Daniel beamed. "One of these days, Evie, someone's going to call you out on one of your tales, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if Pecos Martin won't be the one. He's likely to whale the tar out of you when we get to Mineral Springs and he finds out you lied."
"I told you, he's a gentleman. He'll understand that we can't trust anyone just yet. We'll tell him what he needs to know when the time comes."
Daniel shook his head at his older "sister." "I haven't met the gentleman yet who didn't want to tan your hide when he discovered he was the victim of your tall tales. You'll not have Nanny here to protect you this time."
Evie smiled serenely. "Don't worry. This is one time when the gentleman won't be able to say a thing. You just practice on calling me Maryellen."
Chapter 2
"Don't you dare try to kiss me, Tyler Monteigne! You're lying, and don't tell me different." Marjorie Anne tugged out of his placating embrace and strode for the door.
"Honest, darling, I wouldn't lie to you. She's an old friend of the family and is in desperate need of help. I would be revealing confidences to say any more."
"I'm going home to tell John Allen all about you. My friends warned me that you were no good, but I wouldn't believe them. John Allen will put an end to your lying tongue."
Marjorie Anne threw open the bedroom door and with a swish of rich silk, swept out to the corridor she had been persuaded to abandon not minutes before. Fury colored her powdered cheeks and spurred her small feet into a rapid patter down the stairs.
Tyler leaned against the doorjamb, arms crossed, waiting resolutely for the next scene to follow.
It wasn't long in coming. With long, unhurried strides, Benjamin Wilkerson the Third approached from the back stairs. His narrow black face was singularly unexpressive as he noted Tyler waiting for him.
"You're heading for big-time trouble, boy," Ben said as he ambled closer. "That woman's got fireworks where her heart should be. She'll be bringing that troublemaking husband of hers down here for certain. And Bessie's gone off to find Dancer. She don't no more believe a word you said than the other. You're losing your touch."
Since Dancer was more or less Bessie's "employer" and had a reputation for testiness when it came to his girls, Tyler grimaced and allowed Ben into the room before closing the door behind him.
"The moon must be full or something. Why in hell do even the best of women get it into their heads to feather nests? There couldn't be two less likely females to take holy matrimony into consideration—particularly with an unemployed bastard like me—but they both have to do it on the same day. Must be something in the air."
"Spring, I reckon. All the animals are doing it. Want to hole up at the Ridge for a while?"
Tyler poured himself a whiskey and stared out the hotel window. He knew why Benjamin wanted to go back to the Ridge. He had family and friends there. But going home to Tyler only meant facing failure and defeat. He had spent these last five years avoiding that. He didn't see any particularly good reason why he should face it now.
They could pass right by the Ridge if he took Miss Peyton to the steamboat dock down the river instead of the one in Natchez. He'd left an unfinished task in that vicinity.
"You know you're free to go anytime you want, Ben, but I'm thinking of moving on. I hear the railroads are finally starting to build toward Texas, and the price of cattle is going up. There ought to be money to go around now. Maybe I'll pick me up some."
The lanky negro stared as if Tyler had suddenly announced he was going into the priesthood. "Texas? Have you lost your mind, boy? Way I heard, they're practically shooting at each other in the halls of guvmint. We got enough of that kind of trouble right here. You just asking for more to stick your nose in with all those wild men over there."
"Well, I'm not much interested in wild men, but there's a certain little temptress who just might make it worth my while. She's got eyes that could melt a man, and a tongue swifter than a whip. I think maybe it's time to come to a little understanding with her."
Ben rolled his eyes heavenward. "Boy, you got brains in the wrong part of your anatomy. Let's go back to the Ridge, do a little fishing, and I'll find you some nice quiet girl to fool around with. A roll in the hay ain't worth a trip to Texas."
Tyler's hand stilled as he raised the glass to his lips. With a soft curse, he set the glass down and turned to face the man who had taught him to fish and ride and had been his companion more certainly than his own brothers.
