Relic (22 page)

Chapter Twenty-eight

“I don’t like it,” Adelaide said, eyeing the relic on her vanity tabletop. “You should never have taken that thing in the first place.”

It was late morning, and thankfully a slow day for Adelaide, so we were able to talk awhile in her room. Given my unexpected, middle-of-the-night visit last night, I had to explain everything, though I left out a few of the less than savory details. Didn’t see the point in making myself feel any more foolish.

“I’m going to give it to Moon John later,” I said as she braided my hair. “He’ll know what to do with it.”

“Well, the sooner the better.”

“Don’t worry. In the meantime, I’ll keep it well hidden in my bureau.”

Adelaide finished my hair and examined our reflections in her mirror for a moment. “Be careful, Maggie. You’re playing a dangerous game. And you got your baby sister to think about.”

“I know.”

Suddenly, I remembered that I had arranged to spend some time with Ella that afternoon. The long-suffering Señora Duarte somehow managed to carve an hour out of Ella’s busy schedule.

“I’d better go,” I said, rising to give Adelaide a hug.

“I’ll see you soon?” she asked.

“I hope so. I really do.”

I raced back to the Hacienda to quickly change out of the vulgar dress and hide the relic again in my bureau. When I came down to the main hall, Ella and Señora Duarte were waiting for me.

“Maggie!”

Ella looked pretty as a painting in her yellow frock and curls. As she ran into my embrace, the feel of her little arms around me wiped away all the stress and worry and madness of the last few days. This was all that mattered. This girl, right here.

I kissed her head and hugged her close. “Hey there, baby girl. How’ve you been?”

“Good. I’m having lots of fun with my new friend Carmiana, and I’m doing real good at readin’. But I’m glad I get to see you today, Mags. We gonna go fishing like you promised?”

“You bet.”

Beside me, the severe Señora Duarte let out a sigh. She had a long, pinched face and pale skin that rarely saw sunshine. Outdoor activities clearly held little joy for her.

“I suppose,” she said wearily, as if I had asked her permission. I certainly hadn’t, and the intrusion made me bristle.

The more time I spent around this Señora Duarte, the more I could see that she clearly fancied herself the true guardian of Ella and saw me as some young tart whose presence had to be endured. She watched over my every step at the river, as if she were sure any moment I would somehow compromise Ella’s well-being. I tried to enjoy my time with my sister, anyway. Ella and I sat by the riverbank and cast lines into the cool, clay-colored water. As we waited for the fish to bite, we formed mud pies in a sun-baked row. It felt real nice, her and I getting along so well like this. For the first time, I started to wonder if maybe I could be as dear to her as Jeb had been.

I’d only finished a third pie, however, when Señora Duarte approached. She stood by me and cleared her throat. “Miss Ella must go now,” she said.

“What?”

“She has her studies, and her siesta to take.”

My jaw tightened. “But we just got here.”

“On the contrary, it has been exactly one hour. That is what I agreed to. Nothing more.”

I stood up and pointed a muddy finger at her. “Listen, ma’am—”

“I am sorry if this does not please you, but I have this child’s welfare to think about.”

“Are you suggesting I don’t think about that? She’s my family.”

“But she is
my
responsibility.”

I opened my mouth to contradict her, but she turned to Ella with a brisk spin. “Come now,
niña
. Rinse your hands. We must go.”

It surprised me to see my spirited, fiery Ella obey immediately upon command. This señora clearly ran a tight ship. For some reason, that made me even madder. I had half a mind to tell her where to go, but I knew that would be foolish. I didn’t need any more trouble, and she obviously cared about my sister.

I knelt and held out my arms for Ella. “Come here, you.”

She hugged me and whispered in my ear. “We’ll have some time together again soon, Maggie.”

“I know, baby girl,” I whispered back, holding her tighter. “I know.”

Señora Duarte and Ella rode in the carriage back to the Hacienda, but I stayed behind. I just couldn’t bring myself to return yet. I needed time to think. Sitting by the river in the warm sun, I tried to figure out what I was going to do about the mess I’d created. But the more I thought about it, the more confused I became. Nothing added up. I felt tired and overwhelmed. I wanted to see Landon again, to rest in his arms and be safe.

