An Agent for Arabella Read online

  An Agent for Arabella

  The Pinkerton Matchmaker

  Book 18

  An Agent for Arabella

  The Pinkerton Matchmaker Series

  by Patricia PacJac Carroll

  Copyright © February 2019

  Published by PacJac Publishing

  ALL rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, (except for inclusion in reviews), disseminated or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, or audio, including photocopying, recording, or in any information storage and retrieval system, or the Internet/World Wide Web without written permission from the author.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is purely coincidental.

  Cover by Virginia McKevitt

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Epilogue

  An Agent for

  Arabella

  Chapter 1

  1871, Denver

  Arabella Powers tucked the blanket around her twin sister, Anabella. Lung disease, the doctor had said. Arabella gazed out the window to the Rocky Mountains and prayed her sister would recover. For Anabella, having the disease had saved her from a horrible life as a bought woman in Mexico, but now she was in a different fight for her life. She’d gone to Brownsville, Texas, to be a mail order bride not knowing her intended had sent letters to many cities and collected mail order brides to send to Mexico for a healthy price.

  Fortunately for Anabella, she contracted the lung disease and was kept separate from the others in the hope she would recover which gave Arabella time to rescue her with the help of Pinkerton agents Seth and Charity Warren.

  Anabella weakly reached for her hand. “Ara don’t worry about me. I want you to live your life.”

  Arabella kissed her sister goodbye. “Dear Ana, you’re always thinking of others. I promise I’ll get on with my life as soon as I see that you’re taken care of.” It didn’t take long, and her sister fell asleep. Arabella reluctantly left her in the large room of hospital beds in the sanitorium.

  On the way out, Dr. Newsome, the head of the hospital in Denver, stopped her. “Miss Powers, I don’t want to be the bearer of bad news, but we do expect you to pay for your sister’s care.”

  By the man’s stone-face, Arabella doubted he’d cracked a smile in twenty years, but then perhaps dealing with such tragic circumstances led to his demeanor. “I will pay for her care.” Somehow. She looked around the unfamiliar city as if to find an answer.

  Dr. Newsome shook her hand. “Let’s hope the treatments work. Good day.”

  Arabella left the building and took in a deep breath and was thankful that she could. She had so much to be thankful for, but how was she going to pay for the treatments? Her thoughts drifted to Charity and Seth. Charity had been hired as a Pinkerton agent by the head of the Denver office.

  Arabella thought back to the ordeal she’d gone through to rescue her sister and smiled to herself. “I can do that. After all, I figured out what that horrible man Ana had gone to was up to.” Arabella dashed down the street and into a local diner and asked where the Pinkerton agency was located. Getting the information, she walked by the directions she’d been given.

  It was only a twenty-minute walk when she saw the sign. A little foreboding, but she didn’t have the option to walk on by. Ana needed her, and she wasn’t about to let her down. Dr. Newsome thought her sister had a chance, and Arabella was going to do everything in her power to give her that chance.

  Pushing down her trepidation, she knocked on the door.

  Before she finished knocking, a big gentleman, to use the term very loosely, swung open the door and rushed out muttering.

  Arabella went inside and heard more shouts and angry words. She almost spun around to leave until she thought of Ana. Her poor sister had no choice. Pulling her shoulders back, Arabella walked to the desk where a pleasant looking woman sat.

  In fact, the woman seemed to be oblivious to the shouting.

  Arabella cleared her throat.

  Looking up from her desk, the woman beamed a smile. “Hello, I’m Marianne Chapman.”

  “Arabella Powers.”

  Looking a little confused, Marianne rummaged through her papers. “Did you contact me earlier?”

  “No, Ma’am. I heard you were hiring women.”

  Looking up at her, Marianne’s smile diminished a bit. “I see. Do you have qualifications?”

  “I’m smart. I helped your agents, Seth and Charity Warren, rescue my sister.”

  “Oh, yes. That’s where I know your name from. You were the client.” She put a pencil to her lip. “Can you shoot a gun?”

  “My father taught us to. Shotgun mostly.”

  “You can read?”

  “Yes. Proficiently.”

  “Let me talk to Mr. Gordon, the lead agent.” Marianne disappeared in the room where all the arguing was going on.

  Arabella stepped away from the desk and studied the walls filled with awards and letters of commendation. Seems Mr. Archibald Gordon was quite the success. One frame contained a civil war medal. Another a letter from Allan Pinkerton himself.

  Waiting, she sat on the divan under the framed letters and prayed. This had to work. There were no other jobs she was suited for that would make the amount of money an agent would be paid.

  Marianne came out of the room and shut the door as the shouts resumed. “I think we can use you. Are you physically fit?”

  “Yes. My family owned a store, and I am used to hard work.” She left out that her father had died, and they’d lost the family business. Being a woman in a man’s world had its liabilities.

  “You aren’t married or with child?”

  “No.” Truth was she’d never come close to being married. Once the store was taken from them, she and her sister had nothing. One older man had made inquiries about Anabella, and that led her sister to answer the letter to the man in Texas to be his mail order bride.

