Marblestone Mansion, Book 3

by Marti Talbott

  *

  Hell hath no fury like a sopping wet duchess.

  At first, she was speechless. She stomped down the middle of Main Street toward the hotel, and had Jedediah not pulled her aside, she would have been run over by an approaching horse and buggy. Her eyes were narrowed, her breathing shallow and the train schedule Keith handed her was wadded up in her clinched fist.

  When the alarmed hotel butler saw her coming, he quickly opened the door and wisely got out of the way.

  “I demand a bath this instant,” the duchess yelled at the manager, as she covered the lobby at record speed and then started up the stairs.

  “Do calm down, Caroline,” Jedediah said, doing his best to keep up. He found her brashness embarrassing and guests in the hotel lobby were staring at them. “It was an accident.”

  “The hell it was!” she nearly screamed. The duchess stomped down the hall, stopped in front of the door to their room, and impatiently tapped her foot. As quickly as he could, Jedediah retrieved the key from his jacket pocket and jammed it in the keyhole. As soon as he got it open, he too quickly stepped aside and let her enter. Then he went in and closed the door behind them.

  “You are a fine one,” she screeched. “You should have gone after her.”

  “It was an accident, Caroline.”

  “An accident? Surely, you are not that witless. She did it on purpose.” The duchess nearly ripped her jacket and belt off, and then began to unbutton her sticky, red stained white lace blouse.

  Intent on staying out of her way, he leaned against the wall and folded his arms. “Why would she do that on purpose?”

  “She hates me.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous, she doesn’t even know you.”

  “We must leave here straight away.”

  Jedediah watched her fumble with the buttons and sighed. “We are not leaving.”

  “I am. I cannot stay here another moment.”

  “Why?”

  “You heard the judge,” she said sarcastically. “The sheriff would just love to hear all about the train robber. He knows something, I know he does.”

  Jedediah quickly came to attention and stood up. “Caroline, lower your voice, someone will hear you.”

  “I don’t care if they do.” She finally got the blouse unbuttoned, pulled it free of her skirt and threw it on the floor. Next, she twisted her skirt around so she could unbutton the back of it – only to discover the scorched iron imprint. She closed her eyes, gritted her teeth and clinched her fists. “Do you think this was an accident too?”

  Jedediah’s mouth dropped. If he was embarrassed before, he was humiliated now. It certainly explained why everyone was laughing and this was not the kind of new beginning he had in mind. A town this size didn’t forget and he would forever be remembered as having the most embarrassing wife any of them had ever seen.

  The skirt was ruined, so she tugged until the buttons popped off, and then let the skirt fall to the floor. “Where is that maid? She should have been here by now. Even my corset is sopping wet. I want to go back to Denver…now!”

  Jedediah heaved another giant sigh. “I am not going back to Denver and neither are you.” With that, he went to see what was holding up his wife’s bath.

  *

  She was still furious when the duchess stepped into the warm water of the bathtub and sat down to wash that foul smelling cherry soda off her body. The hotel’s impertinent maid, Petra, claimed she had other guests to attend and ran off before the duchess could make more demands. The duchess even had to get back out of the tub to reach the soap, which further enraged her.

  This was all Hannish MacGreagor’s fault.

  Any idiot could see he intentionally sent his servants to make a fool of her – her, a woman of distinction who had rubbed elbows with London’s highest society. His servants were no better than the gutter rats of England, especially that haughty Alistair who wouldn’t move aside so she could leave the drugstore. Someday, she would teach him a thing or two.

  A sudden chill ran down her spine. Was she about to be arrested for bigamy a second time? She could not bear being locked away in this godforsaken place. Were Hannish and the Sheriff waiting outside her door, waiting until she was dressed so they could haul her away?

  She wanted to scream – I did not want to come here!

  If they were waiting to arrest her, they would just have to wait. The bath felt good and she deserved a few moments to herself…away from Hannish, away from the sheriff and especially away from Jedediah. This was all Jedediah’s fault. If he hadn’t robbed the train and tricked her into marrying him, she would have gotten her revenge and been on her way back to England by now.

