by Merry Farmer
“Vivian. Melinda. Bebe.” The sultry alto of her voice took on a menacing tone. “Your sister just told you she isn’t feeling well. Take her home.”
“We don’t take orders from you.” Melinda crossed her arms and hoisted her chin high.
“Well, we might if she marries Papa,” Bebe added.
“She will not marry Papa,” Vivian snapped.
“So you would prefer that he and I continue the understanding that we have?”
Libby blinked in shock as all four of the sisters turned various shades of red and purple. She had the feeling she’d stumbled across a drama that had been active for a while and had a long way to go before being solved.
Bebe’s mouth dropped open, and her eyes widened. “Were you the reason Papa was huffing like that down in his study the other night? I told Vivian you were, but she said you and Papa were just playing chess.”
“Bebe!” Vivian silenced her with a shout, grabbing her wrist so hard and fast that Bebe yelped. “Come on. We’re going home.”
“Hmph.” Melinda sniffed at both Libby and Bonnie, then followed her sisters down the boardwalk in the direction of the livery.
Bonnie turned to Libby, Emma, and Katie with a wicked smirk. “Never thought I’d see the day when castling Rex Bonneville’s king on bended knee actually served a use.”
Katie snorted. Emma clapped a hand to her mouth. Libby was too busy catching up to everything that had just happened to know what to think. Bonnie shook her head and sighed, then slipped her arm into Libby’s as though they were old friends.
“Come on. I think you and I need to talk.”
Bonnie nodded to Katie and Emma, who must have felt they were leaving Libby in good hands. Libby was still shaking from her confrontation with Hector and with the Bonneville sisters, and so let herself be led up to the bright pink building and inside before she could question the kindness.
Whatever Libby expected the inside of a whorehouse to look like, Bonnie’s place surprised her. It looked the same as any other fine, city house, only with more pink and lavender. A cheery fire blazed in a front parlor, where several young ladies lounged about, reading, playing cards, or in the case of one, showering kisses on a middle-aged man as she sat on his lap. It was too cold for the girls to display all their wares, but enough was showing to advertise what was available.
“This way.” Bonnie walked Libby past the parlor door and down the hall to a much smaller, closed door. She turned the handle and pushed it open into an entirely different part of the house.
“Oh, hello.” The young lady who greeted Libby was dressed as conservatively as anyone else in town, with a shawl around her shoulders. “Are you new here?”
“Libby isn’t joining the house, Pearl.” Bonnie patted the girl, Pearl’s shoulder as she and Libby passed and headed on to a small office.
Pearl turned and followed them. “It’s really not that bad,” she insisted. “Bonnie is like a mother to us, even though she’s not old enough to be my mama. And the men in Haskell are nice, for the most part. We get regular meals and doctor’s visits, and we’re free to leave any time, and—”
“Thank you, Pearl.” Bonnie laughed. “But as I said, Libby is not joining us. She married Mason Montrose yesterday.”
“Oh. Mason.” She smiled and sighed. “I mean, Mason is a perfect gentleman.” Her face pinked, and she turned to rush from the room.
By that point, Libby’s head was spinning so fast that she plunked down into the sofa Bonnie offered as her legs gave out. She shook her head, hardly able to believe the last half hour had happened, let alone the last three months.
Bonnie sank to the sofa next to her, resting a friendly hand on Libby’s shoulder. “You can’t hold a man’s behavior from before you met him against him,” she counseled.
“No,” Libby answered, barely above a whisper. “It’s not that. I’ve lived almost exclusively around men for the past ten years. I know how they can be, what they need.” Which only meant she should have seen Hector’s advances coming. Yet another twist of blind foolishness to add to the weight of her guilt.
Hector. He’d cornered her at the hotel the same way he’d cornered her in Teddy’s house that night. If the hotel hadn’t been crowded, would she have succumbed again?
“I do belong here, in this house.” She let her shame burst out, doubling forward to hide her face in her hands. “I’m no different from these girls.”
Bonnie rubbed her back, as comforting as any mother. “No, you’re not.”
