Читать книгу To Seduce a Texan - Georgina Gentry - Страница 9

Rosemary came down the stairs, the hoop skirt swaying as she descended. She might as well begin practicing her resoluteness if she was going to take over the bank. Then she felt herself begin to waver. “Well, Godfrey, you’re home from the bank early.”

“I was so eager to see you. You’ve been overseas for almost a year now.”

“That wasn’t my idea; it was yours.” She took a deep breath. She wasn’t at all sure she had the courage and self-confidence to confront him.

He took her hand, frowning. “Rosemary, dear, as many clothes as you own, that’s a very simple frock.”

She felt herself tremble. “As a matter of fact, it is, but it suites me better than that green ornate silk. I like my clothes simple. I’m thinking about doing away with my corset and hoops entirely.”

“Ah, my dear, surely you jest.” He laughed without mirth. “We’re people of property, and you should dress accordingly.”

“I don’t see why upper-class women should be more miserable than poor ones.”

“Don’t be difficult, Rosemary, dear. You wouldn’t want to be the laughingstock of this town, now would you?” He took her elbow.

She had always felt that people snickered at her behind her back. It’s good she’s rich or that poor, plump thing would never get a beau.

“You’re hurting me,” she said, jerking from his grip.

He seemed to take a deep, shuddering breath for control, but she saw the muscles in his jaw working. “Ahem. Well, whatever you say, my dear. Shall we go into the library for a talk?”

“About what?”

“Do you have to be so blunt? It isn’t very ladylike.” He turned toward the library.

“So my mother told me over and over. It just seems honest to me.” However, she steeled herself and followed him into the library. Did she have the courage to be her own woman now that she was almost of legal age? “Uh, I might as well tell you, Godfrey, I intend to take control over the assets on my birthday.”

His handsome face turned pale and he rushed to close the door. “Rosemary, lower your voice. The servants will hear us and I don’t want them to think we’re quarreling.”

“Are we quarreling? I thought I was merely making a statement.” She took a seat on a straight chair, avoiding the sofa where he might sit next to her.

He sat down at his desk and took out his pocket knife, cleaning his nails. She noted his hands trembled. “Now, Rosemary, dear, let’s give this a lot of thought. You are a woman and know nothing of business. I just don’t think you’re capable of handling the bank.”

“I think I can learn.” She looked him straight in the eye and it felt good.

He sighed and paused, looking at her like he’d like to stab her with the small knife. “Your mother always said you were a difficult child, but I hoped as you matured, you’d change.”

She might as well be brave and plunge in. “I have changed, Godfrey. I may not be a beauty, but I think I’m smart. Besides, between Daddy’s lawyer and old Mr. Wilkerson, I think I can manage.”

“But you have me to look after your interests.” He folded up the knife and gave her the smile he always used on her mother that had gotten him promoted from lowly teller to president of the Prairie View Bank.

“Godfrey, you have never looked after anyone’s interests but your own.” There, she’d said it.

He seemed to be gritting his teeth. “Dearest girl, why must you be so obstinate? I do not wish to argue with you. We’ll have guests arriving in another hour.”

She took a deep breath for courage. “We do have a lot to discuss. You know I’ll be twenty-one at the end of the month.”

He got up from his desk and came over to look down at her. “Yes, I know.” He smiled. “I intend to give a ball in your honor.”

“Must you? I hate balls. I always step on my partner’s feet.”

“Oh, but everyone will expect it. Your dear dead mother would expect it. You know she loved the social scene.”

“I am not like my beautiful, vain mother, as she so often reminded me.”

“Dear, must you be so stubborn and difficult? We’ll talk later when you aren’t so tired from your long trip.”

“Why is it when I don’t try to please everyone, I am being difficult?”

He hooked his fingers in his lapels and stared down at her, his lips smiling, but his cold eyes not. “I know you are lost and still grieving, my dearest child, and need both my protection and my business advice.”

She was not grieving for her mother, who had always been cold and distant, but she knew to say so would only make her seem more obstinate.

She simply stared at him as he abruptly knelt down on one knee and took one of her hands in his. “Dear Rosemary, you misjudge me.”

My mother might have, but not I, she thought as she tried to pull her hand from his, but he held on to it stubbornly.

“You see, my dear, I have developed feelings for you. I know there is a difference in our ages, but—”

“When did all this feeling develop?” She yanked her hand away in shock and, for once, said exactly what she was thinking. “When you discovered Mother had left the estate to me?”

He winced. “You wound me with your cold indifference. I—I have always admired you from afar, and now that dear Agatha is gone, I thought maybe someday, you might consider marrying—”

“What?” She was horrified.

