The Rancher's Temporary Engagement. Stacy Henrie

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СКАЧАТЬ nodded. “That’s the perfect color for you and the fit is exactly right, as well.” She stepped away from the floor-length mirror, giving Maggy a full view of herself.

      And the view startled her.

      She couldn’t say for sure that the color enhanced her hair, but the woman staring back at her looked more than confident and determined. She looked almost...beautiful. It was a notion Maggy had never allowed herself to consider before.

      Tears burned her eyes as she glanced away, blinking rapidly. “It’s a lovely dress. I’ll take it, along with the royal blue one and the others we discussed.” Ms. Glasen would be making an additional eight dresses for her.

      “Wonderful.” The woman beamed again. “I’ll have the royal blue one ready for you to pick up tomorrow and the others next week. Are you staying in town?”

      Maggy shook her head as she ducked back behind the screen. “No,” she called over the fabric partition. “I’m staying at Edward’s ranch. My chaperone fell through at the last moment, but we decided with his housekeeper and staff around and me staying in the small guest house, that all would be right and proper.”

      “Then I’m afraid you’ll have to make the drive into town tomorrow, too.”

      She traded the purple dress for one of her old ones, hanging the other over the screen for Ms. Glasen to wrap. “Not a problem. I enjoy driving a buggy and the countryside is quite beautiful.”

      She finished dressing and stepped back into the room. The lovely gown had sidetracked her a bit from probing for more information, and now it was nearly time to leave.

      “I wonder what gossip will be shared about me.” She feigned a light laugh. “Being without a real chaperone and now engaged to Edward.”

      The dressmaker paused in wrapping up the purple gown. “I imagine the local ranchers’ wives will be a bit surprised.” A hint of pain flickered through her gaze. “They do enjoy new people and topics to discuss.”

      Maggy could easily guess what the woman hadn’t admitted—Ms. Glasen had at one time been the source of gossip herself. “Is that who shares all the gossip? The local ranchers’ wives?”

      “Mostly, yes.” She tied a string around the paper-wrapped parcel. “They have a rather exclusive club that holds weekly tea meetings.”

      “Oh?” Edward had been right! “Do you belong to their club?”

      Ms. Glasen shook her head, another trace of sorrow flitting across her young face. “No. You must be married or engaged to one of the local ranchers to join.”

      “Who is in charge of this club?”

      “Mrs. Dolphina Druitt,” the dressmaker replied in a slightly flat tone.

      This was a new and potentially important piece of information. Mrs. Druitt was the same woman who hadn’t liked the purple dress for her daughter. Maggy would need to see what Edward knew about Mr. Druitt. Did he hold the same authority among the men that his wife seemed to hold among the women?

      Keeping her countenance impassive, she asked, “Do you think Mrs. Druitt and the club would accept me into their ranks?”

      The dressmaker extended the package toward Maggy. “I don’t see why not. You meet their engaged or married requirement. Of course,” she continued in a tone that hinted at more hidden pain, “if for whatever reason you chose not to marry Mr. Kent, you would be asked to leave.”

      It wasn’t difficult for Maggy to piece together Ms. Glasen’s untold story. The woman had likely been engaged to someone and therefore part of the local women’s club, but when she or her fiancé ended the betrothal, the dressmaker had been banished from the group.

      She felt a strange desire to offer the woman a measure of comfort. Not as part of a mission or a disguise but as herself. What could she say though?

      “Tea meetings sound a bit boring for my tastes,” she admitted with full honesty into the tense silence of the shop.

      Ms. Glasen’s tight expression relaxed and her lips curved upward. “I think they’re dull too. Although, the club does host an annual ball every summer that everyone is invited to and that is rather nice.”

      The summer ball. Maggy had forgotten. “That does sound lovely. Perhaps I ought to have a ball gown made, as well.”

      “I haven’t made a ball gown in ages for someone new.” The dressmaker went to the counter and grabbed up a stack of magazines. Turning back, she eyed Maggy carefully. “I think I know just the thing to make you shine.”

      Maggy didn’t want to shine; she wanted to solve this case. Used to staying deliberately hidden in the background, it went against the grain to draw attention to herself. But, this could very well be a means to the end of finding the saboteurs.

      She followed Ms. Glasen toward a pair of armchairs. Perhaps it was also a way to help out an unmarried female entrepreneur like herself. As she took a seat beside the dressmaker and watched the woman’s face brighten with enthusiasm, Maggy felt a glimmer of satisfaction that surprisingly had nothing to do with detective work this time.

      * * *

      With his left foot resting on his right knee, Edward hoped he looked the picture of casualness, though inside, he felt only agitation. He didn’t like being idle, at least not during the workday, even if it was important to outfit Maggy for her role as his fiancée. The other reason behind his uneasiness was the two ranchers seated near him on the long porch of the Sheridan Inn—the younger of which, Gunther Bertram, happened to be one of the ranchers Maggy suspected of sabotaging the Running W.

      “Did you enjoy that equestrian book?” Edward asked as he swiveled to look at Bertram. “The one I loaned you a while back?”

      While Maggy was busy with her new wardrobe, Edward had opted to walk over to the inn to see if he could get a head start on their investigation. It was more than fortunate that Bertram happened to be one of the men seated out front when he’d walked up.

      Bertram cleared his throat. “It was good, real good.”

      “You’re welcome to borrow another.”

      Did he only imagine the slight paling of the man’s face? “Real nice of you, Kent. I’ll...uh...” Another clearing of his throat filled in his pause. “I’ll have to do that.”

      “How are your horses this year, Kent?” Nevil Druitt, the other rancher, asked.

      Edward threw him a confident smile, one that wasn’t forced. Between the Cavalry’s interest and Maggy’s help, he was feeling more assured. “The ranch is doing well. And yours?”

      “Never better.” Druitt swiped a bandanna across his brow and balding head, his vest pushed to its limits by his rounded middle. “Heard from Harry at the livery that some woman came to visit you. A relation of yours?”

      Bertram smirked. “Who else would it be? It isn’t like Kent is interested in settling down. Not that I blame you one bit,” he added. “Women are just plain trouble.”

      “Now, hold on there, son,” Druitt said in a placating tone. “When you find the right woman, you’ll СКАЧАТЬ