  CHAPTER 11

  Shepard, Keith and Dugan took turns watching the whole night through, hoping Mr. and Mrs. Jedediah Tanner would leave town. It was not to be. When it was apparent the couple would need another day of convincing, an early morning call to Hannish put their plan back into action.

  *

  No one came to her hotel room to help the duchess dress the next morning, which was just as well. She intended to examine every item of clothing to make certain there were no other scorch marks on the seat of her skirts. She fussed with her hair and tried to act cool and calm, while Jedediah read a day-old Colorado Springs newspaper. Inside, she was filled with dread, fearful of what another day in that appalling town would bring.

  “Caroline, I am about to starve. Hurry up,” Jedediah urged.

  “You could go to breakfast without me.”

  “I have a wife now and I do not like eating alone. Please come.”

  It was plain to see she wouldn’t win this one either. She took a deep breath, got up from her dressing table, opened the door and walked out. He tossed his paper aside and hurried to catch up with her. When they reached the dining room, she paused and carefully peeked through the doorway. To her relief, not one MacGreagor was there.

  Perhaps this day wouldn’t be so bad.

  After they were seated, Jedediah ordered for them, a waiter brought coffee and everything looked normal. That was before she saw Alistair bringing their tray of food. Her eyes widened, the duchess abruptly stood up and then began to back away.

  “Caroline, what is the matter?” Jedediah asked, getting to his feet.

  “He means to dump that on me.”

  Alistair wrinkled his brow as though he couldn’t imagine what she was talking about.

  Embarrassed yet again, Jedediah said to Alistair, “Perhaps you best set our plates down.”

  “As you wish.” Alistair did as he was told and walked away – but he didn’t go very far. Instead, he put the silver tray back where it belonged and then stood with his hands clasped behind his back near the wall – where she could not help but see him.

  The duchess had barely sat down again when Keith arrived. “Train schedule? I noticed yours got ruined yesterday, Mrs. Whitfield…I mean, Mrs. Tanner, so I brought you another. Train leaves every day at noon and four o’clock.” Keith laid the paper on the table, tipped his hat and walked out the door.

  She ignored the train schedule and when the duchess finally looked at her breakfast, everything seemed fine. Even so, she didn’t trust Alistair and was not about to eat it. She did want the coffee, but the cup was cold and so was the coffee. What she really wanted was a stiff drink and a cigarette. “Is it against the law for a woman to smoke in this dreadful little town?”

  “Would you like me to ask?”

  “Oh, never mind.” She pushed her plate away and folded her arms. It wouldn’t be the first breakfast she had to do without. She should have expected it, but when Dugan came in wearing a funny little boater hat with one flower sticking out of the band, she closed her eyes in dread.

  “Mrs. Tanner, I presume,” said Dugan.

  Reluctantly, Jedediah stood up.

  “And Mr. Tanner, how nice to meet you. I am to tell you of today’s events on behalf of our very, very wonderful mayor, Lord, I mean Mr. Bayington. He said to
say, you are invited to our Gold Diggers…I mean our Gold Rush days. ‘Tis a glorious celebration we have only just begun, over at the park.”

  Dugan paused to point east. “‘Tis just a short walk from here. You will come, will you not? Absolutely everyone will be there.” Dugan tried hard not to laugh, but he couldn’t help grinning as the color drained out of the duchess’ face.

  “We’ve nothing else pending,” Jedediah answered. He saw no reason not to smile at what he thought was a very nice gesture on the part of the town’s mayor. Maybe it might be possible to overcome an embarrassing wife, in time.

  “Wonderful. Just everyone will be there, I assure you.”

  “Perhaps we will make a few important acquaintances,” Jedediah said.

  “Of that, I have no doubt.” Dugan intentionally bowed to the duchess and then he too left the room. He was not yet out the door before he began to loudly laugh.

  Jedediah slowly sat back down. “What an odd one that is.”

