“That little schoolteacher can hold her own in a fight better than most girls,” Ace grumbled. It startled him that he felt a twinge of admiration for the red-haired vixen. She had more gumption than most of the women he knew, even if she wasn’t very pretty.
“I don’t want to hear any more about that nice girl,” Dad commanded.
Ace looked with mute appeal to Ma. She started to say something but seemed to think better of it. “She’s a mite headstrong,” she murmured.
“A mite? A mite? ” Ace’s voice rose; then he realized it was no use. He picked up a burnt biscuit and surveyed it gravely. He imagined eating these for three or four months on the trail. The thought horrified him.
“Hurry up, son,” Trace said. “You’ve still got two more barns to clean out.”
“I’m goin’.” Ace pushed his plate back and reached for his Stetson. The only thing that made his odious task easier was that when he shoveled, he imagined he was burying a certain red-haired schoolteacher up to her neck in manure.
Five
“Mail just came,” Cimarron murmured as she entered the dining room three mornings later, reading a note.
Her husband looked up from his plate of eggs and enchiladas. He was grinning because Juanita was back in the kitchen. “Who’s the letter from?”
Cimarron sighed as she sat down and signaled one of the Mexican maids to pour her some coffee. “Cayenne says Lynnie’s got to go up before the local school board. She may lose her job.”
“Poor little thing.” Trace paused with his fork halfway to his mouth. “Well, can’t say I’m surprised after the trouble our delinquent son got her into at the ball.”
“I know Lynnie better than you do.” Cimarron sipped her coffee thoughtfully, still reading the letter. “Some of that was bound to be her fault.”
“How can you say that?” Trace looked aghast. “Why, that innocent little schoolteacher—”
“I just know Lynnie. She and Ace are pretty well matched when it comes to getting into trouble. Cayenne wants us to attend the school board meeting as a sign of solidarity”
“Sí,” Trace nodded and sipped his coffee. “Although we may not be able to do anything to help. Being thrown into jail is a serious charge for a teacher, and hard to justify.”
The Mexican maid set a plate of scrambled eggs, bacon, and biscuits in front of Cimarron. She reached for the tart wild-plum jelly. “Hmm, if Lynnie loses her job, I don’t know what she’ll do. What she needs is a husband.”
Trace threw back his head and laughed. “Dios! Who would marry Lynnie McBride? She’s very sweet, but not a great beauty.”
Cimarron said, “She’ll be pretty to the man who loves her. But most men will see her as headstrong and stubborn.”
“You can say that again,” Ace sneered with disgust as he entered the dining room and took a chair. “I wouldn’t care if I ever saw that little wench again after all the trouble she got me into.”
“You’re pretty good at getting into trouble all by yourself,” his father said pointedly.
“Which is the very reason I don’t need Lynnie around to make more.” Ace signaled the maid, and she went into the kitchen and returned with a plate of steak and eggs.
Cimarron sighed and sipped her coffee. “There must be some nice young man who’d marry Lynnie.”
“Don’t bet on it.” Ace grinned and cut up his steak. It was well done and crisp around the edges, just the way he liked it.
His mother ignored him. “Lynnie’s smart, and she’s not half bad-looking. She’d give a man fine sons . . .”
“I want sons someday, Ma,” Ace shuddered, “but not enough to sleep with Lynnie McBride.”
“Don’t be crude,” his mother scolded.
Her husband laughed. “Now, there’d be bloodlines for you: by the stallion, Ace Durango, out of the mare, Lynnie McBride. Reckon the colt would be dark or have a red mane?”
“Be serious!” Cimarron snapped. There was a moment of silence as everyone enjoyed the good food and strong coffee.
“You know what I could do?” she mused, half to herself, as she looked out the window. “I could throw a big barbecue and invite everyone in two counties—and, of course, Lynnie. There’s bound to be someone in two big counties who might marry her.”
Ace groaned. “Don’t bet on it. Besides, it ain’t fair to ambush poor, unsuspecting hombres like that.”
His father shrugged. “Women do things like that all the time, son. They spend their whole lives trying to rope and tie men up.”
“I beg your pardon.” Cimarron bristled.