Heavy-hearted, I wandered back to The Desert Rose; I didn’t care if Connelly saw me. I needed someone to talk to. I needed Landon. But as I approached the entrance to the saloon, Adelaide burst through the doors toward me.

“Oh Maggie!”

Her face was red from crying, her eyes glassy. She stumbled forward, and I had to catch her to keep her from falling to her knees.

“What is it?” I asked, pulling her up. “What’s wrong?”

She drew in a sob and shook her head. “I can’t… I can’t go on.”

My mind was racing with any number of horrible scenarios. I led Adelaide into the saloon and sat her at one of the tables. She pressed her hands to her face on the tabletop, and her shoulders trembled with a sob.

I stroked her back. “Adelaide, please. Talk to me. Tell me what’s wrong. You’re scaring me.”

“They’re gone,” she finally said, not looking up. “They’re gone, Maggie.”

“Who’s gone?”

She sniffed and looked up at me with red, watery eyes. Something in her expression made a sliver of ice cut through my heart.

“Who, Adelaide?” I said forcefully, grabbing her arms. “Tell me.”

“Bobby and Landon.”

Speaking the names broke her again, and she sobbed into my shoulder. I was frozen in my seat, numb. “They’re gone?”

She shook her head, wiping the tears on her cheek. “They were sent away suddenly this morning on a job. Their furlough’s over early. Which means…”

“They won’t be back till next spring,” I finished, my throat feeling dry as paper.

Adelaide nodded and started to cry again. I tried to collect my thoughts, but it all seemed impossible. Only the night before, Landon had held me in his arms, kissed my mouth. And now he was gone until next spring. I blinked hard.

“This has to be some kind of mistake. They weren’t supposed to go until June.”

“It’s no mistake,” Adelaide said, fire in her tone. “It’s all Connelly’s doing, I swear it. He knew I loved Bobby, and so he told Señor Castilla to send them away.” She slammed her fist on the table. “He did it on purpose.” But then, her rage dissolved into sadness again. “Oh, Maggie. What am I gonna do? I can’t go on without Bobby; I can’t. I just can’t.”

Her voice broke off in a fit of sobs, and I took her into my arms. It wasn’t right that a man like Connelly could control us and take away every piece of happiness we had. It wasn’t right.

The last thing on earth either of us wanted to hear at the moment was that man’s voice. But Mr. Connelly had remarkably bad timing.

“What’s going on down here?” he snarled. “You tryin’ to make the whole place sour with all this bawlin’ and moping?”

A Creole man, probably one of Álvar’s entourage, stood with him, though he maintained a cool distance. I shot an angry glare at both of them. “We’re allowed to have feelings, aren’t we?”

“Not when you’re puttin’ our customers at ill ease, you ain’t.”

None of the men at the bar or any of the surrounding tables seemed to care two straws about us women crying at the corner table.

I set my jaw. “We have the right to be here.”

“You don’t have any rights unless I
say
you have ’em.” He jabbed his thumb at the upstairs. “Adelaide, you get to your room. You have a show tonight to prepare for.”

When she didn’t move, he took a tense step closer, his eyes bulging. She flinched and rose slowly to her feet.

Connelly snorted. “Get.”

We both watched her move up the stairs. Something in her walk was different, broken. It hurt my heart to see it.

Connelly turned to me. “And you. Álvar’s people have been looking all over for you this afternoon.”

My rage cooled with a thread of fear. “I was spending time with my sister.”

“Yeah, two hours ago.” Connelly snorted. He nodded his head at the Creole standing beside him. “She’s all yours.”

The Creole approached silently behind me, and I spun around.

“Who are you?”

“I am one of Señor Castilla’s men, señorita.”

I stepped back. “I was just about to return.”

“As well you should,” he said. “The señor has requested your company this evening.”

“Another party?”

“No. Tonight the señor wishes for a private audience.” The tone in his voice, the subtle emphasis in his words, sent a chill through me. “He has something very
special
in store for you.”

Chapter Twenty-nine

The dead, glazed eyes of the roast pig on the table fixed me with an accusing stare. I tried not to look at it, but even when I focused on pretending to listen to the musicians or admiring the sun-painted scenery of the desert cliff top where our table had been set up, I could still feel its gaze out of the corner of my eye.

