by Jen Turano
Eliza couldn’t help but notice the way Agatha’s gaze kept drifting to the food spread out around them. She leaned forward to pick up a plate to offer Agatha a meal, but stopped when Hamilton beat her to it. He piled chicken and potatoes on it and reached over Eliza to hand the plate to Agatha.
“You look hungry,” he said with a charming smile as Agatha beamed back at him and settled the plate on her lap.
“I’m starving,” Agatha proclaimed. “I’ve been refusing food for the past day, trying to force my father to see reason.”
“So you stopped eating?” Eliza asked, watching in amazement as Agatha devoured an entire leg of chicken in less than a minute.
“I thought it was a good idea at the time, seeing as how my father is actually a nice man under all that bluster and wouldn’t care to see his daughter go hungry. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize he left on a business trip, so my attempt at forcing his hand was all for naught.” She stabbed her fork into a potato and shoved it into her mouth.
“Any word yet concerning that first article you sent the paper?” Eliza asked.
Agatha chewed, swallowed, and then nodded. “The New York Tribune has only just accepted the piece on the clothing mills, and they want me to provide them with additional stories.”
“It’s quite the feat to write for that particular newspaper,” Gloria said with a sly glance in Zayne’s direction, which, Eliza saw, he blatantly ignored. “Are you going to be published under your name or have you assumed a pen name?”
“I was going to write under the name Polly Ponders, but the paper thought that name was a bit too frivolous for such a serious article,” Agatha said before she grinned, took another bite of chicken, and then promptly choked on it.
Before Eliza had a second to react, Hamilton was by Agatha’s side, pounding her on the back repeatedly until Agatha could finally breathe.
A tickle of something warm took up residence in Eliza’s veins. She had the unusual thought that it was not so preposterous, the fact that she’d become attached to the man, because, well, he was constantly assuming the role of knight in shining armor. She forced the thought to the back of her mind, realized Agatha probably would appreciate a drink, and busied herself with pouring out a glass of tea, which Agatha accepted with a nod, her eyes watering and her face bright red.
“Thank you,” Agatha said in a raspy voice as she gulped it down and then cleared her throat. “As I was saying, the editors didn’t like Polly Ponders.” She released a dramatic sigh. “You’re now in the presence of Mr. Alfred Wallenstate.”
“You don’t look much like an Alfred,” Zayne said, causing everyone to laugh.
Eliza’s laughter died abruptly when Hamilton dropped down by her side and, for some unknown reason, began to play with the fabric of her skirt that was billowed out around her even as he continued bantering with his brother. She shot a look to Gloria and groaned. Of course the woman would have noticed her son’s actions. She scrambled to her feet, made a circle around the blanket, and dropped back down on the other side of Agatha, far from Hamilton’s reach.
“Didn’t like where you were sitting?” Agatha muttered.
“I thought I’d get closer to you so we could chat,” Eliza said. “So, is that why you came to find me, to tell me your good news regarding the paper?”
“Good grief, I completely forgot the real reason I came to see you,” Agatha said, her eyes gleaming with excitement. “You’ll never guess what I discovered. . . . Lord Southmoor is to attend the theater tomorrow.”
“Are you certain?” Eliza asked as possibilities danced through her mind.
Agatha nodded. “Mother divulged that juicy little morsel to me this morning. She’s already procured tickets for herself and Father because she’s determined to become known to Lord Southmoor. I haven’t bothered to explain to her that the man’s a fraud.”
“Why haven’t you told her?” Eliza asked.
“It would defeat our purpose, wouldn’t it? I mean, honestly, if she knew we were investigating him, she would hardly go out of her way to tell me when he’ll be absent from his home. She’s quite adamant in her determination to keep me out of jail.”
“Don’t tell me you’re divulging this information to Eliza so the two of you can contemplate breaking into the man’s house again,” Zayne said.
“I don’t see where it’s any business of yours what Eliza and I do,” Agatha returned.
“I’m making it my business because I have no desire to bail you out of jail again.”
