Reverend Hughes smiled more genuinely at Diana, the collar at his throat seeming too tight for him. “Bless you, child, it is. But that doesn’t mean I don’t have time for introducing you to your town. We are always looking to add to our flock.”
He gestured towards the door of the church, then followed them out, locking the doors of the church behind him. He winked at Diana as he pocketed the keys. “Treasures in heaven may never be stolen, but sometimes people look for treasures on earth in the wrong places. Best be protected.”
Diana laughed, looping her arm loosely through Wyatt’s. “My uncle Geoffrey went into holy orders, sir. He used to say that until God gave him an angel with a flaming sword, he’d lock the doors to God’s house as if it were his own.”
Reverend Hughes laughed heartily, the action creating more lines on his taut, boney face. “I agree with that, ma’am.” He held out his hand to Wyatt, now friendlier than before. “Randolph Hughes, sir.”
“Wyatt Henderson.” He took his hand in a tight, firm grip. “Pleasure. This is my wife, Diana.”
He nodded at her. “Charmed. Shall we begin our tour?”
“If you please, Reverend.”
He led the way, beginning a would-be informative tour of the town that neither Wyatt or Diana cared about one jot, if their shared looks were anything to go by. When they had left the inn only a short time ago, much to the curious stares of the other guests and the scheming look of Mrs. Pratt, they hadn’t particularly set themselves for a historical lesson about Salem, Indiana.
Truth be told, he was more interested in whatever it was Mrs. Pratt had been frantically stirring as they had left the inn this morning. That, at least, could bode well for him.
This, however…
“Say something,” Diana hissed through yet another false smile as the reverend began yet another long-winded history lesson on a crumbling building.
“You say something,” Wyatt replied. “He fancies you.”
“Does not!”
“Yes, he does. He’s not that holy.”
Diana rolled her eyes, her cheeks coloring. “Men.”
“Sorry.”
With the daintiest throat clearing known to man, Diana interrupted, “What is the community like around here, Reverend?”
He turned, apparently surprised by the interruption, but not looking particularly offended by it. “The community, Mrs. Henderson?”
“Yes,” she confirmed with a nod. “Are there gatherings and the like? Barn raisings or town functions? Are the people friendly and kind? We want to be somewhere like that to raise our family. It takes a village to raise a child, and we want a good, Christian, God-fearing, tightly knit village to do that for us.”
Wyatt stared at his wife, transfixed by the earnestness in her tone. He knew she was lying, and even he was convinced she was sincere.
Reverend Hughes didn’t have a prayer.
“Are you expecting, then, Mrs. Henderson?” he asked gently, a fatherly smile forming.
Diana hid herself against Wyatt, suddenly shy. “Not yet, but we’re hoping soon.”
Playing his part, Wyatt kissed the top of her head, amused by her antics.
The reverend chuckled. “Well, Mrs. Henderson, you would be right pleased to hear that this is the best spot in the world to raise that family you’re hoping for. I wasn’t always a man of God, you know. I followed the Bible, sure enough, but God and I were strangers. Then my heart was opened, and I was changed. I became a preacher, and tried my best to convert my neighbors. Like the sheep who follow their shepherd, they joined with me, and we have been united in mind and purpose ever since.”
The words ought to have been inspirational, should have stirred something in the listener, but knowing what little he did, knowing what had happened with the people here, the words only made him cold.
“How long ago was that?” Diana asked, sounding awestruck.
For a moment, Wyatt was concerned she had been caught up in the story, that she actually believed this place was somehow dedicated to God with all their hearts, or whatever they claimed.
Then she edged closer to him, and he felt the tension in her.
“Nigh on seven years now,” the reverend replied with a proud sigh. “And we grow more united every year.” He brightened as he looked between the pair of them. “There’s a town gathering at the churchyard tonight. You both should come. We’ve got some exciting news and you’ll get a real sense of the feeling amongst our flock.”
Diana looked up at Wyatt, not entirely pretending at eagerness now. “Darling, could we?”
The swallow he’d tried for caught at the word darling, but he managed to nod in spite of his choking sensation. “Yes,” he eventually managed.
“Wonderful!” the reverend cried, clapping Wyatt on the arm. “It will be lovely to have strong arms and hands dedicated to the work. We take our righteousness very seriously here. None of us are pious, mind you, but we strive for a better world.”
“As should we all,” Wyatt told him, smiling with what he hoped was satisfaction.
It worked, and the reverend held out his hand again for Wyatt to shake, which he did, just as firmly as before.
The reverend’s eyes suddenly flicked to something over Wyatt’s shoulder, his expression changing to something calculating.
Ah, that was more convenient.
“Pardon me a moment, would you?” he said absently, moving past them and brushing against Wyatt’s shoulder.
