City of Schemes

by Victoria Thompson

  “Maybe not, but you can find out. Elizabeth Miles knows.”

  “How could she? She wasn’t even there.”

  “But she was behind it, her and that no good brother of hers.”

  “Mr. Thornton,” Gideon said, using the tone of voice he had perfected for getting unreasonable clients to understand their true situations, “you were there and saw the same thing I did. The army arrested General Sterling and confiscated everything. Have you taken up the matter with them?”

  “Of course I did. They never heard of General Sterling, and they didn’t know anything about my money, and when I went to reclaim my property, I couldn’t prove I owned it because the army or whoever it was had taken all the papers. By the time I got things straightened out, the warehouses were empty.”

  “That’s . . . unfortunate.” Which was perfectly true.

  “Do you know how much I lost on that deal?”

  “No, I do not.” He had made it a point to know as little as possible about it.

  “Oh, I thought maybe you got a cut.”

  Gideon saw no reason to reply to that, but he did give Thornton a glare that didn’t seem to faze him.

  “I lost a lot,” Thornton continued, “and that doesn’t even count what Elizabeth and her brother took from me the first time.”

  “I don’t know anything about that, either, and I don’t have any idea where your money is, Mr. Thornton. I’m afraid I can’t help you at all.”

  “Maybe not, but Elizabeth can, and she will. You tell her I want it all back, every penny.”

  “Miss Miles does not have that kind of money.” At least not that Gideon knew about.

  “If you don’t know how much it is, how do you know she doesn’t?” Thornton taunted.

  “All right. How much is it?”

  “If you will recall, the government was going to pay me three-quarters of a million dollars, but I’m willing to settle for two hundred and fifty thousand.”

  Gideon almost laughed out loud. “Are you insane?”

  “Not at all. She took that money from me, and I want it back.”

  Gideon wondered if Thornton had really lost that much, and thought perhaps he had. “As I already reminded you, Miss Miles was not involved in your dealings with the army, and even if she was, she could never lay her hands on that much money.”

  “Then you’d better figure out who can, because if you don’t, you’ll be very sorry.”

  “Are you threatening me, Mr. Thornton?” Gideon asked, wishing he didn’t already know the answer.

  “I most certainly am.” He glanced around Gideon’s well-appointed office. “You’ve got a pretty nice life here, Bates. You’ve got your old family name and your society friends and your good reputation, but this girl you’re going to marry, she doesn’t have any of that, does she? And what’s more, she’s a common thief.”

  Gideon was halfway out of his chair when Thornton raised both hands as if to ward him off.

  “Don’t get excited. You know it’s true. Oh, she’s pretty enough, and I guess she can pass for a lady, but if people ever found out the truth about her, all those society friends of yours wouldn’t be so friendly anymore, would they? In fact, none of them would ever speak to you again. And your job here? Would people want to do business with a man married to a grifter? Would anybody ever trust you again?”

  Gideon had never believed the old saw about your blood turning to ice, but he believed it now. He had also never hated anyone quite as much as he hated Thornton at that moment. “No one will believe you.”

  “Oh, I think they will. I’ve still got a few friends in this town. All it would really take is a word to a reporter at one of the big newspapers, and they would do the rest. They’d find out all about her and put it right on the front page. You know it’s true.”

  He did, too. “If you ruin Elizabeth, you’ll never get your money back,” Gideon pointed out logically, “but we can’t stop you because we don’t have that much money to give you. I believe we have reached an impasse.”

  But Thornton wasn’t convinced. “You might not have that kind of money, but she can get it, even if she has to con it out of somebody else. I don’t particularly care. I just want what’s mine.”

  “I can’t give you an answer today, Thornton. I’ll need some time to . . . to figure this out.”

  Thornton smiled, and this time it actually reached his eyes. “Of course you will. And Elizabeth will need time to raise the money. I’ll give you a month, but never doubt that I’ll do what I say, Bates. Ruining you and your lovely bride won’t cost me anything and will bring me a lot of pleasure.”

