“But you must have been in love with her. To want to marry her.”
“Bella, I’m sorry if I ever misled you over Gloria. We decided to marry because she wanted to please her father and I wanted to get back in with mine. They spent so much of our childhood expecting us to grow up and marry, we thought they’d be delighted. And they were. But we were never in love. It was a union that suited us both because at the time neither of us was in love with anyone else. Despite that, she still deserved to be treated with respect, so I went to see her to ask her to release me from my promise.” He sat up again and pulled Bella towards him. “I told her all about you.”
“You did? What did you tell her?”
“About how I felt about you. That I fell in love with you the moment I saw you.”
Bella jumped up off the step.
“What?” Vance stood up and took her arm. “I’m sorry, I’ve obviously got things wrong.”
“Oh, you got it very wrong,” said Bella.
“I see, you like me but you’d never marry a man like me, is that it?”
“I might have if you thought to ask me instead of going and telling another woman what you should be telling me first.”
“I asked you if you would marry me. Over at the Petersons.”
“You were speaking hypothetically.”
“Bella, a man never speaks hypothetically about such things. If he did, he’d end up like one of those Mormons over in Utah, with six or seven wives.”
“You told Gloria how you felt about me before you even told me.”
“Damn it, I wanted to tell you, Bella, but after Andrew died you wouldn’t let me, or anyone else, close. You shut yourself off from everybody who cares about you. I was afraid that if I asked you then, you’d say no, because you were so angry with me for not preventing Andrew’s death.”
“No…that’s not true, Vance. I told you, it was my fault.”
He gently took her by the shoulders. “It wasn’t your fault. It was Andrew’s fault. He was a grown man. An intelligent man, but also naïve in many ways. He underestimated Griffiths, because he was used to the English culture of fair play. I tried to warn him when he was in jail that night that it doesn’t work like that out here, but he wouldn’t listen to me. I even tried to tell him he was putting your life at risk, but he still ignored me. He thought he had it all under control. Andrew is not your fault, darling. He was damaged when he came here. This big old country just magnified the problems he already had.”
Bella turned away and looked at the fire damaged vineyard. “I know.” Everything Vance said was right. It was something she had known from the moment they set foot in America, far away in New York, after he found a card game within an hour of them disembarking. Andrew’s problems were too deep, too entrenched for him to ever escape them. She spun back around. “But that doesn’t alter the fact that you chose to tell Gloria…”
Before she could say another word, Vance had her in his arms, kissing her. Five seconds into the kiss, she realised that it did not matter about Gloria. Because Vance had come back to her just when she needed him most. “I love you,” she said, when he reluctantly pulled away. “I love you, and I would be honoured to be your wife, Marshal Eagleson.”
She felt something brush her leg, and looked down. “It’s Hector!” She picked the rabbit up, and held him close. “He’s survived, Vance.” When her tears finally began to fall, Vance was there to hold her close.
Chapter Ten
Bella thought that if there were any greater pleasure than standing on the porch watching a shirtless Vance helping Shen and the workers rebuild the bunkhouse, she had yet to find it. It had been a week since the vineyard fire, and despite the hard work ahead of her, Bella felt happier than she had ever been. The darkness seemed to have lifted, simply because Vance was back and he loved her. The only cloud, and one that seemed very far away, given her current joy, was Griffiths.
“I must admit,” said May, coming out onto the porch, and nodding over towards Vance, “that if I was ever gonna choose a man, he’d be it.”
“Hands off,” said Bella, smiling. “He’s mine.”
“I told you, honey, it ain’t over till it’s over.” May winked. “Nah, don’t you worry. He adores you. At least I think that’s the reason I have to force him to go home to Milton every night.”
“That won’t always be so,” said Bella, blushing. May had done a good job of protecting Bella’s honour, or so she thought, but soon she and Vance would be married, and he would never have to leave again.
She became more serious. “It is over, isn’t it, May?”
“Well, young Tom was last seen on a stagecoach heading east. We won’t see him ever again. And Griffiths is up country, making life miserable for some other poor varmints.”
“But we know he was behind this. I can’t help wondering what he has in store for us next. I don’t believe he’d give up this easily.”
“Well, maybe he won’t. But he ain’t gonna come sniffing around here when you and Vance are married. He knew your brother was weak, and he probably thought you would be, being a woman all on your own. But he knows Vance isn’t. I don’t think he’ll try to take your man on.”
“He tried to have him killed.”
“Yes, but things are different now. Unlike those other two no-good marshals, Vance has the respect of the community. The people who were scared of Griffiths before aren’t as scared of him anymore. They’re not going to stand by and see their marshal killed.”
Bella wondered if that were true. In their private moments together, she knew that Vance still thought he was only in Milton on sufferance.
“I worry about you too,” he had told her the night before. Bella was sitting on his knee in the parlour, running her fingers through his hair, whilst his hands playfully caressed the bodice of her dress. May bustled around noisily in the kitchen so that they would know she was listening out for any impropriety.
“Me? Why, darling?” She leaned in and kissed his lips tenderly.
“I was thinking about my great-grandmother, and how she cut and run.”
