Beloved Outcast (22 page)

Slowly Victoria eased herself from Logan’s embrace. “Uh, well, I…”

Say something, you ninny! Something that will get you out of this office and out of this man’s frightening sphere of power.

“Yes, honey?”

She cleared her throat. The problem, she surmised, was that deep inside her, she really didn’t wish to escape Logan’s evil clutches. If truth be told, the man possessed the most remarkably alluring clutches.

“Are you serious about wanting to marry me?”

It was best to get that salient point in the open, she decided.

He smiled. “Allow me, Miss Amory, to express my tender regards. Would you do me the singular honor of becoming my wife?”

Her traitorous heart melted, even though she clearly detected his mocking usage of the nearly archaic phrasing. For a moment, she wondered whether he was laughing at himself and not at her. For even though laughter lurked in his eyes, there appeared to be genuine affection hovering there, also.

She sighed. At this juncture, it really didn’t matter whether or not Logan was sincere. She had to be true to herself. The irony of her situation didn’t elude her. She remembered very clearly, planning to go to the outrageous lengths of making up a false fiancé for her sister’s benefit, so that Annalee would be able to marry one of her many suitors. Yet, when the opportunity of having a real fleshand-blood man propose did occur, Victoria found she could not accept his offer, at least not before she was convinced Logan’s feelings went deeper than mere physical desire.

It was a startling revelation to realize that she would not settle for less than love. From any man, even one as deplorably appealing as Logan Youngblood.

“I’m afraid I cannot accept your proposal.”

Her words seemed very small in the confines of the office, yet she took comfort from their firmness. Still, she couldn’t quite meet Logan’s gaze.

The pregnant silence that filled the chamber was as oppressive as any Victoria had endured. When she could bear the tomblike atmosphere no longer, she hazarded a peek at him through her lashes. An air of absolute determination sharpened Logan’s rugged features. She sensed that an argument of major magnitude was about to erupt, for Logan’s stubborn expression didn’t resemble the look of a man to be graciously dismissed.

“You’re still upset with me for not being able to convince you I wasn’t the most notorious outlaw since Jesse James.”

Victoria scowled. Logan made her sound like the gullible fool she felt. “It would be foolish for either of us to entertain thoughts of marriage.”

“And why is that?”

The soft question drifted through the office on wings of steel.

“We are strangers and share no common ground.”

“Wrong.”

Her chin came up. “I didn’t even know who you were until ten minutes ago.”

“A day ago, under the wide-open sky, you spread your soft thighs and invited me inside you. I’d say that makes us much more than strangers.”

Victoria recoiled at his bluntness. “I gave myself to a man who doesn’t exist!”

Logan thumped his chest. “I’m standing right in front of you. How can you say I don’t exist?”

“But I don’t know you! I fell in love with a no-account drifter with a penchant for being locked up in stockades. You’re not him. You’re a…a
banker.”

Exasperation filled Logan’s eyes. “That has to be the stupidest thing you’ve ever said.”

Victoria’s eyes swam with tears. “Well, I guess I am stupid. Stupid for letting myself be seduced by a man who was sneaky and devious and. downright weasely.”

“Now, honey, don’t start crying.”

“I’ll cry if I want to.”

“You have to marry me,” he said gruffly. “You love me.”

“No, I don’t!”

“But you just said—”

“I fell in love with another man.”

“But
I’m
the other man!” Logan roared.

“Yelling at me isn’t going to do any good. I’ve made up my mind. I’m not going to marry you. And I’m not going to work for you, either. I’m going home.”

Even as she said the words, they held no appeal. But she was so confused by the recent turn of events she couldn’t think straight. She suspected she might need another good cry before she was able to sort things out. She held Logan responsible for her uncustomary weepiness.

“Victoria, you can’t go back to Boston.”

Her head jerked up. “Why not?”

“You gave me all your money.”

His reminder further inflamed her temper. “Return it to me at once.” She thought of something else. “And I want my book back, too.”

“I’m not giving you back the book, Victoria. I consider it one of my most treasured possessions and refuse to part with it.”

“Do you also refuse to part with the money I gave you?” She looked around at her plush surroundings significantly. “Such a paltry sum must be insignificant to you.”

“On the contrary, those gold coins represent an invaluable investment, one I intend to hold on to for as long as I live.”

