The next day, Julia was awakened by Miss Grimshaw, who had started to shout orders early in the morning to all the camp, especially to the girls who, as always, weren't in the mood for working.
However, Julia didn't want to get out of her tent so at first, she tried to roll on her covers and fell asleep again, but soon enough she realized that it wouldn't have happened despite she still felt tired. So, once she got out of her tent, she fixed her shirt into her pants and put the suspenders on her shoulders. Then she wore her boots before she walked towards the supplies wagon where she poured some coffee in her cup.
While she was standing there, feeling her eyelids still heavy, she noticed that Miss Grimshaw was lurking around there, giving her a few looks that perfectly made Julia intend her intentions.
But Julia was not in the mood for dealing with her nor anyone else, so when she finished her coffee she hid in her tent again. Suddenly, she smelled something weird and raising her arm a strong stench of horse and sweat hit her nostrils.
She looked for some clean clothes, finding a dark green shirt and a pair of black pants. It was her last change of clothing, that meant that she had to wash the others she had. And that meant that she had to leave the camp and avoid the old crone.
Perfect.
While she put the dirty clothes in a sack, she noticed on the ground her spare tent, so after she took her bag, hat and pistols, she took it as well and headed to her horse.
"Going somewhere?" asked Dutch's unmistakable voice while she was putting her tent on Wind Catcher.
"I need to wash my clothes" she answered without turning around.
"Don't you have plenty of water here?" asked the man pointing at the lake.
"The water of the lake's muddy and stink of fish. I'll go to the Ringneck Creek, North of Rhodes" Julia explained getting on her horse.
She looked at the man who hummed while staring at her.
"Alright. When you come back, we need to discuss about the other night. When you disappeared"
"Oh, I'm sorry. Would you like me to tell you my every move? Maybe when I need to shit too?"
"That's not like a lady's supposed to talk" Dutch admonished her.
"I'm talking to a man. I need you to understand me and lady language ain't something you men figure out so well" answered Julia before she turned Wind Catcher and left the camp.
Why all of sudden Dutch acted like he was her father? Why was he so interested in her movements? Was it because he wanted to show her that he actually cared for her? And that it had always been like that?
No, they thought I was dead!
Why would they even think that? They didn't when Sean and Mac disappeared and unlike her, they saw the Pinkertons catch them.
So why did they abandon her?
The answer was obvious, they didn't care. And Dutch's behavior was just a masquerade. He didn't care about her, but he sure did care about her conversations with the Pinkertons. What she could expect from a man like him?
When she reached the river, she started to wash her clothes trying to remove every blood and dirt stains.
Suddenly, while she cold water rushed under her hands, Nathan came up to her mind. She felt a shiver down her back while her cheeks got flushed for the embarrassment. There was no point in asking why he had done it, it was obvious that the young man had feelings for her. But what she had done to push him to such bold action? Maybe something that she said or something she did?
"Fuck me" said Julia throwing her shirt that landed with a loud splash in the water before she used some of it to refresh herself.
Stop thinking about it, and finish to wash your clothes, she thought and for a moment her thought assumed Miss Grimshaw's voice making her smile.
When she finished washing her clothes, she squeezed and put them back in the sack before she headed back to camp.
Once she got there, she hanged her clothes with the others' ones and walked towards her tent again, searching with her eyes Miss Grimshaw, who was smoking a cigarette near the lake, and Dutch who was reading in his tent. She thanked the God they were busy and not interested in her at that moment and sped up when passing by the girls' tents, she noticed Mary-Beth and Kieran talking.
Pushed by her curiosity, she hid behind Abigail's tent from where she leaned to watch them.
"It looks like you're reading" said the man seated on a box near Mary-Beth who was holding a book.
"And I am. So why do you ask?" she answered annoyed.
"Just...making conversation..."
There was a moment of silence during which Julia noticed Mary-Beth apologetic gaze and Kieran's hurt one.
"I'm sorry. I was being catty. I don't know why" she apologized soon after.
"You're very pretty" blurted out Kieran as he was scared to pronounce that words.
Julia bit her lip, trying to restrain a smile.
"What you doing?" asked a voice at her back and turning around she came face to face with Morgan.
"Shush! Let me listen" she said hitting him on his shoulder before she turned again.
"You're very sweet. Strange and horrible and an O'Driscoll but...sweet" said the young woman.
Kieran sighed and closed his eyes for a moment.
Oh, no! Why did you say that?
"I'm not an O'Driscoll, Miss!" said the man before he got up and left.
