Sweet Silken Bondage (16 page)

"So am I," his father remarked, knowing it would do
no good to say any more on the subject. When Clay
had first arrived, he'd confided in him his reason for
coming. He'd told him about his friend Dev's arrest and how he'd been forced into taking the job of
hunting down the runaway girl. Philip knew how
angry and frustrated his son was over the whole situation, and he refused to add to the strain by trying to
pressure him into remaining permanently.

If the Alvarez girl doesn't show up here by the
middle of next week, I'll have to head out again." Clay
scowled at the thought, aggravated that his discreetly
made inquiries about the Delacroix family had turned
up nothing. "Damn!" he swore. "If she was heading
here to the Delacroix plantation like her father
thought, she would have made it by now. But there's
no record of her anywhere, not on the steamboat lines
or the stage lines or at any of the hotels."

"I know," Philip sympathized. "But maybe you'll find
something out Saturday night at the Randolphs' party.
The Delacroix family is going to be there."

"I hope so," Clay responded, but he was less than
optimistic about his chances. Things had been going
so badly for him ever since he'd first started looking
for the girl that he was becoming convinced that his
luck in resolving this matter was not going to change.

"I'm just sorry that I'm not better acquainted with
the Delacroixs. It certainly would have made things a
lot easier for you if we had been friendly enough so
you could have paid them an unexpected social call.
As it is, I've only met them a few times through the
years, and those encounters were at large festivities
much like the Randolphs' party is going to be. It's
really a stroke of luck that they'll be there. Maybe
things are finally going to start going your way."

"Maybe," Clay said doubtfully, "but I'm beginning
to question her father's idea that she might have come
here in the first place. It's kind of hard for me to
believe that a young woman of her class and position,
someone who's been cosseted and protected all her
life, would be capable of traveling across the continent
all by herself'

"I understand why you're having doubts, but I
wouldn't underestimate the Alvarez girl if I were you,"
Philip advised sagely. "Desperation can sometimes
force people to do things they wouldn't ordinarily do."

"Desperation," Clay gave an arrogant, deriding
laugh. "She doesn't know the meaning of the word."

Philip heard the bitterness in his tone and frowned
at his lack of compassion. "Don't be too sure about
that. You've only heard one side of the story."

"I've heard enough to know that Reina Alvarez is a
spoiled, manipulative young woman. She'll do anything she has to to get her own way, and she doesn't
care who gets hurt in the process," he answered condemningly and then downed the rest of his drink in
one fierce swallow.

"And you also know from your own experience that
her father is a bastard who will do whatever is necessary to achieve his own ends," he pointed out with
maddening logic. "I'd say the girl was well taught."

It surprised Clay to find his father almost defending
the girl's actions, find his eyes hardened to silver as he
glanced up at him. "Women are all naturally conniving and self-centered. No one had to teach her," he
sneered, refusing to believe that Reina Alvarez might
have had a very good reason for running away.

"Not all women are like your mother, Clay," Philip
chided gently, his expression growing troubled at the
bitterness he heard in his son's voice.

Thoughts of the gentle, devoted Sister Mary Regina
stirred within him at his father's declaration, but he
pushed them away. He wouldn't sully the very special
memories he had of her by including her in his overall
assessment of the opposite sex.

"You're awfully forgiving considering what she did
to you," he countered.

Father and son had never really talked openly about
that terrible time in their lives, for it had been much
too painful for them. Philip knew that Clay had been deeply hurt by Evaline's betrayal, but he was shocked
now to find that it had left such deep, lasting emotional scars on him. He had hoped that during Clay's
time away he might have come to grips with the
demon of her treachery. It troubled him to find that he
hadn't.

"That's all in the past, son. What happened with
your mother.. .well, that's one thing. Your dealings
with this Alvarez girl are something else."

"Maybe, but first I have to find her before I can
start worrying about how I'm going to deal with her."
Clay shrugged off his subtle counsel as he got up to
refill his glass. He knew better than to trust any
woman.

