Savage Spring (10 page)

The serving maid came over and stood beside Tag. She rubbed her body against his and gave him a promising glance. “My name’s Molly. If there be anything you want…anything at all…you have only to ask for me,” she said, giving Tag a smile that was an obvious invitation.

Farley grinned at Tag, and Tag gave him a heated glance before turning back to Molly. “All we will need is a place to stay for a few days.”

Molly smiled, thinking that since this incredible man would be staying around, she might get the chance to know him better. “I’ll just show you to your rooms up them stairs.”

Tag stood up, hoisted the young boy to his shoulder, and followed Molly, who was swinging her hips enticingly.

Farley grinned to himself when he noticed Tag watching Molly closely. He laughed aloud when Tag almost bumped
into the railing. “It wouldn’t hurt none if en you was to watch where you was going,” he said in amusement.

Tag gave Farley a dark glance, not caring much for the old man’s humor.

Once inside the room, Molly lit the lamp, then Tag nodded for her to leave. He dumped his burden on the bed and stood staring down at him. He resented the fact that the young boy had struck a cord of pity in his heart. The last thing he needed was to be saddled with some lad who apparently couldn’t stay out of trouble.

There were two beds in the room, and Tag sat down on the bed where he had placed the boy to remove his boots, leaving the other bed for Farley.

Farley dumped his pack on the floor and tested the bed gingerly. He lay down, fully clothed, and propped his hands behind his head. “Now this here is what I call living. I ain’t slept in a real bed in…hell, I can’t even remember when!”

Tag looked about the room in distaste. Although it seemed clean enough, he wasn’t too impressed with the meager furnishings. He stripped his shirt and breeches off and stood clad only in his breechcloth. “I meant what I said about the boy, Farley,” he warned. “Tomorrow he goes.”

Farley grumbled to himself and turned over on his side.

Tag blew out the lamp and moved the boy over so he could lie down beside him, resenting the fact that he had to share his bed with a dirty little street urchin.

“That were a stroke of genius you turning your Indian name ’round and using it. I kinda like the sound of Falcon Knight,” Farley said behind a yawn.

“I can’t say I’m crazy about it, but I can hardly use my real name, can I?”

“Nope, I reckon not.”

“I think we better not talk about it just now. The boy might awaken,” Tag said, yawning.

“I ’spect,” Farley said, drifting off to sleep.

Alex was dreaming that she was warm and protected. She could feel a hard, muscular body next to hers, and she sought to move closer to that warmth. She was only half awake when the man turned in his sleep, and she curled up around his body, falling to sleep once more.

Farley let out an oath and jumped out of bed. Grabbing the covers, he threw them on the floor and lay down on them. “I can’t sleep on anything that moves,” he muttered to himself, thinking a soft bed wasn’t all he had thought it would be.

A light snow had begun to fall past the window and a chilled wind was blowing outside the small room. Alexandria sighed contentedly in her sleep. For the moment, her troubles were forgotten, and, for the first time in months, she slept an untroubled sleep.

Claudia Landon slipped out of her gown and walked toward her satin-covered bed. She smiled at the man who lay there naked, waiting for her. Melvin Garner was her lawyer, and the only man to whom she could speak her mind.

“I’m sorry to be late, Melvin, but I had to see about poor old Howard.”

“You’d better see that he is well and happy, Claudia. If he dies, you will be out of a home, and me along with you.”

She laughed and dropped down on the bed beside him. “You are even more unscrupulous than I am. Don’t worry. Howard will live a very long time, and Tag and Joanna will soon be dead.”

“I wouldn’t count on that, Claudia. The three men you sent after him didn’t accomplish what you paid them to do. Two of them are dead, and the other one won’t even talk about returning to finish the deed.”

She lay down and rubbed her body against him. “You will just have to find someone else to send. You are the lawyer—you handle it.”

“There is no one else to send. I have come to believe that the boy and his sister will never return. It appears to me that if they were coming back they would already have done so.”

“Did the man see Tag?”

“He’s not sure. He saw Gibbs shoot a white man before he died, but Jude doesn’t know if it was Taggert James, and he couldn’t find out if he died from his wounds. Jude said he was hiding in the woods and couldn’t get near enough to see clearly.”

“I don’t know, Melvin. Joanna might not ever come back, but Tag will, if he’s alive. You can bet your life he’ll come back if he’s able.”

“I hope he does, Claudia. It would be far easier to deal with him here in Philadelphia than to get at him in the Blackfoot country.”

“He’s a man now,” Claudia speculated.

“Yes, and if he ever finds out that we forged those papers giving Howard and you power of attorney, he will see you and me swing from the gallows.”

