Westward the Dream (30 page)

“Good thing you ran instead,” the captain murmured. “You're not much of a knife fighter.”

“Perhaps I shall learn,” Jordana replied haughtily and turned back to face forward.

They picked their way along the barest hint of a trail, and Jordana prayed it wouldn't be much farther. The pain in her arm shot upward into her shoulder. She longed for a good long rest and maybe some of her mother's pain remedies. Smiling at this thought, she relaxed and eased back against the captain. She decided he wasn't such a bad sort of man. In some ways he reminded her of G.W. with his laughing blue eyes. He wore his gruff exterior much like his uniform, and Jordana wondered if he hoped the attitude would impress people as much as the cavalry garb. But he had tenderly cared for her wound and even wrapped her in a blanket.

She spied the wagon first. “There's our camp!” she exclaimed, leaning forward.

“And not a moment too soon,” the captain said in sheer frustration.

Several soldiers were already at the campsite. Jordana could see no prisoners, a fact she was quite thankful for. She hoped never to lay eyes on Newt and his gang again. But she was extremely happy to see Brenton and Caitlan standing in the midst of the camp.

“Brenton! Caitlan!” Jordana cried as they approached the wagon in single file.

“Jordana! Thank God!” Brenton rushed forward and reached his arms up as the captain came to a stop. Jordana was shocked to see his face all black-and-blue and his nose swollen from the kick he had received earlier.

Jordana went eagerly into his arms, fussing about his appearance and forgetting her own pain. “Brenton, what have they done to you! Oh, you look terrible.”

“Thanks,” Brenton said with a lopsided grin. “Good to see you too.” He then extended his hand to the captain, who was still mounted. “My name is Brenton Baldwin. I'm grateful for what you've done here today.” They shook hands. “I'm sure we would all be dead now but for you and your men.”

“We've been chasing this particular gang of bushwhackers all over the Kansas and Missouri border,” the captain replied. “They're a deadly bunch. They kill pretty much at will and don't much need a reason. Your sister and her friend are lucky to be alive.”

“I see your shirt is covered with blood. Are you wounded?” Brenton asked.

“No, but your sister is. She took a bullet in the left arm. I dressed it as best I could, but you need to be getting her to a doctor. It's not a bad wound; the bullet appears to have mostly grazed her, but it bled a lot.”

Brenton paled at this news and turned to put his arm around Jordana. “Are you all right?”

She smiled. “I'm fine. Just a bit weak.”

He frowned and for the first time took a closer appraisal of her, noticing the blanket wrapped snugly about her. “What happened to your hair?”

“It's a long story,” Jordana replied. “I'll tell you later.”

“I'd like to know your name, sir,” Brenton said, looking up at the captain. “It's important to know who one has to thank for these kinds of things.”

The soldier nodded. “Captain Richard O'Brian,” he replied. “I've just been transferred to Fort Leavenworth from Larned. I'm heading up a unit of mounted volunteers in a campaign to quell the border wars.”

“And would you be Irish, then?” Caitlan asked.

“On my father's side, but his people came to this country a few generations ago. I had a great-grandfather who fought in the Revolutionary War.”

“On the side of the colonies or the British?” Jordana asked tartly.

A smile lightened O'Brian's stern features. “Actually, he was one of George Washington's officers.”

“Well, you have done him proud, then,” Brenton replied. “And I won't hesitate to write letters to the proper authorities and let them know of our gratitude for what you've done this day.”

The captain touched the brim of his forage cap. “I'm glad we came in time.” He turned in the saddle and motioned his men forward. “Now I must take my leave. I need to see our prisoners back to the fort.”

“Certainly,” Brenton replied.

“Oh, and not to be telling you your business,” O'Brian said, locking his gaze with Jordana's, “but don't be letting your sister tell you she doesn't need to be seen by the doctor.”

Brenton laughed. “I see you got to know my sister rather well out there.”

O'Brian's expression never changed, but he nodded and replied, “I'm glad to be only dealing with the likes of outlaws.”

