Savage Thunder (9 page)

“Mr. Thunder has the right idea,” Vanessa remarked. “I’m all for leaving
this
town myself—immediately.”

“We don’t have a guide yet,” the duchess replied absently to her friend.

“Where were you heading, ma’am, if you don’t mind my asking?”

Jocelyn hesitated only a moment before saying, “Wyoming,” and Billy wasn’t the only one surprised
by that answer. But he was the only one to comment on it, and without the least suspicion.

“Imagine that,” Billy said with boyish delight. “That’s our destination too, or at least Colt’s, since he hasn’t said yet whether he’ll be shipping me back home somewhere along the way or not. It’s too bad we can’t all…”

He didn’t finish that thought, realizing just in time that he had no business inviting anyone along, especially not a woman Colt had done everything possible to avoid. But he had said too much as it was, and she pounced on the idea without giving him a chance to correct the mistake.

“But that’s a splendid notion, Mr.—Blair, is it?”

“Ewing,” he replied with a distinctly unpleasant feeling curling in his belly. “I took my stepfather’s name.”

“Well, Mr. Ewing, you really are a lifesaver,” she rushed on. “I agree with the countess that we can no longer remain in a place of such violence. And it will take us no time at all to be ready to leave.”

“But—”

“Oh, you needn’t feel that we mean to take advantage of your good nature, sir. Not at all. Since we
are
in need of a guide, you must allow me to hire you and your brother for that purpose. I can pay you extremely well to make it worth your while to put up with us for however long it takes to reach Wyoming.”

“But—”

“No, no, you can’t refuse payment. I really must insist. I wouldn’t feel right about imposing, other
wise. So if you will meet us in front of the Grand Hotel within the next hour, we won’t delay your departure any longer than that. Until then, Mr. Ewing.”

She passed by him with a nod of farewell and was gone before he could get another “but” out, not that one more would have done any better than the others. He was left standing alone on the boardwalk—and facing Colt across the street. Christ! What the hell had just happened? He hadn’t actually agreed to escort the duchess and her party to Wyoming, had he? But he hadn’t refused either.

His thoughts whirling, Billy didn’t move from his spot. But now that he was alone, Colt crossed to him, still leading their horses.

“Mount up, kid.”

Just like that. He wasn’t even curious about Billy’s conversation with the duchess, or if he was, he wasn’t going to appease it. It would have been easier on Billy if Colt had yelled at him and called him ten kinds of fool for going near the woman. He certainly
felt
like a fool. The lady had talked circles around him, and now he had to try and do the same to Colt.

“We, ah…we can’t leave just yet, Colt.”

“Wanna bet?”

Billy groaned inwardly but plunged ahead. “I sort of agreed to take the lady to Wyoming with us.”

There was a long silence crackling with tension as he waited for the explosion. When Colt did comment, his voice was barely a whisper. “As in, you sort of agreed to hire on with the Clantons?”

“Well, actually, she never gave me a chance to agree or not. She sort of took it for granted.”

“Get on your horse, Billy,” was all Colt said to that.

“But this is different! She’s gone to her hotel to pack. She expects us to meet her there out front in the next hour.”

Colt calmly mounted his horse before he replied, “Then she’ll realize she’s made a mistake when we don’t show up, won’t she?”

That was true enough, and the easiest way to get out of it, except…

“You don’t understand, Colt. Those ladies are scared to remain here after what they witnessed. They mean to leave town today, with or without a guide. Would you really let them cross this country alone when they don’t know anything about it, don’t know what dangers to watch for, how to recognize Indian signs or anything else? They’ll end up getting lost, or drowned crossing a river where they shouldn’t, or robbed. You know there’s hundreds of petty outlaws who operate in this area alone. All it would take is their asking directions of the wrong people to end up in a trap. They’re tenderfoots, Colt, a hundred times worse than I am.”

Something must have gotten through to Colt, for he lost his temper at that point. “Dammit, I told her I wasn’t for hire!”

“But did you know she was going to Wyoming? And she says she pays very well. You might as well get something out of this trip for the trouble I’ve put you to.”

Bringing Colt’s thoughts back to the reason for his being there perhaps wasn’t the wisest thing to do. Billy felt flattened by the look he got, but then Colt yanked his horse—and headed for the Grand Hotel.

B
illy should have known that Colt wasn’t so easy to talk around. He had no intention of seeing the duchess and her entourage north. As he put it, while they waited for her to appear outside her hotel, she’d been traveling for three years and was still in one piece. She had all the protection she needed in her own little army, and there were stage lines they could follow to keep from getting lost. If they had to have a guide, they could probably locate one in a matter of hours and still be on their way out of town today. What they did not need, and were not getting, was him, and he was there to make sure the lady was left in no further doubt of that.

