Bella's Vineyard (2 page)

“What?”

“Saying sorry.
We’re here now, we have to make the best of it.”

“You’re still
angry with me.”

“No, I’m not
angry with you. But it’s fair to say that if not for you, I could be at home,
in our own country, instead of this god-forsaken place.” Bella was intelligent
enough to know deep down that she was being unfair to their new home. Quite
apart from the fact she was first seeing it through a haze of exhaustion,
homesickness rendered her irrational.

“If only I were
as perfect as you are, Bella,” Andrew said, his voice tinged with bitterness.
“It must be wonderful to always be right.”

“I’m not always right,”
said Bella, her eyes too dry from exhaustion to shed tears. “I…”

“Ma’am, sir.” It
was Vance. Bella wondered how long he had been stood there. “They tell me that
your aunt’s place is an hour’s drive out of town. Perhaps it would be best if
you stayed here tonight, and travelled up in the morning.”

“No, I want to
go tonight,” said Bella. “I mean, sorry, but I’d just like to end this
journey.”

“I understand
that, ma’am, but no one will take you up there in the dark. Besides, you’ve no
idea what state the place is in. You’d be better seeing it in daytime, when
you’re less exhausted. The saloon has a couple of rooms spare. You could stay
there and travel up in the morning.”

“I suppose we
could stay at the saloon,” said Bella, her heart sinking.

“Do they play
cards in there?” Andrew asked.

Bella’s heart
sank. That was all she needed.

“I guess so,”
said Vance. “But you folks look tired. Why don’t you get some rest? I have to
go report for duty now, but if there’s anything you need, I’ll be at the
jailhouse.”

“Thank you for
all your help, Marshal.” Bella held out her hand, and he took it in his,
holding it for just a bit longer than necessary. In his strong handshake, he
seemed to tell her he understood everything. But how could he?

“Anytime. Like I
said, call on me if you need anything.”

Bella said a
quiet goodnight, before following her brother to the saloon.

Chapter Two

Despite her
misgivings about sleeping at the saloon, Bella had a good night’s rest, no
doubt due to her utter exhaustion and the bed seeming to rock and roll beneath
her. The following morning, she dressed and knocked on her brother’s door. He
did not answer.

“Is my brother
in his room?” she asked the bartender when she went downstairs.

“Yes, ma’am. He
had a late night. Said not to wake him too early.”

Bella sighed.
“We need to wake him,” she said. “Where can I arrange a cab to take us to my
aunt’s vineyard?”

“There ain’t no
cabs here, ma’am, but if you go to the blacksmiths, he’ll get one of his boys
to take you and your luggage up there in a buckboard.”

“Thank you.”

Bella walked to
the blacksmiths but there was no one around. “Morning ma’am.”

“Marshal, good
morning.” Bella turned and smiled. At the moment Vance Eagleson was the only
familiar face she knew, and a welcome addition to her morning at that. “I’m
trying to arrange a buckboard – whatever that is - to take us up to the
vineyard, but I can’t find anyone.”

“I think the
blacksmith had to go and shoe some horses for one of the ranchers. I’ll be
happy to take you up to your place.”

“I don’t want to
put you to any trouble.”

“It’s no trouble
at all, ma’am. I’m going to introduce myself to a few folks in the area, and
you’re on my way. Where is Mister Tennyson this morning?”

“He’s still
sleeping.”

“Then why don’t
you leave him here, and he can get a ride up later?”

Bella was
surprised by how attractive Vance’s suggestion seemed. She had spent every day
for three months with her brother. It might do them both good to have a few
hours break.

A half an hour
later, the luggage was loaded onto the Marshal’s buckboard, which turned out to
be a four-wheeled wagon, pulled by a horse. The buckboard in question was a
piece of wood at the front that acted as both a footrest and a barrier against
a kicking horse.

Bella had left a
message for her brother to join her.

