The Marriage Agreement

“From the beginning now,” Morgan said through gritted teeth. “Who are you?”

“Lily. I’m Lily Devereaux.”

His hands moved to her shoulders and his grip tightened. “One more time. The truth this time, Lily.”

“Yvonne Devereaux died when I left New York,” she whispered. “I became Lily. I’ve told you that already.”

“That’s not quite the way I recall it, but we’ll take your word for it for now, and call you Lily. After you left New York—hell, before you left New York. Did you try to kill a man?”

“I hit him with a poker. I saw him fall to the floor, and there was blood all over the place.”

“And so you robbed him?”

She shook her head. “No, I never took anything from anyone. I ran. I left in a pouring rain and walked until I found a place to stay for the night.”

“Where?” he asked, feeling her pain even as he strove to inure himself to the emotions she brought to life within him. “Where did you go?”

Her eyes were listless, as if they beheld a time so fraught with peril, so frightening she could not bring herself to deal with it. “To a pawn shop. I had a brooch from my mother and the dealer gave me cash for it.” She inhaled, a deep breath that seemed to give her strength. “I stayed that night in a hotel, a place where there were men sleeping in the hallways, because they didn’t have enough money to pay for a bed.”

“And you had a bed?”

“A man felt sorry for me and gave me his. He spent the night sleeping in the hallway.”

“And from there?” Morgan asked, noting the flicker of awareness that told him she heard his query. “Where did you go from there, Lily?”

“I took a train west, toward Chicago.”

His voice was a low growl as he repeated the query that was uppermost in his mind. “What did you take from Weston?”

Her eyes focused on him and once more she stiffened, trembling in his grasp. “I took nothing from him. I thought I’d killed him, and I ran.”

“Well, according to this poster, you’re accused of robbery.” He watched her closely, saw the ashen cast to her features and felt a moment’s pity for her.

“Why did you hit him, Lily?” Morgan lowered her to sit on the edge of the bed and she shot him a grateful glance.

“Thank you,” she whispered, placing her feet carefully side by side, her hands folded neatly in her lap. “He offered me a house to live in.”

“And you took offense at that?”

She shook her head. “No, I was angry because he’d promised to marry me when we left the plantation, and when we got to New York he kept putting me off and he…”

“He what, Lily? What did he do?” And even before she spoke the words, Morgan knew the story she would tell.

“He said he’d never marry a girl who couldn’t even speak proper English. He was already engaged to a society woman in the city, but he’d like to keep me as his mistress.” As though the word were poison, she spat it from her lips, and then bowed her head.

“Proper English? He said that?” And for the past days Morgan had enjoyed the soft phrases that slipped past her lips, the slurring of letters that proclaimed her heritage. “The man was a fool,” he said harshly, then knelt at her feet. It was time to make a major decision here, and not much leeway to do it in.

“Can you bring yourself to trust me? Will you do as I ask you?” As the query penetrated her mind, he watched, noted the expression of confusion that painted her features, and then the hope that dawned in her dark eyes.

“I don’t know what to do,” she murmured. Her hands gripped together and her knuckles turned white as he watched them tighten. “I thought he was dead.”

“Lily.” He spoke her name once, then again. “Lily, listen to me.” His thoughts moved quickly, past this day to tomorrow and the next, to the multitude of Wanted posters that would be cluttering towns from Chicago to New Orleans and back. “You can’t be known as Lily Devereaux any longer. Not if you don’t want to be found.”

“But that’s my name,” she said.

“If you pretend to be my wife, you can become Lily Morgan.”

She looked up and met his gaze, her eyes narrowing with suspicion. “And then what? Pretend for the rest of my life?”

“I can use you as my wife. You’ll make a good cover for me.”

“A good cover for what? What are you, Morgan? Some sort of a crook?”

He shook his head. “No, far from it. But right now I need to get back on the job, and with you along as my bride, I’ll fit the image I need to portray.”

Her shoulders squared and her spine stiffened as she gathered herself, a visible process he recognized. “Let me get this straight,” she began. “You’re willing to believe me now, but you didn’t before? And now I find you’ve been holding out on me.” Her voice rose. “And you accused me of lying, of hiding the truth.”

“You were lying to me,” he said patiently. And then one hand touched her mouth, stilling her protest. “Let me change that. You weren’t being entirely honest, let’s say.” He spoke quietly and slowly, knowing that his movements from this point onward hinged on her reply. “If I tell you what you need to know, will you help me?”

