Double Deception Read online

  Pierre moved around Clarissa. She was sure that last statement had made him squirm. She knew he didn’t believe in prayers, but she wished she knew more about them. Before her father had died, the family attended church and had family devotions together, but she had been so young she couldn’t understand much of it. Since she had been traveling with Pierre, they hadn’t gone to church. They were often on the run by the time they’d stayed in a town no longer than a week.

  “That’s good. Nilsson, would you be so kind as to tell me how to find this boardinghouse?” Clarissa hated the sound of Pierre’s voice, especially when he was trying to ingratiate himself into the society of a town.

  August dropped a quick kiss on Anna’s cheek, and a blush stole over her face. Clarissa remembered that before he died, her father and mother had had a relationship like the one August and Anna seemed to have. And it was the kind of relationship she wanted with a man. Not one such as her mother and Pierre had. She’d heard them arguing about the money he spent. He’d been attentive to her before they married but stopped as soon as he had the ring on her finger.

  “I’ll do more than that.” August moved toward the door. “I can take the two of you there myself.”

  Pierre rented the two adjoining rooms on the second floor of the boardinghouse, then left Clarissa in her room with her carpetbag and the new ensemble they’d purchased. He said he was going to pick up her trunk. Clarissa was glad to have time away from him for awhile.

  After hanging up the new dress, she opened her bag and started putting her unmentionables in the drawers of a polished oak highboy that sat beside one window. Then she turned around and surveyed her surroundings. It was so long since she’d had a room of her own in a real house. This one was large and airy. Since it was a corner room, she had windows on two sides, so light poured in between the priscilla curtains, bathing the room in golden brightness. She opened one window and drew in a breath of fresh air. Then she opened a window on the other wall, and a breeze blew through, cooling the room a bit.

  When they had lived in New Orleans, Clarissa’s room had been about this size, so it made her feel as though she had come home. Even the wallpaper with a soft cabbage-rose pattern resembled the paper she had chosen when she was just nine years old. The tall brass bed gleamed in the sunlight, and the plush quilt that covered it repeated the colors of the wall covering. She went to the bed and sat on the edge. The soft mattress was inviting. She had slept on the hard ground too long.

  Clarissa took off her dress and petticoats and slipped into her dressing gown. Then she went back to the bed. Stretched out on top of the covers, she felt cradled in the softness. Turning on her side, she nestled her head into the down pillow. She was going to rest only a few minutes, but before long, she drifted off to sleep, dreaming about her beautiful, loving mother and the wonderful life that had disappeared like a vapor.

  ❧

  Ever since Ollie told Lowell about seeing the Le Blancs in town, he sensed Lowell’s withdrawal from him. What was the matter with the man? He’d only agreed with him. That Le Blanc gal was a prize, and he’d told Lowell so.

  Lowell had always been quieter than he, but now his quietness bordered on sullenness. Ollie was tired of it. He saddled one of the horses and rode off down the road to exercise it. A buyer from the cavalry was coming in a few days, and he wanted all the horses in top form. People sought their family’s ranch out because of the quality of the horses they raised. It was a good business that provided a comfortable living for the whole family.

  He headed to his favorite place. The prairie grass grew tall and blew in the wind. Here and there a copse of trees provided welcome shade from the hot summer sun. And the frequent pools of shimmering water gave the horses plenty to drink. As he galloped across the prairie, his mind returned to the time when he had been in town. He could feast his eyes all day on that pretty little woman. She had been dressed in a pretty gown with ruffles and lace, but he could imagine her with her ebony hair pulled back and tied with a scarf. That’s the way Anna wore hers when she was riding Buttermilk.

  He wished Rissa was wearing riding clothes now and galloping beside him across the prairie. He was sure her sky blue eyes would light up, and the wind would bring out the roses in her creamy cheeks. He wondered if she knew how to ride a horse. Maybe he should ask. He could teach her anytime she wanted to learn.

  He slowed the horse to a trot and turned back toward the farm. Wasn’t there any reason for him to return to town?

