Chris Larabee and the rest of the seven, except for Nathan rode into Coventry during the hours of the early afternoon the very next day after their women’s dramatic escape from the jailhouse. Nathan had opted to stay in town and play doctor with Alex’s absence from Four Corners. Of course, they proceeded into town with no knowledge of that incident, led here only by the trail that had been left behind when Vin Tanner found the damaged carriage abandoned on the main route to Sweet Water. Despite the fact that Vin had investigated the surrounding area where the carriage had been found and discovered the tracks of a wagon and the horses that had been yoked to it leading away from the crash site, Chris could not help feeling apprehension at the whole state of affairs.
It's not that he worried that something happened to his wife and her friends following the accident where their carriage had lost its wheel, it was just that such calamities usually followed an entire string of such incidents whenever his wife was concerned. If it were at all possible for her to fall into an outlandish situation, he had no doubt that Mary would somehow manage to accomplish it. Now with the added element of Maude Standish’s presence, he dreaded to think what Mary was embroiled in. Sometimes, he wondered whether he had given up a simpler life when he had chosen to get married. Whoever said domestic bliss was something to be cherished had obviously never been married or completely insane.
Thus by the time he and his party entered the town limits of Coventry, they were ready to find the nearest saloon for a drink. If luck were with them, they would find Mary and the others still in the town where logic dictated they would be resting following their ordeal in the carriage. Unfortunately, Chris knew better and figured that the chances of that happening were about as remote as Buck entering a monastery and swearing to a life of celibacy. Leaving their horses at the local livery since the animals had been on the trail for quite some time and needed water and rest, Chris and the others had started to leave the place when they noticed the collection of wagons and carriages for sales. It stood to reason that the wagons the girls had taken had to come from somewhere and this was as good a place as any to start.
The young man who tended their horses could not answer their questions regarding the purchase of any new wagon that might have taken place the night before but helpfully directed them towards the saloon where his father, the owner of the establishment was known to inhabit. The young man did add that it was likely that a sale had been made recently since his father was only known to visit the saloon when he had the money to spare and business had not been that brisk lately. Casting his gaze over the dreary town, Chris could well believe it and wondered about the gloomy pallor of the community, which seemed no different from Four Corners and yet suffered, a malaise of stagnancy that seemed hard to explain.
Upon entering the saloon, all eyes shifted to them, as was the practice in so many others like it. The patrons of the establishment glanced briefly at the new arrivals, paying little more than a few seconds of attention before returning their eyes back to their drinks, the working girls who were perched on their laps or to their card games. The bartender, a traditional type with slicked hair parted in the middle, while wearing clean crisp clothes hidden behind an apron, regarded their approach with a little more interest.
"What can I get you, boys?" He asked politely.
"Red Eye," Chris answered.
"Me too," Vin added with the others all giving their preferences to the man who promptly went away to fill their orders.
"Not exactly a thriving little community is it?" Ezra remarked as he let his gaze sweep across the room and noticed the dour atmosphere of the place. Something was wrong but Ezra for the life of him could not put his finger on it.
"No," Josiah agreed as the bartender returned and started pouring their drinks into shot glasses. "Looks a little dead around here."
"Kinda strange actually," JD answered feeling a slight shudder, unable to explain the uneasy feeling in his bones. This place reminded him of Jericho, the sinister little town where weary travellers pausing for a good night’s rest could find themselves, permanent guests of the local prison, by the time the dawn broke the next day.
"Well let’s just find this Parsons and keep going them," Vin drawled and prompted Chris into motioning the bartender towards them again.
"I’m looking for a man called Parson?" Chris asked once the bartender reached him.
"Over there." He gestured to the livery owner who had taken residence with a saloon girl at a table at the far corner of the room.
Chris glanced in the man’s direction and nodded. "Vin, come with me," Chris instructed. "The rest of you stay put. Don’t want to spook him if all of us go up to him."
"I am certain that you will handle the matter with your usual tact." Ezra retorted, returning his attention to his drink. Ezra had been in a foul mood for most of their journey with his normally acerbic remarks laced with an edge of annoyance that was hard to ignore. The truth was despite his desire to find Julia and Maude as well as the rest of their party, he was in no hurry to face Julia. If he knew his redhead at all, she was not going to be entirely thrilled when they met again. In fact, if he should come away from the encounter alive, it would be quite an improvement to the fate he had imagined for himself. He could not blame her anger, of course, he should have told Maude and could not to this moment, understand why he had not. However, he had just about as long as it took to find her to come up with a reasonable explanation.
Ezra’s remark barely registered as Chris and Vin approached the livery owner’s table. Besides, they were used to the gambler’s foul mood and knew it had to do with his impending death when Julia got her hands on him. The man was so engrossed in the plump beauty he was trying to charm with his money that he did not see the two lawmen until they were almost on top of him. Although it appeared to Chris and Vin that while he had the money, he was more or less assured of a sure thing and need not have bothered. Still, it was impolite to point such things out especially when they needed information from him.
"You Parson?" Chris asked as he and the tracker pulled a chair each and sat down at the table, not bothering to wait for the man to respond.
Parsons broke away from his intimate murmuring in his lady friend’s ear and looked at them both, taking note of the guns carried by both men and wise enough to know that it was best to cooperate. "Could be." He said after a moment, swallowing hard and telling Chris by that one action that this was a man who spent most of his time cowering under one rock or another. "What do you want?"
"Just a couple of questions," Vin said politely, being the more approachable of the two. Chris could be intimidating even when he did not wish it and at this moment, they needed Parson’s help in their quest to find Alex, Mary and the others.
"Do what I can." The man answered clearly relieved and started to gesture to his shapely companion to leave when Vin interjected quickly that she could stay if he liked. The allowance pleased Parsons who offered the tracker a nod of appreciation as he waited for their questions. "What do you need to know?"
"I’m wondering if you saw any strangers in town yesterday. A couple of women." Chris asked. "Their carriage hit some trouble a couple of miles from here and it looks like they might have come into town to buy a wagon."
His faced changed immediately. "Those are your women?" He asked with a hush.
Immediately Vin and Chris exchanged brief glances. "You saw them?" Vin asked quickly, suddenly expecting the worse because, with Alex, Mary, Julia, Inez and now Casey and Maude, one could not imagine anything else.
"Two of em," Parsons responded, remembering the encounter well and wishing it had gone better for the ladies in question. He hated bringing bad news to these men but then he had felt guilty himself that he had been unable to do anything about it except take their money and warn the younger one to leave while she could. "Came into town to buy a wagon. Young girl picked one of my best ones. Shrewd little negotiator she was."
"Casey," Vin said to Chris automatically.
"Well the other one, I can’t say what she was but I don’t think she was a nigger."
Vin immediately tensed and Chris spoke out before the tracker did anything foolish because Parson’s remark had not meant to be offensive, just an observation. "Easy pard," Chris said putting a hand on the tracker’s shoulder.
Seeing Vin’s reaction told Parsons, just what Alexandra Styles meant to him and he was more guarded with what he said next. "I didn’t mean to be rude," he apologised quickly. "Just didn’t know what she was that’s all."
"Go on," Vin said tersely. "What about her?’
"The sheriff put her in jail," Parson replied remembering how guilty he felt that he could do nothing to stop him but no amount of chivalry was going to make him face Dylan Pierce.
"I’m going to kill him." Was all Vin could say and started to rise out of his seat.
"She ain’t there now!" Parsons quickly exclaimed, just as aware as Chris that the tracker was about to march straight over to the jailhouse and demand her release, probably at gunpoint.
"What do you mean?" Vin glared at him. "Where is she?"
"They escaped. A bunch of nuns broke her out of the jailhouse. Locked the sheriff up in his own cell and took off."
Chris could only stare. "A…bunch….of….nuns?"
"Yeah," Parsons nodded and continued. "The craziest thing I ever heard but Frank Welker tells me that’s what he saw. These four nuns and a pregnant lady went into jailhouse and rescued your lady friend." Parsons looked at Vin.
"Four nuns?" Vin turned to Chris and thought exactly the same thing. "You don’t think…….."
"It was them." Chris groaned. Of course, it would be them! Was he ever wrong about Mary’s capacity for trouble?
"You know these nuns?" The woman at the table finally dared enough to speak.
"One of them is my wife." The gunslinger sighed.
"Mister, that’s sick." She retorted and Vin found himself biting down on his lip to keep from laughing when he saw the expression on Chris Larabee’s face.
"She ain’t a nun." Chris barked back at the woman and prompted her to be silent once again. "I gather they left town after that." He said with a weary sigh.
"Yep," Parsons nodded and then added. "Mister, if those are your women you better find them cause you sure as hell don’t want the sheriff to get there first. He was plenty mad that they got the drop on him and he rode out after them meaner than hell itself. Dylan Pierce ain’t your regular law abiding Sheriff, if he finds them first he’ll hurt em. The only reason I’m telling you this now is cause you look like you got as much to lose as I do."
"When did he ride?" Chris asked, the tone of his voice shifting from annoyance to pure menace with that single piece of information.
"Early this morning," Parsons answered automatically, noticing the change and deciding that this stranger in black was no one to cross at any time. He only hoped that the grim son of a bitch could kill Sheriff Pierce and free Coventry from the lawmen’s chokehold on it.
"We better get going." Vin declared, already having risen from his chair.
Chris could not argue with him. If Dylan Pierce had harmed one hair on any of the women the seven were pursuing with such vigour, then there was not a corner on this earth the man could hide before they tore out his heart.
*********
Mary stared out the window of the dining carriage on the train to Eagle Bend and felt strangely content that nothing out of the ordinary had taken place in the last 12 hours. This trip had already become more than she bargained for and the only thing that saved it from the complete disaster was the fact that they had managed to board the locomotive without incident. She had been half-expecting Dylan Pierce to pop out of the woodwork somewhere, to make them pay for his humiliation imprisonment inside his own cell. Unfortunately, the sheriff had not made an appearance and they were able to reach Sweet Water without incident and check into a nice hotel where a good nights sleep was had by all. Predictably, Maude had made inquiries about catching a train to Eagle Bend the next morning and thus they were here, resuming their journey if somewhat later than anticipated.
"I still can’t believe what we did last night." Casey declared as they all sat at their table in the dining carriage, watching the sparse terrain of the Territory rumble while enjoying lunch. "I never thought we’d get away with it."
"I know I wish I could capture the moment." Alex grinned, unable to remove the smile across her face each time she saw her friends dressed up in the holy habits of a nun.
"Don’t remind me." Julia groaned, pouring herself another cup of tea and trying to hold the pot steady as she did so since the carriage rattled slightly. "I’m amazed I remembered any of those prayers."
"Oh but we must give credit where credit is due," Inez declared having finished her second plate of sausages and presently picking off everyone else’s dish. "Maude, you were outstanding. I loved it when you made everyone kneel and pray."
"Why thank you," Maude replied graciously, unable to deny that she was somewhat amused by what they had done last night. She had not had so much fun playing such a simple game of trickery in a long time. "This is after all what I do."
"Well you do it well, "Mary added her voice to Inez’s compliments. "I think you had Pierce so off-balance he had no idea what was happening."
"I think you all did." Alex laughed, unable to hide her gratitude that all of it had been done for her. "I know I shall never be able to forget it."
"And we will not be telling any of the men about this." Mary declared firmly, her eyes moving across the table so that they would get the idea that she was not joking. "After what happened to us the last time, the last thing we need is for the men to know that we broke Alex out of jail dressed up as nuns. Chris will never let me leave town again with you ladies if he were to now."
"Yes," Alex seemed to agree with that assertion. "I promised Nettie that I was taking Casey on a nice trip to Eagle Bend, not turning her into some kind of jailbreaking outlaw."
"Aunt Nettie would never let me leave the farm if she knew that." Casey nodded her approval to Mary’s plan even though she found what they had done terribly exciting and wished she could tell JD if it was not for the fact that he would tell Buck and eventually it would get back to Chris.
"I’m just glad it's over." Julia sighed. "I’m just looking forward to some shameless pampering when I get to Eagle Bend."
"I want to go shopping," Casey spoke out. "I’m sure I’ll get a nice dress there for the dance."
"Oh that’s right," Julia remembered Casey’s determination to upstage the young ladies at the schoolhouse dance next week. "Don’t worry Casey, you and I will scour the shops until we find something that will bedazzle JD and rub it in that snotty girl’s face." Julia who knew everything there was to know about humiliating other women when it came to competing for a man’s affection, found some satisfaction in being able to use such evil powers for good.
"And I need maternity clothes," Inez spoke up, having decided that she might as well take this opportunity to do some baby shopping as well.
"So while you two are attempting to conquer the gaming tables," Mary looked at Maude and Alex, "we’ll be roaming the boulevards of Eagle Bend shopping. I think it’s an amicable arrangement for us all."
Suddenly, Mary saw Maude’s expression shift to one of quiet amusement to that of fear. The change in the older woman’s eyes was slight but Mary caught it and immediately looked over her shoulder at the direction Maude’s attention was firmly placed. The man who entered the dining carriage was well dressed and in his late fifties, with dark eyes that were set close together and his eyes were as firmly fixed on their table as Maude’s was upon him.
"Maude, what is it?" Mary asked immediately, feeling apprehension in the level of concern being displayed by the woman who rarely seemed unfazed about anything.
Maude did not answer as Jethro Lewisham approached the table slowly. Maude swallowed, having suspected that he might have followed her but not knowing for certain until now. She had travelled to Four Corners hoping that Ezra would come with her to Eagle Bend as a little bit of insurance just in case the man had opted to pursue her. She remembered how badly he had taken his defeat at her hands in New Orleans and had suspected that his rage might not be so easily satisfied without vengeance. In the chaos of everything that had taken place prior to her departure from Four Corners, Maude had completely forgotten that he might still be after her.
"Maude Standish," Jethro announced himself upon arriving at the table. "What a pleasant surprise."
The look of fear she had worn briefly was quickly discarded and Maude faced Jethro with a charming smile as if they were nothing more than two friends who had come across each other on the way to Eagle Bend. "Why Jethro." She said with a smile. "How nice to see you again."
"Aren’t you going to introduce me to your beautiful companions?" He asked, letting his eyes move across the faces of the women were present at the table, giving them predatory looks as well as one of appreciation because they were all singularly lovely in their own way.
"You are such a charmer," Maude said injecting as much casual ease into her voice as possible but Mary could tell that it was forced and decided to play along with the facade for now. For some reason, Mary had this premonition that it was a good idea to do so.
Introductions were made all around and Jethro regarded the ladies with polite and atypical southern charm, barely batting an eyelash at Inez or Alex who would have been something of an affront to the atypical southern gentlemen unless he was very liberally minded. "Well you keep yourself in the most fetching company, Maude," Jethro said with a smile as he remained standing. It was not lost upon anyone that Maude had not asked him to join them at their table. "You left New Orleans rather quickly," Jethro continued. "Am I to assume that you are also going to Eagle Bend for the game?"
There was no point in denying that Eagle Bend was her location when it was clear that Jethro had every intention of intercepting her when she appeared at the tournament. "That’s right," Maude replied. "You know I cannot resist a challenge."
"I hear the opening stake is quite substantial." Jethro continued. "How fortunate that your luck at the tables in New Orleans paved the way for this little trip." While there was no bitterness in his voice as he made that remark, Maude knew better. He was still seething in rage at his public defeat and Maude knew that he was here for a reason although she could not guess what that might be just yet.
"Yes, it was," Maude said with a smile, still trying to feign the same facade she had played in New Orleans.
"I expected to see your son with you," Jethro remarked, meeting her firmly in the eye with a look of predatory deliberation that made Maude shudder. "I hear that he is quite the gambler as well. It must run in the family."
"Ezra will be joining us in Eagle Bend sometime today," Maude said quickly, realising that he must have investigated her background thoroughly to be able to track her here as well as learning about Ezra.
"I do hope so," Jethro answered and flashed a smile that bore no warmth or humour. "I look forward to meeting him." With that, he tipped his hat at them and continued to the far end of the room and took a table for himself, where he could observe.
"What was that about?" Julia hissed in Maude’s direction once he had gone. "Ezra’s not meeting us in Eagle Bend."
"What’s going on Maude?" Mary asked, knowing that man was not a friend under any circumstances. "I don’t think he's running into you was a coincidence."
"He gave me the creeps," Alex added helpfully.
"Well," Maude sighed, having no choice but to tell them her history with Jethro Lewisham since it appeared that he was going to be following them all the way to Eagle Bend, with whatever sinister scheme he had in mind, no doubt encompassing her travelling companions as well. "I met Mr Lewisham in New Orleans and we played a series of poker games, which I took care not too win, initially."
"Oh hell," Alex groaned, realising what Maude was getting at. "Maude, did you hustle him?"
"Hustle is such a crude term my dear." Maude pointed out. "I prefer something a little more civilised, like say 'saved the best for last’."
Julia rolled her eyes. "That is not a man who takes defeat well." She did not know Jethro Lewisham at all but she knew his kind because Julia had ample experience with men, to know the ones that were dangerous and the ones who were paper tigers. Jethro was no paper tiger. The intense dislike and hatred in his eyes were apparent and when he spoke to Maude earlier, he had practically smouldered. "I did not like the way he said he was looking forward to Ezra coming here. Why would he?"
"I wondered about that." Maude met her gaze, admiring Julia’s acumen in latching onto that point. "If revenge is what he is after, Ezra being here would serve no purpose."
"Unless his revenge involves Ezra." Casey blurted out as she drained the contents of her cup.
Maude stared at her, realising that the child might be correct and disliking that idea a great deal. Her son though capable of looking after himself was still her son. It was one thing playing with his mind and torturing him with some of her more creative schemes but she would not let anyone hurt him or place him in a position that might endanger his life, particularly because of her. "Thank God, he was not in Four Corners." She said clearly relieved.
"That does not help our situation." Mary retorted. "If this man can’t get to you through Ezra, we’d better be doubly careful about keeping him from you. I think we’re safe in numbers," Mary continued, thinking a solution out of their problem. "I’ll go see Orin when we get to Eagle Bend and see if he can’t help us out of this situation."
"I do so hate bringing the law into this." Maude frowned unhappily.
"We don’t have much of a choice." The editor of the Clarion stated. "You yourself, know this man is capable of harming you. Would you really want to risk it?"
Despite herself, Maude knew Mary was right and was grateful that Ezra had not indeed told her about Julia Pemberton before her arrival in Four Corners. If Maude had let that slip during their card games, she would have made Julia just as much a target as Ezra was now. "All right, if you think if best." Maude relented on that much because she did not wish Julia to know that she might be vulnerable.
