On the Mountain

by Peggy Ann Craig

  “Good Morning, big brother.” Prescott had noticed him first and offered a bright smile.

  “Actually, it is,” he said with truth. “Has Kathleen been up yet?”

  “No, but I heard her moving about.” Prescott told him.

  “Then I’ll make it quick.” His eyes sought out the boy’s. “I’ve got word from town. Chuck is conscious.”

  The boy’s face clearly showed his relief, confirming what Wade had believed. A temporary madness had overcome the boy. From what he had escaped in the mountain, it was no wonder. Prescott may have been right on that account. The boy was holding back emotions. The problem was, they were not being released in a healthy manner.

  “That’s a relief,” Prescott sighed. “He isn’t talking, is he?”

  “No worries there,” Wade stated. “He’s only speaking rubbish.”

  He looked down at the boy and saw the bruises still visible on his neck. Wade was taken aback by the unexpected flash of rage he felt. Safer to concentrate on another topic, he asked, “Ever met a lady before, boy?”

  A perplexed look had Wade grinning. “I’m not talking about a girl, kid. I’m talking about a genuine lady.”

  The boy shook his head.

  “Well, you’re about to meet one. Kathleen is more lady than the entire town of Lantern.” He informed him. “There is certain rules in behaving around a lady. You will not serve until she has seated. If she chooses to speak with you, remain perfectly still and keep eye contact. If she offers you salutation, simply bow your head. We’ve already updated her of your inability to speak.”

  Prescott withdrew his pocket watch. “I informed her last night that breakfast would be served at eight. She will be here shortly.”

  Wade glanced down at his clothing. “Right, I’ll need to go change. Boy, my sister will sit to the right of me. Please set the table accordingly.”

  He hurried off to his room to change in proper attire. He loved his sister dearly and her visits, but admittedly could do without all the proper etiquette. Quickly showering, then changing into a set of clean clothing, Wade made his way back to the dining room. Prescott was at the table enjoying a cup of coffee. Kathleen had yet to make her appearance. He had just filled his own mug when she glided softly into the room.

  “Good morning, my darling brothers.”

  They both stood and she walked to them individually to offer a kiss. At her oldest brother, she stopped to reach up and place a gentle hand against his beard. “You could not have shaved for your sister, Wade?”

  He smirked and removed her hand. “You know how cold it gets in winter. It helps keep my skin warm.”

  “I see Prescott has shaved this morning.”

  Wade glanced at his brother whom he already noticed had removed the small amount of growth on his chin. However, unlike his brother, he wasn’t entirely submissive to their sister.

  “Then it will be his frost bite you will need to return and mend.”

  She only responded with a smirk and then turned back to Prescott. “So, where is this Peter of yours?”

  The evening before after Prescott had returned home from Lantern, he and Kathleen had talked at length. Wade had sat silently in the lounge chair listening as his brother discussed the boy in a possessive manner. Admittedly, he hated the childish jealousy he felt. Since the arrival of the boy, they had formed a special bond which Wade hadn’t wanted to share. Realizing how ridiculous this was, he decided to ignore it and allowed his brother to claim the boy as his own. As he had his mother and sister.

  “I shall call him,” Prescott said, then proceeded to do just that. “Peter.”

  The boy took longer than Wade thought necessary and he frowned slightly wondering if he hadn’t emphasized enough the proper protocol around his sister. At last the boy emerged out of the kitchen looking small and very timid as he stared up at Kathleen.

  Prescott stepped forward to make the proper introductions. “Peter, I would like to introduce you to my sister, Mrs. Kathleen Rideout.”

  His sister offered a warm smile to the boy, then it faltered only so much. Two delicate brows dipped slightly. “This is Peter?”

  Prescott nodded. “Yes.”

  The woman’s smile returned in full force before turning to look from one male to the other. “My dear brothers. You must believe me ignorant or extremely gullible.”

