Chapter Seven
SISTER .
Liam had hoped for second cousin or half-niece or something a little more removed than sister . But there it was, and it hung in the air as an accusation.
And for the first time, he sympathized with his own sister’s now-husband, Jeremiah Wiley, when Liam had first discovered their marriage and Jeremiah had indicated that it had simply been a convenient option. He’d wanted to beat the man into the ground.
Which, he supposed, was exactly how Marshal Wright felt toward him right now.
“I didn’t know she was there,” he said. It was honest, mostly. He didn’t know the woman who’d wandered into his room and fallen asleep was Miss Wright. Although it should have occurred to him that it might have been her, he realized now.
The marshal didn’t believe him. That much was clear from the set of his jaw. And it didn’t matter that Miss Wright piped up to agree with Liam, because her brother paid her no mind at all.
“Miss Darby,” Wright said without looking behind him. “I don’t suppose you’re in the habit of handing out keys to gentlemen’s rooms to your lady guests?” Around the corner, behind Liam, the entire parlor was silent. They were all hanging onto every word of this conversation, and Liam wished he could disappear between the floorboards.
“Of course not.” Miss Darby said immediately. “This is a respectable house.”
Miss Wright’s face tinged red, and even though she had caused this situation, Liam couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. It was one thing for accusation like this to fall on him, and quite another for a young lady. It was embarrassing—particularly with a room full of men listening nearby—but nothing that would ruin him in the way it could her.
Unless, of course, Marshal Wright decided to act upon the fury Liam saw in his expression.
“I know that it is,” Wright said, and Miss Darby looked visibly relieved at those words. He kept his gaze on Liam. “Which means that you’re lying to me.”
Liam wished he hadn’t eaten such a big supper, because it all felt as if it might come up. What was the man going to do? Challenge him to a duel out on the street? Slap him in handcuffs and haul him away to jail?
“I left the door unlocked.” He tried to sound confident and undisturbed, but his voice came out too high and too uncertain.
“You may be many things, Hannan, but you’re not a fool.”
Liam didn’t know what to say to that at all.
“Gentlemen,” Miss Darby said gently. “Might we continue this in the office? For Miss Wright’s sake.”
“That would be most appreciated,” Liam said, eager to get away from the audience in the parlor.
“Fine.” Marshal Wright turned on his heel and led the way toward the first room off the hallway.
Miss Darby stopped for a moment to have a hushed conversation with her brother, who was at the front desk. Liam waited, less than eager to be in the same room alone with the marshal. Mr. Darby glared at him over his sister’s shoulder, so Liam let his gaze stray to Miss Wright, who hovered uncertainly outside the office door.
Her eyes met his. “I’m sorry,” she said, barely audible. “I only wanted to tell you how happy I was that you’d introduced me to Deirdre, and I must have fallen asleep.”
She could have easily told him such a thing in the parlor or at the land office or anywhere far away from his room at the boardinghouse. But she looked so upset that he swallowed his initial response and instead found himself wishing he could rest a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
“It was a mistake,” he found himself saying. “We all make them.”
She nodded, her big green eyes growing watery. What she needed now was a shoulder to rest her head on and someone to put an arm around her and reassure her that all would be well.
Liam shook his head to rid himself of that vision as Miss Darby approached. She led the way into the office. Liam didn’t dare walk in too far. Staying near the door allowed him an easy escape from any urge Wright might have to throttle him.
Miss Darby gestured to a chair, and Miss Wright perched herself on the edge of it. She reminded Liam of a bird about to take flight. Miss Darby settled herself behind the desk. She rested her hands in her lap, and for the first time, Liam noticed how young she was. She couldn’t yet be thirty, and yet she possessed the air of a woman much older with the way she looked at the two men before her.
“Mr. Hannan, my brother and I are in agreement that you must leave immediately. I’m sure you understand that we can’t afford any whiff of rumor to tarnish our establishment. And Miss Wright, I’m afraid you must leave also. But I’m certain your brother will take you in.” She leveled a gaze at the marshal that almost dared him to say otherwise.
Liam swallowed. Darby’s was the nicest boardinghouse in town. He could hardly afford the Crest Stone Hotel if he wanted to save his money for his business, and he didn’t relish living among the sorts of men who stayed at Fred Polson’s Boardinghouse. But that was the least of his worries right now, particularly with the way Wright was glowering at him.
If Miss Wright was upset at her eviction from Darby’s, she didn’t show it. She sat with her chin lifted and a determined look upon her face. “I won’t go back to Kansas,” she said, the words directed at her brother. “I came here to start my own life, to marry and to find a place away from farming.”
“As much as I’d like to ship you back on the next train out, it wouldn’t help,” Wright said in a strained voice.
“It wouldn’t?” Miss Wright couldn’t hide the surprise that colored her face, and Liam supposed she’d been bracing herself to argue her point with her brother.
“This entire boardinghouse knows what happened, and by tomorrow, I’m certain the whole town will be aware,” Wright said, his eyes on Liam again. “I wouldn’t be surprised if word made its way back to our parents in Kansas.”
“Surely you’re exaggerating.” Liam wished he could take the words back as fire flared in Wright’s eyes.
“You don’t get to have an opinion on this matter,” the marshal snapped at him.
“If you’re speaking about me, then I do.” He didn’t want to antagonize the man, but he refused to let himself be bullied. He wasn’t the sort of man who let others hurl false accusations at him and simply take it without speaking up.
“You took advantage of my sister,” Wright practically growled.
Liam straightened and took a step forward. “I did no such thing! Miss Wright came here of her own volition. I knew nothing about it, I didn’t ask her here, and I certainly did not invite her into my room.”
“He didn’t,” Miss Wright added. She cast a pleading look at her brother. “If you can’t believe him, you should believe me. All Mr. Hannan did was kindly pay for a room for me. This is all my fault. I’ve made a mess of everything.” She dropped her head into her hands. “I only ever wanted to be married.”
Wright’s gaze shot back to Liam. “Did he offer to marry you?”
Liam fought the urge to run right out the door, but then Miss Wright turned sorrowful eyes toward him. “No,” she said, her voice resigned. “There was an advertisement, and I thought . . . I was wrong.”
As long as he’d lived, Liam had never seen anyone look so heartbroken. He wished he could do something that would make her smile again. Instead, not only would she find herself unmarried, she would have to face down the rumors that would find their way around town after tonight.
It was so unfair that it made him want to do something to protect her.
“An advertisement?” Marshal Wright asked, looking at Liam now.
“Through Mrs. Gilbert’s agency,” Liam said. “It was . . .” He trailed off. Noting that he hadn’t meant to place the advertisement felt disingenuous. After all, he had written it. And he did hope to place it at some point in the future, when he was more established.
And if he were honest with himself, Miss Wright was precisely the sort of lady he’d hoped might answer it.
He looked from Wright, who was still sizing him up as if he wanted nothing more than to haul him outside and show him exactly what he thought of him, to Miss Darby who watched him with an expectant look, to Miss Wright, whose despair was written all over her face.
And he knew what the answer was.
There was only one way to satisfy the marshal, save Miss Wright from being shipped back to Kansas in ruin, and keep himself on good terms with the Darbys and everyone else in town.
Liam swallowed and shoved down every doubt he had.
“I’ll marry her.”