The Traherns #1 (40 page)

“Then you’d better come see him. I think he’s getting truly
lonely.”

“He is?”

“Very much. Pines for you each day.”

Lizzie looked from one to the other of us. “I thought you got
him delivered safely.”

“Oh, yes, but he misses her,” James said.

“And I miss him,” I added. “I’ll have to borrow your buggy,
Lizzie, and ride out to the ranch to see how he is doing.”

“But you don’t need to— Ouch!” she turned to Thomas. “What
was that for?”

“Let’s get some punch. Then I need to dance with my wife.” He
took her arm, said, “See you,” and led her away.

We walked around, then danced some more. In between dances,
James introduced me to more of his friends who were there.

They announced the last dance, and James swung me into a slow
waltz. I closed my eyes and almost melted with contentment. I wished the music
to go on and on, but it came to an end. James held me for a second longer. Then
he kissed me.

He had brought us to a fairly dim area. I kissed him back,
hoping to let him know how attracted I was.

“Don’t forget to visit Sir Galahad,” he said.

“I wouldn’t forget that.”

Then people started to leave. As the place emptied, they said
their thanks to Lizzie and many gave her a hug. I heard one woman say she would
see her next week, and I looked at Lizzie to see what that was all about.

“She has four horses. We’re going riding together next
Wednesday,” Lizzie said. “Along with Annie.”

The place cleared and soon only the attendant was left, along
with myself and Lizzie and Thomas. And James.

“I’ll see Brynn home,” he said.

“Fine with me,” Thomas said.

“What happened to Catherine?” I asked.

“Arthur’s taking her back to the ranch.”

“That was quick.”

“We don’t waste time, here.”

“And Kelly?”

“He brought in his own horse, so he could stay independent. He
already left.”

We walked outside and I followed James to his carriage. It was a
nice, Sunday-go-to-meeting type, complete with a fringed cover.

He handed me into the carriage and went to the horses’ heads to
untie them.

“She’s mine!” The shout was loud enough to alert Thomas, who was
starting to drive away. He stopped his team, as James turned to face Victor.

“Who says so?” James demanded.

“Her parents.”

James looked at me. I shook my head. “My father would never
allow it,” I said.

“There’s your answer,” he told Victor.

“If you want her, you’re going to have to fight me,” Victor
said.

He had won many fights, beating his opponents to the ground and
almost killing some. I gasped with alarm as he shouted, “Your friends are gone
now. You’ve nowhere to hide.”

“I don’t need to hide from the likes of you,” James said. “I
don’t think she wants you.”

Victor looked at me. “Our mothers—”

“I’m not my mother,” I said. “I don’t belong to you. I’ve told you
so.”

“Then you don’t get her either,” he said, and charged at James.
I saw the flash of a blade, and realized he had a knife in his hand.

I let out a cry, because I couldn’t bear to see James killed or
hurt by Victor.

A shot rang out and everyone stopped. Thomas stood there with a
pistol in his hand. “Drop the knife, Victor. Then kick it over this way.”

“You, too?” Victor said, his face twisted in disgust.

“Yes. Hand to hand only. Or by heaven, I’ll shoot you.”

Victor dropped the knife and kicked it towards Thomas. “I don’t
need a knife,” he snarled and rushed at James.

James had stepped away from the horses to give them more room,
and had pulled off his coat while Victor was talking.

He put his hands up in the manner of boxers and I wondered if he
had had any experience.

They hit each other for some time, the force and sound of the
blows making me wince. I was not a woman who wanted men to fight over her. Yet
I could see Victor becoming more cautious as he realized James could give as
well as he could.

As the fight went on, Victor began to wear down. The hard work
James had done over the years gave him stamina. He stepped in closer to Victor
and hit him with a punishment Victor probably hadn’t run into before. He was
staggering and beginning to throw up his hands to protect himself.

He shoved James backward over a small log laid down on the side
of the walk. As James went down, he kicked him, then dropped on him, pounding
with his fists.

I jumped from the carriage and ran up to Victor, grabbed him by
the hair and yanked him onto his back.

James was able to get back to his feet. He waited for Victor to
stand up again, then knocked him out with a series of quick punches.

“Where do you want him?” he asked Thomas.

“Dump him in with me and we’ll drop him off at his hotel,”
Thomas said. “I’ll keep his knife.” He looked at me. “Brynn, why don’t you go
with James to his ranch. You can come back with Arthur. Or someone. I’d just as
soon you not be in town until I can get Victor shipped off on the train. He’s too
unpredictable. He might come after you for pulling his hair. Might think that
gave James an edge. Which it didn’t. Victor was fighting dirty.”

Victor was coming around. He stood up, looked at all of us
watching him, swore and staggered off.

We watched him till he rounded a corner and went out of sight.

“Do you need help?” Thomas asked James.

“No. I can manage.” He untied the team and got into the buggy
and I got in on the other side. James started the team going and I watched him.
He seemed to be doing all right.

“James, go ahead and take me to Lizzie’s.”

“Why? You heard Thomas.”

“Yes. But Victor will be looking for me. If I go to your place,
he’ll come for both of us.”

“You’ll be safe there.”

“But your ranch is vulnerable. Victor is the type to set fire to
the whole thing.”

“He would?”

“Yes. He has a mean streak. You could post guards for awhile,
but he would do it at night. We need to wait until Thomas sends him back east.
My father and his father can deal with him in a way that should convince him
that he will never have me.”

“What will they do?”

“Probably put him on a ship. To England.”