  ❧

  Pierre carried Clarissa’s trunk upstairs and stayed in her room while she unpacked it. She wished he wouldn’t. It made her uncomfortable when he was in her room. She didn’t like the way his eyes slid over her body, half hidden behind his lowered eyelids. She felt somehow as if she needed a bath.

  “Did you notice the variety of merchandise in Braxton’s Mercantile?” He sat in the straight chair and propped his foot on the knee of his other leg.

  Any minute, Clarissa expected him to lean the chair back against the wall. She hoped he would—and that the chair would slip. She knew her thoughts weren’t kind, but when had he ever been kind to her? She was only a means to an end for him. A tool. A pawn.

  “Yes,” she answered distractedly. “It’s a nice store.”

  “Do you realize what that means?”

  She turned and looked at him. His voice betrayed an excitement she hadn’t seen in him for a long time. “What?”

  Pierre stood and took out a cheroot.

  Clarissa frowned. “Please don’t smoke in my room. It’s so smelly.”

  He struck the match and held it to the tip of the rolled tobacco. After the smoke wreathed his head, he threw back his head and laughed. She wondered why he was so happy—besides the fact he was tormenting her with his smoke. She walked to the window and breathed in a lungful of fresh air.

  He followed her and stood so close she could feel his breath on her neck. “If you weren’t so valuable to me as a daughter. . .”

  He left the sentence dangling, but she knew what he meant. He often hinted he found her desirable. The thought sickened her. She wasn’t entirely ignorant of the ways of men and women. She cringed and moved back to finish unpacking the trunk.

  He took another long draw on the thin cigar and blew the smoke toward her, then continued their conversation about the store as if he hadn’t stopped. “Because of the variety of merchandise, I can tell this town has wealth. Now if we can figure out how to transfer much of it to my pockets.”

  Clarissa shuddered. Her heart broke for the nice people she had met. If only there were a way to stop him.

  ❧

  Ollie pulled up at the blacksmith shop where August was plunging a horseshoe into the bucket of water to cool it. Steam hissed and shot up into the air.

  August turned his face away and saw him standing in the doorway. “Ollie, what brings you here?”

  “I want you to check the shoes on the horse I rode into town.” Ollie stood with his hands shoved into the front pockets of his jeans. He glanced toward the table where August kept the things that needed repair. He was thankful it was nearly empty. He wouldn’t be wasting August’s time.

  Ollie walked farther into the shadows of the shop. “Do you know who was at the Dress Emporium this morning?”

  August placed the cool horseshoe on a pile of similar pieces of metal. “I went by to see Anna earlier, and the Le Blancs were there. Is that who you’re talking about?”

  Ollie nodded. “How do you feel about that?”

  August laid his tongs on the worktable. He pulled out a bandanna from his back pocket and mopped sweat off his face. “It’s fine with me. I know I was jealous of him when he was here before, but not now.” He stuffed his bandanna into his pocket. “I even took the Le Blancs over and introduced them to Mrs. Olson. They want to stay in the boardinghouse instead of the hotel this time.”

  Ollie was surprised. “Does that mean they’ll be here awhile?” He hoped he didn’t sound too eager.<
br />
  August nodded. “It looks that way.”

  ❧

  “Did you two get settled in the boardinghouse?” Anna asked when Clarissa and Pierre entered the dress shop. She moved behind the counter and leaned both arms on it.

  Pierre strode to the front of the counter and leaned on it too, close to Anna. “Yes, it’s just what we wanted. Rissa even has a corner room. Very nice.”

  Anna shifted closer to the shelves lining the wall behind the counter. Clarissa didn’t blame her. Pierre was much too forward. One day he would go too far.

  “Is there some other way I can help you?” Anna’s smile wasn’t as broad as it had been earlier.

  Pierre straightened and glanced around the store. “Yes, Rissa is so taken with the wonderful outfit we bought her this morning that she’d like to order four more.”

  Clarissa stifled a gasp. Pierre had told her he wanted to go to the store, but she assumed he meant the mercantile. He’d talked about it so much in her room. But they went into the dress shop instead, and now he was ordering her more dresses. He hadn’t said a word about that before they came. She hoped he wasn’t planning on using this as a way to get close to Anna again and cause trouble in her relationship with August.

