Romance: Detective Romance: A Vicious Affair (Victorian Regency Intrigue 19th England Romance) (Historical Mystery Detective Romance) (117 page)

She could see that he was unhappy and perhaps a little angry at the deception. She didn’t hold Lilly at fault, though. Her friend had been looking out for her since they met in New York, where they had met at a boarding house they were both
working for
. Lilly had never been dishonest with her and had never tried to hurt her.

She felt as though God was making something
good
from the deception. He must have a
plan,
or they wouldn’t be there, riding in the wagon going toward a new home and a new life.

Angelica took Lilly’s hand and squeezed it. Lilly looked worried and afraid. It seemed strange that she was feeling so confident when Lilly was usually the one in that position. Lilly looked at her. A feeling of peace filled her when she looked in her friend’s eyes.

Perhaps things would be all right once they reached the farm.

Adam was staring straight forward, stewing in his mind. He hadn’t asked for an additional burden. What was God doing? He instinctively shook his head at his
own
thoughts. Two foreign women had deceived him and now
he
felt obligated and responsible for them. He didn’t see how this could turn out well. He didn’t like the feeling of uncertainty he had.

By the time they reached the farm, it was dark. The lanterns on the outside of the house
were lit,
and the flames brightened the steps so they could see as they went up. Adam tied the reins to a hitch and followed the women up to the door.

It
opened,
and Cody stood there, staring at the three of them.

The women stopped and stared back at him.

His curious eyes settled on Adam. “Adam?” he asked and didn’t finish the question.

Adam nodded. “Ladies, this is Cody. Cody, this is Angela and Lilly.” He gestured to each of them when he said their names. They nodded at Cody.

“Hello,
” Cody said, his voice and face still filled with confusion.

“Let’s go inside, shall we?” Adam
said
in a gruff tone. Cody stepped aside hurriedly and let them in. “Follow me.” Adam led them into the sitting room, directing them to set their bags down in the hallway to take to their rooms later. “Please sit. We will need to talk.”

The ladies both sat next to each other on the
couch,
and the men took seats nearby. Adam sat forward, his face stern. “I feel I have
been deceived
. I don’t want to scold you ladies, as you are not children. But this is not a good way to start a relationship. I had set values I wanted in the woman
I
brought
here,
and I am unsure that those values can be found
in
you seeing as how this
was done
.”

“Please don’t hold it against us, sir…” Lilly began.

He cut her off, lifting his hand and shaking his head. “Please call me Adam. I am not your
master,
and you are not my servant. Go ahead, you were saying?”

Lilly swallowed her anxiety. “As I said at the station, I have been traveling with Angel and her father for some time. Her father passed away about a month
ago,
and she was left with no one to care for her. I did not want to see her left
behind
if I should go. And I knew that I could pay my
own
way if I bought my
own
ticket and she was able to come.”

“But you lied in your letter.”

“I didn’t
lie,
” Lilly said in a pleading tone. “She is who I said she is. She’s beautiful and smart and all the things you asked for.”

“What about believing in the Lord?” Adam asked. “That is
very important
to me.”

“I know my deception may not make it seem like it, and I do hope that you forgive me for it. But we are both firm believers in
God,
and that is not a lie.”

Adam looked at Angelica. “You are also a believer?” He thought she was brave to stand up to him when she first arrived. He couldn’t tell if she was
truly
all the things he was looking for or if her beauty was only skin deep. It was true that she had a stunningly beautiful countenance. If he
were simply
looking for a trophy to ride on his arm and make him look good, Angelica would be it. But he was looking for more than that. His experience with them so far had not shown him that those qualities were there.

“I am.” Angelica nodded emphatically.

Adam pressed his lips together and looked at Cody. “I value your opinion, Cody. You have heard what has happened. What are your thoughts?”

“I’m sure not gonna make a decision for you,
boss,
” Cody answered, turning his eyes to the women. “But I don’t see why you can’t give them a chance to show you they are
good
women.”

“I didn’t ask for
two,
” Adam grumbled.

Cody’s response was laughter. “You’d be the first man
not to want
two beautiful women in your house.”

Adam kept himself from
smiling
though
he was amused by Cody’s statement
. He glanced back at the women and noticed that Lilly was watching Cody,
an interesting
look in her green eyes. Cody caught the look and smiled at Lilly, who blushed furiously and dropped her eyes.

It was as if a light turned on in the darkness of Adam’s mind. He hadn’t even thought about it. Cody was also a God-fearing man.

Perhaps He sent the two women, one for him and one for Cody.

A double
answered prayer? The thought amused Adam.

They would have to see.

Over the next week, Lilly and Angelica proved they
were, at least,
able to keep a house clean. There was often dusting to
be done,
and the women spent much time going through the garden, cooking and cleaning for both men. Adam spoke to John about the arrangement, asking if the Lord was frowning on their cohabitation, even though he had set up the women in separate bedrooms on the other side of the house while he decided if he would go through with the marriage.

