An Agent for Scarlett Page 7

  He couldn’t believe how pretty she was, especially now with her amber eyes aglow with excitement as she tried to solve the mystery surrounding the thief. Her hair was slightly messy from their passionate kissing not too long ago and the way he’d touched her hair... and her red, and very tempting lips were still a little swollen.

  Never had he met a woman like Scarlett. She was so full of life and wanted to reach for adventure. Perhaps she would make him a good wife, after all... not to mention that she’d make a pretty good Pinkerton agent, too.

  “Are you listening to me?” she asked, tilting her head.

  He chuckled. “I became lost staring at your beautiful face and gazing into your lovely eyes. Forgive me, but I’ve never been in love before, and I quite enjoy looking at you and dreaming of kissing you again.”

  Her eyelids dropped as she sighed and leaned against him. “I would like to kiss you again, but can we figure out the thief and her motive first?”

  “Of course.” He blinked and snapped his mind back to the matter at hand. “So, if the handkerchief was Mrs. Whittle’s and she is the thief we’re searching for, how would she have been able to steal it? And...” he circled his arms around her waist in a loose hold, “would she have stolen it the night of the dinner social?”

  “I do recall a few times that she’d asked to use the powder room, and she was gone longer than most women who... you know, use the powder room.”

  “And had your grandfather showed off his collection to anyone after that?”

  “No, because the people who came to see him had already toured the trophy room.”

  “Very good.” He stroked her hair, loving the silkiness against his fingers. “Let’s say she stole the shield during the dinner social and she couldn’t find the hints rumored to be on the ancient piece that shows the location of the hidden treasure. How would she have returned it yesterday? Did she drop by for an unexpected visit?”

  Scarlett shook her head. “No, but that’s not saying she doesn’t have someone working with her. After all, most criminals do.”

  Travis grinned, loving how adorable she was. “Do you think she would have kept her accomplices in the family? What do you know about Mr. Dayton?”

  “It’s possible she kept it in the family. She’s known around town as the gossipmonger, and so I’m sure she doesn’t have many close friends. Mr. Dayton doesn’t live around here, but he was in town visiting during the dinner social.”

  “Does she have any other family?” Travis lightly caressed her shoulders. He just had a difficult time keeping from touching her.

  “I wish I knew. Sadly enough, I don’t know much about Mrs. Whittle’s family. I should, because I’m in Loveland, Colorado more than I am at my own home.”

  He took her hands and led her to the settee. “Where do you live with your parents?”

  “In Butte.” When she laughed, it was tight and forced. She reached to the table and lifted the shield, staring at it. “I probably only see my parents a few months out of the year. I spend most of my time with my grandfather.”

  “Do you mind me asking where your parents are right now?”

  She glanced at him and rolled her eyes. “They are anywhere in the United States. My parents enjoy traveling. Mother says it strengthens their marriage.” She looked back at the shield. “It makes me wonder if she and my father wouldn’t love each other as much if they were regular parents who stayed home with their only child...” Her voice broke and she quickly cleared her throat.

  His heart broke and he took her in his arms. He vowed to show this incredible woman every single day how much he loved her, and if they had children, he would do all he could to be the best father in the world, just as his own father had been.

  “Travis,” she said brokenly, “I don’t ever want to be like my parents.”

  He brushed his lips across her forehead. “You won’t. You have too much love inside you. I’ve seen the way you care about people.”

  She tilted her head back. Her eyes filled with tears. “If I ever have children, I’ll never abandon them.”

  “Of course, you wouldn’t. That’s not like you at all. You’ll make a wonderful mother. You’ve learned how to love and care for others because of your grandfather.”

  She nodded. “He has been a good influence on my life.”

  “I can tell.” He smiled and rubbed the pad of his thumb across her cheek, wiping off tears running down her face.

  She smiled, but her lips trembled. “Travis, what would I do without you?”

  “My lovely Scarlett, I don’t ever want to know that kind of loneliness.”

  She leaned up and pressed her mouth against his, but just as he gathered her closer, she sucked in a quick breath and pulled back, glancing down at the shield.

  “Oh, no. I think I broke it.”

  He released her and glanced down at the artifact as she laid it on her lap. The knight’s sword had come loose and hooked to her sleeve. He carefully wiggled it out of the cloth.

  “I don’t think you broke this,” he told her. “It was loose before, and now I’m thinking this sword was supposed to come out.”

  “Why?”

  “Because it’s a whole sword, and the belt loop that it had been in is still in one piece.”

  She lifted the shield to look closer. He studied the artifact, but he still couldn’t see where it mentioned anything about the hidden treasure’s location. She ran the pads of her fingers across the carved scene. When she touched the window, she paused. Gasping, she lifted her gaze to him.

  “The window is a little loose, too. Feel it.”

  He touched the spot carefully, and she was correct. It moved slightly. “I’d not realized this when I studied it closely yesterday.”

  “Do you think because the sword came out, it jiggled another piece inside the shield to make the window move?”

  “I’m starting to think that now.” He smiled at her. “Scarlett, you may have just discovered something important. Keep looking.”

