The Lone Texan

by Jodi Thomas

  Sage slept in a chair between checking the wound and giving more opium. By daybreak, fever had set in, and her next round of fighting began.

  Myron did what he could, but he was not a nurse. He made sure she had fresh water, clean towels, and left trays of food, which she never had time to touch.

  It took two days for the fever to break, and when it did, the count was weak, almost helpless. She fed him soup, changed his bandages, and listened to his ramblings. Once, he grabbed her hand and kissed it as formally as if they'd been introduced in court.

  Finally, he slept soundly.

  Sage crawled into the overstuffed chair and did the same. When she woke the next morning, the count was staring at her. "You saved my life”

  "Then I can go?"

  He smiled as if catching her in a lie. "No. I've decided I have need of your services.” He closed his eyes and sighed. "I don't lower myself to mix with the whores very often, so you'll get no diseases from me. You'll have the run of the house in daylight, and when you're not in my bed, I'll lock you in a fine room at night. You'll have new clothes and whatever you need within reason. It'll be my gift to you for saving my life”

  Sage had been half-asleep when he'd started and couldn't believe what she was hearing. "I'm not interested in marriage.”

  He laughed. "I'm not offering marriage. At least not like you think. We do have a kind of marriage here. If a man claims a woman, no other man can take her. It's a strict rule, or we'd have fights over females all the time. You'd be mine. No other man would bother you."

  "I'm still not interested." She stood. "I'll check your bandage, make sure you're not bleeding, then I'll be on my way. I can buy my own dresses”

  He didn't move, but she saw the change in his eyes, the kind of insanity that comes when someone believes he has complete power.

  He tapped his cane on the floor, and the guard appeared. "Lock her up” he said simply.

  Luther looked confused but took Sage's arm.

  The count glared at her. "I'll ask you again tonight, but let me warn you, if you don't agree, you'll be very, very sorry. No one, man or woman, refuses me”

  She wanted to say she already was sorry. She should have let him die. But he was like a wounded animal. She couldn't be sure what he'd do. Maybe if she went away for a few hours, he'd come to his senses and realize she'd saved his life.

  Luther didn't say a word as he took her back to the cell. He'd seen what she'd done for the count, but his job was to follow orders.

  No bath or food awaited her when she stepped into her prison. Sage curled on the bed and felt along the hem of her petticoat for her little gun. She'd shoot him tonight if she had to, but she'd not live with him.

  She almost laughed. She'd just spent three days fighting to save a man she was now planning to kill. There was no downhill from here. Her life had to get better.

  Just to prove herself wrong, Sneezy's thin face appeared at the barred window of her cell. After his verbal torturing on the trail, she'd hoped never to see the man again.

  He giggled as he stared at her. "I've been thinking about it. I think I should burn you before I kill you. Burns hurt real bad when they bubble the skin, and I've heard tell the screams echo for days in this canyon”

  "What happened to your face?" she asked, noticing the dark bruise along his forehead.

  "Luther hit me with a rifle butt for no reason” He touched the spot as if he'd forgotten about it. "It didn't hurt all that much. Not near as bad as the burns are going to hurt you. There's a big party tonight. The whiskey wagon is here. Once Hanover and that pet dog of his, Luther, down a few, they'll forget all about you. When the gambling starts, I'll get a key and come pay you a visit. I owe you. You won't be so high and mighty when you smell your own skin burning.”

  "I'll be waiting.” she answered, outlining the gun in her skirts.

  He disappeared.

  Sage turned her face to the wall, wishing she could sleep. Even a nightmare would be better than the hell she was trapped in.

  CHAPTER 21

  DRUMMOND ROAR LOWERED THE BRIM OF HIS NEW black hat until his face was in shadow, then he walked into the saloon. Because he looked every ounce a gunfighter, he found himself moving like one, slow and cautious.

