Margery Trask sat in the parlour, rereading the letter that had come for her. She hadn’t recognized the handwriting. But now, having read the letter several times, she was awash in memories.
Augustus Ruchen. That rascal of a little boy that had moved away when they were ten had grown into a dashing young man and returned to New York at eighteen. The young man who had whisked her away at a dance and stolen a kiss under the summer night sky. The young man who had courted her for weeks, promising marriage…and then broke her heart. He had gone to Virginia on a trip, and two weeks later a letter arrived, ending the engagement with no explanation.
Margery could still remember the sound of his laughter and the taste of his kiss. His leaving had devastated her, and she never allowed another man to be close to her or court her. She had gone to work as a teacher at a girl’s finishing school, and was hired by Matthew Wheeler when Madeleine was nine. The lonely and fragile girl adored her and latched on to her. Matthew made her an offer of employment as the girl’s governess and chaperone. Margery took the offer and closed off her heart to any notions of marriage or children for herself. Instead, she focused on her young charge and raising her properly. Margery couldn’t love any other child more than she loved Madeleine.
It had been over twenty years since he ended their relationship. What did he want now? How had he found her?
My Dearest Margie,
I hope you read this and do not throw it in the trash. It has taken me a long time to find you. First I had to be free to do so, and then I had to build up the courage to track you. I owe you an apology, one of such an immense proportion that I cannot deliver it properly in this letter. What I did to you was unforgivable, and I still haven’t forgiven myself.
I understand you’re employed by the Wheeler family and are currently in Oklahoma. I hope this letter finds you happy and in good health. I long to see you with my own eyes, and would ask your permission to come West to meet you. I hope that when you hear my story, you’ll be able to forgive me.
Always yours,
Augustus
Margie. No one else had ever called her that. It was a silly name, for a silly girl, not a sensible woman who took charge of her life and herself.
And yet it warmed her heart, just a smidgeon. She’d never forget his dancing dark eyes, or the way they had danced together.
Or how she seen her future simply melt away when she received that letter, so many years ago. How her stomach had dropped from her body, her chest had tightened so she couldn’t breathe, and she had collapsed. Her father had been in a rage, her mother horrified. Her brother, Frank, had wanted to hunt the man down. Weeks later, word reached them that Augustus had impregnated another girl in a nearby town, and they had run off together.
Her hand fell to her lap and she stared into the fire. In a box under her bed, was her secret. She still had the wedding dress she had expected to wear. And the dress she wore at their engagement party. She had thrown out every other memento of him, but those…she just couldn’t. The boxes hadn’t been opened in many, many years, but she still had them.
“Miss Trask, are you feeling all right?” Jasper stood in the doorway.
“Oh, yes, of course,” Margery smiled at him. He was a sensitive young man, and quickly picked up on others moods. “Just remembering something.”
Jasper walked into the parlour and sat across from her, his dark eyes focused on her. “Are you sure?” he asked quietly.
“Yes, dear boy, I’m fine,” she smiled at him, slipping the letter into her pocket. “Now, what are you up to?”
***
Ben Riker listened to the man at the next table. Turning his head casually, he studied the poster the man held. It held a drawing of Lillian Belden.
“Excuse me, sir,” Ben leaned over with a smile. “Did I hear you were looking for that young lady?”
***
Dan was on his way to the improvised schoolhouse, to catch Adelia when she released the students for the day. He had been right, trying to track the source of the rumors was impossible. So he was determined to talk to the young woman herself and see where she had received the information. He knew Ben Riker had his hand in this mess.
He saw Lillian across the thoroughfare and waved. She smiled and waved back when a hand suddenly came from behind her, clamped over her mouth and she was pulled from his view.
“Lillian!” he shouted. A team of horses went by, drowning out his shout. He bolted across the thoroughfare, dodging the moving traffic. Some saw him and moved for the young marshal, but Dan had to dart past most of them, knocking over more than one in the process. “Sorry! Sorry! Lillian!”
