San Antonio Rose (Historical Romance) (8 page)

She sighed and set her mouth in a stubborn
line. She knew what she had to do, and she
would not stray from her chosen path. She would see her plan through to the end-either
hers or Santa Anna's.

Emerada felt better after her ride. She left her
horse with Domingo and went directly up the
back stairs to her room.

It was stifling in the small bedroom. She
pulled her blouse away from the waistband of
her skirt and removed it. Next she slipped her
skirt over her hips so she could wash her body,
hoping it would cool her overheated skin.

She was startled when she heard a male
voice coming from the chair in the corner, and
she spun around to face the intruder.

"Honor dictates that I reveal my presence before you reveal too much of your... presence?"

Emerada grabbed her blouse and held it in
front of her. "How dare you come into my
room uninvited?"

Ian suppressed a smile and slowly drawled,
"I beg your pardon. I did knock, but when you
didn't answer, I tried the door, and it was open.
You shouldn't leave your door unlocked,
senorita. No telling who might wander in."

"Like you?" she asked vehemently.

"It was not my intention to intrude. I merely
wanted to tell you that Houston is expected
within the hour." Ian knew that he could have
sent anyone to deliver the message, but he'd
wanted to see her again. He had to admit that
he was as infatuated by her charm and beauty as any inexperienced lad would have been. "I
knew you wanted to be informed of his arrival."

Her grip tightened on the blouse. "You have
given me the message; now leave!"

He smiled. "You have nothing to fear from
me, little heartbreaker. I just wanted to tell you
about Houston."

He reminded her of a caged animal as he
prowled the length of the small room and
stopped near her. Emerada drew back until she
was pressed against the wall. "Please leave,
senor. As you see, I am not dressed to receive a
gentleman caller."

There was something in her gaze that astonished him-fear. Did she really think he would
ravish her, or was it an act to show that she was
innocent? He decided it was an act.

His lip curled in scorn. "I suppose a man
would have to be a president to claim your affections?"

"In your case, it would not matter what your
rank was," she replied angrily. "I would not
have you."

His mouth twisted briefly, and he shifted his
stance. "I believe I have been put in my place."
He bowed his head and retreated to the door.
"We shall meet again, Emerada-depend on it.
And who knows, you may change your mind
about me."

After he'd gone and closed the door behind
him, Emerada found that her heart was flut tering like the wings of a trapped bird. She
had never had such a strange reaction to any
man. For some reason she could not understand, every time she encountered Ian McCain, she either wanted to scratch his eyes out
or lay her head on his shoulder and tell him all
her troubles.

What was wrong with her?

Emerada knew she couldn't trust him. She
sensed that behind that polite smile there was
something hard and dangerous. She felt a
tightening in her chest. He wanted to destroy
her-she could feel it. And he might just succeed if she wasn't careful.

Domingo waited by the horses while Emerada
entered Houston's headquarters. She could see
the tiredness in his eyes as he offered her a
wooden chair.

"No, I won't be staying that long."

"I'm sorry I wasn't here to receive you. But
urgent business called me elsewhere."

"I know," she replied, wondering if she
should go on trusting him. "You were visiting
with the Cherokees to enlist them in your
fight."

He looked at her in astonishment. "How
could you know that?"

"It is nothing so mysterious. My bedroom
window overlooked your parade ground and I
overheard two men talking. Did you have any
luck with the Indians?"

He raised his hand and shook his head. "You
probably already know the outcome of the
meeting."

She shrugged. "I was not spying on your
men, if that is what you think." She moved
closer to him. "But you have been spying on
me. I am not sure I want to help you because
you broke trust with me."

Houston glanced up at her in surprise. "I can
assure you I did nothing-"

Emerada held up her hand to silence him.
"Do not try to tell me that your claw, or whatever you call Ian McCain, has not been spying
on me. I know he has."

"Please be seated so I can explain. I didn't
break my word to you." He looked sheepishly
at her. "Though I did send Ian to find out about
you, I did not tell him about the arrangement
between us. He knows nothing about that."

She sat down, wanting to believe him because she needed him as much as he needed
her. "Are you being truthful with me?"

"As God is my witness. You have to admit
that you gave me very little reason to trust you.
I had to know who you are."

"And did the Raven's Claw find out my true
identity?"

Houston chuckled. "He said all he could
learn about you was that you were the most exciting dancer he'd ever seen and that your
name is Emerada."

Her heart was warmed by the account of Ian's praise, and she lowered her eyes so the
all-knowing Houston would not see how
pleased she was. "Did he tell you anything
else?"

"He believes you are Santa Anna's mistress,
and he confessed that you saved his life. The
one seems to contradict the other."

She stood and moved to the door. "Next time
he is caught, I will make certain that Santa
Anna shoots him."

"Will you still help me, senorita?"

"Will you still send your claw to spy on me?"

"I can't promise not to."

She paused as she pondered her words. "Had
you promised you would not spy on me, I
would not have believed you. Since you have
been honest with me, I will help you... for the
time being."

Houston looked weary as he lowered his tall
frame into a chair. "Thank you, senorita. I need
all the help I can get."

"Be warned, Senor Houston, Santa Anna will
not stop until he sees you dead. He is not a
man to give up. He has an ego that must constantly be fed. Your death will be a splendid
banquet for him."

"So you met him for the first time in Presidio
del Rio Grande?"

"Si But I am going to meet with him when I
leave here. I will contact you if I find out anything important."