“I resent that remark,” Jordana said, pushing away from Brenton's steadying hold. “I didn't cause you any more grief than . . . than—” Her vision blurred again, but she was bound and determined not to pass out. “I wasn't any trouble . . .” she managed to say before she began to sway on her feet. Brenton quickly supported her from behind.

“Godspeed to you, Captain O'Brian,” Brenton replied. “I'm sure we both have our work cut out for us.”

The troopers rode on. Brenton turned Jordana in his arms. “So have you finally had enough of adventure?”

She smiled weakly and reached up to touch his battered face. “Have you?”

“I'm not the one who craved adventure. I merely wanted to explore the nation and take photographs.”

“And that's not adventure?” Caitlan gave Brenton a coy grin.

“I suppose it is a form of adventure, but you know my sister. She seems to thrive on putting herself in danger. Now let's get you inside the wagon and then I'll hitch up the horses.”

“No, you tend to Jordana and I'll hitch the horses,” Caitlan said softly. “After all, I've not had anything but my pride injured today.”

“Your pride?” Jordana and Brenton said at the same time.

“Aye,” Caitlan replied, smiling. “That outlaw Jake said he liked a woman with a good broad backside.” She shrugged. “Never really saw meself from behind, so I was always supposin' it wasn't that bad.”

Jordana laughed. “It's not, Caitlan. I certainly wouldn't be worrying about the opinions of those mangy outlaws. Would you say her backside is too broad, Brenton?”

Brenton flushed crimson at this. “I hardly think . . . well, that is to say . . .”

Both Jordana and Caitlan burst out laughing at his discomfiture. “Men,” Jordana said, weakly leaning against Brenton's hold. “Sometimes they can be so peculiar.”

32

“I've tried to be very frank with Mr. Thorndike,” Victoria confided in Anna, “but I'm afraid things are a bit out of hand.”

“He knows you're a married woman?” Anna replied, pouring Victoria a second glass of lemonade.

It was an especially warm July day. Victoria had come to visit her friend in part to escape the oppressive heat in her tiny apartment. But she knew she had also come because she could no longer bear the burden of her crumbling marriage. She desperately needed to talk to someone before things grew any worse.

“Yes, but I fear I've led him astray.” Victoria's voice betrayed her guilt.

Anna smiled sympathetically. “Why don't you tell me about it?”

Victoria nodded. “I've longed to tell someone. You were away with Ted in San Francisco, and then Kiernan was leaving for Donner Pass, and there never seemed to be any time to come and have a long talk about the situation.” She paused for a moment to consider her words, then added, “Christopher Thorndike is simply a most persistent man.” She took a long sip of the cool drink and waited for Anna to say something.

“Persistent in what way?”

“He sends me flowers and notes. He pleads with me to meet him for luncheons and dinners. I've made it quite clear that such things are unacceptable and that my husband would never approve, even based on the innocent friendship that Mr. Thorndike swears he is offering.” She hurried on to continue explaining. “He tells me I stand on eastern ceremony and that out here in California, things are much more relaxed.”

“Well, that much is true,” Anna admitted. “But a married woman is still a married woman.”

“That's what I told him, but he insisted that even a married woman is entitled to friendship with other men, and that this was all he was asking of me.”

Anna frowned. “I really don't know much about the man. Ted says he's contributed heavily to the Central Pacific, but that his main interest is in importing oriental treasures and oddities.”

Victoria wished she could tell Anna everything, but she couldn't come to terms with her own feelings, much less try to explain them to Anna. She enjoyed Thorndike's attention. She tried not to, but the truth was the truth. Thorndike recognized her neediness and took advantage of it. And Victoria was not so very naïve that she didn't realize there would one day be a full reckoning for all of his attentions and gifts.

“I wish I knew what to do,” Victoria murmured. “But short of joining Kiernan at Dutch Flat, I don't know how to avoid the man. And frankly . . .” She paused, considering what she was about to say.

“Yes?”

Victoria swallowed her guilt and replied, “Frankly, I'm not always sure I
want
to avoid his attention.” There! She had said it.