  He watched her as she examined the piece. She bit her bottom lip and her expression became serious. It didn’t matter that her gaze narrowed and her forehead was scrunched, she was absolutely the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.

  She took the tip of the sword that was probably no longer than her finger and poked around the shield as if trying to trigger another mechanism. When she poked all over inside the shield, she started looking around the edges. Suddenly, she stopped and her eyes widened. She glanced at Travis before looking back to the shield, touching the tip of the sword to a dent along the bottom of the shield.

  The window opened.

  Travis hitched a breath. Both of them peered closer to the writing behind the window. His heart hammered with excitement. Could this amazing woman have found what century-old people had been searching for?

  TEN

  Scarlett could barely read the writing, but what she could read looked to be a foreign language. “I need a magnifying glass, but it looks like it could be written in Spanish.”

  “Yes, it does look that way.” Travis glanced at her. “But I can’t read Spanish.”

  For the first time in all of her schooling that her parents put her through, and all of the many classes they’d made her take in boarding school, she finally felt relieved that she had been put through that time in her life. “I can.” She grinned. “I can also read and speak in French and German.”

  Laughing, he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her soundly on the lips. When he pulled away, his eyes twinkled. “Not only am I in love with the prettiest woman I’ve ever met, but I’m in love with the smartest woman.” He sighed. “I am one lucky man.”

  If she hadn’t been head-over-heels in love with him before, she was now. Nobody had ever made her feel so special, except for her grandfather, of course.

  “There’s a magnifying glass in my grandfather’s study, but...” She paused, remembering the sheriff was still here. “Grandfather might be busy with the sheriff.”

  “Don’t worry.” Travis stood. “I’ll go get it.” He bent and kissed her on the mouth again, before straightening. “Don’t go anywhere. I want you right beside me while you read to me the inscription.”

  She leaned back against the cushions. “I wouldn’t dream of going anywhere else.”

  Sighing, she closed her eyes and smiled. Travis mentioned he was a lucky man, but in truth, she was the lucky one. All of her childhood friends had married dull men with no imagination. Scarlett had found a man who would give her the adventure she’d been craving most of her life, along with a lifetime of love. If he decided to propose, she would certainly accept, and she’d live the rest of her life making him as happy as she knew he’d make her. He’d be a wonderful father to their six – or seven – children, she just knew it.

  Grandfather would be overjoyed that she’d found love and the man had been Grandfather’s best friend’s son. Her parents would probably be happy to wash their hands of Scarlett since they wouldn’t have to worry about her anymore... not that they did much worrying during her life, anyway.

  The floor outside the hallway echoed with heavy footsteps, and she opened her eyes and sat up, waiting for Travis to enter. A man’s laugh floated from the hallway, but it wasn’t Travis’ voice.

  Disgust crawled over her, and she didn’t need to be told that the sheriff was still here, and hopefully, her grandfather was walking him to the front door. As long as he didn’t want to chat with her before leaving, her stomach wouldn’t become upset. But the footsteps grew closer to the parlor – and there were two pairs of footsteps.

  She quickly stood and glanced around the room, searching for someplace to hide the shield. The pillow on the sofa near the fireplace drew her attention. She hurried to the sofa, sticking the sword back in its rightful place before reaching her destination. She stuffed the shield behind the pillow, and thankfully, the puffy mauve cushion hid the ancient artifact.

  Not wanting to be standing near the hiding place, she rushed to the window and glanced outside. The snowflakes were thicker and sticking to the ground.

  “Your tale is most entertaining,” Sheriff Simpson said as he and Travis entered the parlor. “There you are, Miss Scarlett. May I say how lovely you look?”

  She turned and looked at him, trying to smile politely, however, Travis’ expression made her pause. He appeared mad... and at the same time, very worried. The sheriff stood very close behind Travis.

  “Um, thank you, Sheriff Simpson.”

  Travis held out the magnifying glass. “I brought this at your request,” he said in a tight voice.

  The sheriff looked perplexed as he scanned the room. “Miss Scarlett? Why would you need a magnifying glass? Your eyes aren’t tired from reading, are they?”

  The pierce of Travis’ gaze on her silently told her to play along... and not tell the sheriff about the shield. “Heavens no.” She forced another laugh and walked toward Travis to take the magnifying glass. “I actually wanted it to look out the window.”

  “The window?” the sheriff asked. “Why would you want to do that?”

  “Because I’m a curious woman who loves to investigate things, and I noticed a hole in the window sill – something that was purposely cut.”

  “A hole, you say?”

  “Yes. It could possibly be from the thief that had broken into this house the other day.”

  “Impossible! I looked at every window on the bottom floor for signs of a break-in.”

  She shrugged. “You’re probably correct. That’s why I needed a magnifying glass – to make sure it wasn’t something that was purposely cut.”

  As she waited for the sheriff to say something, the hairs on the back of her neck stood as an eerie feeling filled the room. The sheriff narrowed his gaze on her, but it was the evil twist in his sneer that made her stomach lurch. He knew she was lying. She could feel it in her bones.

  “Actually,” he said in a lazy voice, “since the thief brought back your grandfather’s artifact, I’m sure there wasn’t a break-in at all.”