“Oh, my dear, we could have such a great partnership, the two of us.”

“Gracious!” She drew back, speechless. “Uh, get up off your knees, you’ll wear a hole in your fine trousers.” She stood up and walked toward the door. “You always treated me with cold disregard, now you want to marry me? Ridiculous!”

“Wait!” He scrambled to his feet. “Rosemary, dear, let us not be too hasty.”

She trembled with outrage. “I’m not being hasty. I wouldn’t marry you if you were the last man on earth. Oh, I know I’m no beauty and probably no man will ever want me, but I certainly won’t settle for a man who has very questionable intentions.”

He held out his hands in an entreating manner. “I swear my intentions are honorable, my dear. I admit that I have always loved you from afar. That is the reason I sent you away on tour. I didn’t want to cause gossip.”

“So now you think that since it’s been over a year, there won’t be wagging tongues?” She snorted in what Mother would have called a most unladylike manner. “There would be a great deal of gossip if you married your stepdaughter.”

He smiled that oily smile that some women found so irresistible. “I had already considered that, but as you know, I am a pillar of this community. I belong to all the right clubs, I’ve donated a stained glass window to the church and money to the orphans’ fund. I’m sure everyone would overlook it.”

“Godfrey, n-o. No. You will not get control of my father’s assets that way.” She started out the door.

“Don’t make your decision right now,” he begged, following her out into the hall. “After all, this may be the only proposal you ever get.”

The old hurt came back and she blinked back tears as she paused and looked back at him. “You don’t need to remind me that I’m no beauty. Perhaps my talent lies in taking over the bank, in which case, Godfrey, in less than three weeks, I will fire you.”

“Rosemary, your mother would be shocked that you might actually—”

“Please stop mentioning my mother.” Rosemary had never felt such freedom as she did at this moment. “I’ll see you at dinner.” She marched up the stairs.

Godfrey stared after her, furious, then looked around, wondering if the servants had heard. Damn that girl anyhow. She might be homely but she certainly wasn’t stupid. He had hoped to charm her into marriage or at least letting him stay in control of the bank while she joined ladies’ clubs, went riding, and knitted. In a few years, he could embezzle enough to last a long time as he had in St. Louis. Now there was no getting around it, he’d have to murder Rosemary.

Godfrey returned to the library and paced up and down, thinking. How to get rid of Rosemary. He paused, considered, then shook his head. No, he couldn’t do the same thing twice. Maybe he could set up some kind of accident or hire someone to do the job. However, that would be setting himself up for blackmail.

That made him think about Mollie. He had certainly made a mistake getting mixed up with that little tart. Besides, when he was in Kansas City a week ago, he’d hired a new maid who was coming to work next week, one who was twice as pretty, and even a dumb Mick like Mollie would soon realize she was about to be replaced.

No, he’d have to do in Rosemary himself, make her disappear or kill her in a way that there were no suspicions about him. It wasn’t as if it would be the first time.

Waco and his men had walked out of the bank to watch the buggy bearing the banker’s daughter pulling away from town. “Gawd Almighty! Now that’s a Texas-sized gal. I got no use for weak, skinny women. Those kind are always whinin’ and helpless.”

Tom rolled a smoke. “You thought she was purty?”

Waco rubbed his chin. “Wal, maybe not beautiful, but she had lots of soft curves and pretty eyes. A man could do worse.”

“I’ve done worse,” Zeb snorted, “in a saloon at closin’ time when I was lookin’ for a filly to go home with.”

“Yep,” agreed his older brother with a nod, “I’ve seen your women. Most are coyote bait.”

Waco frowned. “This one is a lady. Don’t imagine she’d ever go into a saloon.”

“Speakin’ of which,” Tom coughed, “why don’t we adjourn to that one down the street for a drink?”

“Let’s get some supplies first.” Waco nodded toward the general store. “Then we’ll have a drink. The longer we hang around this town, the more notice we get, and this town is workin’ alive with blue bellies.”

“Ain’t we gonna rob the bank?” Zeb put a chaw in his mouth.

His brother punched his shoulder. “Why don’t you just get up on that there post office rooftop and shout?” he scolded. “There might be a few people that didn’t hear you.”

“Shut up, both of you,” Waco snapped. “We got to decide what to do.”

“Yes, sir,” Tom said without thinking.

Waco glared at him.

“I mean, sure, Waco.”

“That’s better. A slip like that could get us all killed. We got a porcupine by the tail here, looks like. If we don’t get the money, we get shot. If we try to rob this bank with all these Yankee soldiers around, we get shot.”

