Cowboys 08 - Luke (41 page)

"If I ask you one question, will you answer it truthfully?"

His stomach did a flip, warning of danger, but he had to answer. He owed her that much.

"Yes." He held his breath.

"Do you love me?"

It was worse than he'd expected. He hadn't asked himself that question. There were some things too painful to know. Yet he'd known the answer for some time. He'd been telling himself it didn't matter what he felt, that he wasn't going to marry Valeria, so there was no point in thinking about it, but he'd promised Valeria an answer.

"Yes. But-"

"That's all I wanted to know," she said, cutting him off. She spurred her horse forward. "We'd better get started for the ranch. It's chilly under these trees."

She had surprised him again. He didn't think for a minute that was the end of it. Valeria was a very stubborn woman with a powerful liking for getting her own way. She had something up her sleeve.

But suppose she agreed with him!

Suppose she'd finally given up, accepted his conviction that he wouldn't make a good husband. Luke could stand knowing Valeria could never be his own-at least he thought he could-but he couldn't stand knowing she thought as badly of him as he did of himself.

Valeria was so angry it took her nearly half an hour before she could formulate a rational thought. It did no good to lose her temper. She wasn't a royal princess who could send Luke to the guillotine, but she would have exchanged her best emerald necklace for a rack and some thumb screws.

He was not a stupid man, but to go around saying he was unworthy of marriage because he had rotten parents was stupid. She didn't believe for one minute he'd killed innocent people just for money. He might have strayed close to the line-he might even have leaned rather far over it on occasions-but she was certain he'd never crossed it. She'd seen too many instances of the good in him. He'd truly grieved over Hans's death. He'd agreed to help Neely and Albie. Despite trying to appear indifferent, he had strong feelings for his adopted brothers. There was good in Luke Attmore, and she didn't understand why he couldn't see it.

Maybe his parents had convinced him he was rotten. Maybe something else had happened. It didn't really matter. He'd tell her someday, but right now she needed to figure out a way to convince him to marry her. If he thought she was going to be miserable for the rest of her life just because he'd gotten on a misguided high horse, he could think again. She wasn't the scion of a house of successful generals for nothing. When someone in her family wanted something, he or she got it.

And she meant to have Luke Attmore.

But it wouldn't do any good to keep badgering him. He'd dug in his heels. She had to think of a way to get them undug. In the meantime, she would deal with Rudolf and decide what to do about her ranch. She really liked the idea of using the ranch to breed her horses. Nearly everything in her life had been controlled by men. This was one of the few things she'd been allowed to do on her own. She was studying the terrain for good grazing when they came upon a small meadow.

"You'll see more and more of these as the trees thin out," Luke said. "The farther you get from the Rim, the closer you get to desert."

She should have known they weren't far from the desert. She hoped Rudolf had chosen a spot in the forest to build the ranch house. She loved the clean scent of pine.

"Have you decided what to do about Rudolf?" Luke asked.

"There's nothing to do. I'll tell him I don't want to marry him, and he'll leave."

"How are you going to make him leave if he doesn't want to?"

"That's your job."

"My job ends once you reach the ranch."

"But you won't leave me there," Valeria said, throwing him a knowing look. "You'll stay to make sure nothing happens."

"So you plan to let me take care of everything."

"Yes. Isn't that what men are for? I'm just a poor, helpless female." She nearly burst out laughing at his expression. Maybe he hadn't thought she could catch on to being an American so fast. Neither had she, but it just came naturally. The more angry she got at Luke, the more natural it became.

"I'm beginning to think you've been playing me for a fool all along," Luke said.

"Why should I when you're so determined to do it yourself?"

She didn't care if he got angry. It would do him good. Maybe it would melt some of that icy control, let some feelings out. She was certain he had them. He'd just buried them so deeply he'd forgotten about them.

"Is that the ranch?" she asked, pointing to some buildings visible through the trees.

"It looks that way. Get ready to meet your ex-fiance."

Valeria hadn't noticed the riders approaching through the trees north of the ranch buildings. She saw at once how Luke knew it was Rudolf. He wore his army uniform. Even the men riding with him were in uniform. Obviously, being in America hadn't changed Rudolf.

His greeting contained none of the friendliness that had characterized their meetings in Belgravia.

"Where have you been? I had begun to think this man had run off with you."

He said
this man
as though Luke were some nameless servant beneath his notice. It shocked Valeria to realize that only a few weeks ago she wouldn't have noticed his attitude. She cringed inwardly at the memory of her own behavior.

"After the second attack, he decided to bring me by a different route," she explained.

"It was extremely rash of you to leave the wagons. Anything could have happened."

"I could have stayed with the train and been killed in the next attack. I nearly was, you know."

"Those
men
who brought the wagons told me what happened. Have you no more appreciation of what is due your rank than to be traveling with people like that? And what happened to your clothes? You look like a gutter wench."

Valeria had been feeling a little guilty about refusing to marry Rudolf after having promised to do so, but his attitude changed that. Even if they didn't go back to Belgravia, he would expect her to behave the way her mother had behaved, her mother before that, and countless mothers back into the mists of history. Their marriage would have been a disaster, even if they'd loved each other. She had changed, but he'd stayed the same.

"You can't ride horseback in court dress," Valeria said, impatient to be done with this greeting. "Did Zeke tell you Luke tore up the marriage contracts?"

"I don't talk to people like him. Or the other one. He was an Indian."

"You should have talked to him, Rudolf. He was supposed to tell you I've decided not to marry you."

