by Becky Lower
Madeline had been so proud of her handiwork when she presented him with the hanky. And then, when she discovered he had signed on to the Confederacy, she tried to take it back. He’d stolen it from her fingers while he kissed her one last time, certain she’d forgive him for his defection once she calmed down. He certainly couldn’t tell her why he’d made the decision, or what he’d be doing. Besides, he, and many others who joined up thought the war would be over within a matter of months. However, she’d sent him a letter telling him she had married another, mere weeks after he’d left her side.
He shook his head, clearing away thoughts of Madeline, as he’d done so many times over the years.
Since he didn’t have any idea when his next meal would present itself, he ordered heartily from the menu, adding potatoes and toast to his selections. After all, Elise had promised him anything to eat in exchange for him answering her question.
He dove into the meal with abandonment, enjoying the juicy porterhouse and the eggs with their runny yolks that he sopped up with the potatoes. Perhaps because he’d been so hungry, or perhaps because of the company, he admitted he hadn’t enjoyed a meal so much in a long time.
Elise should be happy now that her curiosity about Madeline had been answered. And he should take his leave from this dangerous woman who had already upended his world. Stay at the fort and enjoy the company of the colonel and his wife until the next riverboat docked and he could climb aboard. He still had a few dollars in his boots, which would be enough of a stake to get him into a game of chance at the fort until the next boat arrived. With a sensible plan in place and a full belly, he prepared to continue their trek to the fort.
Without saying a word, he picked up Madeline’s handkerchief and wrung it out over the dish. The water in the bowl had become pink with his blood, but there were still a few stains left on the cloth. He’d smile as he would recall, weeks from now, how those most recent stains got there. Definitely a better story than being wounded in battle.
Although, he could say he’d been locked in a battle of a different kind.
He straightened the square out, carefully teasing out the wrinkles with his fingers before he ran his finger over the letters, folded the cloth and put the hanky into his vest pocket.
He glanced at Elise, caught how her jaw clenched and smiled as he touched his aching nose. “I guess we should get going.”
“And I guess we should part ways once we get to the fort.” Her words were clipped.
“Fine.” James rose from the table. “Hand over my money and I’ll be on my way.”
Her eyes flashed. “Not a chance. It was because of me you won that big pot in the first place. I left you the necklace and gown at the boat to pay you back for taking some money so I could get back home. Instead, you follow me into the drink, like a fool.” She flipped her whip on the wood floor to punctuate her remarks. “And we’ve already established you’re no fool. You’ve got something up your sleeve, and I still can’t figure out what it is.”
“Why don’t you give me a break? All I’ve done since seeing you for the first time is to help you out. And in payment, all you’ve done is steal my money and verbally abuse me.” He glanced at her. “Not that I mind the verbal sparring, but I’d like to know why.”
Elise bit her lower lip. The one he’d just thought about kissing to the point it would swell, making her even more enticing. “It’s not you, specifically. It’s your type.”
“And what type is that? Handsome, debonair, successful?”
Elise ground her teeth. A muscle in her jaw jumped. “All right. I’ll tell you why I don’t care much for your kind. My best friend, Eleanor, fell under the spell of a man very much like you. Bailey Snodgrass. We should have known, just by his name, what kind of man he was. He charmed his way into her life, and that of her family. He convinced her father to stake him as he rode into the South to buy up an abandoned plantation and then resell it for a huge profit.”
James pinched his sore nose. This was a tale he’d heard way too often. “Let me guess. That’s the last anyone ever saw or heard from him.”
Elise’s eyes clouded and she blinked before nodding. “Her family lost everything, couldn’t pay the mortgage on their land. The bank foreclosed on them, and they were forced to move back East, where they had some relatives.” She glanced over. “They lost everything and I lost my best friend. All due to a slick talking dude.”
“I’m sorry for your loss, Elise, but I had nothing to do with it.” He removed his wilted hat and plowed his fingers into his hair.
