David pulled himself to his feet, but stayed to the back of the group, allowing others to board first. He heard light footsteps approaching behind him. Glancing back, he saw a young woman trotting across the platform. She wore wire-rimmed glasses that did not fit properly, because she pushed them onto the bridge of her thin nose three times in the course of the few seconds.
Stepping aside, he invited her with a gesture to board. She nodded as she passed, her face flushed. When she reached for the handrail, he caught the obvious tremble in her hand. As she grasped the railing, she lost her grip. The satchel she carried must have thrown her off balance and she stumbled back. He was behind her in the moment it took to react, supporting her elbow with his hand.
"May I help you, miss?"
She mumbled a thank you and reached for the handrail once again, managing to pull herself up the steps with no further assistance from him. David remained a step behind, just in case. He wasn't at all comfortable with the woman's behavior. She hardly appeared frail. Tall and willowy, she moved with grace. Still, something wrong. The professional within, still stinging over the death of the man on the platform, chose the seat across the aisle. He'd keep an eye on her.
As the train pulled from the Shoshone station, Maddie expelled a breath of air she'd been holding since fleeing the westbound train. The landscape beyond the window sped by as the train accelerated north to the mountain ranges of central Idaho. From the flat land stretching for miles on either side of the tracks, it was difficult to imagine the mountainous terrain ahead. To see more clearly, she lowered the glasses. Maybe the spectacles weren’t a good idea. She blamed them for causing her nearly to fall into the arms of the man.
Closing her eyes, she tipped her head to rest against the seat back. The unexpected confession of her father's involvement with Sicilians and the shock of his death struck anew. Breathing became strangely difficult. She must control these emotions, stay focused.
The leather satchel in her lap seemed to grow heavier by the minute. She scowled at the bag noticing how her knuckles were white where fingers gripped the handle. She relaxed her hand and flexed her fingers, taking in another ragged breath.
The sky darkened, night rapidly descending. She could still make out a strange and twisted landscape just beyond the window. Black rocks punctuated the terrain like ebony teeth, sharp and hideous.
It was so very dark, so very black—black sky, black earth. She brought a gloved hand to her throat to pull at the collar. It was so hot in the car. Perhaps she could open the window. Someone was speaking, quite close. Feeling very strange and not at all herself, she looked up to see the person addressing her in such a forward manner. She certainly did not appear a harlot even if she were traveling alone.
The man's face, a blur, shimmered before her, intensely earnest. She pulled the glasses lower on her nose, peering over the top. He was a perfect representation of an honest man with honorable intentions. This she knew without his speaking a word. His eyes were earnest. His voice was earnest. The straight line of his chin free of disguising whiskers was attractively earnest. It troubled her to be in the company of such honest attractiveness. In fact, it angered her.
"Miss? Miss, are you ill?"
She frowned into the face of the man bending toward her. He was entirely too close for propriety’s sake. Perhaps she should voice disapproval. She opened her mouth to speak, or at least thought that she did. The man's expression did not indicate that she had spoken. He continued to stare at her with those studious eyes. She might call them kind eyes if her father were to ask her to assess the man’s true nature. Yes, kind, earnest blue eyes, the face of a trustworthy man.
"Excuse me, madam. Could you assist?"
The attractive man was no longer looking at her, but seemed to be addressing someone else entirely. How sad! She rather liked how he looked at her in that kind manner even if he was irritating.
Another face, a woman's florid face replaced the handsome man's. "Miss, let me help. This gentleman here says he's a doctor. He says I should help loosen your corset so you can breathe easier."
Maddie tipped her head, studying the woman from a different angle. Do I know you? She imagined speaking the words, but she had not. She resembles Mrs. Kelly, my dear old nurse. How nice of Father to send Mrs. Kelly to help me undress. She smiled warmly at Mrs. Kelly as the world went black.
"Miss? Try to take a drink."
The voice sounded close to her ear. Her eyelids felt weighted and unresponsive to her command to open. She tried again without success.
His soothing voice pulled her to consciousness. "Miss, you need to drink something."