Vance took her
up into the hills, where the land became prettier. The sky overhead was
sapphire blue. Ruby and emerald vineyards rested among a wheaten patchwork
quilt. In the far distance she could see the snow-topped range. “That’s why
it’s called the Sierra Nevada,” Vance told her. “It means ‘snowy mountain
range’.”

“It’s
beautiful.” Bella smiled. “Though I must confess I was getting a little tired
of scenery.”

“Yep, it gets
you like that when you first see this land. It’s beautiful, but overwhelming.”

“But you were
born here.”

“In Chicago,
ma’am. Not out here, in this wilderness.” He paused for a moment. “I noticed
some tension between you and your brother yesterday. Is it anything you’d like
to talk about?”

Bella thought
about it for a short time. “I don’t want to burden you …”

“You won’t be
doing that. Maybe I can help.”

“No, you can’t.
My brother … well he has a problem.”

“Gambling?”

“It’s that
obvious?”

“He was playing
cards into the early hours, ma’am. One of the deputies saw him.”

“He promised
me…”

“I've seen a lot
of men run out of their homes due to gambling debts. Is that why you had to
leave England?”

Bella nodded.
“He owed money to the wrong people. We had no choice but to run away. Luckily
we got the news about Aunt Bella’s vineyard. I suppose we could have sold it,
to pay off his debts, but it seemed better to try to make a new start.”

“Your mom and
dad couldn’t help?”

She shook her
head. “Mother died when I was ten and Andrew was fifteen. Father died two years
ago. In a way it’s a blessing. He never knew quite how bad Andrew’s problem
was, and for that I’m grateful.”

“Must have been
hard for you, leaving it all. Did you leave behind a sweetheart? Back in
England?”

Bella laughed.
“No. There was no one. What about you? Have you a sweetheart in Chicago?” A few
seconds later, Bella wished she had never asked.

“Yes, ma’am. I’m
engaged to a fine lady called Gloria. As soon as I’m settled out here, and
found us somewhere to live, she’s going to join me.”

“That’s
wonderful,” said Bella. Why her heart should sink as it did, she did not
understand. It was natural that such a handsome man should have a woman in his
life. “Congratulations.”

“Thank you,
ma’am.”

They drove in
silence for a while, and the empty land of the valley changed to vineyards,
ranches and homesteads. Bella felt safe with him, and free from the tension
that had been such a big part of her relationship with her brother for so many
months. “Aren’t you afraid of being here?” asked Bella. “After what’s happened
to the other Marshals.”

“I can take care
of myself, ma’am.”

“I’m sure they
thought they could too.”

“From what I
hear, one was a drunk, and the other a cattle rustler. They don’t always pick
good men for this job, ma’am. Just whoever’s available. At least at a local
level. The US Marshals Service is a little different.”

“So why were
they killed?”

“It seems they
outlived their usefulness.”

“I don’t
understand,” Bella turned slightly to look at him.

“There’s a man
in the area, name of Arthur Griffiths. A big landowner. People round here
pretty much do as he says. And if they don’t, or they try to double cross him
in any way, they have a habit of turning up dead.”

“He kills them?”

“No, he’s too
clever for that. Or too scared to get his own hands dirty. He’s got people to
do it for him. Your brother should never have brought you here.”

“Yet you’re
bringing Gloria.”

“No offence,
ma’am but Gloria is an American girl, born and bred. She can skin a rabbit
before it even knows it’s been caught.” He turned and fixed his vivid eyes on Bella.
“You, you’re like a delicate flower that needs sheltering from the storm.”

“That’s a very
romantic observation, Marshal but you obviously haven’t met many English women.
Appearances can be deceptive.” Bella hoped that by saying it she could convince
herself as well as Vance.

“Then I look
forward to seeing you prove me wrong. But not too wrong, you hear. Let me keep
some ideals.”

As they finally
turned into the approach to her late aunt’s vineyard, she wondered why, with
the resourceful Gloria to hand, he should care either way.

