He watched her as she bit her lip and thought through what he said. After a long moment, he whispered, “What did Jacques do to you?”
Her gaze flew to his and she shook her head rapidly.
“No, Maggie. I know he did something.” He rubbed at his temple. “Jacques believes you want to leave town with him. That you will never want to be parted from him. And, as you told me, that you will prove your loyalty to your family by returning to him.”
Maggie shook under his hands, her quivering intensifying with each passing moment. “I can’t …” she gasped. “I … he’ll …” She shook her head.
Seamus pulled her forward, enfolding her in his strong arms so she rested against his chest. He ran his hands over her shoulders and back and kissed her head. “I’ll keep you safe, lass. You’re my babe, and no one will ever harm you. And if they do, they won’t live to talk about it.”
When she spoke, her voice was broken. “You’ll always choose my brothers over me. Men always choose their sons.”
“Ah, lass, you do not know me well enough to know what I will or will not do,” he murmured as he continued to soothe her. “I promise you.” He eased her away so he could look deeply into her gaze filled with doubt. “I will always strive to protect you.”
“Why?” She shook her head in bewilderment.
“You’re my babe. My Maggie. And I love you,” he said with a soft smile.
She stared at him in disbelief. “How can you say that? You barely know me. I’m a horrible person.”
He made a sound of deep disagreement in his throat and rubbed at her cheek. “No, my beautiful lass, I know you’re not.”
“I ran away and let Mother be abused rather than try to protect her.” She closed her eyes as though she were ashamed.
Seamus stared at her long and hard. “You know as well as I do that your mum would have been abused with or without your presence. That’s the nature of that sort of man.” He took a deep breath. “And your mum would do everything in her power to protect you. As would I.” He took a deep breath. “Tell me, Maggie. What did he do?”
She shivered and took a step away from him. She wrapped her arms tightly around herself, dropping her gaze as she spoke in a barely audible voice. “It was the day after Mother acted strangely. I realize now, it was the day after she saw you. Jacques was upset because a young man came by the house. I looked out the window, and it was Kevin. Although I didn’t know who Kevin was then.”
She paused. “Jacques dragged Mother inside. Didn’t want her speaking to younger men. Getting ideas of running off with another. He wanted Mother to do the work around the house. He had a wild look in his eyes and I feared this time he’d go too far. That this time, he might kill her.”
“Jaysus,” Seamus breathed. He reached forward, his hands clasping her shoulder in support as though to ground her and to remind himself she was standing, healthy and well, in front of him.
“I approached him. Ran a finger over his chest as I’d seen a woman do in Saint Louis. Acted like I desired him.” She flushed and closed her eyes. “Let him kiss me.” Tears coursed down her cheeks.
“Maggie,” Seamus rasped.
“When he tried to push me to his bedroom, I fought and broke away from him.” She took a deep breath, and met her father’s gaze, hers filled with shame.
“You saved your mum,” he said in a reverent voice. “You precious, brave lass.” He pulled her close as she cried in his arms. When she had quieted, he murmured, “Your brothers and I will keep you safe, Maggie love. No man is a match for all of us.”
“There’s more,” she whispered, her head now pillowed on his shoulder. “When he threw out my mother and brothers, I was to remain. Because if I left, he would come for Henri and Lucien and…” Her voice broke off, strangled by her panic.
“What would he do to them?” he asked as he stroked a hand up and down over her back.
“He said he’d trade them to the Blackfeet Indians. Enslave them,” she whispered. “That we’d never see them again.”
“Feck,” Seamus said, muttering his apologies at swearing. “From what I’ve heard about that tribe, they are fierce warriors. They would kill the lads, not enslave them.”
“I couldn’t leave Henri and Lucien with him. He’s insane and intent on exacting revenge on my mother. I don’t know why, but he hates her.”
He held her as she slowly relaxed in his arms. He whispered soft words to her of praise and love, meaning every word. “What did he do the night we came for you?”
She stiffened in his arms again but relaxed when she remembered she was safe. “He kissed me. Touched me. He tried to take my dress off.” She shivered as though remembering his touch and rebelling against it. “I bashed him in the head, beating him off me.” Her breath came out in gasps and she clung to her father. “And then I was in my room, with the bureau against the door, praying I could keep him out.”
