by Donna Dalton
“You have faith in this Major Allen.”
“I have every faith in him. He is sensible and honorable. He will do the right thing.”
Red Wing’s shoulders went down a fraction. All the chieftain needed was a little push to get him off the fence. Preston lowered his voice and leaned in. What he had to say was for the chief’s ears only.
“I have uncovered something that I believe will shed new light on exactly who is behind the attacks.”
“What is this you have found?”
“I can’t divulge that information until I have spoken with Major Allen. But if this turns out to be what I think it is, I assure you, all wrongs will be righted. Give me a week to sort things out.”
Red Wing didn’t look convinced. Preston held up his hand, palm outward. “I swear on the sacred pipe we shared that I will not stop until I have looked under every rock. If my investigation proves your son and his warriors are innocent, and I believe it will, I will make sure they are set free.”
The chief considered this for a moment and then nodded. “I will hold you to your word, Lieutenant Booth. You have one week.” Red Wing barked a command, and he and his braves reined their horses to the west.
“Let them pass,” Preston called to the soldiers.
The infantrymen parted, and Preston watched until the Indians were safely on their way before he wheeled around. Now to make good on his word.
“Sergeant Wilson, send someone to find Agent Finley and bring him to headquarters, post haste.”
Wilson tendered a brisk salute and rushed to carry out his orders. As soldiers and civilians began dispersing, Preston threaded through the throng, angling for one civilian in particular. Her pretty face beamed like a beacon in the sea of agitation.
He caught hold of her arm. “What are you doing out here, Meredith? I thought you were staying at the church in town?”
Violet eyes flashed with a mixture of relief and defiance. “I was collecting Lily and Maddie from Mrs. Allen. When we arrived at the gate, we were caught up in this…whatever it was.”
Dangerous is what it was. He wanted to pull her into his arms, stroke her hair, her face. Assure himself she was safe. But this wasn’t the place or the time. Later, when they had more privacy…
“The altercation is thankfully over. You can take the girls and go now.” He softened his tone and his stance. As much as her presence at the standoff alarmed him, he didn’t want there to be any tension between them. “I’ll come by the church after I give my report to Major Allen. We can talk then.”
Color fled from her face. “I won’t be at the church.”
“Why not? Where will you be?”
Her gaze shifted from him to the dwindling crowd and back. She fidgeted with the broach pinned to her blouse—a nervous twitch if he ever saw one. Something was up, and whatever it was, his gut told him he wasn’t going to like it.
He guided her to a more secluded spot beside the stockade wall and turned her to face him. “What is going on, Meredith? Why won’t you be at the church?”
She shrugged out of his grasp. “Because I’m staying somewhere else.”
“Where?”
“At Jana Valder’s. I gathered all the children, and we’re living with her now.”
“What? Why would you do that? I thought we had already discussed Mrs. Valder.”
She shoved up her chin, no less strong-willed than Chief Red Wing. “Things have changed. I discovered some of the children were being mistreated, so I decided it was best to collect all of them and move in with Jana. She has agreed to suspend her…er…business until we leave.”
She would do anything to keep her flock safe—even if it put her own life in jeopardy. He wanted to be angry at her. Living in a whorehouse would only make things more complicated, even if Mrs. Valder had suspended her trade. But all he could think about was planting kisses along that slender, arching neck.
“You are one determined lady, Meredith Talbot.”
“When it comes to the children, yes, I am.”
“Go on then. We’ll talk later.” Among other things.
“Bye, Lieutenant,” one of the girls cooed. “Thank you for defending those Indians. You were magnificent.”
Her name was…Nel. A pretty girl just blossoming into womanhood. She was already catching the eye of his younger troopers. Yet another complication he didn’t need.
Chapter Twelve
Meredith snipped the trailing thread and set the scissors and the repaired sock on the end table. Darning wasn’t her favorite chore. It required patience and dexterity, not her strong suits. But it had to be done. The second-hand clothes while helpful didn’t hold up long under youthful vigor. With any luck, Aunt Mildred would return soon with a satchel full of donated funds. Then they would be able to suitably house and clothe the children. For now, they would have to make do with the castoffs.
