Tracie Peterson (6 page)

When he continued in silence, she played at eating the breakfast. She’d hoped the wind would send the flies further down the prairie, but it only seemed to have driven them indoors for shelter. As the gales died down outside, she could only hope they’d seek new territory.

“I guess I see it as my business to concern myself with the eternal souls of mankind,” Logan said without warning. “See the Bible, that’s the word of God …”

“I know what the Bible is perceived to be, Mr. Reed. I wasn’t born without a brain, simply without the need for an all-interfering, all-powerful being.”

Logan seemed to shake this off before continuing. His green eyes seemed to darken. “The Bible says we are to concern ourselves with our fellow man and spread the good news.”

She put her fork down and matched his look of determination. “And pray tell, Mr. Reed, what would that good news be? Spread it quickly and leave me to my meal.” Amelia knew she was being unreasonably harsh, but she tired of religious rhetoric and nonsensical sermons. She’d long given up the farce of accompanying her sisters and father to church, knowing that they no more held the idea of worshipping as a holy matter than did she.

“The good news is that folks like you and I don’t have to burn in the pits of hell for all eternity, because Jesus Christ, God’s only son, came to live and die for our sins. He rose again, to show that death cannot hold the Christian from eternal life.”

Amelia picked up her thick white mug and sipped the steaming contents. The coffee scalded her all the way down, but she’d just as soon admit to the pain as to admit Logan’s words were having any affect on her whatsoever.
The pits of hell, indeed,
she thought.

She tried to compose herself before picking the fork up again. “I believe religion to be man’s way of comforting himself in the face of death. Mankind can simply not bear to imagine that there is only so much time allotted to each person so mankind has created religion to support the idea of there being something more. The Hindu believe we are reincarnated. Incarnate is from the Latin
incarnates,
meaning made flesh. So they believe much as you Christians do that they will rise up to live a gain.”

“I know what reincarnation means, and I am even familiar with the Hindu religion. But you’re completely wrong when you say they believe as Christians do. They don’t hold faith in what Jesus did to save us. They don’t believe in the need for salvation through Him in order to have that eternal life.”

Amelia shrugged. “To each religion and culture comes a theory that will comfort them the most. In light of that, Mr. Reed, and considering the hundreds of different religions in the world, even the varied philosophies within your own Christian faith, how can you possibly ascertain that you and you alone have the one true faith?”

“Are you saying that there is no need for faith
and
that there is no such thing as God?” Logan countered.

“I am a woman of intellect and reason, Mr. Reed. Intellectually and reasonably, I assure you that faith and religion have no physical basis for belief.”

“Faith in God is just that, Lady Amhurst. Faith.” Logan slammed down his coffee mug. “I am a man of intellect and reason, but it only makes it that much clearer to me that there is a need for God and something more than the contrivances of mankind.”

Amelia looked at him for a moment.
Yes, I could believe this barbaric American might have some understanding of books and philosophies. But he is still of that mindset that uses religion as a crutch to ease his conscience and concerns.
Before Amelia could comment further, Logan got to his feet and stuffed two more biscuits into the pocket of his brown flannel shirt. Amelia appraised him silently as he thanked Emma for a great meal and pulled on his drifters coat.

“We leave in ten minutes. I’ll bring the horses around to the front.” He stalked out of the room like a man with a great deal on his mind, leaving Amelia feeling as though she’d had a bit of a comeuppance, but for the life of her she couldn’t quite figure out just how he’d done it.

Emma cleared Logan’s plate and mug from the table and returned to find Amelia staring silently at the void left by their guide.

“I hate to be a busybody, Lady Amhurst,” Emma began, “but your family ain’t a bit concerned about Mr. Reed’s timetable and I can tell you from experience, Logan won’t wait.”

This brought Amelia’s attention instantly. “I’ll tend to them. Are there more of these biscuits?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Good. Please pack whatever of this breakfast you can for us and we’ll take it along. As I recall, Mr. Reed said there would be a good six miles of prairie to cross to the canyon.”

“I can wrap the biscuits and sausage into a cloth, but the rest of this won’t pack very good.”

Amelia blotted her lips with a coarse napkin and got to her feet. “Do what you can, Emma, and I’ll retrieve my wayward family.”

Ten minutes later, Amelia had managed to see her family to the front of the hotel. Penelope and Margaret were whining, still struggling to do something with their hair. Upon Amelia’s threat to shear them both, they grew instantly silent. Lady Gambett cried softly into a lace-edged handkerchief and bemoaned the fact that her nerves would never stand the jostling on horseback. Her daughters were awkward and consciously concerned about their lack of corseting, and Amelia had to laugh when she overheard Margaret tell Josephine that Mr. Reed was no doubt some kind of devious man who would do them all in once they were far enough away from the protection of town. A part of Amelia was beginning to understand Logan Reed’s misgivings about her people.

Logan repacked the mules with the baggage and items brought to him by the party, but Amelia noticed he was unusually tight-lipped. Light was just streaking the eastern skies when he hauled up onto the back of his horse and instructed them to do the same.

