“It isn’t?”
“No. What I usually do is prepare wills and manage trusts and make sure rich people’s children stay rich.” He thought of Ernest Pike and his musical daughter, Eugenia.
“That must be . . . interesting,” she tried.
“Not very.”
“Oh,” she said uncertainly. Then, “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. They pay me well enough, so I shouldn’t have any complaints.”
“And yet you do.” Her blue eyes sparkled. Was it with mischief?
“Not really,” he lied. “I was only complaining so I could mention that I’m comfortably fixed, so you’ll know I’m a good catch.”
That brought the smile he’d been seeking. “Do you frequently manage to work that into your conversation?”
“Never before until today.”
Those lovely eyes widened just a tiny bit, but instead of giving him the flirtatious grin he’d been hoping for, she turned away.
“Now I’m afraid I’ve given offense,” he said, willing her to deny it.
When she turned back, she said, “Don’t be silly.” But her smile was forced and her eyes troubled. “I’ll be sure to mention that you’re comfortably fixed to every suffragist girl I meet.” Meaning, of course, that she had no interest in the information for herself. He could have accepted that with good grace if she hadn’t looked so sad about it.
How odd. She didn’t seem like the kind of girl to get all vaporish from a little flirting, even if he had been half-serious. Or maybe more than half, if he were honest. Elizabeth Miles was the most interesting woman he’d ever met. But she’d folded her hands in her lap so tightly, he would have bet her knuckles were white beneath her gloves.
“Miss Miles, is something wrong?” he asked, echoing her words.
Her forced smile relaxed. “Of course something is wrong. Women are downtrodden and have no voice in their government and no rights as individuals.”
Before he could think of an appropriate reply, their cab lurched to a halt, and the driver said, “Here we are, folks, and just in time, I’d say.”
? ? ?
By the time they had all traveled from the Willard Hotel to Union Station, sat for half an hour in the massive waiting area and walked down to the tracks and finally boarded their train to New York, Anna was exhausted and Elizabeth wasn’t feeling much better. Thank heaven they had the two young men to handle their luggage and make sure it was all loaded onto the train. Elizabeth cringed a little when Mrs. Bates raised her eyebrows at the amount of her luggage, but fortunately she said nothing, so Elizabeth didn’t have to justify it. She only hoped there was something in those many cases that she’d be able to wear without looking as snobbish as the woman she’d stolen them from.
Elizabeth found a section of empty seats and guided Anna into one before collapsing beside her. Anna fell asleep before the train even began to move.
Mrs. Bates took a seat across the aisle from them, and the two men sat behind them. Elizabeth found the rumble of their deep voices comforting, as long as they weren’t asking her any questions she didn’t want to answer. Or hinting that they’d like to court her, as Gideon had done this morning. He already suspected something was different about her. She couldn’t give him a chance to discover even more.
Once the train was on its way, Elizabeth finally relaxed and fell into a light doze until she heard Gideon Bates say Thornton’s name.
Every nerve in her body jumped to attention, and she strained to hear over the clatter of the wheels.
“Don’t worry,” David said. “I’m not going to help him.”
“What is it he wants?” Gideon asked.
“He has some rifles he wants to sell to the army.”
“Rifles? Where would Thornton get rifles?”
“How should I know? I assume he bought them. That’s what he does, I understand, and how he made his money in the first place. He buys things and sells them at a profit and probably for more than they’re worth. I wouldn’t have given him the time of day, but Senator Wadsworth sent him.”
“How does Thornton know a senator?” Gideon asked, echoing Elizabeth’s own question.
“He’s got money, Gideon. Politicians know everybody who has money.”
“And why did the senator send him to you?”
David cleared his throat, and Elizabeth imagined him squirming under Gideon’s relentless gaze. “The senator appointed me to a committee. We’re advising the army on purchasing materiel.”
“Materiel? Do you even know what that is?”
“Of course I know what it is. Supplies. Armaments.”
“And what do you know about armaments? Or supplies, either, for that matter?”
“I know how to bring people together to do business, and it’s my patriotic duty to help with the war effort.”
David sounded a little whiny, but Elizabeth thought he made a good argument. Gideon obviously did not.
“Just make sure Oscar Thornton isn’t one of those people you bring together.”
“I told you not to worry. I’m going to string him along for a while until he loses patience with me and goes someplace else. He’s probably going to sell his rifles to the government, though, whether I help him or not.”
“I understand that. Just don’t make it easy for him,” Gideon said. “And whatever you do, keep him away from my mother.”
David muttered some kind of promise to do just that, and Elizabeth vowed to stay as close to Mrs. Bates as possible until she could collect her money from the Old Man and get out of New York City.
CHAPTER NINE
“And, Mother, this is my very dearest friend, Elizabeth Miles,” Anna said after her mother had tearfully embraced her and welcomed her home.
Anna drew Elizabeth forward for her mother’s inspection. Mrs. Vanderslice was an older version of Anna, fair and frail and more than overwhelmed by the thought of her only daughter spending time in jail. “I’m very pleased to meet you, Miss Miles.”
“Elizabeth saved my life,” Anna said, shocking her mother completely.
“Oh dear,” Mrs. Vanderslice murmured, and for an awful second, Elizabeth feared she might actually faint.
“Anna is exaggerating,” Elizabeth said quickly. “Our lives were never really in danger, and Anna was just as much a comfort to me as I was to her.”
“Miss Miles is being modest,” David said. “Mrs. Bates told Gideon and me some of the things she did, and you should have seen her in the courtroom.”
Before Elizabeth could even register David’s endorsement, Anna was at it again.
“Elizabeth lives in South Dakota, so we couldn’t let her go all the way out there alone when she just got off a hunger strike. That’s why I convinced her to come home with us, and I’ve invited her to stay here for as long as she wants.”