Bella's Vineyard (3 page)

“Do you live in
the town?” asked Bella.

May paused for
even longer. “Yeah, I guess I do now.”

“Of course, you
used to live here, with Aunt Bella.”

“We kinda looked
out for each other, you know. Neither of us having a husband and all that.”

Bella sensed
there were some things left unspoken, but she did not want to pry. “The trouble
is, I don’t know if I can pay you.”

“I ain’t got
nowhere else to go,” said May. “And Bella would want me to take care of you.”

“I must admit
I’d like some female company after three months on the road with my brother.
Apart from the Marshal, we don’t have any friends here.” Bella had immediately
warmed to this doughty woman.

“When you pick
friends, you sure pick ‘em well,” said May, looking the Marshal up and down and
winking at Bella.

“I’ll leave you
two ladies to get to know each other,” said Vance, after he had helped them
carry the luggage into the house.

“Yes, thank
you,” said Bella, turning to hold out her hand. The pressure of his hand on
hers gave her an unexpected thrill. He showed none of the hesitant behaviour of
the young men she had known in England. Yet his stillness continued to unnerve
her. It was like he was holding something in and that it would become a raging
torrent should he ever let it loose.

“I’ll call on
you in a few days, see how you’re getting on,” he said.

“Please do. When
we’re settled, perhaps you could come up for dinner. We owe you at least that.”

“You don’t owe
me anything, ma’am, but I’ll accept your offer anyway.” He tilted his hat,
first to her, then to May Tucker.

Bella felt less
apprehensive about being left at the house now that she had May by her side.

Inside was just
as pretty as outside. “You’ve kept it lovely, May,” she said, after May had
given her a tour. Downstairs there were three main rooms, a parlour, a dining
room, and the kitchen, which also had a dining area, with a big wooden table.
Off the kitchen was a small washroom, complete with a tin bath.  Upstairs were
four bedrooms. May showed Bella into her aunt’s old room.

“But you sleep
in here now?” said Bella, her brow knitting on seeing an old nightdress folded
at the foot of the bed and a pair of muddy boots at the side.

“Well… just
while I was keeping an eye on the place. I’ll sleep in the back room from now
on.”

“I can’t put you
out,” said Bella.

“Yes, you can. I
gotta move out sometime. I can start by doing it one room at a time. We need to
get that window fixed though. I don’t mind the hole. It gets hot enough in
summer. But come winter, you’ll know about it. Come on, I’ll show you outside.”

“The privy is
there,” May pointed to a small hut further down the yard. “We’ve got cellars
underground. They’re not as well stocked as they were, but there’s a few
bottles left down there. I’ll find us a good wine to have with dinner. And
here’s the water pump. The water comes right in from the river,” May informed
her, showing her the standpipe out in the back yard when they toured the
outside. “Me an’ your aunt built the filtration system from a book we found in
the city.”

“That’s
amazing,” said Bella.

“Yep, it’s also
why Griffiths wants to get his hands on this place. He controls the water, he
controls the town. Simple as that.”

“How?”

“The other
farmers paid … still pay … to graze their cattle. Oh, your aunt never charged
them much. Mostly in kind. You know, some potatoes, some beefsteak, hay for the
horses, that kind of thing. If Griffiths got this place, he’d build a dam and
make sure everyone paid through the nose for grazing rights.”

“But the water
is free,” said Bella. “From the mountain. How can he control it?”

“Welcome to the
United States of America, honey. The land of opportunity.”

It was the
following day when Bella got her first glimpse of Arthur Griffiths. Her brother
had failed to arrive from the town. Word came late in the day that he may
travel up in the morning. When the morning came and there was no sign of Andrew,
Bella became apprehensive.

“You say he
likes to gamble?” said May over breakfast. Bella had confided much in her over
dinner the night before.

“Yes.”

“I’m sorry,
honey. He ain’t coming home till he’s broke. Lots of men around here the same. Dig
out gold all day from the mine, then go and gamble it away.”

