by Paty Jager
Rose laughed. “Don’t be bashful, Mrs. Dee sent us in here to help you dress.” She grabbed the blanket, pulling it out of Darcy’s hands.
She stood in front of the two girls. Embarrassment shot heat from her toes to her scalp.
“She was right, you’d make a good addition to the house,” Sylvie said, looking her up and down.
“I didn’t come here for a job,” Darcy said, snatching up the lacy underdrawers on the bed. “I came here for a bath and help picking out a dress.”
“I know, but if you ever need a job, she’d hire you on.” Sylvie looked at her with sad eyes. “She’s decent to work for and takes care of her girls.”
“I don’t need to be taken care of. And I don’t need to work in a place like this.”
Both girls looked at her as if she’d just let loose a string of blasphemy.
“We’d be elsewhere if there were more opportunities for us to make a living,” Sylvie said.
“I’m sorry. I just want some womanly help getting dressed for dinner.” Darcy felt sorry for the two girls. They’d obviously fallen on bad times or they wouldn’t be selling their bodies to men. They both weren’t hard to look at. She wondered why they hadn’t married instead of working for Mrs. Danforth. She also wondered why a lady like Mrs. Danforth ran a house of ill repute.
“We heard you’re the marshal. If we could pretend to be a man, we’d have a chance at a job, too.” Rose handed her a chemise. Darcy looked at it.
“This is kind of skimpy isn’t it?” she asked, thinking the material was mighty thin to keep her nipples from showing through the dress.
“It’s what I wear with the dress.” Rose looked at her as if she fell out of a tree and hit her head.
“Don’t you have something…” Darcy frowned. She didn’t know what she meant, but she wanted more clothing between her and Gil Halsey.
Rose and Sylvie exchanged looks and helped her slide the garment over her head and tie the string at the neck opening.
They picked up a funny shaped piece of clothing with strings dangling from it and walked toward her. Darcy backed up.
“What’s that for?” She stuck out her hands. “I don’t have to wear that do I?”
“It’s a corset.” Rose wrapped the garment around Darcy and cinched it up.
Darcy remembered hearing and reading about the piece of clothing, but she’d hoped to never have to suffer wearing one. Surprisingly, the garment didn’t squeeze her ribs, but shifted her breasts heavenward, making her look more endowed than usual. Her heart thudded in her chest. Hopefully, the dress covered her pushed up breasts.
She stepped into two sets of petticoats, tying them at the waist. “This is more clothing than I’ve ever worn before, but I feel naked,” she mused.
The two women smiled and slipped the beautiful green dress over her head. Rose spun her to button the back. Darcy lifted her gaze from the dress and looked into the full-length mirror. Her eyes just about popped out of her head. Her hair wasn’t even finished and she didn’t recognize the pretty woman staring back at her in the mirror.
Chapter 6
Gil felt conspicuous all dressed up and smelling good as he sat at his favorite table. He’d seen more than one of the regulars nudge their partners and smile when he walked into the Hotel Restaurant.
He ran a finger under the collar of the new white shirt he’d bought at the mercantile. Eating with the marshal had seemed like a good idea at the time. Now, it seemed foolish. He’d asked a lot of questions around town that might get her in trouble if the wrong person put it all together. Gil frowned and stared out the window.
“May I sit down?” questioned a familiar voice.
“I asked ya to dinner didn’t…” The reflection in the window stopped the words from spilling out of his mouth. He turned his head to appreciate the vision standing next to his table. His heart stopped a moment before dancing in his chest. Every person in the place had his or her eyes on his guest.
“Marsh- Darcy, you look great.” He stood, all of a sudden feeling awkward and shy. Pulling out the chair next to his, he inhaled the sweet scent of flowers as she sat down. His gaze traveled over her shiny auburn hair piled on her head, down her long white neck to the small mounds peeking above a lace-trimmed, low-cut neckline. The dark green dress hugged her body in all the right places. Never in his wildest dreams had he thought this woman hid underneath the large chambray shirt and trousers. His heart hammered in his chest so hard he could hardly breathe.
