Marblestone Mansion, Book 3

by Marti Talbott

  As if that were not enough, a bogus article in a London newspaper led her to believe she was wanted in connection with a murder. The article forced her to flee her home and sail to America – in the company of the most witless of all her husbands, Charles Whitfield. If it had not been for that bogus article, she would be happily living in London. It was all Hannish MacGreagor’s fault, and the very thought of how cruelly she had been deceived made her seethe anew.

  Olivia, the name she called herself when she married Hannish MacGreagor, had such high hopes as a young woman and for three glorious years, all her dreams came true. He was a duke, she was his duchess, and she was afforded her rightful place in London society, where she could be seen by all the best people. She even hoped to be presented to Queen Victoria and to become part of the Queen’s inner circle. Unfortunately, Hannish MacGreagor stripped her of her well-deserved title and Queen Victoria died. For that, the ex-duchess would never forgive either one of them.

  Her new plan was first to escape John Nelson in San Francisco, seek her revenge against Hannish MacGreagor in Colorado, and then travel to the east coast and board a ship bound for England. For her plan to succeed, she needed a new name – Shelia might do, or perhaps Carol or better yet, Caroline. Yes, Caroline Griffith was the perfect name for a woman with a British accent, who worked long and hard to keep from sounding Scottish.

  Gaining the necessary funds for her plan was a process she began months earlier. At each store where Mr. Nelson had so generously set up an account, she bought something expensive, waited a day or two and returned it for cash. Consequently, she had quite a sum saved up and since her husband hardly knew what she owned at any given moment, she chose carefully and sent a trunk full of her best ball gowns to Mr. Sinclair in England.

  At last, she was ready and as soon as Mr. Nelson left on another of his voyages, she promptly dismissed the servants. In a flash, she ran up the stairs, threw off her morning gown, donned a white blouse and chose a pink cotton traveling skirt with pleats and a short train in the back. She quickly put it on and then added the matching, and very fashionable, tailored jacket with wide double lapels and leg-of-mutton sleeves. As soon as she was dressed, she lifted her skirt and strapped a holster to her calf. The small, ivory-handled, Colt .38 pistol she placed in the holster was a gift from Mr. Nelson on her last birthday. It weighed little more than 35 ounces, and she was accustomed to wearing it in a town where rough and ready gold seeking men still arrived daily. A lady could never be too careful.

  Convinced she looked her best, she gathered her jewels, several preselected articles of clothing, and put them in her leather traveling bag. Then she put on her wide rimmed pink hat, grabbed her money filled hatbox, her gold mesh purse, and quickly went out the door. A rented carriage waited for her in front of the house and as soon as she was inside, she had the driver take her directly to the station, where she showed her ticket and boarded the next train heading east.

  She settled into her private Pullman compartment, but failed to notice the stern and vigilant Pinkerton Men guarding the mail car. Even on those rare occasions when she had to leave her compartment during the journey, she paid no attention to anyone else. “The duchess,” as the MacGreagors called her, had more important things to think about.

  For the first time in her adult life, she was not out to attract a man, although doing so had certainly never been a problem. This time she needed no man, not even one willing to do whatever she asked. In fact, a man in her life just now would be a definite hindrance. Her plan, she was convinced, was flawless and there was only one question remaining – how long would it take to make Hannish MacGreagor pay for his transgressions?

  *

  Jedediah Tanner did not consciously choose robbery as a profession. In fact, he was stunned to learn it was exactly what he had become. His life of crime began innocently enough, when hunger dictated the stealing of a loaf of bread from a farmhouse windowsill. He took pan and all, stuffed it in his gunnysack, and although he felt a bit bad for taking it, he reasoned farmers always had food to spare. Food to spare was not something anyone in his very large Kansas City, Missouri family could ever boast of.

