Misty's True Love (Mail Order Brides of Pioneer Town, Book 2) (9 page)

“
Allow me get you a
refreshment,” he said with his charming smile, excusing himself
once more. She suppressed a sigh as she watched him go, half
tempted to grab him by the coat sleeve and follow him into the
crowd. She managed to hold back her childish impulse, surprised at
how many such impulses she had this evening.

Misty gazed over the crowd, seeing it
in a new light after the dance. She could not help but feel a
little closer to the town at that moment. She even found herself
hoping that it would be home to her before long.

Maybe at the next ball I
will be Mrs. Cody Mills
. Misty shook her
head at herself. She was never one to give into her fantasies.
Until she had responded to his letter, she had never entertained
such thoughts so brazenly! Maybe that was a good thing.

Misty froze as she saw a lady in the
crowd glaring at her intently. But before she could get a good look
at the person, she disappeared into the crowd like a ghost. Misty
felt an unsettled feeling in the pit of her stomach.

Chapter 12

Misty stood in front of Rosamund’s
opulent home, noting once again at how beautiful it looked from the
outside. It almost looked like a small palace, its large pillars
holding it upright as the sun gleamed off the home’s many
windows.

“
Good afternoon, my lady.
Miss Swire has been eagerly awaiting your arrival. May I show you
to her at once?” the kind, raspy voice asked.

“
Yes, thank you,” Misty
replied, nodding slightly as she flashed a smile.

With that, she was headed toward
uncertainty, a place that looked warm and welcoming, but she knew
the person behind it all was anything but. As the butler opened the
front door, Misty followed behind closely, amazed at how the
magnificence of the interior far succeeded the exterior.

“
This way, my lady,” he
said.

They walked slowly down a long
hallway, its olive tiles paving the way like colored bricks with
patterns etched into them. The walls were a beige color, with a
decorative finish that showcased beautiful, vibrant flowers
throughout the long corridor. Several portraits hung on those
walls, most likely portraying the lineage of Rosamund’s
family.

One of the portraits was a painting of
an older, refined woman from years past. She and Rosamund looked
alike in some ways, but the smile on the old woman’s face seemed
more sincere than any Misty had seen on Rosamund’s face since she
arrived in Wyoming. She hadn’t realized that she had stopped
moving, entirely captured by the image of the woman.

“
There you are,” said a
familiar voice.

Misty turned, her heart falling as she
saw Rosamund. “I’m so sorry, Miss Swire. I didn’t see you
there.”

“
Oh, there’s no reason to
apologize,” Rosamund said, an exaggerated smile creasing her lips.
“I see you are admiring this particular painting. This was my great
grandmother. She is said to have ruled this family with an iron
fist for decades. Of course the men will never admit to such a
thing,” she added, laughing loudly at her own remark.

Misty smiled out of courtesy, but she
must have left her sense of humor at home, because nothing about
Rosamund seemed funny to her in the slightest. Rosamund stood there
beside Misty, talking to her as if they were friends, but Misty
knew otherwise. There had to be a reason that she was
invited.

“
Shall we retire to the
parlor for tea and cakes?” Rosamund asked, still smiling
brightly.

“
That would be splendid,”
Misty said with a forced smile. It was a tiresome game to pretend
to be so happy all the time, but it was a routine to which she had
grown accustomed.

Rosamund now stood at the end of the
hallway, only a few feet away from the portrait of her great
grandmother. She motioned for Misty to enter as the butler walked
by, and then walked toward a setting of chairs.

Misty sat in the chair opposite of
Rosamund, placing her purse on the floor beside her. She was unable
to keep her eyes from wandering around the room. The far end was
lined with two pillars at its entrance, while a large, beautiful
fireplace stood front and center on the wall. “This is quite
lovely,” she said.

“
Thank you,” Rosamund said
“I just wanted to meet with you to welcome you to town. Are you
finding it suitable?”

“
Yes, it is much different
to San Francisco, but a refreshing change of scenery
nonetheless.”

On the table sat a small tray of
cakes. They were small, square-shaped pastries with four smaller
squares on them which alternated between red and white.

“
You must try one,”
Rosamund said.

Misty wondered what Rosamund was up
to. She knew the woman had her heart set on Cody and that Cody’s
mother was encouraging the match. Cody had told her so at the ball.
And while she trusted Cody completely, she did not trust Miss
Rosamund Swire, not one little bit. Still, the woman was hardly
likely to poison her, so she reached out for a cake.

The cakes, however, were set on a
table out of her reach. Rosamund picked up a single cake already
deposited on a fine porcelain plate and extended it to Misty. As
Misty touched the plate, it fell to the ground. It was clear to
Misty that Rosamund had deliberately dropped the plate

“
Would you call for a
maid?” Rosamund asked. “The bell is on the wall just outside the
parlor.”

Misty swallowed hard. What was
Rosamund up to? There was a bell next to Rosamund, after all.
Still, Misty could hardly point that out, so she walked out of the
room to ring the bell for the maid.

Misty returned and was about to take
her seat, when Rosamund stood up abruptly. “Our meeting is over. I
do have another pressing appointment.”

“
Thank you for your
invitation.”

“
My pleasure, my pleasure
entirely,” Rosamund said, looking smug and pleased with herself.
“Carson will show you out.”

Misty was unsure what to
make of such an odd encounter. Misty picked up her purse and
followed Carson to the door. She was increasingly anxious.
Something about the entire meeting had felt wrong, but she couldn’t
quite put her finger on the reason.
Perhaps it was nothing
, she
thought.

