“Nathaniel, I told you to sneak around the house. Just shoot him. I want you to get him away from my Katie. She needs to know that I'm okay. Go on, do as I told you to.”
Nathaniel didn't want to leave his brother, but he didn't want a madman by his wife either. He backed out of the barn again and moved carefully around the house. He saw that the parlor window was broken. That was where his Emily sat to make clothes for their baby. She was in there with him. Hopefully he hadn't hurt her.
Nathaniel carefully peeked into the window. He saw a man looking at him. Nathaniel ducked out of sight again. A second later the window broke, sending splinters in every direction.
“Which one was he?” he demanded of the women.
Nathaniel listened, wanting to hear Emily's voice.
“I asked you a question.” Nathaniel heard him slap one of the women. Was he hurting his Emily? Would she lose the baby? Would he kill a woman? The threat had been against him, not Emily. He had to hope that because he hadn't shot them right away that he wouldn't.
“That was Nathaniel.”
“And where is your husband, whore?”
“I don't know. Out on the range?” Bessie answered him.
“Nathaniel Tate, are you going to hide outside like a little girl? Or are you going to come in here and fight like a man?”
Charles looked over his shoulder. He was still holding the cat. Were they being attacked from each side? A carriage was coming closer to him. He could clearly see the Brown family from the general store.
Mrs. Brown waved and smiled at him. Charles, was completely confused now. He slightly raised his hand to wave back. He could clearly see that Mrs. Brown was holding a cake on her lap. She was smiling wider than the Mississippi.
“Hello, Mr. Tate,” she called out. “We just wanted to pay y'all a visit.”
Her husband was rolling his eyes next to him.
“We brought a cake with to share. I'm sure that Mr. Stuart will also like that.”
“Mr. Stuart?”
“Emily's brother. He was at the store yesterday. I gave him directions out here.”
“Emily doesn't have a brother. She is an only child.”
“But he was at the store yesterday.”
They all heard a shot.
“Mrs. Brown take your daughter and get help.” Charles turned to run down to his wife and brothers. Mr. Brown followed him, also pulling out his revolver.
Emily sat in the darkness. She was getting so tired, but she didn't want to lay her head down on the dirt floor. She was scared and she felt guilty.
Emily heard a shot and her body slumped to the ground. She was a widow now, just like Victor wanted. She cried as she thought about the loss of her husband, lover and the father of her baby.
Even if Victor didn't kill her he would kill the baby.
She had gambled and lost. She would be left with nothing and everyone was going to suffer because of her. Would he kill everyone?
She tried to be quiet so she could hear Victor coming, but her own sobs were just too loud.
Awhile later she heard five more shots. Was everyone dead?
Nathaniel held his pistol close to his heart. He was worried, because he still hadn't heard a peep from Emily. He needed to know where she was and if she was alive.
Nathaniel slowly moved around the house, listening. The man, who he guessed was Victor was still in the parlor looking out of the windows. He didn't leave the women. Katie was crying because she thought that Edward was dead and Bessie was trying to comfort her.
“I have to go out to him. I need to see him. What if he is just hurt? He could need me. I can't just stay sitting in here.”
“Katie, stay by me. I need you. Please, don't leave me.”
Nathaniel was worried that he was going to hurt Katie and Bessie, too. He needed to get that man away from the women as quickly as possible.
“You will stay right here. No one leaves this room,” the man told them.
“Please, I have to go to my husband. Why are you doing this to us? We don't even know you.” Katie was pleading with him and yelling at him.
Nathaniel took that chance and opened the front door and slipped in. He saw Charles doing the same thing. They gave each other a nod and each slowly moved forward to the parlor, staying close to the walls, so they wouldn't be seen.
Victor shoved Katie down on the sofa and went back to the windows. He looked out, getting more and more nervous. This wasn't going according to plan. He should have just taken off with Emily and told her that he had killed her husband. If he would ever show up in Boston he could kill him then.
Victor heard a revolver click. He turned back and saw Bessie pointing a gun at him. “Stupid whore.” He raised his arm up to shot her. With in the space of a few second five shots were fired.
Charles rushed to his wife's side. He kissed her as she sobbed.
“Am I going to die?” Bessie asked him.
“I won't let you.” He worked on opening her clothes so he could see the damage.
“Where's Emily?” Nathaniel asked Katie.
“I don't know. He killed Edward.” She pointed to the body on the floor.
“No, Edward is just fine. He only got him in the shoulder.”
Katie jumped to her feet and ran off to her husband.
“The bullet went right through. You are going to be fine, Bessie. It didn't hurt the baby either.” Charles was overjoyed that nothing important had been hit. He would just have to clean the wound and see to it that she got lots of rest.
“The baby?”
“Yes, don't you know? Your monthly time is late, by over a week. You are expecting a baby, too. I have been waiting for you to tell me. Darling, didn't you know?”
