An Agent for Evelynn Read online

  An Agent for Evelynn

  The Pinkerton Matchmaker Series

  By Marie Higgins

  Copyright © 2019 by Marie Higgins

  Cover Art by Virginia McKevitt

  Edited by Carolyn Leggo

  Edition License Notes

  This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author's work.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  An Agent for Evelynn (The Pinkerton Matchmaker)

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  Pinkerton Matchmaker stories

  Oher published stories from Marie Higgins | https://www.authormariehiggins.com/books | Author’s Bio

  Evelynn Tanner, the local preacher’s daughter, has made one too many mistakes. Apparently, marching into a brothel to confront her unfaithful beau is considered unacceptable behavior for an unwed young lady, and her father has turned her out of his home! Evelynn must now find a means to support herself. Her cousin, Broderick Tanner, is a Pinkerton Agent, and she manages to convince him that she’d make an excellent addition to the agency’s female ranks. After all, Broderick’s wife, Cecily, is a Pinkerton as well.

  On the train ride to Denver, Evelynn meets Graham Morgan, another agent – and an irritating one at that. In the midst of an argument, she falls off the back of the train, and Graham selflessly jumps off to save her. Evelynn quickly finds herself falling for this charming protector, but will he be true to her? Or is he really just another dishonest snake like the last man she’d loved?

  ONE

  San Francisco, 1871

  FORGIVE ME LORD, FOR I’m about to sin. And kill someone... Well, maybe I’ll only injure him and his new friend.

  Being the daughter of the town’s minister taught her to include the Lord in all her dealings. However, she doubted the Lord was listening to her now.

  Evelynn Tanner stood on the steps of the wrap-around porch in front of Lavina Divine’s brothel, glaring at the wicked place as she silently cursed its very existence. Embarrassed and heartbroken, she wasn’t sure which emotion had guided her here, but she was ready to tear someone apart limb from limb.

  Nobody treats Evelynn Tanner this poorly and gets away with it.

  Taking a breath for courage, she fisted her hands by her sides and marched up the steps. The welcome sign hung on the front door, so she yanked it off the nail and flung the sign to the ground. She didn’t knock – only because she was certain this establishment welcomed any man who wandered by – and she stormed inside. For being mid-morning, the curtains were still drawn over the windows, and only a few lamps were on in the sitting room.

  She stopped in the middle of the floor, listening for voices. The heavy scent of perfume hung thick in the air, and she waved her hand in front of her face, trying to breathe the fresh air, instead.

  Now that she was here, she wondered what she’d say. She prayed the women were at least dressed modestly.

  She rolled her eyes. Of course, they weren’t! This was a brothel. So hopefully, they wore dressing gowns.

  Footsteps coming down the hallway made Evelynn focus and prepare herself for a situation that could only be compared to hell, since this was Satan’s own work and she stood in the middle of Satan’s lair. She squared her shoulders and waited.

  A woman wearing a dressing gown – thankfully – and holding a steaming coffee cup, stepped into the room. The woman’s hair was disheveled as though she’d just climbed out of bed. The dark makeup around her eyes and lips had been smeared. The harlot was definitely older than Evelynn’s twenty-two years by maybe ten years or so. The woman saw Evelynn and her eyes widened.

  Evelynn lifted her chin stubbornly. “I’m here to collect my good-for-nothing beau, Robert Franklin.” She folded her arms and glared. “And I’m not leaving until he is standing in front of me, along with the harlot he’s with.”

  “Uh, well, miss... I don’t know,” the other woman stammered.

  “You’d better know and mighty fast, or I’ll start searching through the rooms myself.” Evelynn arched an eyebrow. “And believe me, you won’t like the way I will search.”

  The harlot grumbled and rushed out of the room. The coffee splashed over the rim of the cup in the other woman’s haste.

  With her arms folded, Evelynn drummed her fingers on her arm. They’d better hurry. She was not a patient woman, and she definitely wasn’t comfortable standing in a place like this.

  Thank Heavens Pa didn’t know her whereabouts or he might be tempted to wash her sins away with holy water. Pa was just one of the many preachers in the sinful city of San Francisco. She’d been raised calling the city sinful, but the older she became, the more she realized that the sin came from people making bad mistakes, not the city itself. She rather liked the city.

  Hurried footsteps padded on the floor, and Evelynn looked in the direction where the harlot had left. She was returning, but with another woman. This woman was older and better dressed, wearing a velvety red gown with a plunging neckline. The woman’s hair was styled in a loose bun. A pleasant expression graced her face as she walked up to Evelynn.

  “Good morning, miss,” the woman said politely. “I heard you are here to find your beau.”

  “Yes, I am.” Evelynn nodded sharply. “And I’m not leaving until I can talk to him.”

  The older woman gave Evelynn a sympathetic smile. “You are a young lady, but I’m certain you know what kind of establishment this is.”

  “I do.”

  “Then you’ll realize how your request is quite impossible at the moment. We keep our customers’ visits a secret.”

  “I’m sure you do, however, I know Robert Franklin is here, so if you don’t get him out of bed and standing in front of me within the next few minutes, I’ll take on the task myself.”

