Rebecca Hagan Lee Read Online Free PDF

be able to bathe and dress, take care of his business, and head home to Coryville and to his family.
    Because he had no choice, James Craig strolled down the stairs to the front desk of the Russ House barefoot and shirtless to request a spare key to his room. When the desk clerk wanted to know how Mr. Craig became locked out of his room, James had simply stood glaring at the man until Mr. Palmer, the hotel manager, a tall, barrel-chested man with an equally big belly, muttonchop whiskers, and a rapidly receding hairline, arrived and began the search for the spare key to his room. James waited so long for the man to return with the key that he’d almost decided that buying the hotel, emptying it of incompetent staff, and searching for the damned key himself would be easier than subjecting himself to the scrutiny of the hotel employees and guests in the lobby, the public bar, and the dining room. Standing at the front desk, James scanned the restaurant in the halfhearted hope that he would find Elizabeth enjoying a leisurely breakfast. He was disappointed, but not surprised, to discover she wasn’t there. She had gone to a great deal of effort to sneak out of the room before he woke up and to keep him from following her. And after going to allthe trouble to elude him, James hadn’t really expected Elizabeth to linger over breakfast in the hotel dining room waiting for him to appear. But he’d hoped just the same.
    Exhaling a long breath, James turned and found himself the object of a half-dozen or so curious glances from his railroad employees who sat sipping coffee and eating breakfast. Acutely aware that he was setting a bloody poor example for the employees at Craig Capital, Ltd., James grimaced, then ran his fingers through his hair in an effort to comb it, straightened his silk robe and tightened the belt at his waist, making himself as presentable as possible. He employed hundreds of men on his railroad lines and in the northern California mines and timber camps, and while James knew the majority of the men were satisfied in their jobs, there were other employees who believed the rumors about him—the rumors that had followed him from Hong Kong. And as a consequence of that, he employed men who didn’t trust him, didn’t like the way he ran Craig Capital, or the fact that he employed hundreds of Welsh, Cornishmen, and Chinese.
    “I apologize for the delay, Mr. Craig,” the hotel manager interrupted James’s thoughts, “but we’ve been unable to locate an additional spare key to your room. Perhaps, you should check with your
traveling companion.
” He shot James a meaningful glance. “She requested a second key to your room earlier this morning.”
    “My what?” James’s voice rumbled through the lobby causing several hotel guests to turn and stare at him.
    “The young lady traveling with you. The young lady staying in the room next to yours.”
    “Elizabeth?”
    The hotel manager nodded, then checked the signature on the guest register. “That’s right. Miss Elizabeth Sadler. I believe she said she was your
cousin
,” Mr. Palmer informed him.
    James digested that information, then scanned the hotel lobby and dining room again before asking, “Did mycousin happen to mention what she was doing up and about so early in the morning?”
    “She explained that, although you were her escort, she wanted to do some shopping while you attended to business this morning. The porter hailed a hack for her.”
    “What about her room?” James asked.
    “What about it?”
    “I’m—we’re—leaving San Francisco this afternoon,” James reminded the manager. “Did my cousin arrange for her bill? Or shall I cover the cost?”
    “Oh, no, Mr. Craig,” Palmer rushed to reassure his guest. “Miss Sadler paid for her room herself in full this morning.”
    “What about her baggage?” he prodded. “Did she have it sent to the Ferry Building in preparation for our departure? Or shall I?”
    “She only had the one