“That’s very generous of you. I know how you feel about Mr. Thornton.”
“Yes, well, David is a friend.”
“But that’s asking a lot, even of a friend, so be sure you charge him a large fee. It’s the least he can do for taking advantage of you.”
“He’s not taking advantage.”
“Of course he is. We both know he wouldn’t be able to do this on his own, but we both love him too much to mention it.”
Gideon blinked a few times to make sure his vision was clear. Was this really Anna Vanderslice? He’d never known her to express an opinion about anything before, much less an insightful one. And now that he noticed, she seemed different somehow. Was she taller? No, that wasn’t possible. Maybe it was the way she held herself. But something had definitely changed. “You’re looking very . . . well this evening,” he said, searching for the right words. “I guess you’ve recovered from your ordeal.”
“Oh, yes. I wouldn’t want to do it again, but I’m almost glad we got arrested. So many wonderful things came out of it.”
He could only think of one. “You met Miss Miles.”
Her smile widened at that. “Yes, I’ve never known anyone quite like her.”
“Neither have I.”
Her smile turned puzzled, but before she could question him, Elizabeth swooped into the room. She’d put on her coat and hat and was pulling on her gloves. “I’m ready. Shall we go?”
“Is Mother going with you?” he asked.
Both women turned to him, instantly sobered. “No, why would she?” Elizabeth asked.
“Anna said you were going to a meeting. I naturally assumed it was one of her endless committee meetings.”
“Oh no,” Anna said with what appeared to be forced cheerfulness. “We’re going to a literary salon.”
That sounded odd. “I didn’t know you were interested in literature, Miss Miles.”
“There are many things you don’t know about me, Mr. Bates.”
That was only too true.
“It’s mostly to introduce Elizabeth to the right people,” Anna said. “She needs to know all our friends.”
Of course she does, if she is going to marry David.
“We should go,” Elizabeth said brightly. “We don’t want to be late.”
She wouldn’t even meet his eye. Of course not. She was still angry at him for some reason he hadn’t figured out yet, and not because he had insulted her fiancé. In fact, she hadn’t cared about that at all.
He should probably be heartbroken over the way she treated him, but if she didn’t really care about him, why was she so angry? And so worried about him compromising his principles? And so anxious to keep him away from David’s general?
He would just have to figure that out.
? ? ?
When they were safely away from the house, Elizabeth turned to Anna. “A literary salon?”
“It was the first thing that popped into my head,” Anna said with a giggle. “I didn’t think I should tell him where we’re really going.”
“No, you shouldn’t. Have you ever been to a literary salon?”
“A few times. It’s terribly boring. They just talk about books and argue about what they mean.”
“Are books supposed to mean something?”
“Apparently. What was going on with you and Gideon when I came in?”
“Nothing.”
Anna made a rude noise. “Don’t tell me that. I could’ve cut the air with a knife. Poor Gideon was practically boiling.”
“Poor Gideon is trying to ruin our plans.”
“What do you mean?”
“David asked him to help with the Thornton deal.”
“I know. David told me when I passed him on the way over.”
“But why would he do that?”
Anna sighed. “Because David is hopeless at business. He’s simply too gentlemanly to drive a hard bargain, and he never seems to know what’s in his own best interest. Gideon has been saving him for years.”
“Oh.” Elizabeth’s assessment of David had been too correct. He really was a lop-ear. “Well, I don’t think he can ruin this. It sounds like this general is determined to buy Thornton’s rifles. What could go wrong?” Nothing, of course, because the general would make sure of it.
“I don’t know, but believe me, we want Gideon by David’s side, just to be sure. If something goes wrong, I’m sure Thornton will blame you.”
Elizabeth was sure he would, too. “I guess there’s no hope for it, then. Gideon is going to be involved.” She would have to get a message to the Old Man and warn him. He would know how to handle Gideon, or at least she hoped he would. She didn’t think grifters did much business with people like him, though. In fact, she hadn’t even known there were people like him. The Old Man always said you can’t cheat an honest man, but it was a joke. Nobody was truly honest, or at least that’s what she’d always thought.
“Don’t sound so discouraged,” Anna said. “Everything will work out just like we planned. You’ll see.”
Elizabeth hoped she’d see. At least it wouldn’t be too much longer. A few days or a week maybe, and the game would be over and she’d be on a boat for Cuba. Or maybe Bermuda. If only she could feel excited at the prospect. For some reason, the thought of leaving New York made her want to cry, even though staying in New York put her life in danger.
“Now tell me what I should expect this evening,” Anna was saying. “I’m so excited to meet Cybil and Zelda’s friends, but I’m terrified, too. They’ll think I’m a hopeless innocent, I’m afraid.”
“They’ll love it that you’re a hopeless innocent,” Elizabeth said, and proceeded to reassure her until they’d found a cab and traveled to Cybil’s house in Greenwich Village. She didn’t even bother to check to see if Thornton’s goons were following them. She just assumed one of them was lurking in the shadows. He’d see them doing nothing unusual this evening, although he might be a bit shocked by the colorful crowd that gathered at Cybil’s.
Zelda greeted them both with a hug and a kiss and then promptly took Anna off into the living room to meet some people. Elizabeth saw both male and female professors from Hunter College, where Cybil and Zelda taught, as well as some students and former students. Another woman she recognized as a rather successful novelist. She wore a lacy dress and was smoking a cigar. Maybe Anna would get her literary evening after all.
She was just about to follow Anna and Zelda when Cybil caught her arm. “He’s upstairs if you want to see him.”
“Good,” she said with relief. “I was going to have to send him a message.”
“I told him you’d probably be here tonight, and he decided to take a chance, since nobody would notice one more person coming into the house.”
“Look after Anna while I’m upstairs, will you?” Elizabeth said.
“I don’t think that will be necessary.” Cybil nodded to where Anna was shaking hands with the cigar-smoking lady novelist. “I think she’ll be just fine.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN