The Sheriff Wears Pants (12 page)

“It shows, too,” Brian said, nodding his head.  “I have a feeling I can learn a lot from him to take back to my family.”

“Wasn’t that the reason you came?” she asked.  “Well, it was the reason
you
came, but not Papa’s real reason.  I’m afraid he had ulterior motives.  I feel bad that he set you up like that,” she apologized.

“Don’t feel bad, Priscilla.  I am thankful he picked me to come first.  Really and truly.  I met you and my world is righted.  My mother is going to be delighted to meet you.  She has been after me to get married for some time now.  I hope the two of you get along.”

“I will try,” Priscilla promised.

“That is sweet of you, but my Ma is sweet, too.  You’ll get along.”

“I think it is time you let Pris get some sleep, young man.”

“I’ve been napping all day, Papa!  I am pleased to have company.”

“It’s not seemly for Brian to be in your bedroom, daughter.”

“We are merely talking, Father!”

“Yes, I know, but it is time for sleep now.”  Geoffrey was firm and his voice was stern.

“I do not wish to sleep!  Why do you not keep us company?  Certainly no one can disapprove of that?”

“Ladies do not entertain men while wearing nightclothes!”  Geoffrey was adamant and Brian got to his feet.

“Yes sir, you are correct, and I don’t want to do anything that would reflect badly on Priscilla.  Honey, I’ll visit with you tomorrow.  Feel better soon,” he said, then took her hand and kissed it in gentlemanly fashion before leaving the room.

“Oh, Papa!  Why did you do that?  I’ve been so bored all day, and when finally Brian came to see me, you tossed him out!  I tell you this, I am not staying in this bed tomorrow.  I am getting up and taking up my responsibilities again.  I hate being treated like an invalid when I am perfectly healthy.”

“Do not pout, child.  I am only looking after your reputation.  Is your back feeling better?  I do not want you doing so much that you experience pain.”

“My back still hurts a good bit, but lying here for hours on end feels terrible, too.”

“I’m sorry, Pris,” he said with genuine concern.  “We’ll take tomorrow gently.  You are my daughter and I do care about you.  Perhaps you can lie in during the morning hours, but rise later in the day and have dinner with Brian and me?”

“If I still feel terrible in the morning then that is what I shall do.  Father, how did the election for Sheriff go?  Was Darcy horribly defeated?”

“No, child.  Can you believe the men in this town elected a young girl as our Sheriff?  What fools they are.  I heard that she arrested a common murderer tonight, and that if Will Davies weren’t there, she would have been killed.  It certainly doesn’t make me feel safe, I’ll tell you.”

“Is Will angry?”

“I would imagine so.  He needs to take a hairbrush to that girl, and this town needs to reconsider and vote her out of office and beg Will to come back and defend the town.”

“I agree with you, Papa.  What on earth gave Darcy the impression she could be Sheriff?”

“I’m not sure.  I’ve known Miss Eleanor nearly all of my life, and she is quite feisty, but always the lady.  I’m not sure the same can be said of Darcy.  Now you close those pretty blue eyes and go to sleep, honey.”

“Okay, Papa.”

“Would you like some hot chocolate, honey?” he asked, doing the one thing he could think of that might help.’

“I fell for that last night!” she told him.  “No more laudanum, ever.”

“It helped you sleep, didn’t it?  If you are still sore, it would help you now, too.”

“I don’t want laudanum.”

“Okay.  Hot chocolate it is.”  He went downstairs and straight to the kitchen.  Brian was already in the kitchen.

“I’m making some hot chocolate for Priscilla.”

“That’s what I was going to do.”

“She needs another dose of laudanum, even if she doesn’t want it,” Brian said calmly.  “I could tell she was still in a lot of pain.”

“You’re right, she is.  I was planning to add laudanum, too.  She won’t be happy with us tomorrow, but sometimes that is unavoidable.”

“I’ll take the blame this time, sir,” he said with a grin.