“Oh, my lass,” he breathed as he held her close.
“I swear, he never … he didn’t …” she cried, tears soaking his chest. “But Mother thinks he did,” she said as a sob burst forth. “She thinks I’m no better than a girl in the Bordello.”
“No, lass,” Seamus said as he crooned gentle sounds in her ear. “No. If I know your mum, and I knew her well, she’s upset she wasn’t able to protect you better. That you ever felt the need to try to help her.” He wrapped his arms around her, holding her close for a few moments. “You’re not alone now, lass, and you never will be again. I know it’s hard to accept, but one day you’ll come to realize you are cherished and loved by us all.” He kissed her head as he continued to hold her.
A few days later, Kevin waved at his dad after Seamus stepped out of the Bordello, and motioned him over to speak with the stagecoach driver, Philip Dunmore. Taller than Seamus, with a lanky frame that belied a steely strength, the worn hat pulled low over his brow hid his inquisitive gaze that missed little. Russet colored hair, long and in need of a trim, hung loose around his shoulders. Few called him Philip as he preferred to go by his surname. Seamus shook the man’s hand. “When do you leave?” Seamus motioned for Dunmore to join him in the Sunrise for a drink.
Dunmore nodded his appreciation for the drink and swallowed it down in one gulp. Hissing at the burn, he then sighed with pleasure. “Driving those beasts for hours on end is tedious. And I’ve had enough of ferrying starry eyed fools here from the headwaters of the Marias,” he said. “I leave tomorrow at dawn, and it will be a hard, fast ride to Virginia City.”
Seamus glanced at Kevin who nodded nearly imperceptibly. They moved to a quiet corner of the saloon, far away from anyone else, where no one would be able to overhear their quiet conversation. “I thank you for ensuring there is room for two more passengers.”
Dunmore stared at Seamus with keen interest. “I never thought you would be the sort of man to send away a daughter with a backwoodsman.” He leaned forward, his voice whisper soft. “Even I, in the wilds of Montana, have heard of the Bergeron brothers. I wouldn’t consign my enemy to one of them.”
Seamus gripped his arm before he could slip outside for a well-deserved trip to the bathhouse and rest. “What do you know about the surviving brother?”
“What I’ve heard about him is that he’s ruthless, self-serving, and cruel.” His brown eyes assessed Seamus. “What I know about you is that you will do everything you can to protect those you love.” Dunmore sighed and shook his head as he studied a resolute Seamus. “You’re pulling a con, aren’t you?”
Seamus motioned for him to lower his voice even farther. “No one must know.”
“If he causes a ruckus and ruins the inside of my carriage, there’ll be hell to pay, and you’ll be the one payin’ it.” He held a finger up and shook it at Seamus.
Seamus nodded. “If that’s all the man does, I’ll be delighted.” He rubbed at his forehead.
Dunmore shook his head, swore softly and then nodded his agreement. “Couldn’t consign your girl to such a
man. I’ve seen her. She’s a sweet slip of a thing, although she seems afraid of her own shadow.” His gaze darkened. “Imagine it’s due to that bastard.” At the bleak agreement in Seamus’s gaze, Dunmore’s jaw twitched. “Of course I’ll help. And I’ll bring the wee one back, right?”
Seamus smiled at the man’s intelligence. “Yes, and if there are any troubles, Nora wants you to shoot the man. She doesn’t want one of her lasses sufferin’ more than a trip to and from Virginia City.”
Dunmore grinned. “Madam Nora better hope her girl’s blind as well as unambitious. When she gets to VC, she won’t want to leave.” He winked at Seamus, saluted the bartender and strolled out of the room.
Seamus let out a deep breath and then looked at Kevin. “Now all I have to do is convince Jacques to be on the coach tomorrow.”
Kevin spoke in a voice barely above a whisper. “If you can convince Jacques, then everything is set.” He motioned in the direction of the store and warehouse. “Declan and Ardan are packin’ up his supplies and puttin’ them on the ox wagon that will leave tomorrow. Cormac’s the bullwhacker, just like we wanted, and he’s aware that those supplies going to Virginia City might make a return trip.”
