It was becoming more difficult for Annie to move around, since her time was drawing near and she finally admitted to herself that she could not manage alone. She longed for her husband to return but then reminded herself that his return would probably mean her being kicked out or worse, being arrested by the Sheriff. She couldn't have her baby in jail, even though she was sure plenty of women did.
The only person she could think of to come and help her was Cora O'Malley and she wrote to her friend with hope in her heart. In her letter she mentioned that Richard had to travel East on some urgent business and since she was alone, needed someone to come and stay with her for a while.
"Do you know of a good lady who can come and work on the farm for room and board, just until my husband returns? I am all alone and there is so much to be done, and since I am due to have my child at any time now, it is important that I have someone with me to help with the chores.
Would you also come and visit me for a little while, that is if you are not so busy yourself? My baby is due to be born shortly and I need all the help I can get."
Because the animals had taken up residence in the living room Annie decided to leave her own room for whoever Cora would send to help her. She moved into Richard's room, promising herself that the minute he returned, she would move back into her own old room and share it with the helper, at least until Richard asked her to leave.
She prepared the room and placed fresh linen on the bed together with some warm quilts she'd made. If she was honest with herself, she was eagerly looking forward to having company for a while.
~#~#~#~
Richard looked at the note which contained the address that Annie had given him, and then up at the gate looming in front of him. This was the place, just as Annie had told him. He unlatched the gate and walked up the cobbled pavement and knocked. The door was answered by a young lady in her mid-thirties with a baby straddled on her hip. The baby was playing with her hair and the woman patiently allowed the activity to continue so she could speak with the visitor.
"Good morning ma'am," he took off his hat and held it in both hands.
"Good morning to you sir, how may I help you?"
"I'm looking for Roger Bright, does he live here?"
The woman smiled at him, shaking her head. "Mr. Bright doesn't live here, he's just our landlord."
Richard was excited. The man was not dead like he and Annie had feared, but he restrained his excitement. "Where can I find Mr. Bright please?"
The woman gave him an address and after thanking her, he left. It had taken him about four and a half days to reach Plymouth on the train. The streets here were empty because a drizzling rain was falling. It was cold and he was glad of the thick sweater he had on, a reminder of his wife. She'd insisted on knitting him a sweater, a task which had taken her about five days. He smiled as he thought about Annie. He was really missing her and wanted to clear her name as quickly as possible so he could go home and tell her the good news. He wanted to see a smile restored to her sad face and the thought made him hurry along.
He found Roger Bright at one of the local pubs but decided not to confront him just yet. He had time to carry out some investigations before facing the man who looked very much alive and was not dead like the blackmailer had told Annie. Finding himself some cheap lodgings, he spent the greater part of the night thinking about his wife back in Tipton.
Early the next morning he walked to the docks, his intention being to speak to someone who had known James Duvall.
"No lazing around here," a voice barked at him. "Catch this," the person tossed a crate at him and because of his strength he caught it easily. "Good catch boy, what's your name?"
"Richard, Richard West."
"I am Philip Attwater. Are you looking for work?"
"You could say that."
"Good, follow me."
Philip put Richard to work and at the end of the day he showed him to the clerk's office where he was handed his wages. When he looked into the small envelope he could not believe his eyes. He had earned one hundred dollars for a job that for him, hadn't been an effort to his way of thinking. He decided on the spot to work for about a week so he could make some money for his rent and have some spare for some much needed items for the farm when he returned home. Besides, hanging out at the docks would give him the opportunity to find all the information he needed about James, Annie's first husband.
It was on the third day of working at the docks that he caught a break. Because he was a hard worker Philip gave him heavier jobs. "I just wish these town born louts could work as hard as you do. All they do is murmur about the union rules and laws, and they hardly work. Then they expect to be paid good money."
Richard said nothing.
"It's a pity all the good men have either left or are dead," Philip went on. "A few months ago I had one of the best men working for me." He shook his head. "Poor man met such a tragic end, and his widow walked away with nothing."
Richard decided to throw caution to the wind. "Heard something about the crane accident that killed a number of men."
"James Duvall, one of my best men but a little weak when it came to the fairer sex." Philip bent down and picked up a crate and handed it to Richard. "Stack these crates no higher than four per row. Otherwise the union will be on my neck."
"I always thought the docks would be full of working men."
"Foolish men who think they deserve holidays like their bosses," he sneered. "A number of my men are on leave," he said the word as if it was dirty. "Do their stomachs go on leave, I ask you? Now I have to make do with casual laborers who have no idea about what they need to do and I have to supervise hands on."
Richard wanted to hear more about James Duvall. "I heard James' widow went West," he commented. Philip looked at him strangely but he pretended to be making idle conversation.
"Yes, poor woman didn't get anything. Her husband was a good man but couldn't keep any money. He was deeply in debt and owed almost everybody around here. What the auctioneers didn't collect, the landlord took to cover the rent arrears."
