Simmer All Night

Simmer All Night

Bad Luck Abroad

Book One

by

Geralyn Dawson

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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

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© 1999, 2011 by Geralyn Dawson Williams

Cover by Kim Killion

eBook design by eBook Prep
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Thank You
.

For Steve

You're always there for me.

Even when we're stuck on a roundabout in Derby.

Chapter 1

San Antonio Texas, 1883

I want to strangle Christina Delaney.

While the bimonthly meeting of the Historical Preservation Society continued without his attention, Cole Morgan reread the note the Delaney family's butler had slipped him moments ago and tried to hide his outrage. The message was from Rand Jenkins, the third partner in the law firm of Morgan, Delaney, and Jenkins. It read:

Thought you and Jake would want to know. Tonight I went down to Military Plaza for supper and discovered a new chili stand serving up spice. Jake's little sister is San Antonio's newest Chili Queen. I may go back for seconds.

Christina a Chili Queen.

Cole could only imagine the scandal this would create. The rebellious daughter of San Antonio's first family had pulled her share of stunts in the past, but this time she had gone too far. Her behavior would fiercely upset her mother.

"So what do you say, Morgan?" a local businessman asked. "You'll go?"

"Go?" He jerked his head up. To Military Plaza? Did they know about Christina already? "Go where?"

"To England, man."

"England? Me?" What had he missed? Cole crushed the note in his fist and quickly shoved it into his pocket. "Why in the world would I want to go to England?"

Elizabeth Delaney sighed as she smoothed a straying strand of graying hair back into her coiffure. "Cole, you haven't been paying attention, have you?"

That quickly, he was thirteen again, mortified at being scolded by the woman he held above all others. "I'm sorry, Miss Elizabeth. I'm afraid I was distracted by a message I just received."
Another sin to place at Christina's feet.

Elizabeth's tender smile offered both forgiveness and encouragement. "Word has reached the Historical Society that one of the missing copies of our Declaration of Independence may well be in England. We suspect it was included in papers sent to the Republic of Texas's legation in London some forty-odd years ago. My father, the Earl of Thornbury, has heard a rumor that an Englishman whose family had ties with the Texas embassy in London may have it in his possession. We have unanimously chosen you as our representative to investigate this rumor and, we hope, to track the document down and bring it home."

They what?
Cole shot an incredulous look around Elizabeth Delaney's parlor, where the cream of San Antonio society sat smiling at him. "Wouldn't that be a bit like sending a chuck wagon cookie to the ballet?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Cole." Elizabeth Delaney's elegant eyebrows dipped into a frown as she added, "You are every inch the gentleman—when you wish to be, anyway—and I am certain you will hold your own with any peer of the realm."

"She's right," piped up the distinguished owner of a local bank. "You're a home-grown aristocrat, Morgan. You ooze that Texan-born-and-bred pride, but you do it within acceptable bounds for Polite Society. It's a talent, I say. One that will serve you well on this quest."

Aristocrat? His father had been a gardener and his mother a laundry maid in England before immigrating to Texas. Before he could pose another protest, the butler nudged him in the back, reminding Cole of the note.
I need to talk to Jake.

But first, he needed to get out of going to England.

He shook his head slowly, then motioned toward his best friend, Elizabeth Delaney's son and the new Chili Queen's brother. "Jake should go. The earl is his grandfather, after all, not mine."

"No." Jake folded his arms and leaned back in his seat, eyeing Cole keenly. "I have a new client. Remember? The trial is scheduled to begin in six weeks, but I intend to ask for a delay. This case could drag on for some time. I won't be going anywhere for the foreseeable future."

Cole scowled. He'd forgotten about the murder trial. Maybe it was kismet that he was reminded at this particular moment of the man accused of murdering a family member during a fit of rage.
So I won't
strangle
Christina. I'll just make her wish I had.

He threw a pleading look toward Jake. "Maybe this... quest... could wait until the trial is done? You know I just bought that ranchland west of town, and I'd hoped to spend my extra time during the next few months getting that operation up and running."

Elizabeth Delaney shook her head. "I think a delay is ill-advised. This is the first good lead we've had on any of the missing copies of the Declaration since we started looking two years ago. I strongly feel we dare not waste a moment investigating the matter further."