“And the blood?”
Lily shook her head, pressing her hands to her eyes. “Christian shot them in the legs so they wouldn’t get away. They’re over at the jail now.”
“Thank God Christian was here!” Michael closed the distance between him and Lily, placing a hand on the small of her back and leading her up to the apartment’s kitchen. “Are you all right? You look terrible. Would you like me to make you some coffee?”
She nodded for the coffee, but promptly burst into tears about the rest of it.
“My life is over, Mr. West.” All of the agony she had kept trapped inside spilled out as she sat at the kitchen table. “Everyone will know for certain that Christian and I were together. There’s no denying it. Samuel Kuhn is already sharpening his knives. I’ll be fired and then I’ll have nothing.” She rested her head against the wall and burst into sobs.
“There, there.” Michael did his best to comfort her while fixing coffee. “If Samuel is on the warpath, pardon the expression, he’ll call the town council. I’m on the town council, so is Hal Prescott and Mark Andrews, and they both think very highly of you.”
She shook her head. “They shouldn’t. Not after this.”
Michael sighed as he set the coffee pot on the stove to brew. “You are not the first young person to lose herself to love. It’s the best way to lose oneself, in my opinion.”
“You don’t understand, Mr. West.”
“I insist you call me Michael.”
“You don’t understand,” she repeated. “When a man is caught in scandal, his friends laugh and society frowns but throws up its hands and says ‘boys will be boys.’ When a woman is caught in the same position, it ruins her. She is forever of low character and morals, love or no love. When a white man commits a crime, robs his neighbors, a thousand excuses are floated about and people doubt whether it could be them, in spite of a confession. When a person of color steps so much as a toenail out of line, the good citizens of the town rain hellfire and brimstone down on them. My life will be ruined by this.”
Michael didn’t answer. He leaned against the counter, his arms crossed, a frown behind his glasses. After a long silence, he said, “It’s unjust.”
“But it’s the way of the world,” Lily finished his thought. She stood. “If you will excuse me, Michael, I must wash and change to face the firing squad. I will enjoy some of your fine coffee once I am finished.”
“It’s not that fine,” he said, half distracted as he stared at the floorboards on the other side of the room. “Charlie says I can’t make coffee to save a sinking ship.”
His casual reference to Charlie brought a faint smile to Lily’s lips. Now there were two people in love. Unlike her and Christian, she doubted Michael and Charlie had ever done anything to bring the town’s wrath down on them, or even on each other.
Her mood steadied out to resolve as she cleaned herself up for the day. The blood-soaked carpet in the hallway had been removed by the time she came out of the bathroom and Michael was downstairs in the storeroom. She dressed in her finest dress and fixed her hair in a simple style. Michael had been right about the coffee. It was terrible. She could only manage a few fortifying gulps before putting her coat on and trudging out into the cold.
Her steps were heavy as she made her way up to the school. She wanted to at least see her students one last time, to explain to them how sorry she was and how much she loved each of them and would miss them all. She wasn’t even afforded that luxury.
When she reached her classroom, Mr. Prescott was waiting at the door, Alicia Kuhn with him. Alicia wore a bitter grin of triumph and tilted her chin up when Lily approached them.
“Miss Singer.” Even Mr. Prescott’s greeting was a sure sign of the devastation her impulsiveness had wrought.
“Good morning, Mr. Prescott, Mrs. Kuhn.” She held her back straight, kept her chin up, and steeled herself for doom.
“I suppose you know why we are here.”
“I do.”
“You filthy little slut!” Alicia spat. “How could you disgrace yourself when the responsibility for the moral education of—”
“That is enough, Mrs. Kuhn!” Mr. Prescott cut her off.
Alicia pressed her lips shut, but the sentiment remained in her eyes.
“Mrs. Kuhn will be taking over your class for the time being. If you would come with me.”
He stepped away from the door and the righteous Alicia Kuhn and beckoned for Lily to follow him. Lily took a deep breath, meeting Alicia’s sneer with pride. She loved her students. She had fought hard for their best interest. It was more than Alicia would ever be able to say.
She turned to go, following Mr. Prescott down the hall to his office. One tiny speck of light cracked through the interminable gloom. She had been the best teacher she could be. What she would be now was anyone’s guess.
“For the last time, if you do not let this man go, I will have you prosecuted for wrongful imprisonment!”
Christian paced the length of the jail, worked up, worn out, and ready to march back to the store to find Michael’s revolver. There were a few more people that needed shooting, as far as he was concerned, starting with Lieutenant Wilkins.
“I’m not letting the Injun go until you can prove to me that he hasn’t done anything,” Wilkins said, glaring at Thomas.
Dr. Greene had come and gone. Jed and Bo had been cleaned and stitched up as much as they were going to be. Jed had fallen asleep on one of the cots an hour ago and was snoring, while Bo had come to and sat on the other bed, face pinched with pain and surliness at being caught. Thomas, on the other hand, had returned to his spot on the floor and sat with his legs crossed, hands resting on his knees, as though observing a friendly baseball game. Christian peeked at him out of the corner of his eyes. If he could sit patiently and listen to the drivel he’d had to deal with since sun-up, Lily’s brother was a better man than him.
