Close Quarters
- 1 -'What a beautiful spot.'
Vin and Ezra exchanged glances of amusement at their charge's enthusiasm. The landscape was indeed beautiful but Chris's cabin was nothing to write home about. The thought of spending five days there, awaiting the Judge's arrival for the trial, had given them both cause for concern. Ezra had protested vehemently that it was no place for a young lady but Chris was adamant that it was the safest refuge they could offer the witness.
Sammie leapt lightly from the hired gray mare and hurried inside. Vin left the hospitality to Ezra and set about unloading the horses. Mary had spent the morning stacking up a huge pile of provisions that she regarded as essential. He had examined each addition and rejected half of them. He smiled as he pictured Mary's annoyance. She's a young woman, Vin. You can't expect her to live as you do. Vin expected nothing of the kind but he saw no need for most of the paraphernalia he was letting through, let alone the stuff he wasn't.
Inside the cabin, Ezra apologized to Sammie. 'I'm afraid the accommodation is basic to say the least, Miss Grant. I tried to reason with Mr Larabee but he is not well known for his susceptibility to logic.'
'Please call me Sammie, Ezra. There's no point in standing on ceremony here.' She smiled as she waved an eloquent hand around the shack. 'Anyway, Chris was right - Wilson's men will never find me here.'
Vin struggled in under the first batch of luggage. He was about to suggest Ezra might lend a hand when Sammie beat him to it. 'Come on, Ezra. We can't let Vin do all the work.' She hurried out to collect a load.
Ezra was about to object, caught Vin's glare and shrugged. He would happily let Vin do all the work but he wasn't inclined to make a lady carry her own bags. Several trips later, Sammie surveyed the cramped bedroom.
'It's lucky you didn't bring everything Mary wanted you to, Vin. I'll go through this lot and put what I don't really need in the barn.' Suddenly she frowned. 'How are we going to manage? There's only one bed.'
'We'll take the floor,' Vin told her.
'You can't,' she protested. 'I can't let you sleep on the floor while I have a nice comfortable bed.'
'I should try it before you feel too sorry for us,' Ezra said wryly. Chris had not wasted much time or effort on his furniture; the bed was knocked together from rough boards and covered with a lumpy straw-tick.
'Besides,' Sammie continued, ignoring Ezra, 'It's not as if there's much floor.'
'I'll sleep on the porch,' Vin offered.
Sammie ran a hand over the burnished gold of her hair. 'I feel terrible about putting you to all this trouble.'
Ezra smiled reassuringly. He wasn't keen on the arrangement for several reasons but did not blame Sammie for it. When they'd been informed of the protection job, he'd expected the heiress to be a spoiled brat. Instead, she had been nothing but cheerful, cooperative and considerate. Five days in cramped and remote quarters still stretched ahead like a jail sentence but it now looked less like hard labor.
'Don't worry. Mr Tanner is never happier than when roughing it. As for myself, perhaps it will build character; there are those who think that I would benefit from such an experience.'
She squeezed his arm gaily. 'You have lots of character, Ezra.' She paused briefly, then added, 'Who's to say it has to be good?' Before he could formulate a retort, she knelt in front of the stove. 'Shall we get this going?'
'Chris said he hauled some logs last time he was up here but he ain't cut 'em up yet. I'll get on it.' Vin went outside to make a start on the chopping.
Sammie's eyes twinkled mischievously at Ezra. 'Now there's a man who isn't afraid of hard work.'
Disregarding the taunt, Ezra spoke softly. 'There is a man who is afraid of very little. You are fortunate to be in such capable hands but don't tell him I said that.'
'You like him, don't you? Why don't you call him Vin?'
'I'll go and attend to our steeds.'
Sammie watched through the window as Ezra untacked the horses and turned them out in the corral. She moved to one side and squinted along the wall of the house to where Vin was chopping logs. His buckskin jacket was thrown carelessly over a stump and he swung the axe easily.
'Oh, dear me,' she whispered to herself. 'I really must behave.'
- 2 -
It was just after dusk when they sat back following supper.
'You are a fine cook, Miss- Sammie.' Ezra's compliment was sincere: he'd enjoyed the stew she made with the rabbit Vin brought in. He gazed around the cabin. It was, of course, still cramped but it now looked a lot more homely. Mary's blue-striped tablecloth covered the rough table and Sammie had put a spray of wildflowers into one of Chris's old beer bottles. All the luggage was unpacked and stowed. 'You keep house well.'
Sammie laughed lightly. 'You thought I wouldn't be able to dress myself, didn't you?'
Ezra's forehead creased into a faint frown at the personal nature of the remark.
'As it happens, I like cooking. It'll be a long enough week for you two - the least I can do is feed you well.'
'Don't ya be worryin' 'bout us,' Vin said. 'Ain't like I had big plans and ya saved a few folks losin' to Ezra.'
'Will you teach me to play better?' she asked the gambler.
'Better? You play poker?'
She nodded. 'I used to play our men but I'm not very good.'
Ezra studied her thoughtfully. 'You don't have the face for poker.'
It was her turn to frown. 'What difference does it make what I look like?'
The two men smiled. Every emotion paraded across Sammie's face - her opponents doubtless had a good idea of the value of every hand.
'Well?' she pressed.
'I can see what you are thinking. When I can't, I'll teach you.'
'Promise?'
'You have my word.'
She reflected on that for a few minutes, then went to the bedroom and returned with a book.
'Ah, a literary woman. May I see?' She handed over the small volume. 'Dracula? I don't believe I've heard of it.'
