“I’d be more than willin’ to join you on your side, Owen,” Aunt Elma said, sending him a wink. “Bet that might make it possible for you to get on with takin’ that advice Leopold’s been givin’ you.”
Owen evidently decided his best option was to ignore all that, turning to Camilla instead of responding. “Have I told you about the Zane family yet—or more specifically, Ebenezer Zane, who founded Wheeling in 1769?”
It was difficult to resist a grin when Beulah and Elma began cackling, and Leopold took to chuckling, but knowing the lastthing she needed was to have the three somewhat meddling members of the elderly set sitting across from her jump into what they enjoyed doing best, that being meddling, Camilla settled a smile on Owen.
“You have not told me athingabout this Ebenezer, and I now find myself more than curious about the man.”
As Owen launched into additional history regarding his hometown, Beulah and Elma continued cackling, although they did throw in little tidbits about Wheeling, such as it was built around Fort Henry and that there were currently plans in place to start a new gentlemen’s club by that same name that was slated to open within the year.
Ten minutes later, the carriage turned right onto Main Street, slowing to a stop a few minutes after that once they reached the wharf.
By the time they got out of the carriage, the door opened for them by Andy, who’d traveled with them tonight to act, not only as a groomsman, but to provide Camilla with extra protection since, according to the latest telegram from the Accounting Firm, there’d been little progress made uncovering who’d been behind her abduction attempt, a line of guests had already formed on the wharf, the ladies dressed in their best silks, while the gentlemen sported expected evening attire.
Before Camilla could truly appreciate the sight of a paddle steamer that appeared to have at least two levels, if not three, Owen was escorting her up the gangplank that led to the main deck, where Mr. Henry Fulton abandoned the guests he was currently greeting and bustled up for an introduction.
Henry then insisted on ushering Camilla, as well as Luella, who he proclaimed was absolutely delightful, around to introduce them to guests they didn’t know, telling Owen he’d return in a trice, which left Owen, as well as Charles, scowling until Beulah elbowed both of them in the ribs.
A trice turned out to be her version of momentarily becauseit took Mr. Fulton a good hour to show her and Luella around, Camilla having a difficult time of it refusing an urge to grin when guests thronged to their side and begged, not to be introduced to her, but to Luella, which meant their plan to establish her within Wheeling society had definitely found success.
After all the guests had boarded, the paddle steamer chugged away from the wharf and headed down the river, the breeze drifting off the water making it more than comfortable, even with more than two hundred people milling about.
After making the acquaintance of Mr. Russell Murchendorfer, Ada Mae’s husband and a gentleman who turned out to be surprisingly charming, Camilla excused herself from the guests surrounding her after Charles wandered up to stand beside Luella, telling them she needed to return to Owen, which earned her knowing looks all around.
“I was beginning to think Mr. Fulton was planning on monopolizing you for the entirety of the ball,” Owen said, handing her a glass of champagne once she’d located him in the crowd, a feat that hadn’t been difficult since Owen stood a good head taller than most of the guests.
“He was very amiable,” she said.
“I bet he was,” Owen grumbled before he took to squinting at something over her shoulder.
“Is something the matter?” she asked.
“There’s a boat coming toward us.”
“I imagine that’s a common occurrence on the river.”
“Not when it seems to be on a path to intercept us, and not when it doesn’t appear to have any navigational lights on.”
Camilla turned and peered in the general direction Owen was staring, detecting an outline of another boat a second later, the only reason she could see it being that the moon had just appeared from behind a cloud. Unfortunately, the boat was almost upon them, and ...
Shrieks suddenly rang out as numerous grappling hooks hurledover the railing, and then there was a clunk as the other boat pulled directly against the paddle steamer’s hull right before men began swarming onto the deck.
“Pirates!” someone yelled as absolute chaos erupted, the ladies trying to flee to the lower level but freezing on the spot as a shot rang out.
“We’re not here to harm you,” a burly man shouted. “As long as you remain calm, we’ll take what we came to retrieve, get on our way, and no one gets hurt.”
It didn’t take long to discover what they intended to retrieve after one of the men caught sight of Camilla and pointed a finger her way. “That’s her.”
“Don’t worry,” Owen said, bending his head close to her. “I think I have a plan.”
“A plan?”
“Indeed” was all he said before he hefted her over his shoulder, moved to the railing, and jumped into the swollen waters of the Ohio River.
Twenty-Eight
“When you said you thought you had a plan, it never entered my mind you were going to toss me overboard” were the first words that came sputtering out of Camilla’s mouth after Owen hauled her to the surface and flipped her onto her back, keeping his arm around her as the current swept them swiftly away from the paddleboat and down a river that was swollen from recent rains.
“What plan entered your mind?” he couldn’t help but ask.