  On the long ride through Skull Alley, Daniel and he had decided it would be safer for Drum to be one of the gamblers than to try to hide out in a whiskey wagon. They agreed he could pull off gunfighter far easier, and the two occupations ran hand in hand. If a traveling gambler couldn't defend himself in the street, he wouldn't last long. Daniel had seen him in action. He claimed Roak was not only the fastest gun he'd ever seen but also the most accurate.

  Three days ago, Drum had scrubbed in the stream while they waited at the opening of Skull Alley for the whiskey wagon and the gamblers. When he'd stepped out in his new black clothes and fine tooled vest, Daniel almost hadn't recognized him. Drum shaved his two-week-old beard with a clean razor line across his cheek, making his jaw look even squarer than it already was. The dark beard made him look older. His bullet-gray eyes looked deadly serious beneath the brim of his black hat.

  Daniel looked relieved to see his pa pull up with the gamblers about nightfall that first day. He claimed he couldn't have held Drummond at the opening for another day. By dawn on the second day, Drum was ready to ride and didn't like it much when they camped for the night halfway through the canyon. He wanted to get to Sage.

  He'd lost enough money the first night on the journey with the gamblers that they not only allowed but insisted he come along the rest of the way. They saw the money they won from Drum as all theirs and not money they'd have to split with the count.

  Daniel held back, acting like he didn't know Roak. They'd planned it that way. Just in case Roak was caught, Daniel would still have a chance of getting Sage out.

  "Don't worry what happens to me if I'm caught” Drum had said several times. "Just get Sage to safety."

  Now, after talking and planning for three days, they were in the hideout, and Drum walked toward the bar as if he had no plans other than to gamble the night away. Several heads looked his way when he stepped into the smoke-filled room. He was new, untried, but from the way he wore his gun, they guessed he was fast, and none of the outlaws seemed in any hurry to try his luck.

  Drum took a place along the thirty-foot bar two men down from Daniel Torry. They didn't speak, but as the customers between them refilled their mugs and moved on, Drum closed the distance until he stood next to the Ranger.

  Once the music started, Daniel whispered, "The big game starts at midnight. If I were guessing, it's set that late so the locals will be drunk before they play.” He tipped his glass to Drum. "That's when you might want to have an exit plan, unless you're a lot better at cards than I think you are. The way you look, no one in the place would question you're a gunfighter, but trust me, they'll know you're not a gambler ten minutes after you sit down.”

  Roak didn't know how to take Daniel's teasing, so he changed the subject. "What have you heard about Sage?"

  "Not much, just that the count had an operation three days ago and is recovering. Before that, there were bets on what day he'd die:" Daniel took a long drink. "We might be able to look around in about an hour. They're having a virgin auction before the game, so every man in the camp will be in here watching.”

  Drum smiled at Daniel Torry. They'd both been around these hideouts long enough to know the scheme. Some prostitute, not known in the area, would claim to be a virgin. She'd go for several times what the normal rate was. Sometimes they'd auction her again the next night as almost a virgin.

  "You ever try to save one?" Drummond asked. In all his years at the camps, he'd only been fooled once by what he thought was a woman in distress.

  Daniel nodded. "The first time I heard about one being sold to the highest bidder, I was delivering whiskey with my pa down by the border. I broke into her room and tried to help her escape.”

  "What'd she do?"
r />   Daniel shook his head. "I thought that woman was going to beat me to death. In fact, I blame her for being half afraid of every woman I meet. You never know when one that looks like a virgin will turn into a fire-breathing whore. She left so many knots on my head, I couldn't wear a hat for months”

  Drum laughed.

  "How about you, Roak? Did you ever save a girl?"

  "Nope," Drum lied. He had stepped in once and gotten a girl out. She couldn't have been more than sixteen. She'd run off with an outlaw, thinking she'd reform him. He put her up for auction for drinking money after they'd been together for about a month. Drum had stepped in, gotten her away, and took her back to within a few miles of her home.

