Trixie slept fitfully, finally waking with a start. She didn’t know what had woken her. She was surprised Hallie hadn’t kicked her for tossing and turning. Glancing over at the other side of the bed, she was stunned to realize her cousin wasn’t there.
Crawling out of bed, she slid her feet into her slippers. Expecting to find her cousin in the kitchen or main room with the fireplace, her heart began to pound. She hurried to the coat rack, but Hallie’s coat wasn’t there.
What was her cousin doing outside? The sky had been threatening snow for days now.
Hurrying into her parents' room, she whispered, “Pa!” until he woke.
“Trixie?” Peter Belden asked in confusion.
“Pa, Hallie’s not in bed. Her coat is gone and I don’t know where she is!”
“What?” Helen Belden sat up.
“Hallie’s run off,” Peter said gruffly, throwing back the bedcovers. “Trixie, wake Mart.”
Trixie did so, having to shake her brother to wake him from a heavy sleep.
Trixie bundled up in her coat and followed her father outside into the night. The moon was bright in the clear sky, and the three Beldens made their way towards the barn, lanterns in hand. Peter and Mart both carried shotguns in case they ran into any wild animals. Trixie and Mart were to set out for the orchard, Peter would head into the woods.
Peter was muttering under his breath, words Trixie couldn’t quite catch, but she knew her cousin had gone too far this time.
Peter stopped at the barn door.
“What is it?” Mart asked.
“The door is unfastened. I think she’s in here.”
The door creaked as they swung it open but it was the laughter they heard. The three stood frozen, listening to the giggles and moans.
Peter turned white, then red and marched towards the ladder to the loft. The horses and cows dozed or eyed their owners. Reins tossed carelessly around a support beam belonged to a pretty brown Morgan none of them recognized.
Peter quickly climbed up the ladder, furious. Trixie felt herself turning red as she listened to what was obviously Hallie enjoying herself. Mart was embarrassed as well and neither sibling could look at the other. Both stared at the ground.
“Hallie!” Peter boomed as he reached the top.
There was a short scream of surprise, and some scuffling as Peter climbed up onto the hayloft, and aimed his shotgun.
“I told you to stay away from him,” Peter snapped.
Trixie snuck a peek at Mart. There was only one person they knew of that their cousin had been forbidden to see…
“Now, Mr. Belden, there’s no need for violence—” came the smooth voice.
“You come onto my property and disgrace my niece? You disrespect my rules, and her character, boy?” Peter aimed the gun right at Ben Riker.
Ben paled. This wasn’t the first time he had been caught with a girl, but this was a little more dangerous. Belden was more than willing to use the gun, and Ben wasn’t up to being a target tonight.
“You get your pants on, Riker and you get down from this loft. Mart, tie this con artist up!”
“Yes, sir!” Mart called back.
Ben bristled. “I’m not con artist. I just know what people want and I help them get it.”
“You’re a two bit murdering thief in a fancy suit,” Peter barked. “Hallie, get dressed already!”
Trixie felt ill as she heard her cousin sobbing quietly. Ben appeared on the ladder, clothes disheveled, and made his way down, where Mart pounced on him and quickly had him tied.
“It’s not against the law to enjoy a woman, Mayor,” Ben said calmly.
Peter didn’t answer, and a moment later, Hallie descended the ladder, eyes red, face streaked with tears, hair a mess and her clothes hastily thrown on. She glanced at a stunned Trixie and looked away.
“Out here, we have our own rules,” Peter said menacingly, raising the gun on Ben. “You disgrace a woman, you make right by her.”
Ben paled. No! He wasn’t about to marry her!
“Hallie, I warned you about consorting with this kind of ilk. You can go with Riker, or you go to the convent in Texas.”
Hallie paled, and looked at Ben. Surely he wouldn’t leave her to a convent. Surely he would marry her—he had professed to caring for her!
Ben stayed silent.
"You heard me, Riker. You can marry the girl, or I’ll have you put in jail. She is my ward and I’m sure we can find something to have you charged with.”
