Circle Eight: Vaughn (11 page)

“I’m not that tall.”

“Yes, you are. Now would you stop being so contrary and cooperate?” He couldn’t summon up a smidge of charm for her. She had every right to be angry but they would get what they needed faster if she was more pleasant.

“I’m not being contrary.”

“You have a hundred brothers and sisters, right?”

“Seven.”

“And you’re a middle child, right?”

“I don’t understand these questions.”

Vaughn stepped up to her and cupped her cheeks. “A middle child is already contentious because if she’s not, she doesn’t get heard. For now, pretend you are Ellie Montgomery, heiress to a shipping fortune. You have one brother, Tobias, ah, Murphy, whom you adore. No middle child, no sibling rivalry. You are sweet as honey and twice as nice.” He punctuated his story with a quick kiss.

A sweet, pink blush spread across her cheeks. “I don’t think anyone has accused me of being sweet.”

“They don’t know Ellie.” This time his grin was genuine.

“If you’re done smoochin’, we can find the dresses.” Tobias stomped toward a trunk in the corner.

It wasn’t a perfect plan but they might be able to make it work. With a lot of luck, some prayers and if Boyd Troxler was dumber than a stick.

Elizabeth stared at the gown. It was crimson red, made of the softest material she’d ever touched. Her skin caught on it as she stroked the material. She didn’t have the hands of a lady; calluses had formed as a Texan and rancher. Life was hard on the Circle Eight and ladies were not necessary.

Now she had to pretend to be Vaughn’s wife, a shipping heiress with millions of dollars. She wasn’t the type of child to play pretend but she had done her fair share of reading. Fiction was familiar as an old friend. Reading had been her guilty pleasure. Now she would use that experience to lie to someone, to swindle them out of ill-gotten gains from the Gibsons.

It sounded like a book. If she wasn’t holding the red dress and contemplating a trip to Houston with strangers, she might have thought it was fiction. Yet she held that dress, the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen. The blanket the boys had strung up protected her from prying eyes while she tried on the clothing.

Her hands shook as she unhooked the delicate buttons. She glanced down at the plain white chemise and pantaloons she wore. They were a little threadbare and nearly see-through in places. She peered into the trunk and saw more ladies’ clothing of different colors, styles and sizes. Elizabeth admitted to herself she was curious as to how they came upon all these clothes.

She pulled the dress up over her hips and slid her arms into the sleeves. It was softer than a cloud. The sleeves were a smidge too short, as was the dress, but the fit was just about perfect through her torso. She buttoned it up and slid her hands down the beautiful fabric.

“Does it fit?” Vaughn sounded as though he was right on the other side of the blanket. Was he spying on her? He had seen her body but that didn’t mean he could repeat the experience. She had found a night of passion with him but it wouldn’t happen again.

“You tell me.” She stepped out from behind the blanket and, before she could stop herself, twirled in a circle.

“Wow.” His dark eyes widened. “You look, ah, beautiful.”

She raised one brow. “I’m old enough to know that’s a fib, Mr. Mon—Vaughn. I can probably pass for handsome.” She glanced down and her braid slid forward.

He shook his head. “You are so very wrong.” He took hold of her braid. “May I?”

Elizabeth didn’t know what he was about but she nodded. He released her hair from the braid and ran his fingers through it. Vaughn finger-combed her undoubtedly gnarled hair with surprising gentleness.

“Your hair is like silk, the color of molasses, warm and smooth,” he murmured, the words almost a caress.

Her skin felt too small and very warm. He continued his ministrations, massaging her scalp as he untangled her hair. She’d never had such a sensual experience. Then again, she’d had many “firsts” with Vaughn. She wished she had someone she could talk to about all of it. Olivia, Hannah, Aurora and Eva were far, far away and her mother only lived in her heart. No one to ask or seek advice from.

“Let’s see if we can find Ellie Montgomery.” He kept saying that name as though it was real. “She’s such a lovely, rich young wife.” He chuckled, the puff of air tickling her ear.

