Most of the patrons kept the peace, gaming and enjoying the merriment with little to no trouble. However, every once in a while there would be a group of rowdy troublemakers who passed through who liked to cause a ruckus. Unfortunately, as Elise spied a group of three men in a shadowed corner of the room, she had a feeling this might be one of those instances.
Concerned, she caught Samson during a break in the activity. “Do you know those men?” She gestured toward the table in question where a man with a grizzled gray beard was starting to raise his voice in apparent anger. His companions looked equally severe, both large men, one of whom had a wicked looking scar that ran across the side of his face.
“Those are the gents from Canada here to take your Mr. Cade back to Rupert’s Land,” Samson returned with a frown. “I’d steer clear of their ilk. I got a bad feeling about them the moment they walked in the door.”
Elise didn’t like the sound of that, but she was careful to heed Samson’s warning. He’d lived among gamblers, cattle rustlers, and gunfighters most of his life. He’d started out up north in Deadwood, but decided he’d had enough and left in search of somewhere a bit more tame. When he had arrived in Charming nearly five years ago, he’d decided to stay. He’d been a great help to Grannie at the inn ever since, and kept order at the saloon when needed, tending the bar with a calm authority that few ever questioned.
Until today.
Elise saw the man with the grizzled beard stand up and sway slightly as he walked toward them. He almost collapsed against the wood, as he demanded, “Another bottle of whisky.”
Samson calmly set his hands on the bar and said, “I think you’ve reached your limit.”
His face instantly reddened with growing rage. He reached across the expanse and grasped Samson’s lapels, putting his face close to his. “Don’t you tell me when I’ve had enough. Your place is to serve—”
“Then I’ll say it.”
Elise turned to find a man in a heavy coat facing off with the disgruntled man, giving proof that he’d just arrived from outside. “Why don’t you go to your room and sleep it off, Dwarfton?”
“Mind your own business, Spadely,” he snarled in return, effectively turning his back on the other man. “This doesn’t concern you. In fact, I don’t know what you’re still doing here if your purpose in coming here was to be a traitor to the Crown.”
The man called Spadely snorted and crossed his arms. “I’m a traitor because I won’t condone sending an innocent man to his death when you and I both know that Arandine got what he deserved?”
Dwarfton spun back around. “He was murdered! There is no justice in revenge.”
“Perhaps not where you come from.” Spadely took a step forward. “But when it comes to the England I know, common law is what takes precedence. Without the proper evidence for a conviction—”
“Cade was there!” Dwarfton nearly shouted, gaining a few curious stares from nearby onlookers. “I have men who will attend to that fact.”
Spadely shrugged. “But did anyone actually see him wield the murder weapon?”
“He had blood on his hands!”
“That could have easily been that of his slain wife and child.”
By this time, Elise noted that Dwarfton’s face was nearly purple with rage. He advanced on his opponent with malicious intent. “An earl was killed by Cade’s knife and I intend to prove it.” With that, he turned on his heel and stalked off, but instead of returning to his party, he headed outside, presumably to brood further in the privacy of his rooms at Grannie’s inn.
Elise shivered, but it had nothing to do with the cold breeze that flowed through upon Dwarfton’s departure. “What a horrid man.”
“Indeed, he certainly is.”
She thought she’d muttered it under her breath, but when Spadely took a seat at the bar and smiled at her, she was chagrined to know he’d heard her. “Pardon me, sir. I don’t normally voice my opinions so openly.”
“In this case, it would be warranted,” he returned dryly. As Samson set a glass in front of him, he waited for him to order. “Brandy, please.” As the requested drink was poured, Spadely looked at Elise curiously. “Rest assured, we are of a like mind when it comes to Sir Weston Dwarfton.”
Elise found that her attention was suddenly riveted on this stranger. “Sir, you wouldn’t, by chance, be here to assist Mr. Cade, would you?”
“As a matter of fact, I am.” He took a sip of his drink. “I take it you know him?”
