She smiled. “I don’t know about Eldorado or seven cities. For all I know they may be real. I’d like to try to discover the truth about them someday, but right now my whole purpose is to find Kantalan. And we can find it together, Mr. Delaney.”
Lord, she was stubborn, Dominic thought, trying to smother the spark of admiration tempering his feeling of annoyance. He rose to his feet and inclined his head politely. “Good afternoon, Miss MacGregor. This is the last time we’ll be having this discussion. I’ve had my fill of the MacGregors, father and daughter, badgering me. I want to make my position crystal-clear: I won’t see or talk to you again. If you speak to me, I won’t reply. I hope you have an enjoyable stay in Hell’s Bluff because I promise it won’t be a fruitful one.” He turned away, glancing at Patrick. “Coming?”
“Not right now.” Patrick’s gaze was fixed with sympathy on Elspeth’s face. “You go on. I’ll join you at the Nugget in a little while.”
Dominic felt a jab of exasperation and another emotion which he refused to examine too closely. “Suit yourself,” he said curtly.
Elspeth watched him stride out of the room, her hands clenching ever more tightly. “He’s so hard,” she whispered.
“He’s had to be. He’s been on the dodge for almost ten years,” Patrick said. “He had to get tough or get killed. A man named Durbin has had gunfighters on his trail since he left Killara. Durbin wasn’t satisfied with making sure every lawman in the Southwest was looking for Dom.”
“Durbin?”
“Charles Durbin. When Dominic was about my age, he shot and killed Durbin’s son in a gunfight. It was a fair fight but Dominic was just a little faster.”
“Then why wasn’t he acquitted?”
“It never came to trial. Durbin is a banker in Tucson and has enough money to buy whatever he wants.” He shrugged. “He bought three witnesses who swore the Durbin kid wasn’t armed when Dom shot him. If Dom hadn’t run, they would have hung him.”
“Why are you telling me this? I don’t care if your uncle’s a desperado or not. It doesn’t affect me. I need only one thing from him.”
He smiled gently. “That’s why I’m telling you. So you’ll realize you’re not going to get from him what you’re asking. The kind of life Dom’s led has whipped most of the softness out of him. He does exactly what he wants to do these days.” He paused. “And he doesn’t want to go searching for any lost cities.”
She was silent a moment, her teeth gnawing at her lower lip. Then she rose briskly to her feet. “He’ll have to change his mind. I’ll just have to find a way to wear him down. Where is he staying? I’ll go to see him tomorrow morning.”
He shook his head. “You can’t.”
“Of course I can. Where is he staying?”
“It’s not a place a lady can visit.” He shifted uneasily.
She stared at him in puzzlement.
He sighed resignedly. “Dom rents a room in a wh-house of ill repute.”
“Oh,” she said blankly. “I guess it would be awkward for me to go there.”
His lips twitched. “Yeah. Awkward.”
She brightened. “Well, he can’t stay there all the time. I’ll see him somewhere else.”
“What good would that do? He said he wouldn’t talk to you or see you.”
“He may choose not to talk to me at first, but he will do so eventually.” She smiled with considerably more confidence than she felt. “And there’s no question that he’ll see me. I’ll make certain of it. Thank you for your kindness to me, Mr. Delaney.”
“Patrick,” he corrected her solemnly. “Formality is out of place when a gentleman has recently stuck up a lady’s stagecoach.”
She nodded. “And you must call me Elspeth. Will I see you tomorrow also, Patrick?”
He hesitated before slowly shaking his head. “I have to leave before daybreak for the ranch.” He stood up, his expression troubled. “I may come back next Saturday night, but I imagine you’ll have left Hell’s Bluff by that time.” He hoped so. He didn’t like the way this situation was developing. Dominic’s temper was very finely balanced these days. He wouldn’t allow himself to be pushed far before he turned and savaged any aggressor, and it was clear the little owl was planning on being very aggressive indeed. “If you change your mind, I could arrange for a seat for you on the coach tomorrow morning.”
“I’ll be here when you return next Saturday,” she said firmly. “Thank you, again, Patrick.”
“My pleasure.” He bowed. He had done all he could do. He only hoped Dominic wouldn’t be too rough on her. “Until Saturday.”
She kept a smile pasted on until he had left the parlor. It vanished the moment she could no longer see the back of his fiery hair. She closed her eyes and drew a long, quivering breath. Her knees were shaking and the palms of her hands were moist and cold. This interview had been more difficult than she had imagined it could be. Independence would become easier for her in time, she assured herself desperately. It wasn’t simple to break the habits of a lifetime, and she’d had the bad luck to pit herself against a man like Dominic Delaney in her first real attempt. She had found herself breathlessly nervous and unsure from the moment he’d walked into the room. Even before he’d bluntly refused to consider her offer, she had detected an antagonism in him that had heightened her physical responses to a near painful level of sensitivity. Why had he been antagonistic? She had felt his gaze moving over her face as though trying to see beneath the flesh. What on earth had he been looking for?
A weakness perhaps. She didn’t fool herself that there was anything about her appearance he might find attractive. Her father had been very careful to let her know that men would never look at her with anything but indifference. No, Dominic Delaney had been searching for holes in her armor in order that he might more easily rid himself of her unwelcome presence.
“Are you quite well, Mademoiselle MacGregor?”
She swiftly opened her eyes. Andre Marzonoff stood in the doorway. He had changed into a beautifully tailored coat in a shade of pearl gray; it was even less flattering to his girth than the biscuit-colored one he had worn previously.
However, his concern was obviously sincere and she forced herself to smile. “I’m just tired. I think I’ll go to my room and rest.”
“Perhaps you should have something to eat. I would be honored if you would join me at dinner.”
“I’m not hungry.” Her stomach was fluttering and the very thought of food made her a little ill. Yet he seemed so disappointed, she added, “We could have breakfast together if you’re not engaged.”
His face lit up and he shook his head emphatically. “I would be delighted. I know no one in Hell’s Bluff.”
“Then why are you here?” she asked curiously.
“It is a most exciting place. In Tucson they told me it was the toughest boomtown in Arizona. I thought I would meet many interesting people here.” His tone became carefully casual. “Perhaps you could introduce me to your business associate, Dominic Delaney, when you have finished your transaction?”
“I’m afraid you’d better rely on someone else for an introduction.” She wrinkled her nose. “Mr. Delaney wasn’t pleased with my proposition.”
His smile faded. “Oh. Well, perhaps I can strike up an acquaintance somewhere else. I hear he is a professional gambler.”
“When he’s not shooting people, you mean?” she asked dryly.
His brow furrowed. “Oh, he’s not really a murderer. It is the custom here. A gunfight is as honorable as a duel is in Europe.”
She stared at him in disbelief at his enthrallment with the West and its gunfighters. Suddenly, though, she realized there was something quite vulnerable, even a little pitiful in his childlike excitement. “I see,” she said gently. “I hope you’re able to arrange to meet Mr. Delaney. I believe he was planning on going to a place called the Nugget when he left here.”
“Thank you.” He looked eagerly at the door. “I hope you rest well. Shall we meet in the dining room at nine?”
She was surprised he even remembered their proposed breakfast appointment. It was obvious he couldn’t wait to go in search of Dominic Delaney. “That will be fine.”
