Silken Dreams by Lisa Bingham Page B

she covered the tray with a napkin and raced up to the rear wing, which housed the men. At the top of the stairs, she took a sharp turn to the right, where another door opened up to a narrow staircase that climbed to the garret.
    Originally, the room had been Jacob’s, but when he’d begun sleeping in the small house behind the jail, which was provided for the town marshal, Lettie had been given the garret as her own. Although the area was large and spacious, its sloping ceilings and seasonal temperatures made it too uncomfortable to use for boarders. But Lettie found herself grateful for the room, since it provided her a sense of privacy she’d never had before.
    Slipping through the door, Lettie closed it behind her and hesitated, quickly running a hand over her hair and smoothing the wrinkles from her clothing. Her heart fairly pounded from her chest in excitement. He had to be here!
    Assuming her best imitation of Natalie Gruber’s lady-of-the-manor smile, she straightened her spine, pushed her bosom out to its best advantage, and glided up the stairs as elegantly as she could. “I’m sorry it took me so long.”
    The room lay silent and dark.
    Her bosom fell and her breath left in a whoosh . He’d gone. Somehow, despite the boarders’ presence, he’d managed to slip out of the house.
    An arm whipped around her neck, and the cool snout of a revolver pressed against her temple.
    Lettie opened her mouth to scream, but the hand that held her quickly covered her mouth.
    “Where is he?”
    She sagged in relief when she recognized the smooth tones of the Highwayman’s voice, but he continued to hold her tightly against him, digging the revolver into her skin.
    “Where is he?” he asked more fiercely.
    Lettie tried to struggle against him, but since her grasp of the tray made the fight nearly impossible, she finally lifted her foot and brought her heel crashing down over the stranger’s instep.
    The man swore and released her, hobbling a few feet away and muttering under his breath.
    “Be quiet, man!” she whispered as he groaned. “Do you want to bring the whole house in here to see what’s causing all the commotion?”
    The man was immediately silent, but when he glanced up, his eyes fairly seethed with anger and suspicion. As if to underscore his emotions, the man lifted a finger to jab the air in front of her. “You little brat! You set a trap.”
    “I did no such thing!”
    “Then why did you bring your brother?”
    “I did not bring my brother.”
    “I heard male voices.”
    She huffed in impatience. “This is a boardinghouse .”
    The stranger opened his mouth, hesitated, then closed it again. “Where is he?”
    “Who?”
    “Your brother.”
    She sighed in irritation, placing the tray on the bedside table. “I told you. He isn’t here.”
    The man grasped her elbow and whirled her around to face him. His eyes were stormy and dark. “You wouldn’t defy your brother by hiding me like this.”
    “I’m not defying my brother. I’m simply… avoiding any unpleasantness.”
    The man clearly didn’t believe her explanation.
    “Look,” she inserted, when he seemed about to argue with her again, “would I be feeding you if my brother were about to come and drag you into jail?” She pulled the napkin aside to reveal the laden tray.
    The man continued to eye her in blatant suspicion, but the soft growl of his stomach betrayed him.
    “Just as I thought,” Lettie murmured, surprised by the wave of protectiveness that rushed through her. “You probably haven’t had anything to eat all day.”
    “I’m not hungry.” The man turned away, and the set of his shoulders became stiff and proud.
    “You are hungry, and we both know it. You need to eat something. I’m not about to poison you, you know.” Lettie clasped her hands behind her back, surreptitiously crossing her fingers and silently assuring herself that she wasn’t really lying. She was only going to drug him, not poison him. There was