“I’ll just let you do that.  You may take it up to her and say goodnight, but no more than ten minutes, son.  I trust you, of course, and I trust my daughter, but that nosy neighbor of mine can see through walls, I swear!”

* * * * *

“I am so sorry, Louisa,” Doctor Grayson said gently.  “It came as a shock to me as well, and the only mercy I can see is that Malachi is in jail where he belongs.  The Marshals are coming for him and he’ll hang for killing Kurt and Lilly.”

“It’s all my fault!”

“Louisa, I knew them very well, and they loved you as if you were their own child.  In fact, I know you meant as much to them as their son.”

“Poor John!  He must be devastated!  I know that it was his plan to come home eventually and take over his father’s practice, but now?  I’m not sure what he will do.  What a shock for him!  And, he must hate me.  Oh, Doctor Grayson, I would rather Malachi find me and do his worst than do what he did to Doctor and Mrs. English!”  She burst into heart wrenching sobs, and Doctor Grayson prepared a sedative to put her to sleep.  “No, I can’t do that!  Miss Eleanor might need help, and Darcy isn’t here.  Neither is Greta.”

“I’m here, and I think I can manage to help Eleanor.”  He took her arm and gave her the shot, and then walked her back to her bedroom.  “Go to sleep now, Louisa.  I’ll stay right here.”  He sat in the rocking chair beside her window, and wasn’t a bit ashamed that he wept for his friends.  Life was often not fair.

* * * * *

Darcy was exhausted by the time the Marshals finally arrived to escort an enraged Malachi to the town where he was to stand trial.  He’d done nothing but bitch and moan and demand to see his wife, Carlotta, and claim that he had every right to kill those old people for interfering in his life.

“You did good to capture him so quickly, Sheriff.”  One of the lawmen spoke to Will, in spite of the fact she was the one wearing the badge and leaning on the desk.  Will was sitting and watching the entire procedure with amusement in his dark eyes, his smirk telling her once again that he didn’t feel she should be wearing
his
badge!

“Actually, Deputy,
I
am the Sheriff.  Will Davies is my fiancé, and to say he doesn’t approve of my election is an understatement.”

“You were
elected
to this office, ma’am?” the man asked in disbelief.  “That don’t make any sense!  Do the men in this town have a wish to see you dead?  No good can come of you wearing that badge, especially with the Simpson Gang headed this way.”

“The Simpson Gang?” she asked. 

It was obvious to Will that Darcy didn’t have a clue who they were talking about.  Billy Simpson bragged that he never left a lawman alive in any town he visited.  Of all times for Darcy to be stubborn!

“Who are they?” she asked, looking to the Deputy Marshall to give her an honest answer.  She was positive that Will would simply try to frighten her.

“Ma’am, there are seven of them, all of them worse than the other!  Billy is the worst, and the leader of the bunch.  You ought to retire and have the town pick someone who knows what they’re doing!” he bluntly declared.

“I was elected for a reason, Deputy.  I can’t simply quit.”

“The hell you can’t!”  Will finally spoke up.  “Darcy, I mean it.  This has gone far enough.  You know as well as I do that you have no clue on earth how to do this job.”

“It’s not that simple, Will!” she replied, embarrassed to have this conversation with the two marshals standing right there.

“Buddy, if you love this woman, you need to take her home and lock her in a closet until the dust settles.  We would stay to help you, but the Judge gave us orders to get back right away with Jones.  We have to obey our orders if we want to keep our badges.  I figure the Simpson Gang will hit here sometime tomorrow… unless they stop somewhere or make a detour.”

Darcy was standing there trying to come up with some retort to put the Marshals in their place when the door to the jail opened and Louisa walked in, and it was obvious she was still very upset and emotional.  “Marshals, I am the reason that Doctor and Mrs. English were murdered by that raving lunatic.  Will I be needed to testify against him?” she asked.  “I will gladly do so if it will help put him away for life.”

“I’m not sure, Miss.  I’m sure the Judge will issue a subpoena if you’re needed.”  One of the men gave her an understanding nod.

Louisa nodded, and briskly headed for the door to the back, where the cells were located.

