Wilder Than the Rest: MacLarens of Fire Mountain (10 page)

“Agreed.” Chaz reached into this pocket to extract some bills. “I’ll be in touch.”

Lee nodded, watched Chaz disappear through the front door, and sat back to finish his coffee. The Mayor’s Ball was the following night. He had much to accomplish before facing Eva and the wrath he knew would follow.

Chapter Nine

Pierce and Mollie sat across the breakfast table from each other, he pretending to be absorbed in the paper, and she concentrating on the meal Penelope had prepared. They hadn’t spoken since the night before when he’d left her alone in the parlor. He’d gone to his room and let her comments play over and over in his mind. Each time he did, the same answer held firm. She didn’t actually believe what she’d said. She’d been as affected by their attraction to each other as Pierce. Mollie had thought they’d come to some resolution, but she was wrong. Her continued silence and obvious discomfort around Pierce told him there was still much to be said.

He studied her for a moment before forging ahead. “It’s not like you to lie to me or to yourself, and I believe that’s exactly what you did last night.” Mollie opened her mouth to protest, but Pierce held up a hand to silence her. “I don’t believe either of us knows what’s happening, whether it’s a passing attraction or something to build on. Whatever it is, we need to either get it out of our systems, so we can concentrate on our jobs, or ignore it. I don’t believe it’s smart to try the first and I’m not sure we’ll succeed at the latter.”

Mollie stared at him, her eyes wide, not wanting to accept what he’d said, even though she knew it to be true. She had no intention of letting her feelings for this man go any further. She’d never intended to fall in love with anyone, and certainly not Pierce MacLaren, yet she had.

“What happened the other night was a mistake. At least we had the good sense to stop before we did anything we’d truly regret.” She watched his cool eyes assess hers as she spoke. “There will never be anything between us. We’re too different and want dissimilar things in life.”

Pierce listened, not believing much of what she said. He knew Mollie had developed feelings for him, as he had for her. Their response to each other the other night was all the proof he needed. The difference was that he wanted to erase those feelings with one passionate night in bed, while she wanted to deal with them by pretending they didn’t exist.

“What is it you want, Mollie? Surely it isn’t a life of being an agent, traveling from one job to another, never having a home or family.” Pierce’s words were soft, penetrating the emotional armor Mollie had so diligently constructed over many years.

“And why not? It’s a good life, lucrative and rarely boring. Don’t tell me you want a home, a family? Do you really want to be saddled with children just to pass your name on to?” In contrast to Pierce, Mollie’s tone was mocking, almost bitter.

“You have something against families? My four cousins, my brother, and my sister are married and happy. From what I can tell, it can be a good life if you fall in love with the right person.”

“I’d expect that sentiment coming from a man who grew up in a large, loving family. The reality is quite different.”

Pierce was poised to deny what she’d assumed. The truth of his growing up was so much different from what she’d implied, yet something held him back, prompting another approach.

“How did you grow up? You were born in Boston, right?”

Mollie looked at her plate and the food she’d barely touched, not wanting to get into this discussion. Few people knew of her childhood, and that was fine with her. Except, something about Pierce pulled at her, pushing her to talk about things she knew should be left alone. Then she had a thought. Perhaps sharing something of her past would change his mind, make her less attractive in his eyes.

“Yes, Boston.”

“And your family?”

Mollie’s gaze focused on his, her eyes never flinching. “My mother abandoned my father and me. Just disappeared one night.” To her surprise, Pierce showed no noticeable reaction.

“How old were you?”

“Ten.”

“Did your father work?”

“When he could find it. Mainly, he drank, forgetting about me or anything else, including work.” She took a deep breath, not realizing her voice had begun to waver with each word. “I got a job in a bakery, delivering bread to restaurants until I was old enough to work inside the kitchen. I must have been about twelve by then. It was enough to put food on the table and sometimes pay our rent, but nothing was left over for much else. There was a family with several children who lived nearby. The husband had something to do with the railroads and they always seemed to do okay. The wife would give me clothes their children had grown out of.”

Pierce waited, expecting her to continue. When she didn’t, he reached out and placed his hand on hers. “As much as I know you’d like to think we have nothing in common, I believe we have much more than you think.”

Mollie looked at him, glanced at their joined hands, and slowly drew hers away. She started to speak when Penelope appeared to take their plates.

When it became apparent their conversation had ended, Pierce stood and pulled Mollie’s chair back.

“Don’t assume this conversation is over, because it isn’t.” He strode toward the entrance hall and grabbed his hat. “I’m to meet Carlton Benstead and Gerald Goss for lunch. I’ll be back directly afterward.”

Mollie watched him leave, perplexed by his lack of reaction to her low upbringing as well as his desire to continue their conversation. Her belief was that their discussion was over. There was no need to bring up the past in any more detail than she’d already shared. Besides, she wasn’t some naïve young girl. She understood his interest in her had nothing to do with anything other than alleviating his physical needs. He’d have to find a solution for that from someone other than her.

******

Lee waited for the message from his contact in Washington, a man he’d known since childhood who now worked in the government and contracted with Alex McCann on a regular basis. Clive Hawkins was one of the few good men in Grover Cleveland’s government, at least in Lee’s opinion. Honest, hardworking, with a sixth sense about anything that could endanger the country. Clive’s father had been a general for the Union army during the Civil War. Clive had followed him to West Point, served his time, then decided on a career in government. Lee wished there were more like him.

The clerk handed him the missive and he scanned it quickly, absorbing the information but not quite believing it. Certainly, it was something he couldn’t share with most in the present assignment. Clive had provided the name of a man under surveillance for various activities deemed to be not only illegal, but also traitorous. The message warned that the information provided was highly secretive and that only four people knew what he had shared.

