It was starting to get dark when Amelia pulled the wagon into the yard. She leapt down almost before the old nag could stop, tossing the reins to Duncan. Duncan shrugged resignedly, looping the reins around a hitching rail and giving the horse a pat before following her inside.
"Duncan's here!" He could hear Amelia's voice ahead of him down the narrow hall. "Now I want to - David!"
Duncan entered the small kitchen to see David seated comfortably at the table, working his way through a whiskey bottle. He seemed unperturbed by Amelia's distress. "What?" he drawled indifferently, a little smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
Amelia's hands curled into fists. "I want to go check on him! Now!"
David shrugged, but the smile grew infinitesimally. "So, go. I ain't stoppin' you."
Amelia stamped her foot. "You have your chair right on top of the root cellar door!"
"Do I?" David's smirk grew to a full scale grin. "Huh."
Amelia kicked at his chair. "David, it's not fair! I did everything you said! Now I want to see him!"
David stretched out a little. "Oh, what's your big hurry? Ain't like he's goin' anywhere."
Amelia stomped in a little circle. "I waited all day! ALL DAY, David! Now let me go down! It's not fair!"
Duncan dropped himself into a chair and stretched out his legs. "Oh, heck - let her, David. What's the harm?"
Amelia glanced at him in surprise, then turned her eager gaze back to David. David seemed to ponder it for a moment. "Oh…" he yawned lazily. "I 'spose…" Amelia moved eagerly toward him. "…after…"
She stopped, frowning. "After? After what?"
"After you fix us a nice dinner. I'm real hungry."
Amelia blew out her breath. "I'll fix you a nice dinner AFTER I see him! I want to be sure he's all right."
"Oh, he's fine. It's me that's near starved. Fix me a nice dinner, then you can spend all the time with him you like."
Amelia pouted. "David…"
Duncan shrugged. "Oh, come on, 'Melia - that seems like a compromise."
Amelia's lip thrust out further, then she let out a gusty sigh and flounced over to the pantry. "Oh, all right! But then you have to let me! And you better not have hurt him!"
David snorted. "You sure do waste a lotta time worryin' about him. Told you he's fine."
Amelia sorted through the pantry, assembling ingredients. She paused. "Didn't he want any lunch?"
David topped off his drink. "How's that?"
"His lunch." Amelia came back out of the pantry, spoon in hand. "The stuff I left for his lunch is still here. Didn't he want any?"
"Hm." David shot back his drink. "Reckon I forgot to ask."
"DAVID!"
David thumped his glass back on the table. "Oh, for Pete's sake, he's out half the time - don't know how you expect him to eat. Anyway, he didn't look hungry to me."
"He hasn't eaten since yesterday, David! After we eat I'm taking him some, too - I warn you right now!"
David shrugged. "After you feed me, I don't much care what you do."
Amelia glared at him, brandishing her spoon. "This is why Pa never let us have pets!" she stormed. "You don't know how to take care of them!"
David chuckled as she disappeared back into the pantry.
Duncan watched in amazement as a meal was quickly spread out on the table and the savory odor of chicken stew filled the room. "Sure smells good, Amelia," he said, a little shyly.
Amelia sniffed. "Well, the stew only needed to be heated up." She glared pointedly at David.
David snickered. "Woman's work."
"Well, filling the kindling box is man's work and I don't notice that you've done that, either. Real hard to cook decent without it."
David looked like he was going to say something, and Duncan jumped in hastily, "I'll take care of it, Amelia. Guess it's the least I can do, after you sprung me. Where's the woodpile?"
Amelia looked at him thoughtfully. "Right out that door. Thank you, Duncan - it's nice to see that I can count on ONE of my brothers!"
David's face darkened unexpectedly and she beat a hasty retreat to the stove. Duncan pushed to his feet and sauntered out the back door to look. By the time he returned with an armful of kindling, Amelia was laying out bread and butter and water and spooning stew into bowls.
Duncan looked wistful. "This is nice. Just like I sorta always dreamed."
Amelia looked somewhat mollified, but she didn't sit down. "I want to feed him, since he's had to wait so long."
David tilted his head at her. "You ain't gonna eat?"
Ameila pushed her nose into the air. "I'll eat with him, thank you."
David guffawed. "Yeah - he's real good company, too."
Amelia seemed to think of something and disappeared into the pantry again, returning with a small bottle. She measured a couple of spoonfuls into one of the bowls and stirred.
