The Betrayal
Third part of the Kindred Spirits series.
- 1 -'Mrs Costain,' Ezra said simply.
His six companions looked bemused. They were in the saloon, discussing where they could find a reliable female partner for the centerpiece of their next task, which was another mission from Judge Travis. A company had been set up to build a railroad running north-south through the territory, linking the two east-west routes that were already partially operational. The company had existed for over a year and it had slowly become clear to investors that something was seriously amiss. Shares were sold, and considerable funds raised, yet no railroad had been built.
A prolonged investigation had so far failed to expose the men responsible but then there was a break in the case. The company's accountant, Oliver Headon, was to travel by train, with his sister Angelica, through the north-east of the territory and sources said that they would be carrying sensitive papers recording the directors' activities. The investigators back east had no one near enough to act on the lead so the Judge volunteered his local representatives. When their briefing revealed that the accountant was susceptible to feminine wiles, Ezra proposed that he and a female companion ingratiate themselves with the travelers and lift the keys to the safe in the luggage van. It was the identity of the female companion that they were now discussing.
The ex-conman explained. 'My mother is, how shall I say, no longer in the first flush of youth. We have already agreed we would not wish to endanger a novice such as Mrs Travis. I believe Mrs Costain has the intelligence and self-reliance we seek in abundance.'
Buck looked uneasily at Vin before making his objection. 'Mara's a wonderful woman, don't get me wrong, but I think we need a more…' he trailed off as appropriate words failed him.
'… Conventional-lookin' woman,' Chris helped his friend out.
Unoffended, Vin grinned. 'She'd probably scare the pants off this fella.'
'I think you underestimate our friend,' Ezra replied. 'I believe she has found her current identity affords her the respect she requires to conduct her life as she sees fit. I suspect she can be whatever she chooses.'
Vin considered that, remembering the well-spoken woman who had breezed into the Regency Hotel on their last excursion some ten weeks before. 'Ezra could be right.'
Chris pondered the matter for a while. 'Can't say I can think of anyone else,' he finally conceded. 'Do we know how to get hold of her?' He addressed the question to the group, but assumed if anyone knew, it would be Vin.
The tracker stood to rummage in his pants pockets. He drew out a small leather wallet and passed it to Chris. Through a clear window in the leather, Chris saw Mara's card and smiled to himself. Vin had never admitted he couldn't read. Chris knew Mary had taught him some but doubted he could read the flowing script on the card, particularly when it came to unfamiliar names and places. He wondered if Mara knew Vin couldn't read the card when she left it with him.
'Well, let's see if she can fit us in. She looked pretty busy when we got back from the gold business.'
They had a wire from Mara the next day, confirming that she'd be happy to help and would reschedule her commitments to get to them by the end of the week.
- 2 -
As good as her word, Mara rode into Four Corners on the Friday afternoon. She approached through a sidestreet, coming past Vin's wagon first in the hope of catching him before meeting with the others. She was in luck - he didn't generally spend much time there during the day but was putting away his clean washing. She watched his back for a few seconds, smiling to herself and wondering whether Friday was washday, he'd run out of things or he'd made a special effort knowing she was coming. Her last guess was the correct one.
He looked round when he heard the horse approaching. The broad white smile that lit up his face sent Mara's spirit soaring. She would have adored him whether he cared for her or not but there was something very special about knowing you made someone feel as he obviously did. She stepped down into his arms and they picked up where they had left off before.
'You'll get complaints,' she warned him some time later. 'Probably a bylaw about carnal relations in wagons parked within town limits.'
'Ain't sure they'd want me to move it outside town limits,' he remarked, remembering the town's experience of not so long before when the absence of its protectors became known.
'Better go get my briefin',' she said reluctantly.
The smile was back when he said, 'Ya gonna love this one.'
They found Chris outside the saloon. He touched his hat. 'Mara. Things goin' well?'
She nodded. 'So, you're cookin' up a bit of a scheme?'
'Yeah. We're in the unenviable position of relyin' on Ezra for this one.'
Mara was fond of the gambler but understood why someone might be reluctant to depend on him. 'Man's good at what he's good at. Reckon you couldn't be in better hands.'
'Let's go see.' Chris led them inside to where Ezra was playing cards with Nathan and JD.