How he intended to do that, Billy didn’t know. Colt had said his piece and then said no more. But as they sat their mounts in front of the Grand Hotel, watching the baggage and trunks being loaded in the wagons that had been pulled up in front of the building when they got there, Billy was afraid that Colt was not going to be pleasant about it. And Colt could be very unpleasant when he wanted to be. But he also wasn’t behaving in a normal fashion. As they waited, his jaw kept working as if he were gritting his teeth, he changed the angle of his hat a half-dozen times, and he seemed to tense each time the hotel doors opened.
If Billy didn’t know better, he would think Colt was nervous, but that just couldn’t be. There wasn’t a thing alive that could intimidate Colt, as far as Billy knew. He just didn’t have the same reactions to things as other men did.

Inside the hotel, there was no doubt about nervousness. Jocelyn was nearly trembling with it when she neared the hotel entrance. She had been told that Colt Thunder was outside waiting with his brother. She hadn’t really let herself believe he would show up, but that he had didn’t mean she would be getting what she wanted. Far from it. He had every right to be furious with her for the way she had manipulated his brother.
He
wouldn’t have let her get away with it, and was likely there only to tell her what he thought of her high-handedness.

“Stop a moment and take a deep breath before you make yourself sick,” Vanessa said in a stern voice, putting her hand on Jocelyn’s arm to make sure she did halt, and motioning their guards back. “What’s done is done. All you can do now is apologize.”

“I could beg.”

“You will do no such thing!” Vanessa snapped indignantly. “We aren’t desperate for his help, and you aren’t desperate for his body, not yet anyway. You’re suffering a powerful attraction, but out of sight, out of mind. You will forget him sooner than you think.”

“And remain a virgin forever,” Jocelyn sighed.

Vanessa couldn’t help it. She had to smile at such a forlorn expression. “That isn’t likely to happen, dearest, and you know it. You forget that you have only just decided to take a lover. You were not ac
tively seeking one before, but now that you are, you will be surprised how many men you will find appealing that you otherwise wouldn’t have noticed.”

“But I’ve made my choice.”

“Your choice isn’t being cooperative, dear, or did that escape your notice?” Vanessa said dryly, only to regret her words when Jocelyn flinched. “Now, none of that. There’s probably a very good reason why these American Indians are called savages, you know. It’s doubtful you would have liked his form of lovemaking, so be glad it hasn’t worked out.”

“He’s not a savage, Vana.”

“Reserve that opinion until after you face him. And best we put it behind us, so come along.”

As they continued forward, the four guards Vanessa had motioned back moved up behind them again, and the two who had been stationed in the lobby fell into step beside them. The remaining six were already outside. They would have thoroughly checked out the area, even the buildings across the street. If there was even one person of a suspicious nature anywhere around who couldn’t be warned away, Jocelyn would not be allowed to leave the hotel. Hours could be wasted, and had frequently been wasted, on just such precautions. If Longnose ever hired a decent marksman, those precautions would be pointless, but fortunately, none of his hirelings had ever been competent with firearms, at least not from a distance.

Sir Parker was there to open the door for them with a ready smile. He adored Jocelyn, but only from afar. She was like an ideal to him, safe to worship, but he
would never presume to make his feelings known to her. As if everyone didn’t know, including Jocelyn. She was the stuff of dreams, whereas earthy creatures like Babette were reality, and Parker and half the guard frequently took advantage of the French maid’s brand of reality. But it was amusing to watch Parker and Jocelyn both take such pains not to acknowledge his feelings for her.

It really was too bad he felt that Jocelyn was beyond his reach, Vanessa thought, for his age was perfect at thirty, he owned considerable property in Kent, and he was quite the most handsome of the guards with his black hair and dark green eyes. The trouble was, he would never settle for just being her lover, even if she would consider him as a candidate. He wasn’t ready to settle down—the reason he so enjoyed the job the duke had offered him—but if he thought Jocelyn would have him, he would offer for her in a minute.

No, Jocelyn would never consider any of her own men for her first experiments with amour, for that would defeat her purpose of protecting the duke’s memory. But Vanessa’s misgivings about her Mr. Thunder had grown considerably today, and she was now firmly of the opinion that he was not right for her either.

