Evelynn heard that so often from her father, she was sick of it. “I’m the minister’s daughter. I doubt there is anything that could ruin—”
“Going into a brothel is the one thing that will ruin it,” Rick said as he grasped her hand, squeezing it.
His grip wasn’t tight, but it was enough to make her pay attention. However, she refused to believe that making Robert pay for his embarrassment would ruin her more. No. She wasn’t the one who broke his trust. It was the other way around.
Rick’s gaze moved past her and toward the door of the dining room. She peeked over her shoulder to see what he was looking at. Her father, tall and slender, stood just inside the door, wearing a scowl. His arms were crossed over his chest. His reddish-blond hair was covered with his black hat. This wasn’t the first time his hardened stare had pierced through her, and it wouldn’t be the last.
She turned back toward her cousin. Pa wouldn’t make a scene. He just wanted her to know how upset he was, but when she returned home, she’d hear his wrath, and the walls would shake.
Rick gave her father a nod before he looked at her. “Please excuse me. Your father wants to have a word with me.” He glanced at his wife and stroked her hand. “I won’t be long.”
“Not to worry, my love.” Cecily smiled. “Your cousin and I shall have a good chat.”
Rick left the table, but Evelynn didn’t watch him go. She played with her knife that rested on the table. Cecily sipped her tea, keeping her gaze on Evelynn.
Taking a deep breath, she straightened her shoulders and met Cecily’s stare. “How long have you and my cousin been married?”
“Just one month.”
Evelynn nodded. “That doesn’t surprise me. You two are still very happy together, I can tell.”
“Indeed, we are. I enjoy working beside your cousin.”
Evelynn arched an eyebrow. “Working? My cousin is a Pinkerton Agent. Does that mean...”
“Yes, I’m an agent, as well.”
Shockwaves moved over her and she leaned forward in her chair. “Mr. Pinkerton hires women?”
“He does. Just recently, in fact. He sent out an advertisement in the newspaper a few months ago. Many women have responded. I’m not the only one he hired.”
“Unbelievable. What an exciting life you live.”
Chuckling, Cecily shook her head. “Believe me, the only excitement I’ve had in my life was falling in love with your cousin.”
“But to be free to hunt down outlaws...” Evelynn shrugged. “That sounds like a very exciting way to live. Perhaps I should see if Mr. Pinkerton would hire me.”
“Well,” Cecily’s voice wavered and her expression turned serious, “there is one stipulation about being an agent.”
“What is that?”
“You see, you would have to ma—”
“Evelynn?” Rick said in a stern voice as he returned to his chair and faced her.
Evelynn glanced around, wondering if her father would join them, but he wasn’t in the dining room. “Where’s Pa?”
“Evelynn,” Rick said again, his voice commanding, so she looked at him. “Your father has...” He took a deep breath. “You father has washed his hands of you. He just gave me permission to raise you.”
Cecily gasped and touched his arm.
Evelynn stared at her cousin. She heard the words, but it was hard to understand what he was saying. “Pardon me?”
Rick sighed and rubbed his forehead. “He said,” his voice lowered, “that you have humiliated him for the last time. He doesn’t know where he went wrong in raising you, but your many shenanigans are causing him to lose members of his church. He cannot have that, so he’s turning your care over to me.”
She wanted to laugh, believing at first this was some kind of cruel joke, but then she remembered that her father didn’t know the meaning of humor. Her throat tightened and a great weight pressed on her chest to the point where she couldn’t breathe. “I... I don’t know what to say.”
“Word got back to your father about you visiting the brothel. He doesn’t know why, just that you went inside.”
Unshed tears stung her eyes as panic grew inside her. “But, if I tell him why, perhaps—”
“No, Evie. You need to let this rumor simmer down first. Right now his congregation is in an uproar.”
“But that was just a few hours ago.”
Rick nodded. “Gossip spreads fast, but when it’s about a minister’s daughter, it spreads like wildfire.”
