Her stomach churned with suspicion. Although she’d promised Denton not to leave the room, she must get closer to Louise to see what the woman was doing.
Quickly, before she could change her mind, she wound her hair in a coil again and placed the itchy wig on her head. She stuffed the pillow up her skirt and then grabbed a cloak. Noticing the gun Denton had left on the bed, she snatched it and slipped it into the waist of her skirt, covering it with the cloak before hurrying out of the room and down the stairs. When she walked outside, she kept her gaze to the ground and slowly moved in the direction where Louise was still waiting against the brick wall.
When she reached the end of the hotel, a man had stopped beside Louise. The woman pulled on the sleeve of his coat as they ducked in the alleyway. Courtney stayed against the corner of the hotel, placing her hands on the pillow under her skirt, hoping to give the appearance that she had stopped because of her unborn child. Keeping her back toward Louise and the man, Courtney prayed that they wouldn’t see her as she listened intently to their conversation.
“Another issue has arose, and this time, I trust you’ll not mess things up.” Louise’s voice was agitated.
Courtney slowly peeked in their direction. Louise scowled at the man as she shoved a moneybag against his chest.
“I swear on my mother’s grave,” Louise bit out, “that if you don’t do what you’re paid to do,I’llbe the one to kill you.”
“Yes, Miss Louise.” The man’s scarred face scrunched in an unpleasant expression. “But it wasn’t my fault. Your brother came—”
“Don’t worry about Terrance. I’ll take care of him. But I want you to get rid of Denton Reed. He is at the estate right now. He is asking too many questions, and he’ll soon discover the truth – which won’t be good for either of us.”
Courtney caught her breath before she gasped out loud. What was going on? Yet, deep in her heart, she knew what she’d just overheard. Louise was paying the man to kill Denton. So, did that mean Louise had killed her own father?
Panic grew inside Courtney, and she knew she must stop Louise – and especially the man. Because Denton hadn’t returned from the estate, he would be in grave danger. He wouldn’t know of Louise’s plan. Courtney just couldn’t sit by and hope that Denton could protect himself, especially since he didn’t know about the impending danger. She was tired of being idle, and she wanted to help find the real killer.
She pulled away from the wall and hurried toward the stable not far from the hotel where her horse and buggy had been housed. She couldn’t see anyone in the stable to help her, so she quickly unhooked her horse from the buggy and mounted. The pillow stuffed up her skirt became uncomfortable, but she didn’t have time to remove it. She must find Louise – or the man – and follow them.
As she guided the horse toward the street, she noticed Louise briskly walking toward the family coach. Courtney’s heart dropped. Where was the man? Could she remember him if she saw him again?
Taking deep breaths, she closed her eyes and tried to remember what the man looked like. His face was cut up, but the deepest scars were on his cheek and chin. His hair was dirty blonde, and his coat was ragged around the edges. He was taller than Louise by a good five inches.
She sighed with relief and opened her eyes. Denton had her do that when he was trying to get her to remember. She was glad it still worked, even if he wasn’t here to help her calm down.
The one thing Courtney knew was that this man would be heading toward Albert’s estate, so that was where she needed to go.
Her chest tightened. Silently, she prayed that she wouldn’t get noticed. If any of Albert’s children or servants saw her, they’d capture her and give her to the sheriff. That couldnothappen.
As she rode toward his estate, she scanned the streets, looking for the unkempt, scar-faced man. Would he be on horseback, too? Yet, if he were being tasked with killing Denton, the man would be stupid not to have a quick getaway.
Panic grew inside her, and she urged the horse faster. Reaching Denton first was her goal, and she didn’t want to think about what would happen if the scar-faced man fulfilled his agreement with Louise.
Courtney’s stomach churned again. It had only been a few days, but she’d grown close to Denton, and she didn’t know what she’d do if he weren’t helping her. But it was more than that. She’d found herself attracted to the handsome and kindhearted man. Her parents hadn’t allowed her to meet other young men or even have feelings for them. They wanted her to enter the marriage to Albert without knowing what love was all about. Sadly, all she’d known was despair.
Then she met Denton. She should have hated him for lying to her there at the beginning, but once she got to know him better, it was hard not to let him melt her heart. She didn’t want any other man but him, and she prayed she wouldn’t have to look any further.
After about ten minutes, she slowed the horse as she came closer to the estate. Her stomach lurched. The last time she made this journey was on her wedding day. That had been the worst day of her life.
She noticed Louise had made it back home safely since she had just left the coach and entered the manor's front door. Courtney maneuvered the horse to the thicket of trees, hoping to keep hidden for a little while longer.
Once she found a good spot, she dismounted and tied her horse to a tree. Courtney noticed the pillow had dropped, so she quickly pulled out the distraction and tossed it on the ground. She slipped the pistol out of her skirt’s waistband and crept around the trees, moving closer to the manor.
From across the way in another patch of trees, she noticed a movement. Fear tightened her throat as she recognized the scar-faced man. He, too, held a gun. The man had his sights on something around the side of the house.
She stepped around trees, trying to see what he did, but when she heard Denton’s voice, her heart dropped. She couldn’t let the man kill Denton.
