Claire

by Margaret Tanner

  “We don’t have to wait.”

  “Yes, we do. I want to prove to you I have honorable intentions.” He grimaced slightly. “Even if it’s just about going to kill me.”

  ****

  Claire dressed in the boys’ clothing, a blue shirt, brown suit and brown boots. With her hair pushed up under a wide brimmed hat, she could easily pass for a youth.

  They breakfasted in the dining room of the hotel, taking a table in the corner where Aaron could see anyone who walked on to the front porch.

  “I think the disguise is good,” she said, tucking into a pile of flap-jacks in maple syrup. “It feels comfortable, too. Maybe I should always dress this way.”

  “I like you better undressed.” He grinned. “Naked in my bed would be better.”

  She enjoyed the light-hearted banter between them, although it couldn’t completely allay her worry. What if De Rosa found them?

  Aaron must have read her mind. “Once we’re on the train I’ll feel much safer, even more so once we cross the border into Texas. De Rosa’s power would be much more limited there.”

  “At least he wouldn’t have the law on his payroll.”

  “Eat up and we’ll be off. I’ve been thinking.” He gnawed his lower lip. “We’ll have to be careful not to make it obvious we’re together.”

  She had never noticed this action before, but he obviously gnawed his lip when he was anxious.

  It sounded reasonable. De Rosa’s men would be looking for a man accompanied by a woman, not a boy on his own, or a man on his own.

  The station was a ten minute walk away. Aaron carried the bag containing their few possessions, she strolled along with her hands thrust into her pockets as if she didn’t have a care in the world.

  The station was crowded. She skulked behind a pile of wooden crates near the ticket office while Aaron lounged against a nearby wall reading a newspaper.

  She heard a whistle, almost immediately followed by the hissing of steam, then the train pulled into the station. They were in the second carriage from the engine. With a quick glance around, Claire climbed on board and showed her ticket to the conductor, Aaron was a couple of paces behind. He took the window seat, she sat next to him facing the engine. He shoved their bag under the seat.

  “Thank you.” She smiled at the conductor who gave a brief nod.

  “Where do you leave the train?” he asked Aaron.

  “Beaumont.”

  He walked off without speaking further.

  “Once we’re on our way, you can have the window seat,” Aaron said. He lowered his voice. “I need to make sure we aren’t followed.”

  It was awful acting like outlaws on the run, yet they had no choice. One careless mistake could prove fatal.

  Two plump, middle-age women sat opposite. They were both dressed in burgundy taffeta gowns with matching bonnets and reticules. Sister’s maybe? One fanned herself with a lace handkerchief.

  “I hate train travel one of them complained. “I can’t understand why Cedric decided to get married in Houston. No consideration for his mother.”

  “Or his aunt,” the other chimed in.

  She had been right, they were sisters. Hopefully they wouldn’t complain all the way to Beaumont. Seven hours listening to petty complaints would be too much to bear.

  “Where are you heading?” Cedric’s mother asked.

  “Beaumont,” Aaron said.

  “And you?” She turned to Claire.”

  “My brother is also getting off at Beaumont.” Aaron wasn’t rude, even if his tone of voice was such that the women took the hint and stopped questioning him.

  Claire heard a loud hiss, black smoke bellowed skyward and their carriage shuddered as the train steamed out of the station.

  Aaron had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. He couldn’t quite put his finger on why he felt this way. Maybe it was his imagination working overtime; the last twenty four hours had been fraught with danger. He wouldn’t be able to relax until they reached Beaumont later in the afternoon.

  He tried to read the newspaper, impossible when he couldn’t concentrate. At every station they steamed into he watched who got off and who got on. He didn’t see anything suspicious, yet the feeling of disquiet wouldn’t go away. He was glad Claire hadn’t noticed his agitation, she had suffered too much already.

  They ate lunch in the dining car. A rich beef stew was served up to them, Texan style, thank goodness, with hot biscuits slathered in butter as well as a steaming cup of coffee. They both ate with enjoyment even if the rocking of the carriage made it awkward to eat.