“Have you helped women with their coiffure before?” She glanced at the Gibsons to see all seven of them watching. That was not welcome and made her squirm since she was on display. It wasn’t as if her family wasn’t big and obnoxious and usually spent more time bickering about something than doing it, but they weren’t a silent audience. Never that.

“When the occasion called for it.” He twisted and pulled, without causing a lick of pain. She wondered what he was using to secure her hair. “That is it.”

Vaughn moved away and looked at her, up and down, once, then twice. “There you are.” He smiled. “A tall, elegant, beautiful woman.”

She snorted. “I think you know how to tell a whopper.”

“He’s right, ma’am. You are right beautiful.” This was from Jeb, who wasn’t a day over fifteen.

“I expect you’ll all tell me what he wants you to say. The illusion has to work for people to believe I’m a rich heiress.” She touched the dress again, the cool material whispery smooth.

“Do you have a looking glass?” Vaughn turned to Pops.

“Ain’t got no need for one.” The old man whispered to the three young boys who scampered off and out the door.

Vaughn cupped her face and kissed her forehead. “I’ll be your mirror. You are exquisite.”

She wanted to believe it, damn but she wanted to. His eyes reflected appreciation. She couldn’t deny that but she couldn’t quite accept it. The light in his gaze faded and he dropped his hands, moving away. Elizabeth wanted to grab his hand, to tell him she liked him, that she wanted him to touch her again, but she didn’t.

She didn’t know how.

“We’d best get our clothes situated if you want to be on our way to Houston. I expect we’re at least two days’ ride.” Vaughn looked at Tobias. “Let’s make sure you fit into my other suit.”

Elizabeth ducked behind the blanket and removed the dress with more regret than she expected. She folded the dress carefully then peered into the trunk.

“Can I try on some of the other dresses?” The question was out before she could think about it.

“Ayep. Montgomery said you need two. There’s a green one that might fitcha.” Pops was an odd little man but he appeared to know exactly what was in his trunk of ladies’ clothing. Perhaps there had been a Mrs. Pops who had passed away. If so, she was built like Elizabeth and had lots of money to buy expensive dresses. No, that wasn’t the likely source. She was more than curious but couldn’t bring herself to ask them. The Gibsons still held her hostage, no matter that they were now working together to undo the deeds Vaughn had committed. They were her enemies and had destroyed her family’s home.

“How did you come about to have these clothes?” she asked before she could stop herself.

“I told you Pops trades for things.” Tobias snapped. “I’m right tired of playin’ with clothes.”

“Then try these on and we can be done with it. If we need clothes, then we have to find the money to buy them. If we don’t need clothes, we can go straight to Houston and get your deed back sooner.” Vaughn’s tone was tight with impatience. The two men were alike in several ways, including their tempers.

“And our money.”

“Whatever is left of it. Which is more important?” Vaughn challenged him.

“Both.”

“You might only get one and I assumed the deed was more important.”

“You’d be wrong. Nothin’ is more important than family and without this house and money for food, we ain’t gonna survive.” Tobias’s voice brimmed with emotion, surprising Elizabeth. She loved her family; they were more important than anything. Her kidnapper appeared to feel the same about his. A bond she didn’t want to have in common with him.

“Well? How does it fit?”

Elizabeth peeked around the blanket in time to see Tobias in a brown suit and vest. Several days of whiskers darkened his cheeks and his hair couldn’t be more mussed. Yet the suit gave him the air of a gentleman and it fit well. The men were the same size and build. She’d been right about the man being handsome if he cleaned up. Tobias was someone she could easily hate for what he’d done, or like for very different reasons. It would be wise to keep her distance while still pretending he was her brother.

It would make her own brothers roar with rage to know what she was about to do. It would go against the crimes he’d committed against the Grahams to consider cooperating with him. She’d made the choice to go along with Vaughn’s ridiculous plan and, at the end of it, Circle Eight would be rebuilt with the sweat of the men who destroyed it. A vengeance of sorts along with punishment.

