to avoid him. Meeting him face to face with her speculations vividly intact would be too humiliating.
“He went to Austin this morning. He say he may be gone several weeks. Something to do with business. He left a package for you.” She bustled out the door and returned immediately with a small box. “He say you need this next time you go to Keypoint.”
Lauren untied the ribbon around the box, lifted the lid, and saw a blue silk scarf nestled in the tissue paper. A bandana. He had remembered that she needed one. Tears misted her eyes, but aware of Rosa’s keen perception, she shoved the scarf into one of her lingerie drawers with feigned indifference.
“I must remember to thank him when he comes home.” She walked out her door leaving Rosa shaking her head, baffled and disgusted.
Chapter 15
“Have you heard from Jared, Olivia?” Carson asked one night at dinner. “Seems he’s been in Austin an uncommon length of time.”
“Come, Carson,” Olivia said with a laugh, “you know why Jared is ‘detained’ in Austin. I’m amazed that he abstained as long as he did. Having a wife of convenience drives a man to find some release from his physical needs, doesn’t it, Lauren?”
Lauren’s fork clattered to her plate. How dare the woman be so blatantly crude! “Since it’s Jared’s ‘physical needs’ you’re referring to, you should save that question for him,” she retorted angrily. But underlying her anger was heart-sickness. Her mother-in-law was most probably right. Why else would Jared extend his stay in Austin? She hadn’t guessed she could miss him so much. The longer he was gone, the more the tension mounted in the house.
The daily routine in Coronado was different from that at Keypoint, but was routine nonetheless. Elena gained strength each day. If the weather permitted, she would walk with Lauren in the gardens, which boasted only a few chrysanthemum blooms. The wind, when it whistled in unpredictably from the north, was biting and bitter, and there were a few days in early November when it rained incessantly and Lauren thought she would go mad at the tedium of her life in the large house.
She longed for the hectic days at Keypoint with Rudy and Gloria, their loving banter, and the children with their pranks. She missed her quiet talks with Maria, too. A few months ago, Lauren would have been scandalized by a woman living with someone else’s husband, but she now condoned Maria’s life with Ben. Their love had been pure. Lauren’s uncharacteristic broadmindedness was due in part to her knowledge of the kind of life Ben must have had with Olivia.
Olivia went to the bank most days, and when she stayed at home, Carson telephoned often from his office. He was always at the house for dinner, and Lauren was grateful for his kindly presence. She could not have borne being alone with Olivia. The woman looked at her with such hostility that it startled Lauren each time she caught Olivia’s emerald glare on her.
Carson continued to be obsequious to Olivia. They talked constantly about the railroad and the plans for the power plant. Apparently any hesitation Olivia had once had about forming an alliance with the Vandivers no longer existed. She commended their decisiveness and ability to manipulate others to achieve their goals. Olivia mentioned Kurt often, and always with a sly look in Lauren’s direction, which made her feel distinctly uncomfortable.
One evening at dinner, Olivia observed her daughter-in-law balefully through a forest of lowered lashes. She would never forgive her for convincing Jared to allow that sick Mexican and her baby to remain under her roof. The fact that Lauren gave shelter to an ailing Mexican was bad enough, but her real transgression was that she had triumphed over Olivia in an argument with Jared. More threatening than that, she had forced Jared to make a decision. That could be dangerous to Olivia’s plans. If Lauren gained any control over him, it could jeopardize everything.
Olivia also resented that, for appearance’s sake, she had to act the doting mother-in-law. God! Friends pressed her for news of approaching grandchildren. They simpered over their teacups about how handsome Jared and Lauren looked together, and ladies coming into the bank stopped to remark how wonderful it was that Jared, after having waited so long, had finally found the perfect mate. Olivia bore it all with a stiff smile and the proper responses. She dutifully attended church with Lauren every Sunday. The young woman insisted on going, and Olivia knew it would never do for Jared’s wife to be seen there alone.
It was evident that Lauren had formed quite an attachment to the family at Keypoint. Whenever Carson drew her into conversation, she ended up relating some anecdote that had happened at the ranch. She never mentioned names, though Olivia knew each character in these narratives intimately. When you hate someone for as long as she had hated Maria Mendez, her son, and his brood, you come to know them quite well. She had made it an obsession to learn all she could about them.
Unable to punish the Mendezes just yet for the humiliation they had caused her, she found a perfect scapegoat in Lauren. She had been raised to honor her elders, to respect family, and to bear persecution with forbearance and forgiveness.
Olivia was quite sure that the marriage between Jared and Lauren had not been consummated, though she was well aware of her son’s strong sexual appetite. Her lips tightened into a bitter line when she equated it with her late husband’s.
She was certain Jared’s fierce pride would have kept him from loving any woman chosen for him by his father. Still, the girl had a look, a way about her that Olivia knew was irresistible to men. That gentleness, that vulnerability shook them to their very core. She herself had never had that quality, and she loathed it in other women.
In every glance, gesture, and spoken word, Olivia tormented Lauren. She must keep Jared and his wife at odds with each other. To think that they might reverse her whole scheme and from a lasting affection was an abhorrent possibility.
It wasn’t jealousy, Olivia assured herself. Jealousy was such a petty emotion, and far beneath her dignity. All she demanded in any relationship was absolute loyalty. Ben had betrayed her love with disloyalty. Olivia was determined that Jared would not.
“How is Elena, Lauren? All well by now, I hope.” Dinner was over and Carson had followed the ladies into the parlor for coffee. Lauren knew that Olivia’s question didn’t stem from concern. It was merely to remind her again that she had gone against Olivia’s commands.
“Yes, she’s recovered. The death of her baby was a blow she’ll not soon get over, but that is to be expected.”
“Most unfortunate that the child couldn’t live, Lauren. You did a miraculous job of pulling the young woman out of it.”
“Thank you, Carson, but I had self-interested motives. Scarlet fever nearly cost me my life. This was my only opportunity to fight back.”
“It’s a shame those Mexicans in Pueblo can’t keep their community clean and sanitary.” Olivia’s face was ugly.
“I’m sure they do their best. I don’t think they choose for their children to die,” Lauren said quietly but with conviction.
“Nonsense. You haven’t been here long enough to know how dirty those people are. They’re vile.”
“How can you say that Rosa is vile and then eat the meals she prepares? She’s the cleanest person I’ve ever met,” Lauren said heatedly.
Olivia tossed her head in anger. Her green eyes were brilliant and her slender fingers gripped the arms of the chair like talons. “It won’t be long until we will be able to relieve some of their worries in Pueblo. I can’t wait—”
“Olivia!” Carson interrupted abruptly. “I don’t think we should discuss this any further. I can see that it upsets you.” He gave her a telling look.