“I don’t think you should back out
now,
” John said firmly. “It sounds like you do have good women there and you are correct, you
are not obligated
to the second
one,
but you are showing acts of kindness and compassion by taking her in. You need to remember that God judges the heart. He knows your intentions.”

“He works in strange ways.”

“He does. I think it’s a good plan to see if Cody is interested in this other young lady. It sounds like they get along well.”

“She does spend a good deal of time with him.”

“Tell me something. Have you had the opportunity to speak to Angela alone?”

“I have.”

“What is your impression of her?”

“She is intelligent and friendly. Very soft-spoken.”

“Can you see yourself loving her?”

Adam thought about it. Her beauty was a big factor, because it was difficult not to
be attracted
to her for that and that alone. But he wanted to do right in the eyes of the Lord. “Yes. She is a good
woman,
I do believe.”

“Then why are you questioning it?
You have prayed about it for so long. Don’t reject the blessings God gave you.
It’s true that it wasn’t the best first impression to
make,
but I do feel they did it with the best intentions. Lilly was trying to protect Angela and Angela did not want to leave Lilly behind. She would probably never have answered the ad on her own.”

Adam agreed.

“Go home and make your intentions known to her, Adam. She is probably still as fearful as you are confused.”

As he rode up to the farm, he saw Lilly and Cody standing by the barn talking. Angelica was nowhere to
be seen
. They seemed to be having a serious conversation. He didn’t stop at the house but
continued on
to where they were. They saw him approaching, waved and
continued
talking.
He could hear their conversation as he got closer.

“It’s the worrying. That’s what’s done it to her.” Lilly said, shaking her head. “I don’t know what will make her feel
better,
but it’s nothing I can do.”

“What are you talking about?” Adam didn’t get down
from
his horse. He sat in the saddle looking down at them with a worried look.

“Angel is not feeling well. She’s running a temperature and is lying in her bed refusing to get up.”

“You think she is worried about
being sent
away?” Adam asked bluntly.

Lilly hesitated before answering, looking up at Cody for reassurance. He nodded at her.

“Yes,” she finally answered. “She has tried to be very
confident,
but she grows more nervous as the days pass and it’s causing her to lose weight and not eat. Have you not noticed?” Lilly’s question
was spoken
softly and sadly.

Adam realized that Lilly was right. He hadn’t seen Angela eating much of
late
though he
was used
to noticing such things. There had never been a woman around to
worry about
.

Suddenly his heart went out to the woman. He pictured her in his mind and without speaking another word, he turned his horse back around and galloped to the house. He tossed the reins over the hitch and took the steps up
on to
the porch two at a time.

He went directly to Angelica’s room and pushed open the door. She was, indeed, lying in the bed, her face red, her forehead sweaty.

He walked to her bed and sat on the edge, looking down at her. As ill as she looked, her beauty still shone through.

“You aren’t feeling well.” He didn’t ask it as a question. She nodded at him, her brown eyes reflecting deep sadness. “Do you know why?”

She didn’t answer. She just shook her head and looked away from him.

“Would it make you feel better if I told you that I have decided to keep you on here as my wife?”

Angelica looked at him. He pulled in a deep breath and let it out slowly.

“You do not love
me,
” she said.

He touched her cheek with his fingers, brushing them softly over her lips and through a ringlet of brown hair that had gone astray. “I would like to love you. I would like to have the opportunity to love you. But can you love me? Can you
love
an old bachelor with no sense of compassion or romance?”

“You have compassion,
Adam,
” Angelica
murmured
. She pushed herself up on her elbows and gazed at him. “You would not have taken in two strange women if you didn’t have compassion. I know I can love you. I…” She had
closely
watched him in the last week. He was kind and gentle to every living thing. She wanted to know him much better. If he married her, she certainly would.

He looked at her for another brief moment before taking her in his arms and holding her to him. Relief flooded through her.

“I think…” he hesitated to confirm it in his mind and heart and pray quickly. “I think I already love you, Angela. I just didn’t know it. God sent you and your friend here. He did.”

Angelica pulled back from him and gave him a loving look, the first of many. “I am sure He did, Adam. I’m sure he did.”

Adam pulled her back into a tight hug and whispered in her ear, “Will you marry me?”

She smiled and whispered back, “Yes. Yes, I will.”

The napkin in Hettie’s hands was nearly ripped to shreds before she noticed she was pulling it apart. She stopped, felt her cheeks flush and looked around to see if anyone had
noticed
. She licked her lips and looked back out the window at the passing scenery. She was leaving everything behind, her father, brother and uncle, her best friend and her dream of being the schoolteacher for the town she grew
up in
.

