Last Promise (19 page)

That wasn't true, Mary Ann loved her parents, she simply couldn't agree with his dictates. She would never be able to make him understand that she dreamed of marrying a man she loved. No matter what he forced her to do, she would never love Edmund Stafford.

“We will be leaving in two days,” Hardwicke told her. “So I suggest you wrap up whatever you need to do in that time frame.”

“I can't possibly leave so soon, I need to find my replacement for Uncle George,” Mary Ann replied.

“My dear, I am quite confident George can manage without you, he did so before you appeared in his life unannounced,” Edmund said. He'd noticed Mary Ann's gaze drift to the table where that cowboy was sitting. “I daresay we will not see a repeat of yesterday's performance with that hooligan.”

Mary Ann wanted to kick him in the shins for bringing up her kiss with Luke, and for calling him a hooligan. Her uncle was right; he was a pompous tyrant. To think she had put up with these people all of her life, and that was what her future held. She felt ill. “If you will excuse me, I have work to do.”

“Two days, no longer,” her father warned as she jumped up and walked away. She wanted to run, but she wouldn't give them the satisfaction of knowing they had upset her. She passed the McBride table without stopping.

“George, is Mary Ann okay? She seemed upset at church.” Victoria really wanted to ask how Mary Ann received that bruise on her cheek.

Again, he glanced at Luke, but seeing he wasn't going to offer an explanation he knew he had to say something. “Her father is a difficult man. She will be leaving soon to return to London.” It didn't really explain the entire situation, but he wasn't going to reveal what happened if Luke wasn't going to be forthcoming with his family.

“I'm sorry to hear that. Promise and I have enjoyed spending time with her. She is a lovely woman,” Victoria told him.

“I'm sorry she will be leaving too. I've enjoyed having her here. It's nice to have family close,” George told them.

“I couldn't agree more,” Colt confirmed.

“And that man is her fiancé?” Jake asked.

“So it seems,” George answered.

“I hadn't heard her mention a fiancé,” Jake said.

“Exactly,” Luke finally spoke up. Mary Ann hadn't even mentioned Stafford to anyone.

“What's a fiancé?” Cade repeated his brother's earlier question.

“It is a person that one is promised to marry,” Victoria explained.

“Uncle Luke, do you have a fiancée?” Cody asked.

“Yeah, you're the only one not married,” Cade added.

Luke smiled at the twins. “You two aren't married.”

“Uncle Luke! 'Course not, we're little boys,” they said together.

The food arrived at the perfect time, Luke thought.

Chapter Twenty

During lunch George explained the importance of the Hardwicke estates in England and the role of Mary Ann's father as landowner. George said Hardwicke was close to royalty and Edmund Stafford was one of England's wealthiest men.

“But why did Mary Ann come here if she was to be married?” Victoria didn't dare let on that she knew Mary Ann didn't want to marry the Englishman.

“There was a conflict with her father and she left,” George responded.

George seemed reluctant to offer more information and no one pressed him.

Luke told himself he wasn't interested in Mary Ann's reason for failing to mention her impending marriage, but he listened intently to George's response.

Colt watched his brother during lunch. Luke didn't join in the conversation when the conversation centered on Mary Ann, but Colt knew he was interested.

* * *

When they were preparing to leave the hotel, Cody forgot his Bible and ran back to the table. When he reached the dining room, he accidentally ran into Edmund Stafford.

Stafford grabbed Cody by the shirt and held on to him. “Watch where you are going, you little hellion.”

“I'm sorry, mister,” Cody said.

“Let the boy go,” Luke said from the doorway.

Stafford glared at Luke. “I should have known he would belong to you.”

The two detectives walked up and flanked Stafford.

Luke glanced at both men and sneered. “Didn't get enough yesterday?”

Stafford roughly shoved Cody toward Luke. “I imagine that explains this little brat's breeding.”

That was all it took. Luke lunged after Stafford and together they crashed through the window in the dining room. Once they hit the ground, Luke got to his feet and pulled Stafford with him, then hit him in the jaw knocking him to the dirt again. “Don't ever put your hands on that boy again!”

The two detectives followed through the doorway and jumped on Luke from behind. One man spun Luke around and got in a jab to Luke's lip before Luke managed to slam his fist in his nose. Luke heard a loud crack and the detective grabbed his broken nose. The other detective threw a punch at Luke, grazing his chin. Luke slammed his left to the man's gut and a right uppercut to his jaw knocking the man out cold.

“Luke,” Colt said.

Luke was leaning over with his hands on his knees breathing hard from the exertion. He raised his head to look at Colt and held up his hand. “Don't say a darn word! He pushed Cody.”

