by Everly West
Levi could tell she was agitated. Was she truly afraid of her father? He wondered if the pompous ass had ever struck his daughter. The thought of the possibility made Levi's fists clench at his sides.
"I'll stay as long as you like, Eva, but know this. I will never allow anything, or anyone, to hurt you. Ever." He just wished he could also include himself in that statement.
He heard a door close somewhere in the apartment and then footsteps tracked against the wooden floors.
"Hello?" he called out. "Mary, is that you?"
"Yes, Mr. Copper. Reginald said Mrs. Copper needed my services."
"Yes, she is ready to retire for the evening. Can you ask staff to fill the tub? I think Mrs. Copper would appreciate a hot bath before bed, wouldn't you my dear?"
"Yes, I would like that very much. Thank you, Levi. As always you are so kind. And considerate. I certainly don't deserve—"
"Of course, you do. You deserve everything good this world has to offer. Now, I will leave you to your bath." Levi bowed and left the room. He wanted to kiss her again, but he knew where that would lead, and it was much too soon for that. He wanted her to come to him of her own free will, not under false pretenses.
He returned to the main salon of his suites and stood in the middle of the room. He was at a loss as to what to do now. Perhaps he would go downstairs and join Will in a game of cards. He hoped his friend hadn't already lost all his money.
Levi pulled his coat on and raked his fingers through his hair to tame the errant curls. He needed a haircut soon. He wanted to look the part of an upstanding businessman of Laramie when he made his announcement that he was seeking the open Wyoming Territory Congressional seat.
He wanted to tell Eva he was leaving for a bit, but when he approached his bedroom door, he heard splashing and he knew if he walked into that room and saw Eva chin deep in bubbles, he would kick Mary out and do something he knew he would regret.
A pulse of desire hit him hard and he adjusted himself beneath his clothing. Before he could change his mind, he turned on his heels and headed for the front door.
Safely outside in the hallway, he hurried down the stairs to the second floor. Before he even cleared the landing to the first floor, he knew there was trouble.
Levi slowed his steps to gauge what was happening below before he plowed into it unaware of how to handle the situation. By the time he reached the top of the stairs overlooking the first floor, he knew what the trouble was without having to see the commotion playing out below him.
He knew this moment would come and he was prepared for it.
Levi descended the stairs to the lobby of his hotel one by one until he reached the bottom and came face to face with the sheriff of Laramie.
"Is there a problem, Sheriff?" He was careful to keep his voice low and calm.
"Yes, Mr. Copper. This man says his daughter is missing and someone has reported she was seen entering the hotel some time ago. He is demanding a search of this hotel immediately."
"I see." Levi was careful to hide his emotions, but he so wanted to shove the facts into Eva's father's face.
Instead, he turned to Henri Delacroix and addressed the irate man in his most practiced voice of persuasion.
"Henri, if you will please keep your voice down. You are disturbing my paying customers."
The man's pale face mottled with anger. "How dare you speak to me that way. You will address me as Mr. Delacroix, and I will not keep my voice down. Someone has absconded with my daughter and there will be retribution if they have compromised her in any way."
Levi watched the pompous ass puff up with self-importance. Sheriff Wiley looked uncomfortable and the circle of people surrounding the commotion looked eager for a show. Well, he was happy to give them one.
"I can assure you, Henri," he emphasized the man's first name again to goad him, "if Eva is here in this hotel, she came of her own free will and no one would dare to harm her in this establishment, or they would answer to me."
Eva's father looked like he might have an apoplectic fit at any moment. His face was an alarming shade of red. His mouth worked as a beached fish, opening and closing without words. Levi had to bite back his grin between clenched teeth.
"You dare to speak to me in that manner? You are nothing but a con artist's son. You are not fit to live among proper people." The man spewed his words and his hatred, spittle leaking from his lips."
Levi's hands fisted at his sides. He wanted nothing more than to punch that pompous nose of Eva's father through the other side of the man's head, but he knew how to play the game. He knew how to be patient. And he knew how to use his poker face to his advantage.
