by Lexie Clark
“Why did they wait so long?” he asked. “If they are after something they think is hidden in the house, why did they wait so long after my parents’ deaths to try and find it?”
“I do not know,” she said as she fastened the last button. “But I am sure we can figure it out if we put our minds together.”
Eli chuckled. “I’d rather put something else together.”
A wicked gleam crossed her face, and then she cleared her throat. “You need to dress, or do you wish me to tell our guests that you are unable to attend the party?”
Eli sat up. “I will be able to attend for a while, but I will have to come back in to rest for a bit from time to time. I hate to put it all onto your shoulders.”
This time her smile was sincere. “I will be able to take care of our guests like a good wife; and you won’t have to pay extra for the service.”
* * *
Cordelia knew she should not have made the crack about paying for her services, but she was still smarting from the remarks Eli made about her being in league with Constance and her employer. Did he forget, she wondered, that he was the one who had sent for her? She had been tempted to bring up that fact while they were in her bedroom, but she had been sidetracked by Eli’s condition.
She looked across the way at him now. He stood with Stuart and several men she did not know. Cordelia had met so many people during the first part of the party that she did not remember half the names. If she were staying in these parts, she might make a more concerted effort to remember people. But knowing she would be leaving in the future did not make her want to connect names and faces and keep them in her memory.
Of course any one of these party guests could be behind all the events taking place. Cordelia looked over the crowd. They all seemed so normal, not at all the type of people who would try to steal someone’s land.
But what would that sort of person look like? Cordelia did not associate with criminal types, so she could not recognize one on sight. But William had told her once that it was not easy to discern an honest person from a dishonest one just by looking at them. “Everyone is capable of dishonesty if they want something enough,” William had said. Cordelia had not thought it was true at the time, but now she wondered. Somewhere out there was a person who was seeking something Eli had, and something told her it was someone he knew.
Several couples came up to greet her, and Cordelia shook hands and laughed as they related what it was like to experience a Colorado winter. She wondered if she would be here for that event, or if she would be gone by then.
It was not easy to push that thought from her mind, because she had truthfully come to enjoy being here with Eli. Being intimate with him had brought pleasures she had not thought possible. They were certainly deeper, and more exciting, than the erotic times she had spent with William. That thought made her feel a little guilty, but not that much.
If she and William had taken things to the next level, would she feel what she did with Eli? There was no way of knowing, since William had been taken from her so suddenly. There was no sense in feeling guilty for what she had done with Eli, because William was never coming back, and, as the two of them had discussed at one time, life goes on, no matter the changes that take place.
“Cordelia?” She blinked away her thoughts and then smiled at Nathan Craig, Eli’s lawyer. “You seem as if you were miles away.” He leaned over and kissed her cheek. “I heard about what happened to Eli. He seems to be doing all right. How are you?”
“I’m fine, thank you.” She pasted a smile on her face as Reese Malina, the dry goods storeowner, joined them.
“Quite a shindig,” he said to Cordelia. “The food is delicious, and I hear there’s going to be a dance for the adults later.”
“There is,” she said. “But Eli and I may not be here for all of it. If he has to go inside, I will go with him. In that event, Stuart will take over as host.”
She hoped they did not ask her where Stuart was right now.
“How exactly did Eli get such a bump on his head?” Reese asked.
They had prepared an answer for this, and the lie sprang easily from her lips. “He was working on breaking a new horse, or at least I hope that’s the term for it, and he was thrown.”
Both men frowned. “Really? Eli is great at working with horses,” Nathan said. “I can’t see him being thrown.”
“These things happen, or so he told me,” Cordelia said. “He assures me the wound is not bad, and that he will be, what was his term, oh yes, right as rain within the next few days.”
“Shame it had to happen right now,” Reese said. “I know he’s been looking forward to introducing you to the neighbors.”
Cordelia kept the fake smile on her face as she said, “Yes, he has. But I will stay out and greet people. I am looking forward to getting to know everyone.”
How easily lying had become to her. She felt guilt for saying that she was looking forward to things, when in reality she really did not. Or maybe she did, she thought. If by meeting these people she might figure out who would want Eli’s land, then this party would be a success.
“If you’ll excuse me, I have a young lady I want to greet,” Reese said. He tipped his hat and left them. When he was gone, Nathan took her arm.
“Tell me the truth about Eli’s injury,” he said, his voice low. “I don’t for a second believe he was thrown from a horse.”
“It is the truth,” she said.
“The truth like you’re his wife? Or the truth like it’s a story you made up to cover up something else?” The lawyer’s voice was full of anger, and Cordelia took a step back from him.
“It is the—”
Before she could finish the sentence, Eli was beside her. He put his hand on top of Nathan’s, which still gripped her arm and said, “Don’t touch her, Nathan.”
The two exchanged angry looks, and Cordelia put her hand on top of Eli’s. “Please, let us not start a problem.”
Within seconds, all hands, including her own, were off her arm. “Let us walk away from the crowd so we can talk.” She inserted herself between them, and they started to walk toward an area where no one was standing. “What is the problem, gentlemen?”
