Payton's Woman (12 page)

“You certainly convinced
me.”

He slumped back in his
chair. His chest expanded beneath his crisp, white shirt as he took a deep
breath. Slowing, he released his breath while rubbing his hand over his cleanly
shaved jaw.

“I’m sorry,” he said,
his tone soft and his anger gone. “I didn’t mean to upset you. I really am
happy to see you no matter what the reason. I’d also like to apologize for the
way I behaved in the park today.”

“I want you to leave
Sacramento immediately.”

“You won’t forgive me.”
His eyebrows creased.

“It’s not that. It’s Mrs.
Collins. She alluded to a more unpleasant means of getting information if I
didn’t agree to meet with you tonight. She thought I could find out what she
wants to know in a more, ah, friendlier manner.”

“They actually expected
you to seduce information from me?”

“After seeing us
together on the terrace last night, Sylvia is convinced you were quite taken
with me.” Heat crept into her cheeks at the memory. “She said I was an expert
at withholding my charms from men, so I shouldn’t have any trouble driving you
mad while making you divulge your secrets.”

“Those people are
unbelievable. How did they manage to coerce you into trying to get information
from me?”

“They didn’t force me,
although they probably thought they did. I could have refused, but I was
concerned that something might happen to you before I had time to warn you.”

His forehead wrinkled. “You
were worried about me?”

She nodded. “They’re
very upset about you being in Sacramento, but I’m not certain why. They want me
to discover the reason you’re here and who it is you’re searching for. Of
course I couldn’t very well tell them you were here only to find me.”

He closed his eyes and
shook his head. “I didn’t mean for you to get caught in the middle of this
business I have with Lawrence Dunbar.”

Her body went rigid. She
couldn’t believe what she’d just heard. The words had come from his mouth, but
she still couldn’t believe it. He’d just admitted he had business with Lawrence
Dunbar. But the only business Dunbar conspired in was piracy on the high seas
as well as murder and mayhem.

Payton reached for her
hand, but she recoiled from him. When his fingers skimmed over the back of her
hand, she clenched it into a tight fist.

“Are you still
frightened of me? I’m not going to force your hand in my lap again.”

His behavior didn’t
concern her, but it terrified her to think he might be involved in the same
sort of evil business that took her brother’s life.

“You know Lawrence
Dunbar. You also knew Wilber Hennigan. And you’re captain of a ship.” Her mind
reeled with the implication. She shook her head in denial, but she couldn’t
find any other explanation. Without realizing it, she spoke her thoughts out
loud. “The three of you were in business together.”

“You’d actually put me
in the same league with them? Do you have any idea what business they’re
involved in?”

She hadn’t meant to blurt
out her accusation. Her mind searched for a vague answer. “Shipping, I believe.”

“Don’t give me that
innocent act. You’re far too intelligent.”

“According to gossip, most
of Mr. Dunbar’s activities were illegal.”

“It’s not gossip. It’s
fact.”

“Then how did you come
to know him?” She glanced at his face to see his reaction.

His head tilted to one
side. “Is that part of the information you’re supposed to seduce from me?”

“It’s to satisfy my own
curiosity.”

He rubbed is hand over
his naked jaw. “I know you thought I looked like a pirate when we first met,
but you must know that I’d never resort to that type of activity.”

“I’d like to believe you,
but it doesn’t explain your association with these people.”

“I’ll tell you that answer
as soon as you explain a few things to me.” He leaned closer so his voice didn’t
carry. “You work for Dunbar’s mother. And you were secretly seeing Wilber
Hennigan. How deeply are you involved?”

“You actually believe I
would be involved in any of their filthy schemes?” she asked.

“You believed it easily
enough about me,” he retorted.

“Perhaps so, but I’m not
entirely convinced that my assumption of you is incorrect.”

“What if I gave you my
word that I’m not involved with Dunbar? Would that convince you?”

She shrugged, not
certain his word would be enough. “I know so little about you. I thought you
were here to find me, but I discovered that’s not the reason. You won’t explain
your association with Lawrence Dunbar, and you don’t seem to trust me enough to
put me in your confidence.”