She shook her head and her hands moved to her tummy to cover it up, protectively. “Our babies will grow up together,” she said, looking at Nathaniel. Bessie was so pleased that she didn't even worry about the gunshot.
Nathaniel eyes searched the room for his wife. He didn't see her. “Is Emily alright? Where is she?”
Chapter 14 Uncertainties
Charles fixed up all of his patients and gave Katie something to calm her nerves. She had gotten the shakes and they just wouldn't stop. She refused to leave her husband's side. Katie held his hand and just cried. The shock had been too much for her.
It was already getting dark out and no one had seen Emily. Several men from town had showed up to help. They were combing the area to find her but everyone was assuming that she was dead.
Nathaniel continued to look for her, while the helpers slept in the barn. He repeated that he had told her to stay inside over and over again. He was devastated. She couldn't survive all alone on the range. Had Victor come alone or was some strange man hurting his wife.
The sun was coming up. Nathaniel felt hope again. If she had just survived the night than he would find her now. He called out to her again and again.
By late afternoon, the sky turned from blue to gray. He could see a black storm front coming right at them. Charles tried to convince him to go inside, because of the lightning, but Nathaniel refused. He wouldn't rest until he found her.
At nightfall he had to call it quits for the day. The pastor was at his house. The helpers had dragged Victor's body back to town for burying. Edward was up and around. He was thanking everyone and Katie was beaming with her love for her husband. Nathaniel had never seen her happier.
Charles was waiting on his wife, who kept trying to get up and help with the housework. They looked so happy too.
No one had seen Emily.
Nathaniel went to his bed, trying to sleep, so he would be fresh when he went looking for her tomorrow. Everyone thought that she was dead, but he knew she wasn't. She was so good and so dear to him. She couldn't be gone.
Emily waited and no one came. Hour after hour and no more sounds. Just nothing. She had heard six shots in all. She listed the people at the house over and over in her head. Six shots and six people. Maybe, no o
ne was left to come and get her. They would all be dead.
She shivered and tried to get out of her prison. She patted the floor and found little, nothing that could help her. Emily found the door and knocked on it, pounding when she had a burst of strength to do so. She screamed for help but she heard no reply, just her own screams being carried away by the wind.
When she was exhausted she laid down in front of the door and slept.
Emily was still surrounded by darkness when she woke. She had a terrible headache from all of crying and screaming. She moved away from the door and to a corner.
There she relieved herself and threw up. This time the sick feeling didn't pass. She cried and had to throw up two more times.
A sickening feeling went through her that no one would ever come. She patted her way back to the door.
She scratched at the earth with her nails, trying to dig her way out. A board was buried in the ground. Probably, someone had thought that it would keep animals from digging their way in.
Emily worked in the complete darkness for hours on end.
Emily heard another shot. She jumped away from the door and listened. A moment later she heard another shot. Now she recognized it for what it really was. It was thunder. She left her hand on the wall and went back to the door. She had work to do. It was up to her now to save her baby.
Emily knelt down and went back to digging.
She felt a wetness under her hands. Feverishly she tried to move the heavy wet earth to the side so she could slip out under the door. The hole she had dug filled with water. She had to wait for the storm to blow over before she could continue working.
Was it day or night? Emily longed to see something clearly, anything. The hours stretched out so long. The storm wasn't letting up. She leaned against the wall and waited. She hoped that the water pushing in would dig the hole for her.
Should she sleep?
Emily woke up hungry and thirsty. She patted the floor again and worked her way back to the door. She felt so terrible and dizzy. Emily was seeing flashes of light before her eyes. She wanted to lay back down and sleep, but she pushed herself to find the door and the puddle of water there. She knew she had to drink something to survive.
Would this room be her tomb?
Her hand pushed into the hole. She had found it. Emily felt around for water, but the water was gone. Only mud was left. She should have drank something when it started to fill up with fresh water.
Emily had tears in her eyes as she tried to push water out of the mud so she could drink. She ended up shoving a handful of mud into her mouth. She tried to suck the water out of the dirt but the idea of what she was doing made her sick.
Emily laid down, too weak to dig anymore.
How long had she been in here?
Nathaniel woke up early. He had woken with a start and reached over to Emily's side. She wasn't there, but he knew that she needed him. He had to go to her. He had to find her.
Katie handed him a package of food and water to take along. She knew that he wouldn't come home soon, unless he found her. She hoped that he would. They all missed Emily something terrible. This house didn't feel right without her in it.
Nathaniel whispered his thanks and took off. Today he would find her. His heart felt like hers was calling out to him. The others joined him, but they didn't think that she was alive.
The rain that fell last night was being sucked up into the sky. Today was going to be a hot day. If Emily was out on the range all alone, then she needed help as quickly as possible. She would be hungry. Had she lost the baby? Was she still all wet from the rain last night.
He rode all over the range looking for her. That feeling, about her needing him, was getting worse. He had a panicking feeling that if he didn't find her soon that he would never see her again.
