to Hell’s Bluff. That doesn’t give you much time.”
“Time enough.” Shamus’s voice took on silkiness as he continued. “By the way, Patrick didn’t tell you the complete price of that pardon I had to buy for you. I didn’t choose to tell him or the rest of the family just how greedy those politicians in the governor’s office turned out to be.”
Dominic stopped as if he’d been struck by a bullet. He turned around and gazed silently at Shamus. Waiting.
“I had to take a mortgage out on Killara,” Shamus said softly, not looking at Dominic. “A very large mortage.”
“God,” Dominic whispered.
Shamus’s gaze rose to meet his son’s. “We could lose Killara. It needs every one of us to keep it alive, to keep it growing.” He smiled with catlike satisfaction as he saw how upset Dominic was. “You might keep that thought in mind during the next three days, son.” He stood up. “I believe I’ll go to bed too. An old man like me needs his rest. Are you planning on going back to Shamrock tomorrow?”
“Yes,” Dominic said absently, his thoughts on the news with which his father had just bludgeoned him. A mortgage. Even the thought of some pompous banker’s hands on Killara made him sick to his stomach.
“Why don’t you stay here and show Miss MacGregor around Killara instead? They don’t need your help over there.” Shamus turned out the lamp and the room was suddenly plunged into darkness. “You know, I believe I like her. At first I thought she was a little too missish for a man like you, but I’ve changed my mind. She has more to her than you’d think from a first look.”
Dominic couldn’t see his father’s face in the dark but his tone was entirely too casual. He agreed warily. “Yes, she does.”
His father passed him, surefooted and certain as a cat, and opened the door to the hall. “A woman is a strange creature. Sometimes she thinks she wants one thing and she really wants another. Did you know that our firstborn, Rory, was three months on the way when Malvina and I went before the priest?”
The inference was clear. There would be no interference, only approval, if he chose to bed Elspeth in his father’s house. The knowledge sent heat tingling through him. First the shock of the mortgage on Killara and then this tacit permission to soothe the lust that had been tormenting him since he had first set eyes on Elspeth. Da was charging ahead with his usual ruthlessness, striking at him where he was weakest. “No, I don’t believe you ever mentioned that fact.”
Shamus’s chuckle drifted back to him as he began to climb the stairs. “I thought it time I did. Good night, Dominic.”
Dominic stood in the dark hall, his hands clenched into fists at his sides. Da had no intention that he should sleep well this night. He wanted him to lie awake worrying about Killara and then think about Elspeth lying in the room next door, and he had accomplished his goals with his usual satanic skill. Dominic deliberately forced his hands to open and relax. He drew a deep breath and headed across the hall, then up the stairs.
He had reached the top step when Rising Star’s door opened and a figure in white drifted out into the hall carrying a candle in a copper holder. At first he thought it was Rising Star, and then the woman closed the door and turned, the flickering light illuminating the pale brown of her hair. Elspeth.
She saw him at almost the same moment, and froze, her eyes wide and startled in the pool of golden light formed by the candle. “Hello.” Her voice was breathless, the words hesitant. “I hope your brothers are well. Did you have a pleasant day?”
“Yes.” His gaze wandered over her, lingering. It was the first time he had seen her in anything but black, and the sight of her in the white gauze gown came as a shock. He hadn’t realized what a difference the absence of that black mourning gown would make. She was suddenly a vibrant woman, a part of life and the living. “You look different.”
She smiled. “That’s what I told Silver. It’s a very pretty gown, isn’t it? I decided it was time to put away mourning and Rising Star permitted me to borrow it.”
“Very pretty.” He tore his gaze away from the womanly curves defined by the gown and looked back at her face. “You’ve spoken to Rising Star?”
“Yes. Brianne, Silver, and I spent the evening with her. I enjoyed it enormously.” A tiny frown marred her brow. “I like both Rising Star and Silver so much. I can’t understand why your mother and father won’t accept Silver.”
“Their experiences with the Apaches haven’t been happy ones,” Dominic said. “I’m not saying they’re right not to accept Silver, but I can understand how hard they would find it to do. From the day we came to Killara we had to fight to keep our land and cattle.” His face became shadowed. “Burnings, deaths, raids. My brother Rory and his wife died in one of those raids. There were times when we didn’t know if any of us would see the next day. My brothers and I grew up believing the Apaches were the enemy. It was only after we got back from San Felipe and Da decided the fighting had to stop or we’d lose everything we’d gained that we paid a visit to Rising Star’s village to try to make peace.”
“But Joshua married Rising Star,” Elspeth protested. “
Something flickered in Dominic’s face. “You’ve met Rising Star. She’s very beautiful and Josh went a little crazy when he saw her.”
“Are you saying he doesn’t love her?”
“No, he does love her, there are just some problems-” He stopped. “Look, Josh’s marriage is none of my concern.”
“Why did your father let Joshua marry Rising Star if the family felt that way?”
“She was the chief’s daughter and he knew it would clinch the peace and protect Killara.”
Elspeth stared at him. “To protect Killara. What about Rising Star? What about the way she felt at being used as a pawn?”
He frowned. “She wanted Josh. Nobody forced her into the marriage. Josh and Boyd were damn close, and it was too bad that Boyd was killed by Sun Eagle so soon after Rising Star and Josh married. It made things a bit uneasy for everyone here.”
“It made things ‘uneasy’ for Silver too,” Elspeth said sharply. “What about her? None of this was her fault and yet all of you have made her the victim. Why didn’t you fight for her, Dominic?”
“I wasn’t here, dammit,” he said testily. “And I was busy fighting a few battles of my own. Hell, I felt the same way they did until I found out a white man could be just as big a bastard as any Indian on the face of the earth. It was a very enlightening discovery.”
“Well, someone should have helped her.”
“Rising Star did what she could.”
“It wasn’t enough. You should have made your family see that they had a duty toward her.”
“If they won’t even concede that she’s Boyd’s child, how do you expect them to admit they have any obligation?”
“Oh, I don’t know, but it’s not fair.” Tears glistened in her eyes. “None of it is fair.”
His annoyance disappeared as he felt an aching tenderness stir. “No, it’s not fair, but what my mother and father suffered wasn’t fair either. In their eyes they’re being generous just tolerating Silver’s presence.” His lips twisted ruefully. “I guess you’ve noticed she doesn’t make it easy for them.”
Elspeth shook her head. “She’s in so much pain. Don’t you see it? Someone has to help her.” She turned wearily away. “Oh, what’s the use of talking about it? Why should I expect anyone to help Silver?”
His gaze searched her face, noting its paleness and the dark circles beneath her eyes. “You’d better get to bed. You shouldn’t have stayed up this late. You’re doing too much.”
Elspeth’s shoulders moved in an impatient half shrug. “I refuse to pamper myself any longer, I’m getting stronger all the time.”
He hesitated. “Did Rising Star speak to you about Kantalan?”
“Yes.” Anger flared in Elspeth’s eyes. “It was very wrong of you to try to persuade her not to help me, but I have no intention of discussing your interference tonight. The only thing I want to do right now is go to bed, cover my head with the sheet, and forget about you and everyone in the territory of Arizona. I’ll talk to you in the morning.”
He watched her as she marched militantly down the hall, holding the candle before her as if it were a torch. He