Riker swallowed.
“Please don’t send me to the convent, Uncle Peter,” Hallie whispered, as Ben’s hesitation became clear.
“Trixie, escort your cousin to the house. Hallie is not to leave your room. She’ll be on the first train to Texas I can get her on. I will not have my niece acting like a common whore!”
Hallie gasped as Ben swallowed hard.
“Riker’s spending the night right here. In the morning, Mart and I will take him into town.”
***
After Mart, Peter and a still bound Ben Riker headed into town the next morning, Hallie sat in the room she shared with Trixie. Hot tears slid down her cheeks. When Uncle Peter got back, she was going to be on a coach to Tulsa, then a train to Texas. She had to find a way out of here.
Ben was no help, she was certain now. He had just looked at her last night, without moving a finger to help her or a word to save her. Hallie wondered about Regan. He would help her, she was sure. Maybe, she thought suddenly. They hadn’t seen each other in a few weeks, maybe he had forgiven her.
But Madeleine wouldn’t, she thought. The heiress had made it clear Hallie wasn’t to come to the estate without an escort.
She had no one, she thought, despairingly.
***
Brian frowned to himself as he walked towards the office. He was certain people were avoiding him, and looking at him differently. He had known developing a friendship with Lillian could cause him problems; he wondered if it was already starting.
He saw his brother and father riding towards the marshal office, Ben Riker on his horse, hands bound. What the hell had happened?
Brian hurried towards the jail.
“What’s going on?” he demanded.
“I caught this young man with your cousin,” Peter said grimly. “In a situation only married people should be in.”
Brian’s eyes widened as he glanced at his younger brother. Mart nodded.
Peter pulled Ben from the horse, not caring that he stumbled and fell to the ground. Ben got up slowly. At the motioning of Peter’s shot gun, he walked inside, followed by the Belden men. Bystanders were staring.
Marshal Hardy was sitting with his feet up on the desk when they came in. Seeing Ben with his hands bound, he was instantly alert. Peter outlined the previous night’s events.
Marshal Hardy rubbed his face. “Peter, there’s no law against it, that I know of. You can make him marry her but that might be more trouble than it’s worth. Put the boy in a cell, while I wire New York. This slippery little snake will find some way to get out of a charge.”
“You can’t arrest me! I’ve done nothing wrong!” Ben protested.
“You defiled my niece,” Peter said furiously.
Ben laughed. “Oh, I promise I wasn’t the one who did that to her.”
Mart stepped forward and swung, slamming his fist into Ben’s face, and causing the well-dressed man to stumble backwards.
“Don’t insult my cousin!” he shouted.
Brian pulled his brother back.
“I’ve half a mind to insist you marry her,” Peter snapped, aiming the shotgun menacingly towards him. “Then you two can do as you wish without bringing such shame to my family and I’ll be rid of the trollop!”
Ben chuckled as he wiped the blood from his lip.
“You should talk to your son about bringing shame to the family, Mayor,” he sneered.
“I was framed and everyone knows it,” Mart seethed.
“Not you, Blondie. Your other son,” Ben laughed.
Puzzled, Mart looked at Brian, who suddenly looked very uncomfortable. Peter didn’t pay attention to him, he was too angry and focused on Ben.
Ben wiped the dab of blood from his lips where Mart punched him. “I wouldn’t be so high and mighty, Mayor. There’s an awful lot going on in your family that you don’t know about.”
“Fenton, I want him booked on some sort of assault charge,” Peter snapped.
Fenton rubbed his jaw. “I’ll see what I can manage. Unless Mr. Riker here is willing to do the right thing and marry her.”
Ben thought fast. He could beat a charge easier than leaving a wife, so he kept quiet. He had good lawyers and he wasn’t ready to marry anyone.
“Thought so, you bastard,” Mart spat. “Dan was right about you.”
Ben ignored the younger man. He stood in the cell as the Deputy Marshal locked him in.
