by Montana West
“Why were you so rude to your brother just now, Cora?”
“Because I am very angry at my family,” she shook her head. “They humiliated someone who is so dear to my heart and I am still hurt about it.”
“Where? Back in Akron?”
“No, Ada,” Cora sighed. “I may as well tell you. You know Louis Albert?”
“Of course I do. He is one of the most polite and humble men I have ever met. Why do you ask?”
“Because a year ago, Louis and I began corresponding when I answered his advert for a mail-order bride. We declared our love for each other, and I managed to convince my family to move West—“
“You what?”
“It was something they were thinking of doing anyhow. They were talking of going to Oregon, but I talked them into coming to Last Chance because I knew Louis was here.”
“Oh, that is so romantic, Cora,” Ada smiled and then her smile faded when she saw the look on Cora’s face. “By that face, I take it things did not go well.”
“My family humiliated Louis because he is poor and just came short of throwing him out of our house when he came calling on my parents to ask for my hand in marriage.”
“I am so sorry to hear that. I hope you have not given up on your love for Louis.”
“No chance of that happening. I love Louis, and I know that he is the only man that I will ever marry, that is why I was at the post office. We cannot meet because he has to mine, and I have to work on the farm, so we have begun writing to each other. Now my brothers have started following me that means they will soon find out what I am doing and I would not put it past them to go and threaten Louis.”
“They do not have to find out where you are going, especially if you have any letters for Louis,” Ada smiled at her new friend. “We are here now, let me get what I need and then we can continue our talk as we head home, I hope you do not mind that I have presumed that you will give me a ride home.”
“It is no bother and I am grateful for your company. You seem to be a good listener, Ada.”
“In my profession I have to be,” she admitted with a laugh. “I am a school teacher.”
“That is wonderful! Let us get our supplies and head home.”
When they were done they once again jumped onto the wagon, storing their goods at the back of the wagon.
“I am so glad that you are a teacher, Ada, maybe I can come by and show you some work that I am doing for children.”
“Really? What work is that?”
“It has been my desire to be a children’s author and I have been writing books and illustrating my stories. Perhaps you would care to look at them and advise me on how to improve my work.”
“With a lot of pleasure,” the two girls beamed at each other, their friendship sealed. “You will also meet Elizabeth Thomas who helps me from time to time with the children.”
“I look forward to that,” Cora was happy to have met Ada.
“Cora?”
“Yes, Ada?”
“Do not give up on your love for Louis. And do not show your family a bad attitude because of how they treated Louis. Parents always think they are doing what is best for their children and so be patient with them. However, do not allow them to change your mind about Louis because I know that is what parents can do.”
“As far as my mind goes, my heart belongs to Louis and Louis alone. Nothing will shake me from that. While we were corresponding, I got the feeling that Louis is a very intelligent and kind man, and when I saw him for the first time it was as though time stopped for me, and I could see that he felt the same way too. I felt as though our hearts knitted and became one.”
“That is a very strong kind of love, Cora, hold onto it. I have known Louis for about three years that is from the time he arrived in Last Chance. My family came here a year earlier than him. He is a very noble man, and in all that time I never saw him leading any other woman on. He kept to himself most of the time and I know for a fact that a number of girls in church wished he would approach them, but he did nothing of the sort. I think he is the kind of man who loves only one woman in his lifetime, and that you are the recipient of that love makes you one of the most blessed woman on this earth. When the time is right and you and Louis are together you will realize that he will treasure and cherish you. Louis is the kind of man to walk on hot coals for the woman he loves. Do not give up on your love, Cora, I will be praying for you and Louis and I know God will make things right for both of you.”
“Thank you so much, my heart is really comforted. May I call on you at the school from time to time?”
“Yes, and I also wanted to suggest that you use my postal box to receive your mail from Louis so that I will always get it for you, and when you need to post a letter to him you can just bring it to school and I will post it for you. In that way no one will be suspicious about what you are doing.”
“How will I ever thank you, Ada? You are a good person and I am glad to have met you today and hope that we can become firm friends.”
“You can count on me, Cora.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
Andrew’s handsome face was marred by a deep scowl. He rubbed his moustache as his blue-eyed gaze darted from table to table. Something was not quite right about this set up, but he could not put his finger on it. His hired guards were standing a short distance away. The two men looked formidable and no one wanted to get entangled with them for any reason and so people steered clear of them.
Andrew was seated at a small round table, in the middle of a game that did not seem to be going his way at all. He was usually good at reading his opponents at the table but these two men who had come in from out of town were proving quite elusive. From the moment the game had started about an hour ago, they seemed to be gaining the upper hand on him and he thought he would have to use his brawny men to intimidate them. He tapped the top of the table with his left hand because his right held his cards. He had slender and long fingers which were his trademark as he used them skillfully to hide or retrieve cards from his sleeves.
“Your call,” the one who had introduced himself simply as Pinky told Andrew. He was chewing on a match stick, his stance very relaxed as though he did not have a care in the world, and yet he had just placed five thousand dollars on the table for a game.