David watched her. "You know, that's how come he keeps on passing out. You oughta go easy on that stuff."
Amelia sighed impatiently. "It's the only way to keep him under control - we agreed. He gets his wits about him and we'll have our hands full - you know how smart he is."
David shrugged elaborately. "I don't know why folks say he's so smart. Never seemed so smart to me. Bet I'm smarter than he is."
Amelia rolled her eyes. "David, he has a college education! You KNOW he's smart!"
"Ain't so smart he didn't end up hangin' in somebody's root cellar."
Amelia gave him a disgusted look, but knew enough not to answer. Instead, she carefully gathered up her bowls and spoons and a lantern and glared at him. "So?" she said coldly. "Can I go down now?"
David hesitated, then took a mouthful of stew, pushing his chair to the side. "Sure. Go ahead. Have your fun."
Amelia kicked the rug aside and lowered herself into the dark maw of the cellar.
Duncan watched with interest. "He's down there, huh?" David nodded indifferently, kicking the trap door shut. "Sure am lookin' forward to this, I don't mind tellin' ya. I got plans for that money. Seems like I'm almost on the way to havin' everythin' I've ever wanted. A family - a ranch - I got this idee - " he glanced tentatively at David, but he was pouring himself another drink and he couldn't see his eyes. "that I'd like to take my share and buy some real good breedin' stock - start myself a real good string of horses - see if we could sell 'em. Always wanted to try my hand at breedin'. Now, what with this ranch and a little money, reckon I can make somethin' of it." David still didn't respond, so he pushed a little. "How much we ask for?"
"What's that?" David looked up, startled.
"The ransom," Duncan repeated patiently. "How much we gettin'?"
"Oh." David's eyes went blank for a minute. "Well. A man like Cartwright - he's worth a lot."
Duncan nodded. "Yeah, I figger. Ran into some of his family today in town and they seem right put out about losin' him. How much you askin' to give him back?"
David rubbed his nose vaguely. "Oh…you know. Uh…$10,000."
Duncan gave a low whistle. "That's a pile of money."
"Yeah, well, old man Cartwright's sure got it. Bout time he parted with some of it. He sure didn't help my Pa any when he was alive, so he can help his kids now, I figure."
"Sounds fair." Duncan helped himself to more stew and refreshed his whiskey.
"Course, you can't mention to 'Melia about the ransom."
Duncan raised his eyebrows. "Why's that? She got somethin' against bein' rich?"
"Naw…" David reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of cheroots - offered one to Duncan. Duncan declined politely. "But she's all mushy-soft on that Cartwright fella - always has been. Thinks she's gonna keep him forever."
Duncan blinked. "Forever. But…there wouldn't be any money in that. How could she keep him forever?"
David grinned wolfishly. "Try tellin' her - she's a little - er - light in the upstairs, if you get my drift. Thinks she's gonna keep him as a pet down there."
Duncan wrinkled his nose. "When you gonna tell her?"
"Tell her?" David looked blank again. "Oh, don't you worry about that. One day she'll come home and he'll just be gone - I'll tell her he just up and died - just like I did with that rabbit of hers she kept in a box when she was little. She'll make a fuss, but she'll get over it. In the meantime…" he lit the end of the cheroot and blew a careful cloud of smoke. "It'll be our secret. Okay?"
Duncan shrugged. "Sure. Whatever you say."
"So now - tell me more about these horses!"
Amelia made her way carefully down the ladder in the dark. As her feet hit the earthen floor she heard the door slam shut above her and paused to stick out her tongue at it. Good. She didn't want to be interrupted anyway. She rested the lantern on a barrel of pickled onions and turned it up. It threw an eerie light over the earthen walls. She lined up her bowls on the barrel next to it, keeping careful track of the one with the powder in it, and moved to inspect her prisoner. No, that seemed like much too cold a word - her lover.
He looked unconscious, but when she touched his cheek he started and tried to open his eyes. He was sweating lightly and his hair was plastered in curls across his forehead. She loosened them gently with her fingers.
"Adam," she whispered, "I brought you something to eat."
He managed to open his eyes to slits. "'Melia?" he choked a little. "You - all right?"
She smiled. "Yes, Adam - I'm fine for now. I brought you some dinner…did David give you any water?"
Adam shook his head faintly.
Amelia frowned. "Would you like some?"
"Please…" his voice sounded dry and raspy. Amelia brought him a dipper full of water and he drank thirstily, sighing deeply when she pulled it away empty. "Amelia…" he swallowed again. "Can you…cut me down?"
