My hard fist connects with his jaw before he can say another word, his body flying back to hit the wall with force. I barely hold myself back from leaning down and beating the last breath out of him. I start going through the drawers and the chest in the room, throwing anything that looks even slightly feminine into a pile. Picking up the bed, I tilt it against the wall only to find a small travel bag stuffed into the back corner, against the wall. Instantly, I know it’s hers. Grabbing it, I let the bed fall back down, the once straight covers now balled up on the floor.
Gathering the hand-made blanket and few pieces of clothing I’ve found, I start stuffing them inside her case. Then, I stroll through the house looking to see if there is anything else she might want.
“You have no right coming into my house and taking things that don’t belong to you. Leave here with that stuff, and I’ll send the marshal after you for theft.”
Before he can say another word, I have him slammed against the wall, gasping for breath, kicking wildly as he claws at my arm. “How does it feel … the helplessness … knowing no matter howhard you struggle, you can’t win this fight?” I push a little harder, just enough to let him know I mean business.
“If you see MY WIFE on the street, you’d better turn the other way. If I ever hear her name on your lips or even the slightest rumor that you have been talking about her, I will come back and finish this. Please …PLEASEmake me come back! In the backcountry, bodies come up missing all the time, and no one will even look for your worthless hide. Fair warning, if you ever lure another little miss into your clutches, and I see a single mark on her, that will be the day you meet your Maker!”
Headbutting him, I drop him on the floor, unconscious. Glancing around, a small chest sitting on the mantel catches my attention. Lifting the lid, I find a few coins and a small locket in a velvet bag. Opening the clasp, there’s a miniature portrait of a couple kissing inside. The woman’s profile seems to have the same features as Lauren, so I place it in the bag too.
Oren starts groaning in the corner, and because I simply can’t help myself, I walk over and kick him in the ribs. His screams make me smile. Shutting the door behind me, I whistle as I make my way back to the little shop.
Finding Beatrice at the counter wrapping several packages in twine, she looks down at the small bag in my hand and shakes her head sadly. “Harvey will be back shortly. He went over to the cobbler to see how quickly he could get her a pair of boots. Do you know if she can sew?”
“We have not had time to converse much.”
“Well, any woman worth her salt should be able to at least take care of her own clothing. Besides a small sewing kit, I’ve managed to gather up a warm flannel nightgown, three sets ofundergarments and stockings, along with two shirts, a skirt with an adjustable waistline, and an apron. In this bag is a mirrored comb set, along with some hairpins and a bonnet. Thankfully, I had an extra jar of face cream in the back because us women must protect our skin.
Now of course, she’ll need more than this. Let me think … Yes, at least one nice dress for Sundays, as well as pants she can wear under her skirts in the winter months. I’m sure a heavy coat would be welcomed as well. I will start on a day dress for her tomorrow. The rest should be ready by the end of the week and you can pick them up then. Hold on a minute, she’s going to need a shawl for these cool spring mornings. I’ll run to the back and grab one after I get these tied up.”
“I appreciate your assistance, Beatrice. Do I owe you anything for the additional clothes?”
“No, you’ve given me more than enough for now. Of course, if I had her measurements, the things I’m making would fit her much better.”
“Once she recovers, I will bring her in to see you. If you want to hold off on the nicer dresses, that would be fine.” I hold up the bag. “This was all I could find of hers. She more than likely has been wearing the same dress every day for lord knows how long.”
“Most of the settlers that come out this way lose what little they have getting here however, I bet Oren’s wardrobe was full. But as they say, that’s all spilt milk, and we know she’ll be provided for now. I have a few more things to gather up. You’re welcome to look around until Harvey gets back with her shoes.”
Nodding my head, I carefully walk over toward the material lining the wall, careful not to knock things over as I go. I’m wondering the entire time whether Lauren would like any of this for the cabin, when I notice a bright blue piece of silk sitting on the top shelf. I instantly recognize it.
“Beatrice?”
“Yes go ahead, I can hear you.”
“Where did you get this piece of blue silk?”
She walks in with another package in her hand, her eyes glancing up at the material, then back at me. Then she tilts her head like she is just truly seeing me for the first time.
“I knew there was something familiar about you, even with all that dirt on your face because I’ve seen those eyes before. Heard some rumors as to why you showed up here all of a sudden and who you were to Eliza, but I now believe they were just that, rumors. And young man, you know exactly where that fabric came from.”
“How did you end up with it?”
“Eliza needed the money, isn’t that always the case? She sold me several of those fancy dresses the year the Lord took her home. Most things we drag along with us from back East won’t do you much good out this way, but I could tell it was hard for her to let them go. I used to tease her quite fondly that she was the cleanest and best smelling girl in town. Took three strapping young men to carry that monstrosity of a bathing tub up that hill into the back of their new cabin. It was all those boys talked about for weeks.
Anyway, there was enough material in the skirts alone to make several everyday dresses. However, that specific style is too costly for anyone around here. But I didn’t cheat her, even knowing I was going to have a hard time selling it. I gave her as much as I could because Lord knows she needed every penny when Toby got sick.”
“She had a few pieces of jewelry.”
“I’m not sure about those, but you might ask Harvey. If he doesn’t know, I would go to the bank. She more than likely used them to pay off the loan they got on the homestead, or possibly that tub she had shipped all the way from Salt Lake City.”
“I paid the loan off myself and the solicitor didn’t say anything about any other debts.”
“People don’t just give information out. You want to know something, ask. You should know that Eliza never mentioned anyone back home, yet here you are. The few times I asked her where she was from, she’d change the subject, but you would’ve had to been blind not to see her manners and the way she held herself. She was a well-bred lady and no amount of dust hides that.”
“Unfortunately, she was probably scared too. When Eliza ran off, it took a Pinkerton detective two years to find her and me another three months to get here. When I arrived, Eliza was sick, nothing but skin and bones … didn’t last the day. I was literally holding her in my arms when she passed.”
“That’s why I don’t participate in rumors, there’s never a lick of truth to any of them.”
