“I am, although I’m aware it’s terribly ungentlemanly of me and my mother would be ashamed.”
Which was exactly what she had intended to say, so she was momentarily speechless.
He took the opportunity to add, “I’m fairly certain that some of what you’ve told me is the truth. You do know the general and Thornton, and you obviously wish Thornton ill for some reason. Knowing Thornton, I’m sure it’s a good reason, so I can’t fault you for that. What I don’t understand is why you won’t just tell me what it is, when you know perfectly well that I’d also be happy to see Thornton ruined.”
But what could she tell him? In the story she’d told Anna, she was an innocent victim simply trying to escape Thornton’s revenge. That wouldn’t explain why she wanted to cheat Thornton out of what remained of his fortune, though. Or would it? Perhaps it could, with just a few minor changes . . .
“All right, then, I’ll tell you. You were right—I’m not from South Dakota. I’m from right here in New York. About a month ago, my brother and I were traveling to Washington, and we met Thornton on the train, and—”
“Stop.”
“What’s wrong?”
“What’s wrong is I’m tired of your lies, so don’t bother telling me a story about your mythical brother. I’ll jump ahead and blow his brains out in despair so you don’t have to. Now we can sit here all day while you dream up more stories, but we’re not leaving this room until you tell me the truth.”
The truth. She didn’t think she even knew what that was anymore, and even if she did, telling it would hardly help. Telling it would also mean Gideon Bates would never look at her the same way again. Not that she cared how he looked at her. At least not very much. And what did it matter? As soon as the deal was done, she’d be leaving the city. She’d probably never see Gideon Bates again. Better for all concerned if he despised her. Oh, and if she told him, he also might ruin the whole plan. Which should have been her first consideration. And it was, really. Her life and Jake’s were in danger after all. That was the most important thing. Really.
“Or maybe,” Gideon said, his dark eyes glittering, “I should just ask Thornton why you would want to see him ruined. I’m sure he’d be happy to tell me.”
“No, you can’t!”
“But I can, and I will, unless you tell me first.”
“All right! But you have to promise . . .”
“Promise what?”
What had she been going to demand? That he not tell his mother she was a liar and a thief? That he not hate her? Now she was being idiotic. “Nothing. I was going to ask that you not ruin the plan, but I don’t think you will when you’ve heard everything.”
He looked as if he might like to shake her, but he said, “All right, then, why are you out to ruin Thornton?”
“Because he’s going to kill me.”
“Don’t be melodramatic, Miss Miles. Why would Thornton want to kill you?”
“Because Jake and I cheated him out of fifty thousand dollars.”
His shock was almost comic. She expected many questions, but not the one he finally asked. “Who’s Jake?”
“My . . . partner, and I’m not being melodramatic. Thornton almost did kill Jake, or at least his goons did, and they would’ve done the same to me if they’d caught me. I only got away from them by getting myself arrested with the suffragists.”
“But what would make him do such a thing?”
“I told you,” she snapped. “We cheated him out of fifty thousand dollars. That tends to make a man testy.”
Gideon shook his head, as if he couldn’t believe it. “How could a woman like you have done a thing like that?”
There it was. Now he would hate her. But it was the only way. “You don’t know a thing about me, Mr. Bates. I’m a grifter, and I come from a long line of grifters. Cheating people is how we make our living.”
He didn’t believe her, or at least he didn’t want to. She could see it on his face. And how could he? Sitting there in his mother’s parlor in her fashionable gown, she must be the picture of female innocence. “How did you cheat him?”
She sighed. Here it was, the end of everything. “We ran a rag on him. He thought he was going to make a fortune, but Jake and I didn’t have any money for a setup, so we had to do it against the wall, and—”
“You did what?” he asked, horrified.
She winced. “We ran a rag,” she explained with deliberate patience.
For some reason, his face had turned scarlet. “No, the . . . the other thing you said.”
“Oh.” She gave herself a little shake. She should have realized he wouldn’t understand any of that. He was just a winchell after all. “The rag is a stock market swindle. When you run the rag, you need to set up a store, a place where you can take the mark to make him think you’re dealing with a real broker. It looks like a real broker’s office and people are working there and it has telephones and tickers and everything. But we didn’t have the money to set one up, so we had to play him against the wall. That means Jake just pretended he was going to see the broker, but he never actually took Thornton there.”
This time Gideon said, “Oh,” with obvious relief.
She frowned. “What did you think I was talking about?”
“Nothing.”
But the truthful Mr. Bates was lying! “No, tell me. I need to know what I said that made you turn so red.”
“I didn’t turn red!”
“You were blushing like a schoolgirl,” she informed him. “You must tell me. If I said something shocking, I need to know what it was so I don’t do it again!”
Clearly, he didn’t want to tell her, which meant it was pretty awful. Dear heaven, she’d actually shocked him. Finally, he cleared his throat. “Are you . . . are you and Jake lovers?”
Not at all what she expected him to say. “Of course not! He’s my brother. And not my mythical brother, either.”
He actually looked relieved. “You said he was your partner.”
“He was, in the con. And I was afraid to say he was my brother again because you already said you didn’t believe that and blew his brains out. He’s really only my half brother. We never even met until I was thirteen. And it was all his fault the deal curdled. I kept telling him Thornton wasn’t really hooked, but he wouldn’t listen to a woman. I was lucky to get away when I did, and . . . You still haven’t told me what I said. Does it have something to do with Jake and me being lovers?”
Gideon ran a hand over his face, as if he wanted to make himself disappear. “This is extremely improper.”
“I don’t care. You have to tell me.”
He sighed with resignation. “Do you know what a prostitute is?”
Oh dear. “Of course.” She’d grown up surrounded by men, after all.
He looked a little shocked at that, too, but he soldiered on. “If a man wants to purchase the . . . favors of a prostitute, but he doesn’t have enough . . . that is, he can’t afford the cost of a room . . .” To Elizabeth’s delight, he was blushing again. “They will find an alley, and she will . . . they will . . .” He gestured helplessly. “Against the wall.”
She gaped at him. “Is that even possible?”