Hannah Howell (26 page)

"Sí,"
replied Antonie. “I have seen him with Raoul before, but I have no name for him."

“And why should you be knowing any names, ma'am?"

“I told you. I know these people. I am from Mexico."

“Ah. Well, don't reckon his name is Douglas Saunders, hmm?"

“No, it is not. I am sure of that."

“Don't happen to know anyone named Saunders, do you?"

“No, Sheriff. Royal?"

“Nope,” Royal answered. “Found the watch on him, did you?"

“Yup,” the sheriff said. “Reckoned he'd stolen it."

The sheriff calmly pocketed the watch and Antonie put a hand over her mouth to try and smother a giggle. Royal shot her a quelling, scolding glance and then looked at the sheriff.

“Shouldn't that stay with the body, sir?"

“Why? He ain't going to need it. Ain't his either. I've been needing me a new watch. Now, you meet up with a fellow named Saunders who has lost himself a watch, you send him to me. I'll give it to him. I ain't letting that damn undertaker get this one. Undertakers are the biggest damn thieves there is,” the sheriff said emphatically.

“Now, you ain't done nothing wrong so I can't be running you out of town or arresting you. However, I've got me enough trouble and work to do and enough crooks to tussle with that I don't need any brought up from Texas. Since this Mendez feller followed you up here, I reckon he'll follow you home, too."

"Sí,"
replied Antonie as she stood up and moved to Royal's side. “He will."

“Well, then, when are you leaving?” the sheriff demanded.

Antonie could tell that Royal was angry as they walked away from the sheriff's office. She had trouble keeping up with his long strides, and he did not say a word until they stopped abruptly before the mercantile store. It was difficult to know if she should just be quiet and let him wrestle with his anger by himself, or if she should try to pull him from his mood with conversation. When he solved her dilemma, she was glad for she wanted a return to the cheerful, easy camaraderie they had been enjoying before their visit to the sheriff's office.

“This is the first time I've had a sheriff ask me to leave town,” he murmured.

“He just asked when you were leaving,” Antonie pointed out.

“Antonie, you know damn well he would've asked us to leave if I hadn't said we were going tomorrow morning."

"Sí,
but he really wasn't asking you to leave. He wants Mendez to go away."

“I know, and Mendez goes with us. Here, what do you think of that hat in the window?"

“It is silly."

“Silly? The sign says it is the latest Paris fashion,” Royal said, feigning shock at her flippant remark.

“What's it doing out here?"

His mood gradually improved and Antonie was glad of it. For a little while it was nice to put aside their troubles, forget about the dangers, and act like a carefree couple. Sometimes he even made her feel as if she were being courted, which sent her into blushing confusion, but she loved it. She even allowed him to buy the frivolous hat.

That night as she held him close, both of them struggling to recover from a somewhat wild lovemaking session, she found herself wondering if they had really settled what had kept them apart. They had tumbled into bed and there had been a lot of talk about possession. She suddenly realized that he had said nothing to show clearly that her simple denial of being Oro's lover had been enough. Their reunion had occurred when the truth about Oro and Patricia had been revealed. She hit him.

“Yow!” Royal sat up abruptly, rubbing the arm she had punched. “What was that for?"

“When did you start to believe me?” she demanded.

“About what?” Royal asked, puzzled.

“About Oro. I said I would not be with a man who thought me a liar. You never said you stopped thinking it. You didn't say much of anything about it at all."

“Antonie,” he warily lay down at her side and took her into his arms, “I was starting to believe you before that."

“I did not see that."

“No, I was thinking about it. Before the fight at the rocks. Actually, from that day you got jumped while bathing. I got to thinking that you'd never lied to me. I decided to try and push the anger away and take a closer look at things."

“And you saw that I did not lie.” She slid her arms around him, moving her hands lovingly over his strong back.

“We-ell, I got to thinking that you weren't lying about Oro and you, but that you were hiding something. I'd just started to look closer at Patricia and Oro when the truth came out."

“Ah, I see. Okay, then I compromise."

“Compromise?"