“What are you going to do with Hallie?” Brian asked.
“Your brother is going to escort her to a convent in Texas,” Peter replied. “She surely can’t be trusted on her own.”
Brian winced. “Isn’t that a bit harsh?”
Peter turned his fury on his oldest son. “She’s been warned, son, to stay way from him and she flat out defied me. I caught her in the act, behaving like a harlot. If this…cad had any sense of morality he’d be marrying her after what I caught them doing!”
Brian nodded. “You’re right, sir.”
***
Peter returned to the farm but Mart walked with his brother towards the doctor’s office.
“What did Riker mean?” Mart asked.
“About?” Brian hedged.
“He implied pretty heavily that you’re into something less than reputable,” Mart answered.
Brian wondered how much to tell his younger brother. “There’s a young lady that needs my help,” he finally said.
Mart frowned as he looked up at Brian. “Needs your help? Brian, are you in some kind of trouble? Is she…?” he demanded, his eyes wide.
“No, nothing like that!” Brian answered quickly. “She just needs a friend.”
“So why would Riker imply that you’re bringing shame to the family?” Mart asked.
“Swear to me this stays between us.”
“Of course,” Mart nodded.
“She’s a saloon girl.”
Mart processed that. “You’re keeping company with a whore?”
Brian glared at him. “Don’t refer to her like that. She’s got a bad deal. I visit her a lot, and no, I don’t…patronize her services,” he said awkwardly.
Mart scratched his head. “Then what do you two do?”
“We talk, mostly,” he admitted. “Sometimes we just sit.”
Mart stared at his brother. “You’re not kidding.”
Brian shook his dark head. They had reached his office. “No. But people won’t understand that, so I don’t even try to explain it. But eventually Pa is going to find out and he’s not going to be happy.”
Mart rubbed his chin. “You’re right there. What is it about her that makes you visit her so much?”
Brian shrugged as they walked into the office. “I can’t explain it.”
“Is she pretty?”
“Beautiful,” Brian answered. “Sad. Lost. Broken.”
“Ah, you’re trying to heal her,” Mart deduced. “Now it makes sense. You can’t heal everyone, Bri. And you know as well as I do that healing souls is a lot harder than healing bones.”
Brian nodded. “I know. But there’s just something about her, Mart. I’m pretty sure she’s running from someone and I just want to…protect her.”
“Just be careful, Brian. You can bet Riker is going to want some sort of revenge on us for this.”
***
The following morning, Peter, Trixie, Mart and Hallie drove the buckboard to Tulsa, bundled up against the fierce cold and in silence. From there, Mart and Hallie boarded a train to Texas. The majority of her trunks were left behind; the convent wouldn’t require many clothes. Trixie and Peter returned to Crabapple Farm.
***
Madeleine paid another call to the Malley’s, and willingly. Jasper had been by the house several times to ask her to walk with him, but with the snow coming down lightly, she invited him in for tea. He entertained her with stories of circus life, asked her about New York high society, and finally, Madeleine felt that she was first in someone’s life.
His dark eyes never left her when she talked; he leaned towards her, once he had reached over and touched her hand. His smile warmed her and after a conversation about dancing, Miss Trask turned on the phonograph one afternoon. Jasper stood and bowed and asked her to dance and they spent the afternoon dancing and laughing in her parlor.
Regan had come in to see them dancing, and glanced at Miss Trask questioningly. She just smiled at him and looked pleased.
It was awkward for Regan to be around Jasper, knowing his secret tie to Ayla. Jasper mentioned her on occasion, and the act they had been working on when they left the circus. He talked about William often, and Regan filed away every little scrap of information he could. Madeleine asked plenty of questions, gleaning information for Regan. Part of her felt just a little guilty, that she might be using Jasper, but she genuinely enjoyed his company and she loved the way his face lit up when he talked about things he was passionate about, which included the circus and his family.