A cool hand touched her cheek, the tips of the fingers soft and smooth. Surely these were not the hands of a man. The fingers slid to her neck, pressing gently, just beneath her jaw. She didn't wish to open her eyes. Those fingers pressing against her skin felt so soothing and cool.
She choked as water flowed down her throat, her eyes opening wide. Water spilled from her mouth and onto her breast, soaking her blouse. Pushing the glass away, she sat upright, blinking alert.
The man from the platform who'd helped her onto the train knelt beside her. He looked at her boldly, inappropriate for a man she didn't know. She dropped her gaze to her lap. The satchel was missing!
"Where's my bag?" She made an effort to stand, then collapsed back onto the seat as the train car performed rotations in her head.
"It's right here beside you, miss, on the floor." His voice crooned into her ear, soft and calming.
"Miss, this man's a doctor. He helped you. His name is Dr. Reynolds."
Maddie squinted up at the woman who wasn't Mrs. Kelly, plump with dimpled cheeks and gray locks of hair tucked haphazardly beneath a weathered bonnet. Then she shifted attention to the man. Why hadn’t she recognized him before? This was the doctor who’d been with her father when he died.
"Miss, when was the last time you ate something?" the doctor asked.
Father, the Sicilians, the Pinkertons, death. Every shocking revelation returned in one terrifying wave. She slouched against the hard seat back, trying to remember such an insignificant detail as when she’d last eaten. With a mouth dry as cotton, she whispered the truth. "Yesterday morning."
The woman clucked in sympathy. "Oh, you poor, dear girl! No wonder your face looks the color of a bleached sheet."
Dr. Reynolds reached across the aisle for his jacket. He pulled a cloth parcel from the pocket and offered it to her. "Here. Eat this."
Inside she found a lovely ham and cheese sandwich though slightly compressed from his pocket. It was just what she'd asked Father to bring to her. Tears welled in the corner of her eyes. With her gloved finger, she wiped them away before they could fall. She found the only words to say that seemed appropriate. "Thank you."
The train gave a sudden lurch as it braked to a stop. Maddie felt it behind her eyes, like a hammer.
Warm station lights slid before the window. The sign on the building read, Hailey. Still disoriented, she stared at the sign. Had she boarded the wrong train?
"Well, this is my stop, then." The older woman patted Maddie's hand. "You'll be right as rain after you've finished that sandwich. Good luck, miss. And lucky I'd say you are to have a doctor sitting in the next seat." She patted the doctor on the shoulder as she stepped into the aisle. "Best of fortune to you, too, Dr. Reynolds. Glad to know we got someone kind up in Ketchum takin' care of folks." She gave him a wry smile. "Hope I don't see you too soon, if you know what I mean."
The doctor laughed softly, standing. "Indeed, I do understand you. Perhaps we'll meet for some occasion not requiring my professional ministrations. Thank you, Mrs. Godfrey. You were most helpful."
"Comes from havin' four girls of my own is all. I know what those corsets can do to a woman's innards. Cursed things must have been invented by a man. Pardon me for sayin', a man what has a powerful grudge against women, I should think."
Pushing his hands into his pockets, the young doctor nodded, his
mouth twitching upward. "I'm afraid I have to agree with you, Mrs. Godfrey."
Mrs. Godfrey’s head peered around the doctor, and she waggled a finger in Maddie's general direction. "And I'd not tighten those laces if I were you, Miss. Leave room in there for your dinner, too. Besides, you're thin enough as you are, I'm thinkin'."
As Mrs. Godfrey waddled up the aisle, Dr. Reynolds turned back to Maddie. "Wise woman, Mrs. Godfrey, and not afraid to express herself. I like that."
Taught fully in the graces of how a lady should eat in public, Maddie paused mid-bite, considered stopping. However, her stomach felt to the contrary. She couldn't remember eating anything as heavenly as this. She simply nodded to the doctor while continuing to chew.
The doctor kept his eyes on her, the smile spread wide. She recalled her earlier opinion of his kind eyes. Seconds passed. The throbbing in her head began to subside, and the world had mercifully stopped spinning.
