THIEF

I have little or no understanding of distances or time scales involved in 1860s travel, either by stage or buggy, if that is at all possible even. But you have to bear with me and just call it dramatic licence. Somewhere in the story mention of spanking will occur and the carrying out of same. Please don't read if this offends. Thank you.

Summary: Abigail has bitten off more than she can chew when she finally meets up with Adam Cartwright.

Chapter 1

As Abby lounged in her bath she thought of how her life had turned out and not for the better. Her life had turned from good to bad within a few short years and now she was about to face the greatest tragedy of her life. The thought of this brought on a great flow of tears.

There was a knock on the bathroom door, "Abby, it's me." Came the familiar voice.

"Come on in, Sam," she called as she quickly reached for the towel just on the floor next to the bath and wiped her tears away.

"There's a man here to see you, Abby." Samantha said nervously.

"To see me? He must have the wrong house."

"I think you'd better see him. He's a man not to be trifled with."

"What's going on, Sam? What does he want with me?"

"He wants to see you with regard to the theft of his wallet. It was the last one you took."

Abby was getting more nervous by the minute. "What are you talking about, Sam? Nobody knows who I am and what I have borrowed."

"Stolen, you mean."

"No, borrowed. You know it is my intention to pay it all back as soon as I have the resources to do so. Anyway, the

man was an idiot. He and a couple of other men walked out of the bank, holding his wallet open in his hand and thumbing through the notes counting them, like he had no faith in the bank clerk. Then he shut the wallet and placed it in his back pants pocket, but it was far too long to fit in the pocket, so a good half of it was sticking out of the pocket and it yelled out to me 'take me, take me', so I took it, ran straight down the alley and in through the back door of the general store, changed quickly in the back room and walked quietly through the store and out of the front door. And d'you what? They were still there in front of the bank and the man oblivious to his having his wallet taken. I'm that good. Anyway how would he know it was me that took his wallet?"

There was a pause before Sam spoke. "Because I told him." Abby stared her friend right in the eyes, and tears immediately ran down her face. Her betrayal was something she would never have envisaged. Such trust they had between them. But now it was all over. Just like that.

Then Abby spoke, her voice edged with such hurt. "You...told...him?" Abby could hardly get the words out. The book that she was trying to read dropped out of her hand and into the bath water. "Dammit." She reached and pulled it out of the water and threw it across the room. "You told him? How could you do that to me? I thought you were my friend. You...you...Judas." Crying hard now because of Sam's betrayal, not because her criminal activities had been found out.

"Although he is mad enough to barge right in here and march you straight to the sheriff, he's also reasonable enough to want to talk to you first and see if there is some way this whole business can be resolved." Sam told her. "I too am in trouble for aiding and abetting in these crimes."

"Crimes! You've told him of the other wallets I have borrowed money from?" Abby now had her tears under control and anger took over.

"Yes, I've told him of every wallet or purse you stole. Because stole is what it was."

"Are you going to tell me who it is that is in our sitting room?"

"A Cartwright."

"Oh you," Abby suddenly relaxed. "Sam, you've been joshing with me all this time? A Cartwright indeed."

"It's true."

"It wasn't any of them. I know what they look like. It wasn't any of them."

"But it is, believe me."

"Believe you? I'll never believe or trust you again."

"It's Adam Cartwright, Abby."

"No Sam, now I know you're lying. The man whose wallet I 'borrowed' was wearing a brown suit and matching hat. Adam Cartwright never wears a suit. It wasn't him." Abby absolutely refused to believe her.

"Well, believe it or not, he's in the other room waiting for you to get out of your bath."

"Then he can wait for ever."

"He also said he'd give you fifteen minutes and then storm in here and drag you out of the bath, should you refuse to co-operate."

"He wouldn't do that, he's a gentleman."

"Well, now you've got ten minutes left to find out." Sam told her.

"What else have you told him?" Abby was beginning to believe what Sam was telling her. So she got out of the bath and dried herself. Then sat on the edge of the bath wrapped in the towel, waiting to hear what else Sam had to say.

"I told him of your plan of returning the money 'borrowed' with a little interest and with a note to thank all these people."

"And what did he say to that?"

"He insisted on seeing our book of events, showing who and the amounts owed."

"Didn't miss anything out, I see."

"No. Where Adam, or Ben Cartwright for that matter, are concerned, it's best to tell the truth."

"And what was his reaction to all that?" Abby asked.

"Well, you may not like this, but he has given me enough money to cover all the money owing to your…..victims."

"What!"

"I'm to give him all the envelopes with the money in them, and write the name and address on each. He said he would be writing a letter himself to each person and will send them off himself."

"Oh! Just take over, just like that. What an insufferable man he is."

"Be grateful, he's saving you a lot of worry by paying them off for you."

"Don't be stupid. What will he want in return? Did you think of that? No, of course you didn't."

"He didn't say he wanted anything. He's a Cartwright and they are a very generous family."

"Rubbish. He'll want something. It's not like I stole a cake from the bakery. He's got to be up to something."

Abby was beginning to get cold and needed to dress. "You go on out there and tell him this. If he'll give me….say two weeks to complete my plan, tell him I promise to give myself up to him then and he can do with me as he thinks fit."

"What will you have completed by them?" Sam asked. "You've never told me why you've been doing all this."

"I might as well tell you, so you can pass it on to HIMSELF."

"He hasn't asked why."