He reached the spot where she had been, but people milled around. No one had noticed the kidnapping.
“Dan!” the scream was cut off but his head turned to the left. She was fighting against the man holding her, while another was trying to tie her hands. She fought like a wildcat, clawing at the men and Dan raced towards her, gun drawn.
“US Marshal!” he shouted. “Let her go and don’t move!”
The man tying her hands froze, and Lillian kicked him between the legs as hard as she could, sending him to his knees howling. Dan fired a warning shot that went through the hat brim of the man holding her and he froze as well.
“Next one doesn’t miss!” Dan yelled. “Let her go!”
The man released her and Lillian ran to Dan, sobbing. He pushed her behind him. “What the hell is going on?”
Then he recognized the man who had been holding her. It was her father.
“That’s my daughter and I’m taking her home!” he snarled.
“This woman is married to our town doctor, and I think he’ll protest that,” Dan replied, holding both guns on the men. “She’s also my sister-in-law, and I’m definitely protesting.”
“She’s mine!” her father shouted.
“No siree, she isn’t,” Dan said coolly, his gun leveled and cocked. “She doesn’t belong to anyone but she does have a husband, and if you want to argue with him, that’s your stupid mistake.”
“She ran way from home!” he father protested.
“Probably with good reason. But I don’t tolerate kidnapping in my territory, which you happen to be in. This is your last warning, Stodge. Get out of town and don’t come back. You need to forget your daughter is here. Forget you even have a daughter,” he said sternly. “If I see you again, or any of your henchmen, I will shoot on site. Is that clear?”
“She owes me money! I lost a fortune when she ran away!”
“You lost money you didn’t have,” Dan said evenly. “That’s not her problem or fault. I’m telling you now, get on your horses, and ride out of here.”
Fenton Hardy arrived then. “Marshal, need some help? I heard you took off like the devil was after you.”
“We’ve got a couple of attempted kidnappers here, Hardy. They tried to snatch Mrs. Belden. I’ve told them kindly that if they leave now, I’ll let him them ride out.”
“Why don’t I give them a personal escort?” Fenton asked with a hard smile. “That way Mrs. Belden can be escorted home.”
“Sounds like a grand idea.” Dan turned to Lillian who was still sobbing and put one arm around her. “Oh, and Deputy?”
“Yes, Marshal?”
“Feel free to shoot them if they give you any trouble.”
“Yes, Marshal.”
Dan hurried Lillian away from the men and to Brian’s office. The young doctor was startled to see his brother-in-law appear with his crying wife.
“What happened?” Brian demanded, rising from where he had been at his desk writing notes.
Dan told him the story as Brian held his wife. Lillian started to calm down as Brian soothed her.
“Fenton will make sure they leave,” Dan said. “But it might be wise to keep an eye out, if they come back.”
Brian nodded. “Will do. Thanks, Dan.”
“Right place, right time,” Dan grinned, tipping his hat. He took his leave a moment later as Brian faced Lillian, wiping her tears away.
“Are you all right?” Brian asked gently.
She nodded. “It was just so scary, Brian! They came out of nowhere and grabbed me—if Dan hadn’t been there…”
“Shh,” he held her close, hoping she wouldn’t sense his fear or feel his pounding heart. The thought of her being taken from him, dragged back to that bastard of a man made him ill and terrified him.
Lillian wrapped her arms around him tightly. Brian decided he didn’t need to see any more patients today that weren’t an emergency, and took his wife upstairs to calm her down.
***
Dan hummed as he rode home. His mind was on Lillian Belden, and her father. He half hoped Fenton had cause to shoot the man. Dan had no tolerance for men who thought women were property. Granted, the laws were written that way, but Dan didn’t agree with it. If he did, Trixie never would have married him.
He caught a glimpse of his cottage on the lake and urged Spartan home a little faster. He loved being alone in their home with Trixie, particularly once they went to bed.