Since Victoria had discovered which of them truly was the fool, she supposed she shouldn’t be surprised by his unhelpful attitude. “I’ll sell my wagon and oxen.”

“Then how will you travel?”

“I’ll sell my…books.” Just making the statement was enough to break her heart, as if it hadn’t already been shattered into a hundred little bitty pieces. “That should generate enough cash to get me back home.”

“Yeah, I’ll bet there’s just hundreds of miners ready to stand in line to buy
The Decline and Fall of the Roman Em
pire.
You’ll probably have a riot on your hands trying to control the mob of men wanting to improve their minds.”

His sarcasm had her eyeing the letter opener on his desk and rethinking her reservations against unleashing it upon his arrogant hide. “It’s none of your concern. I’ll think of a way.”

“You’re forgetting something.”

“What’s that?” she asked suspiciously.

“You signed a contract to work for me and tutor Madison. You came west on the funds Martin advanced you. You have no choice but to honor that contract.”

Victoria’s head pounded. She missed her image of Logan as an illiterate common thief. “You can’t expect me to fulfill that agreement. Not after everything that’s happened between us.”

He smiled that confident smile she’d grown to resent and strolled toward his office door. Once there, he leaned negligently against the frame. His obvious blocking of the only exit from the room jarred her. She had the feeling that any attempt to wage war with Logan would leave her outgunned and outmaneuvered.

“I
expect
you to accompany me to the hotel. I
expect
to introduce you to Madison. I
expect
you to honor the terms of your contract and spend the next two years teaching her how to read and write, as well as instructing her in history, arithmetic and literature. You will also edify her upon the subtle nuances of becoming a lady.”

Pushed to the extreme, Victoria decided to fight back with the only means left to her. “I’m surprised that you would allow someone of my tarnished virtue within a hundred feet of the girl. I’m hardly what you’d call a. lady.”

Logan’s eyes narrowed to pinpoint fury. He straightened from his casual stance and looked as menacing as she’d ever seen him. “To the rest of the world, you’re very much a lady, Victoria. I’m the only one you’ve allowed to experience your sweet fire. I’ll treasure that memory for as long as I live, and I won’t let you make something ugly of it.”

Shamed but not cowed by his rebuke, she cast about for some other way of extricating herself from the wretched bog she was mired in. But the dismal truth was, she could see no way out. Even more disheartening was the admission that two years of being legally bound to Logan Youngblood wasn’t exactly a horrible fate.

She wouldn’t marry him in haste. Nor would she permit him entry to her bedchamber. But perhaps, in time, if he was extremely contrite and conducted a long and proper courtship, she just might agree to become his wife. Of course, he would have to fall as deeply in love with her as she was with hum.

Victoria squared her shoulders. “It appears you do have me somewhat over a barrel. I will teach Madison.”

“How very wise of you.”

“But I wish to make it clear that ours is to be strictly a business relationship. I will be in your employ, and I shall expect you to conduct yourself in a circumspect manner. There will be no late-night visits to my bedchamber. There will be no untoward embraces or kisses. We shall conduct ourselves as respectable adults.”

“I understand.”

She looked at him in surprise. “You do?”

He nodded grimly. “You’re going to make me suffer before allowing me into your bed.”

“It’s exactly comments like that which must cease,” she said dourly. It made her uncomfortable to realize Logan had divined her intentions. She
did
wish for him to suffer before she accepted his proposal.

“How long is it going to take, Victoria?”

She bristled. It was extremely rude of Logan to put things so baldly. “A lot longer than two weeks!”

“I suppose you expect me to bring you flowers.”

“Flowers would be nice.” She remembered Annalee’s suitors had always had their house brimming with fragrant bouquets.

“Candy, too,” he reflected glumly.

“Well, yes, I do have a bit of a sweet tooth.” Actually, she didn’t, but surely she could develop one.

“You’ll be expecting me to take you to dinner, no doubt.”

“The Prairie Rose has an elegant dining room.”

“All right, then.”

His quick capitulation caught her off guard. “Then you agree to…uh…”

“I think the word you’re looking for is ‘court’ you.”

She knew she was blushing. Goodness, the thought of this virile man actually courting her was surprisingly heady. She was certain she loved him, but he was, nevertheless, very intimidating.

“And, hell, yes,” he continued roughly, “I’ll let you put me through my paces in order to legally bind you to me, Victoria.”

