Edan put his hands on her shoulders. “I wonder if he realizes how lucky he is. What can I do to help you?”
She moved toward the door. “Could you find Sarah Oakley and ask her to come upstairs and help me change?” She paused and looked at Edan speculatively. “On second thought, maybe you could find Jean Taggert for me. She’s the especially pretty lady in the violet silk dress and hat.”
“Especially pretty, is she?” he asked, laughing. “Good luck, Houston.”
Chapter 15
Jean helped Houston dress in record time. She fully agreed with Houston in her need to go after Kane.
When Houston was dressed, they went through the west wing to the housekeeper’s rooms and down that remote staircase. Hidden among some trees, Edan was waiting with a horse laden with four bags of food.
“That should keep you for a few days,” he said. “Are you sure you want to do this? If you got lost—.”
“I’ve lived in Chandler all my life and I know this area.” She gave him a hard look. “I’m not the bit of fluff people think I am, remember?”
“Did you put the wedding cake in there?” Jean asked Edan.
“In its own sweet little tin box,” he said in a way that made Houston glance from one to the other and begin to smile.
“You must go, and don’t worry about anything here. Just think about your husband and how much you love him,” Jean said as Houston mounted.
Houston sneaked away from the wedding as secretly as she could, considering that she was surrounded by over six hundred guests. The few people who saw her were so astonished that they could say nothing. She’d pulled her hat veil down over her face and she hoped that would confuse some people, but it didn’t.
As she reached the western end of the garden, she nearly ran over Rafe Taggert and Pamela Fenton walking together.
She wasn’t sure if it was shock or surprise, but her horse’s front feet came off the ground.
Rafe looked at her with amusement. “No doubt you’re the twin that married a Taggert, and now you’re runnin’ away.”
Before she could speak, Pam answered. “If I know Kane, his pride was hurt at the altar and he ran away somewhere to lick his wounds. You aren’t by chance going after him, are you?”
Houston wasn’t sure how to act toward this woman who had been loved by her husband. With all the coolness she could muster, her chin quite high, she said, “Yes, I am.”
“Good for you!” Pam said. “He needs a wife with your courage. I always insisted that he come to me. I hope you’re prepared for his anger. It’s quite frightening at times. I wish you all the luck in the world.”
Houston was so astonished at Pam’s words that she couldn’t reply. She was tom between feeling anger at the idea of someone else knowing her husband, and gratitude that Pam was giving her some good advice. And, too, Pam seemed to have given up her hold over Kane. Was Kane the one in love; would Pam not have him?
“Thank you,” Houston murmured as she reined her horse away from them.
She encountered no one else and breathed a sigh of relief when she was past the city limits of Chandler and heading for the country.
The first part of the journey was very easy and she had time to muse on what must be happening at Kane’s house. Poor Blair! She really had meant well. She had thought Houston wanted Leander, so she was willing to make a supreme sacrifice and spend her with a “villain” like Kane Taggert. Perhaps that’s what Kane had sensed, that he was the medicine to be taken by Blair because Houston’d been wronged by her sister.
Of course, what Kane didn’t understand was that none of the guests would think anything about what had happened, except as something to tease about. They would tease Leander because they had known him since he was a child. If Kane had stayed and laughed, all would have been forgotten—but Kane had yet to master the art of being able to laugh at himself.
She rode to the foot of the mountain as quickly as possible and started up the trail that she and Kane had used before. When she reached the place where they’d picnicked, she dismounted and drank some water. Above her was what looked like an impregnable piece of mountain. But Kane’d said that his cabin was up there and, if he was there, she was going to find him.
As she removed her jacket and tied it to the horse, she tried to see a path through the scrub and piñion, trees. It was only after several minutes of walking about, looking at the mountainside from several angles, that she saw what could have been a trail of sorts. It went straight up the mountain, over terraced rock, and disappeared into the trees.
For a moment, Houston wondered what in the world she was doing in such a place as this on her wedding day. Right now, she should be wearing a sa
tin dress and dancing with her husband. A thought which brought her back to the present. Her husband was at the top of this mountain—maybe. Edan could be wrong, and Kane could be on a train to Africa for all anyone knew.
After giving the horse some water, she tightened her hat on her head to give her some protection against the sun and remounted.
The way up was worse than it had looked. At times the trail was so narrow that the tree branches clawed at her legs, and she had difficulty forcing the horse to travel the narrow path. The plants that grew out of rock weren’t like the soft, cared-for plants in town. These trees had to fight for life every day and they refused to bend or give way for a mere human.
A Crown of Thorns cactus caught the side of her divided skirt and tore it, leaving several long thorns in the cloth. Houston paused while she pulled thorns and fat cockleburs off her clothing and a few from her hair. So much for looking her best when she arrived, she thought, as she pushed strands, of hair under her hat.