Rapture's Rendezvous (41 page)

Alberto ran his free hand through the thickness of his beard. His face became serious. “Maria, I already do know,” he said thickly.

Maria's face paled. She rose, moving around the room, hugging herself. “How do you know, Alberto?” she said. She swung around, facing him. “Only two people know besides myself. Papa . . . and. . . .”

Alberto rose and moved toward her. “And Michael?” he grumbled, tilting her chin with a forefinger. “And Michael Hopper? Is that what you were ready to say? That you had also told Michael Hopper?”

Maria swallowed hard, seeing much in the depths of Alberto's dark eyes. It wasn't a mockery. It was an understanding. “How did you .. . know . . . ?” she whis-pered.

He walked away from her and slouched down into a chair, stretching his long, lean legs out before him. “It's the damnedest thing,” he said, laughing amusedly.

Maria sat down opposite him, leaning forward, eyes wide. “What are you talking about, Alberto?” she prodded, feeling the rapid beat of her heart. How would he know of Michael, without . . . having . . . talked with . . . him?

“Michael,” he grumbled. “He's not so bad after all. I guess I've been wrong about him all along.”

Maria flipped her hair back from her eyes. “What has happened to change your mind . . . ?” she uttered softly.

“Michael. He's what has happened,” Alberto said. “He and I. Well… uh … we met once again tonight. We met at Ruby's.”

Maria's fingers went to her throat. “At Ruby's?” she gasped. “You and Michael. . . ?”

“We joined in on one of the damnest poker games,” he laughed more amusedly. “Cutthroat as hell. But neither of us won over the other. We split even.”

“Then you got along all right? You didn't have bitter words between you?”

“More than that,” Alberto chuckled.

“What do you mean, more than that.. . ?”

“Well, Michael left before I did, and when I got outside Ruby's, I found him being attacked by two fellows. I decided I didn't dislike Michael enough to let him get knifed so I jumped into the fight with him. Between us … we gave the two bastards the licking of their lives.”

“Then you.and Michael … are … all right.. . ?” Alberto thrust out his chest, hitting it with doubled-up fists. “Don't I look all right?” he laughed. “And Michael. . . ?” “Fit as a fiddle.”

“Why would these men attack . . . ?” Maria began to say, then paled, remembering what Michael had said about being so involved in this thing called the “union.” Had Nathan . . . found out. .. ?

“Afterwards, I went with Michael to his hotel room in Creal Springs,” Alberto said, rising, pacing the floor. “He told why he's in Creal Springs. He's asked me to help him.”

“What do you mean, Alberto? Help him . . . ?”

“This ‘union' he speaks of? Well, Michael wants me to be his and the ‘union's' ally. To speak the truth to all the coal miners. To set them against this Nathan Hawkins. To cause them to demand better wages and
different, safer working conditions. I'm to mingle with the men, whisper these truths. When all agree that Nathan Hawkins has to be dealt with, then we will make our move and we will no longer be prisoners in this town called Hawkinsville.”

Tears burned at the corners of Maria's eyes. Now not only did she have to fear for Michael's safety, but also for Alberto's. “Alberto, it is too dangerous,” she cried. “You don't want to get involved. Surely Michael has his own men that he can send in to talk to the coal miners. Why .. . you .. . ?”

“Nathan Hawkins's representatives are everywhere. They can sniff out a union man. Don't you see? I'm sure that's why Michael was getting attacked tonight. That's the reason he needs someone who is already of the Italian community to infiltrate and set our people's minds to wondering about these things that the union promises for our people.”

Maria rose and began pacing the floor, chewing on her lower lip. “I just don't know,” she whispered. “I just don't know.”

Alberto went to her and took her by the shoulders, glowering. “Maria, I have to do this. Don't you see? I need this to make me feel as .. . a . . . uh . .. man. Doing this could make me feel so important. Up to now, I have groveled in pity for myself. And don't you even remember what I did .. . uh . . . earlier … to you? How 1 … uh … . kissed you?”

Maria's gaze lowered. She swallowed hard. “Yes. I remember,” she whispered. Her eyes shot upward. “And why
did
you do such a thing, Alberto? You made me feel… so dirty afterwards. I was never so con-fused.”

