Forever, Victoria

by Dorothy Garlock

  Through a haze she heard herself saying again, “What do you want?”

  He still did not answer.

  Nellie’s brain began to buzz. He wouldn’t do anything here. If I scream someone will hear me. Even these thoughts didn’t stop the lump of fear that came up in her throat. Why doesn’t he say something? The longer he was silent the more frightened she became until she felt as if a tight hand were squeezing the breath out of her body.

  “Where’s Miss Victory at?”

  Nellie was so relieved that he spoke, she blurted, “She isn’t here. She went to town.”

  “Went to town?” He repeated the words as if he didn’t believe her.

  “This morning, with Mas—” Nellie cut off the word and moved backward toward the stove, the teakettle held in front of her like a shield. The man hadn’t taken his eyes off her and now they narrowed and glittered.

  “Where’d ya come from?”

  “Colorado.” Nellie tore her eyes away from his sullen face and thought that she should call out for Dora. Then he would think there was someone else in the house. Her eyes flicked back to him. His face was tense, waiting. He knew she was alone! How long had he been in the house? She tried to speak normally. “I’ve got to get dinner. My brothers will be coming.”

  “They rode out with Stonewall.”

  “They’ll be back…soon.”

  “No they won’t.” His face had changed. His eyes ran insolently over her.

  Nellie’s heart almost burst with fright. She fought back waves of nausea and tried to think of what to do.

  “You’d better leave. Go! Victoria wouldn’t like it if she knew you were here.”

  “How d’you know what Miss Victory would like? I knowed her longer’n you.”

  Nellie’s face turned even more pale under his probing stare and her mind whirled. What to do? If only he would move away from the door! Her fear had made her so weak the teakettle was almost too heavy to hold.

  An evil grin spread over his battered face and a chill pricked at Nellie’s skin. There was nowhere to run!

  “It’s been a long time since I kissed me a purty woman.” His puffed lips barely moved when he spoke. His eyes bored into hers and she felt a numbness in her chest.

  “No!” Fear like a huge, hairy monster rode down her spine and her legs almost refused to support her. He moved away from the door as a scream built in her throat. Breaking free of the terror gripping her she ran to the other side of the table and made for the door, but he was too fast. With huge strides he crossed the space and reached for her. His hard hands caught her, and he spun her around.

  Nellie’s mouth opened, but the scream never came out. Puffy, rough lips covered hers, pressing, suffocating her. He crushed her to him, one arm around the back of her neck, the other around her waist. She tried to struggle. It was futile. He attacked her mouth with anger, forcing her lips open, thrusting his tongue inside. Like distant thunder, she heard the teakettle fall to the floor.

  Dazed with fear and revulsion, Nellie twisted and turned. Hard, cruel fingers fastened themselves to the back of her hair and, twisting it up tight, held her head tilted up to him.

  “Be still!” he snarled.

  Shame and terror forced a thin, shrill scream from her throat. It was lost in the vile, wet mouth that clamped itself to hers again. Through a mist of pain and humiliation she felt his hand on her breast! Oh, God, she prayed, please let me wake up. Let this be a dream! She felt the strength draining out of her. Was she dying? She prayed she was as she sank through a black void and into total darkness.

  It was a while before Kelso realized the girl was limp in his arms. When he did, he raised her head and looked into her face. Her lips were bleeding from the pressure of his teeth and it seemed to him she was scarcely breathing. A strange sickness came over him. She was hardly more than a skinny kid. He barely felt the weight of her in his arms. What in the hell had possessed him to force himself on this girl? Oh, God! A man could be hung for doing what he had done! All he wanted to do was to talk to Miss Victory, tell her his side of what happened, tell her he’d been here too long to be thrown out. He’d just wanted to see Miss Victory! He’d given up his dream of having her and the Double M. Damn! What if this fool girl died? What if someone came in? Ruby could come bustin’ in here any minute. Lord! They’d shoot him down like a dog! Kelso tried to swallow his fear and the feeling he had made the worst mistake of his life.

  “Damn you!” he said aloud to the unconscious girl. “Damn you for coming back here!”

  Panic gripped him and his arms fell away from Nellie as if she were red-hot. Her limp body hit the floor. More frightened than he had ever been before in his entire life, Kelso hurried to the door and down the hall to the front of the house. He paused and carefully scrutinized the area. Seeing no one he went quickly from the house. He found his horse where he had left it among the trees, mounted and rode fast because he was so sick from the whole affair that he was shaking. Damn you, Stonewall! Damn you for startin’ this whole thing. Damn that Mahaffey, too. I’ll gun down that son of a bitch! If’n it wasn’t fer Stonewall I’d a been head man. Miss Victory would’ a seen me different then.

  Thirty minutes later he topped a rise and saw a lone horseman, the object of his hatred, riding toward him. The panic in his stomach eased, and a firm resolve took its place.