A virgin needed gentleness and sensitivity for her first sexual experience, and it was highly doubtful that Mr. Thunder possessed either of those qualities. They had assumed, given his appearance and speech, which was easier to understand than that of most of these Westerners, that despite his ancestry, he had been
raised in what passed for civilization here in the West. It had been a surprise to hear his brother state otherwise. If a man was raised by savages, didn’t that make him a savage? Colt Thunder’s civilized veneer was very likely only skin-deep, which was why it was a blessing he didn’t return Jocelyn’s interest.

Vanessa was forced to change her opinion yet again when they stepped out onto the walkway fronting the hotel and saw the man, still mounted on his horse. Skin-deep? Not even that. There was nothing civilized about the look he directed at Jocelyn. It said more clearly than words that she would have been in serious trouble if they were alone just then. Did she realize that, or was she still blinded by the dark handsomeness of the man? And he was that. Vanessa had not gotten a good look at him before, but it was easier to understand now why he had affected Jocelyn so strongly.

Jocelyn did not mistake the meaning behind the look Colt gave her, but then she had been expecting something like it. The man was angry with her and wanted her to know it. Still, he wasn’t shouting at her, not yet anyway, when she had expected that too. Of course, she wasn’t alone with him this time. She had her guard surrounding her. But somehow she didn’t think that would stop him if he
wanted
to shout at her.

The silence stretched on as he continued to stare at her, shredding her nerves. She ought to apologize. That was what he was probably waiting for. But the words wouldn’t come, and then his did.

“Fifty thousand dollars, Duchess. Take it or leave it.”

It was fortunate that Jocelyn couldn’t see the expressions of the men behind her just then, or she would have thought there was going to be bloodshed. She did hear Vanessa’s gasp and was aware that the countess put a hand on Parker’s arm to restrain him from reacting to the insult Jocelyn had been dealt. And she did realize she had been insulted, not only by the words, which implied nothing short of a fortune could get him to work for her and that he didn’t care one way or the other, but also by the tone in which those words had been delivered.

Oh, he was clever, was Colt Thunder. He fully expected her to be outraged at such a fee. He was counting on it. He was also positive she would refuse; had named such a high figure so she would be forced to refuse; otherwise he wouldn’t have made the offer. She had to bite back her smile. She could hire a hundred guides for that price and they both knew it, but what he didn’t know was that that wasn’t what she wanted him for. He would likely be the most expensive lover anyone had ever bought, but what else did she have to spend her fortune on?

“Done, Mr. Thunder,” Jocelyn said with a good deal of pleasure. “You now work for me.” She had to turn away quickly before she laughed aloud at the expression of utter disbelief that appeared on his handsome face.

“H
e has done this for spite, you know,” Vanessa complained angrily as she wiped the dust from her face with a damp cloth. “We passed that town no more than three or four miles back, and it was almost evening then. There was no conceivable reason for us to go on and end up camping out for the night, except that he means to get even with you for calling his bluff today. Mark my words, Jocelyn, that man intends to make you regret crossing him.”

“I didn’t cross him. I agreed to his terms.”

“Don’t be obtuse, dear. Those ridiculous terms weren’t meant to be agreed to and you know it. You should have seen his face—”

“I did.” Jocelyn grinned with such delight that Vanessa couldn’t help sharing in her amusement. “I don’t think Edward’s money has ever given me quite so much pleasure before. He asked for the moon, and I was able to give it to him. Good Lord, that was satisfying.”

“I hope you still think so when we end up spending the next several weeks in this tent.”

“Oh, stop fussing, Vana. I wouldn’t exactly call this a tent.” The thing was huge, with ample headroom, a soft Persian carpet covering the ground, silken pillows to recline on, thick furs to sleep on.
“We have all the conveniences we could possibly need.”

“Except a bath,” the countess retorted, revealing the source of her annoyance.

“You can have a bath and you know it.”

“After Sidney and Pearson loaded the wagons not so many hours ago, I wouldn’t dream of asking them to lug water up from that river we’ve camped near. I like to think I have more consideration than that.”

“The footmen aren’t the only ones who can fetch water, Vana. You’re just being difficult, and I’d like to know why.”

“I’m not the one being difficult. There’s simply no reason for us to rough it with a town only a few miles away. Your monstrously expensive guide is the one who’s proving difficult.”

“And if he has a legitimate reason for avoiding that town?”

“I’d dearly love to hear it. Why don’t you go ask him? Well, what are you waiting for?”

“He’s not here,” Jocelyn had to admit. “His brother said he’s scouting the area.”