“Then this is
the worst place we could have come,” said Bella. She went out onto the porch.
The day before, after meeting May, and finally reaching a place she could call
home, she had felt happy. If she were honest, Vance Eagleson had a little to do
with that. She felt secure with him as a friend. As she looked out over the
vineyard, she realised that the problem with running away from home was that
you had to take yourself with you. Or in her case, Andrew. His problems would
be the same no matter where they were. At least in England, there had been some
social restrictions on his gambling. From what she had seen of the saloon the
night they arrived, it was as much a part of life in America as driving cattle
and owning a six-gun.

Her heart
lightened briefly when she saw some figures riding up the approach on horses.
There were three, and the sunlight made them look like silhouettes, but she
thought it might be Andrew with Vance Eagleson and maybe someone Andrew had
befriended. The lightness became heavier when the figures came into view.

“Oh no,” Bella
said. Thankfully they were still some way off so could not hear her.

“What is it,
honey?” asked May, coming out onto the porch.

“Those two men
coming up the approach. They’re the ones I told you about. From the coach. Bill
and Tom. Who’s that with them?”

“That’s Arthur
Griffiths. Now don’t you let him bully you honey. I’ll be here to take care of
you. Don’t you worry none about Bill either.”

Arthur Griffiths
was a surprise to Bella. She had imagined him to be a bluff looking man,
overweight and with a beard. In short, a slightly cleaner version of Bill and
Tom The man between Bill and Tom was about fifty years old, but still handsome,
dark haired with streaks of grey running through, giving him a distinguished
air.

The three men
finally reached the porch and dismounted. “Ma’am,” said Mr Griffiths, raising
his hat with an easy smile.  He turned and scowled at Tom and Bill, who raised
their own hats, smirking as they greeted her. “My name is Arthur Griffiths. I
came to welcome you to the neighbourhood, though I must say, ma’am that I never
expected to meet anyone quite so young and beautiful.”

He put Bella in
mind of the salesman who used to call at their door selling household goods.
For the sake of good manners, she stepped down from the porch and held out her
hand. Griffith’s handshake, though strong enough, reminded her of a
paper
mache
mask she had once made as a child. Cold, dry, and hollow. “Mr
Griffiths. I’m Bella Tennyson. I’m afraid my brother is not here at the moment.
Perhaps you know…” she turned to May, who was scowling at Bill and Tom.

“They know me,”
said May. “Bill here is my brother.”

“Oh…” Bella felt
the heat rising in her face. She had been less than complimentary when
describing him to May.

“It’s okay,
honey,” said May. “We ain’t friends like you and your brother.”

“Actually, Miss
Tennyson,” said Mr Griffiths, “the reason I brought Bill and Tom here today is
so they can apologise to you. They told me about what happened on the
stagecoach. I wanted you to know I will not tolerate that sort of behaviour in
front of a lady.” Griffiths turned to each man and coughed slightly.

“I’m mighty
sorry if I offended you, ma’am,” said Tom.

Bill and his
sister were still locked in a scowling match.

“Bill! Do you
have something to say to Miss Tennyson?”

“Sure. I’m
sorry, ma’am.”

“I hope they’re
going to apologise to the Marshal too,” said Bella.

His pause lasted
less than a moment, but it was enough to tell Bella all she needed to know
about Arthur Griffiths. “Of course,” he said, with a smile that failed to reach
his eyes. “I’ll see they do that as soon as they next see him.”

Chapter Three

“Looks to me
like you’re gonna get your chance now,” said May, gesturing towards the
approach.

Bella’s heart
lightened at the sight of Vance riding towards them. He had swapped the buggy
for a black stallion, casting Mr Griffiths and the two men into insignificance
with his proud bearing.

“Good morning,”
he said, when he reached them. He raised his hat to Bella and May, then jumped
down from the horse in one lithe movement. It crossed Bella’s mind that he was
something of a stallion himself. She just as quickly remembered that he was
promised to another.