Anna smiled. “Attention is something we seem to thrive on as a matter of human nature. Kiernan's not around to give it, and I've been preoccupied with other things. You naturally longed for a friend, and Thorndike presented himself as one. There's nothing wrong with that.”

Victoria knew that if her feelings stopped at accepting friendship from Thorndike, then there would be nothing wrong. But she was dreadfully fearful that if she looked deep inside, she might well be thinking of Thorndike in some way other than that of a friend.

“I'm a Christian woman,” she told Anna miserably. “I shouldn't have to struggle with this. I must be doing something wrong.”

Anna laughed. “Just because you're attracted to the packaging doesn't mean you'll necessarily like the contents. We're made with an appreciation of beauty, be it the glorious colors of a fall morning in New England, or a handsome man who seems to hold great interest in our needs. Are you desiring to leave your husband and set up housekeeping with Mr. Thorndike?”

“Anna!” Victoria gasped, nearly dropping her glass. “I would never consider such a thing.”

“Then why are you so upset?”

Although she was no more than ten years her senior, Anna Judah was as close a mother figure as Victoria had managed to find for herself since leaving Baltimore. She sighed, finding Anna's uncanny knack for uncovering her feelings to be almost equally matched with her mother's.

“I sometimes wonder what it might be like to be Mrs. Thorndike instead of Mrs. O'Connor.” She looked up guiltily. “Does that shock you?”

Anna laughed. “Not at all.”

“Truly?” There was a note of desperation in Victoria's voice that pleaded with Anna to show her the way back to normalcy.

“My dear Victoria, we all wonder how we might have lived our lives differently. However, you have to put aside such silly nonsense before it gets out of control. You once found life with your husband to be most satisfying. You told me that despite being poor and traveling from place to place, you felt nothing but an overwhelming thanks to God for having given you Kiernan.”

“That's true,” Victoria replied. “But then the issue of having a child came up.”

“And it's that issue once again, and not your distaste or lack of interest in Kiernan, that is at the root of your trouble here.” She reached out and took hold of Victoria's hand. “I believe God is trying to warn you, Victoria. He's giving you all manner of discomfort in your actions and thoughts because, while you may not yet have crossed any improper line, the time may be near when you won't have much say about what happens. Thorndike strikes me as one of those men who is used to taking what he wants, regardless of the consequences. I don't want to see you hurt, Victoria.”

“Neither do I,” Victoria said seriously. “It haunts me day and night.”

“Give it over to God and put it away from you before it's too late.”

Victoria nodded. “I know you're right, but what should I do?”

“The next time Thorndike appears with his gifts, reject him firmly. Tell him you will no longer have anything to do with him. Better yet, write him a letter. Tell him that he should in no way ever approach you again. That you are a married woman who is deeply in love with her husband.” Anna's expression softened. “Then you must, for your sake and Kiernan's, accept that you may never have a child of your own. Pray about it, turn it over to God, and trust Him for the outcome, but realize that the answer may be no. You have to accept this and learn to move forward. Otherwise, I fear you'll take it out on Kiernan and he on you until . . . well, then your marriage will struggle to survive.”

The front door opened and slammed shut with such a resounding echo that both women jumped.

“Ted?” Anna called. “Is that you?”

“Yes” came the exasperated voice. “Who else would threaten to bring down the walls?”

“Perhaps I should go,” Victoria said.

“Let's just see what has happened with Mr. Judah's railroad,” Anna replied and motioned for Victoria to remain seated. “Now I'm sure I can use
your
moral support.” Then she added to her husband, “We're in the sitting room, dear. Why don't you come join us for lemonade and pastries.”

Ted appeared in the arched doorway and forced a smile. “Good day, ladies. I'm sure I'll find you infinitely better company than Collis Huntington.”

“Collis again, dear?” Victoria remained silent and watched as Anna sought to comfort her husband.

“He's changing everything, Anna. He doesn't care about a transcontinental road as I do. He wants prosperity for Sacramento—even California—but he doesn't seem overly concerned with how we connect to the nation and the profit to be made from making the course easier for travel.”

