by Eden Carson
When Ruth didn’t immediately take his proffered hand, his mask of politeness slipped. She quickly stood and begged for more time. “Please, Mr. Masterson. This is all so new to me. There is so much to take in. Just this morning I found myself a job working for Sue, thinking I’d never see you again. I had no way to contact you, and no money to hire someone to locate you. Now twenty minutes later, I’m facing a stranger who wants me to come to his hotel room.”
“Don’t worry about that,” he said. “I can wait for my rights in bed and take my needs elsewhere until you’ve had time to get used to me.”
Sue moved closer to Ruth’s table as Masterson stood to leave, overhearing his last crude remark. She nodded in O’Malley’s direction and they quickly surrounded Ruth and Masterson.
“Please,” Ruth begged. “Allow me a few days to think things over. You said you had business in town. Couldn’t you see to that in the meantime? We could meet again tomorrow. Maybe we’ll see things differently then.”
Ruth felt herself rambling, saying anything she could think of to buy herself time to flee. Jackson would likely never speak to her again. But she was young and healthy. If she could find honest work here in Fort Lyon in only a few weeks’ time, she promised herself she could do it again somewhere else.
The lurking presence of O’Malley, his cook, and the dishwasher went a long way to convincing Masterson to retreat and re-plan. “Of course, my dear,” he agreed, plastering a smile on his face. “If time is what you need, I can be reasonable. We have our whole lives ahead of us. No reason for me to be so impatient. Meet me here again tomorrow for lunch.”
Masterson didn’t wait for her agreement before grabbing his hat and leaving. He’d find Smith and regroup. He didn’t plan on wasting any more time talking.
Ruth sank into the nearest chair and took several deep breaths.
When Sue sat down in the chair next to her and said only, “Talk,” their three unlikely protectors went about their business.
Ruth started from the beginning.
She gladly told Sue everything, including Jasper Smith’s attack and the news that he was alive and well. She unburdened herself to her new friend, leaving nothing out – including her feelings for Jackson and her tremendous guilt at the truths she’d hidden from him and Sue. Although Ruth might never see either one again, she hoped her late honesty might count for something in their memories of her.
Chapter 69
Jasper Smith absently rubbed the still red and puckered scar across his left side, as he listened to the clattering footsteps of Mrs. Ruth Masterson crossing her hotel room. He heard her throw open the sash of the only window in the bare bones establishment, while her companion complained about the noise from the street.
Smith agreed with the ladies that the Fort could use a nicer place for visitors – mostly so he could have spent the last two hours lying on a soft carpet instead of this bare, splintered floor. The cold was seeping through the floorboards straight into his tired bones, and his damned bullet wound had started throbbing, not five minutes after he slid under one of the beds in the tiny room.
Damned if that skirt hadn’t gotten the best of him, and cost him a pretty penny too, Smith swore silently. He’d already checked, and his best horse was nowhere to be found at the public stable. He figured Ruth either had it stabled with the officers’ nags, or had ridden into the Fort on a wagon. Either way, his Paint was a straight loss after tonight. Add that to the time spent chasing her all over the territory, and his costs were mounting. All due to an uppity miss who’d sell herself to a rich man, but was too good for the likes of Jasper Smith.
“You’d best shut that window, Ruth. It’s not likely to quiet down for another two hours yet. It’s payday for the enlisted men,” Sue explained.
Ruth turned her head in Sue’s direction. “Can’t we leave it open for a while? This place is musty and I can’t stand the smell, whatever it is.”
“It’s best not to ask,” Sue advised. “And before you think of it, I already inquired downstairs, and this is the only vacant room in the place.”
“And it’s the only boarding house at the Fort?” Ruth asked miserably.
“I’m afraid so. We’d best turn the lights out, and leave the window open for a time.”
Ruth smiled her thanks as she finished changing into her borrowed nightgown. She picked up her worn dress off the floor, and pushed her only pair of shoes under the bed.