  “What do you mean?” Prescott asked.

  “I may not know the difference between a cow and a bull, but I do know the difference between a boy and a girl.”

  Wade saw the boy’s face grow pale. He glanced at his sister confused. “What are you talking about?”

  Kathleen’s bright smile dimmed once more and a puzzling frown creased her smooth brow. “You’re not serious?”

  Wade kept the irritation he felt from showing on his face. “It’s far too early for riddles, Kathleen.”

  Shock lit her eyes. “You are serious.”

  “Kathleen,” he said in a low warning tone, barely keeping the disdain from his voice.

  She sighed, but gave her oldest brother a warm, almost pitiful smile. “Wade, I’ve always felt you really have been living out here in the wilderness too long. You really ought to emerge yourself in more of a civilized culture. However, Prescott, I would have expected better.”

  “What exactly are you going on about Kathleen?” Prescott’s frown accompanied his question.

  She gestured toward the boy. “Your boy.”

  “What about him?” Wade snapped, realizing his frustration was at a breaking point.

  “Is a girl.”

  Wade stared at his sister as if she had grown horns overnight, not clear if he even heard her correctly. It was Prescott that responded first. “Don’t be ridiculous, Kathleen. I think the boy knows whether he’s a boy or a girl.”

  All three looked at the boy. His chin dropped and he stared at the floor. The first wave of numbness swept through Wade’s body. It felt like eternity, standing there waiting for a response from a mute boy. But none came forthwith.

  A feeling of utter shock took hold of him. It felt as if he were dreaming and merely a spectator in a horrible performance. As the boy continued to remain completely still, his chin glued to his chest, his eyes downcast, Wade watched as his usually pale face grew even more ghastly white. A silent confirmation of his sister’s words.

  A coldness swept over Wade.

  “Oh my,” Kathleen said. “Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything.”

  Prescott shook his head in denial. “That can’t be true. Peter, tell her.”

  But the boy continued to stare at the ground and did not reply.

  “Peter?” A look of distress crossed his brother’s face as the realization of the truth finally sunk in. “Is it true? Are you a girl?”

  Very slowly, the boy nodded. Prescott dropped down heavily in his chair. The visual admission was the trigger that snapped Wade out of his numb state. Anger flooded his veins as he thrust a hand through his neatly combed hair. “Why?”

  But the girl who had been known up to that point as the boy, remained silent.

  Kathleen observed her closely. “Perhaps she was frightened.”

  “Of us?” Prescott sounded incredulous. “She came from far worse.”

  “Prescott.” Kathleen sounded horrified at her brother’s implication.

  Wade sighed heavily. “He’s not referring to the level of her class, but rather what happened in her village.”

  His sister looked puzzled.

  “We didn’t tell you the entire story.”

  Her face turned serious. “Then I think you better.”

  Wade looked at the girl. They hadn’t even told her what they had seen up on the mountain. He wondered if perhaps she knew and kept it a secret along with her identity.

  “Can you talk, boy—girl?” He frowned at his own slip of the tongue. It was going to be hard adjusting.

  She brought her head up and looked Wade directly in the eyes. There was a lot of pain and mis
ery reflected in their dark depths. There was also sorrow. He ignored it. “Well? Can you speak, or is that a lie as well?”

  She instantly looked away. Wade frowned, then cursed. Kathleen shot a glance at him and he offered a quick apology, forgetting momentarily her presence. Hell, for that matter, the presence of another female.

  “What’s your name?”

  Her face grimaced, but no words came forth.

  “I asked you a question. What is your name?”

  She shook her head and he thought she was going to cry but her eyes remained dry.

  Kathleen took pity on the girl and went over to place a hand on her arm. “Can you speak?”

  The girl shook her head and Wade became impatient. Turning heavily on his foot, he went and stood by the window looking out over the valley toward the mountain.

