An Agent For Lydia Read online

  He stopped as if taken aback. “I wouldn’t have believed it possible but that dress is as ugly as the red one.”

  She adjusted the neck and shoulders to reveal less of her. “Really? I think this one is better. In my opinion, there was only one way to go.”

  He chuckled and gave her a thorough head-to-toe assessment. “I guess you’re right. The color isn’t quite as bad. Certainly better for your natural coloring. Well, come on, famous Miss Lily LaBelle, let’s get breakfast and get on our way.”

  She grabbed his sleeve. “Wait, before we go downstairs, tell me where we’re going and how we’ll get there. I’m weary of being kept in the dark.”

  “I’d hoped to spare you worry as long as possible.”

  “That sounds ominous.”

  “My errands this morning were to get us set for the rest of our trip. I got us each a horse and pack mule. Then I bought a tent and supplies we’ll need to camp out for up to a month. While I was shopping, I got each of us a coat and you a hat and gloves.”

  She removed her feather headpiece and clamped on the hat. “Did it not occur to you I would like to pick out my own supplies?”

  “There’s no choice in a place like this. I think the coat I bought for you will be large, but it will keep you warm. I don’t know what to do to protect your legs.”

  She fanned out her skirt. “You expect me to ride a horse dressed like this?”

  He appeared apologetic. “There’s no other way to get where we’re going. Once we leave Laramie, no one will see you until we get to our destination. I didn’t get a lady’s saddle so you’ll have to ride astride. That way is much safer than the lady’s saddle.”

  With an elaborate sigh, she looked at him. “All right. We might as well go eat. I intend to stuff myself here. I’ve never been camping for real, only Kit and me at the back of my parents’ house. You remember, back in the trees?”

  “This will be different. You can’t run for the house if the weather turns bad. We’ll just have to make the best of the situation. Look, try to be flexible.”

  “I can be as flexible as you can.”

  “We’ll see. From here on, our situation will be dangerous. Watch what you say.”

  She opened her mouth to say plenty, but he held up his hand to stay her protest. “I’m not talking down to you. I’d say this if you were a male partner.”

  Would he? She flexed her shoulders and straightened her spine. “I’m making an effort, okay, Jack? Can we go eat now?”

  Chapter Eight

  Jake stayed on guard as they rode side-by-side toward the Hole-in-the-Wall site. Even though they were approximately seventy miles from their destination, he wasn’t taking a chance on being caught by surprise. Since the Hole-in-the-Wall had only recently become a hideout for outlaws, its location wasn’t precisely known.

  He hoped the hand-drawn map he carried was accurate. It showed a narrow pass then a valley where there was a cabin. Not far from that was a place called Outlaw Cave. Either place might harbor Jamie Milo and Winton Evans.

  “Do you have our instructions in your valise?”

  “I burned them and watched to make certain there was nothing legible left in the ashes.” He held up their map. “I have this, the wanted poster, and no other papers.”

  “That’s good. We won’t have to worry about our things being searched.”

  “I’m pretty sure they will be. Don’t worry about anything for now. This is about a seventy-mile ride. Leading pack animals, that’s over two days.”

  “Great, so I can look forward to being saddle-sore and sunburned.”

  He frowned at her. “Hey, remember you volunteered. It’s too late to back out now. We’re not going on a picnic.”

  She sent him an incredulous glare. “I have no intention of backing out. I can complain without quitting, can’t I? Facts are facts. Even when the day is chilly like it is now, the sun will cook my skin. Thank goodness for my dust coat.”

  “If you get cold, tell me. I packed the new coat on the mule you’re leading. The one behind me has our food and utensils.”

  “If you’re expecting me to cook on a campfire, you will be sadly disappointed.”

  He couldn’t resist. “But you’re the woman. You’re supposed to take care of meals while I take care of the animals and get our bedrolls ready for us to turn in tonight.”

  “Pfft. I thought you were taking care of all the details. I don’t know how to cook very well on a modern range. I certainly have no intention of cooking over a campfire.”

