The Awakening Read online

  “I’ll send someone else, someone who couldn’t care less about Caulden’s pretty daughter, someone to whom it won’t matter that you throw your life away.”

  “How melodramatic you are,” she said, concealing her anger. “Tell me, how do you plan to ascertain the winner of this idiotic wager? Do you plan to hide behind the door and spy on us?”

  “I’ll trust your word for it. You have until 7:30 this evening to entice Taylor into some sort of primitive display or—”

  “Such as yours?” she interrupted.

  “Or you go to the dance with me,” he said, ignoring her.

  “You had better pack.”

  He gave her a smug smile. “I’m going into town to buy you a dress for tonight. I doubt if Driscoll’s bought you anything suitable for a night of tangoing.”

  She stepped out of the car. “I hope you know someone else who can wear it, because I won’t be needing it.” She shut the door and gave him a malicious smile. “It’s been interesting meeting you, Dr. Montgomery, not pleasant but interesting. I will meet you at 7:30 in the gazebo and I expect you to have your suitcase with you.” She turned on her heel and walked back to the house as the car drove away behind her.

  Amanda kept her courage all the way up the stairs and into her room, but when she shut the door behind her, every ounce of strength left her and she fell back against the door, her eyes closed. In the woods, alone with that awful man, she’d turned into another person—a swaggering, courageous young woman who wasn’t like the real Amanda at all.

  She looked around her sedate, tidy, colorless room and knew this was the real Amanda. She walked to the desk and picked up Taylor’s new schedule. She was already off course, and the moment she touched the paper, she felt Taylor’s power over her return.

  Heavily, she sat down on the chair. What in the world had she done? She was to entice Taylor? Make improper advances to Taylor? She’d rather walk across burning coals.

  But if she didn’t do it, she’d have to go to a dance. Of course she could always tell Dr. Montgomery she’d been joking. And he, being the civilized man he was, would no doubt throw her over his shoulder and carry her out the door. Then everything really would be over between her and Taylor.

  She put her elbows on her desk and buried her face in her hands. What awful thing had she ever done to deserve the curse of Dr. Montgomery? God gave the Egyptians the twelve plagues and to her He gave Dr. Montgomery. Job would have thrown in the towel if he’d had to deal with this man.

  She opened her eyes to look at the schedule again. She was late getting back with Dr. Montgomery, and right now she should be studying the current battle between the Greeks and the Bulgars so she could discuss it at dinner tonight with Taylor—if she was still alive at dinner. Taylor might kill her if she did what Dr. Montgomery had goaded her into trying.

  If only there was someone to talk to. How did one entice a man like Taylor? With Dr. Montgomery all one seemed to have to do was stand in one spot for a moment or two and he was enticed. Amanda’s mind drifted back to this afternoon. The warm air, the birds, the food, Dr. Montgomery’s lips and hands all seemed to be rolled into one long, delicious sensation.

  No! she told herself, stop those thoughts. Dr. Montgomery was an overbearing lower-class moron who wasn’t fit to clean Taylor’s boots. But he certainly did make her feel—

  Mother, she thought suddenly. Her mother would know what to do.

  Before Amanda could give herself time to consider what she was doing, she left her room, went down the hall and knocked on the door to the room where Grace Caulden practically lived.

  “Come in, Martha,” Grace called to whom she thought was the maid.

  Amanda opened the door and found that her heart was pounding as if she were doing something very wrong. Her mother sat at a little desk, her pen moving rapidly over a piece of paper, her back to Amanda. Amanda had, of course, seen her mother in the last few years but she’d always averted her eyes. Taylor could be rather harsh when he caught her talking to her mother.

  “It’s me,” Amanda whispered.

  Grace turned around in her chair, her eyes eating her daughter, but she didn’t move toward her. It wasn’t easy to suppress the urge to envelope Amanda in her arms.

  “Something has happened,” Grace said in a soft, carefully pronounced voice. She was as pretty as her daughter, with her dark hair and eyes, but there was no sadness in those eyes. For a woman who was nearly shunned by her own family, she looked remarkably happy.

  Amanda felt terribly guilty being in her mother’s room but at the same time it felt so good. She knew this confusion was Dr. Montgomery’s fault. “I need some advice,” Amanda said softly.

  Grace put down her pen and gave her full attention to her daughter. “I will do my best.”

  “I…I have done a very stupid thing.” Amanda looked down at her hands.

  Grace resisted the urge to say, Good! but just waited while Amanda stood there and fidgeted. Her awful, unstylish, boxy dress was stained and rumpled and her hair was a mess.

  “I made a wager,” Amanda said, and went on to explain as quickly as possible.

  When she finished, Grace’s mouth was open. “Dr. Montgomery is…” she trailed off.

  “He is an awful man! I wouldn’t consider this ridiculous wager except that if I win he’ll leave Kingman. Taylor has no idea what he’s like or he wouldn’t ask me to spend time with him.”

  Grace’s eyes brightened as she began to think quickly. “What you must do is win this wager. For the good of everyone on the ranch you must win. Now is not the time to think of yourself. You must throw yourself at Taylor and let nature take its course. I’m sure Taylor will understand—and respond. After all, he’s a normal, healthy man and you are a beautiful young woman. And it’s perfectly all right since you’re engaged to be married. I’ll bet Taylor has had to restrain himself from touching you. He’s merely being respectful.”

  “You don’t think Taylor will dislike me if I’m too…too forward? He doesn’t seem to like forward women.”

  “I told you, he respects you. Just show him you need a little less respect and a little more lovemaking and you’ll not only win your wager but you’ll probably get a marriage date set—and you’ll get rid of your dreadful Dr. Montgomery. What more could you ask?”

  Amanda smiled at her mother. “I guess you’re right. Thank you.” She turned to go, but Grace called to her.

  “Amanda,” she said softly. “What made you come to me?”

  “Dr. Montgomery asked me questions about you and I, well…I guess I…”

  “I understand. Go on now. You only have two and a half hours to win your bet.”

  Amanda smiled at her mother and left the room.

  Grace leaned back in her chair and rolled her eyes skyward. “Please God,” she prayed, “I need Your help. I don’t know how I’m ever going to get into heaven hating Taylor Driscoll the way I do.”

  She looked back at the room and smiled. If Amanda made advances to that cold fish he’d be horrified. This Dr. Montgomery was right: there was no passion in Taylor. Grace hoped Amanda flung herself on him and she hoped Taylor was disgusted enough to break the engagement, maybe disgusted enough to leave the ranch.

  “The bastard’d never do that,” Grace muttered. Taylor wanted the ranch so much he’d subjugate Amanda, banish Grace and make Harker think he couldn’t run the ranch without this stranger.

  Dr. Montgomery, Grace thought before returning to her writing, she’d have to pay some attention to that young man.

  Amanda stood looking in her closet. Two and a half hours, she thought, and she’d already wasted fifteen minutes trying to choose the right dress. She wasn’t used to choosing her own clothing since Taylor told her what she was to wear. She didn’t guess she could ask him what to wear for his own seduction.

  At last she grabbed a plain pink dress, since pink was the closest thing she had to red, and as she dressed she wondered what constituted winning this disgust