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a grunt when Miss James dug in her heels and stopped moving.
    “I’m not going back to Chicago without a husband by my side.”
    To Theodore’s surprise, Miss Beckett gave Miss James an awkward pat on the shoulder.
    “I don’t mean to distress you, but that advertisement you answered was simply a ploy to get you down here. Those two men from the farmhouse had nefarious plans for you, and I’m afraid there was never a husband to be had.” She gave Miss James another pat. “You’re a lovely young lady, one I’m certain any gentleman would be proud to call his own. I’m quite certain if you put your mind to it, you’ll be able to secure the attention of some nice gentleman back in Chicago. Then you won’t need to worry about becoming a spinster.” She looked at him. “Wouldn’t you agree, Mr. Wilder?”
    He blinked. “Ah, of course. Why, I would be astonished if Miss James wasn’t happily married within the year.”
    Miss James’s gaze suddenly sharpened. “Are you married, Mr. Wilder?”
    Before he could address that piece of nonsense, Miss Beckett grabbed Miss James’s arm and began pulling her down the hallway, and something that sounded very much like “Set your sights a little higher dear,” drifted back to his ears.
    Honestly, Miss Beckett was a nuisance. There was no other way to describe her.
    “We should probably follow them,” Sheriff Dawson said, prompting Theodore to grimace even as he began to trudge up the steps after the ladies.
    He reached the top and moved to where Miss Beckett was whispering something to Miss James, stopping when she caught sight of him. She straightened, sent Miss James a look that clearly stated she was beginning to lose patience with the lady, and then opened her mouth. “You’ve neglected to mention what our plans are from here, so Miss James and I were uncertain how to proceed.” She let out a breath. “Miss James believes we should scurry over to the hotel and get a restful night’s sleep, but I was hoping you have a carriage at your disposal, which would allow us to depart from this pleasant town immediately.”
    “I’m afraid I have no carriage at my disposal, I learned this afternoon that the hotel has no vacancies, and I’m quite certain we’ll have to spend the night at the train station, since no trains run through Gilman this time of night.”
    “My mother would never approve of me spending the night in a train station with a gentleman,” Miss James proclaimed.
    Miss Beckett narrowed her eyes. “Miss James, forgive me, but you ran away from home to rendezvous with some unknown man whom you apparently were convinced you would marry. I don’t believe your mother will care if you accompany Mr. Wilder and me to the train station because, again, it’s a train station. Mr. Wilder is a well-respected private investigator, and I’m certain he’s spent more than a few nights guarding his clients in unusual places.”
    “Oh, private investigators are so . . . compelling,” Miss James breathed.
    Here was a reminder of why he was not getting married anytime in the near future. Ladies were trouble wrapped up in pretty packages, or in Miss Beckett’s case, wrapped up in clothing that could most likely walk on its own.
    “Tell me, Sheriff,” Arabella said, causing Theodore to blink back to the conversation at hand, “what happened to the two men who were back at the farmhouse?”
    With all the intrigue swirling around, he’d completely neglected to ask that pertinent question, which certainly didn’t say much about his investigating skills at the moment.
    Sheriff Dawson turned rather red. “I’m afraid those men have disappeared.”
    Miss Beckett’s expression turned formidable. “Surely you’re not suggesting they escaped, are you?”
    Sheriff Dawson’s color increased. “They took off on Mr. Brown’s horse, and no one has seen them since.”
    Miss Beckett crossed her arms over her chest. “If those men took Mr. Brown’s horse, explain