An Unlikely Mother

by Danica Favorite

  However, as the hours seemed to tick by at an incredibly slow rate, George was beginning to think they’d misjudged the men behind the troubles. What if they’d been wrong in their calculations?

  A rattle at the door alerted him.

  “Are you sure this is it?” a voice asked quietly.

  Owen gave a loud snore to make it sound like George Bellingham was asleep in his bed.

  “Yes. Let’s do this and be done with it.”

  George tried peering through the crack in the closet to see who was speaking, but the room was too dimly lit.

  “No. Have to wait for the boss to verify it’s him. Can’t have another mistake like the stagecoach.”

  The other man groaned.

  “Shh...you’ll wake him.”

  Owen let out another loud snore.

  Footsteps sounded across the room, and light briefly shone in as the curtains rustled at the window. Probably to signal the boss. George forced himself to remain calm. They were so close. And yet, as his heart thundered in his chest, he couldn’t stop his racing thoughts from going over all the evidence. Everything said the man responsible was most likely Robert Cooper, but what if it wasn’t?

  More footsteps sounded in the hallway.

  “Well?”

  The impatient voice broke George’s heart. Not Cooper. George closed his eyes and said a silent prayer. His brother-in-law.

  George wanted to push open the door and demand to know how Arthur could do such a thing, but both Will and Owen had cautioned him to wait until they revealed themselves. They needed to get the men to actually attempt to kill the man they thought was George, and they needed to hear the boss admit involvement. The lawmen wanted an airtight case, which meant waiting as long as possible while the culprits spoke.

  “Can we just get it over with?” one of the men asked. “We need to be gone before the family returns.”

  “They’ll be a while.” Another man chuckled. “Poor Mr. Montgomery is going to have some carriage trouble.”

  “Not another accident,” Arthur said. “It’ll be too suspicious for the Montgomerys to be killed the same night George was, the same way his father was.”

  The man who’d mentioned the carriage trouble made a sound. “Oh, I think it will make a lot of sense once these books are found in George’s things. Poor man was into the moneylenders for quite a sum. Coming to Leadville to finalize the deal made him realize that it wouldn’t be long before Dougherty talked and let Montgomery know Dougherty’s been stealing from neighboring claims for a while now on his boss’s orders. Not to mention the way he’s been altering the financial records to cover up the embezzlement.”

  At least that was one more piece confirmed. George was grateful that he’d listened to the advice he’d been given and remained in the closet. He tried to peer through the crack to get a glimpse of the ringleader, but the angle wasn’t right. Who was this mysterious man?

  “Are you sure he hasn’t?” Arthur asked. “Montgomery was doing an awful lot of digging. And with the mine being investigated? What if they found something?”

  The ringleader snickered. “Dougherty got the right books out in time. Stupid drunk, nearly ruined it for us all, trying to scare Montgomery away with that explosion. All he was supposed to do was show Montgomery the books Robert made up so that Montgomery would go away and we could sell the mine to someone stupid enough not to know better. Now we’ve got a mess on our hands, which is why you’re here to help clean it up.”

  The man was so sure of himself, so smug in how he thought he’d arranged it all. With no thought to the lives he’d destroyed in the process. Was still planning on destroying. It provided some comfort to know that Arthur obviously wasn’t running the show, and that someone else was pulling the strings. But still, how could Arthur allow someone to hurt his family like this?

  “But what if Dougherty talks?” Arthur asked, his voice wavering. “What if George hears us talking?”

  “Dead men can’t talk,” the ringleader said.

  As if Owen also wanted to keep the men speaking, he let out another snore.

  “That’s a lot of killing. Why do so many people have to die?” Arthur sounded scared. Like suddenly the man he’d been trusting wasn’t quite so trustworthy.

  “You know why. Under the terms of Elias’s will, the only way that silly wife of yours gets more than a pittance is if George dies.”

  Though, over the past few days, George had questioned the wisdom of keeping his identity a secret, he was now grateful he’d done so.

  Arthur murmured something incoherent.

  “It’s your own fault. You should have known Elias would figure out you were embezzling from the mine to cover your gambling debts. You’re just fortunate that I got to him before he went to the law. Or told Julia.”

  George closed his eyes and fought the nausea rolling around in his stomach. The only good thing about hearing this discussion was that whoever this man was, he’d just admitted to killing George’s father.

  “Leave Julia out of this,” Arthur said. “You promised you wouldn’t tell her.”

  “And I won’t,” the other man said smoothly. “As long as you cooperate.”

  At least his sister wasn’t involved. But the heartbreak she was about to endure...

  Arthur let out a long sigh. “When’s Robert going to get here? I want to get this over with.”

  “He’s staying at the hotel to confirm that we were there with him all night. We needed you here to make sure we got the right man this time.”

  The more pieces that were put together, the more George hated knowing.

  “Someone hold George down. And cover his mouth so he doesn’t alert anyone. I heard the staff was off for the night, but we can’t take any chances. We need some light so we can plant the evidence.”

  As footsteps echoed in the room, like whoever was ordered to hold “George” down was doing just that, George heard a struggle and muffled grunts.

