Payton's Woman (16 page)

Her eyelids narrowed to
slits. “You much prefer the habit of ravishing virgins?”

He forced his lips to
curl into what he hoped appeared as a lecherous smile. “It does have its
rewards.”

“Mrs. Collins, I’m so
sorry. I know I’m not supposed to be in—”

“Enough! I’m not an
idiot. I can see with my own eyes what’s happened in here. Go and straighten
yourself. Then come back down so we can finish the rest of the correspondence.”

“Yes, ma’am.” She made a
slight curtsy. “I’m very sorry that—”

“Do you have to
constantly apologize?” She dismissed Julia with a wave of her hand. “Get out of
here and do like you’re told.”

His anger boiled up, but
he forced it back down. Betsy treated her with barely concealed contempt. He couldn’t
understand why Julia wanted to work for a woman like her.

“Why did you come to my
house?” Betsy asked.

He struggled to control his
temper. With an exaggerated effort, he watched Julia leave the room before turning
back to Betsy. “Did you say something?”

Her look of annoyance
deepened. “Why are you here? Did you have some business you wanted to discuss
with me?”

Carefully, he studied
the woman sitting behind the desk. He guessed her age to be somewhere in her late
fifties even though her hair matched the blackness of her cane. The unnatural shade
caused her face to look pasty white. The dark color accentuated her deep
wrinkles. Her black eyebrows, painted in high arches, did nothing to relieve
the sickly pallor, nor did the slash of red, painted on her lips.

“I didn’t come to see
you, only your lovely little secretary.”

Her eyes appraised him
as carefully as he had done her. Something seemed to click inside her mind. She
relaxed back in her chair. Her annoyed expression vanished. A smile appeared,
but the emotion didn’t spread to her eyes. Her voice changed also. Her tone
didn’t grate on his nerves nearly as much when she spoke.

“Miss Anderson is a very
beautiful young lady. She’s also very cautious of her associations which, no
doubt, is why she turned down your advances. You see, Miss Anderson comes from
a very respectable family. She has some rather strict ideas on conduct. That’s
why, as her employer, I feel an obligation—almost like a mother—to protect her
from any undesirable situations.”

He almost choked on his
rising contempt for this woman. Saturday night she had pressured Julia into
trying to seduce information from him. “I’m certain your motherly instincts are
above reproach.”

“Yes, well, I try,” she said,
obviously not catching the sarcasm in his voice. “Occasionally, though, her
response to a particular acquaintance may be too guarded. That’s when I have to
take her aside and point out the various benefits of a liaison with that person.
I do have a certain amount of influence with her. When I see a suitable man I
think might be good for her to associate with, I sometimes feel it’s my duty to
persuade her to be more...sociable to that person.”

“For her own good, I
suppose?”

“Of course,” she agreed
after blowing out a long stream of smoke.

He squeezed his hands
into fists to prevent himself from reacting to her comment. At this moment,
what he really wanted to do was reach across the desk and shove that cigarette
down her throat—for her own good, of course.

“And as long as we’re on
the subject of motherly duties, I’d like to settle the debt you claim my son
owes you. Miss Anderson made some casual remark about you claiming Lawrence
owes you something.”

“Casual remark?” he
repeated in astonishment. He could only image the interrogation Julia endured that
night when she’d returned. He lowered his eyelids for fear he’d convey all the
hatred he felt towards Betsy and her son.

“I’ve always felt a man
should be responsible for his own debts.”

“Of course,” she said in
the same sickly sweet voice, “but Lawrence may not come to California for a
year or more. I’m sure you’re a busy man who doesn’t want to waste your time
sitting around here. Just name your price.”

“I don’t have a price. And
what I do with my time is my business.” He realized his voice sounded harsh, so
he pressed another leer on his face and allowed his gaze to wander back to the doorway
where Julia had exited only a few moments earlier. “I’m certain I can find
something to occupy my time while I’m waiting.”

Betsy’s expression
hardened. “If that’s your final word on the matter, there’s no reason to
continue this conversation. And I might add that I don’t want you coming to my
house to see my secretary again. Nor anywhere else for that matter. I forbid you
to associate with her.”