  The duchess wasn’t paying any attention to her husband. Was it her imagination or had Alistair moved a foot closer? At length, she tore her eyes away from Alistair and looked at Jedediah. “My love, must we go to their celebration? I have a headache coming on.”

  “Is that why you are not eating?”

  She glanced at Alistair and then nodded to her husband. “Perhaps I should lie down.”

  “The druggist will have a remedy.” When she started to protest, Jedediah raised a hand to stop her, “I insist, Caroline. I want to meet the more prominent men in town and what better place than at a town celebration.”

  Caroline Tanner’s seventh marriage was becoming far more complicated than any of the others. Always before, pleading a headache was certain to work, but not with Jedediah. Not with the high and mighty Jedediah Tanner.

  *

  Even a team of horses could not have forced the duchess to go inside the drugstore a second time. She peeked through a window and didn’t see Millie, but one never knew what evil lurked inside places like that. Therefore, she waited outside while Jedediah went in to get her a soda…with just a pinch of opiate in it for her headache. That always made her feel more relaxed and maybe, just maybe, she could make it through the rest of this nightmare.

  There was still time to convince her husband to take her to Denver; after all, the trains didn’t leave until noon and four o’clock.

  *

  A great deal of planning had gone into preparations for the Gold Rush Days celebration. Some of the men came wearing long johns for shirts with wide suspenders holding up their loose-fitting trousers. Some of the women wore plain long skirts, ordinary blouses, high-topped boots and bonnets with long front rims instead of the more fashionable hats with wide rims all the way around. The Mayor even had a covered wagon brought to the park, minus the horses, and several exhibit tables held small pieces of gold ore, tin pans used for panning in creeks and various types of mining tools.

  Naturally, some of the younger men displayed their talents on the bicycles with oversized front wheels, while clowns and men on stilts entertained the children once more. For a quarter each, a man could buy himself and his family, a beef or ham sandwich and a spoonful or two of potato salad. Musicians played music that was popular during the gold rush, including Clementine and Oh Susanna, while more than one man slipped a small decanter of liquor out of his pocket and took a swig where Colonel Palmer couldn’t see.

  *

  However merry her surroundings were, McKenna was worried. What if Abigail or Claymore noticed something odd, or worse, overheard something? Her anxiety made her hold on to her husband’s arm a little tighter than she normally would have.

  Abigail arranged for another bake sale and the MacGreagors donated their usual share of pies, cakes and cookies. McKenna often helped, but on this occasion, Pearl and Loretta stood with Abigail behind the table. That would keep Abigail busy, McKenna hoped.

  Standing next to McKenna not far from the park benches, Claymore asked, “Where is that fine brother of yours, Mrs. Mitchel?”

  “The baby was fussy all night and Hannish wishes Leesil to get her rest. They might come later.” McKenna answered. He seemed to accept that explanation, and soon drifted off to talk business with some of his fellow gold mine owners.

  Abigail suddenly spotted Cameron walking with Cathleen and shrieked with delight. “Look ladies, Cameron MacGreagor is here!” Instantly, all three of them abandoned the table and hurried across the lawn.

  Being taller than the other men, Cameron was assigned to watch for the duchess, which was exactly what he was doing when Cathleen tugged on his sleeve. “I believe we are about to be trampled.” She nodded at the three women quickly approaching, each with the bottom of her skirt hiked up a foot.

  “Mrs. Whitfield?” he asked.

  Cathleen giggled. “In all her glory, and ‘tis Pearl and Loretta with her. I say you marry one of them and put them out of their misery.”

  Cameron leaned closer and whispered. “But then, who would put me out of my misery? Did you not promise to protect me?”

  “I suppose I did, but you might take a fancy to one of them and who am I to stand in the way of true love?”

  “Turncoat,” he muttered. Cameron straightened up just in time to smile at the approaching Abigail. “Mrs. Whitfield, ‘tis a pleasure to see you again.”

  Never in her life had Abigail been shy and if she liked someone…and she very much liked Cameron, a hug was in order. “Mr. Whitfield and I came to see you yesterday, but you were not at home.”