Hopelessness washed over her and she wanted to cry. She wanted to dig a hole and bury herself inside to hide from her father’s embarrassment. But she wouldn’t. She was stronger than that. All of this was just a misunderstanding. Her father loved her. He’d forgive her. Wouldn’t he?
“I cannot stay with you and Cecily,” Evelynn said in a cracked voice. “You have just recently married. There’s no room for a wayward cousin in your lives. I’m better off being on my own. I’m old enough, aren’t I?”
“How old are you?” Cecily asked.
“Twenty-two. I’ll be twenty-three in four months.”
“That’s still quite young,” Rick said.
“But I don’t have any choice.”
Cecily turned quickly and touched Rick’s chest. “I know what we can do.” She glanced at Evelynn and smiled. “We were just talking about the ad Archie Gordon placed in the newspaper about hiring female agents—”
“Absolutely not!” Rick scowled.
I can be a Pinkerton Agent! Hope lifted inside Evelynn’s chest as she ignored her cousin’s protest. She would convince him. She had to. What else would she do with her life? “Oh, Rick. I can do it. I know I can.” She reached across the table and grasped his hand. “Please. There’s no life for me here in San Francisco. Not anymore.”
Rick stayed quiet as his gaze jumped back and forth between Evelynn and his wife. The loving look in Cecily’s eyes as she gazed at Rick must have had an effect because the tightness in his face relaxed and he released a defeated sigh. He lifted Cecily’s hand away from his chest and kissed her knuckles.
Evelynn quickly looked down at her lap. At one time, she’d toyed with the notion of her and Robert having a love like the one her cousin and his wife shared. In fact, a few other men had courted her, and she had hopes of falling madly in love with them, but they were like Robert and lost interest in her quickly. Pa had told her that it was because of her stubbornness and quick temper. She hadn’t believed it then, but now...
She took a peek at her cousin and his wife. Perhaps she had to change in order to find the man who could make her happy.
Rick switched his gaze to Evelynn. “I can get you an interview to meet with Mr. Gordon, but if he doesn’t think you’ll fit as an agent, I don’t want you threatening him and making him change his mind.”
Evelynn rolled her eyes. “When have I ever done that?”
After the words had left her mouth, memories rushed to her mind. In school when she hadn’t been chosen to play Mary for the Christmas program, she’d gone to the teacher, Miss Hale, and threatened to turn her in for kissing Mr. Baker out behind the barn one evening. The next day, Evelynn had been appointed to play Mary for the Christmas program.
Then there was the time she hadn’t been chosen to be the captain of the team of girls her age for the sack-race contest with the boys. Evelynn had gone to the captain and threatened her that if she didn’t make Evelynn captain, she would tell Miss Hale that she saw the girl cheating on a test. Wouldn’t you know... Evelynn had been made the captain of the sack-race team.
Inwardly, she growled and fisted her hands under the table so that Rick couldn’t see her temper was beginning to show. Well, if she couldn’t make threats to Mr. Gordon, she’d have to do the next best thing. Charming someone’s stockings off wasn’t something she did very often, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t do it. After all, she was a full-grown woman now. She probably had many skills that she didn’t know about yet.
&nbs
p; Evelynn gave her cousin a sharp nod. “I promise I won’t threaten him or Mr. Pinkerton. I shall become a Pinkerton Agent fair and square.”
Slowly, a grin spread across his face – the kind where he had a secret and he couldn’t wait to tell her because he knew she’d get upset. She took a deep breath, preparing her for what he was about to say.
“There’s one more thing, Evie.”
“What’s that?”
“In order to become a Pinkerton Agent, you will have to marry – in name only – the male agent that Mr. Gordon sets you up with. If you refuse, then you won’t become an agent.”
She groaned in silence. Marriage? The way she felt now, she was sure the other man wouldn’t want to marry her. But if it was in name only, she would do it!
THREE
The constant bouncing of his body on the seat of the stagecoach hadn’t bothered Agent Graham Morgan for several hours now. Sometimes it had lulled him to sleep, in fact. But now that he was within a mile of arriving in San Francisco, he pulled out the telegram from Mr. Archibald Gordon, Alan Pinkerton’s right-hand man.
