скачать книгу бесплатно
Regina laid a hand across her chest, highlighting a bodice that was cut a tad too generously for such an early hour. The sight sparked a long dormant memory. Mrs. Hollingsworth hadn’t approved of Regina. The landlady had even locked Regina out one evening when she’d returned after curfew. Lily had snuck her in the through the kitchen.
“Clearly you’re lost.” Regina swept across the room and grasped Lily’s forearms. “No woman with any sense of self-preservation travels to this part of the country on purpose.”
“It’s a long story,” Lily said with a sigh.
Even with their opposing temperaments, at least Lily had discovered someone who could assist in unraveling the mystery of Frozen Oaks.
“You look a fright, and your hair is mess. Did you sleep in that dress?” Regina clucked. “Let’s get you a warm drink and put some color into those cheeks. One mustn’t be caught looking like a member of the kitchen staff. The management is liable to put you to work.”
Instantly aware of her disheveled appearance, Lily smoothed the strings of her crushed bonnet between her thumb and forefinger.
Her head snapped up. The outlaw.
“Did you see a man around here earlier?” Lily asked, hoping her tone conveyed nonchalance.
She gazed at her forlorn little bonnet with its faded daisy trim. Not that she cared if the man found her appearance more suitable for the back stairs than the front parlor, but she couldn’t shake her inherent curiosity.
“Only Jake.” Regina shuddered delicately. “Best avoid him. As I recall, you’re too trusting by half.”
Her dismissive tone raised Lily’s hackles. “You didn’t mind my trusting nature when I snuck you in after curfew.”
“Exactly my point. I shouldn’t be trusted. You’re far too naive for your own good.” Regina linked her elbow through Lily’s and led her toward the foyer that opened to the restaurant. “Come along and I’ll tell you everything you need to know about Frozen Oaks while we unravel this long story of yours.”
Lily bit her tongue. There was no use getting her back up. She’d be gone by morning, and Regina appeared to have moved beyond sneaking through kitchen windows after curfew. Judging by the expensive material of her dress, she’d done quite well for herself over the years. Lily hooked her fingers over the frayed edge of her worn cuff.
“Wait.” Lily dug in her heels. “These are my charges, Sam and Peter. They’re the reason I’m here.”
“Charmed.” Regina’s nose wrinkled. “They’re very quiet for children. I like that. After you freshen up, the dining room is that way.”
She crossed the foyer without a backward glance.
“You’re prettier than she is,” Sam grumbled. “I think she’s jealous.”
Peter nodded his agreement. “You’re much prettier.”
“Miss Dawson is obviously unaccustomed to children,” Lily said with as much diplomacy as she could muster. “But since she might know something about your grandfather, I suggest we accept her invitation.”
Brushing at her rumpled skirts, she urged the children forward. The unexpected twinge of vanity startled her. When had she ever worried about her clothing or her station in life? Her recent faint had obviously muddled her head. She should be counting her blessings instead.
Over the years, scores of people had passed through the boardinghouse. Though the transient nature of the business had prevented forming close relationships, delivering countless stacks of linens up and down endless flights of stairs had finally proved beneficial.
“Don’t just stand there loitering,” Regina called from the dining room. “My curiosity about your new role as a schoolmarm must be sated. Not to mention I’m famished.”
“I don’t like her.” Peter’s eyes took on a mutinous gleam. “I don’t like her at all.”
Though Lily was inclined to agree, she held her tongue. “Regina can be a touch abrasive.”
“If we’re gonna live here,” Sam said, “we’re stuck with her.”
“This has been a trying day for all of us.” Lily stifled a grin at Peter’s grim expression. “We’ll all feel better after we eat.”
The hotel restaurant was crowded with heavy furniture and shadowed with thick burgundy velvet curtains blocking the windows. Over half of the chairs were occupied. The majority of the patrons were men, their heads bent together in conversation, their voices low. An enormous stone fireplace dominated the far end of the room with a crackling blaze. The establishment struck Lily as something of a lair. A den of iniquity where deals were struck—deals that began in infamy and ended in blood.
An unconscious shudder rippled through her. She was worse than Peter with her wild, ghoulish imaginings.
Following Regina, the three wove their way between the packed tables toward a secluded enclave.
The siblings discovered a checkers set and Lily excused them to play. Distracted by the game, the two were perched on wingback chairs covered in hunter green crushed-velvet fabric set before the fire.
“You’d best be careful around here.” Regina patted her hand. “That Jake is bad news. He has the whole town quaking. Even Vic avoids him when he can.”
“He didn’t seem so bad.” There’d been a grim, almost grudging sort of compassion to his warning. Not to mention Lily was starting to feel peevish toward Regina and her increasingly transparent insults. “Surely you exaggerate.”
“Wait a second, it’s all coming back!” Regina clapped her hands. “You’re orphan Lily. You’re the one who stayed on with Mrs. Hollingsworth after your father died. No wonder you’re chaperoning those boys. You were something of a legend amongst the boarders. Anything must be better than working as an indentured servant in that gloomy old boardinghouse with Mrs. Grouch.”