“I am thinking,” Andrew said with emphasis, and in a cold voice which would have terrified the men he usually played with, but it seemed to have no effect on the two men before him.
Pinky shrugged, taking it all in stride. “Your dance,” he said.
The second man who had introduced himself as Shorty Stakes twisted his lips and Andrew saw a mocking look in his eyes. The two men had him, but he was sure he could take them out. But he was feeling very uneasy. These two men had something up their sleeves, no one took on Andrew Willard without fearing the repercussions.
What Andrew did not know was that Shorty and Pinky had their own men who were inconspicuously spread throughout the tavern. The usual revelry and drinking was going on and since Madam Fortune’s tavern catered for all kinds of people who were either residents of Last Chance or those just passing through on their way somewhere, no one paid any attention to any new faces that appeared from time to time. Madam Fortune was happy that she had a full house and her girls were kept busy serving drinks or serving customers and once in a while a girl would leave with a gentleman for the lodgings at the back of the tavern which had their own special uses. Business was good and the saloon madam rubbed her hands in gleeful delight.
Andrew observed the two men from under his long eyelashes. Pinky looked like the weaker one. He stood at only five feet seven inches, almost a head shorter than Andrew. He was also slightly built, leaning towards being thin. His black hair was long and he held it in a plait at the back of his head. His eyes were black and he had a clean shaven face. Shorty Stakes was almost as tall as Andrew and quite heavily built, his body covered in a thick overcoat that he had not taken off at any time. He sat hu
nched over the table, and from time to time he would take a sip of the drink at his side which Andrew had no idea what it was because one particular man seemed to be bringing the drinks to the two men. Because Andrew had never seen that particular waiter before, he thought Madam Fortune had probably hired him to help the girls, because he was quite heavily built.
“Looks like we are going to be here all night,” Shorty said, winking at Pinky. “Is it probable that the gentleman has a poor hand and is afraid of losing?”
Pinky smiled, a thin smile that did not reach his eyes. “He seems to have more cards than normal,” he observed and Andrew gave a start. Normally people did not notice when he added cards from under his sleeves to the pile in his hands but somehow Pinky had guessed. He decided to adopt an aggressive stance to cower the two men.
He threw his cards down on the table and pushed back his chair. “Are you accusing me of cheating at cards?” He growled at Pinky who did not seem at all ruffled. “That is dishonoring a man’s name and men have been hanged for less.”
“So go hang yourself,” Shorty said, turning Andrew’s cards over to reveal a very poor hand. He shook his head. “And here we thought we were playing with an expert,” he guffawed. “My ten-year-old daughter can play a better hand.”
As Shorty was mocking Andrew, Pinky was gathering all the money on the table. He casually counted it then stood up and that was when Andrew realized that he had been well and truly beaten at cards. His cheating had not helped him in this instance and he had just lost five thousand dollars which did not belong to him. His father would be enraged.
Somehow he had to get the money back. His father had sent him to the small bank in Last Chance to withdraw that amount of money to pay off some laborers who were adding an extension to the mayor’s house, and as usual he had decided to gamble with the money since he always won. He had expected to fetch another five thousand or ten thousand and his father would have been none the wiser. But now everything had come crashing down. He quickly turned to his henchmen and signaled them to take action, but before they could even move a muscle they found themselves tousled up and bundled out of the tavern and taken to the back which was not lit, given the beating of their lives and left tied up.
Meanwhile in the tavern, Andrew knew his luck had finally run out when he found himself surrounded.
“Sit,” Pinky ordered and when he would have hesitated he felt a big hand on his shoulders pushing him back to his seat. Pinky leaned forward. “If you have to cheat at cards then learn how to do it the proper way,” he said. “You are just a weak man who uses other men’s muscle power and your own volatile temper to intimidate people.”
Shorty gave a short bark of laughter. “Today the cheater became the cheated.” He turned to Pinky. “We have made our point, no use disrupting this good evening for other patrons so let us just take our leave.” He stood up. But Pinky had other ideas and a slight raising of his hands saw Andrew manhandled out of the tavern but towards the front. Pinky and Shorty’s men simply surrounded him and led him out so it seemed as though he was leaving amicably with friends. Once outside, they gave him a thorough beating and made ready to put him on his horse which one of the men had brought from the back.
“My father will get you for this,” he coughed painfully, trying to get himself off the ground. “He is the mayor of Last Chance and he will get you.”
“The reason you are still breathing is because we have deep respect for Mayor Willard,” Shorty spat on the ground next to Andrew. “Poor man had the misfortune of siring a useless drunk and whoremonger. I wonder what papa will say if he sees his precious boy in this drunken state,” and as he was saying this he was pouring whiskey on Andrew’s clothes.
“Boys, get him out of here and make sure he gets home so his papa can welcome him with a fatted cow for the good work that he is doing.” Pinky smiled and got onto his horse. “Till we meet again, Andrew Willard,” he tipped his hat and rode off.