'Mrs Costain,' Ezra stood and kissed Mara's hand with a flourish. 'Delighted to renew your acquaintance.'
Mara smiled at his Southern charm and nodded to the other two men. 'Well, sweetmouth, what's it all about?'
Ezra ran through the scheme, explaining Mara's part in some detail.
She sat back with an appraising look in her eye. When she spoke, it was in a precise imitation of Ezra's accent. 'I'm surprised these gentlemen didn't suffocate with mirth when you put my name forward.'
'There was some consternation,' he conceded. 'Is my confidence misplaced?'
'Corsets!' she said with disgust. 'I'm not sure you know what you are asking, Mr Standish.' She reflected for a moment and then laid her hands on the table. 'I believe these may be the biggest impediment.'
Ezra perused the tan leather of her hands, with their scars and chipped nails.
'We can do some work there.' He smiled at her. 'And I'm sure you know how to keep a man's eyes where you want them.'
Vin frowned as he felt an unfamiliar tightness in his gut. He had not considered how he would cope when Mara was working their mark. He tried to push the jealousy to one side - it was an unproductive emotion for which he had little use - but realized that he had not thought through their request before involving Mara. He'd been proud that Ezra thought her up to the task, and pleased at the prospect of seeing her again, but he hadn't looked beyond those feelings.
As always, Chris noted the dynamics of what was going on round him. Some of the doubts he'd had before their last job surfaced again. The last thing he needed was Vin on the rampage. He watched his friend sideways, wondering how far the man's considerable self-control could be stretched.
- 3 -
Over the next two days, Ezra worked with Mara to eliminate as many traces of her normal life as possible and acquire the wardrobe and accessories required for their project. Vin looked on while she developed her new persona and built up the familiar relationship with Ezra that their plan required, feeling ever more distant from her and the beginnings of resentment towards Ezra. The man was educated and cultured, able to offer Mara things that Vin never could, and he began to wonder how long Mara would be content to dally with a man who had never even read a book.
Ezra and Mara enjoyed the time they spent together on the challenge, slipping easily into long discussions about their favorite foods and wines, books and plays. They studied Mrs Potter's ladies' journals and then specified alterations to make the dresses in her stock look more fashionable. Mara was a statuesque woman and Ezra was impressed with the results they eventually achieved, escorting her proudly to the saloon on the second evening. Mara gave a coy smile at the reactions their entrance elicited from five of the six men.
She was less pleased with what she saw in Vin's face. Although she was uncertain why he should be jealous of a pretence, there was no mistaking the emotion. She dropped Ezra's arm and pulled up a chair for herself beside Vin, trying not to fan the flames. She watched his visible struggle to bury the feelings he despised but, aside from the jealousy, he was no longer comfortable in the company of this woman who was not Mara. The elegant lady beside him now belonged with the sharply dressed gambler, not with a buckskin-clad tracker.
Reassured that the scheme could work, the other men ran through their plans again. Once they had finished, Vin left with the muttered excuse that he had some things to take care of.
After he'd gone, Buck asked, 'We got a problem with him?'
Chris looked at Mara, wondering if she read the situation as he did.
She gave a slight nod. 'He isn't happy. I'm not sure what…' She couldn't explain what she didn't understand.
'You wanna drop out?' Buck asked.
'Gentlemen,' Ezra protested. 'Surely Mr Tanner can deal with a little… protectiveness now and then?' He chose his words carefully, having no wish to demean Vin's feelings but every confidence that he and Mara would complete their assignment successfully at no cost to his friend.
Mara closed her eyes for a moment, wondering if she was making the right decision, then said, 'I'll do it.'
They split up to take care of their individual preparations. Buck caught up with Chris in the street and fell in step beside him.
'You sure about this, Chris? You know there's, well, somethin' between Mara and Ezra. Maybe they don't see it themselves - I don't know - but I reckon they get close on this and she's actin'… more like a woman…'
'I'm hopin' she's got more sense,' Chris told him. 'Besides, she'll have enough to keep her busy.'
'She's a very physical woman.' Buck recognized in their friend many of the same urges as he himself felt. 'Vin ain't around… Don't reckon he thinks she goes without while she's away but he'll go mad if Ezra dips into her.'
'I know.'
