Laura was unaware of his scrutiny and wondered just how far she might take their conversation before she was truly “inappropriate.” She hesitated only a moment before asking, “Going far?” She immediately blushed at the implication her question could have inspired, but Ben seemed content to answer.
“Near Denver, eventually. Will switch to the stage where the rail ends,” he explained.
Laura’s eyebrows raised. “What a coincidence! I’m going to Denver, too!”
“Is that so?” he answered, and smiled.
Laura felt something akin to relief that maybe she would have a pseudo travelling companion. Even though this man was an absolute stranger, she had to admit that she liked his attitude and she could have certainly ended up sitting across from someone far less desirable. She settled back with a soft smile on her face and now relaxed, fell promptly asleep.
Chapter Four
Laura was jostled awake and almost slid to the floor. Ben leapt forward to catch her, lifting her carefully back into her seat.
She pushed the curls back from her face and whispered, “Thank you,” to him and then blushed a bit at the sensations his arms left behind.
“My pleasure,” he said softly and smiled. “I think the rail is blocked by a small herd of cattle,” he said with some authority.
“Really?” Laura was baffled. “How can you tell from here?”
Ben pointed out the window. You can see their hoof prints in the mud. Probably was a route for a cattle drive years ago—these are probably strays that broke away. Cattle remember that sort of thing,” he added.
Laura nodded and conjectured whether this meant he had been a man with cattle at some point. “Where are we?” she asked.
“You’ve only been asleep an hour,” he told her. “Are you hungry?”
She nodded and reached for her bag.
“Here, allow me,” he said and stood up. “There’s a dining car a few cars down. I’ll bring you somethin’ back.”
“Oh!” she said, thinking of her finances. She wasn’t prepared for the prices the dining car would likely charge.
Ben held his hand up. “No, no, you’re my guest,” he assured her. His tweed vest expanded as he stood fully and his chest took in a deep breath. Laura’s eyes grew large and his misinterpreted this.
“Don’t worry none. I can easily handle it.”
She nodded and smiled. “I’m grateful,” she said softly and Ben thought he would drown in her deep blue eyes. Her pregnancy put a glow on her cheeks and the effect made his knees weak.
He tipped his hat and left the car, returning a while later with a waiter bearing a massive tray. The waiter set up the try between their facing seats and Ben waved him away and removed the covers himself. Beneath was a delicious assortment of sliced meats, broiled potatoes, three different vegetables, and a platter of pastries. “This,” Ben held forth a glass of white milk, “is for you, my dear.” She smiled in gratitude, attempting to ignore the familiar tone of his reference and began picking at the banquet he had brought.
Night had fallen and Ben was stretching. Laura smiled and nodded, “Yes, I’m sleepy, too,” she commented.
“Good, because part two of your surprise is about to take place.”
Laura was instantly on alert. Surprise? Sleeping? She didn’t think she liked the sound of all that.
“It’s not what you might fear,” he said. “I happen to have booked a sleeping berth and I insist you take it and I will bunk here,” Ben said, motioning to the seats they occupied.
“Oh, no, I couldn’t possibly,” Laura said, protesting.
“No room for argument,” he commented, holding up his hand. “Here, let me help you find it,” Ben said.
Laura thought of the baby and then of the long stage ride ahead. She should think of the child. “I accept and it’s most generous,” she said, acquiescing and following him down the aisle of the car.
Chapter Five
Ben escorted Laura back to the sleeping berth and helped her climb into it and waited to see if there was anything she needed. “I’m fine – this is so generous. Are you sure you’ll be okay?” she asked.
“Just fine, ma’am” he assured her and the concern in her voice touched his heart. This woman is something very special, he thought to himself. He ambled down the aisle and returned to their seats where he folded himself sideways and covered up with his jacket.
Laura settled in and was fast asleep. Throughout the night she heard the conductor quietly collecting chamber pots, of which she was very glad. Ladies who were carrying had need of these, quite often.