The shock froze Lily so completely that the sense of chill was almost physical. Never for a moment had it occurred to her that she was the subject of rumors. Having her personal tragedy reduced to backstairs gossip stung more than she cared to admit. She wasn’t some tragic figure to be pitied—a curiosity amongst the boarders.
Biting the inside of her lip, she gathered herself, forcing her attention back to the current problem. There were far more serious issues at stake than the discovery of her humiliating, heretofore unknown, reputation. Despite the warmth of the room, she wrapped her arms around her body and rubbed her upper shoulders.
“I haven’t quit.” Lily glanced at the two siblings. Speaking about them in the same breath as dollars and cents felt like a betrayal. “The children were recently orphaned. I’m chaperoning them until their grandfather arrives.”
“All the way from St. Joseph? The train tickets alone must have cost a fortune. How well are you being paid?”
“Well enough, I suppose. A judge arranged everything.”
“Judges dump strays into orphanages. They don’t search for long-lost relatives. Mommy and Daddy must have left behind quite a lot of money to pay all those bills.”
“They are not strays!” The crude language shocked Lily into silence for a beat. “They are children. With thoughts and feelings.”
“Whatever you say. I’ve never been much for children.”
“Apparently not.”
A harried server wearing a stained apron loosely wrapped around her gaunt frame set two cups of coffee before them. The server darted away without a word of greeting. Lily caught a brief glimpse of the spill of gray hair escaping from the bun at the nape of the server’s neck before the kitchen door slammed.
“Thank you, Ida.” Regina raised her voice and flicked an irritated glance in the woman’s direction. “I’m almost relieved to discover that you didn’t accompany the children out of the kindness of your heart. Charitable people make me nervous. I always wonder what they’re hiding.”
“Why would charitable people be hiding something?”
“Because nothing is free in this life.”
“Except for the grace of God.”
“I’ll take your word for it.” Regina’s lips twisted and she flicked a crumb from the table. “Tell me again how much you’re getting paid to play nursemaid?”
“It’s not like that.” Lily’s relief at discovering a familiar face was rapidly waning. “Mrs. Hollingsworth is selling the boardinghouse. When I return to St. Joseph, I’ll have enough money saved for the second half of the down payment.”
She’d considered all her options and taking over the boardinghouse was the obvious, sensible solution for her future. She’d have a source of income that no one could ever take away from her. She’d never have to depend on anybody for anything. Autonomy was the most sensible choice of all.
“Exactly my point.” Regina threw up her hands with a grimace. “I only knew Mrs. Hollingsworth for a few weeks, but I can tell you this—she’ll never sell that place. The old bat is stringing you along. Did you threaten to quit or something? Is that why she suddenly had a change of heart?”
Not this time. Lily stiffened her jaw. She wasn’t letting Regina’s cynical chatter worm its way into her head. This time was different. The landlady’s rheumatism was growing worse, and she’d been pining over the idea of a small cottage located nearer to where her son lived. Surely people who pined didn’t simply change their mind on a whim.
“Hmph.” Regina cupped her well-manicured fingers around her porcelain coffee cup. “I’d need the paperwork in hand before I believed a word of anything that woman said. Surely you have everything in writing.”
“We have a verbal agreement.”
“You’re being foolish.” Regina’s gaze flitted over Lily’s faded calico dress with its sad, frayed sleeves. “You’re better off spending the money on a new dress. You can’t bait a trap with moldy cheese.”
“I beg your pardon.”
Regina waved her hand. “I’m only joking. Don’t look so shocked.”
“I’m not baiting a trap for some hapless male,” Lily snapped. “I’m making a prudent investment in my future.”
Despite her bluster, the barb stung. Why must the term foolish be used so often in reference to her decisions? Foolish Lily. Naive Lily. She’d worked hard. She’d paid her dues. She’d considered all the alternatives and arrived at the judicious choice. There was absolutely no reason for her to be sitting here defending herself.
Regina reached out and covered Lily’s hands. “This world is run by men. Men only do business with other men. If you want success beyond that silly little boardinghouse, you’ll need a husband.”
A sharp pain throbbed behind Lily’s temple. Regina’s solution wasn’t any better. A woman was better off counting on herself. Love was never the sensible choice. Nothing tangible was secure save for the brick and mortar holding the roof above her head and the land beneath her feet.
People could come and go all they pleased. She didn’t need their company, only their business. She glanced at the two heads bent over their checkers game and a wave of sorrow nearly engulfed her. Love inevitably led to loss. She couldn’t endure that sort of pain again.
“I need to find someone,” Lily began. She’d grown heartily weary of the current subject. Despite the outlaw’s warning, she saw no reason to doubt Emil as a guardian. “The children’s grandfather was supposed to meet our stagecoach. He’s late.”
“Who is he? I know everyone in Frozen Oaks.” Regina flashed a spiteful grin. “And all of their secrets.”
