Shadows Wait

by Denise A. Agnew

  Chapter 11

  Puzzlement filled Morgan’s eyes, and Lilly recognized genuine confusion when she saw it.

  “I was in Brandhurst,” he said.

  “Brandhurst?”

  “A military training school.”

  Curiosity overwhelmed her, but she managed to keep on point. “So you never met Catherine?”

  “No. I remember the name. And I remember my father saying she quit and went back to San Francisco. She had family there.”

  Lilly considered his statement and had no reason to suspect he lied. “I see.”

  His eyes narrowed. “Why did you ask me about her?”

  Morgan may not have lied, but she had to. “Someone mentioned her to me at the asylum and said she was your sister’s first companion.”

  He frowned, and suspicion replaced the curiosity in his face. It drained away slowly. He drew a deep breath. “I apologize.”

  “For what?”

  “For assuming things about you. I was wrong. You are ...”

  “Yes?”

  “Different than any woman I’ve met.”

  That funny little sensation tickled her stomach again. “Is that a bad thing?”

  “It could be. My sister has had so many companions because she’s willful and spoiled. My mother sees to that.”

  She didn’t know what to think now. As much as he didn’t understand her, she didn’t understand him. It was mixed soup, a conglomeration. Mystery could prove deadly if she didn’t take care. It would be a horrible mistake to allow him into her true thoughts before she understood his character. She’d already revealed too much.

  “Why did you agree to this without a chaperone?” she asked.

  “I thought my sister would be with us.”

  “Yet you still agreed to take me to Simple.”

  “You have a list of items mother wanted picked up in town. My mother also wants you to have more clothing for social events. And you’re not used to people considering you on an equal level, are you?”

  She didn’t need to think about it. “No, of course not.”

  “Perhaps in your new life, you can find people who care for your thoughts and feelings.”

  She tried to take in what he said and believe it. “I’ve never given it much thought. Now that you’ve told me, I will think of it all the time.”

  He laughed, and the low, husky sound sent a wave of hot pleasure through her. Every time he laughed, her body had reaction. She’d read about desire, about the link between man and woman on the most basic level. It didn’t seem to matter if she could trust him or not. She quickly switched subjects again. “Does Patricia attend many social events?”

  He took off his hat and placed it on the seat next to him. His thick hair tumbled over his forehead in an almost boyish fringe. Impulse almost made her reach and brush back his mussed hair. She clenched one gloved fist.

  “She did once. Many years ago she started having ... situations.”

  “The vapors.”

  “Yes.” He nodded, but his voice didn’t sound convinced.

  “So your father demands she stay away from society.”

  “He didn’t demand anything. She decided for herself that she wouldn’t attend parties anymore.”

  “How awful for her.”

  Doubt creased his forehead. “She is an adult woman with a mind of her own. She made the decision. No one in her family tried to prevent her from attending parties.”

  She didn’t have time to ask him more. They rounded a bend and Simple came into view not far ahead. “Simple is so pretty,” she said.

  He grunted. “Small and old-fashioned.”

  She sighed and took in the town as they rounded the mountainside with slow turns. “Isn’t it amazing how a person’s upbringing can give them an entirely different perspective on things?”

  Morgan stared at her, and she saw a change in his eyes. “A truer statement I’ve never heard.” He wasn’t teasing her; the sincerity in his tone assured her of that.

  “I’ve never read what the population of the town is.”

  “It’s only seventeen hundred people.”

  “Enormous.”

  “Hardly. Denver has about three hundred thousand people.”

  “The biggest city in the world.”

  He laughed softly. “No. Cities like New York are much bigger.”

  She smiled and threw him a teasing glance. “I wasn’t serious.”

  One corner of his mouth turned up in understanding. “You’re very good at this.”

  “What?”

  “Turning a man inside out.”

  Tingles rushed through her body. Maybe it was the cold. Or perhaps it was just him. She resisted the feelings again, frustrated with her lack of control.

