McCrory's Lady by Shirl Henke Henke Read Free Book Online Page A

slightly tipsy.
           Soon all her troubles were forgotten and she was giggling and letting him seduce her beneath the big sycamore by the river. He had been full of tender phrases and soft caresses then, praising her beautiful young body as he undressed her. It had hurt a bit when he actually did the deed, but not all that much. Judd had assured her it was always that way the first time for women. After all her romantic imaginings, Eden had been rather disappointed, although Judd seemed quite pleased with her. Perhaps in time it would get better. Judd said it would. After that night she had felt irrevocably bound to him.
           She had begun to search her mind frantically for a way to break her engagement to poor Edward and to explain her feelings to her father. The trouble was, she did not understand her feelings herself. Everything seemed to be moving too fast. Mrs. Stanley announced the betrothal in the Prescott newspapers and arranged a huge party in Eden and Edward's honor without ever consulting her. That night after the engagement ball Judd Lazlo had asked her to run away and marry him.
           Like the spoiled young girl she was, Eden had accepted, seeing no way out of an intolerable future. Now, poor bumbling, pompous Edward and even overbearing old Sophie seemed a heavenly alternative. If only she could turn back the clock.
           But I can't do that , she thought in misery as she rummaged through her saddlebags and pulled out pieces of her torn undergarments to use as rags for polishing Lazlo's boots. Just thinking of that first night on the trail to Tucson with him made her flinch. Within an hour of leaving the ranch, the runaway lovers met up with Max Haywood, who was leading a string of her father's best racers.
           Haywood and Lazlo greeted each other like old friends, and the horrible realization of what she had done—what Judd had done to her—washed over Eden McCrory.
           “This man stole from my father. Those are Crown Verde horses,” she had whispered in outrage to Judd.
           He had only thrown back his head and laughed. “Well, so they are. Consider it your dowry, Miss High and Mighty Rich Girl. You owe me something for hanging around you like a damned lap dog the past weeks, panting after your skinny little body.”
           Her voice had broken in pain and shock. “If you didn't want me, why didn't you just steal the horses and be damned?”
           A sly smile had spread across his face. “We want these horses for more than their cash value. They're our change of mounts. You see, Your Highness, we're taking you to a little hidyhole we have in Mexico and we need to make sure your pa don't catch up to us before we get there.”
           That was when she realized the full extent of her culpability. Not only had she broken her father's heart by running away, she was risking his very life as well. “That ring of grafters in Tucson—they hired you, didn't they?”
           When he had only laughed and leaned over to grab her horse's reins, Eden had used the heavy leather to slash across his face, then wheeled her small, fleet mare around and ridden like the wind. But Judd's big gelding had overrun her in moments. From then on she was his prisoner, and that night he had raped her, while Haywood snickered from the darkness across the campfire.
           She held the evidence of that first brutal assault in her hands now—the blouse and camisole he had torn off her body, now rags with which to polish his boots. Rage washed over her in a sickening rush, leaving her so shaken she felt nauseated. Methodically, Eden carried the boots and rags to the stream and knelt by a rotten log to scrub the mud from them. As she worked, she could feel Judd's and the other men's eyes on her back.
           Father could be in San Luís by now, asking about me. I have to do something to warn him. She knew about the sentries posted at