Smith tucked his right leg in further to allow Ruth’s boots to slide in unhindered.
“I like the sounds of people celebrating,” Ruth murmured, listening to the rowdy soldiers and lonely cowboys below.
Sue laughed in agreement. “There’s nothing better – especially when you haven’t heard much for years on end.”
Sue turned at the sound of a knock at their door. She quickly re-buckled her left shoe, and reached for her pistol.
“It’s the maid, Ma’am. Mr. Robbins sent me up. There’s some problem with the horses.”
At the sound of a female voice, and the familiar name of the stable owner, Sue visibly relaxed but did not let go of the pistol, as she cracked open the door.
The girl on the other side looked to be barely a child, and when Sue’s quick scan of the hallway revealed not a soul stirring, she turned her attention to the maid. “What’s the problem?” she asked.
“I don’t know, Ma’am. His boy came over and said there was some problem with the horses, and that you should come over right away.”
“Darn fool,” Sue grumbled as she put on her shawl. “I’d best see what he wants. He’s only my second customer, and I need his good word to make a decent success of my business.”
Ruth sat up and reached for her shoes, but Sue immediately motioned her back to bed.
“Stay here. There’s no point in both of us losing sleep. If he keeps me up with a colicky horse, you can do the driving tomorrow.”
Ruth protested. “I can come with you. It’s not safe to be out alone.”
The young maid chimed in, “Mr. Robbins’s stable boy is waiting to walk you over. Seeing as it’s payday.”
“I’ll be fine,” Sue said. “Robbins’ boy may only be fifteen, but he still towers over Jackson. No one will bother a giant and an old woman. Get some sleep.”
Ruth sat back down on the bed, too tired to argue.
“Lock the door behind me,” Sue cautioned. “I’ll get an extra key from the owner when I return, so you don’t need to wait up.”
Ruth nodded her understanding as she let loose a yawn, exhausted from the emotional turmoil of the day. She watched Sue follow the maid down the still-quiet hall. Once they were out of sight, she shut and locked the door, testing its security twice over.
Ruth returned to bed and fell asleep in minutes, heedless of the noisy revelers in the street or the quiet rapist lying prone under her feather bed.
Smith waited for Ruth’s movements to settle. After her breathing evened out, he added another full five minutes, then inched his way out from under the bed.
He knew he had at least another ten minutes before the young girl and the old woman reached the stable. He’d instructed the girl to explain away the missing stable boy with a ‘He must have got tired of waiting’ shrug, and then to offer to walk with Sue. When they got there, there would be no sign of the stable owner. Even if Sue refused to wait for his return, she would still take another ten minutes to walk back to the boarding house, giving Smith all the time he needed.
He crept out from under the bed, careful not to brush up against the frame. With the noise from the street, the creaking of the floorboards was barely noticeable. He knelt at the side of Ruth’s bed, watching her sleep peacefully.
Ruth woke from a sound sleep disoriented and instantly struggling for breath, as Smith placed a pillow over her head.
He tied her hands, and then replaced the pillow with a dirty kerchief and cutting rope. He shook Ruth roughly as he pulled her to her bare feet and tight against his chest, wit
h a knife to her tender throat.
“Now you listen here. You be quiet, so I don’t have to cut you. I’m taking you to your loving husband, just like we planned. I’m not going to have Masterson at my back the rest of my days, so I’m delivering you, as ordered. You can come nice and quiet like, and I’ll be real sweet to you, or you can fight me and I’ll cut your tongue out.” Smith snickered at his own words. “Your husband might just appreciate you more that way, so don’t tempt me.”
When she stared at Smith with hatred clear in her eyes, he slapped her hard. “Nod your head that you believe me, or I’ll have to show you how lucky you got the last time we met.”
Ruth nodded her head as best she could with her hair held tightly in Smith’s painful grip. As she was half-dragged, half-carried down the hall and backstairs, her hopes of calling for help quickly disappeared. The hallway was deserted. The noise of the street would easily cover any muffled cries she might make before he punched her into oblivion, or worse.