"Ah, yes. I keep forgetting my place don't I, Henri? And you keep forgetting this isn't France where men like you keep their boots on a lesser man's neck to keep him down."
Levi turned and addressed the growing number of onlookers. "This is the United States, where all men are equal, and opportunity is available for any man who wishes to work hard. I said any man and that includes the poor wretched son of a man who had his faults. In this country, I am not held accountable for my father's sins. Does anyone disagree?"
He heard murmurs echo through the crowd. One man called out, "That's right. He's his own man, Delacroix."
The man's words gave voice to other rumblings among the people gathered to witness the spectacle.
Levi turned to the sheriff. "Would you please ask Henri to leave my establishment, Sheriff? He is disturbing my guests with all this talk of kidnapping and being held against their will.”
"I will not leave until every room has been searched and my daughter has been found." Henri's words sounded more pitiful than proud.
"Then look no further, Henri, for Eva is neatly tucked away upstairs in my suite where she will remain until she is ready to come down." Levi found his satisfaction from sharing the news with this arrogant man that his daughter was out of his reach was every bit as sweet as he had hoped it would be.
"How dare you compromise my daughter, you inbred piece of street filth. Sheriff, arrest this man."
The sheriff frowned at Levi and then back to Eva's father. "On what grounds?" The man was clearly taken back by Henri’s demand.
"For defiling my daughter." Henri could barely contain his anger and Levi was prepared for the man to strike him at any moment. He hoped like hell he would.
"Is that true, Mr. Copper? Is the woman upstairs against her will?"
Levi grinned and touched his heart with his hand. "I hardly think a new bride would consider her wedding night an act of bondage, Sheriff. Although I have heard of such things—"
"You bastard!" Henri flew at him and Levi almost felt sorry for the man. Almost. He easily sidestepped the charge and pushed him down. Henri fell at the feet of the onlookers. Some of the men standing close by picked him up off the floor and held him captive.
"Take a punch at him, Levi. He tried to sucker punch you. That means you owe him one," someone yelled out from the crowd. It sounded a lot like his friend Will, but he couldn't be certain. This was his moment to turn the tides in his favor and he was smart enough to know it.
"I can't fault the man for trying to save his daughter's reputation, but it is not necessary. Eva Delacroix Copper has a new champion to protect her now. She no longer needs her father because she now has me, her husband, to protect her from anything and anyone who would harm her.” Levi pointed his words of accusation to her father. He knew the man felt his barbs.
“Now, if you will excuse me, I have a lovely new bride waiting for me upstairs.”
Levi turned his back on the crowd and Eva's father and ascended three stairs so he rose above the crowd and could be seen and heard by all. Then, he turned and addressed the people gathered in the grand lobby of his hotel.
"Eva is my wife. I have the means and the motivation to care for her in the manner she has been accustomed. And as my wife, she will take her place by my side when I make my bid for the open seat of Wyoming’s
Territorial Congress."
He shot a look toward Eva's father and was satisfied to see the look of shock overpower the man's anger.
Levi continued. "I will announce my candidacy on Tuesday at the town hall meeting and I would appreciate your support. I believe great things are in store for this territory and this town. With the right man leading, of course."
He shot a knowing glance to Henri and then back to the crowd, which was now chanting his name.
"Thank you everyone. Now if you will excuse me, it is, after all, my wedding night, and I—"
“You bastard!” He turned just in time to see Eva’s father rushing toward him, hatred evident in his bared teeth. Two men standing at the bottom of the staircase grabbed Henri and held him none too gently. Levi retraced his steps until he was face to face with the angry Frenchman. A few inches taller than Eva’s father, Levi looked down on the man’s furious face and answered his insult of being a bastard.
“See, Henri, there you are one hundred percent wrong. Although my father may not have been a pillar of this community, he was, indeed, married to my mother. So, a bastard, I am not. Now, if you will excuse me, Henri, your daughter is waiting for me upstairs.”