The next morning, she dressed and put her shoes on before throwing open the curtain of the berth. There, to her great amazement, was Ben, sleeping on the floor next to her berth. He had plastered himself sideways against the bottom of her bunk so as not to obscure the aisle, but he was guarding her. Of that there could be no doubt. The noise of her throwing open the curtains awakened him.
“Sleep well?” he asked her in a rumbling, early-morning voice, sliding the hat back on that had covered his face through the night.
“I feel so guilty! What are you doing down there on the floor?” she asked him, concern in her voice.
He was admiring her dark curls once again and the way sleepiness puffed her face just enough to make her look extremely kissable.
“Don’t worry about me none,” he chuckled. “I’ve spent more than my share of nights on the ground during cattle drives,” he added and this underscored what Laura had suspected all along. He stood, slapped the imagined dust off his thighs and held out his crooked arm. “M’lady? May I escort you to breakfast?” he asked in a most romantic voice.
Laura smiled and took his offer. She was thrilled that he had watched over her in the night but didn’t understand why he was doing it. Certainly he could see she was with child and he must realize that she wouldn’t be travelling alone forever. He must know she had a destination and a plan. She thought of her groom-to-be and felt instantly guilty. This wasn’t fair to him, she knew, but she couldn’t help herself. Anyway, she reasoned with herself, he would appreciate someone looking after me.
After breakfast they went back to their seats and spent the day playing gin rummy and Ben pointed out landmarks and interesting facts about the scenery as they chugged by. Laura had to admit that she’d never been West and this was all so new and strange. She found she was enjoying herself immensely and more than once, she caught him staring at her face; which made her blush.
People on the train passed by with regularity. Some were headed to the dining cars, others to stand on the jiggling platforms between cars to enjoy a cigar or spit tobacco outside the ladies’ presence. As the afternoon drew forward toward night, another couple stopped and asked if they would like to join them for dinner and perhaps some cards afterwards. Ben looked to Laura, who nodded enthusiastically. She loved the idea of meeting new people and even more so, the idea of being considered a “couple” with Ben. She brushed aside any guilt she was feeling and told herself this was a once in a lifetime arrangement. Soon enough she would be knee-deep in hogs and chickens with laundry waiting to be scrubbed down at the stream. Just this once she wanted to make the most of her opportunity.
“We’re the Lanigans, Tricia and Gerald,” the woman said as she led the way toward the dining car.
“I’m Laura and this is Ben,” Laura provided somewhat weakly. She hoped the omission of last names wouldn’t be noticed. If it was, Tricia never blinked an eye and she had Laura’s undying gratitude for the oversight.
They dined on lobster and new potatoes, freshly-steamed green beans and chocolate cake. Laura stuck to water while the others drank champagne. Once the meal was finished, the waiter cleared away the table as the men went briefly to the smoking platform and the ladies began to chatter.
“So, when are you due?” Tricia asked, “if it’s not too personal.”
Laura blushed. “By my count, in about four months,” she supplied and quickly c
hanged the subject. “Have you been West before?” she asked.
“Oh, my, yes. We live there part of the year. Outside Denver.”
Is everyone on this train heading for Denver wondered Laura.
“That’s odd, that’s where I, that is, we, are headed as well,” Laura provisioned and was relieved that it wasn’t a lie, but just a little misleading.
Laura looked at Tricia’s elegant silk gown and the jewels that glittered on her fingers and in her hair. It was apparent that they had money and Laura felt dull and clumsy by comparison. Tricia seemed to pick up on this a bit and said, “You’ll be feeling ever so much better after the baby is born,” she comforted her. “You’ll be able to wear all your wardrobe again and your woman’s body will return to normal…except better!” she winked at Laura.
The men returned then and they played a few hands of gin, spending more of their time talking and laughing than paying attention to their cards. The waiter returned regularly and refilled their glasses. Laura began to yawn and Ben got the message. He stood, signaling an end to their evening.
