“Mrs. Stephens,” he finally said. “I have one more question for you.”
Only one? Cecily could think of a few.
“And what is that?” the elder Stephens replied.
“Explain to me what you meant when you said tell your people to leave us alone.”
The older woman didn’t miss a beat. She lifted her gaze to Rick’s as if she was challenging him.
“I thought you were from the newspaper.”
Rick cocked his head. “The newspaper? Why are they hounding your family?”
“Agent Tanner, my son is ready to pass a few laws that will have the drinking men in this town a little upset. The newspaper wants something to print in their trashy paper. I believe that should be explanatory enough.”
Something was off again, and if Rick didn’t catch it, Cecily would certainly open her mouth and make herself heard.
“Thank you, Mrs. Stephens.” Rick nodded and gave the woman a polite smile.
Cecily’s heart dropped. No! He couldn’t possibly be finished with his questioning.
“Of course, Mr. Tanner.” The elderly lady arched a critical eyebrow.
“Wait,” Cecily’s tried not to shout, but the word just slipped through her throat and came out louder than she’d anticipated. Suddenly, all eyes were on her, but it was the irritation in Rick’s that bothered her. She ignored it for now.
“Mrs. Stephens,” she aimed her question at the mayor’s mother. “How did you know his last name was Tanner, especially when you cut my husband off as he was introducing us?”
The old woman gave Cecily the strangest look as if she was a simpleton.
“Because my butler had told me when he informed me of our guests.”
“Then tell me, Mrs. Stephens,” Cecily stepped past Rick and closer to the old woman, “why did you think we were from the newspaper if your butler had told you who we were?”
Panic grew on the older woman’s face as her eyes widened. From the corner of Cecily’s eyes, she noticed the nervous shifting that the mayor’s daughters were doing, too.
“I, um… I…” The old woman shrugged. “I suppose your intrusion annoyed me, so I must have had a momentary lapse of memory.”
Cecily folded her arms. “Yes, I’m certain that’s what it was.”
Rick’s long fingers wrapped around Cecily’s upper arm as he lightly squeezed her. “Mrs. Tanner, I believe we should leave now.”
“Yes, of course, dear husband.” Cecily smiled at the older woman as she turned and began heading toward the door, but as she passed the mayor’s daughters, Cecily stopped and pulled her arm away from Rick as she faced the young women. “Tell me, what color waistcoat was your father wearing with his blue pin-striped suit?”
Both girls’ faces turned pale, and their nervous gazes jumped to their grandmother.
“Mrs. Tanner,” the grandmother snapped, “please don’t startle those girls. You can ask me these questions.”
Cecily nodded. “Pardon me. So… what color waistcoat was he wearing with his blue pin-striped suit?”
“His black one, of course.”
“Ah, thank you again.”
Feeling victorious, Cecily stubbornly lifted her chin and joined her husband again as they left the parlor. The butler waited at the front door to show them out. After they had passed the gate, Rick released a low grumble.
“Will you kindly tell me what that was all about?”
She peeked at him over her shoulder. “You don’t know?”
“If I knew, would I have asked you?”
She chuckled softly. “No, of course not.” She took a breath of air. “Well, you see, I wanted to know how she knew your name when she’d rudely cut you off earlier.”
“Yes. I understood that question. But what of the other?”
“Oh, my dear husband.” She placed her hand on his arm. “Did you not see how I caught them in a lie?”
“A lie?”
“Yes. When you’d first asked what the mayor had been wearing, she told you a gray pin-striped suit. But when I asked, I said blue pin-striped suit. Nobody had corrected me.”
He stopped and stared into her eyes. At first, she wasn’t sure if he was shocked or angered – although, she leaned toward the latter.
* * * *
Rick was speechless. This had been happening quite a bit since meeting the woman who was too intelligent for her own good.
