Flirtation Walk

by Siri Mitchell

  I winked at Deke to signal the start of the next part of our plan. While he mentioned there was a fly on Otter’s back, I pointed out a splotch of mud on the back of his opposite leg.

  Otter tried to spot both at the same time, which had the effect of him turning first this way and that, like a puppy chasing after its own tail.

  Out at the rails, Dandy scowled while Lucinda’s father seemed barely able to contain his glee.

  “Where?” Otter asked me.

  Deacon answered. “Where what?”

  “Where is it?”

  “The fly?” Deke reached out to his shoulder and pretended to brush something off it. “Got it. Don’t pay it any more mind.”

  A soldier led old York to Otter. “Think you can manage this one, private?”

  Otter nodded with grim determination. “Can’t say I’ll enjoy it, but sometimes stone meal gets mixed in with the grits.” He put a hand to the horse’s muzzle and gave it a pat.

  “You will mount at my command!”

  Some of us sighed in relief. At least we wouldn’t have to perform a running mount.

  “You will ride with sabers, cutting at the leather balls!” The enlisted men moved to distribute the balls through the riding ring. “First on the ground, then on a post! You will jump the first hurdle and catch the ring! You will cut at the ball on the ground. At the second ball on a post you will jump the second hurdle and catch that last ring!”

  My heart sank. Having to ride York on a bet was bad enough. But to have to do hurdles and sabers and rings as well . . . ?

  Otter mumbled something beneath his breath.

  I leaned close. “What’s that?”

  “Of course it’d be the full course today, while I’m riding York.”

  “Can you do it?”

  “I blessed well better try. Mother always says I’m not anyone’s coward.”

  At the soldier’s command, we all mounted and raced off to accomplish our orders.

  But Otter’s horse flat out stopped halfway down the arena, after he cleared the first hurdle.

  My heart fell to my stomach. Dandy wasn’t carrying any money. He didn’t have any. None of us did. He couldn’t lose this bet. Losing was not part of the plan.

  For one long moment, Otter hovered in the air above the horse. And then he let out a blood-curdling yell, grabbed the horse by the ears, and jammed his knees into its neck.

  Just as I started to breathe again, the horse began to kick.

  Dandy, Deacon, and I stared, transfixed as it reared and then hunkered down and kicked his legs out at the back. But Otter clung to it like a burr.

  And then it started spinning.

  That’s when the rest of us stopped riding and pulled up to watch.

  I don’t know if it bucked and heaved and spun for one minute or ten, but finally it suddenly stopped, flicked up its ears, and began trotting down to the end of the ring just as pretty as you please.

  But Otter wasn’t finished with it. He dug his heels into its flanks and wheeled it around. Then he galloped down to the far end of the ring and started all over again, cutting at the balls and sailing over that first hurdle.

  When he cleared that second hurdle, the rest of us cheered.

  All of us but the captain in charge of the drill. “Mr. Ames!”

  Otter turned his horse around smartly. “Yes, sir.”

  “For dawdling on the course, three demerits.”

  Otter sighed. “Yes, sir.”

  “The rest of you—two demerits each for failure to obey a command.”

  We all spurred our horses into motion and joined Otter, whose horse was blowing heavily, down at the end of the hall. Once there, I was able to observe Lucinda and her father.

  His face was frozen in disbelief as he watched Otter through narrowed eyes.

  Had we been too obvious? Was he going to refuse to pay his debt?

  51

  Lucinda

  My father was livid. Rage vibrated from his features. “Yesterday, that boy couldn’t sit a horse to save his life.”

  Dandy appeared as overcome with boredom as ever before, but deep in those dark eyes of his, I thought I detected a twinkle. “Blood wins out. That’s what I always say . . . and sometimes a man can get lucky. Good idea, to come down here. Watch the cadets. Suppose I’d better go now.” He extended a hand.

