“You gettin’ out, lady?” the driver called.
“Yes, but I want you to wait for me,” Ann replied to the obnoxious man. Apparently the driver had no intention of helping her down. She was forced to perform the service herself. She disliked New York more and more.
Ann walked back to the shop and stared at the tweed suit on display. She could fit in it. She was tall, slender and, unlike Hester, her bosom was small.
Even though the thought of putting on such clothing turned her stomach to whey, a solution to her problems was taking form. She and Hester could travel as man and wife. If men performed as women in Shakespeare’s plays, why couldn’t a woman pose as a man? A cold wind stirred, and she felt the added chill. She moved to the door and opened it.
Hester’s gaze shifted from the man’s suit to the duchess, then back to the man’s suit. “We are to travel as husband and wife?”
“Don’t look so shocked. We have to do whatever is needed to protect ourselves.”
The thought of the duchess wearing such a suit threatened to send Hester into peals of laughter.
“I trust you won’t have the babe until we find a midwife.”
Hester chose not to point out that it wasn’t something she had any control over.
Turning her attention to the suit, Ann held the trousers in front of her to judge their fit.
“After we’re settled, I’m certain you’ll adjust to the American way of living. I’m quite knowledgeable about the colonies,” Ann stated proudly. “Before I married, friends and I often found it an interesting topic for discussion. For instance, you will be glad to know that this land isn’t even as large as England. Why we bothered to go to war over such a place is still beyond my understanding.”
“You said that sailing on a ship destined for New York wouldn’t cause further delays,” Hester goaded. “If that was so, why did your father book passage on the Dolphin which was to berth in San Francisco?”
“Probably because it set sail sooner. Arizona Territory has to be somewhere in the middle of the two.” Ann unbuttoned her gray wool skirt and let it fall to the floor.
“You also said the ocean voyage was only going to take six weeks,” Hester reminded the tall woman. “But by the time we reached the islands, waited, then sailed again, another two months had passed.”
“The captain forgot to mention the Caribbean Islands,” Ann excused.
Hester sneered. The pampered duchess knew nothing. “I’ll get my sewing basket from the other room. Adjustments are going to have to be made for the suit to fit properly.”
Ann pulled on the trousers. The material was scratchy. “Hester,” she said soberly when the abigail had returned, “we have to be very careful. We can’t talk to anyone. I had foolishly begun to believe we were safe, today I was reminded of how wrong I have been. I saw two men at the train station. Either or both could have been sentries for Matthew. It reminded me of how precarious our position still is.”
Hester wasn’t at all worried. If Matthew caught up with them, he’d have no reason to kill her now. “What shall we call ourselves?”
“What do you mean?”
“As husband and wife. What names will we use?”
Ann’s fingers paused at buttoning the trousers. “You’ll still be Hester. what is your last name?”
“Potter.”
“Very well, we will be Mr. and Mrs. Potter. I…I will be Albert. I have always admired the name. I purchased something else to go with my new look.” Ann fished about in the hatbox. Finding what she was searching for, she pulled it out and showed it to Hester.
“It’s a mustache. I thought my face might be too smooth, so this should take care of that just fine.” Ann held it to her upper lip.
“It’s the wrong color.”
“It’s just a little darker, that’s all. I’ve seen lots of men whose mustaches weren’t the same exact color as their hair.”
Hester could not hold back the laughter that bubbled forth. “Did you have to get such a bushy one?” she managed to ask.
“We can trim it,” Ann stated defensively.
Hester shook her head. “What about your hair?” she asked.
“My hair?”
Hester marked on the pants where she would take in the waist. “Gentlemen do not have hair to their hips.”
Knowing Hester was right, a single tear trickled down Ann’s cheek. As Edmund had pointed out, her hair was her only beautiful quality. “You will have to cut it.”
Hester forced back a smile. “Such a shame.”
“It will grow again,” Ann said, more to herself than to the abigail.
The women began their work. They had a lot to do if they were to be ready for tomorrow’s journey.
While the bellboys attended to the luggage, Ann took one last look at herself in the mirror. She still had trouble believing that she and the image were one and the same. She really did look like a gentlemanfrom the suit to the top hat-and even the watch fob and cane that finished off the entire look. Edmund often said her low, raspy voice made her sound more like a man. The mustache didn’t look right, but there was little she could do about it now. She turned away and shoved the derringer into her coat pocket. Now she would find out if she could fool others.
As Ann and Hester hurried behind the porter carrying their luggage, Ann had to fight back a sense of giddiness. The man in front hadn’t even looked twice at them. Women openly flirted with her-no, they flirted with Albert. Her disguise was working. Ann started to relax. As her confidence grew, she even lengthened her stride, tapping her cane on the floor with every other step.
Ann turned to encourage the huffing Hester to move faster, when she ran into a solid, jarring object. After some fast handwork to catch her hat, which had been knocked off, she looked to see what she had run into. To her shock, it turned out to be a man!
Ann resented the way the man looked at her with smoldering black eyes. After all, it had been an accident. Then, completely dismissing her before she’d had a chance to apologize, he circled his arms around the woman he was with. His lips captured the redhead’s in a kiss that had Ann’s cheeks burning from embarrassment. No gentleman would kiss a lady in such a manner, and certainly not in public!
Disgusted at having to witness the man’s lack of chivalry, Ann straightened her vest and continued after Hester. Still, she couldn’t resist looking back at the man who had towered over her. He and the woman remained locked in an embrace. She had never seen a man wearing a white doeskin frock coat before, let alone one with fringes down the arms. True, it was a bit worn; nevertheless, it was indeed a magnificent piece of apparel. But then she had never seen anything quite like the man wearing it, either. His dark shoulder-length hair, chiseled features and wide breadth culminated in pure masculinity. She found him to be quite intimidating.
After entering their car, Ann and Hester settled themselves on the red horsehair seat in the Pullman coach. Hester glanced around at the lavish accommodations. Fine wood lined the interior, and brass lanterns with green glass swung from the clerestory. The porter had even informed Albert that there was a saloon car on the train where passengers could relax on soft sofas and men could smoke.
“Are