"You know for once," Inez sighed as she eased back into her chair, having picked everyone’s plate clean by now. "I would love it if we could go somewhere without getting into trouble. I mean what it is with us?"
"It's like," Alex tried to think of some way to articulate what was on her mind. "We are the supporting cast of a greater drama and occasionally, when we get the focus, it has to be a fun-filled adventure to prove that we are more than just pretty faces."
"Absolutely." Mary agreed with a sigh.
"I wouldn’t know," Casey replied, "it’s the first time for me."
"My life is a never-ending adventure." Maude retorted before the group turned their attention to Julia and waited for an answer. The redhead shrugged her shoulders and merely retorted.
"I don’t care where I am in the scheme of things as long I get to kill Ezra at the end of it."
*********
Dylan Pierce arrived in Sweet Water late in the afternoon.
Once he had been freed from his shameful imprisonment inside his own cell, only one thought encompassed his mind with absolute conviction. He was going to find the women responsible for this and make him pay. He had guessed by now that they were not nuns and worse yet, wherever they were at this moment, they were laughing at his captivity. Nobody laughed at Dylan Pierce. Nobody. Least of all some coloured whore with her equally deceitful friends.
It did not give him pause that they were from Four Corners or that they might have some connection to the Larabee gang that protected the town. He had faced far worse in his life than seven lawmen and come out alive and kicking. Besides, he would have dealt with those women long before they ever had the chance to return to Four Corners and tell anyone about him. Following his release, Dylan had proclaimed to his deputy that he would be gone for a few days, hunting the fugitives who did this. Of course, Waylon had been smart enough not to make any comment since the entire town had seen the departure of the women even if they did not know that he was trapped inside the jailhouse.
It was easy enough to find their trail once he talked to Parsons who had declared that they were on their way to Four Corners. Having found their damaged carriage on the main track towards that town, it was soon obvious that the ladies had been coming from Four Corners, not going towards it. Thus it was easy enough to come to the conclusion that they were going to Sweet Water, not Four Corners. His anger had made his journey to the Sweet Water pass quickly since he pushed his horse beyond its limits in the desire to sate his anger.
It had been a long time since he had done anything out of vengeance instead of pure profit, however, it had been a long time since anyone had inspired the rage that the woman called Alex had inspired. It was made worse by the fact that he had wanted her and perhaps let his desire for the woman force him into the situation where Waylon had to let him out of his own cells! Dylan remembered his days in Kansas City when he was working alongside James Bracken, one of the meanest men he ever knew. Bracken had taught him everything he knew about the life and killing for money until one day he came up against Jack Nichols who more or less ran the town and did not take too kindly to Bracken’s efforts to usurp territory. The resulting blood bath had more or less annihilated all of Bracken’s gang. Dylan had escaped but barely.
Determined that he would not die by the Nichols’ hands, Dylan fled Kansas and rode out west, finding Coventry not long after he arrived in the Territory. The sheriff was an old man and Dylan made short work of him before assuming the badge the man wore and calling himself Sheriff Pierce. Yes, he had liked the sound of that very much and decided that Coventry would be his very own fatted calf, carving it piece by piece over the years as he gathered enough money to quit the west forever. The people in Coventry had resisted at first and it required a few dead men before the point was put across finally that he would not be leaving unless he was in a pine box. As of yet, there had been no one in town that could make this a reality and so he stayed.
Truth be known, things were starting to get a little routine until he saw that extraordinary creature with her golden coloured skin he knew was not that of a Nigra but could not think of what she might have been. He knew if he did not act, she would have run out on him and there was very little that Dylan Pierce wanted that he did not get. From the moment he had seen her, he had wanted and her and had decided that much without any doubt whatsoever, even if getting her to stay would be something of a problem. Except he had more than he bargained for because she was a doctor. Despite the ruse that had tricked him into his cell, the bag he had seen did belong to a physician and she handled the instruments the way he handled his guns, with familiarity.
It angered him to know that she was beyond his reach. The tracker that she had spoken about was none other than Vin Tanner, Chris Larabee’s trusted second whom Dylan knew to be one of the best bounty hunters in the business before a price was put on his head that no bounty hunter has yet been brave enough to collect.
Arriving n Sweet Water, it did not require much time to question the local hotels and find that she and her friends had arrived late the night before and left early the next morning, with instructions to the porters to send their bags onto the railway station. There was only one train departing from Sweet Water at that time of the day and its destination took it to Eagle Bend. Although he debated maintaining the pursuit since he could not be away from Coventry indefinitely, he knew that he would have no other chance to reach her unimpeded if he did not confront her at Eagle Bend. Once she returned to Four Corners, Dylan had no illusions that he would be set upon by the Larabee gang, in particular, by her paramour, Vin Tanner.
Dylan was neither afraid of such an eventuality nor did he care. He had faced far worse odds in his lifetime, during the war in Kansas City, he had found himself in even more untenable situations to be ever afraid of anything ever again. No, he wanted to reach her without interference, he would let nothing get in the way of his revenge and in this life, there were few things that Dylan Pierce found himself a slave to. The need to satiate a wrong was one such thing.
And that one thing would make him chase her to Eagle Bend and perhaps even to hell itself.
*********
It was late afternoon when the ladies finally arrived at Eagle Bend, carefully avoiding any possible contact with Mr Jethro Lewisham even though Mary did not believe that evading the man was going to a worthwhile expenditure of time since he knew exactly why Maude was in town. It was getting late in the evening and she knew both Alex and Maude were eager to get to the hotel that was hosting the gamblers and confessed some measure of curiosity to see the gathering for herself. It might make for interesting reading in the Clarion, particularly since one of the players was a regular visitor to Four Corners. Mary had a feeling Alex would like her involvement to remain discreet.
Eagle Bend’s Desert Sands Hotel was everything that an oasis was meant to be in the sense that it was a luxurious and welcome sight for weary travellers. From the extravagance of the main lobby to the porters and bellhops running about in their maroon coloured uniforms, ferrying luggage of hotel patrons up and down the carpeted floor, the hotel reeked with opulence. It was exactly what Mary needed, considering their journey here had been fraught with so much drama.
The Desert Sands Hotel was a multi-storied structure with steam-powered mechanical lifts carrying passengers to the loftier levels of the building. As Mary and her company entered the front lobby, she saw a layout of the hotel and took note that it boasted an in house restaurant and theatre and extensive gambling hall which held the most interest to Maude. Approaching the front desk, Mary looked forward to soaking forever in a hot tub with running water and room service. She felt slightly ashamed at her decadent predilections but she doubted that anyone of her companions had thoughts that did not alter too differently from hers in that regard.
There was also every indication that the gambling tournament Maude had travelled so far to attend was in full swing as they entered the premises and saw the men in their sharp suits and dapper manner strolling up and down the place, leaving no doubt as to their profession. Mary never thought she would say this but she now realised that Ezra was atypical of a professional gambler and wondered how the southerner would take to knowing that he looked like any other card player. They came in every type, some wearing expensive clothes and some not, but they all looked the same nonetheless. Surprisingly, the game was not terribly indiscriminate and Mary spied some ladies in the stable of gamblers present.
Upon arriving at the front desk, it did not take the clerk long to find the reservations made prior to their departure from Four Corners and hand them their room keys. Maude had taken care of her own accommodations earlier and secured herself a private room, while Julia and Inez shared a double, while Alex took a suite for herself, Mary and Casey to cut costs since Alex knew that like Inez, Mary was on a budget these days.
"This is so exciting!" Casey gushed as the young woman swept through the rooms of the suite as if she were a little girl in a carnival, dazzled by the lights and everything about it. In this instance, Casey had examined every room carefully, enjoying everything from the richly coloured draperies to the large bay windows that gave a magnificent view of the city below, not to mention the bathroom which was a religious experience for both Mary and herself.
"I’m glad you like it," Alex said stretching out on the divan and taking a moment to catch her breath now that she was finally able to put her feet up. "It's nice to know that my money is good for something."
Although Mary had offered to share the cost of the rooms, Alex would hear none of it citing what good was her money if she could not put it too good use, besides she liked indulging herself and her friends and knew that Mary needed this time away. The editor of the Clarion News took so much on herself that it was easy for Four Corners to forget that she had a life of her own. People often looked upon Mary as the reliable and responsible community leader, who could be counted upon to remain strong whatever the situation. They tended to forget that her energy was not inexhaustible and sometimes, the burden of all their hopes could be a terrible weight even on her formidable shoulders.
"This is quite a suite," Mary commented. "Thank you for this."
"Don’t mention it," Alex smiled, considering Mary Travis Larabee one of her closest friends and being privileged to know someone who could often be a force of nature almost as awesome as her husband. "I’m glad to see you and Casey having some fun. Besides," Alex laughed. "If I am going to do something as sinful as play in this poker game, I might as well do something positive to offset that."
"You think you can win Alex?" Casey returned to one of the wing chairs near the divan that Alex and Mary were presently occupying in similar states of weariness.
"I don’t know," Alex answered honestly. "It’s more the fun of playing really than actually winning. I used to get so sick and tired of hearing people say ‘she can’t play cause she’s a woman’. Believe it or not, whether it's here in America or across the globe, it all comes out the same way."
"You don’t have to tell me." Mary remarked, completely aware of what Alex was talking about. "When I decided to become a newspaperwoman, that’s all I heard about, especially after Steven died. They knew they could I could write but running a paper, that was something else." She frowned, recalling all the objections and words of discouragement she heard during those first few months. It seemed about the only person who did not think she would fall flat on her face was Nathan Jackson. Back then before the arrival of the other members of the seven, Nathan was the only one who believed in her and Mary had never forgotten it.
"Is it always going to be like that?" Casey asked, wondering if women would always be treated as frail and weak when their very survival in the west should have been proof enough that they could survive any calamity. "For women I mean? I can ride, shoot and hunt like any man and yet, they all think I’m strange because I can do all those things. Am I really?"
"Of course not." Alex said automatically and genuinely meant it. "I’d love to be able to do some of the things you do Casey but I was not brought up that way. My father wanted me to experience as much as any man but he still raised me to be a proper young lady. He even tried sending me to boarding school, for all the good that did."
"Likewise." Mary added. "I grew up in Boston where my mother spent her days with society ladies, having tea and kinds of things that meant nothing to anyone but themselves. I hated it because I was only meant to look pretty until someone married me. Having thoughts in my head that went beyond marriage and high society was not acceptable as far as my mother was concerned. Thank god for my father."
"So are your parents still alive?" Casey asked, having never heard Mary speak about her family back east.
"My father died a few years ago." Mary confessed, trying not to feel sadness at the memories of the man who raised her and allowed her the freedom to experience his world of words and truth. "My mother is just fine where she is, playing court over my sisters and their children. I was always the odd one out anyway."
"Has she ever been to see you?" Alex inquired, wondering if Ezra was not the luckiest one of them all when it came to family, because, for all her vices, Maude seemed determined to be apart of his life.
"No." Mary said trying to hide her disappointment the last time she wrote and made an invitation to her mother to visit. Actually, although she told no one about it, Mary had invited her mother and sisters to her wedding even though she was not surprised when the reply came back declining the request. She had thrown the letter away, too upset to continue reading the almost obligatory response that cited the difficult journey or the season was not quite right for such a trip. "I don’t really want to start explaining my life in Four Corners to her anyway."
Sensing that there was more to it than just that, Alex decided a tactful change of subject was required. "Well," she looked at Mary. "If you want to take that bath, I might go see what Julia and Inez want to do for dinner. I’ll have to go register for the game and put down my stake. Casey, do you want to come with me?"
Casey who was more than eager to explore the rest of the hotel did not turn the offer and gave an enthused answer to the affirmative.
"All right you two," Mary called out as Alex and Casey started to leave, "don’t get into trouble."
Alex rolled her eyes and threw Mary a look as she and Casey were walking out the door. "Look who’s talking."
*********
Casey had never been inside a gambling hall like this one and the experience fascinated her like everything else during this trip. Unlike the seedy gambling rooms in Four Corners, there was some measure of respectability as she wandered through the carpeted room, with its felt-covered table and luxuriant surroundings. The men and women sitting at the tables were dressed elegantly in evening gowns and such making Casey who was still clad in her travelling clothes, feel somewhat plain. She wished more than ever she had more than one dress that she could wear so that she would blend in and not be so conspicuous.
She knew she should not wander off but could not see the harm in it since she was still remaining inside the confines of the hotel, besides, Alex was busy registering for the tournament which Casey understood would take place in a matter of hours. In the meantime, Casey saw no reason why she could not conduct her own exploration. She walked through the gambling hall and soon arrived at the empty stage where the evening performances had yet to begin. The billboard displayed the shapely image of a chanteuse who went by the name of Cynthia Watson. Judging by the expressive rendering of Miss Watson, she appeared to be quite the beauty and Casey wondered if she was truly that enchanting in person. Somehow she doubted it.
"Hello, Miss Wells." A voice said behind her as she was studying the playing card and made Casey spin around in surprise when the voice was undoubtedly masculine. Casey looked behind her and found herself staring at Mr Jethro Lewisham, the man who had given Maude Standish such cause for concern earlier.
"Hello." She said quietly, trying not to show that he made her nervous.
"I apologise." He remarked graciously, eying the young woman carefully as he spoke and knowing that if any information of use was to be had, she would be the easiest one of the group from which to extract it. "I did not mean to startle you. I merely came to say hello since I recognised from our earlier encounter."
"Oh," Casey answered and then added. "You didn’t scare me," she said quickly. "You just caught me by surprise, that’s all."
"Of course." He answered smoothly and then regarded the playing card she had been studying prior to his interruption. "She is quite the singer, Miss Watson." He remarked.
"You have seen her sing before?" Casey asked, her curiosity getting the better of her and she thought to herself that it could do no harm to be civil to the man. After all, he did not seem to make any threatening moves towards her.
"Once in New Orleans." He replied with a faint smile, pegging her for an atypical country farm girl who had never really been anywhere in her life until now. This was going to be easier than he thought. "She does a rendition of Red River Valley that brings tears to your eyes, you should attend her performance."
"Maybe I will," Casey said evasively. "It depends on what the others are doing."
"Naturally, you must adhere to the planned agenda." He replied, with no sense of malice in his voice. "I’m assuming you will be at the gambling tables when Maude decides to clean up?"
"No," Casey shook her head because Aunt Nettie would definitely not approve of that and she did not have much interest in watching cards being played all night. "That’s for Maude and Alex only. I’ll probably go with Mary, Julia and Inez."
"Yes," Lewisham recalled the other women in the stable he had encountered. "I am assuming this trip to Eagle Bend was just a short respite from the dreary life at Four Corners."
"Yeah," Casey nodded. "Mary’s the editor of the newspaper and she has so much to do sometimes, I think she just needed to get away and Inez wanted to shop for the baby but mostly I think they wanted to get Julia out of town. She was still pretty mad at Ezra on the account of his not telling Maude about her at all since he’s her beau and all."
"That would make any woman most upset." Lewisham smiled, showing no signs that the young lady had revealed anything significant. As far as he was concerned, her words were exactly what he needed to know. Initially, he had intended to use Ezra Standish to make Maude capitulate to his desires, however with the absence of the gambler, those plans had been placed in jeopardy until now.
If he could not have Ezra Standish, then Julia Pemberton would do just as nicely.
*********
Chris was hardly surprised when he and the others arrived at Sweet Water earlier that day and found that Mary and the rest of the women had hoped on a train to Eagle Bend. On horseback, the journey would not take much longer but it did disturb Chris to learn that Dylan Pierce had also made inquiries after the ladies and was also making way to the Eagle Bend in pursuit. A man, so determined to find his quarry did not harbour good intentions and increased the urgency of the lawmen to get to Eagle Bend before it was too late.
Riding out of a Sweet Water after a short respite where they had taken food and allowed the horses to rest, Chris did not feel the annoyance he normally felt at Mary for taking off like this and as per usual getting herself into all kinds of trouble. He supposed that is why he loved her so much, that ability of hers to make his life completely unpredictable in a time when he had become so jaded about everything that transpired within it.
"You know," Ezra remarked as they rode on the trail to Eagle Bend. " I think I have heard of this Dylan Pierce."
"From where?" Vin asked automatically, having a bone to pick with the man for the insult offered to Alex.
"I think he used to run with James Bracken," Ezra replied.
"James Bracken of Kansas City?" Chris looked at him.
"You know him?" JD asked.
"Only by reputation," Chris answered, remembering what he had heard about the man in the days when such things held interest for him. "I know that he was carving himself a nice slice of Kansas City."
"Precisely." Ezra took up the reins of the narrative. "Unfortunately, he ran into the charming Jack Nichols whose progeny we are all terribly familiar with. Nichols did not appreciate the competition and apparently embroiled Kansas into a war where Bracken did not emerge victorious, let alone alive. I believe that Pierce was one of his men. As far I recall, Pierce disappeared from Kansas and had not been seen since."
"Well, I guess we know where he went," Josiah replied. "When you don’t succeed in a large town, what’s to do but to move on to someplace smaller?"
"I can’t understand what he wanted with Alex though," Buck added. "I mean Parsons said she had money but not enough to lock someone up and bring down the kind of trouble that he’s doing now. Look at him, he’s following her all the way to Eagle Bend. Why?"
"I do not know about you Mr Wilmington, but most lawmen who are locked up in their own jails by a group of women dressed up as nuns can be somewhat offended by the gestured, not to mention humiliated. To someone like Pierce who had been ruling Coventry supreme for the time he has been there, it can be somewhat damaging to the ego." Ezra pointed out.
"I can’t believe Casey got dressed up as nun…." JD mused, unable to picture his girl in a habit and playing such a dangerous game with the Sheriff of Coventry.
"I have to confess that I would have dearly loved to have viewed that performance," Ezra replied, unable to keep the slight smirk from his face as he pictured Julia and Maude both in nun’s habits.
"I think you’re going to even love the performance, even more, when you have to explain to Julia why you didn’t tell Maude about her." Buck could not help but remind that gambler of that tiny little fact.
"Do not remind me," Ezra remarked, not looking forward to that episode when it finally came upon him. He was not looking forward to giving his explanations to the woman he loved when even he had no idea why he had not done it.
"What were you thinking Ezra?" Chris asked, having been married long enough between Sarah and Mary to know that what Ezra had done was a hanging offence to most women. "You know what women are like. I once forget an anniversary and almost got killed for it."
"Chris it was your first one." Buck pointed out, remembering the incident well.
"You would remember that wouldn’t you?" Chris gave him a dark look.
"What happened Buck?" JD asked eagerly. Chris rarely talked about those years of his life. Since marrying Mary Travis, he had become more forthcoming with his past even though it took some prodding to discuss those things. JD guessed that being with Mary had eased Chris's pain in remembering the family before her and now made it possible for him to look back upon those memories without feeling the anguish of their loss.