  “Were you able to speak at one time?” Kathleen’s soft voice drifted across the room. With his back to them, he could not see the girl’s response, however he knew it from his sister’s reaction.

  “Dreadful. Did something happen to you that caused the loss of your voice?”

  He turned around then and saw Kathleen standing over her. She was much taller and more elegant. It was difficult to believe the boy was a girl. Nowhere did she have the grace and beauty his sister possessed or for that matter any female he knew.

  “Lift your chin, girl. A lady is talking to you,” he barked.

  Her chin snapped up and a look of hurt shot across her face, before she quickly got it under control.

  Her heard Kathleen sigh. “Wade, your boy is not a girl, nor is your girl a girl. She’s very much a woman.”

  He frowned, hardly seeing the difference, then looked at the girl standing before his sister. She looked trapped and frightened and reminded him of the cows when herded into their holding pens. He left the window to come stand next to Kathleen. “How much do you remember of the incident in your village?”

  Prescott stood up as well, piqued by the question.

  The girl shook her head in earnest, trying desperately to relay the message she had not lied on that account. A sudden image came to Wade’s mind. The skulls of the dead women in her village. Christ, he had thought as a boy she had endured hell. He couldn’t even comprehend what had happened up there from the point of view of a girl. Or woman.

  “What’s going on?” Kathleen demanded. “What village? What incident?”

  Wade sighed and looked at his sister. “I told you the boy was lost. He wasn’t lost. He was hiding.”

  “From what?”

  He looked at the girl and a look of distress stared back. “That, my sister, is where the mystery lies.”

  “Is that why you disguised yourself as a boy?”

  She nodded and looked up at Wade. He looked away.

  “Good God.” Kathleen looked upset. “What you must have went through.”

  “You should have told us from the start you were a girl,” Prescott said. “We would have protected you. Wade would never have let anyone hurt you.”

  “What’s done is done,” Kathleen said and offered the girl a warm smile. “We’ll get you out of those ridiculous clothes and get you a proper dress.”

  The girl’s eyes lit with alarm.

  “I’ll go have a word with the constable,” Prescott added, looking at his sister who nodded her approval. “It’s best he hears about this. He’s still investigating the incident in the mountain.”

  The girl’s eyes were now huge and she was shaking her head vigorously. Wade’s brows interlaced. “What’s the matter girl?”

  She started to walk backwards toward the kitchen, her terrified eyes speaking all the words needed. “Whoa, kid. Relax. No one is forcing you to do anything here.”

  Prescott shook his head confused. “You don’t want to be a girl?”

  Her eyes pleaded with Prescott as she shook her head.

  Prescott raised his brows and glanced at his brother. The two of them exchanged looks and Wade knew the image of the village had crossed his brother’s mind as well. Then it occurred to him it wasn’t them the girl was concealing her identity from, but a far darker force. Without her memory she was running from a shadow that was not only unseen but unknown. With her disguise as a cloak she was able to keep control of her own safety. This realization was followed by another. That whatever evil occurred on the mountain, she felt was still out there.

  “Then we’ll have to at least inform the men in the bunkhouse.” Prescott stated which didn’t ease any of the disquiet from her brown eyes.

  “Don’t be foolish, Prescott.” Kathleen stated. “You can’t have a girl living in a bunkhouse with a dozen men. Heaven knows what could happen.”

  “I sincerely don’t think they would bring any harm to her, but I suppose you’re right. We can’t be too safe.”

  “Why don’t I bring her back to New Westminster?”

  The girl’s eyes shot toward Wade. He sighed and said, “This girl belongs as much in the city as I do.”

  “Then what do you suggest?”

  He studied her face once more. She stared up at him with big brown eyes that were both imploring and frightened. Until he had this entire incident cleared up, she was safest right there on the ranch. Whether in the form of a boy or a girl, he didn’t care.