There it lay on a silver serving tray, surrounded with candied fruits, sugared nuts, maple leaves, and bright sprigs of chokecherries for show. A shining, polished apple had been placed in the animal’s mouth. I could understand how it felt.

Something had changed. Everything was off. I’d sensed it the moment I arrived back at the Hacienda. Esperanza was there as usual, but this time Flora also waited for me, and instead of helping me into a dress of my choosing as before, Flora commanded that I be put through a full beauty regimen. Bathed, scrubbed, lotioned, and perfumed. And squeezed into a dress she’d created herself “at señor’s request.”

It was blood red, low necked, and bore only the thinnest strip of material to pass for a sleeve. The maids laced me into an even tighter corset than before and pulled the rich taffeta fabric onto me. They curled the ends of my hair but only pulled half of it up in a jeweled clip. The rest hung in loose curls around my bare shoulders.

To finish the look, a garish ruby necklace with cherry-sized gems had been placed around my neck. As I sat across the table from Álvar, his eyes kept going to the necklace resting against my bosom, which was surely the point of the design. I shuddered deep down and felt very much like that pig on the platter—proudly on display until the master grew hungry.

What was going on? Just when I thought I had it all figured out, that I was nothing more than a young protégée, he’d ordered me to be dressed up and whisked away to a secluded desert spot, as if I were a prize he intended to savor in secret. I battled with myself, certain I must be misinterpreting the situation. I was overreacting, surely.

“How do you like the view?” Álvar asked, drawing me out of my thoughts.

I fumbled for a reply. “It’s beautiful.”

A sunset supper on a cliff top. Of course, this was no simple basket with bread and cheese. The grand table where we sat seemed bizarrely out of place there, on the windy red-rock. The plates of sumptuous dishes and crystal vases of flowers contrasted with the wild desert spreading out beyond us. Álvar had said he wanted to take us some place quiet, away from the busy comings and goings of the Hacienda. Thankfully, we weren’t completely alone. A butler, two serving men, and a four-piece group of musicians joined us, though they kept their distance.

“It’s the fanciest picnic
I’ve
ever been to,” I said.

Álvar laughed. “I thought you might enjoy it.”

I tried to smile and sipped a bit of my water.

“Are you sure you would not care for some of this excellent champagne?”

“No, thank you.”

One of the serving men quietly removed my barely touched plate of food. I turned to thank him, but he had already moved away to the serving area they’d set up behind the carriage. Álvar was watching me when I turned back.

He smiled, swirling his glass. “Would you like to take a little stroll? The ridge beyond that brush there offers an excellent view of the mountains.”

My nerves were still on high alert, even though Álvar had behaved like nothing but a gentleman throughout our meal. I shot a glance at the carriage, but the servants remained well hidden. Even the musicians had retired, clearly noticing some secret sign from Álvar to leave us alone.

“Come,” he said, holding out his arm. “It is a glorious view.”

I stood, managing a weak smile. Álvar didn’t move his arm, and I knew what he expected, what any well-bred lady would do. Swallowing a dry gulp, I intertwined my arm in his.

We followed a trail along the edge of the cliff, up an uneven hill covered with rocks and the bright orange flowers of ocotillo cactus. Finally we reached the highest point of the ledge.

“Here we are,” Álvar said, planting his fists on his hips.

The view that spread before us made me slow to a stop—a vast, sprawling expanse of red and orange and tiny brush strokes of deep green, all lit with the trembling golden light of sunset. The clouds and sky were painted like a massive rainbow: pink, orange, purple, and blue. Before us, the red-rock cliff fell down in a sheer drop of a hundred feet. And on the near horizon, closer than I’d ever seen them, the huge, dark outline of the Alkali Mountains rose like the backs of enormous sleeping dragons.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Álvar asked, walking to the very edge of the cliff to take it all in.

I drew in a deep breath of the dry, floral-scented wind. “It’s incredible.”

He sat on a cropping of smooth red-rock boulders nearby, the perfect place to appreciate the view. “I come here often,” he said. “To be alone. To think.”