Robbie squirmed on the floor at her feet. He was supposed to be studying his primer. Little Petunia was doing more of the reading as the mouse darted across the pages. Meredith merely smiled. She didn’t have the heart to chastise him—or any of the children, for that matter. After days of being apart, they were finally back together. She didn’t want anything to spoil their happiness.
Sunlight poured through the large bay window and filled the parlor with brightness and warmth. Frilly white curtains replaced the heavy velvet ones that had concealed the previous guests from view. Cheerful paintings decorated the walls. A vase of lavender stalks sat on the sideboard and added a fresh perfume of innocence to the air. The transformation was almost complete. Soon, no one would recognize the house’s former occupation.
The other night, after the children had gone to bed, Jana had broached the subject of making a change in her life. When she had first arrived in Mineral, an opportunity presented itself where she was able to trade her mules, wagon, and Mr. Valder’s tools for a house on the outskirts of town. Unfortunately, the exchange left her with few resources. So she had done the only thing she could to get by—sell herself. Now she wanted to change that. Said with the coming of the railroad, she would like to turn her home into a boarding house. Meredith and Mrs. Clement had both cheered the idea and offered to help. It was the perfect solution for everyone.
Meredith’s optimism dimmed. Not everyone would be as accepting. It had only been twenty-four hours since she had collected the children, and while all had remained quiet, there were sure to be repercussions. The question was when they would happen and how violent. She would just have to be extra vigilant and keep the children close.
As she reached for another sock, a muffled shout rang out. She stilled and listened. The noise sounded as if it had come from outside the house. It couldn’t be Mrs. Clement returning from the general store. The housekeeper hadn’t been gone very long, and she had a substantial list of goods to purchase.
Something thumped against the window. The pane shattered, sending glass shards and a large rock spilling onto the floorboards. Anna screeched and scrambled behind Meredith’s chair. Little Robbie started, spilling book and mouse to the floor.
Heart racing, Meredith shot to her feet. “All of you come over here and get behind my chair. Quickly now.”
Gabe ignored her and ran to the window. “It’s Pete Cavendish and his gang. I ought to send that rock back out there and hit each of them upside the head.”
He would do it too. Meredith hurried to the boy’s side and placed a restraining hand on his arm. “No, Gabe. That will only make things worse. Please come away from the window.”
“Don’t matter no how. They’re running away.” He shook a fist and shouted, “Cowards,” through the opening.
Cowards, indeed. Pete Cavendish and his cohorts were the same bullies who had jumped Gabe and Robbie at the fort’s community well…though she couldn’t put all the blame on the young thugs. They were only mimicking their parents’ intolerance and cruelty.
Jana raced into the room, her face pleated with concern. “I heard glas
s shatter. Is everyone all right?”
“Everyone is fine.” Meredith pointed to the fracture glass. “Some boys tossed a rock through the window, but they’ve run off now.”
“Evil mongrels. It is good thing they ran off. A sound switching is vat they need.” Jana spun around with a grunt. “I vill get a broom. Clean up this mess before someone gets cut.”
Wise suggestions. Both of them. The switching she couldn’t do much about, but the other she could. “Come away from the window, Gabe, so we can clean up the glass.”
The boy only leaned closer. “Look-it. Here comes Mrs. Allen with a herd of her lady friends and some soldiers. You think they’re coming to make sure we’re all right?”
Only if cows grew wings and flew. “I don’t know. Just to be certain, I want all of you to go up to your rooms. Wait for me to call you down.”
Anna scurried to her side and clung to her skirt. “I’m scared. I want to stay here with you.”
Meredith gently extracted the girl and prodded her toward the door. “Everything’s going to be all right. Go upstairs with Lily. I’m sure if you ask nicely, she’ll recite your favorite story.”
