Free For Honor’s Sake by Connie Mason Page B

you,” Mae offered quickly.
    “No!” said Rod, startling her with his vehemence. “I … I’ll do it myself. You’ve been up all night and your other boarders will be wanting breakfast soon. Just send up some hot water.”
    “Well,” said Mae skeptically, “if you say so.”
    “I’ll manage,” replied Rod grimly, starting up the stairs with his slight burden.
    “I’d better get back to work, too,” declared Marty, looking around for Wong Li. But the Chinaman had mysteriously departed only moments before, his yellowfeatures set in hard lines.
    Julie awoke while Rod was bathing her. “Rod,” she whispered weakly, “I wasn’t dreaming. It is you. You are here.”
    “I’m here,” Rod said grimly. “But
madre mio,
Julie, I was too late!”
    “Too late?” asked Julie, dazed. “If you hadn’t arrived when you did, Kelly would have killed me. I’m sure of it.”
    “Don’t think about it,
querida,”
Rod soothed gently. “If only I hadn’t left you on your own that beast wouldn’t have raped you. I should have been more persistent. I should have put you aboard the first ship going east.”
    “Raped!” repeated Julie, stunned by Rod’s words. “He couldn’t have! I would know if I had been raped. I’m sure you’re wrong, Rod.”
    Rod wanted to tell her about the blood and all the other signs pointing to her rape by Brute Kelly but was too much of a gentleman to divulge all the hard, cruel facts. “Do you hurt badly?” he asked softly, gently.
    “No … I … I feel nothing. He … Kelly, knocked me unconscious. He could have raped me but I’m certain he didn’t. Could … could you have been mistaken? Surely I am capable of determining if my own body had been violated.”
    “Perhaps,” Rod hedged, refusing to meet her questioning gaze. “Perhaps it is best we forget Kelly and all that happened.” If she didn’t want to face up to what had happened to her, Rod decided, then that’s the way it would be. He realized that rape was a terrible thing for a woman to experience and he was far too honorable to mention it again.
    “Relax,
querida,
” he urged, his face tender as he laved her bruised flesh. “Kelly won’t hurt you again. I’m going to take care of you from now on.” He finished his gentle ministrations and sat back, studyingJulie with quiet concern. Her right eye was beginning to swell and turn purple and a reddish bruise covered one cheekbone.
    “Take care of me?” Julie repeated dumbly. “What do you mean?”
    “
Querida,
I feel a responsibility towards you,” Rod explained patiently. “After Kelly ra—, after he hurt you, I can no longer shirk my responsibility. My duty is clear.”
    “What are you talking about, Rod?” Julie asked, still mystified.
    “I’m taking you home with me, Julie. To
Rancho
Delgado. You are my wife and I owe you my protection.”
    Julie gasped, shocked by his surprising declaration. “What about Elena? What will your father say? What…”
    “One thing at a time,
querida.
It matters little what anyone thinks. By the time we arrive we will be truly wed.”
    His words confused Julie. Weren’t they already married? Surely it was too soon for the annulment to be granted, wasn’t it? She asked him, his answer astounding her.
    “I … haven’t spoken to my lawyer yet concerning our annulment,” Rod admitted, flustered. If the truth be known he had plenty of time to speak to his lawyer but somehow he kept putting it off until it was too late and he was already on his way to San Francisco. The reason behind the procrastination escaped him but the way things turned out it was just as well.
    “I don’t understand,” Julie said, more baffled than ever. “You said—”
    “Forget what I said,” Rod stated more harshly than he meant to. “You are my responsibility. I shouldn’t have married you but I did. From now on I’ll take care of everything.”
    Despite her deep fatigue, despite her bruised and aching body, Julie’s anger