Emerson Bolger’s warning about Álvar’s catastrophic debts flashed in my mind. It didn’t surprise me that my benefactor needed a place to escape from it all. Surely every silver candelabra and velvet curtain and lavishly dressed footman in the Hacienda only reminded him of how quickly he could lose everything.

I sat on the rocks beside Álvar, feeling a little sorry for him. “It must be difficult.”

He shot me a quick look. “Difficult?”

I realized my slip and scrambled to cover it up. “To run such a huge estate, with so many things to keep track of. So many things to go wrong.”

Álvar smiled a little, though I saw a glint of sadness in his eyes. “It
is
difficult.”

We looked out over the desert, which grew more blue-hued with the falling twilight. Maybe I had been too quick to judge Álvar. Everyone faced his or her own challenges. And we all did what we must to survive.

“Are you enjoying yourself at my Hacienda, Maggie?” Álvar asked.

I wasn’t sure what to say. “Yes.”

He nodded. His next words were spoken with caution. “I hope you will be happy here, with me. I hope you and I might come to an understanding.”

An
understanding?
My whole body tensed. Álvar pursed his lips with caution. “I have learned of some very important developments in recent days. And I will need you.”

I relaxed slightly at the mention of my talents. “I don’t understand.”

“You will in time,” he said carefully.

His avoidance only brought the tension back to my chest. “I wish you’d tell me now. I’ve never understood what you want from me. You must be honest with me, Álvar. I beg of you.”

Álvar was quiet for a long moment, then looked up at me, the hint of a smile on his lips.

“As you wish. Do you know what I saw when I used the Djinn relic the other day?” He set his hand lightly to my chin. “I saw you.”

My stomach turned to lead at his touch. He traced his finger down the line of my throat. I felt faint. “Please,” I said, moving away from him.

Álvar nodded slowly. “I understand your hesitation, Maggie. You’re young. Perhaps afraid. But think of what I’m offering you.”

My heart was racing. I didn’t tell him that I’d given it quite a bit of thought, more than I even liked to admit to myself. All my life I dreamed of more, so much more than I could do or see in my dusty old desert town. Álvar could give that to me. Once again, a vision of him and me, traveling the world together, discovering relics we’d never dreamed of seeing, sprang to my mind.

Álvar brushed my hair over my shoulder, then slid my sleeve down. “Such beautiful skin,” he whispered. “Like silk.” His lips grazed my bare shoulder, then my throat. His arm slipped behind me, around my waist. The other hand pressed softly at the base of my collarbone.

I couldn’t breathe. I backed away from his touch again. “I’ve offered my talents freely. I see no reason to…confuse our relationship.”

Álvar’s lips turned ever so slightly up in a smile. “Ah yes. Your
talents
.” He spoke the words with a hint of irony that sent a ripple of alarm through me. Then he pulled me back into his arms, this time with force. “That’s not what I’m after at this moment, now is it?”

He pressed his lips to my skin firmly. His hands gripped my waist and the back of my neck. He tilted my head back so his lips could travel down my throat, along my collarbone.

A new vision came to me. One of a used-up mistress, cast aside to live in shame and doubt. Perhaps Álvar did think I had a talent with relics, but what would that matter in a few weeks, when my charms had grown tiresome to him? I’d have no grand future, no traveling the world. I’d be left alone, penniless, and with a mark on my reputation I could never remove.

As Álvar’s hand slid up to undo the laces of my corset, a swell of shame rose in me. I had been a fool. A fool to convince myself that he was after anything more than the conquest. This talk of talents and studying relic almanacs, it was just part of the game for him. I’d known it all along, only I’d been too swept up with the dream to admit it to myself. That dream was now shattered on the rocks like glass.

Gasping, I broke from Álvar’s grip and jumped to my feet.

Álvar was breathing heavily, his face flushed. “What’s wrong?”

“I can’t do this.”

Álvar straightened. For a moment, he said nothing, just brushed a lock of black hair from his brow. “You must pardon me,” he said finally, “if I made you uncomfortable at all. I would certainly never want you to feel anything but willing.” His words were polite enough, but a strained note of frustration tightened his voice.

