Deborah Camp (8 page)

She was breathless ten minutes later when she arrived at the sheriff’s office. Sweeping inside, she found the sheriff pinning Wanted posters behind his desk. He turned, saw her, and grinned broadly.

“Well, now! If this isn’t a pleasant surprise. Come on in, Miss Rose. I don’t have anybody you’d know in jail, so this must be a social call.”

She looked up and down the street for the swaggering figure of Theo Dane, then stepped farther inside when she didn’t spot him. “I can only stay a minute, Sheriff Stu.”

“Can I take those linens from you, Miss Regina?”

“No, I … thank you. Sheriff Stu, do you recall asking me to the Spring Cotillion?”

“I sure do. You said no.”

“Have you asked anyone else yet?”

“No.” He scratched his thatch of straight black hair. “Not yet.”

“Then might I change my mind and agree to go with you? That is, if you still wish to escort me.”

His grin provoked one of her own. “Why, Miss Regina, it’s my fondest wish! I’m plumb tickled that you changed your mind.”

Stu’s delight made her feel uncomfortable and she found herself retreating from the glow of his smile. She’d had no idea until that moment that the man harbored such affection for her. She bumped against something softer than a wall, but unyielding nonetheless. She knew by Stu’s gloating expression whom she’d backed into before she turned to face Theo Dane.

“Miss Rose!” He widened his eyes and examined
the folded linens that filled her arms. “Fancy meeting you here!”

“I thought you were going to Tom Wilson’s,” she said.

“I’ve been there and now I’m here.”

“You’ve finished your business at Wilson’s saloon already?” She glanced over her shoulder at the loudly ticking wall clock, then faced Theo again with smug satisfaction. “Twenty-five minutes.” Her gaze moved from his face to his boots and back up. “How … efficient.”

His smile acknowledged her biting tongue. “She was too busy to see me.”

“I’ll bet,” Regina said with deliberate disbelief. She stepped around him. “Good day, Sheriff Stu. I’ll be speaking with you again very soon.”

“I’ll come around in a day or two,” Stu called after her.

“And I’ll be looking forward to it,” Regina rejoined, flashing Theo a haughty smile. “Go ahead, Mr. Dane,” she whispered to Theo. “Ask him.”

“I don’t have to now,” he whispered back. “You beat me to the draw,
pard-ner
.”

Regina hurried across the street and headed for the Basin Street Hotel. She savored the small victory on her way to deliver the linens. Her hunch about Theo had been on target. He’d gone directly to the sheriff to ask if he really was taking her to the dance. Take that, Mr. Dane! she thought with glee. It had been a white lie and now it was the unvarnished truth. She was going to the Spring Cotillion with the sheriff—

Her steps faltered. What had she done! She couldn’t go to the cotillion! She had no party dress or money to buy fabric for one. No dancing shoes … no jewelry … no cosmetics to enhance her features … not even a bottle of scented water to remind a man of all things sweet and seductive. She
had disposed of her finery before she’d left Kansas for a quiet life in Arkansas. How stupid to let Theodore Dane get her so flustered that she’d act irrationally. Why, she’d flown off with one thought and one thought only—to make good her rash lie. Well, she’d accomplished that, but now what? How could she go to the cotillion dressed in a work dress and old shoes?

Regina realized she was standing outside the Basin Hotel, her arms full of linens that smelled of lye soap and sunshine. Going inside, she trod softly across the plush rug to the registration desk.

“Ah, the linens,” the man behind the desk said.

“Yes, Mr. Baker. All done up for you and freshly ironed.”

“You’ll bill me at the end of the week?”

“Yes, sir. I’ll send Jebidiah around with it on Friday, same as always.”

“Good. That’s fine.” He took them from her and laid them carefully on a side table. “Got another bundle here for you.” He reached beneath the table and pulled out a ball of white muslin. “There are five sets there.”

“The hotel is busy this time of year,” she noted.

“More and more are coming for the mineral baths and the cool mountain air.”

“Mr. Baker, could you tell me if someone is still staying here?”

“Who would that be?”

“Mr. Jack Beck.”

“Let me check …” The hotel clerk ran a stubby finger down a line of names in the registry book. “Oh, yes. The gent Mr. Dane brought in last night.”

“That’s right.” Regina swallowed in a reflexive gesture of nerves. Had Theo told Mr. Baker that Jack was her half brother? “He’s still here?”