“What of your trust? Your
confidence? You said yourself I saved your life more than once. How did you
repay me? You lied to me and then ran off. All I’ve gotten from you is lies.”

He spoke the truth, but
how could she give him her trust? “That’s because you want too much from me.”

“And it seems you want
nothing of me other than to know why I’m looking for Dunbar.”

“You’re wrong. I don’t
want to know why you’re looking for him. I just want you to leave.”

“What about your duty to
your employer?” A sarcastic edge carried in his voice. “Aren’t you supposed to
seduce me into revealing my secrets about Dunbar?”

“Why bother? You said I
wasn’t very good at it.”

“You underestimate your
charms.” Warmth shimmered in his eyes. “It wouldn’t matter what method you
used, nor how obvious you are. I’d do just about anything for you. But I think
you know that already. Since the first moment we met, I’ve helped and taken
care of you. I told you then you were my woman. That’s still how I feel about
you whether you trust me or not.”

She gazed into his brilliant
blue eyes while recalling that first night when she’d told him she trusted him.
Perhaps she still did, but she had a limit as to how much she would surrender.

“I do trust you, but
only with life, not with my secrets. And apparently, you don’t trust me with
your secrets either. Perhaps it would be best if we leave it that way.”

“Perhaps we should—at
least for now.”

“I hope you realize that
I do care about your life. That’s why I want you to leave Sacramento.” She held
up her hand when he opened his mouth to object. “Looks can be deceiving. Mrs. Collins
gives the appearance that she’s a harmless old lady, but she can be very
dangerous. If she thinks you’re looking for her son to cause him problems, your
life could be in danger.”

“I know exactly what she’s
capable of, but you should be the first to realize I can take care of myself.”

“I still want you to go.”

“I’m touched at your
concern.” A smile tugged at his lips. “Does this mean you’ve forgiven me?”

“I don’t want these
people to hurt you.”

“No one is going to hurt
me. And I’m not going to let anyone hurt you. Do you have someone you can stay
with?”

Her brow wrinkled. “What
do you mean?”

“I don’t want you
staying with Collins anymore.”

“I have to. I work for
her.”

“Then quit. If it’s a
matter of money, I’ll—”

“No, I’m already
obligated to you enough. But if it makes you feel any better, I don’t plan to work
for her much longer.”

“I’d feel a lot better
if you didn’t go back there at all.” He let out a heavy sigh when she shook her
head at his suggestion. “Are you hungry?”

She frowned at the
sudden switch in conversation. “A little. I’ve been too upset to eat much.”

“Then let me take you
somewhere for dinner.” Before she could refuse he added, “While we’re eating, I’ll
think of a few things for you to tell Betsy and Sylvia to appease their
appetites as well.”

Chapter Eleven

The restaurant where
Payton and Julia dined bustled with activity, yet the headwaiter, dressed in
black evening attire, seated them at a table right away. Waitresses wearing
crisp white aprons over black skirts and white blouses hovered around the
guests, tending to their every need.

The food tasted as delicious
as it looked. Her plate overflowed with silver-dollar-sized medallions of beef
in a creamed sauce spread over seasoned rice. The green beans and carrots were
cooked just the way she liked them—crisp, with only butter and salt. Their
conversation, however, lacked any flavor.

Payton had almost finished
eating his steak when she brought up the reason for their mute dining. “I’m
afraid to ask you anything for fear you’ll think it’s on behalf of Mrs. Collins.”

“Then I’ll tell you straight
off why I’m looking for Dunbar so we can enjoy the rest of the evening. It’s really
very simple and not much of a secret. You can tell Collins if you wish. Lawrence
Dunbar owes me something. I heard he’d be in California soon, so I decided to
stick around and collect that debt. As to Wilber Hennigan, he never told me
anything. I only mentioned his name to Sylvia to see her reaction”

His voice sounded
casual, but the clenching of his jaw and the brief flicker of anger in his eyes
told her it wasn’t that simple.