  The older woman took a step closer to Evelynn. “You must also realize that our customers don’t normally use their real names.”

  “Are you saying that you don’t know if Robert Franklin is here or not?”

  “No, my dear.” She shook her head. “As I mentioned, they usually give us a fake name.”

  “Fake names,” Evelynn muttered, shaking her head. “Of course. There has to be another reason to lie about their sinful habits.”

  “May I suggest,” the other woman touched Evelynn’s shoulder and slowly turned her toward the front door, “that you go home and wait for your beau and confront him without so many people around who could overhear?”

  Gasping, Evelynn pushed the woman’s hand off her shoulder. “And what? Save him from embarrassment? Oh, no! He embarrassed me, and it’s high time I pay him back for his selfish treatment.”

  “Miss, please don’t make a scene.”

  Nobody, but nobody tells Evelynn what to do... except for Pa, of course, but certainly not a woman of ill repute. “Robert Franklin,” she yelled at the top of her voice. “You have two minutes to get your sorry butt down here before I embarrass you even further.”

  Both harlots hitched surprised breaths and ran to her. The younger woman tried to cover Evelynn’s mouth, and the older woman tried pus
hing Evelynn toward the door. But she was not budging. She slapped the woman’s hands away from her mouth.

  “Robert Franklin... get down here now!” she said again as loud as she could.

  “No more!” The older woman’s scowl brought out every line in her face, making her appear ten years older. “I must insist you leave the premises.”

  “You can insist until your face turns blue, but I’m not moving until Robert comes down.”

  Madam harlot huffed and glanced at the younger woman. “Go get him down here.”

  With a nod, the woman darted up the stairs, taking two at a time.

  Evelynn grinned cockily. “I’m assuming Robert didn’t lie about his name, after all.”

  The madam glared as her lips thinned, but she didn’t say anything.

  It didn’t take more than five minutes before Evelynn heard hurried footsteps again, and one pair of them was heavier than the other. She braced herself for when she saw Robert with clothes he wouldn’t have had time to button up, and hair he wouldn’t have had time to comb. It would hurt to see his appearance so unkempt, but she’d been building an ice-wall around her heart ever since Mrs. Chapman told her about seeing Robert riding his horse up the hill toward the brothel last evening.

  The embarrassment that Evelynn had felt nearly suffocated her, but it wasn’t anything like the agony of her breaking heart. She’d thought Robert loved her. After all, he’d just said those very words to her two days before Mrs. Chapman had opened her big, gossiping mouth.

  When Evelynn received her first glimpse of Robert – just as she’d pictured him with his shirt unbuttoned and not tucked into his trousers, and his hair messy – disgust rose in her throat, and it was all she could do not to empty her stomach all over him.

  She clenched her teeth as he neared her. Mixed emotions played on his face; first anger, then embarrassment, and then sorrow. Now that he had come downstairs, she didn’t know what to say. She fought the urge to cry, and wished the urge to punch him in the face was stronger. Her breathing increased by the second, as did her hatred for him.

  “Evelynn,” he said softly, still trying to get himself dressed. “I realize what you must be thinking—”

  “No,” she quickly stopped him. “You don’t have the slightest idea what I’m thinking. How could you when all you think about is yourself and you don’t have room in your tiny mind for anyone else?”

  He shook his head. “But I still love—”

  “Don’t finish that!” She glared and fisted her hands. “It’s clear to me what you love.” She turned and faced the madam. “As for you,” she took a deep breath, gaining more courage, “I don’t understand why Mayor Stephens hasn’t closed your business down yet, but rest assured, I’ll push him until he does.”

  The younger harlot gasped and touched the madam’s arm. “What is she talking about, Lavina?” Her voice was high and panicked.

  Evelynn arched an eyebrow as she peered at the older woman. “You haven’t told your girls about the mayor’s plan to close all of the brothels in San Francisco?” She snickered and glanced at the younger woman. “Oh, you poor thing. You’ll be out of commission very soon.”

  Lavina shook her head. “Pearl, don’t listen to this lady. She’s obviously speaking out of turn.”

  Evelynn snorted. “Out of turn? Not at all. My pa has attended the mayor’s council meetings, and the mayor assures the town that he’ll shut you – and others like you – down.” She met Robert’s hardened gaze. “As for your pathetic hide, not only will you have to find another naïve woman to court, you’ll have to find another hobby that will keep you occupied on the weekends.”

  “What is she talking about?” Pearl’s voice rose even higher. “Lavina, why didn’t you tell me... tell us? You’ve known about this already, so why didn’t you say anything? Do you not think that we should know? Our very home, our livelihood is being taken from us, and you didn’t warn us?” Pearl growled and shoved the older woman, making her stumble. “You have always tried to control us. But no longer will I allow you to control my life.”

  Lavina’s face reddened. “Now listen to me, Pearl. I won’t let you talk to me in such a manner.” Her voice grew stronger. “I’m the reason you live in a nice house and you’re able to have food in your belly.”

  Slowly, Evelynn took a step back. The two arguing women kept getting louder, and their glowers grew darker. Although Evelynn had started the argument between them, she definitely didn’t want to be in the middle of their fight. Even Robert took a step back.

