Ecstasy's Promise (Historical Romance) (45 page)

"Take your hands off me, Edward. I cannot stand for you to touch me.” He released her reluctantly. "I have stood about all I can stand for one day. I am going to my room."

"Darling, please, we must talk. I am sorry I lost my temper."

"No more today, please. Just leave me in peace." She left him standing in the middle of the room, a haunted look on his face.

In time she would come to realize he had made the only decision he could. He walked over to the window and stood where she had stood moments ago. He could smell the faint scent of lilac that lingered in the air. He closed his eyes and rubbed his throbbing head. He felt his world was crumbling about him, and he was helpless to stop it.

He then walked wearily into his study, poured himself a brandy, sat down in the leather armchair, and stared into space. Sometime later Juanita knocked on the door to tell him dinner was ready.

He yelled at her to leave him alone.
Senora
Victoria had refused to eat the tray of food she had taken to her bedroom. Juanita shook her head sadly. Something was very wrong.

Edward paced up and down the room. Why, why, did this have to happen to him and Victoria? And the incident involving Monica: how could Victoria believe that he would want Monica when he had her? He buried his head in his hands and cried tears of grief. God help me, he prayed; I do not know what to do.

*                            *                            *

Victoria spent a sleepless night. She tossed and turned, unable to find any peace for her heartache. She was afraid for the life of her unborn child. She had no doubt that Edward would force her to give up the baby.

She cried into her pillow; never had she felt so devastated. Why had Edward turned to Monica, when he claimed to love her? He had destroyed their love; why had she ever thought he loved her?

When she had no more tears left, she lay on her bed staring into the darkness. Cold reasoning took over. She would have to take some action, and do it quickly.

She must find Bodine; he would help her.

She turned her face to the window waiting for the sun to come up. She must leave Rio del Lobo, and Texas.

A shudder racked her body. If Edward discovered her plan before she could get safely away, he would prevent her from leaving. She knew he could be ruthless when he was crossed. Victoria would have to be very clever to outsmart him.

As the first fingers of dawn filtered through her bedroom window, she prayed for the courage and wit to face the ordeal that awaited her.

Juanita knocked softly on the study door. She did not want to encounter Edward's wrath as she had the night before.

When he did not answer her knock, she opened the door cautiously. Edward was asleep on the leather couch; an empty brandy bottle lay on the floor beside him.

Juanita shook him gently.
"Senor
Eduardo, wake up; it is morning." He arose wearily and went up the stairs. He tiptoed past Victoria's room so he would not wake her.

He washed and changed clothes. He felt the need to be alone; he would take a ride down by the river and decide what to do.

Edward needed solitude, and a chance to sort out the heartbreaking problem that faced him.

28

Victoria waited until she heard Edward ride away; then she hurriedly wrote him a note and left it on his desk. She told Juanita about the note and that she was going to her grandmother's.

Juanita, a frown on her face, watched as Victoria left the house and walked toward the stables. She wondered what had upset
Senor
Eduardo and
Senora
Victoria. They had both been behaving strangely.

Victoria walked over to Rebel's stall. She laid her face against his smooth black coat. I have to leave you, Rebel, she said softly. You would be too easily recognized, and what I do now, I must do quickly. She patted his shiny coat and saddled the gelding, Warwick, that belonged to Edward.

She had taken what money she thought she would need for the trip to Georgia, and to see her through until after her baby was born. She rode to her grandmother's ranch, unaware that the morning was bright and clear and that birds were singing in nearby trees. She only knew she had to find Bodine. He would help her.

Lupe told Victoria that her grandmother was in San Antonio and would not be back until the next afternoon. This was working out better than she had hoped. Now she would not have to face her grandmother.

From Lupe Victoria also learned that she would find Bodine in the barn. Victoria thanked her and quickly ran from the house with a feeling of urgency. What if Edward had returned to Rio del Lobo? Would he come after her?

She found Bodine in the barn pitching hay into the loft. When he saw her he leaned on the pitchfork and studied her face.

"What's wrong, Imp?"

He knew her so well; would he understand what she must do?

"Bodine, I am going home to Georgia."

He frowned. "What's the matter? Did you and Edward have a quarrel?"

Victoria sat down on a wooden stool and folded her hands in her lap. "I am going to have a baby."

Bodine knelt down beside her so he could see her face better. "That is good news, isn't it?"

"Dan says if I have this baby I may . . . die."

