No-one ever entered the private quarters now as she had volunteered to do the cleaning to fill in time when Gabe was not around. She had fallen in love with him, but lived in fear that he would banish her once their flaming passion burnt itself out.
Gabe and Carl were preparing for a trip to Londrigan to collect supplies. If Carl had not been accompanying Gabe, she would have gone with him. She detested the man and the feeling was obviously mutual. In fact, what he felt for her was sheer hatred.
A grinning Gabe strode into the sitting room. She put her sewing aside and jumped up from the chair to greet him. Their mouths met in a hungry, passionate kiss.
“Enough for now.” He put her to one side. “Are you sure you won’t come with us?”
She shook her head.
“All right, if you’re sure, I’ll just go over to the Mercantile.”
A few minutes after he strode off, she heard a commotion, the sound of breaking glass and shouting from the bar. She dashed into the bar. George had left his son Billy to mind the place while he went to the bank.
“You stupid boy,” a tall cowboy growled, grabbing the boy by one ear and dragging him along. “A half-wit like you should be mucking out the stables, not working in a hotel.”
“Let Billy go. How dare you speak to ….” Like a giant fist, shock punched the air from her lungs.
She knew the man. He had been a regular at Delores’ saloon until he was banned for roughing up one of the women.
He glanced up. “Well, if it isn’t Mrs. Russell.” He glared at her. “It’s your fault I got kicked out of the Bucking Stallion.”
“You were a trouble maker.”
“He was murdered. Did you know that?”
“What! Who are you talking about?”
“Your husband, Max Russell.”
Sophie gasped in shock, her hands flew to her mouth.
George rushed in and dragged the cowboy out of the hotel by the scruff of his neck.
Gabe stood in the doorway, his face so white she thought he was ill. Momentarily he looked frozen to the spot, then he leapt across the room, grabbed her by the shoulders and dragged her out of the bar and into his quarters.
“What’s wrong?” she asked frantically. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
“Not a ghost, the devil incarnate – Max Russell’s wife.”
“You killed my wife,” he snarled. “You and that despicable husband of yours. I stopped to help you and what thanks did I get?”
“But, Gabe I….”
“Shut up.”
He grabbed her by the arms and shook her. “I’ve waited years for this. Dreamed of it. You are going to pay for what you did to me.”
“What’s wrong?”
“I ought to kill you.” The cold rigidity of his body was even more threatening. “You stole our water and left us to die out on the prairie. I lost my wife and unborn child. I was nearly dead when a passing army patrol found me.” He spoke in a harsh staccato, which sent shivers through her body. “You sent me to purgatory and I aim to do the same to you.”
He grabbed her by the arm, dragged her across the room and out the side door.
“Please,” she sobbed. “You’re hurting me.” She stumbled on the cobblestones and fell to her knees. He yanked her up by the hair. Tears of pain filled her eyes. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know he took all the water.”
He gave her hair another vicious tug, let it go and grasped her arm in a steely grip, frog marching her down the street.
When they arrived at a long building built of split logs, he pushed open the wooden door. “This woman.” He shoved her in front of a uniformed man who sat behind a battered desk. “Les, this woman stole from me. I want her locked up in the cells until I return from Londrigan. I leave tomorrow and don’t want her absconding while I’m gone.”
The man gnawed his lips dubiously.
“I will take full responsibility,” Gabe said. “The Judge is a regular at the hotel and the cattery. There will be no repercussions I can promise you.”
Gabe gave her a brutal shove and she had to clutch the desk to stop from toppling over.
“Please, Gabe, I’m begging you.”
“Beg away. It won’t do you any good.” His voice chilled her. Hatred had darkened his blue eyes to navy.
“There’ll be no need for you to worry about the bill you’ve run up at the hotel, Les. I’ll wipe the slate clean.” Gabe turned on his heel and strode off.
Les, a slightly overweight man in a too tight black uniform lumbered over to the wall where a large ring of keys hung on a hook. “This way, Miss.”
She didn’t bother to plead her innocence. There was no point; this man would not listen to her. Gabe wanted to punish her, but like this? It was cruel, inhumane. He had never appeared a vindictive man; maybe he was trying to scare her. Surely what they had shared over the last few months must count for something?
Les kept prodding her in the back as she stumbled down the passageway. An icy cloak enveloped her, and a stomach churning smell assaulted her nostrils.
Halfway down the passageway they stopped. Les unlocked the door of a cell and pushed her inside. She swung around to protest as the door slammed shut. With a loud click, the key was turned in the lock.
It was dull, with a few slivers of light coming from a small barred window high up in the wall. Slime covered the floor, and a cold dampness permeated the air. In one corner was a lumpy mattress covered by a dirty, ragged blanket. A bucket stood nearby, otherwise the cell was empty.
How would she survive? She sank to the floor and ignoring the cold dampness rocked from side to side in fear, grief and despair. The fact Gabe hated her was even harder to bear than being locked up in this damp stinking dungeon of a place.
Suddenly memories came surging back. Only one wagon had stopped to help them all those years ago – Gabe, and Max had knocked him out and stolen his water. A death sentence on that arid, isolated plain.
