“I’m afraid I don’t know either of them. But perhaps a visit to the boarding houses and hotels in town might be more fruitful? Or the general stores and mercantiles?” He held his breath as she considered his words.
“Yes,” she finally said. “I believe you may be right. Neither Miss Lee nor her intended are given to drink, and they must have a place to stay and a place where they can purchase their sundries. Thank you, Mr. Becker. You’ve been most helpful.”
She moved past him then, toward the door of the saloon. She was fast, and was already outside before he caught up with her.
“Please,” he said, glancing around them as the shadows of dusk had begun to appear. “Let me accompany you back to your boarding house. It’s growing dark, and it isn’t safe for a lady alone at night.”
“I appreciate the gallantry, but I’m perfectly capable of walking myself. Particularly when it’s hardly dark at all. Good night, Mr. Becker.” She began walking down the plank sidewalk, her reticule clutched to her side and her hand grasping the narrow brim of her hat as a gust of wind kicked up. He clenched his hands to his sides. She wasnotgoing to be an easy one to keep out of trouble.
She paused and turned, and for a half a moment, Mark thought she’d reconsidered his offer. Perhaps she wasn’t as hard-headed as she appeared.
“I failed to thank you for your efforts on my behalf in that establishment,” she said. “Although I didn’t particularly need saving, I do thank you.”
And with that, she was off again, leaving Mark standing in front of the saloon. One thing was for certain—he would be earning every penny Montgomery paid him.
Chapter Four
NEITHER OF THE TWOhotels closest to Charlotte’s boarding house had Ruby or her intended on their guest lists. And a visit to the boarding house two streets over had yielded no results either. There were a couple of other boarding houses she could visit—“less reputable” ones, as one of the hotel clerks had described them. But Charlotte thought she might stop in to some of the shops first.
She would never admit it out loud, but the incident with that man at the saloon the night before had shaken her. But only a little, and only because the entire experience had been unexpected. Cañon City was not Baltimore, and even then, it wasn’t as if she’d spent time in the less savory parts of the city. She need only keep her wits about her, and she’d be just fine.
Charlotte pressed open the door to the shop with the sign that readHill’s General Store. Inside, a nice array of goods met her eyes. Charlotte smiled at it all. She so loved it here. Everything was just barely on the edge of civilized. This store, for instance. It was lovely and inviting, and yet right outside the door, one could run into any number of disreputable people. Like that man at the saloon.
Her father would despise this place, and everyone and everything in it. Which made it exactly what she’d hoped it would be.
She decided she liked this little shop most of all, with its carefully arranged merchandise and the kindly older woman smiling at her from behind the counter that ran along the wall to the left.
“Do you need help, dear?” the woman asked in a voice that reminded Charlotte of a particularly wonderful nanny she’d had as a child.
Charlotte returned the woman’s smile as she made her way to the counter. “Yes, I’m hoping you might answer a question for me.” She stopped at the counter. “You have a lovely shop.”
“Thank you.” The woman beamed. “It’s my son’s. I enjoy helping the customers. His wife has a dress shop in the back. Did you see it? She’s quite talented.”
Charlotte turned to look toward where the woman pointed. Shelving blocked most of the view, but she could just make out a door that must have led to the dress shop.
“I’m Mrs. Hill,” the woman said, drawing Charlotte’s attention back to the counter. “Now, tell me your question and I’ll see if I can help.”