"She threw me out of the house," Chris said with a fond smile, images of Sarah in her spectacular rage surfacing in his mind with bittersweet poignancy. It was becoming easier to talk about her and Adam now and while he was hardly a fountain of revelation, Chris found he did not mind looking back on his life with her and sharing those memories with his friends on occasion.
"Spent the next week trying to make it up to her," Buck added with a wide grin.
"And you’re still in a lot more trouble than I was Ezra," Chris said with an evil smile across his face when he noticed Vin had not spoken. The tracker’s mind was more focussed on reaching Eagle Bend and getting to Alex before Dylan Pierce. His mood served to remind Chris that Mary too was in danger and Chris nudged his horse to come alongside Vin’s.
"We’ll get to her in plenty of time pard," Chris assured the younger man.
Vin did not answer but hoped Chris was right. From what he had heard about Pierce not only from the residents of Coventry and now with this new information from Chris and Ezra, Vin had reason to worry. Dylan Pierce was fixated on Alex for a reason and while he might take his vengeance on all the women for their humiliation of him, Vin was certain Pierce was reserving his worst for Alex.
"I hope you’re right," Vin remarked. "Or there’ll be hell to pay."
"Actually," Chris said with something of a faint smile crossing his face as he thought of what his wife and her friends were capable of when left to their own devices. "I’d be more worried about what they’d do to him."
*********
It was time to put his plan into action.
Following the conversation with the young Miss Wells and discovering just what Julia Pemberton meant to her son Ezra, Jethro Lewisham could finally put into motion his plans regarding Maude Standish. He was determined to win back his honour and proved to all those present that he was better than her and always had been. The slight to his ego at being defeated by a woman was more than someone of Lewisham’s stature could endure and he had followed her to Eagle Bend in order to reclaim his honour and mollify his wounded pride.
Upon learning all there was to know about Maude Standish, Jethro formulated a plan of sorts that depended on the presence of her son Ezra for it to work. Unfortunately, when he encountered her on the train to Eagle Bend, those plans had been put astray when he learnt that her gambler son was not accompanying her in the journey. Something in her guarded manner on the train told him she was afraid of something and trying hard to hide what that might have been. For a time, Lewisham had debated at what he was going to do, unwilling to let this go until satisfaction was received.
Until Miss Wells had unwittingly revealed Julia Pemberton’s importance in the whole affair.
The saloon inside the hotel was as lavish as the rest of the premises and the man who waited to meet him seemed out of place in his dark coat and fearsome scowl. As Lewisham joined him at the corner booth, it was easy to see his vocation in the craggy lines of his face and the southerner was able to deduce quite a bit of the man without hearing him speak a word. No doubt, he had spent much of his life on the wrong side of the law. There were enough scars on his face to prove that he had been in trouble at one point or another, even to the extent that Lewisham would venture a guess and say he had spent some time behind bars.
Whatever his background may have been, their association had been established by a mutual friend who had recommended him as a man who got things done and was willing to do so whatever the task if the money was right. With what Lewisham had in mind, he needed someone who was trusted and absolutely reliable. His honour demanded nothing less. Sliding into the darkened leather seat at the far end of the room, he ordered himself a drink as his new associates awaited for the trivialities to be dispensed before they could get down to business.
"Mr Coltrane," Lewisham spoke to the grizzled man in his late forties, whose face was hidden under the stetson he was wearing and whose bulk made people keep their distance. He was burly in stature and was a bear of a man by all accounting. "You come highly recommended."
"Atkinson says you have a job for me." He replied, chewing on tobacco as he spoke.
"Nothing terribly dangerous but slightly illegal." Lewisham drawled in typical southern charm. "Is that a problem for you?"
"Not if the money’s right." He retorted, his voice sounding a deep rumble that never quite articulated into speech in his throat.
"We’ll discuss price later," Lewisham said impatiently, more interested in seeing if Coltrane could carry out the undertaking he desired. The plan was for nothing if the huge man could not accomplish what was required.
"What’s the job?" Coltrane asked after a moment, seeing the southerner was hurry to get a move on and guessed that there was some time factor at work here.
"I need you to kidnap a young lady." Lewisham dropped his voice an octave as he made that admission, unwilling to let anyone hear what he was proposing.
"For how long?" The man asked without batting an eyelash. This was not the most heinous request that had been made of him and in his time, he had done worse. Only his victims could attest to how much more if they were alive to make the complaint.
"Just for the evening," Lewisham answered. "You see what’s going on around here?"
"Some kind of poker game," Coltrane remarked, letting his gaze sweep across the saloon and spotting at least a dozen known card shark common to the Eagle Bend locality.
"It’s the poker game." His new employer declared. "I care not that I win this little match but I do intend to beat one woman in particular and to do that you must perform a little kidnapping for me. I want her held captive for as long as it takes for me to finish my game with the lady in question and then you may release your prisoner."
"Shall I take her out of the hotel?" Coltrane inquired, not adept at unravelling the entire machinations of Lewisham’s plans but not particularly bothered about doing so either. His part in the drama had been explained and beyond that, he was not overly concerned with what Lewisham intended to do or was hoping to achieve.
"Not necessary." Lewisham shook his head and saw a number of problems with taking that route. "Just keep her in one of the rooms. We don’t want to cause any more trouble than necessary." He wanted to defeat Maude Standish and humiliate her in public as she had done him in New Orleans and thus made him a laughing stock of high society. This would not only vindicate him but would also prove to Maude Standish what it was to trifle with the likes of him. He doubted that she would show her face in New Orleans after he had trounced her completely at the gambling table, particularly when she was coerced into it. That would give him a great deal of satisfaction indeed.
"Is a woman alone?" Coltrane asked referring to the unwilling charge he would soon be assuming control of.
"No," the Southerner shook his head in response. "She has friends but they are all women. I would not consider them to be a formidable presence although I would recommend that you take her when she is alone to avoid complications."
"How long do I keep her under wraps?" The big man inquired further as a barmaid brought them another round of drinks after Lewisham had finished his own and motioned for another serving.
Waiting until she had served them their drinks and departed, Lewisham did not answer until they were left alone once again. "However long it takes for me to beat Maude Standish." He said firmly as if there were no room for negotiation. "When you leave here, you will do immediately what I ask and find Julia Pemberton." He continued. "She is in Room 435 with another lady. I have procured you a room on another floor where you will keep her hidden until I return after the tournament. Following the match, we will release Miss Pemberton and you and I will go our separate ways."
Out of curiosity, Coltrane found he had to ask. "What’s so important about this girl anyway?"
"She’s the key to my victory over Maude Standish," Lewisham said with a smile of barely concealed malevolence. "She humiliated me before everyone I know in New Orleans and unless she lets me win when I face her at the tournament, I will make Julia Pemberton disappear and ensure her son knows that his mother allowed the woman he loved to die. I trust if it came to that eventuality, you will not have a problem with it?"
Coltrane shook his head and answered before downing the contents of his glass. "As long as the money’s right, nothing is a problem."
Julia Pemberton examined herself in the mirror for one last time before she and Inez made their way to dinner, joining Mary, Alex, Casey and Maude who was probably waiting for them in the restaurant already. She saw nothing in the mirror that was of any surprise, she was as always immaculately groomed for whatever the evening held in store for them. Following a repast at the hotel restaurant, the ladies of Four Corners had decided they would linger briefly to witness the card tournament that Alex and Maude would be participating in before moving onto the theatre where they would watch the performance of Cynthia Watson. Casey was eager to attend her first theatre engagement and none of the older women could deny her the experience, particularly when she was so eager to go.
"Are you ready yet?" Inez asked impatiently as she waited at the door, her annoyance at the delay showing clearly in her face as she huffed by the entrance to the room.
Julia smoothed down the skirt of the deep indigo coloured dress she was wearing and decided that since she was not going to be in the company of a man, it was somewhat redundant that she attempts to look her best. Besides, at that particular moment, she did not have an overly high opinion of the species, on the whole, still unable to forget that Ezra had lied to Maude about her, not to mention keeping the ring he intended to give his future bride a secret from Julia. Each time, that memory returned to her, the beautiful Emporium owner found herself becoming more irate at his duplicity. While they had both admitted to their secrets and she was no one to throw rocks from her glass fortress, she was properly incensed by his actions.
"Hold your horses," Julia grumbled as she emerged from her room after grabbing her purse from the bureau table and hurrying to join Inez whose impatience was starting to show. "You know, I’ll be glad when you have this baby."
"Oh really?" Inez said looking at her with folded arms, a universal gesture of sarcasm as far as Julia concerned. "Enlighten me on why?"
"Then you’ll just be grouchy instead of constantly annoyed," Julia said with a smile. "Besides, you only want to get out of here because you are hungry."
"You said it," Inez returned her smile with one that was lacked with wickedness. "Never get in the way of a pregnant lady and her food. I have seen the menu down there and time is wasting."
"You’re scary when you’re hungry." Julia retorted as they slipped out the room and she locked the door behind her. "How much more of this do I have to put up with?" She inquired, observing the swell of Inez’s belly under the loose-fitting dress the mother to be was wearing. In the outfit, Inez hardly looked clumsy or awkward but seemed to glow in the way that was unique to a woman in that state of health.
"Another three months," Inez remarked and let her hand gently caress her stomach as if she shared some empathic link to her baby that Julia could never understand until she had the experience herself.
"What are you hoping for anyway?" Julia asked. "Boy or a girl."
"I do not know really," Inez remarked, giving the matter serious thought for the first time. "I was so busy trying to think about how I was going to provide for it without Buck and everything, I never gave the matter much thought. At this point, I am more concerned about whether it will be born healthy. Sex does not really matter."
"There is something poetic about Buck Wilmington having a daughter though," Julia could not keep from teasing. "I believe the Buddhists said it best. It’s almost karma."
"Karma?" Inez looked at her, knowing very little about the world beyond hers even though she seemed very wise most of the time. Her knowledge was not about books but about life and Inez was still undecided on which was more useful.
"Yes," Julia answered. "They believe that how you conduct yourself will affect the way your life transpires. They believe if you are good to someone, someone will be good to you, it’s cosmic revenge I suppose." The redhead explained although she did not think she was very clear. However, what she had intended to say did reach Inez who understood completely.
"You think it would be justice for Buck to have a daughter and have to protect her from someone like him?" Inez replied after a moment as continued down the corridor towards the lift that would take them to the lobby of the hotel. After a moment of reflection, Inez found herself responding. "I think I like the sound of that."
"I thought you might." She grinned as they waited for the lift to arrive.
Inez did not make mention to Julia but now that the subject had been brought up, she thought deeply as the to the gender of her child, knowing ultimately it was unimportant but in the scheme of things, it was time that she gave the matter serious thought. A girl born to a mother with a sullied reputation would have that mark follow her all her life. It was different for a man who could make his own way in the world. For a girl, where everything depended upon who she would marry when she became a woman, such a stain was not to be taken lightly. Inez was not ashamed of the decision she had made to keep her child and stay in Four Corners but suddenly, she found herself worrying about her child’s future.
Of course, the simpler solution was to marry Buck who was attempting to make some effort to prove that he could be a worthwhile husband. She knew he loved her and she loved him deeply but she had conditioned herself for so long to stay away and keep him at arm’s length that she was almost as trapped in the cycle of her stubbornness as he was. She knew that part of the reason he had become partners with Chris Larabee and Vin Tanner was to prove to her that he was thinking of the future. He could not remain a lawman living on a dollar a day indefinitely. If there was one thing that Four Corners had proved to everyone who had sought refuge in its dusty confines, it was the fact that the town seemed to be a haven for the outcasts.
Amazingly enough to her utter astonishment, she also discovered that he had been keeping his hands off the local ladies. In fact, the rumour she had been hearing of late indicated that Buck Wilmington was no longer chasing every piece of skirt in town and had apparently taken some kind of oath to remain true to her. Inez had almost refused to believe until she tried to recall when she had seen him with another woman since he had learnt about the baby and found to her surprise, that she could not recall him in the company of anyone.
"Julia," Inez spoke after a while. "You’ve known a lot of men haven’t you?" She asked quietly.
Julia looked at her, trying to decipher what purpose was behind that question. She had never made any secret of the fact that she enjoyed the company of men and it was to her surprise that she found that Mary, Alex and Inez hardly cared. Of course, their initial meeting had made that difficult to hide but they did not treat her like some wanton. She supposed that it could be attributed to their own affairs with the men in their lives but Julia did not believe it was that. All her life, her power to enchant the opposite sex had made her an outcast among the women of her family and the more they ostracised her, the more determined she became to steal their men.
It was different with the friends she considered dearer than sisters. There was no need to steal their men because they did not see her as a threat and furthermore, Julia had finally found the one man who had her heart without question, there was no need to seek another although there were moments when she missed playing the game. "Why do you ask?" Julia asked suspiciously once she redressed Inez’s question.
"Do you think Buck can keep it up?" Inez mused, unaware that Julia was not privy to her thoughts of the last few minutes.
"From what I hear, he has no trouble at all." Julia said with a salacious smirk that engendered a sharp look from Inez. "Sorry," Julia apologised quickly. "Keep what up?"
"This act of his of being responsible and not chasing after every woman he sees," Inez remarked as the doors of the elevator opened and they both stepped inside and informed the elevator attendant which floor they wanted to go.
"What makes you think its an act?" Julia asked in Buck’s defence. "He has been trying so hard to prove to you that he is not just a big oaf. I don’t think it’s an act and believe me, I’ve known enough men in my life to spot a line."
"I can’t go on like this." She looked at her stomach and the child that neither could see but whose presence was almost as palpable as if they could see it slumbering in the womb. "Sooner or later, I must be married."
"I know," Julia agreed, even though she hated to admit it. Julia admired Inez a great deal for the decision she had made. A few months ago, Julia had found herself in the same position and had not been able to face the situation with half the courage that Inez was displaying now. She had taken the easy way out and regretted it bitterly, while she would defend Inez to the death over the Mexican’s decision to keep her child, they all had to face the reality of the situation sometimes. "You can always count on me to be your friend in whatever decision you wish to make Inez but you know as well as I do that the repercussions of this will not affect you the worst."
Inez swallowed and rubbed her stomach again. "I have been hoping that I could shield my child from that but I cannot even shield myself and I can’t leave Four Corners because I have nowhere else to go to raise my child. I have a job at the saloon and it is not the way I wish to find myself when I had a baby but I have no other choice."
"Inez," Julia asked seriously. "Do you love him?"
Inez started to think when Julia cut in abruptly. "Don’t think about it," she replied. "Don’t put all those logical reasons in front of the question, just answer what I asked, from the gut. Do…you…love him?"
Inez nodded slowly. "Yes." Her voice was almost a whisper. "I love him but I don’t know if that’s enough."
Julia rolled her eyes. "Listen to me," she said firmly. "I have done things in my life that I am ashamed to admit let alone deal with when I sleep at night. When I came to Four Corners, I was leaving more than my family behind, I was leaving me and I thought that if I wanted that new life, I would have to hide who I was and never let it be known to anyone because the truth was too horrible. Then I met Ezra, who saw through the smiles and the charm because he was exactly the same and you know what? I knew I loved him before the sun set that day. I hated that I loved him but the strange thing was, it worked out because sometimes, it's just crazy enough to. If you love someone, the rest will work it itself out."
"Ezra is not Buck." Inez pointed out.
"And Buck is not Ezra." Julia countered.
Inez could not argue with that and decided the subject would bear further thought later since they had reached their floor. Pulling aside the lattice network of the elevator door as the main lobby appeared before them, Inez noticed it was no less busy than the last time they had been there. She could see Mary at the other end of the room waiting for their appearance and took a step out of the lift when suddenly, a hand shoved her forward roughly. She stumbled forward as she heard Julia turning to the elevator attended who had committed the act.
"What are you doing?" She demanded angrily when suddenly he grabbed hold of her arm and immediately slid the gate across once again, sealing her inside the narrow space with him.
"Julia!" Inez exclaimed as she saw the door closing behind her when she had recovered her step enough to turn around. Before Inez could do anything else, the elevator was already moving upwards, taking Julia and her mysterious assailant with it.
"Inez!" She heard Julia’s frightened cry as the elevator rose to loftier heights, until the redhead’s voice was only a faded echo in the distance. Frantically, she slammed her hands on the button that might bring it back to the lobby once more but she knew it was a futile effort.
Mary who had been on her way towards Inez, having sighted her best friend disembarking from the elevator was running through the lobby in an effort to reach Inez. Her rapid pace, as well as Inez’s desperate cry earlier, had brought the attention of the other patrons as well as the hotel administration to investigate.
"What’s happened?" Mary asked, with Casey not far behind.
"Some man just kidnapped Julia!" Inez exclaimed, her eyes still darting up the elevator where the duo had disappeared.
"What?" Mary replied and immediately let her eyes move to the golden hand above the elevator doors, which indicated which floor it had travelled to before coming to a halt. The length of brass did not stop until it had reached the very top floor although Mary did not believe that Julia’s kidnapper would remain there very long if that was even his final destination.
"He just pushed me out of the elevator and kept going up!" Inez explained quickly as Mary pushed her way through the patrons and met the hotel manager who had emerged from his office.
"Madam," he declared officiously, being one of those men who spent all his life indoors and would not know a hard day’s work even if it bit him on the rear end. "You and your companions are creating something of a commotion."
"I’m sorry about that," Mary barked, not about to tolerate any of this. "Unfortunately, your elevator attendant is the real culprit since he chose to kidnap my friend."
"I beg your pardon?" He stammered, his face almost turning ashen at the prospect. "I assure you that our employees come at the most stringent hiring process. Why I check their references myself…"
"I don’t have time to debate the issue," Mary said abruptly. "You need to get your security people to block off all the exits out of this place so he doesn’t try to leave with her? Miss Pemberton is a person of some importance and if anything happens here, I’ll have a Federal Judge in here to review your conduct in this matter!"
He swallowed hard, deciding he was not prepared to call her bluff because whatever the motivation, the guests of the hotel were ultimately his responsibility. "I’ll take care of it immediately." He said straightening up immediately, full of false bravado. "I assure you that your friend will not be taken out of this hotel."
However, Mary had a feeling that this was not all the point of the exercise.
*********
Half an hour later, Mary reported to Maude and Alex who had been waiting in the hotel restaurant with puzzlement why their companions had yet to arrive, what had happened. For the most part, the older woman took it with amazing calm even though they were all aware of whom was responsible for this and why. Maude should have expected this. Somehow, the moment she had seen Jethro on that train, she guessed that this would happen. Now it was here and it was up to her to clean up the mess since it was hers, to begin with.