  “That was nice.” Claire patted her stomach.

  “Yes, good plain Texas cooking without any spicy stuff added,” he said.

  “There was a Creole cook at The Gilded Cage, some of his food was so hot your mouth was on fire afterward.”

  “Forget that place.”

  “I can’t.”

  “At least try to push it to the back of your mind. Once a few pleasant things happen to you, those awful memories will fade.”

  “Do you really think so?” She touched his hand. “I so badly want to forget, yet I fear I never will.”

  “You will, darlin’, I promise I’ll make you forget. I’m going to make arrangements as soon as I can to have your mother brought back from Houston. She deserves to be with your father and Randy.”

  “If only you could. It makes me want to weep when I think of her lying there all alone in Houston. She doesn’t even have a headstone. How will you find her?”

  “Cemeteries always keep a record of all burial plots, so never fear, we’ll find her and bring her home.”

  “Thank you.” She smiled. “I feel much happier now.”

  He frowned and gnawed his lower lip. “The conductor, did you notice anything strange about him?”

  “No. Why?”

  “I don’t know, he makes me uneasy. The way he stares at us. He must have walked past our seat a dozen times.”

  “He’s probably checking tickets.”

  “He did that when everyone boarded the train. Oh, I don’t know, my imagination is probably working overtime. I can’t wait to get back to the Triple K and my cows, life is uncomplicated there.”

  They returned to their seats and after a short time the train slowed down and pulled into a station. Two horsemen rode on to the platform, dismounted and boarded the train. Seconds later they entered the carriage.

  “We want Aaron Kirby?”

  The silence was deafening. Aaron’s worst nightmare had come true. He was sorry he’d packed his guns in his bag. He put his foot out and tried to maneuver the bag closer.

  “It’s him.”

  The conductor pointed him out to the two men, hired guns by the looks of them. “He’s got green eyes.”

  “All right, Mister, out of the train.” One of the men pulled out his gun. “We only want him, everyone else stay put and ya can finish ya journey, all fine and dandy. Where’s the woman?”

  “How should I know?” Aaron stood, giving Claire a warning glance to stay silent. “New Orleans I suppose, probably at the bottom of the Mississippi.”

  Claire’s first instinct had been to jump up and admit who she was. Useless though, it wouldn’t help Aaron. With a gun at his back and threats to kill him if he made the wrong move, Aaron was marched down the aisle and on to the platform. No-one even tried to help him.

  She had to do something. His guns were in their bag. She knelt down, pulled the bag out and grabbed one of the guns out of the holster.

  On the platform, Aaron stood with his hands by his sides.

  “Where do ya want it? Through the heart or the head,” one of the men growled.

  Claire carefully raised the carriage window and leaned out. “Aaron, here.” He spun around and caught the gun she threw at him. As the men went for their guns, Aaron let off two shots. The men screamed, clutching at their chests, buckled at the knees and crashed to the platform.

  “Good shooting,” a mal
e voice said and several people clapped. Aaron stepped over to the men to make sure they were dead, spun on his heel and strode back to the train.

  The station master sidled out from where he was hiding. “I’ll take care of these varmints, mister, mighty fine shooting.”

  “Thanks.”

  “All aboard,” the guard yelled as he waved his flag. Aaron jumped on to the train. I hope that’s the end of it, he thought. As for the conductor he was nowhere to be seen. Stinking polecat, must have sent a wire off to alert De Rosa about him being on the train. His unusual green eyes could be a curse sometimes.

  If Claire hadn’t thrown him the gun he would have ended up dead for sure. He cursed the day he ever got mixed up with Lucille and Michael De Rosa. There again, he never would have found Claire if he hadn’t stayed with them. What a strange thing fate was.

  Claire was slumped in her seat, tears streaming down her cheeks. The two women were nowhere to be seen, probably scuttled off to the dining car.

  “Don’t cry, darlin’, I’m all right thanks to you.” He pulled his gun belt out of the bag and buckled it on. “I won’t be taking this off for a while.”

