Page 31 of Fairest of Heart

“Jenny insisted on taking the children,” Hathaway was saying, “and I indulged her. I think the entire town turned out. The show was quite good. On par with performances I’ve seen at the Scottish Rite here in Austin. The headlining actress, Madame LaBelle, was utterly captivating. I met her after the show, and she was kind enough to give me a tour backstage, where I stumbled across a second beauty.

“A shy little thing with big gray eyes. She clung to the shadows, but I managed to draw her out for a brief moment when Madame LaBelle excused herself to have a word with the manager. There was an innocence about the girl that drew me to her. So young and fresh-faced. Yet she had curves that would tempt a saint, a fact she tried to hide beneath a shapeless beige gown. Only a connoisseur of women like myself would have noticed.”

Titus’s pulse throbbed as visions of a fresh-faced girl with big gray eyes danced through his mind. A girl who’d worn a shapeless tan dress that might be considered beige. A girl who’d been in the vicinity of Eulogy the day he’d met her.

Titus cleared his throat. “Back to the pin.”

“Ah, of course.” Hathaway grinned, the expression slightly sheepish but not exactly repentant. “I discovered it missing the following morning.”

“But you had it when you changed for bed that night?”

“Well, I cannot be completely certain.” Hathaway shot another one of those man-to-man glances at Titus. “I took the lady to dinner and back to my quarters for a bottle of wine and a little . . . entertainment. Getting ready for bed that evening was a bit . . . shall we say . . . haphazard.”

“Which lady?” Titus barely forced the words through his constricted throat. If this cad had touched Penelope . . .

Hathaway’s blue eyes danced with mischief. “A gentleman never tells.”

A gentleman never strangled an unarmed man with his bare hands, either, but Titus was seriously considering it.

Quit thinking about Penelope and focus on the facts of the case. Be objective.

“It’s possible that the woman you were with is the one who stole your pin. I promise to keep the nature of your relationship private, but I really do need her name.”

All joviality drained from Hathaway’s gaze, leaving his eyes chips of blue ice. “Impossible. I will not sully a lady’s reputation. Besides, it’s more likely that one of the mill workers stumbled across my tiepin the next day while I was visiting Jenny and pocketed the trinket.”

“The marshal interviewed all the mill employees and even searched their homes. Nothing was found.”

Hathaway leaned forward. “Between you and me, I wasn’t terribly impressed with Eulogy’s marshal. He’s a hardware-store manager. Did you know that? He’s fit for breaking up the occasional brawl and keeping the Saturday night saloon crowd from getting too rowdy, but he’s no professional investigator.”

Titus had found the man capable and intelligent. He might lack investigative experience, but by all accounts, he’d made a thorough search.

“The reason the Rangers are looking into your case, Mr. Hathaway, is because there has been a string of similar robberies throughout the state. We believe the same thief is responsible for all the missing pieces. Which means someone other than a Eulogy mill worker is to blame.”

Hathaway frowned, obviously not liking the implication. But then, what man would want to believe he had been duped by a pretty face? Titus’s brother had died because he couldn’t admit he might have been wrong about the woman with whom he’d been keeping company.

“Perhaps you’re right, Mr. Kingsley.” Hathaway still didn’t look convinced. “Or perhaps my case is completely unrelated.”

Titus’s gut said otherwise. The only way to settle the matter, however, was to recover the jewels. And thanks to Hubert Hathaway, Titus had a new lead to follow—one Madame LaBelle and her troupe of traveling actors.

14

Another splendid performance, my dear.” Ambrose Clayton steered Narcissa through the crowd who’d gathered at the saloon next door to Kerr’s Hall to celebrate closing night. “Are you sure you won’t consider extending your engagement? I don’t think I could ever tire of watching you upon the stage.”

Narcissa smiled at the man sporting a gorgeous pair of diamond-studded cuff links. “You might be able to tolerate seeing me night after night, but I’m sure the rest of Granbury is beyond weary of our little show.”

“Nonsense! You held the entire audience spellbound.”

She dipped her chin to hide the pleasure his words evoked. A lady must never appear proud if she wished to entice a powerful man. Humility and deference paid much larger dividends. “You’re too kind.”

“And you are too wonderful.” Mr. Clayton patted her hand where it lay upon his arm, then pressed her fingers against his coat sleeve. Heat passed between them. Not only from his hand, but from the hungry look in his eyes.

Narcissa leaned into his side, angling her décolletage to best advantage as she discreetly blinked a sultry look up at him. His gaze dipped to her chest and lingered. Exactly as she’d designed. Ambrose Clayton and his diamonds would be hers for the taking this night.

“Madame LaBelle!” Henry Kerr, owner of the opera house, bounded their way.

Narcissa separated herself slightly from Ambrose and beamed a smile at her patron. Mr. Kerr had given a rather prudish speech to her troupe prior to their first performance, pontificating on his expectations that they exhibit high moral character while in his town. Apparently, the loose morals of some of his previously engaged thespians had caused the more puritanical of the townsfolk to look down upon Kerr and his opera house, going so far as to prohibit their young people from even walking on the south side of the square. Such hypocrisy only stoked the fire of rebellion in her soul, but she wasn’t so foolish as to risk forfeiting a paying engagement. So she’d kept her flirtations to a minimum, using the past fortnight to narrow her field of admirers to the best possible gentleman to woo. With tickets sales in hand and her company leaving in the morning, the time had come to cast off her fetters. Yet, she’d play one final scene with Kerr. Remain in his good graces and ensure his positive opinion.

“Brava, Madame!” Kerr clapped silently as he sketched a small bow before her. “Your grand talent has elevated our humble town. What an honor to have you play our hall.”