An Agent for Claudette (The Pinkerton Matchmaker Book 4)

by Christine Sterling

  She turned and looked inside the window. It was a rather large office with a wooden desk in the middle of the floor. Behind the desk stood a man with bright red hair and a beard. She wondered if that was Mr. Gordon, the agent in charge.

  There were a few other men standing in the office. All handsome enough. Two of them turned towards the window and Claudette’s breath hitched in her throat. Bronson Wauneka. He was a Pinkerton detective. She quickly turned and moved behind Jacqueline in hopes that he didn’t see her. When she looked back up, the men were gone.

  The door opened and a young woman of about 25ish came out. She was wearing a navy day dress and had a clipboard in her hand. The porch went silent as the women leaned in to hear her. “Good morning. My name is Marianne Chapman. I am the office manager for the Pinkerton’s Denver office. I am going to tell you what to expect today. First, I need everyone to make a single line as you come into the office. You can wait in the garden out back, dining area, library or the main hall. Please do not block the foyer or Mr. Gordon’s office. There is tea and coffee in the dining area. As you approach, please give me your name so I can mark it down. We will be doing group interviews first and then those that are selected will be asked for a private interview. Any questions?”

  When no one responded, the ladies started filing into the house.

  “I’m so excited and scared at the same time,” a young lady with glasses said. She couldn’t have been more than 19. She pushed her glasses up her nose and took her place in line. Claudette heard her name, Charity, as she entered the house.

  Claudette finally made her way to the front of the line. “Name?”

  “Claudette LeBas, from Louisiana.”

  “Mrs. LeBas, lovely having you here. Head on in. Pearl has some tea and coffee ready.”

  Claudette entered the house and it took her breath away. The house appeared much larger inside, and it was pretty large when she walked up. There was a wide staircase leading up to the second floor. It reminded her of the grand staircases at the homes in Louisiana. One wall was decorated with an opulent red covering and gold sconces were attached to the wall. In the middle of the hallway a crystal chandelier reflected rainbows on the other white walls.

  She went into the library. Floor to ceiling shelves lined with books. She had never seen a library so grand. She went along the first wall and ran her fingers across the titles.

  “Do you like to read?”

  Claudette turned to the soft accented voice that asked the question. A woman with skin the color of roasted pecans stood there admiring the books as well.

  “I do. So many good stories.”

  “Miss Marianne was kind enough to lend me this and I need to return it.”

  “What is it?”

  “Edgar Allan Poe. He crafts some very suspenseful tales. The Murders in the Rue Morgue was especially good.”

  “I haven’t read him. I will add it to my list. I’m Claudette LeBas.” She offered the woman her hand.

  The woman slipped her hand into Claudette’s and gave it two shakes. “Arielle Bradford. Pleasure meeting you, Miss LeBas.”

  “It is actually Mrs. My husband died during the war.”

  “My condolences. Did he fight for the South? I detect a southern accent, possibly French, too?”

  “No. He fought for the North. Born and raised in Louisiana, we were only a handful of abolitionists in the area. Needless to say, it didn’t go over well with the neighbors. So, when the war happened, he headed north to enlist. I didn’t see him again after that.” Arielle was silent for a moment. “Where are you from, Miss Bradford?”

  Arielle appeared grateful for the change of subject. “Please, call me Arielle. I came here from the West Indies.”

  “And you must call me Claudette. Beautiful islands. I went once with my father on a business trip. What does your family do in the West Indies?”

  “Sugar cane. My father owns a sugarcane plantation down there.”

  “Oh, my family is in sugar too. Has been for years.”

  Arielle put her borrowed book back on the shelf and removed another. Claudette selected one and started thumbing through the pages. History of the Expedition Under the Command of the Captains Lewis and Clark. Looked interesting enough. She was just about to sit down and start reading when Marianne came in the room.

  “Can the following names please come with me? Sarah Walters, Jacqueline Carroll, Claudette LeBas, and Wilhelmina Cutler.”

  Of course, Claudette knew Jacqueline from the boarding house. They had eaten several meals together. Sarah stayed there too, but she was the one who didn’t speak or when she did, she complained about everything. Claudette was glad to have a name to go with the exasperating girl. She didn’t recognize the other woman at all. Perhaps she was staying at one of the other boarding houses.

  The group interview was shorter than she imagined. They went into Mr. Gordon’s office where four chairs were arranged in front of the desk. Mr. Gordon didn’t look up from his papers as they entered. Once everyone was seated, Claudette heard him clear his throat.

  “Thank you for taking time to come out here and meet with us. We have about 13 positions available at this time. We will have more available in the future, so if you aren’t selected, you have the option of coming back and reapplying in one of the future rounds. It was rather overwhelming the number of responses we received. Now, may I have your names, so I know whom is who?” Claudette answered when he came to her. “I only have one question at this point in the interview. Why do you think you’d make a good Pinkerton detective?”

