“Pearl?”
“I should ask Mr. Gordon to assign her to the case. That way I wouldn’t have to worry about knowing anything. She’d know if the sugar and salt were mixed up.” Zeke took a deep breath, surprised by the irritation that appeared. “And I wouldn’t mind marryin’ her for a bit. I’d be able to have her cook for me all the time.”
Zeke felt his nails dig into his palms. “She cooks for you now.”
“I know, but this way she’d be my wife. She’d have to cook for me. In fact, she’d have to do everything I ask.” Tom’s face and neck flushed with excitement. “I even heard some of the agents got along with their partners rather well. Imagine that…”
“I’d rather not.” Zeke stood and snatched his tie from the table. He wanted to roar his displeasure across the room; instead he pointed his finger at Thomas. “Don’t even think about saying anything to Mr. Gordon regarding that thought. That is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. Miss Bolton is not agent material.”
Before Thomas could respond, Zeke turned on his heel and headed towards his room before he said something he’d regret.
Chapter 3
“I absolutely will not!”
Pearl’s voice could be heard all the way in the courtyard between the house and the dormitory. She sounded genuinely distressed, so Zeke quickened his pace to get to the kitchen.
When he entered the kitchen, Pearl was nowhere to be found. He followed the sound of murmurs to Archie’s office. As he walked in, he could see Marianne standing behind a distraught Pearl. She had one hand on Pearl’s shoulder and the other was rubbing small circles on her back.
“There, there, Pearl,” Marianne said softly. “No one is going to make you do anything.” Zeke saw Marianne give a look to Archie that relayed they were going to have a long discussion later. Zeke didn’t envy his boss one bit. He knew Marianne didn’t put up with any misbehavior from the agents, her husband was no exception.
“What’s going on here?” Zeke asked Thomas who was sitting in the second chair in front of Archie’s desk.
“I mentioned to Mr. Gordon howsin’ it might be good to use Pearl for that case.”
“You did what?”
“I mentioned…”
“I heard you the first time.” Zeke turned to look at Archie. “I know you didn’t think that was a good idea.”
“It isn’t,” Pearl chimed in.
“Why ever not?” Archie leaned back in his chair and scratched his beard. “I think it is a fantastic idea.” Pearl started sobbing.
“Pearl isn’t agent material.”
“That isn’t for you to say, Preston,” Archie responded. “She’s my employee, she does as I tell her.”
“Archie, now think about this. You don’t want to lose the best cook in the county,” Marianne pleaded.
“Only for a few days.” Archie waved his hand in the air. “It would be better if we had someone actually participating in the contest. That way we could get two perspectives. The contest doesn’t start for two weeks.”
“I’s ready to get started now,” Thomas said, with a little too much eagerness, Zeke thought.
Zeke ran his hand down his face. He hated to see Pearl so upset. “May I speak to Miss Bolton?”
Archie thought for a minute. “I don’t see why not.”
Zeke looked around the room. “Privately,” he said, looking at Thomas. He held out his hand to Pearl, who reached up to place her hand in his outstretched palm. “Let’s go to the library to talk, darlin’.”
Pearl sniffed and wiped her nose before following Zeke from the room. He walked across the foyer to the library and motioned for Pearl to enter. He followed behind her and pulled the glass doors closed behind him.
The room was floor to ceiling bookshelves. Each shelf held books or framed photographs from the agency. There was a large bay window with a small table and lamp beneath it. Two velvet chairs faced each other. Pearl sat in one and Zeke sat in the other.
“Wanna tell me what’s going on, darlin’,” Zeke said.
“I arrived this morning, prepared breakfast as usual and then Mr. Gordon called me into his office just before lunch.” She looked at Zeke, her violet-blue eyes tinted red from the tears. “You weren’t at breakfast this morning.”
“Did you miss me, darlin’?”
Pearl snorted. “Not hardly. It was rather quiet.”