“I’m not the cut and running type,” said Bella.
“You were going to go home to England.”
“Only because I thought you were in love with someone else. Vance, my love, I’ll never leave you.”
“What about when we have children?” His hands slid up her bodice, as the merest suggestion that the mention of children had put other thoughts into his mind. “You know when my father said we should be proud of our heritage, I don’t think he realised what it would cost us. Cost me. I grew up being called a half-breed. Despite that not being technically correct. I don’t want that for my kids.”
“Are you saying you’ve changed your mind?” asked Bella, feeling panic rising in her throat.
“No. I love you, and I don’t ever want to let you go.” He pulled her closer still. “But I don’t want to lose you either, when we have children and they have to suffer the same insults I did.”
“I’m not going anywhere, darling. We’re going to have wonderful children and bring them up to know they’re as good as everyone else. All children are made fun of at school for something or other. What matters is that they’ve got parents at home who love them and help them through it. That’s what we’ll do. Together.”
She kissed him again, their kiss becoming deeper and hotter. “I want you so much,” he whispered to her. “I don’t know how much longer I can wait for you, Bella. I need to be able to touch you. To finish what we started in the cave that morning.”
“I know, darling. I feel the same way.”
“Tomorrow we’ll go to Milton and arrange the wedding. The sooner the better.”
“Yes, but … “ Bella dropped her voice a little lower, “tonight, after May sends you home, I could come out and meet you at in the vineyard.”
“You’re a wanton woman, Isabella Tennyson,” he said, smiling dreamily.
“That’s how being with you
makes me feel.” She slipped her fingers inside his shirt, and rested her head on his shoulder. “So?”
“I told you that the next time you touched a man like that you’d better be willing to deal with the consequences.”
“I … know,” murmured Bella, brushing her mouth against his between words. “I … remember … every … single … word … and … there … are …no …deputies … for … miles.”
“What are you smiling at?” asked May as they stood on the porch the next morning.
“Oh nothing,” said Bella. “Vance! I’m ready when you are.”
“It’s a funny thing,” said May as Vance put on his shirt and started walking towards them. “But last night I thought I heard a prowler again.”
“Did you?”
“Yes, but when I looked out I thought I saw you.”
“Oh.”
“You were probably sleepwalking.”
“Yes, that’s probably it,” said Bella.
“Not that I’ve ever known you sleepwalk before.”
Vance drew nearer to the porch.
“Mind you,” May continued. “You’d think all these rocks under a person’s feet would wake them up.”
“Wake who up?” Vance raised an eyebrow.
“May thought she saw me sleepwalking last night,” Bella explained.
“Really?”
“I don’t have to get my shotgun, do I, Marshal?” asked May. She was grinning but her eyes were steely. “You’re gonna make an honest woman of my little girl without a rifle in your back, aren’t you?”
“I most certainly am, Miss Tucker.”
“That’s okay then. But,” she turned to Bella. “There’s to be no more … sleepwalking … till we get you down that aisle, do you hear? I’ll get Shen or one of the boys to sit out on the porch all night if I have to.”
“Like I said,” Vance said to Bella as they walked to the buggy, “the sooner we get married the better.”
“But,” murmured Bella, “it’s a long way to Milton and we’ll be alone.”
May called out from the porch, “Vance! Bella! Shen said he had to go into Milton. Wait on him a while. You can give him a lift. In fact now I think on it, I got things to do down there. I’ll come along myself.”
“It was a nice idea while it lasted,” said Vance, helping Bella up onto the front seat of the buggy. “But they won’t always be around.”
“We will until you put a ring on that girl’s finger,” said May, slapping him firmly on the shoulder and climbing into the back of the buggy.
“Miss Tucker, do you have Indian blood in you? Because I’ve never known a white woman who could creep up on someone like that before.” Vance climbed into his own seat. Bella placed her hand on his thigh.
“No, my family were German stock. But I’ve learned a lot from watching you over the past week.” May removed Bella’s hand from Vance’s leg. “That’s enough of that. Shen’s an old man and set in his ways.”
“You don’t need your rifle now, Miss Tucker,” said Vance, looking back at the gun May held in her hand.
“I’m taking it to get a new firing pin. So you’re safe. At least until we get to Milton.”
Milton was bustling when they arrived there. More settlers had arrived, and were filling up the saloon. Families and children filled the streets. “I ought to send a telegram to my father again,” said Vance as he guided the buggy into a space outside the hardware store. “These people will be needing homes, and he might be able to help out.”
“It was good of him to offer to help us restock the vineyard,” said May, as she clambered out of the back.
“He likes the idea of wine-growing,” said Vance. “It appeals to his more cultured side.” He looked to Bella. “He’s also hoping you’ll save me from this awful life of crime I lead.”
“I don’t want to change you one bit,” said Bella. “Shen, do you think you’ll hear something today?”
Shen was at Bella’s side, ready to help her down. “I hope so, Miss Bella. The lawyer said he would try to rush things through.”
“Good luck,” she said, when she was safely on the ground. “If you have any problems, we’ll be over at the church, seeing the preacher.”