It upset him that she hadn’t stayed quiet as he’d requested earlier, but now… Why hadn’t he thought of the different suit colors? He knew the mayor’s mother was lying, but to actually catch her in one was pure genius on Cecily’s part.
He exhaled, and his tense body calmed as his mouth pulled into a smile. “Indeed, you did, Mrs. Tanner. How clever of you.”
Her shoulders relaxed and she continued walking toward the middle of town. “Not only that,” excitement took over the tone of her voice, “did you see the way the mayor’s daughters couldn’t even look us in the eye? It was as if they were afraid of being noticed – or afraid of telling us the truth.”
“I did find that odd.”
The closer to the middle of town they walked, the busier it became. More people were strolling the boardwalks, and definitely more buggies and horses filled the roads. Cecily focused ahead of them, but Rick wasn’t sure exactly what she looked at.
“Even the mayor’s wife,” Cecily continued with a bounce in her fast step, “had a difficult time looking at us. And do you recall when her mother-in-law asked that question? I thought the woman was going to swoon.” She glanced at him before her attention moved in front of her again. “They are definitely hiding something. But I don’t believe they think we know that.”
Cecily turned onto the street to cross the road. Coming toward her, was an out-of-control buggy, but she didn’t see it. Rick’s heart sank. Immediately, he wrapped his arms around her waist, yanking her out of the road. The jerky movement had them both toppling on the packed dirt. The carriage zipped by them without stopping.
Lying on her back, her lovely brown hair flared out around her head. Still holding her, he loomed over her, staring down into her hypnotic blue eyes. Her breaths were fast as she held his stare. Her lips parted.
His throat dried. His speeding heart hadn’t calmed yet, but he was grateful she’d not been injured. Another emotion crept inside his chest the longer he stared at her tempting mouth. He fought the urge to kiss her. After all, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to kiss her because he was relieved the carriage hadn’t slammed into her… or was it because he couldn’t fight his attraction any longer?
EIGHT
What had just happened? And yet, Cecily knew Rick had saved her life. She’d been too busy in her thoughts to check the road to see if it was safe to cross. Thankfully, Rick had been more alert or she’d be dead.
Her body ached because of the way they had landed on the ground, but at least he’d protected her. The longer she stared into his eyes, the more her aches were forgotten, and instead, a different restless ache settled in her chest. His face was so close. His chest pressed intimately against hers. And his worried eyes were slowly turning a lighter gray. A more sensual gray…
He stroked his hand softly along the side of her face. She went with her first instinct and cuddled her cheek against his palm.
“How do you feel?”
His voice was much deeper than she was used to, but she liked the desire laced in his tone.
“F-fine,” she whispered, not daring to tell him about the emotions jumping around inside her.
His gaze dropped to her mouth. She held her breath, wondering if this was the moment for their first kiss. When he leaned toward her, the beating of her heart quickened with excitement.
“Are you all right, ma’am?”
The strange man’s loud voice brought Cecily out of her daze and she snapped her focus to those standing around her. Inwardly, she groaned. How could she have forgotten about the gathering crowd?
Rick withdr
ew and gently pulled her to a sitting position. She brushed her skirt as he plucked a few leaves and sticks out of her hair.
“I’m fine,” she told the crowd.
Rick carefully helped her stand. Her left ankle hurt, but she could still walk, so she wouldn’t tell him about her injury.
Cecily held tightly to his arm and they walked across the street toward the hotel. She noticed he wouldn’t look at her now, and her heart sank. Hopefully, he wasn’t regretting the special moment they had – or almost had. It had slipped her mind that they were married in name only, so he probably hadn’t thought of that, either.
“We’ll go to our room so you can rest a little,” he told her, still not looking at her. But his mouth was pulled into a tight line.
“I’m fine Rick, really. I just need to freshen up a bit and change my clothes. Then we can continue—”
“Cecily…”
The tone in his voice changed again, and the gentle way he said her name made her look up at him. This time her gaze locked to his.