She smiled at him mischievously. “You lose the ability to talk since we last met?”
“I never–You’re beautiful.” Gil took her hand. He knew every man in the place was envious of his dinner partner. Her hand trembled. “What’s wrong?”
“No one’s ever said that to me.” Tears glistened in her eyes.
He found it hard to believe. She was the most beautiful woman he’d ever had the fortune to lay his eyes upon and even better, she was his dinner companion for the evening.
“Surely, someone’s mentioned it before.”
She shook her head slowly. “My uncle said I was so uncomely and gangly no man would ever want me.”
“He was either blind or dimwitted.” His comment brought a smile to her rosy lips.
“I’ve never managed to walk this far in a dress and kid slippers and not cause something to go wrong.”
“It can’t be that bad.” He continued to hold her hand. The fit was perfect. Her slender fingers fit in the palm of his hand as he gently rubbed his thumb back and forth across the pulse of her wrist. The beat quickened under his touch. He looked up into her gray eyes. They were wet and staring at him with such earnestness he wanted to take her into his arms and hold her forever.
“I have been nothing but a blunderer since the day I was born.” She ducked her head, and his heart went out to the awkward girl who had grown into a beautiful woman.
The waitress approached. Gil held Darcy’s hand as he ordered steak and eggs for them both. He smiled when the waitress huffed back to the kitchen. She’d been expecting their usual banter over the price or the quality. Tonight, he had interest in no one but the woman at his table.
The other patrons who’d watched Darcy’s entrance with interest resumed their meals. They didn’t seem to recognize the marshal. Gil breathed a sigh of relief. He wouldn’t be putting her in any danger if the rumor he dined with a beautiful woman got back to Craven. He knew Craven wouldn’t make the connection. Though he might wonder where the beautiful woman came from in a town scarce of women other than prostitutes.
Gil smiled at his dinner guest. He wanted to know everything there was to know about the contrary creature sitting beside him. “Tell me about your blunders.”
Darcy stared at Gil. He was handsome beyond words. His hair shone like a new saddle. A smile unveiled crinkles of mirth around his brown eyes. Eyes that made her feel like she was basking in the warm comfort of sunshine. His fresh shaved face softened his looks. He smelled of shave soap and male. It was unlike anything she’d ever had the pleasure of breathing.
And he actually wanted to hear about her exploits in disaster. She started off with her very first mishap, knocking over Grandma Howard’s china cupboard, breaking heirlooms which had come over on the Mayflower. Over apple pie and coffee, she ended with the accidental shooting of the bank robber.
“I knew it,” Gil said, sitting up straight and making heads turn in their direction.
“Knew what?” She could sit here looking at him all day. Darcy sighed, resting her chin in her hands.
“I knew you hadn’t meant to hit that guy. So how did Craven latch on to you? Did you know him before the incident?”
The hair on the back of Darcy’s neck bristled, and her spine snapped straight. “What do you mean? Did I know him before?”
“What is your relationship to Craven? How friendly are you two?”
Her hands clenched in her lap as she stared at Gil. How could he go from being so attentive and wonder
ful to accusing her of–things!
“Why’d he hire you? Even you pretending, you know,” his hands wavered around. She knew what he meant. “I don’t get why he wanted you for a lawman.”
“You low…” Darcy stood, causing every head in the restaurant to turn to them.
“Darcy, don’t cause a scene. I’m just trying to figure things out.”
“By being rude?” She swung around and nearly fell when the skirt wrapped around her legs. Her arms flailed in the air as she tried to regain her balance and not topple forward. Gil reached out, grabbing her with strong hands. Her face heated as his touch set off small shocks of awareness throughout her body. She didn’t want to feel this way about him.
Not now. Not when he’d made those accusations.
“Don’t touch me,” she said through clenched teeth. “I got here on my own. I’ll find my way back just fine.” He took a step back, dropping his hands to his side. With her head held high and her back stiff, she walked across the room and out the door.
