Chaunceylay upon the solitary cotinhis cell attheCharmingjailand waited for Stephen and Thomas to return with their cohorts, who had remained behind at the inn. But then,SirWestonDwarftonand JamesSpadelyweren’t bounty hunters like Mr. Gregory and Mr. Paine, but representatives of theHudson Bay Company, which in turn, were in charge ofall ofRupert’s Land.Chauncey’dhad several interactions with Dwarfvillein the past, and found himto be a ratherunpleasant sort to be around.
“I see the prodigalcriminalhas been caught in a trap of his own making.” Chauncey’s mouth curved upward in a smirk as the familiar voice floated over to him. “I should have known it might be awoman who brought you to heel. All that fuss and nonsense over the death of your wife and son, now appears to be nothing more than empty anger that was directed at an innocent man.”
Chauncey’s entire demeanor instantly changed to one of fury. Gone was the tolerant amusement of a man he disliked. In its place was complete loathing for the true villain here. He slowly sat up and walked over to the bars of his cell. He grasped the metal in his grasp until his knuckles turned white. And although Dwarftonshould have known that he couldn’t escape, it didn’t stop him from backing up a step.
He was just as Chauncey remembered, a nasally sort of fellow who thought he was above reproach simply because he wore the finest silks from some of the best London tailors. The lace of his cuffs had always looked rather absurd on a man who lived in the Canadian wilderness and dealt with trappers. But then, perhaps thatwaswhy his white beard was longer than Chauncey remembered, no longer neat and trimmedclose to his jawline, but reachinghis chest in a bushy mass.
“You know as well as I do that Lord Arandine was nothing of the sort!” Chauncey growled. “And you stood by and didnothingwhile my family was murdered in cold blood.”
Dwarftonsniffed. “Martha Cade was a savage, the same as you are, tainted with that IndianMétisblood—”
Chauncey didn’t even think;he just acted. His arm shot out from between the bars and grasped the first thing he could, which just happened to be Dwarfton’s beard. While the man was still recovering from the shock, Chauncey grasped the mass in his fist and yanked him forward until Dwarftonslammed against the bars on the opposite side. “You know nothing of savagery. But I’ll be glad to show you now.” With his free hand, Chauncey withdrew the knifethat had gone unnoticed, tucked inthe back of his trousers and brought it up to Dwarfton’s beard, where he neatly sliced off more than half of it.
The man howled and stumbled backward, his hands coming up to where his beard used to be. He looked up with something akin to horror as Chauncey slowly released his fist, where the discarded hair scattered to the floor.
“You’ll pay dearly for this, Cade!” The other man sputtered, as he turned on his heel and stormed out the door, slamming it in his wake.
Until then, James Spadely had been standing by silently, but now he walked forward. “You enjoy making powerful enemies, don’t you, Cade?”
Now that some of Chauncey’s anger had abated, he realized he’d acted rather foolishly. That moment of triumph would undoubtedly have consequences. “It would seem so.”
A hand clamped his shoulder. “Then it’s a good thing you have friends who wish to remove the current authority.”
Chauncey glanced at the other man curiously. He hadn’t known much about Lord Spadely, other than the fact they were of the same age andthathe was some sort of distant cousin to the Earl of Arandine. But when his expression seemed to convey a sense of kinship, Chauncey started to feel the first spark of hope for his dark fate.
As Spadely turned and walked calmly out the door, Chauncey closed his eyes and began to pray.
Ifonly…
***
Elise woke the next morning with a start. She wasn’t sure what had woken her, except now that she was alert to her surroundings; she realized it was likely the factthatshe was lying on a soft, feather mattress in a bedroom the size of her entire cabin.
But as memory quickly resurfaced, she glanced at the window and blinked in alarm when she saw the light shining through the curtains.She hastily threw the covers off her, and jumped out of bed, noticing that she was still wearing her clothes from the night before. She rushed over to the window and her eyes widened when she saw that it was nearly midday. How on earth could she have slept so long?
She clutched the windowsill and thought of poor Chauncey, and wondered how she could have been so selfish as to sleep the night away so soundly, knowing that he was sitting alone in that cold jail cell.
Elise turned away and looked for her valise, but it was nowhere to be found. She frowned, searching under the bed and all around the room, but there was no sign of the worn traveling bag.
She was about to run to Grannie’s aid when there was a knock at the door and the lady herself entered followed bySamson,the barkeepof the saloon, who was carrying a silver tray,which he sat down on the dressing table.During the morning, the stocky man with dark hair and his salt and pepper beard could be found at the inn helping Grannie cook up delicious meals for her guests.
“Oh, good. You’re up,” the older woman smiled gently as she poured two cups of tea. “Thank you, Samson.” The barkeep offered Elise a friendly wink as he departed.
Elise accepted the cup as the older woman settled herself in a chair by the fire, but she ignored the pang of hunger in her stomach for the moment. “Grannie,” she said urgently. “Do you know where my valise is?”
“I put it in the wardrobe while you were sleeping last night.”Granniesmiled. “I daresay it didn’t take you long to pass out in the chair while I wascomposing the telegraphto Mr. Grimm.SinceIdidn’t want to disturb you,Isent forSamsonand had himcarry you up tomy guestroom.You didn’t even bat an eyelash.” Some of Elise’searlierirritation faded awayin the face of such kind consideration.Besides, she couldn’t really deny that she had been exhaustedafter the trek down the mountain. However,concern for Chauncey was still foremost in her mind.And after a quick glance about the room, she noticed thatthe houndwas conspicuously absent.
“Where’s Beau?” she asked.
“He’s downstairs lazing by the fire after eating to his heart’s content.” Grannie chuckled. “I can see why you adore him so much. He’s a wonderful dog.”
“Yes, he is.”I just hope Chauncey is able to be reunited withhim.
“Now, I suggest you do the same and get some food in you. After that, we can talk about heading over to the jail and checking on Mr. Cade once Mr. Grimm arrives, which shouldn’t be long. He replied to my letter first thing this morning and told me he would be on the one o’clockcoach.”
Elise relaxed slightly, knowing that there was no arguing with the lady. And it would be prudent to eat something to keep up her strength. Thus, she walked over to the silver tray and took the lid off to reveal a tantalizing fare of ham, eggs, and toasted bread complete with butter and homemade blackberry jam.She smiled, for everyone in Charming knew thatGrannie’sjam was the best.
She turned to the lady. “Thank you. For everything.”