"What are we going to do?" Alex asked as they sat around the table they should have been dining at for the evening meal, instead of trying to figure out their next move in order to help Julia.
"I don’t know," Mary said honestly, taking a sip of water from her glass. "The hotel manager says no one has left the hotel."
"So they might still be here." Inez declared. "That would make sense. Why go through all the trouble of trying to sneak Julia out of the hotel when it's just as simple for him to hide her in a room somewhere and wait out whatever it is, they’re planning."
"How did Lewisham find out of about Julia anyway?" Alex asked no one in particular when suddenly, she noticed Casey’s stricken expression. The girl appeared so distressed that Alex was moved to respond immediately. "Casey, what’s wrong?" She demanded, unable to fathom the sorrow on her face.
"It’s my fault!" Casey exclaimed with anguish crushing her youthful features. "I told him about Julia and Ezra!"
"Oh Casey," Mary sighed, knowing the girl would not have done so intentionally but that did not lessen the impact of what had come out of her unwitting disclosure.
"I didn’t mean to!" Casey continued to ramble on. "We were talking near the theatre and it just slipped out, I didn’t know it meant anything until Julia was taken. Alex, I’m so sorry!" She wailed, almost in tears from what she had done.
"Hush now," Maude said soothingly, unable to bear the girl’s guilt because Lewisham would have found out anyway at some point. Casey had just narrowed the margin of time taken for him to learn the truth. Maude had no doubt that if he could not have manipulated her this way then he would have found another, perhaps one even more lethal. "It's not your fault and no one here believes that," Maude remarked with more tenderness than she felt even though she was seething inside at Jethro’s actions.
"Absolutely," Alex offered the young woman a look of understanding, completely aware of how innocently phrased words could create such mischief. "Besides, it's pointless debating the how of the situation but rather the why?"
"Agreed," Mary nodded, squeezing Casey’s shoulder and showing her that she no more blamed her for Julia’s kidnapping than anyone else at the table. "Right now, we have to know how to get her back."
"I’ll go to Lewisham," Maude said firmly. "I’ll go to him and see what he wants." Maude surprised herself at the admission because she really did intend to do just that. She would go to Lewisham and beg if necessary for him to release Julia Pemberton. If Ezra was so guarded about telling his own mother about the young woman, Maude could only fathom one reason for it.
Ezra hated showing weakness to Maude Standish. It was neither his fault or hers that he was this way. All his life, he had lived in her shadow. When he was a boy, he lived with the stigma that someday, he would grow to be just like her. Maude had been selfish in her youth when Ezra was a child and she admitted that had she known what she did now, she would not have left him in the hands of her relatives. He had spent years in their keeping until Maude realised what he had been enduring and decided to take him on the road with her. She could guess the cruel taunts and the jibes that he was nothing but a grifter’s son. In the dark recesses of her mind, where she visited only at night, Maude had some idea of the hell Ezra had suffered growing up as the unwanted child of a mother who cared only for herself.
Even when he was older, she was always there to cast a blight on everything he was. First, she made him what he was, which effectively meant moulding him in her image and was forced to confess rather shamefully that she infected everything that meant anything to him, even the saloon he tried so hard to make a success. Her interference had cost him ownership of the establishment and damn near any semblance of feeling they might have had for each other. It was no wonder he did not tell her about Julia, look what happened within a few days of meeting the young woman? Maude knew that if anything happened to Julia on account of her, she could never do enough to earn her son’s forgiveness and she was not about to risk his love.
Not even for her own pride.
"Are you sure Maude?" Inez asked, wishing it did not come to that but for the moment, they needed to know what Lewisham’s intentions towards Julia and what was the whole purpose of her kidnapping.
"I have no other alternative," Maude replied, trying to sound brave. "If anything happens to Julia, Ezra will never forgive me. Our relationship is tenuous at best and I am unwilling to risk destroying what is left because I could not give in. Besides, it is my fault that Julia is in danger."
To that, none of the women at the table could disagree but that did not change things as they stood. However, Mary was unwilling to simply wait until Lewisham produced Julia whenever he felt that satisfaction had been achieved. "In the meantime," Mary declared. "We need to find Julia ourselves."
"If she’s still in the hotel, that makes things somewhat easier." Alex agreed, all thoughts of her participation in the tournament forced from her mind with the advent of her friend’s kidnapping.
"But how do we look in every room?" Casey looked to her older companions because she could not imagine how they could accomplish the undertaking of Mary’s suggestion.
"I don’t know." Mary mused, easing back into her chair. "But if he’s not taken her out of the hotel then she’s still here and we will have to search all the rooms."
"Mary, this is a big hotel. It could take us hours." Alex pointed out. "Not to mention the fact that we don’t have access to any rooms except our own."
"You won’t have to." Maude interrupted their deliberation. "I’m going to Jethro Lewisham and agree to whatever demands he makes for Julia’s return and that’s all there is to it."
"Maude," Mary placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, revealing that Maude’s sincerity was not in question and none of them questioned it. "We know that you want to do what is best but we don’t know what this Lewisham wants and the price he demands for Julia’s return may not necessarily be one that you can pay."
"I cannot let him harm her. Ezra would never forgive me." Maude said softly.
Mary could not argue with her on that fact, considering the depth of the relationship shared between Julia and the gambler. For some reason, two morally bereft individuals had filled a need within each other than made them not only better people but also taken away that isolation that had been part of them for so long. Ezra who always seemed to be an outcast even though he rode with the seven had been much happier since Julia came into his life. Everyone who knew him with any intimacy could see that he truly loved her and Julia’s personality seemed to match Ezra’s almost like a glove.
"I have an idea." Inez spoke after a moment, adding a much-needed glimmer of hope in their presently gloomy circumstances.
"What is it?" Alex asked first.
"I know how we can get into the rooms. At least some of us." The Latin beauty allowed her gaze to sweep across the table, hoping her suggestion was not as outrageous as it was going to sound when she voiced it.
"Well I won’t be able to do it of course," Inez continued explaining while avoiding the gist of her plan. "In my condition, it would just give the whole thing away, not to mention Julia’s kidnapper has seen me so he’ll know something is wrong the minute he lays eyes on me."
"How?" Mary sat up in her chair and leaned across the table, her brow knitting in confusion as she noted the deliberate attempts by Inez to stall at telling them.
"But you, Casey and Alex should manage just fine." Inez spoke hastily, almost ranting her words faster than her mind could keep up. "I can look at the open places in the hotel, you know boiler rooms, basements that sort of thing…."
"How Inez?" Alex asked again, her voice starting to exhibit her suspicion.
With a loud sigh, Inez told them.
"Oh No….." the doctor started to groan as they all looked at Inez blankly. "Does this humiliation never end?"
"Not bad." Mary was forced to concede even though she was not looking forward to participating or carrying out any part of it. Unfortunately, at this time, it appeared that they had little choice. If they wanted to recover Julia at all, this was the route they were going to have to take and it seemed no one had any better ideas. "It could actually work."
"Why did I know you were going to say that?" Alex grumbled, not at all impressed with Inez’s brilliant suggestion even though like Mary, she had to admit they had little choice in the matter. "You know, I would love our weekends to go smoothly just once without us having to play dress up!"
"I think its fun," Casey spoke up, with a grin.
Mary, Maude, Inez and Alex looked at her at the same. "Fun?" It was Mary who asked.
"Yeah," Casey smiled, "I ain’t been in so much trouble in all my life or have this much adventure."
"Happens to us all the time." Alex sighed. "All right," she looked at her other companions. "I suppose if we’re going to do this, we better start now."
"Right," Mary nodded. "Maude, you go and see Jethro Lewisham and see what he wants. Try and get him to meet you down here. I’m not too happy about you being alone with him for any reason."
"I can handle myself." Maude said slightly offended that this young woman would presume to tell her how to conduct herself. She was no amateur.
"I’m sure you can," Mary said not too kindly since she was in no mood to argue with the woman. "You’ve done swimmingly so far. However, for the moment. You will send a message to his room and have him meet you here. We’ve got enough to worry about with Julia missing without having to worry about you as well."
Maude bristled but could not deny Mary’s words and despite the slight to her ego, she had to admit that Mary was right. Lewisham was unpredictable and that made him dangerous. She had no idea what kind of game he was playing but she had no intention of being at a disadvantage any more than she already was. "Fine." Maude retorted. "As you wish."
*********
Julia was not happy.
In fact, she was far from it. Tied to a chair inside a room, where her jailer kept a close eye on her as she struggled to break free of the ropes that kept her trapped, Julia’s humour at her situation was just about exhausted. How is it that they never seem to be able to have trouble-free vacations? She was wearing soundlessly under the rag tied across her mouth, wonder if it would have shocked her captor to hear the language she was so vehemently uttering.
"No use struggling ma’am." Coltrane remarked as he noted the redhead struggling in her chair. For himself, he had ordered food prior to their arrival here and was taking full advantage of room service and all its accompanying benefits. "You might as well sit still for the time being."
Julia’s emerald coloured eyes flared and she said something that did not at all sound polite through the gag although Coltrane could not make out what it was. Instead, he shrugged and down his glass of whisky while continuing to feast on the meal before him. "Suit yourself." He retorted, guzzling his food in a manner that indicated he was not one for manners. "But you cause me any more trouble than necessary and I got ways of making you sit still I guarantee you ain’t going to like."
That made her stop struggling immediately, mostly because she did not want to find out what those ways were and the threat seemed ominous enough. She glared at the man and remained seated, trying to think her way out of present predicament. Shortly after he had kidnapped her into the elevator, the man had gagged her and brought her to this room and while Julia had not been able to see what room number it was, she knew she was on one of the highest floor of the hotel building. It was to her greatest chagrin that there would be no rescue forthcoming from Ezra and somehow, she did not think Mary was going to pull another rabbit out of her hat as she had done with Alex and Sheriff Pierce. However Julia was going to get out of this situation, she would have to do it on her own.
At the moment, the chances of that appeared remote since she was bound and gagged. It was the cloth that was tied around her mouth that hindered her non-existence efforts the most since she was unable to use her baser talents to free herself from confinement. Somehow, she had to convince him to remove the gag and started thinking furiously on how she could accomplish this minor feat. She glanced at him surreptitiously and saw him guzzling his food and found herself understandably repelled. He was not an attractive man even though he was huge and appeared as if he could break her in half should she make any foolish attempts at escape.
Julia coughed.
It was a light cough to begin with. She created just enough of a rumble in her throat to show that she was being irritated by the cloth and trying to hide it. He looked up at her long enough to ensure that she was not making some effort to be difficult before he returned to his almost empty plate. Julia paused a moment before starting to clear her throat again, pretending that the gag was hurting her throat but she was attempting to stifle her coughs so that he would not think she was making trouble. After a few minutes, he looked up at her again, having heard the muffled cough and irritation in her throat.
"What’s wrong?" He demanded roughly.
Julia shook her head as if to answer that nothing was the matter. However, she still made those pathetic gagging noise, which only served to shorten his patience in trying to understand what she was saying. Finally, he pushed himself out of his chair and advance to her. His massive form towered over her as approached and made Julia rethink this idea of trying to escape because he was physically very imposing.
"I’m gonna take this gag off," he remarked as he knelt down before her. "You give me any trouble and I’ll hurt you." He said firmly. "Make no mistake on that. Man who hired me, didn’t say what state you had to be in when it was all said and done."
Julia nodded slowly in a gesture of compliance as Coltrane started removing the gag from her mouth. Once it was removed from her lips, Julia immediately started taking deep breaths, feeling glad to free from the infernal piece of cloth. She took a few more hungry gasps of air before raising her eyes to meet those of her captor and flashed him something of a grateful smile. "Thank you." She said softly, adding just enough suggestion in her tone to indicate she was not just grateful but interested in a way he had not anticipated. "I would have done anything to be free of that thing."
He stood up abruptly, unable to deny the seduction in the tone of her voice was not compelling if indeed that was what it was. No one could blame him for reacting this way, after all, she was an exceedingly beautiful woman. He had noticed it earlier but upon closer observation had realised that she was far from just fetching. "Just make sure you keep quiet." He grunted as he returned hastily back to his seat, aware that she could make him compromise this whole job if he did not ignore her.
Julia watched his reaction, knowing perfectly well that she had captured his interest enough to cause him to become just a little bit hot under the collar and decided she would have to keep stoking that interest until it evolved into a means of escape. The idea of even touching him was repulsive but Julia was a realist and a survivor. She had one weapon in her arsenal and for the most part, it often worked to get her out of more trouble than she would let anyone know. Of course, the very idea of touching him in any shape or form was enough to make her stomach turn but Julia nonetheless had a very strong constitution.
"So how long do I have to stay here?" She asked, keeping that sliver of seduction in her voice as she spoke.
"No more than a day, I’m told." He replied, seeing no reason why she should not know. It might help in keeping her still if she knew she was not going to be incarcerated for very long.
"Well that’s a relief," Julia let out a breathy sigh. "I think I can endure a day in your company Sir." She smiled.
He looked at her oddly as if uncertain of how to take that remark. "Whatever." He remarked abruptly, not knowing what else to say.
"I don’t suppose I could get something to eat?" Julia asked with a careful bat of her eyelashes.
"I ain’t stupid enough to let you loose." Coltrane sidestepped her obvious attempt to have her loosen her bonds.
"I did not expect you too." She said smoothly, perfectly prepared for the response. "You’ve got some pieces of fruit there, maybe you could just feed it to me."
"Feed it to you?" He swallowed.
"Yes, just put it to my lips and let me do the rest." She smiled.
Tentatively, he picked up a piece of sliced apple and brought it forward. His fingers were almost trembling when he held the fruit to her lips and watch them part as she started nibbling on it. Of course, she did this most erotically, performing the act with light flicks of her tongue and sensuous movement of her lips that kept him utterly mesmerised before she finally consumed it all. Coltrane’s Adam’s apple was bobbing up and down nervously, not to mention anticipation when she asked again.
"Another." Julia smiled and decided that this was going to be a lot easier than she thought.
*********
Maude Standish saw him enter the dining room after the rest of her companions had gone. As ordered by Mary Larabee, Maude had reluctantly summoned Jethro Lewisham to the table, in order to find out what his intentions were regarding this kidnapping of Julia Pemberton. While they were preparing to search of the hotel, it was part of Maude’s role in this divisionary tactic to stall for time to find out what exactly was Lewisham’s plan. Obviously, he wanted vengeance for his humiliating defeat at her hands in New Orleans but Maude knew her mark very well. While it would hurt her relationship with Ezra should anything happen to the fair Miss Pemberton, Lewisham did not gain anything by that except the satisfaction of knowing that he had done this thing. However, Maude never thought that would be enough for the man.
Jethro sighted her immediately and made his way across the floor of the restaurant before joining her at the table. He walked in with such arrogance, it looked as if he was joining the lady at her table for a dinner engagement, instead of discussing his terms of blackmail. Maude hid all signs of hostility from her face, learning that the best way to proceed in an uncertain situation was to play it cool until she could decipher his intentions.
"Maude." He tipped his hat slightly and then removed it all together which was the proper custom for a gentleman to do so in front of a lady.
"Jethro." She replied. "I’m glad you came."
"I imagine you would think so." He said with a smile and gestured a waiter forward. A smart young man approached their table and was given an order of drinks by Jethro before withdrawing again, leaving them to their privacy.
"One of my companions, Julia Pemberton has been kidnapped." Maude began.
"Yes, I heard," Jethro smiled. "Tragic."
"Jethro," Maude continued. "I am no fool. I know you are responsible for this."
"Perhaps I am and perhaps, Miss Pemberton has decided to take a turn of the city, one can never say really." He met her eyes with a widening grin of triumph which only further infuriated Maude, even though she hid her anger well beneath a veneer of southern charm.
"We both know that you did." She insisted. "Now why don’t you save us a lot of time by merely telling me what it is you want?"
"I like you, Maude," he said sitting up in his chair. "You were always direct and to the point, except when you were cheating me in front of the entirely of New Orleans society."
"I had a good run of luck." Maude feigned ignorance to that. "It happens."
"I am not a fool madam," his expression darkened. "After the fact, I took the time to learn about your reputation to discover that you are no amateur when it comes to games of chance. You have acquired most of your properties and fortune through such means, which is why I know that I was always an intended victim. You fleeced me as completely as you did all those other fools you have encountered in the past."
Maude did not take offence at his words, considering he had said nothing that was untrue. She was not ashamed to deny it and was pleased that no charade was required in her further dealings with him. "And now you have kidnapped Julia for what? To make me suffer for that interminable mistake?"
"If I did arrange it, then I suppose that I would be in a unique position to gain the advantage, wouldn’t I?" He said before picking up his glass of cognac and taking a sip.
"I guess it would." She sighed, wishing he would just get on it with it because her patience was wearing thin. "Although if you harm one hair on her head, my son would hunt you down and kill you." Maude declared.
"He would never get close enough." Lewisham retorted. "And I have more than enough men at my disposal to ensure that he never even try. Besides, I do not wish it to come to that if it can be avoided and I assure, that it can is entirely up to you."
Maude knew that he was not making an idle threat about Ezra and even though her son had the companionship of six very capable men with whom he rode, she was not about to risk his life for anything. It was bad enough that she had embroiled Julia Pemberton in this kind of danger but to know that she was responsible for Ezra’s own peril was more than she was willing to endure. As much as she hated it, she was going to have to play Lewisham’s game to save both her son and the woman he loved.
"All right," Maude replied, conceding defeat in the heavy sigh and the slump of her shoulders. "What would you have me do?"
"Now that’s the spirit," Lewisham grinned again, triumph exuding from every gloating nuance of his face. "I knew that once you understand your situation you would be eager to deal. I always knew you were a reasonable woman, Maude."
"Get on with it." Maude hissed, wondering what was worse. The fact that she was forced to capitulate to his demands or the incessant gloating that he was inflicting upon her now.
"It is nothing too demeaning or odious I assure you," he continued in that infuriating voice of complete victory. "I would like you to enter the tournament as you had intended. I will be doing the same."
Maude felt her stomach lurch inside her skin because she had some idea of where this was going and did not like what she would be required to do. Swallowing hard, she forced herself to listen as he lay down his demands, feeling impotent with fury she could do nothing to stop him. If there was one thing that Maude Standish despised most of all, it was being bested and this man had all the cards and she had no choice but to obey. "And?" She asked slowly.
"The manner of the competition will see to it that within the course of the night, you and I will face each other at the same table. When that happens, I expect you to emerge from our tournament the winner. I wish to beat you, Maude, I wish to beat you in front of all your fellow gamblers, in front of your peers. I want you beaten by a mark and I want them all to see it. You see Madam, after what transpired in New Orleans, I feel it only fitting that I return the favour."