"Sí.
You said you did not think I lied, but you did not fully trust me. This I can understand. So, it is all right now. I compromise like Tomás said I should.” She twined her leg around his and pressed the full length of her body against him. “Do I get a reward?"

“Call it a reward if you want to. You were going to get it anyway."

"Sí?"

"Sí.
The ride home will be hard and fast and none too private. There won't be a chance for this."

“Ah, how sad. I will miss this soft bed.” She giggled when he moaned and pushed her onto her back. “You did not mean the bed,
querido?"

“No, I did not mean the bed. Let me show you what I meant."

“What a good idea."

Antonie aimlessly swung at the hand shaking her by the shoulder and tried to snuggle farther into the bed. “Go away."

“There's nothing I'd like better than staying tucked up in that bed with you, honey, but we have to get going."

“Oh.” She rolled over onto her back and stared sleepily at Royal, even as she wondered why she was finding it so hard to wake up in the mornings lately. “Time to go back."

“ ‘Fraid so. If you get moving we can have a good breakfast. It'll be trail fare after this."

“I will be along quickly. You know what I like."

“I know what I like, too, but I'll go order breakfast instead."

She giggled and, as soon as he was gone, hopped out of bed. Gasping slightly, she quickly sat, then lay back down until the swimming in her head had passed. Grimacing, she rose cautiously. Her physical problem was not going away as she had hoped it would. Whether or not she liked it, she would have to see a doctor when they returned to the ranch. She just hoped that the long ride back would give her enough time to quell her fears about what the doctor might say was wrong.

As they got ready to mount outside the hotel, Royal studied Antonie. She had looked very pale when she had come down to breakfast, and a full meal had not improved her color much. He almost blamed himself for keeping her awake and exhausted with his lovemaking, but he suddenly remembered a number of other mornings when she had looked distinctly wobbly and he had not touched her for weeks. Moving to her side, he helped her into her saddle.

“Are you all right, Antonie? Perhaps we could wait just one more day."

“No. Everyone is ready now. Besides,” she nodded toward where the sheriff watched them, “someone waits for us to go."

Royal cursed softly. “And Mendez with us."

“We cannot blame him for that."

“No, reckon not. Are you sure you're all right?"

"Sí, querido.
Some fresh air and I will be better.” She smiled faintly. “All this honest work is harder than I thought it would be."

“Cute, Antonie. Well, let's go then, but if you feel the need, we can slow down or even stop. Remember that."

"Sí, patrón."

After giving her a repressive glance, he went to his own horse. As they rode by the sheriff, he tipped his hat and the man returned the gesture. When the sheriff looked at the watch he had taken from the dead
bandido,
Royal heard Antonie laugh and he shook his head.

By the time they took a brief rest at noon, Royal decided that Antonie was fine. The long drive and all the trouble they had faced probably accounted for her fatigue and her paleness. A few hours of fresh air had indeed brought improvement and Royal decided he had been worried about nothing.

Antonie breathed a sigh of relief when Royal finally stopped keeping such a close watch on her. She felt a lot better just as she always had before. The sick feeling and the dizziness never lingered for long but she knew she would have to hide it better than she had been if it continued. She was very concerned about what ailed her, and she really did not want someone else hovering worriedly over her. Sighing, Antonie decided it was going to be a long ride back to the ranch.

“Well, there is your ranch,
amigo.
Safe and sound,” Antonie said quietly.

She had sensed Royal's and his family's growing tension as they had neared the ranch. Although all their neighbors had assured the Bancrofts that they would keep an eye on things, the ranch had been left mostly defenseless for months. The victory of getting the cattle sold would have been severely diminished if they had come back to find only ashes.

“Let's just hope that everyone in it is, too,” Royal murmured as he spurred his horse down the small rise where they had stopped.

A grinning Old Pete greeted them as they reined in before the house and quickly made Maria's boys, Sancho and Carlos, see to the horses and the gear. Royal and the rest of the party had barely stepped inside the house when Maria and Rosa rushed to greet them.

“Darling!” called an elegant female voice. “I am so glad to see you back safe and sound. How lucky it was that I chose to stop by today."