“Logically, I understand that. But I’m still wary of every similar man I come across. Somehow, the stash of money I stole from you rights the ship in my mind. Maybe I can send some of it to Eleanor so she’ll return to St. Louis.” Elise tossed him a tepid smile.
“So I guess we’re stuck with each other. Let’s go talk to the commanding officer at Fort Defiance, find out if he’s seen your brothers, or if he is familiar with the pair of thieves who stole from your father.” James took hold of her arm and started off in the direction of the fort.
Elise tossed his hand from her arm. “How is it you are so familiar with the fort? We delivered some horses here a time or two, so I know the name and the layout of this fort. But you’re not from these parts. You grew up on the East coast and served in the Confederacy. This was a Union fort during the war.”
James merely shrugged. His stomach, now full of food, twisted as he recalled the last time he’d been at the fort.
“Has anyone ever told you that you’re an infuriating man?” Elise's glance flashed over him.
“No one recently.” He patted his vest pocket, where he’d placed the hanky. Because the action would drive her crazy. And when she got riled up, she presented a most inviting package. A little off-balance, a bit unsettled. Just the way he preferred her to be.
And if he could manage to kiss those enticing lips again, or to touch the soft skin of her breasts, to feel her nipple stand at attention beneath the pad of his thumb again, so much the better. She was the first woman since Madeline he wanted to linger with. And now that she’d revealed the reason for her wariness toward him, he had even more reason to linger.
Sensible plan be damned. He wanted to spend more time with her. Maybe a lifetime. He’d use the excuse of needing his money back to accomplish his mission to win her heart. Perhaps by the time their journey ended, she’d consider joining him in San Francisco.
He could deal with her. But he didn’t have the same feeling about her brothers. The next few days or weeks would certainly be more exciting than anything that had happened to him since the war effort ended. He’d survived the war and his dicey part in it. He could survive the brothers. But the twisting in his stomach told him not to be so sure of himself.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Elise strode into the fort ahead of James, and unerringly entered the building where the offices were located. She’d been here the previous year, and recalled the layout well. James held the door for her and she raised an eyebrow in his direction, noting his smug expression as she preceded him into the building and to the commanding officer.
“Jack, my boy,” boomed the colonel in charge, a tall, muscular man who filled out his uniform nicely. Elise’s brow furrowed as he strode around the desk, totally ignoring her and shook James’s hand before enveloping him in a bear hug. “So glad you’re now able to come into the fort during daylight hours. Sally will be pleased to see you.” He switched his gaze from the duo in front of him to the lieutenant who stood at attention near the door. “Lieutenant, go to my quarters and inform my wife Jack is here.” As the lieutenant hurried off, the colonel’s attention shifted back to the pair in front of him, where he finally acknowledged Elise. “Who’s this lovely lady with you, Jack?” The colonel glanced at her.
James had a huge smile on his face as his attention shifted from the colonel to her. Catching her puzzled gaze, his smile became a smirk. That damned perpetual smirk.
&nb
sp; He took hold of her elbow. “Colonel Hatch, may I present Elise Lafontaine. She and her brothers evidently delivered some horses to you a year or so ago.”
“Colonel, it’s a pleasure to see you again, even if the circumstances are a bit out of the ordinary.” She probably appeared frightful, with her dirty, wrinkled clothing and her hair askew. She could be civil, at least, even if he couldn’t recall their last meeting. Or if he had mistaken James for someone else.
“Now I recall the time we met. Perhaps it was because you were with your highly protective brothers on that occasion, but I didn’t get the impression you were old enough to be traveling on your own. Much less with this scalawag.” The colonel let go of her hand and punched James lightly in the shoulder.
“You mean this scalawag who introduced himself to me as James Garnett, riverboat gambler?” Elise punched James, hard, on his other shoulder. “Trust me, it’s not by choice we are in each other’s company.”
The colonel glanced from Elise to James and back again. James nodded slightly before the colonel continued. “Miss Lafontaine, you’re in the company of one of the best spies the Union had during the war. This is Jack Diamond.”