Amelia bit her lip. "Adam, I - I - "
"Please." His voice was faint. "My arms…"
"I - I know, Adam, but - David - he'd half kill me for doing something like that…"
Adam sighed resignedly and nodded slightly. "Then…could you…get word to my…family…"
Amelia dropped her head. "I - I wish I could, Adam, but - David would - "
"They'd - protect - you…"
"They would if I lived long enough to get to them! But, Adam, he has me followed - I'd be dead long before I reached them…and then what would happen to you?" She ran one hand tenderly over the side of his face.
Adam flinched a little at her touch and she looked at him more closely. "Are you all right? Did David hurt you again?" He didn't answer and she studied him, pursing her mouth at the dried blood encrusted along his ear and neck. "I don't know what he's thinking. Let me clean this up for you…did he hurt you anywhere else?"
"Mostly it's…my arms…"
"I can't do anything about that, Adam…" She wet a cloth at the rain barrel and held it up against his ear to soak some of the dried blood loose. "But I'll take care of you the best I can." Adam's head dropped and she noticed that he was shivering. "Are you cold?" He didn't answer so she ran her hands over his shoulders and around his back. "You are…" She wrapped her arms tight around him, tucking her head under his chin and snuggling close. "You smell so nice, Adam…you smell nicer than any man I ever knew…I think that's the first thing that made me fall in love with you…" She closed her eyes, caught up in the memory of that day.
Her father had started his drinking early and had been dissatisfied about something in the way she'd fixed breakfast - had knocked her around some. She had thrown the skillet at him and run away, as far and as fast as she could. When she couldn't run anymore, she had just dropped down by the side of the road to catch her breath. She had time, now - Pa was already much too drunk to follow. She was just trying to decide whether or not it was safe to start the long walk back and noticing how far she'd actually come when she heard a wagon. She ducked her head, waiting for it to go by, but, to her surprise, it stopped just in front of her. She still tried to ignore it until she heard somebody jump down and crouch beside her.
"Miss Amelia?"
She liked the sound of the familiar deep voice and peeked up tentatively. Adam Cartwright. He was just two years older than she was, but had always seemed so grown up.
"Miss Amelia, you okay? You're kind of far from home, aren't you?"
Amelia peeked again. He had pushed his hat back on his head and he looked so handsome. And he was looking at her sort of anxiously…she felt the sting of the bruise on her cheek and rubbed at it. "I'm all right…" she mumbled.
Something crossed his face that she couldn't quite read. "Need a ride home?" She hesitated. "Long walk." She twisted her skirt in her hands. "Going that way anyway."
She didn't think that was really true, but suddenly she couldn't resist the temptation to ride in a wagon alongside Adam Cartwright. Maybe even some folks would see them. She smiled with sudden coquettishness. "All right…" she murmured coyly.
He looked a little amused and held out a hand to help her up. Then he put his hands on her waist and lifted her into the wagon seat. It had only lasted a second, but in that moment when he held her against him she had caught a fragrance of soap and starch and clean sweat and…something else. Something she couldn't name. It had left her breathless. All the men she knew smelled of alcohol and unwashed clothes and stale sweat - she had no idea a man could smell as nice as that. She stared at him as he settled in the seat beside her. Her mouth must have been hanging open, because he raised his eyebrows at her and his eyes twinkled, one side of his mouth lifting in a smile that creased a dimple into his cheek. "Comfortable?"
"Oh." For a minute her heart was beating so hard she couldn't answer, then she saw he was waiting for her and blushed and nodded.
"All right, then." He clucked at the horses and they were off.
Adam had tried to talk to her that day - to draw her out. She vaguely remembered that he asked her about her interests and her family - even the weather, she thought - but she had barely been able to answer. Because in her heart she was busy, making plans - making a promise to herself and to him. That if it took her the rest of her life, Adam Cartwright would be hers, to have and to hold - forever.
She shook off the memory and opened her eyes when she felt him stiffen. "David didn't hurt you there, did he?" She let go of him with one hand and ran it down his side, feeling for breaks or irregularities. He shivered again and seemed to pull into himself. "You must really be cold." She pressed herself closer, letting her hands wander up and down his back. "Well, don't you worry, Adam - I'm going to keep you warm." She felt him try to lift his head and reached up to play with the damp curls at the nape of his neck. "I'm going to keep you warm, always."