“Humph! More likely he’s gone back to Benson for a soft bed and you’ll see him in the morning, well rested and ready to heap more hardship on us. That would be just the sort of revenge that would appeal to someone like him.”

“Now, there you’re wrong, Vana. If he wants revenge, it wouldn’t be anywhere near so subtle, and it would be against me, not everyone.”

“You saw that in his eyes, too, did you?” Vanessa asked in a much softer tone and came to kneel down
among the pillows where Jocelyn was sitting. At Jocelyn’s unhappy nod, she placed a gentle hand on her cheek. “Have you finally realized he isn’t like any man you’ve ever known before? He’s hard and dangerous and—”

“I still want him,” Jocelyn interrupted in a soft whisper. “Even when he was frying me with his eyes, I still felt all funny inside, just as I did the first time I looked at him.”

Vanessa sighed. “He won’t be gentle with you, dearest; you know that, don’t you? And if you tempt him when he’s still angry at you, he may hurt you—deliberately.”

“You don’t know that,” Jocelyn protested, even as her eyes filled with uncertainty. “He’s not a cruel man. I would have sensed it if he was—wouldn’t I?”

“Perhaps,” Vanessa allowed. “But I still don’t think he has it in him to be gentle. He’s a product of a life and culture that we can’t even begin to conceive of. Will you at least keep that in mind?”

Jocelyn nodded, then fell back against the pillows with her own sigh. “I don’t know what you’re worried about. He isn’t likely to forgive me for being rich enough to afford him.”

Vanessa had to laugh. “Which just proves how different he is. What other man would be furious at finding himself the recipient of such a windfall? And we’re not even taking him out of his way. For his convenience, we’re going where he’s going. By the way, where the devil is this Wyoming?”

“What the hell is that?”

Billy chuckled when he saw what Colt was staring at. “The ladies’ accommodations. They got it from a desert sheikh when they were traveling through the Arab countries over in Africa. You wouldn’t believe all the places they’ve been, Colt. The stories they have to tell ought to keep us entertained all the way to Wyoming.”

Colt gave Billy a disgusted look before dismounting. “Where’d your sense go this time, kid? I expected to ride in and find a camp, not a damn village. Do you have any idea how many men it’s going to take to cover an area this size?”

There were other tents besides the main one, not as large but big enough, and spread out all over the place, as were the vehicles. The only thing that had been done right was that the animals were contained together in an area downwind of the camp.

“Why don’t you relax, Colt, and come have some of this dinner I saved for you? They have a French cook, you know, and I can safely say I’ve never tasted anything…so…”

The words trailed off when Colt swung around from unsaddling his horse with a dangerous look on his face. “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you, kid?”

Billy swallowed hard. He’d rather Colt shouted at him any day than use that soft, controlled voice. He was so damn unpredictable when the Indian side of him was dominant. Billy needed to pacify him and quick.

“They knew what they were doing, Colt. They’re old hands at camping out. They had everything unpacked and set up in less than twenty minutes. And
you forget how many men there actually are. They’ve already got the watch covered…”

Again Billy’s words trailed off. Colt had turned away to finish with his horse, but the very inflexibility of his movements spoke volumes. He was wound up tighter than a bowstring about to snap, and Billy finally realized the camp had nothing much to do with what was wrong with him, that it was only an outlet for the anger that couldn’t be directed at its proper source. It was a good thing the “source” had already retired for the night.

Billy still couldn’t quite believe that Colt was now working for the duchess. Those five little words,
Take it or leave it
, had trapped him but good. It was likely that half his anger was self-directed for having given the woman that option when it hadn’t been his intention at all. Fifty thousand dollars. Billy had nearly fallen off his horse when he heard that figure, but that was nothing compared to his shock, and Colt’s, when the duchess accepted it.

It was funny now, after the fact; at least he thought so. But he knew Colt wasn’t likely to find any humor in it—ever.

Colt might have a small fortune in raw gold that his mother had given him, but Billy doubted he had ever used any of it. Riches had no meaning for someone like Colt. He still lived off the land just as he always had. Jessie had failed to civilize him in that respect. He sometimes slept in the huge ranch house that Chase had built for Jessie after the old one burned down, and sometimes in the cabin he had built up in the hills overlooking the ranch. But most nights would
find Colt’s bed laid out under the stars somewhere, especially in warmer weather. And he had never worked for anyone before, not even for Jessie.

She had tried to teach him cattle ranching, but it was not something he wanted to do, so his heart hadn’t been in the learning of it. What he had finally settled down to do was what he had always had the most skill with, horse training. He now supplied the Rocky Valley, as well as the other ranches in the area, with all the work horses they needed, animals that used to have to be shipped in from Colorado or farther afield. And the stallion he had given to Chase had won the annual horse race in Cheyenne these past two years, so his racers were now in high demand too.