  “You’d better learn. Once we reach our destination, you’ll be expected to cook. There may be other women there. If so, they’ll be cooking and doing laundry.”

  She smiled sweetly. “Then maybe they’ll do ours.”

  “Very funny. I need a good partner and Archie assigns me a comedian.”

  “Have you forgotten my masquerade is as a singer and not as a cook or laundress?”

  “Part of your role is to cook and do laundry. I’m your supervisor and I insist.”

  “We’ll see.” She tipped her pretty sunburned nose in the air and dropped back so he would have to turn in the saddle and shout to talk to her.

  Let her think she could get away with being persnickety. She had a rude awakening in store. He only hoped she could carry off their fake identities.

  Late in the day they reached a small stream near some trees. He dismounted and looped the reins around a nearby tree branch. “We’ll camp here for tonight.”

  She remained in the saddle. “I-I’m not sure I can get down.”

  He should have realized she wasn’t used to riding this far. He grabbed her waist and lifted her to stand in front of him. “Hold on to me for a bit until your legs get used to supporting you again.”

  Having her cling to him was almost too much for him to resist her lips. He focused on the horse behind her. Can’t give in.

  She let go of his arms and stepped back without looking at him. “I’m all right now, thank you. Shall I remove the horses’ saddles?”

  “Can you? That would help me. I’m going to set up the tent for practice. Besides, it will give us shelter from animals roaming in the night.” He set to work unpacking the tent and what they’d need for supper.

  “I definitely prefer being inside some structure, even a canvas one.” She had both saddles off their mounts and led the horses to drink.

  When she returned, he had a campfire going. He nodded toward the best patch of grass. “I’ll hobble the horses there for the night. They’ll let us know if any predators approach.”

  She peered around and hugged her arms. “I hope that goes for two-legged critters as well as those with four legs.”

  “Don’t worry. I can’t vouch for humans but animals’ approach will create enough fear to cause a commotion.” He hobbled the horses and gestured to their pack animals. “The mules need to be unloaded so they can rest. That’s going to be a tough job.”

  The mules brayed for attention.

  “I’ll water them while you set up the tent—unless the tent requires two people.”

  “We’ll see. This is larger than any I’ve ever used. Figured you’d need as much room as possible so I went for the eight by ten feet. Big enough for a family.”

  “What a thought. I know some cabins are not much more than that size yet they house parents and several children.” She led the two mules to the stream.

  When his gaze sought her, she’d slipped behind a bush.

  By the time she returned to camp, he had the tent erected, though it looked a little wobbly. “Why don’t you sit down and I’ll hobble the mules. I want all our belongings in the tent at night. First, we’ll have supper. I’m not cooking either. We have canned beans and canned peaches. I have soda crackers if you want them.”

  “Let’s eat. I’m so tired I can barely stand.” Using a saddle for a backrest, she sat on the grass. Her usually perfect posture had disappeared and she slumped.

  After eating, they quickly tidied the few utensils they’d used. When they’d carried everything into the tent, the interior he’d thought would be roomy barely had room to spread the bedrolls. He spread the bedrolls.

  “You get in bed first. I’ll check the animals again.”

  She had to step on his bed to reach hers. “You don’t have to give me time to get undressed because I’m sleeping as I am.” She slid into the new canvas bedroll and buttoned the side as far toward the top as it would go.

  He tied the tent flaps closed and slid into his bed. This new bedroll was a much softer bed than many he used when he’d slept on the ground. Not bad at all—if only he didn’t long for the woman beside him. He turned his back to her and hoped for sleep.

  She mumbled, “Wind’s picking up. G’night.”

  “Night.”

  A horse’s whinny woke him followed by a second neigh. Wondering why his bedroll was over his head, he batted at the cover. Dadburnit, the tent had fallen.

  Lydia’s sleepy-tinged voice reached him, “Good thing you don’t set up tents for a living, Gentleman Jack Jackson.”

  “Stay here until I see what’s upset the horses.”

