The Gambler (43 page)

"You all right, Charm?"

"Yes." She glanced up, not quite able to match her tone and expression to her words. "I'm fine."

"Scared?" he asked, raising his brows at her.

She honored him with a laugh, though it was a bit tight. "No."

He forced a smile for her lie and managed to refrain from touching her hand. "It'll be all right."

She sat very still, looking strangely small and fragile. "Tell me about my family."

He was her family. And she his. His hope. His life. Or rather, that's how he wanted it to be. "They'll think you irresistible, Charm." Just as he did. "No need to worry."

She tried a tilted smile and another lie. "I'm not—" she began, but a fleeting figure caught her attention, and she gasped, cutting her sentence short.

"What?" Raven was on his feet in an instant. "What'd you see?"

"I thought..." She blinked, calming her breathing with an effort. "Nothing. It was nothing. I…I was just imagining."

Raven turned his head slowly, scanning the crowd around him before returning to his seat, every muscle tense. "Imagining what?"

"Nothing." She smiled again and laughed, seeming to think herself silly. "You're too jumpy." Reaching out, she took his hand as he had wished to do only moments before. "You've no need to worry. They'll think I chose well."

Raven skimmed the room again, noticing every shadow. "I've not the faintest idea what you're talking about?"

"My aunt. She'll think you irresistible," she said, using the same words he had.

"Charm." Raven forced his attention back to her face with a scowl. "You forget that I've already met your aunt." In fact, surprisingly enough, she
had
thought him irresistible. And though he wasn't easily charmed, he had found an honest kindness in her that appealed to the homeless boy in him. "I thought we agreed not to tell her about our... situation."

"Our
marriage,
you mean?" She grinned, but behind her eyes there was worry.
"You
agreed. I didn't."

Raven watched her, reading the nuances, judging her thoughts as best he could. "What did you see, Charm?"

"Nothing."

"Try a better lie."

She pursed her fine mouth with a shrug and looked at the table. "Well, if you're not going to give up, the truth would be easier."

"All right. The truth then."

She smiled. It almost reached her eyes. "I thought I saw my father."

"Jude?" he asked in surprise.

She raised her gaze rapidly. "I miss him, Raven. I'm sorry."

Sorry! Good God! That's all he needed to add to the list of problems between them. Her guilt. "I don't see a need for an apology on that front, Charm."

"You're not jealous?" she asked, wanting nothing more than to lean forward just a few inches more and kiss him.

"God, Charm, you make me sound like an ogre. Jealous of your father."

"Well..."

"Are you two at it again?" inquired Clancy, returning to their table.

"At what?" asked Raven, not looking up.

"If you two break into a kiss right in front of God and everybody, I won't be escorting you to River Bluffs."

Raven scowled, pulling his attention from Charm with some difficulty. "How do you know the way?"

For a fraction of a moment Clancy was silent, then, "Hell, what kind of detective do you think I am? Can't find an estate half the size of Kentuck? We goin' or you two have better things to do?"

"We do," said Charm, "but he won't."

"Yeah." Clancy sighed. "Well, he's always been a little daft."

"To think I spent most of my life worrying about men taking advantage of me, and now when I want one to, he won't."

"He's a dolt!" agreed Clancy.

"And not very considerate," added Charm.

"And—"

"If you two are done assessing my sundry shortcomings, maybe we could go," interrupted Raven.

"I was just beginning to have fun. Haven't used my best insults yet," complained Chancy. "You don't plan t' go there yet tonight?"

"Yes, I do," said Raven as he rose to his feet. "Eloise will be married in two days."

Clancy scowled. "A terrible time to go bustin' in. We'd best let the excitement die down. Relax in old St. Louis awhile. I'll show you the sights."

"I've seen the sights."

"It'll be dark before we get there. And besides, maybe yer little Cougar Mouse ain't seen the town."

"I haven't," said Charm, her wide eyes finding Raven's. "Couldn't we stay, just a few days?"

Her voice was very soft, and when she asked liked that, there was little Raven wouldn't have done to please her. But the truth of why she wanted the delay was not lost on him. She was scared. Scared of learning her heritage, meeting her family. Scared of the truth. It wasn't the thought of being with him that caused her allure for St. Louis. It was fear, and until she overcame that fear and faced the truth of who she was, he'd never be able to force himself to leave her, knowing she was better without him.