“I don’t know. He’s paid up for one night. He
has until noon to pay for another. I don’t recall if he’s checked out or not. If you’d like me to send a maid upstairs to check and tell him you’re—”

“No, thank you.” She tucked the bundle of linens under her arm. “Good-bye, Mr. Baker. We do appreciate your business.”

Regina strolled along the boardwalk and stopped before the window of Miss Tally’s Tailoring and Dress Shop to admire a dance dress fashioned from dark wine satin. Cream lace edged its train, cuffs, and neckline. A bonnet of crimson-and-wine feathers completed the ensemble. Regina recalled the many beautiful dresses she’d owned and wished she’d saved one. But she’d sold them all, glad to be rid of them and to make money for Mrs. Nation and her noble work.

That didn’t solve her current dilemma, though. She couldn’t trudge back to the sheriff’s and tell him she’d changed her mind again and wouldn’t go to the cotillion. No, she’d have to do better than that. She’d simply scout around for a suitable length of material and sew up a simple dance dress. She could do without jewelry and cosmetics. Perhaps she could borrow a better pair of shoes—ones more delicate and meant for a dance floor instead of a tramp through the woods.

And where was Jack? Still at the hotel or long gone? She prayed it was the latter. The sooner Jack was out of her life again, the sooner she’d breathe easier.

On the walk home through the quiet woods the memory of Theodore Dane’s brash behavior wafted through her, warming her blood, coaxing a smile from her. True, it had been a while since she’d been kissed by a man, but that wasn’t what made her blood run hot. It was the boldness of him and the intrepid press of his mouth on hers. There wasn’t an ounce of uncertainty in the man.
He knew his limits and those of others, and he knew when boundaries could be breached. He’d known, for instance, that his kisses would shock her, surprise her, and infuriate her. He’d also known they wouldn’t frighten or repulse her.

He’s quite a student of human nature, she surmised. Maybe that’s why he’s such a successful lawyer and formidable opponent. She’d need to keep her wits about her and her defenses up around him because it would be easy—oh, so easy—to fall victim to his velvet-lined traps. After all, he’d already trapped her in a white lie. White lie? she scoffed. A lie was a lie. One was no better than the next. She should know, having lived one ever since she left Kansas.

E
merald O’Brady threw the celery-green dress on top of the others. “I don’t know why I’m doin’ this.”

Theo chucked her under the chin. “Because you remember a time when Emma Katherine O’Brady would have given her eyeteeth for one of these dresses.”

“I shoulda never told you my real name.”

“Emerald, you’re a jewel.”

Emerald groaned. “And you’re a pain in the backside sometimes. Just why are you doin’ this for them gals at Mrs. Nation’s? They think you’re dirt under their clean, lily-white feet.”

“They’re not that uncharitable in their opinion of me. Besides, if Mrs. Frederick and Mrs. Beck and—who’s the other?”

“I heard her name is Edwards. She’s got two children.”

“Well, if those women are going to serve refreshments at the cotillion, they should get something in return. Like a pretty party dress.”

“They’re getting paid for serving, ya know.”

“Yes, but they should still have something nice to wear just in case gentlemen ask them to dance.” He withdrew a cigar from his inside coat pocket, bit off the end, and lit it.

“You don’t fool me none, Theo Dane. Them other women ain’t your concern. You’re wantin’ to see that Regina Rose in one of them fancy dresses. The part of this that’s got me puzzled is why you’re goin’ to such lengths to get her attention. Ain’t any other gal in town worth your time?”

“Mistress Rosy is going to the cotillion with the sheriff,” he said, puffing furiously on the cigar until the end glowed red.

“So what?” Emerald sorted through the dresses. “Which one do you think she’ll wear?”

“None. Not as is, anyway. I imagine those dresses will be too … fancy … for the ladies at Mrs. Nation’s. They’ll rework them. I hear Miss Rose is clever with a needle and thread. You probably won’t recognize those frocks once she’s finished with them.”

“I won’t be seein’ them. None of us saloon gals will. We’ll be open for business that night, same as always. You’d be surprised how many
gentlemen
will come here after that party, seeking the sweet nothings their
ladies
wouldn’t give them.” She draped herself in the chintz-covered lounging chair.

Theo relaxed in an upholstered chair to enjoy his cigar. “Em, you’re not as tough as you’d like me to think.”