Tears trickled down her face as she hurried down the street in the cumbersome dress. She needed to get back to Mrs. Danforth’s. She wanted her shirt, boots, and pants back. She wanted to be Darcy. The real Darcy, not some painted up version which made people think things of her that were false.
“What do we have here?” asked a male voice as she passed an alley.
Darcy kept right on walking. She didn’t need any trouble in borrowed clothes and no knife.
“Hey, gal, where you headed in such a hurry?” The voice sounded right on her shoulder.
A hand grabbed her arm, and she spun around.
“Home. Please, take your hands off me.” Before she could get a good look at the man, he was whipped around, and doubled over.
“Get!” Gil shouted as the man roared to life, running at him with his head down.
Darcy couldn’t make her feet move as the two battled in front of her. Her heart bobbed up and down in her throat when the man landed a punch to Gil’s stomach, bending him in the middle. The man moved closer. Gil whipped the man’s feet out from under him with one swift kick.
The fighting made her nauseous and excited at the same time. Gil moved with speed and accuracy, landing more blows than he took.
Grabbing the man by the shirtfront, Gil held him at arm’s length. Darcy watched as he cocked his arm back ready to land another blow. His arm dropped, and he grabbed the man by the chin, turning it this way and that in the dim moonlight.
“Pete?” Gil looked into the squinting eyes of the man he’d spent the last three weeks looking for.
“Gil, you old dog. What are you beating me up for? This little harlot yours?”
Rage boiled through him. Darcy was far from the kind of woman Pete referred to. Gil twisted the shirtfront and raised his fist. “She’s not a harlot. You apologize to the lady.”
“Okay, take it easy.” Pete raised his hands in submission. “Ma’am, I’m sorry. If Gil says you’re a lady, you’re a lady, ’cuz he outta know.”
Gil groaned when Darcy stepped closer. She peered into Pete’s face. “How would Gil know a lady? And how come you know him so well.”
“’Cuz, he’s never been with one!” Pete slapped his thigh and laughed raucously. The stench of whiskey on his breath told Gil why the man had been so bold. He was liquored up.
“That’s enough.” Gil landed a blow to the man’s mid-section, folding him into a sitting position against the hitching rail.
“Come on.” He grabbed Darcy by the arm, dragging her down the street to the jailhouse. She didn’t need to ask Pete any more questions. In his drunken state it was hard to say what all Pete would have said. Gil didn’t want Darcy knowing what he was really doing in town. With her loyalty to the badge Craven pinned on her, she’d be following him around thinking he would lead her to the outlaws.
“How do you know that man?” She stopped in the middle of the street.
“Keep moving. Every randy man in town is going to be sniffing at your skirt as soon as Pete comes around and tells them about the beautiful woman walking the streets alone.” Gil draped his arm over her shoulders, steadily moving her in the direction of the jail. He needed her out of that dress and looking like the greenhorn marshal before Pete decided to look her up.
“You’re dodging my question.”
He just grinned and pulled her closer. The top of her head came to his shoulder. His hand slid down her arm and rested in the curve of her waist. It felt right to be walking down the street with her tucked against his side.
They were a building away from the jailhouse when Darcy pulled out of his grip and stopped in the middle of the street.
“Not here, I have to get my clothes.”
“Where are they? I’ll get them and bring them to you.”
“No!”
Her hysterical command had him wondering why he shouldn’t get her clothes. There was only one place he could think of that she wouldn’t want him going. “Why not? You leave them at Craven’s?” He couldn’t hide the contempt in his voice. Pete may have been right after all. Maybe she was just a harlot who did men’s bidding.
“Are you dimwitted? He’d strip me of my badge if he saw me in this dress.” She shoved her fisted hands on her hips. “I left my clothes at Mrs. Danforth’s.”
He looked her up and down. Someone with a free hand had helped her get fixed up. He hadn’t noticed all the little things that now were sticking out like sirens. No wonder Pete had thought what he did.