“It would have been simpler if you had just made me the guardian.”

“I couldn’t do that. Howard Landon was a shrewd man. He had those papers so well written that there was no way I could write him out without running into trouble. No, your best bet is to keep him alive, because when he dies, you have no legal standing whatsoever.”

“All he does is stare at that portrait all day. It gives me the creeps, Melvin.”

“I’ve seen the picture of the girl—Joanna. I wouldn’t mind staring at her all day myself.”

Claudia raised her hand and struck him hard across the face. “Don’t you ever say that again! I loathe Joanna, and I will not have you telling me of her beauty!”

Melvin realized his mistake and pulled Claudia tightly against him. “How could I think of anyone but you when you are naked in my arms?” he breathed.

Claudia closed her eyes, willing herself to feel something for Melvin. No one made her feel alive anymore. She knew that all the James wealth hadn’t made her happy. What she wanted most in the world had always evaded her. But if anyone
had asked her what she really wanted to make her happy, she couldn’t even have told him.

It was as if she were living her life in a shell, waiting for something to happen. She had to live with the threat day and night that Taggart might return.

She pushed Melvin away and stood up, walking over to the window. Looking out on the front lawn, she watched the snowflakes drift down. Tag was out there somewhere. He might not come tomorrow, or even next year, but deep down she knew he would come…oh, yes he would come!

Alexandria felt safe for the first time in many days. She curled up against the warm body pressed close to her and sighed contentedly.

Tag awoke and stared into the darkened room. Like Farley, he wasn’t accustomed to sleeping on a soft bed. Many troubled thoughts danced through his mind. He and Farley had only arrived in Philadelphia that day, and everything was strange to him. Now that he was here, he was anxious to face his Uncle Howard and Claudia, but he knew he must bide his time until just the right moment. Tomorrow he would have to buy new clothing for himself and Farley. The last thing he wanted to do was to stand out in a crowd.

He shifted his weight when the boy gouged him in the ribs with his elbow. Tag pushed the boy over, but he rolled back against him, so he turned his back. He didn’t know what he was going to do with the boy. He had his own problems, and he didn’t need anyone else’s. Tomorrow he would give the boy some money and send him on his way, he thought.

At last Tag’s eyelids became heavy, and despite his discomfort, he drifted off to sleep.

Alexandria awoke during the night and moved against something warm. For the moment she had forgotten where she was. Reaching out her hand, she felt it brush against someone’s face, and she felt the stubble of a beard! She sat up quickly and looked about the darkened room. Hearing someone snoring loudly, her eyes went to a dark form that was lying on the floor in front of a window. When her eyes became accustomed to the dark, Alexandria could see the old man, and then she remembered the events of the evening before.

Thinking it might be a good idea to leave now that both men were asleep, she threw the covers aside. When her foot touched the cold wooden floor, she shivered. She remembered that these two men thought she was a boy, and she lay back down, trying to decide what would be best to do. If she could stay with these men, she would not have to forage for food and a warm place to sleep at night. Perhaps she could convince them to allow her to stay with them for a while.

Alexandria relaxed and pulled the covers over her. Turning her head, she looked at the tall, golden-haired man who lay beside her. Most of his face was in shadows, but she could see his outline and again thought he was the handsomest man she had ever seen. Somehow, she felt safe with him. Had he not rescued her from the sailor tonight? If she could convince him to let her stay with him, she would also be safe from her stepmother’s pursuit.

Alexandria continued to study the man’s features in the half-light that came from the window. He moved his head slightly, and the moonlight fell on his golden hair. Alexandria was so near him she could feel his warm breath on her face. He moved again, and his face touched hers, causing her to draw in her breath. Suddenly, something akin to pain seemed to touch Alexandria’s heart, and she pulled away from him, frightened by strange emotions she had never before felt. She quickly turned her back and inched as close to the wall as she could get. Placing her hand over her heart, she found it was pounding erratically. What was happening
to her? Not trusting the emotions she didn’t understand, Alexandria squeezed her eyes together tightly, trying to find the elusive sleep she needed so badly, but it wouldn’t come. When the first streaks of daylight hit the eastern sky, Alexandria was awake to witness the sunrise that turned the room to a rosy glow.

Slowly, she eased herself off the bed, taking care not to wake the two men. If she was going to convince them to allow her to stay, Alexandria knew she would have to make herself useful to them.

Running a hand through her tousled hair, she tried to straighten it as best she could. Tucking her shirt into her trousers and slipping into the scuffed brown boots, she tiptoed across the room, heading downstairs to the tap room.