  When he turned twelve, and the bed he share with two brothers got too small, he decided to go out west. For that, he needed a horse. As luck would have it, he found one not a mile out of Kansas City that did not appear to belong to anyone. It was wild, he reasoned, although it let him ride without putting up much of a fuss. Some wild horses were like that, he convinced himself. For food, he fished for some and stole the rest. He stole clothes, guns, bullets, a saddle, a bridle and by the time he got to Colorado, he was a full-blown thief.

  At fifteen, he hooked up with Al, another boy his age and since their true love was jewels, Jedediah Tanner called himself Jade and Al changed his name to Diamond Bill. Their first real robbery at gunpoint happened quite by accident. In northern Colorado, they came across a man with a lame horse, who just happened to be carrying a small payroll. The net gain was nearly a hundred dollars and neither of them was forced to fire a single shot. They took pity on the man, gave him a ride closer to town, and then realized he could recognize their horses. They hid their ill-gotten gain, stole two new horses from a farmer in Wyoming and took up residence in an abandoned shack in the foothills of Long Peaks near Longmont, Colorado.

  At twenty-six, Jedediah’s gang numbered six and it was becoming harder and harder to pull off a successful robbery. Banks were better guarded, sheriffs had straighter aim, and most men carrying payrolls rode in the safety of hired Pinkerton Men. Jedediah was steadily growing tired of being a thief anyway, and when Diamond Bill took a bullet to the heart and died, he saw it as a sign. He was ready to settle down, use his hidden loot to buy a business, and find an honest woman to marry.

  How he managed to get talked into that fateful last train robbery, he would never quite understand. Nevertheless, he did. The train from San Francisco to Denver regularly carried a safe in the mail car, and passengers were always good for a little cash and a few jewels.

  *

  This time, the long ride across the flat desert lands of Northern Nevada was not as hot as the duchess remembered. The train stopped along the way to replenish its coal and water supply, but it didn’t take long, and soon it was on the move again and picking up speed. Thankfully, it was headed for the cool breezes of the mountains.

  After the train left Salt Lake City, entered Colorado and passed through Glenwood Canyon, the conductor assured her the train was right on schedule. Later, she doubted it could be. The climb up the western slope of the Rocky Mountains was just as arduous as traveling up the eastern slope had been the year before. Hour after hour, the train labored, going ever slower as the altitude increased. Several feet of snow lay across the rugged terrain and in some areas, the snow bank was so high she could see nothing but white out her window.

  For years, she was convinced she feared nothing, but the thought of an avalanche began to plague her. Even if she survived such a calamity, she would surely freeze to death, and being too cold was not her favorite thing. After the train reached the highest point and began its decline, she had another concern. The engineer seemed to be struggling to keep the train from racing out of control. Iron wheels screeching against iron rails, and the sway of her compartment as it rounded the bends, convinced her they were certain to derail at any moment.

  Twice, a soft, terror-filled cry escaped her lips.

  It would be just her luck to die there, for luck never was on her side. How completely inappropriate it would be for someone who had been at the height of London society, to die in a wretched Colorado snow bank. The only good thing was how quickly they were descending. Several times, she was forced to yawn just to pop her ears.

  At last, the train reached level ground, her hands stopped shaking and she was her old, confident self again. She was a duchess, regardless of what anyone said, even Hannish MacGreagor.

  *

  Two hours before the train was sc
heduled to arrive in Denver, a server knocked on her door, opened it, and set her lunch tray on the small table. Three days on a train had been grueling and she was almost too exhausted to eat, but she managed to nibble on boiled chicken and a slice of bread. At least she was three days closer to her beloved England.

  The duchess was not alarmed when the train began to slow and then come to a full stop. She assumed it was just an ordinary break to refresh the coal bins and the water supply, but then she heard something that sounded very much like gunfire. She looked out her window, saw nothing and decided it was of no concern of hers. Most likely, a cow or two had strayed across the tracks and the men fired their weapons to get them moving.

