There was nothing funny about the frustration that Morgan’s misunderstanding had caused her, but she wasn’t going to be rude, so just said, “For a few days, yes. But we sorted that out.”
“My men didn’t see him when you rode toward town. Did he really leave you to get back on your own?”
He was asking far too many questions about Morgan. “Is dinner going to be late?” she asked politely with a smile, trying to mitigate her rudeness at evading his question.
He nodded at a servant standing silently by the door. Moments later, the first course arrived. She hoped eating would get his mind off Morgan, because his interest was making her distinctly uncomfortable. She didn’t want to reveal any information that might hurt Morgan or her family’s interest in the mine. If Sullivan was leading up to asking her where Morgan’s mine was, she was going to have to get up and leave.
She tried to distract him further by asking, “Will Katie be living in Chicago with her husband? I thought I might visit her briefly before I return to England.”
“Her husband has his own house in Chicago, yes,” Shawn answered, but then gave her a pointed look. “Do I need to let our sheriff know that Callahan left you out in the wilderness to die? Is that what you’re trying to avoid mentioning?”
She gasped. “He did nothing of the sort! He merely wasn’t ready to come to town, but I was, so I left to return to Philadelphia. My brothers will deal with our mine from now on.”
“But they aren’t here, are they?”
“No, they’re still in the East.”
“You would go home and then come all the way back here just to take them to the mine?” he said a bit incredulously. “When I could have one of my men do that for you?”
Coming back to Montana wasn’t an appealing thought, but she’d known when she slipped away from Morgan that she might have to. Waiting for her brothers to arrive in Butte was an even less appealing solution. Actually, she could probably give them directions, draw them a rough map. She knew the exact mountain range now, just not which exact gorge to climb; but there were only a few gorges, so they would find the right one in a matter of hours. Relief flooded her with that realization. She could catch the train in the morning!
As for Shawn’s offer, she merely reminded him, “You don’t know where it is, so how could you?”
“Because you will show me before you leave town—then you won’t have to return merely to be your brothers’ guide.”
“After all you’ve been through, I’m sure you’re hoping to see the last of Butte when you go,” Kayleigh added.
The man’s persistence was becoming annoying. But she wasn’t about to admit that she could provide directions to the mines. And she had a solution for the problem he was predicting, without admitting that there was no problem.
“That is very kind of you, but Morgan can—”
He cut in, “Morgan is in the habit of making sure he isn’t seen when he comes to town, nor does he pick up messages. Your kin will end up stuck in this town waiting for a man who never shows up.”
She was even more annoyed that what he was saying could well be true. Morgan might not accept the notes her brothers would leave for him. He might be too angry at her to deal with Daniel and Evan, although he had to want her brothers to work at the mine long enough to repay the three thousand dollars they’d borrowed from him. Still, she simply couldn’t be sure of how he would react at this point. But he’d never forgive her if she led Shawn Sullivan to his mine. That she was positive of.
She wished Sullivan didn’t sound so sincere, which made it difficult for her to refuse his offer. But she simply didn’t need his help, nor did she believe he had her best interests in mind. She just couldn’t let him know that. So she reiterated, “I just want to go home and forget about this horrible ordeal.”
“Certainly, and you can do just that as soon as you show me to my new mine. I will pay you a hundred thousand dollars for it. You won’t be going home empty-handed, and you’ll never have to venture west again.”
She was astonished by the offer. A sane person would accept it immediately. But Violet suspected that Sullivan had made such a high offer because the mine was worth more than that. Or he figured he’d be getting another mine for free—Morgan’s. My new mine? Was he that positive she wouldn’t turn him down? Or would it even matter once he knew the mine’s location? She needed to stall.
“You are generous, but it’s not a decision I can make without first discussing it with my brothers. I assure you I will the moment I arrive home. They will likely want to accept your offer. They are gentlemen, not miners. But I truly can’t make this decision on my own.”
“Then you can telegraph them in the morning.”
He was bullying her, she realized, maneuvering her into a corner. The man really didn’t take no for an answer. “No,” she said bluntly. “This is far too important a matter to entrust to telegrams. The decision will be made, sir, when I get home.”
“Then we will leave first thing in the morning. You can still show me to the mine tomorrow, so when you and your brothers accept my offer, none of you will need to come back here ever again. I am being magnanimous, Miss Mitchell. Keep that in mind.”
He stood and left the room before she could reply to his warning. Hadn’t she just refused him? Had he somehow not heard her? Regardless, the only thing she’d be doing in the morning was catching a train.
Chapter Thirty-Four
WHAT A HORRIBLE DINNER this had turned out to be, Violet thought as she was left alone in the dining room with Sullivan’s sister, who didn’t even try to hide her disapproval of Violet’s response to her brother’s offer. Although she felt most uncomfortable, she finished eating as if nothing untoward had happened. The memory of starving for a day and a half kept her from abandoning the food in front of her.
At least Kayleigh was silent. Violet waited until the servants had cleared the dishes before carefully pointing out, “There is absolutely no reason to pressure me this way.”
“Except he’s waited long enough.”
For something he had no right to? Why was that being laid at her door? But she didn’t want to antagonize Kayleigh further, so merely pointed out, “He’ll have our answer in a week’s time.”
“There is only one answer to such generosity, or do you not have the sense to know that my brother offered you too much?”
Had he? The woman couldn’t know if it was too much or too little. Morgan had called the silver in his and her father’s mines a mother lode. She’d seen it with her own eyes on the walls, floors, and ceilings of both mines. But none of that mattered, since she didn’t own the mine outright and didn’t think she could sell her share of an informal partnership. Not that she would. She just wasn’t going to explain any of that to these people.
Forcing herself to be polite, she thanked Kayleigh for dinner and returned to her room. Should she leave tonight? Obviously she was no longer welcome there. But to get a hotel room this late . . . no, one more night here wouldn’t hurt, and maybe she wouldn’t even see the Sullivans again if she left early enough in the morning.
IN THE MIDDLE OF the night, something hard poked her in the side, awakening her. Her first thought was that Morgan had found her and was absconding with her again. But she’d left one lamp lit, turned low, and saw the gun the moment she turned over, and who was holding it.
“Abigail?”
“Shhh,” the woman whispered. “No talking yet. Follow me.”
Violet was frozen in place, shocked. The woman had seemed nice these last two days, but she didn’t really know her, and Abigail worked in what was now a hostile household. But the gun was no longer pointed in her direction. She glanced toward the open window—
“There’s no need for that. I’m on your side. You’ll find out why in a minute.”
Violet didn’t believe her. There would be no need for a gun if Abigail were telling the truth. She tried to stall. “I need to dress.”