Page 81 of Mail-Order Viscountess

The shorter man spoke first. “Pardon me, ma’am. You’re Mrs. Balfour?”

Her pulse jumped, but she kept her expression pleasant. “Yes.”

“Are you related to the Balfour family who run the ranch outside of town?”

The question was ordinary enough. Natural, even. Walnut Springs was a small community—everyone knew everyone else’s business. If these were locals, they’d naturally be curious about a stranger bearing the Balfour name.

“I am.” She forced her voice to remain steady. “I’ve recently married Thomas Balfour.”

The words had barely left her mouth when a flicker lit the man’s eyes. Recognition. Satisfaction.

Ice flooded her veins.

These weren’t townspeople making polite conversation.

These were the men from the saloon. The ones Thomas had fought. The ones who’d sent the telegram to England. She’d just confirmed exactly what they wanted to know.

“Thomas’s wife.” The broad-shouldered one smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “That’s real interesting.”

She took a step backward. The cafe was behind her, but could she reach it before they caught her? What she could see of the street was empty—the few people out earlier had vanished into buildings or down side streets.

“Well, it was nice meeting you.” She turned partway, trying to make the movement casual without putting her back to them completely.

Maybe a dozen steps to the boarding house. If she ran⁠—

But they’d catch her. She could see it in the way they stood, weight balanced, ready to move. These weren’t men who let prey escape.

Still, if she could get close enough. If Mrs. Patterson happened to look out the window…

“Now, now.” The broad-shouldered man stepped around her to cut off her retreat, his bulk blocking half the boardwalk. “No need to rush off. We just want a friendly conversation.”

“About what?” She shifted closer to the street. Maybe she could go straight across. No buildings lined the opposite side in this section. Just the sawmill perched down by the river. But it might be something.

“About your husband.” The lean man shifted with her, his step longer, closing off part of her passage into the street. “And his brothers.”

They nearly had her closed in.

Panic surged through her, pounding in her ears. How could she get out of this? They didn’t look like words would change their plans. And she had no weapon. Could she cause a scene? Scream and bring someone running?

Only if there was someone close enough to hear her.

She dared a look down the street. First one way. Then the other.

The blow slammed hard in the back of her head, shooting black through her vision.

CHAPTER 27

Thomas gripped the reins a little harder as the wagon slid on an icy patch. Maybe he should slow the team on this last stretch before Walnut Springs. But everything inside him urged him to go faster.

To reach Kate, who was in the same town with hired killers.

What had he been thinking?

He hadn’t been thinking. That was the problem. He’d been reacting—the same reckless, impulsive behavior his brothers had been warning him about for months. The very behavior that had led him into that Butte saloon in the first place, starting the chain of events that now threatened everyone he loved.

The road curved ahead, and he guided the team around a patch of ice that gleamed treacherously in the afternoon sun. His hands ached from gripping the reins, and the cold had long since seeped through his gloves.

The sound of hoofbeats reached him—coming from behind, moving fast.