“That suggestion has merit. If it works, we may be able to get over our initial feelings of discomfort.”
“I’ll retire to the corridor in that case. You may take your time. I’ll go to the lobby and buy a newspaper.”
“Very well, Mr. Burdette. I will see you in ten minutes.”
It sounded like a fine plan and might have worked had they not been so shy about their own bodies. When Nathan returned, he undressed, not in front of Victoria but in the bathroom. He ran, naked and embarrassed, from the bath to the bed. He pulled the covers up to his chin and stared at the ceiling.
Nothing changed. Nathan couldn’t bring himself to talk to Victoria or reach out for her. Victoria couldn’t get past her native shyness. After half an hour of silence which threatened each moment to make them run screaming from the room, Nathan said, “We must rethink this. We must be going at it wrong.”
“Yes. I hate to fail, yet we have failed completely.”
“This situation and the possibility of complete failure brings up something I should have mentioned earlier. I will make sure you have a place to stay, food to eat and money for living expenses while you’re here. If we don’t solve this problem, I will reimburse you for all your expenses and make up for any salary you may have lost. You may consider this room as yours as long as you wish. I need to go to the office. I will pick you up here at six this evening, and we will go to dinner if that’s acceptable.”
“It is.”
Nathan paused. He started to lift the sheet to look at Victoria before he got out of bed. It rose two inches and stopped.
Victoria saw the movement and wanted to help it along but didn’t know how. They both looked at the sheet in despair.
Nathan finally slid out of the bed and fled to the bathroom.
When he was dressed, he stepped out and said, “Until tonight then, Mrs. Burdette.”
“Yes. Until tonight, Mr. Burdette.”
Chapter Six
Artimis Gordon watched the progress of Nathan and Victoria with mirth. He followed them from the train station to the Justice of the Peace. He saw the aborted bridal kiss and laughed.
Artimis rented the room next to Victoria and Nathan. He’d been there earlier and bored a small hole in the wall. It wasn’t hidden very well; but Nathan and Victoria were so uncomfortable, he could have blown a hole ten feet high in the thing, and they wouldn’t have noticed.
He had to put his hand over his mouth again and again to keep the sound of his smirking laughter away from the couple in the next room.
Artimis Gordon was a thorough and detail oriented man. He saw the likelihood of the marriage never resulting in intimacy, much less an heir, but he liked to plan for all eventualities. He met with a man who’d ridden in that afternoon. They went to the saloon and used a back room to talk.
The man was a lawyer from Kansas City named Andrew Metzgar. He wasn’t exactly a lawyer. He’d been disbarred the year before for rank bribery of a judge. He was a slovenly man with stains on his coat and vest and a dirty collar on his shirt.
Andrew handed Artimis a pile of documents. Artimis looked them over casually. “Are these real?”
“Define reality. They’re real enough to occupy time and space. There they sit before you. You can touch them. Hold them. That’s reality.”
Artimis took a moment to make himself calm down. He said, in a reasonable voice, “Are they legal and authentic?”
“Hell, no. You know they can’t be. The Manning woman has never been accused of a crime. She didn’t commit these. Look them over. You’ll see they’ll fool the local yokels in Denver. Where’s my money?”
“Waiting for you in Kansas City.”
“What?”
“I’m not going to give you money now and have you paint the town with it and draw attention to yourself.” He placed carefully stacked bills on the table. “Here’s money for expenses.” He dropped a piece of paper on top of the money. “And here’s the information on the bank account that contains your money.” He raised his voice. “Slim. Come in here.”
A cowboy who may have been slim at some point in his life and now looked bulky and menacing stomped into the room. Artimis continued, “And here’s the nice man who will take you to the train station, buy your ticket for you and see you off on the train.” Artimis stood up. “You’ve done well, Metzgar. Finish it. Go back to Kansas City and enjoy yourself. We’ve completed our business.
Chapter Seven
Victoria and Nathan were reduced to a pile of nerves and confusion by the time Nathan came back. Both had thought of nothing but how to get through the next few hours intact.