He was the last to ride in at nightfall. Edward was waiting for him in the barn. Nathaniel tried to avoid his eye. He didn't want to hear what his brother had to say.
“Nathaniel, it's time. She's gone.”
“I can't stop. We aren't even sure that that was Victor Wellington.”
“Yes, we are. The telegrapher’s office confirmed it. He took off looking for Emily as soon as her aunt and uncle came home. Besides your horse needs a rest.”
Was he right? Was it time to give up on the person that he loved the most? Nathaniel's thoughts were pure agony. He looked up at the stars as he left the barn. He prayed that God would watch over his Emily and keep her safe. And if she had passed on he prayed that God would accept her into his arms and keep her safe until he could join her.
Emily was getting too weak to dig. She sometimes thought that she heard voices. Was that her mother calling out to her? She reached out to take her mother's hand but then the vision was gone. She longed for salt.
Emily sang songs to the baby and talked to it. Mostly, apologizing that they were going to die in here. She told her baby how much she loved it, and that she had been looking forward to meeting him or her.
Nathaniel put a rope around the horse's neck. He was taking Victor's horse and giving his horse a break. He was going to ride into town and send a telegraph to Emily's aunt and uncle. His last hope was that she was with them.
He got on the horse, but he left his eyes open, not keen on having to tell her people that he hadn't been able to take care of her. He was starting to lose hope that he would find her. It had just been too long.
Nathaniel was having problems with the horse. He kept wanting to trot off to the right. He pulled the horse back on track and it stayed there for a while but then he pulled back the way they came and too the right.
After the fifth time, Nathaniel gave up. “Take me where you want. I need a moment to myself anyway. I have to put something into words that should never be said.” He spoke to the horse as it took him towards the property line to the neighboring ranch.
Nathaniel decided that since he was this close that he would stop by and ask if they had seen Emily, or if they had seen someone strange around here, but the horse was proving once again that it had a mind of its own.
Nathaniel wasn't sure but he thought he heard a melody in the wind. He was sitting up straighter and looking around. He had been all over this area, but he hadn't heard anything.
Nathaniel let the horse lead him. It was slowly going down a path. He could see a door, that was nailed shut.
“Emily!” he called out. “I'm here, darling. I'll get you out.”
There were tools next to the door. He picked up what he needed to pry the door open. He kicked the lower boards away and tried to open the door. It was nailed shut.
“Emily? Can you hear me, darling?”
He received no answer and figured that she needed him quickly. He kicked at the door with all of his strength.
Emily looked up and saw a ray of light coming in through the door. Were her parents coming to get her and the baby, so they could go to heaven?
The light was so bright that she had to cover her eyes.
“Emily?”
She sat up when she recognized her husband's voice. “Nathaniel, you're alive.” Tears filled her eyes. She asked herself, how she could cry when she hadn't had water in so long? “Nathaniel,” she sobbed. “Please, help me.”
Nathaniel heard his wife's voice and kicked with all of his might. He pushed himself in through the hole in the door. There was his Emily. She was on the ground, covering her eyes. Had she been in here the whole time?
He picked her up and held her to his chest. He hugged her and kissed her. “I thought I would never see you again.” He gave her a smack on her backside. “I told you to stay in the house.” He gave her another smack and then kissed her again.
“Emily, I can't live without you.” He gave her three more smacks as she clung to him. “Please, obey me from now on.”
“I'm so thirsty, Nathaniel.”
“Of course, darling.” He pulled her over to the opening.
Emily shrieked and covered her eyes. Nat
haniel set her down and removed his shirt. He ripped it so he could make a blindfold for her. He tied it around her head, so the light couldn't hurt her anymore. Then he carefully helped her out.
“I have some water, right here, darling.” He sat her down on the ground. Quickly, he untied the canister and opened it. He held it to her dry and chapped lips. “Here's the water, darling. Drink, nice and slow. Once you have drunk it all up, I'll take you home.”
Emily took a sip. The water felt like it was burning her mouth. “Nathaniel, I'm so parched.”
“Just keep taking tiny sips, darling.” He sat down on the ground next to her and gave her more to drink. “I have been looking for you for days. I'm so sorry I didn't find you sooner.”
“I thought you were dead.” She reached out for him and patted his arm like she had been patting the ground and walls of her cage the last couple of days. He was really here, next to her. I thought I was going to die, the baby and me,” she admitted.
“Drink, I want to take you home.”
She drank the canister until it was empty. Nathaniel gently lifted her up and sat her on the horse. Her body fell forward. Nathaniel jumped up behind her. He held the reins in a manner that would keep her on the horse.
Nathaniel slowly brought her home. He needed to get her out of the heat but he couldn't risk letting her fall. She was just too weak to sit.
When Nathaniel rode into the yard several men reached up to help Emily down. He jumped down and picked her up in his arms. “Charles,” he called out loudly. “She needs help.”
The door to the house opened for him as he walked in with his wife in his arms. He carried her up to their room and started to undress her.
Southern Discomfort Page 11