There's No Place Like Rhodes (Book 2)

The Dame of Truths

If Schofield was a care facility, then it had been designed to be disguised as a prison. The red brick of its construction resurrected memories for Arthur of rescuing John from the penitentiary. The carriage rolled through the open gates and he couldn't tamp down the uneasy response of feeling caged.

To knock off his edginess, Arthur turned to Charlotte to comment about the place and distract himself. Before he could say a word, she faced away, trying to discreetly swipe at her eyes.

Arthur slid closer to her in the seat, alarmed in new way. "What's wrong, darlin'?"

Charlotte looked up at him, eyes brimming with unshed tears, which increased his tension further. "I'm now thinking we should have never come to Chicago."

Was that why she'd grown so quiet since they'd left the house? While he couldn't argue with her, making this trip had been important to her. He gathered her up in a protective hug. "Hey, now. It ain't all been bad."

"My eagerness to visit the family put you at risk."

"It ain't no matter and the worst of it's done now." He hoped.

"But you shouldn't have been put in such a horrible position in the first place."

He'd warned her a long time ago of the risks by involving herself with someone of his past. That had been back when it'd still been possible to untangle their relationship and walk away with only hurt feelings.

"We did alright. And I'd say we came to a reconciliation of sorts."

Her nose crinkled. "Father asked for too much. Now that we're distanced from him, I regret the promise of a yearly visit."

Arthur shrugged, not too concerned. "If you want, we can negotiate more when we're on sturdier ground and further away, when he ain't got the police at his back door."

"I never thought he'd go so far." She blew out a breath and Arthur was glad to see the tears were gone. "But I must say, I certainly can't wait to hear the story of how an outlaw became deputized."

Arthur told her, "Just the result of a drunken town sheriff meeting the wrong conman."

"Oh?" She sat up, too innocently curious to hear what would amount to all the wrongs of his soiled past. For the moment, Arthur was saved from elaborating by the coach starting to slow.

Charlotte sighed. "For the first time, I am as eager as you to be back. If not for Aunt Rosie, I'd have Mr. Godfrey driving us straight to the train station right now to avoid any more conflict with Father."

Arthur squeezed her shoulders in encouragement, but held his tongue. She knew well his opinion on the city. Even with the nervous prospect of coming fully clean ahead of him, he was ready to leave Chicago.

The carriage stopped in front of the main entrance of Schofield. As they exited, Charlotte said, "I'm sure I've eluded to it, but I'll give you a formal warning about Rosie before we head in."

Arthur hadn't heard anything negative about her aunt. "I thought we were past all the hang-ups with your family."

"There's nothing to worry here," Charlotte assured. "Aunt Rosie is just a bit...well. Frank, I suppose is the delicate term."

"Sounds preferable than all that word-dancing the rest of them other rich folk do."

Charlotte continued, "Truly, the best policy with Rosie is honesty. She'll toy with you if she suspects deception."

"Great. Ain't like I got a thousand lies and more behind me."

Charlotte smiled. "You'll be fine. Usually, she doesn't mean her insults. Rosie delights in shocking new company." Charlotte stopped at the top of the entrance stairs and bit her lip. "Actually, perhaps I should go in alone."