After he brushed and cooled Spartan, he hurried inside to find Trixie setting supper on the table. Remembering how Lillian had almost been taken overwhelmed Dan, and he caught Trixie by the hand, sweeping her into his arms for a long kiss that left them both breathless.
“What was that for?” she asked with a smile.
She love these small moments between them, loved greeting him at the door. Married life had been an adjustment. More often than not she burned some part of the meal, the first time she made coffee it so weak it resembled dirty rainwater, the next time it was so black, Dan was afraid to drink it. He usually had to scrape off a crust of black from his meat at dinner but he did it cheerfully. Trixie had burst into tears more than once. She had knocked over the bucket of dirty water, after scrubbing the floor one day, she still hadn’t gotten the knack of making bread right. Why did it always seem so easy when she had watched Ma?
“Just appreciating you,” he grinned and swatted her on the rear.
“Appreciate away,” Trixie murmured.
***
Hallie stood at the window, her body tense and stiff. Ben came up behind her, slipping his arms around her waist as he nuzzled her neck.
When she didn’t respond after a moment, he sighed. “What’s wrong now, Hallie?”
He was fond of the girl but damn, she could be petty and whiny and irritating. More than once he had begun to wonder if he did the right thing, getting her out of that convent. She had become a major source of irritation, and an expensive one at that.
“I’m just wondering when you’ll make an honest woman of me,” she said coldly.
Ben bit his tongue. She had first brought this up a couple weeks ago. The novelty of being his mistress had worn off, no one really noticed anymore, or cared. But she was snubbed by most of the town and had no funds, now that she had been cut off from her family. She was completely reliant on him.
“I told you that’s not what I want. Never has been. I like things the way they are.”
“Simple, I know,” she mocked him. He glared at her. “It’s not your reputation on the line.”
Ben did laugh this time. “Darling, your reputation was besmirched long ago and of your own doing. I just add the excitement to it.”
She glared at him. “It’s not funny, Ben. I’ve lost everything, the least you could do is marry me.”
Ben sighed. “I told you from the start I had no interest in marriage. You could have denied me at the convent, and stayed there. You knew what you were getting into with me.” And there was no way he was giving up his playthings. He liked pushing them around too much, and seeing the fear in their eyes. Hallie never had that fear. He enjoyed her defiance but he was tired of her.
She crossed her arms. “I want to renegotiate.”
Ben shook his head and pushed her against the wall, pressing his body against hers.
“You know how I like my negotiations,” he whispered in her ear.
***
Adelia Cornwall locked the store behind her. She was looking forward to holding class in the schoolhouse next week.
“Miss Cornwall!”
She turned and tried to think of an escape route, but the handsome young Marshal cornered her.
“Please forgive me,” he said immediately, “but I need to talk to you.”
“If this is about your brother, I have nothing to say,” she said coolly. The beautiful dress he had given her had been boxed up and Clara persuaded the Lynch twins to return it to Jim that afternoon. She couldn’t keep it now. What must everyone think of her? That she was a kept woman, that was she giving him favors of a nature she hadn’t even dreamed of, that she was his whore.
“I know what you’ve been told, but I swear to you, it’s a lie,” Dan said. “Jim would never, ever talk about a woman the way you think he has. Jim’s about the most honorable guy I know.”
“He’s your brother, of course you’d defend him,” she snapped. “I know all about you two hanging in the saloons and your shenanigans with women – I don’t know how Trixie lets you!”
Dan shook his head. “I promise you, it’s not true. We meet up with friends every couple weeks for a poker game. That’s it. No carousing, and no women. Jim is smitten with you, Miss Cornwall and it seemed to me you felt the same.”
Adelia looked away. “Marshal, I can’t go anywhere in this town now without people staring at me. Ben Riker cornered me here last week and made such filthy insinuations—” her blue eyes filled with tears.
“Ben Riker?” Dan asked. He had been right! “Ben Riker was here? What day?”
