This Fierce Splendor Read Free

balcony door. The curtains were glittering in the candlelight, the fretwork forming lacy patterns against the indigo of the night sky. She heard the faintest tinkle of sound, as if the heavy draperies were being stirred by an errant gust of wind. But there was no wind on this hot summer night … not the slightest breath of a wind.

1

    June 12, 1870                       
Hell’s Bluff, Arizona Territory
    “R ein in! This is a holdup!”
    As the deep-voiced command had been preceded by four gunshots, one of which skimmed the brim of his hat, Ben Travis decided it behooved him to obey … and fast. He glanced with longing at the shotgun beside him in the boot of the stagecoach, then reluctantly pulled up the horses just short of the lone bandit standing square in the center of the road ahead.
    A thrill of panic darted through Elspeth MacGregor, and her hand unconsciously tightened on the black grosgrain reticule she carried. She mustn’t be forced to give up the little money she possessed. If Dominic Delaney wasn’t still at Hell’s Bluff, where her father had last made contact with him, she would have to search for him. Heaven only knew how long it would take and how much it would cost to find him.
    “Do not be frightened, mademoiselle.”
    Those slightly accented words were the first the plump young man across from Elspeth had spoken since the stage had left Tucson. Her fellow passenger had appeared to be dozing continuously since their early morning departure, and Elspeth had felt relieved to be ignored by him and left to her own thoughts. Now, however, the man’s dark eyes were blazing with excitement.
    “I’ve read about these desperadoes,” he said, “and they have a certain code. The would never tamperwith the virtue of a respectable lady such as yourself. They want only our money.”
    Only! Elspeth came close to laughing aloud. Women as plain as she seldom had problems with would-be ravishers, so she hadn’t a fear on that score. But she did fear being robbed; she
had
to have money on which to live until she could find Dominic Delaney. She had a little gold secreted in her trunk, but most of her remaining funds were in the reticule she was clutching so desperately. “Do you have a weapon?” she asked her plump companion. “We could try to overpower them. We cannot just let them rob us.”
    He blinked. The woman facing him was small, quite fragile-looking really, and her voice was sweetly melodious despite its urgent tone. The mere suggestion from her of trying to overpower even the weakest of men seemed ludicrous to him. Deciding fear was robbing her of good sense, he said soothingly, “I do not think it would be wise to challenge these fellows. They’re probably very dangerous.” He shrugged his shoulders and the fine biscuit-colored broadcloth of his fashionable coat scarcely rippled. “Naturally,” he said forcefully, “if you weren’t present, I would confront these outlaws.”
    “Naturally,” she echoed dryly. He appeared to be accepting this robbery with equanimity, even a certain amount of pleasure. Judging by the beautifully crafted leather boots and expensive clothes of this calm individual, she suspected he could easily afford to lose the money he carried with him. She could not. “Do you have a pistol?” she asked.
    He looked slightly affronted. “Of course I have a pistol. A very fine derringer.”
    “May I borrow it?”
    He blinked again. “Do you know how to fire a pistol?”
    “I haven’t the slightest notion how to do so, but at least I can threaten those bandits with it.” She straightened briskly and held out her small, gloved hand. “Please.”
    Clearly astonished at what she wished to do, he blustered, “I do not think—”
    His sentence was interrupted by a string of curses shouted by the driver of the stage.
    Elspeth frowned. She’d overheard her father and his students using some of the milder oaths on occasion, but many of the curses