Emer: Clover Springs Mail Order Brides

by Rachel Wesson

  “What exactly did you see Miss Matthews do?”

  Mitchell’s eyes darted from left to right but before he could answer, there was a knock at the door.

  “Mr. Shipley, the sheriff would like a word with you.”

  Both men moved to the door but Mitchell put his hand on Lawrence’s arm. “Given this is my room, I assume the clerk is looking for me. Close the door on your way out. There’s a good fellow.”

  Lawrence itched to hit his cousin but he’d moved too quickly. It wouldn’t do Emer any good if he got arrested, too. He had to do something. Sorcha had mentioned getting the US Marshalls involved. He wasn’t sure that was a good idea. But maybe hiring a Pinkerton was. A detective could find people from Emer’s past and prove her innocence. If she was innocent.

  Chapter 45

  Emer sat on the edge of the dirty mattress. The jail was depressing but it was worse knowing Lawrence believed her to be guilty. She’d seen the look in his eyes when Bill announced she had shared his bed.

  Bill. How she hated that man. She didn’t have to share his cell but it was directly across from hers. He spent the day staring at her. She didn’t look back, not wanting to give him any encouragement. After some hours, the sheriff came in and opened her cell door.

  “Come with me, Miss Matthews.”

  “Her name ain’t Matthews. It’s Mrs. Cheever.”

  They both ignored Bill as they walked out to where the sheriff’s desk was. The doctor and Paul Kelley stood there waiting.

  “Take the cuffs off her.”

  The sheriff did as the doctor said and released Emer. She stood, rubbing her painful wrists.

  “The doctor here is accepting full responsibility for you. It ain’t right, you being held in a jail cell with no privacy. Even if you are guilty of being an outlaw.”

  Emer swallowed hard. The sheriff thought she was an outlaw, too. She held her breath. She wasn’t going to cry or show any weakness. She thought the people of Clover Springs knew her but she was just poor Emer Matthews.

  “You got to stay in the doc’s house until the judge gets here. Will be a week on Friday. Don’t get any ideas, Miss Matthews. If you try to escape, my men will shoot to kill. Clover Springs don’t need the rest of the Bainstreet Gang visiting our town.”

  “Sheriff, that’s enough. Nobody will make me believe Miss Matthews is guilty as charged. She didn't have to admit to being a member of the gang and from what I heard, she had little choice.” Paul Kelley coughed as if he wasn’t used to speaking so much.

  “This lady has done nothing but good things since she came to this town. I wouldn’t be alive today if it weren’t for her.”

  Emer sent Paul a look of gratitude before turning her attention back to the sheriff.

  “Okay, Miss Matthews. I need your word you won’t try to escape.”

  Emer opened her mouth but she couldn’t say anything.

  “Give the girl a break, Sheriff. We both know she isn’t to blame for that gang. Come on, Emer, we got work to do. You may be wishing you were back in that cell. My office needs scrubbing from top to bottom.”

  Chapter 46

  “If I’d known watching a criminal would mean a table load of cookies and cakes, I’d have done it long ago.” The doc winked at Emer but she couldn’t smile back. Time was passing and there was no way to prove she was innocent.

  She racked her brains trying to reason why Mitchell would frame her. He couldn’t know any of the Bainstreet Gang. Bill and the rest had never been east. She’d known Connors had died but she didn’t know it was the Bainstreet Gang who murdered him. She cried a few tears for Connors, the kind man who had made her coffee that first day at the bank. He’d thrown Mitchell out of the office, too. That was it. Connors had suspected Mitchell of something. Lawrence would know. Connors must have told him.

  “Doc, can you get a message to Sorcha for me? I need to see her.”

  “One of the ladies is due to call today. They haven’t missed a day yet. I hope its Mrs. Higgins. Don’t say a word but her pies are the best I’ve ever tasted.” The doc rubbed his stomach.

  “Doc, find Sorcha. She needs to get a message to Lawrence.”

  “Who? Oh, you mean Mr. Shipley. He isn’t here, Emer. He hasn’t been seen since the day after they brought in Cheever.”

  Emer slouched back on the chair. So, it was true. Lawrence wasn’t coming back. He must believe Bill.

