Hannah Howell Read Free

very kind of you, Antonie, but you really shouldn't be in here."
    “I left the door open as I heard you say a lady should."
    Royal nearly choked on his coffee for the door was indeed open, wide open, letting anyone who walked past look in on him. “Yes, well, when I was speaking of rooms, I wasn't meaning bedrooms.” The way she looked at him told him that she did not understand. “Ladies do not enter a man's bedroom.” He decided to eat while he thought of a way to explain it to her.
    She watched him while he ate. His thick chestnut hair was tousled from sleep, but did as little as his youth to soften the slightly harsh lines of his face. He was not as dark as Juan but not as pale as some gringos. The deep green of his eyes, set beneath neatly drawn, vaguely winged brows, fascinated her.
    “Kiss me,” she abruptly ordered when he ate the last of his food.
    After choking on that last bite for a minute, Royal gasped, “Don't be ridiculous."
    Suddenly he found a knife at his throat.
    “I said kiss me, gringo."
    “Antonie,” drawled an all too familiar voice from the door, “this is not the way to seduce a man."
    Putting away her knife, Antonie groused, “I thought you were still with Maria."
    Strolling up to the bed, Juan looked at her sternly. “Ah. So you thought to rush in here and learn to be a puta."
    “I just wanted a kiss. None of that other business. Oro and Tomás are only two years older than me, and they have done it all."
    “They are learning to be men. Doing it all is part of becoming a man."
    “I do not want it all. Just one kiss. I asked Oro and Tomás, but they said no and threw me in the water. Last time I was at church the girls were talking about kissing. I just wanted to know. Everybody has done it but me."
    Juan stared at her. It was clear that her thoughts were already growing with her body. He knew how stubborn she could be once she got an idea into her head. Leaning against the wall by the bed, he took out a cigarillo.
    “Kiss her."
    “What?” Royal gasped. “She's just a kid, for Christ's sake."
    "Sí and no.” He lit his cigarillo and slowly drew on it. “She is thinking she is missing something, eh?"
    “And you expect me to show her she isn't?” Royal did not feel very flattered.
    “No. I expect you to answer what this question is in her stubborn mind. She will keep asking until she gets her answer, and I do not want someone to tell her too much, sí? You kiss her."
    “Oh for god's sake,” Royal muttered and yanked her to him to deliver a brief kiss.
    “That is all?” Antonie asked in disappointment.
    “For you, sí. Now, vamoose."
    “It does not seem worth all the excitement,” she grumbled as she left, Sage at her heels.
    “That should end that,” Juan said with satisfaction.
    “Are you sure?” Royal was trying not to be too insulted by her reaction.
    "Sí. She does not like it when the girls at the church talk of things she does not know. Now she knows.” Juan moved to the door. “Some day I will repay my debt. Vaya con Dios, amigo."
    Before Royal could reply, the man was gone, the door shut after him. It was time to go home for a while. Things might be dull there, but at least he did not find himself cheek to jowl with notorious bandidos and precocious little girls.
    An hour later he was mounting his horse in preparation of leaving, only to see that Juan Ramirez was doing the same. The girl sat on a huge black stallion flanked by two mounted youths who obviously had some Indian blood in their veins. They made an impressive trio, the two tall, dark youths beside the tiny fair Antonie. He returned their farewells as he rode past them on his way out of town.
     
    When Royal reached his home several days later, he found that the girl still troubled him. She came to mind as he greeted his sister. Patricia was growing up wrapped in the protection of her family, enjoying all the innocent games and interests of a young girl facing womanhood. It was hard not to compare