A Match of Wits

by Jen Turano

  “Exactly,” Piper agreed. “I heard Grandmother mention something about groveling, but what should be behind that groveling?”

  “Ah . . . feelings?”

  “And feelings of the romantic kind,” Piper added before she looked at Gloria. “I know everyone seems to think that if Uncle Zayne just tries again and asks Miss Agatha to marry him properly, everything will work out for the best, but it won’t, not until Uncle Zayne examines himself and decides why he wants to marry her—and not because of that silly idea he had to save her from herself.”

  “Saving Agatha wasn’t a horrible reason to want to marry her,” Zayne argued.

  “It was, as was your proposal attempt,” Piper argued right back. “You should have taken flowers, red roses at that, and a well-prepared speech where you would have proclaimed your undying love and devotion. That would have caused Miss Agatha to swoon at your feet and accept your proposal.”

  Zayne blinked. “Can you honestly see Agatha swooning at my feet?”

  “Well, not with that dismal attempt at proposing you gave her. But it might have happened if you’d approached the matter properly.”

  “Darling, Miss Agatha is a progressive, independent lady. She’s not the type to expect romance.”

  “I’m an independent lady too, Uncle Zayne—at least I will be when I grow up—but I’m telling you right now, I’ll expect romance from the gentleman I decide to marry.”

  Glancing to Gloria, Zayne arched a brow. “I cannot believe I’m in the midst of this particular conversation with my eight-year-old niece.”

  “She’s always been mature for her age, Zayne,” Gloria returned, “and she’s right. We adults have missed the obvious.”

  “Miss Agatha deserves love, Uncle Zayne,” Piper said softly. “If you don’t love her, you shouldn’t have asked her to marry you. And you shouldn’t grovel the next time you see her unless you can figure out how you feel about her.”

  “I’m not certain how I feel,” he admitted.

  Piper sat up straighter. “Perhaps now would be a good time to examine your feelings.”

  Heat began to trail up his neck. “I don’t really think that’s necessary.”

  “Do you enjoy her company?” Piper continued, ignoring what he’d said.

  “Well, yes, most of the time, except when she’s being irritating.”

  “I’ve seen you when Miss Agatha’s irritating you, and most of the time you look amused.”

  “That might be true, but—”

  “Do you miss her when you’re not around her?”

  “Ah, as to that, I suppose . . . yes, I miss her.”

  Piper beamed back at him. “Then maybe you really do love her, but since you’re a gentleman and gentlemen are known to be rather peculiar with matters of the heart, you just haven’t realized that yet.”

  “I don’t know if I’d go so far as to claim I’m in love with her.”

  “Then you shouldn’t ask her to marry you again. It’s not fair to Miss Agatha, and even though I really wanted her to be my aunt, much more so than I wanted Helena to be my aunt, you should leave her alone.”

  It hit him then, hard over the head, completely out of the blue.

  Piper was right.

  It had taken a child to point out the obvious.

  Agatha deserved love, and he certainly wasn’t ready, or perhaps even able, to give her what she deserved.

  He cared about her, truly he did, but he hadn’t really considered love.

  He’d rushed his proposal because she’d come to his rescue time and time again. He was at heart rather old-fashioned, and her rescuing him instead of the other way around had rankled. That was exactly why he’d proposed to her in the first place, but . . . he’d been completely ridiculous.

  Marriage was for life.

  He’d forgotten that.

  But . . . he wouldn’t mind waking up next to Agatha for the rest of his days.

  Swallowing, he tried to reign in his unruly thoughts. Dwelling on waking up next to Agatha when he was stuck in a room with a meddling mother and a young niece was bad timing. Piper had seemed rather adamant about him not pursuing Agatha unless he was in love with her, but . . . could it be he might be just the teeniest bit in love?

  His head immediately began to throb, but before he could contemplate love and whether or not he was actually experiencing it, Mr. White knocked on the door.

  “Begging your pardon, Mr. Beckett, but Mr. Higgins is downstairs, along with his wife and two children. He would like a word with you, but I wasn’t certain whether or not you’re up for entertaining.”