  “That’s wonderful!” Anna exclaimed. “If you could leave Rissa with us for awhile, Gerda and I will help her choose the styles and fabrics that would best suit her.”

  Clarissa knew Pierre didn’t want to leave her there alone, but she was glad. She’d like to spend part of the afternoon with the two women without him hovering over her. It had been a long time since she’d visited with other young women. After Pierre left, Anna took her into the workroom.

  “Gerda, look who’s come back.” Anna moved around Clarissa. “You remember Rissa Le Blanc, don’t you?”

  “Rissa, how nice to see you again.” Gerda, the seamstress, had a beautiful face and pale blond hair. “Will you be in town long?”

  Clarissa felt shy around the woman. What was she supposed to know about her? Maybe Pierre hadn’t told her everything. “I think we’ll be here awhile.”

  “They’re staying at the boardinghouse.” Anna sat on the chair by the sewing machine. “Her father wants us to make four new dresses for her.”

  “That’s very nice,” Gerda said, smiling.

  Clarissa could understand her delight. When Pierre was there before, he’d ordered four ensembles. That would make eight from this one shop. Even though he spent money in each town, he seldom established a strong relationship with any one business.

  ❧

  No one was in the front room of the Dress Emporium when Ollie entered, but the bell above the door announced his arrival. Gerda quickly came through the curtain that covered the opening to the workroom. There was a door, but Gerda and Anna didn’t like to shut it during business hours. They also didn’t want everyone seeing into the workroom, so just last week he had helped them hang the curtain.

  “What can I do for you, Ollie?”

  “Is Anna here?” He always felt a little out of place in a woman’s shop.

  “Sure. Come on back.”

  He followed Gerda into the workroom, and there, by one of the windows, Rissa Le Blanc stood bathed in a golden glow. The light gave tiny blue highlights to her coal black hair. And her smiling eyes sparked fire in his heart. Something in this woman called to something deep within him, and it took his breath away.

  ❧

  Clarissa returned to her room after she and Pierre ate dinner in the boardinghouse. She was glad to be alone. She wanted to revisit the events of her day, in particular the time she’d spent in the dress shop with Anna, Gerda, and Ollie. Especially Ollie.

  He stayed a long time, and the four of them talked and laughed like old friends. She didn’t have any friends, but she was sure that was what it felt like. Litchfield seemed to be the home she had hoped for, a place where she could belong. Where she could be accepted for who she was. But these people had no idea who she was, and she wasn’t about to tell them. If they ever found out, it would be over. The friendship—and everything else.

  She paced back and forth in the room, wringing her hands. She had to stop Pierre, but how? She couldn’t allow him to hurt these people as he had so many others. Just how long had this been going on? She usually tried to forget, but tonight she remembered.

  She and her sister had been happy when they lived on the plantation with her mother and father. It was a wonder the family had held on to the plantation through the War between the States, but they had. After the war, her grandfather struggled to make ends meet. When her mother and father married, her father helped her grandfather try to turn the plantation around.

  Her father died when she was only six years old, and her mother couldn’t take care of the property. Then, with her father gone, her grandfather had sold the property and used the money to buy the house in New Orleans. There her mother met and married Pierre. Her wedding day was the beginning of the prison in which Clarissa now found herself.

  She wished she were a man. If she were a man, she could stop Pierre, but what could a young woman do? Since he was her guardian, he had the law on his side. Of course he wouldn’t have it if anyone ever found out about his illegal activities. She wished she had enough courage to tell someone, but Pierre had threatened her and her sister. Mari wasn’t as strong as she was, so Clarissa knew she had to protect her.

  Clarissa wanted to be friends with Anna, August, Gerda, and Ollie. Maybe she should just enjoy what she had as long as it lasted. It would end soon enough.

