fingers paused at buttoning the trousers. “You’ll still be Hester. what is your last name?”
“Potter.”
“Very well, we will be Mr. and Mrs. Potter. I…I will be Albert. I have always admired the name. I purchased something else to go with my new look.” Ann fished about in the hatbox. Finding what she was searching for, she pulled it out and showed it to Hester.
“It’s a mustache. I thought my face might be too smooth, so this should take care of that just fine.” Ann held it to her upper lip.
“It’s the wrong color.”
“It’s just a little darker, that’s all. I’ve seen lots of men whose mustaches weren’t the same exact color as their hair.”
Hester could not hold back the laughter that bubbled forth. “Did you have to get such a bushy one?” she managed to ask.
“We can trim it,” Ann stated defensively.
Hester shook her head. “What about your hair?” she asked.
“My hair?”
Hester marked on the pants where she would take in the waist. “Gentlemen do not have hair to their hips.”
Knowing Hester was right, a single tear trickled down Ann’s cheek. As Edmund had pointed out, her hair was her only beautiful quality. “You will have to cut it.”
Hester forced back a smile. “Such a shame.”
“It will grow again,” Ann said, more to herself than to the abigail.
The women began their work. They had a lot to do if they were to be ready for tomorrow’s journey.
While the bellboys attended to the luggage, Ann took one last look at herself in the mirror. She still had trouble believing that she and the image were one and the same. She really did look like a gentlemanfrom the suit to the top hat-and even the watch fob and cane that finished off the entire look. Edmund often said her low, raspy voice made her sound more like a man. The mustache didn’t look right, but there was little she could do about it now. She turned away and shoved the derringer into her coat pocket. Now she would find out if she could fool others.
As Ann and Hester hurried behind the porter carrying their luggage, Ann had to fight back a sense of giddiness. The man in front hadn’t even looked twice at them. Women openly flirted with her-no, they flirted with Albert. Her disguise was working. Ann started to relax. As her confidence grew, she even lengthened her stride, tapping her cane on the floor with every other step.
Ann turned to encourage the huffing Hester to move faster, when she ran into a solid, jarring object. After some fast handwork to catch her hat, which had been knocked off, she looked to see what she had run into. To her shock, it turned out to be a man!
Ann resented the way the man looked at her with smoldering black eyes. After all, it had been an accident. Then, completely dismissing her before she’d had a chance to apologize, he circled his arms around the woman he was with. His lips captured the redhead’s in a kiss that had Ann’s cheeks burning from embarrassment. No gentleman would kiss a lady in such a manner, and certainly not in public!
Disgusted at having to witness the man’s lack of chivalry, Ann straightened her vest and continued after Hester. Still, she couldn’t resist looking back at the man who had towered over her. He and the woman remained locked in an embrace. She had never seen a man wearing a white doeskin frock coat before, let alone one with fringes down the arms. True, it was a bit worn; nevertheless, it was indeed a magnificent piece of apparel. But then she had never seen anything quite like the man wearing it, either. His dark shoulder-length hair, chiseled features and wide breadth culminated in pure masculinity. She found him to be quite intimidating.
After entering their car, Ann and Hester settled themselves on the red horsehair seat in the Pullman coach. Hester glanced around at the lavish accommodations. Fine wood lined the interior, and brass lanterns with green glass swung from the clerestory. The porter had even informed Albert that there was a saloon car on the train where passengers could relax on soft sofas and men could smoke.
“Are you comfortable?” Ann asked Hester.
“I will be as soon as I catch my breath.”
Ann was anxious for the train to be on its way. They wouldn’t be safe until they had departed New York.
Seated next to the window, Ann looked out to see if anyone suspicious was stationed about. Her gaze ceased its traveling when it came to rest on the same tall man she’d bumped into. He was again kissing the beautiful redhead but was obviously trying to pull away from her.
The whistle blew and the conductor shouted, “Last call! All aboard!”
The train jerked, then the wheels slowly moved forward. Ann became intrigued. Was it the dark-haired man or the red-haired woman who was supposed to be boarding?
As the train picked up momentum, Ann lost sight of- the couple who were obviously very much in love and hated to part. She would never know what happened, or why either had to leave.
“Howdy, sir.”
Ann looked up and found herself staring at the very same towering figure she had just been thinking about. His eyes were warm and friendly and so dark they looked black. Though she couldn’t call him handsome in the sense of being pretty like Edmund, he was undoubtedly the most magnificent rogue she had ever seen. She nodded her acknowledgment, but made no reply.
“Are you traveling far?” he asked Ann as he took the seat directly across the aisle from Hester.
“Ah. er.” Even his voice was deep and pleasing to the ear. “Just to Coloda.”
“You mean Colorado?”
Ann reminded herself that as long as she and Hester remained to themselves, fewer problems would arise. But just looking at the stranger had caused a pleasant fluttering in the pit of her stomach. “Yes. That’s the village.”
“Village?” He chuckled. “Are you sure you know where you’re going? Colorado is a territory, not a village.”
“We’re going to Arizona Territory,” Hester inserted.
Ann resented Hester’s intrusion.
The man removed his low-crowned hat and placed it on the empty seat beside him. “Looks like we’re going to be traveling for a spell together. Name’s Nathan Bishop. Folks call me Nate. I’m also headed for Denver.”
“Quite a spell?” Hester repeated. “You’ve been misinformed. Colorado is only a day or two away.”
Nate chuckled. “I don’t know who you’ve been talking to, but it’s a six-day trip to Colorado.”
“Six?” Hester gasped. “But