“Do I have a choice?”

“We always have a choice, Lily. I told you that before. Remember?”

“That was about going home again,” she reminded him. “This is something altogether different. What if your plans cause me to break the law? Is there a law against posing as someone’s wife?” She looked so honestly befuddled Morgan was tempted to laugh. He took pity on her innocence.

“I don’t think they can put you in jail for posing as my wife. But they sure as hell can toss you in prison for trying to kill some dandy up in New York.”

“Well, maybe I deserve it. I meant to kill him. I thought he was dead.” she said.

He shook his head. “Oh, Lily. If you could only hear yourself. The man is after you, sweetheart. He’s going to hunt you down. And then he’s going to gnaw on your bones.”

She shivered again, but her chin jutted forward as her eyes narrowed a warning. “He’ll have to catch me first.”

“He’ll catch you all right,” he told her agreeably. “Unless you listen to me.”

“Any guarantees, Morgan?” she asked.

He shook his head. “None. Except that I’ll take care of you to the best of my ability. I won’t ask any more from you than I’m willing to give you.”

She shook her head. “Like what? What are you talking about? What are you going to ask of me?”

He spoke slowly, with a degree of patience he hadn’t known he possessed. “I’m asking you to pose as my wife, Lily. I’m asking you to help me with a job I’m in the midst of. And I’m asking you to trust me.” He eyed her cautiously. “Can you do all of that?”

She looked at him as if he were holding the only life preserver available and she was the sorry creature about to go under for the third time. And then with a deep sigh, she gave her answer. “I can trust you, I think. And I’ll help you with the job you’re in the midst of.

“But I won’t pose as your wife.”

He hung his head, a smile lurking at the corner of his lips. “You won’t pose as my wife? Is that what you said?”

She nodded firmly. “If I didn’t trust you already, Morgan, I wouldn’t be in this room with you. As to the job you’re doing, it can’t be much more dangerous than me running for my life from whoever’s after me.”

He had his doubts about that theory, but decided to hear her out. “So? That doesn’t tell me why you turned me down on the wife part.”

“I listened to one man promise me he’d marry me. Then he dragged me the length of the country, only to admit he’d fed me a string of lies, and I’d fallen for them, hook, line and sinker. The next time I run off with a man, he’ll marry me first, or I won’t go.”

“You want me to marry you?” He was proud of his even tone. The woman couldn’t know how hard his heart was pumping at her declaration. With all her shenanigans, he’d have her in the palm of his hand. He could settle with her once the job was done.

She nodded firmly. “I really don’t want a husband, Morgan, but you’ll do, since I don’t have anyone else lined up for the position. But with one stipulation. Someday when everything is all cleared up, when you’ve finished with me, I want you to take me home. I want my family to think I’ve pulled myself out of the gutter, and having you on my arm just might accomplish that.”

The girl didn’t know what she was getting into, and he wasn’t about to set her straight. He cleared his throat and lifted her from her seat on the edge of his bed. “A couple of things here, Lily. As far as I’m concerned, you’ve never been in the gutter, so we won’t talk about that again. I’ll need to hear the whole story one of these days, but not right now.

“In the second place, I’ll marry you. But know one thing, Lily. You’ll be a real wife to me.” He caught her chin in his palm, and lifted her face, watching as his words penetrated her mind. “You’ve got it right, lady. You’ll be in my bed, and I won’t be put off on that point.”

“You want to do that with me?” she asked quietly.

He could no longer contain his amusement with her naive assumptions. The grin escaped, and with it a soft chuckle. “Doing that isn’t an unpleasant thing for two adults to do together, sweetheart.” His thumb rubbed her jawline reflectively as he watched a flush rise to cover her face. “Trust me on this, Lily. I won’t ever hurt you, and I won’t leap on you like a damn bull just because we speak those words in front of a parson.”

She bit nervously at her upper lip and he rubbed at it with that same thumb. “Don’t do that. Just listen to me.”

“I’ve heard what you have to say, Morgan. And I’m agreeing. I’ll go with you, and I’ll sleep in your bed. But I’ll never be convinced that you can accomplish the thing we’re talking about without me being the one—”

“Enough,” he said softly. “We’ll get to all of that later. For now, let’s make some plans. But first—” He released her chin from his grasp and bent his head to touch her lips with his. He couldn’t resist, and to his astonishment he wasn’t about to try.

“Is this part of the other thing?” she asked dubiously.