She was nervous but knew what needed to
be done
. The man she was going to meet and marry had given her father enough money to get the store out of the red and into the black. She needed to be strong and accept that things had to change.

At 24, she had never expected to leave her home and travel across the
country
to marry a stranger. But it was apparently her lot in life. God must have decided this for her or she wouldn’t have felt as compelled to go when her father mentioned it. He’d shown her the ad and asked if she would be willing to make that kind of change. The war had put an economic strain on their small
town,
and the store was beginning to fail. Although her family were all supporters of President Lincoln, it didn’t put money in their accounts.

James Banks had placed the ad. He was Sheriff of the town of Elko, in Nevada, and was looking for a bride. He was willing to help them financially if she would agree to travel there and marry him. She had accepted.

It was four weeks ago that the prospect of this adventure
was placed
before Hettie. Her mother had died when she was only
twelve;
she barely remembered her. She had grown up in the loving,
firm
care of her father and uncle, her mother’s brother. Her older brother of two years had also vowed to protect her throughout her life and had held true to that statement, keeping her safe from harm whenever it approached. And it had.

Hettie was fully aware of the methods of men. She had sometimes
been accused
of being too rough, though she was a small, fit young lady, with long blond hair that waved around her
petite
face. Her eyes sparkled an aquamarine blue and were framed by long dark blond eyelashes. She had small red lips and high cheekbones. She certainly didn’t look rough on the outside.

She wondered what James
was like
. A Sheriff. She guessed he might have a lot of rough characters he had to deal with regularly. She hoped he wasn’t a big, tough man. She didn’t want to be fighting for the rest of her life. That sounded miserable.

She was working herself into a frenzy. She pulled in a deep breath and relaxed her muscles. She would have a headache by the time she got there if she wasn’t careful. That was the last thing she needed.

“Are you all right, dear?” the elderly woman sitting next to her leaned forward and looked up into her eyes. Hettie gave the woman a smile and nodded.

“I am, thank you.”

“You look very nervous. Is this your first time on the train?”

“I did a little traveling with my father when I was
younger,
” Hettie confessed. “But
this time,
I am traveling alone. I’m not a
little girl
anymore. But I feel like one inside.”

The woman nodded emphatically. “I can understand that, sweetie. You are off on your
own
adventure then?”

“Yes, I’m going
to the West
to start a new life.”

“
Oh,
my. Leaving all you knew behind, are you?”

“Yes.”

The woman nodded, put a hand forward and rested it on Hettie’s “I’m Ester
Canaberry
. What’s your name?”

“Hettie Longfield.”

“Well, it’s good to meet you, Hettie. Do you know where you will be living when you get to the West?”

“Elko. I’ll be wed to the Sheriff there.”

“How interesting.” Ester nodded, taking her hand back and resting it in the other small wrinkled one on her lap. The knitting needles she had been using clinked when she set her hands down. “Do you know how to knit?” She asked, glancing down.

“I do.” Hettie nodded.

“Would you like to do some with me while we travel?”

Hettie had to smile again. She nodded without a word and lifted her hands to receive the work Ester had been
working on
. She inspected it. “Is it a bonnet?”

“It is. It’s for my great grand baby girl, Mona. I am also traveling to Nevada, but not Elko. That’s where my daughter lives now. She went there in the same fashion as you.”

Hettie’s eyes opened wide. “Isn’t that a coincidence?”

Ester tilted her head. “Yes, it does seem so.”

Ester’s stop was before Hettie’s, so she spent the last hour riding by herself. She had finished the bonnet for Ester, who praised the work vehemently, making Hettie blush furiously. She was relieved to hear that her stop was next and gathered her bag in her lap, retrieving her coat from where she had set it next to her. She certainly didn’t need it. The air was
very warm
and dry.

She
patiently
waited until she
was given
permission to depart. She looked out through the window at the platform outside. It
was deserted
. She pulled in a deep breath, stood up and walked out of the cabin.

She was the only one leaving the
train,
but
there were several people getting
on. She watched them when she stepped off as they said goodbye to their friends or family. It made her miss her brother and father.

A couple was coming toward her with attentive looks. She straightened her spine and made sure
a pleasant
look was on her face. They didn’t look
very happy,
but they also didn’t
look
unfriendly. She was confused by their presence and prepared herself for whatever might be coming her way.

“Hello!” The woman was the first one to greet her. She was tall, slender and dressed in a single layer dress, tall boots that reached halfway up her calves and was carrying a parasol with bright colors on it. Hettie had to assume it was to keep the sun from bursting down too much on the woman’s head because there was not a single chance of rain. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky.

“Hello,
” Hettie responded, smiling at the woman and reaching out to take her hand.

“You are Hettie?”

“I am.”