“What is he doing now?” Anna asked softly, handing her husband a glass of lemonade.

“He's changing the route. Instead of allowing the track to pass by the north levee, he has determined that the cost will be too high. This route requires a $200,000 work of riprap to protect the line from the flooding of the river. Huntington has decided that the route will be moved from the present site and positioned up ‘I' Street.”

“And the governor agrees with this, I suppose?”

“Don't even get me started in regard to Stanford. I swear, Collis has the man eating from his hand. He and Stanford talk of the line as though I have no part in it. They discuss matters openly in front of me but not with me. I might as well not exist as far as they are concerned.” Instead of the conversation mollifying Ted's anger, it only seemed to inflame it. With a suddenness that startled both women, he slammed the glass down on the side table and got to his feet to pace.

“I've told them over and over that we must work together. That we must act as one body, but they never listen. Now Collis is all up in arms because I dared to say that he was wrong to reroute the line without consulting me first. I am the engineer here. I surveyed the line and told
them
where to build. Not only that, but they are hoodwinking the president and Congress to believe that the Sierras begin just seven miles outside of town, and they all believe this to be a perfectly acceptable business practice. How those men can show their faces in church on Sunday is beyond me.”

Anna smiled at Victoria before speaking. “Perhaps they live by different rules than we do.”

Ted finally stopped pacing and came to lean on the back of his chair. “I'm tired, Anna. Tired of trying to help them see what this project means to this state. Tired of fighting one battle, only to have it open up the field for ten more. I'm seriously thinking of leaving it all and going home.”

Anna got to her feet, and Victoria marveled that she remained so calm in light of Ted's declaration. She didn't seem in the slightest way concerned for their future.

“My darling, if that is what you want, then you know I am behind you. I hate to see you give up on your dream after working so hard, but as you've shown me many times, often we have to let go of a thing in order to see it more clearly in the light of truth. Maybe this project will never be what you foresee it to be, but then again, maybe it will be something even better. Just know that I will support whatever decision you make.”

He took hold of her hand and patted it lovingly. “You are a good wife, Anna. Standing by me these many years of traveling and being unsettled has certainly not been easy for you.”

“No, but loving you has made it tolerable,” she said, smiling sweetly.

Without warning, Ted's entire countenance changed. He dropped hold of Anna and exclaimed, “James Bailey!”

“What?” Anna questioned, somewhat taken aback.

“James Bailey. The new secretary for the Central Pacific. He feels much the same as I do in regard to the line. I will solicit his help and see if we can't forge a scheme together and eliminate Collis Huntington's interference.”

“Do you suppose that's possible?”

Ted rebuttoned his coat and headed for the door. “I supposed a transcontinental railroad possible when no one else would even consider it! Bailey may well be the answer to all my problems. Don't wait up for me!”

Anna shook her head as Ted fairly flew from the room and slammed the front door on his way out. She looked at Victoria, but instead of smiling, she was quite grave. “I fear this railroad will be the death of him, Victoria.”

Victoria nodded sympathetically. “I've feared the same for Kiernan, especially now with him off at the Donner Pass site.”

“I suppose we must be strong.” Anna sat back down in the chair she'd earlier vacated. “But I love Ted so, and without him, my life would not be complete. I can't even bear to imagine it.”

“Then don't,” Victoria replied, reaching across to comfort Anna with a gentle pat. “We needn't seek out trouble.”

“No, I'm sure trouble will be more than happy to seek us out in time.”

Her grim expression left Victoria fearful inside. She longed with all of her heart that Kiernan might be at the apartment when she returned, but she knew that wouldn't happen. Their separation was weighing her down, and in light of Anna's obvious concern, it only made matters worse. It was then and there Victoria decided that should Kiernan return home safe and sound, she would insist on being allowed to follow him on the line. Living without him was driving her to places of temptation and bitter anguish. She would do as Anna suggested and find a way to accept her lot in life, but she would do it with Kiernan at her side.