  Each of the women took turns responding to his question. As they spoke, he took notes on the pad of paper in front of him.”

  Claudette listened to the answers the women gave … pride… honor… skills… training… a chance to make a difference.

  When he turned to Claudette, she sat up straighter in her chair. “As the reasons I listed in my letter, I’m fluent in four languages, which means I can gather information from non-English speaking people. I’m a keen observer, such as you have either been playing darts in here or taking your frustration out on the poor wardrobe over there. If it is the second, you need to find a way to relax. And third, and probably most important, I don’t like to lose.”

  Archie looked at her a hard minute. Uh-oh, Claudette thought, I must have overstepped my bounds. His face broke out in a huge grin and he laughed.

  “Thank you for that, Mrs. LeBas. I appreciate all of you taking time to meet with me. I’ll let you know if you are advancing into the private interviews later this afternoon. Please ask Miss Chapman to send in the next round.” He looked back down at his papers, dismissing them from the room.

  How peculiar, she thought. What a strange man.

  The women left the room and headed to the dining area. Claudette poured herself a cup of tea from the table that had been set up in the corner. As Marianne called names, a few of the seats were vacated and Claudette sat down. There was a commotion coming from the kitchen next to the room and Claudette looked up to see three handsome men standing in the doorway. The girls around her started giggling.

  Claudette wanted to roll her eyes, but she refrained, instead, she sipped her tea trying to ignore their presence.

  “Aren’t you going to make introductions?” She’d recognize that voice anywhere. It was the voice that haunted her dreams last night.

  Marianne moved forward. “Ladies, let me introduce you to Agents Wauneka, Tanner, Allen and Warren. Now Bronco, you can take this brood and head back to the dormitory. There isn’t room enough for you in here.” The giggling became even louder now. Claudette observed them watching the ladies.

  When the one Marianne called Bronco saw her, his eyes lit up. He came right over and gave an extravagant bow. Lifting her hand, he pressed a kiss on the back and another on her palm. She wasn’t wearing gloves and felt the warmth of his lips against her skin. Her breath caught in her throat and her heart started racing. This wasn’t good. What if everyone
could see her feelings?

  He gave her a quick wink. “Ma’am,” he said before releasing her hand.

  Claudette looked in his deep brown eyes and was lost for a moment. Shaking herself, she murmured to him. “Enchante, Monsieur.”

  He then went to join the men who had disappeared from view. She could hear laughter from the kitchen, then it sounded like it moved into the garden as it faded out. She noticed the woman next to her was fanning herself.

  “Did you see them? I never imagined so many handsome men in one place. I would have come out here before.”

  Claudette gave an awkward laugh and finished her tea.

  “It appears that that one agent was smitten with you, Claudette.”

  Claudette felt her cheeks start to burn. “I don’t know what you mean.”

  She looked up to find Marianne staring at her with a look on her face – halfway between excitement and interest. She turned and tried to make conversation with the woman next to her, but Claudette couldn’t concentrate on a word. Instead she replayed the handsome agent kissing her hand over and over again in her mind.

  Perhaps the day would end quickly, and she could return back to her hotel without making a bigger fool of herself.

  The day it turned out, dragged on. She spent most of the time in the library trying to concentrate on the words in front of her. She had conversations with several of the ladies. She noticed most commented on how handsome the men were, but not too much about the job. Those that were serious appeared to stay away from the gossiping women.

  There were several that Claudette took an immediate liking too, Arielle, for one and another avid reader – the woman called Charity with the big eyes and glasses. She reminded Claudette of an owl – her large eyes blinking behind her glasses and small noises coming from her when she read a passage in the book she particularly liked. Yes, Claudette took an immediate liking to her.

  They were served a light repast of sandwiches and so much tea Claudette thought she might float back to the boarding house. She didn’t see any of the agents after the brief introduction this morning. Then the waiting game began again. She noticed that several of the women left directly after their group interview, and several of them stayed, excited at the prospect of moving to the next round.

  It was close to 5 o’clock when Marianne finally came out to greet the final ladies. Claudette did a quick headcount. It appeared as though there were 30 left. Quite a few had left as she knew she counted at least fifty that morning.

  “We want to thank you for coming out today. I know it has been a long day. We would like the following ladies to come back tomorrow.” Marianne started listing names. She didn’t mention Claudette’s and her heart sank into her belly.

  “And on Thursday, can the following please come back for the second round.” The relief was evident as several women squealed when their names were called. “And finally, Claudette LeBas. That is everyone I believe. You are free to leave, and we will see the first group tomorrow morning.”

