The carriage ride to the Jameson town home was mercifully quick, because it had been one of the stranger trips she’d ever taken. Able sat next to her, his brawn leaving her very little room in her corner. Zane sat across from her to give Able room to stretch out his long legs, which meant that Zane’s long legs practically caged her in. There was one on either side of her two. That’s not to say that she minded him caging her in, precisely. She rather liked that each jolt of the carriage had her legs bumping into him. It was just that it was so awkward with Able looking down on him like a disapproving older brother.
It reminded her that she needed to talk to him and figure out what his problem was with Zane. If things were going to go as she hoped, then she’d need Able’s cooperation.
The carriage rolled to a stop and the driver came down to help her out. Zane dutifully moved his legs out of the way and she left him and Able to fight out which of them would follow first.
The house was a lavish affair, built within the last decade in the fashionable part of town. Glory had specified that they should use the back door, because she knew gossip would spread should she use the front door, and she was conscious of protecting the reputations of both Emmy and Caroline. Rumors were likely to spread anyway, but her carriage was inconspicuous and it was midmorning, hardly the usual time for people to be out calling. She hoped they’d get lucky and no one would notice them. Although she’d taken the precaution of dressing in black and had a long veil covering her face and hair.
The door was opened by an elderly woman as soon as she reached the stoop.
“Good morning, Miss Winters. You’re expected in the parlor.” The kindly woman waited for them all to come inside before leading them to the front of the house and opening a pair of tall French doors. The room was tastefully done in shades of rich brown and amber.
The two couples were already waiting inside. Castillo and Caroline were settled on a settee next to the window. His color had returned, and he looked much better than the last time she’d seen him. She couldn’t see any hint of his bandage, but he sat awkwardly and seemed to favor his side. It was one of the clues that he was injured; the other being that Caroline kept her hand in his, as if even now she was afraid that he could be taken from her.
When he made to stand, Glory waved him back down. “Please don’t stand on my account.”
Caroline flashed her a grateful smile when he sank back down. “He keeps trying to behave as if he doesn’t have a hole in his side.”
He grinned and pulled her hand to his mouth to place a kiss on the back. Glory wasn’t quite prepared for the pang of jealousy that knifed through her at the scene of such domestic bliss. She stood there staggered with longing at the obvious affection between the two of them.
It wasn’t that she coveted Castillo for herself, it was that she wanted that sort of relationship in her life, that easygoing affection, that absolute certainty that the other person was going to be there for the rest of their days. She had longed for that for a while now and had forced herself not to admit it, but the urge had been there needling her when she retired to her room alone at night with only her books for company. It was there when she woke up in the morning and drank her coffee alone at the window. The truth was that she had a very fulfilling life. She took care of a lot of people. She had a successful business. Not only the brothel and club, but she’d bought enough property over the past few years to be one of the wealthiest landowners in town. She had no reason to be discontented with her life.
Or she hadn’t until Zane had come into her life. The past days had shown her how fulfilling it could be to have someone. Last night had shown her how fulfilling intimacy could be. Opening herself up to Zane and having him hold her while she’d slept had been so much more than she could’ve anticipated. It left her craving more.
“Welcome, Glory.” Emmy had been standing next to Hunter at the cold fireplace, but she hurried over and embraced her.
Glory smiled down at her, amazed at how she’d changed from the girl who’d grown up in Victoria House to the beautiful young woman she was today. No one would have guessed that she’d been in a salon in Victoria House mere months ago, auctioning off her virginity. Or that marriage to the man who’d placed the highest bid would come so soon. Glory had been uncertain given the unconventional way that Emmy and Hunter had met, but marriage seemed to agree with her. She was glowing like a woman in love and well taken care of.
“Thank you for agreeing to see us on such short notice.” She squeezed Emmy’s hand and addressed the room. She’d only rang them on the telephone a scarce half hour earlier and Hunter had urged them to come as soon as they could.
“Anytime, Glory,” Hunter said.
“Come and have a seat.” Emmy led her to the settee that sat across from Castillo and Caroline. Then she greeted Able and Zane. Once Able was seated in a high-backed chair facing the fireplace, and Emmy sat beside her, it was time to get to the reason they were there. Glory absolutely hated having to ask for help, yet here she was and it was the second time this week she’d had to come to them.
As if sensing her discomfort, Zane reached forward from where he stood behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder. He’d naturally seemed to gravitate toward her and she’d liked that a lot.
“I assume Zane told you all about my predicament?”
Castillo leaned forward, wincing. “He said that a man from your past had found both you and Able. That he’s possibly on his way here.”
“Yes, that’s right. I’ve decided that if we’re to be ready for him, I need to close the boardinghouse.” She explained her plan and about Emily and Edward.
“Say no more.” Emmy took her hand again. “We’ll take them out to the ranch. They’ll be safe there. Hunter has enough hands out there that this man won’t know what hit him if he tries to follow them.”
“Are you certain you can keep them safe?” Glory asked, looking from Emmy to Hunter.
“We’d be honored to have them,” Hunter answered.
Emmy smiled. “We handled my stepfather and his gang of thieves, we can handle the mystery man from your past.”
Before Glory could say more, Emmy said to Able, “You should consider sending Clara as well. She’ll be safer out there.”
“I’d be obliged to you,” said Able.