Smith mounted Ruth in front of him. Most of the men on the street were drunk, or getting there quickly, and paid them no mind. “You can try struggling or crying out, but ain’t no one going to notice. And when we reach Frank’s place, you’d best be extra quiet about our little trip out here. It’s my word against yours, and he and I go way back. Besides, your good character ain’t looking so sweet now. You’re a known liar. I betcha that handsome fella you’ve been shacking up with don’t have any idea that you’re married to someone else, huh? And Frank already thinks you’re a money-hungry whore. He’ll never believe you if you start crying rape.”
Since Ruth was securely gagged, Smith didn’t expect a response. But he felt safer speaking his threats out loud. It was true he and Masterson went way back. That history was why Masterson was the only man who truly caused fear in Jasper Smith.
With Ruth tucked securely in front of him, completely helpless, he felt confident that she wouldn’t say a word about the events on the train to Masterson. And if she somehow escaped and went to the law for help, she’d get nowhere. Even in the most civilized state in the Union, there was no such thing as a man kidnapping his own wife, because no court in the land would hold it against a man for dragging home his runaway bride.
Chapter 70
“There’s no law against a man kidnapping his own wife,” Sheriff Terrance Coleman shouted, tossing a dusty hat onto his scuffed desk.
“Are you hearing yourself?” Sue demanded of the hapless lawman. “It’s kidnapping, plain and simple. Ruth did not want to go with that man – a man she only just met yesterday afternoon.”
“That’s not my problem,” Sheriff Coleman insisted. “There’s any number of mail order brides living right here in this very Fort, happy as can be. Just because she hadn’t met him beforehand, doesn’t make the man a criminal. She agreed to the whole arrangement, didn’t she? She signed the papers. You said so yourself.”
“Well, a body’s got to eat, now, doesn’t she?” Sue snapped. “Her own flesh and blood practically sold her to this stranger, and she should have every right to change her mind.”
Sheriff Coleman wiped the sweat from his aging brow, thinking dreamily of retirement. “I’m not here to re-invent the laws of polite society, Ma’am. I can only enforce the ones I have right here on paper. And unless you can prove to me she’s in mortal danger from her own husband, there’s not a thing I can do. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got prisoners to feed.”
Sue slammed her way out the door of the Sheriff’s Office. She would have been run over by a team of horses if Colonel Roe hadn’t raced after her and pulled her out of harm’s way.
“Calm down, woman. You can’t help your friend if you’re not thinking rationally.”
The Colonel’s authoritative tone penetrated Sue’s fury and panic, and she sat down on the front steps of the jail at the Colonel’s urging.
“Now let’s think this through,” Colonel Roe urged. “Are you certain she doesn’t have any family nearby who could intervene with her husband on her behalf?”
“I’m fairly certain. Her parents are both dead, along with her only brother, in the War. She had been living with an aunt for the past few years, but that hag was the one who arranged the marriage. Ruth said Masterson told her yesterday that her aunt had been paid a lot of money for the marriage, and he wasn’t willing to give that up.”
“But I thought you offered Ruth a loan, to pay him back?” the Colonel asked.
“I did,” Sue replied. “And he still refused to consider an annulment. It doesn’t make sense to me. If the man has money, he could arrange a marriage with any number of local women. I don’t see why he’d resort to kidnapping an unwilling woman.”
“A man has his pride, Sue. No one wants to be refused by a woman. It could be as simple as that,” the Colonel suggested.
“I don’t know.” Sue shook her head at the explanation. “I didn’t like the look of the man the minute I met him. I could tell he was lying, just not about what.”
“Let me do some investigating,” the Colonel said. “I know most everyone in these parts, and the few I don’t know personally have crossed paths with someone I do know. The name Frank Masterson sounds familiar to me, although the Sheriff already confirmed he’s not a wanted man.”
“What good will that do?” Sue asked, standing to pace.
