Elizabeth couldn’t stand the thought of being alone in a hotel room where Thornton could find her. “I don’t mind being crowded. It can’t be worse than the workhouse.”
Anna slipped her arm through Elizabeth’s and snuggled up to her. “You’re so funny. I’m so glad you stayed with us.”
The men helped them out of the cab and into the bustling lobby. Elizabeth ducked her head when she passed the doorman, hoping he wouldn’t recognize her from her last visit. The elevator carried them up to the top floor, and Mrs. Bates ushered the two younger women into one of the bedrooms in the luxurious suite. Someone ordered food, and the women took turns bathing in the big, claw-footed tub. The luggage Mrs. Bates and Anna had left behind at the hotel when they were arrested miraculously appeared, and Mrs. Bates loaned Elizabeth a nightdress.
“We’ll see about getting your things from your hotel later,” Mrs. Bates told her. It was the last thing she heard before she fell asleep.
? ? ?
On the second morning, Elizabeth woke up feeling almost human again. Good food and real rest had quickly restored her strength, which made her anxious to make her escape. Anna wasn’t responding as quickly, however, which was why they’d stayed an extra night, and for some reason, Elizabeth couldn’t leave her.
“Eat just a little more,” Elizabeth urged her as they sat at the tiny table in their crowded bedroom. Neither Anna nor Elizabeth had bothered to dress since they’d been at the hotel, so they’d been confined to their bedroom. They couldn’t take a chance of being seen in their nightclothes by the two young men sharing the suite. Which was more than fine with Elizabeth. She wasn’t too worried about spending time with David Vanderslice. He didn’t seem particularly bright, so he presented no danger to her. She did worry about Gideon Bates, though. He’d already taken too much of an interest in her, and he wouldn’t be as easy to fool. She’d have to be careful with him, so the less often he saw her, the better.
Anna obediently ate one more forkful of the scrambled eggs, but Elizabeth could see how much effort it took her to swallow it. “There,” Anna said, laying her fork down. “Really, I’m stuffed. I feel fine, Elizabeth. So much better than when we first got here. Stop worrying about me.”
Elizabeth wanted to; she really did. And she really should. She couldn’t take care of Anna and get away from Thornton, too. Why should she even want to try?
Mrs. Bates came into the bedroom, being very careful not to open the connecting door too wide and give the gentlemen a glimpse of the girls. “How are you two feeling this morning?” she asked.
“Not as well as you,” Elizabeth said. Mrs. Bates was dressed and had been taking her meals with David and her son.
“I never thought being a bit plump would be an advantage in life,” Mrs. Bates said, “but if you’re going to participate in a hunger strike, I highly recommend it.” She stopped beside the table and looked at their plates with a critical eye. “Can’t you eat just a little more, Anna?”
“No, she can’t,” Elizabeth said, earning a grateful glance from Anna. “I already nagged her.”
“All right, then,” Mrs. Bates said with false enthusiasm. “I’ve been thinking. I don’t believe any of us will recover completely until we’re home. If you feel up to it, I’d like to take the afternoon train, Anna. The sooner we get you back to your mother’s loving arms, the better.”
“What a wonderful idea,” Anna said. “But what about Elizabeth? Surely, you aren’t going to send her all the way to South Dakota by herself.”
“I really don’t think it would be a good idea,” Mrs. Bates said. “I think it’s too soon for her to make a trip like that, and I’m hoping she’ll come home with us for a while, but that’s Elizabeth’s decision.”
“No, it isn’t,” Anna said, surprising both of her companions. “She’s coming home with me until she’s completely recovered. Mother can take care of both of us.”
“Are you sure your mother wouldn’t mind?” Elizabeth didn’t really care if the mother minded or not. Sticking with Anna was the safest course for her right now. Besides, she wanted to stay with Anna and she certainly needed to get to New York.
“If it makes her daughter happy, she won’t mind a bit,” Mrs. Bates said. “So that’s settled. All we need to do now is get your luggage from your other hotel, Elizabeth, and we can be on our way.”
She said something else, about how she’d had the maid freshen up the clothes Elizabeth had worn to the workhouse, but Elizabeth was no longer listening. How was she going to go to some hotel where she’d never stayed and retrieve luggage they didn’t have?
? ? ?
“I’m glad to see you looking so much better, Miss Miles,” Gideon Bates said while they waited on the sidewalk for the Willard Hotel doorman to summon a cab.
“Are you saying I looked terrible before, Mr. Bates?” Elizabeth replied.
But instead of being chastened, he said, “Yes, I am. I’ve hardly ever seen a woman look worse. You were practically at death’s door.”
“Oh, please have mercy, Mr. Bates. Your charm is overwhelming me.”
“Which, of course, was my intent all along,” he assured her with his overwhelmingly charming smile.
Somehow Elizabeth managed to remain unmoved by it.
A cab had pulled up and the doorman opened the door for them. When they were settled inside, Elizabeth gave the driver the name of the hotel she’d gotten from one of the bellmen when she’d asked him to suggest a respectable hotel where a single woman alone might stay.
The cab chugged off, leaving her nothing to do now but talk to Gideon Bates. If only he wasn’t quite so handsome and quite so appealing. She’d wanted David Vanderslice to accompany her. She could have told him any kind of tale, and he wouldn’t have dreamed of questioning her. But Mrs. Bates had insisted that Gideon go with her.
“Do you really think they’ll still have my luggage?” she asked, laying the groundwork for the misfortune that was going to befall her.
“Why wouldn’t they?”
“I don’t know. It just seems . . . Well, it might have been stolen or something. I’ve been gone a long time.”
“I suppose that’s possible, but not likely in a hotel like that.”
Elizabeth frowned, hoping she looked like a helpless young woman with little experience of the world. “Does that happen often?”
“What?”
“That someone staying in a hotel disappears and leaves their luggage behind.”
“I doubt it.”
Which just proved how much he knew. It happened all the time. Grifters always carried a cheap suitcase stuffed with newspapers that they could leave behind when they ran out on the bill so the hotel staff wouldn’t know they were gone until it was too late. “Then they might not realize they should keep the luggage until the person returns.”
“Don’t worry,” he said with that wonderful smile that made her really want to believe everything was going to be all right. “I’ll make sure they find your things.”