Zeke grinned. She protested a little too quickly, he thought. “I had some paperwork to do. Missing a meal won’t hurt me,” He rubbed at the slight bulge on his belly. He knew he had gained about ten pounds with all Pearl’s cooking; but so had most of the other agents. “So, what happened in Archie’s office?”
“Th-th-that Thomas,” she spat out his name like it was poison. “He wants me to be his partner on this case. All because I can cook.”
“You do know how to cook, but being an agent is more than that.”
“I have no desire now, or ever to be a Pinkerton Agent. I’ve learned more in the past three years that has dissuaded me from ever joining their leagues.”
Zeke laughed. There was color in her cheeks and her eyes went from distress to anger. So, Pearl had a fiery side. Interesting.
“What specifically is it?”
“As you said… I’m not agent material. I don’t want to play something I’m not. I had enough of that when I was lying to Mr. Gordon about my father.” She wrinkled her face as if she tasted something distasteful. “Plus, there is that dreaded marriage thing.”
“So, you are against the marriage? It would only be temporary.”
Pearl snorted. “Tell that to all those women who went through with it. I don’t recall seeing one annulment.”
“Stress causes emotions to do some strange things.” He tilted his head as he watched her. “So, is it marriage you are against, or a temporary marriage?”
“Zeke, you know I will never get married. I’m not the type a man would take home to meet his mother.”
“I wish you wouldn’t say that about yourself.”
“It is true. Besides…”
“Besides what?” Zeke leaned forward. Pearl leaned forward too. They were so close their heads were almost touching. Zeke took a deep breath, and held it for a moment, just savoring the closeness.
Pearl glanced to the glass doors. “Thomas makes my nerves tingle,” she whispered.
“He makes you uncomfortable?” Pearl nodded.
“I entered the competition on my own. Marianne suggested it.” Zeke’s eyebrows flew up.
“That was the newspaper article from earlier this week, wasn’t it?”
“I filled it out and dropped off my entry at the mercantile the next day. I ran over there on my break.”
“So, you will be at the competition?”
“I plan on it. I was going to put in for two days of leave.”
“Would you be willing to help if you are at the competition?”
“Help how?”
“Just make observations and report back.”
“Isn’t that agenty stuff?”
“Think of it as telling a friend what is going on behind the scenes.”
“I guess I could help.” Pearl straightened up in her seat and pointed her finger at Zeke. “But I don’t want any of that marriage business. Especially not with Thomas.”
Zeke leaned back. “Let me make sure I understand, so I can relay everything to Mr. Gordon. You don’t think you’ll get married, but if you did, it wouldn’t be to Thomas. Even though the option of an annulment is there.” Pearl bobbed her head. “However, you are willing to help if marriage is off the table. Correct?” Pearl nodded again. “May I ask you a question?”
“I suppose.”
“Why did you want to enter this competition?”
“I’d rather not say.”
“Darlin’, I’m asking so I can strategize how I’m going to bring this before Archie.”
Pearl pulled at her handkerchief. “I’ll quit before I do that.”
&nb
sp; “That’s not smart,” Zeke said. He placed his hand on Pearl’s arm to offer comfort. When her eyes flew to his, he was surprised to see her irises were now deep violet. He could barely make out the pupils in their depths. “Right now, you are just emotional.” He released her arm, his hand tingling where he touched her.
Pearl cleared her throat. “I want to buy a house,” she whispered, looking down at her hands folded in her lap.
“A house?”
“Yes. A house. I want to buy a house. A place of my own. That fifteen-dollar prize will go nicely towards a home. Plus, I’d like to have a new stove when I move in.”
“What kind of house?”
“Does it matter? It is a house with a fifteen-dollar deposit on it.”
“You want to move out of your parents’ home? What about your father?”
“I am a good daughter, Zeke. It is time I live on my own.”
“I am sure it is.”
“I do everything I can for them.”
“I know you do.”
