This Fierce Splendor

His reply was barely audible as he hurried from the room.

A few minutes later Elspeth breathed a sigh of relief as she closed the door of her room behind her. She could relax now. There was no one to see how weak and insecure she felt. This America was such a strange place with its brash and fast-moving people. Every time she turned around there was something new and different with which she had to cope. She had traveled extensively with her father both on the Continent and in the Far East but under very different circumstances. Her father had made quite sure she was kept too busy doing his research to have time to experience the practical and emotional difficulties of existing in a foreign land, a fact that had both disheartened and relieved her.

Even this hotel room was strange. The small chamber was clean, but it bore no resemblance to other hotel rooms in which she’d stayed. And, of course, it was nothing at all like her bedroom in the narrow two-story brick home in which she had grown up. The rough pine boards of this floor were covered by bright rugs in a bold design reminding her of a picture of an Aztec mosaic she’d seen in a book in London. The double bed across the room had no headboard and the springs were sagging slightly; the spread covering it was no more than a shabby patchwork quilt. A mahogany nightstand was adjacent to the bed and a rocking chair with a woven straw seat occupied the corner of the room to the left of the window. The mahogany armoire against the other wall was chipped and scarred and the flower-sprigged China basin and pitcher on the washstand next to it were permanently stained. It was a totally depressing and impersonal room, she thought in discouragement. If this sort of room was all that was available to rent, it was no wonder Dominic Delaney chose to live elsewhere.

Then the color stained her cheeks as she realized how naive had been her thought. A man like Delaney didn’t live in a bordello for the quality of the bed but for the quality of the women in it. Elspeth was quite aware of a man’s physical needs and his casual way of satisfying them. Indeed, a by-product of studying antiquities had been the gain of a good deal of knowledge about hetaeras and the services they rendered. Services. The word was inappropriate when used in connection with Dominic Delaney. It sounded bland. Mechanical. That hardly applied to the man whose every movement was intense and radiated vitality. Even when he was still she had been conscious of something waiting to break free. Did it break free when he was with one of those women who lived in the bordello? She could imagine his face dark, intense, as he-

She straightened hurriedly and walked quickly toward the single window across the room. What was the matter with her? What did she care how he behaved toward the Hell’s Bluff version of hetaeras? She pushed aside the rose-colored calico curtains and stared out the window. There was little to see. The window faced the back street, and any view of the grandeur of the mountains she might have had was marred by the white post supporting the balcony and the flight of stairs leading down to the hard-baked dirt of the street. The only attractive thing within sight was a huge stately oak tree at the end of the street. It looked old, very old, and had an air of reassuring permanence in this town that seemed appallingly new.

She let the curtain swing back into place and turned away. The view didn’t matter. She’d probably be in this room very little in the next few days. As soon as she was rested and had recovered from her encounter with Dominic Delaney, she would have to concentrate all her time and energy on convincing him he must give her what she asked. Dear heaven, how was she to do it? How did you persuade a man to do something he didn’t want to do when he’d sworn he wouldn’t even talk to you? Well, she would think of something. But it didn’t have to be right this moment.

She was so very weary. She would curl up on that uninviting bed and try to nap for an hour or so. She would forget Dominic Delaney. Instead, she would think of the exciting search to come. And, perhaps, she would dream of Kantalan.

3

Patrick stepped squarely into a pile of manure. He gave a low exclamation that both identified the substance and expressed his ire at discovering it. He then proceeded with a derogatory tally of Charlie Bonwit’s ancestors. It was damn dark here in the yard of the livery stable. He had told Charlie he would be leaving early this morning, and the least the blacksmith could have done was leave a lantern burning outside the barn. He extracted his foot from the pile and stepped carefully around it, trying to wipe the sole of his boot clean on the hard-packed dirt of the stable yard. Christ, he must look like a horse, himself, pawing in the dirt.

“Patrick?”

He whirled to face the deeper shadows of the smithy’s lean-to on his left and automatically reached for his gun. Then he relaxed as thought caught up with instinct. No threat. His name had been spoken in a soft, uncertain voice shaded with a strong burr. Elspeth MacGregor. His hand fell away from the handle of his gun as he tried to steady the hard pounding of his heart. “You scared the bejiggers out of me. What the devil are you doing here?”

“I’ve been waiting for you.” Elspeth moved forward out of the lean-to. “I think I’ve been here for hours. I didn’t want to miss you. I had no idea what time you meant by ‘before daybreak’ and I-” She stopped and tried to get her breath. She mustn’t sound nervous. It was just that it had been so dark waiting here alone. “I know it’s a great imposition, but I have a favor to ask you that would have been most awkward for me to ask anyone else.”

“You shouldn’t be out here alone,” Patrick said sharply. “Wait here. Charlie usually leaves a lantern hanging on the post just inside the barn. I’ll go get it.” It took him only a few minutes to locate the lantern, light it, and come back to the stable yard. Elspeth was standing where he had left her, her face pale above her black gown. One small, delicate hand was nervously clutching her reticule.

She was frightened, Patrick realized. Frightened and trying desperately not to show it. His annoyance ebbed. “You shouldn’t be here,” he repeated more gently. “Let me walk you back to the hotel.”

She shook her head. “I’ve made a decision. I believe the reason your uncle dismissed me so lightly was that he didn’t realize how serious I am. I have to find a way of making a statement of my determination and let him know I won’t be ignored.” She moistened her lips with her tongue. “It was very cowardly of me to reject the idea or pursuing him to that house of ill repute. It was just that I’m not accustomed to thinking in quite those terms and-”

“Wait just a minute.” Patrick held up his hand. “I don’t like the direction this conversation is taking. Why are we suddenly talking about Rina’s place?”

“Is that its name? We’re talking about it because I’ve decided I have to go there. I think once your uncle realizes I’m prepared to go to those extremes, he’ll treat my request with more respect.”

“You want to go to Rina’s?” He was staring at her, dumbfounded. It was one thing to toy with the amusing image of Elspeth at Rina’s, but the reality was something else again. “No!” he said positively. “A lady does not go to wh-to a place like that under any circumstances.”

“I know that. I’m hardly an ignorant ninny. But there are times when propriety must be put aside, and this is one of them. Your uncle Dominic must be made aware I’m an antagonist worth his mettle.”

“Not this way. Think of something else.”

“You needn’t feel concerned. I wouldn’t think of involving you in the matter.” Her brow knitted in a thoughtful frown. “I decided it would be more practical to go see him quite early this morning. It seemed to me that the establishment would be least populated then. Isn’t that true?”

“Yes,” Patrick said weakly.

“I thought so.” Her expression brightened. “My problem is that I don’t know where this place is located. If I’d asked anyone else, it could have been misunderstood. So I thought you might be kind enough to give me directions.”

Patrick shook his head in amazement at Elspeth. Too nervous to ask directions, but planning on walking into Rina’s place in search of Dominic. The woman before him aroused both his amusement and his protective instincts. “I don’t think you’ve thought this through. There’s every possibility your reputation could be damaged beyond repair. Your presence at Rina’s might definitely be… misunderstood.”

“Why should that bother me? I’m a scholar and an explorer and I couldn’t care less what people say about me.” Elspeth added simply, “not when gossip is balanced against Kantalan. Nothing is more important than Kantalan. Now, will you please tell me where to find this Rina’s place?”