though she did nothing overt to
snub him. He led the way toward the parlour with lanky strides. “My
apologies, ladies. Hearing about the incident in town made me
forget all my manners. You see, I have no wife to act as hostess
and remind me of the niceties when guests arrive. You must forgive
me. The party won’t begin for a few hours, so you’ll have plenty of
time to rest and get ready. Miss Montgomery, right this way.”
As Juliana followed him through the wide
front hall, she felt herself nearly swallowed up by the massive
lines of the house that surrounded her. The ranch house seemed
almost as big as the land encompassing it. The dark-paneled walls
gleamed in the bright lantern light; beyond the hardwood floor of
the hall she saw a huge oak staircase leading to the second-story
landing, and there was a whole series of huge, sprawling rooms
branching off the main hall. The first of these was an enormous
parlour, big as a ballroom, and furnished with crimson damask sofas
and overstuffed blue velvet chairs, carved mahogany tables, and a
sideboard heaped with decanters of whiskey and brandy and wine. A
stone fireplace alive with a crackling fire added its cheery glow
to the crimson-draperied room. There was a Turkish carpet on the
floor and several fine watercolors gracing the parlour walls, but
despite the grand beauty of her surroundings, Juliana was
uncomfortable. Even as he poured a brandy for Uncle Edward and
watched the ladies sip their tea, something calculating and
expectant in John Breen’s expression every time it rested upon her
made her feel as if she were a tasty morsel about to be consumed
whole by a hungry man.
Even later, bathing in the rose-scented
bathwater Breen’s Mexican housekeeper prepared for her in her room
and patting herself dry with a luxuriously thick towel embroidered
in French lace, Juliana could not forget the gleam in John Breen’s
eyes whenever he was beside her, or the possessive touch of his
hand upon her arm. She shivered. Well, she would be polite to him,
but that was all. Surely Aunt Katharine and Uncle Edward would not
expect her to actively encourage his attentions only to further
Uncle Edward’s business dealings! That would be too much. John
Breen disturbed her somehow; despite his handsomeness, his charm
and air of solicitation, she sensed something cold, frightening
about the man. She didn’t trust him. And she didn’t want to get
into a situation where she would be alone with him.
But that was exactly what happened later that
evening, during a lull in the dancing. Juliana was aware that Aunt
Katharine and Uncle Edward had watched in cold disapproval as one
dancing partner after another had spun her about the room. They
seemed shocked by the custom of young men coming up and introducing
themselves to a lady in the most informal way and inviting her to
dance.
“That isn’t the way things are done back
east,” Victoria had sniffed to her mother at one point,
But we’re not back east anymore
,
Juliana exulted as a grinning young cowpoke whirled her about in a
Virginia reel. Her heart lifted as she skimmed about in perfect
time to the music, surrounded by a dozen other gaily spinning
couples.
The blue and crimson parlour at Twin Oaks was
ablaze with candles, and the air was warm. The heavy furniture had
been pushed back to make room for the dancing, and against the
walls long tables draped with checkered cloths had been set with
platters of beef, venison, and gravy-smothered potatoes. Tempting
homemade breads and pies added their fragrant aroma to the heady
atmosphere of the room. Juliana guessed that at least one hundred
guests, townspeople and neighbors, had come tonight to pay their
respects to John Breen, Denver’s most prominent citizen. From what
she had seen as she danced, Breen had introduced her uncle to
nearly all of them, but she’d had little opportunity to meet anyone
but the cowboys who lined up, one after the other, to whirl about
the floor with
Enrico Pea
Jennifer Blake
Amelia Whitmore
Joyce Lavene, Jim Lavene
Donna Milner
Stephen King
G.A. McKevett
Marion Zimmer Bradley
Sadie Hart
Dwan Abrams