“Good,” Seamus said. “I don’t want the wagon to leave until after I know the man has gone. I’m not having us lose all those supplies if he’s unwillin’ to go.” He gripped his son’s shoulder and left the saloon to find Jacques.
Kevin paused at the threshold of the kitchen, watching as his mother stood at the stove. She brushed at her hair, and he saw her as she had been when he was a boy. With auburn hair, glinting in the sunlight, her hazel eyes filled with joy and love at the sight of him. A ready smile, eager to listen to any adventure he’d had with a sibling. A comforting hug if he had suffered a disappointment. He let out his pent up breath, his vision clearing to see his mother as she was now. No longer thin, with filled out curves. Hair now shot with silver. And a leeriness in her gaze as she sensed him watching her. “Mum,” he breathed, battling down disappointment that she did not smile at his presence.
“Kevin,” she said, setting aside the wooden spoon after tapping it against the cast iron kettle. “I thought to make a stew for supper.” She rubbed her fingers on her apron, her gaze lowered.
“Delicious,” he said with an appreciative sniff of the air. He eased into the room as though afraid he’d startle her. Until today, she had remained in the bedroom above stairs, only seeing Da and Maggie. “How are you here?” he blurted out.
She flushed. “I thought your father would have told you.” At his shake of his head, she motioned for him to join her at the table. “We should wait and tell all of you together. ’Tis only right.”
He gripped her hand. “Are you leavin’ again?” His eyes shone bright with fear.
Mary froze as she stared into her son’s haunted gaze. A tear coursed down her cheek as she saw the pain in his gaze borne from the years of separation. Although her hand shook, she raised it to stroke his jaw. “No, my lad, I’m not leaving again. I never would have been separated from you if not for a horrible misunderstanding.”
“You wanted us?” he whispered, flushing as he voiced his greatest fear. Ever since he had learned she had lived, he had worried the reality of such a large family had been too much for her and she had found a way to escape them.
“Oh, my precious son, of course I wanted you. I love you all so much.” Her voice cracked and she was unable to prevent the tears from cascading down her cheeks. “I never dared dream I’d see you again. That you’d want me in your lives again.”
“Mum,” Kevin croaked as he leaned forward, tugging her into his strong arms. “Not a day passed I didn’t miss you. Mourn you. You and Maggie.” He held her as she sobbed in his arms.
When she leaned away from him, he offered her his clean handkerchief to scrub at her cheeks.
“Whatever you do, Mum, don’t leave us again,” he entreated. When she nodded, a tension left him and he relaxed in front of her.
“There’s nowhere else I’d want to be,” she stuttered out. “But you’re right, my Kevin. Your Da and I should talk with all of you about what separated us.” She let out a deep breath and then another. When the back door slammed shut, she jerked and her gaze became wary as she jumped up to race to the stew pot.
“Mum?” Kevin asked as he looked over his shoulder at his father standing in the doorway.
“You made your mum cry,” Seamus said in an accusing voice. He held his hands on his hips, glowering at Kevin.
Kevin smiled fleetingly at his father, although he watched his mother with a worried expression as she moved with frantic precision to chop vegetables. “Mum and I were saying hello after seventeen years.”
Seamus nodded with understanding before approaching Mary, his soft hand on her arm stilling her manic chopping. “All is well, love,” he murmured as he kissed her head. “No need to murder the veg.” He chuckled when she stared at him in wide-eyed wonder. He ran a finger over her cheek. “No one will ever raise a hand to you again.”
Her eyes filled with tears at that proclamation and a soft quivering began. She collapsed forward into her husband’s embrace, his soft words soothing her.
Kevin stared at his father with impotent rage as he glimpsed the terror his mother had lived through during the years away from them. He remained when his father motioned for him to stay at the kitchen table.
Although he continued to hold his wife, Seamus focused on Kevin. “I’ve made arrangements for tomorrow and it appears all will go as planned. Dunmore and Cormac are aware, and the passengers are both willing.”