His cold-blooded pronouncement alarmed her. She hadn’t meant for things to be so cut-and-dried. In truth, she’d been hoping for a little romance. But there was nothing at all romantic in Logan’s fierce gaze. He looked uncomfortably like a man about to ride into battle.

Her trepidation grew. She had the feeling that she’d somehow challenged the darkest, most frightening part of Logan to claim her. Still, while vaguely daunted by his bold demeanor, she experienced a sharp thrill of excitement.

All of which meant she was probably destined for a life of unparalleled adventure. Her heart tripped over itself. When she’d come west in search of her great adventure, she’d hardly envisioned it in the rugged form of Logan Youngblood.

Surely she was woman enough to rise to the occasion. In fact, the more she reflected upon it, she was probably the only woman in Trinity Falls capable of making Logan toe the line.

She would certainly give it her best effort.

M
artin Pritchert poured himself a drink from the brandy decanter on Logan’s desk. “At least there weren’t any shots.”

Logan stretched his legs in front of him on the settee in his hotel suite. “That’s only because Victoria didn’t have a gun.”

“I’d say she took the news that you were her employer remarkably well. I wasn’t able to detect any sounds of shattering bric-a-brac, either.” Martin carried his glass to a high-backed chair, where he settled himself. “Victoria Amory seems to be a level-headed young woman.”

“You might not think so if you had seen her eyeing the letter opener on my office desk,” Logan muttered.

Also vividly etched in his memory was the militant look in her eyes when she’d picked up the crystal paperweight. There had been a point in their heated discussion when he was sure she would hurl the heavy object at him.

“Nonsense, I would say that Miss Amory is a perfect model of propriety and decorum.”

Logan shifted uncomfortably at the realization that she had boasted those attributes until she became involved with him. He frowned thoughtfully at his boots. She still was a lady, dammit, even if she didn’t think so. She was
his
lady, and she was going to become his wife.

And he wasn’t going to let her call the shots between them. He had no intention of letting the date of the wedding
drift on the whim of her offended feminine pride. They would be married at the end of two weeks. And they would share a bed tonight. He had let Victoria think she could make him dance to her tune in order to soothe her outraged sensibilities. Tonight, when he came to her chamber, she would discover that the passion that existed between them was too strong to be doled out in miserly dribs and drabs.

What he’d accomplished in his office this morning was to buy time. She would have the rest of the day to accustom herself to the fact that he wasn’t a felon on the run from the law. Her anger would subside by nightfall, he assured himself.

Victoria had been wrong when she said that they were strangers. During their journey to Trinity Falls, Logan had learned a great deal about her. And one of her most endearing qualities, he reflected, was her fundamentally kind nature. Even though she’d been furious when she learned how wrong she’d been about him, she hadn’t resorted to profanity or violence.

Lord, she might have had murder in those magnificent green eyes of hers, but she’d gained control of her anger. Tonight, he told himself, she would be more than ready to warm herself in the smoldering embers of the fire that momentarily lay banked between them.

“I am curious, however, about what did transpire between you and Miss Amory during the two weeks you were

gone.”

Logan looked up from his contemplation of his boots. “You may assume I developed an appreciation of Miss Amory’s sterling character,” he remarked significantly. “And that appreciation had grown to remarkable fondness. I intend to marry her.”

“You’ll pardon my shock, but I recall upon occasions too numerous to count statements to the effect that you would rather be drawn and quartered than married. What is it about Miss Amory’s character that’s made you change your opinion?”

Logan found his friend’s question as irritating as the amused sparkle in the older man’s gaze.

“Some things are hard to explain. What was it, for example, about your wife’s character that made you want to marry her?”

“It’s really quite simple. I fell head over heels in love with her. She was gay and beautiful and had a willowy form that quite took my breath away. I admit I was a bit misled about her temperament. I saw her more as a vivacious girl than a strong-minded woman, but over the years I’ve found myself relieved she has a serious side to her nature.”

Logan nodded thoughtfully. Victoria was no vapid young miss prone to giggles. Though, he mused, she did tend to blush frequently. Of course, since he knew he was guilty of saying some downright provocative things to bring the color to her cheeks, he didn’t hold that against her. Actually, he admitted to himself, he liked the fact that he could fluster her sufficiently to make her flush. It did something to a man’s confidence to know he had the power to unsettle his woman.