“Yep, it’s a Mexican standoff.” Zeke nodded and pulled out his harmonica. He began to play “Oh, Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie.”

Zeb spat tobacco juice in the dusty street. “You know, we could just light a shuck for Californy or Canada.”

Waco glared at him. “We’re Texans. We gave our word. That’s sacred.”

“Amen.” Zeke paused in playing his mouth organ. “Remember the Alamo.”

“To the Alamo!” the other three echoed reverently and removed their Stetsons.

“I’ll drink to that,” declared Waco. “First the supplies, and then a drink in honor of the great state of Texas.”

They went into the general store, got bacon, cornmeal, and coffee, then headed down the street through the swinging doors of the Velvet Lady. The place was deserted and smelled of stale beer and cigar smoke.

Waco chose a table near the window where he had his back to the wall but could watch the people and horses moving up and down the main street. An old bartender with a handlebar mustache came up to the table. “What can I get you gents?”

“Beer all around,” Waco drawled.

The man paused, looking interested. “You gents ain’t from around here, are you?”

“Nope, Texas,” Waco said. “We’re up here to sell some beef.”

The bartender grinned. “That new fort will be glad to hear that. They could probably use some meat.”

His partners exchanged glances but Waco said, “How long’s that been there?”

“Just a few weeks. Major Mathis is in charge. It sure is bringing in a lot of business for Prairie View.”

Waco nodded. “Reckon we’ll go see the major. Gracias.”

The other man looked puzzled.

“I mean, thanks,” Waco said. “Now how about those beers?”

The other man grinned and disappeared. Tom started to speak, but Waco motioned him to silence. The barkeep came back with the beers and Waco threw down the change, waited till the man had scooped it up, and headed into the back room before he muttered, “Well, now we know why it’s such a fat bank.”

Tom grabbed his beer, drank thirstily, wiped the foam from his lip. “But, Waco, we don’t have no cows to sell.”

“I got cows,” Waco said, “runnin’ loose on my ranch. Reckon it will be after the war before we can round them up.”

Zeke sipped his beer slowly, savoring it. “We ain’t really gonna pay a social call on the major?”

“Sure we are,” Waco said. He pulled out his gold watch and checked the time. “Otherwise, we’ll arouse suspicion.”

“What if he wants to buy cows?” Zeb asked.

Waco winked. “We’ll price them too high.”

Zeke grumbled, “I don’t see how any of this is gonna help us get the money we need.”

“Let’s get outta here,” Waco ordered, draining his mug. “We got to think about how to get fifty thousand dollars.”

“It might as well be a million,” Tom said, pulling his hat low over his big ears and red hair.

Waco motioned for them to follow him. “We’ll find a place to camp and talk about it, but right now, boys, I think we ought to pay a call on the major and look over that fort, see just how many soldiers they got.”

“Too many!” Zeke snorted. “And half of them standin’ around in this town. We wouldn’t make it half a mile with them chasin’ us.”

As they mounted up, Zeb suggested, “Maybe we could break into the bank at night.”

“With what?” Waco challenged as he swung up into the saddle. “We didn’t come equipped with dynamite or picks and shovels, and if we try to buy stuff like that, everyone would go on the alert like hound dogs sniffin’ a coon scent.”

Zeke wiped his beard with the back of one gnarled hand as he mounted up. “I don’t like it none, this here ridin’ into the fort. “You know in these clothes, we could get shot.”

Waco stared at him with pale blue eyes. “You got a better plan?”

“Reckon not,” the old man admitted.

“Then let’s go, partners,” Waco commanded.

They rode north to the fort. As they approached the new buildings and saw more and more Union troops hanging around the stables and marching on the parade grounds, Waco’s heart sank to the toes of his worn boots. Yep, this was going to be a big fort, drawing in hundreds of troops and more town residents. No wonder Prairie View had such a prosperous bank. Too bad his informant had overlooked this little detail.

Tom leaned toward him and whispered, “I think we seen enough to know there’s too many of them for us to give that bank another thought. Why don’t we just turn around and ride out?”

Waco shook his head and kept riding. “Too many people have seen us. We got to have an excuse for comin’ here.”

He asked a passing private and was pointed toward Major Mathis’s office. The four tied up their horses at the hitching rail and went into the new building.

A pimply faced corporal looked up from a cluttered desk. “May I help you gentlemen?”

“We’d like to see the major,” Waco said.

The corporal’s expression changed at the Southern drawl. “I’ll see if he’s in, but you’ll have to leave your guns with me.”