Wyatt lifted a brow and turned to watch as the reverend approached a woman moving haltingly towards the general store.
The woman stopped and faced the reverend, her eyes wide and terrified. Her face was battered, but healing, and despite now speaking with the local preacher, she didn’t seem to find any comfort in it.
“Is it just me,” Diana asked in a very tight voice, “or is she looking worse the longer she talks to him?”
Wyatt nodded once. It was true, the woman was growing paler, and she lowered her head, then bobbed her head up and down. Then, strangely, she turned around and started moving in the direction she had come rather than continuing on for the store.
Reverend Hughes watched her go, his expression cold and taut. Then he turned back to Wyatt and Diana with a forced smile. “I do apologize,” he told them. “Duty called. The woman was caught in adultery, and as penance, she is not to enter the town until her sins are forgiven.”
“And the bruises?” Diana didn’t bother with her innocent tone now, but thankfully, it sounded rather concerned.
The reverend surveyed Diana with a look that could haunt a person. “‘Moses in the law commandeth us that such should be stoned,’ Mrs. Henderson.”
He nodded to them both, then turned back for the church.
Diana watched him go, then turned to Wyatt. “Did he just…?”
“He did,” Wyatt assured her with a clipped nod. “The motherless son of a viper just did.”
Diana shuddered, exhaling slowly. Wyatt echoed the exhale and took her arm gently, but firmly. “Come on. We need to get back to the inn. If the meeting to night is what I think it is, we’re going to need to be prepared.”
They moved quickly, and Diana shook her head. “You don’t think they’ll actually do something tonight, do you? With the women and all?”
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “Could be, or it could just be a plan. He did mention exciting news, so there is no telling.”
“I feel sick,” Diana said faintly, one hand going to her brow. “I don’t even know where we are anymore.”
He wrapped his arm tightly around her shoulder and pulled her against him. “I know. Believe me, I know.”
They entered the inn and immediately went for the stairs.
“Oh, you’ve both returned!”
Wyatt bit back a groan and turned around, one foot on the stairs. “Mrs. Pratt. How are you this fine day?”
The plump woman clapped her hands together. “Just delightful! I discovered the two of you a
re only recently wed, and we decided to make the most of it!”
“Oh, that’s really not…” Diana tried, but it was too late.
Mrs. Pratt clapped her hands twice, and the other guests of the boarding house appeared, clapping and cheering, all coming towards the two of them.
It could only have been a dozen people, but it seemed suddenly like a hundred all swarming, shaking his hand and pounding his shoulders.
Diana was equally swarmed by women, all wanting to see her ring.
It occurred to Wyatt to be grateful that he’d thought to give her another ring besides the simple gold band they’d all been given at the ceremony. He’d hate to have been judged by these people for so simple of tastes.
“Kiss the bride!” someone called, raising a glass of something from the bar that it was far too early in the day to drink.
“Oh no,” Diana whimpered very faintly as the rest of the room took up the cry.
“Yes, yes!” many of them yelled. “Kiss the bride!”
Wyatt looked at Diana helplessly, and her wide, green eyes stared back at him.
There was no time for question or permission. Neither of them would be free until this was done, and there was too much at stake to cause gossip about a visiting couple.
“Kiss the bride!” the room chanted. “Kiss the bride!”
Wyatt tried to block them all out, tried to see only Diana. Beautiful, intelligent, witty Diana. His partner, his companion, and the only person he could truly trust in this entire mess. Heavens, but she was a lovely woman, and more fascinating than he would have given any woman credit for before this.
Surely he could kiss her without looking as though he was forced to do it.
Diana took a hesitant step towards him, and effectively sealed her fate, in his mind.
He closed the distance and cupped her cheek with one hand, sliding the other around her waist and pulling her close. He hesitated just a moment as her lips hovered beneath his, the faint floral scent of her filling his nostrils. She released a soft breath, the air dancing across his own lips, and he pressed them to hers, angling her face more fully to his.
There was no resistance there, no hesitancy, and the fullness of her lips felt absolutely perfect against his own. Her hands gathered against his shirt, and he felt her rise on her toes, pressing back against him, her mouth moving very faintly against his.
A hum of pleasure began to rise within him, and his ears began to buzz with the jubilation of their surroundings.
Their surroundings…
He broke the kiss with a gasp, grazing his nose against hers, and opened his eyes.
Diana’s lashes fluttered as her eyes did the same, luminous and dark as they echoed his own confusion.
For a moment, they only stared at each other, inhaling and exhaling together, and then Diana slowly lowered herself to the ground, and he slid his hands from her.
He swallowed, and forced a smile as his back was pounded again. Mrs. Pratt dabbed at her eyes, and Diana pushed a strand of dark hair behind her ear, her cheeks flaming.
