Indulgence (155 page)

“I don’t believe anyone has ever told me I was rare and
refreshing. I’ve been told many other things, but never that.”

Albert reddened at her last remark, and Anne stumbled over
her apology, touching his arm gently as she spoke softly. “Albert, I’m sorry. I
didn’t mean to embarrass you. I have a habit of saying what I think - another
quality my father hates.”

“I prefer a woman who speaks honestly,” he said.

Looking at the house, she turned to him and said, “Your
father told me you designed and built this house. It’s very beautiful.”

Realizing she was trying to make him feel comfortable again,
he replied, “Thank you Anne. Yes, I designed it, but we all had a hand in
building it. From what father has told us, you had quite a grand home in
England.”

“Yes, we had a nice house in England. It had been in my
mother’s family for generations. It was far too large for two people. I
understand that, when my mother was alive, it was a wonderful home. I don’t
remember much of that time. After she passed away, it just became a house. I
didn’t spend much time there. And there is a definite difference between a
house and a home, Albert.” Wanting to change the subject, Anne began, “Your
father also told us you wanted to leave this paradise, to go back east to New
York.”

“I was planning on leaving last month, but he talked me out
of going. Have you ever been to New York? I’ve wanted to go there for as long
as I can remember.”

Choosing her words carefully, she walked slowly in front of
him. “Yes, I have been to New York. But not by choice. My father realized when
I turned fourteen that he had no idea what to do with me so he sent me to a
boarding school in New York.” Continuing with a small laugh, she said, “I was
there for four years.”

“You must have loved every minute of it. I can’t imagine
anything more exciting,” Albert said.

Shaking her head, Anne looked into his eyes and said with a
sad smile, “Albert, it wasn’t a pleasant experience for me. I didn’t enjoy
being alone. . She whispered, “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have gone on like this. I
usually don’t discuss private matters or my feelings with anyone.” Casting her
eyes downward for a moment, she continued. “I still have bad feelings about
that time in my life. Please forgive me for burdening you.”

“Anne,” he said sincerely, sensing this was painful for her,
“there’s nothing to forgive.”

Later that evening, after dinner, Albert took Anne for a
ride in the carriage under a full moon. They spoke of the things they enjoyed.
Albert was envious when Anne told him she had been to an opera prior to leaving
England. “It was so wonderful! I had never heard voices like that in my life!”
Anne’s face glowed as she remembered.

Realizing how passionate she was about things she loved,
this woman intrigued Albert even more.
She is kind, gentle and well-read,
extremely rare in someone her age. I’ve learned so much about her after
spending such a short time with her.
he told himself.

“Anne, I’d like to spend more time with you and show you
around the area if you would permit me to.”

“I would like that, Albert,” she replied. “Very much.” When
Anne felt she was settled and ready to be shown around Sky Valley, she told
him.

Eager to spend additional time with Anne, Albert planned out
the day. What he hadn’t planned on were his two brothers, Henry and Ben,
joining them. A plan the younger brothers had hatched up the night before while
bedding their horses down.

“Henry,” Ben said dramatically, “what is Albert going to do?
He can’t make us stay here. She’s our guest too. We’ll just tag along for as
long as we can.”

“Ben, now you know how Albert gets. I’m just not so sure I
want any part of this scheme,” Henry told him.

Shrugging his shoulders, Ben replied, “Suit yourself. This
is one time Albert isn’t going to have the upper hand. Didn’t you hear her say
she’d consider our offer the other night when we suggested showing her around?
When she said that, I thought it was an invitation if ever I heard one.”

Henry thought,
That’s your problem Ben, when it comes to
girls, you don’t think.

“I think she was just being polite,” Henry explained. “She
don’t seem like the kind of gal who’d hurt a fella’s feelings. Besides, Albert
would be madder than a wet hen.”

“Well, I’m not scared of Albert, and I didn’t think you were
either. It’s about time Albert learned we’re grown men and he can’t push us
around,” Ben replied.