  Seeing this unexpected visit as a welcome distraction from discussions of feelings, Zayne smiled. “Show them right up, Mr. White. In fact . . .” He turned to Piper. “Why don’t you run down and greet them, Piper? If Mr. Higgins brought his children, they’d probably feel more at ease if you escorted them up here.”

  “Don’t think I don’t know what you’re doing,” Piper muttered before she got to her feet, skipped over to Mr. White’s side, and disappeared through the door.

  “Have I ever mentioned that I’m glad she’s my niece and not my daughter?” Zayne asked, turning to catch Gloria’s eye.

  “She’s certain to cause Hamilton and Eliza no small amount of trouble when she gets older, but she was right about you and Agatha. I never once thought to question you about your deepest feelings in regard to her, having assumed you had more than your fair share of them, but now I’m not so sure.”

  “I care about her, truly I do, but . . .” His words came to a halt when Piper charged back into the room, a little boy on one side of her and a slightly older girl on the other. Mr. Higgins and his wife followed, and Zayne couldn’t help but notice the improved condition of Mr. Higgins’s appearance. His hair had been recently cut, his jacket and trousers were new, and his eyes held a trace of excitement instead of worry.

  “I must say that you’re looking better, Mr. Beckett,” Mr. Higgins exclaimed as he moved forward and shook Zayne’s hand. “I truly felt sorry for you yesterday when I visited, sir, and appreciated that, though it was clear you weren’t feeling well, you still took the time to pull together that deal for me.” He stepped back and brought his wife forward. “This is my wife, Lydia, and those are my two blessings, Jared and Alice.”

  “It’s delightful to meet you, Mrs. Higgins,” Zayne exclaimed as he introduced his mother to the Higginses. Pleasantries were exchanged, and then Mrs. Higgins moved closer to the bed, her eyes suddenly glistening with tears.

  “Willie told me you’ve been ill of late, Mr. Beckett, so I do apologize for descending on you like this. But since we’ve decided to leave for the West so quickly, I didn’t want to neglect to thank you properly.”

  “There’s no need to thank me,” Zayne said. “Willie’s the one who started the mine up in the first place, and it was just luck on my part that I happened to discover gold.”

  “You didn’t have to offer him a partnership, or even try to track him down.”

  “That was actually Miss Watson’s idea,” he admitted.

  Mrs. Higgins smiled. “Of course it was, my dear, because that’s what we women do, point our gentlemen in the right direction, but you didn’t have to listen to her. Because you did, it tells me you’re a man of great character, and you will always have my deepest gratitude for changing our lives forever.”

  A lump suddenly formed in his throat. He hadn’t really considered how much he would be changing this family’s life. Granted, he’d known almost from the moment Agatha had made the suggestion regarding Willie and the mining claim that it was the right thing to do, but he’d never thought the matter through.

  The last pieces of the ice surrounding his heart took that moment to shatter, and he felt a sense of peace he hadn’t felt for far too long.

  It was all Agatha’s doing, that peace.

  She knew him as no one else did. Knew exactly what he’d needed to make himself whole again, and . . . he didn’t want to
lose her.

  Unfortunately, he’d made a mess of things, but perhaps, just perhaps, he could begin again with her, begin as friends and see where that led.

  He swallowed around the lump. “I’m just thankful, Mrs. Higgins, that your husband was so willing to take on this daunting job. The mine’s a disaster at the moment, and it’ll be slow going until the snow clears in the spring. I do hope you won’t regret moving out there with your children.”

  “We’ll be fine, Mr. Beckett,” Mrs. Higgins assured. “The children are looking forward to this adventure, and with the more than generous salary you’ve settled on my Willie and then a stake in the profits in the future, well, our lives will be better than anything we’ve ever known.” She smiled. “The children are especially looking forward to going to one of those frontier schools. Willie told me there’s one right in Colorado Springs.”

  Zayne returned her smile. “Miss Watson will be thrilled to learn of that. She’s very adamant regarding children and education.”

