More Than Words
It was Ezra who first began to suspect that there was something going on between Vin Tanner and Mary Travis.
For the third time in two days he had seen the tracker leaving the newspaper office, and that was most unusual! Vin might occasionally have business there, but not that frequently. Add to that his furtive and cautious manner - almost as though he didn't want to be seen - and the gambler's fertile imagination began to take flight. However, for the moment he kept his thoughts to himself.
Later that afternoon, Ezra was enjoying a quiet drink with Vin, Chris, and JD, when the batwing doors were pushed open, and a rather dejected looking Buck came in and sat down at their table.
"Why the long face?” Chris asked, but he could probably take a good guess. There was only one thing that could make Buck look so miserable - women trouble!
"Don't ask!" came the morose reply.
"I thought you were dining out with your latest paramour?" Ezra said, referring to Buck's current romance with the pretty new school-teacher in town.
"No, he was taking Nancy for a picnic," JD commented, and the gambler gave him a pained smile.
"I believe that's what I just said."
Chris took a sip of his beer, and regarded his friend solemnly. "So why ain't you on this picnic?” he wanted to know.
"Ah... she made some... unreasonable demands."
JD almost choked on his beer at Buck’s words, while the other three leaned forward expectantly.
"Do please enlighten us, Mr. Wilmington." Ezra spoke for all of them as he placed a glass of whiskey in front of the ladies man. Buck downed the drink in one gulp, and a faint colour crept into his cheeks.
"Well, for a start, she ain't too keen on moustaches," he admitted sheepishly, and then stopped.
"She wanted you to shave it off?" Vin sounded incredulous.
"Now that’s unreasonable!" Chris agreed.
"No, but - "
"So what did she want you to do?" JD demanded. The young peacekeeper was just as curious as the rest.
"Yeah - come on, Buck. Don't be shy!" Chris smiled as he took another sip of his beer He was wallowing in his friend's discomfort.
"Alright, if you really must know... she wanted me to take another bath!" There was a moments silence, and then JD spoke.
"But you only had one last month!"
Ezra cleared his throat. "In my experience, ladies of learning do like their men to smell nice."
"So how come Casey's never complained?" It was almost a challenge from JD, and Ezra had to choose his words carefully.
"Forgive me, my friend. I meant to say that the more mature woman prefers their companion to at least look presentable." For some reason, the gambler's gaze drifted across to Vin, and the Texan suddenly became aware that everybody else was looking at him, too. His glass paused mid-way to his lips, and his eyes narrowed.
"Why y'all looking at me?"
Ezra gave a little smile. "Well, you're hardly the image of sartorial elegance, Mr. Tanner."
"Huh?" Vin had no idea what the Southerner meant.
"I think he's trying to say that you're scruffy," Chris explained, not quite hiding his amusement.
"Scruffy?" Vin sounded indignant. "No-one else has said that to me."
Ezra studied him carefully “When did you last court a lady?" he asked.
"That's not the point!" The Texan's reply was a little too hasty, and he heard Buck snigger.
"That's exactly my point!"
Vin made no further comment, but his expression grew thoughtful, and he remained slightly distracted for the rest of the evening
+ + + + + + +
"Ezra, you’re getting too old for all these late nights!”
The fervent comment came from the gambler's own lips, as he stood on the porch outside the saloon, blinking owlishly in the early morning sun.
It had been a particularly heavy night of drinking and poker-playing, and right now his head felt as though it were trying to turn itself inside out. It was the need for fresh air that had forced him from the comfort of his feather bed at such an un-Godly hour, and there were very few people about.
Five minutes ago fresh air had seemed like a good idea, but the sunshine wasn't helping his headache any, and he was just contemplating going back inside to get some coffee, when his attention was drawn to the bath-house further down the street. He stared at the not-quite familiar figure that emerged, and he rubbed at his eyes, not quite believing what he was looking at.
Ducking hastily back into the doorway, he watched as a scrubbed and shiny Vin Tanner paused on the sidewalk, smoothed down his neatly combed, still-damp hair and brushed an imaginary speck from his coat before putting on his hat.
Suddenly the gambler's headache was forgotten as curiosity got the better of him. With stealth worthy of the tracker himself, he followed Vin as he crossed the street and continued along the other sidewalk, desperate to find the cause of his friend's sudden transformation.
He had a brief moment of panic when Vin stopped, and looked around guiltily, and Ezra dived behind a convenient water butt, oblivious to the mud that caked his pants. From his vantage point, he saw the Texan shake his head, throw one last glance over his shoulder and then walk on, unaware of the silent shadow that followed him.
A few minutes later Ezra gaped in astonishment as Vin strode up the path of Mary Travis' house, and was warmly welcomed by the blonde newspaper-woman. As the door closed behind them, the gambler found himself in an unusual situation.
He was speechless!
+ + + + + + +
"I'm telling you, gentlemen - I saw it with my own eyes!"