Mara lay awake half the night in her hotel room. She hadn't seen this side of Vin before and wasn't sure she liked it. His suspicions were totally groundless. All right, so Ezra was good company and of a physical type that appealed to her but she loved Vin, more each time she saw him, and had no interest in replacing him.
It was true that she sometimes found outlets elsewhere, paradoxically more often since she'd known Vin than before, purely because he had awakened powerful feelings that had to be vented in his absence. She'd seen no reason to tell him about those men but it was not because she was ashamed of her behavior - she'd made no promises and asked for none in return. Betraying him with one of his friends, on the other hand, would be a completely different thing.
- 4 -
They divided into three parties for the project. Chris had spent much of his own restless night debating whether the planned split was the best. He and Buck were to set the scene, Ezra and Mara were inevitably to run the deception, with Vin, Nathan, Josiah and JD handling the follow-up. Pushing players around between the leading and closing parties seemed to have little influence on what unfolded center-stage. For the success of the project, the further he could keep Vin away from the middle act, the better.
Chris understood how Vin felt about what they'd asked Mara to do - he would not want to watch Sarah seduce another man - but he was much less clear about what was going on in Vin's mind as far as Ezra was concerned. He knew Buck was right when he said there was something between Mara and Ezra but all Chris saw was friendship and professional admiration. He was surprised to realize that he trusted Ezra when it came to women and did not expect the man to let him down. He now hoped he was right.
- 5 -
Joining the train two days to the west, Ezra and Mara allowed themselves plenty of time to develop their marks. Posing as half-siblings, it was easy to strike up a friendship and not so difficult to take it further. By the second evening, Mara's target was certainly not worrying about the state of her hands as she plied him with drinks in the dining car and encouraged his macho ramblings about his job and responsibilities.
Ezra watched in amusement, knowing he had the best of the deal. While Mara convincingly feigned interest in the prematurely balding bore, he found no hardship in entertaining the man's vivacious younger sister. The champagne with which he kept her glass filled made her giggle in a delightful way and he encouraged her kisses as much for his own pleasure as to progress their plans. Eventually, he tackled the task of moving things on.
'The hour is growing late, Miss Headon. Perhaps you would allow me to escort you to your compartment.'
He was disconcerted to find his offer met with another giggle, then puzzled to see the look that the young women threw her brother. Although he gave no outward sign of it, Ezra tensed as he sensed a hidden agenda and wondered what it might be. He glanced at Headon and saw that the man was weighing him up.
'How about we stop by my compartment first?' Headon suggested, his voice slurred with the alcohol. 'For a little nightcap.'
Ezra saw Mara watching him subtly out of the corner of her eye. She too was unsettled by the proposal, unsure if they had been rumbled.
'Why not?' he said amenably. They had Chris and Buck to cover them; he doubted the Headons had backup of such quality.
The two couples made their way unsteadily through the train towards the sleeping compartments, filing into the accountant's cramped cubicle. Chris and Buck watched from the end of the corridor in consternation.
'Never knew accountants led such excitin' lives,' Buck remarked.
As soon as the door closed behind them, Angelica slipped her arms around Ezra's neck and pressed him between herself and the wall of the small room. Seeing Headon's eyes on him, Ezra knew they'd walked into more than they'd bargained for. He gave nothing away in his own expression, responding smoothly and willingly. He knew he could depend on Mara to show the same professionalism. Both of them carried sleeping powders in case they failed to intoxicate their marks and Headon's preoccupation with his sister's activities now gave Mara the opportunity to deliver hers.
Headon had clearly been planning ahead. A half-empty bottle of whiskey stood on the nightstand with four shot glasses. Mara blocked Headon's view with her body and poured their nightcaps, liberally lacing two of them before turning back. She casually handed the glasses round, then waited for Ezra to propose a toast.
'To new friends and new adventures,' he said with a smile, downing his in one. His companions smiled and followed suit.
Putting her glass to one side, Angelica sat on the bed and gazed up at Ezra with a smile as pure as an angel's. To look at her, no one would have known that she intended to make love to a man she'd met only two days before, not to mention that it was to be in front of her brother. She began to unbutton her bodice but Ezra pushed her hands gently to one side and took over the task.