“I should think so,” Elise returned. “I love him.” She smiled, for the more she said it, the more natural it sounded.
She could tell she had shocked him, for he froze with his glass halfway to his lips, but then he burst out laughing. “It’s not often that anything surprises me anymore, but you’ve done just that, little lady.” He extended his hand across the bar. “I’m James Spadely, the Earl of Arandine.”
Elise accepted his offering, although his title caused her jaw to slacken. “Arandine?” she breathed.
“I can see I’ve shocked you.” He offered her a wink. “Let’s just say I owe Mr. Cade a debt that I intend to repay.”
Chapter Thirteen
“Thank you for your time, Mr. Cade.” Chauncey watched as Mr. Grimm got to his feet. Once he’d returned his chair to its previous location, he added, “I will review the information that you gave me and put together a defense on your behalf. I’ll return in the morning.”
“I appreciate your services, Mr. Grimm. And I promise that I will do what I can to repay you.”
“That’s not necessary,” the other man smiled. “I’m doing this as a favor for Ms. Charming.”
Chauncey lifted a brow. “I see. Those Charming ladies certainly have a way of getting under our skin, don’t they?”
Mr. Grimm didn’t reply, but the slight twitch of his lips told Chauncey all he needed to know as the attorney took his leave.
When he was gone, Chauncey clasped his hands together in a relaxed pose on the other side of his cell.
It had been difficult for him to recount every single detail of the day he’d lost everything to Mr. Grimm, but the pain he’d felt in his chest had lessened slightly as he thought of Elise. There would always be an acute sadness, a sense of loss when he thought of Martha and Thomas. That would never go away. But at least with Elise by his side, he could remember them with fondness; instead of that harsh devastation he used to carry around with him like a cloak of shame, that sense that he’d failed them.
Now, he accepted that there was nothing he could have done to safeguard them from their inevitable fate. The outcome would have been the same no matter what he’d done, because the men he’d fought were determined to put an end to everything he held dear. They had held no thought for anything other than the power and money that the furs would bring.
Chauncey forced his hands to relax, not realizing that he’d clenched them into fists. He turned away from the bars and lay down on his cot and stared up at the plain, white ceiling above. Instead of reliving the horrors of that day and the ones that followed, he turned his thoughts to Elise and imagined the life that they might have built together.
He smiled, picturing that modest cabin in the mountains where he’d rediscovered himself, where he’d found the possibility of opening his heart to love again. He closed his eyes and saw the vision of a little girl with Elise’s white blond hair running through the forest like a little fairy sprite, and a boy with dark hair who was constantly up to mischief. He could see Elise with a rounded belly as she tended to her flowers in the hothouse, a contented expression on her lovely face. He would come up behind her and wrap his arms around her midsection and kiss her on the cheek, the single silver band on her left hand proclaiming to one and all that she was taken.
Chauncey allowed himself a few moments to bask in the delight that such a serene portrait brought to him, and then he opened his eyes to allow reality to intrude once more. The truth was, his situation was precarious, and while Mr
. Grimm might be a wonderful attorney, even he might find it difficult to prove his innocence when he admitted what had happened on that fateful day, that he’d taken his revenge on the men responsible for the deaths of his family.
So unless Charming was a town fraught with miracles, he didn’t see much of a chance of entertaining a hopeful future.
***
Elise burst in the door of Grannie’s inn and headed to her private salon. She didn’t knock this time, but boldly walked inside, her gaze searching for her quarry.
Grannie was sitting in a chair by the fire doing some knitting with Beau at her feet, but at the disruption, both of them raised their heads and took notice.
“Elise!” Grannie put a hand to her chest. “You nearly gave me a fright!”
Elise would feel chagrined later. Right now, she had to find the attorney. “Has Mr. Grimm returned yet?” she asked almost breathlessly.
“I have now.”