But money still meant nothing to him. He caught and trained wild horses because it was something he enjoyed doing, not for the lucrative living it provided. Nonetheless, he understood money and the price of things. Jessie had rounded out his education in that respect. He’d gone on buying trips with her and Chase to Denver and St. Louis. And during his stay in Chicago he’d been in some of the finest homes, been dragged through some of the more expensive stores, seen firsthand the way the rich lived and played and what they spent their money on. He had been perfectly safe in believing that the fee he had named for his services was so outlandish, no one in their right mind would take it seriously, and that was his mistake.

Oh, he had known the duchess was wealthy. That couldn’t be missed. Her equipage, her quality horse
flesh, her clothes, and the amount of people she already had in her employ, all shouted wealth. What was incomprehensible, even to Billy, was the kind of wealth that made fifty thousand dollars a paltry sum not worth batting an eye over. Even Billy didn’t know anyone that rich.

But even the rich didn’t squander away their money frivolously, and that was exactly what the duchess was doing. Why? She might be eccentric, but she didn’t strike Billy as being incompetent or crazy. Far from it. Was she just so spoiled that she couldn’t tolerate being denied something she wanted?

That made no sense. What she wanted was a guide—or was it? It seemed more like Colt in particular that she had to have as a guide, even though he’d told her he wasn’t for hire. He might be an excellent choice to get her safely where she was going, but so could any number of other men, men who would want the job. Colt didn’t want it and had made that perfectly clear, but that didn’t seem to matter to the duchess. So there had to be a particular reason why she had to have Colt working for her, no matter what it cost her, only Billy couldn’t see it.

Neither could Colt, and he’d gone over it in his mind much more thoroughly than Billy had, and with more facts available to him. He knew that she’d first wanted him to go after her enemy. Being her guide had been her second offer. He wondered if she would have had a third if he’d agreed to meet with her earlier today. Likely. Did she think he was the answer to her problems? Didn’t she know you couldn’t force some
one to help you? She’d bought herself a guide and that was all she was getting.

So why did it infuriate him that her camp was wide open to attack? Damned woman was going to get his protection whether he wanted to give it or not. But he wasn’t going after her enemy. If she thought she could talk him around to it, she was in for a rude awakening.

And yet that couldn’t really be the reason for such stubborn persistence on her part to have him along on this journey of hers. She could hire a dozen bounty hunters for the price she was willing to pay him. Or maybe she wasn’t really willing to throw that kind of money away. Maybe she’d called his bluff with a bluff of her own and had no intention of actually paying up. And maybe he could get out of this mess by demanding the money up front—and look like a fool again if she just happened to have that kind of money lying around? Damned if he would. Once today was one time too many.

Colt dropped his saddle on the ground so close to the fire Billy was poking at that sparks went flying and the kid had to do some quick slapping at his clothes. Colt didn’t notice. He was staring at that huge cream-and-white-striped monstrosity that stood less than twenty-five feet away, and he wasn’t even seeing the tent, but imagining the woman inside it. Was her hair let down and loose again as it was the first time he’d seen her? Had she peeled off those fine, expensive clothes of hers and put on something—what? What did a woman like her sleep in?

Colt gnashed his teeth and turned back to his horse
again. He would have much preferred that Billy not set up their fire near her tent, but it was done. He didn’t expect to get much sleep tonight anyway, so it didn’t really matter how near he was to her.

“I’ll be back in a minute, kid. Get rid of that foreign food. I’ll make my own.”

Billy started to protest, but wisely thought better of it. Colt had had enough forced on him for one day.
Her
provisions would likely stick in his craw at this point, no matter how good they were.

Billy sighed as he watched Colt lead his Appaloosa off toward the other animals. He wasn’t the only one who watched him. Ever since he had ridden in, every eye in the camp had been on him in varying degrees of curiosity, suspicion, and animosity. These people didn’t know what to make of him, and they certainly didn’t know how to treat him. All they knew was that their lady was determined to have him among them. Billy had been approached, treated in a cordial, even friendly, fashion, but Colt’s manner didn’t invite such overtures. Even if he hadn’t insulted the duchess within hearing of half her men, which was reason enough for them to dislike him, his demeanor fairly shouted, “Don’t get close.” And the one who ought to stay the farthest away was the duchess herself, but even as Billy thought it, she left her tent to follow Colt toward the horses.