Eliza spent the next few minutes watching Zayne and Agatha exchange insults before she finally decided to step in, mostly because Agatha had taken to sputtering and was waving her spoon madly in the air. Since said spoon still had potatoes attached to it, Eliza was being splattered with food. She touched Agatha’s arm to get her attention.
“Although it’s an incredibly tempting idea to try our hand at Bartholomew’s house again, Hamilton and Zayne have hired a professional to handle the matter.”
“Where’s the fun in that?” Agatha scoffed as she dropped the spoon.
“This is hardly an amusing subject,” Zayne scoffed right back, earning another glare from Agatha in the process.
“Mr. Wilder comes highly recommended,” Hamilton said.
“Mr. Wilder?” Agatha gasped. “Mr. Theodore Wilder?”
Zayne nodded.
“Oh . . . he is divine,” Agatha breathed.
“What does that have to do with anything?” Zayne questioned, his voice ringing with indignation.
“Nothing at all,” Agatha retorted, “I was simply making an observation.”
“Yes, well, Mr. Wilder has the matter well in hand, so there will be no need for you or Eliza to concern yourselves with this,” Zayne said.
“We should pen Mr. Wilder a note,” Agatha exclaimed. “I will accept the task.”
“There is no need to pen Mr. Wilder a note,” Zayne snapped.
“Don’t you think he’ll find it interesting to learn Lord Southmoor is to be absent from his home tomorrow night?” Agatha asked.
“Oh, he’ll find it interesting, but there’s no need to pen a note as the gentleman is currently riding this way.”
Everyone turned to look where Zayne was staring and sure enough, Theodore was galloping toward them, a grin on his handsome face.
“Good heavens,” Gloria exclaimed as she fanned her cheeks with a napkin, “he is divine, isn’t he?”
“Mother,” Hamilton said, “what would Father think if he could hear you now?”
Gloria leaned forward, ignoring her son’s remark. “I wonder how he knew where to find us?”
“I left word back at the house,” Zayne admitted. “I was to meet him there, but when Miss Watson showed up, I thought it best to escort her here.”
“I told you I was perfectly capable of traveling to Central Park on my own. I do it all the time,” Agatha said.
“Which is a frightening thought to be sure,” Zayne replied before he turned from a once-again sputtering Agatha to greet his friend.
“Theodore, I see you found us,” Zayne called.
Theodore nodded, swung out of his saddle, and began striding toward them, his blatant male swagger causing Agatha and Gloria to sigh loudly. Eliza refrained from doing the very same thing, as she was not overly fond of Mr. Wilder’s personality.
“This is a lovely day for a picnic,” Theodore exclaimed as he smiled down at Agatha.
Eliza resisted the urge to roll her eyes, even when Agatha began batting her lashes.
“Theodore, are you acquainted with Miss Watson?” Hamilton asked.
“I have not been given that pleasure,” Theodore said as he leaned over and took Agatha’s hand in his, bringing it to his lips.
“Miss Watson, this is my friend Mr. Theodore Wilder,” Zayne said, although the introduction came out somewhat begrudgingly.
“Delighted to make your acquaintance, Miss Watson,” Theodore said as he released Agatha’s hand and turned his attentio
n to Gloria. “You must be Zayne’s sister.”
Gloria beamed while Zayne scowled. “She’s my mother, Mrs. Gloria Beckett.”
“Mrs. Beckett,” Theodore replied, moving to kiss her hand.
Eliza bit back a snort as both Agatha and Gloria blushed. She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked around to discover Piper standing behind her, watching Theodore with a rather fierce expression on her face.
“Ah, Piper,” Hamilton said. “You’re just in time to meet Mr. Wilder.”
Theodore let go of Gloria’s hand and smiled at Piper. “Miss Beckett, aren’t you a little beauty in the making,” he said, his smile dimming when Piper glared back at him even as she dipped into a small curtsy.
“Are you here to see Miss Sumner?” Piper demanded.
“Ahh, I am, but I’m also here to speak with your father and uncle,” Theodore said, looking a bit bemused seemingly because of Piper’s animosity toward him.