A big sign
proclaimed that they had reached
Bella’s Vineyard
. The months rolled
away, as Bella saw for the first time the land she and her brother had come to
claim. The vineyards themselves were overgrown, but one could still see the
signs of cultivation and there appeared to have been some attempt at pruning
the row near to the approach road. At the far end of the eastern vineyards was
a river, which Bella assumed come down from the white-topped mountains that
rose up behind the land.

At the top of
the road, nearly a mile from where the approach began stood a large white
house, different to what Bella had expected. From what she had seen on their
travels, she had envisaged a wooden shack, with just a couple of rooms. It was
clear that this house had started out that way, and the original building could
be seen at the centre. Someone had built onto it, adding a veranda and a top
floor, with a gabled roof. One of the windows was broken, and the shuttering
needed a lick of paint, but it showed every sign of being a solid homestead.

“It’s very
pretty, ma’am,” said Vance, pulling up the buggy.

“Yes, it is,”
said Bella. “I wasn’t expecting…” She smiled, ready to cry with relief. She had
imagined having to work hard to make it a home, which in her exhausted state
seemed too much trouble. The porch swing waved invitingly in the breeze, luring
Bella with its relaxing sway. “My aunt has been dead two years,” she said. “I
thought it would be falling down.”

“Put your hands
in the air, and get down off the buggy!”

Bella and Vance
spun around, to see where the voice had come from. It seemed to be coming from
somewhere within the vineyard. From a distance, Bella thought it was a man. As
their assailant drew nearer, it became clear it was a woman in her fifties. She
was dressed in a checked shirt, leather chaps, and wearing a Stetson set back
on her head.  Her black hair was cut short, like a man’s. Bella had never seen
anyone like her.

“Ma’am,” Vance
started to say, only for the woman to shoot at the wheel of the buggy.

“Get off my
land.”

“Your land?”
said Bella. “But … Aunt Bella? I thought you were dead.”

“Aunt Bella? I’m
not Bella. Are you…? Well, stone me.” The woman put the rifle down. “It’s okay,
it’s okay, I ain’t gonna shoot you.”

Despite her
assurances, both Bella and Vance stepped down from the buggy slowly. “My name
is Bella Tennyson,” said Bella. “My aunt owned this land and left it…” Bella
stopped. She had promised Andrew she would not say anything.

“Yes, yes, I
know,” said the woman. “Well, I’ll be darned. I never thought you’d come. I
been protecting this place for months from that varmint Griffiths. Where are my
manners?” The woman emerged from the vineyard, and held out her hand, but not
before rubbing it on her shirt. “My name is Maylene Tucker. My friends call me
May.  I was your aunt’s …” she paused momentarily, and her bright brave eyes
became sad, “housekeeper and friend. And is this your brother? That’s mighty
odd. He looks part Indian to me.” She said it with curiosity rather than
malice.

“No.” Bella
smiled. “This is Marshal Eagleson. My brother, Andrew will be arriving later
today.”

Vance held out
his hand and was rewarded with a vigorous shake of May’s. He clearly found the
whole thing amusing. “Mighty glad to meet you, Marshal. I hope you ain’t gonna
go and die on us like them others.”

“I’ll try my
best not to, ma’am.”

“Well, that’s
what they all say, but it’s a different story when they’re complaining about
the ride up to Boot Hill in the hearse.”

Bella looked at
Vance, and then turned away, her throat bubbling with laughter. Considering
that two men had died, it was not really funny, but May had a particular way of
putting things. “You say you’ve been keeping an eye on the place. Thank you,”
she said to May once she had composed herself.

“There’s no need
to thank me. I did it for your aunt. You’ve her look about you, you know.” May
paused again and that same sadness filled her eyes. “Not that I’ve done much
good keeping an eye on the place. Some kids came up here yesterday whilst I was
out getting supplies and broke the top window. Little varmints. If I’d been
here, I’d have given them a butt full of buckshot.” Bella did not doubt it.