Julia looked at Mary-Beth while she tried to apologize for what she had said, but Kieran was gone.
"So, now you spying on us?" accused Morgan.
Julia rolled her eyes and looked at him.
"I'm not spying on anyone. I was just...listening" she defended while Arthur shook his head.
"By the way, why you were here? Ain't your tent on the other side of the camp?" Julia asked soon after.
"Actually, I was heading to the horses when I saw your bottom in the air near Abigail's tent and I thought there was something going on" answered Arthur.
Julia smiled amused.
"So, you were looking at my bottom and decided to take a closer look?" she mocked.
"That ain't...I..."
Julia burst into a loud laugh noticing that Arthur's ears had turned red while he kept looking everywhere but her.
"Stop it woman" he said between his teeth while he squeezed a piece of paper in his right hand.
"What's that?" Julia asked taking it from his hand and reading the two names written on it.
"Who are they?"
"Debtors. I was gonna collect them" answered the man taking back the paper.
At that same moment, Julia saw Dutch coming out of his tent and looking towards them, his dark eyes on her.
"Can I come?" she asked quickly avoiding the man's gaze and turning towards Arthur again who frowned at her.
"Why? This ain't gonna get you money"
Julia shrugged.
"That's fine" she said and did to pass him, giving a look at Dutch who kept staring at her.
Morgan sighed and followed her towards the horses.
Once they got on their horses, Julia followed Arthur out of the thick wood that surrounded the camp and headed to the west.
"Who are we looking for?" asked Julia.
"Winton Holmes, he's a hunter" he answered and Julia nodded.
For a while, they stayed silent until they reached the border with the Heartlands where they followed railway towards the Flatneck Station.
"So, why you was so eager to come even if you're not getting any money?" asked Arthur.
Julia gave him and look and sighed.
"I didn't want to talk to Dutch. I don't know why, it's just...I want a break"
"And go looking for a debtor is a break?"
"It's your job, not mine. I'm gonna watch you beat up that poor bastard that will tell you he doesn't have any money yet. Then you'll beat him up some more and he'll give up whatever valuables he has to cover the debt"
"You think I like it" murmured the man keeping his eyes on the road.
"Ain't like that?" she asked looking at him.
"Of course not. I don't like to beat up poor people. We...were used to help them. With Dutch and Hosea..." said the man with a melancholic tone.
Julia stared at him, her gaze softened.
"If you don't like it, why don't you simply tell Strauss to find someone else to collect the debts?" she asked.
"It's not that easy. No one else can do it. I'm big and scary, the perfect tough guy to threat people"
To every word, Arthur's voice became lower and lower while his gaze became sadder and hurt. Julia kept looking at him feeling sorry for the man for the very first time since she had met him.
"That's not true" she said looking at the road again.
"What?"
"You're not the only one who can do it. There's always Bill. Bigger and more dumber than you. And I suspect he thinks he's the toughest too" she said making Arthur smile.
"Sending him would be like losing the money on gambling. He'd kill the debtors" chuckled the man and Julia nodded laughing in turn.
"Yeah, you're right. But if I'd be you, I'd talk to Strauss"
After the first hour and a half, they noticed the sun was reaching the highest point in the sky, that meant it was almost midday, so they decided to speed up the pace.
When they arrived at Strawberry, they stopped at the hotel where they ordered some stew and a beer that they consumed while small talking.
"So, you never told me why you killed Astor" suddenly the man said taking a sip from his bottle.
He had already finished and he was waiting for Julia to do the same, finding himself staring at her lips more than once while she was eating.
"I told you, you wouldn't understand" answered Julia finishing her stew.
"Why would't I? Because I'm stupid?"
"Because, you're a man" answered Julia looking at him and taking a sip of beer before she cleaned the edges of her mouth.
"And that what's supposed to mean?"
"It means, stop asking. Come on" said Julia getting up and gesturing him to follow her.
When they reached their horses, they got out of the small town following the main road that climbed up towards the hills and after a while, they saw some smoke coming from behind a rock wall.
"You think that's him?" asked Julia while they continued to follow the road.
"Let's find out" answered Arthur.
After a couple of minutes, they stopped and their eyes moved on a man sleeping in his little camp at the base of the rock wall.
They drew closer to him, hearing the man snoring while they got down their horse.
Arthur got closer to him and kicked him in the leg making the man jump out of his skin. When his eyes opened, he moved them from him to Julia.
"Winton Holmes?" asked Arthur, his voice was suddenly deeper than usual.
