Love in Disguise by Carol Cox Read Free Book Online

me. Are you Miss Brooks?”
    The exquisite redhead blinked twice before an amused expression spread across her features. “Don’t tell me you’re my aunt .”
    So it was Norma. Ellie tried to match the other woman’s easy grin in spite of her pounding heart. “I’m Ellie Moore, at least I am for the moment. But by the time we board the train this evening, you’ll be traveling with your aunt, Lavinia Stewart.”
    “Well, well, well.” Norma surveyed Ellie with a long, appraising look, then nodded. “You aren’t at all what I expected, but I know Fleming and Gates well enough to be sure they wouldn’t send along someone they didn’t feel could do the job.”
    She tilted her head, then added, “They made a good choice. With your nondescript looks, you’ll be perfect at fading into the background. Nobody will even remember you were around.”
    Ellie’s heart leapt up at the initial compliment, then plummeted at Norma’s casual dismissal of her appearance. Of course she was plain. Hadn’t she been told so all her life—by her parents, by Magdalena, by every director she had approached about casting her in even a non-speaking role?
    She covered her wounded feelings with practiced indifference. “Tell me about the role you’ll be playing. I’ve worked out most of Lavinia’s history, but I’d like to know more about her relationship with her ‘niece.’ ”
    Norma twisted a red curl around one gloved finger. “I planned to go as Jessie Monroe. That’s a name I’ve used on several occasions. But I came here to tell you—”
    “Monroe should work,” Ellie murmured, committing the name to memory. “After all, Stewart is Lavinia’s married name, so she and Jessie wouldn’t have to share the same surname. Right?”
    The curl sprang free from Norma’s finger and formed a perfect tendril along her creamy cheek. “True, but that doesn’t matter now. There’s something I need to talk to you about.”
    A sense of having heard these lines before swept over Ellie, and she tried to shake off the feelings of foreboding it evoked. Images of her last night in the Orpheum Theater flashed through her mind, leaving her breathless. An imminent journey and the anticipation of a grand adventure just ahead. Magdalena’s evasive behavior and the words “There’s something I—”
    A feeling of doom rolled over her. No, no, no! This couldn’t be happening again. Ellie clenched her hands into fists within the folds of her skirt and searched Norma’s face, trying to reassure herself the other woman’s expression didn’t harbor a revelation that would shatter her hopes.
    “I expected to head back to Chicago as soon as I wrapped up this last investigation. Without another female operative available, it looked like the home office was ready to turn down the Arizona case.”
    Ellie nodded and forced her hands to unfold. Norma was only giving some personal background, trying to get acquainted and put her at ease. “Yes, that’s what I overheard the day I listened in on their conversation.” She laughed at Norma’s startled expression and quickly outlined the events that led up to her being hired.
    One corner of Norma’s lips quirked upward. “In other words, you eavesdropped your way into a job? Very enterprising of you. You have the makings of a fine operative.”
    “That’s my hope. In fact, they told me that if you think I show promise during our time together, they’ll consider keeping me on permanently.”
    Norma’s look of amusement faded, and Ellie felt a knot form in her stomach. Taking Ellie by the arm, Norma led her over to a small nook formed by an upholstered wing chair and a potted plant. “That’s what I started to tell you. I had my bags packed, and I was ready to head back to Chicago when I got a wire from Gates saying they might have found another agent after all. They told me to stay put and wait for further instructions.”
    Ellie nodded, trying to look as though she followed Norma’s