“It’s been grand,” he said, holding up his glass in toast and then emptying it before setting it firmly down on the table. “Night to all,” he said and held out his bent arm to Laura, who took it gratefully.
He escorted her to the berth and was about to continue on when she protested. “No, really, Ben. This rightfully belongs to you. I wouldn’t feel right about taking it a second night!”
“Nonsense,” he said, his eyes glittering with warmth and a bit too much champagne. “You climb in and get comfy…I insist.”
Reluctantly, Laura acquiesced once more and again in the morning, she found him sleeping guard duty at the side of her berth. Somehow it was beginning to feel almost normal and she felt a pang that it would soon end.
Their train pulled into the station that afternoon and they disembarked. Coincidentally, she and Ben were to share the same stage going westward, and much to Laura’s surprise, the Lanigans were aboard as well.
Laura had been dreading this portion of the journey; she knew the roads would be rough and there was always the danger of Indians or robbers along the way. Even the weather could pose a danger when there was no cover or the roads became mired with heavy mud. She was willing to brave it, however. She had no other options.
The trip began happily enough with the group singing songs and the men telling stories of their boyhood exploits. This drew amused glances from Tricia; she had heard Gerald’s all before and each year they grew in mischief. When Laura was asked to join in, she demurred. “I’ve had a boring life,” she supplied and looked away. No one questioned her; they respected her privacy.
Each night the coach stopped at a way station. Sometimes it was a large, private house where the owners were willing to rent out rooms. Other times it was a hotel in a small town or an inn. The guests already there were generally rowdy, often cowboys and sometimes miners, headed west to try their luck. Few women of Laura and Tricia’s standing were in evidence.
Out of consideration, Laura and Tricia would share a room—under the auspices that Laura may have need of someone in the night. Ben would cheerily share with Gerald and their ribald laughter could be heard down the hallway. Each night Ben would tap on the women’s door to see if they needed anything, but he was waved away as the females sought to get their beauty sleep. Tricia was kind and noticing the swelling in Laura’s ankles from the hot, long drives, she would get a pan of cool water and massage Laura’s feet and calves. “This always helped my sister-in-law,” Tricia supplied.
Laura finally asked. “Gerald and you… you have no children?” she queried. The women were splayed across a huge four-poster bed, the heat outside depriving them of even a breath of cool relief, despite the window raised as high as it would go.
“No, not now. We did, once. His name was Robert,” Tricia supplied, her eyes glazing over with tears that weren’t shed. “He died at two – consumption,” she added and Laura was respectfully quiet. She could not help but worry about her own child, though, and what he might be facing when it came to medical challenges. She hoped Denver was progressive enough to have a good doctor… that was one of the conveniences you gave up when you left the East.
Tricia read her thoughts. “Don’t worry, dear Laura. We were East at the time; even they couldn’t save him. I sometimes think if we’d stayed in the West where the air is cleaner and drier, maybe Robert would still be with us. Everything out East is so…so…damp,” she fairly spat the word. With that, Tricia blew out the lamp and the women slept atop the covers that night, grateful for any breeze, hot or otherwise.
Chapter Six
With each day of their journey, the lands became more and more foreign looking to Laura. There were fields of crops in the flat plains and then the foothills of the mountains that ran south through Missouri and into Texas began to appear. There were a few nights when they were forced to make camp and the women slept on blanket pallets beneath the coach while the horses were tied up nearby, given free rein to graze at will. On these nights, the men took turns at watch. While they posed no threat to the Indians and didn’t stray from the well-travelled coach paths, the same couldn’t be considered secure when it came to highway men. These were generally outlaws who relished the idea of emptying some gentleman’s pocket of his new life investment, or some lady of her precious family jewels.
