issue of who was to inherit Three Oaks.
Even if Rip willed the plantation to Luke, there was the distinct possibility Luke might deed it back to Sloan. If she ever got title to Three Oaks, she would have to make a choice.
And Cruz still was not sure she would choose him.
He turned to Luke and asked, “Is it only a cold that has Rip laid up?”
Luke shrugged. “So far as I can tell. I’m damn sorry to hear what happened, Cruz. I’ll send word to Lion’s Dare and Golden Valley. I know Sloan’s family will want to do everything they can to help.”
“Thanks, Luke. I appreciate the offer. When I turned the horses over to the man at the barn, he said Beaufort LeFevre is here.”
“I wrote Sloan a week ago about it. Didn’t she give you the message?”
Cruz frowned. “No. She did not.” He looked up the stairs. He would give Sloan a chance to get settled and then they were going to have a talk.
“Would you like to meet my father?” Angelique asked. “I’ll be glad to take you to see him. He’s staying in the bachelors’ quarters out behind the main house.”
Cruz smiled and extended his arm to Angelique, who placed her palm daintily upon it. “I would appreciate that.” He turned to Luke. “Will you see that Tomasita gets settled?”
“Yes, of course.”
With that assurance, and with another exchange of glances that said volumes and issued admonitions, Cruz turned with Angelique and walked out the front door.
Luke and Tomasita were left alone. Luke gestured to a rocker bench along one wall of the central hallway. “You look tired. Would you like to sit down?”
Tomasita laced her fingers together and gripped them hard in front of her. “I… No thank you.”
They stood there awkwardly for another moment before Luke said, “Are you all right? You weren’t hurt by the tornado?”
“No.” She looked up into his hazel eyes, but if he cared at all for her, his feelings were carefully hidden in their golden depths. She took a deep breath and said, “Your child and I are both fine.”
Luke completely lost his composure. Tomasita watched a myriad of emotions pass through his eyes, beginning with elation and ending with anger, before he regained control.
“I won’t ask if it’s mine. I guess there’s little doubt of that, as closely as Cruz has you watched.” His voice hardened as he asked, “Have you told the man you’re planning to marry that you’re carrying my child?”
“I do not plan to marry Don Ambrosio.”
“Sloan said-”
“I am going back to Spain.”
Luke felt as though he’d just been kicked in the gut. “You’re leaving Texas?”
“As soon as I can. I am going back to live in the convent.”
Luke grasped her arms in desperation. “You don’t belong in any damn convent!”
“Where else can I go? No gentleman of class will have me now that I am… And I cannot impose on Don Cruz forever.”
Luke frowned. “Does Cruz know about the baby?”
“I have not told him yet. When I do, I am sure he will understand my decision.”
Luke snorted. “Like hell. After he beats the pulp out of me, he’ll have us standing in front of a preacher so fast it’ll make your head spin.”
In a small voice, Tomasita asked, “Would that be so bad?”
Luke couldn’t meet her eyes. “Aw, hell.”
“I guess it would,” she said, sounding defeated. She turned to go back out the front door. “I should not have come here.”
Luke grabbed her arm and spun her back around. “Wait a minute. Where are you going?”
Her eyes flashed with anger. “None of your business!”
“I’m making it my business.”
“Like you made the blond woman-
“
Tomasita’s palm whipped around and slapped Luke hard. “I do not want to hear any more! I suppose you will be describing me the same way to your next conquest.”
Tomasita tried to pull herself from Luke’s grasp, but he held on and backed her up against the wall, holding her there with his body.
“What the hell did you do that for? I just got through telling you Angel and I aren’t lovers-”
“Anymore!” Tomasita interrupted. “Just like I am not your lover anymore.” She couldn’t stop the tears that started to spill. “I feel so…” She took a deep breath in an attempt to forestall the sob that sought release. “I feel so… dirty.”
Tomasita couldn’t look at Luke. She felt his hand on her chin forcing her face up, but she kept her gaze on the floor.
“Look at me, Tomasita.”
“No.”
“Then listen to me, mustang girl.”
“Pretty words will not help now, Luke,” she said, her heart pounding painfully after hearing his endearment. “What is done is done.”
“You don’t have to go back to Spain,” he said, his voice hoarse with emotion. “I’ll take care of you.”
She allowed herself to hope. She lifted her gaze and met his eyes, that were now more green than gold. “You will marry me?”
His eyes darkened. “No. I didn’t say that.”
“I cannot accept less than that, Luke. Let me go.”
“Goddammit, you can’t leave me!”
“Why not? What are you offering me that has more honor than returning to the convent?”
“I’m telling you I want you to stay with me. I’m telling you I need you.”
Tomasita heard the agony in his voice. But what he was offering was not enough. “I could not bear the shame.”
Sloan was halfway down the stairs when she saw that Luke had Tomasita backed up against the wall. “What’s going on?”
“Stay out of this, Sloan,” Luke warned.
Sloan continued down the stairs until she was standing across from Luke and Tomasita. “You can’t get what you want with force, Luke.”
“How the hell do you know what I want?”
“If you care for her, Luke, you’ll let her go.”
Luke turned his attention back to Tomasita. “We aren’t done talking about this.” Then he stepped back, and she was free.
“Come with me, Tomasita,” Sloan said. “I’ll get you settled in your room.”
Tomasita didn’t look at Luke as she walked past him and followed Sloan upstairs.
“Are you all right?” Sloan asked as she made Tomasita comfortable in Bay’s old bedroom.
“I am fine. But I have my answer from Luke. I will tell Don Cruz tonight that I have decided to go back to Spain.”
“Oh no you won’t,” Sloan said, taking Tomasita’s shoulders and giving her a shake. “This isn’t over yet. Not by a long shot. If you want Luke, you’re going to have to fight for him.”
“How? He has said he does not want to marry me. He is furious-”
“Of course he’s furious. He’s in love with you, and you’re forcing him to admit he cares for you.”
“But what can I do?”
Sloan put her arm around Tomasita and said, “The first thing you’re going to do is get some rest. Then just be sure you wear your prettiest smile to dinner, and leave everything else up to me.”
Sloan took a quick look in on Rip but discovered he was sleeping. She told herself rest was the best remedy for a bad cold and left him undisturbed as she headed downstairs to find Cruz.
When Sloan found out that Cruz had been shown to the bachelors’ quarters by Angelique LeFevre, she was ready to rip the other woman’s hair out by the roots. When she followed after Cruz, she wasn’t thinking of his connection to the British or the importance of keeping track of his conversations with Beaufort LeFevre. She was thinking of her husband in the clutches of that blond, curly-headed hussy Angelique. Especially when Cruz didn’t know yet that she had made up her mind to devote herself wholeheartedly to making their marriage work.
Sloan stepped across the threshold of the bachelors’ quarters ready to do battle with Angelique, only to discover a full-fledged political discussion in progress between Cruz and Beaufort LeFevre. She was assailed by the familiar aroma of Cruz’s cheroot and the smell of a stronger, less pleasant cigar. As she stood in the doorway, all eyes turned to focus on her and the discussion ceased.
“Why, hello, little lady,” Beaufort said in his charming Louisiana drawl. He rose and took her hand in his, making contact, pressing the flesh. “You look dearly familiar. Sloan… is that right?”
“Yes, sir. Don’t let me interrupt you. I’ll just sit over here.”
The parlor was intended to be cozy. With the four of them sitting there, it was almost crowded. She sat in the wing chair next to the one Beaufort occupied and eyed Cruz, who shared the tiny brocade-covered settee with Angelique. If looks could kill, Sloan would already have planted Angelique six feet under.