He turned his back on the man and took the steps slowly, one at a time. He heard Henri’s enraged screams calling him every name he had ever heard, and some he even hurled at Levi in French, although Levi got the jest of those words as well.
Soon, Henri’s voice was muted and then disappeared altogether when the gentlemen escorted him out of the hotel and closed the doors behind him.
It gave Levi immense satisfaction to know that Henri Delacroix was now on the outside looking in. He wondered how the man liked it?
“Not so much, I would suppose.” Levi grimaced and rounded the third story landing where his new bride waited.
Chapter 7
Eva had thoroughly enjoyed her luxurious bath. The hot bubbles eased her anxiety and she finally relaxed.
It probably hadn't hurt that she had indulged in more than a prudent amount of wine. No matter. She was glad that, for a time at least, she didn’t worry about her father's retribution. She felt safe here in the midst of Levi's world, out of her father’s reach.
The clock chimed nine o'clock and her anxiety returned ten-fold. It was late and she was certain her parents had raised the alarm that she was missing. How long would it take for her father to track her down? She worried what would happen then.
Grateful to Levi's friend for his due diligence in making certain the marriage certificate was as real as possible, she relaxed a bit, but she was far from able to relax now. It was only a matter of time before her father came to claim her. How much time she had depended on the trail, or lack thereof, she had left behind for her father to follow.
She wondered where Levi had gone. Mary said he might have gone downstairs to play cards, but she couldn't say for certain. He could be gone well into the night if he was anything like her father. But she dismissed that idea immediately. He wasn't anything like her father. Not in the least.
Perhaps she could use some chamomile tea to help her sleep. Where was that bell to ring for service? She padded on bare feet across the soft carpet to the place she had seen Levi go when he rang for Mary.
There it was. On the wall next to the bedside table. This was such a modern convenience. Even her father hadn't managed something so nice as this. He just bellowed and servants came running.
She pulled the ring attached to the cord and waited. Soon, she heard a door close somewhere and footsteps clipped across the hallway's polished wood floor.
"Ma'am, did you need something?" A woman Eva had not seen before stood at the doorway of her bedroom.
"Yes, if you don't mind. I know it's late, but is it possible to get a cup of hot chamomile tea? It seems I'm having trouble sleeping tonight."
"Of course, ma'am." The woman curtsied and turned to leave.
"Do you know where Levi—I mean Mr. Copper, my husband, is at the moment?" She hated to sound as if she were hunting him down, but she wondered if he had heard any news that her father was searching for her.
"Yes, Mrs. Copper. He's downstairs in the main lobby. It seems there is a rather irate gentleman looking for someone. He even has the sheriff in tow, but don't worry. Mr. Copper is very good at diffusing drunken louts without violence. It's one of the reasons his employees are so loyal to him."
Eva's heart pitched against her chest. "I see." Was all she could manage between her trembling lips. So, her father had found her. And so soon. Had he suspected she would run to Levi? But how would he know that? As far as he knew, she and Levi never even talked to each other.
She couldn't hide here in the sanctity of his home and leave him to weather her father's wrath alone. "What is your name?" She asked the woman at the door.
"Hazel, ma'am. Was there something else I can do for you?" the young woman asked.
"Yes, Hazel. You can help me dress. I fear I must go and aid Levi—Mr. Copper—with the man downstairs."
The woman's face left no doubt she thought the idea ludicrous. "I can assure you, Mrs. Copper, your husband is quite capable of handling riff raff such as—"
A sense of urgency punched Eva in the gut. "And I can assure you, Hazel, if my hunch is correct, this is no riff raff causing trouble downstairs. It is my father and he is ruthless when he believes himself to be slighted. Now, please help me dress."
"Of course, ma'am. I’m sorry. I didn’t know the troublemaker, I mean, your father was the trouble—"
The young woman quit talking when she realized what she said and rushed into the room and opened the armoire where Eva had hung her dress. Just as she was about to step into the skirt, a door slammed.