“You work for Mrs. Danforth, too?” he asked, not hardly believing it since he had more or less dogged her around the last few days and never once saw her enter the big white house on the hill.
She rolled her eyes and tapped her foot. “You sure you never got kicked in the head as a boy? No, I don’t work for Mrs. Danforth. You think I’d spend my days as a boy to trot around in my unmentionables at night?” The spit and fire slowly ebbed in her eyes. “I went there for help.”
Gil grinned. “I should have known someone helped you sparkle like a chunk of gold.”
The glow of anger sparked in her eyes. “You don’t think I could have done this on my own?”
Gil groaned. “I didn’t mean it like that.”
“Why were you following me?”
He shuffled his feet in the dirt. “Looking the way you were, I knew you were bound to run into trouble.” He stepped forward, reaching out to touch a stray curl. “Darcy, stay here and let me collect your clothes from Mrs. Danforth. It’s not safe for you on the streets with all these randy men about.”
She looked up into his eyes. With her head tilted back, he could see her swallow and wondered what that long creamy neck would taste like.
“What’s going on out here?” Jeremy stuck his head out the jailhouse door. “Hey Gil, whatcha doing with this lady when you’re supposed to be with my sister?” He stepped out onto the walkway and stopped when Darcy started giggling.
“Darce? Is that you?” Jeremy pulled her into the lamplight of the building and smacked his hat on his thigh. “Whoa you cleaned up nice.” He turned to Gil. “Didn’t she clean up nice?”
“That she did.” Gil couldn’t help but look at the woman beside him with admiration. “She’s a gem.”
Her head jerked up and those gray eyes searched his face. He kept his expression blank. She wouldn’t find anything he felt written on his face. She was the first woman to come along and make him feel protective, but that didn’t mean he had plans any farther ahead than the present. He wasn’t giving any false impressions.
“It was good of you to walk me home, thank you,” she turned to enter the building.
Gil grabbed her arm. He didn’t want her thinking anything long term, but he wasn’t ready to lose her company.
“Jeremy, run down to Mrs. Danforth’s bath house and collect you sister’s clothes.”
Jeremy headed out the door. “Wait.” Gil called him back. “Give them this for the dress.” Gil flipped a coin at Jeremy. He c
aught the coin and disappeared out the door.
“I talked about me all night. Tell me about the man you beat up. How you and a robber know so much about each other?” She looked up at him with a determined expression. He wanted to tell her, but it would only make their friendship more difficult.
“There’s nothing to tell.” He walked over to the window. He’d avoided this conversation all night. It would only make things more complicated to tell her why he was after Pete. For that matter he should have been out there dragging the sorry sod back to the ranch. He couldn’t seem to leave Darcy. Something about the way she was dressed tonight made her seem more vulnerable than when she paraded around as the marshal.
“Do you have family?” she asked from close behind him.
“Yeah.”
“Who?” She placed a hand on his shoulder. It surprised him she tried so hard to be friendly. He didn’t turn around even though he wanted to take her in his arms and tell her his life story. But he would never share with anyone what he’d done as a young boy. He hung his head. The shame of it still ripped at his heart.
“Four brothers.” He turned to her, remembering the accusatory looks on their faces the day he left. “We aren’t close like you and Jeremy.”
“Why?”
He shook his head. “Doesn’t matter.” He put a hand on her arm, gently rubbing his thumb back and forth across her soft, silky skin. “Why do you care?”
“I like to know my enemies.”
His gut twisted. He tightened his grip on her arm.
“Why do you think I’m the enemy?” He wanted to taste her lips and show her what kind of devilish thoughts he had. Tipping his hat up, he slowly lowered his head. He’d make her believe he was the enemy. That would keep her away from him.
“I think it’s time for you to leave,” Darcy said, taking a step back.
“I’ll wait until your brother gets back.” Gil gently pulled her to him. He’d held women before, skilled and unskilled in the seduction of men. But he’d never had one that made his tongue feel so thick or his hands itch to touch her.