She looked at him with as much dignity as she could manage, considering the state of her face. “I’ll scream all the way through town, and I’ll leave your house at the first opportunity.”
He leaned toward her, bending her backward.
“You know that brewery your stepfather owns? A year ago, he had some money problems that he didn’t tell nobody about. Two months ago, in secret, he sold the place to an anonymous buyer, somebody that lets him remain manager.”
“You?” Houston whispered, her back against the wet brick wall.
“Me. And last month, I bought the Chandler National Bank. I wonder who’d be hurt if I decided to close the place?”
“You wouldn’t do that,” she gasped.
“You just said that I do whatever I want, no matter who gets in my way. And right now, I want you to move back into my house.”
“But why? I never meant anything to you. All I ever meant to you was something to further your revenge on Jacob Fenton. Surely, someone else would be better—.”
He ignored her words. “What do you say? Will you martyr yourself to save the whole town? My house and my bed bein’ the stake you’ll burn at, of course.”
Suddenly he grabbed her chin in his hand, his fingertips roughly caressing her damp, gritty skin. “Can I still make you burn? Can I still make you cry out in pleasure?”
He bent his head as if he meant to kiss her but stopped a breath away from her lips. “You ain’t got any choice at all as far as I can see. You either come home with me right now or I foreclose on a whole lot of people. Are your uppity morals more important than the food in people’s mouths?”
She blinked at the water in her eyes, whether from tears or the rain she wasn’t sure. “I’ll live with you again,” she said, “but you have no idea how cool the Lady of Ice can be.”
He didn’t answer her but lifted her into his arms and carried her to his waiting wagon. Neither spoke on the way up the hill to the Taggert mansion.
* * *
Houston didn’t have a great deal of difficulty remaining cool to her husband, and only once was she tempted to falter. She remembered too well why he’d married her and what a fool she’d been to think she was in love with such a selfish man. At least Leander had been honest when he’d told her what he wanted of her.
Houston did the bare minimum of what was required of her to run the house and no more. She rehired the servants but planned no entertainments, and she spoke to Kane only when necessary and refused to react when he touched her—which had been the most difficult part.
The first night she was in his house had been the worst. He’d come to her bedroom and slowly pulled her into his arms. Houston had refused to let her body betray her. She’d stood as rigid as a steel pole and thought about Sunshine Row at the mining camp. It was probably the most difficult thing she’d ever done in her life, but she wasn’t going to fall into bed with him after the way he’d used her. Nor had she let her reserve break when he’d moved away from her and looked at her with the eyes of a sad puppy. She thought he’d used his good looks to advantage to get what he wanted.
The next morning he came to her room and lifted a small chest from the floor. Houston knew that it was his wedding gift to her, and she’d always known what was in it, but she’d waited for him to present it to her. And now, when he dumped about a million dollars’ worth of jewels in her lap, all she could think about was that they were so cold—about as cold as her insides felt.
Kane stood back and watched for her reaction.
“If you mean to try to buy me—,” she began.
He cut her off. “Damn it, Houston! Was I supposed to tell you about Fenton before we were married? I had a hard enough time as it was, what with you tryin’ to get Westfield even when we were standin’ at the altar.” He waited a moment. “You ain’t gonna deny that you wanted Westfield?”
“It doesn’t seem to matter what I want. You are an expert at getting your own way. You wanted a house to impress Mr. Fenton, you wanted a wife to impress him. It doesn’t matter that the house cost millions and the wife is a human being with feelings of her own. It’s all the same to you. You have to have your own way, and look out, anyone who tries to thwart you.”
Kane left the room without another word.
The jewels glowed in Houston’s lap and, without another glance, she turned the blanket down to cover them as she stepped out of bed.
She spent the days in her sitting room reading. The servants came to her to ask questions, but otherwise she stayed alone. Her only hope was that Kane would see that she didn’t want to live with him and would release her.
A week after she’d returned, he came storming into her room, papers from the bank in his hand.
“What the hell are these supposed to mean?” he shouted. “The account of Mrs. Houston Chandler Taggert has been charged for bath powder, two yards of ribbon, and for paying the telephone bill of the Taggert household.”
“I believe I’m the only one who uses the telephone, therefore I should pay the expenses.”
He sat down in a chair across from her. “Houston, have I ever been stingy with you? Have I ever complained about how much you spend? Have I ever done or said anything that makes you think that I’d ever withhold money from you?”
“You have accused me of marrying you for your money,” she said coolly. “Since your money is so precious to you and not to me, you may keep it.”
He started to speak, but closed his mouth. After a long moment of looking at the bills, he said softly, “I’ll be goin’ to Denver tonight, and I’ll be gone for about three days. I’d like you to stay in the house. I don’t want you doin’ anything to get in trouble, like tryin’ to start a riot at the coal mines.”
“And what will you do to innocent people if I do? Will you throw three families into the snow?”
“If you haven’t noticed, it’s still summer.” He walked to the door. “You don’t know me very well at all, do you? I’ll tell the bank to send your bills to me. Buy whatever you want.” With that, he left her alone.