"I see," Maude said quietly, knowing that what he intended to do would humiliate her as publicly as she had done him in New Orleans and understood at last, what it as he had to gain by kidnapping Julia. "What guarantee do I have that you will let her go after that?"
"None," Lewisham said curtly. "However, if it matters any to you. I give you my word that following your defeat, I will have her released within the hour."
Maude nodded and ventured to ask. "What if I don’t agree to this?"
His face became that of stone. "If you do not agree to what I want, then I promise you that by the time you move onto your next opponent, she will be dead. You can explain to your darling son, how you allowed the woman he loved to die for the sake of a poker game. I am certain that he will be more than understanding regarding your decision."
As much as Maude might loathe to admit it, it appeared that Lewisham was right in that sense. Ezra would never forgive her if Julia Pemberton was found dead on an account of her refusing to be beaten in a poker game, reputation or not. She had no choice but to agree to what Lewisham demanded, even though it stung to the very core of her that she was required to make such a choice.
"It appears that I do not have much of a choice, Mr Lewisham," Maude said icily, unable to look at his face because the urge to claw his eyes out with her nail was overwhelming.
"No you don’t," he agreed readily and drained whatever was left in his glass before he rose to his feet. Now that he had sufficiently enjoyed seeing her squirm, he looked forward to their next meeting where he would have further cause of relish when she was forced to endure defeat at his hands in front of her fellow gamblers and conmen. Picking up his hat, he straightened it on his head before bowing graciously as he prepared to depart.
"Until next time, Mrs Standish."
*********
"This is so embarrassing," Alex replied as she and Inez started pushing the trolley along the first floor of the hotel, whilst wearing a maid’s uniform. Inez remained in her own clothes and only separate from her whenever someone else was approaching. Having slipped into the maid’s quarters earlier, she, Casey and Mary had borrowed three uniforms and then reported for duty where she was handed a trolley of fresh towels and other hotel accessories and a heavy set of keys to next three floors of the building.
"Relax," Inez hissed as they started searching the room. At this time of the evening, most of the hotel patrons were downstairs, enjoying dinner or partaking in the entertainment to be found in the establishment. Where the rooms had been occupied, Alex had merely hung her head down, placed fresh towels in the place before making a hasty retreat. "You’re doing fine."
"I am so glad you think so." Alex retorted, unable to deny that she was hating the indignity of all this. Wasn’t it bad enough that she had been locked in jail once this trip? If someone were to suspect that she was anything more than what she appeared to be, Alex could very well find herself back in another cell, this time with legitimate charges of misconduct. "As a doctor, this is incredibly demeaning."
"Oh, you’ll get over it." Inez sighed, having heard this complaint every time they prepared to breach the door of another room that required inspection. "Think of it this way, at least you don’t have to do this for a living."
Alex could not argue with her there but she still loathed playing the part of a maid. Unfortunately, this charade would continue until they searched the hotel thoroughly and found some traces of Julia. Picking up two more towels, Alex headed towards the next door with her skeleton key and knocked loudly on the door. "Room service." She called out, waiting to see if there was a response. After a moment, it did not appear to be and Alex continued to unlock the door to make sure.
Inez waited patiently in the hall as Alex investigate the room for the next few seconds before emerging once again, without the benefit of the towels, deciding it might improve the chances of not being discovered if she at least did some of the things a maid was supposed to. As it was, Alex felt ridiculous in this maid’s cap and dark uniform but conceded that it was necessary for the charade. She hoped Mary and Casey had better luck.
"That one is clear." Alex retorted. "Did you have any luck downstairs?"
"Not at all," Inez frowned. "I checked the back rooms in the kitchen, storerooms, even the basement and was told by one very annoyed janitor that the place was off-limits. Luckily, I manage to check the place out before I actually got found out so that’s clear anyway."
"So they’re definitely in the hotel rooms." Alex decided. "Any clues as to what we will do if we actually see her?" The doctor inquired since this was mostly Inez’s plan.
"I suggest a discreet exit before we go get hotel security," Inez replied.
"In that case stay out of sight when I go into the rooms," Alex suggested. "If I don’t come out, you can go for help."
That was a good idea because at no time did any of the women intend to confront Julia’s kidnapper on their own. The incident with Sheriff Pierce was all the excitement they could endure for this particular weekend. As it was, Inez did not believe for one moment that they would ever go on a vacation alone again. Their track record for these excursions was never any good and this weekend was proof enough of the fact that even unintentionally, they had no trouble landing themselves in hot water. Inez supposed if there was some consolation to all this, it was the fact that Chris Larabee and his men would never know it.
"I wish the men were here." Inez nevertheless replied, even though the thought to the contrary had just crossed her mind. "They’d have this dealt with in a minute."
"Yeah," Alex nodded ruefully as she took more towels of the trolley and prepared to make a repeat performance on the next room. "Chris does have a way of making these things uncomplicated as hell. I would have loved to have Vin around when we ran into that sheriff. He was very creepy."
"What did he want with you anyway?" Inez asked, having never gotten a satisfactory answer regarding that particular aspect of the break out in Coventry.
"I don’t know," Alex said genuinely perplexed. "I think he sort of liked me which is quite a horrifying concept." She admitted with a slight shudder. After Randall Mason, Alex found any man with an unusually strong interest in her to be rather disconcerting. It was a situation that Inez herself was very familiar with, considering her own experiences with Don Paulo’s son. "Hopefully, when we get back to Four Corners, we can talk to Chris about doing something to help those poor people in Coventry."
"You’re up." Inez reminded and Alex felt silent as she stepped up to another room and knocked lightly before calling out. "Room service."
*********
"I need to use the water closet," Julia announced after she had been sitting in the chair for more than two hours. The muscles in her rear end were numb and she sorely needed to stand and stretch her legs a little. For the last hour or so, she had been carefully using every seductive trick in her arsenal to make her jailer drop her guard and for the most part, she had succeeded. He had fed her and allowed her to keep the gag off but now it was time to make another request of him and she hoped she could be convincing enough to make him believe that this was no trick.
He stared at her critically, trying to assess whether or not she was attempting some form of trickery or whether the request was genuine. Still, there was hardly anywhere she could go even if he were to permit her the use of the water closet. Their room was situated high above the ground and the only window in the small room was barely large enough to let light through, let alone a woman with all her finery and coverings to slip out. Besides, there was nowhere for her to go but down even if she did make the foolish attempt and it was not a journey she would survive.
"You make one wrong move and you’ll know about it." He warned as he finally made his decision. Circling around her in the chair, he knelt down and loosen the ropes around her wrist, keeping a careful eye on every movement she made as her hands were finally free.
Julia stood up immediately, feeling like a cat that awoke from a long sleep and shook some feeling back into her legs. "Thank you." She said gratefully and started towards the room where the amenity in question was awaiting. He shadowed her closely, proving that he did not quite trust her yet and hesitated when she moved to close the door behind her.
"I assure you, Sir," Julia replied as she saw his hand on the door as she attempted to close it. "I am a lady and I must insist upon my privacy in some things. Besides, where on earth do you think I could go?" She looked at him in question, complete innocence on her face as she asked.
"Okay," he finally relented pulling his hand away from the door. "But you try anything funny and I will break down the damn door, you hear me?" He threatened with complete sincerity in his eyes as he glared at her and left Julia with no doubt that he was making the warning with complete menace.
"I swear on my honour." She replied with as much dignity a lady of her station could offer. Except of course she had no honour, never did and had no problem with swearing upon it if it meant that he would let her shut the door.
Julia closed the door behind her and immediately looked around the small room. There was a small latch on the doorknob that allowed her to lock it from the inside and she did so immediately, knowing that should he decide to barge in, she had no way of stopping him. The frame and the door itself seemed to be weak, not at all the sturdy construction that she was accustomed to in Four Corners. The water closet in her room had a window and Julia knew that she could fit in easily. She had a small frame that was hidden beneath the dress she was wearing and peered out the glass opening to see if escape was possible. The ledge that it emptied onto was narrow and dangerous. It did not help that they were quite a distance from the floor, she could see people moving up and down the street below her and knew that it was this way or not at all.
"What are you doing in there?" Coltrane demanded.
"I’m almost done, can a lady have a little moment to herself!" She pretended to feign outrage as she proceeded to lift herself through the window while telling herself repeatedly, not to look down while she was doing it.
She slipped through the window fairly easily and had no idea how she managed to remain on the narrow ledge when she left the room behind her. With her back pressed up against the side of the building, Julia had barely enough space for herself to move. She supposed it was some consolation that her small size allowed her to traverse the narrow ledge because there was no way her jailer would be foolish enough to follow her on this near-suicidal course. Julia started moving slowly away from the window, intending to put as much distance between herself and the room as possible.
She reminded herself not to look down but it was difficult to keep her eyes from the ground. As it was dark, no one had noticed her presence yet but it did not help that a light wind was blowing at her and bird seemed to be taking up residence along the ledge and seemed to fly in all directions upon her approach. She could hear him demanding where she was and knew it would not be long before he broke into the room and discovered what she had done. Julia had no wish to fall prey to him once again.
Perhaps fall was not the best words to use in this instance…..
*********
Damn!
Coltrane swore under his breath when he banged on the door and the lady inside showed on signs of emerging. He should have guessed that it was a trick. She had been priming him with her purdy voice and the way she worked her lips when he had fed her. Coltrane felt singularly incensed at having fallen to the most common of feminine tricks and despised being bested by a woman. He was about to kick the door to the room open when suddenly, he heard a slight knocking on the door.
"Room Service." A decidedly feminine voice sang out.
What else could happen? The man groaned as he crossed the floor in a number of long strides and almost pulled the door off its hinges when he opened it and found himself staring a pretty blond with towels in her hand and wearing a maid’s uniform.
"What do you want?" He growled at her but had no effect in intimidating her by his hostile manner. Instead, she brushed past him and stepped into the room.
"Room service Sir," she said brightly. "Just replacing your towels." Her eyes studied the length of the room and caught sight of the chair and the ropes that hung off it. Mary pretended not to notice and placed the towel down on the nearby side table before making a hasty retreat out of the room once again.
"If you need anything further, be sure to let us know." Mary kept her voice neutral when suddenly Coltrane placed a heavy hand on her shoulder, completely aware of what she had seen.
"I don’t think you’re going anywhere." He said tightening his hold around her when suddenly Casey stepped before the doorway with the gun they had taken from the sheriff aimed firmly at his chest.
"I think you’re wrong Mister," Casey warned, staring at him with just as much intent to shoot him as he intended to keep Mary prisoner. "Let her go."
"You must be her friends." Coltrane grizzled, visibly angry if the dark storm on his face was an indication of his emotional state at this point. He released Mary seeing Casey cock the gun once more, inciting him to hurry up and release the woman. However, without warning, he shoved Mary hard, sending her straight into Casey who reacted by pulling the gun back in case she accidentally pulled the trigger. The momentary distraction was all Coltrane needed and he started towards them.
"Run!" Mary ordered Casey as the young girl lost her grip on the gun and realised that they were both defenceless against the hulk coming at them. Without thinking, Mary pushed the trolley in front of him. The heavy metal frame slammed into Coltrane, forcing him against the wall. The big man reeled from the impact and recovered quickly. Mary paused long enough to see him getting to his feet before she started running, taking the same route down the hall that Casey had taken.
Coltrane was torn at who to pursue. Did he chase after his prisoner or did he go after the women who could bring the law down on him? Deciding it matter little which he picked, he went after the prey he could see first and ran down the corridor taken by the two women who had discovered his secret.
*********
Julia looked at the drainpipe with dismay.
It ran down the ledge and would have to be passed if she was to make it to the other side of the hotel. For some reason, her kidnapper had yet to come after her or even attempt to make an appearance at the ledge. His absence was even more disconcerting than any attempt he made to pursue her. She could not understand what he was doing and expected a hand to pop through these windows at any moment and drag her back inside.
Once again, she scolded herself for looking down and Julia took another deep breath to steady her nerves. She could do this. Slowly, she turned around on the narrow walkway, trying to keep her jittery nerves to a minimum as she found herself facing the wall. Taking another deep breath as her nails dug into the stone as if that would stop any descent should she slip, Julia inched one foot out from the safety of the ledge and tried to slip it past the drainpipe while maintaining her footing of her present location
The metal felt smooth as she forced her body past it, placing all her weight on the foot that was all the way across already. She slid across the wall and the drainpipe, keeping her body pressed up against the wall as firmly as possible when suddenly, she heard something crumble. Julia's eyes moved to her foot as she saw in slow motion, the ledge giving way beneath her booth. Fragments of stone crumbled as she found herself standing on nothing and struggled valiantly to grab something and keep herself from falling. Her hands wrapped around the length of drainpipe but the weight of her body pulling against it snapped the clamps holding it in place.
Julia let out a short scream as she felt air beneath her and had a thousand frantic thoughts running through her mind as she envisioned her end coming to greet her in a rush of air and the hard slap of the ground beneath her. However, she did not continue to fall even though what she felt beneath her feet was not ground but air.
The drainpipe had indeed detached from the side of the building but it had not snapped off. Instead, like her, it was dangling precariously over the ground. Julia looked down and realised she was hanging in midair high above the ground below. As he hands dug into the metal, she could think of only one thing to do.
Scream and scream very loudly.
"What makes you think they’re staying here?" Chris asked Ezra when the six lawmen had ridden into Eagle Bend late that evening.
"I know for a fact that this hotel is a favourite of gamblers in the Territory and if there is any kind of meeting taking place, this would be the location. If not the ladies, my mother at least will definitely be here." Ezra replied as a matter of factly, accustomed to his mother’s habits and indeed that of the community that would host such a function.
Chris looked over the building before him and had to admit that its opulence would undoubtedly attract Mary to the promise of room service and internal plumbing. While he did not berate her for wishing to indulge herself in this way, as her husband, he had to wonder where the financing for this getaway was coming from and why she had never suggested that they spend a weekend at a place like this. Although in truth, he had to confess Mary could not be blamed for thinking that he would not be caught dead luxuriating in the suite of a hotel, especially when his idea of luxury was a clean glass at a saloon.
"Well Mary does have this thing for room service," he grumbled, not meeting anyone’s gaze as he made the remark because if anyone made any comment about it, he was likely to shoot them. "She’s probably here too."
However, Ezra did not answer. In fact, none of the men riding with him was making response because they could hear above the slight breeze blowing in the night and the sounds of people moving through the streets, either on foot or on horse and carriage, something desperate was harkening them from above. Chris followed the gaze of his friends as well as a growing number of people on the street that were also staring into the air.
It very quickly translated that the sound they had heard was in actual fact a scream and upon closer observation of what they were all staring at for the last few seconds, it was a scream belonging to someone they knew. As Chris caught a glimmer of red hair swaying in the wind, the woman who dangled precariously above the ground was, kept from certain death only by drainpipe and her tenuous grip of it.
"Is that who I think it is?" Buck gasped, as he was the first to voice the realization among them.
"Unfortunately it is," Ezra said recognising that red hair with even more speed than Chris. Climbing off his horse quickly, he did not bother to hitch the animal to the nearby post before he started running towards the main entrance.
"Buck, go with him!" Chris ordered. "We’ll get the horses and meet you inside."
Buck who was already dismounting his horse as were the rest of them, offered Chris a quick nod in compliance before grabbing a length of rope from his saddlebag and hurrying after the gambler who had disappeared through the main doors of the establishment. Meanwhile, the crowd observing the drama above had become considerably thicker with people pointing up in the air at the sight of Julia holding on perilously to the drainpipe she could not possibly cling to indefinitely.
"You think Pierce is up there?" Vin asked, wondering where Alex was in all this. As it was, none of them had been disappointed in their belief that their women were capable of landing themselves in more trouble than humanly possible when left to their own devices.
"I don’t know," Chris replied. "But we’d better get up there before one of them kills Ezra." The gunslinger said unable to let a faint hint of a smile cross his lips.
"One of them?" JD asked blankly, not understanding. "I thought it was only Pierce who was after the girls." The youth looked at Chris and Vin in question.
"He means what Julia will do to him when he finally gets to her." Josiah grinned.
*********
"What was that?" Inez looked at Alex as they continued pushing the trolley down the hall and were somewhat disturbed by this point that they had not encountered Mary or Casey. They had been moving progressively through the floors and should have run into their companions by now. It bothered both women greatly that they had not yet encountered the rest of their search party and upon reaching the floor where Mary and Casey were meant to be, immediately found evidence of an upturned trolley.
However, it was not the scenes of violence that gave the duo the most concern but the one room in the corridor whose door was wide open. As Alex and Inez entered its confines to investigate, fairly confident by now that the room was unoccupied, they stumbled upon the scene of the crime where Julia Pemberton had been held against her will. Evidence that Julia had been trapped here was apparent by the ropes that hung loosely off a chair in the middle of the room but that was nothing else to indicate where Julia or her kidnapper might be now.
After a few minutes examining the room closely and finding nothing significant that could help them further in their search, Inez started to worry that they might have been wrong. That Julia’s kidnapping may have been for reasons other than revenge at Maude for her humiliating defeat of Jethro Lewisham. They were about to leave the room in order to find Mary and perhaps rethink their strategy when suddenly a high pitch scream sailed through the air that halted them both in mid-step.
"I think that was Julia!" Alex exclaimed, answering Inez’s surprised question a few seconds before.
"Where was it coming from?" Inez asked once again because there was something about the scream that sounded odd and distant and yet extremely close at the same time. She did not have long to ponder the question when a repeat performance was given and it was very obvious from which direction that frightened shriek was emanating. Alex and Inez gave each other both looks of horror before scrambling for the nearby window and peering outside to see Julia Pemberton hanging in mid-air, further along, the building.
"Oh my god!" Alex gasped as she saw Julia trying to keep a hold and knowing that her own weight; slight as it was, was working against her, nor did the drainpipe she was clinging to look particularly strong enough to withstand the drag that was pulling it downwards. "Julia!" The doctor cried out, wishing to let the woman know that help was on the way.
Julia shifted her head slightly and caught sight of her friends, relief flooding into her face immediately upon seeing them. "Thank God! Get me down from here!" She screamed, her hair was billowing in the wind and Alex could see her skin almost white from sheer terror.
"Don’t worry!" Inez cried out, lending her support. "We’re getting help. Just hang on!"
"Are you kidding! Where the hell do you think I’m going!" Julia more or less roared. "This is hardly the time to be funny!"
"Sorry!" Inez winced at her choice of words and immediately turned to Alex. "You got to get help. You can move faster than me, I’ll get to the room with the nearest window to her."