“You actually think you
can prevent me from seeing Miss Anderson?” he asked.

“I’m certain of it. As I
said, I do have some influence over her. Good day to you, captain.”

Payton stood and
inclined his head slightly. “Madam.”

“Good day, Mrs. Morgan,”
he said as he passed her on his way out the door.

“Make sure Elsie sees
him out,” Betsy ordered Sylvia.

Sylvia followed after Payton.
When she returned, she shut the study door. “What does he want with Lawrence if
it’s not about money?”

“I don’t know, but you
can bet it’s not to talk over old times. It wouldn’t have been a problem if
that fool Hennigan hadn’t decided to shoot himself. Now I have no way to warn
Larry about Tyler until he gets here. I’ll just have to handle the captain
myself.”

“Surely you’re not going
to have him killed.”

“I was hoping to buy him
off, but he made it clear that won’t happen.” Betsy sucked in another drag on the
cigarette. “I’d love to do away with that arrogant bastard, but I can’t chance
it. My sources tell me that Tyler has some very influential friends in high
places. He hasn’t made it a secret that he’s looking for my son. If something
were to happen to him, his death would be thrown right at my doorstep.”

“You’ve forbidden him to
see Julia. Perhaps he’ll get bored and go away before Lawrence gets here.”

Betsy made a snorting
sound that might have been a laugh. “Tyler is used to giving orders, not taking
them, but that should fit nicely into my plans. I’m going to instruct Julia to
have nothing more to do with him, particularly at social gatherings. With all
the advantages I’ve made available to that girl, she won’t dare disobey me.”

Sylvia wrinkled up her
brow in a show of confusion. “What good will that do? He’ll more than likely
chase after her just to spite you.”

“That, Sylvia my dear,
is the beauty of it. When she cuts him dead in public and rejects his advances,
he’ll pursue her even harder. His puffed up pride won’t allow him to take no
for an answer. Then we’ll see how many of those influential friends stick by
him when he turns out to be nothing more than a rapist who preys on innocent
young women.”

“Do you think he’d
actually resort to rape?”

“There’s no doubt in my
mind he’ll have her, one way or another. That’s why I shall forbid her to see
him. Then I won’t be blamed by her holier-than-thou church friends when he
succeeds in deflowering her. Hopefully, once the captain takes her virginity, it
will also take away that snooty attitude of hers. I’m sick of the way she looks
down her nose at me like I’m lower than a snake’s ass.”

“I hope the captain
doesn’t spend all his time with her. I was looking forward to being ravished by
him myself.”

“I don’t care what you
do with him. Just make sure he isn’t too tired to take care of the little
virgin. After the worldly captain finishes with her, I’m sure she’ll know every
possible way to pleasure a man—whether she wanted to learn or not. Then maybe I
can finally use her to her full potential. With her beauty and that superior
air of hers, she attracts a very high class group of men. That’s just the kind
of people I want to become associated with. And I intend to make that little
bitch help me.”

Chapter Fifteen

Worried about what might
happen next, Julia sat perched on the edge of the chair. Her palms sweated, and
her hands shook. She clutched a handkerchief between her clasped hands in the
hope Betsy Collins, who occupied the seat next to her, wouldn’t notice her trembling.

Three days had passed since
she had been ordered to never speak with Payton again. Three long, nerve
racking days.

She’d managed to slip
away to meet him in the park that first day, but she’d not dared meet with him
again. If Betsy learned of her disobedience, she’d surely be dismissed.

In the park, Payton had
tried to convince her to quit working, but she’d refused. His alternative
suggestion was to concoct some scheme that would allow him to still see her,
but with Betsy’s approval.

Julia rubbed her fingers
over her forehead. She couldn’t conceive of any plan that would force Betsy to
change her mind about Payton, but he’d been confident. Power and influence, he’d
told her, were what Betsy craved. He’d use that like a carrot on a stick to
make her change her mind.

She didn’t feel as confident.
He’d only met Betsy once. A few moments of conversation didn’t afford an adequate
amount of time to learn her weaknesses. To her way of thinking, Payton tweaked at
the nose of a very dangerous animal. A confrontation between the two seemed inevitable.
In actuality, it might only be a few moments away.