  “And how do I know you won’t do it even if we give you the money?” Gideon asked, furious.

  “You don’t,” Thornton said with satisfaction. “You’ll have to worry about me for the rest of your lives.”

  * * *

  —

  Elizabeth arrived very early for her luncheon with Rosemary because she figured Rosemary would try to be the first to arrive. Indeed, Rosemary seemed a bit disconcerted when she was escorted to the table Elizabeth had claimed for them. A generous tip to the maître d’ had secured them the best spot, right beside the fountain that bubbled deliciously.

  “What a lovely dress,” Elizabeth said quite sincerely as Rosemary arranged herself in her seat. The plum color was a bit dark for Rosemary but would have looked wonderful with Elizabeth’s coloring.

  “Thank you,” Rosemary said absently. “I hope I’m not late.”

  “Not at all. I was finished with my morning errands and decided to wait here where it’s so pleasant.”

  Rosemary smiled bravely, determined to get the upper hand again. “I’m so glad you were free today. But I suppose you don’t know many people in the city yet.”

  “Gideon and his mother have been very helpful. I’ve made a lot of new friends, although so many of Gideon’s associates were in the army that I’m just now getting to know them.”

  “Like Logan,” Rosemary said.

  “Yes.” Elizabeth fell silent as the waitress came to offer them menus that were handwritten on embossed vellum cards.

  Rosemary had several questions that the waitress patiently answered, and then they placed their orders.

  As soon as she was gone, Elizabeth leaned forward and said, “Now you must tell me all of your wedding plans. I know my wedding won’t be nearly as grand as yours, but I want to make sure I haven’t forgotten anything really important.”

  Rosemary didn’t exactly blanch, but she did look faintly alarmed. “I . . . Well, I think I told you that we haven’t set a date yet. Logan has just gotten back and is still adjusting to civilian life, as he calls it.”

  “But you must have some plans, even if they’re just daydreams at the moment,” Elizabeth said. “Will it be a morning wedding or afternoon? Evenings are becoming more popular, I understand. And have you sent your engagement announcement to the newspapers yet?”

  “Well, of course,” Rosemary said, a little offended. “I did that even before Logan left for the army.”

  “As you know,” Elizabeth confided, “we had decided not to send one out because our wedding is going to be so small, but . . . Well, perhaps you saw the mention we received in the various newspapers.”

  “I . . . Yes, I do think I saw that,” Rosemary said uneasily. She really wasn’t a good liar. So few people were.

  “We were so surprised to see it mentioned,” Elizabeth marveled. “Oddly, it happened right after you had asked me about it, too. I was actually wondering if I should take your advice and put the announcement in anyway when our names were mentioned in the gossip columns, of all places. I didn’t think Gideon and I were interesting enough to be mentioned in the gossip columns.”

  “I’m sure you are being too modest,” Rosemary said in a tone she probably meant to be kind.

&n
bsp; “I don’t think so. After all, nobody in New York even knows me, do they? You told me so yourself,” Elizabeth reminded her with elegant brutality. “Why would our marriage be considered gossip? And who would have taken it upon themselves to notify the newspapers—almost all the newspapers in fact—about our engagement?”

  Rosemary was almost squirming. “I’m sure it was done with the best of intentions.”

  “Really?” Elizabeth didn’t have to pretend to be skeptical. “And what would those intentions have been?”

  “I . . .”

  “And who would even think that providing those awful columnists with information was a good idea? Those people are always trying to ruin someone’s reputation or create some sort of scandal. I know Gideon did not at all appreciate seeing our names mentioned in the same place where others are accused of adultery and even worse.”

  Rosemary sighed and folded her hands in what might have been surrender. “You are so right. It was an awful thing to do.”

  Elizabeth smiled sweetly. “Then why did you do it, Rosemary?”