Waco felt naked without his Colt, but he said, “Sure. We’re here on business.”

As they were taking off their pistols and handing them over, a young officer came out of the other office. He had long blond curls. “Hanlan, I’m leaving early, got a dinner to attend—”

“Sir.” The corporal scrambled to his feet, saluting. “These gentlemen are here to see you.”

The pink-faced major looked annoyed. “What about?”

Waco forced a smile. “If we could just set and talk awhile, Major.”

The major pulled out his pocket watch, fidgeting. “I’m in a hurry, but oh, all right, just for a few minutes.”

“Won’t take much of your time.” Waco grinned and the others stayed behind him as they followed the officer back into his office and took seats.

“Now,” said the young major in a back East accent, “I can tell you’re not from around here. What do you need?”

“It’s what you need, Major,” Waco said. He tried to keep from staring at the blond curls. “We’re up from Texas to see about sellin’ the army some beef.”

The officer scowled at him. “Why don’t you sell that beef to your own side? I figure the Rebs need beef as much as we do.”

Waco shrugged and leaned back in his chair. “We got no side, Major. We don’t give diddly shit about this war. Ain’t that right, fellas?”

The other cowboys nodded.

“Besides,” Waco grinned, “the Rebs is broke. They got no gold to buy beef or anything else, and them paper Confederate dollars is only good to use in the outhouse. We know the Union has real money.”

The major’s frown deepened. “You men look healthy, you ought to be in the service on one side or the other.”

“Like I said, Major,” Waco lied, “we got no dog in this fight. We got a thousand steers we’re thinkin’ about drivin’ up across Indian Territory to feed your troops.”

“No loyalty,” the major snapped. “I don’t like that in a man. Very well, how much for the beef?”

“Just like that without talkin’ some?” Waco asked. “In Texas, we like to have a drink and chew something over a little.”

The major pulled out his watch again. “I’m due at a dinner honoring the banker’s daughter. State your price so we can get on with it.”

Waco glanced around at the others. He didn’t want the major to say yes because he wasn’t about to sell the Yanks beef. Not that he didn’t own ten thousand now worthless cattle back on his ranch, but he only needed an excuse to be in Prairie View.

“Well, Major, it’s a long way through hostile country, both Union and Rebel troops would try to take the steers, as well as hostile Indians along the way, so we’d probably lose half of them.”

“That’s not my problem.” The major looked toward the door and absently twirled a yellow curl.

“I was just tryin’ to explain why the price is so high,” Waco said genially, “I think we’d need at least a hundred dollars a head.”

“A hundred dollars!” The major’s pink face looked incredulous and he stood up suddenly. “You must be insane. Why don’t you just carry a gun and a mask? Go peddle your cows somewhere else, mister. They’re probably stolen anyway.”

“You callin’ me a rustler?” Waco stood up, then remembered he had to control his temper and besides, he’d left his pistol in the outside office. He forced a laugh. “Gawd Almighty! Okay, Major. We’ll find another buyer. Come on, boys.” He turned back to the impatient young officer. “Enjoy your dinner, Major.”

His three friends stood up and they all went out the door. They stopped to retrieve their weapons, not speaking until they were mounted and riding out.

Tom wiped the sweat off his freckled face. “Whew! Talk about waltzing’ into the lion’s den. I was as nervous as a rattlesnake on a hot griddle.”

Zeke guffawed. “Youngster, you got no idea how close we come to a showdown when he called the sergeant a rustler.”

Waco shrugged his broad shoulders. “I did come a mite close to hittin’ him. Well, we had an excuse to get into the fort and now he thinks we’re just rotten varmints, workin’ both sides for profit.”

“Did you see them curls? Who does he think he is, Custer?” Zeke took out his mouth organ and began to play “Yellow Rose of Texas.”

Zeb put a chaw of tobacco in his jaw, grumbling. “We didn’t find out nuthin’ we didn’t already know. Too many soldiers around to rob that bank. We’d never make it to the state line.”

Waco watched the sun moving lower on the horizon as they rode. “Gimme time to think, boys.”

“What do you mean ‘think’?” Zeke complained. “Ain’t we now hightailin’ it back to Texas?”

“You know what’s waitin’ for us there.” Waco frowned. “I thought I saw an old cabin down past the town a few miles as we came up the trail. That might be a good place.”

“That place on the river?” Tom nodded. “Looked deserted.”

“Just a place to rest and think,” Waco said, “let’s go.”

He didn’t dare tell them yet the idea that had just occurred to him. The banker obviously adored his daughter. What if we cowboys kidnapped Miss Rosemary and held her for ransom?