'It's new. My aunt sent it from London. Everyone's talking about it - they say it's really scary.'
Vin laughed softly, then asked, 'Read it out?'
Surprised by the request, Sammie hesitated, then said, 'All right.' She settled back in the wooden armchair, moved the lamp closer and began.
Jonathan Harker's Journal. 3 May. Bistritz - Left Munich at 8.35pm on 1st May, arriving at Vienna early next morning; should have arrived at 6.46 but train was an hour late. Buda-Pesth seems a wonderful place, from the glimpse which I got of it from the train and the little I could walk through the streets…
Her clear voice rose and fell as they accompanied Mr Harker on his journey. It dropped to a whisper as she reached the end of the first chapter.
I became conscious of the fact that the driver was in the act of pulling up the horses in the courtyard of a vast ruined castle, from whose tall black windows came no ray of light and whose broken battlements showed a jagged line against the moonlit sky.
She paused to picture the fearsome setting. Ezra poured a glass of water for her and then held out a hand for the book. He began to read from where she had stopped, his rhythmic southern speech patterns contrasting with her crisper diction.
The instant, however, that I had stepped over the threshold, he moved impulsively forward, and holding out his hand grasped mine with a strength which made me wince, an effect which was not lessened by the fact that it seemed as cold as ice - more like the hand of a dead than a living man.
Ezra watched his audience out of the corner of his eye. Vin had closed his eyes and now appeared lost in the tale. Ezra knew that an imaginative spirit lurked within the pragmatic exterior shown to the world. Sammie was rapt, at once afraid of what was coming and yet eager for it to arrive. He read on to the end of the chapter.
The castle is a veritable prison, and I am a prisoner!
Sammie gasped. Ezra smiled and handed the book back. She offered it to Vin, who made no move to take it and said nothing. When she looked at Ezra, he said casually, 'Mr Tanner is not fond of public speaking. He is somewhat shy.'
'Oh, you shouldn't be, Vin. You have a lovely voice.'
Vin felt himself flush at the praise and dropped his head a fraction so that the shadow of his hat brim extended across his face. As he did so, he caught Ezra's eye with silent thanks for the man's intervention. He had no idea why Ezra had chosen to help him out but he appreciated the gesture.
Sammie caught none of their unspoken communication and returned to her reading. So engrossed was she in the revelations that followed that she gave no thought to the subject matter or her audience.
In the moonlight opposite me were three young women, ladies by their dress and manner… There was something about them that made me uneasy, some longing and at the same time some deadly fear. I felt in my heart a wicked, burning desire that they would kiss me with those red lips… There was a deliberate voluptuousness which was both thrilling and repulsive, and as she arched her neck she actually licked her lips like an animal, till I could see in the moonlight the moisture shining on the scarlet lips and lower went her head as the lips went below the range of my mouth and chin…
Vin shifted in his chair, seeing Ezra's rueful smile as he did so. The book was having an effect but, so far, it had little to do with fear.
…As my eyes opened involuntarily I saw his strong hand grasp the slender neck of the fair woman and with giant's power draw it back, the blue eyes transformed with fury, the white teeth champing with rage, and the fair cheeks blazing red with passion. But the Count! Never did I imagine such wrath and fury, even in the demons of the Pit. His eyes were positively blazing., The red light in them was lurid, as if the flames of hell-fire blazed behind them … 'How dare you touch him, any of you? How dare you cast your eyes on him when I had forbidden it? Back, I tell you all! This man belongs to me! Beware how you meddle with him, or you'll have to deal with me.' … 'Are we to have nothing tonight?' said one of them, with a low laugh as she pointed to the bag which he had thrown upon the floor, and which moved as if there were something living within it. For answer he nodded his head. One of the women jumped forward and opened it. If my ears did not deceive me there was a gasp and a low wail, as of a half-smothered child. The women closed round, whilst I was aghast with horror; but as I looked they disappeared, and with them the dreadful bag… Then the horror overcame me, and I sank down unconscious.
Sammie passed the book to Ezra in unspoken request that he read on.
'Are you quite sure this reading material is… suitable?' he asked. 'We wouldn't like you to have nightmares.'
Her answer was an impatient gesture so he read the fourth chapter, ending some time later with:
I am alone in the castle with those awful women. Faugh! Mina is a woman and there is nought in common. They are devils of the Pit! I shall not remain alone with them; I shall try to scale the castle wall farther than I have yet attempted. I shall take some of the gold with me, lest I want it later. I may find a way from this dreadful place. And then away for home! Away to the quickest and nearest train! Away from this cursed spot, from this cursed land, where the devil and his children still walk with earthly feet! At least God's mercy is better than that of these monsters, and the precipice is steep and high. At its foot a man may sleep - as a man. Good-bye, all! Mina!
'Isn't it wonderful?' Sammie exclaimed. 'So romantic.'
'You relish the thought of men casting themselves off precipices for love of you, do you Miss Sammie?' Ezra asked in mock rebuke.
'Oh, yes,' she breathed, then added hastily, 'Well, no, not really. But anything would be better than those monsters.'
Vin got to his feet and stretched lazily. He could live with beautiful women champing at his throat, though maybe he'd pass on the baby-eating. 'Reckon that's enough for one night. Time we turned in.'
Sammie was about to protest but then held her tongue. Ezra noted her restraint with curiosity. He had already discovered how easily she could bend him to her will but now saw that she did not try to do the same with Vin. Transparent she might be but she was no fool: Vin wasn't one for saying much but neither was he one for changing his plans once announced. Sammie clearly knew that.
