style="font-size:15px;"> “You’re leaving?” Marissa asked in alarm.
Lorelei shot him a glance that told him exactly what she thought of his blunt way of telling the couple. “I’m afraid so. I’m so sorry! I know this leaves you in a lurch.”
“We told you that you could leave whenever you liked. The problem is that the two of you would be traveling without a chaperone,” James stated gravely.
Sean shrugged. “It isn’t ideal, but it can’t be helped.”
Marissa shook her head. “You have to think about Lorelei’s reputation.”
“Her reputation,” he echoed with frustration, then glanced over his shoulder at the milling crowd that was shamelessly listening in.
“Maybe we should stay after all, Sean,” Lorelei suggested, her determination wavering. “Just until we reach the next town with a train station. Then we won’t have to worry about traveling unchaperoned.”
“No,” he said a bit too abruptly. “That could take days and days. We have to get back to Peppin. Perhaps one of the parishioners would be willing to act as our chaperone.”
“I’ll do it!”
Sean jumped in surprise at the quick response. He was still searching for the origin of that almost musical voice when a woman stepped forward to claim it. She didn’t look anything like he thought a chaperone would. She was probably older than his mother would be if she’d lived but had pulled her mousy brown curls back with a girlish ribbon.
She stepped forward again which drew his gaze downward. His eyebrows rose. The woman was wearing pants or some female variation of them. Bloomers—Sean remembered his sister Ellie calling them. They were tucked into her high buckled leather boots.
Pastor James shifted uneasily beside Sean. “I don’t think we’ve met, ma’am.”
“The name’s Miss Elmira Shrute. I’ve been traveling and came back to visit family.” The woman’s smile seemed friendly enough. “I’m about ready to head out though, so I can go with you. I assume the position would be paid?”
Sean glanced at Lorelei. Her reluctant expression turned doubtful. She cleared her throat daintily. “The little money I have, I’m going to need for traveling. Perhaps someone else would be willing…”
Her words were drowned out by a general murmur stating the opposite. Sean caught snatches of phrases like, “children to feed,” “farm to run” and “pure foolishness.” He grimaced.
Lorelei shifted slightly closer. “Well, what are we going to do?”
He glanced back at Miss Elmira. “I could pay you two dollars.”
The woman grinned. “That works for me. When do we leave?”
“Sean, I’d like a brief word with you,” Pastor James said as he took a step backward and led Sean away from the crowd. “I have to advise you against this. I’ve never met that woman before, but I know of her family. They don’t exactly have the best reputation for being honest in their dealings with folks.”
Sean frowned. “I appreciate your concern, but I’d be taking a chance with anyone I hired. Lorelei has agreed to go back with me, and I’ve got to get her moving before she changes her mind or gets a notion to take off on her own again. Miss Elmira may not be my first choice, but she is the only option.”
“It’s your decision and I respect that.” Pastor James gave a reluctant nod. “Do what you have to do. Just keep an eye out for trouble.”
They walked back to the crowd. Sean met Lorelei’s inquiring look with an affirming one of his own. His shoulders relaxed from the tension he hadn’t even realized was there. Things were finally going according to plan. Like Pastor James advised, he’d keep an eye out for trouble. It wouldn’t be hard to do since he knew exactly what it looked like—a dark-haired beauty with the knack for getting under his skin in all the wrong ways.
* * *
“Lorelei, wake up. We’ve been robbed.” Sean’s words filtered through her consciousness, rousing her with a start.
Lorelei pushed the mass of dark curls from her face. Her hairpins had disappeared and Miss Elmira had refused to part with even one of her ribbons to help out a bedraggled fellow traveler. After two days of traveling, the woman had turned out to be as mean as she was peculiar. Lorelei realized Sean knelt at her side, so she propped herself on her elbow and frowned at him. “Was anyone hurt? Is Miss Elmira all right?”
“If I had to speculate, I’d say Miss Elmira is feeling pretty good right about now.” He crossed his arms and glared out into the woods. “James was right about her. She must have taken off in the middle of the night, and my wallet went with her.”
“Miss Elmira robbed us?” She glanced around to find her valise, but it was gone.
“Yes, and it’s a little unsettling because she must have touched me to get my wallet and I never even felt it. In fact, I’ve never slept so deeply in my life. You don’t think that tea she gave us…”
“At this point, I wouldn’t put it past her,” Lorelei said with a stifled yawn. “At least she left your horse.”
He nodded. “She had her own horse. Besides, horse thieving is a hanging offense.”
“What do we do? Should we go back to the Brightlys?”
Sean moved toward the fire he’d built and poured himself a cup of coffee. “I’m sure they’ve moved on by now. It would take longer to catch up with them than to simply keep going to the nearest train station.”
“But we don’t have any money!” She threw her bedroll aside and began to pace. “I suppose I could ask my father to wire us some once we get to town. That’s probably the only option.”
“I was kind of hoping you might say that,” he admitted.
She sighed as she sank down onto a log across from him. “I can’t believe I’ve been robbed twice since I left Peppin. What is wrong with this world?”
He glanced at her over his steaming cup. “An impulsive young woman ran off to California alone. That’s what’s wrong with the world.”
She groaned. “You’d think there might be a grace period for fifteen minutes after I wake up, but no! You have to let me know you disapprove of me before I even have my coffee. I got that message a long time ago. Now, hand it over.”
“Get your own.” He nodded to the tin cup resting on the ground next to the coffeepot and ignored her rant. “At least she left us enough supplies to get to town.”
She poured herself a cup, then blew away some of the steam. “I wish she’d left a letter of authentication, as well. ‘To whom it may concern. This letter is to verify that in addition to my work as a thief I also dabble in conartistry—’”
“Conartistry?” Sean frowned, which was the closest thing to a smile she’d seen all morning.
She held up one finger and shook her head. “Let me finish. ‘I also dabble
