The Marshal's Little Girl (11 page)

“Yes.” The answer was sincere as she watched the nurse rise and go to a cabinet. When she returned, she had a bottle.

“Drink this,” Nurse Ida ordered.

This time, Billy didn’t argue. She lay back, happy to have something in a mouth that felt slightly dry. Once she was finished, Nurse Ida took the bottle and reached down to help her from the bed. The large woman lifted her easily.

“Your papa is downstairs waiting for you to come have lunch.”

“Where’s Bebe?” Billy asked.

Nurse Ida frowned. “I’m surprised you want to know. But she’s already downstairs with her papa and yours. Let’s get you dressed so you can join them.”

Billy was soon clad in a simple white frock with a pink sash, long white socks and white shoes. Her hair was left loose, and adorned with a ridiculously large bow.

“Oh, your papa said to give you this. He figured you’d missed it.”

“My dolly!” The sight of it brought tears to Billy’s eyes. For a moment, she’d been worried that being put in the nursery meant that Gage didn’t want to spend time with her. But the dolly confirmed he’d been thinking of her.

Downstairs, the three of them were sitting at the table in the atrium. Bebe wasn’t wearing her cowboy costume today, but a light green dress with dark green piping. She looked decidedly more subdued than she had the day before. As for their papas, they looked concerned.

Nurse Ida led her to the chair. Lunch was a tender roast, baby carrots, and potatoes. Hers had already been cut into bite-sized pieces.

As she sat down, Billy realized that Gage was holding a telegram.

“Is something wrong?” she asked.

He looked at her and she could tell the smile he gave her was forced.

“I may need to go away for a few days,” he said.

“What do you mean? Why?”

“I’ve gotten a telegram from Celeste Dupree,” he said. “A man showed up at her place not long after we left. He didn’t say anything to her, but apparently questioned one of her girls about whether a young lady fitting your description had been around. Somehow, Simon Holloway’s men tracked you that far. Celeste overheard the conversation and stopped her girl before she could go any further, but not before the girls spilled the beans that we were heading this way.”

Billy felt herself grow cold with fear. “Do they know we’re here, at this house?”

“No. He only knows we got as far as this town. But I need to go head them off. The man left by horse, and there’s just one route here and…”

“No.” Billy’s tone was resolute. She was dependent on Gage, but when necessary, she knew she had to advise him if she could.

“Simon never works alone,” she said as the others looked on in concern. “If he sent one man, he’s got three or four more. Did Celeste describe the man who came around?”

“Big,” Gage said. “Stocky. She described him as not having a neck.”

“Dirk,” Billy said. “He never travels alone. I’m sure he already has men in this very town, waiting on his word. They’ll be everywhere.” She paused. “I can’t stay here. I won’t stay here and put Dr. Adler and Bebe in danger.”

It was a sobering moment as they all pondered the situation.

“It’s been my experience that the beautiful thing about you little ones is that you have the ability to put your little self to bed inside of you and bring out the adult for these kinds of situations,” Roman Adler said. “I’ve seen it with my Bebe, and now I see it with you, Billy. But know you have a place here with me.”

“No,” she said, her tone determined. “I mean, I appreciate it, but I don’t want those men knowing about this place. Besides.” She took Gage’s hand. “My place is with my man, with my papa.”

Gage nodded now. “Even so, I need to get you somewhere safe,” he agreed. “I hate to take you to the U.S. marshal’s office in McLean before I can clear your name, but I may have to do that. They’ll protect you there, and I can join up with the other marshals to hunt the real criminals down.”

When Billy wiped away a tear, she felt a soft hand cover her own.

“Don’t worry,” Bebe said. “Gage is a lawman. He knows what he’s doing. And I know he’ll be able to straighten all of this out. It’ll be over in no time flat, and you’ll come back here for a visit.”

From the other side of the room, even Nurse Ida offered encouragement. “That’s right. And there will be no danger in riding the ponies. But no racing. It scares me half to death.”

