Matilda, the Adventuress

  “I’ll do better than that. I’ll pick them both up in Sydney and fly them in myself.”

  “Oh, would you, Dennis? That would be wonderful.” A frown knitted her brow. “And would you ask Brent Penrose to come too? He might be willing to help.”

  Dennis grinned. “You remind me of a general marshaling her forces. Are you going to launch a guerrilla attack on Deadman’s Ridge?”

  “You’re joking, but it might come to that.” Her smile was mirthless. “I wouldn’t be at all surprised if it did. Caesar’s commanding general may just have to create a submissive fantasy from his own point of view.”

  “Caesar’s general?” Dennis asked.

  “Never mind,” she said wearily. She wished she hadn’t thought of those last wild moments in Roman’s arms. It brought a montage of memories tumbling back and caused the pain to increase tenfold. “It’s not important.”

  She would strive with all her might to make that statement true. She couldn’t afford anything Roman had done to be important to her right now. She had to block out both the hurt and the love she felt for him. Oh, God, why couldn’t she stop loving him?

  Block it out. Forget the pain. Remember only the Black Flame shimmering, glowing, waiting for her in the darkness of Charlie’s mine on Deadman’s Ridge.

  Nine

  Brent Penrose’s expression was wary as Manda opened the door of the hotel room. “I’m here. I certainly don’t know why I’m here. I have an idea I may have lost my mind.”

  “Come in.” Manda stepped aside to permit him to enter. “I’m very grateful to you for coming. Dennis just rang from the airport and he and my sisters should be here any minute.”

  “That’s nice. I always did like family reunions.” He looked around the small shabby room. “Not exactly the Ritz, is it? I would have thought Roman would be more generous.”

  “The Ritz? You’ve got to be kidding. Roman would have liked nothing better than to throw me into the Bastille.”

  “So I’ve heard.” He shook his head. “You should have realized that selling those pictures would send his temper soaring.”

  “I didn’t sell those pictures. I didn’t have anything to do with it.” She closed the door and leaned wearily against it. “I just can’t prove it right now. Do you believe me?”

  He studied her thoughtfully before he nodded slowly. “Yep. I think I do.” He suddenly grinned. “I can tell you’re a lady of impeccable taste, and you would never have given that picture of a cannibal camel top billing over me.”

  “Never,” she agreed, smiling back at him. “So will you help me?”

  His expression became cautious. “I didn’t say that. Those two security men I passed in the hall look like doubles for Arnold Schwarzenegger. They could do serious and permanent damage to my profile.”

  “Well, then everyone would have to take your acting seriously, wouldn’t they? You might even get a few gangster roles. Maybe even a remake of Public Enemy or Key Largo.”

  “Somehow I don’t think that was the way I wanted to break out of the mold.” His lips twisted. “Though if Roman finds out I visited you in your room, I may not have a choice. I’ve noticed he’s very possessive of you. Since you became his lady, I haven’t even been able to mention your name without getting a glance that would turn a uranium core into a block of ice.”

  “I’m not his lady. Not any longer.”

  “Aren’t you?” His gaze was skeptical. “Then why are you stashed here instead of in Sydney being prosecuted? My guess is that Roman’s keeping you close until he has a chance to get over his first anger. Then I’ll bet he’ll be showing up here to try to work things out. Yes, I think you’re definitely still his lady.”

  “I don’t know.” She shrugged. “Everything’s changed. It was so perfect and now—”

  “Roman never pretends to be perfect. It’s one of the things I admire about him. He just works like hell to make whatever he’s creating perfect.”

  “Well, I’m not perfect either, but I would never have accused him of—” She broke off. “Oh, what’s the use? I didn’t ask you to come here to solve my romantic problems. I need your help to find a way of getting back to the mine.”

  He instantly shook his head. “There are two security men at your camp who make the guys in the hall look like Woody Allen and Don Knotts.”

  A smile tugged at her lips. “Do you always think in movie terms?”

  “I guess so. It’s the world I live in.”

  “And you love it?”