Kevin nodded and was prevented from saying anything as his mother struggled in his father’s arms to break free of his gentle hold on her.
“No!” Mary proclaimed as she pushed away from Seamus and spun to glare at Kevin. “No! You will not send her with him.” Her gaze darted from Seamus to Kevin and back again, in agony and desperation as they stared at her in astonishment.
“How did you know our plans, lass?” Seamus asked in a soft voice.
“I snuck down to listen to you talk a few nights ago. When you were formalizing everything,” she said, her chest rising and falling rapidly as she panted. “Not Maggie,” she pleaded as a tear tracked down her cheek.
“Oh, love, of course not,” Seamus whispered.
“Mother?” Maggie asked from the doorway leading into the rest of the house. She stared at Seamus with betrayal.
Seamus took two steps to Maggie and gripped her shoulders, his fierce love and devotion evident in his gaze. “I did not want to worry you, lass. You nor your mum.” He shared a frustrated look with Kevin. “We’re sendin’ Jacques away tomorrow. An’ he thinks you’re travelin’ with him.”
“No,” Maggie begged, falling to her knees as though she had just been sucker punched. “Please, no.”
Seamus followed her down, his big hands gentle as he stroked over her head and shoulders. “Of course not, my Maggie. You have to know you’re precious to us. To all of us.” He smiled as Kevin made a noise of agreement behind him.
“He’s smart. He’ll find a way to bring me with him. Kicking and screaming if necessary,” she gasped as she fought a sob.
Kevin stood with their mother in his arms and smiled down at his baby sister. “We’re smart too, Maggie,” he said, unable to fight his satisfied grin. “He’ll be too drunk on firewater to realize the woman with him isn’t you until he’s at least two stagecoach stops away. By then he won’t want to return.”
Maggie gaped at them. “Truly?”
“What poor woman are you consigning to a life of hell with him?” Mary demanded, her hazel eyes filled with concern for the unknown woman.
“An … associate of mine,” Seamus said, choosing his words carefully, “is aiding us. She will return after her adventure. And I trust the stagecoach driver. He’ll keep her safe and kill Jacques if necessary.” He focused on Maggie. “Never was it an option to send you with him, my darling
daughter. Never.”
“Truly?” she asked. “’Twould have been much easier.”
Seamus reared back as though she had struck him. “Easier?” he rasped. “No, my lass. Never that.” He looked deeply into her blue eyes. “One day, you will come to understand the depth of my devotion, of your brothers’ devotion, to you.” He kissed the top of her head and held her for another moment, turning to look at Mary.
Kevin felt his breath catch at the depth of emotions he saw in his father’s gaze as Seamus beheld Mary in his son’s arms. “I love you, Mum,” Kevin murmured before releasing her. He paused as her breath hitched at his soft words. “Always.”
With another nod to his father, he left the three of them in the kitchen to return to the warehouse, determined that nothing would derail their plans for tomorrow.
Declan acted as sentry the following morning, sipping a cup of barely drinkable coffee as he stood outside the café. The new owner, Buford Hunt, wasn’t much of a cook, and those he had hired to cook for him had lasted mere days to a few weeks before they succumbed to gold fever. Declan spat out a mouthful of grounds as he glared at the mug a moment. However, although his disgust at the poorly brewed coffee was true, his focus remained on the departing passengers circling the waiting stage.
Dawn’s soft light gave a dreamy, almost romantic quality to the rough and tumble town. Mist rose on the river and the harsh cliff face was softened by the gentle light. Horses tossed their heads in their eagerness to leave, their tack shining after a recent polish. Men stretched and waited until the last possible minute to board the stage, aware they would be crammed in like sardines as they jostled along at an unforgiving pace. No women mourned the loss of these men, as the Sirens at the Bordello were sleeping off another night.
Declan’s alert gaze watched as Jacques emerged from the riverfront’s mist, as though he were a romantic hero departing on a quest. Declan snickered at his thoughts, determined he would read less five and dime novels in the future as he was becoming too fanciful. However, he turned so he wasn’t so readily recognizable as he sipped his coffee.
Pioneer Dream: The O’Rourke Family Montana Saga Page 13