  Three

  Lowell let out his breath and frowned. Every time he needed help, Ollie was missing. Then later he would return from town. When Lowell asked him what he was doing in Litchfield, Ollie said he went to get something repaired then visited the Dress Emporium. Their father had asked them to check on Anna, but since she’d become engaged, August was at the store often enough to keep her safe. She didn’t need Ollie almost every day.

  “Where have you been?” Lowell asked Ollie this time as he rode into the barnyard. “You didn’t go to town again, did you?”

  Ollie didn’t say anything, but Lowell wasn’t going to let him off the hook. They had a horse farm to run, and he couldn’t do it by himself.

  Finally, Ollie spoke. “Yeah, I was in town.”

  Lowell stepped between his brother and the doorway to the barn. “Just why did you have to go today? You were there yesterday—and the day before—and every day this week. You do have things to do around here, you know.”

  Ollie looked at Lowell. “I do my share of the chores.” He raised his voice. “You haven’t had to do anything I usually do. I make sure everything is taken care of before I go.”

  Lowell raised his own voice. “Sometimes things come up, and I need help, and you aren’t here.”

  Ollie stared at him until Lowell moved from the doorway. Then Ollie led his horse inside. Lowell followed his brother into the cool interior shadows and stood watching as he unsaddled the animal and rubbed him down. For a long time, neither of them said anything.

  Finally, Lowell walked over to the stall and leaned one elbow on the half wall. “I suppose you saw Rissa again.” It was a statement, not a question.

  Ollie stopped grooming the horse and stood silent for a minute. Then he turned toward him. “Yes, I saw her. She was visiting with Anna and Gerda. They’ve become friends. I think it’s good for Rissa. I don’t think she’s ever had any women friends.”

  Lowell snorted as he stood up. “Maybe that’s because she’s just a girl.” He crossed his arms over his chest.

  “You haven’t seen her lately, have you? I wouldn’t call her a girl.” Ollie resumed working on the horse. “She’s a little thing, but she’s all woman.”

  Lowell knew she was a woman. He remembered when the Le Blancs had been in Litchfield earlier in the spring. He carried a picture of her in his head, which he often allowed to take over his thoughts. Lowell wanted to touch her ebony curls. He was sure th
ey would be soft as silk. Her lilting laugh played like a harp in his heart. Her sky blue eyes were appealing, but they looked a little shy. That part of his memory didn’t agree with all Ollie had told him about Rissa now. She didn’t sound as reserved as he remembered. Maybe it was time for him to see for himself.

  “I’m going into town for feed,” he told his brother.

  He could feel Ollie’s gaze boring into his back as he hitched the horses to the wagon. He didn’t care. Perhaps if he saw the girl again, he wouldn’t be so haunted by these thoughts.

  He hadn’t driven into town for awhile. Usually, he left that to Ollie, who enjoyed talking to people. Lowell liked people, but he wasn’t as outgoing as his brother. When he pulled up in front of the mercantile, he glanced at the Dress Emporium. He would order the feed, then check on his sister. He loved Anna, even though she was more like Ollie. She was his baby sister and always would be. He was only one year older than she was, and she would soon be a married woman.

  He tied the reins to the hitching post and turned around to come face-to-face with the woman who had filled his thoughts for so long. Standing bathed in the glow from the bright summer sunshine, she was more beautiful than he remembered.

  “Hello, Miss Le Blanc.”

  She stared at him as if she didn’t know who he was. What was wrong with her? Maybe she had forgotten meeting him. Ollie had taken up so much of her time since she’d come back to town that she might have forgotten there were two Jenson brothers.

  “I know you haven’t seen me for awhile. I’m Lowell Jenson.” He tipped his cap.

  She finally gave him a tight smile. “You’re Ollie’s brother, aren’t you?”

  Lowell nodded.

  “You look a lot like him.” She tilted her head and studied him from another direction. “You could almost be twins.” Then she continued down the boardwalk away from him.

  He entered the mercantile and browsed through the merchandise, not seeing what was in front of him. His thoughts about the young woman distracted him so much he almost forgot to order the feed. After he and Johan had loaded the gunnysacks into the wagon, Lowell went to see Anna in the dress shop.