Headon pulled Mara to himself and covered her lips with his own, watching the other couple over her shoulder as he thrust his tongue into her mouth. Mara matched Ezra's performance, though it took considerably more determination on her part. She appeared to welcome the man's hands wandering over her body. He held her away for a second, gauged her expression and then pressed on her shoulders. He wanted her to take him in her mouth while he watched Ezra mount his sister. She sank resignedly to her knees, wondering how long before the powders took effect.
To her relief, Headon stifled a yawn even as she unbuttoned his pants. She pulled him free of his drawers and examined the rigid flesh in her palm, caressing it, delaying the moment as long as she could. Just as she was about to slip it into her mouth, she balked and it was only by closing her eyes and imagining that it was Vin in front of her that she found the courage to go on. At that moment, Headon collapsed heavily onto her.
Before she could react, Ezra eased the weight and hoisted the man onto the bed beside his sister. He lined them up comfortably and restored their decency, the latter more for his benefit than theirs. He had no wish to look at Headon's private parts and Angelica's were a distraction he could do without.
'What an attractive couple,' he lied. He turned to Mara and put a gentle hand on her arm. 'Are you all right?'
She nodded, fighting the urge to be sick, and then watched while Ezra went through Headon's pockets and Angelica's clutch bag. Keys in hand, he stepped out into the corridor and gave his report to Chris and Buck in a low voice. They strode away to extract the documents from the safe and await their water-tower rendezvous with the others. The quartet of riders had a busy night ahead, circulating documents so that they could be restored to the safe while the Headons continued on their way none the wiser. The horsemen would never have been able to catch up with the train had the tracks not been laid round a vast rocky outcrop that they could cut across. With luck, the information would justify a search of the directors' offices and expose the scam.
Inside the crowded compartment, Ezra and Mara perched on the end of the narrow bed and watched their marks sleep, ready to resume their attentions if the siblings awoke so that the theft of their keys remained undiscovered. After a while, Ezra became bored and produced his ubiquitous deck of cards. He raised an eyebrow at Mara and they began to play poker half-heartedly. The hours dragged past, while they struggled to stay awake after two long days of acting, a large meal and quite a few drinks. Both were preoccupied.
Ezra was feeling the effects of getting far too excited in Angelica's arms and then having to cool off fast when she and her brother passed out in quick succession. He pondered the desire. He had never made love to a woman as part of a con. He wondered if he was unique in that: few of his peers harbored such fine feelings. He also wondered if he would have stopped if their plan had not demanded it. It would have been all too easy to carry on and give the little vixen what she wanted.
Mara too was wondering where she would have drawn the line. She had been about to take the man in her mouth. She had never done that for any reason other than that she wanted to - and, in this case, she most certainly had not wanted to. She was shocked to have gone so far to catch some stock-market crooks. For crying out loud, it wasn't as if lives were at risk. She fought back the tears welling up in her eyes, only to find Ezra's comforting hand on her arm again. She gave him a wobbly smile, then trounced his two pair with a full house.
'Remind me to show you no mercy in the future, Mrs Costain.'
She smiled more warmly at the formal address he still used when he spoke to her. Only Ezra could preserve such decorum towards a woman he had just seen ready to… with a total stranger. She leaned against him, finding comfort in his unwavering respectfulness. At that moment, there was a light tap at the door. Once again, Ezra made the contact. Everything had gone to plan and Chris handed him back the keys.
'All okay?' Buck asked.
Ezra nodded. 'We may even get an hour or two's sleep before our scheduled departure.'
'We'll be in the dining car,' Chris said.
The past two days had been a lot easier on him and Buck than on Ezra and Mara. They wouldn't be bothering to try to sleep. Ezra stepped back into the compartment and set about putting the keys back exactly as he had found them. When he had finished, he moved close to Mara where she stood by the door and took her hand.
'Are you quite sure you will be all right?'
Even as he asked, the train lurched on a badly laid rail and threw Mara into his arms. He kept his feet and supported her as she recovered her balance. She looked at him for a moment, confusion in the sharp brown eyes that were usually so direct, and then kissed him. He had no time to think, his body still alive with the evening's unrealized promise and his judgement clouded by the affection and esteem he felt for Mara.
After only the slightest pause, he returned her kiss and lifted her onto a small shelf that ran along one wall. He removed her drawers deftly and then unbuttoned his pants with his right hand while he caressed her breast with the left. It was only seconds before he buried himself inside her, less than a minute before they gasped their satisfaction.