"Okay!" Alex nodded wildly, deciding that was sound advice and Inez was right, in her present condition the lady bartender was not going to be able to move as fast as Alex could on foot. "Here, take these!" She tossed the skeleton key towards Inez who caught it with an outstretched hand in one sharp movement.
Both women hurried out of the room at the same time but split into their divergent courses upon reaching the door. Inez moved further along the corridor, trying to make a rough guess as to which room would bear the window closest to Julia’s present position. She saw Alex disappearing around the corner and guessed that the doctor was forgoing the wait for an elevator, opting instead to take the stairs. When Inez reached the room she thought might lead her to Julia, the pregnant barmaid rapped loudly on the door and hoped its occupant did not think her insane for barging in like this.
However, instead of a prompt report, she was greeted with silence and thus incited her to use the keys that Alex had been so specific about giving her before the doctor had gone for help. Opening the door quickly, she burst into the room and found it as empty as her unanswered knock had indicated. Inez hurried to the window and found Julia still struggling to maintain her grip of the narrow length of piping. Fortunately, her estimate had been correct and she found herself only a few feet away from the frightened Emporium owner.
Inez looked around for something that she could use in substitution for rope and finally settled her choice on sheets since nothing else would suffice. Yanking the crisp white sheets from the nearby bed, she twisted it around until it looked remotely capable of holding Julia’s weight before pushing open the window and leaning out of it as far as possible. Her swollen belly made movement awkward but Inez was determined not to let Julia down. Literally. Swinging the sheet out as far as it would go, the length of fabric swept past Julia as Inez shouted.
"Julia!" Inez shouted. "Grab hold of the sheet!"
Julia stared wide-eyed at the flimsy length of fabric was about to do nothing of the sort. "Are you out of your mind!" Julia shouted back, telling herself for the hundredth time, not to look down. As it was she was trying not to hear the shouts of horrified spectators below her who could do nothing but gape up her dress and offer little else in the way of salvation. "That piece of scrap is not going to hold me!"
Inez groaned and had to admit that it was not much of a choice but at the precise moment, she could think of nothing else until Alex got here with help. "It’s the only thing that will hold Julia! Trust me!"
Julia swallowed hard, trying to control her trembling which only served to make her body generate sweat and moisture on her palms was something she really did not need at this point. What on earth had made her think that this had been a good idea? She gazed at the sheet flapping in the wind and knew with reluctance that Inez was correct, this was the only way. "God, I hope you are right about this Inez because if I die I am never going to forgive you!"
"I’ll keep that in mind," Inez rolled her eyes as she hung to the other end of the sheet tightly as she saw Julia loosen her fingers of one hand around the metal drainpipe and slowly reach for the sheet.
"One more thing," Julia looked at her with frightened eyes. "I need you to make me a promise in case I don’t make it."
"Of course you’re going to make it!" Inez declared but decided to allow Julia her idiosyncrasies at this point since she would have agreed to anything to make the woman reach for the lifeline before her. "What is it?"
"I want you to promise me," Julia swallowed, closing her eyes to control her growing dread at what she was about to do. "That if I die, you will still kill Ezra for me."
Inez was about to respond when suddenly she heard decidedly familiar voices behind her. "Wait, Julia!" Inez shouted as she looked over her shoulder and saw the miracle of Ezra Standish and Buck Wilmington running into the room. The two lawmen had guessed the approximate floor that Julia was hanging from and had been drawn here by the sounds of Inez’s voice shouting instructions at Julia when they emerged from the stairway. Inez had never been more grateful to see either men or the rope that Buck was carrying in his hands.
"What are you doing here!" She had to ask.
"We will explain that later," Ezra said hastily as he forced himself past Inez and leaned out the window. "Buck, give me the rope." He demanded and was immediately handed the length of hessian as Inez withdrew and allowed the space to work.
"Julia, catch the rope!" Ezra called out as he prepared to swing its end towards her.
Julia turned sharply at the sound of his voice and stared at Ezra for a few seconds with an expression that was completely indecipherable to him. For a minute, he thought that the sheer terror of what she was experiencing had robbed her of her senses.
Unfortunately, it was not terror that Julia was presently gripped with. Her emerald coloured eyes flared in outrage before she started shouting back at him. "You lying, no good scum! If you think I’m going to let you save me, you are wrong! I would rather hang here all night then let you rescue me, you….you…liar! Why am I not good enough to tell your mother about?"
"JULIA!" Ezra exclaimed flabbergasted, unable to believe that she would bring this up at the time like this. Did women have no sense of urgency at all? "This is hardly the time for us to discuss this particular upset!"
"Oh really?" She glared at him defiantly, still clinging on tight and not willing to make one move toward the rope on a matter of principle. "I am not letting you rescue me, you lousy, lying snake! And what’s this about a ring?"
"For God sake, Julia!" Ezra groaned, unable to believe she was taking him to task about this now. "You do not have time to be choosy about this so just grab the DAMN rope!"
"Over my dead body!" She retaliated furiously, oblivious to how perfectly accurate that statement would be if she did not obey his instructions.
"Oh for crying out loud, get in here Ezra!" Buck said finally, his patience having worn thin at last with the both of them. Buck stepped forward and yanked Ezra away from the window before taking his place at the window. Julia still appeared very afraid even though she was clinging onto her anger at Ezra almost as steadfastly while she was holding onto the drainpipe that was the only thing keeping her from a premature demise.
"Come on honey," Buck said. "Grab the rope now. You ain’t got a lot choice and we both know it." Buck’s voice was firm but commanding and Julia knew she was behaving foolishly but the danger she was in did not lessen her outrage at Ezra’s actions. She was still angry and now looked forward to getting to safety so that she could proceed to make him pay.
Taking a deep breath, she stretched out slowly while her other arm was still wrapped around the length of metal that had been keeping her alive for the last ten minutes or so. It was a strain to reach the rope dangling before her and her muscles ached as she forced them to cooperate since they were unaccustomed to any difficult labour. However, with Inez, Buck and even Ezra’s gentle coaxing, her fingers finally touched the hessian fibres of the rope. When her fingers made contact, Julia immediately brought it into her palm and she gripped it tightly.
As soon as Julia had the rope in her hand, Buck and Ezra quickly took up the slack and hoped she would be able to hang on when she finally relinquished her hold the drainpipe completely. Julia looked up at them and knew that she had to let go while at the same time, hold on tight so that they could pull her to the window. Closing her eyes, she took another deep breath and steadied herself once more. Her heart was pounding so loudly in her chest, Julia was surprised no one could hear it.
"I can do this." She told herself and tightened her grip around the rope, coiling it around her arm as she prepared to let go of the length of metal that had been her salvation until now. Slowly, her fingers inched away from the smooth finish of metal until the rope was supporting her entire body. With a loud gasp, she switched her grip to the rope and found herself swinging forward with a loud squeal.
"Julia!" Ezra reacted immediately, his own heart gripped with terror because for a moment he thought she had lost her hold and was plunging to the ground. Fortunately, the shift in weight on the rope had propelled her against the wall but caused no more mischief than that. She was still hanging on valiantly, her knuckles turning white as she clung to the rope for dear life. "Hang on Darling," Ezra called out to her, trying to reassure his love that everything was going to be all right, no matter how bleak it may now seem.
"Will everyone stop saying that! Of course, I’m going to hang on!" She shouted angrily.
"Well, at least, she’s in good spirit," Inez said with a smile before she noticed both Buck and Ezra giving her a look which indicated quite clearly that they did not share her evaluation of the present situation.
Both men immediately set to work pulling the rope upward, paying careful attention to the effect of the fibres as it rubbed against the concrete edge that led to the window. Julia was a petite woman so it was not difficult to hoist her to safety once she had a firm grip on the rope and now that they were putting their backs into it. Inez grabbed her hands as soon as the bartender was able to reach them and immediately helped to pull her over the narrow ledge before both of them tumbled to the floor. For a moment, they were a tangle of skirts and hair which provided for a rather amusing scene had any of the men present had dared to laugh.
"Are you alright?" Ezra extended his hand forward as he wanted to help Julia to her feet following her ordeal. The emporium owner was breathing hard, trying to shake away the intense fear she had been gripped with until only a few seconds ago. She took Ezra’s hand and stood up shakily, taking a moment of silence to regain her equilibrium.
"Let’s not do that again soon," Inez said with relief, glad that everything had ended well.
Julia nodded and met Buck’s gaze. "Thank you, Buck." She said with a faint smile. It was all the gratitude she could handle showing at present. Her knees still felt weak and she thought she might collapse at any moment until she remembered something else….
"You lying scum!" She grabbed Ezra’s hat and smacked him with it and continued doing so without any signs of pausing or any recollection that Inez and Buck were watching this display with a mixture of confusion and amusement.
"Julia!" Ezra started to stutter in explanation as he fended off her blows.
"You bastard…we have been together for almost a year! I almost had your baby and I’m still not good enough to tell your mother about!" She shouted as she flung his hat back at him.
"It never came up in conversation!" Ezra protested meekly as Julia vented the full torrent of her rage, pent up after days of suppression. "I just never found the right time!" He tried to answer but she was so angry he doubted she was actually listening to him. "I was going to write to her and tell her everything about you but I never found the opportunity! You must believe me!"
"Never found the opportunity?" Julia glared at him. "What? You could work me in by starting a new sentence?" With that, she threw a fist into his jaw and knocked him off his feet.
The punch hardly registered but she heading towards the door before Ezra had time to recover and could only call after her in desperation as he scrambled to his feet in pursuit. "Come on Darling…."
"Don’t you call me Darling!" She whirled around and snapped. "You never get to call me honey or darling or Julia! In fact, just don’t call me!" Without saying another word, she swept out of the room with Ezra chasing after her helplessly, crying out apologies as they progressed down the corridor.
When they were finally gone, Inez turned to Buck. The argument between Julia and Ezra had driven away the need for conversation at the time but now that it was momentarily quiet, Inez turned to Buck in order to find out what they were doing here in Eagle Bend. Buck who had no qualms about Inez spending some time away from Four Corners, perfectly aware of how much difficulty she had been enduring because of her unwed state, had been pleased to know that she had taken some time to herself. However, he was not at all surprised that they had attracted trouble along the way.
"So what are you doing here?" She asked as the two of them walked out of the room. Inez hoped the owner of the room would not be too distressed at their brief intrusion.
"Well Chris got it in his head that Maude was going get all of you into trouble," Buck replied honestly. Lately, their relationship had become a great deal more amicable then it used to be with the bouts of fiery confrontation dwindling to a minimum. "Besides, I think Ezra was hoping to get here before Maude let the beans spill about him not telling her about Julia."
"Oh did he call that one wrong." Inez chuckled. "We did have a bit of an adventure in Coventry." She confessed, liking the way they could talk to each other now and finding some measure of surprise in the fact that being with Buck was not as difficult as she originally envisioned.
"Yeah," Buck nodded. "We heard about your run-in with Sheriff Pierce and that’s why we thought we’d better keep riding to find you. Seems he’s after you girls."
"What?" Inez exclaimed, genuinely alarmed and then realised something else. "Buck, when you came up here, did you take the stairs or that elevator?" She asked quickly, feeling trepidation rising with each second that her mind continued on its present path.
"The stairs why?" Buck did not miss the look of fear in her eyes.
"You didn’t see Alex?" Inez asked again, starting to feel the edge of panic sneaking up on her now that she had been told that Pierce was in Eagle Bend, having pursued them all the way from Coventry. Inez should have guessed their escape was not as easy as it might have seen.
"No, we didn’t," Buck said quickly. "Inez, what is it, honey?"
"Alex hasn’t come back," Inez replied, meeting his gaze. "She went down for help and she’s not back. Where is she, Buck? Why isn’t she here yet?"
*********
Ten minutes earlier, Alexandra Styles had raced down the stairs, full of anxious desire to summon the help that Julia Pemberton so desperately required. She rushed down the flight of stairs, often descending two steps at a time, moving a top speed because she knew as well as Inez, Julia could not hang on indefinitely to the narrow drainpipe that was the only thing that kept her from falling to her death. Pausing a moment as she reached the end of the flight, Alex took a moment to catch her breath before resuming her journey.
As it was evening, most of the hotel patrons were out and about, having ventured out of their rooms for dinner or to sample the entertainments offered by the establishment. The hotel lobby was thus quite crowded and Alex found that once she had emerged from the stairwell into the main floor of the building, she was literally lost in bodies moving back and forth, going about their business. She headed towards the front desk, assuming that would be the best place to summon help. Fortunately, the hotel manager whom Mary had threatened earlier was manning the counter and Alex knew she would not have the tedium of explaining the whole situation to him from scratch.
She was almost to the counter when suddenly, she felt a hand grab her arm roughly. Alex reacted swiftly, turning sharply to face the person who was handling her so roughly when she found herself staring into a face she would rather have not seen again.
"Hello, there ‘Doctor’." He looked at her garb and took note of what she was wearing. "It looks like you and your friends have a thing about dressing up. What game are you playing now?" Sheriff Dylan Pierce glared at her, with no intention of letting her go.
"Let me go!" She hissed, trying to pull herself free of him but his grip on her was strong. "What the hell do you want?"
"What do you think?" He met her gaze. "You’re an escaped prisoner, Alex and I’m bringing you in." He started leading her in the direction of the main entrance to the hotel when she caught sight of another familiar face. Buck and Ezra were moving through the crowd and at top speed. It was likely that they might have seen Julia outside because they paid little mind to anything else as they hurried to the staircase she had just taken to reach the ground floor.
Her heart began to swell with hope at the sight of the two men because if Ezra and Buck were here, was it possible that Vin was too? She made no reaction that she recognised the two lawmen who brushed past herself and Dylan, knowing that it was vitally important that they get upstairs and help Julia who was in even more urgent need then she was. Besides, it looked as if Dylan intended to take her to Coventry and it was a long ride there. She was certain that some form of help would come to her by then.
"I may have escaped from your jail but you had no cause to hold me in the first place!" Alex said angrily as they continued towards the entrance of the building. In the crowd that surrounded them, no one could see the gun he had pressed firmly in her ribs and each time she hesitated in her steps forward, he reminded her of its presence by a firm jab.
"Sure I do." He replied. "You were impersonating a doctor, a habit which by the looks of you is a well-established pattern so who knows what else you might have been up to. As an officer of the law, it's my duty to hold you until I can establish whether or not you might have committed any other crimes as well."
"You’re out of your mind." Alex retorted as they stepped out into the night air. She looked around the street, in the hopes of finding some way to escape this man when she caught sight of Vin and the rest of the seven at the hitching post nearby. She had no idea what her fiancee was doing in Eagle Bend and at this moment she did not care but she had never been so happy to see him. However, the tracker had not seen her yet and at the pace, they were moving, might not do so until it was too late. Alex was not about to leave Eagle Bend with this maniac and knew she had to do something to alert Vin to her situation.
"I SAID LET ME GO!" Alex fairly shouted as she attempted to break free once again, this time with more vehemence than she previously displayed inside the hotel. "TAKE YOUR GODDAMN HANDS OF ME!" She barked at him fearlessly, aware that he was more eager to get her in his jail rather than being forced to shoot her. If he did so in the middle of a public street then he would be required to explain why he was doing this to the real law in Eagle Bend.
"You settle down or so help me I will put a bullet in you!" Dylan returned just as loudly and wondered what had suddenly sparked this burst of defiance.
The commotion had just the desired effect for Vin and Chris immediately shifted their gaze in their direction. The tracker’s eyes widened as he saw Alex staring at him with what was clearly fear and he did not say anything for a moment, taking note of the man who had a firm hold of her and deciding very quickly that this must have been the infamous Dylan Pierce.
"Chris," Vin started to say and shifted his gaze to not arouse the suspicion of the Sheriff who had not yet realised what Alex had done to draw his attention.
"I know," Chris replied just as coolly, playing along just as Vin had done so. "I see it. Don’t let on. Let’s see where he’s taking her." Chris turned to JD and Josiah who had also seen the exchange and were poised to act. "You two find Mary and the others, Vin and I’ll take care of this."
"You sure?" Josiah asked cautiously.
"Yeah." Vin nodded. "We can handle this."
Alex did not make any further resistance once she realised that Vin had seen her and understood the situation she was embroiled. She only hoped that he was not far behind because her display had served to put a decidedly sharper edge to his manner and Alex guessed he was suspicious about what he had done if not what exactly. He moved her in the direction of Vin and the others and Alex guessed that was where his horse must have been hitched.
"You better have brought another horse because I am surely not riding with you Sir." She declared hotly, as he steered her towards Vin and Chris who pretended to tend to their horses, carefully keeping an eye on her without being obvious, waiting for the moment when they could wrestle her away from the man.
As they walked past the two lawmen, Chris suddenly shoved Vin roughly. "You trying to double-cross me, pardner?" The tracker staggered backwards, reeling from the blow.
"I’m only taking what’s mine!" Vin growled just as menacingly.
"Well, I think you got enough already!" Chris barked and went for his gun and Vin did the same, removing his Winchester from his holster and preparing to fire as the crowd around them gasped in fear and began vacating the area hastily, having no wish to become caught in a gun battle. Chris kicked the gun out of Vin’s hand, sending the Winchester flying and promptly throwing a fist in the younger man’s face. Vin stumbled backwards and collided with Dylan Pierce.
"Get off me!" The sheriff growled menacingly.
"Didn’t mean anything by it," Vin pulled away, "just having a little to do with my friend over here."
"Well keep it to yourself." Dylan retorted as he started moving again when suddenly, Vin dragged him back before the man had a chance to react, separating him quite effectively from Alex who took the opportunity to break free. She ran towards Chris, deciding that next to Vin, any position near the gunslinger was a safe place to be.
In the meantime, Dylan tried to swing his gun around to shoot when Vin slammed his head into the sheriff’s, delivering a rather brutal head butt that more or less drove any coherent thought from his mind at the moment. Taking advantage of his disorientation, Vin snatched the gun from his hand and threw another punch in the man’s face, bringing him down without further resistance. Dylan fell down heavily as Vin turned his own gun on him.
"You alright?" Vin asked Alex as she approached with Chris.
"Yes," she nodded with a wide smile, delighting in seeing him here even though she was somewhat confused as to what had precipitated his sudden appearance in Eagle Bend but knew those questions could wait until later. "You’ve got to help Julia!" She said excitedly and looked up at the building where she had last seen the woman dangling in the air. However, Julia was no longer there and Alex let out a sigh of relief, assuming that Buck and Ezra must have already participated in bringing her to safety.
"I think Buck and Ezra have already taken care of that," Chris assured her and took note of Vin motioning Dylan to his feet. The sheriff glared murderously at all three of them, realization in his face at who had come to Alex’s rescue and was now pulling his own gun on him.