“I was just going to say thanks for looking after my boy. You saved me the trouble.” Colt slapped him on the shoulder. He and Jake had seen the entire encounter, and when Jake started to jump in to lend Luke a hand, Colt told him to wait. Colt thought he'd let Luke handle it and get some of his anger out. He had a feeling Luke wanted to punch Stafford for no other reason than he was Mary Ann's fiancé. Lord, he loved his brothers. “Let's go home, unless you want to give your knuckles a few more bruises.”

* * *

Hearing the commotion on the street, Mary Ann walked to her bedroom window and looked out. She saw Luke in a fight with Edmund and the two detectives. Not exactly a fight, Luke handled all three men quickly and efficiently. She'd learned to expect no less. She heard Luke tell his brother that Edmund shoved one of the boys. She wanted to run downstairs to him, but she didn't move. He'd made it clear at church that he didn't want to see her or talk to her. She watched him walk down the street with his family. He was walking out of her life.

* * *

The next morning Hardwicke did not come down for breakfast so George went to his room to check on him. When George came downstairs he told Mary Ann her father was ill and he was going to have the doctor take a look at him.

The doctor closed the door behind him and faced Mary Ann, Edmund, and her uncle.

“What is wrong with him?” Mary Ann asked.

“I'm afraid your father has developed pneumonia,” he replied.

“He was coughing badly yesterday,” she remembered.

“He is a very sick man right now.”

“Will he be able to travel tomorrow?” Edmund asked.

“He won't be going anywhere for some time,” the doctor said.

No matter how much she disagreed with her father, Mary Ann was worried about him. “He will get well, won't he?”

“With rest he should be fine, but he must not overdo. See to it that he stays in bed and gets some rest.”

The doc patted Mary Ann on the shoulder. “A hot toddy each night won't hurt either.”

* * *

Edmund went to his room and George walked downstairs with Mary Ann. “Perhaps this will give your father time to rethink what he is doing.”

“Oh, Uncle, how I wish you were right! But Father is a determined man, and I think there are other reasons he is insistent on this marriage. Mother's letter indicated it was imperative that I marry Edmund. I have a feeling the estates are in jeopardy.” She rarely paid attention to gossip, but more than once she'd heard her.

Her uncle hadn't considered that possibility. He remembered before he left England there was gossip Hardwicke was a heavy gambler at the clubs. Mary Ann could be right and that was the true reason Hardwicke came all this way to find her. If that was the case, Hardwicke wouldn't relent just because Mary Ann didn't want Stafford. Nothing was more important to Hardwicke than his estates and if they were in danger, Mary Ann's future was established.

* * *

At Edmund's insistence, Mary Ann relented and agreed to have dinner with him the following Friday night. She had successfully avoided speaking to Edmund for a week, and she didn't want to dine with him tonight, but she knew she must face him at some point. She was tired and irritable after spending the week running up and down the stairs seeing to her father's needs. He was even more demanding when he was ill, but considering his condition, she tried to be understanding. Thankfully, he was recovering, but that also meant she would be leaving Wyoming soon.

She sat at the dressing table in her room and decided she wasn't inclined to care much about her appearance at dinner tonight. Her pale reflection in the mirror didn't surprise her, so she pinched her cheeks to add some color. She was pleased to see the bruise on her cheek had faded, but the memory of her father's cruelty had not. There was little she could do about the dark circles under her eyes, only a good night's rest would solve that problem, something that was eluding her at present. She picked up her French compact filled with pearl powder, but decided not to bother. Perhaps her frightful appearance might encourage Edmund to go back to England without her.

* * *

Stafford was waiting for her at a table in the corner, some distance from the other diners. Always the gentleman, he stood and held her chair as she approached. “I think it's time we had a private conversation. We haven't really had an opportunity to speak about our future.”

She didn't see a reason not to speak the truth. What harm could it do? Knowing she would never love him might force him to question his determination to marry her. “Edmund, you know I do not wish to marry you.”

“I think you made your point when you left England. However, your future is settled so you might as well accept that fact.”

Mary Ann had been accompanied by Edmund to many social events, yet she didn't find him as appealing as most of the women in her circles. He was handsome to be sure. His patrician features were perfectly formed, and he possessed refined manners as befitted a noble-born blue blood. The simple truth was nothing about him aroused her. He had kissed her in the past and it certainly engendered no passion from her. His kisses were cold, without emotion, nothing like Luke's kisses. Luke's kisses awakened a hunger she didn't know she possessed. No, she couldn't think about Luke right now. She had to try to find a way to forget Luke and everything that had passed between them. “Did you tell Father that you compromised me?”

Edmund smiled. “Is that what you think I did? Believe me, there are plenty of young women who want to marry me.” Edmund had always wanted to marry the most beautiful woman in England and that was Mary Ann. It wasn't necessary for him to tell Hardwicke a lie about compromising his daughter. Hardwicke was desperate for an influx of funds to save his estates. Stafford had the money and that was all it was going to take for him to have Mary Ann.