Laura sometimes lay awake, unable to sleep in the breathless nights. She would hear the sound of howling and Ben told her these were coyote. More than one night she arose and sat next to him by the campfire, staring into the flames and talking about her childhood. She skipped over the details of Wendel; somehow it didn’t seem appropriate that he take part in her new life.
She spent hours during the day wondering about her new husband to be and what her life would be like there. Would he be kind to her? He seemed handsome enough in the faded photo – but she didn’t have a clear idea of what he looked like. It was almost as if that were intentional. She couldn’t fault him, really; all she’d had to send was half of a wedding photo.
She wondered, shyly, if he would demand husbandry rights from her. According to the law, once they were married she belonged to him as completely as the cattle on his ranch and the house in which he slept. She prayed that he would be brief and considerate, if it was to be. She also hoped he would leave her alone until the child she carried was born and some months old. It would be a rough life and she’d need every bit of her strength to endure it.
She really had no idea what Colorado looked like; not having been there before. She knew from geography that there were flat plains for farming and mostly cattle ranching, and then there were the mountains; nearly impassable in the long winters. Their altitude made the air so thin you would become dizzy and have trouble breathing. She did not know what to expect from Rory or his place; there hadn’t been enough time to exchange letters and get used to the idea. The baby and her financial situation precluded it.
She hoped Rory would be something like Ben, of whom she was becoming more and more fond as the days passed. She sensed he was, too, and it bothered her that this trip must eventually end. She knew it wasn’t logical that she would ever see him again; in fact, it was probably a better idea if she didn’t. It could, and probably would, lead to all sorts of problems.
She would miss Tricia, though. They had become more and more like sisters, being of a similar age and sharing sleeping and travelling quarters as they had. She knew rationally she would never see her again, either. Tricia would undoubtedly feel betrayed that Laura hadn’t been more forthcoming about her relationship with Ben. She’d never lied, but she hadn’t told the whole story. She was sure Tricia wondered why she and Ben didn’t share a room, but she’d never said a word.
Chapter Seven
The day had dawned humid and hot. They were travelling through Kansas and its undulating fields of wheat. Laura watched it in the stagnant air, imagining what it would be like to have to harvest
that all. She hoped desperately Rory didn’t farm wheat.
It was late afternoon when the coach driver pulled the horses up and gave them a water break. He shaded his eyes and was looking to the west; joined shortly by Ben and Gerald. They all wore concerned looks on their faces.
“What’s wrong?” Laura asked when Ben came back toward the coach.
“Nothin’ to worry about…just a little blow comin’ in.”
“Blow?”
“He means a storm, and a bad one by the looks of it,” chimed in Tricia. She’d been through this before and knew the conditions were ripe for a breakout.
Laura had given up wearing the jacket of her travelling dress, preferring instead to fan herself with a damp cloth and open the buttons of her linen blouse beneath. She knew by looking at Ben that she appeared far more alluring than she felt at the moment. Although the sickness in the mornings had long before passed, she did have times when her legs swelled and her back ached. She knew some things about birthing from hearing the women in town talk – but there was so much she didn’t know, and it frightened her. Once again, she hoped that there would be a doctor handy when her time came.
“Well, what do we do? How do we protect ourselves?” Laura’s worried words fell over Ben and he felt a fear on her behalf.
“We’ll find somewhere to hunker down in the next hour and then just ride it out. Don’t you worry…I won’t let anythin’ happen to you,” he said, attempting to reassure her.
Tricia smiled and patted her hand, all the while fanning herself with her crimson bonnet. “It’ll be all right, honey…at least the weather will cool off and we’ll all be able to breathe again,” she added, hoping to keep Tricia calm.
They drove westward and the driver seemed to know exactly where he was. “We’ll make for the old Harrel homestead,” she heard him call out to the men over the sound of the rising wind. She leaned out at one point and saw that the distant sky was a solid wall of black. If it weren’t for the long distances you could see over the flat plain, they would have already been feeling the effects.
[2016] My True Love Page 46
