Page 21 of The Bastard Heir (The Gilded West #2)

Chapter Ten

C astillo was a little late for breakfast the next morning.

When he walked into the dining room, he noted that Carolina sat with the Bonham girls and Emmy’s younger sisters, but their conversation stopped as soon as he walked in.

The oldest one, Amelia, gave him a timid smile and leaned over to whisper to Carolina, who blushed and glanced back at him.

She wore her hair in a simple braid this morning, which made her seem young and carefree, a juxtaposition with the fiercely intelligent woman he was coming to know.

Did she know how beautiful she was? How young and innocent she looked sitting there with those girls? She was all of those things in one.

He smiled at her, but it was just another reminder of why he needed to leave her alone. All night he’d relived that kiss they’d shared, but there couldn’t be another one. And he needed to remember to call her Caroline; to call her anything else was too personal…too intimate.

Breakfast was a buffet like the day before. He walked over and grabbed a plate, aware of the eyes on him as he made his choices.

“You fancy him, don’t you?” Amelia mock whispered.

Castillo only barely restrained himself from turning around to see Carolina respond. Of course she’d say yes.

“Yes, I fancy him very much,” Carolina answered. It was part of the game, but he couldn’t stop himself from glancing over, and her expression didn’t look like part of their arrangement. She genuinely looked pleased to see him. Her eyes were deep pools of blue, saying far more than her words.

Continuing to uphold his role as suitor, he walked over to her when he’d finished piling his plate with food. “Would you do me the honor of joining me, Miss Hartford?”

“Of course, Mr. Jameson.” As she rose, the girls erupted in a chorus of giggles. Carolina rose with her bowl of berries and led the way to the two places at the end of the table recently vacated by Emmy and Hunter, near Tanner, her father and aunt, who smiled at them with interest.

Castillo set his plate down and pulled out her chair for her. After she’d settled herself, Castillo took his own seat and greeted Tanner. Tanner looked back and forth as if just noticing there could be something between Castillo and Carolina. “You seem taken with our fair Caroline.”

“I am.” As he said it, Castillo realized it was true.

He didn’t know her. Not really. He knew he liked the way she looked and he liked the way she’d handled herself, both on the train and then again the night when he’d tried to threaten her.

She’d held herself together and faced both situations with calm assertiveness. He respected that.

But he didn’t know her. He didn’t know what she wished for beyond becoming a physician.

He didn’t know why that goal was so important to her.

What had pushed her to break the mold she’d been given and become something else?

He didn’t even know basic things like what she liked to eat or how she’d spend rainy days back in Boston, so he couldn’t quite understand why he kept thinking about her.

He only knew that he wanted to know the answers to all of those questions. So, yes, he was taken with her.

Her father gave him a quizzical look. Castillo shifted as he forked a bit of ham into his mouth.

He wasn’t certain what that look meant. It wasn’t quite disapproval—he was familiar with that look and the subtle disgust that accompanied it.

This look was confusion. It didn’t matter to Castillo if her father liked him—his end of the bargain was upheld either way—but he found himself wanting to make a good impression on the man.

This was madness. The perfect nonsense of the moment struck him.

This courtship was fake, but he actually quite liked sitting here with her by his side.

Would it be so far-fetched if he actually did court her?

Of course it would be. She’d return to Boston and her plans to further her education, and once Derringer was taken care of he’d go back to Texas and what was left of the ranch.

He’d need to rebuild his grandfather’s dream.

How in hell was he supposed to court her and stay away from her at the same time?

The girls finished their meal and shuffled out of the room, leaving the five adults in solitude. Tanner waited for them to go before saying, “It’s a pity Caroline will be going back to Boston for the autumn classes, so she can’t stay longer.” He smiled, giving Carolina a wink.

“It’s not a pity. She’ll make a good physician,” Castillo said. He couldn’t resist a quick glance at her father and Prudence to gauge their thoughts.

Her father nodded his agreement. “That she will. An excellent physician.”

Prudence gave Carolina a barely perceptible nod in Castillo’s direction, as if she were giving her approval of him. It made him almost feel guilty that this was a ploy.