“Actually, I had planned
not to tell her anything. Perhaps she’ll believe I’m not very good at gleaning
information. Then she won’t ask me to do it again.”

“I wouldn’t count on it.
I suspect there’s no limit to what she might ask you to do.”

Silently, Julia agreed. She’d
always sensed Betsy had other plans for her, but she had plans of her own.

“Perhaps it would be
best not to talk about the present.” She feared Payton had a few questions of
his own. She wanted to guide the conversation away from his curiosity about her
and her involvement with Betsy and Wilber Hennigan. “We could talk about the
past and things that happened long before we heard of Lawrence Dunbar, or Betsy
Collins.”

He put his elbows on the
table and rested his chin on his clasped hands. “What would you like to know?”

Her gaze wandered over
the man sitting across from her. Years of squinting into the sun had caused
fine, white lines to fan out from the corner of his eyes. His hands, tanned and
weathered, were covered with scars that stood out as white slashes against his
darkened skin.

He probably had plenty
of tales to tell about the sea, but that would only remind her of her brother. She
needed something further back.

“Tell me about when you
were a little boy.”

A warm smile touched his
lips. “I don’t think I was ever a little boy. I’ve been doing a man’s work for
as long as I can remember. I ran off to sea when I was fifteen.”

“What about your early
life before you went to sea?”

He leaned back in his
chair as he recalled the memories. “My father died before I was born. That was nearly
thirty years ago. My mother was so upset at his death, that it caused her to
have me early. My brother was fourteen at the time, but he took over my father’s
job as shipbuilder. I helped him.”

“Surely, you didn’t have
to work when you were a baby,” she said half jokingly.

“You’re closer to the
truth than you think. When my mother died a year or so later, my sister was
supposed to watch me, but she was more interested in chasing boys. My brother
Philip took me to the shipyard with him. He had me fetching tools and picking
up scraps of wood when I was barely old enough to walk.”

“That sounds like a very
hard life. I suppose I’m fortunate to have had both parents for as long as I
did.”

He looked at her for a
moment, as though trying to remember something. “What about you? I seem to
recall you mentioning a brother.”

She glanced down at her
plate for fear he would see all the anguish reflected in her eyes. “Yes,
Reginald, but he died while at sea.”

“Your brother was a seaman?”

Still looking at her
plate, she nodded.

“So you’re all alone in
the world. I’m surprised you’ve never married. You’re so beautiful. You must’ve
had plenty of men courting you.”

His voice had a teasing
quality. She felt certain he laughed at her. She looked up, but to her surprise,
genuine curiosity reflected in his eyes.

“The truth is I’ve had
very few suitors. My brother used to say it was because I was too pretty, and
the young men were afraid to approach me,” she explained, embarrassed by her
brother’s assessment. “The only time anyone paid any interest in me at all was
when Reggie came home from the sea.

“Once at a party, I was
so excited because three young men had asked me to dance. Then later, my
girlfriend told me she’d learned that my brother had paid them to dance with
me. I was quite dismayed.”

“Brothers must be the
same the world around.” He made a chuckling sound. “A friend of mine had to do
the same thing for his little sister.”

“Was she very pretty?”

Quiet laughter rumbled
in his chest. “Not if she looked anything like Eddy. He thought she was
beautiful, though. I guess he doted on her something fierce. He said that each
time he left for the sea, he’d threaten all the boys in town that if they even
looked at his little sister, he’d cut off their—” His hand went to his mouth.
He coughed slightly to stop the rest of the words from coming out. “Perhaps I
should just say that he threatened them with great bodily harm in a way that’s
very effective on most young men.”

“Your friend doesn’t
sound very nice.” She tried to sound serious, but couldn’t keep the amusement from
her voice.

“Eddy was a character. He’s
the one who talked me into getting this tattoo on my arm. He claimed no seaman
worth his salt could call himself a seafaring man unless he had at least one
tattoo.”

“My brother called
himself a seafaring man, but he never had one. Father reminded him every time
he left for the sea that the Bible forbids tattooing, or marking one’s body.”