When the Splendor Falls (56 page)

“Cap’n?” he said in disbelief, shaking his head as if to clear it of grogginess, the knife falling from his hand.

“Cap’n, sir!” Davy said, releasing the man’s arm as he took a step back, thinking they were in trouble now. He would have sworn no one had gotten past him. “Didn’t fall asleep, sir! I swear on my mother’s honor.”

“I’m sure you didn’t,” the man spoke softly, his amused Southern drawl startling them.

Davy glanced over at the Bucktail, who’d also rather quickly released his hold on the captive, but who’d also been eyeing the captain up and down, a frown gathering on his brow as he took note of the gray trousers beneath the long gray cape.

“Always thought the cap’n was taller, didn’t you, Davy?” he asked now, his troubled gaze meeting his friend’s bewildered one as he stepped back and raised his rifle. “Jus’ knew we wouldn’t catch the captain sleeping. Hands up, reb!”

“You sure he ain’t the cap’n?”

“The cap’n don’t have no mustache. And he ain’t this skinny!”

“Shoot, ye’re right, Bucky. But then who the devil is he, if he ain’t?” he asked, still not quite convinced.

“Hello, Adam.” Their captain’s voice spoke behind them.

“Neil.” Adam Braedon returned the greeting cordially.

The Bucktail and Davy spun around, then glanced quickly between the two. “One of your kin, Cap’n,” the Bucktail stated, spitting just short of Adam’s shiny boot.

“My cousin.”

“Thank you,” Adam said, relieved to be identified.

“Reckon I just about slit his throat. Figure him lookin’ so much like you, saved his reb neck.”

Adam laughed. “Ah, one of the Bloodriders. And as bloodthirsty as I’ve been led to believe. This is truly an honor. I was afraid I’d never have the opportunity of making your acquaintance,” he said. “Your exploits are becoming legendary. You’ll forgive me for not holding out my hand, but I suspect any sudden moves would end in my demise.”

“Real smooth-tongued talker, ain’t he?” the Bucktail said, eyeing this supposed kin of the captain’s suspiciously.

“He was spyin’ on us, Cap’n. Caught him skulkin’ behind the vines,” Davy said, quick to explain himself.

“
Skulking?
Good Lord, I’ve never skulked in my life,” Adam said, sounding insulted. “You’ve trained your men well, Neil. They did indeed catch me woolgathering. I was about to announce my presence, when my attention wandered momentarily. I am curious, though, did you really sneak those two barrels of whiskey into camp, or was that just for my benefit?” he demanded.

The Bucktail laughed. “Yes, sir, it really happened, though Davy and me exaggerated a bit now and then just to keep the tale interesting, and sweetly baited. Never know what kind of fish we’re goin’ to catch on our hook,” he said, then glanced over at his captain. He’d come up quietly behind them, having heard the signal that they had trouble. The rest of the men were gathered at the mouth of the cave, alerted and ready to fight.

“Sir?” he asked now, wondering what they were supposed to do with the gentleman reb they’d caught. “He’s the enemy, Cap’n,” he reminded him unnecessarily. “He might be of a mind to give us away, ’specially if you got any feudin’ in your family. Reckon these folks might not look kindly on you wearin’ blue.”

“Had I been of such a knavish disposition, I already would have alerted the countryside. The whole Confederate army seems to be hot on your trail,” Adam told them. “I had the devil of a time avoiding the many patrols, but since they caught Dahlgren, and southeast of here, they’ve loosened the noose somewhat. Although, Captain Dagger and the Bloodriders would be quite a catch for some troop hungry for glory.”

“Has a way with words, he does,” the Bucktail muttered.

“Thank you,” Adam said, a slow grin spreading across his face as he met Neil’s glance.

“Hey, how’d he know who we was, and where to find us?” the Bucktail suddenly demanded.

His captain held out his hand, Adam grasping it unhesitatingly and warmly. “My cousins and I used to hide out in this cave when we were boys. And I was known to them then as Dagger. He’s always been very good at putting two and two together. We can trust him. I’ll stand the watch now,” he said, ordering his men back into the cave, while he remained, standing alone with Adam in the clearing that was now lightened by daybreak.

They stood in silence, each taking the other’s measure, their hands still clasped for a moment in friendship.

“I had wondered if I’d ever see you again, Adam,” Neil said.

“And I you, although I did have the advantage of being able to follow your daring exploits in the newspapers,” he said.