"I didn't expect to see anyone out here" answered the young man staring at Arthur with wide eyes.
"Funny how far a man's debts follow" him said Arthur kneeling in front of the pot full of what seemed to be soup.
Julia walked closer to them, her arms crossed over her chest while she looked at the two men.
"You got some money for me boy? I saw your name in our ledger" continued Morgan while sipping the soup.
"You two with the German?" asked the man moving his gaze towards her, and Julia nodded.
"Look, I got it for you. It's just...I don't got it yet. I-it's up in them hills" explained Holmes, awkwardly getting up.
Julia got a little bit more close, leaning against the rock wall.
"You panning for it?" asked Arthur taking another sip of soup.
It must have been good or maybe the stew didn't sate him.
"Hunting it. I tracked this cougar. It's rare, lilly white coat. The pelt'll more than cover what I owe" said the young man while Arthur got up and sat in front of the coffee-pot, pouring some of the content in his cup.
"If I'm skinning anything, I'm skinning you boy" he said with a threatening tone before he sipped the coffee.
The man looked at Julia who kept looking at him sympathetically.
"Please Miss...I'm outta work. It's the only way you'll get paid a-and all the hard work's already done" said the boy.
Julia looked at Arthur with a brow raised, making him understand what she was thinking. The man sighed and got up.
"Fine. Move" he said in the end.
Holmes looked at Julia again who gave him a hint of a smile before she walked towards Wind Catcher.
Suddenly, she felt something grasping her arm gently and turning around she met Arthur's eyes.
"I think it's better if you stay here. I don't know where this fool's gonna bring me. It can be dangerous" he whispered.
Julia raised a brow at him.
"That exactly why I need to come. If I could be in danger, never mind you" said Julia and freeing herself from his grip, she got on her horse.
Once they all got on their horses, Holmes told them to follow him up in the hills while Arthur continued to threaten him and complained about the fact he had to come up there to find him for his damn money.
But the young man defended himself telling him that his economic situation was precarious and with the allowances that Strass had set, he had done his best to scrape up all the money.
Julia knew that to lent money people had to need it and she knew that Strauss selected his clients very carefully, finding always the most desperate.
Strauss, you little, old, slippery...
Following the river, they continued to go up the hills, where Julia wore her jacket due to the cold air.
"This is it" said Holmes stopping in front of a cave before they got down their horses.
Julia took her lantern from her saddle while Arthur took on of his rifles and then they followed Holmes into the cave where, after a few steps they heard the sharp roar of a cougar.
"You hear that? There's a cougar in here. And I bet she's white as virgin cotton" said the boy excited.
Arthur turned towards Julia, exchanging a worried look with her.
They soon reached a junction where Holmes suggested to split up to find the cougar, so he went left while Arthur and Julia went right.
"I don't like this" said Morgan between his teeth while adjusting his grip on the rifle.
"Blame Strauss for this. I wish he was here with us" said Julia while raising her lantern to see better where they were going; her other hand on her knife just in case.
Her heart was beating loud against her chest and the humidity of the cave made her shiver.
Suddenly, when they reached the end of the junction, she felt the ground give in under her feet and before she could stop herself from falling, she found herself on the ground, the lantern slipped from her grip rolling until it stopped near a corpse.
Julia winced and by reflex she raised her hands to cover her face.
"You alright?" asked Arthur helping her on her feet.
"Yeah, fine. I'm fine" she answered grasping his shoulder to get up before she took the lantern and lighted the corpse better.
"Shit" hissed Arthur.
At that same moment, they heard a loud roar and some screams echoing into the cave.
Julia looked at Arthur with wide eyes.
"Holmes?" called Arthur, but there was no answer.
Together they reached the other side of the cave while Artur continued to call for the man who didn't answer.
"Arthur..." called Julia when the light of her lantern hit the man's body in front of them.
"She got him. Crap" said Arthur charging his rifle and pointing it somewhere in front of him.
"Stay behind me" he said while scanning the cave.
Julia did as he said, but soon enough she heard a low growl and turning around she saw the cougar standing a few steps from her.
She didn't have the time to call for Arthur that the animal jumped and pushed her to the ground. The lantern slipped from her grip once again while Julia tried to stop the cougar's fangs from reaching her neck.
"Arthur!" Julia yelled who tried to reach for her knife with her other hand, but before she could do it she heard a shot and the animal stopped from moving.
Arthur helped her lifting the dead animal from her and then pulled her up.
"You alright?" he asked checking her body.
