It wasnt his elegant attire, but the tenderness that softened his eyes when they lit on her that made Esmereldas throat tighten with a curious mixture of awe and apprehension.
He propped his cane against the wardrobe and drew off his hat, turning it over in his trembling hands. I would have known you anywhere, Esmerelda. You are the very image of your mother.
He didnt have snowy white hair or a bristling mustache that would tickle her cheek when he hugged her. He was as bald as a billiard ball and his square, ruddy face was clean-shaven. But the pugnacious jut of his jaw was unmistakable.
Grandfather? she croaked.
He beamed at her. Ah, my sweet child, it would make this cold and unforgiving ogre ever so happy if you would consent to call him Grandpapa.
Paralyzed with shock, Esmerelda kept a death grip on the quilt as he came limping over, folded her into his arms, and gently stroked her tousled hair just like the grandfather of her dreams.
There, there, my darling, he murmured. Youve done the very best you could for yourself, but its time to come home now and let Grandpapa take care of you.
As she met Billys stricken gaze over her grandfathers shoulder, Esmerelda would have been hard-pressed to decide which one of them looked more horrified.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Her grandfather continued to murmur endearments and stroke her hair, seemingly oblivious to the stream of people who came pouring into the attic room. Sheriff McGuire staggered in first, followed by a woman Esmerelda didnt recognize, the rotund Miss Mellie, a flock of her half-dressed girls, and a handful of their gawking patrons.
Flushed with mortification, Esmerelda considered dragging the quilt over her head. Billy remained frozen behind the door, looking as if hed like to sunk out the nearest window himself.
Blood trickled from a shallow wound on Sheriff McGuires temple. The petite, gray-haired stranger stood on tiptoe to dab it away with a lace handkerchief.
Who is that woman? Esmerelda whispered.
Oh, that would be my sister. Your aunt Anne, her grandfather explained, favoring her with a tender smile. Shes the very soul of gentility.
If youll stand still for a minute, you overgrown oaf, the woman snapped. I might be able to stop the bleeding.
McGuire sneered down his nose at her. I wouldnt be bleeding if you hadnt coldcocked me with the butt of my own pistol.
How else was I to get the keys to my cell?
Esmerelda gasped. You arrested my aunt?
McGuire turned his sullen gaze on her. You neednt look so shocked, lass. I did it for your own good. She and this loco brother of hers had taken it into their heads to go searching for you. I didnt arrest them. I simply provided them with accommodations during their stay in Calamity. Free of charge, I might add.
The woman snorted. Even if you did allow us separate cells, your hospitality left much to be desired.
If you dont like it, Drew snarled, pointing at the man cowering behind two scantily clad young women, you can take it up with the mayor.
Esmereldas aunt spun around, clapping a hand over her heart. Why, Mr. Stumpelmeyer!
The mayor, banker, postmaster, and justice of the peace of Calamity was wearing nothing but a pair of spectacles and a pair of drawers. He lifted his bony shoulders in a sheepish shrug. Ive been a widower for nigh on two months now, Miss Hastings. I have my needs.
Anne appeared to ponder the matter. Perhaps thats why your proposal was so heartfelt.
He proposed to you? Esmerelda squeaked, shocked anew.
Anne lifted her chin high. He and thirty-seven other men in the last week alone. Quite an impressive tally for an old spinster, is it not?
Thats why she doesnt care for me, Drew said. Im the only man in town with the good sense not to marry her.
Anne shot him a glare that could have cut glass.
Esmerelda felt a rush of alarm as her grandfather stiffened. Who are all these women? he asked, sweeping a frosty look around the room. I thought this was a boardinghouse for young ladies of good reputation.
One of the girls trilled a sultry giggle. I got a reputation, all right, honey, but it aint good.
Her grandfather rose to face her, drawing his wounded dignity around him like a mantle. I dont understand, Esmerelda. Perhaps youd best explain the meaning of your presence in this establishment.
She gazed helplessly up at him, hating to lose his affection so soon after finding it.
When she heard a telltale creak, she knew her faith had not been misplaced. Billy wasnt the sort of man who would abandon her to face her doom alone.
Her grandfather turned as the door slowly swung toward its frame to reveal the man standing behind it. The morning sun streaming through the window gilded his bare chest, his tousled hair, the narrow V of hair-dusted belly exposed by his unbuttoned trousers. Remembering how it felt to be rocked in the golden cradle of that magnificent body, Esmerelda felt a sweet stab of desire.
Despite the obvious difficulty he was having swallowing, Billy curved his lips into an amiable grin. Its a pleasure to finally meet you, sir. He cut his smoky eyes toward Esmerelda. Your granddaughters told me so much about you.
Billy Darling had finally ended up where he always figured he belongedbehind bars. But hed never dreamed his accommodations would be so luxurious. The lumpy, straw-stuffed tick that used to drape the bunk in the front cell of the Calamity jail had been replaced with a fluffy feather mattress. An Oriental rug covered the most ominous of the stains on the puncheon floor. The chipped plaster ceiling boasted a coat of fresh paint. Billy eyed the corner askance, reasonably sure that when hed left Calamity less than two weeks ago, there had been no crocheted tea cozies in the cell, no ceramic teapot for them to hug, and no tea table for the teapot to rest on.
Billy rested his elbows on the crosspiece of the door, letting his forearms dangle through the bars. Developed a fondness for decorating while I was gone, Drew?
Drew sat behind his desk with Miss Kitty curled up on his lap. He opened his mouth, but before he could get a word out, Esmereldas aunt paused in her restless pacing. Im not surprised you noticed the changes Sheriff McGuire initiated for my comfort, Mr. Darling. I would have expected a ruffian like you to be intimately familiar with the inside of this jail.
Oh, I wasnt a prisoner last time I was here, maam, Billy said, deepening his drawl just to annoy her. I was visiting your niece.
She resumed her pacing, her sharp harrumph warning him that she would savor any excuse to whack him over the head with the bone-handled parasol she handled like a loaded Winchester. Billy flexed his fingers. If she strayed any closer to the bars, he just might give her one.
Correctly reading his sinister expression, Drew propped his boots up on the desk and wagged an admonishing finger at him behind Annes back. The woman reminded Billy of Esmerelda at her most scathing, a trait he might have found endearing if hed been on the other side of those bars.
Utter chaos had broken out after hed stepped out from behind that door at Miss Mellies. Esmereldas aunt had swooned into Drews arms. Her grandfather had rushed at him, grabbing up his cane and brandishing it like a sword. Mellies girls had leapt to his defense, claws bared. It had taken Horace and two cowboys to subdue the old man.
Although Billy suspected the pompous old fellow would have been just as happy to start bellowing Off with his head! it had been Esmereldas aunt who had come to and insisted that Drew arrest him until the extent of his villainy had been determined. Plainly wanting to avoid any more mayhem, Drew had obliged her. Billy was still haunted by the helpless glance Esmerelda had cast over her shoulder at him as her grandfather ushered her from the room, wrapped in nothing but the quilt.