  My father hesitated, looking out at the cadets as if he couldn’t quite believe what had just happened. But he dug into his coat and brought out his wallet. He fisted the money into his hand and slapped it into Dandy’s waiting palm.

  Dandy transferred it to his own coat with what seemed like a smooth, practiced motion. “I’ll be on my way now. Much obliged.” He put his hat on his head, nodded at my father, nodded at me, and then he was gone.

  Father stared at him as he walked away. Then he swung his attention back to the cadets. The horses were being led away. The cadets were bunched into groups, talking.

  I reached out to touch my father’s arm. “I don’t suppose there’s any reason to stay.”

  “Suppose not. I just wish I knew . . .”

  I needed to get him away from the riding hall before he spent too much time thinking about what had happened. “Let’s go, Father.” I linked my arm with his and practically pulled him from the building.

  But after about ten paces, my father suddenly stopped. “There’s something . . . something I just . . .” He broke from me and strode back toward the riding hall.

  “Father, wait!”

  “In a minute.” He disappeared into the building as my heart dropped to the bottom of my feet.

  By the time I caught up with him, it was too late. At the end of the riding hall, Seth and Otter and Deacon were congratulating themselves. And as we stood there watching, Dandy, who was now dressed in his uniform, walked up and joined them.

  “You there!” My father’s outstretched finger was pointing toward Dandy.

  Dandy’s eyes widened.

  “Captain!”

  The captain in charge of the drill came toward us on the run. “Sir?”

  “These cadets have stolen my money.”

  “They . . . they stole your—?”

  “They stole my money. Not ten minutes ago.”

  “But they’ve been riding horses this whole time.” His gaze widened as it came to rest on Dandy. “Except, perhaps, for Mr. Delagarde. Did you steal this man’s money?”

  “No. He lost it honestly.”

  My father snorted, the very picture of righteous indignation. “I lost it in a dishonest gamble.”

  “A gamble? There’s been gambling?”

  “I insist upon speaking to your superior.”

  “That would be the commandant, Major Walker.” He sighed. “You’ll have to follow me.” He held an arm out toward Seth and his friends. “And all of you might as well come too.”

  I struggled to keep up with the men without breaking into a run. One hand steadied my bonnet, the other clutched my skirt. When I was able, I grabbed my father’s sleeve to slow him. “I don’t know that this is the best idea, appealing to the authorities. What if someone recognizes you?”

  “No one will recognize me. And if they do, then I’ll deny it, just the same as I always do.”

  “But you have a history here.”

  “A history no one will connect with me.”

  I put a hand to his chest to stop him. “Don’t go through with this. Don’t accuse them.”

  “I accuse them of nothing. I’m simply stating the truth.” He pushed my hand aside and strode toward the captain.

  I called out after him. “The truth is you’re just as bad as they are! And the only result will be their dismissal!”

  He came back to me, took up my arm, and yanked me along with him.

  “I just wish you’d—” I fell silent as we were escorted into a building.

  We followed the captain, the cadets trailing us, as he rapped on a door and gained entrance. He directed us inside with a sweep of
the hand and entered behind us. “Major Walker, sir. This gentleman has an accusation to place against these cadets.”

  The commandant rose and came from behind his desk as he considered each of the cadets standing before him. Then his curious gaze settled on my father. “All of them?”

  My father nodded. “They enticed me into gambling.”

  The commandant seemed to take my father’s measure from the tip of his toes to the top of his oiled head. “They enticed you?”

  I knew the flush that swept my father’s cheeks had nothing to do with shame and everything to do with anger. He was furious that he’d been taken at his own game. “These cadets—all of them—were involved in a scheme to cheat me out of my money.”

  “A scheme?”

  “They tricked me into gambling against him”—he pointed to Otter—“in the riding hall.”

  “Against Mr. Ames? He’s the best horseman we have!”

  “Which simply goes to prove to what lengths they were willing to stoop in order to take my money.”

