Chapter 34
Morning Fawn gazed out the window as the carriage rumbled over the drawbridge, above the moat.
Candlelight and lamplight bathed the limestone castle which towered three stories.
It was a setting suited for Robinhood or Ivanhoe, not Texas.
A billowing Confederate flag hung below the rooftop garden.
Music drifted out of the windows. A sight to behold, but the only sight she cared about was three miles away in a two-story jail surrounded by a locked fence, and chained to an iron stake with no key on the grounds.
Nick said something.
She leaned forward, pressing her nose to the pane, ignoring him. He didn’t matter. None of it mattered. Devon would be on the road to San Antonio tomorrow. Dear God, what was she going to do?
“I feel sick.” She wrapped her arms around her middle. “I need to go to the privy.”
He arched an eyebrow. “There’ll be time enough for that inside. Robson actually has running water in the castle.”
She stared at him. “Running water?”
“Robson pumps water from the Colorado River to the roof and pipes it throughout the house.” He tugged on his gloves. “You can go to the privy all you want. One of my men or I will be at the door waiting for you every second.”
A glimmer caught her eye as they rode through the gate—his flask lying on his seat half covered by his coattail. She glanced away, chin set. She wasn’t going home tonight, one way or the other.
As they disembarked, he stepped out first, spoke to the footman, and turned to offer his hand.
A few seconds, but it was enough. She swiped the flask beneath her cloak.
The privy would provide the perfect opportunity to access the laudanum and add a little flavoring to the man’s drink for the ride home.
She stepped down.
“What are you doing?” Nick grabbed her arm.
“What do you mean?”
Without letting go, he poked his head into the carriage, then patted his coat pocket with his free hand. “What are you up to?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
His eyes narrowed. “Back in the carriage.”
“I have to go to the pr—”
“No, you don’t.” He jabbed a finger at her and pushed her back.
“Well, I never.”
“I never either.” He climbed in across from her and slammed the door. “I’ve been tricked by you one too many times.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m sick to my stomach because the man I love is about to...die. And there’s nothing I can do about it.”
He rolled his eyes. “I don’t believe it.”
“You’ll believe it when I throw up on your boot.”
“I was ready to do that myself back there at the jail with all of that ‘I love you forever’ trash.”
“That’s because you don’t know the first thing about love unless it’s the dollars that line your pocket.” She snatched up her reticule and threw it at him.
He grabbed it and tossed it aside. “You’re wasting your time grieving for a man who chose the mission and Miss Perfect over you.
At the very least, he should have had you with him spying on the warehouse, had you up in Alleyton with him the night of the attack.
You’re the woman who could have helped him succeed. ”
“I’m the woman who ended up with my face in the dirt, and the man I love is in jail about to be hung.”
“You’re the woman who doesn’t give up.” He drummed his fingers on this thigh. “So I ask again, what are you up to?”
“Nothing, other than trying not to fall apart in front of a ballroom full of people. You have bested me. I have no choice but to go along with this sham betrothal. I can’t save Devon.
All I can do is try to keep myself from being thrown in jail for treason and bargain for Lucy to have a decent owner. ”
He loosened his blue silk cravat. “I don’t believe it. You’re too quiet, too compliant. It’s not like you. You’re up to something. Do you have a knife hidden beneath your skirt? And what’s that flask all about?”
“What flask?”
“The one you swiped from me.” He held out his hand.
Spearing him with her eyes, she smacked the gold-plated tin into his palm.
“Should I have one of my men search you for weapons?”
“I’ll scratch the face off of anyone who touches me, including you.”
“Hmm.” He settled back against the cushions and rapped on the door with his knuckles.
“Yes, sir?” The footman popped his head in the door, looking more like a gunman than a footman with a holster on each hip.
“We’re not staying. Tell Henry to turn the coach around. We’re going for a ride. West of town. Find a secluded area.”
“Yes, sir.” The man tipped his hat and shot Morning Fawn a glance better aimed at a tart.
She stiffened as the door closed. “I’ve warned you what will happen if you put your hands on me.”
“Settle down.” He fingered the flask lid as the carriage pulled into motion.
“I want to have a real talk with you. I mean, I thought I had one a couple weeks ago in my office after I found you dressed in that ridiculous outfit. I was foolish enough to think I’d finally discovered your true self.