  It was not until someone shouted in the hallway outside her door that she suspected she might be robbed. Destitute was by far her least favorite thing. The duchess quickly shoved her hatbox under the seat, stuffed the money she had in her purse down her blouse and pulled a diamond ring off her finger. She removed her large, silk-rose adorned hat, stuffed the ring inside a rose bud and then carefully put her hat back on.

  The duchess did not truly think she was in danger, but just in case, she lifted her brown traveling skirt, pulled her ivory handled pistol out of the holster and laid it in the seat between the window and her leg. She made sure part of her skirt covered it, folded her hands in her lap, and calmly looked back out the window.

  She was still looking out the window when her door abruptly opened. Even then, she took her time turning to see who it was. With the poise and grace only a lady of her importance could have, the duchess slowly lifted her head until her eyes met the most exciting, dangerous eyes she had ever seen. He held a gun and wore a kerchief over the lower half of his face, but his eyes made her heart skip a beat and that had never happened before.

  The sight of the woman in a white blouse and a white hat that perfectly set off her black hair took Jedediah Tanner aback. Her blue eyes glistened, her cheeks were aglow and her moist, red lips looked ready to kiss. He couldn’t seem to help himself when he said, “You are remarkably beautiful.”

  She pretended she had never heard those words before and lowered her eyes as if to blush, “You are very kind, Sir.”

  He took a step inside, closed the door, put his gun away and plucked the diamond ring out of her silk rose. “You are married?”

  “Widowed,” she hastened to answer.

  “Recently?”

  “Not very.”

  He lifted her hand out of her lap, turned it over and put the ring in her palm. “Getting off in Denver?”

  His touch oddly thrilled her and that had never happened before either. “I am.”

  With his eyes locked on hers, he kept hold of her hand for a long moment before he finally let go. “Meet me for dinner in the lobby of the Deadwood Hotel - in 4 days.” She didn’t say yes, but she didn’t say no either, so he tipped his hat and left. She was exactly the kind of woman he had been looking for.

  After he walked out and closed the door, the duchess remembered to breathe. His was not an invitation, but a command and she found that exciting in a man. This one, with his thrilling eyes and the audacity to make demands on her, was exactly the kind of man she might have truly loved, had she met him years ago.

  An explosion near the end of the train drew her eyes back to the window. At length, she watched four men, each with the lower half of their faces covered, and carrying what looked to be heavy bags away from the train into the bushes. A fifth robber held a gun on the conductor until the others were well away, and then he shoved the conductor forward and took off running. The duchess hadn’t seen anything that exciting since she watched Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee procession go down the streets of London.

  *

  Jedediah and his gang ran through the bushes and into the trees where their horses waited. Seconds later, they were mounted and headed deeper into the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. Jedediah often looked back to see if they were being followed, but as he hoped, the area was too remote to provide horses and men that would be able to give chase. It would be hours before a sheriff could be notified and a posse collected.

  As soon as they came to an abandoned mine shaft, the gang dismounted and began to split the stolen bounty. That too, they did quickly and in silence. The sooner they went their separate ways, the safer they would be. Finished in no time at all, Jedediah dropped the empty bank bags down the mineshaft. His nerves were shot and he was more convinced than ever that it was time to forego that particular line of work. One of the Pinkerton Men managed to fire two shots at Jedediah before the man was tackled to the ground and tied up. It was a close call…much too close. Just before the gang rode away, Jedediah told them it was their last heist, but he could tell they didn’t believe him. Maybe he didn’t believe it himself.

  Everything else went smoothly, however. One of the men held a gun on the engineer and another on the conductor, while the other two robbers went to set the explosives. Robbing Pullman compartments only the rich could afford was part of the plan, but the one containing the duchess was as far as Jedediah got. After he laid eyes on the most alluring woman he had ever seen, all he wanted was to get away quickly and in one piece.