She was not sure how much time had passed, fading light from the window indicated dusk was falling. A scraping sound was followed by a grate in the middle of the door sliding open.
“If you want to eat, you better come over and get it,” said a man with a gravel rough voice.
She dashed over and was handed a tin bowl full of congealed stew and a mug of water. The grate closed and she was entombed again. She guzzled the water even though it had a rank brackish taste. The stew looked like vomit, but she gingerly scooped up a bit on one finger. It tasted as vile as it looked. No cutlery, if she wanted to eat it, which she did not, she would have to scoop it up with her hands or lap it up like a dog.
Tears filled her eyes and cascaded down her cheeks. Gabe would come back for her soon. He had to. She sank to the floor.
Night fell, escalating her despair a hundred-fold. No sound could be heard, the pit like blackness was total.
Gabe did not return. The faint flicker of hope he might relent and come for her died, leaving her entombed in this cold place.
˜*˜
“What in tarnation is wrong with you?” Carl growled at Gabe. “A whole damn week and you’ve barely spoken a word to me. You spent most of the time in Londrigan getting drunk.”
“It’s none of your damn business what I do,” Gabe snarled.
“If that squaw means so much to you, and you can’t live a few days without bedding her, you should have brought her along.”
“I don’t miss bedding her.” It was a lie, he did but hate and revenge meant more to him. I hope she’s rotting in that cell. It was not enough to quell his rage at the injustice perpetrated against him. Max Russell was dead. God curse his soul, now his wife had to pay.
He needed Sophie to suffer. It would drive the revenge from his heart, the black despair he had carried around for years. It had to be expunged before he could live. He was a relatively young man with many years left and he didn’t want to live like this, wanted to be like other men, to take a wife and have children. He thought he had foun
d the right woman to live the rest of his life with, now Sophie’s deeds from the past had ruined his plans and aspirations. Carl wondered why he was bitter and surly. He had every right to be.
“I discovered Sophie was Max Russell’s wife, well, his mistress really.”
“What!”
“The sniveling, whining whore is in jail now.”
He told Carl what he had done.
“Are you loco?”
“She tried to excuse her treachery by saying she thought Russell had told someone to come back for us.”
“Sonofabitch, she would have been little more than a gal at the time.”
“Her selfishness caused Laura’s death from thirst, not to mention me being found on the brink of dying.”
“I know you suffered, but you’re letting this ruin your life. Her spending time in jail, has it made you feel better?”
“No, I haven’t finished with her yet, though.” He cracked the whip over the bullocks to move them along.
“Listen to me.” Carl put his hand on Gabe’s arm. “This thirst for revenge will ruin you. Find yourself a good woman and settle down.”
“Yeah, you should talk. What about the way you feel about the Indians?”
“My situation is different. I hate them for killing my wife and boy. No other woman can replace her, simple as that.”
They lapsed into silence. The desire for revenge still ran relentlessly through him, corroding his insides. Why did it have to be Sophie he had fallen for? Gabe cursed and berated fate.
Out on the open plain the wind whistled and howled, and he pulled his coat tighter. He hadn’t meant to be away so long, wouldn’t have been if their special shipment of malt whiskey had arrived on time.
It was mid-afternoon by the time they arrived at the hotel. As he pulled the bullocks up in the front yard of the hotel, Carl said. “Get that gal out of jail.”
“Why should I?”
“Because, if something happens to her in that cell you’ll regret it for the rest of your days. She’s been punished enough. Give her money and tell her to get out of town and not come back.”
˜*˜
The humiliation of having to relieve herself in a bucket, a week without washing and little food had taken a toll on Sophie. She felt weak and ill. The door groaned on rusty hinges as it was swung open by a guard.
“You’re free to go,” he growled.
She stumbled out of the cell she had feared would be her tomb. The passageway seemed longer than what she remembered as she struggled along, resting her palm on the wall for support. Les, the officer who admitted her, gave her a look of disdain when she reached his office and stood trembling in the doorway.
“Git,” he said. “The charges have been dropped – for now.”
She gasped for breath, her lungs burned, yet when she pushed the outside door open and smelt the cold, clean air it infused her with the strength to stumble across the yard and out the gate.
Gabe stood waiting outside.
“Gabe you’ve…” She trailed off under the scrutiny of this granite faced stranger. She would receive no mercy from him.
“You look terrible,” he said. “How did you like being incarcerated?”
“It was horrible.” She bit her lip to stop it trembling. The kind, caring man she had loved was gone, lost to her forever.
“I’m sorry for what happened to your wife, Max said he didn’t take all of your water. I didn’t…”
“I want you out of this town – now. If you don’t leave, I’ll make sure you return to prison.”
“I’ve got no money.”
“You came with nothing, therefore you leave the same way.” He swung on his heel and strode off.
Sophie crawled behind a large bush and fought the nausea rising in her throat. Her head throbbed, although her heart bore the brunt of the pain.
What could she do? She couldn’t walk down the main street in this state during broad daylight. Her hair was matted and dirty, her gown torn and filthy. Tears burned her eyes. Where could she go?