Alberto moved away from her, with head bent. “I do not understand myself at times, Maria,” he murmured. He began to knead his brow, trembling. “I guess I was so angry at you for having married such a beast as Nathan Hawkins. I didn't understand how you could do this to me . .. Papa . . . and all of our people. You knew that it was he who had caused us to live like dogs … animals….”

Maria went to him and took his hands in hers. She looked into his eyes, nearing tears. “But I
had
to, Alberto,” she said. “I had no choice. He forced me. Don't you see? I wouldn't have otherwise. Don't you know my hate for that man? If you knew how I hated … for him … to touch me.. . .”

Alberto closed his eyes and shook his head violently. “Don't even say it, Maria,” he shouted. “I don't want to hear the words. Just the thought of him being near you repulses me. I don't want to think of him doing any-thing further to you. . ..”

“I know,” she murmured, caressing his cheek with her hand. “I'm sorry, Alberto. I'm sorry.”

His gaze met hers and held. “Anyway, Michael explained it all to me,” he mumbled.

Maria felt a blush rising. “He… did … ?” she gasped, pulling away from Alberto. She wondered just how much Michael had confessed to her brother.

“I understand. Fully,” he said, moving to plop down into a chair, head bowed.

She went and sat down on the floor in front of him, looking upward into his face. “Do you? Honestly? Do you know that if I hadn't, that man I have been forced to call my husband would have sent us all back to Italy? Do you realize that would have been the end for Papa?

He isn't well enough….”

Alberto framed her face between his hands. “Hush. Maria, don't speak anymore of it,” he whispered. “Like I said, Michael told me all. He told me of your encounter with him while you were there with Nathan in Saint Louis. I even now approve of Michael and you getting together. Honestly, I do. He's one hell of a man. I don't know why I didn't see it sooner. He's someone I'd like to be more like. And maybe one day I will.”

“I'll always love Michael, Alberto,” Maria confessed, flushing once again.

“I know,” he said, lowering his eyes. “And he loves you. He plans to have you. One way or another. He confessed this much to me tonight.”

Maria's heartbeat increased. “You did say you were with him tonight?” she said. “Michael had said that he would be in town tomorrow. But he hadn't said anything about tonight. Where is he now, Alberto?”

“In the Saline Hotel in Creal Springs,” he said, blinking his eyes nervously, suspicious of what her next words might be. .. .

“Take me to him, Alberto,” she quickly blurted, rising, moving across the room to pull her cape around her shoulders. She tied the bow in front at her neck, watching Alberto with pleading in her eyes. “Please? I must see him. Tonight. I fear for him. I don't want to wait another moment. Please take me to him?”

Alberto pushed himself up from the chair and moved toward her. “But what about Nathan Hawkins?” he said, opening the bedroom door, looking outward.

“He's supposedly in Creal Springs,” she said. “He said that his meeting might last into the night, and if it did, he would be staying at his other house for
the night.”

Alberto's eyes grew wide. “The damn bastard has two houses . . . ?”

Maria giggled. She had had the same reaction. “Yes. He has another house in Creal Springs.”

“But what if he does decide to come to this house later on tonight?”

“If he does, I am sure he will move on to his room. He won't be aware of my absence. This is why we have two separate rooms. For his late arrivals. He doesn't want to disturb me, so I will be, shall we say, ‘fresh,' for whatever he desires of me the next, night.”

Alberto groaned, reaching for Maria's hand. His eyes raked over her, remembering her night robe beneath the cape. He knew what she had in mind when she would meet with Michael. He tried to keep the thought from his mind, but he couldn't help it. Even now he could feel desire rising for Maria … his own sister. He closed his eyes and stepped back away from her, almost reeling. He reached for the edge of the door and steadied himself.

“Will you take me to Michael, Alberto?” Maria asked once again. She cast her eyes downward. “I know what you truly think of my asking this, but I do have a need to talk with him. Please understand.”

“If you must, you must,” he said. “But what if Nathan Hawkins finds out? What then?”

Shivers raced up and down Maria's spine. She pulled the hood of her cape upward, to cover her hair and most of her face. “He won't,” she answered. “I shall see to it that he won't.”

“Okay, then. Come with me,” he said, motioning with his hand. “If I found my way to your room, I can
surely find my way back to my wagon.”

