Emerald Ecstasy (48 page)

A shuffling noise caught his attention, ending all thoughts about Carmen. Felix knew he wasn't alone.

“Who is there?” he called out. “Show yourself!” He grabbed for the knife which was hidden inside his boot.

Felix waited for some seconds and held the knife tightly in his hand. The candle sputtered as a draft whipped through the stable, encasing the room in darkness.

Every nerve in Felix's body grew taut. Used to the mine's dimness, his eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness. Someone was in the room with him. He could feel the other person nearby, hear his breathing.

“Who are you?” Felix asked. What do you want here?”

Despite the control Felix attempted over his body, he jumped when the disembodied voice sounded in the darkness.

“I think Raoul de Lovis owes you a debt,” the gravelly voice said. “I am here to see that you are repaid.”

It was eight months to the day since Daniel's death when Lianne readied for the drive into Pachuca. She didn't wish to go to the fiesta in honor of the new viceroy, Don Felix Berenguer de Marquina, but Raoul had insisted though she claimed ill health.

As Josephine helped her into a lavender gown, cut low with small sleeves that revealed a good portion of porcelain shoulders and arms, Josephine grinned.

“It's a good thing the waist on this gown is high, Dona Lianne.”

Lianne barely breathed as she turned and faced the woman who grinned as if she were somehow responsible for the condition in which Lianne found herself.

“If you dare tell Don Raoul that I am pregnant, I shall dismiss you immediately.”

Josephine backed away, hurt showing on her face.

“You have to tell him soon. He'll be able to see you're carrying a child. Don Raoul is very observant.”

How well Lianne knew that fact, but she hadn't wanted to admit to herself that she was pregnant again. However, there was no denying the truth now and she realized that she belonged to Raoul in all ways. Once their child was born, a bond would be forged which couldn't be broken.

“I will break the news to him in my own good time, Josephine,” Lianne said and purposely kept her tone on a stern, businesslike level. The woman always thought she was more than an employee, and this rankled Lianne because she disliked Josephine and didn't trust her. “Now finish my hair. I'm sure my husband is waiting for me.”

In silence Josephine finished the upsweep; tiny red-gold curls framed Lianne's perfectly shaped face. When Lianne joined Raoul and Carmen in the
sala
later, Lianne noted how very pretty Carmen looked in a dress of brilliant gold silk, threaded with silver.

The sparkling Mexican sky shone above the carriage as it wound its way toward Pachuca. Since coming to the hacienda, Lianne hadn't left it to go into the town. She had no reason to leave her daughter who now regarded Lianne as her mother. The two were inseparable. Lianne worried, as the carriage sped along, that the child would wake during the night and cry for her. She knew Maria was there and would take good care of her, but the maternal instinct within Lianne was strong. But for the child she carried, Raoul's child, she felt nothing.

“What is wrong,
querida?
You're tired?”

Lianne nodded but said, “I will be fine.”

Raoul stroked his moustache in contemplation and took in her ivory complexion which appeared paler than usual and the catlike eyes that appeared sleepy. Then his gaze wandered to her waist, and he smiled.

“Lianne, are you pregnant?”

She started, and Carmen squealed.

“Are you having a baby?” Carmen asked.

What was the use? She may as well get it over with. “I'm having a child.”

“How wonderful!” Carmen gushed and surprised Lianne with her delight.

Taking Lianne's hand, Raoul placed a tender kiss in the palm. “I'm a very happy and fortunate man,
querida
.”

Lianne offered him a tremulous smile. She should be happy, but she wasn't. She didn't want Raoul's child, and she wasn't certain why. When she realized she was pregnant that first time with his baby, she had been ready to accept it, after a while, out of loneliness. But she couldn't forget that that child had been the reason for her marriage to Raoul and had destroyed her happiness with Daniel. However, Daniel was now gone but this new baby seemed to open old wounds.

“I'm glad you're pleased,” Lianne said.

His face told her he was more than pleased. Why can't he be a different type of man? Lianne wondered and knew she could never love this baby's father, not like she had loved Daniel.

Daniel. His face rose unbidden before her eyes in the dark coach, almost as if she could see him clearly before her. A sob rose within her, and she grew afraid she'd give vent to her feelings when suddenly the carriage lurched forward.

The sound of gunfire rent the air.

“Madre de Dios!”
Carmen said and glanced out of the window. “Banditti, Papa!”

Loud voices surrounded them, echoing in the still night air.

Lianne grabbed Raoul's arm, and he motioned for her to remain quiet. Two armed guards rode in the front seat of the coach with Felix as the driver, but from the swarm of dark figures outside, she doubted they'd be much help. “What the hell?” Raoul rasped, and Lianne immediately saw what was wrong. The guards had climbed down from their perch and were handing over their rifles to the bandits.

The carriage door was thrown open and a gravelly voice asked them to step out.

Raoul went first, followed by Lianne and Carmen, who shook like a wildflower in the wind.

“Ah, Don Raoul, how good of you to accommodate us.”

Lianne's gaze slid to the gravel-voiced man who surveyed them on horseback. The moon was high and bright. She recognized the man who now spoke as the man with the sombrero whom she had seen on two different occasions. Even now he wore his hat, slung low over his eyes, and she barely made out the black beard which covered his face. A gray poncho was thrown across his broad shoulders.

“What is it you want?” Raoul asked. “Money? I have very little with me, so robbing me will not fill your pockets.”

The man laughed and turned to his compadres. “Don Raoul thinks we want money.”

The others laughed and jostled each other with an elbow. Lianne could tell Raoul was furious instead of frightened, but he appeared quite calm despite their precarious circumstances.

