The Wildest Heart

Sitting bolt upright in the carriage so that I would not crush my gown too badly, I could not help but admire the way Mark drove. Through the windows I could see our inevitable escort of mounted SD men, some of them carrying rifles. Was this a normal precaution, or did Shannon actually anticipate trouble? I thought of Luke Cord again and frowned. Why had he visited my father again after so many years? What had he been doing in Santa Rita? Something was wrong, and I couldn’t put a finger on it. Even Mark’s manner had seemed rather stilted ever since our awkward conversation the other night.

But I resolved to put it all out of my mind. Tomorrow I would go back to reading my father’s journals again and, as Marta had reproachfully reminded me, they would make everything clear to me.

The drive took much longer than I had expected, and in spite of Mark’s expert handling of the team I was beginning to feel stiff and uncomfortable from sitting erect. Still, under a half-moon that rode high in the deep blue night sky, the scenery looked changed. Even the huge clumps of cactus that we passed seemed like trees in an enchanted forest, and the dusty ground seemed to shimmer.

It really is beautiful, I found myself thinking. Infinite, undulating plains, coming up suddenly against the wall of the mountains that made up most of this territory. A country of contrasts. Cattle ranches and mining towns. Snow and desert. And to the south, the same mountain ranges I could see in the distance extended all the way into Mexico. I thought suddenly of the hidden valley where the Kordes family had a small ranch. How could a whole valley remain hidden? But then, I didn’t know these mountains as the Apache Indians who had lived there for generations did.

I thought of something I had said to Mark. “They were the groundbreakers, but we will be the builders.” What had made me say that? Did I really believe it?

The moonlit plains fell behind us, and suddenly I saw the lights that loomed up ahead. Outbuildings, a windmill tower, bunkhouses, even the unmistakable outlines of a smokehouse. Horses milled around in an enormous coral, and further back were the stables.

And then the carriage slowed down and we were passing through an archway, with a huge, weathered sign over it, and down a long driveway. I had no opportunity to notice much more because the outline of a huge, imposing house, every window lighted, stood boldly against the backdrop of the starlit sky. No wonder they called it the palacio. It was bigger than any house I had seen in this part of the world. I recognized the Spanish-style architecture so common in the Southwest, but this house could not have been built of adobe. At least two stories high, it looked more like a small castle.

The carriage pulled up, and two men came forward to hold the horses, while Mark jumped down off the seat to help me out.

“Well, Rowena, what do you think? It’s built from stone quarried in the mountains and hauled down here in wagons. Wait until you see what it’s like inside!”

“I can well imagine,” I said dryly. “It looks like a small fortress!”

His voice dropped. “Perhaps it was originally meant to be one. You know the story. After Uncle Todd lost his wife and son he made himself a promise that the next house he built would be strong enough to hold off the whole Apache nation. And this one is. It won’t burn down, either!”

I had no chance to say more, for he was leading me up a shallow flight of steps, and Todd Shannon’s huge figure loomed up in the enormous hallway. Even here, I had an impression of opulence. An enormous chandelier hung overhead, and in the background I saw a carpeted staircase that branched off in two directions from a landing that looked like the musician’s gallery of an English mansion.

What I had at first taken for a hallway was, in fact, a great reception room, with open, double doors leading off it on both sides.

“So you came, did you?”

“Did you hope I would not?”

Todd Shannon laughed, taking my hand.

“I knew you wouldn’t be able to resist the chance to get in the last word,” he said meaningfully, as if we had been alone. “Got unfinished business, ain’t we?”

“I hardly think so,” I said coldly, and he laughed again, his eyes narrowing suggestively as they took in every detail of my appearance.

“Mark! What in hell are you doin’ just standin’ there? Take her cloak. Rosa will put it away. Want the rest of my guests to meet my new partner.”

“You didn’t tell me you had invited other guests, Uncle Todd!” Mark said sharply, feeling me stiffen as his hands touched my shoulders. “Rowena, you must believe…”

“Hell, what are you fussing about? Wanted it to be a surprise party for Rowena here. Have all my friends meet her.”

My cheeks burned with suppressed fury. So he’d hoped to show me up, had he? No doubt he’d hoped I’d turn up dressed like a Mexican peasant or a dowdy English spinster! And how dare he call me Rowena?

“What a kind thought, Uncle Todd!”

I caught his look and smiled even more sweetly up at him. “Oh, but you don’t mind if I call you that, do you? After all, you were my papa’s dearest friend!”

I thought I heard him mutter under his breath, “You little hellcat!” And then the cloak slipped off my shoulders, and he caught his breath for an instant, before he threw back his head and laughed.

“By God! So you were smart enough to outguess me! And since I’m an honest loser, I’ll say this much. You’re a lovely, lovely thing! Damned if I don’t get even madder at you when I think of the way you were dressed when you got off that coach!”

“Uncle Todd, for heaven’s sake!” Mark whispered urgently.

I stood there, still smiling, and he smiled too, but our eyes met and clashed. We understood each other.

He took my hand, suddenly formal. “Well, come on in. Got lots of people who want to meet you.”

Deliberately I offered Mark my other arm. “But Mark was kind enough to escort me. Mustn’t he come too?”