“The law doesn’t work like that,” Christian argued on. “Innocent until proven guilty, or hadn’t you heard?”
“The law only applies to civilized folk.”
Christian stopped his pacing and gaped at the man. “He’s a doctor. Look at how he’s dressed, how he talks. You saw him treating Jed and Bo. What part of civilized doesn’t apply here?”
He was spared the agony of continuing to argue his point with a brick wall as Kent threw open the jail door. Flurries curled in with him.
“Here’s what Lewis got,” he said, handing Christian a slip of telegraph paper. “He says it’s from the chief of the Office of Indian Affairs for Montana himself.”
Christian snatched the paper and read it. ‘If no proof of crime exists, suspect must be released.’
“Ha!” He handed the telegraph to Wilkins. “Kent, where are your keys?”
“Right over here, Mr. Avery.”
Before Kent could cross the room to fetch the keys to the cell, the jail door opened again, admitting Michael this time.
“Here’s the report of the damage to the store,” Michael said, handing Christian another paper. “Charlie is not happy about the blood stains upstairs,” he added with an ominous tone.
“We’ll add vandalism to the charges against these two once we have a trial.”
The prospect of more charges to heap on Jed and Bo had Christian grinning from ear to ear. He had half a mind to charge them with disturbing the peace, public indecency, and inciting a riot while he was at it.
“Christian,” Michael continued. He touched Christian’s arm to pull him aside. “Lily returned to the store less than an hour after leaving for school. She’s been suspended pending a hearing to discuss…you know what.”
Christian’s brow rose. “They didn’t fire her outright?”
“They can’t,” Michael said. “The town council has to vote on it. I expect there will be a meeting called soon.”
A new spark of hope joined the excitement already brewing in Christian’s gut. As Kent opened the cell door to let Thomas out h
e said, “Then there’s still a chance we can talk sense into the council.”
His smile was dampened when Michael shook his head. “The terms of employment are clear. I think even you would have a hard time arguing that being caught in a compromising position with a man to whom she is not married in the middle of the night constitutes a lapse of moral fortitude.”
“Moral fortitude my ass,” Christian growled. “That’s my future wife you’re talking about.”
“Your what?” Thomas asked as he joined Christian and Michael.
A prickling sensation shot down Christian’s back. He’d made no secret this whole time of what had been going on between him and Lily the night before, and now he realized that he was saying those things to her brother.
“Lily and I are a couple,” he told the man, more sheepish than he wanted to be.
“You are engaged to be married?”
The prickling feeling intensified. “I haven’t asked yet.”
“You put my sister in a position that will likely result in her losing her job, but you haven’t made any promises to her?”
For the first time, Christian saw the familiar glint of anger that he loved so much about Lily in her brother’s eyes. The two were definitely blood-relations.
“I haven’t—”
The jail door swung open again.
“There you are.” Samuel looked far too pleased with himself for Christian’s comfort. “I’ve been looking everywhere. For both of you.”
“Why?” Michael drawled. He pushed his glasses up his nose and stared at Samuel with a frown to match Christian’s.
“Your little love bird, or whatever you call her, has sung her last,” Samuel reported. “The school has kicked her out.”
“She’s suspended,” Christian corrected him. It was little comfort.
“Once we have a hearing, she’ll be miles away from our children, just where she should be.”
Christian glared at the man. Hanging was too good for some people.
“The council might decide otherwise,” he said, unconvinced himself.
Samuel snorted with laughter. “One way or another, her hearing is set for tomorrow at noon.”
“Who came up with that idea?” Christian dropped his arms, panic pumping through him.
“I did,” Michael answered. “I figured you’d want to get things over with as soon as possible.”
Christian gaped at him. There were a lot of things he wanted to get over with as soon as possible, this whole conversation being one.
“So tell your little savage hussy to pack her bags and buy a ticket for the next train,” Samuel said with a laugh, “because after we’re done with her, she won’t be able to show her face in this town again.”
“You are a miserable son-of-a-bitch, Samuel,” Christian growled.
Samuel was unfazed. He continued to laugh, right up until Thomas took a large step in his direction. With that one gesture, Samuel gasped and his laughter turned into a choking cough. He stumbled back.
“What is that Indian doing out of his cell?” he demanded.
“We can’t hold him,” Wilkins grumbled, showing Samuel the telegram.
“Well, I’ll just see about that!” Samuel said. Then he read the telegram. His face fell.
“Gentlemen, if you will excuse us,” Michael said. “It’s time we get our new friend situated at the hotel.”
He nodded to Christian and Thomas, gesturing to the jail door. The three men gathered what winter things they had and headed out into the flurries.
“If Samuel Kuhn is ever found dead in the middle of the night, don’t come looking for me,” Christian snarled as they made their way up Main Street toward the hotel.
“You’ll be the first person I look for,” Michael said then rushed on to, “Listen, Christian. There’s still a chance Lily might keep her job.”
Christian and Thomas both stopped to stare at him.
“You said the terms of her employment were clear,” Thomas said.