  “Speaking of Miss Watson,” Willie began, “we stopped by her house before we came here. I wanted to thank her as well. She received us graciously, but our visit was cut short when Dot showed up to speak with her.”

  Zayne felt the smile slide right off his face. “Dot was visiting Agatha?”

  Willie nodded. “I must admit I thought it was somewhat odd that Dot would pay a visit to Miss Watson, but then, when I overheard her saying something about finding a Mary, I realized that Dot was simply there to impart some type of information.”

  A dribble of sweat began to trail down his back. “And was Agatha excited about the information Dot imparted?”

  “I suppose she did seem a little excited.”

  “Wonderful,” Zayne muttered before he forced another smile. “You didn’t happen to hear anything else, did you?”

  “Well, there was mention of a—” Willie shot a look to the children, who were chatting with Piper and Gloria, and then lowered his voice—“brothel and something about someone hiding there.”

  “I see.” Keeping his smile firmly in place, he nodded at the Higginses. “I do hope you’ll forgive me, Mr. and Mrs. Higgins, but knowing that Miss Watson has suddenly become apprised of the location of Mary, a woman who is incredibly dangerous, I’m afraid I’m going to have to cut our visit short.”

  “I do hope I haven’t passed on news that’s going to make you ill again, Mr. Beckett,” Mr. Higgins said slowly.

  “I’m sure I’ll feel much better once I find Miss Watson.”

  “Now, Zayne, there’s no need to be hasty,” Gloria said, her attention no longer centered on the children. “You’re in no condition to go chasing after Agatha, and besides, we haven’t finished our discussion yet regarding feelings.”

  “I think it’s about time we took our leave,” Mr. Higgins said, taking Mrs. Higgins by the arm. “I’ll send you a telegram when we arrive in Colorado. Children, it’s time to go.”

  Before Zayne could even blink, the Higginses had left the room, leaving him with Gloria and Piper.

  “I do believe that’s the fastest I’ve ever been able to clear a room,” Gloria said. “Do you think it was because I mentioned discussing feelings?”

  “Nice try, Mother, but I’m not distractible at the moment.” Zayne swung his cast over the edge of the bed. “Would someone mind fetching me my crutches?”

  It soon became quite clear that neither Gloria nor Piper were opposed to fetching his crutches—there was just the little problem of their bolting out of the room with crutches in hand after they’d been fetched.

  “That’s not going to stop me!” he yelled, grabbing hold of the bedpost to pull himself to his feet.

  “You’ll only make matters worse if you go after Agatha in a temper!” Gloria yelled back.

  Pausing for just a second, Zayne realized his mother might have a good point, but Agatha was probably already making plans to investigate brothels. He couldn’t sit by and allow her to do that.

  She might not be a typical damsel in distress, but she was a damsel who was destined for trouble, and knowing Agatha, she’d find that all too soon. Whether she liked it or not, he was going to rescue her for a change.

  15

  I know I agreed to the whole coming out from hiding idea, Agatha, but I really must state yet again that I think bringing Matilda along with us on our first venture outside without disguises might be a bit much,” Drusilla exclaimed.

  Taking a firm grip on the bright pink leash she’d attached to Matilda’s matching collar, Agatha pulled the little darling away from a well-coiffed poodle before she sent the owner of the poodle a smile. That lady, however, didn’t seem to be receptive to pleasantries, because she let out a sniff, yanked her poodle to her side, and stormed down the street.

  “Nonsense, bringing Matilda was a capital idea,” she said as another lady sent her a scowl and tottered away in the opposite direction as fast as her high heels would allow.

  “She’s drawing attention.”

  “Of course she is. It’s not every day one sees an adorable pink P-I-G strolling down Park Row, or anywhere else in New York, for that matter, which is why I brought her in the first place.”

  Matilda stopped in her tracks and swung her head around, sending Agatha a look of deepest reproach.

  “Good grief, she’s learned how to spell,” Drusilla sputtered.

  “What a bright girl you are, darling, and I do apologize most profusely for insulting you.” Agatha bent over and gave Matilda a good pat. “Perhaps we should find a name you actually like, such as Princess instead of the other P word. Would that be more to your liking?”

