Flora's Wish (7 page)

Lucas leaned further into the shadows beneath the back stairs and adjusted his specially constructed and soon-to-be-patented bowler hat, being careful not to allow the acoustic tube that enhanced his ability to listen in on Flora Brimm's conversation to show. She thought she was marrying Tucker in the morning.

He would see about that.

“So, yes, I
am
dismissing you, Mr. Tucker,” she said clearly as her groom-to-be clutched the document he'd shown her. “There are preparations to be made.” At the man's dense look, she continued. “Do you wish to draw attention to the fact you and I are here together?”

“They'll know soon enough, won't they?”

Miss Brimm shook her head. “Perhaps you've forgotten what I've told you regarding my grandmother. She would neither approve of nor allow any sort of dalliance with someone I barely know. She said as much just now, so I've work to do to get around the issue.”

Tucker's chuckle and the familiar way he touched Miss Brimm's sleeve made Lucas clench his fists. “What can one old lady do?”

The Natchez belle easily slipped from the criminal's grasp. “That ‘old lady' spotted you before I did,” she said sharply.

“I told you it wasn't me she saw last week—”

“I meant today,” she insisted with a shake of her head. “And trust me. Should Grandmama get wind of our plans beyond the general statement I made regarding our contract, she would call in any number of favors to guarantee we would never get away with anything less than a long engagement followed by what would surely become an overblown circus of a wedding. Is that what you want?”

“She won't hear it from me.” Tucker spoke just quickly enough to let Lucas know the man was more than a little worried. “You have my word.”

Tucker said something else, but a trio of squealing children skipped past Lucas's hiding place, followed by their loudly complaining mother. A moment later, the trolley pulled into the drive and clanged without ceasing for a full half minute. By the time the extraneous noise ceased, the pair appeared ready to part ways.

Miss Brimm glanced around, but her gaze swept past Lucas's hiding spot without pausing. “Let's do this my way. I shall order up transport for us for eight thirty tomorrow morning. Please alleviate my fears and go to your room until then, sir. Order your meals sent up. I'll gladly pay for them once we've finalized our bargain. Just stay out of sight.”

He paused to give her a look that was hidden by the shade from his hat. “I'll agree to it, but only because you asked so nicely, my dear. Consider it a wedding gift. Though I still don't see why you're so afraid of that old…” Tucker shook his head. “Forget I said anything. I'll meet you in the lobby tomorrow morning after a night's rest and an evening of behaving myself and staying out of your grandmother's way. How's that?”

She gave him a sideways look. “By staying in your room?”

He held up his hand. “I promise.”

“Then I think that's a good plan.”

He winked. “As do I. Can't be tired if I'm heading off on my honeymoon tomorrow.”

The trolley bell rang again, hiding her response. What could not be hidden, however, was the expression on her lovely face. Though Will Tucker was looking forward to a honeymoon, his bride was not.

Or perhaps she affected such an angry stance for some other reason. With his listening tube temporarily unusable and no other way to gauge her emotions, Lucas was left to wonder. It didn't take a Pinkerton man, even one who specialized in advanced science and modern crime-fighting gadgetry, to tell Miss Brimm was not counting the minutes until the after-wedding celebration.

When she led Tucker toward the hotel's front entrance, Lucas lost any ability to either see or hear them. He removed the bowler, made the adjustments that hid the listening device, and then returned the hat to his head to follow his prey. Keeping to the edges of the path where the foliage was dense, he easily trailed the pair until they separated at the front entrance.

Their parting left him momentarily baffled. Had Miss Brimm been his intended, Lucas knew for certain he would have offered at least an embrace. With lips that lovely and begging to be kissed, he would gladly have accommodated her.

Unfortunately, dwelling on a kiss that would never happen caused him to miss the direction in which Tucker headed. Flora Brimm, however, was impossible to miss as she swept past and hailed a doorman. Rather than access his listening tube to overhear her request, Lucas kept still until the doorman sprinted toward the entrance. Then, with Miss Brimm's attention elsewhere, Lucas followed the employee inside.

“A moment of your time,” he said as he opened his coat just enough to allow the fellow to see his badge, but not enough to allow a viewing by any of the other hotel guests.

Especially not Miss Brimm, who had slipped inside and was now hiding—or, rather, attempting to hide—in a dark corner near the elevator.

Lucas nodded toward the manager's office, hidden behind an etched glass enclosure. Releasing his coat lapel, he pressed a finger to his lips in a bid for discretion. “I'll need to know what that young lady requested of you, and I'll also need to speak with the manager.”

“She wishes to go into town. The post office, I believe.”

An odd request, considering that she could easily post a letter here at the hotel. “The manager, then. I need to speak to him right now.”

“Yes, of course, sir,” the man said as he hurried to his task. A moment later, the manager returned to usher Lucas into his private domain.