If she could somehow make it to the hot springs, she could set herself up there for a while. Fish were abundant, warm water meant game would be plentiful also. The cabin was livable. Thankfully she had learnt enough from her father and the Lakota to survive off the land. She could not come up with any other alternative in her disturbed state of mind.
Getting there was the problem. “You came with nothing, so you leave with nothing.” Gabe’s harsh words tore her heart to shreds. They had shared something special. How could a seemingly kind man hate so fiercely, be so hard and unforgiving? Hate left to fester for so long had poisoned him.
Who could she turn to for help? Gabe was such a powerful man around these parts, no-one would be prepared to bring his wrath down upon them for her. In prison, of all places, she had discovered from a woman who had spent the night with her, the fate of her captured friends. All dead, slaughtered by the brutal men who had captured them.
She had shed buckets of tears on finding out about the demise of her friends, now she couldn’t even cry. Survival was all that mattered.
Except for George, and she had no idea where he lived, the only person she knew was Carl. He hated her, but not with the ferocity of Gabe. He might be prepared to help, just to get rid of her once and for all. It was the only idea she could come up with.
She waited behind the bushes, dozing on and off until dusk fell. Casting a hasty look around to make sure no-one was about, and keeping to the bushes and trees, she scurried as fast as her cold, stiff legs would let her, to the cathouse. Carl had quarters out the back.
Sidling around to his door, she prayed he would be alone. She knocked and waited. No answer. In desperation she banged both fists against the wood.
The door was wrenched open with such force she fell through the doorway into Carl’s arms. “What the hell.” He gripped her shoulders and shoved her away. His mouth was drawn into a thin angry line, his eyes narrowed and hostile.
“Get out of my house.” He pushed her through the door back out into the cold.
“Please, Carl, I need your help.”
He dropped an oath. “Why would I help an Injin whore?”
“Because you’re Gabe’s friend and you can get rid of me once and for all.”
The words caught his attention.
“I need a horse, any old thing will do, an axe, a knife, some flour and a blanket.”
He rocked back on his heels.
“Please, if I don’t leave town tonight Gabe will have me sent back to prison.” She shuddered. “I couldn’t stand it. I know a place where I can find safety and will be able to live off the land, until I work out what to do.”
“Where would this place be?”
“Why should you care? I’ll be gone from here, never to return.”
“Good riddance,” he growled. “Walk there, you Injins are good at that.
“Carl, please. I’ve been sick, I need to leave tonight and I can’t walk very far. I need to regain my strength before I decide what to do.”
He stood there, cold and implacable. “If I give you what you ask for. You will leave here and never come back?”
“Yes, I swear it.”
“Carl, Carl, honey.”
Obviously, he was entertaining one of his soiled doves.
“I’ll be with you in a moment, Antoinette.” He stared down at Sophie. “See that wooden stable? Wait there, I’ll give you what you want if you leave immediately.”
“Yes. Yes.” She scuttled over to the building and waited. Never had she felt so cold or frightened. “Please hurry,” she whispered over and over. She didn’t want to start her journey in pitch blackness. Once she got out of town and on the road, she could get her bearings.
Carl returned leading an old grey horse, already saddled. Two sacks were strung across the pommel. Without speaking, she put her foot in his cupped hands and he hoisted her up.
“You won’t come back?”
“No. Tha
nk you for your help.”
“Go, before I change my mind.” He slapped the horse on its rump. Sophie had not ridden a horse for a while, so it was going to be a bumpy ride. Anything was better than walking miles on a rough road in icy weather.
As the horse trotted out of town, she left a piece of her heart behind. It defied logic how she could still love a man who had treated her so cruelly.
She would build up a supply of skins over the next few months, return to town, sell them and buy a coach ticket to anywhere. She was young and strong; surely she would be able to find employment somewhere. A Mail Order bride, perhaps? She gave a bitter laugh at the irony of it.
They made it to the road leading out of town and she breathed a sigh of relief. Travelling at night would be safer. At a canter, the horse could move much quicker than bullocks pulling a heavily laden wagon, and she could hide during the day if necessary.
Stopping to rest the horse every now and again, she made good time. The blackness of night turned to grey as dawn broke. She had seen no-one on the road. Not long now. Her empty stomach grumbled. She had not eaten in hours. Carl had provided a water bottle and she intermittently swallowed a few mouthfuls, deliberately rationing it in an endeavor to make it last longer.
Finally, she made it to the area where she could see the overhang of rock in the distance, the land mark that had guided Carl to the spot in what seemed another lifetime. Once the ground became strewn with pieces of rock she dismounted and led the horse.
She was panting with the exertion, her gasping breath lingering on the frosty air. By the time the hot springs came into view her legs trembled, because she hadn’t eaten for twenty-four hours. Occasionally when she had been with the Lakota, she had survived on very little food for days without ill effect, except for an empty, aching stomach.
She had been spoilt by the soft life with Gabe, it was the only explanation for feeling so weak. Remembering the passion they had shared and thinking of the love growing between them nearly broke her heart. She was convinced he did love her. Max’s shadow hovering over her, had finally sounded the death knell to their relationship.
Sophie Page 5