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Fortunately for Rosemary, the tea arrived at that moment. Elizabeth’s smile lasted through the entire little ceremony, as the waitress set out the teapot and the sugar and cream and filled the cups. Meanwhile, Rosemary simply stared at Elizabeth in disbelief, her face almost devoid of color.

  When the waitress had gone, Elizabeth daintily dropped two sugar cubes into her teacup and gave it a stir with the small silver spoon.

  “I . . . I don’t know what you mean,” Rosemary finally managed.

  “I think you do. Forgive me for being so forthright. I can see I’ve shocked you, but I’m afraid I was taught to be honest,” she lied. “That’s the way they do things in South Dakota.”

  Plainly, it wasn’t the way they did things in Rosemary’s New York, however. She couldn’t even summon a response.

  “Sugar?” Elizabeth asked, dropping a cube into Rosemary’s cup without waiting for an answer. “It’s good for shock, I’m told.”

  Rosemary picked up her cup and took a sip. Somehow she managed not to spill any, even though her hand was shaking a bit. When she’d gotten the cup safely back on the saucer again, she said, “I really don’t know what to tell you, Elizabeth.”

  “Then just tell me why would you do such a thing when you knew I didn’t want it done?”

  “I . . . People will want to know,” she said faintly.

  “I’m sure they will. People love knowing other people’s business, but what I really want to know is how you managed to put it into all the newspapers at once. That was quite a feat.”

  “It wasn’t difficult at all,” Rosemary said, regaining a bit of her old confidence. “I know all the gossip columnists. They come to every event I attend, and they always have. They are always desperate for news, so I simply wrote them each a note.”

  “Which you must have done the morning after our dinner or perhaps you stayed up late into the night, scratching out your missives, and had them hand delivered to arrive in time,” Elizabeth guessed, pleased to see the color rising in Rosemary’s cheeks was a blotchy red.

  “I was only trying to help,” she protested. “You were going to defy convention, and I couldn’t let you do that. Think how it would embarrass Gideon.”

  “Neither Gideon nor his mother thought we were defying anything, and they weren’t the least bit embarrassed.”

  “Then they should have been,” Rosemary said stiffly.

  Elizabeth considered her companion, watching as Rosemary added another sugar cube to her cup and stirred it vigorously. “And what did you get in return?”

  Rosemary looked up in surprise and ill-concealed alarm. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean people usually have good reasons for doing what they do. I don’t believe for a moment that you were really trying to keep me from making a serious social blunder. I think you may have been doing this for reasons of your own, and I’d like to know what they are.”

  She tried very hard to look astonished. “What possible reason could I have?”

  Elizabeth sat back to consider the question just as the waitress delivered the tray of tiny sandwiches and tea cakes that passed for lunch. When she had gone, Elizabeth devoted herself to the business of choosing her sandwiches before replying, and then she waited until Rosemary reached for one.

  “I’m thinking that you have a secret you wouldn’t like to see in the gossip columns, so you feed the columnists tidbits about other people in exchange.”

  Rosemary had obviously never needed to disguise her true feelings because her dismay was almost comical. “What secret could I possibly have that gossip columnists would care about?”

  “Do you really want me to guess?”

  Rosemary’s cheeks were flaming now. “Elizabeth, this is a very inappropriate topic for us to be discussing.”

  “And why is that?” Elizabeth asked with genuine interest.

  “Because women in our position are expected to exercise a certain amount of discretion.”

  “You mean like not sending gossip about each other to the newspapers?”

  Was Rosemary actually grinding her teeth? “No, like not upsetting each other in a public place.”

  Elizabeth was not a bit upset. She took a bite of one of her sandwiches and chewed thoughtfully. When she’d swallowed, she said, “I appreciate your efforts to instruct me in the finer points of life in New York society, Rosemary. I obviously have a lot to learn.”