“I would not want to disturb you when you have such important business to take care of,” he said, smiling kindly. “I will wait until you are finished.”
“Very well. We’ll see you both in a little while.”
Bella and Vance waved to May and Shen and headed for the church.
Half an hour later, they were coming back out again and shaking hands with the preacher, when they saw Griffiths standing at the end of the Milton main road. He was about two hundred yards away from them.
“Marshal Eagleson,” said Griffiths. He swayed on his feet. “Marshal! You come here and fight like a man.”
Others on the street had stopped to watch him. Bella saw Shen in the background, and was perplexed when he turned and ran in the opposite direction. Was he abandoning them to their fate?
“Bella, go back inside with the preacher,” said Vance.
“Vance…”
“Please, darling. Do as I say. What do you want Mister Griffiths?”
“I want to finish what others couldn’t. Tom has run away, and Bill is dead. The others who work for me, they’ve got weak. They’re more scared of you than they are of me. They think you’re some kind of ghost.” Griffiths spat on the ground. “They’ve created a mythology about you. The Indian marshal who disappears into the darkness. ”
“Bella, for God’s sake, go inside.”
“I’m not leaving you.”
“I’m going to kill you, Marshal,” Griffiths said. His hand was on his gun belt, but he had not yet drawn. He was too far away from them to be any real threat. “This is my town, and I don’t want you in it. Your or that little Indian loving trollop.”
Bella heard Vance’s sharp intake of breath and saw his hand snap towards his own gun. “No,” she whispered urgently. “What he says means nothing, Vance. It’s about him and the sort of man he is. It’s not about me.”
“She’s right, marshal,” said the preacher, who was standing on Vance’s other side. “Don’t commit a mortal sin over something you know isn’t true.”
“I’m the marshal here,” said Vance in a low voice. “It’s my job to uphold the law, and he’s breaking it by threatening me and another citizen of this town.”
“You can justify that to yourself all you want, Vance,” said the preacher. “But we’ll all know it’s because of what he’s just said about Bella. Besides, I know you’re a good shot, but you’d never hit him from here.”
“I’ll get a little closer then,” said Vance.
“No,” said Bella. “He might kill you.”
Griffiths was moving closer still. In a short time he would be within firing distance.
“Mister Griffiths,” said Bella. “Let’s talk about this. About the vineyard.”
“Bella, no,” Vance hissed.
“You were right, you know. My brother misled you, and he shouldn’t have. Perhaps we can talk about it. Of course, I can’t let you have it as part of the bet, but you were going to make me an offer.”
“Bella, what are you doing?”
“I’m saving your life.”
“Darling, he’s not going to kill me.”
“You’re too late. I don’t want it. With the damage from the fire, it’ll cost me too much more to make it viable. It’s damaged goods. Much like you, Miss Tennyson.”
“That’s Mrs Eagleson to you,” said Vance. “And if you say one more insulting thing about my wife, I will kill you.”
“You’re not married yet,” said Griffiths.
“Yes they are,” said the preacher. His brow was awash with sweat. “I just performed the ceremony myself, with my wife and daughter as witnesses. Marshal, I urge you to rethink. I understand you feel the need to protect your wife’s honour, but don’t let your marriage start like this. You can take
him, you know you can. Even if he wasn’t as drunk as a skunk. In which case it’s little more than murder.”
“If he doesn’t kill me, I’m going to kill him,” said Griffiths. “I will show people who’s really in charge in this town.”
“I don’t think so, Griffiths.”
Bella looked around to see where the new voice came from. It was Ike Peterson. He had several of his men with him. She looked to the other side of the street and saw Mr Grant and his men. There must have been about twenty of them in all. Whilst Griffiths had been talking, they had moved in closer. Her heart swelled when she saw Shen standing shoulder to shoulder with Mr Peterson.
“Keep out of this, Ike,” said Griffiths. “If you know what’s good for you.”
“It’s not about what’s good for me, Griffiths. It’s about what’s good for Milton. And we’ve decided you’re not. The marshal on the other hand, is. There’s less killing goes on around here, apart from the poor English boy, and there’s less dishonesty in the officers of the law. Milton is starting to turn into the sort of place people want to settle, have families. We kinda like that. It’ll bring business and prosperity to the town and we’ll all benefit. But you, Griffiths, you’re staining the place with your presence.”
“I have Milton’s best interests at heart,” said Griffiths.
“No, you don’t. You might have, when you first started out here, but the only person you’re interested in now is yourself. We want you to leave.”
“I will, but not before I kill that half-breed.”
“You shoot the marshal,” said Mr Grant, on the other side of the street, “and five seconds later you’ll have nineteen, maybe twenty bullets making holes in you. Go on, Griffiths. Do it, so we can use you as an example to any other upstart who wants to come here thinking he can run the town and make us pay for water rights.”
“That’s what this is about,” said Griffiths. “You don’t care about the marshal, you only want your cattle to graze. Well, fair enough. We’ll do a deal.”
“No deal,” said Peterson. “You seem to have missed a major point. We like the marshal and we like his little bride there. They’re good people and better for this town than you’ve ever been.”
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