Vin went out to do a final patrol. He did not expect trouble: only their friends knew where they were and they would die sooner than part with the knowledge. Others might guess but few knew the precise location of Chris's retreat. Still, he was here to do a job and he would do it. As he scouted the area, he thought of the young woman they guarded. He'd seen her eyes fill with tears at the mention of her late father but never once had she dwelled on his murder or balked at testifying against the man who had paid for the killing. Mort Wilson was a dangerous piece of work and the fact that he was at this moment languishing in the Four Corners jail was little protection. Without Sammie's testimony, he would be a free man next week and that was easily incentive enough to arrange for her permanent silence.
Returning to the cabin from the rear, Vin stopped to relieve himself by a knot of trees. The facilities out here were about as basic as they could get and he was sorry they couldn't offer their charge something closer to the life to which she must be accustomed in San Francisco. Back on the porch, he stuck his head around the front door to check all was well. Ezra had moved the table against the wall and was arranging his bedroll on the floor.
'You can't sleep on the porch like a dog, Vin,' Sammie objected again from the bedroom door.
He grinned at the notion of himself as a guard-dog. 'If ya hear me growlin', ya keep down.'
Sammie lay awake on the cot for hours after they turned in. Its lumpiness didn't help but the real problem was the book. Her mind was filled with foreboding castles and monster-women dripping blood from their pointed teeth. Even when sleep finally came, her dreams were populated by the fearsome parasites. Three times her whimpered cries woke the two men, who only smiled at her insistence on frightening herself out of her wits when they'd have thought she already had enough to fear in the real world.
- 3 -
The next morning was oppressive. The air hung heavy, without the faintest breeze to counter its stifling humidity. Vin was studying thunderheads to the north when Ezra emerged from the cabin.
'Good morning, Mr Tanner. I trust you slept as badly as I.'
Vin smiled, knowing how attached Ezra was to his featherbed. 'Wouldn'ta been so bad if someone hadn't scared herself senseless.'
'Indeed. I believe we both slept rather better than Miss Grant.' He turned his attention to the sky. 'It is somewhat close this morning. Do you expect that to pass in this direction.'
'Reckon so. Probably tonight.'
'As if conditions were not trying enough already.'
Vin gave half a nod but said, 'Might not be a bad thing. Doubt anyone'll be out in it and least it'll cover any tracks we left.' He had planned their route to leave few traces and had eradicated any obvious evidence of their passing but every extra safeguard was welcome.
Ezra leaned on the corral rail thoughtfully. 'I am somewhat at a loss to understand why I am here. I can see why Mr Larabee selected you.' He inclined his head toward the mare's leg at Vin's side; the man was worth several guns if their hiding place was discovered. 'But as for myself…'
'Well, he was hardly gonna send Buck, was he?'
'I was thinking more of Mr Sanchez or Mr Jackson.'
'Reckon he figured ya're the closest we got to good company for a lady like her.'
Ezra weighed that up. If true, it was a more flattering explanation than he had so far entertained.
'Chris knows ya're a gent around the ladies. He trusts ya with this.' Vin grinned before adding, 'Be a different thing if we was guarding a sack o' gold.'
Ezra gave a mock scowl but that quickly turned into a real frown. Vin raised an inquiring eyebrow.
'I cannot say that I am totally comfortable with this arrangement. The quarters are closer than I would choose.'
Vin stared at his boots, sharing Ezra's doubts. 'Yeah.'
Ezra glanced back to the cabin to ensure that Sammie had not emerged unheard. 'When you answer the call of nature, I suggest you do not assume that, because it is unlit, the bedroom is also unoccupied.'
Vin took a moment to recall where he had stopped the night before. He had indeed assumed Sammie was still in the kitchen with Ezra when he saw no light in the bedroom. In fact, she had watched him from the darkened window, unaware that Ezra was watching her from the doorway.
'Ya reckon she's… er…?'
'She is twenty years of age and Mrs Travis informed me that she has been engaged to be married in the past. I doubt that she is blind to the possibilities of our present circumstances.'
'That damned book don't help.' Vin's tone was uncharacteristically grouchy.
'Don't tell me you are not keen to hear more of Mr Harker's adventures. You gave every appearance of enjoying them.'
The twinkle returned to Vin's eye. 'Oh, I wanna hear 'em all right. Just ain't so sure I wanna have her read 'em t'me.'
'Breakfast, gentlemen?' Sammie's call from the front door was bright and breezy, giving no indication that she'd had a bad night.
She plied them with bacon, eggs and coffee until they were sated.
'I was wondering if you could help me with my shooting, Vin.'
He pondered the request. 'Ya done much?'
'Not really.' She blushed. 'I… I hate killing things. But perhaps it would be useful to be able to… if I had to.'
'Okay. C'mon.'
He picked up his rifle from beside the door, led the way outside and spent a few minutes digging out some old cans from Chris's rubbish and lining them up on a log. Ezra settled himself in a chair on the porch and watched the preparations.
Vin checked the weapon, even though he knew it was loaded, then passed it to Sammie. She set the butt firmly against her shoulder, sighted down the barrel and missed. He stood behind her, put his hands on her shoulder blades and waited for her to fire again. She took a moment to collect herself, unsettled by the firm pressure of his palms on her back. When she pulled the trigger, her right shoulder jerked away from him.
'Move yer finger, not ya whole arm.'
She tried again, still missing but halving the distance she moved from his hand. Three shots later, she hit a can and laughed delightedly.
Vin smiled. 'Nice. 'Cept ya wasn't aiming at that one, was ya?'