As soon as he was gone, she went to the window to look at Chandler below. “You don’t know me very well, either, Kane Taggert,” she whispered. “You’ll not be able to keep me chained inside this house.”
Three hours later, after she saw Kane drive away from the house, she called Reverend Thomas and told him to prepare a wagon because, tomorrow, Sadie would visit the Little Pamela mine.
Chapter 27
Houston, dressed as Sadie, eased the wagon up the hill toward the coal mine and, as she maneuvered the horses around a long, deep rut in the road caused by the recent heavy rains, she thought she heard a sound in the back of the wagon. Last summer, a cat had been caught under the canvas that was tied down so tightly, and she was sure that was what was making noise now.
She flipped the reins to the horses and concentrated on getting up the hill. At the gate, she prayed the cat, or, by the sound, several cats, would be still long enough for her to get past the guards. She’d hate to have the men’s curiosity aroused so they’d feel compelled to search her wagon.
She breathed a sigh of relief when she was past the guards and into the camp. She’d called Jean this morning and, in between Jean’s breathless announcement that Edan had asked her to marry him, Jean had said that Rafe was now working the graveyard shift and would be at home when she brought her wagon. Rafe didn’t know about Houston, but he was willing to introduce Sadie to another woman who’d help her with the distribution of the vegetables and the contraband goods. Jean didn’t know whether the new woman was aware of Sadie’s true identity or not.
Houston pulled the wagon over in front of the Taggerts’ company house and halted just as Rafe came out the door.
“Mornin’ to you,” Sadie called as she struggled to get her fat old body down from the wagon.
Rafe nodded in her direction, looking at her so hard that Houston kept her head down, the sloppy hat shading her face. “I hear you’re gonna find
me somebody else to help me get rid of this stuff. Now that Jean’s gone to be a lady, I don’t guess I’ll get to see much of her.” Sadie began to untie one corner of the canvas. “I got me some cats caught under here and I got to get ’em out.”
She glanced up at Rafe as she tossed the canvas back and picked up a head of cabbage, meaning to brag a bit on her fine produce. But when she looked back at the wagon, her knees buckled under her and she grabbed the side of the wagon for support. Under the head of cabbage was Kane Taggert’s face and he gave her a lusty wink.
Rafe grabbed Sadie with one hand and looked into the wagon at the same time.
Kane sat up, food falling over the side of the wagon. “Are you deaf, Houston? Couldn’t you hear me callin’? I thought I was gonna pass out, since I couldn’t breathe. Damn it, woman! I told you not to go into the mines today.”
Rafe looked from one person to the other before he took Houston’s chin and held her face up to the light. If you were looking for it, you could see the makeup. Over the years, Houston’d become an expert at keeping her face down and she’d soon learned that people rarely look at each other critically. They saw at first glance that she was an old woman and they never questioned that first impression.
“I didn’t believe it,” Rafe said under his breath. “You’d better get inside and start talkin’.”
Kane stood beside her, gripped her elbow painfully and half pushed her inside the little house of Rafe’s.
“I told you not to do this,” Kane began. He looked at his uncle. “You know what the ladies of Chandler are doin’? There’s three or four of ’em that dress up like this and they carry illegal things inside the food.”
Houston jerked away from Kane’s grasp. “It’s not as bad as you make it sound.”
“What’s more, Fenton knows about the women and he can prosecute ’em at any time. He must hold half the leadin’ citizens in the palm of his hand, and they don’t even know it.”
Rafe looked at Houston for a moment. “What sort of illegal goods?”
“Nothing much,” she answered. “Medicines, books, tea, soap, anything we can fit inside the vegetables. It’s not what he makes it seem. And as for Mr. Fenton, since he does know and hasn’t done anything about it, perhaps he’s protecting us, seeing that nothing interferes with our trips. After all, we hurt no one.”
“No one!” Kane gasped. “Honey, someday I’m gonna explain to you about stockholders. If Fenton’s stockholders found out about you, and how you’re takin’ profit out of their greedy little mouths, they’d string all of you up. But before Fenton swung, he’d use all you women, and all the daddies and husbands he could, to get himself off. I’m sure Fenton loves what you’re doin’, ’cause he knows that, any time he wants it, he has power over Chandler’s leadin’ citizens—just so long as his investors know nothin’ about nothin’.”
“Just because you’d blackmail a person, doesn’t mean that other people would do the same thing. Perhaps Mr. Fenton—.”
She stopped, because Rafe was shoving her out the door. “I think you better go tend to your wagon. The woman that‘s gonna help you lives next door. Just knock on the door and she’s ready.” With that, he shut the door behind her.
“How long’s this been goin’ on?” Rafe asked Kane. “And what’s she do with the money she’s paid for the food?”
Kane didn’t know all the answers to his uncle’s questions, but between them they were able to figure out most of the story. Rafe agreed with Kane about why Fenton allowed the women into the mine camp.
“He’d sell ’em out in seconds,” Rafe said. “So what’re you plannin’ to do now? You gonna let her keep on drivin’ the wagon and risk gettin’ hurt someday? If the guards found out that she’d played ’em for the fool for a couple of years, they’d act first and ask who was protectin’ her later.”