“I think something is going on that I don’t know about,” Nathan said. “Part of the deal we came up with when we sent for you was that I would be kept in the loop, so I could deal with anything that happened, if it was necessary to do so legally. If Eli has been injured as a result of what is happening, I want to know what happened.”
For a minute, Cordelia thought Eli would not reply. But he finally told the lawyer exactly what had occurred.
“So they were in the house twice? Once in the afternoon and once at night?”
“Yes,” Eli said. “Before you ask, we have no clue what they were looking for. Stuart is in the house right now, guarding the library to see if anyone else comes in to search for… whatever it is they are searching for. Plus, I don’t recall the conversation where I agreed to tell you everything that’s been going on out here, Nathan.”
“I’m the one who told you to send for Cordelia, that it would solve the situation.”
“Yeah, that worked really well, didn’t it? Constance still showed up, and she’s still causing problems.”
“Still, I think—” Before Nathan could finish his thought, though, the crowd close to the house started to rumble. The three of them turned to the area. It didn’t take Cordelia long to see what was causing the problem.
“Oh crap,” Eli said. “How did she find out about it?”
Constance stood in the middle of the crowd of people. Her hands were balled into fists and she was crying as if someone had slapped her. “Eli, I thought we were going to talk today about you living up to your responsibilities. Instead, I arrive here and find you hosting a party for this… this… woman.” She lowered her head into her hands and started to sob loudly.
“Cordelia,” Eli said, “I didn’t—”
“I
know,” she said. “She is trying to cause problems. Her appearance will feed the local gossips. She lives for that.”
Cordelia was glad that she did not say what she was really thinking, that someone was paying Constance very well to create a distraction so they could sneak into the house and continue their interrupted search.
The three of them started across the lawn, with Eli in the lead. When they drew up next to Constance, she raised her head and let out a cry.
“Is it true you were injured? You poor dear.” She reached out a hand as if to touch his head, and Cordelia batted it away.
“Do not touch my husband,” Cordelia said. “You are not welcome here, as you were told before. Please leave.”
Constance started to wail again, and within seconds, Marshal Jacob Sky was there. “Something wrong?” he asked.
“We have an uninvited guest,” Cordelia said. “She needs to leave.”
Constance fell forward as if she had fainted. Jacob caught her before she hit the ground. He lowered her gently, and when he did, he turned her onto her back.
Cordelia could see that the other woman’s eyes were closed, as if she had fainted. There was one way to make sure, she thought. A glance around those gathered around them showed several people had what she needed. This would probably get her into trouble with Eli, but Cordelia thought it was the best way to handle the situation.
“Excuse me, may I have this?” She took a cup from a woman’s hands and sniffed it. The cup was full of apple cider. Before she could second guess her actions, Cordelia turned the cup upside down and dropped the contents onto Constance’s head.
Chapter Thirteen
Cordelia was more worried about Eli than she was the consequences of her actions. Eli looked as if he might burst into flames. Everyone had taken a step back when Constance sat up, sputtering and uttering words that Cordelia knew no lady should know.
If there had been any doubt in Cordelia’s mind that Constance was not a well-bred lady, it fled as she turned to Cordelia and insisted that she was a witch, only she used the letter B at the first of the word. The other woman pushed her way up from the ground, her hands outstretched to reach for Cordelia. The only thing that stopped her was Marshal Jacob Sky, who grabbed her arms and held them firm.
“Settle down now,” he said to Constance. Cordelia glanced at Eli, who continued to glare at her.
“You recovered very fast,” Cordelia said. “Of course that happens when you are faking your distress.”
“I’ll get you for this,” Constance said, her accent more cockney than proper lady. “You’ll regret it.”
“I doubt that,” Cordelia said. “Marshal, would you please escort Constance back to town?”
“I think that’s a good idea,” the marshal said. He turned to Eli. “I hope you’re feeling better soon. We can talk about justice later.”
Cordelia’ brows furrowed at the marshal’s cryptic remark, but she did not say anything. It was best, she thought, to accept the fact that Constance was about to leave.
“Miss Perry, if you’ll come with me, please,” Jacob said. For a moment, Cordelia thought the other woman would tell him to go to the devil. Constance shot a look of pure hatred at Cordelia. In return, Cordelia smiled sweetly.
The smile slipped moments later when Eli took her by the arm and practically growled, “I want to speak to you inside.”
They took a few steps toward the building before Eli stopped and turned. He still had hold of her, so she turned with him. Their guests were milling around, half of them staring at Eli and Cordelia, and half of them staring at Constance and Jacob.
“Go back to the fun, everyone,” Eli said. “There’s lots of food, and there is still the dance coming up. Have a good time and we’ll be back in just a little while.”
Eli wheeled them back toward the house, and the speed of his stride belied the pain she knew he was feeling. They mounted the steps, and the moment they were in the house, he let her go and propped himself up against the wall.