Elise inhaled sharply. She’d been told stories about the spies involved in the war, even read about their exploits in the newspaper. Jack Diamond was highly regarded, even revered, depending on which side of the conflict you were sympathetic toward. Without him, the war might have dragged on for at least another year. More lives would have been lost.
“I am once again using my real name, Colonel. James Garnett, at your service.” He doffed his somewhat bedraggled hat at the officer and bowed.
Colonel Hatch glanced in Elise's direction. “One of your brothers showed up here yesterday, searching for you, and telling some story about how you were chasing down some men who had stolen from your father. Your brothers are all out looking for you, and there will be hell to pay once they find the culprits. Don't tell me Jack—or I guess it’s now James—has resorted to thievery now that the war’s over.”
“No, not James. Two men, brothers named Clay and Cody, are the culprits. I spied my father’s saddlebag in their possession and boarded the riverboat after them so as not to lose sight of them or the bag. Little did I know unaccompanied ladies are not allowed aboard. James happened to be on board already and intervened on my behalf.” Elise shrugged.
The colonel nodded. “That's the Jack I’m familiar with.” He motioned to the two chairs in front of his desk. “So, come on in, let me pour you a brandy, and you can tell me how you two ended up here at the fort, instead of on a boat going down the Mississippi. And how you plan to return to St. Louis before your brothers go on the warpath.”
“Do you know where my brothers are now?” Elise chafed at the delay of being cordial.
The colonel’s gaze flicked over her. “The one who was here yesterday told me two brothers were heading directly to New Orleans. The other two were taking their time, scouring the shoreline on either side of the Mississippi for you. My guess is, the two going directly would have docked by now and are just waiting on the lazy riverboat.”
Elise’s head spun as she tried to process the new information about James. He had been a spy for the Union army during the war! And not just any spy, but one of legend. That’s why he joined the Confederacy. Could that have been why his lady friend spurned him? Once she got the news of his duplicity, and of his fame for his part in the war would she come running back to him? How could she not? And despite his assurances he’d moved on, Elise had no doubt the lovely Madeline would be welcomed back in his arms. She took a seat since her legs had become shaky. “A brandy would be just the ticket. Thank you, Colonel.”
The two men shared a glance and a grin. Elise gritted her teeth. Let them have whatever opinion they chose. She needed that drink more than either of them did. Jack Diamond, indeed. Evidently, he had been a gambler long before he set foot on a riverboat.
He'd lost the woman he'd loved because he’d chosen to become a spy. He put principles before love. Elise could respect a man, love a man, with such lauded ideals. And the thought scared her to death. She glanced at him as the colonel handed them each a tumbler filled with two fingers of the rich, golden brown liquid. Elise breathed in the aroma of the liquid fire with deep fruity undertones. The colonel had good brandy, at least.
“Bottoms up.” Elise toasted both of them, then drained her glass.
Elise nodded. “Perhaps it would be best if I return home, since my brothers, as usual, seem to have things under control. I’m sure you two have a lot to catch up on. If you’ll be so kind, Colonel, as to sell me back one of my horses, I’ll be on my way.”
James took hold of Elise’s hand. “Make that two horses. I need to see this little lady to her home.”
Elise tugged her hand back and straightened in her chair. “There’s no need to further accompany this ‘little lady.’ My brothers are close by, evidently.”
The colonel glanced from James to Elise and back again, like an errant polo ball. He brushed his hand over his chin. “I’d be happy to sell you horses, but you’ve yet to tell me the story of how you both ended up off the boat and here at the fort. My wife will join us in a few minutes and I’m certain she’d love to have another Jack Diamond story to entertain her sewing circle with. And forgive me for saying so, but you could both benefit from a hot bath and some clean clothes.”
In other words, they weren’t going anywhere fast.
Elise puffed out her breath. “All right. I’ll give you an abbreviated version of what happened and why. The thieves had something in the saddlebag that, if lost, would put my family’s business in a hard way. James, or Jack as you call him, played cards with these gentlemen on my behalf in order to win back the important document for me.” She glanced over at James and he smiled as he ran his hand over his vest pocket, reminding her of the hanky. Smug bastard.