"I'm not taking any more Ridge girls, Ben. I'll stick to the kind who like a little fun and nothing more. I'll see you after a while."
With that, he walked out, leaving Ben to frown and finish off the whiskey.
* * *
"Why, Mr. Martin, how good to see you so soon. Do come in. Daniel, find Mr. Martin a seat."
Since the room had little more than two twin beds, one chair, and a dresser, finding a seat presented few difficulties. The skinny adolescent wryly drew out the one chair and gestured for their guest to take it.
Tyler noted that the boy walked with a limp that required balancing himself on the rickety furniture. A dashing gold-handled cane rested against the wall in one corner. He took in the boy's pale brown hair and gray eyes, then gazed at the auburn-haired, dark-eyed vision in green. There was no family resemblance whatsoever, but their familiarity with each other was marked.
Maryellen handed her brother his writing desk as he returned to one of the beds, and she poured him a glass of water before he could ask for it. Daniel pulled out a bundle of letters and a small dime novel, and handed them to Maryellen as she spread her skirts across the second bed. Neither of them needed to speak for the other to know what he or she wanted. It was quite a cozy tableau.
"Mr. Martin, this is my brother Daniel. We've come down here to Natchez from St. Louis to find you because of this book. The reporter seems to think you know all there is to know about Texas. We understand the interior isn't particularly civilized yet, and we'd like your help in reaching Mineral Springs. We're willing to pay whatever fees you charge."
Judging by the costliness of their clothing, Tyler could see that their pockets weren't empty, but he had to wonder at their staying in a hotel in Under-the-Hill and sharing a room. Such economies spoke of a lack of cash flow. He caught Maryellen's knowing gaze. He hadn't failed to notice her continuance of the pretense that he was this Pecos fellow despite everything she'd seen and heard.
She couldn't be more than a couple of years older than her brother, but it was obvious that the maturity was all on her side. She was cosseting a dreamer, and in a more cynical fashion than Tyler had expected.
"Well, you're fortunate that something has just recently come up that requires my attention in that direction," Tyler replied.
"Teee-rrific." Daniel beamed happily. "I knew you would come. Maryellen thinks we can do everything ourselves, but she doesn't read about Texas like I do. If someone offered her an insult, all I could do is smite them with my cane. And if it came to stagecoach robbers, we'd be at their mercy."
Tyler sprawled back in his chair and fastened his gaze on the nonchalant female smiling through this pretense. If it came to stagecoach robbers, he'd be as much at their mercies as they, but she didn't seem in the least bit concerned.
"Tell me more about your sister in Mineral Springs. Are those her letters?" He nodded toward the bundle in Maryellen's hands.
"Sister?" Daniel looked momentarily confused, but Maryellen answered quickly enough.
"Yes. She always wrote regularly until just these last few months. We're terribly worried about her." Maryellen sent Daniel a fixed look, but he was admiring the cobwebs on the ceiling.
The little witch was lying. Intrigued, Tyler let her continue weaving her web of deceit.
"As I told you earlier, her marriage didn't seem to be working out. She seemed to be afraid of her husband and mentioned attacks on their ranch. And then there was nothing. It is all very frightening, and we're determined to go to Mine
ral Springs and rescue her. Evelyn always was delicate, and Mama cried her heart out when she left St. Louis for Texas. We have to find out what's wrong, you see."
Daniel smiled at the ceiling, and Tyler wondered how much of that fairy tale might be found between the covers of the cheap novel she held. Or perhaps she was always so inventive. He liked inventive women. He smiled lazily and stretched his legs across the narrow floor.
"Well, now, ma'am, I don't rightly know how much help I can be in your family matter, but I'd be happy to escort you to Mineral Springs. I'll need my salary and expenses on a daily basis, you understand, and I'm to have the last word in our travel arrangements. You're paying me for my experience, so I expect you to accept my decisions."
Maryellen looked a little nervous, but Daniel nodded his head seriously.