Neil frowned slightly. “You should not believe all that you read.”

“I never have, but I’ve also had the advantage over most Southerners who do. I know Neil Braedon, and Sun Dagger, they don’t.”

“Thank you,” Neil said, eyeing his cousin curiously, and worriedly, for Adam did not look well. His once healthy complexion was sallow, his cheeks sunken, his eyes almost feverishly bright, and although always of a slender build, he was gaunt-looking now. “How did you know I was here?”

“I arrived at Travers Hill yesterday.”

Neil nodded understandingly.

Adam laughed. “No, Leigh didn’t tell me, at least not until I’d already tricked the information out of Stephen. Then, and most reluctantly, she confessed her sins of having helped you and your men, and then stated most emphatically that she had no idea where you had gone—although, I suspect she hoped it might be to the devil,” Adam added, being purposefully provocative as he watched his cousin’s face.

“Naturally,” Neil said shortly, his pale gray-green eyes glinting with a strange expression.

“You certainly have a way of rubbing her the wrong way.”

Neil looked momentarily startled, and Adam smiled, an interested gleam in his eyes as he wondered about what had happened between them. “Coming from Richmond, I heard about the gold bullion being stolen.”

“That is one of the stories about the Bloodriders that you shouldn’t believe,” Neil reminded him.

“So I understand. Apparently Leigh believed you when you told her you hadn’t massacred those guards. However, I understand you can claim as your handiwork the blowing up of the railroad trestle. I also understand that you were caught in an ambush. Hear you’ve quite a few wounded, so I suspected, if you were still around here, this was the only safe place you could hide. I hadn’t realized you would go to Travers Hill first—but then, perhaps, that shouldn’t surprise me,” he stated oddly.

“I hadn’t planned on it, but after seeing Royal Bay—I am sorry, Adam,” Neil said abruptly, remembering the haunting sight of the solitary chimneys rising from the ashes of the once great house.

“Leigh told you what happened?”

“Yes. And she told me about your family. She says Nathan is missing in action in Tennessee.”

“Good ol’ Nathan. What a waste,” Adam said bitterly. “Althea thinks he’ll come back one day, and I haven’t the heart to tell her that he’s probably dead.” He hesitated, then said, “Leigh told you about Blythe?”

“Yes.”

Adam nodded, unable to say anything for a moment. “I still cannot believe she is gone, Neil. We had so short a time together, but it was the happiest time of my life. I look around, and I cannot believe any of this has happened. Sometimes I feel as if I’m going to wake up, and find that I’ve had a horrible nightmare. Royal Bay gone. Mother. Nathan. Even Julia is lost to us. I heard about Justin.”

Neil said something beneath his breath that Adam couldn’t understand, the tongue unintelligible to him. “He was a fine young man. Years ago, when our father wasn’t around to overhear, Justin would talk me into telling him stories of the great Comanche warriors. He always seemed fascinated that a warrior’s destiny should be to die honorably on the field of battle.”

“Seems like yesterday, Blythe’s birthday party. I can still see Justin and Palmer William in their uniforms, both so young, and now both gone. How is Aunt Camilla?”

“I had a letter a couple of months ago from Lys Helene. She says her mother collapsed when she was informed of Justin’s death. Did you know she was planning a trip to Virginia? She wanted to attend his graduation from VMI.”

“Your father?” Adam questioned.

“He never says much. He was always proud of Justin, and they got along well enough, but Justin was closer to Camilla. At least she still has Lys Helene and Gil, who is too young to fight in this war. And what fighting there was in the territory is over now that it is under federal jurisdiction again.”

“We…ah, the Confederacy, claimed the territory early in the war, I believe,” Adam said, frowning, for he hadn’t paid much attention to the battles in the west.

“Yes, some Texans under Sibley, but they were driven out during the fighting in Apache Canyon and Glorieta Pass. Lys Helene said my father would have fought them whether they’d been wearing blue or gray, more concerned that they were Texans.”

“There hasn’t been much fighting out there, since?”

“No. At least not between the Union forces and the Confederacy.”

Adam coughed, choking slightly. Tapping his fingertips together as if lost in thought, he asked, “Royal Rivers is safe from Indian attack, isn’t it?”

“No place is safe from attack, especially if you get careless,” Neil said.

“Have there been many attacks, or massacres, recently?”