“Then what is it you want,
bastardo?
”

“Ah, Don Raoul, you're becoming impatient. That is something you must beware of.” The bearded man stroked his chin. “There are ten guns pointed at you, and some of my men are quite eager to do away with you. You see, many of their relatives have suffered at your hands in the mine. So, please, keep your tongue inside your head, otherwise, you might find it lying upon the ground.”

“Your motley crew doesn't scare me. Now what are your terms? What do you want?” Raoul asked again.

The man's voice was a low growl when he spoke. “Haven't you guessed by now?”

Lianne felt Raoul's hand tighten around her wrist.

“No!” he cried. “I shall kill you first!”

“
Amigo
, your brave talk does nothing for me.” The man motioned to two of his men, and they grabbed Raoul's arms and held him at bay though he kicked at them.

“Papa!” Carmen cried, as another man came forward, grabbed her by the waist and lifted her to his horse.

“Carmen!” Raoul's face paled visibly, but grew whiter when a man lifted Lianne from her feet and handed her struggling, and squealing to the bearded man on the horse.

“Raoul!”

“Lianne!”

Raoul screamed her name over and over as the bearded man positioned her in front of him. “If you harm her, I'll kill you. I swear I will!”

“Ah, señor, you wound me.” His raspy voice fanned Lianne's ear. “This is a form of justice for us. We take your two most valuable possessions—your daughter and your wife.” His hand caressed Lianne's breasts. “I've heard your wife is very beautiful, now I shall find this out for myself.”

“Bastardo!”

“Escort Don Raoul to his hacienda,” the man commanded the two men who held Raoul. Then his head lifted to the carriage. “Ready, Felix?”

“Sí.”

To Lianne's astonishment, Felix jumped from the coach and hopped onto a horse. She discerned pure pleasure on his face and suddenly she knew that Felix had led them into a trap, that the armed men had also been part of it, because even now they were riding to the mountains.

Turning his horse around, the bearded man followed in the same direction. Raoul's voice, calling her name, was lost beneath the din of galloping hoofs.

The pathway grew narrower as the horses slowly trotted along the mountain's ledge. The group of bandits laughed and talked among themselves, now seeming confident that no one heard them or would follow them.

Despite her fear, she rested her drooping head against her captor's chest. She didn't know where they were headed or what would happen once they got there. This man and his whole group could rape her and Carmen, then dispose of their bodies. No one would ever find them. With each step the horse took, she felt herself being torn from civilization and Raoul. She detested her husband, but at this moment, she prayed to God he'd find them.

After a while the sound of other voices, raised in song, drifted toward her. She lifted her head, and through the blackness of the night, she saw torches lighting the scene ahead of them.

Soon the horses climbed higher and they entered the torchlit area. Men, and a woman, dressed in ponchos and sombreros surrounded them, and some whooped in delight when Carmen and Lianne came into view.

“Where are we? Who are these people?” Lianne asked the man who sat behind her, her fear vanishing and curiosity taking its place.

“You ask too many questions,
chica,”
he growled.

“And I will ask many more,” she told him.

Though she didn't see his face, she sensed he smiled.

When the man stopped the horse, people swarmed around him, congratulating him on a job well done. Lianne noticed Felix was among these people, and she wondered how he could have participated in such a thing, but she had to remember that Felix wanted Raoul punished. However, she hadn't expected he'd use her and Carmen to do it.

The dancing girl whom Lianne remembered from the rock, the day she arrived in Pachuca, approached them. Her dark eyes darted over Lianne in a look of utter hatred and contempt. Her long braid swung forward, resting on her shoulder.

“So you have captured the wife of Raoul de Lovis, El Lince.”

“With Felix's help,” the man said, and his hold tightened around Lianne's waist until she thought she'd be unable to catch a breath.

The girl's vicious gaze swept across Lianne's face, then to the thin gown she wore. Her hand shot out and pulled at the bodice of the gown, ripping the fabric until nothing but Lianne's chemise stood between her and the cool night air.

“How dare you, you filthy thing!” Lianne cried and attempted to cover herself with her shawl.

A knife appeared in the girl's hand. “I should like to cut out this she-cat's tongue,” she said to the man she called El Lince.

He laughed in his gravelly way. “Theresa, you may get your chance soon enough, but for tonight, I must see to our guests' comfort.”

“Comfort!” Theresa spat upon the ground. “This devil woman and De Lovis's spawn should sleep on the ground with the snakes. A woman who'd marry such a man deserves no better.”

“Be that as it may, but I'm weary now and wish to rest.”

Concern flooded Theresa's face. “Are you all right? You don't feel ill again?”

El Lince shook his head. “I am well. Don't fear for me.”

He started to move past her with Lianne held tight against him, but Theresa's hand shot out and stilled him. “Will you come sleep beside me tonight?”

“An irresistible invitation,” he said and winked at her.

Theresa's face expressed hope, but as they passed her, Lianne felt her hate-filled eyes boring through her back. Did the silly female think she had designs on the man? Was that why the girl seemed to hate her so? She'd never done anything to one of these people, but whatever suffering Raoul had brought upon them was now her and Carmen's nightmare.

The entrance to a cave loomed ahead. El Lince pushed her into its torchlit confines. Lianne saw that cooking pots had been set up, pallets and blankets rested against the walls. She realized this was the bandits' hideout. Dear God, she thought, Raoul would never find them here.

Grabbing her arm, El Lince propelled her further into the cave, away from the living quarters of the others until they entered a small chamber, lit by a lone candle on a rock. A pallet lay on the earthen floor, and Lianne noticed that the blankets looked clean. He motioned for her to sit.