“I just want to do something for myself.” She quickly stood and looked down on Zeke. “Is that so wrong? I don’t want to lose my job, but I don’t want to be forced into anything. If I went into that contest as an agent, I wouldn’t be able to win that money to start over.”
Zeke knew that if she was a Pinkerton Agent, it was true that she wouldn’t be able to keep any prizes she may earn. Zeke stood and took her hand. “Let me talk to Archie.”
“I think I said enough,” Pearl said, moving closer to him.
Zeke took her elbow once more and they walked towards Archie’s office. “Let me do the talkin’, darlin’.”
Pearl nodded and followed him into the office, returning to the seat in front of Archie’s desk. As Zeke took the now empty seat, where Thomas had been sitting, he thought about what he was going to say to his boss. As he reviewed the conversation with Pearl in his mind, he realized that for the first time, she called him by his first name.
Pearl worried her hands in her lap. Zeke was explaining to Archie, Pearl’s concerns over the contest. When he was done, Archie looked at Pearl.
“That’s everything?”
“That’s everything,” Zeke said, taking the attention away from Pearl, who was shifting under Archie’s scrutiny.
“So, you entered this contest on your own?”
Pearl nodded. “Mrs. Gordon read me the advertisement from the paper. I took it home, filled it out and dropped it off at the mercantile with my entry fee the next day.”
“What did they say the entry fee was?”
“Fifteen cents.”
“We will reimburse you for that.”
“I want a fair shot at winning that prize. I don’t want anyone to say that I had an advantage over everyone else.”
“If you win, Pearl, you may keep whatever prize you win. I’m just asking that you keep an eye out if you see anything suspicious and then you can report it back to the agent in charge of the case.”
“Hey wait…,” Thomas said. “It sounds like she doesn’t have to marry an agent.”
Archie held his hand up. “She isn’t there in an official capacity, so no, she doesn’t.” Pearl watched as Archie turned his attention to Zeke. “What are you working on right now?”
“Just that matter you discussed with me the other day. Turns out the brother is out of town and won’t be back for two weeks.”
Archie nodded. “Good. The competition should be over by then. You are assigned to this case now, Preston. I agree that it wouldn’t be prudent to see Pearl talking to an agent on site, but she trusts you.”
“It doesn’t seem fair,” Thomas insisted.
Pearl glanced over to Zeke who was sitting with a stiffened spine in the chair. His hands were draped over the side of the chair and she watched as he clenched and unclenched his fist. A vein popped out on the back of his hand and Pearl wanted to lean over to touch it.
“Thomas, I’ll assign you to something different. We have a few cases coming up,” Archie said. “I don’t think we need you anymore for this.”
“So, I’m not workin’ this case now?”
Archie scratched his chin and rolled his neck to alleviate the tension. “No. Agent Preston can work this one. I think he has the rapport to get along with the contestants and anyone else that might be there.” He waved his hand in the air. “You’re dismissed.”
Pearl could hear Thomas grumble as he walked from the room. The agent did not seem happy. Once Thomas left, Zeke visibility relaxed.
“If it was you, I wouldn’t be standing firm,” Pearl mumbled under her breath.
“What was that, darlin’?” Zeke said, leaning forward.
“I said I would have married you if it was necessary… not just …” she waved her hand at the door.
A gasp was heard, followed by the crashing of a cup hitting the floor. “Oh, my goodness,” Marianne said, picking up the pieces of china. “Is that really necessary?”
“Are you considering being an agent, Pearl?”
“It sounds like I might have to. You want someone to watch what is going on with the contestants. It will probably cause more suspicion to have a man wandering in and out of the different rooms. Women don’t chat when there is a man around.”
Archie looked at his wife. Marianne shrugged. “It’s true.”
“If that is the case, then it is my duty to make sure she is trained properly. In an unofficial capacity, of course.”