But I was mistaken. There are layers of deception and determination I’ve only begun to decipher. ”
“I’m a stone wall as far as you’re concerned.
” She tightened her cloak about her. “I want nothing to do with you. So you might as well take me back to the ball and have me play my part for the night.” As if she could.
She shifted her gaze to the far window. “I don’t care what you do—there will never be anything between you and me.
I bet my uncle would still give you the land you’re after if you’d do him the courtesy of depositing me at the nearest monastery or asylum. ”
“Nunnery.”
“Excuse me?”
“Monasteries are for men. Nunneries are for women.”
The carriage rumbled across the drawbridge and onto the road.
“I don’t care.” She threw her arms open wide. “The point is, my heart isn’t for sale. And there are better ways to get land than saddling yourself with a wife who wants nothing to do with you, so I’m begging you to leave me off at a street corner before we get out of town.”
“Hmmm.” He pursed his lips and stared at her.
She scooted to the cushioned corner. Streetlights flickered by. Her stomach tumbled. The passing of the minutes pulsed in her head. Dear Lord, what am I to do?
She could bolt out of the carriage as soon as it stopped and take a gamble his men wouldn’t shoot, but how far could she get on foot?
She needed a horse and a key. The jailer didn’t have the key to the leg irons.
Maybe a strong man could bust the chain with a sledgehammer, but how was she to do that?
The jail would be the first place Nick would look.
She needed to get to Alleyton and contact the Germans.
But would they have the men and the will to attack the transport before it was too late?
“I can see the gears of your mind working at full steam.” His voice broke the silence.
She cinched her cloak tighter. She should have gotten her hands on a knife.
Darkness filled the windows now. She squinted at the outlines of a fence or field, an occasional far-off light from a barn or house. An outcropping of trees came up on the left.
Nick rapped on the ceiling. “Here.”
The carriage pulled over.
She steeled herself for what was to come.
He tugged his gloves off and tossed them aside. “You’ll never be able to save Reynolds on your own.”
It was as if he’d stolen the thought from her head. She gaped at him.
His gaze bored into her. “You think there’s nothing to me? That money’s all I care about.”
“I’m sure you love success and power, as well, and an occasional visit to a brothel.”
“I’m a man who knows what he wants and finds a way to get it. I don’t accept defeat, especially at the hands of a worm like Reynolds.”
“Too late.”
The edge of his mouth quirked upward in a smirk. “Do you know what I’ve been sitting here thinking?”
“I have no idea.” She crossed her arms.
“Death isn’t good enough for Reynolds.”
She shivered. “What is that supposed to mean?”
Nick’s expression hardened. “He has smeared my name and reputation. The news of his attack will spread across civilized Texas and the western division of the Confederacy.”
“You stopped him. Saved most of the cotton.”
“Not good enough. I should have figured him out weeks ago. At least, I’m not like that buffoon of a quartermaster who would have let the entire town burn down.
However, the smear is still there, and will spread far and wide.
” He narrowed his eyes. “Furthermore, Reynolds stole the affection of the woman I want.”
She pressed her lips together. He didn’t steal it. He won it.
“Death isn’t good enough because when he dies, it’s over. He’s paid his debt. No more suffering or consequences for him. How does that benefit me?”
She froze. What if she was the payment he was looking for? “You come near me, you’ll live to regret it.”
“I told you once before, I don't force myself upon women.”
“In that case, I'm sure you’ll die a lonely old bachelor. You might as well turn around, take me back to town.”
“Tell me, Morning Fawn, what are you willing to do in order to save Devon Reynolds?"
Her heart clunked.
The question hung between them. The murmur of voices drifted in—the driver and the footman talking. A distant coyote let loose a howl. Devon might never hear a coyote again. Might never see the stars again.
She fought to steady her voice. “I wouldn’t give you anything because there’s nothing you could do.
I don’t care what you promise me for a night on the carriage bench or whatever you might dream up.
I’m not foolish enough to imagine all those generals down in San Antonio would listen to you.
Even you don’t have that kind of power. And I wouldn’t trust you if you did. Your word isn’t worth spit.”
“My word? I don’t recall lying to you. But you’ve spun a basketful to me. ” He drummed his fingers on the seat and blew out his cheeks. “What if your part of the deal wasn’t payable until Reynolds was free?”
“What do you mean?”