Her
heart raced from more than the pace, and she wished Athena hadn’t insisted on
such a wide brim for her hat. Held this close to him, she couldn’t see his
face, couldn’t even guess what was going through his mind right that moment.
He
slowed at a door with a large brass "E" in place of a nameplate,
thumped four times in an odd rhythm, and hurried into the next office down the
hallway. Ess stumbled when he gave her a little shove into the room, and a
moment later the door slammed behind them.
"You
rascal. You scoundrel," he said, the rasp deepening, threatening to crack
his voice. He caught hold of her again, shook her once, then held her out to
arm’s length, his fingers digging into her shoulders deep enough to bruise. His
eyes flicked back and forth, studying her features.
"Stanton?"
Mr. Randall Endicott said, opening the door and stepping in after only the
shortest rap.
"Look
what the tide dropped on our doorstep." Lewis turned Ess around so quickly
she nearly lost her balance. It was a good thing he kept his tight grip on her
shoulders.
"Odessa,"
the elder partner whispered. He took two jerky steps forward. For a few
seconds, she thought he might collapse -- or lunge forward and shake her until
her neck snapped.
Then
Endicott tipped his head back and laughed, until he staggered back a step and
had to catch his breath. Lewis let go of her and hurried to fetch a chair for
the older man to sit down.
She
complied when Endicott held out his hand, and gave hers into his grasp.
"Shades
of Matilda and Ernest," Lewis said, bringing over another chair for Ess.
He settled on the edge of the massive desk, shaking his head and grinning. "You
wouldn’t believe the story this scapegrace told, coming in here. A false name,
a Pinkerton agent, and working for one of the premier historical consortiums in
the world. Girl -- no, young lady --
what have you been up to?"
No comments:
Post a Comment