"Give him time, he'll ask. And now you can tell him before he asks. Tell him I got a loan for something because my money ran out. Anyway, I have to go to Sacramento to get papers signed to make it all legal to show I've paid off the loan. You see with the last wallet I borro….., took, alright, stole, there was enough money to pay off my debt and leave more than half in the wallet. I sent off the money to Sacramento. All is now finished."

"And why will it take two weeks to do that. Surely signing papers would only take a few minutes?" Sam asked.

"It has to be signed by a judge and you know how busy they can be. Could take days. Also two more copies have to be made, one for the judge, one for me and one for the moneylender. Got it?"

"Okay, I got it. Now you get dressed. Our fifteen minutes must be almost up. I'll try and keep him calm."

…..

Another twenty minutes passed and no sign of Abby appearing.

"Surely she must be ready by now?" Adam said in a not too friendly tone.

"Yes. I'll go and get her." Sam left him finishing a coffee she'd given him earlier, but when she got to the bedroom there was no sign of Abby. She tried the bathroom just in case, no luck. She returned to the bedroom. "Oh my," she held her breath. "What now?" She noticed Abby's carpet bag was missing and discovered the window slightly open. What to tell Adam Cartwright, she thought. He'll blame me. He'll say I was in on her escape. "Oh, heavens."

Sam made her way back into the living room.

"What?" Adam sense something was up.

"She's gone. So I might as well tell you what Abby said to me earlier."

"Go on." Adam was done being rational. "She's in a great deal of trouble and if you had a hand in this disappearance, you'll be in trouble too."

"No, Sir, I swear I did not."

"So where do you think she's gone?"

So Sam tried to explain to Adam what Abby had told her.

"That's quite a story and so obviously a lie."

"No, Sir, that's the truth."

"You don't know much about loan agreements, do you?"

"No, Sir."

"You don't need any judge to oversee and sign loan agreements. The only participants needed are the moneylender and the borrower. But she's right about one thing."

"Oh, what's that?"

"There should be two copies, one for each party." Adam paused, thinking of her next possible move.

"I now wonder if Sacramento is indeed where she intends to go." Sam said, but just realised she had spoken her thoughts aloud.

"Well, I'll leave you now and see if I can find out her whereabouts. Don't leave Virginia City, as I'll want to talk to you on my return."

"I won't, Mr Cartwright. This is my home now."

"Good. Any problems, get a message to my father, Ben Cartwright, at the Ponderosa. He knows of the wallet thefts and can help you."

"You're very kind, considering. Thank you."

"We'll see how kind I can be when I catch up with Miss Abigail Howard. Okay. I'll be off now. Goodbye Samantha Evans, for now."

"Goodbye."

…

Abby had dressed quickly and was out through the bedroom window and away. She arrived at the livery in time for her buggy to be ready, having booked it earlier in the day. Off she went towards Placerville to get the stage to Sacramento, hoping to avoid being seen by anyone in Virginia City, especially that arrogant Adam Cartwright. Hopefully he won't be able to figure out where she went, she thought. ….

Adam found the Sacramento stage waiting at the depot.

"When do you leave, Jake, and how many passengers have you got this trip?" He asked the driver.

"A half hour and four passengers. Why you askin'?"

"Any females by the name of Abigail Howard?"

"Nope, not on this trip."

"Mind if I look inside, she might have used another name."

"Help yourself, Adam."

There was no sign of her, either sitting, waiting in the coach, or outside of it anywhere. Now he was getting angry. Where had she gone? Perhaps Sacramento was just a ploy she used to put me off the scent, he thought. Where to now. If she's left Virginia City then she had to have a horse. So Adam made his way over to the livery stable.

"Has a lady, very recently, hired a horse from you, named Abigail Howard?" He asked of Henry, the owner.

"No one by that name. What she look like?"

"I'd say about five foot six or seven, blond hair, pretty face."

"Well, there was a young lady here about a half hour ago, but her name was Jeanette Smith."

"Where did she go?"

"She hired a buggy. Said she would need it for a few days. Bringin' it back then."

"But did she say where she was going?"

"I think she mentioned she'd stop for a break at the way station at Willow Creek."

"Willow Creek? The stage stops there for a horse change before continuing on to Sacramento. Okay and thanks Henry."

"You're welcome."

….

By now the stage had taken off, so Adam hired a horse and rode out on Sport towards Willow Creek. The extra horse would be of value, giving Sport a breather, and would exchange one horse for another at Willow Creek, if he was not in time to meet up with the stage.

He was late, the stage had already left and when he asked the aging Jed, who ran the station, if a young lady had boarded the stage here, he said yes. But not the one he was looking for. This lady, Adam was told, was dark haired, with glasses and not very good looking. Disguise, Adam thought. She's a clever girl as well as a thief. God help her when I catch up with her and I will, I will. Determination etched all over his face.

"She left that buggy there." Jed told Adam.

"Perhaps I could use it and return here with it and the lady in question."

"'Course. I know you Adam and trust your word. I'll just put a fresh horse on for you."

"Thanks, Jed. I'd like to leave Sport here, if that's okay. Here's some money to cover Sport's expenses and the horse for the buggy. Anything I might owe you I'll pay on my return. Okay?"

Adam knew the towns the stage would pass through, having journeyed that way many times before. Perhaps she plans to go to one of those or maybe she is indeed travelling to Sacramento. So many thoughts were running through his mind and this young lady was in line for a good strong piece of it when he found her.