Surprise straightened Libby’s back. “I’m not?” Up until that point, everyone she’d told the truth had insisted she was innocent.
Bonnie sighed and continued to rub her back. “Every one of the women in my care is just as worthy of love and attention and peace as you are, sweetheart. Every one of them carries a burden of shame and tells a story of how they ended up here.”
The twisted ache in Libby’s heart seemed to grow heavier, but not with shame. No, for the first time, her heart thumped with compassion, seeing that she wasn’t alone.
“I noticed it out on the street, when your boys rammed into me,” Bonnie went on. “But I’d heard folks talking about you from the first day when you got off the train.”
“People are talking about me?” Libby winced.
“Folks always talk about newcomers. All newcomers.” She shifted, pulling her hand away and pivoting to face Libby more fully. “I was at brunch with Rex and his girls this morning. And Hector Sterling. I heard what he said about you.”
“So you know.” Libby dropped her head in shame, but for once, the burst of self-flagellation didn’t feel right. So she lifted her head again and met Bonnie’s eyes.
“As I said, every girl in my care has a story of how they got here,” Bonnie said. “I think you’d feel better if you told me yours.”
It was an invitation that took hold of her, making her fingers and toes tingle. Mason had asked the same sort of question, only he’d demanded to know as her husband. As much as she longed to tell him everything, something held her back. But with Bonnie, another woman, a woman who’d admitted to finding herself in a compromising position in life, Libby knew she could be free.
“Hector began to pursue me long before Teddy died,” she blurted out. Now that she could, she needed to spew out the story the same way she would if she’d taken poison. “He hinted several times in the past year that he wanted me to be unfaithful to Teddy, but I wouldn’t. Teddy was an important man in the logging camp, so he was able to shelter and protect me. But then he was killed while topping a tree.”
“Topping a tree?” Bonnie blinked.
Libby relaxed, using hand gestures to explain. “It’s when you climb high up into a tall tree to trim branches and lop the very top off before felling it. It’s a dangerous job. Men who top the trees are paid extra. That has to be why Teddy chose to take the job. He didn’t usually do topping, you see. But Teddy…Teddy was trying to save extra money so we could move away from the camp and back to Oregon City.”
“Was that because he knew Hector was pursuing you?”
Libby blinked. Her jaw dropped. “Maybe,” she whispered. She pressed a hand to her stomach. The thought had never crossed her mind before, but it seemed so obvious now. Teddy had gone up the tree because he was trying to protect her. She swallowed, feeling sick all over again.
“Teddy’s equipment failed and he fell from the tree. He was killed instantly,” she continued her story. “After that, things are a little blurry. I was devastated.”
“Of course.” Bonnie took her hands and rubbed them between hers.
“I stayed at the camp because at the time, they didn’t have anyone else to cook or do laundry. A few of the other loggers offered to marry me to keep me safe and provide for me. I said no, of course. But Hector…Hector saw this as a perfect opportunity. I told him no too, but he kept asking and asking. Every day.” She paused, slipping back into memory. “I said no.”
“But he didn’t
listen.”
Libby shook her head, squeezing her eyes shut. “He came to the house after the boys had gone to bed one night to ask me, yet again, to marry him. I said no. He cornered me, then herded me into the bedroom. I knew what he had in mind, but I still said no. He told me I would change my mind when I knew what he could give me.”
Bonnie frowned, furious.
“Hector managed to pin me against the wall. I couldn’t get away. He started kissing me, started touching me. He…he kept reaching for my skirt, pulling it up so he could grab my leg.” Her voice cracked. “I kept asking him to stop, but he kept telling me I didn’t really want him to stop. He said if I really wanted to stop, I would hit him, kick him, push him away. I couldn’t.”
“No, you weren’t strong enough.” Bonnie squeezed her hands.
Tears spilled from Libby’s eyes. “No, I wasn’t, but not that way. He somehow took my bodice off, unhooked my corset. He started kissing my breasts, fondling my hip. I…I reacted.” She lowered her head, wiping tears away. “I didn’t want him, but…but I must have, because my body felt…” She shook her head.
