Chapter Four

       Goodness, only one maid to help. Life must be much simpler. We have a dozen servants and two groomsmen. I can only assume it is because the population is so sparse. I am sure I will learn to make do.

      After miles of nothing but grassy hills, they crested a rise and drove down into an open valley. A long, low and pale building loomed out of the darkness ahead. Anna’s heart fluttered with anticipation.

      As she leaned forward, Daniel said, “That’s the house.”

      Her future home. She tried to make out details as they approached. It seemed rather large, although only one level. Beyond the house a barn and fenced corral were barely discernible.

      They pulled in front of a long wooden porch. Only moments away from meeting her intended, her palms grew damp. She scanned the porch, waiting for him to come out.

      The house was nothing like she’d ever seen back east, and its foreignness only contributed to her uneasiness. Surely the creak of the wagon or the jangle of the harnesses would have been heard from inside. Yet no one had come out to greet them.

      Her throat went dry. Anticipation at meeting her future husband, surely. “Where is Rafael?”

      Daniel looked uneasy as he set the brake. “He might not be back yet.”

      She had the oddest urge to grab Daniel’s arm and hold on. “I’ve come three thousand miles, and he isn’t here to greet me?”

      “He planned to pick you up, but with the stolen horses...” Daniel’s voice trailed off as he hopped out of the wagon. “You should just come inside, and we’ll see what’s what.”

      When she slipped her hand into his, tingles traveled up her arm. She jumped rather than attempt to find footholds in the dark and hold Daniel’s hand any longer than necessary. Even though the thought of driving away occurred to her, she didn’t intend to do anything so silly. No, this was to be her home, and she’d enter as if she deserved to be here.

      He moved to the back of the wagon and shouldered her trunk with ease. She swallowed hard. She could not keep from looking at her future husband’s brother as if he were a refuge in this strange and frightening world of horse thieves and stagecoach robbers, where shooting a man seemed all in an ordinary day’s events. Plus she didn’t have a promise from Daniel that he wouldn’t tell his brother. Far from thinking her a refined eastern lady, Rafael’s first impression would be of a hellion who had shot a man.

      “Through that door there.” Daniel nodded toward the dark porch.

      So no particular welcome for her, unless Rafael waited inside. Her heart leaped into her throat, and her knees wobbled like jam. She stepped onto the planking, and her boots clunked shockingly loudly against the boards. She was about to tiptoe when the door swung open. Rafael? Hot and cold streams rushed through her.

      “You are finally home,” said a short, round woman with dark hair sparsely threaded with silver.

      Her hopes dropped like stones through her insides. Still, Anna tried to draw on the mask of a lady and not let her disappointment show.

      “Madre, this is Miss O’Malley. Miss O’Malley, our mother, Consuelo Valquez Werner.” Daniel thumped up onto the low porch, her trunk hoisted on his shoulder.

      Anna jerked to a halt and debated protocol. Should she extend her hand to her future mother-in-law? Press her cheek to hers? But she’d been too busy contemplating meeting her intended to think about proper greetings for his family members. “Pleased to meet you, Mrs. Werner. I’m glad to finally be here.”

      “Come in, come in,” said the woman warmly. “Oh, I am so happy to see you. Welcome to our hacienda.” The woman enfolded her in a hug. “I have tamales for you.”

      Well, that took care of that. Perhaps Rafael would hug her next. Perhaps the family hugged everyone, and she’d overreacted to Daniel’s embrace. Anxious to get inside and see if Rafael was waiting for her there, she peered through the open door. The angle was too much to see inside. Perhaps he was waiting with flowers or candy. That would be exciting and, she supposed, would render his failure to collect her in person forgivable.

      “Is Rafael back?” Daniel asked in a very still voice. A cautious voice.

      Why was his tone so careful, like a warning? Confused, Anna turned and looked at him. He ducked away as if her scrutiny made him uncomfortable.

      “Sí, sí, but he is mucho hurt. He fall from his horse and hurt his shoulder. I have put him to bed.” Mrs. Werner waved her hands wildly. “I give him medicine to sleep.”

      “Goodness,” said Anna. She should go to him, but if he was in his bed... No, she was to be his wife. “I will go to him.”

      Mother and son seemed to exchange some silent communication, where Mrs. Werner’s brow furrowed, and she gave a tiny shake of her head. “No, no, you must sit. He is sleeping.”

      Daniel moved through the room around a long table that seemed as if it were cut from one piece of wood, but much bigger than was possible. Anna stared at the table, not knowing what to do and trying hard not to twist her hands. “Is he badly hurt?”

      “No, no,” answered Mrs. Werner. “Just sleeping.”

      “Won’t you wake him? Wouldn’t he want to know I am here?” Anna asked. How could he sleep knowing she was arriving today? Did her fiancé feel none of the strange anticipation that was rattling through her?

      “Better to let him sleep,” said Daniel.

      How would he know that? She looked between Daniel and his mother. “This isn’t right. What are you hiding from me?”

      Mrs. Werner spoke in Spanish. A chill ran through Anna, spinning her back to the shouts of the robber. She shook off the odd connection. This was California, and it had been part of Mexico until recently. Probably a lot of the locals spoke Spanish. And not that anyone had said, but Daniel, with his near-black hair and coffee-colored eyes, was at least part Mexican. His mother, with her darker skin and round face, looked completely Mexican.

      Daniel