"We thought... Well, I think it would be better if we waited until the end of our journey to pay you, Mr. Martin. We don't know you, after all, and..." Maryellen halted when Tyler raised his brows, and Daniel hurriedly interfered.
"We'll pay him half. That's what the book says. Then when we get to Mineral Springs safe and sound, we'll give him the rest, and he can decide whether or not to stay and help us."
Tyler hid his grin. His estimated fee of ten dollars a day just went to twenty. If they somehow managed to get to Mineral Springs all in one piece, he'd consider what to do about the excess.
Rising, he made a curt bow. "I trust you can be ready to travel by morning. I have a piece of business to take care of down the river a spell, and we'll be catching the boat to New Orleans from there. It's been a pleasure meeting you both, and I'm sure we'll have a safe and enjoyable journey. Good day."
* * *
Evie stared after him, openmouthed, as Tyler walked out of the room without so much as a by-your- leave. She might not have been raised in the best circles, but even she knew a gentleman should behave better than that. Who in Hades did the man think he was? He acted as if he really were Pecos Martin instead of a two- timing cur with two women after his hide. Maybe she ought to persuade Daniel out of this.
But Daniel was too enthralled. "Did you see that? Lord, I wish I could be a man like that someday. Did you see the gun in his waistcoat pocket? I wonder if he had another in his boot? I wager other people will think twice before taking him on."
Evie sighed and checked her hair in the mirror. Daniel had never had a man to look up to before, and she had to admit that Tyler Monteigne was certainly worth looking at, if not up to. She could still smell the spicy scent of his cologne, and something in her middle did a jig at the thought of the way he had looked at her. Men looked at her all the time, but none had ever looked at her as if he could see right through her and know her every thought, not to mention how she looked under her dress. Even his eyes had been a kind of golden-brown. His good looks were quite disgusting. She supposed they would have to endure women chasing after him wherever they went.
But that was just fine. She was the heroine of this particular adventure. She really didn't think they needed Pecos Martin or a secret agent; that was Daniel's fantasy, not hers. She was certain she could handle this all on her own. But it would be exciting to have a handsome man along for the ride.
"How's your leg? Would you like to go downstairs to eat, or shall I bring something back?" she asked Daniel over her shoulder.
"Evie, you know perfectly well you can't wander those streets after dark. I'm coming with you."
Evie frowned, but she supposed he was right. That was one of the reasons she had agreed to Daniel's nonsense about finding Pecos Martin. As much as she would like to do everything herself, she couldn't bear to see Daniel hurting while he tried to protect her, and his pride wouldn't allow for anything else. She just hoped this Tyler Monteigne was at least a portion of the gentleman he appeared to be.
She watched with concern as Daniel consulted their tiny bag of cash. "He didn't say how much he was going to charge. Do you think there will be enough?"
"We've been careful. We still have almost the whole month's allowance, and I suppose we can always sell some of our stuff if necessary. I understand people in Texas are eager for anything from back East. We'll manage."
Evie frowned as Daniel stood and grimaced in pain. "Are you sure you want to do this, Danny? After all, you've got your own family you could go to."
The boy's serious young face grew tighter and more mature. "You're my family, Evie. Do you really think I want to meet the bastards who didn't want to keep a cripple? Now come on, I'm starved."
He was right, of course. Daniel usually was. Reflecting on that thought, Evie felt a tremor of premonition as she remembered his warnings about Mr. Pecos Martin. She didn't know what Mr. Martin/Monteigne would do when he discovered the full extent of her lies, but there was no sense in worrying about it now.
She'd worry about it when she found out who she really was.
Chapter 3
"This is such lovely country. I can't imagine anyone ever wanting to leave." Evie glanced up at the towering magnolias along the lane they were traversing, then at a field inundated with wild redbuds and dogwoods in full bloom. St. Louis had been a beautiful city, but they had left by river and seen little of the land.