  “I am very sorry to have missed you. I see you brought the lovely Miss Pearl and Miss Loretta with you. He removed his hat completely and slightly bowed first to one and then the other.”

  Cathleen rolled her eyes. Now he’d done it. She was likely to hear both Pearl and Loretta gush about being called lovely for another twenty years. His smile for them was warm, his eyes were bright and Cathleen thought she might just throw up. Had she not sufficiently warned him? Perhaps Cameron MacGreagor was not as clever as she thought.

  “Is Mr. Swinton not here?” Cathleen asked.

  “Not yet,” Abigail answered. “Not to my knowledge, anyway.”

  “Pity,” said Cameron. “I am anxious to see this incredibly handsome lad.”

  Abigail wrinkled her brow, Pearl and Loretta exchanged glances and Cathleen was tempted to stomp on Cameron’s foot. She resisted the impulse and instead said, “All of you lovely ladies must come to tea.” She caught the slight grimace on Cameron’s face but ignored him. “Would Saturday be acceptable?”

  “Yes, of course,” said Pearl. “Will you be there, Mr. MacGreagor?”

  “Of course he will,” Cathleen answered. “Where else would he be with such lovely company expected.”

  “We shall be delighted,” Abigail agreed. “Oh dear, is our sewing circle not on Saturdays?” she turned and smiled when she noticed McKenna and Nicholas approaching. “McKenna, what day…”

  “Abigail, I do believe Jimmy Marsh just stole a cookie,” McKenna said.

  Abigail put her hand on her chest. “Oh dear me. Come, ladies, duty calls.” Hiking their skirts up once more, the three of them hurried back through the crowd to the table.

  “Tea on Saturday, is it,” Cameron said to Cathleen.

  Cathleen nodded. “With the lovely ladies and I shant save you then either.” He glanced up just as Jedediah Tanner seemed to be practically dragging the duchess into the park.

  *

  Word spread quickly that the woman several of the men were now gawking at was quite married. Of course, most of them didn’t know just how married she was. The duchess was not concerned with being admired, however. What concerned her were the small pockets of MacGreagors talking and laughing…and she was certain they were laughing at her. She ignored them as best she could and walked to a table.

  She found the display of gold ore more than fascinating and would hardly let Jedediah drag her away. When he threatened to leave her there, she
quickly changed her mind. The last thing she wanted was to be caught alone by any, or all, of those appalling MacGreagors.

  The duchess ignored the covered wagon in favor of a panning for gold display and pretended to be extremely interested. Someone abruptly bumped into her and when she looked, Cook Jessie glared and walked away. Cook Jessie never was manageable; the duchess remembered and returned her glare.

  “That was rude of her,” Jedediah said. “Are you hurt, my love.”

  “No…well, yes, I would like to go back to the hotel.”

  He frowned. “As soon as I have made a few acquaintances, we shall go back, I promise.”

  When Millie and Prescot walked by, Millie loudly said, “She looks old.”

  “Practically ancient,” Prescot agreed.

  The duchess took a deep breath. At least, Millie didn’t have a drink in her hands this time.

  Jedediah remembered Millie from the soda shop and began to wonder if there truly was something going on. Then he took a long hard look at his wife. How odd, he never noticed the strands of gray hair before and she did look older than he thought she was.

  “What are you staring at?” the duchess asked.

  “Nothing, my love, nothing at all.”

  She grabbed her husband’s arm and left the gold panning display. The sooner he met a few wealthy men, the sooner he would take her away. If only she had the courage to leave him there, but visions of being attacked by MacGreagors made her cling to him even tighter. She spotted Cameron, but Hannish was nowhere in sight, which made her worry a little less. Even Hannish’s gutter rat wife was not there, if indeed, that was whom he married. Then she spotted Keith, who was headed straight for her with a paper in his hand.

  “Care for a train schedule?” Keith said as soon as he reached her.

  “I already have one,” the duchess sneered.

  “No one can have too many. Train leaves every day at noon and four o’clock.” Keith noticed the look of irritation on Jedediah’s face, tipped his hat and quickly walked away.