“What?”
“I know you’re hurting. You don’t have to lie. After all, my body practically landed on you when I yanked you out of the way.”
“Lie? I wasn’t—”
“Cecily.” He arched an eyebrow. “I can tell you’re in pain. And you forget, I know when a person is lying.”
She hitched a breath. Actually, he could only tell sometimes when she was lying. Which, of course, was a good thing.
“I… um, well, I just don’t want you upset that we have to rest the remainder of the day.”
He shook his head and looked in front of them as they entered the hotel. “That’s all right. I think I need to rest, too. I didn’t get much sleep on the train.”
“Yes, I couldn’t get comfortable on the train, either.”
As they started on the stairs, she realized her ankle was worse than she’d thought, and her steps slowed them down. When they reached the first landing, he swept her up into his arm. Gasping, she threw her arms around his neck and stared into his eyes. They twinkled with humor.
“I’m trying to show you,” he said, “that I’m still in my husband character.”
Butterflies danced in her chest. “That’s very good to know, Mr. Tanner.”
He took her to their room, but didn’t set her down until he was by the bed. It surprised her how tender he was with her, especially when his rugged exterior suggested otherwise.
Immediately, he sat on the mattress by her legs. “Which foot is sprained?”
She pointed to her left foot. Without asking first, he lifted her foot and set it on his leg as he unfastened her heeled boot. Stopping him had crossed her mind, but the warmth from his hands sent healing waves of comfort to her injury.
Once her boot was off, he touched around her ankle. When his fingers brushed by the bruise, she grimaced.
“I’m sorry. I’m not trying to hurt you,” he said.
“I know.”
“I don’t think it’s broken.”
She shook her head. “I wouldn’t have been able to walk on it.”
He gently placed her foot on the mattress and moved away. Disappointment filled her, leaving her empty.
Uncomfortable silence moved through the room as he hung his clothes in the armoire, and set his shaving items on the vanity table. She scrambled to think of something they could talk about, but watching him mesmerized her and her mind drew a blank. It still amazed her how fate had thrown them together after meeting him that first time when he came to arrest her father and brothers.
Her memory stalled on that moment when she’d seen Rick for the first time. The fear she’d had at him catching her in a lie, mixed with the attraction she’d felt, had left her one confused woman. She thanked her lucky stars he hadn’t recognized the frightened woman in the wife he’d married.
She scooted on the bed and stuffed pillows behind her. “Rick? In your opinion, do you think we’ll be able to solve this case quickly?”
He turned and looked at her. “That, I couldn’t say. I’ve been going over in my mind what the elder Mrs. Stephens had said, and the way the other woman had acted, and it’s obvious they are hiding something.”
“They are also frightened of saying anything to us.”
He nodded. “Exactly. But why?”
“Do you suppose someone is threatening them to keep quiet about the mayor’s disappearance?”
He stared at her for a couple of awkward seconds before moving to the window and peeking outside.
“But why would someone threaten them to keep quiet?”
She shrugged. “Perhaps the kidnapper doesn’t want the police involved. Maybe the mayor’s family is being blackmailed.”
Rick turned and sat on the edge of the windowsill. “That’s definitely a possibility. The mayor has been missing for a couple of weeks, but what do you think is being done about it? A kidnapper usually wants money, and yet it wouldn’t have taken long for the elder Mrs. Stephens to locate the funds. Even if the mayor didn’t have the money in the bank, the old woman could have sold some of her jewels.”
Cecily’s foot began to throb, so she pulled one of the pillows from behind her and tried to place it under her foot. Rick hurried to the bed and helped her. His actions softened her heart. Unfortunately, they were really married in name only. He would make one very caring husband.
“So what if,” she began after her foot was in place on top of the pillow, “the kidnapper doesn’t want money?”
Rick moved back by the window and leaned against the wall. “What else would they want?”
