Free Thorns in Eden and the Everlasting Mountains by RITA GERLACH Page A

He took his wife by
the elbow and led her down the hall. Nash heard the door click shut over the
din of people.
    Brent’s
reaction to his niece troubled Nash. Was he over protective, or was there
something else concerning the past that caused this slight?
    He
walked toward her. She gave him a hint of a smile. “I heard the roads were
filled with fog. I hope the journey was not too unpleasant.”
    “The
hard ride was worth it now that I’ve seen you.” 
     “There’s
Lavinia, and David Harcourt. Perhaps you haven’t spoken to them and should?”
     “I’m
beginning to think you don’t like me, Miss Brent. Is it so difficult for you to
accept a compliment?”
    “How
am I to know you are sincere?”
    “You
must take my word for it. Perhaps it’s a matter of the two of us becoming
better acquainted.”
    A
roll of laughter and a voice drawn and high pitched, drew their attention. When
Lanley entered, heads turned. Dorene took his arm and led him inside. Ladies
fluttered and clustered around him like bees drawn to honey. Tapping his silver
snuffbox, he bobbed his head to search the crowd.
    When
Lanley started toward her, Rebecah looked at Nash with entreaty. “Take me into
the other room before…”
    “Lud,
my dear!” Lanley quickened his pace and stopped in front of her. He sighed, gazed
at her starry-eyed.
    “Have
I passed on to Paradise? Are you an angel in disguise?”
    “Your
flattery isn’t necessary,” she replied.
    Nash
scowled at the way Lanley gawked. He saw beneath that smooth veneer of
politeness, how he kissed Rebecah’s hands with ashen lips, thin and drawn
beneath a long angular nose, a libertine. She withdrew and joined Lavinia.
     “Your
manner is too free,” Nash commented.
    Lanley
smirked. “What is that you say?”
    “Kissing
a lady’s hand once is enough. More is impolite and licentious.”
    “You
challenge my manners?”
    “Some
might say you are a womanizer.”
    Lanley
poked his chin up at Nash. “I take liberties with the lady due to the fact she
is to be my wife…someday.”
    “She
does not seem to like your liberties .”
    “Yes
she does…”
    “Ask
her.”
    Lanley’s
face burned scarlet. “Our method of wooing is obviously above the crudities of frontiersmen.”
     Amused,
Nash grinned. “I’m in no need of instruction in that art.”
    A
swaying beauty passed them, and Nash’s eyes shifted. Dorene smiled seductive and
moved on.
    “Do
you know Dorene Brent?” Nash asked.
    “I
know her well.” A lustful gaze glazed Lanley’s eyes as he watched her glide
away.
    “You
play the field while you’ve an understanding with another woman?”
    Lanley
laughed. “The field is exactly what a man should play before the bonds of
matrimony hold him forever. I’ve the best of both worlds, as long as I play
wisely.”
    Disgusted,
Nash set his mouth and turned to leave. “Will you be returning any time soon to
that untamed country of yours?”
    Dorene
reappeared. “You can never go back. I’ll not allow it.” She stood close to him.
“Life has been so dull since you left. I have missed your free spirit, your
recklessness. Will you not kiss my hand?”
    Nash
leaned over. The kiss was formal, cold.
    “Allow
a true English gentleman to do that, Dorene,” Lanley said. He brushed his lips
over the top of her hand, and Nash walked off. He needed fresh air.
    If
I could only leave.
    He
found Rebecah out on the balcony, her hands firm upon the railing, her head
down. He moved beside her, looked out at the night sky.
    “Are
you alright?”
    She
nodded. “I suppose.”
    “Lanley
embarrasses you, doesn’t he?”
    “Often.
I’d rather not be here.”
    A
pause followed. Then Nash said, “I would rather be sitting on my porch watching
the sun sink behind the mountains, or hunting with Black Hawk my Indian
brother.”
    “You
have an Indian brother?”
    “In
Indian fashion, I do. He is the best of men, a skilled marksman and hunter.”
    “It
sounds wonderful where you