“Ann and I will join you as well, since we certainly don’t want to represent the Bleecker Street Inquiry Agency looking anything but smartly dressed,” Judith said. “Besides that, I think I have more than my fair share of paint on me because it’s rather tricky to paint while on board a moving train.”
“And while the ladies freshen up,” Ivan said, rolling down his sleeves, “we gentlemen should go over our plans one last time. I don’t want to leave it to chance that we’ve forgotten anything of importance, because that could very well allow a murderer to slip under our guard and attack when we’re least expecting it.”
CHAPTER
Twenty-Three
Even though Eunice appeared composed as they stepped onto the platform at the Butte train depot, Arthur thought she might be more on edge than she was letting on, which was why he took hold of her hand as Cooper and Ann went off to secure them hired carriages.
“It’ll be fine. We have a plan.”
She smiled. “Indeed we do—one where all we have to accomplish is uncover the identity of a murder or murderess, which is no large feat at all, is it?”
“Not with the Bleecker Street Inquiry Agency and the Pinkerton Agency on your case. We’ll have a suspect in hand before you know it.”
“Or I’ll be dead.”
He was hard-pressed not to laugh.
During the past two weeks, he’d spent an inordinate amount of time with Eunice, and what he’d discovered was this—she was a delightful mix of practical, whimsy, and dry wit, with her admission about having a romantic nature adding a depth to her he’d not realized existed.
Yes, she was the most independent woman he knew, but she possessed a charm he’d not been expecting, one that drew him inand left him feeling emotions he’d thought had died after Mitzi rejected him out of hand.
Curiously enough, Eunice had suggested he could be a romantic at heart as well, a conclusion he’d denied at the time. However, given how her smile did peculiar things to his heart, and given that he found himself longing to open a Jane Austen book again so that he could read it out loud to her and hopefully make her smile, he was beginning to think she might not be wrong about him and his romantic heart after all.
He knew the resurgence of his romantic nature was a direct result of Eunice, but the problem with that was this—he’d already disclosed his plan to her about amassing a fortune and then marrying an incomparable.
It would be difficult to now convince Eunice he’d had a change of heart about that, as it wouldn’t be a stretch for her to believe he’d changed his mind not because of the affection he most assuredly held for her but because she was now one of the greatest heiresses in the country. With that type of wealth, the New York Four Hundred would be only too keen to welcome her into their midst, especially when her fortune was third generation, which made it perfectly acceptable in the eyes of the elite.
“You’re not going to be dead,” Ivan said, moving up to join them, Judith holding onto his arm. “I’ve kept you alive all these years, and I have no intention of failing with that now.” His gaze darted to the wooden depot building. “Doesn’t look like much has changed over the years we’ve been away. Considering how the mining industry is booming in Butte, I was expecting the train depot to have expanded.”
“There are plans underway to give the depot an overhaul,” Arthur said. “And while I know this area still looks rough, wait until you see Main Street.” He smiled. “It’s beginning to look like a street from a progressive city over one from the Wild West.”
“How disappointing,” Judith said, releasing a sigh. “I was hoping to get some sketches of an authentic Wild West town, complete with cowboys riding in from the trail and perhaps even getting towitness one of those showdowns in the middle of the street that are always written about in dime novels.”
Arthur smiled. “Those still happen, Judith, but usually not on Main Street or West Granite. If you travel past those streets, you’ll discover a rowdier atmosphere because that’s where the majority of miners and cowboys spend their time when they’re at their leisure. With that said, I wouldn’t recommend you travel to the seedier parts of Butte. Those aren’t places for ladies, because there are saloons on every corner, and the men who frequent those saloons aren’t known to adopt the best manners.”
“We could always stay in the carriage,” Judith said.
“Absolutely not,” Ivan argued. “If any of those miners would so much as get a glimpse of your beautiful face through the carriage window, there’d be a riot. I can guarantee you all of them would decide you’d make a wonderful wife, and not simply because women are still in short supply in Montana. Believe me, those miners wouldn’t be shy about trying to win your favor, and if they were unsuccessful with that, many of them wouldn’t blink an eye about throwing you over their shoulder and making off with you.”
Judith’s face turned pink. “You find my face beautiful?”
“I didn’t think that was in question.”
As Judith and Ivan immediately began staring deeply into each other’s eyes, Georgette moved up to join them, taking Eunice’s arm. “This should be an interesting ride to Mason Manor.”
“We’ll take a carriage without the lovebirds in it,” Eunice said before Ivan pulled his attention from Judith and settled a scowl on her.
“You won’t be going anywhere—not even in a carriage—without me. Until we uncover who murdered your grandfather, I’m not taking my eyes off of you.”
“That may be a difficult promise to keep, what with how your gaze is normally attached to Judith’s.”
Ivan opened his mouth, clearly to voice an argument to that, but then his lips curved. “A fair point, which means...” He turned to Judith. “Would you be overly offended if for the time beingwe agree to keep a certain distance between us? I’d hate to be so distracted with your loveliness that I neglect my job as Eunice’s bodyguard.”
Judith’s eyes sparkled. “You are a charmer, Ivan. And while I’m sure it’ll be difficult to maintain distance between us, Eunice’s safety must come before any flirting between us. Besides, seeing as how this is one of my first official cases as an agent with the Bleecker Street Inquiry Agency, I need to prove my worth. I don’t believe I’d be successful with that if Eunice were to come to a bad end because you and I were distracted with each other. That means, for now, flirting will need to be set aside, at least while we’re on duty.”
“Wonderful,” Georgette said with a nod to where a few carriages were trundling their way. “And with that settled, it appears our carriages are ready to whisk us off to Mason Manor.”