  From his vantage point in the closet, George couldn’t be sure how events progressed. But when he emerged, he saw that Will, who’d been hiding under the bed, had somehow managed to get one man on the ground, and Owen had popped out of the bed and was holding the others at gunpoint.

  “It was a trap?” The ringleader sounded incredulous as he stared at George.

  “George?” Arthur sounded even more so as George came out of the closet.

  “How could you?” George asked him, looking his brother-in-law in the eye for the first time. “Father gave you so much.”

  “He didn’t leave me anything in his will, now, did he? When I married Julia, he told me I was expected to earn my keep, to actually participate in the family business instead of just reaping the benefits. Do you know how much money Julia spends?”

  Considering Julia often asked George for money, he had a pretty good idea.

  “So you killed him?”

  Wild-eyed, Arthur turned in the direction of the ringleader. “No, he did. He said it was the only way. I’d lost so much at the tables, with no chance of ever paying it back.”

  George looked at the man Arthur blamed. His face was covered in scars, and George couldn’t say he’d ever seen the man before, but there was something familiar about him.

  “Hello, George,” the man said, raising his pistol at George’s face.

  Owen jumped from his place by the bed and tackled the man, but not before he’d pulled the trigger. George ducked as the shot zinged across the room, shattering the window.

  The man wrestled with Owen, and another gunshot rang out. Owen rolled off the man and stood. A patch of red spread out across the man’s chest.

  “Papa, no!” Arthur screamed as he ran to the man’s lifeless body.

  “Your father’s been dead a long time,” George said quietly. />
  “No...” Arthur began sobbing. “He faked his death because Elias had figured out Papa was stealing from him. We met again, a few years ago, at the gaming tables. I should have known Elias would have realized I was doing the same thing. I was just doing what my father told me to do. I can’t go to jail. It’s not my fault. Why did you kill my father?”

  In a quick motion, Arthur pulled another gun out from under his vest. Owen started for him, but before he could get to Arthur, Arthur shot himself.

  George turned away from the scene, noting that Will already had the other two men who were part of the plot in handcuffs.

  “We’re just the hired help,” one of the men said, struggling against the restraints. “We didn’t do anything.”

  Will pulled him toward the door. “Tell it to the judge and jury. Until then, I’ve got a nice hard bed in the jail for you two.”

  Several other men ran into the room, guns drawn. “We heard gunfire,” one of them said.

  “It’s over,” Will said, pushing one of the men toward him. “Take this guy and his friend over to the jail. Bobby, can you get someone to come help with the bodies? Jim, go check on the Montgomerys at the Opera House.”

  Will pulled a watch out of his pocket. “They shouldn’t be leaving for a while. Don’t let them get in their carriage. Both the carriage and horses need to be inspected for sabotage before anyone uses them.”

  Then Will looked around the room. “Tell the ladies to stay at my house or with Rose tonight. Pierre’s already at Rose’s, so I’m sure that’s where Flora will want to be.”

  George tried not to focus his gaze on the two lifeless bodies. “I don’t know how I’m going to tell Julia.”

  Owen came and patted him on the back. “You’ll do fine. And we’re here for you. I don’t know your sister, but I’ve got a pretty good idea that she’s made of some strong stuff. I hate to speak ill of the dead, but she’s better off without him.”

  A large bag sat by the door. George walked over and peered inside. “I guess these are the books they were going to plant to make it look like I was behind it all.”

  “Don’t touch them,” Will said. “We need to go over these for evidence. I doubt the two we sent to the jail are more than what they said they were—hired guns. But, just in case, I want to do this right. All these people deserve justice.”

  George nodded slowly. “I just can’t believe they’d kill so many people to cover up their crimes.”

  “Ross Eldridge wasn’t just accused of embezzlement,” John said, entering the room. “I did some further digging into his life when I started to see similarities. There were rumors of people he’d had killed. It doesn’t surprise me that he faked his death and was here tonight. Like I said the other day, a lot of this sounded like how he operated. I only wish Elias had realized it sooner.”

  John must have walked from the Opera House, or by the way he was breathing, ran. Fortunately, it wasn’t a great distance, and the carriage was mostly needed to transport the women in their finery.

  “I thought you were supposed to be at the show?” George asked.

  “When Will’s men came to warn me about the carriage, I couldn’t stay. I asked one of the men to tell Anna, and I came straightaway. I couldn’t let you deal with this alone. And Ross... How has he gone unnoticed all these years?”

  Will looked down at the dead men. “He fits the description of a man known as the Steed. Runs a few moneylending and gambling outfits across the West. I can’t wait to send a wire to let people know we got him. This man ruined a lot of lives.”

  Several other lawmen entered the room, carrying stretchers to take away the bodies.

  “I’m sorry for your loss,” John said, coming to George and putting his arm around him. “I know you cared for Arthur, and it’s going to be difficult for your sister. I should have tried harder to repair my relationship with your father. Maybe none of this would have happened.”

  “It’s not your fault,” George told him. “My father was a stubborn man. And a proud one. He probably was too ashamed to face you, knowing you’d been right about...”