"You people are interfering with the law!" Dylan said impotently. "That woman is an escaped prisoner."
"Shut up." Chris growled sharply. "We know exactly what kind of law you practise down in Coventry and you had no reason to arrest her in the first place."
"Thank you," Alex replied giving the man a smug smile before remembering something else. "Chris, you need to find Mary. I think she and Casey are in trouble."
"Trouble?" The gunslinger looked at her. "What do you mean?"
"Well it’s a long story but I think they’re still in the hotel and there might be someone after them," Alex answered, remembering the scene that she and Inez had stumbled upon when the found the room where Julia had been held captive.
"Go on Chris," Vin said automatically, his eyes still fixed on Dylan. "You go find Mary, I’ll drop our friend here at the sheriff’s office here in Eagle Bend until we can work out what to do with him permanent."
Chris nodded slightly in his direction and hurried off, confident that Vin could handle things here while he went to extricate Mary from whatever calamity she had landed herself in now. He had thought that once they had caught up with Pierce and the women, it would signal an end to the quest they had embarked upon since leaving Four Corners. Unfortunately, as Chris was now realising, it was never that simple when it came to his wife.
Once Chris had disappeared into the hotel, Alex found herself next to Vin after retrieving his Winchester, which had been lying on the ground unclaimed by its owner. She handed it to the tracker who had not taken his eyes of Dylan all this time. Without looking at her, Vin remarked with a faint smile. "What are you wearing?"
"It’s another long story." She sighed. "What are you going to do with him?" Alex glanced at Dylan still feeling some measure of fear from the man who had almost spirited her away to jail a few minutes ago. However, she had to admit, having Vin here with her now went a long way to dispelling her anxieties to something of a tolerable state.
Dylan who took some exception to being spoken about as if he was not in their presence bellowed angrily at them. "I’m a goddamn sheriff! You ain’t got no right to do anything with me! You got a price on your head, Tanner, that makes you an outlaw!"
"That’s right," Vin drawled seeming unconcerned by any of the valid point brought up in the man’s tirade. "But that still don’t mean I can run you into the real law in Eagle Bend for preying on all those people in Coventry and falsely arresting Doctor Styles."
"She ain’t no doctor!" Dylan growled in angry retaliation and feeling more impotent in the face of his captivity.
"That’s enough outta you." The tracker shot him a look that held more menace than any bluster he was attempting to convey. "Sheriff I would be more than happy to put a bullet in you, so don’t give me an excuse."
"You wouldn’t dare," Dylan replied defiantly. "You ain’t got the stomach for it."
Without saying another word, Vin raised the Winchester that Alex had returned and cocked the gun directly in the man’s face with an unwavering hand that held no misconception as to what his course would be if Dylan did not shut up. He pulled the trigger loud enough for it to sound clearly in Dylan’s ears and Alex gazed at her lover anxiously, wondering for a moment whether Vin would actually shoot the man. As much as he might deserve it, she could not tell what Vin was planning to do and prayed that Dylan would do as he was told. It was the look of fear on Alex’s face that did more to convince Dylan that the tracker was serious and he swallowed hard, deciding that for now he would obey.
There would be another time for revenge and Dylan Pierce knew how to be very patient.
"Fine." He muttered and turned his back on Vin, who promptly jabbed the barrel of the weapon into his back and urged him forward.
Alex let out a sigh of relief and fell into stride with Vin, sliding her hand in his free one as they started walking to the sheriff’s office further up the road. People were giving them a wide berth because they had seen the guns that were being wielded and had no wish to become caught in yet another fight.
"So you want to tell me why you’re wearing that?" Vin asked again.
"Not particularly," Alex replied with a wry smile almost bordering on embarrassment. "But suffice to say, I don’t think I’ll be taking any trips out of town by myself for a while."
"Good," Vin retorted, still very much focussing his attention on Dylan, perfectly aware that his prisoner was a dangerous man and not prepared to give him any advantage or allow himself to be distracted by Alex, no matter how much he wanted to take her into his arms rights now. "Cause I don’t think I can keep up with you woman."
"You just say that because you love me." She teased and Vin broke into a genuine smile of agreement.
"Oh Jesus," Dylan groaned. "Just shoot me now."
*********
Mary and Casey were in trouble.
They were in trouble because a man the size of a house was maintaining close pursuit as he chased them halfway across the hotel for the past ten minutes. Despite their best efforts to elude the kidnapper, Coltrane kept them in sight and proved that he was an expert at ferreting out damsels fleeing from his attentions with startling accuracy. Although most of the hotel patrons had seen the man tumbling after them, it appeared none was willing to intercede on their behalf. Considering that Coltrane was a behemoth of a man, it was extremely understandable why none of them would wish to face him.
Running through the restaurant of the hotel, they had collided with two waiters and a dessert trolley laden with food. Although Mary had tried to apologise to that family that was covered in pastry, Casey’s cry of fear as they caught sight of Coltrane following them into the room made that a moot point. Mary had no idea of where they were going or how long they could keep ahead of the man. She had no idea whether Coltrane worked alone or did he at this moment have an accomplice that was closing in on them with every intention of trapping them in a net. Whatever the strategy, Mary decided the best thing she and Casey could do was keep ahead of him and try and deal with whatever came next.
Following their hasty departure from the restaurant and discovering that Coltrane was still behind them, Mary tried frantically to decide what to do next. The most logical course of action was to get out of the hotel or find its custodians but to do that required time they did not have, especially with their pursuer following so closely.
"What are we going to Mary?" Casey asked desperately as they paused briefly at a door which led to the stage entrance of the theatre. Already the theatre guests were filling up the floor and waiting in expectation for the show to begin. Mary looked over her shoulder and saw no signs of the kidnapper following them and wondered if he might have relented and returned upstairs. Mary could only hope that Julia had taken the time to escape while they had been leading her jailer about on this merry chase around the hotel.
Suddenly, he emerged from the restaurant and caught sight of them. His momentary pause broken as he started running towards them, pushing everyone unfortunate enough to be in his path out of the way.
"In here!" Mary cried out, gesturing Casey to enter the stage door. Conceding that it was their only course of action, Casey went through first, running through the darkened passageway that led backstage. Their footsteps were loud against the hard wooden floor and even eclipsed the voices they could hear on the other end. Mary hoped that the man had not seen them take this route but knew that he probably had and whatever concealment this path offered was only fleeting. They reached the end of the narrow stretch of corridor to emerge behind the scene of the stage, where props and theatre people were readying themselves for the coming performance.
Despite the dusty atmosphere of grey and unpainted floorboards, there was enough colour in the costumes, props and background scenery to offset the balance into a healthy mix of liveliness. Women in colourful costumes were walking back and forth, some in garishly full-length dresses and others in more scandalous outfits, tolerated only because it was part of the life. Seeing them gave Mary an idea.
"We need to get out of these clothes." Mary declared because they stood out like sore thumbs in their maid’s uniform.
"Into what?" Casey asked breathing hard and feeling vulnerable because she was no longer armed.
It was a sentiment that Mary could well understand and wished more than ever that she had never considered this foolish idea of taking a weekend on her own. It never worked out well and invariably required Chris to pull her fat out of the fire. Unfortunately, on this occasion, her husband was nowhere in sight (which was just typical) and she would have to fend for herself. Mary thought quickly and looked around their new surroundings when she saw more doors at the rear with stars painted in faded gold on its surface.
"Into that dressing room," Mary said hurrying to the door first. "There’s sure to be something in there we can slip into that will let us blend in."
"Are you sure?" Casey looked at her uncertainly, feeling unease creep into her bones for some inexplicable reason. However, any reservations she might have had were quickly shunted aside by the sound of heavy footsteps emanating from the stage entrance they had just emerged. Without any question of it being fact or not, Casey just knew it was the kidnapper and realised they had little choice but to follow through with Mary’s suggestion.
Running into the first dressing room, they were confronted by a rack of dresses that were identical to the costume being worn by most of the lady performers loitering around backstage, taking their cues and waiting for the imminent commencement of the performance. It was perfect, Mary decided. Donning one of these colourful dresses would ensure that they would be lost in the crowd and allow them the avenue of escape they so needed.
"Put this on," Mary ordered, grabbing one of the dresses of the rack and handing it to Casey as she hurried to the door and shut it behind them, giving them a moment of privacy as they changed. Once it was secured, she took one of the costumes for herself when she noticed Casey regarding the outfit with some distaste. "What is it?" She asked, wondering why the girl was having trouble with such a simple request, particularly at a time like this.
"Have you seen this thing?" Casey retorted, not ashamed to admit she was embarrassed to put on this costume which was not only exposed most of her bosom but displayed way too much of everything for her liking. It was the kind of thing only a working girl would wear in its crimson and black lace glory.
"We don’t have time to be selective," Mary replied and hastened to remove the uniform she was wearing, deciding she would have to take the lead if Casey was to be coaxed into wearing the outfit. She could not blame the girl she supposed Casey had been raised very conservatively with Nettie taking a close account of how she conducted herself. Casey hesitated for a few more seconds but seeing that Mary was willing to put on this outlandish costume went a long way to convince her that she should follow suit.
In a few minutes, both Mary and Casey were clad in their new disguises and looked a far cry from how they had appeared a few seconds ago. The dresses were a tight fit and Mary kept pulling at it, trying to coax the material into covering more of her bosom since the cut was emphasising more of it than she found to be acceptable or tolerable. Casey, in the meantime, seemed to fit her costume well but she looked just as uncomfortable as Mary did.
Suddenly there was a knock on the door. "Girls, you’re on in five minutes!"
Mary stared at Casey blankly before answering. "We’ll be right there." She answered sweetly, having no intention of making that curtain call.
Whoever was on the other end of that door was satisfied with that response and withdrew promptly, leaving Mary to ponder their next move. Only after they were greeted with more silence for a few seconds, did the two women emerge from their hiding place. Outside, they could see their pursuer walking around the place, trying to find them in the flurry of colourful costumes and performers moving past him. Mary observed through the crack of the door until finally, he disappeared from the backstage altogether. She let out a sigh of relief and pushed the door further open to emerge.
"I think he’s gone," Mary said with a smile. "Now all we have to do is get out of here and get Julia help."
"I’m glad," Casey replied, anxious to get out of this dress because the combination of satin and lace was making her itchy and hot. They stepped out onto the main floor of the backstage when suddenly, a weedy looking man appeared out of nowhere and started ushering them towards the stage
"You too are going to be late." He barked. "You should be taking your places now."
"But…but…" Mary stammered in protest as the man prompted towards the stages, still concealed behind the large velvet curtains.
"Miss Cynthia does not like to be late on her opening night," he continued to say, even though to Mary it might as well have been gibberish. "You two girls mess her debut performance and she’ll have you out on your ear." With that, he pushed them both out onto the stage with the rest of the assembled performers.
One of the women, wearing the same costume hissed in their direction. "Take your places! The curtains are about to go up!"
Mary and Casey froze simultaneously like deer caught in a hunter’s sights.
*********
Chris had asked around and soon discovered that two women were seen being chased by a man through the restaurant where they had caused a great deal of commotion. Judging by the description provided, it appeared Mary and Casey were on the run from the mysterious assailant Alex had not the time to explain to him earlier. As he looked around the theatre, he saw seats filling with spectators for the performance about to begin and the house lights were starting to dim, indicating that the curtain was supposed to go up.
He let his eye scour the room before it became dark and he could see nothing of Mary or Casey which only added to his apprehension of what might be happening to them at this moment. Finally, the room had finally reached its desired state of darkness and the master of ceremonies emerged from the wings, dressed in his fine clothes and addressed the audience. Chris who remained close to the entrance to the place did not sit because he was not staying, preparing instead to resume his search for Mary and Casey.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the Desert Sands Hotel is proud to present to you that eastern beauty, that songbird that is known throughout the entertainment world as the one definitive voice of heaven, I present to you, Miss Cynthia Watson!"
The curtains started to part and Chris lingered more of momentary curiosity to see the woman who had earned such a grandiose introduction. While the lady herself had not appeared on stage as of yet, she apparently had a large supporting cast that was already present in order to give her arrival a hint of dramatic glamour.
It took him less than a second to spot Mary.
"Oh…Christ." Was the only thing Chris could manage to say.
For a minute Chris thought he was mistaken and had to blink twice before he realised that it was indeed his wife on stage, attempting very unsuccessfully to mimic the movements of those around her. Next to her, Casey Wells was even more awkward than she and Chris started to feel a pounding headache emerging from the centre of his brain.
Why am I not surprised?
Chris watched in a mixture of astonishment and downright amusement at his wife attempted to keep up with the rest of the performers on stage whilst wearing a look of utter terror more potent than any he had ever seen during a dozen countless adventures. Despite himself, he could not help but feeling a smile cross his face as he saw her wishing to be anywhere else but where she was and Chris wondered if there was any way he could rescue her from her current predicament.
As always, however, the decision was taken out of his hands when a rather large man ran out onto the stage, shoving the performers aside as he ploughed his way towards Mary and Casey. Chris was already moving through the aisle between the seats, hurrying to deliver Mary from this latest development in her show business career.
"Mary!" He shouted as the stage started to descend into pandemonium while the rumble of confusion at whether or not this was a part of the show or something else began to run through the audience as Chris drew both guns.
"Chris!" Mary exclaimed as she and Casey were preparing to leave the stage in an effort to escape. Chris was almost to the stage and Mary let out a sigh of relief even though the kidnapper was only a few feet away from her.
"Get down!" He shouted and without question Mary dropped to her feet, dragging Casey down with her as she saw Chris preparing to shoot. Chaos filled the room as screams were heard at the sight of guns being drawn but Chris paid attention to none of these, working his way through the musicians at the foot of the stage and finding the small steps leading to the main floor. The big man had paused long enough to see the gunslinger coming towards him and realised at that moment that though he was armed, the man had the drop on him. For a moment, he deliberated whether or not he was willing to confront the stranger in black who felt imposing even to him.
He had not even drawn his own guns yet; there had not been a time with the performers scurrying off the stage to avoid being caught in gunplay. Even the audience was at this moment, unable to decide what was happening and wisely, some were starting to depart the theatre hall. The first rule of being a hired gun was to walk away alive and if he were to draw right now, the man in black would kill him with ease. Coltrane considered his position and guessed that he was in trouble not just here but with the law already. They might not be willing to let him become just one of the dozen outlaws that roamed the territory what he had already done but if he were to make this a shooting match, then the law would hunt him down and kill him.
Chris saw the big man stop his advance and holster his gun, giving him a look that conveyed much in a long stare. For a moment, words were not needed as they spoke their silent language when finally, the kidnapper tipped his hat in Chris's direction and started to withdraw into the wings of the stage until he disappeared altogether. Chris returned the gesture before he vanished and when he was certain that this was no double cross, Chris turned to Mary.
I’ll bet you’re wondering what I’m doing here." Mary said hastily seeing the knowing look in his eyes that nothing about this was surprising him. "It’s a really good story. In fact, you’ll laugh when I tell it to you. I know I laughed, just thinking about it, even now."
"Yeah," Casey agreed, "it’s so funny."
Chris stopped them both with a look and said. "Never…tell….me."
*********
Maude hated to lose.
However, she had never despised as much as she did then at this moment. Here she was, sitting at a table playing what should have been the best game of the season, before all the best gambling talent in the west. Instead, she was now in a position where she had to do something selfless for the sake of her son and hating every minute of the fact that she loved Ezra enough to do it thankfully. She supposed it would not seem so intolerable if Jethro Lewisham were not sitting across her at the moment, leering with triumphant satisfaction that she was willing losing because he was holding her possible daughter in law hostage as blackmail to ensure her cooperation.
They had played several hands now and even though Maude could have trounced him severely on numerous occasions, she was forced to remember that Julia Pemberton was in his clutches. Maude was unwilling to risk her life for anything, no matter how much she wanted to beat this smug bastard in front of her. She stared at the hand before her and felt her heart sink at the collection of queens and aces in her hand, knowing that she had more than a fair chance of defeating him if only she could have been allowed to play fairly.
Maude looked at the eyes around her, filling bile rise in her throat as they waited in anticipation for her next move, knowing that he had raised the stake again and it was up to her to meet that challenge or fold her cards in defeat. Her eyes moved across the gambling hall and took note at the gathering around her table seemed particularly thin while most of the spectators had opted to watch a real game where two players of equal skill were pitting their wits against each other. She could not blame them for ignoring the disgusting display of her defeat at Lewisham’s hands.
"Are you going to raise me, Maude?" Lewisham’s voice broke through her thoughts and brought her back to the reality of her situation. He was daring her to do so, trying to see if she would choose her own pride over her son’s happiness.
"I have not done deliberating." She replied, trying to maintain some semblance of dignity in the face of her humiliation. Maude had no idea it could be so hard.
"This is a game of chance madam," he sneered. "Not a shopping excursion. Make your choice now."
Maude swallowed hard, feeling a lump in her throat because she could not delay her surrender any longer. He knew it as well as she loathed admitting the same. She understood why Ezra had not told her about Julia Pemberton and that realization made her course all the more clear. Her son had not wanted her to meddle with the relationship and bring it to ruin which meant this was more than just a dalliance for him. He loved the girl and quite deeply. Judging by how angered she had been by Ezra’s omission, Maude sensed Julia loved her son with just as much passion.
She could not bring them unhappiness just because of a card game.
There would be a chance to save face later, Maude told herself as she reached the final decision. The Indians believed that people had spirits guides. If Maude had such a creature keeping watch over her, then she would assume that it was a feline of some variety because she had always managed to land on her feet. She would survive this and she would get her revenge tomorrow. For the moment, only one thing mattered to Maude Standish. Ezra’s happiness. Taking a deep breath, she lifted her chin with typical defiance and met his gaze directly. "It is always wise to retreat so one can fight another day…." Maude started to say as she began to lower her cards.
"And then again," a new voice entered the fray. "It's also wise to seize the day."
Maude looked up and found herself staring at Julia Pemberton, who appeared very much her own person without the imprisonment that had kept them trapped as Lewisham’s creatures. Standing next to her, almost like a miracle was Ezra and they both approached the table and drew with them a number of interested onlookers who were wondering what this latest drama was that was unfolding at this previously uninteresting corner of the tournament.
Lewisham’s face displayed his outrage and he opened his mouth to speak when Ezra cut him off. "Sir, I do believe my dear mother had something to impart upon you?" The gambler remarked with a twinkle in his eyes as he regarded Maude. When Julia had calmed down enough to tell him what was happening, the both of them had made their way here, hoping to keep Maude from surrendering her dignity as well as her reputation as one of the best card players in her attempts to save Julia from harm.