Tag awoke and sat up looking about him. He saw Farley sprawled out on the floor and smiled to himself. The old man wasn’t taking too well to civilization. Seeing movement out of the corner of his eyes, Tag swung around and saw the young boy he had befriended last night before going through his leather satchel. With his Indian quickness, he leaped across the room and grabbed the boy by the scruff of the neck, dangling him in the air.

“It’s fine thanks I get for saving your miserable hide if you are going to rob me in my sleep,” he said through clenched teeth. “I would have been better off had I allowed them to ship you out to sea. Perhaps then you would have learned some manners. I have no liking for a thief!”

Alexandria kicked and squirmed. “I’m not a thief! I was going to give your soiled clothing to Molly so she could have them laundered for you.”

Tag plopped her down on her feet and looked at her skeptically. “Why do I not believe you? What made me believe you were going to rob me?”

Alexandria met his gaze squarely. “I was not going to rob you,” she insisted, “and I don’t lie, either. I thought if I was of help to you, you would allow me to stay.”

Tag’s eyes narrowed, and for the first time he noticed that
the boy had the most unusual eyes he had ever seen—they were golden with brown flecks in them, and there was such sincerity in the liquid depths that Tag believed him.

“I’ll see that you have a good meal and money in your pocket, but you can’t stay with me.”

Alexandria felt tears sting her eyes, and she could see the hardness in his gaze. “Please allow me to stay with you, Mr. Knight. I am very strong and will work very hard to please you.” She lowered her head. “I haven’t anywhere to go.”

Farley had been listening to the conversation, and he now stood up, scratching his grizzly white head. “I don’t think this little mite will be much trouble to us. Why don’tcha let him stay around a bit.”

“What do you call last night if it wasn’t trouble, Farley?” Tag said heatedly. He knew Farley. If he allowed it, the old man would take in every stray and homeless waif they came upon.

Farley saw no weakening in Tag, and he shoved the boy toward the door. “Get on below and see to our breakfast.”

Alexandria brightened. “I went down earlier and attended to your meal. Shall I go and bring it up now? I also told them to send up a tub of hot water, knowing you would want to bathe,” Alexandria said, with hope in her heart, looking from the old man to Mr. Knight.

Tag shrugged his shoulders. “You can stay for the day, but that’s all. I will not take the responsibility for you.”

Farley winked at the boy and watched the young face brighten. He chuckled to himself when the lad ran to the door. “I’ll be so useful to you, you won’t be able to get along without me—you’ll see!”

When the boy had disappeared out the door, Tag turned his gaze on Farley. “I meant what I said, Farley. I came here because I have my own troubles to work out. The last thing I need is someone else’s troubles.”

Farley stretched to his full height, trying to ease his muscles, which ached from sleeping on the hard floor. “How much trouble can a small boy be? ’Sides, he might be of help
to us. He’ll know the lay of the town and some of the locals.”

Tag walked over to the window and looked down on the street below. In the distance he could see the Delaware River and the big ships riding at anchor. “There is more to that boy than he’s saying. He isn’t the street urchin he claims to be. No boy brought up on the streets speaks such educated English, Farley.”

Again Farley chuckled. “We won’t be holding a edjucation agin him. I can tell he’s plenty scairt, and I don’t intend to turn him out in the cold. Hell, it’s snowing out there! He could freeze to death.”

Tag turned back to Farley. “If he stays, he will be your responsibility. Is that clearly understood? I haven’t the slightest intention of getting him out of any more scrapes.”

Farley reached down and picked up the bedclothes he had slept on the night before and tossed them on the bed. “I heard you. What’s your plan?”

“The first thing I must do is try to cut through years of deception. I suppose the first order of business will be to purchase new clothes.”

Farley nodded. “I reckon you can’t just go up to your uncle and demand he turn your house over to you.”

“No, that wouldn’t be wise. I will ask around and determine what the situation is first. I know my uncle well enough to realize that when he finds out I’m here, he will send an army of men to deal with me. He is too much the coward to face me alone.”

“That’s one reason why you ain’t gonna use your real name, ain’t it?”

“Yes, to do so would be foolishness. I don’t want my uncle to know I’m here until I’m ready to reveal myself to him. That’s another reason I don’t want the boy around. Suppose you let my real name slip out and Alex were to pick up on it?”

“I ain’t gonna do that. I wasn’t born yesterday,” Farley replied in an irritated voice. “Hell, ain’t I proved that I can be trusted by now?”

Tag smiled slightly. “Yes, you have proven your worth many times. If you still insist on it, the boy can stay. Just keep him out of my way.”