“Everyone except you, darlin’,” Trace hastened to add. “I was really lucky to get you.”
“Then, it’s settled,” Cimarron said as she laid the letter aside and smiled with satisfaction. “I’ll have to talk to Cayenne about it.”
Ace paused with his fork halfway to his mouth and looked at his father. Dad raised his eyebrows and shrugged.
“What’s settled?” The two men looked at her blankly.
She looked annoyed. “Why, what we just agreed on about having a big barbecue and inviting most of both counties so Lynnie can meet an eligible man.”
Somehow, Ace didn’t like the look of this. “Did we agree to that?”
His father laughed. “I reckon your mother’s made up her mind, so it’ll happen whether we agree or not.”
If it involved Lynnie McBride, Ace didn’t want anything to do with it. “I think I’ll plan to be gone,” Ace grumbled.
“No, you won’t, son,” his mother scolded. “Besides, I’ll invite a lot of other young girls.”
Ace grinned.
“Not that kind,” his father said. “Ladies.”
“Oh.” Disappointed, he returned to his steak.
“In the meantime, we’ll go to the school board meeting and see if we can save her job.”
Ace frowned. “I don’t want to do anything to help Lynnie McBride.”
Both his parents looked at him.
“We are going to the school board meeting,” Dad said, and glared at him. “You got the poor girl in a lot of trouble, and it’s your responsibility to help get her out.”
“Me?” Ace started to protest, decided he was up against a stacked deck and couldn’t win. It would only mean more stables to clean. He imagined piling the manure on top of Lynnie’s fiery head. Lordy, she was a pain in the butt.
“March,” Cimarron murmured, and smiled as she left the breakfast table to pack a few things for the trip to west Texas. March. Yes, that would be a great time to hold a big barbecue and fiesta. Spring would be coming to the Texas hill country by March, splashing the low hills with a riot of bluebonnets and red Indian paintbrush flowers. She knew her sister-in-law, Cayenne, would be pleased. And it would give the men a chance to all get together and discuss this cattle drive Trace had been talking about organizing. Better than that, it might give Lynnie a chance to meet eligible men.
Less than a week later, the special school board meeting had been called in the west Texas town of McBride. Cayenne had just produced her new baby girl, and the elderly patriarch of the clan, Papa Joe, wasn’t feeling too well, so Maverick and some of the many children accompanied Lynnie to the meeting, along with the Durango clan from the Triple D ranch.
Lynnie pointedly ignored Ace as they met just outside the little one-room schoolhouse, and he seemed to be pretending he hadn’t seen her at all. That suited her just fine. Why, she never would have been caught dead in the company of a rowdy like Ace if she hadn’t needed an escort to that ball.
Lynnie’s black eye was still a little green around the edges the night she walked into that meeting. Word must have gotten around that Miss McBride’s job was on the line, and there was a big crowd that night in late February. An assortment of McBride and Durango children were sitting on the front row next to Lynnie when the president of the school board, young banker Ogle, rapped his gavel and shouted: “Order! Order! Let’s get this hearing started!”
&n
bsp; Lynnie watched all the pompous locals file in and sit down. Frankly, now she was a little scared, yet still defiant over the stir her trip to the state capital had caused. She hadn’t realized the news would travel far enough to end up on the front page of the McBride, Texas, weekly paper, but then, the owner of the paper was still angry that the Lazy M had succeeded in buying some land the paper’s owner, Clifford Schwatz, had wanted for himself.
Some of these people, the Billingses, and some of the others felt obliged to Maverick Durango and the McBride clan for saving the town during the attempted bank and stage holdup eleven years ago. Unfortunately, young banker Ogle controlled many of the others because they owed him money.
The schoolhouse was small and crowded. With not much else to do on a cold winter night, many had attended for the entertainment value of the event.
Young Ogle stood up, smiled expansively, and looked up and down the table next to him to make sure all the school board members were there. He thought of himself as somewhat of a dandy, Lynnie knew, but he was balding and pompous. He had tried to court Lynnie, but she would have none of him, and the whole town knew it.