"Best to get it over with, Charm," he said evenly. "No point delaying just because you're frightened."

Her gaze was very steady. "I think you're the one who's frightened, Raven."

He narrowed his eyes at her, silently questioning.

"Scared to believe that I love you just for you."

No. The truth was, he was scared to believe she didn't. But people very dear to him had a tendency to disappear from his life and never come back. "Let's go," he said. "Before I prove the extent of my shortcomings."

*

The country beyond the bounds of the city was lush and fertile. Overflowing since the war with unfurling crops and majestic oaks, it glowed in the last rays of the evening sun, washing the rolling vista with a rosy glow.

Clancy drove the carriage, leaving Raven to sit in the back seat next to Charm. Her thigh lightly touched his, her arm brushed his chest as she pointed to a hawk that soared overhead or to a willow that grew at a crooked angle above a meandering stream.

"Couldn't we stop, just for a few minutes?" she asked. Her eyes were the same shade as the whispering leaves. She shifted them now from Raven's face to the cool shelter beneath the willow.

Raven mentally sighed. He'd given ten years of his life just to spend an hour beneath that tree with her, but there was no place for weakness in the world of a bastard son. "You're not two miles from your home, Charm. You can come here anytime you want."

"Our
home," she corrected, but her tone was tight, and he wondered if she too doubted. Doubted whether she'd still want him after the truth was revealed.

"It'll be over soon," he said, more to himself than to her.

They rattled along, watching the evening sky turn to purple and fade above the surrounding woods.

"Damn," Clancy said suddenly.

"What is it?" Raven's voice was harsh, making him realize his own tension.

"Horse is lame."

"What are you talking about?"

"I think the horse is lame," repeated Clancy, pulling Angel to a halt.

"He's too ugly to be lame," insisted Raven. "Trot him out. Let me see."

"You don't know nothin' 'bout horses," argued Clancy. "He's lame, I tell you. We're gonna have to go back."

"Go back! Are you crazy?"

"No. I ain't crazy," said Clancy. "I ain't the one who won't... you know... with your own wife, when she's sittin' there lookin' so..." He waved one hand and turned in the hard seat to gaze at Charm. "Damn, she's pretty. Why don't we sit down here for a spell while I gaze at her and you tell me how you two met?"

"Get going," insisted Raven.

"Listen boy, I don't take orders from"—Clancy started to argue, leaning across the seat, but just then a rifle exploded from the nearby trees.

Clancy jerked like a wooden puppet, body instantly stiff and eyes widening in shock and pain before he fell beside the suddenly rocking wheel of the carriage.

Angel reared. Charm screamed. The unseen rifle spat again. A bullet bored a hole through the back of the carriage.

"Get down!" Raven roared, but Charm was frozen with fear, rising up in the buggy. "Down!" he yelled again, and pushing her to the floor, launched himself to the ground, grasping for Clancy's arm.

"Go on!" Bodine screamed. "Go back! Go!"

"Get in!"

The rifle exploded again. Angel lunged, spurting forward in a wild flight, but somehow Charm reached the lines and pulled him in a tight, rocking circle back to her companions.

Another crack from the rifle. Angel screamed and reared.

"Go!" Raven yelled at her. "Go on!"

"No!" she sobbed.

Death cracked from somewhere behind them. With a lurch and a curse, Raven yanked Clancy into his arms, and then, running beneath his burden, raced for the carriage. Clancy's back hit the floor with a jolt. Raven vaulted over Bodine's body and onto the seat.

Charm slapped the reins against Angel's back. A bullet followed them, soaring between their heads. Far behind, a horse raced toward them and another rifle screamed.

Charm yelled to Angel, calling his name, and they sped ahead.

"God, Joseph!" Clancy's words sounded feeble above the rattle of the wheels and the racing panic of their own hearts. "I'm sorry. Didn't know her then. Didn't mean no harm."

"Shut up!" Raven ordered, dropping to the floor to clasp the other to his chest. "Save your strength. We're almost there. There'll be a nurse there. Hang on!" he groaned, teeth gritted in anguish.

"Don't..." Clancy rasped, gripping Raven's coat. "Don't go, Joseph! Please."

"I'm not leaving."

"No. I gotta..." Bodine grimaced, stiffening again.

