Free Rebecca Hagan Lee - [Borrowed Brides 02] by Harvest Moon

be true,” Charlotte whined. “You’re interested in her. Tessa.”
    “I’m just an attorney,” David answered. “Besides, why would I be interested in Tessa Roarke when I have a warm, generous woman like you in my arms?”
    That does it! Tessa nearly bolted from her hiding place before she realized she’d give herself away. She settled back down on the pile of clothes and fumed. Generous was right.
    “Come on, Charlotte, you can tell me,” David cajoled. “What was going on between Tessa and Arnie?”
    “I can’t answer that.” There was an edge to Charlotte’s voice.
    “Can’t you whisper it? Nobody else will hear.” David raised his voice to make sure his words would carry through the thick curtain.
    “I don’t think so.” Charlotte hesitated.
    “Even for a drink?”
    “Well, I don’t guess it’ll hurt to whisper.” She reached for the bottle.
    “Answer first. Just whisper in my ear.”
    She did and David handed her the bottle. “That wasn’t so bad, now was it?”
    “Sugar,” Charlotte answered between gulps of whisky, “the only good thing about this game is you and the whisky. When can we play something else?”
    Tessa waited until the whispered conversation, the rustling of sheets, and the giggles subsided into snores before creeping from her hiding place. According to what she’d heard, the barmaid had drunk a lot before she’d passed out. Tessa wasn’t sure quite how much David had drunk, but he hadn’t seemed to enjoy his game or Charlotte’s favors. She tiptoed to the bed. The snores were louder, deeper. Tessa carefully lifted the blanket. Charlotte lay on her back. Her mouth was open and she was snoring. David lay beside her, his breathing deep, his wide chest rising and falling, rhythmically. Tessa eyed him suspiciously, but he appeared to be asleep.
    Tessa leaned over him, reaching toward Charlotte and the rosary just inches away.
    David moaned in his sleep, moving his head against the pillow. A strand of Charlotte’s dark hair tickled his nose. Tessa grasped the lone lock of hair just as David moved to brush it aside. His fingers met hers, closed around her wrist, and moved her hand aside. Tessa cursed in frustration.
    “Now, now, Charlotte sugar,” David said clearly. “You know ladies shouldn’t curse.”
    Almost as if he were wide awake.
     
    * * *
     
    Negotiating the dark stairs leading down the outside of the saloon was hard work. Tessa mumbled to herself as she made her way down them. How dare Myra Brennan give her room and her personal belongings to Charlotte the Harlot? And how dare that…that…lawyer find anything at all attractive about such a woman? Tessa’s anger smoldered as she ran through the dark streets back to David Alexander’s law office. The nerve of him. The gall to leave her alone in a strange place while he went to the Satin Slipper for a little fun with Charlotte the harlot. And then to confuse her with that…that…prostitute!
    Unlocking the back door, Tessa lit a lamp and made her way quietly down the hall to check on Coalie. Assured that he still slept soundly on his cot in the storeroom, she tucked a quilt around his thin shoulders and placed a kiss on his cheek. She closed the curtained doorway to the storeroom behind her before entering her own room. She took the envelope out of her pocket, then reached up under her skirt and released the nightgown she’d tucked inside the waistband of her drawers. Clutching the envelope in her hand, Tessa let the flannel nightgown fall to the floor. She opened the envelope and took out the precious photographs.
    Holding the first one close to the lamp, Tessa studied the face. Her brother Eamon smiled back at her. She blinked away tears, before pressing a kiss to the sepia-colored surface. On impulse she removed the other photos. One showed a man in profile, his face half-covered by bushy sideburns and a thick mustache. A series of numbers was written in ink across the bottom of the picture. She knew