The hazel eyes hardened behind lowering lashes as Ashton stared at the man in sneering contempt. A little bloodletting might have eased some of the rage he felt toward the other. “Then you agree that I should take the land?”
“No!…I mean…” Malcolm knew the law as well as the other and could find no way out. “We’ll talk about it later, I said!”
“I’m sorry, we’ll have to discuss it now,” Ashton insisted. “Either you move out of the house, or I take the land. Do you have any doubt as to my rights?”
Malcolm opened his mouth to object, but slowly closed it again. He could not put forth an adequate argument. “We must keep some land for passage back and forth, unless you wish to make us prisoners here.”
“I’ll give you an easement to use a small strip. I’ll have my men stake out what I consider mine, but I warn you not to trespass beyond that area.” He smiled as he added, “Of course, the lady may come and go as she pleases…but only the lady, no other.”
“Her father?” Malcolm peered at him inquiringly. “You mean, he will not be allowed to venture where he chooses?”
“Her father and I do not share a common bond. He gave over any rights he might have had to this land when he permitted it to be given to his daughters. I claim Lierin’s share, and he will have to seek my approval before treading on my soil.”
“You have a reputation for being a difficult man to deal with,” Malcolm retorted.
Ashton returned a bland smile to the other’s menacing glower. “I do what I must do.”
“You’re a snake,” Malcolm sneered contemptuously.
Ashton was unperturbed. “I’ve been called worse.”
“I’d like to, but there’s a lady present.”
A casual shrug of dismissal was the only answer Malcolm received before Ashton lent his attention to Lenore. Almost in a caress he brushed a snarled tress from off her cheek. “I’ll be near if you should need me.”
Stepping back, he strode away and gestured for his men to return to their labors. “Let’s get those supplies unloaded now. We’ve got a day’s work ahead of us.”
Malcolm stared after the man, his face twisted with loathing, and then tossed a glare toward Lenore as she cast an uncertain glance his way. Seeing his displeasure, she quickly turned and ran back to the house, all the while hiding the joy that bubbled up within her. She felt like kicking her bare heels together, but Malcolm would not approve. Only when the door of her room was closed behind her did she dare grin and hug herself in brimming jubilation.
Chapter Twelve
THE crew from the River Witch set about clearing the brush from the land across the shallow inlet. Setting short posts, they spiked planks to the sides and, over the whole, laid boards to form a sizable platform some eighteen inches above the ground. Upon this the men began to erect a large canvas shelter, and like a mushroom, it kept expanding until Malcolm had visions of a tent large enough for a sheikh and his harem. His snide speculations were not far from the truth, for Ashton had acquired his would-be quarters from a man who had once traded with Bedouin Arabs and had given the tent to Ashton after that one had befriended him in a time of trouble. For several years Ashton had despaired of ever finding a use for it. Now he considered owning it a stroke of good fortune, for the sumptuous shelter was precisely the touch he required to rub salt in an open wound.
Malcolm went out to view the proceedings from the lower porch, and this time it was he rather than Robert who quaffed a strong whiskey. He tossed a warning glower at Lenore and her father when the pair came out to join him, daring them to make any comments that would ignite the powder keg of emotions that roiled within him. They carefully refrained from doing so.
As the hours passed, the area across the inlet took on more of a look of permanency. Other men came to bend their backs to the labor, and supplies continued to arrive from off the boat or from town. Fine pieces of furniture were brought along with Oriental rugs, a standing mirror, and Ashton’s personal baggage. There was even a bathtub! As the wagon delivered it from town, Lenore chewed a knuckle to hide her amusement as Malcolm’s scowl darkened perceptibly. She could almost imagine the steam coming from his ears as he silently seethed.
A somewhat smaller tent was erected nearby for the cabin boy, Hickory, and the horses. The black arrived close to noon, driving the carriage and bringing behind him a pair of wagons, one loaded with a large supply of hay and the other with boards for the construction of makeshift stalls. As he passed the house, Hickory wore a smile that was so broad it seemed to stretch from ear to ear. Malcolm noticed the gleam of white teeth from the porch, and the sight started an angry growl deep in the corded throat until the guttural utterance promptly reminded him of its rawness.
“We can’t have that damn nigger living here on our property,” he rasped in protest. “He’ll steal us blind.”
The emerald eyes settled on him with cool disdain, while the softly curving mouth managed a smile of comparable warmth. “Hickory is as honest as a man ought to be, Malcolm. You’ll have nothing to fear from him.”
Malcolm dismissed her statement with a caustic comment: “He’s probably just like that pack of thieving murderers Wingate has for a crew. There’s no telling what crimes they’re apt to commit. Sheriff Coty ought to do something about them before it’s too late. To be sure, we’ll have to set out guards to watch over you while those men are out there”-his square chin jutted toward the River Witch and then in the direction of the tent-“and that fool, Wingate, is here so close.”
Lenore could well imagine how closely she would be watched while Ashton was near. If the idea did not distress her so much, she might have found cause to laugh. “I hope you won’t trouble yourself too much, Malcolm.”
“Whatever the cost, madam, it will be worth it,” he replied, choosing to ignore her sarcasm. “You’re too rare a gem for me to put at risk.” He considered how fresh and lovely she looked in her cream-colored gown trimmed with embroidered lace and took special note of the rosy glow in her cheeks. He might have blamed her carefully groomed state on the proximity of the other man, except that she had always dressed well and had remarkably good taste in clothes, seeming to know exactly what to wear to complement her beauty. The soft blush in her cheeks, however, had been all but absent until Ashton Wingate had ventured into the area.
“You seem to be feeling better, madam,” he stated bluntly.
Lenore was tempted to retort that she might have been feeling a lot worse if Ashton had not come to her defense that morning. Instead, she gave him a serene smile, blandly agreeing with his observation. “Better than I have for some time, thank you, Malcolm.”
Hot anger shot through the dark eyes before his eyelids narrowed to mask it. Somerton gestured with his glass, directing the younger man’s attention to the working crew. “It looks like Wingate’s settling in for keeps.”
Lenore went to lean against the porch railing and, from there, watched as Ashton instructed his men in the placement of potted shrubs and the planting of others near the tent. Oaken barrels had been sawed in half to accommodate the larger greenery, which included a wide variety that had been selected when the clearing had begun. Around the wooden planking that now served as an informal courtyard were smaller bushes which from a distance looked suspiciously like jasmine shrubs in bloom. In all, the landscaping provided a certain lushness around the porch, and it was not long before a wrought-iron table and chairs appeared to finish the setting.
Toiling in the sweltering heat, the crew of men shed their shirts, threw off their shoes, and rolled up their trousers. Ashton seemed like a prince among paupers as he remained garbed in fawn-hued riding breeches, low-crowned hat, tall boots, and loose-sleeved shirt opened to the waist. He was continually on the move as he directed the project. Giving orders to some or turning to answer the inquiries of others, he was ever in demand, and by the time the sun lowered in the west, he had with the aid of his men created quite a fine sight for anyone to behold. With such elaborate lodging, it was clear he intended to stay as long as he deemed necessary.