“Good morning,”
she said, her pretty face breaking into a genuine smile. “Have you met Mr
Griffiths?” She knew that he understood the guarded tone of her voice, because
his eyes darkened slightly, before he composed himself and held out his hand.

“Mr Griffiths,
I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Bella felt her
cheeks flame when Griffiths ignored the outstretched hand. As the hostess of
this awkward gathering she felt somehow responsible. 

“I’ve heard a
lot about you too, Marshal,” said Griffiths. “I gather my men here gave you a hard
time yesterday. Bill. Tom. Do you have something to say to the marshal?”

“Boss, you’re
not really gonna make us…” Bill got no further before Griffiths turned to face
him head on. His eyes held a stark warning, but also something else.
Conspiracy.  Bill hesitated. “We’re sorry we caused trouble.” He followed the
empty apology by spitting on the ground.

“We’re sorry,”
said Tom, joining his older companion in another spitting contest. Bella felt
her stomach turn, but she ignored them.

“I hope we can
get along well together,” Griffiths was saying to Vance. “I’m sure we both have
the best interests of the people of Milton in mind.”

“I’m sure we
have,” said Vance. His manner was polite, but cautious.

“Now if you’ll
excuse us…” Griffiths turned to Bella and raised his hat. “I wanted to discuss
some business with your brother, Miss Tennyson, but I guess that’s going to
have to wait for another day.”

“Anything you
want to ask my brother, you can ask me,” said Bella.

Griffiths cast
her a withering look that said he doubted it, but his voice was all charm.
“There are some things ladies should not have to worry their pretty heads
about. Maybe I’ll call on your brother in the saloon later. I prefer to do
business over a drink and a game of cards.”

Bella’s face
flushed again. Did everyone know about Andrew’s problem?

“There ain’t
many secrets in Milton,” May muttered, as Griffiths, Bill and Tom got on their
horses and rode away. She looked from Bella to Vance, smiling enigmatically,
before going into the house.

“I’m glad you
came,” Bella said to Vance. “I don’t think I like that man.”

“No, and he
certainly doesn’t like me,” said Vance.

“I’m sorry he
was so rude to you.”

“I never
expected anything else, coming here as a state appointed marshal. I daresay
Griffiths would have liked to put his own man in the job.”

“May has made
some coffee,” said Bella. “Would you like some? Have you eaten? There’s plenty
of breakfast left. Judging by all the pancakes, I think May’s used to feeding
an army.”

Vance smiled.
“You’re in pancake heaven now. And yes, I’d love some thank you, ma’am.”

“Please stop
calling me ma’am. It makes me feel like an elderly woman. I think after what
we’ve been through we can consider ourselves friends, and my friends call me
Bella.”

“Okay. Bella.”
The way he said her name in his resonant tone sent a small flame of pleasure
down her spine.

As Bella led him
to the kitchen, she almost tripped over a box on the floor. She picked it up
and put it on the table. It had air holes in the top, and a wire mesh door at one
end.

“Is that a
rabbit?” asked Vance.

“Yes, I’m going
to cook it for supper,” said Bella.

“I think they’re
supposed to be dead.”

“Well,
obviously. But I thought I’d eat breakfast before I started cutting its
throat.”

The rabbit
looked up at them both with big eyes.

“It looks to me
like it knows it’s been caught,” said Vance.

“I did intend
skinning it without its knowledge, but it took me an hour to catch it. We were
both a little exhausted by the time I’d put him in the trap.”

Vance laughed.
“So you’re really gonna kill this little man? Assuming it is a male. I can’t
tell from here.”

Bella blushed.
“Of course. May says I need to toughen up after I refused to choose the cow for
our steak last night. Call me squeamish but it’s hard to eat something I’ve looked
in the eye. I’m used to a butcher sorting all that out for me.”