  She didn’t reply to his cryptic statement. The town outside the windows absorbed her. Buildings as tall as four stories, made of stone and brick and wood stood here and there. Ramshackle structures competed with stronger buildings for space. People bustled across wooden sidewalks. Frumpy housewives mingled with more elegantly shod women. Dandified men mingled with rough miners and cowboys.

  “For such a small town it’s very loud,” she said.

  “It’s filled with the last dregs of mining. It’s all running out, but everyone wants a piece of it.”

  “Everyone? Does the Healy family?” She asked it without looking at him, still absorbed in discovering the hustle and bustle outside the carriage.

  “We found our goldmine a long time ago.” Sarcasm laced that deep voice.

  “A real gold mine?”

  “No. The asylum. My father’s entire life is consumed by the asylum and making it a haven for the insane.”

  A haven for the insane. How desperately naïve. “Is that what you think?”

  “I don’t think it. I know it.”

  Before she could retaliate with sarcasm or denial, the carriage came to a quick halt in front of a three story red brick building. The building façade read Mona’s Fine Apparel.

  Morgan got out of the carriage. His big, gloved fingers closed around hers, and the strength within them felt tempered, as if he could easily break her fingers without a thought. Did those hands harm the women buried in the basement at Tranquil View Asylum? Could they deliberately crush the life out of a woman without remorse? She thought perhaps she’d feel horror or dread, but as she had at the dance, his touch brought only a rush of delightful sensation—heat, comfort, a feeling of being totally protected. Confusion swamped her even as she smiled at him and left the carriage. Icy air bit at her nose, but she didn’t notice. She flushed with heat.

  Morgan drew her hand through the crook of his arm. Even under his thick coat, his bicep bunched with strength. Lilly squeezed that strength and he looked down at her. The impact of his stare made her breath catch. She tore her gaze from his.

  As he led them into the store, she released his arm. The store sprawled out in several directions, with doodads of every sort arranged on dozens of shelves. Her eyes widened. “Oh my. How beautiful.”

  Hats took up three shelves, all of them made for women and featuring a variety of shapes and decoration both informal and formal. She removed her gloves, wanting to touch the beautiful textures. Her eyes were dazzled by the array of color. Immediately, a beautiful hat caught her attention, and she headed for the display.

  An older woman and a younger lady came toward Lilly. The older woman had steel gray hair in a tight bun, a fashionable gray dress to match over her somewhat plump body. Her round face filled with genuine welcome. The younger woman looked Lilly’s age, but she was dazzlingly beautiful with elegantly coiffed blonde hair and sparkling green eyes that flashed with intelligence. She ignored Lilly and smiled at Morgan. Displeasure filled Lilly, though she couldn’t say why.

  “Hello, I’m Mrs. Mona Klemhoff,” the older woman said. “How can we help you, Miss?”

  Lilly introduced herself and explained that she was Patricia Healy’s companion. “I need to purchase a few new
dresses for myself.”

  Mona proved to be a sweet woman, eager to make sales. She brought Lilly into the back dressing room where Lilly undressed down to her unmentionables. Lilly didn’t know what to think of the corset the woman suggested, especially since she’d gone out of her way not to wear the one she owned.

  The older woman’s face filled with amusement. “This is a very light corset.” She held up the garment. “The newest on the market.”

  Lilly wrinkled her nose. “I try not to wear one.”

  Mona gawked at her. “I beg your pardon?”

  Not wanting to explain, Lilly smiled and just said, “The one I have is horrible. Maybe this one will be better.” Mrs. Klemhoff’s smile returned.

  Before long she’d tried on seven new dresses, two of them more formal. Lilly felt guilty purchasing so many items, but she knew Mrs. Healy would be displeased if she didn’t. Mona took her purchases out to the front and gave Lilly privacy. Lilly sensed that the older woman wanted to ask her questions, but perhaps she was too well-bred to ask.