"You will." Philip said with confidence.

"I hope you're right. Dev's life is riding on this, and
if I've missed her again..."

"Again?"

"I thought I knew exactly where she was when I first
left Monterey, but I was wrong." He went on to tell his
father all about how he followed the wrong stage and
what had happened when he'd caught up with it. "I
wasted three days."

"They were hardly wasted days, Clay. You saved the
lives of all those innocent people."

"I may have saved them, but I haven't done a damn
thing to help Dev."

Philip moved behind him to clamp a warm hand on
his shoulder. "Don't worry, son. Everything will work
out. You always accomplish everything you set out to
do."

Clay took a stout drink of the potent liquor. His
father might have unwavering faith in him, but he was
filled with his own self-doubts. He could remember all
too clearly the time when he had failed, and failed
miserably! The similarities between his mother and
Reina Alvarez grated on him unmercifully, and as the
days went by, his motivation for finding the Alvarez girl and taking her back home to her father was
becoming much more personal in nature.

"You're right," Clay replied, just wanting to end the
discussion. "It's just a matter of time. Reina Alvarez is
bound to show up soon..."

Emilie Delacroix, a short, fair-haired young
woman, blinked in surprise as a nun answered her
knock at the hotel room door. "I'm sorry, Sister," she
apologized hastily. "The desk clerk must have given
me the wrong room number..."

When she started to turn away, Reina reached out
and grabbed her by her arm. "Emilie! Wait! It's me!"
she exclaimed, delighted to see her old friend.

"Reina?" Emilie stared at her in astonishment.
"Good heavens, it is you..."she muttered in disbelief
as she allowed herself to be dragged into the room.

"Yes, it most certainly is me" Reina teased, enjoying her discomfort. Obviously, her disguise was perfect if even Emilie hadn't recognized her.

Emilie was in shock at finding her friend dressed in
the flowing white garb and long black veil of a professed sister. Stunned, she remained speechless as she
watched Reina close the door.

Never in her whole life would Emilie have dreamed
that Reina would enter a convent. Just the idea of it
seemed totally at odds with Reina's basic personality.
When they'd attended school together, Reina had been
the flamboyant, outgoing one. She'd always been the
center of attention, and she'd loved it. She was beautiful, rich, and immensely popular. The idea that Reina
had given all that up and taken holy, solemn vows left
Emilie perplexed. She wondered what had happened
in the few years they'd been apart to change her so
completely.

"Reina, you never told me..." Emilie began, stammering a little in her puzzlement.

For the first time since she'd left Monterey Reina
laughed with easy good-humor. "I didn't have time to
tell you, Emilie," she started to explain.

"What do you mean, you didn't have time?" Emilie
frowned in confusion, puzzled by Reina's whole attitude. She knew nuns spent at least a full year as a
novice in the convent before taking their final vows.
Surely Reina could have contacted her some time
during all those months.

Reina laughed again, feeling very light of spirit now
that she considered herself safe. "Emilie, I'm not a
nun."

"`You're not a nun'?" Emilie repeated, her surprise
growing deeper.

"I mean this is all an elaborate disguise," she confided.

"A disguise? Why do you need a disguise?" Now
Emilie was truly baffled. "And where's your father?
Didn't he come with you?" she added cautiously as she
began to get the feeling that something very strange
was going on here.

"No, he didn't come with me. As far as I know, he's
still in California," Reina replied tersely. When she
saw her friend's concerned expression, she became
more subdued, and her ready smile turned sad. "Sit
down on the bed, I've got a lot to tell you"

"I'll just bet you do," Emilie agreed. "I was so
excited when I got your note yesterday that you were
in town. Mama assumed your father had come with
you, and she insisted that I invite both of you to come
stay with us for as long as you want."

"I was praying you'd offer," she answered with a
teasing grin.

"Of course, we'd offer!"

"I just hope that my being here by myself won't
change your mother's mind."