Sometimes Regan lurked in the hallway, listening. He was glad Madeleine finally found someone who truly appreciated her, and didn’t seem affected by her status or money. Jasper was a nice young man, he decided, who obviously enjoyed spending time with her, and had accepted an invitation for the coming Sunday supper.
He thought about Hallie occasionally, and was surprised to hear she was being sent to a convent in Texas. When Mart confessed why, Regan found he wasn’t so surprised. Once or twice she had laid her hand on him suggestively, but never came right out and saying what she wanted. Regan didn’t play games, he preferred a straightforward approach. Still, he felt bad for her, but then he’d think about Julianna, and how he might actually owe Hallie a thank-you. Had Ayla shown up while he was with Julianna, it would have been unfair that he’d never be able to love Julianna completely while Ayla was around. All the feelings he thought he had buried had come rushing back with an intensity that stunned him.
He knew that in ten years, people changed. He sure had. It could very well be they were no longer suited to each other. But he couldn’t believe that. With a different last name than Wheeler, Regan felt he was safe to keep out of Ayla’s mind, if they would come to supper.
Madeleine had the made the invitation to the whole family, but only Jasper would be there. He explained Ayla and Thom were both shy, and uncomfortable around a lot of people. But he would be there.
With the weather getting steadily colder, church visits would soon drop off, and the mornings were already showing dustings of snow and frost. Wood was stockpiled for the winter heating, windows were sealed off for better insulation, and cellars double checked for stockpiled canned and jarred goods.
***
Mart had returned from his venture with Hallie, and soberly reported to his father that Hallie never spoke to him once during the trip. She didn’t cry or fuss, she simply walked away from Mart.
Trixie stared out the window. Mart knelt in front of her.
“I know you feel guilty, Trix, but Hallie knew what she was doing. She made a willing choice to be out there, doing what she did with him. You did the right thing by waking us. For all we knew, she could have wandered off and been hurt somewhere.”
Peter checked to be sure Bobby was in the room he shared with Mart before joining his middle children.
“Your mother and I knew when we accepted Hallie coming her that this was the sort of behavior she was up to in Idaho. We believed that we could help turn her around, give her a new start, as she had gained quite a reputation in the town as a loose woman. There were no steady beaus, no courting, no marriage offers because of her behavior. Hallie was warned when she arrived we would not tolerate the behavior and Harold told me to not to hesitate if she started the same behavior here. Hallie was warned to stay away from Ben Riker but that night in the loft,” Peter cleared his throat, “Riker should have married her. But it was obvious he wouldn’t so I made the decision to send her away. Do either of you know if there have been other men?”
“No, sir.” Both Trixie and Mart replied.
“Do you know if she had any sort of physical relationship with William Regan, during his courtship of Julianna?”
“No, sir.” They said again.
“I don’t believe Regan would do that to Julianna,” Trixie said quietly. “I really do think he was innocent in the whole matter, and so does Madeleine. Just naïve.”
Peter nodded. “I suspected as much, that Hallie’s behavior was the one at fault here.”
“What will happen to her?” Trixie asked.
“She’s to remain at the convent for a year, unless her father goes to claim her.”
“She can’t leave?” Trixie asked.
“No. She is essentially, a ward of the convent now.”
Trixie swallowed, wondering how her cousin was going to manage there.
Author Notes
- a huge yee-haa! to Julie (Macjest), my ever patient and helpful editor for this universe! All mistakes are mine.
-Word count 2,959
|
Disclaimer: Trixie Belden® is a registered trademark of Random House books. These pages are not affiliated with
Random House Books in any way, shape or form. No profit is made here, only entertainment.
Images of Trixie Belden and other series characters are copyright ©
Random House books.
Fenton Hardy is copyright © Simon and Schuster.
Real life characters such as Alan Pinkerton belong to history.
All references and characters and are used lovingly and respectfully, albeit without permission.
All non-Trixie Belden characters belong to AmazonWitch,Inc.
This website is © 2005-2025 Mal. All rights reserved. All graphics created by Mal and may not be used without permission. |