It was mid-morning, and Ezra was holding court in the saloon. With the exception of Chris and Vin, he had a captive audience, hanging on his every word as he related the events as he had seen them unfold earlier that day
"But are you sure he came out of the bath-house?" Ezra gave Nathan a withering look, but the healer ignored it. "I mean - maybe he just came round the corner from his wagon."
"Trust me - it was the bath-house," the gambler confirmed. "I have never seen our Mr Tanner looking so clean and tidy!"
"And he went to Mary’s house?" Somehow, Buck managed to inject a whole wealth of meaning into that one comment, and he smiled knowingly. “Well, she is a very attractive woman."
Josiah shook his head. "There's no denying that, but I'm sure there's a perfectly innocent explanation."
"Then why was he being so secretive?” Ezra's question made them all stop and think, and then JD spoke.
“But l always thought that Mary liked... Oh, hi, Chris!"
Four heads whipped round in unison to stare at the gunslinger, making him wonder at the reason, and he glanced down quickly - just to be certain that he had fastened his pants!
"Something wrong?" he asked, seeing the guilty expressions that flitted across some of their faces.
"Nope!" Buck's denial was too bright, and the gunslinger's eyes narrowed suspiciously.
"Uh-huh? Well in that case, is anyone else gonna do any work, or are you just gonna sit around like a bunch of old women, jawing all day?"
JD was the first one to his feet. "Yes. No. Er… I was just about to make my rounds," he stuttered.
Chris nodded and started to walk away, and the others gave a collective sigh of relief but then he stopped and turned back.
"Has anybody seen Vin this morning?”
There was a deathly silence.
“Well, I haven't seen him," said Nathan, not quite meeting the gunslinger's intense gaze.
"Didn't you say you'd seen him, Ezra?" Josiah's comment was about as welcome to the gambler as an ace-high straight against him, and he glared at the ex-preacher.
"No, not exactly. What I said was I thought I'd seen him!" Ezra was babbling - and he knew it! "Thinking about it now, it couldn't have been Vin. No - in fact - I'm certain it wasn’t."
Chris gave the Southerner a long, hard stare, and then turned away, shaking his head. Something was obviously going on, but he was damned if he could figure out what!
+ + + + + + +
Two more days passed, and Chris was getting a little irritated by the strange behaviour of Buck and Ezra, in particular. He still had no idea what was happening but he assumed it had something to do with Vin, judging by the other's attitude towards the tracker. Now he found himself watching the Texan - and he didn't know why!
It was late afternoon and, as he walked past the hardware store, a familiar figure inside caught his eye. He paused, wondering what Vin could possibly need from the haberdashery counter, but then decided it was none of his business. However, he had only taken a few steps when curiosity got the better of him, and he peered back through the window just in time to see the storekeeper hand Vin a small, wrapped package.
"Hi, Vin."
Chris was leaning nonchalantly against the wall as the Texan emerged from the store.
"Chris," Vin acknowledged, hastily stuffing something into his pocket.
"Haven't seen much of you lately. What've you been up to?" The gunslinger was digging, unsure whether he was about to hit pay dirt, or turn up fools gold!
"I've been around," came the non-committal reply. “Why? Is there trouble?"
"Nope - just wondered if you were up for a game of poker tonight."
Vin shook his head. "Sorry. I've got something to do. Some other time?"
"Oh! Suit yourself" Chris' tone was decidedly miffed, but Vin seemed oblivious to it as he walked away.
+ + + + + + +
When Buck entered the saloon some time later, he found a despondent Chris Larabee staring at the beer on the table in front of him. Collecting a drink for himself the ladies man dropped into the chair opposite his friend.
“What's up, stud? You look like you lost a dollar and found a dime!" Chris was silent for a moment, and when he looked up there was a frown on his face.
"D'you think Vin's been acting strange lately?" he asked.
"How d'you mean - strange?” Buck looked a touch sheepish, but Chris was too preoccupied to notice.
“Well, I saw him in the store earlier, and I think he was buying some blue ribbon. Why would Vin buy ribbon?" Buck took a long swallow of his beer before he replied.
"That's fairly obvious, isn't it?" Chris stared blankly back at him, and Buck wondered how his friend could be so naive at times. “Well, he didn't buy it to pretty up his pony! He's found himself a lady."
"Who? Vin?" Suddenly Chris began to laugh, but his humour died away when he saw the expression on Buck's face. "Sorry - I didn't mean... who is it?"
Now it was Buck's turn to look uncomfortable. "I think you should ask Ezra that."
"Ezra ain't here. I'm asking you!” the gunslinger growled, tired of being given the run-around, and the ladies man pulled a wry face.
"You ain't gonna like this," he warned.
"Buck!"
"Okay. Ezra saw Vin sneaking off to Mary's house."
"So. They're friends."
"Early in the morning and nine o'clock at night? And he did get himself a bath just the other day." Buck stopped and tensed, waiting for some kind of reaction.
"Mary? And Vin? But... " Chris' voice trailed away as he thought back to the tracker' s earlier comment about the poker game. 'I've got something to do' was what he'd said. Then the gunslinger shook his head. "No - I think you've got it all wrong."