  “What exactly are you saying, sir?”

  “They were gambling.”

  “Gambling?”

  “They were. On academy property.”

  “You realize this is a serious accusation. These men would be summarily dismissed if that were the case.”

  “It was most definitely the case. That one”—he nodded toward Dandy—“posed as a gentleman from the South and—”

  “And he tried to talk me into betting on what he considered was a losing man.” Dandy took a step toward my father.

  My father swallowed.

  “Is this true?”

  Dandy nodded, defiance shining in his eyes. “You might say he enticed me into gambling. He was the one who tried to steal my money.”

  “You had money? On your person?”

  Dandy’s gaze dropped toward the floor. “No, sir. I did not.”

  “See?” My father’s voice was strident. “It wasn’t an honest gamble. It was designed to lure an unsuspecting visitor into parting with his money. I can’t imagine the public would be happy to see their taxes spent on a military academy that harbors insolent youths like these.”

  The commandant frowned as he considered my father’s words. “Who is currently in possession of this man’s money?”

  Seth stepped forward. “I am, sir.”

  “Give it back to him.”

  Seth’s chin lifted. “No, sir.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “It’s mine, by right.”

  “By right, I should dismiss you this very minute.”

  Seth’s eyes glinted as he continued to speak. “You could ask him where he got that money, sir.”

  “How could that be relevant? It’s whether you were gambling that I’m interested in.”

  Seth’s face went as hard as a block of granite.

  “Were you?”

  Seth snapped out a reply. “This man went by the name of Pennyworth this summer out in Nebraska—”

  My father puffed up with indignation. “I’ve never once—”

  Seth ignored him, addressing himself to the commandant. “You’ll remember, sir, that my mother died, and when I requested leave to settle her estate and establish my sister with relatives, it was denied.”

  “Cadets are not allowed—”

  Seth kept speaking, overriding the commandant’s words. Even my father raised a brow at that. “While she was preparing to travel, this man swindled her out of our money. He talked her into buying a hotel in a town that didn’t even exist.”

  The commandant’s frown deepened. He addressed my father. “Do you deny this?”

  “Of course I do!”

  He addressed Seth. “How do you know this is the same man?”

  “I . . . ” Seth’s gaze darted toward me. “I just do.”

  “If your sister hasn’t come to town—?”

  “No, sir.”

  “Then I fail to see how you could identify him.”

  My father’s brow had already begun to rise in triumph. I could see so clearly what would happen. Seth would be made to return the money, he and all his friends would be dismissed in disgrace, and my father would remain free to perpetuate his swindles. Not one of those results was just. I couldn’t remain silent any longer. “I did.”

  The commandant’s head turned sharply in my direction. “Pardon me, miss? Did you say—?”

  “I said that I identified him.”

  “Lucinda?” The mask of innocent victim had fallen from my father’s face.

  “I came to Buttermilk Falls in August to stay with my uncle, Professor Hammond. As I became acquainted with Mr. Westcott these months past, he told me what had happened to his sister. The things he told me led me to believe that the person who swindled his sister was my father. So when my father came to town, I thought it only right that Mr. Westcott should know.”

  “It’s not true. What she says isn’t true!”

  “She’s not your daughter?”

  “She is my daughter. But she’s been at finishing school these past few years. Even if I had done these things I’m being accused of, how could she have known it?”

  The commandant turned his eyes to me. “Were you in Nebraska this past summer, miss?”

  “No, I wasn’t.”

  Clearly disturbed by the accusations and counteraccusations, the commandant retreated behind his desk. He sat in his chair as he glowered at all of us. “The only thing I’m certain of is that gambling took place at the riding hall and that you four men were a part of it. Am I mistaken in any of that?”

  Seth spoke for all of them. “No, sir. You are not, but—”

  The commandant raised a hand. “Just . . . let me think for a moment.” His gaze probed us all. “Is there anything I’m missing?”