"Wasn't he earning any money?"
"The docks are a good place to work. There's a lot of over time to be made if one is hard working and James worked himself to the bone, but he was always borrowing money."
"Perhaps his wife spent it all," Richard hated making nasty remarks about Annie but he had to know just what kind of a person she had been.
Philip shook his head. "The missus used to work as a seamstress and she lived very frugally. James once told me that she insisted on saving every extra penny because she wanted them to buy their own house someday."
"What happened to all the money they saved?"
"Like I told you, the man was deeply in debt. Rumors began flying around when he died. Apparently he put a girl in the family way and her father wasn't too pleased - insisted that James marry her but he couldn't because he already had a wife. Nasty business that was."
Richard was shocked that a man could cheat on someone as lovely as Annie. "What happened?"
Philip frowned at him. "Why are you so interested?"
Richard shrugged. "Just making conversation."
Philip chuckled. "What the grapevine says is that James paid the woman to terminate the pregnancy and she died during the process. After that, life was never the same for him. All of a sudden he began borrowing large sums of money from people. That's all I know."
Richard had an idea why James had been borrowing so much from friends, co-workers in addition to using up their savings. Someone must have found out what happened and began blackmailing him. He would have been in fear of Annie getting wind of whatever was happening, so paid up.
When Richard had about one thousand dollars he quit his temporary job by not showing up for work. It was time to confront Roger Bright and he planned it in such a way that the man was as usual, in a pub. This time he was drinking alone and Richard pulled up a chair and sat across
from him.
"Take a good look at me," he said in a deadly and menacing voice. "For this face you see in front of you could be the last one you look upon for a long time to come."
Roger gave a start. The tall and well-built stranger had a certain glint in his eye that made him cautious. "What do you want?"
"Tell me about Annie and James Duvall," Richard said and Roger gave a start. His hand shook, spilling some of his beer. He was shaken and though he tried not to show it, Richard noticed.
"I don't know what you mean," he avoided looking at Richard.
"Very well then," Richard pushed his chair back. "Let the police handle this matter since you won't talk."
'No, wait," Roger said hastily, looking around him in fear. "They were my tenants. The man died and I hear the woman went West or something like that."
"Really? Why did she leave all she knew here and go to a strange place? Did you perhaps have anything to do with it?"
"She lies," Roger said desperately. "I didn't mean any harm, I was just jesting with her and she thought I was serious."
"Really? What were you jesting about?"
"She thought," he wiped his brow. "The woman thought I was coming on to her. She hit me, see here," he showed Richard the long scar on his head, which was covered by thinning hair. "She almost killed me," he whined.
'You should be glad she didn't," Richard hissed. "Do you know who I am?"
Roger shook his head.
"My name is Richard West, Annie Duvall's second husband." Roger almost fell off his chair. "I want to know if you are the one who sent that mad man to come and try to blackmail me. If you don't tell me what that man is up to you can be sure that today is the last day you will enjoy as a free man. When I leave here I'm going to the police with some information I have about you. Just be ready for the worst." Richard was bluffing but the man didn't know it and he looked frightened.
"I didn't tell him to go, it was just a thought but I didn't tell him to follow Annie. I never told him to follow James either, he just wanted the money."
"Aha!" Richard nodded. "So he also blackmailed James and now he wants to do the same to me. Why was he blackmailing James Duvall, and who does he think he is to blackmail innocent men anyway?"
Roger shook his head. Richard banged his fists hard on the table and the man jumped in his seat. "I won't ask you again." Richard looked so fierce that Roger decided to spill everything he knew. He wasn't willing for the police to find out about his various criminal activities.
"Charles Thornton. Where can I find Mr. Charles Thornton?"
"He runs a pawn shop down the road, but right now he is away."
"I'm aware of that, because he is busy trying to blackmail me and my wife." Richard had all the information he needed and stood up. "From now on you better keep a good lookout over your shoulder because I will strike when you are not aware."
"Please."
"Keep away from my wife in future," Richard wagged a finger at him. "You're lucky you didn't do any harm to Annie, otherwise we would be talking of an entirely different matter right now."
~#~#~#~
Annie heard the pounding of hooves and ran to the living room window, pushing a calf out of the way as she did so. Someone was riding up to the house in the rain and she hoped it was Richard, but when she saw the woman seated on the large appaloosa, she felt disappointed. But not for long, because when she opened the door, her mouth opened in astonishment. It was Cora O'Malley.
"You look so tired," were Cora's first words as she got off the horse and tethered it to one of the stunted trees at the front of the house. "Should you be standing up?"
"You are really a sight for sore eyes," Annie said, laughing and hugging her friend. "I didn't think you would come. I can't tell you how happy I am to see you. Come in out of the rain."
Cora allowed herself be led into the house. She placed her small valise on the kitchen floor and looked around her with interest. "You keep animals in the house?"
