The three-fifty train from Eureka Springs allowed passengers to check into the Pullman sleeping car and travel without changing trains all the way to St. Louis. This had proven to be a lifesaver for Lucas. Without having to worry that Miss Brimm or one of her maids might try to escape during a stop, Lucas was free to get a precious few hours of sleep.
At least that was the theory.
“You understand,” he said, “that there’s nowhere to run on this train?”
She stood her ground, and for that he had to give her credit. “George,” she called to the Pullman porter, “when you get a chance, could you turn down my bunk? I’m so tired I could fall asleep right now and not wake up until we get to St. Louis.”
“Yes, ma’am,” the uniformed fellow said with a grin. “Just let me get a couple of folks settled on the other side of this car, and I’ll be back to take good care of you.”
Flora Brimm looked up at Lucas, her blue eyes wide and her expression as innocent as a woman that beautiful could manage. “Now, what was it you were saying about running?”
An image of those same eyes looking up at him while she danced in the rain jolted him, followed quickly by the remainder of how soft her hair felt in his hand. How close he came to kissing her.
“Nothing,” he managed.
“All right. I’ll see you in St. Louis.”
Miss Brimm quietly slipped behind the curtains of her sleeper compartment, and he didn’t hear from her again the remainder of the day. Sometime after the evening meal was served, he sent a maid in to check on her, but the woman returned with news that Miss Brimm was attempting to sleep. A similar result came a few hours later when another maid was sent in to check on why Miss Brimm did not wish to eat the meal that was offered.
When the train finally arrived at the depot in St. Louis, Lucas breathed a sigh of relief. Then, as he always did, he tucked away the small sense of victory of getting this far safely and began planning for the next step of the mission to capture the individual he was pursuing.
This part of the journey would be the most tricky as he had little control over the goings-on aboard the steamboat. He could hardly confine Miss Brimm to her quarters, though he intended to highly encourage she remain there.
Now, however, he had to get her and the maids and the luggage transported between the train station and the docks without incident. A daunting task, to say the least.
“Miss Brimm, we’ve arrived. You’ll need to leave the train soon.”
No response.
Lucas moved closer to her compartment. “Miss Brimm?”
“I heard you,” she said without moving the curtain.
“And?”
“And I will leave the train…soon.”
“I’ll just go see to the luggage. Please don’t dawdle, though. We have a schedule to keep, and though I know you’re Flora Brimm of the Natchez Brimms, I doubt the captain of the steamboat will wait for your late arrival.”
He stood near the curtain for another minute and heard nothing but silence. Shaking his head, he made his way toward the exit.
He stepped off the train into the St. Louis depot with his usual amount of caution. Though he’d never been ambushed in a rail station, there was always a first time.
He glanced around for the Pullman porter and found he’d already collected all the luggage and piled it neatly together. “Thank you, George,” he said as he gave the man a generous tip. “And thank you for helping me keep tabs on the ladies.”
The porter grinned. “You did all the work, sir. All I did was watch to be sure none of ’em took a mind to leave the train before it came to a stop here in St. Louis.”
“That’s true, I suppose.” Lucas spied the maids gathering near the pile of trunks and bags.
After waiting as patiently as he could, he finally motioned for one of the women to come forward. “Please check to see if Miss Brimm will be joining us in St. Louis.”
“Yes, sir.”
A few minutes later, she returned. “Miss Brimm will be along directly, sir.”
“And when, exactly, is directly?” He pulled his watch out of his pocket to check the time. “We need to be down at the dock right now.” Again he beckoned the porter. “Might I trouble you to get the bags and those ladies into a transport so we don’t miss our boat? I’m afraid I’m going to have to go in and haul out Miss Brimm by force.”
“Goodness, no!” he said, though his expression showed he knew Lucas was teasing. “Don’t be claiming that. I’d have to turn you in if I saw you mistreating that wonderful lady.”
“Wonderful lady, indeed.” Shaking his head, Lucas stalked back to the Pullman palace sleeping car. “Miss Brimm,” he called. “I demand you present yourself immediately. I refuse to miss the boat just because a woman in my custody cannot ready herself in time to—”
“All right,” he heard her say from behind the curtain. “I’m coming.”
The curtains parted and she emerged. Apparently, though she had slept a great deal, she hadn’t slept well, for dark circles were under her eyes. As he reached for the bag she handed him, Lucas noticed her yawning.
“Unhappy with your accommodations?” he asked as he slung the bag over his shoulder.
“No, they were fine.” Another yawn. “I just don’t sleep comfortably in a strange bed. It felt as though there were lumps of coal under the mattress.”
“Like the story of the princess and the pea?” He allowed his gaze to sweep over her. “You don’t look any worse for wear.”