"I'm glad the cure was so simple for your malady, miss." He pulled the stethoscope from around his neck, folding and placing it in his bag. "Would you think it bold of me to ask your name?"
She brushed a crumb from the corner of her mouth with the napkin. She waited to answer him until swallowing the last bite. "Of course it isn't too bold, doctor. I'm very grateful for your help. My name is Madison Alexander.
The lie came surprisingly easy. Fearing she might forget an assumed name, she chose her father's first name to adopt as her last. She silently rehearsed the rest of her recently invented life, hoping he wouldn't ask.
"I'm very pleased to make your acquaintance, Miss Alexander." He nodded to the last of his dinner gripped in her hands. "I'm glad I brought along the sandwich."
She gave a wry smile in return. "So am I. I'm afraid I've left nothing for you."
"That's quite all right. I'm taking a room at a boarding house in Ketchum this evening. I'm told the woman who manages it has a creative flare for the culinary arts and serves filling portions. I'll not be wanting."
She felt a sudden rush of relief at the mention of Ketchum. So she was on the correct train. Relaxing, she studied the doctor as he studied her. Perhaps his manner was not bold but his gaze certainly was. He seemed to be really seeing her, Maddie, and that made her exceedingly uneasy.
He also appeared determined to remain with her. No doubt the physician’s profession demanded it of him, to remain with his patient until fully recovered.
He asked, "Where are you staying? Are you visiting relatives?"
Maddie pulled the lie from her newly imagined life. "This will sound foolish, I'm afraid. In truth, it has much to do with my reason for fainting, I suppose."
The doctor's smooth brow wrinkled. "Oh?"
"I traveled to Denver from Chicago to answer an advertisement for a school teaching position. Either the advertisement was an old one or the position was filled before I could arrive. It was most distressing." She pressed her fingers to her breast, enhancing the desired effect.
The crease in the doctor's forehead deepened. "Denver? That must have taken, at least, two days? You've come a long way."
Perhaps her fabrication was less believable than she'd assumed, but there'd been so little time to create one. His reaction indicated the story needed embellishment. "Well, you see, I've always wanted to see the exciting West. I've read so much about it, and I just couldn't go back without having seen a little of the land and people who live here. Indian tribal life intrigues me."
She studied his reaction before adding, "I thought I might be able to procure a job working in a hotel as a cook or perhaps find employment as a bookkeeper. I'm a very good cook and I worked in the bursar’s office at the seminary. Between those two skills, I hoped I might be able to secure a position to support myself." She stopped before her story stretched too thin to be believed.
Dr. Reynolds nodded his head in encouragement, but the crease remained between his eyebrows. "Those are interesting possibilities, yes."
"I know that it was silly." She brought her handkerchief to dab at the corner of her eyes. At least, she hadn't lost the skill of manufacturing tears. "It was just so surprising and disappointing." A modicum of truth was in that statement as it applied to her father although shock and sorrow might be the better descriptions of her reactions.
The lies were coming too easily, and with them came the memories of those years before she'd found another way to live. Upon her father's wishes, she'd adapted to an honest life among young women and teachers who had no suspicion of her past. But in a few short hours, she’d resorted to all the trickery and deceit she'd mastered under her father's tutelage. The realization sickened her, seeing herself as a charlatan like him.
The doctor dropped his head, his expression hidden from her. She needed to read his face.
"There's no use thinking of that now, is there?" His fingers fiddled with the clasp on his bag for a moment only before asking, "May I make a suggestion?"
She studied him intently, not just his eyes but his body, each capable of communicating much about his unspoken thoughts. "Of course, Dr. Reynolds. I would be most eager to hear your suggestion if it might undo the consequences of my foolish actions." Again, she heard the truth of her words.
"It seems that you could benefit from time to make unhurried decisions concerning your immediate future. We might ask if another room is available at the house where I’ve rented a room. It’s a very respectable establishment. Does that sound acceptable?"