“The one about the angels?”
“Yes, the one about the angels.” If Harriet Allen was here for the reason she suspected, they would need all the heavenly help they could get. “Now all of you go upstairs to your rooms. Be mindful of the glass as you leave.”
Once the children were safely out of the parlor, she made her way into the hallway and to the front door. She grasped the handle. Now to navigate a bigger pile of trouble, one that had much sharper edges.
Her stomach roiling, she pulled open the door. Mrs. Allen led the pack, followed by Alvena Wood, Edeline Wentworth, and Suzanna Troutman—the four ladies of the apocalypse. The four soldiers trailing behind them were their multi-colored steeds. There was no telling what plague they intended to spread.
Meredith walked out onto the porch and pasted on her most welcoming smile. “Good afternoon, ladies. What brings you out on such a lovely day? Taking a stroll?”
Mrs. Allen stopped at the bottom of the stairs with her posse closing in behind her. “You know why we’re here. Have the children gather their things and come outside.”
“The children are staying right where they are.”
Alvena Wood shoveled forward. “We won’t allow them to live in a bawdy house. You bring them out here so they can be placed in decent homes, free of filth.”
“Free of filth, you say?” Meredith pointed to the street. “I believe there’s a pile of manure in the roadway, Alvena. Freshly dropped this morning. It would be the perfect face pack. That is what you do, isn’t it? Smear yourself with excrement in hopes of enhancing your looks? Wherever did you learn about such a wonder treatment?”
Mrs. Wood’s bottom jaw sagged. Her color faded to the hue of dried dung. Meredith smiled inwardly. Revenge served cold tasted ever so sweet.
Mrs. Allen shoved the witless woman behind her. “What Alvena does in the privacy of her home is none of our concern.”
“The same could be said of Mrs. Valder’s home,” Meredith countered.
“The two are not the same and you know it. This is a house of sin. God’s children should not be touched by such wickedness.”
Jana stepped onto the porch, broom in hand. “I haf decided to turn my home into a respectable boarding house, so you need not take the children away.”
“Respectable? Bah, you will always be tainted no matter what trade you employ.”
Meredith glared at the woman. “And you call yourself a Christian? Mrs. Valder is trying to better herself. You should be supporting her, not casting stones.”
Red climbed in Mrs. Allen’s face. If she were a volcano, lava would be spewing from her ears. “If you won’t call the children to come out, we will go in and get them.”
“By whose authority?”
“By my husband’s. As post commander, he has jurisdiction over the fort and the town and has ordered the children to be collected so they can be placed in proper homes.” Mrs. Allen motioned to the soldiers. “Sergeant Wilson, have your men round up the children. There are eight of them. Six girls and two boys.”
Her insides turned to stone. Sergeant Wilson. The same soldier who had almost instigated a clash with the Indians at the entrance to the fort. Not a good sign. Not good at all.
Wilson turned to his men. “Jones and Abbott, secure the back entrance. Private Bolton, come with me.”
As the sergeant and his lackey moved toward the porch, Jana stepped forward and blocked them with broom and body. “You vill haf to go through me first.”
Meredith shouldered next to her friend. “Me too.”
The two men slowed their advance, their expressions clouded with uncertainty. Mrs. Allen chopped the air with her hand. “Both of you harlots move out of the way. This instant. Or you will regret your interference.”
Meredith stood her ground. She wasn’t about to back down. “Threaten all you want. I won’t let you take my children.”
“Fine. Sergeant Wilson, use whatever force is necessary to obtain those children. Anything at all…on the order of your commander.”
The two soldiers squared themselves and clattered up the steps. Private Bolton grasped her by the elbow. Meredith tried to wrench free, but to no avail. The soldier held fast.
She dug in her heels and glared up at him. “Let go of me, this instant.”
His grip tightened. “I’m sorry, ma’am. But I must insist you move out of the way and let us do our duty.”