Billy forced a laugh, and the two couples managed to talk of pleasant things, wanting to enjoy the last of their time together before the sad departure. It was decided that traveling by train was much safer than traveling by stage. Dr. Adler prepared a bottle of the tonic that Billy had started to take daily, and even made a gift of two bottles with fitted nipples. He also gave Gage the name of several potential nurses he believed could be employed to help with Billy a day or two a week, once they got settled.

After a tearful goodbye between the young women, who had bonded over mischief and discipline, Gage and Billy boarded the train, continuing their charade of traveling as a man and his teenage charge.

As the train rattled along the rails, Gage studied his Billy. He was astounded by her ability to adapt—to submit when she needed to and to speak up when she thought it was necessary. She was very quiet now as she watched the countryside outside the window race by. From where it peeked from her bonnet, her profile was nearly perfect.

“You’re quiet,” he said.

She glanced at him. “I’m scared, Gage. Not for myself, but for you. And I was thinking how odd it was, how this is the first time I’ve ever… cared for someone enough to be afraid. When I was with Simon, I was afraid
of
him. But never
for
him. I told myself I loved him—that I submitted to him because he was stronger and wiser and deserved it. After all, Simon had pulled me out of that awful orphanage. He’d given me a place to stay and food to eat and pretty clothes.” She sighed. “But he also made me do things that I knew were wrong. He didn’t keep me safe. He put me in danger, and more than once. And then when he came to me…” Here she winced at the memory. “I wanted to give him what I’ve given you. I know I’m… different from other women. But he was a bad papa, Gage. He hurt me, and not in a way that made me feel good. He didn’t care if I took pleasure. He told me it was my job to make sure he had his. He said that was how I could prove I was a good girl who deserved all the nice things he’d done for me. It wasn’t until I met you that I knew what it was to be happy… that I knew what it was to…”

She looked into his eyes now, and he crossed the short distance between them to take her seat and pull her into his lap.

“I love you, Billy James,” he said. “And let me tell you something. Once we get to McLean and get this whole mess straightened out—and it will get straightened out—I plan to make an honest woman of you. I want to marry you. I want to marry you and spend the rest of your days making sure you understand how much you are worth to me. Do you understand?”

She nodded, unable to speak for the lump in her throat. When she finally was able to find the words, they thrilled Gage’s heart. “I love you, too,” she said. “I love you so much. To think that you would marry me… oh, Gage. Nothing in this world or the next could make me this happy!”

He pulled her into his arms, dying to kiss her, but they both stopped and just touched foreheads. They were still traveling as father and daughter, after all, and even if their words weren’t overheard where they sat away from other passengers, they could not risk being seen kissing.

It was a long journey—it seemed—to McLean. Now that he’d proposed, all Gage could think about was making Billy his wife. But there was an obstacle ahead of them. He had to clear her name, and quite frankly, fear that he might not be able to do that was making him as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. His boss, Jake Ferguson, was a by-the-books kind of man. If Gage brought her into the marshal’s office, it would take something other than Gage’s word to keep Ferguson from throwing the book at her. She was a fugitive, after all.

He cursed Simon Holloway for being smart enough to have kept Billy isolated for so long without giving her a clue of exactly where she was. What’s more, Gage was beginning to suspect that Simon Holloway wasn’t the man’s real name. He’d asked around, and no one had heard of him. Any man with the kind of spread and cash Billy had described had to be known to somebody. It occurred to Gate that Simon had probably used a fake name with her, and it saddened Gage to know that his sweet young lady had not only given her heart to the wrong man, but to one so dishonest that she’d never even known his real name.

The sights and sounds of civilization began to appear slowly—a farm here, a house there. Soon the buildings were more numerous and closer together and then the town emerged. It was larger than any they’d visited yet, and as the train pulled into the station and chugged to a steamy stop, Gage could see the apprehension building in Billy’s eyes.

“What if they lock me up?” she asked quietly. “What if—even after they hear my story—they lock me up and take me away from you forever and ever?”

“Hey,” he said as they prepared to depart the train. “You don’t need to worry about that. But look… I know you’re tired. Why don’t we get a room and at least let you rest up before we go over and talk to the other marshals? What do you say?”

