Part 6 (2/2)
I could hardly escape without seeming rude, and I went to one of the velvet upholstered chairs Ingram had indicated. He followed more slowly, and I noticed that he leaned on a silverheaded cane and sat down carefully, easing his right leg.
”Have you seen your grandmother yet7” he asked.
”Yes. I paid her a visit this afternoon.”
”It's too bad that she doesn't make things easier for herself. She could sell the house and the ranch land to me for a generous sum, you know, and then go where she would be more comfortable and have better care.”
Ingram was certainly nothing if not direct.
”I don't know anything about it,” I said.
”She's an old woman, and Caleb Hawes tells me she's not well. Another winter in Jasper is likely to finish her off. I can't figure out why she holds on so stubbomh.”
”How long have you known my grandmother'” I asked.
The full, rather sensual lips above the well-trimmed beard moved into a sardonic smile. ”I've seen her just once. Since then I've pet.i.tioned the great lady for an audience, but so far 86.she's refused to see me again. She sends word that Caleb Hawes is her spokesman and I can talk to him.”
I didn't like this man. ”Why don't you leave ”her alone?” I asked. ”They tell me that she grows weaker every day. If you wait a little while, perhaps you can deal with her heirs.”
”Yourself among them?” he asked quietly.
I stared at him. ”I hardly fit into the category of heir when she has had nothing to do with me for twenty years. I'm sure she has already made her will, and there's no reason why I should be mentioned.”
He let that go. ”How about letting me show you the Jasper valley while you're here? We can get around that fence of your grandmother's.”
It was a surprising invitation, and I wondered if I was in the line of cultivation because he considered me an heir.
”I don't expect to stay very long,” I told him. ”In any case my grandmother's nurse, Miss Cullen, has offered to ride with me to see the old mine and visit what's left of Domino before I leave.”
”At least,” he went on, ”you'll be here for the Forty-niners' Ball I'm planning?”
”A ball? In Jasper?”
”Why not? It's the perfect place for a big s.h.i.+ndig. We can use the old Opera House, and I'll bring in guests from all around. To celebrate the reopening of the town.”
I had a feeling that he was baiting me as Persis Morgan's granddaughter, but before I could respond, Hillary came breezing through the door, fairly sparkling with enthusiasm. He kissed me warmly and then spoke to Mark Ingram.
”I went over to have a look at your Opera House. Laurie, wait until you see it! The proportions are perfect, and when it's done over in fresh red and gold it will be a little beauty.”
To watch Hillary's excitement had always kindled a response in me, but now I held back, dismayed and uncertain. It seemed a little too extreme, and I didn't want him to be enthusiastic about anything that belonged to Mark Ingram.
Ingram nodded benignly. ”I thought you'd like it.”
”Hillary,” I said, ”I do want to talk with you. Please.”
He gave me his direct look that could always penetrate any smoke screen I might put up, and saw my need.
”Let's go up to my room,” he said, and to Ingram, ”You'll excuse us?”
He led the way toward stairs that were far wider and more gracious than those in Persis Morgan's house, and as we climbed he put an arm about me.
”Was it very bad, Laurie? I hated to let you go alone, but it seemed better for you to see it through on your own in the beginning. My presence would only complicate matters.”
Down the hall he opened a door that had been left unlocked, and when I followed him in, he put both arms about me. It was good to lean into his comforting support, but after a moment I stepped back, lest I turn weak and all too submissive again. I needed desperately to find my own way. Right now I needed to talk more than I needed to be held.
”Has something gone wrong?” he asked. ”Have you met your grandmother?”
”Yes, I've met her. I don't think we like each other very much, and she wouldn't even tell me why she wanted me here. Except that I'm expected to help her oppose Mark Ingram. Which is foolish, to say the least.”
”It may take a little time. You can't rush anyone that old.”
”It's she who has been rus.h.i.+ng me.” I moved away from him. ”This room is like something out of a western movie. I'd have expected more luxury from Mark Ingram.”
The bra.s.s bedstead was covered by red and green patchwork, and a large oval braided rag rug lay aslant across the floor. There was an oak bureau, rocker, armchair, and plain deal table. A closet had been hung with cretonne, and I could imagine a hidden gunman stepping out from behind the curtain.
Hillary grinned. ”Look out the window. You'll probably find John Wayne or Gary Cooper down there right now.”
I stepped to the gla.s.s and saw that a flat roof extended over the porch-that same roof where somebody always got shot and rolled over the edge. I smiled, and Hillary looked relieved.
”That's better. You've been forgetting how to smile lately. I was told that there are more luxurious suites, but I thought I might as well play out the fantasy. Try the Morris rocker, Laurie. You'll find it more comfortable than it looks. Sit down and tell me everything.”
This was what I wanted. While Hillary sat on the edge of the bed, I rocked gently, relating a slightly edited version of what there was to tell. I mentioned briefly the meeting at the barn with Jon Maddocks. But I didn't want to repeat all that he had said, or bring up the fact that I'd remembered him from my childhood. Nor did I mention that ominous word, ”murder,” which Gail had flung at me. For some reason I was holding back.
”What about me?” Hillary asked when I stopped. ”Am I to be accepted by your grandmother?”
”Caleb has told her that I've brought a friend, and she thinks you should stay at the Timberline for now. I don't know whether you'll be summoned to the house. For all that she's supposed to be so ill, everyone seems to snap to attention at her orders.”
”I may not wait to be summoned. What else?”
”There's a nurse who appears to be taking charge-Gail Cullen. She and Caleb Hawes don't like each other, and I think she's trying to ingratiate herself with my grandmother.”
”Is that so bad?”
”I don't know. The entire atmosphere is a bit creepy and pe- S9.
culiar. It's as if they're waiting for her to die. And neither of them wants me there.”
”Why do you think that?”
”Gail-the nurse-seems almost malicious at times And Caleb says openly that I shouldn't have come. Then there's Mark Ingram. When we spoke just now, he was hinting that I might become my grandmother's heir.”
”That's possible, isn't it?”
”I don't want that!” The words came out with a vehemence that startled me. I hadn't thought about inheriting, so why should I react with such repugnance to the idea?
”All right. Don't get excited. Is there anything special ou'd like me to do?”
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