  “Sometimes. Sometimes I hate it.” His smile was lopsided. “I’m an excitement junkie. My work is exciting and I’m hooked on it. Fame can be a kick too. Yeah, I guess the highs come more often than the lows.”

  “Excitement,” Manda repeated. “I think I might be able to fill your cup to the brim. Want to give me a chance?” Her amber eyes were suddenly glowing and her voice became a soft velvet persuasion. “Think of it, Brent. A real-life adventure that will equal anything you’ve ever done on the screen. A search for a lost treasure, the charge of the light brigade, danger.”

  Brent was gazing bemusedly at her face. “Get thee behind me, Satan. Dennis once mentioned you could be a Lorelei.”

  “There’s nothing satanic about this. We’re the good guys. Strictly white-hat stuff.” She grinned. “I wouldn’t want to ruin your image.”

  “Why do I feel I’m being seduced by the Force? I don’t know—” He was interrupted by a knock on the door and gave a mock sigh of relief. “Saved!”

  “Not necessarily. That will be Sydney and Addie.” She turned to open the door. “And if you think I’m a siren”—her eyes were twinkling as she glanced back over her shoulder—“ ‘you ain’t seen nothing yet, buster.’ ”

  And when Manda introduced her sisters, he fully understood what she meant. Siren was the operative word for the women who stood facing him. They were both dressed in casual slacks and blouses, but there was still a subtle, almost romantic allure about them. And they were both absolutely stunning. No, he decided, it was Sydney who was stunning with her long dark wine-colored hair and clear golden eyes. Addie’s appeal was gentler, like the caressing mist of a mountain waterfall. It was strange she should have that effect, Brent thought. Addie’s short red hair and enormous dark eyes should have been more striking than soothing.

  He smiled. “I’m very happy to meet you both. Would either of you like to go to bed with a movie star?”

  They both looked at him in surprise.

  Manda chuckled. “Don’t pay any attention to Brent. I think he extends that offer to every woman he meets.”

  Brent looked hurt. “You malign me. I’m usually very particular. It’s only when I’ve been placed in a position of forced celibacy that I lose my innate shyness.” He gave a slight bow. “But I guarantee any and all of the Delaney sisters will have a standing invitation, no matter what the future competition.”

  “Thank you.” Addie’s face lit with a roguish grin. “We appreciate your condescension.”

  Sydney nodded. “Do you suppose he’d even give us his autograph the morning after?”

  “Ouch!” Brent’s expression was pained. “I suspect you ladies are capable of being less than appreciative of my charm.”

  “However, we’ll be most appreciative of your help,” Manda said as she turned back to her sisters. “Where’s Dennis?”

  “He went back to Deadman’s Ridge to fetch Jacto,” Addie said as she sank down in the sun-faded beige wing chair by the window. “Jacto insisted on staying near the mine last night to make sure no one stole any of your possessions.”

  “Is there such a thing as room service at this hotel?” Sydney wiped her brow with an immaculate linen handkerchief. “I have to have something to drink. How can you stand it here, Manda? There’s so much dust everywhere. I don’t know how Dennis even managed to land.”

  “The dust storms sometimes rise to fifteen thousand feet.” Manda smiled sympathetically. “And, sorry, no room service. These aren’
t exactly the kind of exotic surroundings you’ve been accustomed to lately, are they? I guess I’ve gotten used to it.”

  “I could go out and get something,” Brent offered.

  Sydney gave him a radiant smile that made him a little dizzy. “Would you? I’m terribly thirsty.”

  It had been a long time since he’d been used as an errand boy, but Brent imagined that smile could send any man fetching and carrying. “I’ll go right away.”

  “Wait,” Manda said. “Are you going to help us, Brent?”

  “I’m thinking about it. I’ve almost finished my role in the picture and Roman would lose a hell of a lot of money if he decided to cut my throat now. Your version of The Charge of the Light Brigade sounds interesting.” There was a fugitive gleam of excitement in his deep blue eyes. “It reminds me of that old western classic, The Magnificent Seven, only we’d be the Sensational Six. What do you want me to do?”