  She held in the gasp that wanted to escape. What did he know about it? Grandfather wouldn’t have told the sheriff, not after Travis had asked him to keep quiet about the return. Switching her gaze to Travis, she studied his odd expression. His lips were tight and he held himself straight, but his hands were in fists by his side... and he was very subtly shaking his head for only her to notice.

  “However,” the sheriff continued, “I’m quite sure you’ll be able to use that magnifying glass while reading the inscription you found on the shield.”

  Her heart stilled. Fear shot through her quickly, nearly making her legs weak. She must be strong. She couldn’t let him know what they’d found.

  As she stared at the sheriff’s pocked face and brown-tooth smile, her gut told her she’d been correct about him all this time. This man was pure evil.

  IF NOT FOR THE SHERIFF’S knife sticking against Travis’ back and the threat the so-called man-of-the-law gave about torturing Scarlett if Travis didn’t go along with the evil man, Travis would have taken down the sheriff in a heartbeat. Of course, all Simpson had to do was plunge the knife in deeper and that would be the end of Travis’ life.

  He’d been in many dangerous situations before, and he learned that he couldn’t act quickly on anything. Instead, he needed to plan it out in his head before making any kind of attempt to escape. He prayed Scarlett could read the subtle gestures he’d been giving her since the sheriff made Travis walk into the parlor with him.

  His darling Scarlett was a smart woman, and by her expression of unease, he knew she felt that something was wrong. Confusion filled her face for only a few moments, but then she became the woman he’d first met after ten years when he’d noticed her talking to the sheriff the other day. She was aloof toward Simpson but in a charming way.

  “The shield?” She aimed her question at the sheriff, cocking her head and appearing perplexed. “I’m afraid I don’t know what you’re referring to. The shield has not been returned. Where did you hear something so preposterous?” She chuckled, still putting on a good show. “My grandfather has said nothing of his artifact being returned.”

  Shaking his head, the sheriff tsked. “I’m sorry you haven’t been informed then, because I assure you, Marvin mentioned it to me not too long ago.”

  “Then perhaps I should go find my grandfather and have him explain it to me.”

  Scarlett moved toward the door, and Simpson pressed the knife against Travis’ back a little harder. He reached out and stopped her. Not only did the sheriff not want her to go into her grandfather’s study, Travis definitely didn’t want her seeing what the sheriff had done to Marvin. There was too much blood, and Scarlett wouldn’t be able to handle seeing someone she loved so bloodied and mangled. Thankfully, the servants were tending to Marvin upon the sheriff’s request. They were also warned not to run and tell anyone, or he’d kill Scarlett.

  “No, stay here,” Travis told her in a calm voice, “and do what the sheriff asks.”

  She scowled. “Why should I? He’s talking nonsense, I tell you.”

  Simpson’s chuckle was deeper and louder. “Listen to your lover, Scarlett, because if you don’t, he’s going to feel the knife I have against his back slicing through his skin at any moment.”

  Scarlett gasped and clutched Travis’ hands. Her face began to lose color. “What is going on?”

  “It appears,” Travis said tightly, “that the sheriff has something to do with taking – and returning – the shield, and now he wants us to tell him where the treasure is hidden.”

  She shifted her attention to the sheriff and glared. “All this time I’ve known you, and I’ve never been able to trust you. Now I know why. Not only are you an imbecile, but you’ve completely lost your mind.”

  Inwardly, Travis groaned. It wasn’t wise to upset a man with a knife – especially one that is determined to get his way. Travis prayed she hadn’t upset the man too much.

  “Oh, Miss Scarlett, you are very comical, and I might say, a very good performer. Unfortunately, you’re not as good as me. I haven’t lost my mind, but I am very serious in my search to find the hidden treasure from Spain.”

  “There is no hidden treasure, I assure you.”

  “And I don’t believe you, Scarlett. Your grandfather didn’t want to tell me where the shield was until I beat it out of him.”

  She gasped and covered her hand over her mouth. Tears filled her eyes as her face turned pale.

  “He told me,” the sheriff continued, “that you and the Pinkerton agent were examining it. And then when Hancock came into your grandfather’s study with hopeful excitement all over his face, I knew you’d found something. Now, please don’t make me ask again for the shield.”

  She shook her head. “I’ve already told you—”

  The knife sliced through Travis’ suit jacket, vest, and shirt, and pierced his skin. He released a painful groan but tried his best to mask it in front of Scarlett.

  “Do as I say,” the sheriff warned, “or your lover is going to feel my knife slice right through to his heart.”

  She whimpered and held Travis’ hands tighter, staring into his eyes. He breathed slowly, trying to ease the discomfort from the blade. “Do as he asks. Remember what I told you. There is no treasure. The rumors aren’t true.”

  She nodded and pulled away, walking toward the sofa. It was obvious by her stance that her body was trembling. He wanted to hold her close to him and comfort her. However, until he could figure out how to stop the sheriff, they must abide by his wishes.

  Scarlett reached behind the pillow and pulled out the shield, showing it to the sheriff.

  “Bring it here,” Simpson demanded.

  Her hands shook as she carried it to him. The sheriff didn’t take it. “Show me what you found.”