  Amazingly, Rosemary seemed to think Elizabeth was sincere. “That’s only to be expected, and I’m only too happy to assist in any way I can. I’m sure South Dakota is very different from New York.”

  Since Elizabeth had never even been to South Dakota, she couldn’t judge, but she now knew Rosemary’s New York operated under a very different set of rules from the rest of the world. Rosemary’s rules suited Rosemary and no one else. “I’m very glad to know I can call on you for whatever I might need.”

  Rosemary smiled graciously, somehow believing she had won their little battle of wills. “As I told you, I want us to be good friends, Elizabeth. I know that’s what Logan and Gideon would want, too.”

  Elizabeth thought she knew what Logan and Gideon really wanted, though, and if they got it, she and Rosemary would never be friends.

  * * *

  —

  That evening was the salon at Cybil and Zelda’s house, and Elizabeth was hoping she could get Gideon alone for a few minutes to speak with him about her encounter with Rosemary that day. Being the kind man that he was, he hadn’t wanted to believe Rosemary was the one who had given the news of their engagement to the newspapers, so he needed to know that she had actually admitted it. Gideon probably wouldn’t approve of getting revenge for such an outrageous act, either, so Elizabeth would have to temper her instinctive response, at least for now.

  When the doorbell rang a good hour before their salon guests were expected, Elizabeth went to answer it, since Cybil and Zelda were still upstairs. Gideon and Anna were waiting on the porch. He always escorted Anna to the salon because her mother would never let her attend alone. But Elizabeth’s delight at seeing them lasted only a moment before she noticed their grim expressions.

  “What’s happened?” Elizabeth asked, ushering them into the house.

  Gideon and Anna exchanged a look. “Oscar Thornton came to my office today,” he said after a tense moment.

  Elizabeth gasped as her stomach clenched with dread. “Your office? What did he want?”

  “Oh, Elizabeth, I’m so sorry,” Anna said, her lovely face drawn with worry. “He saw the engagement announcement in one of the newspapers.”

  “I’m going to murder Rosemary Westerly,” Elizabeth said.

  Gideon took her hands in his cold ones. “Now, darling, you don’t know—”

  �
�But I do know. I had lunch with her today, and she admitted it. She thought she was doing us a favor.”

  Gideon’s frown deepened as he considered all the implications of this admission. “She really did it?”

  “Yes, she did. Now, what did Thornton say when he saw you?” Elizabeth asked again.

  “Let’s go inside and sit down and I’ll tell you. That’s why we came early,” Gideon said.

  He helped Anna off with her coat, and when he’d removed his trench coat as well, they all went into the parlor, an over furnished room stuffed with as many chairs and sofas as would fit and banked with heavily laden bookcases on every wall. A cheerful fire crackled in the hearth, and Elizabeth threw another log onto it before taking a seat beside Gideon on the sofa. Anna sat on a chair at right angles to them.

  Gideon cleared his throat. “Thornton saw the announcement, like I said. He immediately figured out that you hadn’t died, as he’d been led to believe.”

  “How astute of him,” Elizabeth said bitterly. Their plans had been so carefully laid. “Does he expect an invitation to the wedding?”

  Gideon sighed wearily. “He wants his money back.”

  “Of course he does. I hope you told him you don’t have it.”

  “I did, and I also told him you don’t have it, but he doesn’t care. He still wants it back. He said . . .” Gideon looked away.

  Elizabeth rubbed her forehead where a headache was trying to form. “Just tell me.”

  “He expects you to run a con on someone else if you can’t get it any other way,” Anna explained when Gideon couldn’t bring himself to. Plainly, Gideon had told her everything on their trip over.

  Elizabeth was impressed in spite of herself. Thornton had clearly thought this through. “And what will he do if he doesn’t get his money back?”

  Gideon and Anna exchanged another look, but Anna silently refused to speak for him again. “He will tell everyone about your . . . background.” Her background as a con artist, of course.

  “Everyone?” Elizabeth asked to make sure she understood.