Piper narrowed her eyes, nodded once, and then spun on her heel and stalked away.
“Bet that doesn’t happen often,” Zayne muttered.
“You’d be surprised,” Theodore admitted.
“Mr. Wilder,” Agatha said, “perhaps you would allow me to interview you in the near future. I’m certain there are many readers who would be thrilled to learn more about you and the life of a private investigator.”
“Interview me?” Theodore asked.
“Agatha has recently obtained a job as a journalist for the New York Tribune,” Eliza said, holding her breath in anticipation of Theodore’s response to that information.
“That’s hardly an appropriate choice of employment for a young lady.”
Agatha’s mouth dropped open. “I beg your pardon?”
“Do you still have a father?” Theodore asked.
“I do.”
“And he’s given you his permission to pursue such a career?”
“I wouldn’t go so far as to say that,” Agatha muttered.
“Then may I suggest you seek his counsel before entering into such a scandalous occupation? Gentlemen are much more adept at understanding the complexities of the world, and I would not wish to see you ruin your future by dashing into a position which is not at all suitable for a delicate and refined lady.”
“Here it comes,” Zayne exclaimed.
Agatha rose to her feet, her face an interesting shade of purple. “You are not divine in the least.”
“Excuse me?” Theodore asked.
Agatha stalked her way around the blanket until she was within a foot of Theodore. She placed fisted hands on her hips. “This is 1880, and women no longer have to abide by the dictates of men.”
“You can’t even vote,” Theodore said.
Gloria began to sputter, and Eliza watched in amazement as she pushed up from the blanket, crossed her arms over her chest, and began tapping her foot against the grass. “Am I to assume, Mr. Wilder, that you don’t support the women’s suffrage movement?”
“I think it’s a frivolous movement that has no hope of succeeding,” he returned.
“To think I was actually musing on an interesting idea just now to put you into direct contact with my darling Arabella,” Gloria said.
“I think I should go check on Ben,” Eliza muttered before she jumped to her feet and hurried away, hoping no one would notice the fact that her shoulders were shaking with laughter. She set her sights on the spot where Piper and Ben were chasing what appeared to be bugs and made her way over to them.
“I got a beetle,” Ben said as he scampered to her side and held out his hand.
“Very nice,” she said with a smile.
“I’m going to give it to Piper to make up for Herman,” he said before he barreled away from her to join his sister. She watched them for another minute and then turned, her amusement now firmly in check, but had to bite back a grin when she returned to the picnic site, because Agatha and Gloria were apparently still put out with Theodore, both scowling in his direction. She almost felt sorry for him, but . . . no, he deserved to be taken down a peg or two.
“. . . and all of this is completely beside the point,” Theodore was saying. “I’m here to discuss the investigation.”
“Well, go on then, what progress have you made?” Agatha asked.
Theodore sent Agatha a less than pleasant smile, but refrained from responding as he gestured them back toward the blanket and waited as everyone took a seat before he sat down on a mound of dirt, far away from the picnic blanket.
“Where was I?” Theodore asked.
“I don’t think you’d gotten anywhere,” Zayne replied dryly. “Why don’t you begin by telling us what you’ve discovered so far?”
Theodore blew out a breath. “Well, the sad fact is, I haven’t discovered much. Lord Southmoor’s been sticking close to home because he’s concerned about thieves, most likely due to the fact that someone broke into his office and left a rather telling mess.” Theodore paused and sent Agatha and Eliza a pointed look. “So, because of that, I haven’t had an opportunity to introduce myself to him or search his house.”
“He’ll be at the New York Theater tomorrow night,” Agatha said.
Theodore frowned. “How did you come by that information? I’m having him watched around the clock and no word of his attending the theater has reached my ears.”
“I’m a journalist.”
“Her mother.”
Agatha and Zayne had spoken at the same time, and it was clear Agatha was less than pleased with Zayne’s response because she stuck her tongue out at him.
“You’re sure your information is reliable?” Theodore asked.
