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“Well, she has a certain charm,” Whit said dryly. “It comes out when she’s lying to your face.”

“Whitford.”

“Her beauty doesn’t turn my head, trust me. I have zero intention of courting her.”

“Inez is off-limits to you,” my uncle pressed. “She’s my niece, do you understand? Both of her parents are gone. None of my plans involve any attachment between you and her. Not even in friendship. I don’t mean to be rude, but I wouldneverallow it.”

“Trust me when I tell you,” Whit said without a trace of irony, “that she’s entirely safe from me.”

“Give me your word.”

“You have it.”

“Good,” my uncle said. “She may be more useful than either of us realized.”

CAPÍTULO QUINCE

I rushed away from the doorframe, my cheeks burning. Mortification made my blood simmer hot in my veins. When I first met Whit, I had found him an annoying flirt. Since then, I really had thought of him as a friend… No. I had to be honest with myself. A small part of me had been fighting against the attraction I had felt for him since our day in the market.

Whit had stood up for me. He hadn’t left my side in that saloon. We had faced my uncle together.Let her stay.He could never know how much those words meant to me. When everyone always told me no, his defense had felt like a warm welcome.

But he clearly only viewed me as a friend.

Which was for the best. I couldn’t forget that. And even our friendship had limits. There was a note from my mother I couldn’t bring up to him. A square card with a picture of a gate that I couldn’t ask him about. A distrust of his employer that he’d never share.

Whit wasn’t a confidant.

He worked for myuncle.

By the time I reached my cabin—the storage room, more like—I’d managed to compose myself. From here on out, I needed to remain focused on what lay ahead. I wanted to know what had happened to my parents. If I was going to snoop around the campsite, I couldn’t have anyone suspecting my motives or following me around. And ever since the magic had latched on to me, I was curious about Cleopatra. I’d seen her, and now I was heading toward her possible burial site. The desire to find her nearly overwhelmed me.

To do that, I couldn’t afford anydistractionsof my own.

I dragged out my canvas bag from underneath the bed and took inventory. I peered at the items scattered around, realizing that most of them were meant for camping. Tents and mosquito nets, rough bedding, and thin pillows. Next to the supplies lay a large leather bag. A quick peek inside showed several bottles of medicinal purpose, along with jars of vinegar and, curiously, cream of tartar.

A sharp rap on the door gave me pause as I wrangled the extra coverlets onto the narrow bed. It was probably my uncle, and my temper spiked as his words ran through me.

He wanted to use me as some sort of pawn in his game.

Tío Ricardo thought he could control me but I would never let that happen.

Another knock jarred me from my thoughts. I sighed and opened the door, scowling.

But it was not my uncle.

Whit regarded me in amusement, hands tucked into his pockets, an easy and familiar smile on his lips. He leaned against the doorframe, his chin dipped down, his face hovering so close to mine. If I hadn’t heard him speak the way he had about me to my uncle, I wouldn’t have believed it.

He peered over my shoulder. “Settling in, darling?”

And just like that, all good sense deserted me. I stared at him in impotent fury. His words rang loud in my ears.Her beauty doesn’t turn my head.“I’d advise caution against addressing a lady so familiarly. Some unfortunate girl might read into your words.”

He threw his head back and laughed.

“If any one of them mistook it for deeper feelings on my end, well, I’d call them a proper idiot.” He regarded me lazily under his half-lidded gaze. “Now, if I were to call a lady by her Christian name that would be an entirely different story.”

I stilled, the ground I stood on shifting under my feet. “Care to elaborate?”

“Not really.”