Amelia allowed Jeffery to help her onto her horse and winced noticeably when the softer parts of her body protested from the abuse she’d inflicted the day before. She said nothing, noting Logan’s smirk of recognition, but her sisters and the Gambetts were well into moans and protests of discomfort. Logan ignored them all, however, and urged his horse and the mules forward.

It wasn’t yet ten o’clock when Logan first heard Amelia’s sisters suggesting they stop. He couldn’t help but cast a smug look of satisfaction toward Amelia when Penelope suggested they should imbibe in a time of tea and cakes.

He watched Amelia’s face grow flush with embarrassment, but she said nothing, choosing instead to let her mount lag behind the others until she was nearly bringing up the rear of the party. Chuckling to himself, Logan led them on another two hours before finally drawing his horse to a stop.

Dismounting, he called over his shoulder, “We’ll take lunch here.”

It was as if the entire party sighed in unison.

Logan quickly set up everything they would need. He drew cold water from the mountain river that they’d followed through the canyon, then dug around in the saddle-bags to produce jerked beef and additional biscuits.

“You surely don’t mean this to be our luncheon fare,” Jeffery Chamberlain complained in complete disgust.

The earl looked down his nose at the pitiful offering. “Yes, Mr. Reed, surely there is something better than this.”

Logan pushed his hat back on his head. “We’ll have a hot meal for dinner this evening. If we’re to push ahead and reach our first camping point before dark, we’ll only have time to rest here about ten, maybe fifteen minutes. It’ll give the horses a well-deserved break and allow them to water up. The higher we go the more water you’ll need to drink. Remember that and you won’t find yourself succumbing to sorche.”

“I beg your pardon?” Lord Amhurst questioned.

“Mountain sickness,” Reed stated flatly. “The air is much thinner up here, but since you’ve traipsed all over the Alps, you should already know all about that. You need to take it slower and allow yourselves time to get used to the altitude. Otherwise, you’ll be losing what little lunch you get and dealing with eye-splitting headaches that won’t let you go for weeks. It’s one more reason I insisted the ladies dismiss the idea of corsets.” Shudders and gasps of indignant shock echoed from the now-gathered Gambett and Amhurst women. With the exception of Amelia. She stood to one side admiring a collection of wildflowers, but Logan knew she was listening by the amused expression on her face.

Logan continued, trying hard to ignore the graceful blond as she moved about the riverbank studying the ground. “As inappropriate as you might think my addressing the subject of women’s undergarments might be, it is a matter of life and death. Up here beauty is counted in the scenery, not the flesh. The air is thinner and you need more of it to account for what you’re used to breathing down below. Losing those corsets just might save your life. I wouldn’t even suggest putting them back on after we arrive in Estes. The altitude there is even higher than it is here and I’d sure hate to have to run around all day picking up women in dead faints. Now I’ve wasted enough time. Eat or don’t, the choice is yours. I’ll water the horses and mules while you decide.” He started to walk away then turned back. “I hate to approach another delicate subject, but should you take yourself off into the trees for privacy, keep your eyes open. I’d also hate to have to deal with an agitated mother bear just because you startled her while she was feeding her cubs.”

With that said, he walked away grumbling to himself. These prim and proper Brits were more trouble to deal with than they were worth. This was the last time he’d ever act as a guide for anyone of English nobility.

He tethered his horse at the riverbank and pretended to adjust the saddle while he watched Amelia picking flowers and studying them with an almost scientific eye. From time to time, she drew out a small book and pressed one of these samples between the pages before moving on to the next point of interest. He found himself admiring the way she lithely climbed over the rocks and couldn’t help but notice her lack of fear as she neared the rushing river for a closer look.

As she held a leaf up to catch the sunlight, Logan was reminded of her atheistic views.
How could anyone behold the beauty of this canyon and question the existence of God
? It was one thing not to want to deal with God, or even question whether He truly cared to deal with mankind, but to openly declare there to be no God—that was something he couldn’t even fathom. Even the Indians he’d dealt with believed in God. Maybe they didn’t believe the same way he did, but they didn’t question that someone or something greater than man held the universe in order and sustained life.

Logan tried not to stare at Amelia, but he found himself rather helpless to ignore her. The other women were huddled together relaying their misfortunes, hoping for better times ahead and assuring each other that such torture could be endured for the sake of their menfolk. The men were gingerly sampling the lunch fare and after deciding it was better than nothing, they managed to eat a good portion before convincing the women to partake.

Logan wondered if Amelia would partake, but then he saw her draw a biscuit from the deep pocket of her skirt and nibble at it absentmindedly as she bent to pick up a piece of granite.
She is an industrious woman,
he thought, watching her turn the stone in her hand.
Who else, could have gotten that sour-faced brood of travelers together in such a short time? Who else too, would have thought to get Emma to pack food for them to take, rather than whine and beg him to allow them a bit more time for breakfast?

As if sensing his gaze upon her, Amelia looked up and met his stare. Neither one did anything for a moment and when Amelia returned her attention to the rock, Logan tried to focus on the mules. His stomach did a bit of a flip-flop and he smiled in spite of himself at the affect this woman was having on him. Stealing a sidelong glance, he watched her cup water from the river’s edge and drink.
Yes, Lady Amhurst is quite a woman.