  “I’m going to need a big diversion while I slip down to the mine. You’re permitted to go anywhere on the set and the location. Could you possibly get hold of some special effects items, something that would cause a lot of smoke and explosions?”

  “Probably.” He looked disappointed. “That’s not exactly a cavalry charge.”

  “Oh, we’ll have that too,” Manda assured him, trying to smother a smile. There was something endearingly boyish about Brent. “Straight through the encampment.”

  “Hot damn,” Brent’s face brightened. “Do you want me to steal the horses from the corral?”

  Manda hesitated. “Well, we’re not going to use horses. I thought borrowing the four camels would be more effective. Everyone seems to hate them so much and—”

  “The Sensational Six has just dropped to the Fabulous Five.” He glowered fiercely at her. “Do you think I’m crazy? Those camels stay awake all night trying to think of different ways of plotting my doom. No camels!”

  “It will be perfectly safe. I’m putting Addie in charge of the camels.”

  “You have something against your sister? Even if she did steal your dolls when you were in rompers, you shouldn’t try to get your revenge this way. It’s too gory to contemplate.”

  “Please believe me, Mr. Penrose.” Addie’s soft voice dropped into the conversation like a ripple in a crystal pool. “I know animals. I make my living as a blacksmith. I won’t let them hurt you.”

  “You’re a blacksmith?” He shook his head in disbelief. She was slight, fragile, and as dreamy-eyed as one of his groupies. “You’ve got to be pulling my leg.”

  She shook her head. “I’m a very good blacksmith.” She smiled gently. “You can trust me. I’m sure we can make Manda’s plan work.”

  “No, I’m—” He broke off. He found to his astonishment that he did trust her, even to the point of risking his nose to that man-eating, knock-kneed carnivore. “I’ll have to think about it.”

  Manda smiled. He would do it. Addie had worked her usual magic and even Brent Penrose had no talisman to withstand her particular sorcery. “You do that. I figured you and Addie would come charging into the encampment from the north and Jacto and Dennis would come in from the south.”

  “Where do I fit in?” Sydney asked.

  “I need someone to lure the security men away from the mine.”

  “The Fabulous Five just became the Fantastic Four,” Sydney said flatly. “Why me? I couldn’t lure a horse dying of thirst to water. I wouldn’t know how to go about it.”

  Brent started to laugh and then stopped. She wasn’t kidding. She actually didn’t realize a woman with her beauty was a magnet and had no need for wiles. “I don’t think you have to worry.”

  Manda nodded. “Maybe you could pretend to be drowning in the billabong. You’ll think of something. I have the greatest faith in you.”

  Sydney frowned. “Dammit, Manda, why do I always get the hard jobs?”

  “I’d be glad to trade you the camel,” Brent offered politely. “Though I doubt if my allure would be quite as effective with those security men. Of course, I could try batting my ravishingly long lashes at them. But those beefy macho types are notorious for their violent defensiveness about their masculinity, and I might end up being tossed in the billabong.”

  Sydney laughed. “We wouldn’t want that to happen. I guess you’ll just have to stick to the camel.”

  Brent sighed. “I knew it was too good to be true.” He turned to leave. “I’ll go shopping at the local supermarket and pick up some refreshments.”

  The door closed behind him.

  Sydney’s gaze immediately zeroed in on Manda’s face. “You look ten pounds thinner, thoroughly exhausted, and something else.” She frowned. “Something … different.”

  Manda slowly shook her head. “Stop mothering me, Sydney. I’m fine, or I will be as soon as this is over and I have the opal in my hands.”

  “You really think you know where it is?” Addie asked.

  “Yes.” Manda crossed the room to the window seat, sat down on its print cushion, and leaned her head back against the wall of the alcove. “I really do.” She gazed out through the sheer nylon drapes to the street below. Coober Pedy. Dust, near-intolerable heat, and men and women so dazzled by the lure of opals they were willing to live underground to escape their surroundings. She would be glad to leave this town and the desolate country in which it stood. It had taken too much from her and given nothing back but heartache and disillusionment.

