Kitty's Very Bad Day

Chapter 4

Gunsmoke

Notes: Sorry to have taken so long to get the next chapter in, but things have been crazy. I wanted to make this one longer, but I figure I better stop before I give you too much. Hold on to your hats, girls and boys, it's going to be a bumpy ride.

-Kathleen Russell

It had been quite a day. It had started out as bad, but as Kitty rode back into town with Matt, she realized that everything was about to change. Everyone would know that they had in fact been married all this time, and that they had not disclosed the truth of their relationship to protect her. Some people may resent that they had lied, and feel betrayed, and some will be quite happy. But Kitty knew in her heart that there would be those who did not approve nor would they believe the truth. Those people would not be worth her time or effort. As she quietly rode into town, she stopped at the very beginning of Dodge. It didn't look so big anymore. Nor did it feel so lonely. Matt had noticed that she was deep in thought. Suddenly reaching over, he wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her from her horse and sitting her in front of him, just in front of the horn on the saddle.

"Matt, what are you doing?" She said grabbing him about the neck to keep from falling. Not that he would let her go, she knew he was more than capable of keeping her from falling.

"I'm carrying you over the thresh-hold. Over Dodge's thresh-hold." He said as she looked up at him with alarmed blue eyes. Smiling, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him on the mouth. Matt then slid back on his saddle and lifted her over the horn. She then settled down in front of him as he wrapped his arms around her waist. Taking the reins from her horse, they headed into Dodge.

Newly and Festus had been standing in front of the jail and talking when Festus nodded in the direction of Matt and Kitty. Newly turned and saw the couple heading in and smiled at their close proximity to each other. Festus smiled too, they had been in town all day and had heard the rumors many times over and he and Doc were able to confirm the truth of the relationship. Festus even explained that the Marshal was trying to not only keep Kitty safe, but them as well. To most of the town-folk, it was a logical explanation, but others were still wondering if it were true or just a lie to deny the facts. Either way,

things were going to change.

As Matt and Kitty rode up to the jail, Nathan Burke and Doc Adams came walking up the sidewalk. Across the way, Tessa stood inside the bank, looking out the window, watching as they came in to town. She knew what they had been doing. She could imagine the nasty things that woman would do for a man. As her mind began to weave the image of the two of them together, she clenched her fist. The vision of their naked bodies entwined together, lying on the red silk sheets, on their sides, facing each other. Hands caressing naked skin. Tongues tangled together, delving into the others mouth. Hips thrusting against each other, seeking satisfaction. The anger, the bile rose in her throat. "She isn't good enough for him." Tessa mumbled to herself. Henry looked out from his office to where his wife stood at the window. He saw the clenched fists at her side and knew that there was only one person who could anger her that much. 'She hasn't a chance now.' He thought to himself. 'Matt & Kitty, after all this time.' Smiling, he looked back at his bookwork, satisfied that his wife's infatuation with the Marshal had been brought to a halt. He had feared her leaving him for Matt Dillon, but now that would not happen, especially since Matt was married to Kitty. Looking up, he smiled again. Dillon sure was a lucky man, being married to a beautiful woman, whom Henry considered very smart. She was much more than a beautiful face, she was kind, friendly and compassionate. These were attributes that Henry found quite appealing. And Tessa knew that many of the men in Dodge found Kitty enchanting, this only added salt to her wounds. "Why would a good decent man like Matt marry a whore?" She whispered to no one in particular. She had no idea that her husband was standing behind her, listening to her hateful words.

"She is married to him, and has been for some time. I would suggest you get used to the fact that you are married to me, My dear." He said quietly, yet sternly over her shoulder. "You've hated that woman from the moment you got into town." He said watching as Kitty and Matt stood on the sidewalk of the jail, talking with Festus and Newly. "I think I'm beginning to understand why." He said to her.

"I don't know what you mean, Henry." She said lifting her chin as Matt gently placed his hand on the small of Kitty's back and led her into the jail. Tessa turned to face her husband. "Well, Henry, I really don't have time for your games. I have things to do." She said as she started to walk out, but Henry took her arm and quietly led her into his office. She waited until the door was closed before getting angry. "How dare you handle me in that manner?" She said pulling from his grip.

"You know what, Tessa, you and I have been married for three years now. And from the moment I met you, you have never had a nice word for Kitty Russell. What is it about her that bothers you so?" He asked annoyed. "It can't be the fact that she works in a saloon, you said you worked in one in Texas, you told me everything about that. You served drinks and even dealt and played poker, so what is it about Kitty that makes you hate the woman so. You came here three years ago, looking for something, what was it?" She didn't speak, she turned her back on him and looked out the window. The lights began to go off in his mind. "You weren't looking for something, you were looking for someone." He said as he realized that Matt Dillon was the object of her obsession, and not Kitty. "I can't believe I've been such a fool. You never loved me, did you Tessa? You've always been obsessed with him, why?" He asked walking over to her as she continued to stare out the window. He grabs her arm and pulls her around to face him. "How do you know Matt Dillon, Tessa, where do you know him from?"