  “She’ll stay here. As per her wishes, as a boy.” He looked at his siblings. “We’ll keep this between the four of us. There’s no need to inform the ranch hands, however, she can no longer stay in the bunkhouse. While Kathleen is here for a visit, she will sleep in the cook’s room and perform servant duties.”

  “What happens after I leave?”

  “We’ll find reason for her to stay,” he told her, then added. “You’ve been harassing me for years to hire a servant. Maybe I’ll finally relent.”

  “What about the constable?” Prescott reminded Wade. “He should be informed. If he realizes Peter is a girl, he’ll dismiss her from all suspicion.”

  Wade paused a moment, then slid a look toward the girl. “I’ll look after Stanford.”

  “Wade.” Kathleen gave him a warning. “You’re not the law. Let them handle it.”

  His mind suddenly filled with many images, not the least of a very distrustful constable who had not one but two crimes connected to the same person. He turned and headed for the front entrance. “I’ll be back later.”

  “Where are you going?” Kathleen followed him.

  “Into town.”

  He heard Kathleen call him back, but he ignored her and went out to the barn to saddle up Sty. As he rode by the house he saw Kathleen and Prescott come out of the front door, but did not stop to speak to them. There was something he had to do. At the last second he thought he caught a glimpse of a face in the window watching with large brown and troubled eyes.

  * * *

  It was over. Wade knew the truth about her identity. As she suspected, he wasn’t happy. Even worse, he was angry. What small bond they had formed over the last few weeks was gone. He could barely make eye contact with her and she had wanted so desperately to say she was sorry. But speech had long failed her and all she could do was watch as his trust in her vanished.

  She watched his form, bent low over his horse, bolt down the lane way. Tears stung the back of her eyes, but refused to flow. Her newly discovered love for the man made the pain so much more insufferable. Her instincts had warned her to conceal her true self, but even that could not have hinted at the raw emotion that pierced her heart when she saw the rejection in Wade’s eyes. Anna was grateful he was allowing her to remain on the ranch where it was safe. However, what would protect her heart from a man who would never love her in return?

  His siblings came back inside the ranch house and Anna stepped away from the window. Kathleen looked at her with a warm smile, and she felt slightly eased by his sister’s compassion. “All this excitement has made me a little hungry. Is breakfast about ready?”

  Anna nodded, then hurried off to the kitchen. She served the broth
er and sister, but couldn’t help but notice the empty plate at the head of the table. It was with him that her thoughts were completely monopolized. Kathleen and Prescott began a quiet conversation on a topic unfamiliar to Anna. Relieved they had apparently dropped the discussion of her identity, she slipped back into the kitchen where she was able to sit down in a chair and contemplate her new situation.

  With Wade’s reaction she wondered if it was best to leave, but had no idea where she would go. She had easily passed as a boy on his ranch and would more than likely do so at another ranch. But the fear of being discovered would always hover over her and at least at the Circle H that fear was nearly over. Though the Haddock’s now knew of her identity, they had agreed to keep it from the ranch hands. Anna had no idea what evil lurked out there in the mountains, but she was certain it was waiting for her.

  The sound of someone entering the kitchen, startled her. Prescott walked inside and Anna leaped to her feet. “It’s all right. You may sit.”

  But she remained standing.

  “I just wanted to say we understand and respect your wish to remain anonymous.” He looked down at her with sympathetic eyes. “Your secret is safe with us.”

  She nodded slowly thanking him silently.

  He grimaced and said, “I can only image what you witnessed up in that mountain. But it must have been horrific. You will always be safe here at the Circle H.”

  He smiled suddenly and the old Prescott was back. “My sister and I plan to have a very leisurely day today, catching up and so forth. Would you mind bringing some tea into the reading room?”

  She nodded.

  “After that, you’re free to spend the day as you please.” Prescott gave her a parting smile before exiting the kitchen.

  Free. Such a strange word. With the disclosure of her true identity, she ought to be feeling abundantly free, but she felt more trapped than she ever did before.