“I told her she wasn’t to go into the mines today and you see how she obeyed me. The minute she thought I was out of sight, she bought a load of vegetables to bring up here.”
“She paid for ’em?”
Kane pulled out a chair and sat down. “She ain’t too happy with me right now, but she’ll come around. I’m workin’ on her.”
“If you wanna talk about it, I can listen,” Rafe said as he took a seat across from his nephew.
Kane had never talked to anyone in his life about his personal problems, but lately, things were changing rapidly. He’d told Opal some of his problems and now he wanted to tell his uncle. Maybe a man could help him.
Kane told Rafe about growing up in Fenton’s stables, about his dream of building a bigger house. Rafe nodded in understanding, as if what Kane said made perfect sense to him.
“Only thing was, Houston got real mad when I told her why I’d married her, and she walked out the front door. I got her to come back but she ain’t exactly happy about it.”
“You say that you’d planned to have her sittin’ at your table, but what about afterward?”
Kane started looking at his fingernails. “I didn’t want a wife and I thought she was in love with that Westfield that jilted her, so I was sure she’d be glad to see the last of me after the dinner with Fenton. I thought I’d give her a box of jewelry and then I’d go back to New York. Damnest thing was, though, I gave her the jewelry, but she didn’t even look at it.”
“So why don’t you just leave her and go back to New York?”
Kane took a while to answer. “I don’t know, I kinda like it here. I like the mountains, and it ain’t hot here in the summer like it is in New York and—”
“And you like Houston,” Rafe said, grinning. “She’s a pretty little thing, and I’d rather have a woman like her than the entire state of New York.”
“So how come you ain’t married?”
“All the women I like won’t have me.”
“I guess that’s the same with me. When I didn’t really care whether Houston married me or not, and thought somebody else’d do just as well, she kept tellin’ me that she loved me, and now, when I don’t think I could live very well without her, she looks at me like I was a pile of horse manure.”
The two men were silent for a moment, the air heavy with their feelings of injustice.
“You want some whiskey?” Rafe asked.
“I need some,” Kane answered.
As Rafe turned away to get the whiskey, Kane, for the first time, looked around at the house. He calculated that the whole place would fit into his dressing and bathing area. The house was dirty in a way that no cleaning could remedy. There was no light to speak of in the room, and the air gave off a smell of the deepest poverty.
On the mantelpiece were a tin of tea, two cans of vegetables and what looked to be half a loaf of bread wrapped in cloth. Kane was sure that that was all the food in the house.
Quite suddenly, Kane remembered the rooms above the stables where he’d grown up. He’d sent his sheets and clothes to the Fenton laundress to be cleaned and, when he’d grown up, he’d coaxed the maids into cleaning his rooms. And there’d always been food in abundance.
What was it that Houston had said she was taking to the miners? Medicines, soaps, tea? Whatever she could hide in a head of cabbage. Never had Kane actually had to worry about food. And no matter where he’d lived, he’d never lived like this.
As he looked up at a corner where the roof obviously leaked, he wondered how his mother, raised with all the finest in life, had survived in a house like this as long as she did.
“Did you know my mother?” Kane quietly asked, as Rafe set a tin cup of whiskey on the table.
“I did.” Rafe was watching this man who was his relative, both familiar and unknown at the same time. Sometimes Kane moved in a way that made Rafe think it was Frank sitting in front of him—and then he had a way of looking at people that made him think of pretty little Charity.
Rafe took a seat at the table. “She lived with us for just a few months, and it was hard on her, but she was a game little thing. We all thought
Frank was the luckiest man on earth. You should have seen her. She worked all day cleanin’ and cookin’ and then, just before Frank got off his shift, she’d doll herself up like she was ready to meet the President.”
Kane stared at his uncle for a moment. “I heard she was a spoiled brat and snubbed all the other women and they hated her.”
Rafe’s face showed his anger. “I don’t know who told you that, but he’s a damned liar. When Frank was killed, she just didn’t care about livin’ anymore. She said she was goin’ home to have the baby because she knew Frank would want the best for his child, and she wanted to share her baby with her father. The bastard!” Rafe said under his breath. “The next thing we heard was that Charity and the baby had died and her father had killed hisself in grief. Sherwin and me were glad that Charity’s last moments had been happy, and that her father had accepted her back right away. None of us knew about you, or knew that Charity had killed herself, until years later.”
Kane wanted to ask why Rafe hadn’t done anything about it when he found out, but he put his mug to his mouth and drank instead. He’d told Houston that money gave a man power. What could any of the Taggerts have done when they could barely scratch out a living? And besides, he hadn’t done so badly on his own.
“I was thinkin’,” Kane said, looking down at his cup. “You and me got off to a bad start, and I was wonderin’ if there was anything I could do to help . . . ” Even as he said the words, he knew he shouldn’t have. Houston said that he used his money and used people. He looked at his uncle and saw that Rafe was holding himself rigid, waiting for Kane to finish his sentence. “Ian likes to play baseball a lot and so does Zach, and now I don’t get to see them too much, so I was wonderin’ if maybe I could start a baseball team with the kids here. I’d buy all the equipment, of course.”