Mary Ann didn't doubt that many women wanted to marry Edmund for his money, so the question remained why he was so determined to marry her. She decided to ask him outright. “Why do you want to marry a woman who doesn't love you?”

“You have such childish notions of marriage, my dear. Love is inconsequential. I care about land and titles, and the offspring of our union. I don't love you any more than you love me, but you are considered the great beauty of London. It will be no hardship on me to get you with child. After watching that encounter with your cowboy, I think we may need to marry quickly. I no longer hold the imprudent belief that you are without experience.”

She didn't care what he believed. The thought of being intimate with him made her feel sick. Would she feel so uncomfortable if she was having this discussion with Luke? Why couldn't she stop thinking of him? She'd been very comfortable in Luke's arms, unlike the night she'd been in the garden with Edmund and he tried to force himself on her. She had done nothing to encourage his attentions and she found his touch revolting. In her haste to get away from him, he'd reached out to grab her dress and it ripped. That one incident sealed her fate. “I am not the only person you could marry who can give you what you want.”

Edmund's ego would not allow him to settle for someone less desired by other men. “No you are not, that is true enough, but we will wed.” He leaned closer and wrapped his fingers around her hand. “I will have what I want, you will bear my children and the Hardwicke estates will be mine in the future.”

Mary Ann was no longer paying attention to Edmund. Luke had just walked in the restaurant with Sally Detrick clinging to his arm. He escorted Sally to the table at the very center of the room, held the chair for her and pulled his chair very close to hers. He was so close to Sally that she couldn't see a space between them. Mary Ann didn't think there was a chance Luke might come to the restaurant for dinner or she would have taken more time with her appearance. He looked so incredibly handsome and every other man paled by comparison.

Edmund glanced across the room to see what held Mary Ann's attention. “It didn't take him long to find your replacement.”

“He is free to do what he pleases,” she replied. If Edmund thought she would be a wife like her mother and cower to him, now was the perfect time to set him straight. If she was going to be forced into this marriage she would certainly speak her mind.

“I apologize, I assumed when he had his hands on you that the two of you had some sort of understanding,” he said.

“You are wrong.” She knew it would be fruitless to try to explain to Edmund her feelings for Luke when she didn't understand how quickly she had fallen in love with him. She hadn't even spent that much time with Luke, just a few intimate moments, but it had been enough for him to capture her heart.

Luke saw Mary Ann dining with Stafford when he walked in, and he made sure everyone saw him. Particularly Mary Ann. That was the reason he took the table in the center of the room. He was going to make a point to Miss Hardwicke that he didn't lack for female companionship. And Sally Detrick was the perfect woman to make that point, she was very affectionate and she liked to touch him. Several times through the week Luke thought about riding to town to see if Mary Ann had left for England, but talked himself out of it. Life would go on when she was gone. She'd intentionally deceived him, and the sooner she left for England, the better. He was going to get on with his life. Sally was right beside him and looking mighty good in his opinion.
Heck, tomorrow I might even take her to the lake
.

Having endured dinner with Edmund, Mary Ann excused herself saying she had work to complete before she retired. Fortunately, Edmund returned to his room and she hoped she had seen the last of him, at least for tonight. After she checked on her father one last time, she returned to the front desk to relieve Eb so he could have dinner. She tried not to glance in the dining room at Luke, but it was difficult. It seemed Luke and Sally were having the longest dinner in history. Luke was very attentive, and Sally couldn't seem to keep her hands to herself. Mary Ann happened to glance their way and saw Luke pull Sally to him and whisper in her ear. She figured Luke was whispering a promise to show her a good time. As difficult as it was to admit, Sally looked lovelier than usual, she'd even added a hint of rouge on her cheeks if Mary Ann wasn't mistaken. Of course, it was possible she was blushing over whatever Luke said to her. She remembered how often he commented on her dress, or her hat, or the way she smelled. The man knew how to give compliments. She remembered all too well how it felt to have his cheek brush against her skin when he would lean into her ear and whisper in his deep masculine voice how beautiful she looked.

All of the other patrons had left the dining room, leaving Luke and Sally alone in the large room. When Eb returned from dinner, Mary Ann helped Mrs. Howe clear the dining tables. After the dishes had been washed and the preparations for the next morning were complete, Mary Ann told the workers to go home. They'd had a long day and it wouldn't be fair to keep them longer than necessary. She had a feeling Luke was determined to make it a late evening. She considered going upstairs and have her uncle come down and wait for Luke to leave, but she thought he was probably in bed. Instead of sitting behind the desk and being forced to watch Luke drool over Sally, Mary Ann decided to go to her shop and put out some of the new stock that had arrived that day. She thought she would hear the front door close when they left and she would lock up then.