'How do you know?' she demanded indignantly.
'I know.' He moved to her side. 'Most times that'll be good enough but think afore ya shoot. Six inches can make the difference 'tween self-defense an' murder.'
She nodded soberly. 'I don't think I could do it if it was a person anyway.'
'That's what we're here for. An' Sammie…' His tone caught her attention. 'Don't ever shoot till ya know who it is. Real easy to make a mistake in the heat o' the moment.'
She nodded again, serious for a moment, then smiled. 'Show me how it should be done.'
Vin thought on it. Not being an exhibitionist, he never shot to entertain. Eventually he shrugged, realizing he would do a good deal more than that to please her. He didn't bother with the cans, looking instead at a broken bough high in a distant cottonwood. It hung by a twist of bark. Preferring his mare's leg to the rifle, he drew the weapon and took careful aim. Seconds later, the branch fell to the ground.
Sammie stood open-mouthed. 'I've never seen anyone do anything like that.'
Ezra had wandered over to join them. 'You won't meet many men who can match Mr Tanner's aim.'
'Not you?' she asked.
Vin laughed. 'Ez relies on talkin' 'em to death.'
She applied herself to the cans again and practiced until she had toppled them all.
'Not bad,' Vin said. He went back into the cabin and came out with a box of bullets. He showed her how to load the rifle, then unloaded it again. 'Keep at it till y'can do it real fast. Ain't just a matter of shootin' straight. Ya don't wanna get caught with an empty gun 'cause ya wasn't fast enough.' He loaded and unloaded again, this time at full speed, his fingers flying over the weapon.
She did as he said, repeating the task until she was perhaps half as fast as he was. After a moment's thought, she said, 'Show me them all.'
He caught her meaning and went through the same exercise with his mare's leg and Ezra's rifle and revolver. If they got pinned down, Sammie might be more help keeping loaded weapons in their hands than she was as an inexperienced and reluctant third gun.
When they were done, Vin went to check on the horses and Sammie drifted back to the porch.
'Does that make you feel more confident?' Ezra asked kindly.
She nodded her head. 'I am a bit… afraid.'
'Finding one's life to be threatened is not an experience many would envy you.'
'It's not just that. I couldn't bear it if any of you were hurt taking care of me.'
'The Devil looks after his own,' Ezra assured her. 'Since Mr Tanner has been so obliging with the weaponry, perhaps we should commence the gaming tuition you requested?'
'But you said…'
'I regret to say that I don't believe you will ever make a poker player but how about some deck stacking?'
'Deck stacking?'
He leaned forward. 'Cheating.'
Her sparkling eyes declared how much she liked that idea.
'Promise me one thing?' She nodded. 'Don't ever use this in a real game - people have been shot for less.'
'But you do?'
'As if a gentleman like myself would resort to such tactics.' The laughter in the cool green eyes told her not to set too much store by the denial. He brought the table and another chair out onto the porch and settled Sammie opposite himself.
She watched attentively as he first demonstrated how to shuffle and cut fluently. When he passed her the deck, she tried to mimic what he had done. He reached over and pressed on her fingers, increasing the pressure she exerted on the cards to make them bend more. During her first few attempts, she sprayed the deck over him twice but her control slowly improved and the cards flew through her fingers.
'You show a high degree of manual dexterity,' Ezra told her. 'By the time you leave here, you may be the fastest gun-loader and deck-shuffler in the territory. Now, there are two key aspects to stacking a deck: knowing what you want to achieve and developing the skills to achieve it. The first is a matter of strategy and, since you will not be using this in a real game, is somewhat academic. Consequently, I shall simply tell you what you are to deal. The second is a matter of memory and tactile sensitivity, qualities I believe you possess in abundance.'
He spent the next hour demonstrating the tricks of his trade and then painstakingly guiding her through them. She watched his manicured fingertips caress the cards, understanding the part that they played in his life and the years of experience that he was passing on to her for no reward. Each time he cupped her hands to take her through a movement, she felt a little thrill at the touch.
By the end of the session, she could do the basic moves almost as quickly and smoothly as he did. He nodded his approbation. 'I would need to watch closely to see that you were cheating.'
She set down the deck and squeezed his hand appreciatively. 'Thanks, Ezra. I'd better see to dinner.' When she had gone inside, Ezra headed for the barn, where he found Vin cleaning tack.
The tracker looked up when Ezra entered. 'Okay?'
'Indeed. Our charge has a knack for stacking a deck.'
Vin gave one of his quiet little half-laughs. 'Ain't so sure we should be teachin' her our bad habits.'
'Do we have any other expertise to impart?'
Vin considered that for a second. 'No, don't reckon we do. Can't say I'd given it much thought but we don't do much 'part from shootin', gamblin' an' drinkin'.' He inspected his grubby palm and picked at it.
'An injury?'
'Naw, jus' a splinter.' He rebuckled the bridle he'd been cleaning and hung it from a peg. 'Any grub goin'?'
'It is in progress.'
Ezra led the way out of the barn and back to the cabin, where they sat at the table on the porch to await their meal. It was only cold rabbit from the night before but the range of bread, pickles and trimmings Sammie served with it made it seem a good deal better than most leftovers. It was perfect for the sultry weather.
When he'd eaten his fill, Vin returned to picking at his splinter.
'What's wrong?' Sammie asked, her voice full of concern. 'Have you hurt yourself?'
'Jus' a splinter,' he repeated.
'You'll only make it sore by picking at it,' she chided him and went inside, returning moments later with a small bag. She rummaged through its contents until she found a sewing needle and then reached for Vin's hand.
