. Escape then was impossible! Yet, she had to escape. She had already realized that, if the men were indeed holding her for ransom, they would have hidden her nearby, where they could negotiate with her stepfather and make the trade. But they had ridden steadily north and were miles from the estate. Therefore, she reasoned, they had no intention of ransoming her! So, what did they intend doing with her?
Juan, after drinking half the wine, rose and cast aside his blanket. He moved toward her and she braced herself. She shrank away from his hand as he reached toward her face and then felt, with enormous relief, the dirty gag being pulled down. "I have no water, girl, so you'd better take a swig of this. We don't want you to fall ill from thirst, do we?"
Without pro
test, Leonor opened her mouth and swallowed the wine. It stung her tongue already raw from pushing at the gag and burnt its way down her throat. She gasped and tears rose to her eyes but she obediently took another long drink. It was certainly cheap wine and very raw but it revived her flagging spirits. "What are you going to do with me?" she demanded, before he could tie the gag in place. "Where are you taking me?"
He gave her such a leering grin that she recoiled. "North, my pretty."
"It seems a pity to me," Vicente put in, coming to stand by Juan and running his eye down the length of her, "to hand her over and not enjoy her ourselves first."
Juan scowled at him. "You know Madame Lita. If we touch the girl, she'll have our hides. This one isn't for us, fool. If she's sullied, we'll not get paid."
Vicente looked at her rounded curves and licked his lips. "It might be worth it," he said, reaching down to grab her breasts. Juan jerked him away and slapped him across the face.
"I told you. She belongs to Madame Lita."
"Who is this Madame Lita?" asked Leonor.
Juan ignored the question.
Vicente approached, gingerly touching his face. "I won't hurt her, Juan," he said. "The madame need not know if I've just had a bit of fun with her. She'd still be unsullied when I'd finished."
"Do I have to knock you out to make you see sense? Get over there with your blanket and rest. We'll have to ride on soon. Here, have some more wine and forget about the girl."
As Juan spoke, he dragged Vicente back to his blanket and the wine. Leonor turned over in her mind what they'd said to her and was suddenly wild with fear. As long as she had thought she was being kidnapped for ransom, she had tried not to panic. But she didn't understand this. Why would they be taking her north? She might never see her mother or her friends or Paquita or Dimitri. The thought of never again seeing her Russian cousin brought tears running down her face. She had not realized what a difference his friendship had made to her. Not until she was in danger of losing it altogether. She suddenly realized that Juan had forgotten to replace the gag. She would keep very quiet and hope that he did not remember. Later, it might be very convenient in helping her to escape. If Vicente again approached her, Juan might not be so forceful. Perhaps the two of them would . . . she wrenched her mind away from those thoughts. If only she could loosen the ropes that bound her hands. Revived by the wine, she began working at the bonds again, determined to find a way to escape.
Dusk was closing in as Dimitri halted his small force of men in the valley. He sat silent on Adan as Felipe, armed with a lantern, disappeared into the trees that were already deep in shadow. They had less than an hour's daylight left, at best, and the trail would be impossible to follow through the rough hills once full darkness had fallen.
Andres ran out of the trees. ''Felipe has the trail, senor."
"Come," Dimitri called to the men. He led the way through the woods, keeping Felipe in sight. Walking ahead with the lantern, Felipe painstakingly followed the trail out of the wooded copse, up over the hill and down, turning sharply north across the valley. In the distance, deep purple shadows lengthened as dusk began to turn to full night. Felipe tracked the three horses, his progress slowed and hampered by the gathering darkness. Wan moonlight barely outlined the rougher hills as they traveled north. Finally Felipe stopped. He came to where Dimitri waited and gestured at the rocky path that had stopped abruptly at the foot of a hill.
"Senor, the path ends here. They could have gone either over the hill or around it but I cannot tell in the darkness."
Dimitri stifled the curse that hovered on his tongue. "Then we will camp here until first light. Sergei, tell the men to stay well away from the base of this hill. We cannot afford to let them ruin whatever traces remain."
After a quick glance at his master's set face, Sergei nodded and set about organizing a camp. It would not be restful night, he thought. His master would sit, his face tight and contained, waiting for first light. He sighed. The delay could not be helped but it would not sweeten his lord's mood!
At the first lightening of the sky, Dimitri was up and ordering the men to their horses. He waited impatiently while Felipe searched the ground at the base of the hill. "I have it, senor. They went around this way."
Dimitri swung into the saddle. "We will follow you."
The trail continued to run north. They found where the men and Leonor had camped for the night and Dimitri angrily cast aside the empty wine bottle that Andres silently handed him. Some of his fear receded as Felipe reported that there was no sign of a struggle in the clearing. As far as he could tell, the senorita had been tied to this large tree. He pointed out the marks where the two men had spent the night. Full daylight flooded the hills as they cantered out of the clearing. An hour later, Felipe drew rein and waited for Dimitri to join him.