She shifted her focus and her bearing to the front, facing the colonel. “So, having retrieved what I’d come on board for, at the earliest opportunity I leapt overboard. I figured my brothers and I could track down the bad guys even if they were no longer on the boat, and give them a dose of Indian vengeance. We don’t need to involve the authorities in this matter. And for some fool reason, James jumped in after me.” She didn’t need to reveal that she’d stolen James’s money from him along with her document.
Both the colonel and Elise stared at James. He shrugged. “I couldn’t leave the lady to her own devices. She may be an expert tracker, and trust me, she’s great with that whip around her waist, but still, she’s a female, which is what got her into her situation to begin with. I need to see her to her home.”
“Well, of course you do, Jack. Er, James. And I suppose your black eye happened because you were flailing in the water and she had to save you?” The colonel grinned.
Elise could feel her skin bristle. She stood and both men lurched to their feet, their chair legs squealing in protest. “A bath does sound delightful, Colonel. I’m certain you, your wife, and James have a lot to catch up on. I’ll take my leave now.” Better to shut down this conversation before it got out of hand. What these two discussed behind her back concerned her not at all, but she’d be damned if they’d talk about her while she still sat in the room.
“Well, of course, Miss Lafontaine. Lieutenant Corbell will be more than happy to show you to a room, arrange for a tub to be filled, and my wife will find you some clean clothes. Lord knows, she has plenty from which to choose.” The distinguished colonel took hold of Elise’s elbow and led her from the room, turning her over to the fresh-faced young lieutenant.
Elise glanced around the fort, getting her bearings. The lieutenant led her to a small, dimly lit room, outfitted with a small bunk, a table and an oil lamp.
“Tub’s coming right up, miss. While you're bathing, I’ll work with Mrs. Hatch to find something else for you to wear and leave them outside the door.” He blushed when he spoke of her being in the tub. Had
she ever been so innocent? Had James?
She glanced over her shoulder to see if James had followed her out of the colonel’s office, but the yard was empty. He must be so sure she couldn’t escape, being in an enclosed compound. He and his friend, the colonel, would probably have a great laugh at her expense. But at least she didn’t need to hear it. And if the charming young lieutenant could find her some clean clothes and arrange for a quick, hot bath before James and the colonel finished off that bottle of brandy, so much the better. Elise awarded him with one of her winning smiles.
“Thank you so much, Lieutenant, for seeing to my needs so quickly. A long soak in the tub will feel so nice after my dunking in the muddy Mississippi.” Elise controlled her urge to grin as the lieutenant’s cheeks darkened.
“I’ll…uh, I’ll try to find something clean for you.” The lieutenant stammered before he saluted her and pivoted on his heel.
Ah, men. She could so easily charm them. She allowed herself the grin then, as a tub and many soldiers carrying buckets of hot water appeared. Once the tub was set up in the room and filled, she stripped and climbed in.
If Mrs. Hatch joined the group in the colonel’s office, Elise figured she’d have plenty of time, since she was certain the woman would fawn all over James. Especially since she’d only ever known him as a spy.
Of all things, James had been a spy during the war! The stubborn man had managed to hide his real self underneath a cloak of secrecy for years. Perhaps that was why her manipulations, which worked on so many other men, had so far failed on him. He wasn’t just stubborn, he was infuriating!
She slapped the water and hurried with her bath. She’d find her way to the stables, throw some reins on a horse, leave some of James’s money to pay for the ride, and mount bareback, as she’d done her entire life. She’d be gone before they even left the colonel’s office.
• ♥ •
“I’ll be damned, Jack. Or James, I guess it is now.” The colonel ran his hand through his sandy hair, spiking it into tufts. “I thought you lived a dangerous life during the war, in your role as a spy, but now you’re involved with the Lafontaine woman? Have you seen her brothers? You must really enjoy living on the edge.” He rose from behind his desk to refill James’s brandy glass and his own.