“I’m starting to wonder if it’s something the mayor had been doing at work. Hadn’t his mother mentioned how the mayor was about to pass a law that would arrest drunken men?”
“Yes.”
“Do you think the kidnapper is holding the mayor so this law doesn’t pass?”
Rick’s eyes widened. “You might be onto something.”
“Tomorrow, we’ll have to visit his office and ask more questions.” Cecily smiled widely. “I’m not a gambler, but I’d bet good money we’ll find something helpful.”
“That’s a splendid idea.” Rick grinned.
Her heart flipped again. How could she help it when the more time she spent with him, the more she never wanted to leave? However, if he ever found out about her real identity…
No. He could never find out now.
* * * *
Rick lay flat on his back on the couch and looked up at the ceiling. Nighttime was usually when he relaxed and pondered over his cases. His mind worked better at night, and more ideas came to him while silence surrounded him.
And yet, for two hours now, he couldn’t put Cecily out of his mind no matter how much he’d tried. Knowing that she was across the room in bed, wearing her nightclothes… And she was his wife…
He groaned and rolled to his side. His focus moved toward the window. The curtains did very little to block the full moon tonight. But blaming the light in the room was ridiculous when he knew the reason was because that woman was in his head. He found himself enjoying her company. Her intelligence delighted him. She was a fast learner. And she smelled like a flower garden…
Rick punched his pillow a few times, trying to make it more comfortable. Was Cecily still awake? All he needed to do was sit up and peer her way. If he listened closely, would he hear her deep breaths? Would they sound like they had when he almost kissed her?
Frustrated, he blew out a gush of air and rubbed his forehead. He wouldn’t be any help tomorrow if he couldn’t get some sleep. What kind of Pinkerton Agent would that make him? Not a very good one, for certain.
Why did Pinkerton have to team females up with the agents, anyway? The teams could have passed themselves off as brother and sister and none would be the wiser. Although, when Rick was tempted to kiss Cecily after he’d saved her from the horse and carriage, that wouldn’t have been very brotherly at all.
He breathed deeply, trying to relax
his mind. Sleep was imperative if he wanted to be alert tomorrow.
Rick went over in his mind the visit at the mayor’s house. Most liars were experts and it took him a little longer to know they were lying. But not the Stephens’ women. All of them were lying so badly that it was almost comical. Why had they acted like that? Was this their first time trying to be deceitful? Or… were they trying to let him know they needed help? Had Cecily been correct in assuming that they were being blackmailed in some way?
A noise from the other side of the room stopped Rick’s thoughts. He listened closer. Cecily shifted in her bed and let out a heavy sigh. He smiled. If he wasn’t mistaken, she was having a difficult time falling asleep, too.
He waited, hoping to hear more. After a few moments, she rolled over again. Slowly, he lifted his head and studied the shadows on her side of the room. From what he could tell, she was still lying flat with the blankets over her.
Her legs jumped and a sigh of irritation left her mouth. Apparently, he wasn’t the only one that couldn’t sleep.
“Cecily?” he said softly.
He heard the quick intake of air from her. “Rick?”
“Yes.”
“You’re awake?”
He chuckled quietly. “Yes.”
“I can’t sleep.”
“Why? Is it your ankle?”
“No.”
“Are you hungry?”
“No.”
He leaned up and looked her way, using his elbows to hold him upright. “Then what is it?”
“I’m not tired.”
“Do you want to read?” he wondered.
“No.”
“Do you want me to have the hotel make you some warm milk?”
She snorted a laugh. “No.” She paused. “But you could sing me a lullaby.”
“What?” He sat up fully on the couch, his legs dropping to the floor. “You want me to sing to you?”
She leaned up on her elbow, facing toward him, but she was still mainly in the shadows.
“I was being humorous.” She chuckled. “If you’re going to treat me like a child, I might as well act that way.”
An Agent For Cecily (The Pinkerton Matchmaker Book 8) Page 6