“I have no doubts Victoria will make me a good wife, and she will also be a positive influence upon Madison.”

“Congratulations, friend. After your disastrous experience with Robeena Stockard, I’d begun to doubt you would permit yourself to fall in love again.”

“Who said anything about love?”

“I just assumed. I mean, I.” Martin’s words ground to a halt, and he regarded Logan in clear disappointment.

“If your matchmaking efforts were an attempt to ensnare me in a love union, you failed, Martin.”

“My ‘matchmaking efforts’?” the man blustered.

“I specifically remember telling you I wanted an older woman to tutor Madison. You know me well enough to understand the last place I’d want that woman to come from is Boston. I can only assume that you ignored my preferences and hired a young and beautiful
Bostonian
because you envisioned more than a professional relationship developing between us.”

“Confound it, I’m not a damned fortune-teller, Logan. I had no way of knowing that Colonel Windham would imprison and then abandon you at the fort, and that Miss Amory would arrive there alone to rescue you. Nor could I have foreseen that you would spend two weeks with the woman, traveling through the mountains to reach Trinity Falls. The last letter I received from her indicated she was going to be delayed leaving Independence.”

“But you knew that when she did arrive, she and I would be practically living together, day in and day out, at the hotel. Did it escape your memory she was supposed to board with you and Constance?”

A rash of heightened color brightened the older man’s already ruddy complexion. “Er, I…Well, dammit, man, you do need to get on with your life.”

“Why Victoria Amory, Martin? What made you choose her for your scheme to end my bachelorhood?” Logan asked curiously, not angry at the turn of events, but determined to unravel the chain of incidents that had led to Victoria’s arrival at the fort.

“Her father and I have been friends since we were boys. Even though Miss Amory doesn’t recall the encounter, we met several years ago. I was impressed by her poise and her intelligence. When Judge Amory mentioned in a letter that she’d become embroiled in a bit of scandal, which he strongly stated was wholly innocent upon her part, and I knew you were seeking a woman to instruct Madison, it occurred to me that…Well, that it was possible Victoria Amory might be just the woman to help you forget that scheming bitch Robeena.”

“I can’t imagine any hint of scandal attaching itself to Victoria.”

“I’m certain it was, as the judge explained, a misunderstanding.”

“And was it just a simple misunderstanding that made you neglect mentioning my name to Judge Amory or his daughter?”

“You’re well aware that there is an unfortunate stigma attached to your name in certain circles since the rather infamous afternoon you failed to appear at your own wedding. Besides, Benjamin Amory and I have the kind of respect for each other that doesn’t depend on unimportant details.”

“Was my brother in accord with your decision to keep my name a secret?” Logan inquired softly.

In the process of taking another swallow of his drink, Martin was seized by a paroxysm of coughing. “What makes you think Burke knows anything about this?”

“I’ve never been a believer in coincidences. When you happened to show up in Trinity Falls within months after I arrived, I had to ask why a prosperous and successful businessman like yourself would leave Boston. I seemed to remember that you were well acquainted with my brother. In fact, you were business associates, as I recall.”

“Do you realize this is the first time you’ve brought his name up between us?”

Logan nodded gravely. He wasn’t sure what was driving him to discover Burke’s role in Victoria’s selection as Madison’s tutor. Perhaps it was simply that enough years had passed for some of Logan’s bitterness toward his brother to fade.

Martin cleared his throat. “I did write to Burke to see if he felt Miss Amory would be a suitable candidate.”

“To tutor Madison?” Logan prompted.

The older man shook his head. “Actually, our goal was to introduce a decent woman into your life, someone who might make you forget your unfortunate experience with Miss Stockard.”

“Did Burke marry Robeena?” Logan asked with a curious sense of detachment.

Again Martin shook his head. “No doubt that’s what Miss Stockard hoped for when she arranged for you to discover her in your brother’s bedchamber. But Burke was no more interested in making her his wife than he was in making her his paramour.”

His friend’s words seemed to hang in the hotel suite with a tantalizing promise of healing the long estrangement between Logan and Burke. It was possible, Logan admitted, that being young and hotheaded, he’d jumped to the wrong conclusion about what he saw that night in his brother’s room. Had Robeena been responsible for the illicit tryst Logan had blundered into?