  * * *

  Nellie floated back out of the black cloud that enveloped her. From somewhere in her subconscious, she grasped the fact she was lying on the floor and that her mouth hurt. As awareness returned so did terror. She put her hand to her mouth, then looked at it numbly. Blood! Panic came roaring in to take possession of her. The man! She looked around frantically as she pushed herself off the floor. Where was he? Oh, dear God, please let me get out of here before he comes back! With a startled cry she staggered to the door and out to the porch.

  “Ruby! Ruby!” she stumbled and fell off the back step, landing hard on her knees. “Ruby!” she screamed. She picked herself up, made it to the rail fence and fell again. Shaking her head, she got to her feet and tried to run. She had taken only two steps when a pair of strong arms enfolded her.

  Sobbing hysterically, she clung desperately to the man before her. Her face was ghostly white amid the masses of dark hair. She darted fearful glances back toward the house.

  Between sobs she choked out snatches of words. “A…man! There’s…a man. He…gra-grabbed…” She raised her tearstained face and looked up into a serious face and troubled blue eyes.

  “Nellie! What happened? What man?”

  Tears streamed down her face and mingled with the blood on her lips. She had clutched Sage around the waist and couldn’t let go. She buried her face against his chest, wracked once more with wild, terrified sobs.

  Sage had seen her run from the house, fall down and run again. Before he could reach her she had fallen the second time. He scarcely remembered running to her. But now he held her and stroked her hair.

  “What man, Nellie? Who did this to you?” A primitive rage was building in him.

  “He…was in the…house!” Nellie struggled to bring some semblance of order to her words. Two strong arms were holding her against a broad chest. She was safe here!

  Sage began to pull away from her. “You’re all right, now. I’ll go see—”

  “No! Please!” The ordeal had sapped the strength from her and her legs began to crumble.

  Sage bent and picked her up in his arms. Her head fell back against his shoulder. He carried her toward Ruby’s cabin, bewildered, enraged, acutely conscious of how frail and delicate the girl he carried in his arms was.

  Ruby and Dora saw him coming and hurried to meet him.

  “What’s the matter with Nellie? Is she sick again?” Dora reached Sage first. “What’re you carryin’ her for? Can’t she walk?”

  “Land sakes, Sage! What in tarnation’s happened?” Ruby was out of breath from hurrying, shocked at seeing Sage coming across the yard with Nellie in h
is arms. She noted the cold fury—killing fury—on his face and her heart took a frightened leap.

  “I don’t know, but look at her face.” He gritted out the words. “She said someone was in the house and grabbed her. I’ll—I’ll kill him!”

  “Oh, Lordy! Bring her in and let’s find out what happened afore you go to talkin’ ’bout killin’.”

  Sage sat Nellie down in Stonewall’s big, hide-covered chair and gently brushed the hair back from her face. Her arms slid from around his neck. Shame and humiliation over what she had endured kept her from looking at him. She began to tremble, as if with a chill.

  Sage hovered over her. “Who was it, Nellie? Who hurt you?”

  “The man that Mason fought. He stood in the door, then he grabbed me.” Her voice was so muffled Sage could scarcely hear what she was saying.

  “Kelso? Damn!” he swore and started toward the door.

  “Sage!” Ruby took hold of his arm. “Gopher said Kelso lit out early this mornin’. Could’ve been some drifter or—”

  “We’ll see.” Sage shook off her hand. Ruby watched him walk across the yard, saw him raise the gun in his holster and let it slide easily back in. She shook her head and held her plump hands tightly together. There was going to be a killing. If Kelso was around, there was going to be a killing. Ruby also knew there was no way in the world she could stop it, so she turned her attention to Nellie, who sat with her hands over her face.

  “There, there.” Ruby pulled Nellie’s hands down and tilted her face up so she could look into it. “Get a wet cloth, dumplin’,” she said to Dora. “Did that bastard hit you? If’n he did, Sage’ll kill ’im. He’s touchy ’bout womenfolk.”

  “I don’t…know. I think I swooned. I was on the floor when I came to.”

  The realization of what might have happened hit Ruby and Nellie at the same time. Nellie gasped and looked down at the front of her dress. The top button had been torn off. She couldn’t remember….

  “Oh! Oh, Ruby!”

  Without hesitation, Ruby boldly flipped up Nellie’s dress, and let out a groan of relief. Her underclothing was all in place. She pulled the skirts down over Nellie’s legs and took the wet cloth from Dora.

  “Ain’t nothin’ took place you don’t know about, girl. Don’t worry ’bout that. Ain’t seen no man yet what would leave drawers in place after a doin’ somethin’ like what we was feared of.”

  “Why would he do somethin’ to Nellie’s drawers?” Dora, the purple ribbon still in her hair, stood wide-eyed and watchful.