Lucky was not the word Antonie would have chosen as she leaned against the stairpost and watched Marilyn rush into a startled Royal's arms. The only thing that kept her jealousy in check was the look of helpless embarrassment Royal sent her even as Marilyn kissed him. His swiftness in ending the embrace also pleased her. She had no idea of what, if anything, Royal had decided to do about Marilyn, but she was glad to see that he was at least trying not to play both sides of the fence.

“You've been coming here?” Royal asked as he disentangled himself from Marilyn's embrace.

“Of course, darling. I told you I would watch out for everything."

Antonie choked back a laugh when Maria rolled her eyes heavenward.

“Now,” Marilyn continued blithely, “I can assure you that your homecoming will run smoothly. We can talk while Maria and that girl heat the water for your bath. There's so much that happened while you were gone."

“Couldn't it wait? Look, why don't you go home and—"

“Nonsense, dear. I can help."

Seeing that it was going to take him a while to extract himself from Marilyn, Royal looked at Antonie. “Why don't you go and have your bath, Antonie?"

“Are you saying that I stink,
amigo?"

“You smell about as good as I do."

"Ai yi yi.
You'd best heat enough water for three baths, Maria,” Antonie said, and laughing at the mock glare Royal sent her, dashed up the stairs.

Even as she entered her room, she heard the others hurriedly deserting Royal. Antonie thought sadly that, if Royal did wed Marilyn, the house would lose a great deal of its friendliness. Royal would find that his family would begin to drift away, and she knew that that would hurt him. She shook away that distressing thought and started to get ready for the bath she knew would soon arrive.

Watching Maria closely as the woman filled the tub, Antonie wondered just how often Marilyn had come around. Marilyn did seem to act as if she had free rein over Royal's home, and Maria had to find it an ordeal to constantly swallow the woman's attitudes and the deriding of all the work Maria did.

“I don't think Royal would fire you if you just told that woman to shut her mouth,” Antonie said quietly.

“I am not sure if he would or not,” Maria replied, “but there would be some trouble and it is not worth it."

Slipping into the water with a sigh of pleasure, Antonie looked at Maria, who was gathering up her dirty clothes. “Is there a good doctor in the area?"

“You are ill?” Maria asked fretfully.

“I am not sure."

“How can you not be sure?"

“It comes and goes."

“Oh? You tell me. I have seen a lot of sickness and do a little doctoring. Maybe it is a thing I have seen."

“Well, I would prefer talking to you. The doctor is a man, eh?” Maria nodded. “This is a female trouble I think."

“Ah,
sí, sí.
You do not want to talk to a man about such things.” Maria sat on the bed. “You tell me. It hurts bad? You bleed too much maybe?"

“Right now I do not bleed at all. I did not think on that until the ride home. I was worried about the other things, but then I remembered that I did not bleed once on the drive. Then I think these things are all connected,
sí?"

“What other things?"

“I am so tired. A lot am I tired. Always I wake up quick and alert, but no more. It is so hard to get out of bed.” Antonie shook her head. “And if I get up too quick I feel sick, and my head, how it swims. It takes time to go away.” Worried by the odd look on Maria's face, Antonie asked nervously, “I have heard that a growth can stop a woman's flow. Do you think I have one of these?"

“Oh, a growth,” Maria choked out and then started to laugh.
"Por Dios,
a growth, eh?"

“Maria? Maria, this is not funny. What is wrong with me?"

“Wait, wait,” Maria gasped, struggling to stop laughing.

“I was not finished. I think it is bad,” Antonie said weakly as Maria started to calm down. “My stomach moves. It wiggles.” She was dismayed when that only caused Maria to start laughing again. “I could be dying and you laugh."

“Oh,
chica,
forgive me,” Maria said as she moved to the side of the tub and briefly hugged Antonie, but she still shook with an occasional chuckle. “Stand up,
chica. Sí, sí.
Not so slim here now, eh?” she murmured as she put her hands on Antonie's waist. “Ah,” she sighed as she rested her hand on Antonie's stomach. “There is the wiggle.
Sí,
a strong one."