"Have it your way. I'm just telling you what Ezra saw."
"Yeah, well Ezra's not the most reliable person when he's had a few drinks!" But Chris was thoughtful and confused as he finished his beer.
+ + + + + + +
The fine drizzle falling from the night sky did nothing to deter the man in black from his course of action.
Chris had spent most of the evening in the saloon, drinking and playing poker with Ezra, Buck, and Josiah, and losing badly! It wasn't that the other's were playing better, it was just that his mind wasn't on the game tonight.
Buck's comments about Vin and Mary kept tumbling through his brain, and although he kept telling himself it was none of his business, and that it shouldn't bother him, it did! He had always thought that Mary regarded the seven of them as good friends of hers, but as far as he knew that's all ~t was. Now he found himself lurking in the shadows by Mary's house, convinced that Ezra was wrong, but determined to make quite certain for himself.
Twenty minutes later, soaked through, cold, and miserable, the gunslinger was beginning to mutter dire threats against Ezra for being a fool! In truth, he felt a bigger fool himself for believing the gambler; whatever Vin had to do this evening, it certainly didn’t involve Mary Travis!
Just as he turned to go, a quick movement drew his attention, and he saw the slight, buckskin clad figure hurrying up the path towards Mary's front porch. He heard Vin's urgent knock, and the door was flung open, and Mary hastily pulled the tracker inside.
Confused, and feeling a little betrayed, Chris crept closer, finding a place where he could see into the living room without being spotted. Through the brightly-lit window he saw Vin hand Mary a small package but, as the woman had her back to him, he couldn't see what it was.
What he saw next made him forget about the cold and the rain. Mary was obviously delighted with the gift, and she put her hands on Vin’s shoulders and leaned towards him. Moments later she turned and closed the curtains!
Disbelief turned to anger, and Chris' first instinct was to march up to the house and bang on the front door, but then common sense took over. There had to be a perfectly reasonable explanation why Vin was at Mary's house, at this time of night. He wasn't jealous; Mary was free to see whomever she pleased, but Chris decided to wait for Vin to emerge, and satisfy his own curiosity.
Just over an hour later, when the lights went out and Vin still hadn't left, Chris Larabee felt the ugly head of jealousy rise up and stare him straight in the face.
+ + + + + + +
The early morning sun had all but dried up the previous night's rain, but it did nothing to change Chris Larabee's mood.
He had had no peace, and precious little sleep, as he worried over what he was going to say to Vin or Mary when he saw them. The gunslinger was up and about almost before first light, and he spent several hours drinking black coffee, and trying to find a plausible reason for visiting Mary so early in the morning.
In the end, he found himself wandering towards her house, practising his little speech as he walked. He hesitated momentarily before knocking on the door, and his resolve almost failed him completely when she opened it, and he caught sight of the navy ribbon tied in her hair.
"Chris!" Mary sounded surprised, and then she frowned. "You're out early - is something wrong?"
"No,” he replied, tearing his eyes from the ribbon that he was sure he had last seen in Vin Tanner’s hand. "It's a nice day - I was just wondering if Billy would like to come fishing."
Mary smiled. "That's a kind offer, but Billy's at school."
"Oh, I forgot." Chris could have kicked himself for coming out with such a lame excuse. “Maybe another day?"
"He'd like that. Er… was there something else?" She asked the question as the gunslinger remained standing on the porch.
"No, nothing." He touched the brim of his hat. "Sorry to have troubled you.” He started to walk away, and then paused before he stepped back onto the path. "By the way, you haven't seen Vin lately, have you?" He tried to make the question sound casual, but it rang false in his own ears, and he wondered what her answer would be.
Mary looked away and shook her head. "I haven't seen him for a few days. Why?"
Chris stared at her for a moment. As far as he knew, Mary had never lied to him before, and there could be only one reason why she was doing it now. Ezra had been right all along.
"No reason," he replied slowly. "I'll catch up with him later."
+ + + + + + +
Mary watched the gunslinger as he walked away, and she felt the pangs of guilt stirring within her She hated lying to Chris, of all people, but she had made a promise, and she vowed to keep it. Closing the door, she turned to find Vin standing there.
“Was that Chris I heard?" he asked, a worried look on his face.
She nodded. “l think he suspects something."
"How could he? I’ve been so careful." The Texan sounded dismayed. "1 thought I'd covered my tracks really well." He sighed and shrugged. “I guess they had to find out sooner or later."
“Well, we can’t worry about that now. Do you want to carry on where we left off?"
She led the tracker through to the parlour and settled herself on the sofa, giving him an encouraging smile. Vin sat down beside her, and ran his fingers through his hair.
"I didn't know this was going to be so difficult," he admitted.
"But you're doing so well. You can't stop now."
Vin sighed and looked down at the book in his hands; eventually Chris and the others would have to know but learning to read and write at his age, was a very private thing!
FINIS