“I was so pleased when
you came by my home yesterday to visit.”

Betsy’s grating voice
gave her a start. She once again focused on the conversation. Her attempt to
appear calm probably wasn’t necessary. Betsy appeared deeply engrossed in a
conversation with their hostess. She barely gave Julia a second thought.

“Although your
invitation to dinner tonight was short notice,” Betsy said, “I managed to
rearrange my schedule so I could attend.”

Julia bit on her lower lip
to prevent a nervous giggle from escaping. Betsy would’ve rearranged her front
teeth to be here tonight. An invitation to one of Olivia Baxter’s dinner
parties was the most sought after in Sacramento. The guest list generally included
about a dozen of the most fascinating and delightful people in the state.

“You certainly are a
beautiful young woman.” Olivia smiled at Julia. “And lavender is such a lovely
color on you. It brings out the glow in your cheeks.”

“You’re very kind,” she
said, although she attributed the bloom in her cheeks to anxiety and not from
the color of her gown.

“You must have a very
special someone in your life.”

“At the moment, there’s
no one in particular that I’m seeing. Working for Mrs. Collins takes up most of
my time.”

“Oh, no, my dear.” Her
eyebrows, which were the same shade as her silver gray hair, lifted in genuine
concern. “We must do something to correct that immediately. You’re much too
lovely to spend your time alone.”

A slender, petite woman,
Olivia’s animated expressions added to her charm along with her sincerity. Once
a seamstress, she’d invested every penny she could scrape together after a
customer had given her a tip on the Comstock mine located in Nevada. After the
silver strike, she and her husband had become rich beyond their wildest dreams.
Their wealth showed in the subtle grandeur of their home.

“It’s kind of you to
offer,” Julia said, “but I really don’t have any free time.”

“Nonsense,” Betsy said. “Your
evenings are generally free. The only reason I bring you with me to my social
engagements is so you won’t be sitting alone in your room.”

“There are a few
bachelors here tonight to whom I could introduce you.” Olivia lifted her hand
and pointed her index finger in the air. “Wait, I know the perfect man for you.
He’s one of my husband’s oldest friends. If the two of you develop a mutual
interest in each other, perhaps you’ll accompany us on an outing this weekend.”

She turned to Betsy. “I
do love playing matchmaker.”

“This isn’t my weekend to
be off,” Julia said.

“Don’t fret about it,
Miss Anderson.” Betsy gave her a deliberate look, as if to warn her not to
argue. “You know you can have time off whenever you want. An outing with the
Baxter’s would do you a world of good.”

“I’m so glad you agree.”
Olivia looked pleased to have Betsy on her side. “Since Miss Anderson works for
you, I wouldn’t want to match her to someone without first getting your
approval. We’re leaving tomorrow for our ranch outside of town. The Duke and
some of his friends will accompany us. Mr. Baxter is arranging an English style
foxhunt in his honor. It should be quite an adventure. We’re using cattle dogs
to hunt a fox.”

“That sounds exciting,
but I don’t ride very well,” Julia said.

“Don’t worry. You can
sit in the buggy with me. I’ll also act as chaperone so you need not worry
yourself on that account.” She glanced around the room. “Let me find Mr. Baxter.
I believe he’s gone into the billiard room with a few of the other men.”

As soon as Olivia went
in search of her husband, Julia turned to Betsy. “I wish there was some way to gracefully
refuse Mrs. Baxter’s invitation for a weekend outing.”

“You will not refuse.” She
squeezed Julia’s wrist. “This is a very important opportunity for me—I mean,
for you. The Baxters are highly influential people, and this could be the first
of many important dinner parties that I, ah, we might be invited to.”

“But what if I don’t
like her husband’s friend?”

“You will like him.” She
adjusted her grip so her fingernails dug into Julia’s arm. “No matter what he
looks like or how he behaves, you will be polite to him. You will also smile
sweetly and bat those long lashes of yours at him. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes.” She pulled her
arm away and rubbed at her skin that now carried the indentions of Betsy’s
nails.