Arthur Livingston, even with his propensity for irritating her on a minute-by-minute basis, was far too appealing for his own good.
It seemed absurd, the idea she found him appealing, but when she’d seen him standing in the dining hall of Blackwell’s Island Insane Asylum, ready to jump in and assist her with an angry mob of morphine-and-baton-wielding nurses, her heart had given a most unexpected lurch.
She’d actually been thinking that perhaps Dr. Franklin had the right of her after all and she was a bit mad because it was sheer madness to find Arthur Livingston so appealing.
Granted, there were valid reasons why she found Arthur appealing, such as his intellect, his ability to make a profit because of innovative practices that most mining industrialists never would have considered, and the way his eyes crinkled at the corners when he smiled. She also found his determination to honor his word to her grandfather somewhat appealing as well because a man of his word reallywasn’tto be taken lightly.
What wasn’t appealing about him, though, was his refusal to completely discard the idea of a marriage between them, although he hadn’t told her they were going to get married—probably because he didn’t want her to shoot him again.
But even with him not voicing that idea, she knew he still believed it was a viable option, which it most certainly was not because who wanted to marry a man who’d not spoken a single word of affection, let alone attempted any physical acts of affection, such as holding her hand or kissing her?
She had a feeling Arthur Livingston would know his way around a kiss.
And that, right there, was the crux of her problem with Arthur.
While she’d occasionally—both in the past and since they’d reconnected—considered kissing and Arthur in the same breath, she was relatively certain that he hadn’t considered kissing her atall, what with the practical way he’d broached the marriage idea as if it were merely one of his business ventures and needed to be treated as such.
It was disheartening, knowing she might be the means to an end, one that would allow him to honor his word to her grandfather while also reaching the very pinnacle of mining success. He was apparently willing to pursue those means until the “I do’s” were exchanged, which meant he was far more like her grandfather than she’d realized.
Yes, she’d loved her grandfather, even with him being cantankerous and a bit of a tyrant, but she didn’t want to be romantically drawn to a man with similar characteristics. That meant she needed to stay far removed from Arthur, no matter that he made her heart lurch in a most annoying and unexpected manner.
Arthur’s appeal and her decision to resist that appeal had been exactly why after she’d bid him good-bye the day before when they’d reached the Holbrooke boardinghouse, she’d traveled directly to Daphne’s home on the Hudson. Well, after she’d taken a bath to rid herself of the stench of the asylum that had clung to her like a winter cloak.
There was no question that Arthur was going to be annoyed with her when he arrived at the boardinghouse today and found her missing once again, instead of waiting for him to accompany her to the Hudson River Valley.
It was also not in question that he wasn’t going to be amused when he discovered that Judith was not around either. The unanimous decision had been made that Judith would accompany Eunice to Daphne’s house because there’d been a definite risk with leaving her behind in the city. Even Judith had admitted there was a chance she’d disclose the classified information of directions to Georgette’s artist colony if the right questions were asked, something Arthur was capable of doing.
“You do remember that I solve mysteries for a living, don’t you?” Daphne suddenly asked, pulling Eunice from her thoughts. “That means I’ve now pondered what was an evasive response tomy original statement and have concluded that I’m correct and that there is more between you and Arthur besides the fact the two of you argue all the time. I believe both of you might go out of your way to annoy each other, and I think it’s a sign of the romantic tension neither of you have admitted is occurring between you.” Daphne settled a knowing look on Eunice. “Your arguing can almost be considered a courting technique, albeit a rather peculiar one.”
“Arthur and I are not courting. If you’ve forgotten, he was quite vocal about his reluctance to that idea when my grandfather broached the matter with him seven years ago.”
“True, but as I was convalescing here on the Hudson after tossing up my accounts the other day—and for every day since—I was wondering what was really behind his reluctance. I get the distinct feeling there’s a story there.”
“One that will have to go unread because I have no intention of seeing Arthur again.”
Daphne gave an airy wave of her hand. “If you believe Arthur is going to return to Montana without you, I think you’re in for a rude awakening. And not that we’ve discussed the matter of your grandfather’s murder, but you simply can’t allow his murderer to not be brought to justice.” She flipped through her notepad. “I’ve been jotting down a few notes concerning the murder, and I’ve been wondering if it could possibly have something to do with that farm—the one with all the copper. What if there was someone else who wanted to purchase that land but your grandfather acquired the land first?”
“An interesting theory, and one I’ve never considered because I didn’t know at the time of Grandfather’s death that Mr. Green’s farm was such a highly prized tract of land. You may be on to something, but again, I’m not interested in returning to Montana to solve the case, as I’ve said now numerous times.”
“You could send another agent or two out to investigate for you, although that’s not going to solve the problem of proving you’re alive.” Daphne tapped her pencil against her notepad. “You couldalways have a sworn affidavit filled out, proclaiming you alive, which would spare you a jaunt to Montana as well as allow you to maintain control over your inheritance.”
“I thought about that, but what you need to understand is that the Wild West is run differently than New York.” Eunice pulled a black glove over her hand. “Arthur told me that my great-uncle Raymond was left a bequest from my grandfather, which means he has the wherewithal to bribe someone to have me declared dead. He could also use the tempting bait that he’s going to be coming into a large windfall if Iamdeclared dead in order to encourage someone to make a sworn affidavit disappear.”
“I could probably get enough fodder from what sounds like a delightful family to get me through an entire series of new books.”
“I’m sure you could, but given your bouts of tossing up your accounts, I’m going to assume there’s no possibility of you traveling to Montana to seek out that fodder for the foreseeable future.”
“An excellent point.”
Eunice arched a brow. “That’s it, an excellent point? You must know I was fishing for a more definitive response.”
“I’m a mystery writer, Eunice. I believe in building up a sense of anticipation.” Daphne turned to the window and peered out. “And to increase that sense of anticipation, I now find myself spared from a more detailed response because there’s a carriage trundling up the drive.” She pressed her nose directly against the glass. “It looks like Elsy, and, yes, that’s Phillip sitting beside her on the driver’s seat. He’s hanging on for dear life because Elsy is attempting to steer the carriage around the half circle that leads to the front vestibule.”
“I’m surprised Phillip was agreeable to letting Elsy take the wild curve in your drive, but I’m incredibly concerned to see them here. Judith and I took the ferry up the Hudson last night because Elsy was scheduled to attend an early brunch with Mrs. Paxton today, making her unavailable to drive us last night.”
Daphne fished her shoes out from under the chaise, then waved Eunice on as she settled back on the chaise and began lacing herselfinto her shoes. “You should go see what’s happened. I’ll be down in a minute.”
Telling Daphne to take her time because she was suddenly looking a little pasty, Eunice made her way down a curving staircase to the first floor, then headed through the front door that was already being held open by Jeffries, Daphne and Herman’s recently hired butler. After sending Jeffries a smile, she made her way down steps that led to the drive as Elsy jumped lightly to the ground, Phillip Villard shaking his head as he jumped down after her.