“It seems drastic.”

“His mother dotes on him. She could never see the bad things he
did, and never checked him. A child unchecked grows up to be a man who doesn’t
know how to check himself. Someone else has to do it. If they don’t send him
off, he’ll end up in jail. Perhaps for murdering you. Or your parents. Or me or
Thomas. He has lots of targets now. They will realize I won’t ever be safe in
Baltimore.”

“I don’t want you to go back to Baltimore.”

“I always intended to go. Sometimes.”

“I want you… I want you to stay. I want…” He stopped the horses.
Turned to look at me, his face all battered and bloody. “Would you marry me,
Brynn? It would make me the happiest man in the territory, if you would be my
wife.”

“I don’t know, James. I hardly know you.” Yet that wasn’t the
real reason. I was afraid of saying yes, and then having him find out how much
I was lacking. “I need more time,” I added.

He nodded, started up the horses. “I just don’t want to lose
you.”

“I’ll let you know, as soon as I can.”

“It may seem fast by Baltimore standards, but not out here.”

“I need time, James.”

“I’ll come see you tomorrow, around noon.”

He got me to Lizzie’s just after they got back. Lizzie was
inside while Thomas was putting the horses away.

“Go on home, James, and get those cuts taken care of. I’ll let
you know my decision.”

He nodded again, flicked the reins, and left. I went inside to
find Lizzie crying.

“What’s wrong?”

“Brynn.” She stopped crying. “What are you doing here? I thought
you’d left.”

“I sent James on home. He seemed to be faring all right. Also, I
thought if Victor discovered I was at his ranch, he’d do something stupid, like
set fire to the place. All the crops are vulnerable. He could do a lot of
damage. Maybe kill some people.”

At that moment, Thomas walked in and I explained things again.

“I don’t know if staying here is such a good idea, either. He
might come for you while I’m at work. Lizzie wouldn’t be able to protect you.”

“Perhaps I should go back to Baltimore. If he knows I’m going,
he won’t get off at the first stop and come back here and cause trouble.”

“But we just got our visit started,” Lizzie protested, starting
to weep again.

“Then you go to Baltimore with her,” Thomas said. Lizzie
brightened visibly at that. “I’ll round up Victor and bring him on the next
train. That way he can’t get off at the first stop.” He grinned at his wife.
“Lizzie and I can come back together. We can have a second honeymoon.”

Lizzie threw her arms around him and told him he was the most
wonderful husband ever. He agreed, and we all went to bed.

I lay awake for several hours thinking about James. I thought
about him all morning as I helped Lizzie pack. Thomas took us to the station,
and put us on the train. A passenger-only train, this time with all Pullman
cars.

Lizzie and I both wore our comfortable dresses and left the
corsets behind. We had an enjoyable trip, chatting about our childhood and
friends we’d had. And about Thomas and Walla Walla, and James.

“I’m sorry I brought Victor out,” she said. “I just never
realized how mean he could be.”

“No one told you.”

“My mother always excused things, and I thought she was right.”

“It’s a good thing you’re with me. Together maybe we can make her
see.”

We arrived in Baltimore and were met by our fathers. Thomas had
sent them each a telegraph, so they would be there. After the initial
greetings, I explained to them what had happened with Victor, and how serious
it was. “I need him out of my life, completely, and I’m depending upon you two
to do it. Otherwise I will start carrying a gun, because I’m afraid of him.”

That got their attention.

“What should we do?” Lizzie’s father asked.

“Send him to Europe or India. A long voyage where he can cool off
and maybe get some sense,” Lizzie suggested.

“Your mother—”

“Tell her it’s for his education,” I said. “Send him off right
away. Then you can tell her the real reason. She does need to know.”

“She won’t believe me,” Lizzie’s father said.

“She’ll believe me,” Lizzie said. “I’ll make her.”

“You’ve grown up, daughter. Marriage suits you.”

“Yes. Thomas is wise. You must bring mother and come out to
visit us sometime. Walla Walla is a wonderful town.”

My father took me home and on the way, I told him about all my
adventures. “You were very sneaky, Papa, sending me with Sir Galahad. It forced
me out into the world.”

“More than I had planned on. But you handled it well, like I
thought you would. Now how about James? What are you going to do with him?”

“Oh, Papa. I don’t know what to tell him. You know I can’t cook
or keep a house. I’d make a terrible farm wife.”

“You handled the trip well. You could do it. Don’t base your
life on what you can only do today. Besides, a new husband should expect burnt
toast.”

“I’m going to take cooking lessons.”

“Couldn’t Mally teach you?”

“Well, yes. But I want to at least know how to boil water. Cook
would never let me in the kitchen.”

“You handled the meals for the bulls. I’ll tell cook she is to
show you what you want to know, and to help you cook some meals for us.”

“Thank you, Papa.”

“You know you’re going to shock your mother with that dress.”

I smiled. “Of course. Do you like it?”

“Yes. I can hug you without grabbing pieces of bone. Never felt
right.”

Mother took one look at me and about fainted. “We should have
never sent you out there. Look how brown you are! And that dress!”

“It’s comfortable, Mother. I bought several of them. I’ll wear
them this summer.”

“What did Victor have to say about it?”

“Nothing that mattered.”

“Did anything happen on the way back? Did Victor say anything?”

“No. Lizzie came back with me. Thomas is bringing Victor back,
when Victor feels better.”

“What happened?”

“He got into… no, he started a fist fight and came out the
loser. His father is thinking of sending him on a long sea voyage to recover.”