Bodine gripped her around the waist, and rising to his feet, drew her into his arms. He felt as though history were repeating itself. He came very near losing his composure. "Maybe you had better tell me everything."

Victoria looked up at him. "Dan thinks I should not have this baby."

"What does Edward say?"

"He says we will do what Dan wants."

"Do you agree with them?"

"No," she said calmly. "I will have my baby. Bodine, if my mother had made the choice they want me to make, I would not be here. Can I do any less than my mother did?"

"Running away is not the answer."

"You do not understand. Edward said if I did not agree, he would force me to give up my baby. And that's not all, Bodine." The tears she had been fighting against spilled down her face. She sobbed against Bodine's chest as she told him about Monica and Edward.

He stroked her hair gently and let her cry until she could cry no more. "Honey, I believe Edward. Things are not always what they seem. You should know that."

She dried her eyes on the handkerchief Bodine handed her; then she pulled away from him. "I am going home, and not you, Edward, or anyone else will stop me."

Bodine knew her well enough to know that when she got that look in her eyes there would be no dissuading her. "He will follow you, Victoria."

"Not if he cannot find me. That is where I want your help, Bodine. Send everyone away so they cannot see me leave. Edward will be looking for a girl. I think it is time to resurrect Charley once more."

"When do we leave?" he asked purposely.

Victoria's face lit up. "You will come with me, Bodine?"

"I do not approve of what you are doing, but you know I will not let you go alone."

"I hoped you would feel that way. We must hurry, Bodine, we do not have much time. Lupe told
me Grandmother is away. I hate to go without saying
good-by to her, but we must leave right away if we are to succeed."

"I will saddle my horse," he told her simply.

She went to the house, quickly wrote two notes, one for her grandmother and one for Edward, and
placed them on the hall table. She still felt very little
emotion. Her head, not her heart, was ruling her actions.

She went into the bedroom which had been hers such a short time ago. Opening the wardrobe, she found what she was looking for—the britches that she had worn on her flight from Georgia. She dressed quickly, making sure to leave nothing behind. She slipped carefully down the stairs, not wanting to encounter Lupe.

She found Bodine mounted on his horse, and looked up into his face. "Thank you, Bodine, for being here when I need you."

"Mount up, Victoria, you are wasting time."

They rode away from the Anderson ranch, not by
the main road, but through the pasture. Victoria could not help but draw the comparison to that other day so long ago when she had fled from Georgia.

They skirted Cedarville. Luck was with them, for
they encountered no one they knew. Once they heard a wagon coming down the road, and hid in some bushes until it passed. Gone was the happy
carefree woman who had laughed and loved such a
short time ago. In her place was a woman devoid of
feeling. Her eyes no longer sparkled. She felt no pain
and no sadness, only determination to put as many miles between her and Texas as she could manage.

Victoria knew she and Bodine must be clever. She knew of Estancio's ability to track, but she^ would leave nothing behind for him to find. She knew Edward would hunt her relentlessly, but he would not find her. She knew he would not let her have her baby if he found her, and that fear pushed her onward.

They rode until long after dark. When they passed through San Antonio, the population was asleep. They found a small inn on the outskirts of town. As Victoria lay in the small, lumpy bed, she was grateful they would soon be on board a ship and she could rest.

She thanked God for Bodine. He did not like what she was doing, but he would help her all the same. He was the only real person in her life at the moment. He and her baby. She hoped the hard riding they had done would not be harmful to the baby. She had to chance it though. She closed her eyes, wishing for the blessed release of sleep, but could only see Edward and Monica as she had found them yesterday. Was it only yesterday? Strange, she thought, it seemed a whole lifetime ago.

When Edward returned home late in the afternoon, he was met at the door by Juanita.

"Senora
Victoria is not home," she told him. "She went to her grandmother's, but she left a note for you on your desk."

Edward went into his study, found the note, and read it:

Edward,

I needed time to think. I will spend the night with my grandmother. I am sure you will understand I need this time to put things in the right perspective.

It was unsigned. He placed the note on his desk. It was good she had gone to her grandmother. Mammaw was wise and would advise Victoria to do the right thing. After all, Mammaw had lost her daughter; she would not want to lose Victoria in the same way.

He would bring her home tomorrow.

It was late afternoon when Edward rode over to the Anderson ranch. He knocked on the door and waited impatiently for an answer.