“Come and have some cake, dears,” their hostess insisted. “Then we’ll let you both do as you please for the rest of the day.”
Good-natured chuckling filled the room, and Wyatt’s smile began to pain him with the effort of its existence.
They didn’t have time for make believe right now, not with tonight’s potential danger and only a few hours to gather any remaining information. There was a plan to form and a strategy to settle on, objectives to identify… There was no time for making merry over a marriage that didn’t…
A hand slid into his, fingers intertwining.
He looked down at it, then followed the hand and arm up until his eyes were once more on Diana’s.
She smiled very softly, understanding in every detail of her face.
His rattled heart began to settle, and he took in a silent breath. He wasn’t alone in this, and never had been. His partner was in the ridiculous charade as well, and seemed to know him better than he’d thought.
They would find a way through this. They had to.
He squeezed her hand, the smile for her coming easily.
Perhaps they could take a moment for pretend.
But just a moment.
Chapter 7
It was easy enough to find the gathering that night. Members of the town leaked out from various buildings and trickled down the main street in the same direction. Voices were kept low, which brought the surrounding sound to a matching hum of murmurs. Combined with the stillness of the night and the almost strained humidity in the air, there was an eerie edge to the night that made Diana shiver and edge closer to Wyatt.
He rubbed the hand he held, but said nothing.
He felt it, too, and Diana knew his eyes were scanning the surroundings quickly for any signs of trouble. She tried to do the same, as they had discussed in their room after they’d escaped the wedding festivities, but the sensation of her skin crawling was distracting.
She’d never felt something like this, and she didn’t want to start now.
Their plan tonight was simple: gather what information they could, commit to nothing, and avoid attracting any kind of attention. Blending in would be key, which is why they were both dressed as simply and drably as possible, and why they were barely speaking.
Of course, they hadn’t spoken much since their unfortunate kissing episode on the stairs at the inn, so this wasn’t much of a change from their previous inclinations. They spoke as needed, and completely avoided discussion of the event or eye contact. For Diana’s part, she could barely catch her breath when she looked at him, and she had never felt more insecure in her entire life. She was fidgety and frantic, but all contained beneath a carefully stoic exterior.
Heaven forbid he knew how tormented she was, or that she was anything less than an ideal partner in this situation.
Or at the very least not one that would risk his neck through incompetence.
Or distraction.
She had to impress him, had to remain as aloof as he seemed to be.
Except she was completely unnerved by all of this and needed to be close to him.
Still, he wasn’t pulling away, so she could take comfort in that.
A few shouts came from the local saloon, and she glanced over to see a few of the more eager patrons exiting and joining in the trip towards the church.
“Oh good,” she muttered to Wyatt, “rum-soaked rats to join in the already disturbing gathering.”
He scoffed under his breath with obvious derision but said nothing.
She couldn’t blame him. They were nearing the church, and she’d never felt less like she was entering a spiritual place or gathering in her life. But from what she could tell, it could not have been more than a third of the town attending, which made her wonder what the rest of the town was doing, and how they were treated.
Torches were being carried by a few men who seemed to be steering everyone in the right direction, and they all rounded the church to a wide green behind it. Reverend Hughes stood on an erected platform, watching everyone arrive with a suspicious glint in his eye.
Wyatt tugged her towards the back of the group, but positioned them so they would hear clearly whatever the reverend had to say.
A sharp whistle rent the air, silencing the crowd in moments.
Two men got up on the platform, flanking Reverend Hughes as though it was their sworn duty to protect him.
“Brothers and sisters,” Reverend Hughes called out, spreading his hands in a show of magnanimity. “You shall be blessed indeed for coming out tonight to demonstrate your righteous desires and worthy ambitions. We have already had much success in our efforts, and those called upon to act with the sword of justice have served well.”
Applause and cheers filled the air, and Diana caught several people looking at each other with smug expressions. Dark expressions. Eager expressions.
She shivered with the breeze and inched closer to Wyatt o
ut of sheer instinct.
“And now the time has come,” Reverend Hughes announced, his voice growing in volume and intensity. “Our brothers in New Albany have called upon us to assist them. A fugitive has infiltrated their town and encouraged drunkenness, lawlessness, and slothfulness among their ranks. A man whose background, breeding, and heritage predispose him to such wickedness that he has willfully chosen not to forsake. A known criminal has been permitted to live among them without facing justice! His family is living off of the sweat and hard work of law-abiding, God-fearing citizens instead of his own efforts, and they’re descending upon the town as the plague of locusts when Pharaoh refused Moses.”
An Agent for Diana (The Pinkerton Matchmaker, Book 10) Page 9