  Yet would she leave the same Manda who had come here only a few weeks ago? She had the notion that a new Manda might have been born here.

  The sun was going down now and the shabby room was assuming the kindly golden veil of twilight. It was very peaceful sitting here with Sydney and Addie in silent companionship. None of them felt the need to break the tranquility of the moment. They seldom needed words.

  It was a long time before Sydney said quietly, “You’re not happy.”

  Manda’s gaze remained on the street below. “I’ll get over it. How are things with you?”

  “I saw the black swans fly.”

  Manda turned to look at her. The simple sentence meant so much more than the words expressed, and it was all there in Sydney’s face. “I’m so glad for you.” She looked at Addie, sitting in the wing chair. “Unicorns?”

  Addie’s smile was serene as she nodded. “Unicorns.”

  Manda leaned her head back against the wall again and closed her eyes. They were both finding what they had sought on that childhood odyssey so long ago, and she was happy for them. She just wished she had been as lucky. For a moment she felt terribly lonely and isolated, but then Sydney reached out and clasped her hand and it was all right again.

  She opened her eyes and smiled mistily at them. “Hey, didn’t I tell you we had only to hold on and we’d get to our island eventually? You both gave up too soon the last time.”

  “And are you giving up too soon now?” Addie’s dark gaze was probing.

  Manda’s eyes widened in surprise. “I don’t … know,” she said slowly. Was she letting bitterness and hurt rob her of what she wanted most in the world? Was she running away again? “I believe I’d better think about it.”

  “It would be a good idea.” Sydney’s smile was teasing. “Most people do spend a little time on self-examination, Manda.”

  Manda returned her smile. “Then I’d better get in the swing of things, hadn’t I?” Her hand tightened on Sydney’s and she included Addie in the intimacy of her smile. “Help me?”

  Neither of her sisters answered. There was no need for them to reply. Manda knew they would always be there to give her what she needed. They were a team, the Delaneys of Killaroo. No matter where they wandered, a strong tie would still exist between them.

  The golden-limned shadows deepened in the room and they were silent once again—remembering, thinking, storing quantities of peace, love, and togetherness to carry them through the challenge to come.

  “She bit me on the ass.” Brent’s tone was as outraged as
his expression.

  “Shhh. Do you want to wake everyone in the whole encampment?” Manda was trying desperately to stifle her laughter at Brent’s astonishment and indignation. “We have to get these camels out of the corral before the trainer—”

  “But she bit me on the ass. I just turned my back for a second and she—” He turned to glare accusingly at Addie, who was busy saddling the fourth camel. “You promised you’d protect me.”

  “I’ll have a talk with her as soon as I’m finished here,” Addie said soothingly. “She’s probably upset only because she’s surrounded by all these strangers.”

  “Strangers?” Brent repeated, incensed. “I’m certainly no stranger to her. She’s become very familiar with every portion of my anatomy. Bite by bite.”

  “That’s because you’re so sweet, mate.” Dennis mounted his kneeling camel. “You notice my tough hide hasn’t come under attack.”

  “He probably thinks you’re a camel too,” Brent said sourly. “You show the same insensitivity.” He edged closer to the animal in front of him. “Look at her, she’s grinning at me. She’s just waiting for me to get on her back so she can run off to the desert, where she’ll have me at her mercy.”

  Manda leaned against the wooden post of the corral, her shoulders shaking helplessly with laughter. Her carefully planned guerrilla attack was rapidly becoming a farce. “Please,” she gasped out. “We have to get going. It will be light soon and we need every advantage we can get. Addie, for heaven’s sake, do something about his animal so we can get out of here.”

  Addie walked over to Brent’s kneeling camel, placed her hand squarely between its protruding brown eyes, and began stroking gently. “She’ll be fine. She really likes you, Brent. Camels can be very complex.” The camel’s eyes became soft and dreamy as she nudged her nose affectionately against Addie’s breasts.