  “Augh!” Pearl picked up a porcelain figurine from off the shelf. “You want to know what I think of your help?” She threw the figurine on the ground and it shattered.

  This was Evelynn’s cue to get out of here, and fast. She hurried to the door and rushed out... and smacked head-on into a man who’d been standing on the porch. The man grasped her shoulders, moving her back a step. She tilted her head, staring up at him with surprised eyes.

  Recognition struck, and she gasped. “Broderick?” Why was her cousin here? Or maybe... no, she shouldn’t ask.

  Broderick blinked several times as though he doubted his own vision. “Evelynn Tanner? What in the blazes are you doing here?”

  Heat exploded in her face. Of all places to get caught by a relative, why did it have to be a brothel? Then again, he was also a Pinkerton Agent, so maybe he would be the one to assist the mayor in shutting down this place. “Oh, Broderick. It’s not what you think.”

  His gaze quickly swept over her dress. She was certain he realized that the grayish-pink day dress she wore was proper for a minister’s daughter. For certain, a harlot wouldn’t wear something so conservative.

  “It had better not be what I think, dear cousin,” Broderick said, “or I’m sure your father—”

  Panic rushed through her and she placed her hand on his chest. “My father,” she interrupted, “will never hear of this. I swear, if you say one word, you’ll regret the day you ever stepped foot in San Francisco.”

  Her cousin’s gaze narrowed suspiciously on her, but after a few seconds, his face relaxed and he nodded.

  “I promise not to tell your father, just as long as you promise to tell me what’s going on.”

  Huffing, she stomped her foot and folded her arms. She knew he was going to say that. “Fine, but not here. I don’t ever want to see this place again.”

  “My wife and I are staying at the Grand Hotel. Meet us there at three o’clock this afternoon.”

  Evelynn glanced at the woman next to him, noticing her for the first time. Wife? When had that happened? And why hadn’t Evelynn heard about her cousin getting married before now? Once again, her father must have been too busy with his congregation to share Broderick’s news with his own daughter.

  Evelynn studied the woman and realized she was very lovely. Broderick did very well picking out a wife. She wore a baby-blue dress, and her brown hair was pulled back and tied with a matching ribbon. “Nice to meet you. I’m Evelynn Tanner, Broderick’s good cousin.”

  Her cousin’s wife smiled. “I’m Cecily. I’m happy to finally meet one of Rick’s family. I hope we can be friends.”

  She gave Cecily a nod before turning and glaring at her cousin. It still upset her that he was the one to find her. “I’ll see you at three o’clock.” Without another word, she stormed past him and his wife, hurrying toward town.

  Now she needed to create some excuse to give her father as to why she’d run into her cousin at a house of ill repute. Either that or she’d bribe Broderick to keep his mouth closed.

  Although she was a minister’s daughter, she sometimes had to hide the devil’s streak inside of her.

  TWO

  Evelynn tried to sit ladylike in her chair inside the Grand Hotel’s dining room, but she fidgeted like an unruly child awaiting her punishment. Yet, the fancy furnishings in the dining room were so sparkly and shiny that she couldn’t stop from glancing around in awe.

  Broderick leaned back
in his chair and watched her with a hooded gaze as he drummed his fingers on the table. “So, dear cousin, whatever you told Madam Lavina and Pearl this morning, made them very irate. Are you aware of this? When Cecily and I went inside, there was a man trying to keep the women from tearing each other’s hair out.”

  Frowning, Evelynn sighed heavily. “Yes, I was aware, which is why I left quickly.”

  Cecily lifted a teacup to her mouth and sipped. Evelynn was happy to see her cousin’s wife wasn’t as judgmental. At least the other woman didn’t appear to be.

  “Why were you there, Evie?” Broderick asked in a demanding voice.

  Frowning, she focused on her half-eaten blueberry muffin. Her chest tightened, and she fought the humiliation moving through her. Pa had been overjoyed that she’d found a beau – one that was attentive and that earned a good living by working at the bank. She’d been happy for a few months. But to admit aloud that her beau had such a sinful weekend activity schedule was quite embarrassing.

  She prayed her cousin would understand. After all, he’d played with women’s hearts before, and she was certain he’d broken a few on his journey to find a wife.

  “Well, you see...” She swallowed hard. “I’d discovered my beau was there,” she whispered. Cecily’s eyes widened, and Rick’s jaw hardened. Evelynn quickly continued. “My main goal was to embarrass him as he had embarrassed me, since it was the church’s biggest gossipmonger who told me that she’d seen Robert heading toward the brothel last night.”

  Cecily sucked in a quick breath and placed her hand to her mouth. Rick’s expression relaxed, but only slightly.

  “Was he the man who was trying to keep the two women from fighting?” he asked.

  Evelynn nodded and frowned. “I hope they scratched him up in the process.”

  Cecily cleared her throat, but it almost sounded like a laugh. However, her cousin was not amused.

  “Actually, they had scratched him up.” He continued to drum his fingers on the table. “I understand you were upset and that your heart was breaking, but Evie, you might have damaged your reputation as well.”