Still, it was horribly upsetting, and she longed for revenge. Marilee would soon be married to Lilly’s man, no doubt enjoying a wedding cake that should have been hers!
Approaching The Duchess, she had a delightful thought. No one would be there, and she still had a skeleton key. Who would know if she slipped inside? Nothing would give her greater satisfaction that taking a knife to the cake and cutting it to pieces. It would serve that whore right for sailing into town and disrupting all of Lilly’s plans.
Stealthily, she went to the side door and let herself inside. Food was everywhere. Clearly, they were expecting a large crowd. Moving through the kitchen, Lilly entered the barroom. They had decorated it beautifully, draping it with white fabric and filling it with flowers. They looked to have spared no expense, damn them!
Walking up to a covered table, she looked at the cake. It too was stark white and trimmed with sugared frosting. She’d just picked up the knife laid out for the cutting ceremony when she felt a poke in the middle of her back.
“I don’t think I would do that if I were you, Lilly,” Fancy drawled.
“What are you doing here?” Lilly hissed, shaken.
“Oh, I just had a premonition you weren’t quite finished trying to destroy my friends. Now get away from the table!”
Lilly moved slowly, trailing her fingers along the length of the table until she came to the end. Then she whirled and glared at Fancy, shocked to see the pistol in her hand.
“You’d shoot me?” she gasped out.
“Quick as you please,” Fancy agreed, cocking the gun. “In fact, I can’t think of a more deserving person to shoot.”
“Please,” Lilly pleaded, backing toward the front door. “I didn’t mean anything by it. I was just upset.”
“I’ve seen the kind of damage you can cause when you’re upset,” Fancy nearly sneered. “I’m quite sickened by it.”
“I’ll leave,” Lilly panted. “I’ll leave right now. I hope you won’t tell anyone?”
Laughing at her ridiculous request, Fancy waved her gun, indicating Lilly should keep moving.
“Maybe I’ll just take you down to the jail and lock you up until after the wedding. Although, shooting you appeals to me as well, since I’m getting angrier by the second. I so didn’t want to miss it,” she sighed.
“Then go,” Lilly said hopefully. “Go right now. I’ll leave and never set foot in here again.”
“Poor Lilly,” Fancy said pitifully. “I think your biggest mistake is underestimating other women. I’d do anything for my friends, anything,” she emphasized. “Open the door. Now!”
Quickly, Lilly spun around and did as Fancy ordered. The minute they stepped out, Fancy smiled.
“Well, well, what have we here?” she asked, now waving the gun across the small group. “My goodness, it seems you’re all about to make your escape. I wonder who let you out of jail.”
“She did!” Earl shouted, pointing at Lilly.
“Shut up, you fool. I told you to go and find horses at the church.”
“But there were four perfectly fine ones right here,” Carl snapped back. “Why the hell should we walk all the way down there when we didn’t have to!”
“Because you might have gotten away with it if you’d only listened to me. There’s a wedding going on. Nobody would have noticed you. Now you’re here and she’s got a gun,” she screeched.
“Yeah, we got guns too,” Drake spat back.
“Not in your hands,” Fancy reminded them with a grin. “I’m sure I can shoot at least two of you. Any preference on which ones it should be?”
“Her,” they all barked at once. “This whole mess is her fault.”
“Then it should be Carl and Earl,” Drake suggested before spitting a stream of tobacco juice very close to the hem of Lilly’s dress. Instantly, she recoiled in disgust. “They’re about as useful as teats on a boar hog.”
“I have another idea,” Fancy drawled. “How about you all mount up and get the hell out of here?”
“Now that sounds like a right good plan,” Earl said, cheerful for the first time.
“Good. I only have one condition.”