'S'okay,' he protested.
Ignoring the objection, she caught the hand and pulled it to the middle of the table. Her face was a mask of concentration as she carefully rooted out the splinter with the needle. Vin watched, enjoying the dainty touch of her fingers. Damn! He shifted in his chair, trying to ease the growing discomfort at his crotch.
'I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you.' Sammie apologized.
'S'okay,' he said again. 'Felt a lot worse'an that.'
Ezra picked up his beer and smirked into it.
'There it is!' She held out the offending sliver of wood for him to see. 'You'd better wash your hands or it might get infected.' Seeing his reluctance, she frowned her insistence. Unlike Ezra's, his callused hands were coated with a mixture of dust, gun oil, saddlesoap and countless other contaminants. He grudgingly did as bidden, scrubbing until Sammie nodded her approval.
When they were settled with coffee, Ezra tipped his chair back against the cabin and looked at Sammie thoughtfully.
'What will you do when this is over?'
'I'm not sure,' she admitted. 'Probably go back to San Francisco. We have a good foreman out here and there are all Papa's other interests to take care of.'
'I understand that he was a very wealthy man.'
She nodded.
'You have no one to assist you?'
'My aunt in London is my only family - my mother's sister - but our business manager will help me. He's been with Papa for nearly thirty years. Or did you mean a potential husband?'
Ezra gave a slight shrug. He continued to be surprised by the young woman's forthright attitude. Her father had been a self-made man and, while he had clearly arranged for his daughter to be well educated, he had equally clearly not encouraged her to stand on ceremony.
'I was engaged to be married once.'
'Really?' Ezra gave no indication that he already knew of her past.
'Yes… but I broke it off.'
'I see.' He could see from that expressive face that she had not fully come to terms with whatever had happened. 'Do you regret that?'
'No… yes… well, there wasn't any choice.'
Ezra assumed from her manner that the man had betrayed her trust. He did not intend to pry further.
She looked at him sadly. 'I thought Mark was special. He was always so kind to me. Then a Chinese family moved into his neighborhood. They were nice people but he was awful to them, started this campaign to force them out. I tried to stop him but he wouldn't listen to me. I couldn't possibly marry someone like that.' She stared at her hands. 'You must know what I mean… if someone treated Nathan badly just because…'
Ezra did not reply, conscious that his own attitudes were often far from laudable and uncomfortable at assuming the moral high ground in front of Vin. Today, it was the tracker who rescued him.
'Yeah, we know what ya mean.'
Ezra cleared his throat. 'The gentleman in question must have regretted his actions.'
'No, he was angry with me. He said I was too used to having my own way… but it wasn't that - I just knew he was wrong. Anyway, I think he was a lot more upset about losing my money than me.' Tears shimmered in her eyes and she shivered as if from the cold, although the air was hotter than ever. 'I know I should be thankful that I have so much but sometimes I almost wish I had nothing at all.'
The two men studied her compassionately. Fortunes had a way of attracting the wrong kind of attention, whether it was men like Wilson openly declaring a takeover bid or men like her fiancé helping themselves more subtly. Ordinarily, Ezra was as bad as any but he had grown fond of Sammie and was surprised to find that he had little interest in her wealth. He was certain that she would insist on a reward for their protection but, strangely, that wasn't why he was here doing his best to help her. As for Vin, it didn't even figure in his thinking.
She dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief, then straightened in her chair. What was done was done - she would not dwell on it. 'Shall we read some more?'
Ezra smiled. 'We thought perhaps the loss of a night's sleep would have dampened your enthusiasm for such lurid prose.'
'Oh, no. I think it's fabulous.' She trotted off to fetch the book.
'Y'sure 'bout this?' Vin asked softly.
'While she is thinking of blood-sucking fiends, she is not worrying about Wilson's assassins.'
Vin's expression conceded the point. It was a distraction of sorts. Sammie was back before he could say any more on the subject anyway. She and Ezra read in turns as they had the night before, moving on from Harker's journal to the letters exchanged between his fiancée, Mina, and her friend, Lucy. Slowly they were introduced to the other players in the narrative.
Ezra was reading when the next drama unfolded:
There was undoubtedly something, long and black, bending over the half-reclining white figure. I called in fright, 'Lucy! Lucy!' and something raised a head, and from where I was I could see a white face and red, gleaming eyes. Lucy did not answer, and I ran on to the entrance to the churchyard. As I entered, the church was between me and the seat, and for a minute or so I lost sight of her. When I came in view again the cloud had passed, and the moonlight struck so brilliantly that I could see Lucy half-reclining with her head lying over the back of the seat. She was quite alone, and there was not a sign of any living thing about.
Sammie had been holding her breath and suddenly gasped for air.
When I bent over her I could see that she was still asleep. Her lips were parted, and she was breathing - not softly, as usual with her, but in long, heavy gasps, as though striving to get her lungs full at every breath. As I came close, she put up her hand in her sleep and pulled her nightdress close round her throat.
'Oh, no,' Sammie's voice was a whisper. 'The evil has reached England.'
Ezra smiled as he set the book down to remove his jacket, while Sammie lifted the damp bangs from her forehead. He draped the garment over the back of his chair and resumed reading. They carried on until late in the afternoon, when Sammie struggled through her tears to finish the account of Lucy's death in chapter twelve:
I stood beside Van Helsing, and said: 'Ah, well, poor girl, there is peace for her at last. It is the end!' He turned to me, and said with grave solemnity: 'Not so, alas! Not so. It is only the beginning!' When I asked him what he meant, he only shook his head and answered: 'We can do nothing as yet. Wait and see.'