“When I left the territory, Kit Carson, who was the Indian agent for the Pueblo Indians, the Apache, and the Utes, and is now in command of the First New Mexico Cavalry, was handling any uprising that threatened. Lys Helene wrote that he led an expedition against the Navajos, and defeated them at Canyon de Chelly and on the Little Colorado. Why?”

“It just seems to me that Royal Rivers hasn’t been bothered by the Indians in some time.”

“It hasn’t, probably because my father takes every precaution he can to protect his family, and the servants and workers who live at Royal Rivers. And we get protection from Fort Union.”

“Aunt Camilla? She’s been content living in the territory? She seemed very happy when I visited there.”

“You saw Royal Rivers. Aunt Camilla lives like a queen. Royal Rivers is a kingdom unto itself. As you know, my father inherited a handsome sum from our grandfather, and he’s made a fortune selling his beef and wool, especially since the war. The house has been furnished like a palace. My father has never begrudged Camilla, and the others, anything, except perhaps his love, but I’ve never heard Camilla complain. Of course, she has her family around her, and her widowed sister and two maiden aunts are now living at Royal Rivers. They keep her company. She has countless friends in Taos and Santa Fe, Las Vegas and Cimarron. The ranch always has overnight visitors.”

“You still have rooms there, don’t you?”

“Yes.”

“And Riovado?” Adam asked.

“Someday,” Neil answered, thinking of his cabin in the high country. “Why all the questions, Adam?” he suddenly demanded.

“You saw Travers Hill,” Adam returned, avoiding his cousin’s question for the moment, curious to hear Neil’s opinion.

“Yes, I didn’t need to see the condition of the house to know that things had changed drastically for the Travers family. The stables told the tale. Once the pride of Travers Hill. Leigh said her father and Sweet John were murdered by looters.”

Adam smiled grimly. “Did she also mention what she did to the looters? At least there wasn’t much left to steal, which reminds me, what do you think of our cave?”

“I was quite surprised to find it so comfortably furnished. You may rest assured that my men will not touch anything. This cave, and its contents, will remain a secret.”

“I’m not worried. Your men seem to have a healthy respect for you, or perhaps it is fear. Whatever, I doubt they’d care to cross you. And I know you’ll never say a word about the cave. We took a blood oath, remember? Well, I did break it, just once,” Adam admitted, “but since he was my father-in-law, I thought it acceptable under the circumstances to let him in on the secret,” Adam explained.

“I’ve seen the crates inside marked ‘Travers.’”

“You should have seen Stuart Travers, Neil, when I brought him here. He was as excited as a child. He couldn’t believe this cave had been here his whole life and he’d never known about it. He was quite pleased with himself. Mrs. Travers, however, wasn’t as pleased. In fact, she wouldn’t even hear of it at first. While we were packing and crating up everything at Royal Bay, Stuart kept trying to make her see reason, finally, he just threw up his hands and told her he was emptying the house, and he did, although later he said he’d never been so frightened. I showed up with a wagon and a team of mules, somehow overlooked by our respective armies, and Stuart, Sweet John, and I loaded all of the valuables from Travers Hill. Took us several trips. Even hitched up that nasty-dispositioned pony to the cart and had him hauling household goods. Nipped me when I tried to hurry him. And Mrs. Travers wasn’t of any better a disposition, either. Wouldn’t talk to us for about a month. I’ve never received such reproachful glances, and never felt quite so guilty in my life. Then one day she just started acting like everything was still there, that nothing had changed. Talked about picnics and fish fries, and lived in her own world after that. If it hadn’t been for Leigh, I don’t think any of them would still be alive today,” Adam said. “And that is part of the reason I’m here. I did want to see you, but I’ve an ulterior motive for seeking you out,” he admitted. Looking directly at Neil, he added, “I don’t know how much longer they can continue to live at Travers Hill.”

“I agree with you. They should leave Virginia.”

“Easy enough said. I’ve been trying, but unsuccessfully, to persuade Leigh to do that for almost over a year now.”

“You are not seriously suggesting that
I
should have a word with the lady?” Neil asked, incredulous. “She and I did not part friends, and nothing has changed. She and I, as usual, had few kind words to say to one another.”

“Yes, I understand you attacked her outside the stables. Not very gentlemanly of you, Neil.”

“I’ve learned, with that particular lady, gentlemanly actions don’t always work,” Neil said.