She forced a smile and nodded. “That would be nice.”

The nearest inn was large and clean. Gage got them a room with a bath for Billy and ordered them a late lunch of ham, boiled potatoes, fresh green beans, and cornbread. After they ate, Billy stretched and yawned, obviously tired by the trip.

Gage knew he should take her with him, but when she asked to lie down for a moment due to exhaustion, he remembered what Dr. Adler had said about the special needs of women like his Billy, and how important it was to make sure she did not get overly stressed. It was going to be stressful enough to meet with the head marshal, who would most likely grill her. Gage didn’t want to subject his little Billy to that any more than he had to until she was ready.

“I’m going to step out for a bit,” he said, and when she looked afraid, he put a reassuring hand on her forehead. “It’s all right. I’ll let the desk know to keep an eye out by order of the U.S. marshal’s office.”

“Where are you going?” she asked.

“To pave the way at the office,” he said. “I think it’s better if I speak to Ferguson before I take you in. You stay here and rest, you hear me?”

“Yes, papa,” she said, feeling safe enough to slip back into her little-girl self. Gage watched with love in his eyes as she popped her thumb in her mouth and drifted off to sleep. He felt a rush of love as he looked down at her sleeping form, then left the room, locking the door behind him.

Dear Lord, let Ferguson be understanding,
he prayed
. I can’t lose her.

Chapter Fifteen

She was dreaming of a wedding—a wedding held outdoors in the blowing prairie grass. There was a preacher, and an arbor covered in roses and she and Gage were standing under it. To the side, Dr. Adler and Bebe were smiling. Nurse Ida was there, wearing a funny hat. That’s how she knew it was a dream. In it, she was distracted by the hat and trying not to giggle.

She was still giggling a little when a tapping sound woke her up.

“Room service, miss,” said muffled voice from the other side of the door.

Billy sat up in the bed, staring at the door. She looked out the window. The sun was only a little lower in the sky. She couldn’t have been asleep very long, she decided, but wasn’t quite sure. How long had it been since they’d eaten?

The tap came again. “This tray is heavy, miss,” came a weary voice. “Could you please open the door so I can leave it inside?”

“I-I’m not hungry,” she said.

There was no response at first. “Your gentleman companion told us to send it up. If you don’t take it, then we’ll have to throw the food out and it’ll be money wasted. Listen, I’ll just leave it out here, outside the door. If it’s not picked up within the hour I’ll feed it to the dogs in the alley.”

Billy heard the footfalls as whoever left the tray walked away. She stood up now, nervously biting her lip and eyeing the door. It would be very much like Gage to have ordered her something to eat. He’d been very conscious of her getting enough food and rest. Picking up her dolly, she walked over to the door and put her ear against it. She heard nothing on the other side.

She opened it a crack. Sure enough, a covered tray could be seen through the slight opening. Billy breathed a sigh of relief, and chided herself for being needlessly paranoid. She opened the door and stooped down to pick up the tray.

The next thing she knew, she was being flung across the floor by a booted foot. Billy tried to scream but the wind was knocked out of her. Her assailant shut the door before she could crawl toward it and hauled her to her feet to pull her back against his chest. Billy could feel the smooth skin of his face against hers, could smell the scent of cloves on his breath.

“Let me go, Simon,” she finally managed to say.

He jerked her back against his body. “What? No ‘hello’ for the man who took you in, the man who took care of you?”

“You never took care of me, Simon. You just used me.”

He pushed her to the bed so violently that she rolled halfway across it, coming to a stop on her back. Billy lay gasping, staring up at her assailant over her heaving breasts.

Simon hadn’t changed a bit. He’d never been a big man. Some would have termed him a dandy for his impeccable dress and good looks. He had a slight build and short, perfectly groomed hair, dark eyes, and a permanent smirk. And smarts. His wits and his capacity for cruelty were what had made him such a criminal genius.

He bent now and picked up the doll. “So I see,” he said.

“How did you find me?”

He walked over. “I told you I would.” He looked down at the doll, turning it over in his hand. “Gift from your lawman?

The fear that flickered across her face was unmistakable.