In fact, she looked absolutely stunning. The dress she’d donned was just the right shade of blue to bring out the color in her eyes, and one of the maids had dressed her hair in some sort of fancy style that made her look like the princess he’d just teased her about.
“Thank you,” she said. “I think.”
“Ready?” he asked for lack of anything else to say. “Or are there other bags I need to carry?”
“No, that’s all. I’m ready.”
Lucas followed her out of the Pullman sleeper and escorted her to a rather fine carriage pulled by a matched pair of bay mares.
“Where are the maids and all our trunks?”
“Already in route,” he said. “There was no need for them to wait while you completed your toilette this morning.”
Miss Brimm rolled her eyes as the carriage pulled away from the depot. “I’m not as regal as all that, you know. It’s just that I’ve had the habit of traveling a particular way.”
“Is that so?”
“Grandmama had a sleeper berth designed just for me that’s dark and has extra padding on the mattress so I don’t feel the motion of the train as much.” Another yawn. “I’ll likely sleep my way down the Mississippi, however. No trouble on steamboats unless I have too much tea before bedtime.”
He should have felt bad about his teasing, but instead Lucas counted the infirmity as a plus. If she remained in her cabin, there was little trouble she could find there.
Once they reached Natchez there would be trouble enough. Lucas had a hunch he would find more than just Will Tucker to worry about once they disembarked in Miss Brimm’s hometown.
Exactly what, he hadn’t yet decided. Still, he had the distinct feeling he was walking into a trap. Before he could think on it long, the carriage had pulled to a stop.
The docks teemed with life, a population overflowing with everyone from baggage handlers and dockworkers to well-dressed men and women in their finery. Women like Flora Brimm.
“All right,” he said. “Stay close.”
Lucas helped her from the carriage and kept a tight hold on her elbow as he maneuvered her around crates, persons of all colors and ages, and more than a few animals to reach the dock where the steamboat floated at anchor.
She paused to smile. “I don’t believe I’ve traveled aboard this one before. It’s lovely.”
The cabin-level entrance to the Americus was reached through a staircase some two stories in height. On either side of the staircase was an ornate column supporting an arch above proclaiming the vessel’s name.
Oblivious to the chaos on the dock behind her, Miss Brimm swept up the stairs with only her handbag and the Bible she’d been carrying since she left the Crescent Hotel. If he hadn’t been ashamed of himself for being suspicious, Lucas might have thought she was smuggling evidence of some sort inside the Good Book.
The staircase spilled out onto an oversized carpeted salon that appeared to run the length of this portion of the steamboat and most of the width. Crystal chandeliers as big as wagon wheels dotted the ceiling and marched in two rows above tables already set for what appeared to be a grand supper.
Or dinner, as Mama and Miss Brimm would have termed it.
At the far end of the room was a raised platform containing a grand piano and several stringed instruments. Apparently, meals aboard the Americus came with entertainment.
A balcony ran the length of the upper floor and, he assumed, allowed those with inside cabins to look down on the goings-on in the main salon. He’d already noticed the outside cabins had a promenade balcony that ringed the vessel. Given the choice between the two, the lawman would opt for neither. However, he hoped the rooms they had been assigned would offer fresh air rather than the sounds of an orchestra tuning up for the next meal.
“It’s beautiful,” Miss Brimm said as she came to stand beside him. “If I didn’t know better, I would think we were in a lovely hotel in Paris or London.”
“Your name and destination, please?” a steward asked as he hurried toward them.
“McMinn. We’re headed to Natchez.”
The uniformed fellow looked around them and then returned his attention to Lucas. “Just the two of you, sir?”
“I suppose you could say that.” Lucas shrugged. “Two of us plus three maids and twice as many trunks.”
If the steward thought the statement unusual or rife with sarcasm, he gave no indication. Rather he made a note in the pad he carried and tucked the paper in his jacket pocket and gave a curt bow. “Do come this way, please, Mr. and Mrs. McMinn.”
“Oh, I’m not Mrs. McMinn,” Miss Brimm protested.
The steward looked down his nose at her, and then he returned his attention to Lucas. He gave the fellow a don’t-you-dare-protest look.
“Yes, well, this way,” he said as he led them up to the stateroom level. “Our best passengers are on this floor. You’ll dine in our dining room and can relax in our well-appointed lounge. I’m sure you saw those on your way up the stairs.” His attention went to Miss Brimm. “There is also a ladies’ cabin for your use and enjoyment should you wish an environment free of those of the male persuasion.”
“Thank you,” she said as she pointedly stared at Lucas. “I’m sure I shall like that very much.”
The steward gestured to a pair of doors side by side. “These are your rooms.”
Outer cabins, Lucas noted. At least he would have a place to find some fresh air if need be. And then a thought occurred. “They don’t connect, do they?”
“They do not, sir, though if you wish I could find a pair of rooms that do—”
“No,” Lucas and Miss Brimm said together.