Pearl sat up a little straighter in her seat. “I expect to be paid while I’m there,” she said, leaning over the desk. “It sounds like I’m going to be an agent, so I should follow the rules the same as everyone else.” She turned and looked at Zeke. “Just know that I will seek an annulment at the end of the case. And I want my own room.” Finally, she turned to Archie. “Recognize this, Mr. Gordon. I have no desire to be an agent, but I know you were hired to do a job. I will help with this one assignment. After that, either I’ll return to my position as a cook for the Pinkerton Detective Agency or I will find other employment.” Pearl didn’t have a clue where she would find employment as jobs were rather scarce. But she needed to take a stand. She only hoped it didn’t backfire.
Pearl turned to find Zeke looking at her with astonishment. “I’ll make sure you are well looked after, Pearl,” Zeke said, grinning from ear to ear.
“Good. Good,” Archie said, slamming the folder closed that was on his desk. “It is settled then. You’ll get married before the case starts.” He looked around the room and waved his hand. “Everyone out of my office.”
Pearl stopped and helped Marianne pick up the rest of the shattered cup. “I’ll be right back with a rag to clean that up.”
“Don’t give it another thought. If you could take these shards to the rubbish, I’ll clean up the rest.” Marianne dropped the large pieces into Pearl’s cupped hands.
Pearl walked into the kitchen and dropped the shattered glass into the waste receptacle. As she turned, she ran into the hard wall that was Zeke’s chest.
“You need to stop that,” Pearl admonished him.
“You better get used to, Pearl. You need to become aware of your surroundings, darlin’. If I’m playing the part of your husband, I’ll be right there next to you.”
“Husband, smusband,” she lamented. She gave a little laugh. “How about you think of me as your sister, instead?”
Zeke lifted Pearl’s hand and cupped it in his own. She felt the warmth shoot up her arm like lightning. She tried to pull it away, but he held fast. Pearl lifted her head to look into his eyes. They were twinkling with humor and he planted a kiss on her fingers.
“There is nothing about you that I would think of as sisterly.”
“Cousin?” she offered tentatively.
Zeke released her hand and opened the door leading into the courtyard. “Distant Cousin.” He gave her a quick wink. “Very distant cousin.”
Pearl watched as the door closed behind him, leaving her alone in the
kitchen with her thoughts.
Chapter 4
Three things Pearl knew about her temporary husband: his given name was Ezekiel Cardone Preston; he was thirty-two years old and he took his job seriously.
They had been married for not even an hour when Zeke informed her that they would need to move to the hotel where the competition was being held.
“Already?” Pearl asked. It had been four days since she agreed to this charade. Mrs. Caldwell, the nurse that Marianne hired, was staying around the clock while Pearl was away. Her mother wasn’t impressed that Pearl had entered a cooking competition, but when she heard about the prize purse her eyes grew wide.
Pearl snorted. Figures that her Momma would be more interested in the money. It would be a way for her to purchase more laudanum. Pearl knew full well that her mother was imbibing. At least she hadn’t taken James’s morphine. Pearl didn’t want to deal with it, so she pushed it aside. If she didn’t think about it, it didn’t exist.
That was why she was determined to have her own house. Yes, it would be incredible to have a husband to cook for, but right now she was more about having peace and quiet.
“Do you have your bag ready?” Zeke asked.
“Almost. I would need to stop by the house and get it. I also need my spices, starter and the large Dutch oven.”
“You need to take all those?”
“Well I can’t cook without those and I don’t know what we are making.”
“When are they talking to everyone?”
“On Wednesday evening. The competition starts Friday, so that gives us all day Thursday to figure out our recipes and prepare anything we need.”
“Okay, I can bring you back to get all those on Thursday.”
“Why can’t I just go on Wednesday?”
“Couples are already arriving from all over the state. It makes sense for us to arrive as well.”
“But we are just down the road.”
Zeke ran his hand down his face. “Are you always so obstinate?”
“Are you always so irritating?” She crossed her arms over her chest and tapped her foot.
“Let’s go get your bag.”
An Agent for Pearl Page 3