He shook his head. “No, this is just called sealing a pact between partners.” And then before she could move away, he brushed against her mouth again, his lips soft and persuasive against hers. Carefully, tenderly, he caressed her, his hands curving around her face, then sliding down to rest against her back, his fingers tracing the slender curves of waist and hips. Then, bringing his palms to rest against her rib cage, he deepened the kiss, touching and tasting the fullness of her lips with his tongue.

She inhaled as he left her mouth still wanting, his caresses moving to explore her throat, and from there to seek out the soft flesh that tempted him. There, beneath her ear, and again to where her blood pumped down the side of her throat. And finally to where her breasts curved above the lace at her neckline. He spent a multitude of kisses on the firmness he found there, finding her unspoken response to be more seductive than he could have imagined.

“Morgan?” It was a gasp of reaction he’d waited for and he lifted his head to smile at her.

“It’s only a kiss, Lily. Only a kiss.”

She blinked and he set her aside, willing to wait until the time was right. Lily would be his. That lush body, the curls that spilled over her shoulders, the tempting lips that held a trembling smile—all would be his. And soon.

“You have that confused look about you, Lily.” May watched her from heavy-lidded eyes and Lily sensed a hidden meaning in the woman’s words. “Like you’re trying to figure out which way to jump.”

“Jump? I’m not sure what you’re talking about, May.”

“About whatever it is Morgan has planned for you. He’s no dummy. He’ll use you for his own purposes, honey. Watch your step.”

“You don’t trust him?” Lily asked, fingering the sheet music Charlie had offered for her perusal.

“The question is, do you?” May took one of Lily’s spiral curls on the tip of her index finger and stretched it out to its full length, then released it, smiling as it resumed its original place. “He’s taken with you, that’s a given. But the man has secrets, girl, and you might be on the verge of a disaster.” She tilted her head and considered Lily for a moment.

“I saw a drawing that caught my eye, Lily. It was on a poster, dockside. When I looked again to be certain of my suspicions, it was gone.”

A feeling of dread blossomed within her as Lily stared in disbelief. “You saw it? You recognized me?”

May smiled. “It was a very good likeness, honey. But you really look more like a Lily than a woman named Yvonne.”

“I thought I’d killed a man, May. Now I find that he’s still alive and on my trail.”

“I knew you had secrets of your own, first time I saw you,” May said. She held up a warning hand. “Don’t get it in your mind that I’m after a reward. My mouth is shut when it comes to Yvonne Devereaux, but everyone else on this boat might not feel the same way I do. Just don’t let Morgan talk you into anything you won’t be able to get out of.”

The pause was short, but her heart pounded in her ears as Lily considered her words. And then they were spoken on an indrawn breath. “Like marriage?”

“Marriage? You’re going to marry him?” May’s demeanor underwent a sudden change as she sat down in a chair. “And how will that help you?” Her eyes narrowed as she seemed to consider the idea. “Or will it be for Morgan’s benefit? Is he planning on using you for cover?”

“What do you know about him?” Lily asked softly.

“Not a whole lot, but enough to recognize a man at work.” She glanced toward the piano, where Charlie played the song they were to practice. “I think it’s safe to say that Gage Morgan is not what he appears to be, Lily. Just watch your step.”

She rose and beckoned toward the sheet music Lily held. “Let’s go over this again, Charlie. From the beginning. I think we’ve got it now.” And with a short introduction, Charlie began the chords that supported their voices, allowing them to mingle in close harmony, May toning down her more powerful voice to suit Lily’s softer tones.

Even as her voice rose, and her skills blended with May’s accomplished presentation, Lily thought of the man she had left in the cabin. He was indeed a surprise package, and unless she was prepared to offer him her trust, their alliance could not work.

He’d been kind to her, even considering the bruises his hands had left on her arms and shoulders. His anger had marred her skin and she’d watched as he’d inspected the areas where his fingers had gripped her.

“I’m sorry,” he’d said quietly, and then his mouth curved in a rueful smile. “I’ve had to apologize twice for hurting you. It won’t happen again.”

But if she allowed herself to care for him, the pain she might face in the future would be all the worse, once his work was finished and she became a hindrance to him. And who was she trying to fool, she wondered. As if she weren’t already mightily attracted to the man. He was handsome and appealing, even given the harshness of his appearance and the cold deliberation that drove his actions.

She was between the devil and the deep blue sea, as the saying went, and the water was getting deeper by the hour.