  Carrying his rifle, he crawled to the tent flap and felt for the ties. When he succeeded in releasing them, he poked his head outside with caution. The lantern sat beside the collapsed tent.

  Jake lit the lantern and stood. Rifle in one hand and lantern in the other, he scanned the campsite. Both horses were nervous, much more so than the mules.

  Tentatively, he approached the animals, speaking softly to them. He held the lantern low to look for sign. No prints were visible except his and Lydia’s. But, something sure had them spooked.

  He added a log to the embers of their fire. With the wind up, he didn’t want to leave the fire untended. On the other hand, the blaze might frighten away whatever preyed on the horses. Far in the distance he heard a wolf’s howl. He moved the horses and mules closer to the tent.

  If he were a cursing man, now would be the time. Setting up the tent was trouble enough in daylight without all that stuff inside. He saw the roof point move upward. When he checked inside, Lydia had pushed the center pole up and wedged it against something in their pack.

  She glanced toward him. “Anything out there?”

  “Yes, but I don’t know what. Wolf howled too far away to be what scared the horses. I moved the animals closer to the tent.”

  “You might as well come back inside, Jack darlin’. In the dark we won’t know the difference. We can sleep like this just fine.”

  He set down the lantern and gestured to the contents of the tent. “I am not sleeping in this… this ridiculous mess. It’s a matter of principle.”

  “Suit yourself. If nothing’s going to attack, I’m going back to sleep.” She crawled into her bedroll and snuggled into place.

  If this didn’t beat all? This was what came of letting women become Pinkerton agents. If he’d been alone or with another man, they would have slept under the stars. He located a second pole and propped up another portion of the canvas.

  Fatigue and disgust sapped his energy and drained him of his fine principles. He lowered the lantern wick and crawled into his bedroll with the rifle by his side. He lay on his back deep in thought.

  She was right, in the dark he couldn’t tell the difference.

  Chapter Nine

  Two days later just after midday, Lydia craned her neck this way and that so she’d miss nothing. They rode toward towering red bluffs. The ground was dark red dirt.

  “I’ve never seen anything like this country. This landscape is amazing.”

  “When I give you the signal, start complaining about the trip. I figure you’ll enjoy that part of your role.

  She tugged her skirt around her legs. “Complaining won’t be difficult, believe me.”

  They rode for a couple of hours and approached a wall with a narrow vee at the top of a rock- and boulder-cluttered trail. Heavens, surely they weren’t going up that. Mules might make it but horses would break their legs.

  Quietly, he said, “Now.”

  “Jack darlin’, you promised me we’d go to San Francisco and live like royalty. Perhaps you haven’t noticed, but This. Is. Not. San. Francisco.” She drew out the last word as she waved her hand around wildly in a circle that took in all directions.

  “For Pete’s sake, Lily, can’t you be patient?”

  She pointed up the trail. “You expect our horses to take us up that? They’ll break a leg and fall on us and break ours.”

  “They’ll be fine if we take it slow.”

  “You know this, do you? Like you know how to win at cards to get a stake?”

  “I told you I have a plan to get the money. If that card shark hadn’t pulled a gun, we’d be a lot closer. How was I to know he was the sheriff’s brother-in-law?”

  “How do you know there’s somewhere to hide out in this place we’re headed? Had the man who told you about it actually been here?”

  “No, but he knew someone who had.”

  “And, if there are people hiding up here, what’s to keep them from turning you in for the reward? Tell me that?”

  “They have a code of honor.”

  “If you believe that you are as gullible as a two-year-old. I’ll bet these whoever they are would turn in their own mothers for a hundred dollars. They won’t think twice about handing you over to the law.”

  “They won’t, I tell you.”

  “I quit my job in Wichita to come with you. Gentleman Jack Jackson, you’d better not leave me high and dry here in the backside of nowhere.”

  “I’m not leaving you. Besides, if I ever did you could easily find another job. Face it, Lily, you didn’t even like that place in Wichita. That guy in Laramie would hire you in a second.”