"One of my men told me he said something like that. Naturally I didn't believe it."

"It's true. I've decided I don't want to go back to Europe, not even if you could regain your throne. I want to stay in this country. I want to choose my own husband."

"You're suffering from too much sun," Rudolf said. "Come up to the house. You'll feel better in a few days."

"Didn't you hear a word I said? I'm not going to marry you. This is my ranch. I'm thinking about living here and breeding horses. You'll have to leave."

Rudolf looked at her as though she'd suddenly gone stark raving mad. "Elvira said you hadn't been acting like yourself since you got off the train."

"Elvira is still here?"

"Yes. And a good thing, too. From the way you look, even she will have a difficult time making you presentable by dinner." He reached out and took hold of her horse's bridle. "I've had a priest waiting for nearly a month. We'll be married immediately after we dine."

Valeria tried unsuccessfully to break Rudolf's hold on her mount's bridle. "I've already told you I'm not going to marry you, Rudolf. Not tonight or any other night."

"As soon as I can arrange for the transfer of your money to my bank, we'll return to Europe. It'll take at least a year to make preparations for an invasion." He pulled on the horse's bridle, forcing it to follow him.

"Let go of her horse," Luke said.

Rudolf looked at Luke as though seeing him for the first time. "You may leave. Your services are no longer needed."

"Let go of her horse," Luke repeated.

Rudolf turned to the four men who'd accompanied him. "Take care of him," he said over his shoulder as he started toward the ranch, forcing Valeria's mount to follow.

At Rudolf's command, the four men drew their swords and started toward Luke.

Chapter Twenty-four

A volley of shots shattered the silence, sending birds squawking through the trees. Four swords flew through the air. The shots had been so close together, it was impossible to tell how many times Luke had fired his gun, but Valeria knew it was only four. Luke didn't miss.

"Now I will tell you once more to let go of that horse's bridle," Luke said to Rudolf. "If you don't, I'll put a bullet through your hand."

Rudolf looked stunned. When his hand fell to his side, Valeria turned her horse back toward Luke.

"Don't bother telling your men to draw their pistols," Luke advised Rudolf as he drew a second gun. "I can shoot them out of their saddles before the first one can get his pistol out of his holster." Luke turned to the soldiers. "Go back to your barracks, your bunkhouse, or your kennel, wherever you stay. Collect anything that's yours and clear out. If you're here an hour from now, I'll kill you." One man glanced at his sword. "Leave them where they are."

The men turned and started toward the ranch.

"Come back here," Rudolf shouted, but they kept going. "You can't come in here and order my men off my ranch," he said, turning his regal fury on Luke.

"This isn't your ranch," Luke told him. "It belongs to Valeria. She's already told you she's not going to marry you. I'm giving you until noon tomorrow to be gone."

"I'll have you court marshaled! I'll have you shot!" Rudolf raged.

Luke laughed. Valeria was embarrassed to think she'd ever considered marrying such a fool.

"This isn't one of your toy kingdoms," Luke said. "Now show some courtesy to Valeria, or I'll run you off with your men."

"You can't possibly mean to trust yourself to this man," Rudolf said to Valeria.

"Since you couldn't be bothered to send anyone to meet me, I had no other choice. If it hadn't been for him, I'd be dead now."

"But he's not a gentleman," Rudolf said. "He's not one of us."

"It's you who aren't the gentleman, Rudolf. You were going to force me to marry you against my will." "But you signed a contract."

"Everything changed when I realized that contract could get me killed."

"But you'll be safe once you marry me."

"Even if I won't let you use my money to raise an army?"

"It will be my money when we marry," Rudolf said, the old arrogance coming through.

"I don't want you to recover your throne, Rudolf. You're a tyrant. You think people exist only to obey your wishes. When they're unwilling, you force them. I don't like that, and I won't have any part in it."

"What's come over you?"

"America's come over me."

"Why? It's nothing but a country of deserts and peasants!"

"I'm finding deserts aren't as bad as I thought, and I actually like the peasants."

"Now I know you're suffering from brain fever. Come back to the house. I won't mention marriage again until you've had time to recover your senses."

"You have to be out of here by noon tomorrow," Luke said.

Rudolf puffed up, preparing to act like he was still an absolute monarch. Then he noticed Luke hadn't put his gun away. He exhaled slowly.

"I'll leave the ranch, but I won't leave the area until I'm certain Valeria is in her right mind."

"You can live in a pine tree for all I care," Luke said, "as long as you're off the ranch tomorrow."

"What are you going to do?"

"That depends on Valeria."

Rudolf turned to Valeria.

"I told you I'm thinking about breeding horses."

"But you can't live here by yourself."

"That won't be your concern," Luke said.

"Of course it's my concern," Rudolf shouted. "I can't allow my wife to live in the woods by herself. It makes her sound like a witch in some fairy tale."

"Aren't his ears attached to his brain?" Luke asked.

Valeria couldn't help smiling. "Rudolf doesn't like to be told no. He thinks if he keeps talking, I'll change my mind. Now I'm very tired. Wandering through the desert can be fun, but I want to get out of these clothes and take a hot bath. You do have hot water at the ranch, don't you?" she asked Rudolf.

"Of course. Certain amenities are absolutely necessary if one is to support life."

Rudolf had no idea how little was actually necessary to support life, but she wasn't in the mood to tell him. She'd deal with that once she'd had her bath.

"I was hoping you'd still be here," Luke said when he saw Zeke.