Read Online Ecstasy's Promise (Historical Romance) by Constance O'Banyon - Free Book Online
Authors: Constance O'Banyon
Tags: Fiction, adventure, Romance, Historical, Adult, Action, Western, Texas, South, wealthy, ranch, 18th Century, Enemy, american revolution, destruction, American West, ECSTASY'S PROMISE, Sherman's Troops, Farraday Plantation, Yankees, Grandmother, Union, Burned Plantation
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another human being, Victoria felt they would never reach their destination. They camped out every night now, but it was a kind of adventure. They cooked their food over an open campfire. Victoria slept as unafraid as a child, knowing that Bodine was nearby. What she did not know was that he slept with one eye open and his loaded gun close at hand.
That morning, as they were saddling their horses, Bodine told Victoria they would be at her grandmother's house before dark. They rode until noon without stopping. When they finally halted, Victoria was exhausted. She leaned against a big cottonwood tree and looked around her. Besides cottonwoods, there were cedar trees in profusion. They gave out a pungent odor that was not unpleasant. The blue sky stretched overhead like a giant umbrella. Wild flowers were growing in little clumps.
"What are those funny-looking trees, Bodine?" Victoria asked, pointing to a nearby thicket.
"They are mesquite trees," he told her. "You will find them all over Texas."
"Bodine, who does all this land belong to?" Victoria asked.
He was tightening the stirrup on his horse, and paused to look around. "You are on Hanover land right now. The Hanovers are a rule unto themselves. They have more land than some countries, and rule this part of Texas as though they were royalty. I knew Michael Hanover and his wife, Mariana. They had one son, Edward. I guess Edward is somewhere around thirty now."
"What can they want with all this land?" she asked.
"Cattle, for one thing."
"Surely they do not need all this land to raise a few cattle."
Bodine laughed. "Rio del Lobo has more than a few cattle, maybe around twenty thousand head."
"Rio del Lobo, that is the ranch you told me of when we spent the night in the Martins' barn. Is the name Spanish?"
Bodine nodded. "Named for the Wolf River that runs through it."
"Rio del Lobo. River of the Wolf. How much land does it actually consist of?"
"To break it down so you can understand it, one hundred and fifty miles in every direction, unless they have acquired more land in the last twenty years."
Victoria shook her head. "I still do not understand why they would want so much land."
"You are in Texas now, honey. You have to think big," Bodine told her. She could hear the excitement in his voice. He is glad to be home, she thought.
"Your grandmother's ranch is considered small for Texas," Bodine told her. "Yet it is about four times larger than Farraday Plantation."
"Tell me more about Texas," Victoria encouraged him, in no hurry to return to the saddle, and feeling a little uneasy at the thought of meeting her grandmother.
"I have been gone twenty years," he told her. "A lot can change in that amount of time."
"Are there any towns nearby?"
"Well, Cedarville is the nearest. Not much of a town, at least it wasn't when I left, but San Antonio is only a good day's ride."
"Tell me about San Antonio."
"You will hear all you want to and more about San Antonio. There is a little mission there, called the Alamo, where the Texans boast they turned defeat into victory against the Mexicans in 1836. Now that is enough talk, Victoria. If we linger here much longer, it will be dark when we get to your grandmother's."
Victoria rose to her feet and started folding the blanket she had been sitting on. She tied it on to Rebel's saddle—for the last time, she told herself. Bodine had insisted she put on her dress that morning. "I refuse to deliver you to your grandmother dressed as a boy," Bodine had told her.
Victoria mounted, and tried to settle herself comfortably. It was hard to ride in a dress. She wished for the sidesaddle she had left behind in Georgia.
Bodine was throwing his leg over the saddle to mount, when they heard an ominous rattle. He knew in a flash that his horse had been struck by the rattlesnake. Bodine went flying through the air and landed with a thud on the ground. The horse thrashed about in agonizing pain.
Before Victoria had time to think, she
That morning, as they were saddling their horses, Bodine told Victoria they would be at her grandmother's house before dark. They rode until noon without stopping. When they finally halted, Victoria was exhausted. She leaned against a big cottonwood tree and looked around her. Besides cottonwoods, there were cedar trees in profusion. They gave out a pungent odor that was not unpleasant. The blue sky stretched overhead like a giant umbrella. Wild flowers were growing in little clumps.
"What are those funny-looking trees, Bodine?" Victoria asked, pointing to a nearby thicket.
"They are mesquite trees," he told her. "You will find them all over Texas."
"Bodine, who does all this land belong to?" Victoria asked.
He was tightening the stirrup on his horse, and paused to look around. "You are on Hanover land right now. The Hanovers are a rule unto themselves. They have more land than some countries, and rule this part of Texas as though they were royalty. I knew Michael Hanover and his wife, Mariana. They had one son, Edward. I guess Edward is somewhere around thirty now."
"What can they want with all this land?" she asked.
"Cattle, for one thing."
"Surely they do not need all this land to raise a few cattle."
Bodine laughed. "Rio del Lobo has more than a few cattle, maybe around twenty thousand head."
"Rio del Lobo, that is the ranch you told me of when we spent the night in the Martins' barn. Is the name Spanish?"
Bodine nodded. "Named for the Wolf River that runs through it."
"Rio del Lobo. River of the Wolf. How much land does it actually consist of?"
"To break it down so you can understand it, one hundred and fifty miles in every direction, unless they have acquired more land in the last twenty years."
Victoria shook her head. "I still do not understand why they would want so much land."
"You are in Texas now, honey. You have to think big," Bodine told her. She could hear the excitement in his voice. He is glad to be home, she thought.
"Your grandmother's ranch is considered small for Texas," Bodine told her. "Yet it is about four times larger than Farraday Plantation."
"Tell me more about Texas," Victoria encouraged him, in no hurry to return to the saddle, and feeling a little uneasy at the thought of meeting her grandmother.
"I have been gone twenty years," he told her. "A lot can change in that amount of time."
"Are there any towns nearby?"
"Well, Cedarville is the nearest. Not much of a town, at least it wasn't when I left, but San Antonio is only a good day's ride."
"Tell me about San Antonio."
"You will hear all you want to and more about San Antonio. There is a little mission there, called the Alamo, where the Texans boast they turned defeat into victory against the Mexicans in 1836. Now that is enough talk, Victoria. If we linger here much longer, it will be dark when we get to your grandmother's."
Victoria rose to her feet and started folding the blanket she had been sitting on. She tied it on to Rebel's saddle—for the last time, she told herself. Bodine had insisted she put on her dress that morning. "I refuse to deliver you to your grandmother dressed as a boy," Bodine had told her.
Victoria mounted, and tried to settle herself comfortably. It was hard to ride in a dress. She wished for the sidesaddle she had left behind in Georgia.
Bodine was throwing his leg over the saddle to mount, when they heard an ominous rattle. He knew in a flash that his horse had been struck by the rattlesnake. Bodine went flying through the air and landed with a thud on the ground. The horse thrashed about in agonizing pain.
Before Victoria had time to think, she
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