She cut a look to Hazel. "Who can that be?” She prayed it wasn’t her father because that would mean—
“Eva? What on earth are you doing?” Levi appeared in the doorway and didn’t look any worse for his altercation.
“I was coming to help you. Am I wrong in guessing the problem you encountered downstairs was none other than my father?”
“You are correct, but don’t worry,” Levi said. “He won’t bother you. At least not tonight. I’m certain he will try again tomorrow, so we will just have to be ready to show him a united front.”
Eva nodded, then saw Hazel waiting by the door. “I suppose I could still use a cup of hot chamomile tea, Hazel. If you don't mind," she added so it made it feel more like a request instead of an order.
Hazel curtsied. “Of course, Mrs. Copper. I’ll have it to you right away. And the staff and I want to wish you both much happiness. Mr. Copper made the announcement of your recent nuptials downstairs just a moment ago and everyone here at the hotel couldn’t be happier for you and Mr. Copper.” The young woman curtsied again and left the room.
“So, you were coming to my rescue, were you?” He grinned at her and she knew he was teasing.
Eva's heart hiccupped at the sight of Levi's roguish appearance. There was something about the man's longish hair and beard that made her think of pirates she had read about in a book once. They were dangerous men and yet she fancied herself in love with the likes of them. So wild. And free. Master of their own destinies. Kind of like Levi.
"I heard there was a ruckus downstairs and I knew immediately it was my father,” she said.
“Yes, he was attempting to have the sheriff search my hotel to find you. It seems someone saw you coming into the hotel this afternoon. Perhaps one of the members of the prestigious Laramie Ladies Club?"
"I didn't see anyone I recognized, but I suppose it's possible someone saw me enter the hotel from the side street," she admitted. Why hadn't she been more careful not to be seen?
"It is of no consequence,” Levi reassured her. “Sooner or later, we would have had to come out in the open about our marriage."
"Yes, our marriage,” she mused. “What will happen when we tell them it was all a ruse? I admit I didn’t think it all through to the end, this plan
of mine. Will you be okay after I’m gone?"
She watched Levi hesitate before he agreed. "Yes, of course. Everything is going to be just fine,” he promised.
"How did my father take the news?" She didn't have to ask, but her morbid sense of curiosity demanded details.
"As you might expect," Levi said. "He was not happy in the least that I sullied his daughter with my degenerate presence."
Eva heard the bitterness behind Levi's words, and she felt the sting of guilt that she had put him in this position.
She approached him and lay her hand on his forearm hoping to give him comfort. "I'm sorry he belittles you, Levi. You don't deserve his acrimony."
Levi's dark eyes searched her face. For what, she wasn't certain. Perhaps he thought she shared her father's opinion of him. But no, that wasn't possible. She had made it clear she trusted him. Believed in him. Valued him—as a friend, of course.
"I hope you still feel that way when I tell you the news that will be all over Laramie by tomorrow morning, dear wife."
"What news?" Eva's anxiety returned. "What could possibly be worse than my father hunting all over Laramie for his wayward daughter?"
"The fact that his wayward daughter is now married to the man who would usurp your father's political aspirations."
Eva's heart punched her chest and her breath hung in midair as if her lungs were paralyzed. This was much worse than she could ever have imagined. "Oh, Levi. What have you done?"
* * *
Levi watched the shock on Eva's face turn to fear. No, not fear. Fear was a manageable emotion. This was pure terror. He couldn't stand to see his sweet Eva afraid and this was all his doing.
“Usurp my father’s political aspirations? What are you saying, Levi?”
"Eva, sweetheart. Please don't look so stricken. Your father's bark holds no bite for me. Or you. He can do nothing to us. It is his pride that has taken a beating, but he will get over it in time. You will see."
Levi was certain he spoke the truth about Eva’s father. The man had nothing to recommend him to the community or the Territorial Congress. Governor Moonlite had promised his support to Levi if he was a married man. Levi had kept his part of the bargain, now it was up to Moonlite to keep his.