“Why did you come to Trinity Falls five years ago, Martin?”

“Burke knew that I’d been toying with the idea of coming west for a long time. He suggested Trinity Falls.”

“Why?”

“Why do you think?” Martin snapped with uncustomary asperity.

“He wanted you to keep an eye on me,” Logan guessed, remembering that, when they were growing up, his older brother had had an annoying tendency to be overprotective.

“I haven’t had an easy time of it, you know.” Martin finished the last swallow of his brandy. “When I showed up, you were living with the damned Indians, if you’ll remember. Lord, what a sight you were. You’d gone native, for God’s sake.”

“Reflecting back on it, I remember it was your suggestion that I consider establishing a bank in Trinity.”

“You come from a family of bankers, Logan. What could have been more natural than for you to draw on the funds you’d left in Boston and begin your own financial institution in the West?”

“Another one of Burke’s ideas, I suppose.”

“He…uh…might have made reference to approving such a venture.”

“Lord, is he the silent partner we bought out last year?”

“What do you think?” Martin asked, his normally guileless blue eyes shining with disconcerting shrewdness.

“I think I’ve had a damned watchdog looking after me ever since I left Boston!”

“He didn’t have an easy time of it when you volunteered for the military.”

“I’m surprised he didn’t conspire to have me discharged.”

“I’m sure he thought about it.”

A memory surfaced. During his war experience, Logan had had the dubious pleasure of becoming close friends with one Bartholomew Bridger. The burly man, a former Boston dockworker, had accompanied Logan into every battle. On several occasions, Bridger had gone out of his way to place himself between Logan and danger. When the war ended, the hearty stevedore had received a cash windfall and bought his own damned ship. It was more than likely that Bridger had been another of his brother’s guardian angels.

“Burke never lost track of you, Logan.”

“Well, hell.”

Martin raised a bushy gray eyebrow. “Somehow I expected a greater display of anger if you ever discovered Burke was interfering in your life.”

“I guess enough time has gone by for my anger to cool.”

“Six years of silence between you and your brother is too long, Logan. You need to let go of the bitterness.”

Logan wondered whether the time had come for him to visit Boston and hear Burke’s side of the story.

“I have more news.”

“About my brother?” He was suddenly curious to hear what else Burke had been up to all these years.

“No, this is about someone a little closer to home.” Martin rose and set his empty glass on a silver tray. “When I was in the hotel lobby earlier, I saw Colonel Windham. I overheard him telling a concerned citizen that reinforcements have arrived, and he intends on riding against the Indians.”

Logan swore succinctly. “The man’s a menace to himself and everyone else. He’s incapable of admitting that the band of Indians who burned the fort are probably long gone from the area. The fool will end up attacking Night Wolf and his tribe.”

“I gather that the colonel doesn’t distinguish between different tribes. All Indians are the same to him.”

“I’ll have to warn Night Wolf.”

“If Windham catches you attempting to do so, he won’t waste time arresting you—he’ll stand you before a firing squad.”

“I’d like to see him try.”

“Logan, be reasonable. You’re not going to find a single ally in the territory who will support you if you side with the Indians.”

Logan thought about Victoria and her sympathetic attitude toward Night Wolf’s people. “Not all whites hate Indians.”

“Maybe not, but most are afraid of them. And most people are greedy. They want the Indians’ land, and their gold. Face it, Logan, you would be risking your life for a lost cause.”

“I have to warn Night Wolf,” Logan said stubbornly. “Is Madison still with Constance?”

Martin withdrew his pocket watch from his vest. “I would say that right about now Madison is in her room, putting the finishing touches on the dress she bought this morning to impress Miss Amory. We are to lunch with the ladies in the hotel dining room.”

A new thought struck Logan. “Was Constance involved in your plot to unite me and Victoria?”

“Good Lord, no.” A look of chagrin crossed the older man’s features. “As much as I love my wife, I’m forced to admit the woman couldn’t keep a secret to save her life.”

What Martin didn’t say but was probably true was that Constance, a stickler for proper behavior, would have objected to someone of his own jaded reputation associating with a blue-blooded innocent like Victoria.

“Did you have Victoria’s books delivered to her suite, as I instructed?”

“As you can imagine, there were any number of volunteers willing to cart the collection to her room. I’ve already sold her team and wagon.”