“Of course it is,” Agatha said with a sniff. “My mother’s a master at ferreting out social tidbits.”
“Has your mother spoken about Mr. Eugene Daniels?” Theodore asked.
“I can’t remember her ever speaking about him, but may I assume Mr. Beckett was right and this Eugene fellow is involved?” Agatha asked.
“Perhaps,” Theodore replied. “It’s unfortunate your mother hasn’t mentioned him, as I’ve been encountering difficulties tracking the man down.”
“Eugene’s left town?” Hamilton asked.
“I don’t know, but if he’s still in New York, he’s gone to ground.”
“Maybe he’s decided to move on,” Zayne suggested.
“Why would he do that?” Hamilton asked. “He’s been building up a substantial business with all those clients he stole from us.”
“Maybe he realized we were on to him and decided to cut and run,” Zayne said.
“We’ve been on to him from almost the beginning,” Hamilton argued. “Our only problem is that we haven’t been able to discover how he obtained access to our bids.”
“Isn’t that against the law?” Agatha asked.
“If he obtained the amounts we were bidding through illegal means, yes, but we’ve not been able to gather any proof as to how he’s managed to do it,” Hamilton said.
“Does he underbid jobs from other businesses or only your business?” Agatha pressed.
Hamilton frowned. “I’ve never looked into that aspect of the situation.”
“Perhaps you should,” she suggested. “What if this Mr. Daniels holds a personal grudge against your family?”
“Agatha has a good point,” Zayne said. “Which brings me back to Eliza’s question from a few weeks ago regarding the timing of Mary Ellen’s death and the beginning of our trouble with Eugene. What if Mary Ellen was acquainted with Eugene, and for some reason, was feeding him information regarding our company?”
“I would hope she didn’t hate me that much,” Hamilton muttered. “Besides, Mary Ellen enjoyed the life my wealth afforded her. I can’t believe she’d have done anything to disrupt her income.”
Theodore cleared his throat. “It still warrants further investigation, and to tell you the truth, I was planning on looking into the connection between your deceased wife and Mr. Daniels, but I readily admit I’v
e been spending my time trying to trail Lord Southmoor and simply locate Mr. Daniels.” Theodore released a breath. “Since I have not been successful with any of my attempts, I might just have to make a late-night stop at Lord Southmoor’s home tomorrow night and hope I discover something that may show us a connection to the two men, or better yet, Miss Sumner’s lost fortune.”
“Do you need any help?” Agatha asked.
“Did you not hear the part where I explained Lord Southmoor’s suspicions have been raised because he believes thieves might have broken into his house?” Theodore asked.
“My hearing is excellent,” she returned.
“Wonderful, but as I know for a fact that you and Miss Sumner are responsible for causing the suspicion in the first place, I will have to refuse your kind offer of assistance.”
“Zayne and Hamilton broke into the house too,” Agatha grouched.
“And then they hired me because they were intelligent enough to realize they were in over their heads.”
Eliza held her breath and waited, knowing without a shadow of a doubt an explosion was imminent.
She did not have long to wait.
13
That was quite enjoyable,” Gloria said as she held the door open for Eliza, who was carrying a drowsy Ben in her arms. Eliza rolled her eyes and stepped over the threshold, pausing to wait for Agatha, who breezed into the house with Piper trailing a step behind.
“Theodore Wilder is a menace to all women,” Agatha declared.
“He sure did leave in a hurry,” Piper said.
“I would have left in a hurry too if Miss Watson had been shrieking at me in that manner,” Zayne said as he walked through the door.
“I wasn’t shrieking,” Agatha muttered.
“Tell that to my ears,” Zayne returned.
“I didn’t like Mr. Wilder,” Piper proclaimed.
Eliza shifted Ben in her arms. “He’s not so bad, Piper, if you overlook his tendency to be condescending.”
“And narrow-minded and chauvinistic,” Agatha finished for her.
“I think a nice cup of tea is in order before we continue our discussion of Mr. Wilder and his many faults,” Gloria said. “May I suggest we make ourselves comfortable in the parlor?”