Up until her husband’s death in 1558, Concepcion was forced to slumber in a wooden box as they traveled from home to home, but before Diego was cold in the ground, every coffin he’d had built for them and their people was destroyed. Traveling in such a manner was beneath Concepcion, and with her routes well-planned and her carriages reinforced, there was no need to be sealed into a wooden casket. For seventy-two years, Concepcion had scoffed as the others laid themselves to rest as they moved from place to place. Needless to say, Concepcion was not scoffing now. Her route had yet to be planned, and while her carriages were reinforced, the coverings on her wagons had grown thin.

Concepcion batted her eyelashes, insisting that perhaps she’d see things differently if they’d be allowed to remain for another day. After all, arrangements had yet to be made. After all, the sun would rise in less than two hours, and after all, they may not have time to find shelter fitting her status. Surely Max didn’t want them to perish?

Chapter Twenty-Five

“Oh, please tell me that bitch became a corn dog.”

“No, she survived,” Bennett said, her eyes crinkling at the corners. “Two of her men, however, weren’t as lucky.”

“Damn.”

“And I’m sure it won’t surprise you to hear there’s no love lost between us.”

“So, she’s still around?”

“Oh yes. She’s still around and still as arrogant as ever. Suffice it to say, she and I never spend too much time in close proximity.”

“Which means she won’t be at Max’s party?”

“No. That’s just for Max’s people that are in the area and mine.”

“That’s right. You told me that,” Ruby said, adjusting the pillows behind her back again. “But it sounds like she still holds a grudge.”

“That’s putting it mildly. Concepcion despises me because I attained what she thought impossible, an education equal to that of Max and his peers, and I garnered the respect of most of them even before I became what I am now.”

“Most?”

“As I said, there were two who hurled insults at Max upon discovering he planned to turn a sow’s ear into a silk purse. Fortunately, proper planning on Max’s part curbed some of Simeon’s outrage, and after Simeon and I met for a second time, his crass attitude toward me lessened. He’s still frightfully jealous that I can walk in the sun, but as for my intelligence, that’s no longer questioned.”

“Who’s Simeon, and what do you mean a second time? And what did Max do? I’m confused.”

Bennett eyeballed Ruby. “That’s because you keep interrupting me.”

“Oh,” Ruby said, a blush creeping across her cheeks. “Sorry.”