Wildstar

That comment stumped Jess momentarily.

"He isn't like all those other rich fellows around here, Jess, only out for himself. He's a fair man and a straight shooter. And I think you know it."

"I suppose so," she admitted grudgingly. Devlin might be filthy rich, but he hadn't used his wealth to crush the little people who got in his way. In fact, he'd helped Riley get back on his feet again and risked his life to go head-to-head with Burke. And he'd fulfilled one of Clem's dreams, staking him to a mule ranch. Those weren't the acts of a selfish, greedy, manipulative man.

"I also think you ought to give him a chance to explain what happened," Riley said after a minute.

"You really think he plans to settle down?"

"Yep. And if he does, he's gonna need a wife. You would be a good choice."

Jess felt her heartbeat quicken with hope, but she shook her head. Devlin wouldn't want an unsophisticated, un­worldly, unfeminine Westerner like her for a wife. "He wouldn't want to marry me."

"Well, I think he would. To tell the truth, I think he's al­ready made up his mind. He's just waiting for you to make up yours. If you love him, then you ought to try and work things out."

"That isn't the question," Jess replied dejectedly. "I do love him . . . so much it hurts. The question is, does he love me?"

"I reckon you better find out."

She didn't know what to say. She'd had her hopes raised before, only to have them crushed by that faro dealer she'd seen Devlin kissing. But if it was true, that Devlin really did love her, then maybe she'd been mistaken about him again. Maybe he'd had a reason for kissing that woman on the street. Maybe she had overreacted. And maybe she'd ruined her chances to have a future with him, after all the times she'd accused him of things he hadn't done.

"What am I going to do?" she asked finally.

"I think you should go to that party Burke invited you to. Devlin's likely to be there, and you can talk to him about what happened."

Jess shuddered. Ashton Burke embraced the best and most highly respected element of society. "I would just be out of place there."

"No, you won't. You can hold your own with the best of 'em. You buy yourself a fancy new dress, and you'll be the prettiest girl there. If Devlin isn't in love with you, he will be when he sees you."

Still Jess hesitated. She didn't want to go there alone and face Devlin all by herself. She couldn't bear it if he turned away.

"Will you come with me?" she asked her father in a small voice.

Riley smiled in the darkness and patted her hand. "Sure, I'll come with you. If you need me, Jess, I'll always be there."

Chapter 21

Her party gown was a creation of emerald-green silk and ecru lace that lovingly caressed her figure and left more of her bosom bare than Jess had ever before ex­posed in public. The low decolletage, off-the-shoulder and ornamented by a deep lace fichu, graced a cuirasse bodice and puffed, elbow-length sleeves. The lace underskirt fell in straight pleats, while the emerald faille overskirt gath­ered behind in a full bustle and ended in a train decorated with flounces and ruching.

Jess felt positively indecent, but Flo insisted she looked beautiful and entirely appropriate for the occasion. The cheval mirror tended to agree. Eying herself critically, Jessica saw an elegant young woman richly gowned, her tawny hair swept up, with fringed bangs and curling ten­drils at the temples. Kid gloves and a fan completed the ensemble.

Jess couldn't deny her guilt over the expense, though. The gown had taken the dressmaker the entire week to sew, and had cost a fortune. She also couldn't deny that she was as nervous as she'd ever been in her life. The army of butterflies had taken refuge in her stomach again, and she was quaking like the proverbial aspen. She'd staked her whole future on this one meeting with Devlin, and the suspense was driving her mad.

At least Clem helped to ease her fears.

"Jumpin' Jehoshaphat!" the wizened mule skinner ex­claimed when Jess finally emerged from her room, where she and Flo had been closeted all afternoon. He'd come over from the boardinghouse specifically to see her off, and now all he could do was gape. "You're gonna set that big-city fella on his ears, Jessie, that's fer shore."

Flo beamed, her grin wide and smug. "She does look grand, doesn't she?"

Riley—all dressed up himself in a tailcoat and tall opera hat—kissed his daughter on the cheek and held out his arm with a proud chuckle.

Riley had hired a carriage for the occasion, but as they made the short drive to Georgetown, Jess was grateful for the velvet mantle that protected her shoulders against the chill of early November. Fallen aspen leaves swirled around the hem of her gown as Riley helped her down from the carriage. He gave her another encouraging smile, but all Jess could manage was a quivering one i

n return.

They were met by a butler who took her wrap and showed them into a large chamber that appeared to be a cross between a ballroom and a drawing room. An orches­tra played quietly in one corner, competing with a buzz of polite conversation. A crowd of some fifty people were al­ready gathered there, all superbly dressed in swallow-tailed coats or evening dresses. Jess didn't feel so out of place for the elegant evening.

Ashton Burke must have been watching for them, for he came up to Jess almost at once and took her hand. "Wel­come, my dear. I'm delighted you could come. I have several people I want you to meet."