"Senor, I don't understand this. The main road north, that runs along the coast, is only a few miles to our left. It would be much faster for them to join the road and travel on it, not make their way over the hills. Why do they avoid the road?"
"Perhaps so they will not attract attention." Dimitri paused for thought. "Stay with the trail, Felipe. It is possible that they joined the main road somewhere ahead."
But the trail they followed continued across the rough country and the men taking Leonor north had not taken advantage of the speed and ease of using the main road. As they paused at a shady stream, Dimitri called Andres to him. "They are still going north. I think it is obvious now to all that they never intended to ransom her. There must be some purpose to this, Andres. If not for ransom, why would they kidnap her? And where along this trail could they be taking her?"
"There is nothing along the coast except for the missions, senor, until you reach Monterey. I cannot think they would be taking her to a mission!"
"No," Dimitri agreed. "Nor do I. Then it must be Monterey or San Francisco—" His voice trailed off. "We cannot discount the fact that they could take her to any of the secluded coves along the coast, Andres. A ship could anchor there—''
A silence fell on the group and Sergei stirred in the saddle. "M'lord, to be sure of their destination, I think we must follow the trail."
Dimitri nodded. There was nothing else they could do.
For all of that long, hot day, Felipe followed the trail left by the three horses. Occasionally, when they reached rough, rocky terrain, they would lose the trail and have to cast about for it ahead but they would find it again and stayed with it. Every time they had to stop to rest and water the horses, Dimitri would wait impatiently. If only he understood what the purpose of her kidnapping was! If only he could guess where they were taking her! But he could only restrain his impatience and let Felipe painstakingly follow the faint but definite trail north. Dimitri pushed the horses as hard as he dared, alternately walking and cantering them, resting them only when it was absolutely necessary. The men, like their mounts, were growing tired and hungry as afternoon faded into twilight and the shadows grew longer. Still, they pressed on. To their left was the main highway, El Camino Real, the long, straight road that the missionaries had carved out generations before, that ran from Monterey south to Mexico. It overlooked the wild beauty of the coast, with the glittering white sand beaches and the pounding of the turbulent surf against the rocky headlands. As dusk fell, they approached the Mission of Santa Ines and Dimitri chafed at the necessary time lost in purchasing food for the men and horses from the priests. He knew they could not continue this grueling pace without food but he begrudged the time spent acquiring it. Every hour lost widened the gap between the two parties of horsemen and Dimitri knew he had to make up for that lost time. He kept the men on the trail until it was so dark Felipe could no longer see it.
They camped for the night in a twisting canyon in the hills. It was narrow, with high sides, scoured out by water and wind. A small stream ran through the canyon, dried up to a mere trickle under the summer heat, but sufficient to water the horses and men. Tracks in the muddy edges
showed that the men he pursued also rested here earlier in the day and Felipe guessed that they were no more than six or seven hours behind Leonor. There had been a five hour delay in pursuing her, Dimitri thought, pulling his blanket tightly around his shoulders. A chilly wind swept down the canyon, scattering sparks from the fire into the dry air. Five hours and now they had lost two more. The men who had her could travel much more quickly. Tracking was slow business and, although Felipe was very good at what he did, he could only move just so fast. Dimitri's only consolation was that the men who had Leonor were also stopping to camp for the night, so at least they would not widen the gap even further.
He tried not to think of her in those rough hands. He burned with a cold anger that grew as the hours passed. She had fallen into a deliberate trap. The message that had taken her to the valley had been a fake. Someone had known she would go and had waited there for her. Were they bandidos? If so, why had they not ransomed her? Don Gilberto could have been forced to pay the ransom. But Dimitri did not forget that the men had not waited an hour for the note to be delivered. They had set out at once with her and had not paused except to camp for the night. There had never been any intention of ransoming her. So what could they want? Could they be Iturbide's agents? Or rebellious peasants? But what could they possibly gain by this? Taking a woman of gentle breeding would not further their cause. It would only turn the more moderate and sympathetic dons against them. The more Dimitri wrestled with the problem, the more he was convinced that it was none of these things, yet he could not even make a guess what the real reason could be. Not until he knew where they had taken her and why. His concern for her safety grew. Her only hope lay in his finding her before her captors could either harm her or be tempted by that vivid beauty. If they did harm her, they would not have to await retribution from Don Gilberto. They would discover that they would have him to deal with first, Dimitri thought grimly. Don Gilberto might not feel any pressing need to rescue or avenge his stepdaughter, but Dimitri did not share his feelings.
Surrender by Moonlight Page 13