  “Come back tomorrow.” Marianne paused. “I do have to tell you. What Mr. Gordon has decided is that the women are paired with a seasoned agent and then they are married. Now the marriage can be annulled, as long as you don’t, well, you know. After the cases have been solved, you are free to go your separate ways or remain married.

  “Married? That’s an odd way to do business.”

  “Yes, but it is a protection for the women.”

  Arabella looked the woman in the eye. “I will be paid my own wages?”

  Marianne shuffled through some papers. “Oh, yes. Of course.”

  Thinking of her sister, Arabella put her hand down to stop the woman from shuffling the papers. “I have responsibilities and will be counting on that pay.”

  With a shocked look on her face, Marianne nodded. “I understand. Yes, you will be paid. It won’t be the same amount as the man because you’re in training.”

  “That’s fair enough.” Arabella relaxed. She would take care of Ana, even if it came at the high cost of marrying a man she didn’t know. How ironic, she thought. The reason she was doing this was because her sister had gone off to marry a man she hadn’t known. Arabella said a quiet prayer asking the Lord to be with her. “Do I choose which agent I marry?”

&
nbsp; Shaking her head, Marianne flipped through some papers. “No, my dear. I’m afraid that is a job for Archie, that is Mr. Gordon. But he has done a very good job so far, and most of the agents have been quite happy with the arrangements.”

  The door behind Marianne opened and slammed. A rugged man stormed out, glared at her, and yelled. “No way will I trade my freedom for a job.” And in a rush of wind and curses, he was gone.

  Marianne smiled wanly. “Most of them.”

  Arabella laughed. “I see. I’ll pray he picks a good one for me.” She started to leave when Marianne stopped her.

  “We have an agreement with a hotel down the street for our women agents. Dinner will be served at five in the main house. Pearl is a wonderful cook. Men are on one side of the room and women the other. Mr. Gordon will get with you tomorrow.”

  “Thank you.” Arabella practically floated to the boarding house. She secured her room and was halfway up the stairs when she remembered she was to be married off to a man she didn’t know. Hopefully, her luck would be much different than Ana’s. She wouldn’t tell her sister about the arrangement, only that she had a job.

  ***

  Gerard Fletcher walked confidently to the Denver headquarters of the Pinkerton agency. Seth had written him a nice letter of recommendation and assured him that they needed new agents.

  Gerard wanted the excitement the Pinkerton Agency offered him. He enjoyed going after wanted men. Or women. He’d been a private detective on his own for a couple of years but found the ordeal of running a business tedious.

  He enjoyed the reckless abandon of the chase. To figure out the clues and find who did the crime. He was good at it. A natural. At least that is what he’d told his few clients. He took out a silver dollar and flipped it in the air. He was ready for some steady work and more importantly a steady paycheck.

  Gerard stopped in front of the diner and stared at his reflection in the window. He brushed his hair with his fingers and twisted his mustache. He was a good-looking man if he didn’t say so himself. With his sandy colored hair, blue eyes and square jaw and tall, muscular build, he turned women’s heads wherever he went. Add to his looks that he was smart, and he had it all. Well, except money.

  He’d request only the good cases. Maybe the ones where he could squeeze out a reward or two. Yes, they’d soon see that Gerard Fletcher was a man to be reckoned with. He strode down the street until he saw the Pinkerton Agency.

  He tugged on the left side of his mustache. “This ought to be easy.”

  He knocked on the door opening it at the same time and smiled at the pretty little lady sitting at the desk.

  “Good day, Miss.” He tipped his hat and winked at her. She was a pretty one at that. Might be a good idea to get on her good side.

  “Marianne.” She stared at him as if this was a regular occurrence.

  “I’ve come to see about a job as a Pinkerton Agent.” He pulled Seth’s letter from his pocket and handed it to her. “Seth Warren wrote this letter of recommendation.”

  She took the letter, read it quickly, and smiled. “Pleased to meet you, Mr. Fletcher. Let me take this to my boss, Archibald Gordon, the lead agent of the Denver office.”

  “By all means.” Gerard sat on the divan and waited. The place was quiet as a tomb. No doubt they needed help.

  The door opened. “Mr. Gordon will see you.”

  Gerard followed her into the office and held out his hand to the distinguished looking Mr. Gordon. “Pleased to meet you, sir.”

  “Sit down.” Mr. Gordon gestured to the seat across the desk from him. “I see that you come highly recommended. And that you’ve been a private detective for a couple of years on your own. Why do you want to work for our agency?”

  “I’m tired of the office portion of the business. I long for the excitement of the chase. I’m good at figuring out puzzles and solving crimes. You’ll find that I’m smart and well-read.”

  Sitting back in his chair, Gordon twisted his mustache. “I see.”

  “Yes, sir. You give me a case, and I’ll solve it.”

  After taking a deep breath, Gordon tapped on his desk with a pencil. “Marianne, you said we have another trainee?”

  The women poked her head in the door. “Yes, just came in yesterday. She is in the other office reading the handbook.”

  “Send for her.”