“Before you go,” he said to the fellow, “that same woman is skulking in the shadows near the elevator. Would you let me know the minute she leaves her hiding spot?”

A discreet glance and his eyes widened. “But that's Miss Brimm, sir.”

“Yes, it is. Do not let her know you're observing her.”

“Of course not, sir.”

“To what do we owe a visit from the Pinks?” the manager asked as he closed his door and gestured toward a chair in front of his desk.

“A matter of discretion,” Lucas said. “I'm afraid I have to inform you that two guests in this hotel are engaged in illegal activities. One has an arrest warrant pending. The other warrant should be active as of this afternoon at the latest.” He would confirm that with the sheriff as soon as he could manage it. “I am not at liberty to disclose these names as it might cause the parties to flee should attention be directed to them. However, I'm certain you would wish them to be dispatched quietly from your establishment.”

The manager's brows gathered. “Indeed I do. We don't condone anything of the sort at the Crescent. Consider the entire resources of our hotel at your command.”

Miss Brimm was seeking a personal visit downtown. Lucas grinned as he patted the handcuffs in his pocket. Indeed, she would have one. Unfortunately for her, the woman who was in collusion with Will Tucker would be heading for a jail cell and not the post office.

“Actually,” he said with a grin. “All I need right now is a buggy, the omnibus transport arrival schedule, and a little assistance from one of your men.”

F
lora kept to her hiding place near the hotel entrance until the green-eyed man with the bowler hat disappeared around the corner. The last thing she needed was to have another conversation with him. He knew far too much, and worse, he continually seemed to appear from nowhere.

Perhaps she should post her letter to Father tomorrow after her appointment with the pastor.
Their
appointment, she corrected, though she tried to ignore the stab the reminder gave her conscience.

She patted her reticule, in part to reassure herself that the quickly penned missive, a brief note scribbled on hotel stationary moments ago, was still there. Somehow, telling Father about her intentions to marry before the ceremony made the pact seem all the more official and the subterfuge less disrespectful. That her father would be livid when he read the news of the already completed nuptials was a given. Flora's concession to respect and propriety would be in the timing of his receipt of this news.

Knowing Grandmama had her ways of finding things out, Flora did not consider posting the letter here at the hotel. Better to go into town and deliver it to someone less likely to be swayed by the matriarch of the Brimm clan.

Leaning against the carved post, she watched the pendulum swing on the oversized clock on the wall behind the reception desk and thought back on what she'd seen. The man had seemed insistent that he speak to the manager. Then he'd gone behind the glass enclosure only to reappear a few minutes later with at least two hotel employees in tow.

Whatever the reason, the expression she had spied on the hotel manager's face before the door closed was unmistakable. He was not happy. Likely someone, possibly one of the escorts Grandmama insisted upon, had informed him of the man's penchant for bothering innocent young women.

Indeed, the fellow certainly seemed in a hurry to leave. Perhaps he was being escorted off the property. Until she knew for certain, though, she realized he could pop up again at any time. Not a welcome thought.

She thought for a moment of seeking solace in Mr. Tucker's suite—the number of which he'd offered though she had not requested it—until she could be certain the stranger would not return to follow her. Unfortunately, Mr. Tucker would likely misunderstand her motives for contacting him again so soon after dismissing him.

Another look in both directions revealed no familiar faces, so Flora stepped from the shadows. She waited a moment for someone to notice, but no one appeared interested in her actions.

She let out a breath and smiled. That she'd eluded security and her grandmother emboldened her. With her head held high, she maneuvered herself around a cluster of chairs, most occupied by older gents with newspapers and too much time on their hands, to march over to the reception desk. When the fellow merely stared at her rather than jumping to assist her, Flora rang the bell.

“Yes, Miss Brimm,” the rather skittish doorman said. “Your carriage is being brought around now.”

“Thank you,” she said as she glanced over toward the double doors and then back at the hotel employee. “I can't imagine what's taking so long.”

The poor man colored bright red as he cleared his throat, his eyes skimming the top of her head rather than meeting her gaze. “I…well… that is, we have a new fellow who will be driving you and…ah, here he is.” Relief appeared to wash over him as he nodded toward the entrance where yet another man stood. “You have a nice trip into town now,” he said as he reached for a handkerchief to mop his brow and then ducked back behind the glass enclosure.

“What an odd man,” Flora said under her breath as she moved cautiously toward the doors.

Mindful that Grandmama, one of her minions, or, worse, the green-eyed man, could still pounce at any moment, she quickly slipped outside and then glanced around for the buggy. Other than the Frisco Railroad's omnibus, which rolled to a stop a few yards away, there appeared to be no private vehicles waiting.

Sending a sideways look to the doorman, Flora shook her head. “Where is my carriage?”

“Other side of the depot transport, ma'am. I will be happy to escort you,” he said as he offered his arm.