  “Maybe.” She pouted. “He was nice to me and offered me a permanent place there at more than I was making in Kansas. That’s beside the point, Jack darlin’. You promised me we’d be living like royalty in San Francisco and I’d have servants and a fancy house and all the beautiful clothes I wanted.”

  “You will if you’ll stop yammering at me and be patient. For the love of all that’s holy, give me a break, will you?”

  A voice from above called, “Hold it right there.”

  From behind one of the boulders, a man wielding a rifle stepped in front of them with the barrel pointed at Jake. Lydia’s heart pounded so hard she was afraid they could hear the sound and see the pulse throb in her throat or neck.

  The person above them said, “Hold out your hands and state your business.”

  Jake held out his hands and shrugged. “A friend said I might be able to rest a while here.”

  He looked over his shoulder and down the trail they’d used. “We had a few people angry with us back there a ways. I became a mite unpopular with a particular sheriff.”

  “Lady, don’t move. Hombre, get off your horse. Search him, Peavey.”

  Jake dismounted and submitted to Peavey going through his pockets. He found Jake’s revolver but nothing incriminating. As planned, all he could find was the map and the wanted poster, which he passed up to the man perched above them.

  Peavey came up to Lydia.

  Scared as she was, she pretended to bristle. “Mister, you even look like you’re thinking of searching me and I’ll cut out your gizzard.”

  Peavey pushed his hat back on his head. “Hey, Buck, she’s the one I was telling you about what I saw over to Laramie. Sure can sing but she don’t dance much.”

  The man whose name must be Buck climbed down and handed the papers back to Jake. “A hundred dollars, huh?”

  Jake shook his head and pretended to be embarrassed—or maybe he really was. “I know, it’s an insult is what it is. I’m positive that sheriff set the reward so low to humiliate me.” He returned the papers to his pocket.

  Buck gestured ahead. “Ride over the crest and down to the cabin to check in. Show Reagan the wanted poster. He’ll tell you where you can set up camp.”

  Jack climbed into the saddle. “Reckon we’ll be seeing you fellas later.”

  They passed both men and crested the bluff. What she’d thought was a wide mesa was a narrow one with a verdant valley below. A wide stream ran through the valley’s middle. Cattle dotted both sides of the water. Wildflowers bloomed in the lush grass. Patches of forests dotted the base of the bluffs and places along the water.

  She couldn’t help expressing her admiration before she caught herself. “That is a beautiful sight. Makes me wish I could paint.”

  “I see the cabin. Follow me.”

  Jake’s sharp tone let her know he wished she’d been quiet. She realized he was right. They had no idea who else could hear.

  The log cabin looked as if it had no more than two or three rooms. Half a dozen tents and campfires were set up in a widely spaced semi-circle. Rolled up bedrolls were near other campfires further along the tree line.

  Several men sat on the cabin’s covered porch. Lydia felt like a butterfly specimen pinned to a piece of cardboard. From outside the tents to the cabin, everyone in sight watched their slow approach.

  “Jack darlin’, I believe I’ll let you do all the talking.”

  A grunt accompanying a sideways glare was his only answer.

  When they reached the cabin, Lydia remained where she was. Jake dismounted and addressed the men on the porch. “One of you fellas Reagan?”

  A large man leaning against the open doorframe straightened. “That’s me. Who’s askin’?”

  “Name’s Gentleman Jack Jackson. Buck said to give you this and you’d tell us where we can set up our tent.”

  Reagan studied the wanted poster. “See those last two tents? Set up between them. Bury your own waste. You need supplies, leave a list here. Someone goes to Laramie a couple of times a week.”

  He forked a thumb over his shoulder. “There’s a well behind the cabin if you have something to carry water in. If not, I’ll sell you a bucket for five dollars.”

  Lydia clamped her lips to prevent a gasp escaping at the high price of a bucket worth a quarter. Since there was no other place close enough to buy one, Reagan had a monopoly.