“His name is—”
A blast of glacial air indicated the arrival of another customer. As the gentleman approached their table, Regina’s face lit up. Curious, Lily studied the newcomer. His extreme fairness caught and held her attention immediately. The gentleman’s pants were striped in shades of charcoal, his waistcoat was checked in burgundy, and he’d topped his outfit with a black suit coat. The only blemish to his neat appearance was the tail end of a blue bandanna trailing from his pocket.
Though not exactly uncomely, everything about him was slightly off. He was at least a decade older than Regina, with a wide smile that stretched his loose jowls. His light blond hair was neatly trimmed, but shot with gray, washing out the color. Despite his jovial expression, there was sharp edge to his pale blue eyes.
Regina rose to her feet, rattling the table and sloshing her coffee.
“Vic,” she exclaimed, her voice breathless. “This is my friend Lily Winter. Lily, this is Vic Skaar. Vic owns the hotel and the lumberyard. He’ll own the whole town before long.”
The man grasped Lily’s outstretched hand in a bone-crushing greeting. “A pleasure, Miss Winter.”
Lily stifled a grimace at his clammy palm. “Mr. Skaar.”
Regina scooted closer and Vic smoothly evaded her advance. Glancing between the pair, Lily frowned.
“Call me Vic,” the gentleman said. “What brings you to our quaint town, Miss Winter?”
He winked at her, a curious twitch of his left cheek that didn’t completely close his eye. His greeting was so at odds with the exchange she’d shared with the gunfighter, she paused a moment before answering.
“Are you all right, Miss Winter?” Vic hoisted an eyebrow. “I didn’t mean to ask such a confusing question.”
“I’m fine.” Lily straightened. “I’m just visiting.”
“How fortunate for us.”
The look on his face was cloying and hinted at the suggestion of something more. Lily sharpened her gaze. At the boardinghouse, she’d struck down more than one overly ardent suitor who thought the maids were providing more than fresh linens. She wasn’t completely naive.
“My visit is brief,” she replied firmly. “Just until the children are settled.”
Much to Lily’s chagrin, Regina had noted Vic’s interest. The other woman’s face took on a hard look, jarring Lily’s fragile nerves. Though Regina’s cloying affection struck Lily as contrived, the other woman was clearly warning her away.
“When are you leaving?” Regina demanded.
“The evening stagecoach,” Lily cut in quickly, seeking to ease Regina’s disquiet. “I’ve escorted Sam and Peter on the last leg of their journey. We’re waiting on their grandfather. He’s late.”
Regina was the one person in town she knew, and Lily was loath to damage the relationship until she discovered Emil’s whereabouts.
Vic followed her gaze and caught sight of the siblings in deep concentration over their checkers game.
“What’s the gentleman’s name?” he asked. “Maybe I can help.”
“Emil Tyler.”
Vic’s grin faltered. “That might be a problem, Miss Winter.”
Chapter Three (#uea4027fd-4959-5dac-a36d-931c72f43198)
Emil has gotten tangled in some trouble.
Jake’s declaration ricocheted around Lily’s brain. Had he been implying something more sinister? The idea sent her strained nerves clamoring. What sort of trouble could an elderly man tangle with?
“Emil missed the gentlemen’s weekly poker game.” Regina chuckled, though she didn’t sound particularly amused. “Emil never misses a poker game. No one has seen him in a week. Come to think of it, I heard he had a dustup with that gunfighter, Jake, a few days back.”
Vic bestowed Lily with another of his odd half winks. “You’d best watch your back, Lily. With Emil gone, those two boys are ripe for the picking. Even I saw their luggage stacked outside the livery. One look at the brass fittings on their steamer trunks and everyone will know we have a couple of rich orphans in our midst. Folks around these parts will slit your throat for an acre of land, let alone a juicy bank account.”
“Stop.” Regina playfully slapped his arm. “Vic, you’re frightening the poor girl.”
With a gasp Lily half stood from her chair, then thumped back down. Only last week the St. Joseph Star had featured a story about gravediggers desecrating corpses in search of valuables. Greed drove people into all sorts of despicable acts. With Emil missing, how difficult would it be for someone to claim guardianship of the boys and drain their inheritance?
Vic pried Regina’s fingers loose from his coat sleeve. “A fellow like Jake is dodgy. Considering his argument with Emil, maybe you should speak with the sheriff. A pretty girl looking out for two young, helpless boys needs protection.”
Panic rose in the back of Lily’s throat. She was physically weak and shaken, and her thoughts were muddled; clearly she hadn’t yet recovered from her earlier faint. The room wavered and shimmered and she blinked her eyes back into focus.
“You’ve had a long day,” Regina said. “You’re not thinking straight. Someone has to look out for those boys.”
Hollow and bewildered, Lily gazed at the youngsters. Even if she was wrong, dare she put them at further risk? She’d made a vow to guard their safety.
Jake had claimed he was enjoying the view. What if he’d dispatched Emil and was targeting the boys? She’d best act quickly.
“Jake can be quite charming,” Regina said. “You wouldn’t be the first woman taken in by him.”