*****

The next morning Albert brought his horse, Diablo, and
another horse into the courtyard as he waited for Anne. His brothers came
around the side of the barn on their mounts.

“Going into town this morning?” Albert asked, checking the
cinches on the saddles.

“Nope,” they answered at the same time.

“Just what do you two plan on doing today?” Albert asked,
warily eyeing the two.

“Oh, we just thought we’d help you show Anne around Sky
Valley,” Ben replied.

“No, you’re not,” Albert began. “I don’t need any help. You
two just find some other way to entertain yourselves.”

“We want to be hospitable, just like you, big brother,”
Henry chuckled.

Anne came out of the house, saw the three brothers together,
and greeted them with a “good morning” and a smile. Not hearing the
conversation between the brothers, Anne walked over to Albert and innocently
asked, “We’re all going to go riding? How wonderful!”

A dark look crossed Albert’s face. The look that normally
caused his brothers to scatter. But today, in front of a pretty girl, both of
them wrapped in a sense of bravado, they had lost what common sense they had.
As Anne mounted her horse, Albert did, also. Ben and Henry got on either side
of Anne as they rode out.

“Coming, Albert?” Anne asked over her shoulder.

Albert didn’t like this turn of events. What were his
brothers thinking? They had never openly defied his wishes before. He was in a
foul mood now as he followed the three riders in front of him.

“Anne, this is the main road into Carson City,” Ben
explained, smiling at her. “We found that this is the fastest way into town.”

“Good thing, Ben,” Albert said with a smirk. “It’s the only
road from Sky Valley into town.”

“And, Miss Anne,” Henry began, “on this here road, we can go
into the city whenever we want.”

“Thank you, Henry. Thank you, Ben.” Anne smiled at them.
“I’ll remember that this is the only road into Carson City, and we can use it
whenever we wish.”

A thought crossed Albert’s mind.
She knows they’re trying
to impress her, why they’re tagging along. They’ll make fools of themselves
before long. I’ll just hang back and watch and wait.

“Now, Anne,” Ben explained seriously, “this is where Henry
and I were this morning, rounding up steers.”

Not to be outdone, Henry nodded his head. “Yeah, we were
here a good three hours before any of the hands got here.” He gave her a smile.

“Most admirable, Henry. I’m glad to see you and Ben are so
diligent in your work habits,” she replied, adding, “Is there anything you’d
like to show me, Albert? That is, other than the road into Carson City and
where Ben and Henry were this morning.”

“No Anne, not quite yet,” he said, fighting the urge to
laugh. “Let Ben and Henry give you the tour of how to get from the ranch house
to the road to Carson City. I’ll be ready when you want to see something of
value.”

If it hadn’t been for his brothers in their attempts to
impress this girl, he would have felt sorry for the two as they made fools of
themselves. At least Anne wasn’t ridiculing them.
She would never make fun
of someone, not even two foolish men like my brothers, he told himself.

After an hour of riding, Anne had seen enough of the road,
the pasture, and the latest item Ben and Henry had come up with, the feeding
station for the cattle.

Ben’s explanation of the feeding station was the last straw
for Albert as he yelled, “Feeding station? It’s a pasture, Ben! A pasture!”

Fighting the urge to laugh, Anne pulled her horse to a stop,
and told his brothers, “I believe I’d like Albert to show me some of Sky Valley
now. Thank you both for taking the time to show and explain so many things this
morning. We’ll see you back at the house, all right?”

They had been dismissed, and they knew it. She had
accomplished what Albert couldn’t do; she had gotten rid of Ben and Henry.
After telling her good-bye, the two men rode back towards the ranch house. She
and Albert sat waving, watching them go.

“They had that coming,” he told her. “Pathetic. Absolutely
pathetic.”

“I thought they were rather sweet,” she replied. “They did
their best to come up with things they thought I might be interested in.”

“Anne, please. Showing you a road? A pasture? Don’t you
think they were a bit foolish?” he laughed.

“I never think someone is foolish who tried to be kind,” she
told him.

Wanting to change the subject, he asked, “Would you like to
see a few things I really think you’d be interested in?”

