Chapter 14

"So I'll meet you at the courthouse at eight in the morning, room C. Both the local authorities and the federal banking official will be there," Mr. Cross said. "And, Mr. Cartwright, please make certain that Eloise is there on time. If she's not there, they'll issue a warrant for her arrest."

"Do they know where she's staying in Chicago?" Adam asked.

"No. At least I didn't tell where you two were, just that she had returned to Chicago. Nor did I give her new name. But there's no telling what they already know."

Eloise had sat quietly while Mr. Cross had told of his conversation with the police detectives. They had said that they had suspects in the murder of Thomas Logan but couldn't arrest them and charge them since the evidence was weak; just that Logan had been seen in the bank talking to certain men, men whom they suspected of other crimes. Because of the vague circumstantial evidence of mere association, they needed Eloise to identify the men, that is, if they were the ones who had visited her husband the night he had his throat slit. Once that was done, the authorities would be able to find out who was the actual head of what seemed to be a more widespread criminal organization that was spreading to prostitution and illegal alcohol importation and distribution and hopefully, quash it before it became too great. They were dangerous men and Eloise, if she would cooperate as she said she would, would be key in prosecuting them and the first charge against them would be murder.

"It's that serious," Eloise quietly asked.

"Yes, Eloise," Mr. Cross said, "it's that serious." The lawyer turned to Adam. "Well, I have some paperwork to tend to that is pertinent to this case. I need to prepare some briefs that need to be ready no matter what tact the authorities may take." Mr. Cross started to gather up his papers but stopped and turned to Adam again. "I didn't know what I was getting myself into. I may have to refer you to a fellow lawyer who's had more experience in this type of thing depending how tomorrow works out. It seems that lawyers now are dividing themselves up into specialties and maybe, just maybe it's for the best. Laws are changing so much and so quickly and with banks now being chartered by the federal government other than the state, it raises all sorts of problems. It's not enough just to know the laws of the city and the state, but now federal laws play into matters as well. So, please be there tomorrow, Mr. Cartwright." He walked a little closer to Adam and in a low voice said, "Take care of Eloise. She's had so much to deal with in the past few years. I'm glad she's not alone."

"I will. And we'll be there by eight." Adam and Mr. Cross shook hands and the lawyer said goodbye to Eloise and left. But Eloise, who had barely acknowledged Mr. Cross' departure, still sat silent.

Adam sat beside her on the sofa and watched Eloise. He knew she was thinking about the gravity of the situation and her earlier cheerful mood had dissipated.

"Eloise," Adam said quietly, "It's not as bad as you think."

She finally raised her head and looked at him. "You don't know what I think and you also don't know how serious this is. They're going to put out a warrant for me."

"No, they won't because we're going to be there at 8:00. You'll see. It'll all work out."

"Adam, you can't do this for me and you can't make it go away."

"No, I can't do either of those things but I can go through it with you. We can face this together."

Eloise stood up. "I want to leave. We can leave Chicago tonight."

"Eloise, haven't you been listening to anything? We can't leave. Besides, the authorities would find you eventually. Do you think I can hide you on the Ponderosa? Stick you in some line shack for the rest of your life?"

"You don't have to come with me. I can go by myself. I can leave on the train tonight. I won't know where I'm going until I leave so even you won't know either and they won't be able to do anything to you. Don't you see? That's the only answer. I have to leave-tonight. Just promise me that you'll take care of my aunt." Eloise turned to the bedroom but Adam grabbed her arm and swung her around.

"What goes on in that head of yours that you think you can just get on a train and avoid both the local and federal authorities? Eloise, you can't run away from this. You have to face things."

She tried to pull away from him. "I don't want to and I don't have to. I want to go. I want to leave." Her voice cracked. "I just want to forget all this-everything. I want to go…I'm so tired of being afraid and…"

"Eloise, Eloise, listen to me." he held her face in his hands and with his thumbs, wiped away the few tears on her cheeks; she hadn't completely given in to a crying jag. "You can't run away from all your problems. And after tomorrow morning, we'll have a better idea of how things stand. We might be able to leave then and only come back to Chicago if they need you."

Eloise seemed to calm down then and Adam breathed more easily. But he was still afraid that she would run, that he would wake up in the middle of the night and she would be gone. So Adam was determined to keep her from focusing on what was happening; if she thought too much about it, she would only panic again and want to run.

Adam found a deck of cards in a drawer and he taught Eloise how to play poker. It seemed to lighten up her mood, especially when she turned out to be a good player. She laughed delightedly when she won and so Adam decided that they would play for kisses.

Eloise looked at him with amusement. "If we play for kisses, aren't you always the winner?"

"Maybe I'm of the mind that you would be the winner if the prizes were that."