Farley grinned his toothy grin. “Like as not that young scamp will be underfoot, but he’s not gonna be too much trouble. He’ll be too thankful that you took him in to be any trouble.”

Tag gave him a doubtful look just as the door opened and Molly entered the room, carrying a tray of food, with Alex right behind her. With an authoritative manner that surprised Tag, Alex cleared strewn clothing from the small round table and ordered Molly to place the tray there. While Tag and Farley ate, she proceeded to gather up all their soiled clothing and hand them to Molly to be laundered.

Alex noticed the way Molly was looking at Mr. Knight and felt a prickle of jealousy that startled her. Pushing the woman toward the door and casting her a heated glance, she ordered her to see to the laundry and have a tub for bathing brought to the room at once.

“Have you et, boy?” the old trapper inquired, shoveling a spoonful of fluffy yellow eggs into his mouth.

“Yes, sir, I ate before you awoke. Is there anything else you would like me to see to?” she asked, wanting to make herself as useful as possible.

Tag raised his eyebrow. “From the looks of you, you could use a bath. After Farley and I have finished, you will bathe yourself. You may not be accustomed to being clean, but if you are to share a room with me, you will take a bath. Is that clear?”

Alex bit back her heated retort and lowered her head so he couldn’t see the anger on her face. She was beginning to be irritated by his high-handed manner. He acted as if he were above all others and as if everyone had been placed on earth to do his bidding.

Farley laughed and stood up. “I’ll be moving to another room so I won’t offend your sensitive nose, T…Falcon. I don’t never bathe in the middle of the winter. One could catch their death that way.”

“You know I didn’t mean you, Farley,” Tag answered in an irritated voice as he stood up and threw his napkin on the table.

The old man laughed as he walked to the door. “I’m gonna scout out the lay of the land. Don’t look for me back ’til you see me coming.”

When Farley had gone, Alex went to the table and started stacking the dirty dishes. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that Mr. Knight was pacing back and forth. His actions were making her so nervous that she dropped a plate, and it smashed on the floor. She quickly dropped to her knees and began picking up the fragments.

“Damn it!” he swore. “Do you have to be so clumsy?”

Once again Alex bit back an angry retort. Dropping the broken pieces on the table, she gave him her sweetest smile. “I’m sorry, sir, forgive me. It won’t happen again—you have my word.”

He looked into her golden eyes and saw the mockery mirrored there. “There is more to you than meets the eye, Alex, but I just don’t have the time or the inclination to find out.”

Alex was glad the timely knock came at the door. Rushing across the room, she admitted two men. One carried a galvanized tub, and the other carried two pails of water. Instructing them where to put the tub, she waited until they departed before speaking to Mr. Knight.

“I’ll just make myself scarce while you bathe, sir,” she said, backing toward the door. She caught her breath as she noticed he had already stripped off his shirt.

“No, stay. You can wash my back, and I want to make sure you don’t disappear before you have a bath.”

“I…never…I don’t.”

Tag watched her face turn red and laughed. “A street urchin who is shy! I thought you said you would be willing to serve me in any way I asked.” She could read the laughter in his deep blue eyes. It was the first time she had seen the smile reach his eyes, and her heart seemed to be thundering against her ribs. Knowing she must cover up her embarrassment
so he wouldn’t become suspicious, she nodded nervously.

“I’ll wash your back,” she said in a small voice.

He tossed his shirt aside, and before she knew what was happening, he had stripped off his buckskin breeches. Alex knew she should look away, but she couldn’t keep from staring at him. He was clad only in a breechcloth, and his magnificent body was tanned and golden all over. Her eyes fastened on his broad chest, which was covered with curly golden hair that narrowed to a vee before disappearing beneath his breechcloth. She could feel her breath coming out in short pants as she watched his hand move to the only other article of clothing he wore. She looked at his face quickly and was grateful that he was not watching her. She had never before seen a naked man, and she watched, fascinated, as he tossed the discarded breechcloth aside and stepped into the tub.

“You will find soap in my leather bag. Bring it to me,” he ordered.

Alex looked at him in confusion for a moment before doing as he bid. Her hands were shaking so badly she could hardly control them as she reached into the bag and withdrew the soap.

“Well, don’t dawdle—bring it here,” he said in irritation.

Alex walked across the room and placed the soap into his outstretched hand. When her fingers brushed against his, she felt as if a bolt of lightning had hit her, and her skin seemed to tingle.

“Make yourself useful and wash my back,” he told her, handing the soap back to her.

Alexandria quickly dipped the soap into the water and began lathering his back. She could feel the muscles beneath her fingers and began to tremble all over. She was unaware that she was lathering his back in a caressing motion until he spoke.