“Yes, Albert, I would.” She turned her horse to join him.

He led the way to a lake he told her was named Topaz Lake.
He explained, “The Indians believe it has healing powers. They bring all their
sick people here to bathe in its waters. We’ve been in the saddle most of the
day. Would you like to get down and walk for a while?”

“Yes, I would,” she said as she dismounted her horse.
Walking to the shore of the lake and looking across its sparkling water, she
told him, “It’s very pretty.”

“I think it is,” he replied. “The other reason I wanted you
to see this place is there’s a herd of wild mustangs that roam the area around
the lake. I thought we might get a glimpse of them.”

“That would be wonderful! I would like to see them. I’ve
read about them and would be thrilled to see one up close.”

“Let’s stay here for a while and see if any come around.” He
took her hand, leading her to a mound of grass overlooking the lake.

They waited for two hours with not a sight of anything other
than assorted birds and prairie dogs. But the time was not lost. They talked
about many things, places they had been, what Albert had studied in college,
his asking her more about her home in England.

Finally, Albert told her, “I guess they’re grazing somewhere
else today. Sorry Anne, I thought we might get lucky.

After that first day, Albert planned different activities
for them, every free day he had. Something special that she had never done
before, that he and Anne could enjoy together. Some days, they just went riding
and ended up walking the horses back, talking as they went. He loved the soft
lilt to her voice and the gentleness she possessed, confident of herself, yet
soft spoken and feminine.

She asked to see the cattle they raised on Sky Valley as he
took her riding out to the north pasture. Coming upon a small part of the herd
she observed, “They are huge! How on earth do you control so many at one time?”

“This is only a small fraction of the herd, Anne,” he
explained, shifting in his saddle. “The larger body is further south and they
graze all over Sky Valley. This happened to be the closest group. They aren’t
that hard to control when they’re grazing. On a cattle drive, now that’s a
totally different story.”

With their daily excursions, Albert and Anne got to know
each other well. They soon learned the other’s likes and dislikes, discussing
books they had read and voicing their opinions on them when the other asked.

*****

One evening, while Anne was sitting on the porch, and Albert
was busy going over the books for Sky Valley, Thomas asked if he could join
her. He had been watching a growing fondness develop between his son and her
and wanted to know her better.

“Please do, Mr. Stuart. This evening is too beautiful not to
share.”

“Are you enjoying yourself, Anne, or are my sons driving you
insane?” he asked.

“Your sons, all of them, have been very kind to me. They’ve
all shown me different parts of the ranch and explained many curiosities to me.
You have a territory that is totally different from England,” she confided in
him.

“I’m sorry Albert had to review the books tonight, Anne. We
have a meeting with some buyers tomorrow, and I want to be sure of my figures.
Besides,” he confided in her, “I hate keeping the books. Albert does a far
better job.”

She sat laughing with him and then became serious. “Mr.
Stuart, may I ask you something?”

“Of course, Anne, please do,” Thomas said, encouraging her.

“Did you know my parents in Baltimore? Before they moved
back to England?” she asked.

Surprised at her question, he answered her slowly, “Yes,
Anne, I did. Albert’s mother and I were friends of your parents before you or
Albert were born.”

“What was my mother like? I don’t remember too much about
her. She passed away when I was so young.” She looked into the older man’s dark
eyes, waiting for his response.

Thomas began, his mind drifting back to that time, smiling.
“You remind me a lot of your mother. You look like her, and you have her
personality. Margaret, like you, always had a smile for everyone. I don’t
believe that woman ever met a stranger. She and Albert’s mother were best
friends. They met shortly after your parents moved to Baltimore. I think your
mother was as excited as Elizabeth when we found out we were going to have
Albert.”

“I often think of her,” she said as she leaned her head on
the back of the rocker. “I remember a few things, her laugh, and her touch. But
every day I forget more. Thank you, Mr. Stuart. It was kind of you to take the
time to tell me about her. My father doesn’t speak of her anymore. I imagine
it’s too painful.”