“Where are you going, Louisa?”  Darcy asked, hurrying over to stand in front of the door and block her way.

“I want to see Malachi one last time and tell him how much I loathe and despise him.  And how much I hope he hangs and suffers for killing those dear people!”  Louisa answered, her anger with him reflected in her pretty eyes.

“Why give him the satisfaction, Louisa?  It won’t bring back the English’s, and it will just hurt you to hear all of the venom he possesses.  Go on home, hon, and let Gram console you.  This is not the place for you.”

“Why don’t you walk her home, Darcy?  I’ll help the Deputies with Malachi.”

Darcy nodded.  “Let’s go on home, Louisa.  I think you are very brave to want to confront him, but that is what he wants more than anything.  Denying him the pleasure will hurt him more than anything you could say.”  She gently took Louisa’s arm and led her out of the jail, for once obeying Will.

“How in hell did that little gal get elected?”  One of the deputies asked in disbelief.

“The married men voted the way their wives told them to instead of doing what was right,” Will answered, walking over to the desk and leaning down to the cubbyhole to get the keys from the nail he’d placed there when he first came to town.  “Malachi isn’t to be trusted, men.  He almost killed Darcy when she was trying to arrest him.  Don’t let your guard down for an instant.  He thrives on hatred, and his one goal in life is to get to Louisa and pay her back for turning him in nine years ago.”

“Don’t worry, we’ve had plenty of experience with this sort of thing.”

“When you arrive and turn him in, send us a wire so that we know Louisa is safe,” Will bossed.

“Sounds like you’re the Sheriff instead of your fiancée?”

“I
was
the Sheriff.  Now I am a fiancé trying to keep my girl safe so that we can be married,” Will confessed.

“Have her Deputize you so it’s legal when you start killing the Simpson Gang.”

“The Simpson Gang is why I am here!” the Mayor sputtered as he entered the jail.  “I got a wire from a friend in Baily and the gang just went through there!  We are right in their path, Will!  What can we do?”

“I’m not your Sheriff,” Will replied coldly.

“We don’t have time to soothe your injured pride, son.  Cactus Hill is in danger, and we need you!”

“The men in this town should have thought of that sooner.”

“Will, you can’t mean to stand by and do nothing?”  James looked at him in shock.  “They killed the Sheriff and two deputies in Baily, and raped a woman!  Darcy ain’t safe, son!”

“I intend to lock her up until it is all over,” Will announced.  “She might be wearing a badge, but I am still bigger and stronger.”

Without another word, James stomped out of the office.

Will went to the cell housing Malachi and unlocked the door.  The deputies took him into custody.  “I hope you hang, Jones,” he said to the man.

“I have a right to see my wife!”  Malachi demanded.  “You can’t keep her from me!  I’m not going anywhere until I see Carlotta!” 

“She
was
here, but Darcy talked her out of seeing you because you don’t deserve the satisfaction of seeing how beautiful she’s become without you in her life degrading her.”  Will enjoyed watching as understanding entered his black eyes and rage filled them.

“Let’s go, Jones.”

“Damn it, I want Carlotta!”

“There is no one here by that name,” Will said firmly.

Malachi tried to gain his release by fighting the two deputies, but they easily subdued him and told him he could sit his saddle or be manacled across it.  When Jones continued to fight, they dumped him face down and then used heavy chains to hold him in place.  “We ain’t playing games, Jones.  You’ll ride this way until you settle down.  It makes no difference to us if you go the entire distance across your saddle.  You’re heading for the gallows anyway.”

Will sat at the desk that used to be his when they left.  He didn’t think that little Darcy would be able to handle the long hours spent guarding the prisoner, but she had… and all without complaining.  Of course, she still wasn’t sitting well, but that was her own damn fault.  He was ready to take her in hand again if she wouldn’t be reasonable about the Simpson Gang.  She couldn’t possibly face that many men on her own, and he was sure that the same men who voted for her would claim they had property and families to protect, instead of asking to be deputized to help her!