Looking into her husband's confused eyes, she could only look downward. "It doesn't matter how I know him. Or where I know him from." She said the anger in her eyes. "I'm married to you." She moved closer as to keep her voice down. "And you're a pathetic excuse of a man."

"Then why in God's name did you marry me, if you felt that way?" He asked as his heart broke in two.

"Because I needed a place to live, I needed some kind of security for the time being." She said standing in his face.

"So you used me to get you a name. What did you really do in Texas, Tessa? Why would you know Marshal Dillon?" He said glaring at her.

"I sold my body to the highest bidder, Henry. I gave men pleasure and they paid me in return." She said smiling at the look of shock and horror on his face. "That's right, you married yourself a whore. The great and honorable banker, married a two bit whore. I did what I had to do to survive." She continued in a low deep voice. "I traded favors for money." She walked around Henry and looked him up and down. "How does it feel, Henry, to know the woman you love and married is no better than a common whore, just like Kitty."

"I have to admit, it's not the kind of information I expected out of you, but you are wrong about one thing, you're not a whore just like Kitty, because Kitty Russell has never been anything less than a lady. She never sold her body for money, nor her favors. She has worked in a saloon for quite sometime, and has always been popular with men, for several reasons, but never have any of those reasons included sex." He looks at her. Trying to understand how he had gotten himself into this mess. "Kitty, may fight like a wild cat, but when it comes down to it, she's a lady. So don't compare yourself to her. You sold yourself, Tessa. You sold your soul."

"I had no choice. I was taken to Mexico and sold to the highest bidder. My husband sold me, because I couldn't give him a child. I was 23 years old. He had taken me as his wife, when I was just 15 years old and in eight years I had been unable to give him a son. So he took me to Mexico and sold me. I was sold to a man who owned a whorehouse and the only way out was to pay your debt. My husband sold me for $500.00. It took me 15 years, making less than a dollar a day to save up enough money to pay Carlos the money and have a little money left over to take a stage out of Mexico. I got myself back to Texas. I was working in a saloon there. Serving drinks, dealing and yes, selling my body once again to any man for a price. That's when I met him."

"He was one of your customers?" Henry asked surprised.

"No. He was too much of a man to buy a woman. He was a gentleman. One of my many men lost his temper with me and while we were on the street, he proceeded to beat me. Matt Dillon stepped in and stopped him. He then helped me up to the Doctor's. Then left. He knew what I was, and he didn't want to cause me trouble. So he left." She said as she leaned against his desk.

"And you've been infatuated with him ever since?" Henry asked her as she smiled at him.

"I found out from the sheriff, that he was a U.S. Marshal in Dodge and I took my savings, and headed for Kansas territory. We were meant to be together. Kitty Russell is just a little distraction, a small inconvenience, is all." She said as she crossed her arms over her breast.

"He loves her. And she loves him. How do you think you could possibly come in between the two of them." He said walking around the desk to sit down. "They're married, been married for some time. You haven't got a chance in hell, to separate those two. Believe me, better then you have tried before. It's not going to work. Kitty's not the type of woman who can be bought and Matt's head can't be turned. In case you haven't realized it yet, Tessa, Kitty is quite a beautiful woman." He said pounding another nail into her heart.

"You think that's beautiful. She's old, ugly, she's a whore, she's nothing. And I'm going to prove to him that she's not worthy of his love." She started to leave but Henry grabbed her arm.

"You've slandered that woman enough. If you continue, she might loose her temper with you and put you where you belong, in the gutter." He told her watching the anger flash across her face.

"What do you think this town will think about it's bank manager who has been stealing money from the townsfolk?" She said accusingly.

"What are you talking about, I've never done any such thing. I would never steal or cheat these people." He said, his voice low and furious, as he stood up and leaned over his desk.

"No. But if I were to start such a rumor, do you think anyone would ever trust you again. Even if you're proven innocent, Henry, there would always be that underlying fear that you might be a thief." She said, a wicked grin crossing her face.

"Why?" He asked as his heart fell. He sat in his chair.

"You're going to help me." She said, her little crazy mind spinning wheels too fast to comprehend the

"Help you, what?" He asked looking into her dark eyes.

"Help me get rid of Kitty Russell." She said simply.

"You're out of your mind!" He sat down angrily as he tried to wish her away.

"Oh, you'll help me, or I'll start telling everyone about your interesting book-keeping." She smiled.

"My books are in order. It would be nothing more than a lie and they'd find out…." She interrupted him

"Yes, but the doubt would already be there and then you'd be destroyed. No one would hire you. You'd lose everything." She told him, weaving her web of deceit around him. He became angry and terrified at the same time. His reputation was important to him, as was his honor.

"Why are you doing this, Tessa?" He looked into her dark eyes pleadingly. "Why?"

"I told you, she isn't good enough for him. He deserves better. Now, you'll do as I say, or do I have to start yelling and making a scene." She smirked at him, knowing that he was helpless against her devious mind. She knew what made him tick; it wasn't money nor his position, but the fact that he was well respected and trusted by the town. "Good. We're going home, I've got to make some arrangements. I'll go get the buckboard, and meet you out front. Don't disappoint me, Henry." She said as she headed out the door.

to be continued……