“It’s not an obligation. We’re happy to help out. We’ve come to think of you and Glory as extended family.” Hunter’s wide smile lit up the parlor. It was no wonder every debutante in town had gone into fits when they’d heard he was engaged. Or at least that had been the rumor; Glory wasn’t close with any debutantes.
“You should come too, Glory,” Emmy said more quietly.
“I agree,” Able added. “You go wait it out at the ranch and we’ll take care of Dubose.”
Glory didn’t know whether to be offended that he wouldn’t want her included or grateful that she had people who cared about her. She decided to remain neutral. “I’m not running. It’s time to end this.”
Able gave her a firm nod and Emmy smiled. “When do you think we should go? Today? In the morning?” Emmy asked.
Glory’s mind started swimming with all the things they needed to do within the next few days. Now that it was finally happening, she had too many things to do to be worried. She barely noticed when Hunter called for Zane and motioned that they should step into the other room.
* * *
Zane followed Hunter across the wide hallway that bisected the house into a room nearly identical to the parlor they’d left. The only difference was that this one was deep red and cream. He’d never understand why people needed so many rooms for socializing. He couldn’t ever imagine wanting that many people in his space.
Hunter stopped near the window and pulled out a folded piece of yellow paper from inside his coat. It looked like a telegram. “I received this minutes before you arrived. It’s from the Charleston solicitor I telegrammed last night.”
“Already?”
Hunter sneered. “It must’ve been the outrageous sum I agreed to wire to his bank.” His smile faded as he looked down at the paper. “It turns out Dubose is a wealthy landowner in the low country. He’s fairly well-known in Charleston social circles.”
All of that was to be expected. Glory wouldn’t be so afraid if the man wasn’t without some means to pose a serious threat to her. “Has he left yet?”
Hunter frowned and handed over the piece of paper before running a hand over his chin. “That’s the strange part. He says that Dubose has been gone for weeks. To Europe. Something about a tour of France.”
Zane scanned the telegram confirming that Dubose had left three weeks ago, which meant he’d be in France by now. “I don’t believe it. He’s on his way.”
“Or already here.”
At those ominous words, Zane looked up. Hunter looked concerned. “You don’t think he’s been here all along?”
Hunter shook his head. “Probably not. We don’t know how long he’s been looking for them. The investigator he hired only just made contact, so I think it’s likely that he had no idea where she was before then. Maybe he’s only now decided to find her and set off on his own to do that. Hell, I don’t know.” Hunter ran his fingers through his hair and paced the length of the window.
“It doesn’t matter. We’ve already been vigilant.” Zane folded up the paper and handed it back to Hunter. “We still have to get the children and Clara to safety. The men are still at the ranch, we need to bring some of them into town and have someone at the train station so we know if Dubose comes in that way. The rest we need outside Victoria House. We’ll make sure no one gets in or out without us knowing.” He was thankful the gang had decided to wait out Castillo’s recovery at the ranch instead of going their separate ways.
“Let’s go back and talk with Glory and Able and see what they think. But first...” He paused as if uncertain how to say whatever it was he wanted to say. “You and Glory... You seem to have gotten closer.”
Zane gave a nod. “We have. She’s a special person.” The words were benign, lacking even a modicum of the depth of what he felt for her, but he couldn’t put it into words yet. After last night...
Hunter grinned. “That’s good. I’m glad to see you moving on. What happened with Christine was horrible, but you deserve to find happiness.”
Zane sucked in a breath, his dream from the night before weighing heavily on his mind. Maybe it meant that he should stay away from Glory, or maybe it was already too late for that. Dubose could be the end of him. Either way he wasn’t leaving until she was safe from the madman.
He shrugged and tried to act like it didn’t mean anything. “It’s not like that, brother. She tolerates me being in her space, and I happen to like being in her space. We both know the future isn’t certain.”
Hunter frowned, his brows drawing together over his eyes. “Are you certain that’s all it is?”
Zane swallowed, very uneasy with the direction of this conversation, especially after what had happened between them last night. “What do you mean?”
Hunter shrugged. “You look at her like you looked at Christine, that’s all. I assumed it meant that you had something...well, special.”
Zane was very much afraid that they did. No, terrified. He never wanted to feel that way about anyone again, and he’d thought he’d made himself immune to that vulnerability. Despite the omen from his past and his own experience, somehow Glory had found a way in through all of his defenses. He’d be damned if he knew what to do about it.
“It could be, if we let it.” His answer was as honest as he could make it.
“But you don’t want to let it?”
Zane shook his head. No, Glory wasn’t Christine, but his heart was still the same one Christine had torn out and stomped all over that night back on the Reyes hacienda. It wasn’t willing to forget or to even believe that love was worth the pain all over again.
“Does Glory know you feel that way?” Hunter asked.
Guilt and anger collided within him, swirling together in a storm that begged to be let out. He knew that Hunter was right. He needed to have a serious talk with her to let her know that whatever was happening between them couldn’t go any further. He’d thought they’d been on the same page about that, but after last night... Hell, he’d gone and messed that up last night when he’d held her. The worst part was that he couldn’t even regret doing it.
Shaking his head, he said, “Let’s go make a plan for dealing with Dubose.” He led the way back across the hall, feeling, for the first time in his life, like he was in over his head.