"She was about to fold," Lewisham said through gritted teeth, aware now that his hopes of defeating Maude were slipping further and further out of reach.
"I was about to do no such thing," Maude, ever the consummate professional returned smoothly, trying to hide the smile that threatened to sneak across her face as this latest development. "Mr Lewisham, as my son said, it is always wise to seize the day."
Jethro Lewisham’s face turned a shade redder as he prepared for the inevitable defeat that she was about to deliver upon him. "Do your worst Madam," he warned. "When you are done, I think you find that the accounts between us are far from in order."
"I’m afraid that they are," Julia replied coldly. "Or I will tell anyone who will listen, in particular, anyone with a badge that you organized this kidnapping and if they don’t believe me, I am certain the gamblers in this establishment will be interested to know how you intended to cheat them all by your actions. They are not so particular about evidence and have a strange code of honour if I’m not mistaken. If you make it out of Eagle Bend alive, I will be surprised."
Lewisham could say nothing and turned away from the redhead, choosing to vent his angry glare at Maude who declared loudly. "I call, Mr Lewisham." She pushed the matching stake into the middle of the table and backed him into the proverbial corner. "Let’s see what you’ve got?"
He lowered his cards to the table almost slowly, his hand trembling as he swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down nervously. Finally, he swore loudly and tossed his cards the rest of the way, revealing an incomplete straight that was worth nothing.
"Oh, that was most unfortunate," Maude replied automatically and did not hesitate when she presented her cards. "Full house."
Lewisham rose to his feet abruptly, pushing his chair out so forcefully that it fell noisily to the floor behind him. He could not even look at Maude as he tore away from the table, swearing loudly as he broke into the crowd, pushing his way through the spectators before disappearing altogether.
"Ezra darling," Maude eased back into her chair as both Julia and Ezra joined her at the table. "Your timing as always was impeccable."
"Why thank you, mother." Ezra removed his hat and placed it next to her considerable winnings. "It was not lost upon me that you were willing to sacrifice your reputation for Julia." He reached for her hand and lowered his lips to the gloved knuckle.
"Yes thank you, Maude," Julia said warmly.
"How on earth did you escape?" Maude asked.
"Its too long a story," Julia sighed. "Suffice to say, I’m glad that you did not have to lose to that pig."
"Although Julia dear," Ezra replied after a waiter had taken their order for drinks. "There is really no such thing as a code of honour among con men and gamblers. We are a deceptive lot."
"Don’t I know it," she scowled at him. "And don’t Julia me. You’re nowhere out of trouble yet. However, I did take a little bit of poetic license with my little speech."
"Well you delivered your lines masterfully," Maude complimented. "I was impressed."
"Thank you," Julia said with a smile. "You and Ezra are not the only ones who know how to run a con. I’ve been there a few times myself."
"Oh Ezra," Maude looked at her son with a warm smile. "I like her."
Maude did not win the gambling tournament but she was one of the last players at the table when the final hand was dealt. While she was disappointed that she had not won, there was no shame in being defeated by a legend like Brett Maverick, who proved to everyone once again, why he was truly the best at the game. Jethro Lewisham did not remain in Eagle Bend after his defeat, particularly when he learnt that not only was Maude’s son present to protect her from any further mischief he might conjure up, Ezra Standish appeared to be in the company of five rather formidable lawmen.
No doubt, Lewisham would emerge sometime in the future to cause her more discourse but Maude had severed her ties in New Orleans prior to her departure and knew she had allowed enough time to pass since her last visit to St Louis to return there without incident. Besides, Maude knew how to watch her back. She had made countless enemies in her life and had always managed to stay one step ahead of them. Lewisham would be no different and if by some instance he decided that he would like to take another shot at her, Maude knew she could always run to the protection of her darling son.
Ezra spent the rest of the evening trying to not feel any disappointment that he had been forced to miss such an auspicious tournament, particularly when all the greats were present and he had been unable to pit his own skills against any one of them. Still, he had hardly the time to feel too terrible since he had to spent the rest of the evening convincing the love of his life that he was not the lowest thing to emerge from the primordial ooze since the arrival of the tubeworm. Although they had presented some measure of solidarity when confronting Jethro Lewisham when he was holding Maude to ransom, things were far from right between them.
Ezra had no idea that Julia could be so angry. In truth, he had never seen her rage inspired so prolifically when it usually culminated in some form of acerbic wit or deviously wicked scheme aimed at whoever had provoked her ire. He supposed he could understand her anger although he did not know how to explain to her why he had done what he had since he himself could not fathom what had kept him from telling her about Maude. In any case, since they were forced to remain in Eagle Bend for the night, Ezra found himself very much alone when it came to retiring and realised it would take more than an apology to fix this situation between himself and Julia.
It was going to take a ring.
Thus he waited until the next morning after Inez had left the suite she and Julia were sharing, apparently intent on mounting a formidable shopping expedition for maternity clothes, an endeavour that was even more amusing when she allowed Buck to accompany her. The former Lothario felt the need to share in the complete birth experience, much to Inez chagrin and would not let the Mexican bartender rest until she relented and let him come with her. Ezra would be surprised if Inez did not kill him before they returned.
Knocking on the door, Ezra waited patiently outside in the hallway, wondering what approach to use when she finally let him in. Of course, there was no guarantee she would, she was still very angry. He could not blame her for that since it was rather an underhanded thing he did. It was just that Maude had a tendency to ruin everything that he touched and as he thought about, he supposed that constituted much of the reason why he had kept Julia a secret. He did not want Maude’s interference to ruin this too. Julia meant too much to him for that.
"Good morning Julia." He said oozing charm as she swung the door open and stared at him.
"What do you want Ezra?" Julia responded by turning on her heels and returning to what she was doing prior to the interruption, leaving the door parted for him to enter. Ezra walked into plush surroundings, admiring the room she had spent the night and frowning with distaste as he recalled the saloon where he and the others had slept since none of them was comfortable with staying at a place like this.
"Julia, how many times am I going to have to say sorry?" He exclaimed with a hint of exasperation in his voice. He hated this unhealthy atmosphere between them and wanted things to be the way they were before he had left Four Corners.
She was walking back to her bedroom when she paused and looked over her shoulder at him with a look of mischief in her eyes. "Until I say stop." A hint of a smile crossed her face as she said that.
"You must be joking." Ezra looked at her and saw that she was not.
"Well," Julia retorted. "In that case, be prepared for a lot of lonely nights Mr Standish." With that, she resumed her journey to the bedroom.
"Come on Julia!" Ezra cried following her. "You cannot leave me to languish like this." He implored as he breached the walls of the bedroom. Julia was packing her things into the valise on top of the mattress, preparing for the inevitable departure at some point today.
"Oh yes, I can." She replied shortly as she folded her things neatly and placed them inside the bag. "In fact, you will be languishing for quite a while."
"Julia," Ezra swallowed, knowing he was going to have to say something other than desperate pleading to make her understand that he had not meant to hurt her or insult her in any way. Reaching inside his coat, he removed the ring which he had carried around for so long and intended for one special person. This morning, he had set out early and found himself a jeweller to have the ring cleaned and polished before being placed in the velvet box that he was about to present to Julia. "I apologise for my mistake in not telling my mother about you. I swear to you it was not out of any sense of reservation about is. You know that I love you and always will but my mother has a tendency to meddle in my affairs and I did not wish that interference in our relationship."
Julia could tell when Ezra was lying and knew that he was telling her the truth at this moment. Whatever was being said now, was coming from straight the heart and she felt her anger dissipate in the face of his honesty. Besides, he had proven a number of times, how deeply he felt for her and despite her reluctance to admit it, Julia knew it was only her pride that had been hurt, nothing else.
"Ezra, you ought to know better than that." Julia sighed. "Your mother could not come between us unless you let her." She stared at him as if he were an unlearned child.
Men could be so thick sometimes.
"You do not know my mother." Ezra frowned.
"Well I’ve had a chance to get acquainted and I have to admit she’s growing on me," Julia replied with a small smile of reconciliation. "Of course it also helps that she will be leaving soon so I can tolerate the momentary inconvenience."
"After a while, everyone does." He grinned, genuinely pleased to see that she was thawing out somewhat. "Regarding the other matter to which I was remiss," Ezra cleared his throat as he took a step closer to her. "You have every reason to be angry and on this, I have no excuse except to say that I should have given this to you long before this because you are the only person I can imagine wearing it." With that, he presented her with the velvet box.
Julia did not react as she took it in her hand and opened it to be greeted by the sight of a most delightful looking band of silver with its prolific gem twinkling light in every facet. "Its beautiful Ezra." She said quietly. "But I don’t want it."
"What?" He looked at her. "If this is because I did not present it to you earlier..."
"It is and it isn’t," she said quickly, trying to reassure him she was not angry that he had not given it to her before now. "I am mad that you held it back from me but I also like things the way they are between us right now. Don’t you?" She met his gaze.
Ezra could not lie. He did like the freedom of their relationship. While they were very closely attached to each other, Ezra like the fact that he could enjoy the intimacies of being with her without being trapped in a domestic situation, to which he was not yet ready to commit fully. He had a feeling that Julia was enjoying being her own person and was unprepared to let that go either. Marriage was something neither of them had given serious thought to and the existence of a ring should not be the reason that they be goaded into it prematurely. "I suppose I do." He replied, never loving her more than at that moment.
"So," she closed the lid of the box gently and handed the box back to him. "When we are ready to do it, I would love to wear that ring. In the meantime, if you ever do anything like this again, I will have to kill you."
"Actually," Ezra remarked, slipping the ring back into his pocket. "Since we’re on the subject of disclosure. At what point are you going to tell me whether or not you have any family that’s likely to emerge out of the woodwork one of these days?"
"That’s different." She said evasively and then added with a conspiratory smile. "We’re talking about you, not me."
"I see," he folded his hands and stared at her critically. "Do you not think that is something of a double standard?" He looked at her with an accusatory glint in his eyes.
"It is." She neared him and wrapped her arms around his neck. Her lips brushed gently against his neck as she whispered in his ear seductively. "However, if I plead my case in just the right way, do you think we could just skip the subject?"
As her mouth started attacking the sensitive skin of his neck and Ezra gave himself to her tender ministrations, he could only grin. "Madam, you do know how to drive a hard bargain."
With a smile, Julia replied. "Not yet but soon."
*********
Chris and Mary had decided to remain in Eagle Bend to spend a few days with the Judge and Evie Travis who had been asking them to stay for quite some time. With Billy boarding with Audrey King and her daughter Lilith, Mary was confident that Billy was in good hands as Audrey seemed to have a knack for entertaining both children. Besides, they had not spent any time alone since their honeymoon and Mary was astonished because it was Chris who made the suggestion. She had the impression that Chris was somewhat offended that she never suggested that they go to a luxurious hotel for the weekend but then Mary could never imagine Chris indulging in that kind of opulence. Still, Chris had surprised her on numerous occasions during their marriage with things she never imagined a hardened gunslinger might do. Like taking up horse ranching for instance or going into partnership with Vin and Buck for such a venture even though it seemed like a natural progression of the way things had been going lately.
Since Alex had paid for their suite for the next two days, she had offered it to Chris and Mary. Alex was pleased that her friend was going to get some use out of it as the doctor more than had her fill of adventure and of Eagle Bend being eager to return home to Four Corners. Dylan Pierce was still languishing inside Eagle Bend’s jail and Judge Travis had promised to keep him there indefinitely while at the same time, checking with Kansas City to see if the former henchman had any outstanding warrants on his head. In any case, he had been charged with kidnapping as well as a slew of other crimes the inhabitants of Coventry were willing to testify now that the proper authorities had answered their prayers of deliverance.
It was about midday before the entire group chose to return to Four Corners with Mary and Chris bidding them farewell in front of the hotel as the party prepared to leave Eagle Bend. Mary was secretly thrilled to be spending two blissful days alone with Chris since her weekend had gone so badly but she was still sad to see her friends departing.
"I can’t believe how stuff you women need," Buck complained as he waited impatiently on his horse and commented to Inez. When he had volunteered to go shopping with Inez, he had assumed they were alone and did not realise until after they had embarked upon the expedition and found that it also involved Casey and JD. Both men had suffered incredibly as they followed each woman into what felt like every store in the town.
"You wanted to come." Inez pointed out as she sat next to Casey on the wagon. "I told you what we were going to be doing." It was not to say that having Buck and JD around during their shopping trip had been any more tolerable for herself or Casey either. The men had bordered on rude as they stood in the stores waiting, obviously bored and not afraid to voice their impatience each time Inez or Casey decided a fitting was required for any garment they wished to buy before a decision could be made.
"I know," JD added. "But I can’t understand why you’re buying a new dress, Casey. I mean it’s only a dance."
Julia rolled her eyes. "You men can be such morons." She shook her head in disbelief.
"Yeah JD," Casey snorted. "It's not like I bought the dress for you or anything,"
Casey said with a slight hint of teasing in her voice. Although she had bought the white gown with its pretty rosebud print with every intention of wearing it when she arrived at the dance at his arm, there was no reason for JD to know that.
JD did not like that idea at all.
"What do you mean Casey?" He demanded, much to the amusement of his older companions who were more seasoned and knew when a girl was playing a man for a fool or in this case JD. "Who did you buy it for?"
"It’s none of your business JD." She replied haughtily.
"Casey, that’s not funny." JD insisted. "I want to know." Suddenly, JD had this strangest premonition that he was going to be asking this question numerous times before he reached Four Corners.
"JD," Buck shook his head in disgust. "Ain’t I taught you anything? You don’t beg a woman! Have some dignity for Christ sake." The older man leaned over and swatted him over the head with his hat while JD was still persistent in his desire to learn just whom Casey had intended that new dress for.
"Sure Buck," Chris said with a completely straight face while winking in Inez’s direction who knew better on that subject. Buck saw where Chris's s gaze was going and threw the gunslinger a dirty look. Considering how Buck had been trying to win Inez’s favour, he was the last person on Earth to rebuke JD about dignity.
"Some friend." The man scowled in his direction as the others started to laugh.
"So Mr Larabee," Ezra said ignoring the juvenile antics taking place between his friends and turned to their leader. "I gather you will be taking a few days for yourself with your fair lady?" He tipped his hat in Mary’s direction respectfully.
"Yeah," Chris nodded, throwing a faint smile at Mary as he nodded in answer. "We’ll ride back in a few days. If you could just let Audrey know to keep Billy for a few days, we’d appreciate it."
"I am sure Master Travis will keep himself entertained." Ezra sighed, guessing that he was going to be plagued by Billy’s infatuation with Julia for the duration of his parents' absence. "Where is Mr Tanner anyway?"
Just as Ezra asked that question, Vin Tanner and Alexandra Styles appeared out the main entrance of the hotel. Vin had his hand securely on Alex’s and was fairly pulling her out onto the boardwalk as they argued loudly upon their approach.
"Five minutes!" Alex exclaimed. "All you had to do was give me a five minutes!"
"You said that an hour ago," Vin grumbled, clearly unimpressed as they returned to their friends.
"I’m telling you, he was bluffing! I could have beaten him."
"You had two pair!" The tracker exclaimed.
"Yeah, but he didn’t know two pair of what!"
"Alex….." Vin looked over his shoulder. "You lost $200!"
"I would have got it back!"
"Jesus!" Vin said exasperated. "Get in that damn wagon before I really get mad."
"You’re no fun." She pouted and begrudgingly obeyed as he went towards Peso.
"Trouble in paradise?" Chris asked.
"She got into a game with that Maverick guy," Vin explained, throwing Alex a look as he mounted his horse. "If I didn’t drag her out of there, she would be in the same state as Ezra when he lost to that old gambler a couple of months back."
"Must we bring that up?" Ezra groaned, remembering how he had been consistently defeated by an elderly cardsharp who had managed to cheat him out of everything including his clothes and forced him to walk the streets of Four Corners in nothing more than a table cloth.
"I’ll have you know I could have beaten him," Alex replied, her voice full of dignity as she made the statement.
"Sure you could." Vin rolled his eyes and then turned back to Chris. "We better get going before she decides to jump the wagon and go back in there."
"Very funny!"
"Just a moment," Ezra remarked. "I do believe Mr Sanchez is escorting my mother here. She intends to spend a few days in Four Corners before making the trip back to St Louis."
"Probably a good idea with Lewisham out there." Chris agreed. Although Ezra did not believe Maude would not have any more difficulty with Jethro Lewisham, Chris was not so sure and felt that a few days in Four Corners was probably a good thing. It would allow Lewisham some time to calm down and ensure they did not run into each other while on route to their respective destinations.
"I felt the same way," Ezra answered, having aided Maude to reach that decision by convincing her strenuously the night before.
Maude Standish emerged from the entrance following that statement, as always at Josiah’s arm that always seemed at his most gallant in the presence of the lady. They were laughing quietly as if sharing some intimate joke, which immediately made the gambler sit up in his horse uncomfortably as if what was going on between the two was making him exceedingly nervous.
"Oh Ezra," Maude beamed as she came up to them. "I have the most wonderful news." She glanced at Josiah. "Should I tell them, Josiah?" She asked, her voice sounding coquettish and complete unlike his mother that Ezra immediately felt all the hairs stand on the back of his neck.
"I think you should," Josiah replied, facing Ezra with a smile that froze the blood and was full of smug satisfaction. "After all, he is your son."
"Not for long." Maude replied and inspired all their curiosity with her unspoke announcement even though she and Julia had planned this the night before as a means of gaining vengeance on Ezra for lying to both of them.
"Mother, you are scaring me," Ezra said suspiciously.
"Ezra don’t be silly," Maude declared reproachfully. "Its nothing terrible at all." She said this while linking her fingers through Josiah’s in a clearly intimate gesture that made Ezra’s eyes widen. "Josiah and I are going to get married."
"Married!" Ezra exploded as the others around him burst into laughter. Even Chris was grinning and trying hard not to let a snigger escape him but the look of utter terror in Ezra’s eyes at this shocking revelation was not giving him any help. "Are you insane! You can’t marry Josiah!"
"Now son," Maude looked at him sternly. "You are a grown man now. This should not be of surprise to you."
"You are joking with me aren’t you?" His eyes shifted between Maude and Josiah to see which of them would crack first and tell that this was some ruse they were playing with him.
"Just call me dad." Josiah grinned and Ezra almost choked on his spit.
"Ezra," Julia called out, unable to stand seeing her lover suffer any more but could not keep herself from enjoying one last piece of revenge.
"What?" He looked at her stricken.
"Now," she said with a wide and devious smile, almost as devious as the one Maude was wearing on her lips. "Now, we are even."