  Lilly left the dressing room and hurried to the front. She stopped near the counter. Morgan stood in one corner, the young blonde woman chattering away at him. She laughed, and he returned that laughter. His laugh was warm and deep, and just the sound of it made Lilly’s stomach heat. She watched him with the woman and that discomfort she’d felt earlier returned. Lilly diverted her glance. Why should she care if Morgan liked the girl and the girl liked him? It was none of her business.

  Mona cleared her throat and Lilly jumped. She immediately turned her attention to the woman and saw Mona was glaring at Morgan and the other woman. The proprietor leaned over the counter and kept her voice low as she gave Lilly the price for all her purchases. She dug into her reticule and produced the appropriate amount.

  “That girl is a troublemaker,” Mona said softly as she threw another disapproving glance at the blonde woman chatting with Morgan.

  Lilly hadn’t expected a statement like that. “Oh?”

  “She’s flirting shamelessly with Mr. Healy. I’ll have to talk to her about it after you leave.”

  Awkwardness filled the air between them. Lilly stumbled for an answer. “Oh, well. Is she your ... daughter?”

  Mona chuckled. “Goodness, no. She’s Della Peterson. Her family is friends with the Healys. And she’s set her cap for him all this time.”

  An unpleasant feeling rose higher in Lilly, and she recognized it. Jealousy. She was jealous of the attention Morgan paid Miss Peterson. Although she was perturbed with herself for caring, she asked, “Oh. Is she likely to marry him?”

  Mona returned change to Lilly. “I suppose it’s possible. I mean, they do get along well from what I can see.”

  “She works for you?”

  “Strange isn’t it? A girl of her standing. Her father said she needed to learn humility. Hasn’t happened yet that I can see.”

  Lilly lowered her voice more. “Why are you telling me this?”

  The woman’s eyes twinkled. “I saw the way you looked at Mr. Healy. I can see you like him.”

  Shocked and dismayed, Lilly clamped her mouth shut. If others could see that she’d developed an interest in Morgan, she was in dire trouble. She’d have to rein in any remarks, statements, or looks that could be interpreted the wrong way. Or the right way. She could lie to others with great ease sometimes, but lying to herself came harder. Even if she did like Morgan, it wouldn’t do to continue. She had to stop caring anything about him.

  Morgan approached the counter. Della trailed behind. “You’ve got a lot of boxes there. Here, let me take some.” Morgan removed boxes out of Lilly’s arms, while Lilly picked up a couple more and murmured thanks to Morgan.

  “Thank you Mrs. Klemhoff. It’s been wonderful shopping here,” Lilly said.

  Once more, Della didn’t even acknowledge Lilly. Lilly knew without a doubt that Della didn’t like her and it didn’t take much to figure out why. She either saw Lilly as a rival or as a servant that didn’t require attention.

  After they left the store and headed down the street in the carriage, they stopped at two other stores.

  Afterward, as they stood on the sidewalk next to the carriage, Morgan asked her, “Would you like luncheon? I’m starving.”

  Lilly said, “Your family expects us back.”

  He shrugged. “A quick bowl of soup to hold us over until we get home.”

  She needed to get out of this man’s company, but she was hungry and cold. What harm would a stop to eat do? She nodded.

  As they climbed into the carriage and headed to the restaurant down the street, Lilly knew she must take a chance. How far she’d go to achieve her goal, she didn’t yet know. If Morgan Healy knew anything about the women who lay buried in the basement of Tranquil View, she had to discover exactly what.

  * * *

  I must be mad.

  Morgan’s mind ran in circles. He shouldn’t have asked this perplexing and exasperating woman to have lunch with him. As she sat across from him in Tatterson’s Restaurant near the north end of town, Morgan found he couldn’t care less if people stared. Yes, there were over a thousand people living in Simple, but everyone knew him. Before he’d even suggested they have lunch, he’d known people would watch them and speculate. They whispered. They gossiped in the way he knew they would.

