Read Love in Disguise for Free Online Page A

see your point. I agree that we may be crazy if we do . . . but I’m certain that we’re fools if we don’t. I’m willing to take full responsibility if Pinkerton has any misgivings.”
    A broad smile spread across his face, and he held out his hand. “Welcome aboard, Miss Moore.”

5
    K ANSAS C ITY, M ISSOURI
    A fter leaving all her worldly possessions—namely, her trunk and Magdalena’s costume hamper—in the charge of a pimply-faced baggage handler at Kansas City’s Union Depot, Ellie strode along Pershing Road in search of the Imperial Hotel and Norma Brooks, her soon-to-be partner. If all went according to plan, they would spend the afternoon going over information and getting their background stories squared away and leave on the evening train bound for Dodge City, Albuquerque, and points west.
    Ellie pressed one hand against her waist to subdue her queasiness and felt her lips twist in a wry smile. Had she bitten off more than she could chew in presuming to play such an audacious role? She pushed the question away as soon as it arose. This job wasn’t a matter of choice, it was one of survival. She had to be able to pull it off. Besides, she wouldn’t be on her own. Her new partner would be on hand to help her make a success of the mission.
    What would Norma Brooks be like? Fleming and Gates had given her the woman’s physical description—creamy skin, red hair, a distractingly pretty figure—but those details gave no clue as to the inner person, the woman Ellie would be working with daily until their investigation ended.
    Ellie spotted the brightly painted sign for the Imperial across the street. She waited for a phaeton drawn by a striking pair of bays to pass by, then crossed the road, reveling in her freedom of movement when she stepped up onto the boardwalk unencumbered by Lavinia’s more limited gait. For this leg of the trip, she had chosen to travel as herself, knowing it would be the last time she’d be able to do so for some time. Once she boarded the train to Arizona, she would have to become Lavinia Stewart whenever she went out in public.
    Ellie huffed out an impatient sniff. If only she’d heard about the investigation earlier, she might have been able to snag the part of the younger woman herself. Instead, she would have to spend her time in the public eye encased in the wig, padding, and cloth leg wrappings that made Lavinia so believable. Not to mention those cheek plumpers. She had to admit they did a first-rate job of changing the shape of her lower face, even adding a lovely hint of jowl along her jawline. But having the wax disks wedged inside her cheeks for hours at a time proved to be far more taxing than she had expected.
    Ah, well. How many times had she heard Magdalena bemoaning the necessity of suffering for her art? Apparently it was Ellie’s turn now.
    She pushed open the hotel door and stepped inside, pausing to let her eyes adjust to the relative dimness after the glare of the midday sun. As her vision focused, she scanned the lobby’s interior, looking for her partner. An elderly couple occupied a settee in front of the large window, and two businessmen conversed in hushed tones over in one corner. Ellie caught her breath and surveyed the room again, more slowly this time, but she saw no one who fit Norma Brooks’s description. What now?
    A balding man peered at her over his pince-nez from behind the L-shaped front desk. Ellie smiled at him, then strolled over to a grouping of overstuffed chairs and perched on the edge of one that faced the doorway, trying to look as though she had every right to be there. Her heart beat double time, and her toes echoed the rhythm against the Oriental rug. Where was Norma?
    Avoiding the desk clerk’s gaze, Ellie opened her reticule and pulled out several folded papers, the notes she had scribbled during her all-too-brief training session at the Pinkerton office. She could use this time to refresh her memory of her mentors’