  Gerard waited for a few minutes then shifted in the chair. “Can you use me?”

  Gordon looked at him with a slight smile on his lips. “Yes, but there are stipulations.”

  “Such as?”

  The door opened, and a beautiful woman followed Marianne inside. Then Gerard stared at her. It was Arabella. Why would she be here? Perhaps she’d come in to say how he’d done such a wonderful job saving her and her sister as well as the other mail order brides who’d been destined for a horrid life in a Mexican brothel.

  Mr. Gordon stood. “Mr. Gerard Fletcher, this is Arabella Powers.”

  “We’ve met.” The look on Arabella’s face said she wasn’t pleased.

  Marianne raised her brows. “You have?”

  Gerard smiled at Arabella and nodded. “Yes, on my last case. I saved her life.”

  Mr. Gordon stared at her. “Is that so?”

  Arabella folder her arms across her chest and glanced at him. “More or less. There were others who helped.”

  Gerard interjected lest she think he was trying to get all the credit. “Yes, Seth and Charity Warren were also important in the case.”

  Mr. Gordon fingered a file on his desk. “I have a case here that would require the both of you to work together. Mr. Fletcher, as the senior agent you will be responsible for training Miss Powers. But you will do this case together.”

  “Yes, sir. Sounds reasonable.” Gerard didn’t wish to work with a partner much less a woman, but he could do it, once. Not to mention she was beautiful. He certainly could have done worse.

  Mr. Gordon stood. “There is only one way I can send you out together. And that is to marry you.”

  “Marry!” Gerard glared at him. “What kind of joke is this?” He pointed at Arabella. “Did you put him up to this?”

  She huffed. “Believe me, you would be the last man I’d want to marry. It’s for the case only, and then we can annul the marriage. That’s the way I understand it.”

  Marianne stood beside her. “That’s right. Gerard by your actions, I would want assurance that you would not harm Arabella.”

  “Of course not! I was just not prepared for the stipulation as you call it. I’m not the marrying kind.”

  Arabella darted a glance at him. “Don’t let your ego carry you away. I wouldn’t agree to it if it weren’t temporary.” She glared at him.

  Gerard looked away from her. She was a beauty but what an attitude.

  “If you are both agreeable, I’ll do the ceremony right now. Marianne, we need another witness.”

  Marianne bolted into the other room and soon came in dragging a reluctant cowboy. “Duncan will be the second witness.”

  Mr. Gordon pulled out a Bible and some papers. He read the words for them to repeat and then pronounced them husband and wife.

  Gerard grabbed Arabella and kissed her passionately. He figured with her attitude it would be the only one he’d get.

  She slapped him.

  Mr. Gordon handed him an envelope. “Your case and handbook. Read the Pinkerton rules, train your partner, and come back after you’ve accomplished the goals set inside. Be good to one another.”

  Arabella groaned as she walked to the door.

  Gerard scowled at her. What had he gotten himself into? But it was better than running from the men looking for him. Hopefully, he’d make enough to pay his debts.

  Chapter 2

  Arabella stomped out the door. If she didn’t need this job so badly, she’d have punched that arrogant Gerard in the nose. He’d been barely tolerable after the ruckus in Texas. Charity had confided that she’d shot him in the shoulder with her
derringer. The man was an oaf and barely better than the criminals they’d captured.

  She almost turned around and went back in to tell Archie Gordon that he’d made a mistake and hired a man that more than likely his agents were going to have to go after one day. Ha! How was she going to work with him?

  Gerard stopped outside and stood in her way. “Arabella, that’s a mouthful of a name. How would you like me to call you Bella?”

  She only wished to wipe that idiotic grin off his face. “I wouldn’t. Arabella is my name.” She walked around him.

  He strode beside her. His gray suit fit him perfectly. Everything about him was perfect except his attitude. “I could call you Mrs. Fletcher, but I think I’ll call you Bell. That’s a compromise. I’m hungry. Want to go and have our wedding dinner?” He pulled her to a stop.

  She glared at him.

  He smiled, making his handsome face even more appealing. Too bad he didn’t have the personality to go with it. “Now, Bell, let’s get this partnership started on a good foot.”

  She stomped on his polished shoes. “You are to train me in the ways of an agent. I see I am going to have to train you in the ways of a gentleman. And my name is Arabella.”

  He limped toward the diner. “Touché. I’ll be on my best behavior.”

  “I doubt that I will notice. But I am hungry.” This was going to be one long partnership no matter if it was days or weeks. One thing she was sure of, she’d work hard to solve the case.

  The waiter seated them in the back where it was darker and lit a candle at their table.

  Arabella wanted to blow it out and sit in the dark. She ordered a steak with soup and potato. It had been a while since she’d eaten a hearty meal. With the Pinkerton’s advance, she wanted to take advantage of it. She heard Gerard ordering the works. He might look and act like a prosperous man, but she had her doubts.

  She glared at him. “What is the case about?”

  “Haven’t looked at it. Dinner first, then we’ll go over it.”

  She held out her hand. “I’d like to see the folder, please.”