  Matilda tossed her head, let out a squeal, and then broke into a trot, giving Agatha no other choice but to follow suit as Drusilla kept pace beside her.

  “Princess?” Drusilla asked with a snort. “Really, Agatha, you’ve gone a little nutty of late, especially in regard to your pet.”

  “Bringing her with us will attract attention, which is our goal, if you’ll remember. And I couldn’t leave her behind. She’s been morose of late, ever since she knocked Zayne off his feet, and allowing her to come out today has improved her spirits.”

  “You’ve been morose of late as well.”

  “And I’d rather not discuss that, thank you very much.” Agatha stumbled to a stop when Matilda became distracted by a lump of something that might have once been a piece of candy on the sidewalk. “That’s revolting,” she said when Matilda began slurping it up.

  “If you ladies keep stopping, we’re never going to reach the New-York Tribune, and I would really like to reach that sooner rather than later, because I’m getting edgy out here in the open.”

  Turning, Agatha smiled. Francis was standing only a few feet away from them, scowling, as he was prone to do, but his scowls no longer rankled, because she’d discovered that underneath his stern and formidable appearance lurked a gentleman with a soft heart and tender sensibilities.

  Ever since he’d escorted her home from the pub, he’d taken to asking her about her feelings on a regular basis.

  Francis and feelings were somewhat difficult to comprehend.

  She’d always known he was a complicated gentleman, but she’d never realized that under his fierce façade was a compassionate and caring soul.

  She’d been contemplating a bit of matchmaking of late, when she wasn’t occupied with thoughts of who wanted to kill her, what stories she needed to write next, and unwelcome thoughts of Zayne, but . . . No, now was not the time to think of Zayne. She’d been thinking about matchmaking and Francis’s soft heart and how well that heart would be paired with Drusilla’s soft heart, not that she was certain Drusilla exactly had one of those, but—

  “It’s not our fault we stopped, Francis,” Drusilla said, dragging her from all thoughts of matchmaking. “Matilda found something to eat.”

  Taking a step closer, Mr. Blackheart frowned. “That’s disgusting.”

  Matilda took that moment to let ou
t a hack, and a glob of something foul erupted out of her mouth.

  Agatha released a sigh. “I knew that wasn’t good for you.”

  Before Matilda could snap up the treat again, Francis whipped it off the ground and tossed it over his head, apparently not noticing that the treat immediately attached itself to a lady’s hat.

  Drusilla’s eyes turned huge. “We should get moving.”

  “Don’t you think we should tell that lady she has . . .”

  “She already knows, and by the look on her face, if we linger, we’re in for a rough time of it.” Drusilla pulled Agatha down the street with Matilda scampering to catch up.

  “But what happened to Francis?” Agatha swiveled her head and then slowed to a stop when she saw him speaking with the lady in the hat, even as that lady shook her finger at him and then stuck her nose in the air and marched down the sidewalk. Catching her eye, he shrugged and broke into a trot, coming to stop beside her a moment later.

  “I knew Matilda was going to be trouble the first time I saw her,” Francis said, sending a disgusted look to Matilda, which she blatantly ignored as she rooted around the sidewalk in an obvious attempt to search out more treats.

  “He didn’t really mean that, Princess,” Agatha crooned before she tugged on the leash and began walking again.

  “I did mean it, but we have more important matters to discuss, such as why we’re going to the New-York Tribune.” He swung his attention to Drusilla and quirked a brow.

  Drusilla quirked a brow of her own. “Don’t look at me. I thought we were going to spend the day investigating brothels.”

  Francis immediately turned grumpy. “Agatha, I thought you and I agreed that, if you decided to do something dodgy, you’d tell me and allow me to come with you.”

  “Since I’d made plans to travel to the New-York Tribune today before Dot imparted the news about Mary, I was determined to follow through with those plans first. So, in all honesty, it’s not as if I neglected to tell you anything. And it’s hardly my fault Drusilla assumed I’d want to immediately take off to investigate brothels.”