6
Ways of Courtship

Kaoru left off scrubbing the floor, attention drawn by the sound of an axe striking wood.

Frowning, she moved to the window and felt her heart skip a beat when she saw Kenshin! He was chopping away at the big old tree that had loomed menacingly over the side of the barn for several years now.

Bouncing on her toes a moment in something akin to panic, Kaoru looked around wildly. She saw a bowl of scraps she had been saving for the chickens, grabbed it, and raced outside. Two days had passed since she had last seen him. The two longest days of her life.

Her steps slowed when she saw Kamishi, sitting in the shade of the tool shed, a rifle resting in the crook of his arm. He smiled when he saw her coming toward him, rising to his feet politely. "Good morning, Kaoru-san."

"Good morning. What are you going here?"

Kamishi nodded toward Kenshin. "Your uncle said he had a tree that needed cutting, and I thought I'd take care of it for him."

"You'd take care of it?" Kaoru repeated dryly.

He shrugged, grinning at her. "Indirectly," he admitted.

"If you'll excuse me, I've got to give these scraps to the chickens," Kaoru said through very clenched teeth.

She thought curses toward Kamishi that she would never have felt on her tongue before. Not only was the self-absorbed bastard sucking up to her uncle while doing nothing more than cradling his rifle, of all the men that he had on that road gang, he chose the smallest, skinniest of them all to fell that huge tree?

Not that she would complain about this unexpected appearance of Kenshin at her very home, but still…

Kamishi nodded at her, his eyes sweeping over her in a most impudent way. Kaoru turned on her heel and walked toward the barn where two dozen chickens were scratching away at the dirt.

She called to them, tossing scraps on the ground, but her eyes were on Kenshin.

He had been working only a short time, but already he was sweating. The days were only getting hotter.

She quickly threw the last of the food to the chickens and hurried back inside. She poured two cups of water. The water from the well was cold, and she thought it would taste good to Kenshin right now.

Returning to the yard, she handed a cup to Kamishi, then started toward Kenshin with the other.

"Hey!" Kamishi called. "Where do you think you're going with that?"

"I'm going to give him something to drink. I'm sure he needs it more than you."

"He doesn't need it," Kamishi said curtly. "Drink it yourself, or better yet, give it to me."

"It's for him," Kaoru said, and chose to glare back at him for only a few short seconds before she turned and walked again toward Kenshin. Behind her, she heard Kamishi cock the gun.

"Here you go," she said to him, handing over the cup.

"Thank you, Kaoru-dono." His hand lingered on hers as he took the cup and she felt a sudden rush of heat as his eyes caressed her face.

He drank slowly, and she was glad, because it gave her excuse to be near him longer.

"Are they treating you all right?" she asked, her voice low so only he could hear.

"Well enough."

"Does your back still hurt?"

"A little." He took a step away from her and handed her the empty cup as Kamishi strode toward them.

"What's taking so long?" the road boss demanded.

"Nothing." Turning, she took hold of Kamishi's arm and steered him toward the house.

"Was he bothering you?"

"Of course not." Kaoru forced a smile. "Would you like another drink?"

"What I'd like is that kiss you owe me." Coming to a sudden stop, he yanked Kaoru to him and trapped her mouth with his, grinding against her teeth and his tongue seeking to penetrate her lips.

Kaoru shoved at him, revulsion swamping her mind. "Let go! Leave me alone!"

"Just one little kiss," he insisted. "You owe me, remember?"

"I don't owe you anything! Let me go!"

Then she felt herself being pulled from Kamishi's grasp. "Oh, no!" she cried as Kenshin barreled into Kamishi.

The road boss grunted as his shoulder slammed into a fence post. Hands laced together, Kenshin swung at Kamishi's chin, sending him reeling back.

"No!" Kaoru shouted when Kamishi brought his gun up, cocked and ready, murder in his eyes.

"What the hell's going on here?"

Kaoru whirled at the sound of her uncle's voice.

"Nothing, Shiji-san," Kamishi said quickly. "The Wild Boy attacked me and I had to hit him. He'll be all right."

"Attacked you?" Uncle Shiji grunted. "Wait a minute…Wild Boy?" His eyes swung to Kenshin, who stared back impassively in his heavy irons. "You means he's a dragoner?"

"Yeah."

"Why did he attack you?"

Kamishi shrugged. "He's a Wild Boy."

Uncle Shiji nodded. "Well, you best take him back down the hill. I don't want any trouble around here."

"There won't be any more trouble," Kamishi promised.

"Well, if you're sure--"

"I'm sure." Kamishi glared at Kenshin, then glanced at Kaoru, his eyes warning her not to say anything about what had happened between them.

Kaoru nodded imperceptibly. Kenshin would suffer for it if she told Shiji that Kamishi had laid hands on her.

Uncle Shiji looked from the road boss to his niece, brows knotting a bit. Then he shrugged and returned to the barn.

Kamishi jabbed his gun barrel into Kenshin's ribcage. "You ever lay a hand on me again, Wild Boy, and I'll blow your head off. Now, get back to work."

Kenshin didn't move. Kaoru held her breath. There was a terrible, dark fury in the Wild Boy's eyes.

She glanced at the axe he had been using. He had abandoned it by the tree, and she was very, very glad. A little confused, but glad. She had a feeling he knew better than she did that it would be a devastating weapon to use against a man Kenshin obviously despised…and yet, why had he thrown away the opportunity to use it?