  He'd patted himself on the back for the fine job he'd done until he heard later that her father beat her so badly for running away that she'd be crippled up for the rest of her life. Folks said he treated her worse than a slave around the place, knowing that no man would ever take her off again.

  Drum downed his whiskey, washing away the memory. Why did life always have to be so hard? Even telling right from wrong was hard to keep straight. The only marker he had was Teagen McMurray. Sometimes, when he couldn't tell which way to go, he'd think about what the head of the McMurrays would do. Teagen, Sage's oldest brother, was one man who saw the world in black and white. For Drum, the world was gray. He knew killing was wrong, but like Captain Harmon said, there were a few who needed to be hurried to meet their maker.

  Tonight, however, he knew what was right. He had to find Sage, and if he had to tear every board of this town apart, he would. He couldn't stand the thought of her in a place like this. He knew towns like this. A good day was when the smell of a rotting body didn't pollute the air.

  As it turned out, Drum didn't have to search all that far for Sage, because she stepped into the bar just as he ordered another drink.

  She was angry and kicking at the guard who tried to pull her forward with the ropes that bound her. Her clothes were worn and dirty, her hair wild, her mouth gagged, but she was still all fight and fire.

  Drum lowered his black hat, guessing that even if she had the time to glance in his direction, she wouldn't recognize him. The last thing he wanted in a saloon with fifty outlaws watching was for her to shout out his name. His gut tightened at the sight of her, and rage boiled through his blood.

  Daniel Torry's glass hit the bar, but he recovered quickly and turned his back to the procession leading Sage to the center of the room. He let out a string of swear words in a low breath and then said simply, "They're going to auction off the doctor. Hellfire. She's the virgin for tonight.”

  Drummond never took his eyes off her. "And she doesn't look too happy about it”

  Men all around were hooting and calling out what they planned to do with the little lady when they won the bid. The big guard lifted her up on a table in the center of the room and looped the rope around her neck to a rafter. If she struggled now, she'd choke herself.

  One of the bartenders stood on a chair and shoved her hair out of her face.

  Drummond saw the bruises on her forehead and cheek and almost lost control. If he drew his gun, six men would be dead before anyone could return fire. The only thing that stopped him was that he might not kill the one who had hurt her.

  "These are the rules, men!" the bartender yelled. "Anyone can bid, but the man who wins gets the little lady for the night. There's a room upstairs that's included in the price. He can keep her there all night or sell her if he wants to get some of his money back. If he opens the door wide, the line forms on the right of the stairs for seconds. If he doesn't offer the invitation, no one goes in that room, no matter what we hear. Come morning, assuming she's still alive, she becomes an employee of the saloon. Is that clear to everyone?"

  Several shouted for him to get on with the auction. Drummond leaned close to Daniel. "I'll get her. You have horses ready and waiting.”

  Daniel nodded so slightly no one near would have noticed.

  The bidding started. Several men leaned across, trying to touch her, but the guard wasn't allowing any free samples. In an odd way, he seemed to be protecting her.

  When the bidding slowed at fifty dollars, the bartender ordered the guard to release a foot of the rope. The bartender pulled her to him and ripped the front of her blouse open almost to the waist. Now her cleavage clearly revealed a young woman. Cheers rounded the room, and the bidding continued.

  When it slowed again at near a hundred, the guard reached for her again, but Drunimond's sudden bid stopped hint

  "What was that bid from the back?" the bartender shouted.

  "Two hundred dollars, and I unwrap her myself.” Drummond kept his voice sharp, angry.

  The bartender smiled. "Two hundred going once, twice, sold to the man in black. The little lady's all yours, and you get to unwrap her yourself.”

  CHAPTER 22

  SAGE CLOSED HER EYES AND TRIED TO BREATHE. SHE'D just had the worst day of her life, and now she'd have to fight off some crude man who thought he could buy her for two hundred dollars.