Lee folded the paper and slid it into the inside pocket of his coat before penning a message back to Clive. He wanted to share the information with Noah and needed Clive’s approval. He knew how he’d like to handle the information if it were up to him, however, he was astute enough to know his reactions might be a little skewed. Noah would provide another perspective, something that might stop Lee from going straight for the man and beating a confession out of him.

He told himself his reaction wasn’t out of line, anyone would want to do the same if they’d learned a colleague had committed treason. His gut, however, provided a different answer. He knew his response had more to do with settling an old score and exposing the man for the lowlife Lee knew him to be. If Clive’s information was true, revenge would be sweet and come sooner than Lee had anticipated.

******

Mollie had met Henrietta Benstead and Lottie Goss for a tour of what the two women considered the most suitable establishments for ladies of their social standing. As Henrietta had said during their luncheon earlier in the week, one could never be too careful about the businesses they patronized. The caliber of each shop said much about the women who shopped there.

“Here we are.” Henrietta stopped in front of a small boutique that specialized in hats and gloves. Before any of them had a chance to grasp the brass handle, the door flew open and a short, slender woman of Asian descent stood smiling at them.

“Enter, my good friends, Mrs. Benstead and Mrs. Goss.” She bowed slightly before noticing the third woman. “Ah, you brought a friend today.” Her smile grew even wider, sensing another sale.

“Yes, Mei-Li. This is our good friend, Mrs. MacLaren,” Henrietta responded and strolled into the store.

“Ah, welcome, welcome,” Mei-Li said to Mollie as she pushed the door closed.

Mollie wandered to the back to join the others. They were already pointing out new creations and commenting on each. Lottie liked a particularly bold hat with tall feathers and bright purple ribbon.

“Doesn’t she create the most exquisite hats you’ve ever seen?” Lottie gushed as Mei-Li held out the hat.

Mollie agreed they were amazing hats, and from the prices Mei-Li quoted, quite expensive. The conversation and fittings continued for another ten minutes before the women were interrupted by the sound of a gentleman’s voice as the back entrance to the shop was pushed open and a lone man walked through the opening. Thomas Traxton. He glanced behind him quickly, nodded, and shut the door.

Henrietta, Lottie, and Mollie all stood silent, waiting for him to explain why he was coming through the back door of the hat shop.

“Good afternoon, ladies. It’s a pleasure to see you all again,” Thomas Traxton drawled.

Mollie was the first to respond. “Good afternoon, Thomas. What a surprise to see you here. Is there perhaps another showroom with creations that aren’t displayed in front?”

Thomas’s smile broadened even more and he walked toward the women, ignoring Mollie’s question.

“Virginia is feeling a bit off today. I thought perhaps a new hat would cheer her up. Since I had a business meeting with Mei-Li today, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to find something special.” He grabbed a particularly gaudy hat with red and purple feathers. Oddly, it did seem like something Virginia might like.

“Mei-Li, would you mind wrapping this up for my wife? I’ll come back tomorrow to settle up what is owed.”

Within minutes, Traxton had accepted the boxed hat and left the store for his carriage out front.

Henrietta and Lottie stepped to the front window and watched as he disappeared inside the carriage.

“What in the world?” Lottie asked under her breath. She hadn’t spoken a word since Thomas emerged from the back of the millinery.

Mei-Li stood behind a counter at the back of the store, her face red and fear evident by her wide-eyed expression. It took just four strides for Mollie to stand directly across from the shop owner.

“Mei-Li. What is going on?” Mollie indicated with her head to the back door, but all the Chinese woman did was shake her head. “Did you just have a meeting with Mr. Traxton?” she persisted.

Mei-Li put a hand over her mouth and shook her head. Other than that, the shop owner remained silent, refusing to discuss anything about Traxton.

“I believe it’s time we left, ladies. Mei-Li, thank you for your courtesy. I’m sure we’ll see you again soon.”

Mollie herded the other two women outside and signaled for the Benstead carriage. Once inside, each remained silent for several minutes, reflecting on the scene they’d witnessed.

“How incredibly odd,” Lottie commented.

“Perhaps he did have business downstairs. It could be nothing.” Henrietta huffed. She turned her attention to Mollie, who sat across from her.

“I agree, Henrietta. I believe his appearance just took us by surprise.” Mollie’s mind raced at the implication that something more was going on with Thomas Traxton than a simple business transaction. “Are the store offices in the back?”

“No. At my insistence, Carlton has done some business with Mei-Li. She normally meets him at the bank, but he mentioned she has an office above the store, in a corner of the apartment where she, her husband, and two children live. Her husband isn’t involved in the store and she doesn’t have a partner. She uses the back for storage only. I can’t imagine why Thomas would be back there.”

Henrietta’s explanation fueled Mollie’s concerns about Traxton and his reason for being at the small hat shop. Something was definitely going on with the man, and she was determined to find out what.

Chapter Ten

Mollie paced her bedroom, waiting for Pierce. She wanted to get his impressions on what she’d seen earlier that day. Something was certainly amiss with Thomas Traxton, and she meant to find out what it was.

She heard a door downstairs close and raced to the entrance. Pierce was just turning toward the parlor when he spotted her dashing down the stairs. For a brief moment, he fantasized she was hurrying to greet him, planning to throw her arms around his neck and place a welcoming kiss on his mouth. He shook that image aside as she stopped a couple of feet in front of him.

“What is it?”

“We need to talk.” Mollie turned toward the library, shutting the doors behind them.

“All right, what is so important?” Pierce crossed his arms in front of his broad chest, leaning one shoulder negligently against the door, eyeing Mollie and wondering what had her so agitated.