Before she could tender a stinging retort, Jana swung her broom at the two men. Private Bolton ducked. Sergeant Wilson wasn’t quite so nimble. He took a face full of straw. He stumbled back a step and then regained his balance. He grabbed for handle, and he and Jana struggled for control. No match for the burly soldier, Jana lost her purchase on the handle. She careened backward and collided against the wall with a pained yelp.
Meredith twisted against the soldier’s grip. “Let me go. I need to see to my friend. She’s been hurt.”
Bolton released her, and she raced to Jana’s side. She squatted beside the grimacing woman. “Are you all right? Where does it hurt?”
“Go. Save the children.” At Meredith’s hesitancy, Jana flicked her hand. “Go. I vill be fine.”
Reassured by the color returning to Jana’s face, Meredith pushed to her feet and turned, only to find the soldiers had already breached the door. She hiked up her skirts and rushed after them. They would not take her children. Not while she drew breath.
Sergeant Wilson and his men swarmed like cockroaches through the house, ignoring her appeals to stop. Not finding their quarry downstairs, they climbed the steps to the second floor. A door slammed shut. Someone shouted. A thud rang out and then came the splintering of wood.
Meredith raced up the stairs, her footfalls matching the thump of her heart. “Stop,” she cried out. “Leave the children be.”
“You cannot stop them,” Mrs. Allen shouted from the bottom of the staircase. “And if you encourage the children to use other means to resist…they will be dealt with as our Salem forefathers handled such miscreants.”
Fear stomped her insides. If the children were observed using their gifts, they might be tortured or worse. She couldn’t allow that to happen.
She stopped on the second-floor landing and gathered herself with several deep breaths. She needed to show calm and reassurance, else the children would not listen. “It’s all right, children. You can come out, now.”
“We can stop them,” Gabe yelled from a nearby room.
The shriek of scrapping wood echoed into the hall. Sergeant Wilson grunted out a colorful exclamation, and then came the ominous click of a cocked weapon.
Meredith fled into the bedroom. An armoire barreled across the floor, heading toward the gun-wielding sergeant. Her heart skipped a beat. Gabe was using his gift, and it might very well get him killed.
“Gabe, stop. That�
��s enough.”
The scrapping halted. A head peeped around the side of the armoire. A smaller head of white curls appeared below it. The boys weren’t using their gifts, just brains and brawn—the former of which Sergeant Wilson was lacking.
Meredith wagged a finger at the soldier. “Put that pistol away, Sergeant. There’s no need for weapons. They’re just little boys, for heaven’s sake.”
The sergeant looked at the armoire and back at her. Indecision caked his face.
“The children will cooperate, I give you my word.”
He hesitated, and then with an irritated grumble, holstered his weapon. The first intelligent thing he’d done since arriving.
“Come boys.” She motioned for them to join her. “Let’s go out into the hallway.”
She called the rest of the children to her. As they gathered around, she put on her most encouraging expression, though her insides churned with hopelessness. “I know this is difficult and quite upsetting after we only just got back together. But I want you to go with Mrs. Allen. It won’t be for long. I promise.”
“What are you going to do?” Lily asked.
“I’m going to see someone who can put a stop to all of this.”
****
Major Allen glared over his spectacles, his brow forming one bushy stripe of skepticism. The commander could be quite intimidating when the situation called for it. And this one screamed for a browbeating.
“Agent Finley. You claim this is not your snuff tin that Lieutenant Booth found at the Bowen homestead.”
Finley crossed arms over his paunch. “That is what I said.”
“Yet you freely admit this is the brand you favor and have purchased on many occasions. How do you refute the obvious connection?”
Preston leaned forward. He wanted to hear the man’s explanation, too. See if the weasel could wiggle out of this one.
Finley met Major Allen’s scowl head-on, nose cocked in the air. “Perhaps there is someone else who enjoys the same brand. I have never visited the Bowen homestead. Haven’t even passed within a mile of the place. Therefore, I could not have dropped a snuff tin in the woods.”