  “Emer, you’re very pale. Don’t fret, lass. There is no way I am letting any judge lock my best nurse up.”

  “You know that’s not what they’ll do. Murder and armed robbery are hanging offenses, Doc. Everyone knows that.”

  Doc didn’t answer. He sat down, too, not touching the cookies on offer. Emer put her head in her hands.

  Chapter 47

  The judge banged his gravel again. The noise in the room died down.

  "Please call your next witness."

  "I call Harvey Newmark to the stand."

  Emer couldn't believe her ears. Harvey was here. In Clover Springs. She stared at him as he walked up to the chair. He hadn’t changed much, still tall and lanky although he had filled out some.

  "Please state your name for the record."

  "Harvey Newmark." Harvey shuffled his hat from one hand to the other.

  "Do you know any of the defendants?"

  "Yes, Sir. I know the two of them. Bill Cheever and Emer Matthews."

  "Emer Matthews. Is she Bill's wife?"

  Harvey stunned look made a couple of people laugh.

  "Emer marry Bill? Not likely!"

  "Is that a yes or a no, Mr. Newmark?"

  "Sorry, Your Honor. No, Sir, Emer would never marry Bill. She hated him. He was the reason she left Kansas and went looking for her sister. Not sure why she ended up here, though. Or how he found her again."

  "Mr. Cheever said he married Miss Matthews some years back. Together, they have been robbing banks and stages. They were planning the latest in Clover Springs."

  "Well, I don’t know what Bill has been up to. He always was a wrong ‘un, as my ma used to say. But Emer?" Harvey turned to look directly at her.

  She tried to smile but she couldn't move.

  "She's a good gal. She didn’t have nothing to do with that gang when she was a kid. Can't see her being involved with them now."

  "Why are you so sure she never married Bill, Mr. Newmark?"

  Harvey shuffled his hat a couple of times more.

  "Answer the question please, Mr. Newmark."

  "Sorry, Your Honor. Well, I guess because when I asked her to marry me, she told me she wasn’t ready to get married. She was only fifteen then and wanted to find her sister."

  "When you knew Miss Matthews, was she involved with the Bainstreet Gang?"

  Harvey looked uncomfortable. Sweat glistened on his brow as his eyes darted around the room. "Well, I guess she was."

  A loud murmur erupted in the court room causing the judge to bang his gravel a few more times. "Order. Anyone else speaks out of turn and I will have you thrown out."

  "Mr. Newmark. Was she a member or not?"

  "She was only fifteen and didn’t have anywhere else to go. Her ma, Patty Matthews, was a real hard woman. Emer worked night and day to please her but no matter what she did, it was never good enough."

  "Thank you, Mr. Newmark."

  "Look, Your Honor, if Emer were a member then she didn’t have no choice in the matter. Her ma made her do things. That's why she ran away. Her ma was going to give her to him. He's more than twice her age but that didn’t matter to her ma. Patty never cared about no one but herself."

  Emer tried to wipe the tears from her face but her cuffed hands made it difficult

  “Your honor, the witness has just established the woman is an outlaw. Now, can we move on?”

  Emer swayed. She dug her nails into her palms, hoping the pain would focus her. She couldn’t faint in front of the judge. She didn’t think he would approve of swooning ladies.

  "My girl
is innocent of all charges." Silence fell as a shabby and obviously ill woman pushed her way to the front of the room.

  "And who might you be?"

  "Patty, I mean Patricia Matthews." Before anyone could stop her, Patty spat at Bill Cheever. "You dirty dog. You ran out on us after that last job went wrong. Alfie died."

  "Mrs. Matthews, please take the stand."

  All eyes were on Patricia as she hobbled towards the stand.

  "Do you, Mrs. Matthews, swear to tell the truth and nothing but the truth so help you God?"

  Patricia put her hand on the Bible hesitantly as if afraid the good book would burn her. She whispered, “I do.”

  “Please speak up,” the judge admonished her.

  Patty cleared her throat. “I do, Sir, but it’s Miss, not Mrs. I ain’t never been married but I got engaged. He died. All his fault.” The court laughed but quickly quieted down when the judge hit the gravel. He looked sternly at the witness.