An instant after his physical relief passed, Ezra was hit by the full force of what he'd done. When he reluctantly lifted his gaze to meet Mara's, he saw the same horror there. He had no idea what to say to her, as he withdrew and fastened his flies. She retrieved her discarded underwear and dressed through a blur of tears.
They headed miserably back to their own compartments.
Ezra had been taken off-guard by the whole thing. Yes, he'd felt the odd stirring in his loins when he watched Mara in the past but what man didn't feel that from time to time? She wasn't even his type - he liked his women petite and feminine, not rangy and crude. He'd completely missed any sign that she was interested in him. Even now, he wasn't sure if she'd wanted it or if it was just an accident at the end of an overheated night. Perhaps it was the alcohol - they'd drunk nothing like what they'd poured into their marks but neither of them was totally sober. In the end, he knew it didn't matter. He would struggle to bluff his way through the aftermath and he knew Mara could not, or would not, lie to Vin about it.
Mara was distraught. For the first time in her life, she had a man who made her feel glad to be alive and accepted who she was and how she lived. Now she had thrown that all back in his face. It didn't occur to her to try to deceive Vin - he would see through her in an instant and, even if he didn't, she couldn't make their lives a lie. When she reached her compartment, she changed back into her normal clothes, wrote a few words on a sheet of the railroad's headed paper and then quietly let herself back into the corridor. She strode through the train, watching warily for Chris and Buck, and stood on the rear platform gazing at the landscape for a few minutes. She felt guilt beyond anything she'd ever known and hated herself for letting Vin down. She had no idea where she would go, if she survived the fall, but felt completely unable to face him or anyone else.
After she jumped, she felt nothing more.
- 6 -
Ten minutes outside Crow Halt, Chris and Buck were in good spirits as they sipped coffee in the dining car. Those plummeted when Ezra arrived. Neither man could have said how he knew but the man who joined them was not one satisfied with a successful night's work.
'Hell, Ezra,' Buck sighed. 'You didn't.'
In spite of the time that had passed since the encounter, Ezra had formulated no plan to deal with it. He thought about talking to Mara but eventually told himself that least said was soonest mended. He was unnerved now to find that his guilt was so plain and that made him snappy.
'Don't start, Mr Wilmington. You are not renowned for your restraint.'
'I don't shit on my own doorstep,' the tall man threw back.
Chris saw no point getting into a slanging match. He was angry at Ezra for picking this, of all times, to give in to his rarely indulged libido. He was angry at Mara for betraying one of the most loyal men he'd ever met. But, most of all, he was angry at himself for ignoring not just his own doubts but Buck's instincts too.
'Where is she?' he finally demanded.
'I don't think she will wish to see me this morning.'
Chris glared at him, itching to vent the fury building inside him but stopped by the regret on Ezra's face. The best thing all round would have been for both of them to keep their mouths shut but he was surprised to see that this was one area in which Ezra was not a fluent liar. Even if he had been, Chris doubted Mara could have pulled off the deceit. He sighed. 'Stay here. Let's go check on her, Buck.'
They were dismayed to find her compartment empty, apart from a bag packed with the purchases she and Ezra had made for the project. A note lay on the bed, on top of the embroidered waistcoat Vin had given her. Chris read it out.
Tell Vin I'm sorry I let him down.
'You don't reckon she jumped?' Buck asked incredulously.
'Probably. Not sure I'd want to face Vin either. We better check the train anyway.'
Taking the bag and waistcoat with them, they established that Mara was not in any of the public areas of the train and rejoined Ezra.
'Looks like she jumped,' Chris said matter of factly.
The gambler looked stricken. None of them spoke as they waited. The train slowed and pulled into the station with the usual cacophony of brakes, whistles and escaping steam. They walked through the station with heavy steps and found their associates waiting beside eight horses.
There was a long pause before Chris took Vin to one side, his words still audible to the others.
'I'm sorry. I know you were worried about things getting out of hand.' He met his friend's eye, saw the pain and anger building, and glanced at Ezra. That look told Vin all he needed to know. Chris put a restraining hand on his arm. 'It was just one of those dumb things, Vin. She didn't mean for it to happen, couldn't handle it when it did.' He paused sadly. 'She must've jumped off the train in the last couple of hours. She left a note, said to say she was sorry she let you down.'