“I want to go back now,” I said, turning away from him.

There was a crackling silence. My mouth felt dry as sand.

Finally he spoke again. “But of course.” He stood and brushed off his coat. “We should head back to the Hacienda before it grows too dark.”

“Yes.”

We walked in silence down the hill, back to the carriage, where the servants were playing a game of poker on the rocks. They looked surprised to see us returning so soon. How many other women had Álvar brought up to this place to seduce? I was clearly one more petty conquest—just like everyone had known all along. I felt so ashamed, I could have cried, but I swallowed back the tears, refusing to look any more foolish.

Trembling, I stepped inside the plush burgundy interior of Álvar’s carriage while outside, he spoke to his servants tersely in Spanish. My hands twisted a piece of my dress in my lap until it formed a tight ball as I struggled to get ahold of myself. I’d clearly angered Álvar by rejecting him. Broke or not, he was still the most powerful man in Burning Mesa, and I needed to try to end things as pleasantly as possible.

But when Álvar finally came in, he didn’t even look in my direction. The silence as we started to move pressed down upon me, each second building like a pile of stones on my chest. I tried to look out the window, but night had fallen, and the sky was black as tar.

I drew in a slow, shaky breath. “Álvar, please understand. While I respect you very much as a friend and teacher—”

Álvar’s eyes, dark as the sky beyond the window, flashed at me. “Please. Spare me your forced sweetness.”

“I wasn’t—”

He raised a hand to silence me, and I clenched my jaw.

“Perhaps you are a bit tired this evening?” Álvar asked, his eyes needling me. “Tired after your midnight tryst with my cowboy?”

Ice cut through my veins.

“Do not bother to deny it. Señor Connelly reported it to me first thing this morning. He saw you enter the Cooper Hotel himself.”

I could now see exactly how close to the edge of my own cliff I was treading. Álvar knew about my visiting Landon. And if he truly only wanted me as a mistress, there could now be no doubt that he’d sent the boys away on purpose. Was he attempting to cut off any ties I still had to the world outside the Hacienda? My face felt hot.

I met Álvar’s gaze now with equal fierceness. “And am I not allowed to speak with my friends without you shipping them off on some concocted task in a far-flung nowhere? I didn’t do anything wrong; you don’t need to treat me like I’m some kind of criminal.”

“Do I not? You certainly act like one, sneaking around in the dead of night on my horses, in the clothes I gave you.”

“And you’ve been so honest?” I asked, furious. “Filling my head with all sorts of lies about talents and relics and training, when all along, all you wanted was…” I couldn’t speak it. Shame and anger tore through me. “You took advantage of my youth,” I said, tears welling in my eyes in spite of myself. “You betrayed my trust.”

Álvar stared at me, thoughts racing behind his eyes. “Maggie…I didn’t lie to you.”

“You
did
, even if you don’t think so now. It was all one big game for you.” I pressed a tight fist to my lap. “I may be an insignificant nobody, but I’m not going to become your mistress of the moment. My sister and I will be leaving first thing in the morning.”

Álvar laughed, indignant. “Oh, indeed?”

“Yes.
Indeed.
”

Suddenly Álvar was directly in front of me in the little cab of the carriage, one hand pressed against the back wall, right beside my head. His face was no more than a breath away from mine, and his eyes burned with an almost unnatural intensity that made my pulse race.

“You listen to me, Maggie.
I
will be the one to say when this arrangement is over. Not you. You cannot bring your family to my estate, accept my help, and then tell me you are on your way. It doesn’t work like that. Do you understand? You owe me, Maggie. And I
will
collect on that debt.”

I couldn’t speak. Álvar drew in a breath and sat back on his side of the cab. He turned his gaze to the window for a moment, to compose himself. “Forgive me,” he said after a pause, his voice stiff, “if I spoke too boldly.”

He kept his gaze on the dark landscape rushing past us. “You would be wise, however, not to upset me as you did tonight. For your sister’s sake, if not your own.”

My heart was racing, but I said nothing. There was nothing further to discuss. His meaning couldn’t have been clearer: I was a fool to think I could play this game on my terms. Álvar Castilla would have what he wanted…or I would never see Ella again.