bare. She was young and pretty but her features were wide and her hips
showed signs of broadening With age and the birth of children.
She scowled furiously at Tess and scolded Chavez in Spanish.
'Woman, shut your mouth!' Chavez roared at her. She did not stop talking
until Chavez turned, his fist raised as if he would hit her. The woman
fell silent, but her eyes were eloquent. Her look said that she hated
Tess.
'I am Chavez, and I will do as I choose!' he warned the dark-haired
woman.
He pushed Tess toward her.
'Take her.
Take her to the house. I will come shortly.'
The woman put a hand on Tess's shoulder. Tess shook free from her hand.
'Don't touch me!' she warned her sharply.
'What a woman!' Chavez sighed, and Tess did not know if it was with
mockery or pleasure. She gritted her teeth and stepped past the woman,
striding toward a house she indi The dark-haired woman hurried behind
her.. ~ The daylight was almost gone. By the glow of the fire, Tess
tried to take measure of where she was. The rocks of the mountains rose
all around them, but there were many trails that sprang from the
clearing. She had no idea where they led, but if she could escape during
the night, she could get some distance from Chavez.
'Stop! You stop, you gringa slut!' the woman called out. Tess ignored
her.
She reached the house and threw open the door.
There were just two rooms there. One was a kitchen with dirty shelves
and boxes. Old liquor bottles, chipped and broken, lay upon a dirty,
rickety table. Beyond the kitchen was a bedroom.
Tess stared in horror.
'This is filthy. I cannot stay here.' Behind them, Chavez laughed
sourly.
'Anna, she is right. This is a sty. You will clean it up.' Anna turned
and hit out at him. He grabbed her hands.
She fought him wildly, then went limp. She pleaded with him in Spanish,
her voice catching on a sob. Tess tried to ignore them. She looked
around and saw there was a back door in the bedroom. She tried not to
stare at it, wondering if it wasn't especially designed as an escape
route for Chavez if a stronger force came after him.
She didn't want him to catch her staring at the door so she turned
around and sat on one of the crude wooden chairs that surrounded the
filthy table.
'Tell her to clean it up!' Anna suddenly said, stamping her foot hard on
the floor.
'I will not,' Tess said immediately. She crossed her arms over her
chest.
Chavez was convulsed with laughter once again. He unbuckled his gun belt
and tossed it on the table on top of the debris. He sat in a chair
opposite Tess and stared at her, still very amused, so it seemed.
'She will not clean up your slop, Anna. She is Miss. Stuart. She wears
an Apache squaw's buckskins, but she is a lady. You don't know this,