  His footsteps sounded like the hammer of death nails on a coffin as he neared. She didn't want to look at him. She didn't want to remember the face of the outlaw she'd use her one bullet on as soon as they were alone.

  She'd gone without food or water all day, and she couldn't remember eating for two days before that. When the guard, Luther, came after her, he didn't look happy about having to bind her hands, but he did. They walked to the count's house, and he left her standing in the dining room for an hour while the count finished his bath. She could see and smell the food on the table, but with her hands behind her, she couldn't even pinch a taste. There were two place settings as though Hanover planned to ask her to join him.

  When he walked into the room. Sage almost didn't recognize the man she'd first seen. He'd been withered in pain and fever when she arrived. Now, though he still leaned on a cane, she saw a confidence and air of superiority in his manner. He wore a loose shirt, trousers, and riding boots as if he'd just been out.

  He didn't offer her a chair as he sat down and began eating.

  After a few bites, he said, "I want you to answer very carefully this time. I would like you here with me, but I'll only ask once more. If you say no, there will be no going back after tonight. You will have your punishment without further discussion.” He smiled as if he thought she'd been teasing him earlier. "Now, would you like to stay here with me and have a meal before we retire?"

  "I want to go home," she answered. "I came here against my will, and I'll not stay. You will let me go right now, or I swear you will be the one who regrets this day."

  She'd thought about what she would say, and her voice never shook.

  He took a sip of wine. "I admire your courage, dear. So much so, I've chosen to kill you.” He grinned. "But I will promise you that before this night ends, you will regret your decision. Whether you're in my house or somewhere else in our little town, you will stay. No one leaves this place without my permission.” He smiled. "I imagine your answer will be quite different when you recover from your evening out."

  He tapped his cane, and Luther walked in with the noose she'd grown to hate. He slipped it around her neck and tugged it tight.

  The count went back to his meal, waving them away. "Take her to the auction. I never want to see or hear what happens tonight. If she's alive tomorrow, take her to her cell and leave her there without food or water until I decide if I want to see her again.”

  "She saved your life," Myron said from the doorway to the kitchen.

  The count blustered. "Yes, and if you value yours, you'll stay out of this. Women must often be taught lessons.”

  The guard tugged on the rope, and Sage followed him out, glad to be away from the horrible man. She thought she heard a hard slap and a body hitting the floor. Myron was being punished. The little butler would never be brave enough to fight for his life.

  On the walk out into the night, she didn't
ask any questions until they passed the boardinghouse where her cell was. Then she demanded to know what was going on.

  The guard tried tugging the rope tighter to shut her up, but she still fought.

  Finally, he grabbed her from behind and held her against him, so her kicks couldn't hurt. "Stop, miss. There ain't nothing you can do to change anything. I don't want to hurt you, but I will, if I have to”

  "Let me go?" she demanded. "Just let me go”

  "If I did, he'd kill my family. I saw him do it a few years back just because one of the men lied to him. I got a wife and a boy in camp. I ain't doing nothing but following orders. He wants you to go up for auction tonight. I'm just taking you to the saloon.”

  "You saw what I did for him” She tried again. Luther had watched the surgery and all the hours of care that had followed.

  "I did, but you were thinking he was human just because he bleeds. I'm not so sure he is.”

  "You could let me escape. Untie my hands. I'd run, and you could tell him I died.”

  He shook his head. "No."

  She began to fight again. "You're no better than him."

  The guard didn't answer. He just gagged her, then half carried, half dragged her into the saloon. By the time he tied her to the rafter, Sage was battling fainting from lack of air. She forced herself to stand still and breathe as deeply as the noose would allow. The world was foggy as if thick, black spiderwebs were everywhere. Men around her were shouting, but she couldn't get her mind around what they were saying. She concentrated on not passing out, but with no food or water and now no air, she was losing the battle.

  Then all she heard were footsteps, and the rope went slack. She crumpled and was caught before she hit the table. A man in black picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder.