Denver (22 page)

Dan hated the proposition put to him by Shumacher, yet he had no alternative. He thought about Louisa stretched on his settee, her clothes peeled away, and he drew a sharp breath. “Very well, sir. I don’t have any choice except to agree.”

“I might as well warn you, Reuben Knelville will be unhappy over this. Reuben hasn’t talked to me, but his father has told me that he expects Reuben to ask for Louisa’s hand.”

“I’m not concerned with Reuben Knelville,” Dan said.

“Perhaps you should be. You want to succeed in Denver. To do so, you’ll have to have the acceptance of the Knelvilles, father and son.”

“I’ll manage without Reuben Knelville’s help.”

“Let me give you a word of advice. Louisa doesn’t like scandal, nor do we. Reuben has less to lose if there is a fight over Louisa than you do.”

“I’m aware of that, sir.”

“So far your altercations have been kept to yourselves. You should see that they continue so. Better yet, you should try to placate Reuben Knelville.”

Dan was impatient to see Louisa, and Charles Shumacher was beginning to grate on his nerves. “Sir, fall is a long time to wait. A lot can happen in that time.”

“True, but by then you should know each other better.”

“Yes, sir,” Dan said. He intended to know Louisa better long before a month was up. “May I see Louisa now, sir?”

“Oh, of course. I’ll call her.” He stepped to the door, “Lou…Oh, there you are. Mr. Castle is here. Would you come in. Mother.”

All the Shumachers filed into the room. Louisa’s eyes sparkled and her cheeks flushed. As soon as the ladies were seated, Dan sat back down. Charles Shumacher stood in front of the fire, his hands clasped behind him. “Mother, you know the decisions we reached. Louisa, Mr. Castle has asked for your hand, and you’ve indicated this is your choice in the matter. Since you have barely met, your mother and I have discussed this. You’re to get to know each other better, and if you feel the same three months from now, we’ll announce the engagement.”

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?”