“He took me to the bed and…and did what we did. I didn’t fight back. I made noises. It…it didn’t hurt, and he didn’t leave any bruises. If…if it’s a crime, it hurts, right?” She glanced up to Bonnie, pleading for an answer. “If you really mean no, your body doesn’t react. I…Hector must have been right. I must have wanted it on some level, because it was…easy. Even if I didn’t enjoy it.”
Bonnie let out a sharp, shaking breath. She took Libby’s face in both of her hands. “No, no, that’s not right. Your body was protecting you. What Hector did was a crime. You said no, and he didn’t stop. That’s a crime, no matter what happened next. Sweetheart, it wasn’t your fault.”
Every bit of the anxiety and fear and grief Libby had been holding onto for the past few weeks burst into bitter sobs. She didn’t fight against Bonnie’s declaration, didn’t argue or contradict her. In her heart, she knew Bonnie was right, had known all along, but she had needed someone to look her in the eyes and absolve her of all sin for so long that finally hearing those words—it was not your fault—wrecked her.
“Honey.” Bonnie drew Libby into her arms, clasping her tight and rocking to comfort her. And it was a comfort. Beyond comfort. Of all the people in Haskell, Bonnie Horner would know who was and wasn’t a whore, and Libby wasn’t one.
Pearl peeked around the doorway a few seconds later, and when Bonnie nodded, the pretty, slip of a girl skittered to the sofa and sat so that she could put her arms around Libby too. Libby’s tears doubled. The young woman didn’t even know her, and here she was, putting her heart and soul into comforting her at her lowest moment. And yet, women like the Bonneville sisters turned up their noses at the likes of Pearl and Bonnie, and gave themselves airs.
“Thank you,” Libby whispered after a while. She shifted until she could sit on her own, reaching for one of Bonnie’s hands and one of Pearl’s. “You have no idea how much this means to me.”
“Yes, I do,” Pearl said, as serious as a tomb.
That only made Libby weep anew. Yes, she could see in Pearl’s eyes that she knew the shame Libby felt, all too well.
The three of them sat together in silence for a few more seconds before Bonnie said, “I’m under the impression that Mason has a plan to take care of Hector Sterling.”
Libby blinked wide. “He does?”
But of course he did. He was Mason. He’d accepted her as she was, knowing she was carrying another man’s child. He had vowed to keep her safe, and Mason was exactly the kind of man to follow through on that promise.
“What does he have planned?” she asked.
“I don’t know.” Bonnie shrugged. “But I offered to help.”
“Let me help too, please,” Pearl begged.
Libby glanced to her. “If you can, I’d be happy to have your help. But I don’t know what Mason’s plan is.”
“I’m sure whatever it is, he’ll let us all in on it as soon as he’s ready,” Bonnie said.
Libby sighed, in spite of the fact that her heart felt lighter than it had in ages. For the first time in so, so long, she didn’t feel alone. She had Mason watching out for her, but she had friends who understood her too.
“Whatever Mason’s plan is,” she said, “I will do whatever he needs me to. I refuse to let Hector Sterling take over another moment of my life.”
Chapter Nine
Every hour that Hector remained in Haskell, unchallenged and smug, grated on Mason’s nerves. He fully intended to do something to bring the bastard to justice for what he’d done to Libby. Libby had returned to the Hen House the night before with a tale about running into Hector at the hotel after he’d left. Mason was certain there was more to that encounter than Libby was letting on. The story she’d rushed to tell him as she prepared the simple meal that they ate together was more about how kind Bonnie and Pearl had been to her and how surprised she was that Emma Meyers and Katie Murphy had come to her defense against the Bonneville sisters.
“They all seem so willing to lend their help,” Libby had reported, shaking her head as if good, old-fashioned neighborliness was a mystery to her.
Mason chewed over that thought now as he herded a half dozen cows into a smaller paddock for inspection. He was willing to admit he didn’t understand the way a woman’s mind worked, but surely a confrontation with the man who had hurt her would warrant more conversation than normal, everyday socializing with other women.