He retrieved the pad from his pocket. “I’ll just check to be sure your luggage has been properly stowed and your staff shown to their accommodations. Will you be in need of anything else before dinner?”
“No, thank you,” Lucas said as he placed a coin in the man’s palm.
When the steward had hurried away, Lucas escorted Flora Brimm to her stateroom. He opened the door to take a quick glance inside. Unlike the lavish attention to decoration down in the salon, this stateroom was serviceable, almost plain.
One narrow bed lined up against a wall while a chair and dresser with a pitcher and washbasin sat across from it. A passenger who awakened during the night need only to lean out of bed and reach for the pitcher, so tiny was the space.
Light poured in through the windows on the door that led to the balcony ringing the upper level of the steamboat. When night fell, an oil lamp that hung over the lone chair would have to suffice.
“Not exactly fit for a princess,” he said with a grin. “Should I check under the mattress for a pea?”
“I know you think you’re funny,” Flora said as she swept past him to place her Bible and handbag on the dresser. “But I think your humor is masking something.” She gave him a pointed look. “The question is what?”
Ignoring the question, he stepped out into the hall. “I’ll give you a few minutes to get settled, and then I would like you to meet me out on the balcony.”
“Why is that?”
“Until this vessel sails, Miss Brimm, I plan to keep you within sight.”
“I’ve told you repeatedly that I want Mr. Tucker found. And knowing what I do about his innocence, why would I risk him looking guilty?”
“Fair enough, but if you’re being followed, I’m going to know probably before you do.”
“You think Mr. Tucker could be aboard?”
He shook his head. “It’s doubtful, but I am not taking any chances.”
“Well, you have me next door to you. How convenient.”
“Our cabins are side-by-side so I can keep tabs on you. As I said, nothing’s going to happen to you on this voyage without my knowledge.”
She shrugged. “I’m so tired I could be asleep within the hour, so honestly I don’t suppose it matters where you or I sleep.”
Oh, but it did. Lovely as she was, Lucas knew the woman could easily invade his dreams if he allowed it. And knowing they shared a thin stateroom wall might make those dreams much more difficult to dismiss.
“I’ll be back in five minutes. Don’t think of leaving without me. Remember, there is still a warrant for your arrest back in Eureka Springs. Once you’re out of my personal custody, you’re a fugitive, Miss Brimm. Do you understand?”
“I make no promises,” was her cryptic response.
“You’re not serious, are you?”
She waved away his question and turned her back on him to reach for her Bible.
Deciding she was properly warned and decently occupied, Lucas stepped over to open the door to his stateroom. Finding a room that was a mirror image of the one he’d just left, Lucas stepped past the bed and dresser to stand at the door leading to the balcony.
He drew in a deep breath of the humid air and then let it out slowly in hopes he could release some of his concerns too. It didn’t work. Nothing but catching Will Tucker would.
Lucas thought of Flora Brimm. Of the Bible she carried all the way from Eureka Springs. He’d give his eyeteeth for a Bible about now. Something that could give him the guidance and assurance he needed that the way he was now traveling was the right one.
That he hadn’t gone off on this investigation with revenge as the only motive.
But the well-worn copy of the New Testament he usually traveled with now lay buried six feet under in a coffin made for a true princess. And like it or not, Will Tucker was the reason for it all.
Lucas stepped back from the window with its view of St. Louis and the docks and settled onto the chair to rest his head against the wall. Though he knew the woman who could lead him to Tucker was just on the other side of the partition, he needed to take a few minutes to get right with the Lord first.
Sliding off the chair, he knelt in the middle of the tiny stateroom and laid out all his complaints against Will Tucker, Flora Brimm, and the Lord Himself. When he was finished, Lucas remained right there, keeping his silence until he decided God wasn’t ready to talk to him just yet.
Slowly he climbed to his feet and walked toward the door. He could practically reach Flora Brimm’s cabin while standing in his own, so it only took a moment to close his door and knock on hers.
When there was no immediate answer, Lucas tried again. “Miss Brimm, open the door, please,” he said none too quietly.
Of course she ignored him. First the Lord and now this aggravating woman. Didn’t anyone want to speak to him?
Lucas tried the knob, which yielded to his hand. He opened the door and stepped inside. While her Bible remained on the dresser, the woman and her handbag were nowhere to be found. He went out into the hall and turned his attention to the steward at the end of it.
“Have you seen Miss Brimm?”
The fellow’s shrug was not the answer Lucas wanted. He gritted his teeth. He would search every inch of this vessel if he had to, and if he did not find Flora Brimm, she and not Will Tucker would become the focus of the investigation. For while Tucker had fooled someone Lucas loved, Miss Brimm would have managed to fool him.
And that wasn’t a possibility he wanted to consider.