  *

  Several hours later, and certain he was not being followed, Jedediah walked his horse across railroad tracks that often carried gold from the smelters in the south, through Colorado Springs, and then to Denver. He entered the Black Forest a few miles north of Colorado Springs and wove his way through the Ponderosa Pine trees, just as he had after each robbery. In the not too distant past, lumberjacks had cut down trees to make thousands of ties for the railroad. Instead of clearing whole blocks of land, they cut some trees and left others. The trunks of the cut trees were sometimes hollow and offered very tempting hiding places.

  Jedediah’s custom was to choose a hollow tree trunk, or one he could sufficiently dig out, empty his take into gunnysacks, hide his money, and then fill the top of the trunk with leaves and pine needles. With his knife, he cut a small triangle in the wood to mark the tree trunk. It was also his custom to spend a few days there, until he was sure any posse looking for him had been disbanded.

  He trusted his men during a robbery…but not after. For that reason, none of them knew his real name or where he hid his money. He suspected he might be the only one who saved, rather than spend the take on gambling, women and drink. He partook often enough, as all men did, but he was never tempted to unwisely throw his money around. Jedediah Tanner wanted a solid future and he meant to have it.

  His time was never wasted in the Black Forest. Sometimes he found arrowheads, lodge poles and charcoal pits left behind by the Ute, Comanche, Kiowa, Arapahoe or possibly the Cheyenne Indians. He didn’t know which.

  Jedediah watered his horse in a nearby stream, tied him to a tree, and spread his sleeping roll out on the ground. He ate the apple he brought with him, fed the core to his horse and as the sun began to set, laid down. He covered himself with a blanket, tipped his hat forward over his eyes and laced his fingers behind his head.

  He tried to sleep, but he couldn’t get the woman in the Pullman compartment off his mind. She seemed so composed, so in control and so…upper class. She certainly wasn’t skittish and he very much liked that in a woman. Yet, wanting her was one thing – trusting her was something else again. Would she actually come alone to meet him for dinner, or had she already contacted the sheriff and helped put a plan in place to trap him? His mind shouted ‘run,’ but his heart urged him to see her at least once more.

  Long into the night and for most of the next morning, Jedediah tried to decide what to do. At length, he checked to make certain his gold was well hidden, saddled his horse, mounted and headed to Denver.

  Jedediah thought he was, but he was not alone in the forest.

  Hidden behind a clump of trees, a man watched the train robber check the tree trunk and then leave. Even then, he waited several minutes just to make sure the stranger would not come back. Curiou
s, the man slipped toward the hollow tree stump, pulled out a handful of leaves and spotted something brown. He pulled the heavy gunnysack out, loosened the drawstrings and peeked inside. Instantly, his eyes lit up. In disbelief, he reached in and withdrew a hand full of gold coins. Suddenly frightened that he would get caught, the man put the coins back, tightened the strings, hoisted the bag over his shoulder and headed deeper into the forest.

  CHAPTER 4

  At sixteen, Cathleen looked a lot like her sister, Leesil, with auburn hair, a pointed nose and blue eyes. The only thing she didn’t have was Leesil’s dimples. She lived in Marblestone Mansion with her sister and brother-in-law, and would have like the company of more friends, but she was too old to go to school. Most women her age were either married, had positions of little consequence, or already had certificates to teach school.

  Left in the orphanage with Leesil when she was a baby, Cathleen knew little of the world outside, except what she read in the few available books. At least she learned how to read, but from older children, not by any design put forth by the orphanage proprietor. James was ten when he was left on the doorstep, and he knew all sorts of things the sisters had never heard of. Two years later, as the time approached for Cathleen to be put out to fend for herself, Leesil decided to escape and find a home for them. Leesil was the oldest and would have been put out years before, but she looked younger and her true age was a secret they managed to keep from Old Mrs. Forthright, the despicable orphanage proprietor.

  With a heavy heart, Cathleen sent all her hopes and dreams with her sister. She watched Leesil disappear over the wall, and truly feared they would never find each other again. Every day without her sister was pure agony, but Cathleen still had James, and that helped. Then, to her amazement, the Constable came and took Old Mrs. Forthright away.