  He couldn’t even say the name. A man who’d been like family, two men, and they’d not only destroyed the family, but everything George’s father had built.

  “Whatever you or your sister need, we’re here for you,” John said. “It’s the least we can do.”

  George shook his head. “As long as you’re still willing to buy the mine. I know you’ll give a fair price, and based on the fact that Dougherty had been wrong about that silver belonging to another mine, it should end up yielding you a tidy sum.”

  “I could lend you the money to get back on your feet,” John said.

  “No.” George shook his head. “While I know you’d deal fairly with me, I can’t end up beholden to someone like that, not knowing if I’d ever be able to repay you. That seems to be how all this mess started. I’ll take the proceeds from the sale, take care of those who were wronged by Arthur’s greed, and use whatever’s left for my mother and sister. Then find honest work for myself.”

  George looked around the room. Even with the stench of blood and gunpowder, no one could mistake the opulence. “All I need is a roof over my head, food in my belly and a good, honest woman beside me. I don’t want any of this, not with what I’ve seen it do to a man.”

  “What about Flora?” John looked at him intently.

  “I laid my heart bare for her. She said she needed more time. But you and I both know, given the scandal that’s about to hit, she’d be a fool to accept me.”

  Then he remembered Pierre. “I’ll still do right by Pierre. As long as Flora and whoever she ends up marrying will let me be there for him, Pierre can always count on me. But I’m finished pressing my suit.”

  * * *

  The splendor of the Tabor Opera House was lost on Flora as she sat in one of the box seats, wearing a new silk gown her mother had bought specifically for Flora because it would attract attention. In the past, she’d have been preening and enjoying having so many eyes upon her. After all, it was the latest fashion from Paris.

  As the intermission began, Flora didn’t want to leave her seat. “You go say hello to everyone, Mother,” she said. “I’m a bit fatigued, so I’m going to stay right here.”

  “But Mr. Lawson said we were to be sure everyone saw us here tonight so people knew we weren’t at home.”

  Flora sighed. “I’m sure they can see us just fine in these box seats.”

  “Oh, they can, can they?” Flora’s mother waved as one of her friends passed by. “It’s just too bad you couldn’t have come on the arm of George Bellingham.”

  “You know why he couldn’t come,” Flora said, trying not to sound irritated. Her mother meant well, and she was glad that the ruse was about to end. There’d be some explaining to do, but at least then everything would be out in the open.

  Her mother let out a long sigh, like she still didn’t like Flora’s answer. “I suppose I should see where your father went off to. I can’t imagine why he would disappear like that, when he was the one who said we had to be sure everyone saw us here.”

  As soon as Flora’s mother left, Sarah slid into the chair she’d vacated.

  “Enjoying the performance?”

  Flora smiled. “Yes, thank you.”

  Was it so terrible that the last thing she wanted was to sit and make small talk with her former best friend? Honestly, if it wasn’t so important that Flora be seen out in public tonight, she’d have stayed at Rose’s with Pierre and enjoyed the popped corn Rose said they were making. Even though Milly didn’t know French, she’d taken to following Pierre around, mimicking his words. Flora had promised to help Milly learn to speak with Pierre, and it felt good to know that even that relationship had been redeemed.

  “So...” Sarah leaned in t
o her. “I hear George Bellingham is at your house now. Is he as handsome as everyone says?”

  How was Sarah going to react when she learned that the heir she’d been swooning over was the same miner she’d been sneering at?

  “I suppose,” Flora said, sighing.

  “Does he compare to your miner friend?”

  Flora closed her eyes and willed herself not to make a nasty remark in return. How had she thought she wanted to restore this relationship?

  Sarah put a hand over Flora’s, and Flora opened her eyes to look at the other woman.

  “I wasn’t trying to tease,” Sarah said softly. “I haven’t been very nice to you, and I’m sorry.”

  Words Flora had never imagined hearing her say. “Thank you.”

  “At first, when you were an outcast, I was afraid,” Sarah said. “If they all hated you, when would they turn on me? So I did everything I could to distance myself from you, and that was wrong of me. It’s not what a true friend would do.”

  Flora examined the other woman’s face, not sure who the person sitting beside her was.

  “But as I’ve seen you change, and seen others respond to that change, I realized that I was the one in the wrong. I hated hearing how sorry you were. How you regretted your past behavior. It was like a spotlight was shining on me, asking me to do the same.”

  “I never meant to accuse you,” Flora said softly. “I feared that’s how you felt, and I wish there’d been some other way to make amends, but not in a way that made you feel bad.”

  Sarah nodded. “But I was guilty. Just as guilty as you. And I hated it. Every time we were nasty to you, you acted like it didn’t matter. Which hurt, because I missed you so much, and I hated that you didn’t miss me.”

  Tears welled up in Flora’s eyes. “I did miss you.” She shook her head as Sarah offered her a handkerchief. “In some ways, I still do, but I’m also not that person anymore. I find the amusements of my past don’t bring me joy the way they used to.”

  “Anyone can see what a good mother you are. I was sorry to hear about Pierre’s father.”