Page 30 of The Bastard Heir
Her mother nodded in agreement. “You know how your father tends to leave the day-to-day thinking to us sensible folk while he goes off into one of his books.” Then she leaned forward and took Caroline’s hand. “Please understand that we do not take this decision lightly. We only have your best interest at heart. We’ve spoken to Grant at length, and we do very much feel that he’ll be the best option as a husband for you.”
The very idea that they’d think she’d entertain the notion of marrying this stranger was perplexing. Her heart pounded so hard she could barely hear anything over the roar in her ears. “And if I don’t like him?”
Her father sat back in his chair, but her mother only smiled. “Please don’t be unreasonable, darling. Give him a chance. I’m certain you’ll find that you quite like him.”
“What if I don’t?”
Finally, her mother’s smile cracked a little. “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. We’ve made a good match for you.”
Caroline could hardly believe her ears. They were behaving as if this was normal. “I won’t commit to this engagement. I have not chosen him. I don’t even know him. We’re not in the Middle Ages. People don’t just marry off their children.” Yet, even as she said it, she knew that it happened all the time. Maybe not quite as straightforwardly as this, but she knew many women who’d had their suitors selected for them.
Her parents merely looked at each other.
Taking a deep breath, she asked, “Am I not to attend medical school unless I marry him?” The words echoed in her mind as the room stayed silent. Neither of them wanted to admit that they’d backed her into a corner. Had they thought she’d just allow them to do this to her?
“Miss Hartford? Caroline?” Grant Miller walked into the room as if unsure of his welcome. “If I could have a word with you, I think I could clear up a little of the confusion. You see, I approached your father months ago. After I met you, I was quite enamored with you and I knew that you had barely noticed me. You were too busy chatting with donors and making speeches to notice your admirers.”
He gave a small smile that softened his features and made him appear very young, almost likable if she’d been inclined to view him as anything other than a threat. “I heard every word of your speech that night and I highly admire your passion for the hospital and your chosen profession. If it sets your mind at ease, I support your ambition and would proudly call you my wife, as well as my physician.”
He smiled and it did seem genuine. “I apologize for the ambush. Your mother thought it would be fun to surprise you, and I can see now that we were wrong. I’d hoped that my coming here would be a symbol of my dedication. If I’ve overstepped my bounds, then I humbly apologize.”
Caroline stood, rubbing her wet palms down the skirt of her gown. If what he said was true, then he was caught in the middle of this awful scheme her parents had arranged just as she was. She couldn’t fault him for that. Knowing her mother, she’d probably played up Caroline’s enthusiasm to him a bit too much. “Thank you for your apology. I believe my parents are a little overzealous in their ambitions. I hope you don’t think I’m being rude, but they caught me off guard.”
“I completely understand. I’ll go and leave you to talk with your parents.” He turned to go, looking rather dejected, making her feel terrible.
“You don’t have to go, Mr. Miller.”
He smiled back at her. “I don’t want to be a bother. I have a room in town, a very nice room, actually. I’d never have believed Helena had anything to rival Boston, but the Baroness is one of the nicest hotels I’ve seen.”
“Please stay. At least for refreshments. I’ll go see what’s keeping Aunt Prudie.” Caroline forced the same smile she used at the fundraisers and left to go find her aunt. Inside she was seething and very aware that her parents had backed her into a corner. She refused to marry a man they had arranged for her, but she was already starting to wonder how she could get out of it. They very literally held the purse strings to her future. If they refused to allow her to attend medical school—and refused to pay her tuition—then she really had no choice.
As she moved into the hallway and left the parlor behind, thoughts of Castillo began to intrude. The very idea of touching some man who wasn’t him was repulsive. What would he say when he came back tonight to find this had happened? What if he didn’t care? She closed her eyes and came to a stop in the privacy of the little alcove beneath the stairs.
He wouldn’t care…would he? Despite what had happened between them last night, her being forced to marry someoneelse wasn’t his problem. And why should it be? He could do absolutely nothing about it.
Her heart pounded in her chest so hard she thought that it might try to leap out. Closing her eyes, she was afraid that she’d just fallen over the edge into the deeper feelings for Castillo that she’d been so afraid of.
Chapter Twelve
Atrail of dust kicked up behind Johnson’s horse on the deserted road. Castillo clenched his fingers around the field glasses as he shifted them to evaluate the hills beyond the road. He didn’t see any movement, no sign of Derringer or one of his men watching for Johnson.
Castillo, Zane and Hunter had made the decision that it was time to act when there’d been suspicious tracks early that morning on the ranch’s southern border. They couldn’t wait around and allow Derringer to get desperate and do something stupid, like attack the ranch. They’d need to lure him out with the only bait they had. Rob Johnson.
Castillo had ridden to Victoria House that morning with a couple of the men from the ranch and Hunter, who’d insisted on coming despite Castillo’s protest. They’d concocted the plan to have Johnson ride out as if he’d been successful on his mission to capture Castillo. The gang would hide and ambush Derringer once Johnson brought him out of hiding.
It hadn’t taken much to convince Johnson to agree to the plan. They’d offered him more money, and it wasn’t hard to buy the temporary loyalty of a man like him. There was no question the plan was risky. Johnson could get jumpy. Derringer might smell a trap. A hundred things could go wrong, but it was the only plan they had right now. There’d been no other signs of Derringer and no clear way to find him.
After getting a visual on Zane hidden in the hills across the road, Castillo stowed the binoculars back in the case hanging from his saddle horn. They were only a few miles from town. They’d likely have another few miles before Derringer showed himself. Tightening his grasp on the reins, Castillo led his horse through the trees, careful to keep up with Johnson, but not get so close he couldn’t stay out of sight. In the intervening silence and the growing tension of possibly facing Derringer after all these years, misplaced thoughts of Carolina began to intrude. Truth be known, he’d barely stopped thinking about her since she’d left his room the night before.
Carolina. What a surprise she’d turned out to be.
Last night he’d nearly gone against everything he believed in and taken her. She’d come undone in his arms, her body slick with her need for him. It would’ve been so easy to move the sheet aside and slide between her thighs, claiming her as his. He swallowed hard and gritted his teeth against the half erection just the memory of her caused. Why did she intrigue him as she did?
He’d had his share of beautiful women, and not one of them had been as innocent as he knew Carolina to be. But none of them had gotten under his skin like this. They’d been fun and distracting while he’d had them, but he’d been able to move on with just the memories. He hadn’t even slept with Carolina and already she was on his mind more than she should be. Maybe that’s why he couldn’t forget her. He hadn’t had her yet.
No. Even as the thought flickered through his mind, he knew it was false. He liked her, and in some strange way he couldn’t quite understand, he understood her need to do something different with her life, to buck the restraints put on her. As much as he loved the hacienda in Texas and planned to rebuild as soon as this journey with Derringer was over, he couldn’t help but wonder what his life might be like if he didn’t have the yoke of that responsibility hanging over his head. What if he had Hunter’s freedom to live how he wanted?
He thought of Carolina as she’d spoken of her chosen profession. She’d been confident and alluring, even as Bonham—that bastard—had tried to demean her. She’d kept her composure and had looked like a queen patiently addressing her wayward subject. Castillo had been proud of her. No, he’d felt more than that. He’d felt proud to walk with her on his arm. Proud that she’d smiled at him when he intervened. His chest had swelled with something he didn’t recognize when she’d looked up at him in the light of that lantern with something like admiration in her eyes. It was why he hadn’t been able to resist kissing her that night, even though he knew he wasn’t good for her. He’d wanted to capture just an ounce of her goodness.
