Page 23 of The Enchanted Land

He had hardly spoken to her since the last night at his parents’ house. She tried to picture Trahern House, but saw only Seth’s angry eyes. She heard Nora’s voice saying that Morgan would fall in love with Seth.

“Morgan?”

She turned. Seth was standing so close to her. She felt like crying. Unwanted tears gathered in her eyes.

Seth dropped to his knees beside her. She was such a child. “What’s the matter, little one? If you don’t want me to stay here, I won’t. I’ll find someplace else.”

His voice was so gentle… Shecouldn’tbe in love with him! She’d known him less than a month. Why was Seth’s image so clear, and the image of Trahern House so blurred?

The tears started, and she couldn’t stop them. She turned and buried her head in the pillow and began to let out the tears that had been locked inside for so long.

Seth knelt by the bed. After one puzzled look, he lifted Morgan into his arms and sat on the bed, leaning back against the headboard. He just held her and stroked her hair while she cried. After a while, as the sobs began to subside, Morgan began to hear Seth’s voice.

“Shh,mi querida, be still. You are safe. No one will harm you. I won’t bother you again. You have nothing to fear.”

Morgan raised her head to look at him, but he gently forced her head back onto his chest and began to hum a tune. It felt so warm, so sweet to be near him, to be protected. Maybe, if she loved him, he would love her in return one day?

When Morgan awoke it was daylight, and she was in the bed, fully clothed, with a blanket over her. The last thing she remembered was lying in Seth’s arms hearing him sing to her.

As she washed her face and combed her hair, she realized she was ravenously hungry.

Jake knocked on her door, and they started down the stairs together for breakfast. She wanted to know where Seth was, where he had slept, what he was doing.

At the foot of the stairs was one of the handsomest men Morgan had ever seen. His blue-black hair was perfectly ordered. His clothes were impeccable and in the best of taste. He looked like a picture Morgan had once seen in a magazine of Aunt Lacey’s, a picture of a man for whom a young woman had left her husband and children. Of course, the man in the magazine had turned out to be bad. But this man was smiling up at her and was now extending his hand to her.

“Ah, this must be the lovely bride.”

Morgan felt Jake’s arm stiffen under her hand.

Ignoring Jake, the handsome man took Morgan’s arm as if they had known one another for years.

“Allow me, Morgan. I may call you that, seeing that we are to be such close companions.”

“I … uh,” Morgan stammered. The man certainly was charming. Morgan found herself standing a little straighter.

He laughed slightly, showing perfect white teeth. “Excuse me, I am Antonio Joaquín Santiago de Montoya y García, at your service. You may call me Joaquín.” He took her hand from his arm, just as they were entering the dining room, and held it to his lips, his eyes never once leaving hers.

Morgan had not yet said a word. The man’s eyes had a hypnotic effect. A loud laugh that she recognized as Frank’s reached her, and she turned toward the sound quickly. Seth looked at her with malice. Why was Seth looking at her like that? She moved to the table and seated herself.

Frank laughed again. “Well, Joaquín, it looks like you won another of the ladies. But I reckon you better stay away from this one. If you don’t, you’ll be tangling with ol’ Seth here.”

Seth looked at his empty plate. They had waited for Morgan before ordering. “I don’t put chains on my wife.”

Joaquín was very calm, showing no awareness of the tension at the table. He looked at the four other faces. Seth and Jake were angry, Frank laughing, and Morgan was looking at Seth’s bent head with an expression of puzzlement and helplessness. Joaquín thought, “So that is how it is. For some reason, there is a very willing wife but a not-so-willing husband.”

A keen observer of people, Joaquín liked to file bits of information away for future reference. Right now, he needed to know more about Seth.

“Seth, you must tell me where you met such a pretty young woman. Ah, but then you have always had such incredible luck.”

Seth seemed to regain his composure, but he lost none of his furious look. Morgan did not know whether his anger was directed at her or at Joaquín.

“Morgan’s father lived in New Mexico for years.” Seth deliberately turned the conversation to a safer topic.

The three other men all turned interested eyes on Morgan.

“I haven’t seen my father since I was a baby. I only heard recently that he had died.”

“It’s too bad he had to go before seeing his lovely daughter again.” Joaquín raised Morgan’s hand to his lips once more. “May I offer my sincere sympathy?”

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