  “I don’t know what I would have done if they’d killed you. It’s all my fault, I should go back….”

  “What in tarnation are you saying? Michael will kill you.” He reached over to pick up a teardrop with his forefinger.

  “I’d rather go back than risk him hurting you.”

  “Do you think having you would be enough? The sonofabitch hates my guts because of Lucinda. Neither of us will be safe until we get to the Triple K. His evil won’t reach us there.”

  Dusk was falling as they arrived in Beaumont. Several people left the train with them.

  “We’ll have to find somewhere to stay the night, then get something to eat.”

  “We’re well and truly in Texas now, I feel like dropping to my knees and kissing the ground,” Claire said.

  “Yeah, me too.”

  “I’d love to take this hat off, with my hair squashed up inside, it makes my head ache.”

  “I know darlin’. After what happened on the train, we still need to be careful.” He picked up their bag. “Come along, brother.” He laughed. “Let’s find ourselves a room for the night.”

  It didn’t take them long to find a hotel. Claire breathed a sigh of relief when she was in her room and able to take off her hat and let her hair hang free. Oh, the relief. She washed her face and hands in a bowl of water. She didn’t mind wearing boys’ clothing, much more comfortable than women’s.

  The room was clean, if a little on the shabby side. She jumped on the bed and it felt comfortable, so she looked forward to spending the night in it. Drained and exhausted was how she felt now, not surprising after the trauma of the last couple of days.

  A knock came to the door. “It’s me, Aaron.”

  She climbed off the bed and the room spun. She waited for it to right itself before stepping over to open the door. Aaron strode in. He had washed and shaved and wore a clean shirt.

  “What’s wrong, Claire, you look terrible?”

  “I feel awful.” Perspiration broke out on her body, she started shivering and a fierce, stabbing pain in the stomach doubled her over.

  “Help me to the bed, and get one of those towels.”

  “Do you want to vomit?”

  “No. No.” She gasped as another spasm of pain sliced through her. She suddenly realized what it meant.

  “What’s wrong?” He handed her the folded towel.

  “It’s wearing off,” she said through clenched teeth.

  “What!” He helped her pull back the bed sheet.

  “Lay the towel on the sheet for me please.”

  “Why?”

  “Do it. Do it, then get me the other one.” She struggled to remove her pants, because her hands were shaking so much.

  “What’s wrong? What’s wearing off?

  “The medicine we had to drink each morning.”

  “Are you delirious?”

  “No, no, the women had to drink a special mixture so they didn’t conceive a child.”

  His eyes widened in shock.

  “If you miss taking it for even a day this happens. Chills, high temperatures, stomach cramps and…. Leave me be, Aaron, go get yourself some supper. I’ll be all right.”

  “No, I can’t leave you in this state, you should see a doctor.”

  “It’s not necessary. I’ve seen it happen before with one of the doves, and we were warned about this if we suddenly stopped drinking the medicine.”

  “Sonofabitch, and the towel?”

  “It …. It brings you….”

  “What are you raving about?” he paced the floor.

  She was in too much pain to feel embarrassed, ashamed or anything else. “Soon, I’ll start bleeding.”

  He swung around. “Your, um, er, woman’s time?” Red tinged his cheeks.

  “Yes, sort of. Please, Aaron go and have supper. I need to rest.”

  “I’ll stay with you.”

  “No, go, I’ll be all right. If you’re worried, check in on me after you’ve had supper.”

  “I…”

  “Go, please.”

  He backed out of the room and she heard the key turn in the lock. Making sure one towel covered the sheets and the other was handy she pulled the bed coverings over herself. The pains intensified, they were almost as bad as when she’d lost her baby. She didn’t know how she could bear it, but didn’t want Aaron to see what a state she was in. Clutching her stomach, sobs intermingled with her groans of pain.

  The bleeding would come soon. She rolled the towel up and pushed it between her thighs. They would have to pay the hotel people for the towels. After tonight they would be ruined.