“We can find out where he lives,” Colonel Roe explained. “Ruth was headed to the Fort on that train, right? Had to have been – there are no other stops between here and where they attacked the train. If a man had just bought a new wife, I suspect he’d take her to his home first thing. So I’m thinking he can’t live too far away. We can pay him a visit, once everyone has had a few days to cool down, and make sure Ruth is alright.”
“You do that Colonel,” Sue replied. “In the meantime, I’m getting Jackson.”
“He won’t be able to do anything more than the Sheriff, Marshal or not,” Colonel Roe cautioned.
“He won’t come with his badge on, Colonel. He’s in love with that girl. And she’s in love with him, I’m sure of it.”
Colonel Roe slowly shook his head. “This could get messy.”
“I’m counting on it.” Sue cracked a small smile, knowing she hadn’t raised a quitter in Jackson.
Chapter 71
Sue made it home in half the normal time, thanks to good weather and a reckless disregard for safety. She ran her horse full out until she reached the house, where she dismounted in a flurry of dusty skirts. She dropped the horse’s reins, leaving the animal to find its own way to the stable and water.
Sue rushed up the front steps of the house, shouting for help. She nearly collided with Jackson and his cousin, Samuel Wright, as they hurried out of the parlor at the sound of her cries.
“Sue, what’s wrong?” Jackson demanded, as he halted the breathless woman in her tracks.
“It’s Ruth. They’ve taken her. She needs your help,” Sue insisted.
“Slow down,” Samuel cautioned the older woman, at seeing her shortness of breath. “Come sit down and start from the beginning.”
The three joined Emmett, Mike, and four railroad men who had arrived at the ranch with Samuel that very morning.
“Tell us what’s happened,” Jackson prompted, sick to his gut at seeing the normally unflappable Sue in a panic. “Where’s Ruth, and who has taken her?”
“We don’t have time to waste dancing around your feelings, so I’m going to say it plainly. Her husband’s got her.”
Jackson’s face went blank as Sue’s words sunk in. “What are you saying?” Jackson demanded quietly.
“It’s not what you think, Jackson. She’s a good woman and you need to listen to me carefully when I explain things. You know you’re practically my own son, and I wouldn’t push some no-account trash on you. Ruth is married, but it was all arranged by her family. Or what passes for her family. A lone aunt who was more concerned with pocketing a few dollars than seeing to her niece’s welfare.”
“Arranged a marriage to an older man, did she?” Samuel chimed in.
Sue nodded her head, “That’s exactly what happened. And to a complete stranger the aunt had never even met. Ruth told me – and this Masterson fellow didn’t deny her words – that he sent a proxy in his place to Kansas City. Masterson didn’t even have the decency to meet them in person. There was a hurried proxy marriage, and Ruth was shipped off with a stranger – one who wasn’t even her new husband.”
“That’s why she wanted off the train so badly,” Jackson muttered, finally gaining some insight into the woman he was already in love with.
“Can’t blame the girl for getting cold feet,” Mike argued. “She’s young, and didn’t sound like she had much choice.”
“That’s not the half of it,” Sue continued. “The bastard her husband sent to fetch Ruth home attacked her in her sleeping compartment, and tried to have his way with her.”
Jackson paled at Sue’s words, and immediately began pacing, growing more frantic to learn where Ruth was.
“She fought him off,” Sue explained. “She shot him with a pistol. With her inexperience, she thought she’d killed him. Before she realized her mistake, the train was held up, and well, you know the rest.”
“Are you saying this man didn’t die?” Jackson questioned Sue’s hurried explanation. “Is he the one that has Ruth now?”
“I’m not sure,” Sue confessed. “We went to the Fort and delivered my grain. I took her over to O’Malley’s for a spot of whiskey and this man marched right up to us, claiming Ruth was his wife. It was clear to me that Ruth had never seen this man, so my first thought was he was drunk. But then he said his name was Frank Masterson, and Ruth went three shades of pale. She may not have known the face, but she knew that name.”
