“Hmmm,” Eunice said before she rose to her feet. “I believe I’ve heard enough, so this is where our interview ends.”
Arthur rose to his feet as well. “Because you’ve heard enough details about the case and are going to take it on?”
“We will not be taking on your case.”
“Why not?”
“Because your arrogance apparently knows no bounds.”
“Arrogance? What arrogance?”
She drew herself up, looking more than formidable in her black widow’s weeds. “You just claimed it’ll be in Eugenia Howland’s best interest to marry you but not once have you mentioned how Eugenia may feel about a marriage to you. It seems, at least in yourmind, to be a foregone conclusion that marriage to you is her best option, and that is arrogance at its finest.”
“There are other reasons marriage to me will be in her best interest. I simply haven’t gotten to them yet.”
She held up a black-gloved hand. “I have no desire to hear those reasons. I’m sure they’ll be questionable at best, just as I’m sure you won’t mention a word about how marriage to Eugenia would benefityou. The law is clear in this country about what happens to a lady’s inheritance when she marries. It goes to her husband. If you’re correct about the amount of copper lying under that old farm, Eugenia would become the majority owner of the largest copper venture in the country. If you marry her, you’ll have full control over that copper, along with the rest of Eugenia’s fortune.”
“I never said I wouldn’t benefit from a marriage to Eugenia,” Arthur countered.
“True. You merely neglected to say anything at all about the matter, presenting your case as if you’re going to be doing Eugenia a great favor by taking her as your wife. Again, arrogance at its best. With that said, allow me to bid you adieu and caution you to never darken our doorstep again.”
Before Arthur could think of a suitable response to salvage a situation he’d lost complete control of, Eunice retrieved her pistol from her desk and strode his way, the black train of her widow’s weeds swishing over the floor. She reached his side in the blink of an eye, and without a by your leave, gestured with her pistol toward the door. A second after that, she marched him out of the Bleecker Street Inquiry Agency while not speaking another word to him, leaving him standing alone on the stoop as she shut the door firmly in his face.
CHAPTER
Seven
“Out of any possible solution to the Arthur Livingston situation, your going undercover as an inmate at Blackwell’s Island Insane Asylum is the worst option available.”
Eunice pulled her attention from the window of the carriage that was trundling its way toward the East River, where she would then board a boat bound for Blackwell Island. She settled her gaze on Ivan Chernoff, her bodyguard and best friend. He was sitting directly beside her, looking decidedly irritable as he raked a hand through his short blond hair.
“We’ve been over this, Ivan, numerous times. My going undercover is the perfect solution. Mrs. Eastman is desperate to see her sister regain her freedom, and I was very moved by Mrs. Eastman’s distress and felt compelled to take matters into my own hands since Gabriella and Nicholas, who would have been the best suited to take on this matter, are out of town on another case. Besides, I need to make myself scarce from the agency until Arthur leaves the city in a few days, a week at the most. That’s why it makes perfect sense for me to be the agent to go undercover.”
“Except that there’s no reason for you to make yourself scarce in the first place. You seem convinced that Arthur doesn’t believe you murdered your grandfather, nor does it seem as if he did thedastardly deed. It’s ridiculous for you to place yourself in a situation I’m convinced you’re ill equipped to handle.”
Eunice batted away a veil that was obscuring her vision. “There’s every reason for me to avoid Arthur because I fear if I see the insufferable man again, I’ll be hard-pressed not to shoot him. If that happens, I’ll certainly find myself behind bars since Arthur probably won’t forgive a second shooting quite as easily as he forgave the first one.”
“I don’t recall you saying Arthur forgave that first shooting,” Agent Cooper Clifton said from where he was sitting across from her.
Switching her attention to Cooper, a Pinkerton agent who often worked in conjunction with the Bleecker Street Inquiry Agency, Eunice frowned. “Hmmm.... Now that I think about it, Arthur didn’t actually say he’d forgiven me. But because he’s determined to marry me, he must not be holding too much of a grudge, although I could be wrong about that, which is another reason I should avoid him.”
Cooper tilted his head. “Even if he’s not holding a grudge, I don’t understand why you’d be tempted to shoot the poor man again. Most normal women would view his determination to marry you as a compliment.”
“Eunice is not what anyone would consider normal,” Ivan muttered, earning a swat from Eunice and a snort from Miss Ann Evans, a fellow inquiry agent who was sitting beside Cooper.
“Eunice is perfectly normal,” Ann said. “And I for one understand exactly why she longs to shoot Arthur. No lady wants to hear that a gentleman has decided to marry her for her own good. Honestly, whatcouldthat man have been thinking?”
“I’m sure he thought he was casting himself in a favorable light. Most people, gentlemen and ladies alike, believe looking after a lady’s best interest is what a gentleman is supposed to do,” Cooper said.
“Which is a valid point,” Ann said as she sent a rather flirty smile Cooper’s way, something she did often whenever she was in his company. “Eunice might have considered him more favorably,though, if he hadn’t implied he was going to be doing her a favor by marrying her.”
“That right there is exactly why my trigger finger has turned a bit twitchy,” Eunice said, settling back against the seat.
Cooper winced. “Perhaps itisa prudent decision for you to remove yourself from the city until Arthur leaves town. I may not currently feel compelled to disclose your identity to the Pinkertons, even though they were once hired to find you. But if you shoot Arthur, who was once a Pinkerton client, I’d not only have to disclose your identity but also arrest you.”
“I would expect nothing less.”
Ivan crossed his arms over his chest. “You’re not going to shoot Arthur again, even if he may have presented his argument about why he wants to marry you somewhat clumsily. There’s a distinct possibility his clumsiness was a direct result of your being contrary with him from the moment he stepped foot into your office as well as a result of what sounds like you and Daphne teaming up against him.”