  Claire rolled herself into a ball, which seemed to relieve the pain more than lying stretched out. A sudden gushing feeling made her glad she had prepared herself for this. Two days it would take for her body to completely expel the build-up of the medicine, a special potion cooked up by a Haitian woman. Probably some voodoo magic. It worked, as none of the women at The Gilded Cage ever conceived a child.

  She must have dozed off because Aaron’s voice woke her up with a start.

  “Are you all right?” He poked his head around the door before stepping over to the bed with a lamp in his hand. He stared down at her, worry clearly etched on his face.

  “Yes, I’ll be all right.”

  He placed the lamp on the dresser. “Do you want me to bring you something to eat?”

  “No thanks, water would be good. Don’t look so worried, the worst of it will be over by tomorrow.”

  “You won’t be able to ride, I mean….”

  “Not tomorrow, by the next day it will be all over, then we can leave. I’m sorry, Aaron, I didn’t think it would happen this soon.”

  “Better here than on the trail I suppose.”

  “Stop worrying, by tomorrow I’ll only need to rest up and regain my strength.” She spoke with more confidence than she felt.

  “Are you sure? We can stay longer if you need to.”

  “Tomorrow you can organize horses and provisions for us. How long will it take to get to the ranch?”

  “Four days maybe, depends on the conditions, and what type of horses I can buy.” He frowned.

  “Stop worrying.”

  “I can’t help it. I don’t want to lose you, Claire, not now I’ve found you again.” His voice broke. “I wouldn’t be able to survive.”

  “Things will work out for us. Once this is all finished my body will be cleansed of all the bad things I endured, and I won’t feel dirty or defiled.”

  “I never thought you were dirty or defiled.”

  “I know, that’s how I felt, now I don’t. I feel as if I can do like you once said, push the bad memories to the back of my mind.” It was true, weak and lethargic though she felt, her self-esteem was returning for the first time in two years.

  ****

&nb
sp; Claire rested for most of the next day. She had been shocked when in the afternoon, Aaron had returned to her room with the preacher in tow. She was dressed, fortunately, and sitting in a chair by the open window enjoying the fresh Texan air. With the hotel owners as witnesses they were married. She was now Mrs. Aaron Kirby in the eyes of God and the law.

  “Good luck and God bless,” the preacher said as he followed the witnesses out of the room. I figured you’d be up to eating supper in the hotel. They have a private sitting room here and the owners said we can use it.”

  “That’s nice, you’ve been mighty busy.”

  She touched the gold band he had slipped on her finger. “I love you so much, Aaron. You can’t know how long I’ve dreamed of this day. I’m sorry we won’t be able to consummate our marriage for another couple of days.”

  He grimaced. “Yeah, me too. I’ve waited so long what’s a few days more? I love you, Claire. I guess I always have, even when you were shadowing me all the time as a kid.”

  He leaned down and kissed her, a long, lingering caress of lips against lips and a promise of more to come in the future.

  ****

  It took four days to arrive at the Triple K ranch, and it hadn’t changed, in all the time Claire had been away. Mellow and serene looking the ranch house rested in the midday sun. They had taken it easy on the ride back, confident they were out of the clutches of Michael De Rosa.

  “It looks just the same as I remember,” she said, moving her horse a little closer to his. To live on this ranch as Aaron’s wife had been her childhood dream. She was, in every sense of the word, Mrs. Aaron Kirby now. They had consummated their marriage under a black velvet Texas sky, with the moon and stars twinkling above them, and the coyotes and night animals serenading them.

  They rode to the stables and handed the horses over to one of the older hands who had limped up to them. “Howdy boss, glad to see you back.”

  “Howdy, Charlie, do you remember Claire?”

  “Yes, howdy Miss Claire.”

  “It’s Mrs. Claire, we’re married now, and she’s the boss.” Aaron laughed. “She rules me with an iron fist.”

  “That’s why I never let no woman hog tie me.”

  She was glad Aaron had kept Charlie on, he hadn’t been injured in her time here. Jacob would have thrown him off the ranch without a twinge of regret.