  “Please just answer the question you are asked, Miss Matthews.” The judge looked sternly at the witness over his glasses.

  “Yes, Sir. Or at least, I'll try. I don’t remember everything so good now. But I can tell you my girl wasn’t part of the gang. She washed, cooked and cleaned for us but she didn’t take no part in any raids. She was only there because of me. She wasn’t married to him, neither. She hightailed it off the Half Circle as soon as his attentions turned serious."

  "Thank you, Miss Matthews."

  "I ain't finished. You got to let her go. She has a chance at a new life, a happy life. You can't lock her up when the only thing she did wrong was have a ma like me. Put me in your jail, but let her go."

  "And would you like us to let Bill Cheever go, too?" The prosecution attorney sneered.

  Emer took a step forward but the hand on her elbow restrained her. She looked up into the green eyes that frequented her dreams every night. Lawrence.

  "Heck, no. You should hang him from the nearest tree. That’s what he deserves after what he's done." Patricia took a deep breath. "He's the one who made that Mitchell guy hand over the plans for the banks. He threatened to take him on a trip and he wasn’t planning a picnic. If you get my meaning."

  Emer stared at Mitchell, who couldn't look back at her.

  The room erupted with everyone speaking at once. The lawyer acting for Emer shouted loudest. "Your Honor, you must let Miss Matthews go at once. It's obvious she's the innocent party here."

  The judge agreed and Emer was set free, but she didn’t leave the courtroom. Some men stepped forward to arrest Mitchell Shipley. Not only had he been involved in the raid on the Denver office but he was wanted in Boston on a number of charges, including fraud.

  “Mother will be so proud,” Lawrence whispered into Emer’s ear as he held her close. She couldn’t believe she was free and he was back.

  “Lawrence, can we leave now?”

  “Sorry, Miss Matthews, but you need to take a seat. You may be called as a witness.”

  Emer sat, her hand gripping Lawrence’s so tightly it turned white. She didn’t look at her mother but stared at the judge.

  The trial didn’t last long. They were both found guilty. Cheever was sentenced to hang. The judge seemed to take pity on Patty. He could have sentenced her to be incarcerated at the newly built women’s penitentiary in Canon City. Instead, he ordered she be confined at Clover Springs until such a time as she was well enough to be moved to the female penitentiary.

  As the crowd dispersed, Emer sat. She had tried to stand but her legs wouldn’t support her.

  Kneeling in front of her, Lawrence took her hands in his.

  “You’re freezing.”

  “You came back.” Emer squeezed his hands. “You came back.”

  “I only left to help you. I had to find Patty. I’m sorry I was gone so long. I couldn’t bear the thought of you being stuck in the jail.” Lawrence’s teeth gritted together as he almost spat out the words. “With him.”

  “I didn’t stay in the jail. Doc took me to his house. Paul and him convinced the sheriff I wouldn’t run. I was tempted, but I didn’t.”

  “Thank God, you didn’t. If you had, they would have hunted you down like a real criminal.”

  “I am a criminal. I was a member of their gang.”

  “No, you weren’t. You were a child with a thief for a mother. You are no more a criminal than I am a farmer.”

  Emer giggled nervously.

  “Are your knees getting sore?”

  “Yes, Miss Matthews, which is why you need to answer this question quickly. I know I asked you before but I wanted to do it properly. Miss Matthews, will you marry me?”

  “Oh yes, Mr. Shipley. I will.”

  “About time, too. You guys really know how to keep folks waiting. We’ve a party to get to. The whole town is out celebrating my nurse returning to duty.”

  “I’m sorry, Doc, but no wife of mine is going to be a nurse. She’ll stay home and make pies and cookies. Ouch. What did you do that for?” Lawrence rubbed his shin. “I was only joking.”

  Emer put her hand up to her mouth but she didn’t get a chance to apologize.

  “Emer Matthews, as God is my witness, I swear I will never stop you from being who you were meant to be. I love you.”

  As they kissed, the only sound was a loud grunt from the doctor. “Guess I best go tell the party makers the guests of honor have been held up. Not for too long, though. That’s a respectable woman you got in your hands, boy.