"Don't worry, Reina, if anything, she'll be even
more convinced that you should stay with us. But, tell me, what is going on?"

Reina took off the veil as she sat down on the bed
next to Emilie. She pulled the pins from her hair and,
with a toss of her head, shook her heavy, ebony tresses
loose from their confinement. The satiny mane tumbled about her shoulders in curling disarray.

Reina took a deep, steadying breath and then began
to explain everything to Emilie. She told her about her
father's betrayal in promising her in marriage to a
man she couldn't stand and about his cold-bloodedness in hiring the bounty hunter to track her down
and bring her back.

Reina did not call Cordell by name out of the fear
that by just mentioning him she might somehow conjure him up. It was bad enough that thoughts of the
handsome but dangerous gunman haunted her constantly, even in her sleep. She certainly didn't want to
talk about him any more than necessary.

"I don't believe any of this..."

"I know," Reina groaned. "For a while there, things
couldn't have gotten much more complicated."

"III bet you were scared to death."

"I was. I didn't relax until he had finally gone, but
even then, just knowing that my father was that determined and that desperate..."

"Where do you think the bounty hunter went after
he left you there at the waystation?"

"I don't know, and I don't care, as long as it's in the
opposite direction from me!" Reina declared vehemently.

"I can well imagine, but now that you made it this
far, just what do you intend to do next?"

Reina had been struggling with the very same
thought. All of the plans she'd made to escape the fate
her father had in store for her had ended with her
making it safely to Emilie's. She lifted her dark-eyed
gaze to her friend's. The uncertainty she was feeling
was clearly mirrored there.

"I don't really know..." she admitted slowly. "I
thought my running away would make my father
change his mind. I was hoping that he cared enough
about me to come after me himself and that he would
tell me that he wasn't going to force me to marry
Nathan. But now..."

"Do you think he'll suspect that you came here to
me?"

"I don't know. Father knows what close friends we
are, but I'm not sure whether he thinks I'd be daring
enough to make the trip alone. I tried to encourage
the bounty hunter to talk about where he was going
next, but he wouldn't say a word."

"What do you want to do, Reina? You know you
can stay here with me for as long as you want."

Reina took her hand and squeezed it warmly.
"Thanks, Emilie."

"You're more than welcome. I know you'd help me
if I needed it."

"I would," Reina affirmed. "There's just one thing
more I wanted to ask of you though..."

"What?"

"I was wondering if you'd mind if I went by another
name whenever we're out in public."

"You think you should keep your identity a secret?"

Reina nodded. "I don't think my father's going to
give up too easily. He just might send somebody back
here to check, and if he does, they'll be searching for
Reina Alvarez. If I go by the name Isabel Nunez, no
one will suspect, and we won't really be lying to
anyone. Isabel is my middle name and Nunez was my
mother's maiden name."

"All right, Isabel," Emilie said with a conspiratorial
grin, amazed to find herself caught up in such intrigue. "But are you going to stay dressed as a nun or
did you bring some other clothes with you?"

"There was no time to pack anything..." she
apologized.

Emilie knew then that they had to do some shopping before she could take her friend home. Her
mother was a very strict Catholic and would not
approve of Reina's disguise. Emilie started for the
door. "You wait here until I get back."

"Where are you going?"

She paused. "I know it's getting late, but I'm going
to run out and see if I can find an outfit for you. We'll
spend the night here, do more shopping for essentials
in the morning, then head home in the afternoon."

"Your mother won't worry?"

"No, my brother, Richard, came with me so I'm
well-chaperoned. Besides, I told her when we left that
we might have to stay the night in town."

"Emilie... wait..." Reina quickly dug through
her one small valise and pulled out all the money she'd
brought with her. "Here, take this." She pressed a
goodly amount into her hand.

"Are you sure you can afford this?"

"I didn't have time to worry about packing clothes,
but I did bring plenty of money."

"I'll be back as soon as I can" Emilie promised.
"And don't worry. Your father will come around.
Everything's going to be just fine. You'll see."