Mammaw answered the door. "This is a pleasant surprise, Edward," she greeted him. "What brings you out our way?"

"I have come for Victoria. Is she feeling better?"

Mammaw looked at him puzzled. "Victoria is not here. Why should you think she was?"

Edward felt fear grip him. "She spent the night here last night, didn't she?"

"Lupe said she came by yesterday morning, but she left. I only returned from San Antonio a short time ago."

"I do not understand what is going on, but I will damned sure find out, Mammaw."

He brushed past her and called for Lupe.

Mammaw watched as Edward grilled Lupe relent
lessly, but she could tell him nothing except that
Senora
Victoria had left two letters on the hall table.

Edward ran into the hallway and found the two letters. One was addressed to him, the other to Mammaw.

He handed Mammaw hers, and opened his with trembling hands and read:

Edward,

I find I can no longer live with you. The price
is too high, and I cannot pay it, so I am going away. I see no other way to handle our problems. Do not worry for my safety, Bodine
is with me. You will be wasting your time if you
search for me, for I assure you I will cover my tracks well.

Victoria

"She will not get away with this," Edward said angrily, crushing the letter in his fist. "I will have the whole damned state of Texas looking for her."

Mammaw had finished her letter and looked at
Edward. "Maybe you had better tell me what this is
all about."

"What does she say in your letter?" Edward asked.

"Only that you will explain, and she asks me to forgive her for what she must do. What is going on, Edward?"

"I haven't time to explain now," he said wildly. "I
have to round up some men and find her."

"Then I will ride with you and you can explain on the way."

Everyone was questioned at the ranch. Some had seen Victoria arrive, but none had seen her leave because Bodine had sent them all to the north ridge. Soon every available man from the Anderson ranch and Rio del Lobo was scouring the countryside, looking for Victoria and Bodine.

Late that night Estancio reported back to Edward. "No one has seen them,
Patron.
It is as though they disappeared into thin air."

Mammaw was with Edward in his study, and watched as the color drained out of his face.

"If you did not find her, then what are you doing back here?" he raged at Estancio. "Send the men out again, and do not come back until you have her."

Estancio retreated hastily, determined that he would find
Senora
Victoria. None of the men knew the reason for Victoria's flight, but they asked no questions. It was enough to know the woman they all adored had disappeared for some reason unknown to them, and each man was determined to find her. It was apparent to them that she was in some kind of danger, and they searched throughout the night and into the next day.

Edward paced up and down the study, stopping in front of Mammaw every so often, to ask her where she thought Victoria might be.

She watched him for a while, and finally asked him to sit beside her. "We have to reason this out, Edward."

He sat down by her wearily, and buried his face in his hands. "I guess I have not been thinking too clearly, Mammaw. Talk some sense to me. Help me reason," he pleaded with her.

"All right," she said, taking command. "We have to think as they would. Let's think of the places they might have gone."

"To Georgia," he said.

"That is a possibility," she answered, "but I doubt it. They would know that is the first place we would think of. Where else would they go, Edward?"

"Victoria might go to Jamaica. She is very fond of Cullem and Dorothea."

"That is a possibility," Mammaw told him. "Bodine told me once when he thought Victoria was going to be arrested he would take her to California."

"I think we can count that out," Edward said.

"We cannot discount anything, Edward."

"If we have not found them within a week, I will send Price to Georgia and Estancio to Jamaica." Edward stood up. "Mammaw, how can she do this to me? Doesn't she know what she is putting me through?"

Mammaw stood up and slipped her arm about him. She could feel some of what he was feeling. She intended to give Victoria a good tongue-lashing when they found her.

"Why don't you go up to your room now, and try to get some rest?" she said, concerned that he could not endure much more.

"No," he said wearily. "I am going to ride into town. Maybe no one has thought to talk to Clarissa.

There is the possibility that she has seen her."

Mammaw nodded, knowing it would do no good to try to dissuade him. "I will wait here in case there is some word. There is just one thing," Mammaw said; "we cannot underestimate Bodine. If he does not wish them to be found, there isn't a man alive, not even Estancio, who can uncover his trail."

"Why would Bodine help her in this?" Edward asked. "Doesn't he realize what the consequences are?"

"Bodine would do anything for Victoria. It is my guess that she threatened to go alone unless he went with her. In my way of thinking, we are lucky she has him to look after her."

"Is there any chance that Bodine will let us know where they are?"