Vin took a few seconds to digest that before his rage erupted. He stormed over to Ezra and landed a hard right on the man's jaw. Ezra took three more punches before he began to fight back.
The other men stood by, reluctant to interfere. Under normal circumstances, the combatants might have been better matched but Vin's rage and Ezra's guilt tipped the balance heavily in the tracker's favor. Ten minutes later, Josiah dragged him off before he could kill the gambler.
Seeing the anguish on his face, Vin's friends knew nothing they could say would make any difference. He mounted his horse and took Mara's gray in tow. Chris stepped into his path.
'Don't do this by yourself.'
Vin looked upwards, struggling with his emotions. 'Look where my friends got me.'
He rode out hard.
Nathan went over to help Ezra but the man shook him off, unhitched his horse and rode away in the opposite direction from that which Vin had taken.
'Jesus, what a mess,' JD said. 'Why'd she do it?'
'Reckon she was askin' herself that before she even finished doin' it.' Buck said.
'Let's head back along the railroad,' Chris said. 'Nathan, he may need you if she ain't dead.'
- 7 -
After half an hour or so, Vin slowed his pace. The fury had receded, leaving only the pain and emptiness. With no one to see, he finally gave up his battle and let the tears flow. His horse walked slowly alongside the steel ribbons of the railroad while its rider wrestled with the adoration he still felt for a woman he knew had not meant to hurt him and then hated herself for doing so.
Vin had no illusions about Mara. He knew she'd been around and he felt the hunger in her when they came together after being apart. He also knew she was impetuous and had made, and paid for, plenty of mistakes. Still, he was filled with a profound disappointment that the love he cherished was not enough for her.
Alongside his sorrow, he felt bitter resentment at Ezra's disloyalty. A principled man himself, he would never touch a friend's lover. He knew Ezra had iron self-control when it suited him to exercise it and blamed him for not doing so now, whatever Mara may or may not have done.
- 8 -
Ezra was also in emotional turmoil. He traveled slowly in a large arc, with nowhere else to go but back to Four Corners, however convoluted the route he took to get there. He tried to tell himself that a brief sexual liaison wasn't important, and part of him believed that, but the point was that he had betrayed one of the only six men who had ever extended him friendship and knew now that he did not deserve that honor. Burdened by a load of shame and guilt heavier than he would have believed possible, he now fuelled his depression with the contents of the flask he had refilled before leaving the train.
- 9 -
The five men following Vin were not in much better spirits than their friends. All liked Mara and lamented her lapse in judgement. Like Vin, they were inclined to blame Ezra but they knew that the gambler had not forced himself on her. The fact that she regretted her behavior so utterly that she would throw away her life did not excuse it or lessen its effect on Vin. In reality, she had only made matters worse.
- 10 -
Vin's tears had cleared and he now pushed his horse forward into a more purposeful walk, scanning both sides of the railroad tracks for signs of Mara's departure from the train. It was an hour before he saw her hat caught in the brush. He collected it, wrapped the cord round the pommel of her saddle and expanded his search. A quarter-hour later and half-mile or so away, he found her body.
He knelt beside her and rolled her gently on her back. Her face was cut and bruised. He leaned close to listen for her breathing. Hearing nothing, he felt for a pulse. Finding nothing, he lay beside her, held her hand and gave in to his grief.
The others found him like that soon after. They reined back at a distance, loath to intrude. Feeling obliged to check, Nathan dismounted and went slowly forward. He squatted and put a hand on Vin's arm. His friend started and opened his eyes, not even having heard them approach.
'You sure?' Nathan asked.
'Couldn't feel nothin',' Vin replied.
'Mind if I look?'
Vin sat up and shook his head. He watched as Nathan felt first Mara's wrist, then her neck. The healer shifted his fingers several times and pressed harder, then looked up sharply.
'She's still with us, Vin. Just.' He looked towards the others and called out, 'My bag and some water, Josiah.'
The big man quickly dismounted and brought the things. Nathan moved Mara into a more comfortable position. Her breathing was almost imperceptible - he wasn't surprised that Vin had missed it. He checked her over carefully, finding two broken bones as well as the visible cuts and bruises. There were no external swellings to suggest internal bleeding but she had a large lump on her head. After cleaning and dressing her wounds, he finally sat back on his heels and reported his findings, suggesting concussion and shock.