  As the waiter brought their chicken sandwiches, potato soup, and coffee, Lilly caught his attention and held it. He couldn’t stop staring at her, feeling fascination in his gut. He wasn’t the virgin so eager to get inside a woman he couldn’t think straight. He’d hated his father for a full year after Father had sent Bridget packing. His father wouldn’t approve of a relationship with Lilly, either. God only knew he couldn’t blame him. After all, Lilly was different. She thought in ways no one had before—at least in his immediate group of compatriots. Most of the women he met were intelligent, but every last one of them seemed to lack something. They didn’t have that special spark that drove him to want to marry. His mother had hounded him and so had father—time for him to marry and give them grandchildren and assure the continuation of the Healy legacy. Perhaps he expected something from a woman he couldn’t get.

  She turned her pretty eyes toward him, and he forgot her innocence. Nothing mattered but savoring this moment, watching her eat, and listening to her feminine, lilting voice. Her cheeks had turned pink in the cold, and he wanted to touch her face and feel the softness. Beyond that, his common sense couldn’t bludgeon his sexual needs into submission.

  Face it. You want to kiss her.

  He wanted to take her to bed in the worst way. He wanted to be the one to discover what her face looked like when he brought her to climax. He took a deep breath to steady his pulse.

  The restaurant didn’t help. Its small size lent an intimate air and the place was filled to capacity. The cloudy day assured the candlelight and gaslight added to the soft, slow feeling within the eatery. The only barrier to his comfort lay in her deception.

  She was hiding something and he knew it. He just didn’t know what exactly. Perhaps, with that in mind, he’d remember Lilly couldn’t mean anything to him if she harbored secrets. Her attitude had shifted slightly after she’d bought the dresses. She’d gone cooler and he couldn’t say why.

  Her gaze caught his over the soup bowl. “You are staring.”

  He grinned. “You have an appetite.”

  She wiped her mouth with a white cloth napkin. “Of course I do. Why wouldn’t I?”

  “All the women I know eat like birds.”

  “Truly?”

  “Undeniably.”

  “I think I know what you mean. It’s strange, but most of the women at the asylum, especially the nurses, eat fast like me. It’s not very polite, I’m afraid.”

  “Why? I mean, why do you eat so fast?”

  Her chin lifted a little, her gaze wandering to a neutral point above his shoulder. “That is a very good question. Habit perhaps. You see other people eat fast an
d you think it’s the right thing to do.”

  “Herd following herd.”

  She nodded and turned her attention to her soup. “You could say that.”

  “You seem very efficient.”

  One of her delicate, dark brows twitched. “Nurse Franklin says I am, but others say I’m not.”

  “Nurse Franklin is a nice woman and very intelligent.”

  “She’s my friend.”

  “Have you considered becoming a nurse?”

  Her mouth curved for a second, but the smile extinguished immediately. “No. Oleta suggested it a couple of years ago.”

  “You didn’t think it was a good idea.”

  “I was a little afraid. I didn’t think I could manage it.”

  Admiration punched him in the gut. “Few people admit to their fear.”

  She finished her soup and dabbed at her mouth with the napkin. “Do you feel fear?”

  The direct question startled him into answering quickly. “Yes.”

  She didn’t flinch. “What do you fear the most?”

  Losing my mind? Wanting a woman I can’t have? He couldn’t say that, even though he often wondered if his family had a penchant for dramatics and losing what sanity they possessed in favor of that kind of drama. “Not being able to take over the asylum for my father when the time comes.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “You were in military school. Was that to prepare for taking over the asylum?”

  The hint of sarcasm in her voice gave him pause. “Some would say so. It was because my father thought I was too rebellious.”

  She sipped her coffee, holding the cup between both hands as if to warm her fingers. “Were you?”

  “Yes.”

  “And it cured you?”

  “No. I’m more rebellious.”

  “Did you decide to be a doctor, too? Or did your family decide you should be?”

  “It was strongly encouraged.” How could he explain why he hadn’t become a full fledged doctor? How he’d walked away from it all and why?