The woman nodded and looked back at the man she
was with
. He was tall, muscled and looked like he wanted to turn around and run right then and there. Hettie was somewhat amused, wondering if he was the man she was to marry. He certainly didn’t have the countenance of a Sheriff. She suddenly envisioned herself taking over as Sheriff of the town in his place. She lifted her hand to hide a giggle.

“This is John, my husband. I am Elizabeth
Bannerman,
but you can call me Liz. We are here to pick you up. Are you prepared? Do you have your bags?”

“This is what I have here.” She gestured to the two luggage bags sitting next to her.

Liz looked up at John and nodded. He gave her a distinct look, leaned down and picked up the bags. Without saying a word, he turned and went back toward the edge of the platform, where six steps would take them down to the parking area. Hettie saw a pretty yellow carriage waiting there, with two horses leading it that looked tall and majestic.

“Very nice
carriage,
” Hettie said, admiringly.

“Why, thank you, Hettie.”

Once they were in the carriage, Hettie tried not to mention the tension between the husband and wife.
It was so thick; Hettie thought she would be able to cut it with a knife.
She looked from one to the other. He was looking out the window, his jaw set. She was smiling at Hettie with a nervous look.

“May I ask why James did not come to get me?” Hettie
asked
in a small voice. She was a strong
woman,
but the pressure in the room was palpable.

John made a strange, grunting sound in his throat and Liz cast him a look before dropping her eyes.

“You need to tell her before we get there, Liz. You can’t leave her in the dark.”

“I’m sorry?” Suddenly Hettie was afraid she had made
a bad
decision answering the ad. She peered at both of them, settling her eyes on Liz’s
friendly
eyes to calm herself.

Liz sighed deeply and leaned forward. She put her hands on Hettie’s knees and looked at her pleadingly.

“John is upset because I…you…well, you see, John and I decided to play matchmaker.”

“This is you, Liz.” John shook his head. “I was skeptical.”

“You didn’t have any problems with it before, John.”

“I changed my mind.”

“It’s too late for
that,
and you know it.”

“Please tell me what’s going on.” Hettie pleaded, taking Liz’s hands and squeezing them gently.

Liz pressed her lips together in an attempt to give Hettie a reassuring look. “I placed the ad and sent for you, dear. James is my
brother,
and I feel he has been alone long enough.”

“How long has he been alone?” Hettie
asked,
the tightness in her chest loosening just a little with the
secure
sound of Liz’s voice.

“A little over three years. And you have never been married?”

“No. In his
…
your letter, you didn’t mention how old James is.”

“He’s 29.”

Hettie was relieved he wasn’t too much older than she was. “Has he any children?”

“No.”

“Did you tell her anything at all about James in your letter, Liz?” John sounded annoyed but looked less stressed than he had a few minutes before.

Liz looked at him. “
Of course
I did, John! I just…did
n’t
mention those things.”

“So you just described him and said he’s the Sheriff?”

Liz ignored him and looked at Hettie again. “He’s got a good heart, Hettie, you don’t need to be afraid of him. He won’t hurt
you,
and he’s not in the saloons or bars
much,
so you don’t have to worry about that. He doesn’t spend any time with the women in town either. He has a lot of…” She
stopped,
and her face flushed a little as her emotions got a hold of her. “He has a lot of memories that it’s difficult for him to get
rid of
. I think a fresh start with a new woman will do him some good.”

Hettie rolled that statement around in her mind. She agreed that
a fresh start
was always a good idea, especially when things got tough. But she’d been deceived and wasn’t sure how she felt about it. If James wasn’t the man who had paid her family and it had been Liz instead, that meant her preconceived perception of him was flawed. In fact, she had never communicated with him at all. She had no clue what he would
be like
.

Plus, Liz was fond of saying the word “I
.”
She had made all the decisions here. What kind of person was her brother?

Hettie moved her eyes to John, who was looking out the window again. He glanced at her just when she looked at
him,
and she dropped her eyes.
He
didn’t
look
nearly as upset now. He kept his eyes on her for a few more moments, considering her. Then he looked back out the window with a thoughtful gaze. She couldn’t help wondering what he was thinking.

Liz leaned forward again, getting her attention. “Don’t you worry, Hettie. I like the way you look. You are sweet and
kind;
I can tell. James will love you. You’ll see!”

Hettie just smiled at her.

******

By the time the carriage pulled up in front of a
two-story
house, Hettie had worked herself up again. She was worried that with this turn of events, James might be displeased with her and she would end up in a miserable and unhappy marriage. She was so hoping for love. The thought of it sounded distant to her at that point.

“Okay, here we are.” Liz
sounded
a little apprehensive herself. John stepped down from the carriage and rounded it to open the door for the women. He helped Liz out first, then Hettie. He went to the back of the carriage to unstrap the two bags while the women went up the few steps to the porch and crossed to the front door.