“Well, now, that all depends.” Prudence’s words were so unexpected that they all paused and took note of her.

She waited until she had everyone’s attention before continuing.

“No one doubts for a minute that our sweet Caro will be a capable and talented physician, but there is a question about her actually getting the chance to prove herself.”

Samuel huffed out a breath and focused his attention on folding and refolding the napkin in his lap. Carolina went still next to Castillo. Prudence just smiled, bringing her cup of tea to her lips, waiting for someone to take the bait.

Tanner had been looking from one person to another as if trying to figure out the missing piece to the puzzle and finally asked, “What do you mean? I thought she was starting her medical training in September?”

Castillo almost smiled in admiration at how the woman had brought the subject to a head. Instead, he took a bite of ham to hold it in.

“That is the plan, yes, but her parents have decided that it’s best if she marries before school. She’ll attend pending the state of her nuptials.” Prudence explained.

Tanner looked from Prudence to Carolina—who hadn’t moved a muscle since her aunt had begun talking—to Samuel. “Is this true, Samuel? Will she not be attending if she’s not married?”

To his credit, Samuel looked suitably conflicted about the whole thing. “Her mother and I have spoken at length about this issue. We feel that it’s best for her to marry sooner rather than later.”

Carolina shifted then, a small movement Castillo probably wouldn’t have noticed had he not been so attuned to her. She was uncomfortable. Without thinking, he reached over and clasped the hand in her lap with his own. She stiffened in surprise, but after a moment, she squeezed his fingers.

“Can she not attend and look for a husband at the same time? Or do you have someone in mind already?” Tanner asked.

“We have a couple of options.” Samuel shrugged. “You don’t understand, Tanner. You have sons, not daughters. We have to make sure she’s taken care of. Her mother and I are getting older. What if we have difficulty finding a husband for her after she graduates?”

“Oh, Father.” Carolina stood, flinging her napkin down on the table. “You really don’t think I can take care of myself, do you?” Before her father could answer, she hurried from the room.

“Samuel, this is hardly appropriate conversation for the dining table,” Prudence admonished, rushing after her niece and leaving the men to an awkward silence.

Finally, Tanner broke the quiet. “My apologies if I overstepped, Samuel. After my conversation with her last night, I was…well, I was surprised.”

Samuel waved him off, leaning back in his chair with a heavy sigh.

“I understand. I feel the same way. Of course I want her to become a physician. Other girls wanted gowns and parties and holidays, but she only ever wanted to work with me. Her mother is convinced that we have to see her settled first, and I can’t disagree with that.

It makes sense. She’d be married and her future secure. She’d be free to do what she wants.”

Castillo had kept quiet all this time because it was none of his business.

He didn’t want to be involved. It irritated him that her father, the one person who had supported her in her apprenticeship, would allow her future to be decided so impulsively.

He found himself questioning him. “Would she be free? What if her husband doesn’t approve? ”

Tanner shot him a critical glance, but Samuel nodded. “It is my belief that we can find someone who would approve and support her.”

Castillo doubted that. Mr. Bonham’s commentary last night had been a look into the attitudes of the men of Carolina’s social circle.

He didn’t say anything further. This wasn’t something he could involve himself with, no matter how much he’d enjoyed kissing her.

He had to find Derringer and end this quest for vengeance, once and for all.

She’d only be a distraction. Maybe the more he kept telling himself that, the more he’d believe it.

***

After Caroline had left breakfast, Aunt Prudie had talked to her and calmed her down, reaffirming her belief that they’d figure out a solution to the marriage problem. Caroline believed they’d try, but there was no guarantee her mother wasn’t set on whichever suitor she’d alluded to in her letter.

What made it worse was the guilt Caroline felt the entire time they’d talked.

She’d been so tempted to share her secret with her aunt, but she’d held back, mainly because she wasn’t even certain she could go through with it.

She didn’t want marriage forced on her, but she couldn’t in good conscience hold Castillo to their deal.

After their talk yesterday, she now fully understood what was at stake for him.

She’d feel horrible if her predicament was the only thing standing in the way of his justice.