  Lawrence and Emer looked at one another before erupting in happy laughter.

  Chapter 48

  "Sheriff, can I have some time with Patricia—sorry, Patty, please?"

  "Doc's in with her. Go in when he's finished."

  Sorcha sat on the chair waiting. She looked around the walls at the wanted posters. Emer had been right. Patty's face could be decorating the wall of some jail. Wonder if any of these men are my pa?

  "Sorcha, you can go in now. She's very weak." Doc gave her a sympathetic look on his way out.

  Sorcha counted backwards to try to calm her roiling stomach. She wished Emer was here with her, but her sister said she'd never speak to their ma again. Brian would have come but she didn’t think Patricia would speak freely in front of a stranger. That was rich. She was just as much a stranger to the woman in the cell.

  She walked slowly, her nose wrinkling at the smell. She didn’t want to identify the odors. Patty was lying on the mattress. It looked like she was asleep. Disappointed, Sorcha turned to leave.

  "You look just like your pa. He had hair like yours. Used to curl around his collar when it got long."

  "Where is he? Is he still alive?" Sorcha hated the hopeful note in her voice but she couldn’t help it. She wanted—make that needed—to know where she'd come from.

  "How would I know? I took off when I found out I was carrying Emer."

  "So, we did have the same pa. What was he like?"

  "He could charm the honey from the bees. He had such a lovely accent. He was British. Your Granny never forgave me for that."

  "Granny knew my Pa?"

  "Of course she knew him. Didn’t she tell you? She hated him, though. Not only was he English but he was a protestant. He'd never been to Ireland but that didn’t stop my mother from blaming him for the famine. Like he was personally responsible for killing all those people."

  "Where did you meet?"

  "He was the son of the family I worked for. Ma got so mad when she found out I was pregnant. She dragged me with her to see the master of the house despite me begging her not to. William's father laughed in our faces. He threw ten dollars at us and threatened to call the soldiers if we didn’t leave. "

  "What about William? Did he not tell his family you were in love?"

  Patty sounded like she was laughing before it turned into a hacking cough. "You are a real romantic, aren’t you? William didn’t love me. Not really. He just wanted what every man wants. Once he got it, he didn’t want to know."
<
br />   "So you gave me to your mother?"

  "Ma insisted. I was going to take you away, pretend I was a widow or something but Ma wouldn’t hear of it. She said it was impossible for an Irish girl like me to work and earn enough to keep a family. "

  "But if you knew he didn’t love you, how did you fall pregnant with Emer? I thought you said we had the same father."

  "You do." Patty didn’t look at Sorcha. She closed her eyes. "You were six months old. You were such a pretty little thing. Even back then your hair was the color of gold. People said you looked like an angel. Ma kept telling me to leave you with her and go away. Somewhere people didn’t know me so I could start again. I could get married and be respectable." A horrible cough stopped Patty from talking for a little while. Sorcha stood up. "I will be back in a minute. I'm going to ask the sheriff to make some tea."

  "He's not going to do that for the likes of me."

  "No, but he will for me." Sorcha called for the sheriff to come and let her out of the cell. He didn’t have tea but after some persuasion he agreed to make them coffee. Sorcha carried two cups back to the cell. Patty seemed to have fallen asleep for real this time.

  Sorcha sat on the chair the sheriff had kindly provided. Over the rim of her cup, she studied the woman lying in front of her. For as long as she could remember, she had dreamed of having a real mother. But in her dreams the woman had been kind with a beautiful smile. Sorcha closed her eyes, remembering the feelings she had when she dreamed the woman came back to the orphanage to collect her and bring her to a real home. But she had never come.

  All these years, Sorcha had wondered what she had done to make the woman who had given birth to her hate her so much. If she was to believe what Patty said, she hadn’t hated her. She'd loved her. She'd wanted her. It was Granny who had kept them apart.

  Well, she would blame the old woman wouldn’t she? It wasn’t like granny is here to defend herself.

  The sheriff came to check on her some time later. "Mrs. Petersen, it doesn’t look like Patty is going to be much company for a while. Why don’t you go home and come back tomorrow?