She spun at the sound of the masculine voice behind her. “Thank goodness!” His brows lifted at her enthusiasm. “I need you to speak with someone right away. He has some information about Mr. Cade that will be most beneficial.”
Grannie gasped and replied on his behalf. “Of course, send him over straightaway! You’re welcome to use my salon for privacy.”
“Thank you!” Elise rushed back to the saloon, her heart pounding, and not just from her exertions, but because she could see finally see the possibility of a future with Chauncey. She didn’t even feel the brisk winter air, or feel the cold of the snow beneath her feet as she returned to the saloon.
However, when she walked in the door, she was disheartened to find that Spadely wasn’t sitting at the bar where she’d left him. She set her hands on her hips, for he’d assured her he’d be there when she returned, so where had he gone?
“If you’re looking for the gent who was sitting there, he left right after you did with a couple of mean lookin’ fellas.”
Elise glanced up to see Samson’s substitute pouring a drink for another patron. Her stomach abruptly sank in fear when she realized the regular barkeep wasn’t around. “Where’s Samson?”
“He followed the trio out the back, said he didn’t like the look in their eyes—”
Elise didn’t wait for him to say anything further. She rushed toward the rear of the saloon. It opened to an abandoned alley; the perfect place to rough someone up in private, if that was their intention. And considering Samson had abandoned his post to check on things, his intuition generally rather keen on such matters, then she likely had sufficient cause to be alarmed.
While she had no idea what she would do if she came upon a scuffle, perhaps her intrusion would cause enough of a distraction that things could be handled accordingly, without escalating into something deadly.
She pushed open the wood door and burst into the alley to find a scene she had hoped not to find. Two men were lying still on the ground, and although she was relieved to find that Samson and Spadely were the ones who were left standing, she couldn’t help but sway on her feet as the blood rushed from her head.
Samson had been shaking his hand, but his head immediately jerked upward when he heard her arrival. He quickly walked over. “Elise! What are you doing out here?”
“Are they—?” She couldn’t even voice the words.
“No, just resting for a bit,” Samson winked at her. “I’m going to fetch the sheriff to take care of these miscreants. I’ll be right back.”
As Elise leaned against the side of the saloon, Spadely walked over to her. “At least this gives us more leverage to help free Cade,” he noted. “I don’t think Dwarfton wants me to testify on Mr. Cade’s behalf. I joined him on this journey under his belief that I would be assisting him, but I want him out of power at Rupert’s Land, and I knew Cade was the one man who could help me make that possible. Dwarfton is realizing that and doesn’t appreciate it, so he sent his bounty hunters to teach me a lesson.” He grinned. “What they didn’t know is that I’ve been trained by some of the best pugilists in England. It really wasn’t much of a fight, especially with Samson’s help.”
As Samson returned with the sheriff, they carted the two unconscious men away as Elise led Spadely back to the inn. Once they were in Grannie’s private salon, she introduced him to Mr. Grimm.
“You can use my salon to conduct your interrogation in private,” Grannie said as she and Elise headed to the guest room that Elise was currently occupying.
Once they were inside, Grannie took a seat by the fire, but Elise found that she was too restless to sit, so she began to pace back and forth along the room.
After a time, her companion sighed heavily. “Really, Elise, you must stop wearing a path across my floor.”
Elise’s cheeks reddened slightly as she sat down across from her. “I’m sorry, Grannie. I just can’t stop thinking of what is going on down there, and if it will truly help to free Chauncey.”
“Don’t fret, dear.” Grannie patted her hand affectionately. “You’ll find that in Charming, things always have a way of working out for the best.”
Nearly two hours later, with the time nearing midnight, Elise was still wide-awake. When the gentleman entered the room, she stood expectantly. However, all Mr. Grimm said was, “We’ll be heading to our rooms for the night now, Ms. Charming. I will see you in the morning.”