“Eli,” she said, putting her hand on his head. “We will go upstairs so you can rest.”
“Why do you continue to antagonize her?”
Cordelia sighed. “Because she is trying to cause trouble. If I did nothing, she would have been successful. This way, she was the one who was embarrassed, and perhaps I stopped whatever it was she had planned. There was no telling what she would have done after her ‘faint’ was over.”
Eli chuckled, but it did not sound as if he were happy. Instead, it sounded as if he were laughing in disgust. “I could have asked Jacob to get her up and take her away. Instead…” the words drifted off as he put his hand to his head again. “I need to rest. I want you to please go outside and mingle with our guests. I am going to rest, after I check with Stuart to see if anyone tried to get inside. Of course, there is little chance of that happening, since everyone was busy watching the scene unfold outside.”
“Eli, I—” Cordelia stopped speaking when he held up his hand.
“Please, go. We’ll talk about this when I’m feeling better.”
It was on the tip of her tongue to argue, to tell him she would escort him upstairs and make sure he did not fall on the way. Instead, she sighed softly. “I hope you feel better soon and will come and join us.”
“We’ll see,” he said as he went toward the library.
Cordelia knew it was best for her to do as he asked. She turned toward the entrance, ran her hands down her skirts and then opened the door.
* * *
Two days later, Eli finally felt like himself again. His head had stopped pounding, and he didn’t feel like he was going to heave up the contents of his stomach when he moved.
Whoever had hit him over the head had done a good job. The day of the party, Stuart told him that no one had come in the house, except for the ladies who were refilling empty food dishes.
“No one took a step toward the library,” Stuart said. Eli asked his cousin if someone might have slipped in unnoticed.
“Well, if they were unnoticed, how would I know?” Stuart had responded.
Eli had shaken his head in disgust. “You seem a little distracted.” Eli glanced to where Melody stood, looking out the window.
“She’s a married woman,” Stuart said. “But there is something I wanted to talk to you about.”
Eli’s head felt as if it might explode if one more piece of information came inside. “Can it wait until later?”
Stuart nodded. “Go upstairs and get some sleep.”
“That’s what I intend to do.” Eli climbed the stairs slowly. He had fallen asleep, and at several times during the night, he had been aware of Cordelia shaking him awake. She fed him water and asked if he was hungry.
When he’d woken that morning, he’d felt better, but it wasn’t until this morning that he’d felt like he was himself again. He’d eaten his breakfast with gusto, and he hadn’t felt nauseous. Now that his body was back in order, he needed to deal with Cordelia, and what she had done at the party.
There was a part of him that had wanted to laugh when she’d poured the liquid on Constance. But there was another part, a larger part, that was angry with her. He knew from what Stuart told him this morning after breakfast, that the incident was the talk of the town, and the wives of his hands were having a good time laughing, at Constance’s expense.
Jacob had come out to check on him yesterday afternoon. He’d told Eli that it had been his advice to Constance to give up and leave town, but the woman had shaken her head and refused to give an inch.
“She said she’ll be here until hell freezes over, her words, not mine,” Jacob had said. “Not exactly words I’d expect a nice lady like her to use.”
Eli had wanted to tell the marshal that Constance wasn’t a lady, but they still hadn’t received any reply to the telegram Cordelia had sent to her former boss in New York. That meant they really didn’t know the truth yet. Constance could be who she said she was, or she could be an actress hi
red to play a part.
“Promise you won’t take things too fast,” Mrs. Dunlap said as he headed toward the back door.
“I’ll be good,” Eli promised her. He was just about to step outside when Cordelia stepped into the room. She looked absolutely beautiful in a soft lavender dress that accentuated all the parts of her body that Eli loved to play with. He fought back the lust that instantly filled his body, because now wasn’t the time.
“Good morning,” she said, somewhat shyly. They hadn’t spoken much in the last few days, only for her to ask how he was feeling and him to answer that he was fine.
“Morning,” he said. “We’ll talk after dinner.”
Eli left the room as quickly as possible. He knew Stuart had kept things on the Four Fours going smoothly, but Eli had always been the type of person who wanted to keep in charge. He was going to check everything out today, to make sure nothing had been left undone.
After that, he would decide what to do. He would pay attention to how he was feeling, and if it wasn’t good, he would keep his promise to Mrs. Dunlap and take things easy.
He had just started for the barn when he noticed a horse coming down the road from the gate. The rider was pushing the horse hard, having it eat up the yardage quickly as he rode toward the house. As it neared, Eli could see that it was Jacob Sky.
What would the marshal want here today? As far as Eli knew, the only trouble he had right now was with Constance, and the only way Jacob could be involved was because he had escorted Constance away the day of the party.
“Morning,” Jacob said as he drew up beside Eli. He dismounted, secured his horse’s reins so it could walk without stepping on them. Then he led it to the water trough near the house. The horse started to drink, and Jacob turned to Eli.
“I didn’t expect you today,” Eli said as he and Jacob shook hands. “Is something wrong?”