The Mississippi countryside they traveled through by wagon was like nothing she had ever known. She had been raised on English literature and thought adventures ought to begin in the mists of Cornwall or the rugged wilderness of Northumberland, but if anyone should ever write an American literary classic, it ought to start right here on the Mississippi. This was a magnificent beginning for any adventure. She wouldn't mind traveling all the way to New Orleans by wagon.
The man she knew as Tyler and Daniel thought was Pecos urged the wagon horses to a greater speed. "It was a lovely country until the carpetbaggers and scalawags took over. Now its just the same as every other place. Some of the finest homes in the South used to be right along here."
Remembering the crumbling mansion they had just passed, Evie bit her lip and kept quiet. She tried not to glance at Tyler too often. He was good to look at and the prospect was tempting, but his face had been growing harder the farther they traveled. She hadn't much thought of the man beside her except as a means to an end. His growing anger and sorrow were beginning to unnerve her. Heroes weren't supposed to be sad.
As they approached another white-columned mansion, this one in slightly better condition than the last, Benjamin rode up to block their view. The deceitful gambler had never made any explanations or introductions when they had set out this morning with the black man in tow, and Evie had assumed the man was a servant. As the morning trailed into afternoon, she began to understand that the man was a little more than that.
"I'm goin' to ride ahead and make certain they got rooms for all of us. I'll see about the boat tickets while I'm there," he said.
Tyler gave him a look that should have left him flat and bleeding in the road, but Benjamin appeared impervious to the injury. Taking the small purse of coins that Tyler handed him, he made a grinning bow and danced his horse off down the road. Even Evie could tell he was an expert horseman, and she wondered at that. Surely the man had been a slave not too long ago. How could he have learned to ride a horse that well? If he weren't so skinny, she could liken him to one of the genies from the Arabian Nights.
Directing his words to Daniel, Tyler announced, "You'll need to call me Tyler Monteigne from here on. 'Monteigne' is Martin in French. That's how I'm known here, and that's how I travel."
Evie raised her brows but didn't question as she continued to look straight ahead. The mansion that Ben had distracted them from was already behind them, and Tyler hadn't given it a second look. Her overactive imagination was getting ahead of her again. There was no reason to connect this gambler with the lovely home they had just passed.
She deliberately moved on to other thoughts. Had the cur answered to "Martin" yesterday when she called because some people used the Anglicized form of his name? She didn't know French. He co
uld be lying about that, too. It gave her something else to wonder about.
Daniel asked some question, and the desultory conversation between the two men continued as they traveled into a weather-beaten town that had only the river as an asset. Evie knew the vagaries of the Mississippi River. To build along it was the work of fools. But to take advantage of its commercial opportunities was always a temptation some fool couldn't resist.
Obviously the fool behind this particular town had thought that building an inn on pilings and placing it behind a levee would keep it safe. A dock had been built out into the water to service the steamboats traveling to and from Natchez. A few houses had popped up around the dock to house the laborers and their families. At one time it might have bustled with men hauling bales of cotton to market and goods back upstream for the plantations along the way. At the moment, it looked as if the whole town might blow away in the first good wind. If there had ever been paint or whitewash on the timber sidings, there was no evidence of it now.
Tyler said nothing as he reined the rented wagon into the inn yard. A man emerging from the stable greeted him with surprise, but Tyler made no more than a courteous salute before handing Evie down from the wagon and managing to put himself in Danny's way so he could borrow his shoulder climbing out. He had the manners of a gentleman even if something in his eyes said he no longer belonged to that class.
Having led a reasonably protected life, Evie wasn't familiar with the hard light shining behind Tyler's golden-brown eyes, but instinct told her to be wary of it. She was growing accustomed to his casual manner of appropriating her hand, and she didn't flinch now as he led her toward the rickety inn. She felt oddly secure with him walking beside her, even though the building they approached was one she would certainly have avoided on her own. Tyler wasn't a tall man or a heavy one, but he stood a head taller than she and walked with a muscular fluidity that somehow reassured.
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