Elizabeth had to do this. There wasn’t another option. She could only hope Granny Dolan was all right and that her family would understand and forgive her. Things like this didn’t happen to people like her. To be in this situation, in a strange house with strangers, without knowing exactly where she was, and about to go to the city of Houston and defraud a fraudster, was almost incomprehensible. It was happening, however, and she was as ready as she could be.

She reached for the green dress and pulled it out. The fabric was lighter than the crimson dress. Perhaps it was meant to be worn in the warmer temperatures of summer. The material was soft but not worn. It could have been brand new. She pulled it on and made a face when she glanced down. Whoever she was, she had much bigger breasts than Elizabeth. It was, however, long enough, which was unusual. It wasn’t perfect but perhaps if she could locate a needle and thread, she might use the knowledge gleaned from Hannah to make it fit.

Two beautiful dresses she never expected to have or wear. It was a blessing and a curse. She put her own dress back on, unimpressed by how drab and ugly it was. Elizabeth had never considered herself the type to be swayed by a pretty frock but in this case, she was.

“Do you have any sewing supplies?” She had to get her mind off what was going to happen when she wore the dress.

“Ayup. Fetch it for her, boy.” Pops appeared to have a little of everything, lucky for her.

A minute later, a grimy hand reached around the side of the blanket with a needle and black thread. It would have to do. Elizabeth took the proffered materials and sat down. She concentrated on remembering what Hannah taught her and not why she was sewing.

Within an hour, they would be on their way to Houston and the true test of her mettle would commence. She didn’t know if she was more scared, nervous or excited. No matter what, she would not be the same Elizabeth Graham who left the Circle Eight.

The razor scraped across his skin with ease, attesting to the sharpness of the blade. It didn’t surprise Vaughn that the Gibsons took good care of their weapons, even those used for personal grooming. He did wonder why they didn’t use it. All of the men with enough facial hair to shave didn’t.

Tobias watched him with a scowl. The other man looked incongruous in Vaughn’s spare suit. Particularly considering the grizzled jaw and permanent frown.

“You will need to shave.”

“Like hell.”

Vaughn counted to ten before he spoke again and swiped his cheek with the blade. “If you are to act as Ellie’s brother, that means you, too, are the son of a shipping magnate, filthy rich and privileged.”

“I can’t talk like a rich man so I won’t look like one.” Tobias spoke more like a five-year-old than the small boys in the cabin.

“Regardless of your stubbornness, you want to get back what you lost, then you will do as I suggest or you won’t get what you want.” Vaughn closed his mouth and shaved his upper lip while the other man stewed beside him.

“I cain’t do it.” Tobias crossed his arms.

Vaughn finished shaving, rinsed the blade and used the rag to wipe his face before he spoke again. “Yes, you can. If I can, then you can.”

Tobias scoffed. “You’re a fancy man already. It ain’t hard for you to pretend to be rich.”

Vaughn’s throat tightened. “I grew up in a hovel until I was ten, then on a labor farm that I escaped from a year later. I lived on the streets of Richmond, eating from slop buckets.”

Tobias’s expression softened with surprise. “That ain’t so.”

“It is so.” Vaughn crowded him, anxious to make his point and get Tobias to accept he had no choice. “You may not think you can pass for a rich man’s son but you can. I learned how to speak like this, so can you.”

“In two days?”

“No, but you’re smart. Hell, you found me in no time and I pride myself on disappearing without a trace.” It still irked Vaughn how easily Tobias had found him, not to mention taking all his clothes and beating him to reveal information. He didn’t blame Gibson, but that didn’t mean he had to like him.

“I’m a good tracker is all.” Tobias looked down at the suit. “I don’t feel right in this.”

“You’ve got two days to get comfortable in it.” Vaughn handed him the razor. “Now scrape the whiskers off your face and get ready to learn how to be a gentleman.”