She let out a quiet sigh of relief. He'd bought the lie. Pulling back her shoulders, she nodded, putting on what she hoped to be taken as a serious and thoughtful expression. "That might be a very good suggestion. I do need some time to think through what would be the best solution, don’t I? I would appreciate your help."
"Very good." He stood, casting his gaze to his polished boots. His expression suddenly altered. "Mrs. Godfrey didn't have time to help you. . ." He waved a hand vaguely in the direction of her person. Clearing his throat, he whispered, "You might want to a. . ." He gestured again to her chest.
She followed his gaze and gasped. Her blouse remained unbuttoned and her loosened corset exposed as well as far too much of her person. Instinctively, she lifted both hands to cover herself. "Oh my!" Her surprise was genuine as was her flush-faced embarrassment.
With his eyes averted, he attempted to assure her. "I am a doctor, Miss Alexander. Your reputation has not been in any way compromised. Mrs. Godfrey made sure that the men moved into another train car before we attended to you."
In spite of all that had happened to her in the past twenty-four hours, to her father, and to her life, she felt an irrational urge to laugh. It swelled up within her like magma looking for a vent. Fear, sorrow, confusion became a powerful amalgam threatening to derail her childhood training. Before the laughter could break free from her lips, she came to herself, wresting control from her emotions and letting logic take command. So, she did not laugh and although a smile appeared to hover at the corner of Dr. Reynolds’ lips, neither did he.
Chapter 5
Under a moonless sky, the train pulled into Ketchum. Scattered streetlights cast a warm glow across the wooden boardwalks stretching down the town's main street. Maddie offered a hand to Dr. Reynolds as she stepped from the train car. She stood next to him on an equal footing, noting for the first time that they were of similar height. She considered that a benefit and relief. It would be difficult to appear in need of protection if she were taller than her protector.
Once again, believing she was in full control of her faculties, Maddie took advantage of the opportunity presented by the gracious Dr. Reynolds. If either the Pinkertons or the Sicilians were in pursuit, the escort of the young doctor aided her efforts to blend in. He was already sympathetic to her situation, at least the one she’d told him. This sympathy was something to use. So, she kept close pace to the doctor while carefully scanning the train platform, her father's satchel held in a tight grip.
"Dr. Thornton was to meet the train." The
young doctor’s head swiveled from left to right.
Maddie observed and identified the man first striding toward them from across the platform. Although dressed in no manner which would distinguish him from anyone else at the station, to Maddie's practiced eye, an air of casual authority emanated from every aspect of his person. The older doctor appeared to be fit for his age, at least the age suggested by the lines around his eyes and mouth. An impression of vigor was further enhanced by his posture and rapid pace. She touched Dr. Reynolds' arm with her fingertips, nodding to the approaching man.
"Dr. Reynolds!" the man called out just as David turned. Even as he shook David's hand, his bright eyes surveyed Maddie with keen interest. "I'm sorry, I didn't know a young lady would be accompanying you."
Before the situation became complicated, Maddie dispelled any misconceptions. "Dr. Reynolds was kind enough to offer medical assistance while we were traveling from Shoshone. We have only just met." She lowered her gaze to convey that she might have just realized how bold a self-introduction appeared.
Reynolds continued, apparently aware of a need for an explanation regarding Maddie. "Dr. Thornton, this is Miss Madison Alexander, an aspiring school mistress from Chicago."
Maddie did not see the reason to clarify his statement, so she gave him a modest smile, a slight fluttering of eyelids, while coyly tucking a tendril of hair behind her ear. The last was a tip of body language she'd learned from her dearest and most flirtatious friend at school. Draw attention to your most attractive features if you want to unhinge a man or distract him. Touch your lips with a finger or let your fingers rest lightly on your throat. It will make a man wild with desire.
While she had no interest to drive either man wild with desire, it was critical to distract them from further examining her hasty fabrications.
"Miss Alexander has had a rather long and arduous trip. I fear she has expended her energy." As though recalling her recent collapse, he stepped closer, supporting her elbow. "I had suggested she might find a room at the boarding house. Do you think they might have additional rooms, Dr. Thornton?"
Redeeming Lies Page 3