  “Yore not old enough to know, dumplin’. Forget you heard ’bout that.” Ruby chuckled as she spoke.

  But Dora didn’t forget. As soon as Sage walked through the door she said, “Nellie’s drawers is in place so nobody did what Ruby was scared of.”

  “Oh!” Nellie wailed and turned her face into the soft leather of the chair.

  “Dumplin’!” Ruby exclaimed, and cast a pitying glance at Nellie.

  “There wasn’t anyone in the house. I searched every room.” Sage stood tense as a coiled spring, his eyes going often to Nellie who refused to look up.

  “Ain’t no use askin’ her which way he went, Sage. I think she keeled over when he was a maulin’ her. Her lip’s busted ’n’ looks like her face is scratched up from whiskers, but other’n that I don’t think he done nothin’ else.”

  “Nothing else! Good God! I’ll kill the son of a bitch. I’ll ride out ’n’ find him.” He turned to go.

  “You can’t go ’n’ leave us, Sage. You know Stonewall was a dependin’ on you bein’ here or he wouldn’t’ve went. He allus makes sure there’s a good hand on the place afore he goes. You know that.” Ruby looked anxiously into his face, hoping against hope her reasoning would keep him from riding out on a man hunt.

  Sage stood stone still. Not a flicker of emotion passed across his face yet Ruby knew he was battling his desire to go after Kelso. Finally his eyes moved to Nellie.

  “Can I talk to her for a little while, Ruby?” The request was softly spoken, almost a plea.

  Ruby looked at him for a full minute. She loved this boy. No, not boy, man. She doubted if Sage had ever been a boy or done boyish, foolish things. Next to Stonewall he was the dearest thing in the world to her. And she suspected he cared more for her than any other human being. He was lonesome for a pretty girl. Any woman would be damned lucky to git him. If he wanted to talk with sweet, timid little Nellie, she sure as heck would help him do it.

  “Shore. Me ’n’ Dora got to go over to the house and take a look ’n’ see if’n things is hunky-dory. Nellie needs to wash up her face a bit, Sage. Get that thar rag and wet it in the washpan. Come on, dumplin’. You ’n’ me got chores to do.”

  “What’ve we got to do? You said you’d tell me ’bout that time you danced on the table for the gold nugget.”

  “And I will, dumplin’. C’mon and I’ll tell you.”

  Sage stood looking down at Nellie until he could no longer hear the sound of Ruby’s and Dora’s voices. Then he went to the washstand and dipped the rag in the water, squeezed it out, and came back to crouch down beside her chair.

  “Let me wipe your face, Nellie.” He reached up and with gentle fingers beneath her chin turned her face to him. Her lips were swollen and her eyes were red from weeping, but she was still heart-stoppingly beautiful. Almost reverently he raised the cloth and wiped her eyes. “You don’t have nothing to be afraid of now. Look at me, Nellie.”

  “I know. It’s just…I never thought anyone would do that to me.” After these first words had come out it was easier to talk. “He stood there and looked at me. I was so scared! When he moved away from the door I thought I could get past him, but…he grabbed me.” She squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to think about what had happened.

  “Did he put his filthy hands on you?” Sage rasped.

  Nellie’s eyes flew open. “He…just a little.” Her face reddened.

  “He won’t come back here. He knows he’s a dead man if he comes back here.” He reached out and squeezed her arm reassuringly. “Feel better?”

  She nodded and tried to tuck her hair back behind her. No decent woman would let a strange man see her with her hair down! He seemed to know what she was thinking.

  “Your hair is beautiful, Nellie. You don’t need to hide it because of me.” His hand slid down her arm and captured the small balled fist in her lap. She made no move to move it away and Sage wondered if she could hear the hammering of his heart.

  Nellie couldn’t help staring at him. Their eyes were level—his full of warmth and hers bright and shining from her just dried tears. Her head began to feel dizzy and her whole body trembled. Her hand was still under his and the movement of his thumb as it stroked the back of her wrist caused a delicious thrill to travel down her spine.

  “I never thought I’d have the chance to talk to you so soon.”

  Her eyes darted away from him and landed on the carved owl. What did he mean by that? What in the world! Did he mean he wanted to talk to her? Good grief! She didn’t know how to talk to a strange man. But was he a stranger? Her eyes found his face again. It wasn’t the face of a stranger. It looked familiar and…dear. Oh! Her eyes went back to the owl.

  “Ruby showed me some of your wood carvings. I like the owl.” Her voice was weak and shaky. He could feel the trembling of her body through her hand and held it tighter.

  “I’ll make you one.”

  “Oh, no, you don’t have to do that!” Her cheeks turned pink.

  “But I want to. Would your brothers let you have it?” He raised his gaze to her shiny, thick hair and wanted to feel its weight on his hand. He saw the moisture on her cheeks and wanted to wipe it away with his lips.