Or maybe Libby had been without female company for so long that the support of other women was big news. Either way, it didn’t change the fact that Hector was still wandering free around Haskell.
“I doubt that frown is for the heifers.”
Mason glanced up to find Theophilus Gunn striding toward him. A wagon with The Cattleman Hotel’s logo painted on the side was parked closer to the barn. Gunn wore sturdy boots under his uniform trousers. He managed to look at home in the rugged surroundings of the ranch while also being ready to serve tea to the queen.
“These are the cows I’ve picked out for the hotel pantry,” Mason answered. He’d been expecting Gunn, in spite of the fact that the man managed to sneak up on him.
Gunn walked the rest of the way to the paddock and studied the cows with an assessing look for a moment. “I’m only pretending I know what I’m looking at,” he confessed with a straight face and a twinkle in his eye. “If you say they’ll provide quality dining for the hotel’s guests, then I’ll believe you.”
Mason slipped into a grin. “They will, sir. Your reputation will remain intact.”
Gunn clasped his hands behind his back and looked long and hard at Mason. “You weren’t trying to slaughter them with a look just now, were you?”
Mason’s grin faltered. “No.” He said nothing more. Gunn could see right through anyone anyway.
To prove that, Gunn hummed and said, “If not the livestock, then who were you hoping to slay?”
Mason let out a breath and finished latching the paddock gate. “I’m pretty sure you already know the answer to that question, Mr. Gunn.”
Gunn nodded with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I ran into your wife at the hotel yesterday. Well, she ran into me. Quite literally.”
Mason’s heart rate kicked up. He crossed his arms. “Oh?”
“She seemed distraught, even though she insisted she was fine.” The man’s expression said he didn’t believe that any more than Mason did. “Because she ran out of a side hall leading to the lobby, once she’d gone, I went to investigate.”
“What did you find?” Mason crossed his arms.
“One of the hotel’s guests, a Mr. Hector Sterling, was wandering in the hallway. He said he was looking for a washroom, but when I pointed out which door it was, he thanked me and walked off.”
Mason rubbed his face in an attempt to keep his jaw from locking up. Too many pieces that he didn’t like were falling into place. If L
ibby was distraught when she ran into Gunn after encountering Hector, then Mason’s worst fears were confirmed. He was still after her. And Mason was idling his time on the ranch instead of helping his wife.
“If I might make a suggestion,” Gunn interrupted the train of Mason’s thought.
“Please do.”
Gunn took in a breath. “You might be wise to find a way to convince Mr. Sterling to leave town.”
Mason laughed. He couldn’t help it. “I’m way ahead of you, Gunn.” He stepped forward and clapped a hand on Gunn’s shoulder. “I already talked to Trey about how far I can go before getting myself arrested. And Bonnie’s as eager to get rid of the bastard as I am.”
“You can add my name to that list as well,” Gunn drawled. He crossed his arms and raised one hand to tap his lips. “So you need to know how far you can go to persuade Mr. Sterling to leave town without breaking the law?”
Mason sighed. “It’s a little more complicated than that.” He narrowed his eyes, assessing just how much he trusted Theophilus Gunn.
The answer was, completely.
“Hector Sterling committed a crime against Libby,” Mason confided in a low voice. “The result of which is the baby Libby is carrying.”
Gunn gasped, face growing red with anger. “Then I most certainly want him out of my hotel.”
“You and me both. Trey thinks if we could get the bastard to confess to what he did where witnesses can hear him, we’ll be able to make a case against him in a court of law.”
“A confession?” Gunn’s expression lit with thought.
“Exactly.” Mason shifted his weight, the hair on the back of his neck standing up for a good reason for a change. “You got an idea?”
Gunn tapped his lips faster. “I might.” He dropped his arms and focused on Mason. “You need Hector Sterling to confess to a heinous crime, and you need him to make the confession to a reputable person whose testimony in court will not be questioned.”
“Yes.” Mason nodded.
“And you need to create a situation where a confession of that nature would be natural and believable.”