"Just for the winter, but I make sure to let them out a couple of times during the day if it isn't snowing. Our barn burnt down. Remember I wrote to you about it. The new barn is not so warm and we feared the smaller animals would die of cold. Meantime, I'm saving up to by a stove to put in there instead of lighting an open fire."
"Good move," Cora sat down. Annie noticed the sadness she couldn't hide and decided to ask why.
"How is your husband?" Annie placed a hot mug of coffee in front of Cora. "I'm glad he let you get away for a few days to come and be with me. Please tell me that you will stay for a while."
Cora shook her head and raised her face to Annie. "Bartholomew died recently."
"Oh Cora, I'm so sorry for your loss," Annie took her friend's hands. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I was caught up in so many things after my husband's death," she smiled sadly. "My mother in law waited to see if I had conceived and when it was obvious that I was not with child, she and her other sons drove me off his property. Thunder is all I have left and they would have taken him from me if I'd been keeping him at home." Annie realized she was talking about the horse. "I am penniless and homeless - a vagabond."
"You can never be a vagabond Cora, my home is now your home," Annie empathized because she knew how it felt to be homeless and penniless. "You are welcome to live with us here."
"Thank you," she whispered huskily. "I will work the farm with you and help with the baby."
Annie was so grateful that she immediately burst into tears. "God has not forgotten about me," she wept. "I thought I was so alone." And her whole story came pouring out.
"Give me a minute to put Thunder in the barn out of the rain and we can talk some more." She hugged Annie to her. "To be sure we make a right sorry pair of Mail Order Brides."
~#~#~#~
Chapter Nine
Richard was counting the minutes until he could get home. He was glad Plymouth was behind him. Not once had he been tempted to stay, not even when he realized he could earn a lot of money working on the docks. He was too much of a free spirited country man at heart to be shut up in the filthy town, which to his mind, was too busy with people, carts, carriages and horses everywhere. He loved the open spaces and clean air that could only be found in the country.
Besides that, he had a good woman to go back home to and a baby on the way. What more could a man ask for in this life? He closed his eyes and leaned back tiredly in his seat, listening to the hum of the train tracks as they rolled closer and closer to Tipton.
Once he'd reported the landlord to the relevant authorities, he stood a distance away and watched as the wicked man was hauled away to face a range of charges including accessory to intended extortion and blackmail, as well as attempted assault on a helpless female; charges that Richard knew would not stick for long. However, he wanted the man to be scared out of his wits so he would never try to harm a helpless woman ever again. It was time to face the culprit at home and a hard look entered his eyes. No one was ever going to threaten what was dear to him and get away with it. Annie was innocent, had been all this time. Her only crime had been trying to protect her virtue against a lecherous man by walloping him over the head with a piece of wood.
Serves the crook right, Richard thought. He now also had the name of the man who had approached his wife and scared her with the threat of blackmailing him. He knew Charles Thornton was unaware that he'd traveled to Plymouth to unravel the whole mystery and Richard was counting on the element of surprise to catch the man and have him locked up.
So, Charles had blackmailed James too and forced him to pay up thousands of dollars. It had left him so deeply in debt, that at the time of his death, he was penniless, a state which Annie inherited and subsequently caused her so much anguish.
Richard kept asking himself why his wife had not been straightforward with him and told him everything. Didn't she trust him enough? Then he shook his head. He owed it to Annie to be fair because no one would
just blurt out such a story to someone they'd only just married. Besides, the poor woman had no doubt been trying to come to terms with what had happened to her, losing her husband after a year of marriage and then being pregnant, penniless and homeless. It was a lot for a woman to deal with.
No, he wouldn't judge Annie because she'd proved to be a woman with a heart of gold. She would have told him eventually, at least he hoped so, if Thornton the blackmailer hadn't shown up. Annie was clearly a good, hardworking and loving woman who'd proved her commitment to him by standing beside him and helping rebuild their lives after the fire burned down their barn. When the rustlers tried to steal his cattle, she stood her ground and got the better of them. This was the kind of woman who would make it in the Wild West, fearless and yet gentle enough to know her place in the home.
And look what she'd done to his humble sod cabin. Once, it had been a bleak place to live but now it was a paradise to him. Whenever she could, she would pick flowers and adorn the whole house, and lately she'd taken to pressing dried scented flowers between his sheets and the aroma always lulled him to sleep. She was frugal too and made do with whatever they could afford. As he thought about the wonderful way in which his life had changed since Annie married him, he decided he'd forgive her for not being honest with him in the first place. She deserved that much after all she'd been through. She was a victim of circumstances and shouldn't have to pay for the rest of her life.
~#~#~#~
"It's almost over Annie, don't give up now. You're crowning and when you feel a strong contraction, push as hard as you can... like there's no tomorrow," Cora told her friend. Annie was huffing and puffing, wishing the pain would end. She wished it was over. Her whole body was on fire and she felt as though her insides were being ripped out. Lord in Heaven she was going to split in half.
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