Graham had received the telegram two days ago with the instructions that he was to return to Denver for an important briefing. Graham had been stationed in Monterey, California, for ten months, and he figured Archie had another assignment for him. However, it struck Graham as odd when Archie suggested taking a stagecoach to San Francisco and then riding the train with Agent Broderick Tanner and his wife, Cecily.
In the end, it didn’t matter that Graham had to take the train with another agent. Working in Monterey had become dreadfully boring. Alan Pinkerton wanted an agent there because for a few years the town had received threats that Spain would reclaim the land. But Graham hadn’t seen any evidence of that.
Soon, the stagecoach stopped and the passengers gathered their trunks and departed. Graham traveled light, so he only carried a carpetbag with his personal items. He stepped toward the large hotel nearby, The Grand Hotel. Agent Tanner was staying here, but Graham would meet the other agent at the train station.
But first he needed to get cleaned up. The journey had been harrowing, and that was only because the coach was packed with people. It had nothing to do with the coyotes they’d seen following them for several miles.
Yawning, he stretched his arms above his head. It was only nine-thirty in the morning. The train would leave at ten. Perhaps he should find himself something to eat to pass the time. Then again, he would really love a bath and somewhere to clean himself up. Riding with that many people made him sweat in the worst way.
As he stretched again, his gaze was fixed on the window of the hotel, and what appeared to be a restaurant inside. His stomach grumbled, giving him second thoughts about not eating. Suddenly, someone bumped into his elbow, and a split second later came the yelp of a woman.
He spun toward her, trying to keep her from falling, but he wasn’t fast enough. She landed on her backside as a whoosh of air escaped her mouth. Her long wavy light chestnut-toned hair fell into her face. Immediately, her hand flew up to her cheek.
“I’m so sorry, miss. I didn’t see you there.” He reached a hand toward her and at the same time, took a step forward, but his boot knocked against a rock and he tripped, landing nearly on top of her. He quickly braced himself with his arms to keep from squishing her.
Wide, grayish-blue eyes stared at him in fright, but a second later, she scowled and pushed him away. He wanted to laugh over the awkward situation, but he knew that she wouldn’t understand the humor he felt.
“Pardon me, miss.” He jumped to his feet and offered his hand to her again. “May I help you up?”
“Well, I’d hope so.” She grasped his hand. “As long as you don’t fall on top of me again.”
“There must have been an invisible force pushing me,” he said with a bit of humor in his voice as he pulled her to her feet. Standing in front of him, she swiped her hair out of her face, but continued to touch her red cheek.
“Then you’ve certainly made company with vengeful spirits,” she snapped.
He understood her anger, but he found her rather comical in her tirade. “I hope your cheek doesn’t bruise,” he said.
Her eyes flashed him with a glare. “I’m quite certain it will. Next time you go flinging your strong arms around, please make sure they won’t be connecting with anyone’s face.”
She was quite lovely, even with her irritated expression. But he sure couldn’t tolerate her uppity and unforgiving attitude. “And, let me repeat,” he said slightly louder than before, “I’m sorry about that.”
An awkward silence passed between them as her gaze moved slowly over him. He took that moment to study her more, as well. She wasn’t as young as he first suspected. But she definitely wasn’t like the young and innocent women he was used to meeting. There was something in her eyes – besides annoyance – that made him curious about her. For a moment, her expression softened and he saw a hint of sadness in her eyes. But then it quickly changed and she wrinkled her nose and stepped back.
“Please excuse me, sir, but I must put a witch-hazel leaf on my cheek to help ward off the inevitable bruise.”
He nodded and stepped aside to let her pass. The woman’s brisk walk up the steps of the hotel had her bustle bouncing with each step. He couldn’t stop the grin from stretching across his face. She was a hot-tempered woman, but he was willing to bet she was as sweet as honey if the right man could charm her.
Instead of going inside the hotel, he wandered up the street, looking for a bath house. He’d use the thirty minutes he had to wash up and change clothes. There was no way he wanted to travel with Agent Tanner and his wife smelling this horrid and looking so unkempt.