“The day I ended things with your brother,” she replied, brushing her eyes. “It was his insinuations that made realize what a fool I was! Mr. Riker made me feel so dirty with what he said!”
Dan swallowed. “Adelia,” he dropped the formality, “I know what’s happened. And I know Ben is behind it because he’s got it in for all of us, and he and I go way back. I promise you, he is the one spreading such lies about you. I know Jim better than anyone, and he would never do such a despicable thing. I am begging you to give him another chance. Please.”
Adelia dabbed at her eyes with a well-worn handkerchief. “I knew there had to be a reason a man like Jim was interested me. He can ruin my reputation but I won’t let him ruin me.”
“But he didn’t,” Dan repeated. “Please, listen to what I’m saying. You’re a smart woman; I know you know there’s always more than one side to the story. It wasn’t Jim. I give you my word as a US Marshal, Jim did not do this. He adores you, and I have cause to think that he—” here Dan stumbled, not wanting to ruin his brother’s surprise, “is thinking of a future with you.”
“I will not be subjected to further ridicule,” Adelia said coldly. “Do not fill my ears with lies!”
Dan sighed. This girl was more stubborn than Trixie, and that was saying a lot.
“Look, just give him a chance. Please. Hear him out.”
“Marshal, I need to get home.”
“Let me escort you.”
“I hear what you are saying,” she said softly, holding her posture very stiff. “But I don’t know how I could trust him again.”
“It wasn’t him,” Dan said. “Ben Riker has an axe to grind with us, and I swear to you, he is behind this. He is a foul, lecherous man who preys upon innocent women. Please, do not believe anything that comes from that snake’s mouth!”
Adelia’s bright blue eyes studied the earnest young man in front of her. She wanted to believe Dan, she did. Jim Frayne had very quickly taken over her heart. She had cried so much these last few days, and barely got through her classes as his betrayal cut her so deeply.
But Dan was insisting Jim was innocent. True, everything she had heard about the brothers since she first arrived was to their credit. Mr. Belden, who hired her, had a lot of praise for both young men. Adelia knew at one point Jim had courted Trixie, Peter’s daughter and now Dan’s wife. Surely Jim couldn’t be the horrible man she had been led to believe he was. Could he? Was that why Trixie had married Dan instead?
“You present a compelling case, Marshal,” she said. “But I don’t know what to believe at this moment.”
“Think about the Jim you know,” Dan urged. “That’s the Jim we all know, that’s the real Jim. Not the person you’ve been led to believe recently. Please, give him a chance. Send him a note, or something. Anything.”
“I need to think about it,” Adelia said weakly.
Dan nodded and stepped aside so she could hurry past him.
Adelia’s mind was a blur as she walked to the hotel.
The Jim she knew was smart and funny and kind and generous. He had kissed her once, very gently, the night of Dan and Trixie’s wedding, but other than that, had never done more than hold her hand. But she loved it when he held her hand. The was such a strength, such warmth emanating from the small embrace that she couldn’t help but feel safe and comforted with him. He was very good looking to boot, but Adelia knew that looks meant little when it came to the substance of a person.
She nodded to Smitty as she entered the hotel, and proceeded to her room, unsure what to do about Jim Frayne.
***
Regan sat on a bale of hay, studying the wall of the barn. Ayla had barely spoken to him since their tryst last week. She was embarrassed, he knew. It hadn’t been planned but it was unstoppable. It had been a few hours of pure bliss for him, and at the time, he thought for her as well. But as dawn approached, she awoke in his arms, and dressed in a hurry, fleeing the stables.
Once he realized how she was acting, he purposely missed a couple of meals to make it easier on her. He knew Marge was aware something had transpired, but Madeleine and Jasper had eyes only for each other. Matthew wasn’t there enough to notice anything.
Lady stretched her head over her stall to chuff softly in his ear. Reaching up absently, he rubbed her gray face. Life was definitely easier with the animals, he thought. Women sure did complicate things.
