The Widow of Rose Hill (The Women of Rose Hill Book 2), стр. 74
She savored his praise. “Lottie won’t be able to join us for a while. Little Jude Liberty is a very demanding fellow just now. The poor woman is exhausted simply seeing to his needs.”
Levi nodded. “Corporal Banks informed me of your cousin’s departure.” A smile played on his lips, telling her the corporal had more than likely heard an earful from Carolina and passed the information on to Levi.
Natalie sighed. “I wish I could say I feel badly about asking Cousin Eunice to leave, but the truth is, I don’t. The way she treated Lottie was disgraceful. I simply couldn’t allow it to continue.”
They reached the bottom of the porch steps, where the shade of a great oak offered a brief respite after their walk in the sunshine. She made to ascend, but Levi reached for her hand.
“Natalie,” he said, his voice low. She turned to him, afraid of what he might say. Although she knew they had no future together, she hoped he would continue to visit, if only for Samuel’s sake. “You need to be careful when it comes to Lopez.”
The warning was not what she’d expected. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“How well do you know him?”
“He’s been visiting Rose Hill for a year. He’s never given me cause to believe I’m in danger in his presence. Actually, he gave me a similar warning about you.”
“You would do well to rebuff his attentions.”
Her spine stiffened. “I don’t see how this is any of your concern, Colonel. You’ve made it perfectly clear you won’t stay in Texas. Alexander has made me an offer I would be foolish not to consider. Without slaves, I can’t manage the plantations. He promises to bring them back to their full potential. I won’t jeopardize Samuel’s inheritance simply because you don’t like the man.”
His jaw clenched beneath his dark beard. “Your stubbornness is not your best virtue, Mrs. Ellis.”
Natalie huffed and climbed the steps without a backward glance.
The man was impossible.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
The fiery sun hung low in the western sky, casting shadows over the narrow valley below. Levi perched on a wooded rise, hidden from view as he observed several cowboys and a herd of cattle grazing peacefully on Rose Hill grass. With a few hours remaining until nightfall, the air around him simmered as though it had escaped from a furnace. A breeze would not only cool his sweat-soaked body but also rustle the too-still landscape. Any movement he made might be seen by the men he was watching. Though his muscles complained, a little discomfort was worth it if he could catch Lopez red-handed. His instincts told him he had his man, but he would need more evidence than a gut feeling to get a conviction in court.
A cow bellowed and ran across the field.
With the vaqueros’ attention on the animal, Levi shifted his weight ever so slightly. He could have sent some of his men to watch the herd, but the need to see for himself if his hunch were correct kept him in place. Once he witnessed Lopez with the cattle, he’d bring a company of men to apprehend the culprit. The very thought of the Tejano behind bars made him grin.
For a brief moment, he closed his eyes, recalling the fury he’d seen on Lopez’s face when Natalie chose to go fishing instead of remaining at the house with him. Levi had wanted to gloat, but goading the man would have served no purpose. He’d have time enough to enjoy seeing Lopez’s shocked face once he realized he’d been caught.
Another hour passed. When the men’s backs were to him, Levi inched behind the foliage of a prickly shrub. Carefully removing his hat, he mopped his brow with the back of his shirt sleeve. His coat lay on the ground next to him, long since discarded. After replacing his hat, he tipped his canteen to his lips, letting lukewarm water trickle down his throat. He’d sit here until the sun set, watching and waiting, before heading back to camp. By then, Banks would have received the message Levi sent with one of the privates alerting the corporal to a possible break in the cattle theft case. The men would be ready to ride the moment Levi returned.
What would Natalie think once she realized who Lopez really was? Seeing the arrogant man with her in Rose Hill’s parlor earlier had nearly driven Levi mad. The Tejano’s overconfidence about his place in her life—his words and actions oozed with it—told Levi the man was far more certain of a future union with Natalie than she seemed to understand. Promising to restore the plantations to their former glory not only held the key to her considering his proposal, but it was also the reason she’d refused to consider Levi’s. Obviously, Lopez knew how to reach the lady’s heart far better than Levi did.
Frustration had him squeezing his hands into fists. Were land and cotton so important to her that she would marry an oily snake like Lopez?
No. He shouldn’t judge. He couldn’t imagine what worries a widowed mother left to raise a son alone might have for the future. On top of that, she was the sole owner of two enormous plantations. It made sense that she would want Samuel to inherit them someday, especially if they somehow became profitable again. Funding enough hired help to make that happen would be impossible on her own.
He glanced at the landscape surrounding him. It was beautiful country, to be sure. Yet her refusal to give it all up and go to Pennsylvania with him hurt his pride. Theirs would have been a tale for the ages. A southern slave owner falling in love with a northern abolitionist and leaving behind the tainted land where men and women had once been held in bondage. But her future, she believed, was here.
A thought crossed his mind as he shifted his backside on the hard ground. Was it