A second after Sammie stopped speaking, a roll of thunder reverberated through the sticky air. She started at its portentous timing. Huge drops of rain began to fall.
'Better get ourselves dug in for the night,' Vin said grimly. 'It's gonna be a hell of a storm.' He headed for the barn to settle the horses, while Ezra helped Sammie move the furniture back inside. Ezra then set about securing everything the wind was likely to catch and she started to prepare supper.
An hour later, they were snug in the cabin. Torrential rain drummed on the roof but a good meal and the cozy lamplight raised their spirits. Good hostess that she was, Sammie served coffee before getting out the book again. Her guardians smiled at her eagerness to discover what wickedness was now being visited on the innocent folk of England. Sheet lightening cast jagged shadows across the room as she found her place. She began to read, raising her voice to combat the thunder crashing outside.
The funeral was arranged for the next succeeding day, so that Lucy and her mother might be buried together.
She read of the funeral and then Ezra told of the strange events that followed it. Sammie was reading once again when the intrepid band of men followed Van Helsing into the vault.
There lay Lucy, seemingly just as we had seen her the night before her funeral. She was, if possible, more radiantly beautiful than ever; and I could not believe that she was dead. The lips were red, nay redder than before; and on the cheeks was a delicate bloom.
Sammie's brow furrowed as she read on. How could the corpse look better than it had when they buried it? A little later, it fell to Ezra to reveal the dreadful secret.
By the concentrated light that fell on Lucy's face we could see that the lips were crimson with fresh blood, and that the stream had trickled over her chin and stained the purity of her lawn death-robe.
Sammie's eyes were like saucers. She unconsciously rested her hand on Vin's forearm, transfixed by the horrific tale. Ezra smiled again and continued.
…She was leaping for them, when Van Helsing sprang forward and held between them his little golden crucifix. She recoiled from it, and, with a suddenly distorted face, full of rage, dashed past him as if to enter the tomb…
Sammie reached inside the neck of her blouse and pulled out a small gold crucifix that hung from her neck. She clutched it in her left hand and Vin's arm in her right.
…'Is this really Lucy's body, or only a demon in her shape?' 'It is her body, and yet not it. But wait a while and you will see her as she was, and is.' She seemed like a nightmare of Lucy as she lay there; the pointed teeth, the bloodstained, voluptuous mouth - which it made one shudder to see - the whole carnal and unspiritual appearance, seeming like a devilish mockery of Lucy's sweet purity…
Ezra glanced up at Vin, seeing the amusement in the tracker's steady gaze.
Arthur took the stake and the hammer, and when once his mind was set on actions his hands never trembled nor even quivered. Van Helsing opened his missal and began to read, and Quincey and I followed as well as we could. Arthur placed the point over the heart, and as I looked I could see its dint in the white flesh. Then he struck with all his might.
Sammie went rigid as a crack of thunder came right on cue.
The Thing in the coffin writhed; and a hideous, blood-curdling screech came from the opened red lips. The body shook and quivered and twisted in wild contortions; the sharp white teeth champed together till the lips were cut and the mouth was smeared with a crimson foam. But Arthur never faltered. He looked like a figure of Thor as his untrembling arm rose and fell, driving deeper and deeper the mercy-bearing stake, whilst the blood from the pierced heart welled and spurted up around it. His face was set, and high duty seemed to shine up through it; the sight of it gave us courage, so that our voice seemed to ring through the little vault.
And then the writhing and quivering of the body became less, and the teeth ceased to champ, and the face to quiver. Finally, it lay still. The terrible task was over.
Sammie breathed a deep sigh of relief and unclenched the fingers she had unknowingly been digging deep into Vin's flesh. Just as she relaxed, the wind howled and something crashed outside. She grabbed the arm again so suddenly that even Vin could not ignore the pain that her movement sent shooting through his shoulder. He grunted but made no complaint.
Her eyes were wide. 'W-what was that?'
'It sounded remarkably like a tin bathtub falling to the ground, though I am sure you have a more colorful explanation.' There was nothing but good humor in Ezra's kindly tone.
'I better take a look around afore we turn in - make sure everything's tied down tight,' Vin said. 'Pretty rough out there.'
'No!' There was real fear in Sammie's voice, the first time the two men had heard it.
Ezra tutted. 'You have shown such fortitude in the face of the threat Mr Wilson poses to your well-being, young lady. How can you be afraid of a storm?'
'I'm not afraid of the storm,' she said quietly. 'And I know you'll protect me against Wilson's men.'
Touched by her faith in them, Vin spoke softly. 'But ya reckon we're out of our league with the Un-Dead? That it?'
She blushed at the gentle mockery in his voice, knowing her fear was irrational but finding no comfort in the knowledge. He lifted her hand from his arm, squeezed it and headed for the door.
Ezra waited with Sammie. He wouldn't have been in a hurry to go out into the weather but, for once, he was thinking of someone else. If they left Sammie alone at the moment, she'd be climbing the walls by the time they came back. He moved round to Vin's chair and let her take his hand.
The rain had abated but the wind roared louder than ever. Twice it hurled broken branches at the shack and twice Sammie clenched her fist around Ezra's hand. Her grip was strong enough to make him grit his teeth as she ground his knuckles together.
About ten minutes passed before Vin blew back in, his jacket swirling round him and his hat in his hand. He nodded an okay in answer to Ezra's unspoken question. The place was holding up under the onslaught and the horses were nervous but unharmed.