Elmer Ogle cleared his throat importantly. “You all know we have serious business to conduct here tonight, but first, I want to invite you all to the unveiling of the statue of my father in the town square next Saturday. I was honored that a majority of the citizens thought he should be remembered for his heroism in the great stage robbery.”
Lynnie’s little sister, Angel, piped up. “He wasn’t no hero. Everybody in town knows Maverick saved the town that day and your pa got hisself shot accidentally by walking out in the middle of the gunfight.”
“Angel, hush!” Maverick whispered while everyone tittered at the truth of the child’s words.
Automatically, Lynnie said, “Angel, it’s not correct to say ‘hisself.’ The proper word is himself. And don’t use double negatives.”
The whole audience laughed again while Elmer sputtered and turned red. “Some people can’t control their children,” he said, “which is why we’re here tonight....”
“I beg to differ.” Lynnie stood up, although her whole family was shaking their heads at her. “The fracas at the governor’s mansion had nothing to do with my family.”
She saw Trace nudge Ace, who stood up very grudgingly. “I—I was responsible for the mess Miss McBride got into.”
“I beg your pardon!” Lynnie fired back. She was not about to let that big brute take the role of heroic rescuer. “I planned it all by myself.”
An excited buzz ran through the crowded room, and she shot Ace a triumphant glare. He opened his mouth as if to speak, hesitated, and sat back down.
School board member Winifred Leane stood up and peered at her over her spectacles. “Lynnie McBride, is it true someone gave you a black eye?”
“Nobody gave me anything,” Lynnie fired back. “I earned this shiner.”
The room burst into tittering and whispers. Her brother-in-law shook his head at her, but Lynnie didn’t care. She figured banker Ogle had enough power in this town to force the other members of the school board to fire her, and she intended to say her piece.
Mr. Schwatz glared at her. “Is it true you created a riot, along with that terrible Durango ruffian, at the governor’s mansion?”
She gritted her teeth. “I did no such thing. I merely wore a banner proclaiming women’s right to vote.”
“That’s ungodly!” Mrs. Huffington, a very plump member of the school board, interrupted her. “It says in the Bible women shouldn’t vote, and that’s good enough for me!”
A series of murmuring and amens followed.
Lynnie was unruffled. “There’s a Bible up there on the desk, Mrs. Huffington. Please point out the chapter and verse that says that.”
Mrs. Huffington looked about uncertainly. “I—I’m sure it’s in there somewhere.”
“Enough!” Maverick thundered as he stood up. “Miss McBride is a jim-dandy teacher. I see all her students are here to speak for her.”
“That’s right!” yelled little Susan Leane.
“She’s a good teacher,” Billy Huffington said, “no matter what my ma says!”
More noise and confusion while banker Ogle rapped for order.
But Maverick didn’t sit down. “May I remind this board that my father-in-law and I own the biggest ranch in this county, the Lazy M, and my wife and I provide a great many of the students?”
The audience tittered.
“We are well aware of the size of your brood,” Mrs. Huffington said coldly.
The crowd laughed, and Elmer Ogle rapped again. “Let’s get back to the subject at hand: the firing of one Miss Lynnie McBride for questionable behavior and moral decay.”
“Moral decay?” Mrs. Leane whispered.
“Getting arrested,” the newspaper editor explained.
“No!” yelled a bunch of children from the sidelines. “We love Miss McBride; she’s a great teacher!”
Penelope Dinwiddy stood up. “She’s done a brave thing, giving voice to getting women the vote.”
Mr. Dinwiddy, a serious, balding man rose. “Please ignore my daughter,” the rancher said. “She idolizes Miss McBride. Frankly, our family doesn’t know what to think about all this. We like the teacher, but, gettin’ arrested—that’s purty bad.”
Squat, fat Nelbert Purdy, a member of the school board, shook his bald head. “Morally wrong, the McBride girl is. She doesn’t have the high morals of my sister, Emmalou.”
Emmalou, standing to one side, smiled generously at the audience, proud to be the epitome of virtue.
Banker Ogle rapped his gavel again. “Has the board heard enough?”
“Enough?” Lynnie protested, peering over the tops of her spectacles. “Why, I’ve hardly gotten started.”