“They are,” Michael agreed with a nod, “but the definition of what exactly went on last night is not clear.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Christian asked.
“I’ve talked to Lewis and Rev. Andrews already. If Lily shows up at her hearing repentant, if the two of you explain that you are engaged and are married as soon as possible, then at least some of the members of the town council would be willing to let her return to the school. But only once the two of you are married.”
“And only if Lily eats humble pie in front of the likes of Samuel Kuhn.” Christian shook his head. “I know Lily. That’s not going to happen.”
“It will happen if she wants her job,” Michael contradicted him.
Christian growled, rubbing a hand over his face as the cold air froze his nose and eyes. He hated the idea of Lily swallowing her pride, hated it as much as he hated himself for making it necessary. She might just do it to. He was willing to bet that the children of Cold Springs meant more to her than him, more than herself.
At last he sighed, dropping his shoulders.
“Has anyone told Lily yet?”
Michael shook his head. “That’s all you, my friend.”
“Great.” He turned to Thomas for support. “I think we should tell her over lunch at the hotel. Maybe some good food and good company would soften the blow.”
Thomas shrugged. He hugged himself against the cold. “Whatever you think is best.”
“I think it’s best that we get this over with,” he answered. “All of it. The sooner the better.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
“I’ll do it.”
The thought of pretending humility in front of the likes of Samuel Kuhn made Lily’s already wobbly stomach clench, but the tremor of hope that had her hands shaking was too powerful to resist.
“You’ll marry me as well?” Christian asked from his seat beside her at the hotel restaurant. Michael and Seeks For Her glanced up from their plates for the answer.
It was the most disappointing proposal she could have imagined. No romance, no emotion, just stark practicality to stave off utter humiliation in favor of steep embarrassment. She would have shaken her fist and given him a piece of her mind, she would have raged against the fates that always seemed to cheat her of true happiness if she wasn’t so tired. All she could do was nod.
A ghost of a smile flitted across Christian’s face, only to be replaced by exhausted misery. “I’m sorry, Lily. This whole mess is my fault. If I hadn’t—” He paused and glanced around the table.
“There’s no use checking yourself. They all know what you wish you hadn’t done.”
Hurt joined the misery in his eyes. “I do not for one moment wish I had not gone to bed with you—both times—and I don’t care who knows that.”
She smiled weakly. That was the Christian she loved: stubborn, passionate, and inappropriate in the extreme. They would murder each other before their first anniversary.
Michael and Seeks For Her had the good sense to pretend they hadn’t heard Christian’s comment.
“None of this is a guarantee,” Michael cautioned. “A majority of the town council would have to agree, and I think it’s safe to say that Christian would not be allowed a vote.”
Christian scowled and for a moment Lily thought he would protest. Instead he let out a weary breath and took another long draught of beer. It was too early in the day for alcohol, but Lily couldn’t grudge him the one small comfort. She was tempted to try it herself.
“How much groveling are we talking about here?” Seeks For Her asked. “I may only have just found my sister, but if she is anything like me, like our family, apologizing unjustly will not come easy.”
He sat beside her, his dinner plate wiped clean after he had devoured everything on it. They hadn’t fed him much for the six days he sat in jail, but somehow her brother still had the table manners of a man used to dining with royalty. He had gratefully accepted the room Delilah had offered him
at the hotel, free of charge, and had bathed and changed into a fine, clean suit. Lily hadn’t thought it was possible to feel so much pride for a man she hardly knew.
“I will do it,” she reassured him, trying to emulate his pride. “I will do anything to earn back the right to teach at Cold Springs’s school.”
Christian reached for her free hand under the table. He took it and squeezed. He didn’t need words to tell her that he would be with her every step of the way. She hadn’t known anything like the feeling before, and though she trusted him with her heart, her head had too many years of hardship and betrayal to think back on. Still, she squeezed his hand in return.
“Tell me where I need to be and when,” she finished with a sigh. Her body ached with lack of sleep and defeat and she couldn’t raise her eyes to meet any of the kind, concerned men who surrounded her.
“The meeting will be at the church at noon tomorrow,” Michael told her, compassion in his voice. “You just have to be there to express your regret. We’ll do the rest for you.”
She nodded, then pushed her chair back and stood. “If you will excuse me, I need to lie down.”
The three of them stood with her. Christian slipped an arm around her waist to hug her. There didn’t seem to be any point in hiding their affection in public any longer. They would be husband and wife as soon as someone could be found to perform the ceremony. She should have rejoiced, but she was numb.
“I’ll walk you back to the store,” Seeks For Her said as Christian let her go. “We have much to talk about.”
Lily nodded and stepped toward him.
“I can come with you,” Christian said.
Michael stopped him with a shake of his head. “They just found each other. Give them a minute.”
Christian sighed. “Send for me if you need me.”
“I will.”
Lily walked with her brother out of the restaurant and into the hotel’s lobby. More than a few of the patrons of Delilah’s hotel stared at them as if they were a curiosity, as if they shouldn’t be there. Just as many ignored them and went about their business. There was a chance that the whole horrible last two weeks was blowing over already.
In Your Arms (Montana Romance) Page 26