Sammie shrank back against Ezra, watching Vin apprehensively. He caught her stare as he hung his damp jacket by the stove and grinned. Two strides brought him to her side. When he reached for her throat, she nearly climbed onto Ezra's lap. He clasped the crucifix that now lay on top of her blouse.
'Okay?'
He expected her to be shamefaced at the foolish fear but instead she showed only relief. She jumped up and flung her arms around his neck. He wrestled with the desire that surged through him. Ezra was right: the quarters were too close. He'd been hard for half of the past thirty-six hours and now the pretty young thing was sandwiched between himself and the side of Ezra's legs. A moment later, her lips were on his. He dredged up every scrap of willpower he possessed to push her away.
'No, Sammie.' The words came out in a hoarse whisper.
He saw the surprise in her eyes. She hadn't expected him to refuse.
Now she was shamefaced.
'I thought you wanted to. Both of you.'
Vin looked past her, seeking help from Ezra, who stood and rested his hand on her shoulder.
'We are supposed to be protecting you.'
Embarrassment put an edge into Sammie's voice and she snapped at him. 'My life, not my virtue. You're too late for that anyway.' She fled to the bedroom, slamming the door behind her.
The minute the darkness closed around her, she wished she had not left them. She threw herself onto the bed, crying tears of shame and frustration but then choking them back for fear that she would not hear some terrible thing approaching. She lay trembling.
Her escorts looked at one another uneasily until Vin spoke. 'Ya said it was too close quarters.'
Ezra nodded. 'But the lady is correct: we are here only to guard her person. That does not preclude intimacy, provided that she genuinely wishes it. As you said this morning, no one is likely to be out in this weather.'
Vin frowned. 'She don't need us to leave her with more trouble'an she's already got.'
'That does not preclude intimacy either.'
Vin closed his eyes, wishing that his aching cock would give his head a chance to think on the problem. At that moment, the bedroom door opened again. Sammie's eyes were red but she was back in control. Too afraid to stay in the darkness alone, she preferred to face them.
'I'm sorry. I don't know what you must think of me.'
Ezra reached out a hand and drew her between himself and Vin. 'Are you sure this is what you want? You are under no obligation to entertain us, whatever we may want.'
'I know. I wouldn't have offered if I didn't want to.'
'Mr Tanner is concerned about leaving you in an indelicate condition.'
She studied the patterns in his fancy waistcoat. 'We could be careful. You don't have to… finish inside. It's a safe time for me.'
Both men were surprised, Ezra that she trusted them to be careful and Vin at her worldliness. They looked thoughtfully at each other, sorely tempted by her offer and wondering whether there was any good reason why they should not accept it. Sammie was now at the head of a business empire that exceeded even Ezra's wildest dreams - she was surely capable of deciding whom she invited to her bed.
It was perhaps half a minute before Ezra slowly bent his head to kiss her. When she put her hands on his collarbones and responded, he edged her backwards into Vin so that she was lightly crushed between them.
Sammie closed her eyes, tasting Ezra's lips with the tip of her tongue and feeling the pressure of his erection against her stomach and Vin's in the small of her back. She'd spoken the truth when she said that they were too late to protect her virtue but her manner had implied promiscuity beyond the single occasion on which her fiancé had made love to her, after they had both drunk too much wine at a banquet. She quivered now as she found herself encircled by two of the most exciting men she'd ever met.
Even as he kissed Sammie, Ezra's nimble fingers began to undo the tiny buttons that ran down the front of her blouse. He had never shared a woman and would have set very long odds against ever sharing one with Vin. Sammie was right when she guessed that he liked Vin: he had a deep respect for and trust in the softly spoken tracker. That was why he kept the man at a distance, not wanting to become close to someone who might then disappoint as his Mother so often had.
Behind Sammie, Vin nuzzled the shining coils of hair anchored at the nape of her neck and pulled hairpins one at a time from the coiffure. As each twist came loose, he ran his fingers through its silky length. Having made his decision, his mind was now at peace. Confident that this was what they all wanted, and that Ezra would be as careful as he to avoid compromising Sammie, he now intended to enjoy the experience. The men who rode with him might have been surprised to learn that this was not his first threesome, though such carefree days now seemed a lifetime away.
When Ezra freed the last button, Vin helped Sammie out of her blouse. The flawless skin above her camisole was milky white. Her small, firm breasts rose and fell with her fast, shallow breathing. She felt a delightful thrill of fear at what lay ahead, something quite different from the terror with which she'd been tantalizing herself earlier. All thoughts of vampires were gone, as she twisted round to face Vin and reached for his lips.
This time, he made no attempt to stop her. Instead, his hands found her slender waist and pulled her closer. His kiss was harder than Ezra's, his tongue delving deep into her mouth while his stubble scratched the soft skin of her chin. He ran his tongue along the even edge of her white teeth, lingered for a moment, and then pulled away an inch or so.
'That's a relief.' He paused for effect. 'Not pointed.'
She didn't understand for a minute, then beat him lightly with her fists when she did. He caught her wrists playfully and held her in a firm but gentle grip that she couldn't escape. A tiny line appeared between his eyebrows as he studied her face, seeing her pupils dilate and wondering what in particular excited her so.
'Make me,' she whispered.
The line deepened as he frowned. 'That ain't somethin' for a woman to joke about.'
She blushed. 'Only make-believe, like a story. Please. I know you wouldn't really.'
Vin froze, his hands still gripping her wrists, feeling only derision for men who forced themselves on women and not seeing it as a topic for erotic play. He shifted his weight uneasily and finally looked to Ezra for guidance.