Mrs. Huffington’s jowly face smiled. “You know, I have a nephew in Philadelphia, young Clarence Kleinhoffer, who is of the highest moral caliber and has just graduated from a teacher’s college. He might be persuaded to take the job.”
Nods and smiles of approval ran through the crowd.
Trace Durango stood up. “Miss McBride was led astray, I’m afraid.”
The newspaper editor favored Trace with a steely look. “We know your son’s reputation, sir. The women all say he’s somewhat of a scoundrel.”
Lynnie watched Cimarron stand up, her face red with anger. “Are you smearing the reputation of my son?”
“On the contrary,” Mrs. Leane said. “From what I hear, he’s been doing a pretty good job of ruining his own reputation. I certainly wouldn’t let one of my daughters go anywhere with him.”
Titters from the crowd.
“Mrs. Leane ...” Cimarron seemed to be fighting to control her anger. “I doubt my son would want to call on one of your homely daughters.”
“Why, I never!” Mrs. Leane’s fat mouth dropped open.
More titters from the crowd, turning into pandemonium again, with banker Ogle rapping in vain for silence. “We shall retire to discuss our verdict.”
The vote was a foregone conclusion because so many of the board members owed the banker money and there was old bad blood between the Ogle family and the McBrides.
The room fell silent, and Lynnie was abruptly a little scared. She hadn’t really thought about losing her job. However, if she must make that sacrifice for the good of the cause; so be it. She glared at Ace Durango, and he glared back. She had used him, and he was angry about it. Well, it served him right. No doubt he had used many an innocent girl for his own ends.
In less than five minutes, the board filed back in, and Elmer Ogle rapped for silence. “The board has made its decision. Miss McBride, having behaved in a manner that is unacceptable for a person of her responsibilities, is terminated as of this evening. We are going to offer the job of schoolmaster to Clarence Kleinhoffer; a fine, upstanding pillar of virtue.”
“You can’t fire me; I quit!” Lynnie stood up and began to wave her arms. “F
ree women! Votes for Texas women!”
All the children took up her chant, to the dismay of the school board members. Banker Ogle rapped in vain for order. “The Durangos and the McBrides are a bunch of uncivilized—”
“You can’t talk about my family that way!” Maverick apparently lost his temper, strode to the front of the room, and hit Elmer Ogle in the nose. The young man was sobbing like a girl as men moved in to pull Maverick back.
“I’m bleeding!” Ogle sobbed. “Look, I’m bleeding!”
Lynnie climbed up on a school desk, waving the Texas flag she had just grabbed off its pole. “Votes for women!” she shouted. “Free Texas women!”
All the children began to shout: “Votes for women! Texans for women’s rights!”
“Now, just see,” Mrs. Leane shouted in horror, “just see how she has corrupted our children!”
“Oh, shut up!” Lynnie shouted back, “you pompous old windbag!”
Mrs. Leane collapsed in her chair with the other ladies clustered about, offering smelling salts. The whole room was in an uproar and getting worse by the minute.
“Lynnie!” Maverick yelled, “get off that desk!”
“Votes for women!” Lynnie shouted back, “Give women the vote! Remember the Alamo!”
It seemed to Ace that the Alamo had nothing to do with women’s right to vote, but as always, it brought a cheer from everyone in the room—even those who didn’t favor women voting.
At that point, Lynnie began to sing “The Yellow Rose of Texas” at the top of her lungs while waving her flag. The children took up the song as she stepped off the desk and led a grand march around the room.
“This is outrageous!” Elmer Ogle roared. “This is uncivilized. The woman has no shame!”
“Oh, shut up, you bloodsucking money grabber!” Lynnie yelled as she led her little parade outside to march around the schoolhouse. Then she stepped aside and watched her young disciples continue to march and sing. Frankly, she was a little scared but still defiant. Now that she’d lost her job, what was she going to do?
Her favorite student, tall and thin Penelope Dinwiddy, caught up with Lynnie outside in the bright moonlight. She was as serious as Lynnie herself. “Oh, Miss McBride, I’m so sorry,” she wailed. “You’re disgraced. What are you going to do now?”
To Tame A Texan Page 7
