Travis didn't have a chance in hell.
"Lucia Montessano." She smiled and stepped closer, twisting his stomach into a knot.
"Whatever. The point is," he informed her with a dark scowl, "I'm lookin' for a housekeeper. I want to hire me a spinster or a widow woman. You know what that means--widow? Somebody a lot older'n you."
She dashed to a battered valise and pulled out a black shawl. She covered her head and turned back to him, looking downcast before she spoke. "Vedova." This came with another emphatic nod. Travis began to suspect she knew only too well how her bosom jiggled when she nodded like that. "Lady with no marito."
Aha! Now they were getting somewhere. That last part sounded close to "married," so he knew she'd grasped his meaning. "Right, no marito. Exactly."
'Yes, I keep no marito! Me, yes. Thank you, yes."
He was about to explain that for a variety of reasons, she couldn't stay. But his men chose that moment to mutiny...It was over without a fight. |