Chapter 13

Even hours after she had returned to
Indiana and Morgan’s ranch, Misty’s mind was still clouded with
thoughts about her meeting with Rosamund. It hadn’t gone quite how
she had expected it to, but the abrupt ending was what filled her
with the most concern. She could not figure out precisely why her
stomach felt like it was in knots, but one thing was clear:
something didn’t seem right.

Shrugging off the odd sensation, Misty
spent a pleasant morning with Indiana. When there was a heavy knock
at the door, both women exchanged glances.

“
Who could that be?”
Indiana asked, before crossing the room. She soon returned with a
tall, burly gentleman behind her. He wore a dark brown vest and a
large, wide-brimmed hat atop his sandy hair. It wasn’t until they
were upon her that Misty noticed the shiny, star-shaped badge that
was tacked to his lapel. Was that the sheriff?

“
Is something wrong?” Misty
asked. At once, the most awful feeling of foreboding overwhelmed
her.

Indiana nodded, crossing her arms as
she stood there, presumably to hide her trembling hands. “This is
Sheriff Baker. He needs to speak with you about
something.”

Misty swallowed hard as her throat
tightened. She had an uneasy feeling that the man’s sudden arrival
did not bode well for her

“
Let us sit in the drawing
room to discuss this matter, if you’d like, Sheriff,” Indiana
said.

Misty wondered why the law had come to
good friend’s home.

After they had taken their seats in
the drawing room, Indiana spoke first. “Sheriff, I’m not quite sure
why you’ve come all this way, but if there is anything that I can
do to assist you, please just let me know.”

“
Well, there is something
you can do,” he said, clearing his throat as he leaned forward in
the chair. “Miss Fields, can you tell me where you were today? Any
place other than this ranch?”

Misty paused for a moment, thinking
carefully about where she had gone that day—but it didn’t take long
for the thought of Rosamund to pop back into her mind. That woman’s
house had been the only stop she had made all day. “I only left the
ranch for a short time earlier. I met with an acquaintance at her
house in town, but I have not been anywhere else.”

The sheriff paused, looking down at
his feet before speaking. “This person that you met with today—did
she give you anything?”

Misty sat there quietly, swallowing
rapidly as she tried to make sense of what he was asking and why.
“Did she give me anything? Well, we had tea together and then she
tried to give me a cake, but she dropped it.”

“
Okay, so everything went
well with your meeting?” he asked, completely ignoring her last
remark.

“
Yes…” Misty said. Her
voice trailed off as she replayed the meeting in her mind. There
had to be something that she was missing, but what was it? Why was
he there?

“
I don’t know how else to
put this, then, but I have reason to suspect that a crime has been
committed. Would you give me permission to search through your
belongings? If the accusations are false and I find nothing, then I
will wash my hands of the allegations and leave,” the sheriff said
slowly.

“
Crime? What kind of
crime?” Indiana asked in shock, her hands flying to her
throat.

Sheriff Baker did not respond to her
question. His eyes didn’t leave the floor until his gaze fixated on
Misty. He watched her carefully as she tried to find the right
words with which to respond, but struggled tremendously. After
composing herself, she spoke in the most confident tone that she
could muster. “May I ask what it is you’re looking for? Perhaps
there’s been a misunderstanding.”

“
That could very well be
the case, but it can’t stop me from doing my job, Miss Fields. And
as far as telling you what I’m looking for, I’m afraid I cannot do
that,” the sheriff said, scratching his forehead.

“
Oh,” Misty said, feeling
trapped in the moment. Maybe she was just letting her emotions get
the best of her, though. She forced herself to regain her composure
before she fell apart again. “Of course, Sheriff. I am not sure
what this is all about, but you’re more than welcome to search
anything of mine if it might clear up this matter.” Misty knew that
she had nothing to worry about since she was innocent of any
crimes, but what was he searching for?

Without hesitation, the sheriff nodded
and accepted her permission. “Did you bring anything with you to
the meeting earlier, anything at all?”

“
I do not believe so,” she
replied, trying to remember if something was slipping her mind.
“Wait. I did take my purse, my purse.”

As soon as the words had left her
lips, Sheriff Baker’s eyes grew wider. “Interesting. Would you
allow me to look inside it?”

Misty wasn’t sure if ‘yes’ was the
correct response, so she glanced over at Indiana. Indiana smiled,
nodding to let her know that it was okay to give him permission.
Clearly she knew that it had to be a misunderstanding as well.
“Yes, of course. Anything you need,” she said.

“
May I ask where it is?” he
asked.

Misty believed that the sheriff would
find nothing out of place and leave if she willingly handed her
purse over to him. He was being very polite despite the seriousness
of the situation—but at the end of the day, he was there for the
wrong reasons, and the only way for her to send him on his way
without further issue was to prove that she was innocent of any
wrongdoing. “It’s right here,” she said, her hands trembling. She
picked up the purse that sat beside her leg and extended it toward
the sheriff.

“
Thank you,” he replied,
studying the object closely. He paused briefly before opening it,
looking at both Misty and Indiana before doing so. Then, after he
had peered inside and moved a few things around, his face
immediately turned several shades paler. His hand slowly pulled a
foreign object from the purse, revealing it to be a lavish necklace
of sorts.

“
What is that?” Misty said,
as her heart fell to her stomach. “How did it get in there?” Frozen
in fear, she looked back at Indiana, hoping she could somehow
explain what was going on. Instead, her friend seemed just as
confused and panicked as she was.

The sheriff was silent for a few
moments as he closely examined the necklace. It shone brightly in
the light as he held it, its diamonds sparkling amongst the
emeralds that joined them. When his eyes met Misty’s once more, he
frowned and spoke softly. “May I ask where you got this
item?”

Misty could feel the beads of sweat
trickling down her forehead as she thought about his inquiry. How
could she answer such a thing, considering that she had no idea? “I
wasn’t aware that I had it…”