Luck was on his side because he spotted a bath house immediately. Within minutes, he’d paid and was stripped down and in the tub. The women who worked at the bathhouse told him they’d take his clothes out back and beat the stench from them. They told him they had some oils to put on the clothes to help them smell better.
Closing his eyes, he relaxed in the steaming water. He’d washed his hair and his body, and had a few more minutes to relax. He looked forward to conversing with Agent Tanner. Graham hadn’t had many friends in Monterey. He’d learned a little Spanish, but people saw him as a lawman, and they didn’t want to have anything to do with him. The past ten months had been lonely, and he had a lot of time to think about his life.
When he first joined the Pinkerton Agency three years ago, he was a free-spirited man who wasn’t ready to settle down with a wife and start a family. He’d been ready for adventure and finding outlaws. He couldn’t have a wife and kids living that kind of life. But instead, he’d ended up being sent to towns with hardly any action. Now he was considering finding something else that would give him the excitement he craved. If Mr. Gordon couldn’t promise him what he longed for, Graham would have to look elsewhere to use his skills at hunting down outlaws.
The train’s whistle jarred Graham out of his sleepy state of mind. He jumped out of the bath, dried, and dressed faster than he’d ever done before. After grabbing his carpetbag, he ran down the street toward the train depot. Agent Tanner would probably be looking for him, and missing the train wasn’t a good thing to do at this point.
Out of breath, he reached the depot just as the conductor was announcing last call to board. A strapping tall man stood near the train, scanning the depot from one end to the other. The man appeared in his early thirties, broad shoulders and he had sandy brown hair. When he saw Graham, he narrowed his gaze on him.
“Are you Graham Morgan?” the man asked.
“It depends. Are you Agent Tanner?”
“Indeed, I am.”
Nodding, Graham took deep breaths. He swiped his damp hair back on his head and settled his hat on top. “Forgive me for being late. I arrived in town a half hour ago, but I needed to get cleaned up.”
“That’s understandable.” He motioned toward the train. “Let’s board before it
takes off without us.”
Graham followed the other man onto the train and toward a boxcar filled with passengers. He noticed a lovely woman with brown hair sitting near the window, and when her eyes landed on Agent Tanner, her whole countenance beamed. Inwardly, Graham chuckled. This must be the other agent’s wife.
Agent Tanner stopped beside the seats and pointed to the woman. “Agent Morgan, this is my wife, Agent Cecily.”
Shocked, Graham hitched a breath and his gaze bounced from her to her husband. “Agent?”
She nodded. “I’m a Pinkerton Agent.”
Graham doffed his hat. “Nice to meet you, ma’am.”
“And this,” Tanner continued, but pointed to the woman sitting across from Cecily – a woman Graham didn’t notice until now, “is my cousin, Miss Evelynn Tanner.”
Graham looked at the other lovely woman, smiled and bowed slightly. “A pleasure—” And then he recognized the grayish-blue eyes, and the light chestnut colored hair that was now braided down her back. Her face was clean, and her cheek didn’t appear as red as when she slammed into his elbow earlier. “Uh... A pleasure to meet you, Miss Tanner.”
The irritation on her face was almost laughable, but he was certain that her cousin would think Graham rude if he laughed out loud.
She squared her shoulders and arched an eyebrow. “We meet again,” she said stiffly.
“You two know each other?” Agent Tanner asked.
“Actually, no, but—” Graham began, but the irritating woman interrupted.
“He was the gentleman I was telling you about,” Miss Tanner quickly added, “that knocked me to the ground.” She touched her cheek.
Graham nodded. “And again, I’m sorry for, um...” he couldn’t find the right words to describe their obvious accident when he wasn’t really at fault, “stretching my arms without looking who was coming my way first. I’m happy to see your cheek is healing nicely.”
Both of her cheeks brightened and anger shot through her eyes. Suddenly, he realized something about her. She certainly didn’t like to be proven wrong.
An Agent for Evelynn Page 2