She looked back to Kenshin to find him staring back at her. She watched, fascinated, as his eyes moved over her face again, the tension slowly drained out of his shoulders. With a small shrug, he turned and went back to where he'd dropped his axe. Picking it up, he began to chop at the tree again.

Kamishi muttered a curse, lowering the shotgun. Kaoru knew he had wanted Kenshin to give him an excuse to pull the trigger.

"Don't ever come calling on me again," Kaoru said, voice shaking with her anger. "I'll never be home if you do."

"Don't fight me, Kaoru-san," Kamishi warned. "I'm determined to have you." He turned to face her fully, his features serious. "I think your uncle likes me. I think your aunt is starting to as well. And I think you'll do whatever they say."

The words were true. Like a slap in the face, they were true. She would do whatever her aunt and uncle said. She had no choice. They were her guardians, and she had never had a choice but to do what she was told or suffer the consequences.

Frustration weakened Kaoru's footsteps as she left Kamishi standing in the yard. She had seen the look on his face when he had whipped Kenshin. He enjoyed the pain he caused. A man who took pleasure in the misery of others was not a man she wanted touching her body at night or fathering her children.

At the kitchen window, she saw Kenshin swing the axe again and again. Taking his anger out on the tree. He wouldn't have backed down if he had been alone with Kamishi, she knew. He held back for her.

When she went back to her chores, she went to the window as often as she could. Each time she saw Kenshin, her heart seemed lighter. Despite her earlier observations that he was the smallest of the men on the road gang, he was certainly no weakling. In fact, she had never seen anyone seem to work so effortlessly, so tirelessly. With such skill he wielded the axe, slowly cutting his way through the hard wood.

She managed to be at the window when the tree fell. There was a sharp crack and a great whoosh as the tree toppled to the ground, branches shuddering for a moment, and the silence after just as deafening.

Kenshin was breathing hard now. Dropping the axe, he wiped his forearm across his sweat-sheened face, then sat on his heels in the shade of the fallen giant. A few minutes later, Uncle Shiji came in for the midday meal. "Kaoru, go out and invite Kamishi-san to eat with us."

And Kaoru was forced to spend yet another meal in the presence of the insufferable man, forced to feel his eyes roaming all over her. She was never so thankful as when the men left to sit out on the porch.

She prepared a plate of food for Kenshin, managing to skip out from under the notice of her aunt to take it to him. He was sitting with his back against the hitching rail, his left hand and his feet shackled to it. "I've brought you something to eat," she said.

He nodded, eyes gentle on her as he took the bowl with his free hand and placed it on the ground beside him. He drained the cup she brought in one long swallow.

"Thank you for what you did," Kaoru said. "Do you…do you think he'll beat you for it?"

He hesitated, then shrugged with a slight smile. "Perhaps."

"I don't want you to be punished because of me."

"It doesn't matter, Kaoru-dono."

But it did. It most certainly did matter. But she didn't have time to tell him just how much. "I've got to go," she said. "Eat it all, okay?"

Kenshin nodded, and as always he said, "Thank you, Kaoru-dono."

Kamishi managed to get himself invited to dinner yet again, and Kaoru fidgeted as she had to listen to him talk about someday owning his own spread.

She couldn't concentrate on what he was saying, and she had absolutely no interest in his future plans. The only thing she wanted to know about was Kenshin. What might have happen to him once Kamishi had gotten him back to the camp? Another whipping? She hoped not, not when only a few days had passed since the last time.

Kamishi took out his pipe. "Do you mind if I smoke?"

"No," Kaoru said, not caring if he choked either. "What happened to the Wild Boy?"

He lifted an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Did you beat him for attacking you?"

Kamishi studied Kaoru's face thoughtfully as he drew on his pipe.

"Did you?" she demanded.

"What difference does it make what happens to that little lizard-lover? How many times have you been down the hill to see him?" Kamishi asked suddenly, roughly.

"Just…just the once."

He snorted.

"Please don't hurt him. He hasn't done anything to you."

Kamishi snorted again. "You're too late, Kaoru-san. I beat the hell out of him when I got him back to camp."

Kaoru clenched her fists. "No!"

"Yes." He held out his hands, palms down. His knuckles were bruised and swollen. "I beat him with my bare hands."

"Why?"

"Why? Because the little bastard attacked me, that's why."

"He was only trying to protect me!" Kaoru snarled at him, then stopped, paling as she realizing what the words had implied.

Kamishi grinned, a cold and mean look. He drew on his pipe again. "I wonder what your aunt would think of you going down and visiting that little dragoner? Wonder what she'd say?"

Kaoru's stomach muscles knotted. "You--"

"I'll keep quiet," he interrupted. "On one condition. You meet me by the lake tomorrow night at midnight."

"Why would I do that?"

He dropped his hand to her thigh and gave it a squeeze, caught her hand when she raised it to strike him.

"You should be more careful," he said. "It's a hard world and information volunteered can be used against you. A smart man knows when he's got an edge. A smart woman knows to keep her mouth shut."

And he was right. Kaoru's eyes moved from one of his to the other, her heart sinking as she realized just how costly were these things she had given away to this man.

"You'll meet me at the lake," he continued in the same mocking, sagely tone. "Because if you don't, I'll take my aggravation out of that your little red Wild Boy's hide. Keep it up, and I might even tell your aunt what you've been up to."

She jerked her wrist out of his grip. He let her go, grinning.

"You can't win...Kaoru-san."