“It’s been a problem finding you all alone lately.” The man who spoke remained in the shadows beneath the overhang on the top deck, where he would likely be unnoticed by anyone. His words were low, but alive with a taunt Morgan could not ignore.

“I knew you’d find me once you had news for me. As to the other, I’m setting the stage for my next move.”

“That’s one way of putting it, I suppose,” the messenger said. “I’d say your job has benefits.”

“Not a word about Lily,” Morgan warned. “You’ve never heard of the woman in case anyone asks you.”

“Oh, they’ll be asking all right. By the time we dock tomorrow there’ll probably be lawmen waiting for the boat.”

“I won’t be on it,” Morgan told him. “Nor will Lily.”

“I figured that out already. I’ve got a skiff waiting to take you to shore after she finishes this show.”

Morgan fished his pocket watch out and snapped open the lid. “Sure beats swimming, to my way of thinking. We’ll be there in an hour. Make a commotion of some sort to cover us.”

“I’ve been yearning for a barroom brawl for days,” the man said. His low chuckle was warmer now and he spoke quietly and quickly. “Be careful, Morgan. Using the woman may be the best idea you’ve had. She’ll be perfect cover, and easy to drop off somewhere down the line when the job is done.”

“Right.” Morgan lit a match and the light flared as he brought the flame to the tip of his slender cigar. “This may be the best idea I’ve had,” he murmured, taking the words as his own. He leaned on the railing and the man slipped from the shadows to disappear down a nearby set of stairs that led to the saloon.

The cigar flared as Morgan inhaled the heavy, tangy smoke. He looked at it with distaste written on his features, and cast it over the side where the water swallowed it with but a moment’s pause. The wave that sucked it up drew it under the surface and it was gone. And just that easily he might be disposed of, he thought, his expression grim.

Protecting Lily was his first concern for tonight, and that involved taking her from the boat in less than an hour. And then finding a stray parson to turn her into Lily Morgan.

The plan went smoothly, almost too much so, Morgan thought as he bundled Lily and her small valise into the skiff. From the saloon, shouts were raised and men were overturning tables and joining the fray. Strange how a few words could bring gamblers, and those who were making a business of drinking away the evening, to the point of battle, he mused. Taking up the oars, he cast off from the side of the steamboat and into the channel.

The suction drew him back toward the vessel, but his strength was equal to the task, and Morgan steered the small boat toward shore, eager to be beneath the overhanging branches of the trees lining the river. It was to Lily’s credit that she was silent. But given the choice of coming along quietly or being exposed to the sheriff at the next stopping place, she’d recognized the value of his plan. Holding her valise, she’d followed him from the cabin. She’d climbed down into the skiff, her skirt held high, taking her place on the far end, holding firmly to either side as Morgan joined her there.

The trees bent their curving, lissome branches almost to the water and in moments they were safe beneath the foliage. The boat was a hundred yards downriver from them, and the noise from the saloon faded, even as the flickering lanterns on the stern became two pinpoints in the darkness.

“Now what?” Lily asked in a soft undertone.

“Now we walk,” Morgan returned firmly. “We passed a small town a couple of miles back. We’ll head there and find a preacher to marry us in the morning.”

He pulled at the overhanging branches to draw the skiff closer to shore and then dug the oar into the soft river bottom, until they were safely moored next to the bank. It was a stretch for him, but in moments he’d jumped to dry land and then tugged the boat from the water.

“Let me give you a hand,” he said, offering his palm in her direction. She placed her own in it, and he was struck by the trust in that small gesture. By the firm grip of her fingers and the warmth of her palm. His Lily was brave—of that there was no doubt.

“Take my bag,” she whispered, and waited while he tossed the tapestry valise upon the bank. Her grip was strong as she allowed him to guide her from the boat, and she followed him closely. In short order he found a place that was easy to traverse to the meadow that met the water’s edge. Carefully they made their way through a sparsely wooded area to where a road headed in a northerly direction, and they set off walking.

“We’ll need to stop somewhere to sleep for a few hours,” he told her, his voice a low murmur in the darkness. And within fifteen minutes, he’d found a shadowed area beneath a grove of trees that offered a haven. The blanket he carried was spread on the ground and Lily lowered herself to its surface.

“Are you all right?” he asked, aware that walking in her new shoes was not a comfortable venture. They were made for beauty, not hard use, and he rued the fact that he’d not had the foresight to purchase a more practical pair.

“Fine,” she said, reaching to undo the footwear, then sliding the bits of leather from her feet with a sigh. “But I think we need to look into a different—”

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