Andrew tried to escape from the thugs but they kept close until they had delivered him to his father’s house and then made such a ruckus outside that a few servants came to see what was going on and found Andrew on the ground.
Victor entered the drawing room where his wife was sobbing over their son. The whole room reeked of whiskey and he held his hands behind his back and looked at Andrew without saying a word and then turned around and went back to bed.
“See what you have done,” his mother wept. “Why did you have to go and get into a fight, Andrew?”
“Mother, those men jumped me when I was coming back home and they robbed me of the money Father sent me to get for him.”
Claudia Willard was gently sponging her son’s face, trying to wipe away the blood that had dried on his cheek where Shorty had struck him with his ring. “If you carry on like this your father is going to be very angry at you, Andrew,” she wrinkled her nose at the smell of alcohol on her son’s breath and clothes. “It is time you began to show your father that you are a son he can be proud of. All these saloon brawls are not going to win you any points with your father.” She sighed. “I thought you told me you had changed, Andrew, and you also told me that you had met a nice Godly woman in church and was getting ready to ask her parents for her hand in marriage. Do you think any decent family will allow you to wed their daughter with you drinking like this? Besides that, your father was thinking of grooming you to take over as mayor of Last Chance but see how you shame yourself before him.”
“Mother, I was not drinking, I just stopped to check on someone in town after running Father’s errand and it seems the men were following me from the bank and they cornered me and took the money.”
The story sounded lame even to Claudia who pampered her son, but this was not the time to reprimand him. He was slightly drunk and she decided to talk to him in the morning when he was sober.
Sunday morning dawned bright and Claudia was surprised to find Andrew already at the dining table taking breakfast.
“Going somewhere?” She served herself some eggs and fruit and her usual cup of black coffee and then took her place at the table. Of Victor there was no sign and she knew he had already left for church.
“To church with you, Mother,” Andrew smiled at his mother and she gave a happy cry.
“Oh Andrew, I knew you are a good boy, a bit distracted at times but a good boy all the same. Your father will be as proud of you as I am.”
“I want you to meet the woman that I have been courting, Mother,” he lied. In actual fact, he had been trying to speak with Cora Richards but she ignored him on all accounts. She was the best candidate for him to present as his future wife because her family were good stock and dedicated to the church. His father and Walter Richards had met a number of times in the weeks since the family moved to Last Chance and his father thought highly of the newcomers. He nodded slightly to himself. Cora Richards was just the right girl. Being new in the town she did not know much about him and he believed neither did the other members of her family, and he would make a whirlwind courtship and a quick marriage and by the time she found out about him it would be too late and she would be in the family way.
“I am very much looking forward to that, Andrew,” his mother gushed on, unaware of his disturbing thoughts. “Do I know her family?”
“Her name is Cora Richards, her family just moved to Last Chance about six or seven weeks ago.”
“And does she love you?”
“How can she not love your handsome son?” Andrew teased. “Of course we are in love. She is the perfect woman for me. Be prepared to hold your grandchildren in the very near future.”
Claudia felt as though heaven had opened its windows and given her a glimpse of the glory therein. Throughout the service, she kept glancing at her son, a huge smile on her face. She could not wait to meet the lovely woman who had won her son’s heart.
Cora observed Andrew out of the corner of her eyes as he made his way to where she was. There was no avoiding this man who kept
nagging her, but she schooled her features into politeness as she waited for him to catch up with her.
“Cora, as enchanting and beautiful as always,” Andrew just came short of kissing her hand, instead squeezing it. Cora almost rolled her eyes at his dramatics. She did not like Andrew Willard, and for a few Sundays now he had been insisting on chatting with her.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Willard,” she pulled her hand away, raising it to wave Ada Adams and Elizabeth Thomas over. The two girls joined them and they exchanged greetings with a not-too-happy Andrew who had wanted Cora all to himself.
“My name is Andrew, Mr. Willard is my father,” he smiled sweetly at her and she almost groaned aloud.
“It is good to see you again, Mr. Willard, but we have to go and help the other women serve lunch,” Cora said politely, turning her back, and so did not see the hard look that came into Andrew’s eyes, but Ada did and she shuddered inwardly. This was a dangerous man and her friend would do well to steer clear of him. She would warn Cora about Andrew and ask her to be careful around him.
Andrew fumed. Who did the small girl think she was? He was Andrew Willard, the best dressed man in the whole of Last Chance. Why, women always went out their way to charm him, and that included married women. This slip of a girl was nothing compared to some of the beauties that entertained him from time to time, some in their own homes when their husbands were away. Then he smiled. No, Cora was merely shy and proper. She would come around.
“That’s it,” he grinned and looked around for his parents. They were speaking with Walter and Mary Richards and he knew this was the perfect time to begin laying his strategy to win Cora over. He would endear himself to her parents and get them on his side.
“Oh Andrew, there you are,” Claudia Willard said. “Please come and meet these wonderful people.”
“We have met before, Mother, these are Cora’s parents,” he smiled charmingly at Mary and she was blown away. “And may I say again, ma’am, that you have a very beautiful daughter.”