"You're all right," promised Raven but Clancy was gone, limp in his arms.

"Turn there. Left!" Raven yelled. Charm pulled Angel about. The carriage careened on two wheels before righting itself and bouncing along behind the racing gelding. One more rocking turn and there was River Bluffs, towering against the night sky.

The carriage slammed to a halt. Raven jumped out, lifting Clancy from the floor to hurry him to the house, but Charm was already at the door, yelling for help. People appeared all around them, jabbering in the uncertain light of uplifted lanterns.

"He's shot!" Raven yelled. "Where's Eloise?"

"Here." A reed-slim woman scurried through the crowd. "Bring him in here. In here!" she ordered, and Raven followed, bearing Clancy's limp body to the dining room table.

"Sara, fetch hot water, bandages. Where's Ty? Someone send Ty for Dr. Wells. Nel, in here quick!" ordered Eloise, and then she was peeling off Clancy's coat.

"You're Caroline's chile, ain't y'?" asked a rusty voice.

Pushed aside as Eloise labored over Clancy, Charm turned woodenly. She struggled to find reality as her gaze fell on the wizened black face set on a bent and ancient body. "What?"

"My fine, little bright-eyed Cari. You're her gal, ain't y'?"

Charm managed no words and the old woman shook her head. "Ain't no reason fer y' to answer. I see her in yer eyes. I see the lovin'. And the hurtin'. Cuz I's Cora, and I knowed yer ma good as anyone. Come along."

"But..." Charm felt lost. Cora. Caroline. Eloise. Did the names trip memories in her mind? Or did she only wish it were so? "Raven might need..."

"You're pale as a ghost," Cora chided. "And I ain't havin' no chile of Cari's faintin' down here midst common folk." The old woman wagged her frizzled head and spoke firmly. "Come now."

Charm followed like one in a trance, not thinking, not feeling; only moving up the stairs, through the huge, old manse.

"Yer mama's room," explained the old woman, lifting her lamp in a feeble grip.

Charm peered in, feeling goose pimples trip across her flesh.

"Thet's right, it was hers," said the crackling voice. "My sweet Cari's. Go on in. Lie down. Out of harm's way," she croaked, shifting her gaze about the room. "I'll call y' if'n you're needed," she said, and closing the door, left Charm alone.

The room was blue and white with a canopy bed and double doors that opened to a high porch. She was in her mother's room. Perhaps. Dear God! An inexplicable loneliness swelled within Charm. She swept toward the door, needing Raven.

"Chantilly?"

The name came from the porch. Charm turned with a start, breathing hard, hearing the voice as if from the depths of a nightmare. "Who's there?" she gasped.

A man in a tan hat stepped into the flickering light of the lantern. Her father! Randall Grady! She knew him immediately. Recognized the face, or the voice, or the evil aura. She wasn't sure which, but suddenly memories flooded her senses in a confusing backwash of terror.

"You're dead." Her words were barely audible. "Raven said so. Jude killed you when I was ten."

"On the contrary, my dear..." Grady stepped forward with a smile. Although Charm knew she should run, she was frozen in place, like a child with no hope of escape, only able to follow him with her eyes as he moved toward the door. "Jude, as you so charmingly call him, didn't kill me. I owe him a great deal." He removed his hat, and Charm saw now that he was no longer handsome, for his nose was strangely bent and his face scarred. "Yes, I'll have to be sure to repay your Jude somehow, for you see, your dear Aunt Eloise didn't recognize me. Of course, she was only a child when I wooed your mother. Once I heard the old woman was gone I knew it was my chance to return. There'd be no one here to remember me. Except maybe a darkie. But they hardly count. I think old Cora distrusts me," he said with a laugh. "Crazy old bat. She'll be the first to go once I marry."

He took a step toward Charm. She retreated, stiff with terror and dark, rising memories. "What do you want?"

Grady shook her head as if she should not have to ask. “The money, my dear child. Always the money. It was supposed to be mine all along, you know. But your mother was foolish enough to get herself disowned." He laughed again, but the sound was low and frightening. "I did my job too well. She was infatuated and wanted nothing but to leave with me. And then you came along."

Charm backed stiffly toward the wall, remembering him reaching for her as a child. Remembering screams as a cigar burned into her thigh.