"The woman is never the winner," Eloise said. "Not when it has anything to do with a man." She became quiet again and Adam shuffled the cards, listening to the sound of the cards snapping onto each other.

"Well, what shall we play for then?"

Eloise stood up. "I'm tired of cards-of games of chance. I rarely win when it comes to chance-all the random things that happen in life."

The mantle clock struck six. They had needed to light a lamp an hour ago in order to continue playing and now night was almost completely fallen.

Adam placed the cards down and suggested they go eat. He gave Eloise a choice; the restaurant in the hotel or the one they had passed in their morning walk.

"I'm not really hungry," Eloise said. "My stomach is too tight. You go alone."

Adam lost all patience with her. "Oh, no, you don't. Wear what you have on or change clothes-I don't really care, but you're coming with me. We'll go to the French restaurant and you're going to eat. Then we're coming back here and if I have to tie you to the footboard, you're going to still be here in the morning to go to the courthouse. Understand?"

Eloise turned cold. "I understand. You've decided to bully me into doing what you want. Fine. I'll change and I'll go with you and I'll eat. And I'll go to the courthouse tomorrow and be there on time. And if they arrest me and put me in jail, I shall hate you forever." Then she went into the bedroom and Adam shook his head; he began to wish that he had never seen Eloise Logan, never met her and never fallen so desperately in love with her that despite it all, he never considered leaving her.

~ 0 ~

Adam unlocked the hotel room door and stepped aside so that Eloise could enter first. She took off her evening cape and threw it over a chair and then, after pulling off her gloves, tossed them on top. Adam had to admit that Eloise, in her low-cut, cobalt-blue dress, looked stunning. The dress had been cut on the bias with a draped bodice and a fold of fabric that ran from the waist diagonally across to the other side and the hem flowed around her feet. She had pinned a brooch at the waist and the narrowness of the skirt followed the curves of her buttocks. Adam had never seen any of the women of Virginia City in such a dress and obviously, from the looks of the other diners, neither had most of them. Eloise had attracted the attention of almost every man in the restaurant. The women looked at her critically, judging her age, figure and possible wealth. And Adam found himself wanting to skip dinner and taking her back to the hotel to be alone with her.

"I'm going to bed," Eloise said and walked into the bedroom, closing the door behind her. Adam loosened his tie and took off his jacket, draping it over the back of the chair that matched the little secretary against the wall of the sitting room. He looked around. As they had left for dinner, Adam had asked for a bottle of brandy to be sent up and he saw that it had been along with some snifters. So Adam went to the low table in front of the sofa and poured himself some brandy, He sat down and crossed his feet on the table.

Adam needed a drink. During dinner, Eloise had been impossible. She had been gracious to the maitre d' and the waiter but to him, she had been cold. And he had to admit to himself that he hadn't been much better; he had been sarcastic and snide and now he was ashamed of himself. He had just wanted her so much and she had been so distant that he responded in his usual way when it came to protecting himself.

Adam drained his glass and sat and waited until the noises of Eloise readying for bed stopped and he saw the light go out under the door. He poured himself another brandy and when he finished it, he braced himself for going to bed. He opened the door and glanced at the bed but Eloise didn't stir. Adam undressed, his boots falling heavily to the floor, and slid into bed where he lay on his back, staring at the ceiling.

He wanted Eloise, burned for her, so he turned on his side and pulled her into his arms, turning her so that he held her against his chest and could look into her face. Her eyes stared up at him, her mouth open and Adam saw fear in her face.

"I want you Eloise. I've wanted you since I first saw you but that was nothing compared to how I feel tonight-after watching you all evening, how all the men wanted you, looked at you with such desire-I want you even more." He pulled Eloise to him and crushed her mouth with his. She made small sounds of protest while pushing against him with her hands but he continued to kiss her, to search for a response.

"Don't you want me, Eloise?" he whispered. "Tell me. Don't you want me? I'll please you, I promise that. I'll make you forget all the miseries of this life. I'll make you feel so good that you'll never want it to end." He kissed her again and felt a slight yielding to his mouth as her lips separated, her mouth softened, and he could probe her with his tongue, taste her, and the heat in his blood became greater. "Tell me, Eloise, do you want me? Do you? Do you want to do the deed of kind as men and women have done since the world began? Why should we be any different?"

Eloise felt his arms holding her and she had never felt so safe and his desire was different from Thomas'. And Adam was searching her face for some clue, something to let him know what he should do. And Eloise was tempted to tell him, no, no, she didn't want him. But she did want him, wanted him desperately so Eloise twined her arms around Adam's neck and returned his kiss and submitted herself to his passions and he aroused all the latent feelings that had been hiding inside her all those years.