Vin looked on in disbelief. 'I thought she was gone.'
Deciding the best thing was to get Mara back to Crow Halt as soon as possible, Vin and Nathan carefully raised her onto Vin's horse and he mounted round her, settling her against his shoulder as comfortably as he could. The other men carried on towards Four Corners.
- 11 -
It was two days before Mara regained consciousness. When she did, the first thing she saw was Vin. He was asleep in a chair beside the hotel bed, his bruised face peaceful. Looking at him, swamped by the depth of the love she felt for him, she wondered how she could have done what she had. She lay watching him for a long time before he stirred. When he saw her eyes on him, he smiled and reached for her hand.
She frowned. 'You know what I did?'
He nodded.
'I did what I asked you not to do to me - let you down, made a fool of you.'
'Don't care about that. Reckon ya love me more.'
She thought back to what he had told her about Charlotte. 'Course I love you more. More than anythin'.'
He held her hand to his cheek. 'Thought I'd lost ya. Ya shouldn'ta jumped.'
Her eyes filled with tears. 'Couldn't face you. Not the what, the who.'
'Don't matter. Long as it's still me ya want.'
'More than anythin',' she repeated. After a minute, she added miserably, 'Don't blame Ezra, Vin. It was my fault. I-'
He shook his head sadly. 'I don't wanna know. It don't matter.'
- 12 -
Ezra rode into Four Corners three days after Chris, Buck, Josiah and JD. He was badly bruised, far worse than Vin, but otherwise intact. The state of his face could not pass unnoticed but neither he nor his friends intended to explain how or why his injuries had occurred. When he joined the four men in the saloon, they told him in low tones what had happened after he left. Hearing Mara was alive lifted about half the guilt he was carrying.
JD was still curious about the affair. 'Why'd you do it, Ezra? You musta known how much trouble there'd be. How bad it'd make Vin feel.'
'Why would you expect anything more of me?'
''Cause I think you're better'an that. Underneath.'
'You may be in a minority of one there, son.' With a subdued smile, he added, 'As it happens, my conscience has been rather troublesome. It must be long acquaintance with you gentlemen infecting me.'
- 13 -
Vin, Nathan and Mara did not return for a further week. Sporting a splint on a broken wrist and a sling to support a broken collarbone, she was perhaps halfway back to her old self. While Nathan went to check in at his clinic, the couple headed straight for the saloon, determined to confront the situation and move on. They found Ezra there, with Chris and Buck. Surprised at the extent of the gambler's remorse, the two men had spent a fair part of the week trying to keep him occupied.
There was an awkward silence, until Mara gave a dry laugh.
'I didn't know better, I'd think it was you jumped outta the train.'
Ezra gave her the same sad smile he'd given JD. 'Your companion, quite rightly, thinks a great deal of you.' He stood and extended a hand to Vin. 'My apologies, Mr Tanner. My behavior was reprehensible. As you surmised, it was I who initiated the encounter. Mrs Costain regretted it immediately.'
Vin met Ezra's eye thoughtfully. He knew Mara had meant what she said when she admitted it hadn't been Ezra's fault. The man's apology gave him a moment's surprise but he quickly realized that Ezra would never blame a lady for his own conduct, whatever she had done. He held Ezra's gaze as the man read that knowledge in his eyes. Admiring the chivalry, and seeing nothing to be gained from bearing a grudge, he shook hands.
Mara said, 'Sorry 'bout it bein' on your time, Chris. Done some damned fool things in my time but…' She shook her head shamefully. 'Won't be sayin' nothin' about you followin' your pants no more, Buck.'
Chris gave her an uncomfortably direct look. His anger had continued to simmer, as he wondered hourly how Vin was coping, but he now saw that his friend had put the matter behind him with his usual quiet restraint. Finally, he smiled. 'You already got the best one of us. Don't need to keep lookin' around.'
'I know.' The look she gave Vin left no room to doubt her sincerity or her love for him.
Vin put a hand on her shoulder and steered her out of the saloon. When they reached his wagon, they found the waistcoat on his cot. He looked at her in surprise.
'Left it with the note,' she explained. 'Don't deserve it.'
He held her close. 'Forget it. Gotta take the rough with the smooth.'
Broken bones notwithstanding, he reckoned it was time to violate some bylaws again.