The gambler smiled as he realized why Sammie was so fascinated by them all and by Vin in particular. She'd spent her life surrounded by people who did as she told them. The only time a man had refused was when her fiancé disregarded her plea to leave the Chinese family alone and that was one time she deserved to be heeded. In them, she'd found men who couldn't be ordered or bought; in Vin, she'd found one who couldn't even be cajoled. Now she wanted them to take control. Seeing no harm in the fantasy, he gave a slight nod to Vin.
Vin stepped back, uncertain of his role in the unfamiliar game. Ezra caught Sammie under her arms and threw her onto the table, signaling Vin to go around the other side and hold her down. Vin reluctantly obeyed, taking her wrists again and pinning her to the rough wood. Ezra unbuttoned her skirt and pulled it off, forcibly but without tearing it. Her petticoats followed and then he reached up, unhooked her corsets and threw them to one side.
Sammie lay in her silk camisole and knickers, pale in her perfection. Her eyes were wild with the thrill of their assault. Ezra leaned against her knees where her legs hung from the edge of the table and took her wrists from Vin. Holding her securely in place, he looked at Vin and then at her camisole.
Vin hesitated for a moment, feeling his cock harder than he'd have believed possible but afraid to give in to the impulse to tear the garment from the slender body. Looking into Sammie's face to gauge her reaction, he saw only delight, anticipation and… trust. He shrugged: she could afford to buy more underwear. Gripping the filmy fabric in both hands, he ripped it from bottom to top. The exertion, together with the sudden sight of her pert breasts and erect nipples, took him to the brink. Much more of this and he'd be coming in his pants.
Handing their prize back to Vin, Ezra began to unbuckle his gunbelt. Sammie watched, captivated. Vin watched too, struggling to suppress his own arousal and wondering how long Ezra would last. The gambler removed his pants and drawers as one and then paused, studying Sammie and stroking his stiff shaft. Suddenly, swiftly, he grasped Sammie's knickers and whipped them off with a flourish. She gasped her glee, giving a little wriggle that sent a ripple of excitement through Vin as he restrained her. Ezra stepped between her legs and spread them.
Vin noted that every maneuver, however forceful it looked, ended in a gentle touch - the man was in full control, playing a game rather than surrendering to hidden brutality. He realized that Sammie had chosen well: few men knew more about games than Ezra, who now ran a thumb through her cleft to check she was ready before making his move. Finding her bathed in her own juices, he took a thigh in each hand, hauled her toward himself and thrust into her. She bucked in delight, fighting Vin's grip.
Making no attempt to stimulate Sammie, Ezra played along with the role she had assigned to him, seeming to consider only his own fulfillment. Vin watched, entranced, never having played such games himself. It was less than a minute before Ezra withdrew and then leaned forward, a hand on either side of Sammie, and shot three jets of hot cum across her stomach. He took a few seconds to catch his breath, then looked up at Vin with a smile. Long slow loving had been out of the question anyway: they'd both been on a knife-edge for far too long.
Ezra reached for Sammie's torn camisole and wiped her clean. Motioning Vin to release his grip, he rolled her over and picked her up, his arms around her waist. He sat on a chair, his legs wide apart, and drew her close in front of him, still maintaining his grip. Vin stood in front of her, took off his gunbelt and unbuttoned his pants. He tried to ram his cock into her mouth, though her eagerness made it difficult to use force. Ezra was now more creative in interpreting his role: his left hand kneaded her nipple while his right worked her clit.
Vin rested his hands on Sammie's shoulders and closed his eyes. In his mind, a picture formed of a swollen creek where he'd camped years before. A fallen tree had lodged across the current and the spring floods threw an ever-increasing mound of debris against it. He'd watched for hours, waiting for it to give way. The pressure that had built up inside him over the past day and a half reminded him of that branch - he'd been fighting not to give way and now relief swept over him as he fought no more. He sighed as he sensed his impending release and then groaned as the heat exploded from his balls, up his shaft and into Sammie's mouth. She swallowed every drop, sucking him dry and then kissing his tip. A moment later, he sank to his knees.
Sammie felt Ezra lift her so that he could close his legs beneath her. She settled herself on his lap, leaning against his chest and welcoming his hands on her breasts. Tilting her pelvis, she dangled her legs on either side of Ezra's and opened herself to Vin's tongue. It flickered over the folds of flesh while his fingers slid in and out of her. Sammie gasped, no longer able to separate who was touching her where and not caring in the least. She twisted Vin's hair around her fingers, moaning and whimpering.
'Oh, oh, oh.' She tried to hold back but was soon overwhelmed. The storm still tore at the shack so that even someone standing on the threshold would not have heard her cries. 'Oh-Vin. Oh-Ezra. Oh-h-h-h.'
Vin teased her past her orgasm and brought her down slowly, finally kneeling up and embracing her affectionately. A minute or two passed before they peeled apart.
'Was that satisfactory?' Ezra murmured in her ear.
'Perfect,' she breathed. 'Sleep with me.'
Her words were as soft as a summer's breeze but now she wanted to be obeyed. Vin glanced at the bedroom and grinned: Chris's bed was a decent size… for a single. He clearly hadn't been figuring on hosting orgies.
She read his mind and smiled. 'We'll fit.'
And somehow they did, their bare skins pressed close from head to toe. The wind howled but all was peace and warmth inside their cocoon. Ezra's last thought before sleep overtook him was to hope that they did not receive any early morning visitors.
Note: This story takes some historical liberties, given that 'Dracula' by Bram Stoker wasn't published until 1897.