"Be careful," he warned.

She worked her fingers into her gloves. "I can
take care of myself. By the way, Santa Anna is
on his way to San Antonio de Bexar."

Sam Houston shot up like an arrow from a
bow. "Are you sure of that?"

"I am sure. He not only told me, but I have
this." She handed Houston a piece of paper.
"Can you read Spanish?"

"Not so well," he confessed.

She spread the paper on the table. "I will
translate it for you. Although it is not a very detailed account, it contains some disturbing
news."

"Please read it to me."

"It says that the first column is under the
command of General Urrea and will go toward
the Gulf Coast with instructions to close all
ports. The force under the command of Santa
Anna consists of four thousand men, fourteen
cannon, nineteen hundred pack mules, fortyfour wagons, and two hundred and thirty
carts."

Houston gasped at the magnitude of the
army. "Is this list reliable?"

"I took it from Santa Anna's pocket. I am
sorry to say that I have become a thief."

"I'm not even going to ask how you got that
close. Have a care, senorita. You trifle with a
dangerous man. And you are so young for such
a mission. There is a part of me that wants to
spare you, and another part that knows I need
your help."

She handed him the list and moved to the
door. "It is you who should have a care, Houston. As I said, my bedroom looked out on your
training ground. I have seen your soldiers, and
I have seen Santa Anna's forces-you do not
stand much of a chance against him." She
opened the door. "Until next time." And she
was gone.

Houston went to the window to watch her
mount her horse. His eyes went to the huge
man who rode at her side. Although the man
had gray hair, his arms were muscled, and he
looked as though he could crush a man with
his bare hands. He had his claw, and the San
Antonio Rose had her watchdog.

Ian came onto the porch and watched Emerada ride out of the compound. Houston
emerged from the cabin to join him.

"I don't think your little senorita likes me,
General."

"Perhaps not. But I need you to be my claw
again. Stay close to her if you can. I have a feeling that she needs friends more than she will
admit."

Ian watched her ride away, feeling somehow
empty inside. "Who do you suppose she is?"

"I don't know. I have a feeling we won't learn
about her until she's ready for us to-if we
ever do."

"What do you suppose she's after?"

Houston shook his head. "I'm damned if I know. You'd better leave now if you want to
keep her in sight."

"She won't be hard to find," Ian said bitingly.
"She'll hightail it back to her lover, Santa
Anna."

Houston turned his eyes on his young officer. Ian's father had been one of his closest
friends, and he'd promised Ian's mother that
he would look after her son. Yeah, he thought,
I've taken care of him, all right. I've gotten him
involved in a situation that might just cost Ian
his life.

"Don't always believe what your eyes see. If
you do, you might miss what common sense
tells you." Motioning for Ian to follow him,
Houston went back inside the cabin and turned
his attention to the map on his desk. "If you find
out anything about the woman, send me word.
Afterward, go directly to San Antonio and see
what's going on. There seems to be some sort of
fracas going on between Travis and Bowie. If
you think it's necessary, take command yourself. Do what you can to restore order."

"Bowie and Travis are both good men. They
just have different views on how this war
should be fought, and therein dwells the conflict. I would not want either of them to think I
was trying to take over."

"Damn it, Travis has locked his men in some
broken-down old mission, and they can't move
around. I gave him a direct order to blow it up
and get the hell out, but apparently he dis obeyed my orders. That place can't be defended, and Santa Anna's on his way there. He's
probably already there. Tell them to get the hell
out."

"How do you know about Santa Anna, sir?"

Houston handed Ian the document that
Emerada had given him. "You can read Spanish, can't you?"

Ian quickly scanned the list. "It looks real."

"It should be. Your little dancer took it off
Santa Anna himself."

Ian felt the bitter taste of disappointment gutdeep every time he heard about Emerada and
the Mexican president. "I'll do what I can, sir."

"Get going then! And make Bowie and
Travis see the futility of fortifying that old
mission."

As Ian stepped off the porch, he gazed up at
the gathering clouds. It seemed that Emerada
had taken the sunlight with her when she left.
The first drops of rain splattered on Ian's face
as he went in the direction of his cabin to
gather supplies for his journey. It didn't sit well
with him that he had to settle matters with
Travis and Bowie and tell them to abandon the
old mission as Houston had ordered. They
were both capable men and didn't need him to
remind them of their duty. And he was puzzled
by Houston's statement that Emerada was in
danger.

Why was Houston interested in the dancer?

The dust cloud that rose from hundreds of
milling horses made Santa Anna's encampment
easy to see from a great distance. Emerada
halted her mount beside Domingo and gazed at
the scene with great trepidation.

"Stay beside me. I am afraid, Domingo. If
Santa Anna discovers my real intent, he will
not hesitate to have me shot."

Domingo had always been a man of few
words, and now was no exception. "You do not
have to do this."

"Si I do. You know I do."

He merely nodded.

Emerada gathered her courage, knowing she
would be safe with the fearsome but gentle giant beside her. When she had been a child,
his presence had always chased away imaginary monsters. Now she needed his strength
more than ever because the monster was very
real-the monster had a name, and that name
was Santa Anna.

She slapped her reins against the rump of
her horse. "Let's go before I change my mind."

When they reached the encampment, Emerada was recognized and waved through by
smiling sentries all along the way. It wasn't difficult to find Santa Anna's personal tent. Who
else would dare to occupy a red and white tent
made of the purest silk?