After they left, Grannie stood. “I’m rather tuckered out myself,” she said with a smile. “I may look spry, but such late hours aren’t good on these old bones anymore.” She chuckled, and then added, “Get some rest dear. Tomorrow is a new day.”
Once Elise was left alone, she changed for bed and slipped under the covers, but she knew it would be a long time before sleep actually claimed her.
***
Elise woke with a start the next morning, for the sun was shining through the curtains, proving that she’d slept later than she’d intended yet again.
She scrambled out of bed and had just changed into the other new dress that Grannie had bought for her, a lovely deep blue velvet, when the door to her chamber opened.
“I thought you might be up.” Like the day before, Grannie entered, Samson trailing behind her with a silver tray. He set it down on the dressing table, and offered her a consolatory wink as he took his leave.
“Grannie, really, why did you let me stay asleep so long? I need to get to the jail to see Chauncey—”
“I’m afraid he’s gone,” Grannie returned.
Elise, fearing the worst, clutched her chest and said, “What do you mean?” The blood rushed out of her face. “Did he…escape?” She rather hoped that wasn’t the case.
The older woman chuckled. “Heavens, no. My, what a vivid imagination you have, Elise.” She waved her hand toward the tray and took a seat in the same chair by the fireplace that she’d occupied the night before. “I’ll explain while you eat.”
Giving Elise no choice but to comply, she took off the silver lid and was greeted to the steaming aroma of oatmeal, buttered toasted bread, and ham. With many more meals like this, she might have to start lacing her corset a bit tighter.
As she sat down and began to devour the tempting fare, Grannie said, “Several men took the sheriff’s wagon to meet the train in the nearby village this morning including Mr. Grimm, Spadely, the bounty hunters, and your Mr. Cade.”
Elise couldn’t stop her cheeks from warming at any mention of Chauncey, although she frowned slightly. “Surely they haven’t already set up a trial?”
“No.” Grannie agreed. “However, the judge agreed to hear Mr. Grimm’s defense first thing this morning. As you know, murder is a serious offense, no matter where you call home.”
Elise wasn’t sure she liked the sound of that. “I wish you would have let me know so that I could have gone.”
“And done what? Fret the entire time?” The older lady shook her head. “It’s better that you wait here with me. I’ll make sure to keep you plenty busy.”
While worry was a
lready her constant companion of late, Elise couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m sure that you do.”
Her hostess got to her feet. “Make sure you eat every bite of that. I’ve never had any of my guests complain that I sent them away hungry, so I won’t hear it from you.” She walked to the door. “I’ll be in the kitchens when you’re done.”
Elise sighed and grabbed her fork.
***
Later that afternoon, as the sun was starting to set, Elise stared outside and wondered what was happening in the nearby town.
Of course, Grannie had remained true to her word, keeping her occupied most of the day with various errands, including paying a visit to the bank and the mercantile. With Grannie’s carriage laden down with the requested supplies, Elise had paused before the wishing well and stared down into the dark expanse, wondering if the legend of how Charming was founded truly was how Grannie had described it, or if she had embellished a few of the facts to make it sound like a fairytale.
Either way, Elise realized that no matter what happened with Chauncey, she couldn’t leave this place. It had been foolish to think that she ever could, for Charming was her home. And as silly as it sounded, she wanted to believe that fairytales were real.
Elise watched as a large snowflake passed in front of her line of vision. She reached out and traced its path on the glass from the sky to the ground, where other white flakes quickly followed. It appeared that another winter storm was approaching. All day the air had felt cold and blustery, and she had noticed the threat of gray clouds on the horizon. She smiled, for it reminded her of the night she’d first met Chauncey, dressed as he was in that terrifying bearskin coat—
Her breath suddenly caught in her throat as she peered out into the falling dusk. She gripped the windowsill, for there was a dark, hulking shape in the midst of the swirling snowstorm. Elise heard someone behind her gasp upon seeing the figure, but tears stung her eyes, for she knew that stride.
Frozen Fancy Page 10