“Oh, I don’t begrudge givin’ them dresses over to the drunkards’ wives. Those gowns have all seen better days. It’s time they was retired. And I feel for them women; I really do. I’ve been around enough drunks to know I sure would hate to be married to one. Takes a pound of courage to pack up yourself and your children and head for parts unknown. I just don’t like the way them women look down their noses at us working women.”

“To them, you’re part of the evil that turned their angel husbands into demons.” Theo blew a
thin strand of blue smoke into the air. “I don’t approve of Mrs. Nation’s theatrics, but I do believe her heart is in the right place.”

“How come Miss Regina threw herself into the fray? She ain’t been married to a drunk. Was her pappy a whiskey drinker?”

He started to answer, but decided to protect Regina’s privacy. He shrugged off Emerald’s question.

“Hey, how you gonna get them dresses over to those ladies without Miss Regina gettin’ suspicious?”

“Dorrie Festerman.”

“That gal who works for the Hampfs?”

Theo nodded. “She’ll be here soon to collect them. She’s going to tell Regina that these dresses were among those donated to the poor.”

“The poor?” Emerald laughed. “Who the hell would do such a darn-fool thing?”

“You and the other girls here,” Theo said, smiling. “These are dresses you’ve grown tired of, so you gave them to Dorrie when she came around collecting for the poor. She knew the Hampfs wouldn’t find any good use of them, so she’ll offer them to Regina.” He grinned, proud of the story he’d worked on so carefully since he’d spotted Regina in the dry goods store and later in front of Miss Tally’s shop. The yearning on her face had wrung goodwill from his heart.

Emerald popped a strawberry into her mouth. Her words were juicy with it when she spoke again. “Well, you’ve got this plan hammered out, ain’t ya?” She swallowed the fruit. “Wonder what Tom would think about it if I told him you were spending a goodly amount of time thinking how to make Mrs. Nation’s boarders happy?”

“This has nothing to do with Tom.”

“He’s after Mrs. Nation’s hide and you’re his lawyer.”

“I am his lawyer, but Tom’s not out for Mrs. Nation’s hide. He wants money to rebuild the bar.”

“I don’t think Tom would understand you being so chummy with those women in her house.”

“I work for Tom, same as you. I don’t live the life he sees fit for me.” Theo knocked ash off the cigar into a porcelain tray. “So you have to work on the night of the cotillion?”

“Sure.” She popped another berry into her mouth.

“I thought maybe you’d go to the dance with me.”

Emerald almost choked. “Me? Oh, go on. I swear, Theo Dane, you act like you don’t have a brain in your head sometimes. Why, I could never go to a thing like that with you.”

“I don’t see why not.”

“Because it ain’t done in polite society. Whoever heard of a businessman taking a whore to a town party?”

“It would be worth it just to send all those upstanding women into swoons.”

Emerald released a gusty laugh and Theo joined in. “Oh, that would be a sight,” Emerald said, hooting another laugh. “They’d split their corsets!”

“Might be good for Eureka Springs. Sure you won’t change your mind and go with me?”

“No.” Emerald sent him a heartfelt smile. “But thanks for asking, Theo. You’re the sweetest man I know.”

He placed a finger to his lips. “Keep that to yourself, Em.” Standing, he pulled a bill from his pocket and offered it to her. “For the dresses. Go ahead, take it,” he insisted when she shook her head. “It’s for the other girls, too.”

“Nope. Tell you what, you just bring all your
business to us gals here at the Full Bucket and that’ll be payment enough.”

Theo chuckled and dropped the bill into her lap. “Em, honey, I don’t have enough to go around.”

Emerald laughed, dropping her gaze to a strategic place on his body. “That’s not what I hear, big gun. I hear there’s
plenty
to go around!”

Theo chuckled and bent to kiss her rouged cheek. “God love you, Emerald. You’re good for my manly pride.”

Regina was hanging wash on the line when she saw Dorrie Festerman trudging across the yard to her. Dorrie’s small, round face was pinched into creases of consternation and her arms were full of bright, dazzling fabrics.

“Hello, Dorrie,” Regina said as the woman drew near. “What have you got there, dresses you want altered for the Spring Cotillion? I swear, I think every woman in this town is going to that party and they all want dresses made in a week’s time.”

“The gals down at the Full Bucket gave these to me.” Dorrie dropped the colorful garments into the wicker basket between her and Regina.