“We must do it in darkness,” Maria whispered. “I wouldn't want Mama Pearl to see me. I'm not sure if I can trust her.”

Alberto leaned into Maria's face. “Who the hell is Mama Pearl?”

Maria covered his lips with her hands. “Shh,” she replied, then hooked her arm through his and followed alongside him down the steep stairs, then breathed more easily when they rushed through the parlor and on outside, to the wagon. Once again Maria cautioned Alberto. “The wagon. It creaks so,” she said, settling down beside Alberto on the seat, seeing the restlessness of the horse as it stamped a hoof into the ground. “Please move slowly from the house. The house seems to have eyes. Please be as quiet as possible, Alberto.”

“What you're doing is foolish, Maria,” Alberto grumbled, snapping the reins. “Your sense of adventure—won't it ever leave you? Do you realize the hour of the night? What will Michael say when you go knocking on his door?”

Maria scooted next to Alberto and cuddled, seeking warmth. The chill of the night was settling all around her in a wet dampness, causing her teeth to chatter. “When he sees me, I only hope he will be happy,” she finally answered.

“And am I to wait? Will your conversation be brief. . . ?”

Maria's face flushed. “As brief as possible, Alberto,” she said. “But surely you can find something to do to pass the time while you wait. Maybe a beautiful. . . lady .. . ?” Maria giggled, then placed her hand over her lips when she saw the cloudiness suddenly
appearing in his eyes. “Or something. . . .” she stammered, tensing inside.

“It's quite late. I shall just snooze in the wagon until you return,” Alberto grumbled.

Maria blinked her thick lashes nervously, watching all around her as Alberto urged the horse onward. The tall Indian grasses were rippling in the breeze, making shadows appear to be jumping about on all sides of them. She grabbed Alberto's hand and held on to it when a dog raced up to the wagon barking and showing its teeth. Then when houses began doubling at the sides of the road, Maria pulled the hood of her cape closer to her face, wondering if one could even be the one that Nathan owned. Would he see this horse and wagon wandering on the quiet streets of the night? Would he wonder about its passengers?

“How much farther, Alberto?” she whispered, trembling suddenly.

“The hotel is the one m the square of the town,” he said.

“He's in such a nice one?”

“Well, you might say that,” he laughed, then guided the horse to a halt in front of a building that stood four stories into the sky. “He's in the basement rooms,” he said, laughing softly. “You know he has to appear like a bum. Well, he couldn't take a room that's usually only inhabited by the richest gents visiting this fair town of Creal Springs.”

“Which room, Alberto?” Maria asked, inching her way from the seat.

“When you go down those stairs over there, it's the first room to the right when you step into the hallway,” he answered. “And watch out for the rats. They're
almost as big as dogs.”

Maria shuddered. “What?” she gasped. “Rats . . . ?”

Alberto laughed hoarsely once again, tying the reins to the seat, moving to stretch out onto the wagon's floor. “Sorry to have frightened you, Maria,” he said, placing his arms behind his head, resting on them. “No rats. Go on. Just tap lightly. I was supposed to tell you earlier that Michael had asked to see you. Just thought I'd play a little game with you by not telling.”

Maria's eyes flashed and her hands formed two tight fists. “How could you, Alberto,” she hissed, then flew from the seat and headed for the building, watching close around her, seeing no other travelers on the roads or sidewalks at this time of night. The large clock on the building that sat in the center of this square of the town began to strike and ended after striking twice. “Two in the morning,” Maria said, feeling a wickedness sweep over her.

Never in her life had she been so daring. But she was going to see Michael again. Another rendezvous of rapture. And Alberto had even okayed it this time. She felt that she had accomplished something this night. She and Alberto had become an alliance once again. She relished the thought. She idolized her brother. It was nice to have him on her side once again.

Glancing fleetingly from side to side, seeing nobody approaching, Maria rushed down the four narrow steps, then pushed open a door that led into a dark, smelly passageway. Swallowing back her fear, she inched her way to the door that Alberto had directed her to. With a doubled fist, she knocked, then stood, trembling, listening. When the door yanked open, flooding her face with light, enabling her to see the
figure standing before her, she waited no longer, but fell into Michael's arms.