  I had told Seth that I’d be willing to do anything to help him get his money back. I was. And I had. It wasn’t right that his sister had been so ill-used. It wasn’t honest, but more than that, it wasn’t decent.

  But I had helped my father take advantage of a dozen girls just like her.

  I was as guilty as my father was. Maybe not in this particular instance, but I doubted Phoebe’s God would care about finer details like that. When I’d admitted to knowing my father’s business just now, Seth had looked at me as if I were some sort of savior. But I wasn’t.

  I didn’t want to be the kind of girl who took advantage of others’ gullibility or misfortunes. I didn’t want to be the kind of person I used to be. What I wanted, more than anything, was to deserve the regard, the admiration, that shone from Seth’s eyes.

  There was only one way I could think of to do it. Only one way to ensure that Seth and his sister got their money back. “Yes, sir. There is something you’re missing.”

  52

  Seth

  Lucinda had already told the commandant how terrible her father was. I didn’t understand what she was trying to say. The best thing to do in these situations was to answer the questions that were asked. It never paid to volunteer information. Sometimes that made things more difficult than they had to be.

  “I need to be completely honest.” She looked straight at me for one long moment and then turned toward the commandant.

  “Lucinda.” Her father grabbed her around the forearm.

  She extracted herself and took a step away from him.

  “The reason I know my father took Seth’s money is because he’s done it many times before and—”

  The commandant sighed. “But if you weren’t there, nothing can be proved, miss.”

  “—and I know it because I’ve helped him.”

  Dandy’s eyes widened, and Otter’s mouth fell open.

  “I’ve helped him swindle many people out of their money for many years. His best, most lucrative, swindle was the one he perpetuated on Miss Westcott. He sold deeds to a town called Greenfield that doesn’t exist. I’ve helped him do it. I’ve helped choose his victims. I’ve helped talk them into it.”
r />   My father protested. “She’s lying.”

  “I’m not lying.”

  “She’s like her mother. She’s always suffered from delusions. And you’ll notice . . . she offers no proof.”

  “Perhaps I don’t, not right this moment, but if you will allow me to return to our boardinghouse in Buttermilk Falls, I can give you the plates he used in printing the deeds for the town.”

  What was she saying? “Lucinda . . . ?” She wasn’t telling the truth—she couldn’t be. She didn’t have to sacrifice herself to save me. If I could just talk to her, if I could just get her to look at me, then maybe she would understand.

  She turned to me then. “I wanted to be different, Seth. I really did. I was trying. Before my father came, I might even have said that I was succeeding. But don’t you see? I’m not . . . I’m not a lady. I’m neither innocent nor naïve, and I never have been. If I’d been with my father in Nebraska, I would have helped him swindle your sister—”

  “No, you wouldn’t have. You wouldn’t have done—!”

  “Yes. I would have. It’s what I do. It’s what I’ve always done. I’ve been perpetuating an illusion ever since I’ve come here. The only thing I regret is that you believed it.” She turned away from me and looked at the commandant. “If you would like to send someone to accompany me?”

  The commandant assigned a sergeant to escort her. As they left, her father moved to fall in behind them, but the commandant gestured for Deacon to close the door. “I think we’ll just all wait here until we see what Miss Hammond brings back.”

  Lucinda’s father clapped his hat on top of his head. “I regret that I will be unable to wait with you. I’ve a steamboat to catch.”

  “And I regret that I am unable to let you leave. Perhaps you would like to take a seat.” The commandant gestured to a chair, while Dandy and Deacon posted themselves as guards in front of the door.

  After he realized he wasn’t to be allowed to leave, he sat. “I find this highly unusual.”

  Otter stepped toward him. “Hadn’t you oughter say that it’s unusual to turn a daughter into a criminal? That’s not a very nice thing to do.”

  Lucinda’s father made no reply.

  “I guess you oughter say it’s not nice to take people’s money neither.”