  Claudette picked up the book and placed it back on the shelf. She picked up her bag and headed to the front door with the rest of the ladies. Then she saw the blonde woman that was walking with Bronson in the park the other day. She was much taller than she looked out the window. Rather plain looking, she was at least half a foot taller than Claudette. The woman was pale with big blue eyes and reminded Claudette of one of the scarecrows that the house servants put in the vegetable patch to keep the birds away.

  The woman stood at the bottom of the steps as if waiting for someone. Not a moment later the man who had been occupying her thoughts appeared and offered her his arm. They were about to leave when he caught sight of her and waved her towards them.

  No, Claudette thought. I’m not prepared to meet his wife.

  “Claudette, let me introduce you to Pearl. She is responsible for keeping everyone here fed.” Claudette exhaled a breath she didn’t know she was holding.

  “Nice to meet you, Pearl. Lunch was delicious.”

  Pearl gave a quick curtsey. “We were just heading your direction. It would be an honor to escort you back to the boarding house.”

  “Oh, I don’t want to intrude. I’ll just run and catch up with Jacqueline and the rest of the girls.”

  Pearl looked from Bronson to Claudette and back again. Her face was unreadable. “It would be our pleasure to have you join us.”

  “Thank you then, I’ll follow you over to the park. I’m just a short jump from there.”

  Claudette felt her arm being captured underneath Bronson’s as he tucked her hand in his own. She looked up at him and tried to stop her heart from racing. She had so many questions. Questions about his role as a Pinkerton, but mostly questions about him. Finally, she said the first thing that came into her mind.

  “Shouldn’t you be holding your wife’s hand instead?”

  Bronson let out a loud laugh, as Pearl called back, “Not in this lifetime.”

  Claudette watched Pearl walk discretely ahead of her and Bronco. Knowing that Bronson wasn’t married to the tall blonde, nor otherwise had feelings for her, other than an overprotective brother-of-sorts, gave her great relief.

  She wasn’t sure if she believed in love at first sight, but there was definitely something when she looked at him. His voice was like velvet, barely breaking between words. They ran together in a soft lilt that warmed her insides.

  He had released her arm and was now walking with his hands crossed behind his back. It enhanced his already broad shoulders. The knife was strapped to his right leg. He introduced himself as Bronson at church, and that is how she thought of him, but Claudette noticed that Marianne referred to him as Bronco. She was just about to ask him when they stopped in front of a large brownstone to watch Pearl climb up the steps to the door.

  She turned and bade them goodnight before disappearing behind the door.

  “Do you walk her home every evening?”

  Bronco smiled. “No, not every evening. But someone does. Normally we rotate, depending on who is in the office that week, but someone escorts her home every day.”

  “That is quite comforting for her, I’m sure. I don’t know Denver too well, but I can’t imagine walking alone if I didn’t need to.”

  “It is actually something that Marianne suggested once she started working at the agency. There had been several women attacked close to this area, and Marianne discovered Pearl was walking to and from the agency alone. That very night Archie walked her back home and the agents started taking turns the next day.”

  “I only had a chance to meet with Mr. Gordon for a few minutes. It was the group interview. I was called back for a second interview on Thursday. I guess that is the formal interview, with Mr. Gordon and Marianne.”

  “They both are interviewing you? That is a bit of a twist.

  “In what way?”

  “Well Archie is the actual agent-in-charge of the office and Marianne handles all the administrative matters. Sometimes it is a guessing game who is really in charge.” He gave her a quick wink. “My bets are on Marianne.” She laughed out loud. Yes, it did appear that Marianne was really in charge of the office. “Are you nervous?”

  “Not really. I think it will be fine. As long as Mr. Gordon doesn’t yell. He does seem to have a bit of a … bark.”

  “Only where Marianne is concerned. He is actually quite harmless and an excellent agent himself.”

  “They do make quite the pair.”

  Bronco laughed. “I totally agree with you. Just be totally truthful with your answers. If you aren’t sure of something, don’t try to guess the answer, just say you don’t know. Archie can spot a fraud from a distance. Be sure of your skills and listen to everything that Archie says. I’ve never known him to lead anyone astray. He is one of the most honorable men I know.”

  “I do have a question, though. When I saw you in church yesterday, you called yourself Bronson. Today, when Marianne introduced you, she said your name was Bronco. Why is that?
”

  “Perhaps to appear dark and mysterious?” Claudette laughed again. “How about this, for every question you ask me, I get to ask you one? We can take more time to get to know each other that way.”

  Claudette tipped her head as if she was contemplating his offer. “Oui,” she finally agreed in a soft lilt. “So why Bronco?”

  “Archie recruited me at a rodeo. I had two talents: throwing knives and riding the horses that couldn’t be tamed.”

  “What were you doing at the rodeo?”

  “That, pretty lady, is two questions, and here we are.” They had arrived in front of the boarding house.