His blue eyes rested on the deep scratch on her arm, the animal had torn her jacket and shirt, reaching her flesh.
"It's just a scratch. I'll be alright, just...let's get the hell out of here" she said and Arthur nodded.
Once he skinned the cougar, which pelt was actually white as virgin cotton, they got out the cave noticing the sun had started to set.
"Get out of here, horse. You're man ain't coming" said Arthur while he put the pelt on Tundra.
Julia got closer to the horse and petted him for a while before she freed him from the saddle, leaving it on the ground.
"Come on. Let's get out of here" she said low and then hit the horse on his side, making him run away.
Julia looked at Arthur who was staring at her before he looked down.
"You should check that saddle. It may be something of your interest in it" she said walking towards Wind Catcher.
"Why don't you check it?" asked Morgan getting closer to the saddle.
"I don't want anything from this man. His life was sufficient" she answered looking for a bandage in her saddlebags while Arthur checked Holmes's saddle finding a couple of dollars and some whiskey.
The man sighed and raising his gaze he saw Julia getting away with her horse.
"Wait for me" he said going towards Tundra and getting on her he followed Julia.
"We need a trapper to sell that pelt" said Julia when she heard Morgan catching up with her.
"No, we need a drink and you need something for that arm. Let's get to Valentine. I'll sell the pelt tomorrow" said the man.
"Valentine? Are you sure?" asked Julia turning to look at him.
"It's already getting dark and at the saloon, there's only drunk people. No one will recognize me"
"What about the Pinkertons?" asked Julia and Arthur shrugged.
"I survived that infernal cat, I'll survive them too. Also, they moved, didn't they?"
"I think so" answered Julia frowning.
They headed to Valentine in silence while the sun got down, disappearing behind the hills of Strawberry.
When they reached the town, Julia could not control her nervousness every time that someone looked at them for longer than a couple of seconds and more than once she thought that it was a bad idea to be there.
"Keep calm" whispered Arthur noticing her anxiety.
"We shouldn't be here. It's not safe" said Julia while she got down from Wind Catcher and tied him at one of the posts in front of the saloon.
"Don't worry. Come on let's get inside" said Morgan leading the way, but as soon as they reached the door, a blonde girl stopped them and by looking at her Julia could recognize her working girl suit.
"Hey, mister...yeah, you! Come over here" called the young woman.
Arthur stopped and looked at Julia who looked at him in turn.
"I'm sorry lady. I'm not interested" he answered.
"No, please! It's not what...I'm in real bind, please" pleaded again the young girl catching Julia's attention and when she got closer to her she noticed that her makeup was melted by some tears and that she was trembling like a leaf.
"What happened to you?" she asked putting a hand on her shoulder.
"This feller, he's in a bad way. You have to help me...I'll pay you!" said the girl with trembling voice.
"Where is he?" asked Julia ignoring Arthur complaining who sighed and rubbed his eyes.
"He's inside, upstairs. Come with me, I'll show you"
The girl led the way while Julia followed her, but soon enough Morgan stepped in front of her.
"Why you're helping her? That's no business of ours"
"Remember what I told you, Arthur" said Julia.
"The last thing we need is another trouble" he insisted.
"If you're not gonna help her, I'll do it my own" said Julia passing him.
"Why?" asked Arthur, but Julia didn't answer and instead reached for the stairs behind the saloon.
She was about to climb the stairs when Morgan grasped from her arm making her turn around to face him.
"Why?" he asked again staring into her eyes.
"Because I was one of them once. And I know in which trouble these girls can get into" answered Julia.
Arthur assumed a shocked expression and for a moment his eyes wandered on her body and that didn't go unnoticed by Julia.
Was he judging her? Not that was the first time anyway, but somehow the look he gave her made her heart sink.
She freed herself from his grip and climbed the stairs. Once she got into the room, Julia saw the corpse of the man on the bed with a knife in his chest and moving her eyes on the girl, she noticed she was crying again.
"It was me or him, I swear. He beat me up, choke me..." defended the girl.
Julia hugged her trying to assure her everything was alright.
"Don't worry, we're gonna fix this. We need to get rid of the body and clean the mess"
"What the hell is this?" asked Arthur when he entered the room.
"Arthur, we need this body to disappear" said Julia.
"You're crazy? I'm not..."
"Please!" pleaded Julia looking in his eyes.
Arthur stared at her then he moved his eyes on the young lady who was looking at him in turn.
"Alright" he sighed.
"There's a pig pen behind the building. Dump the body in there and they'll eat him" said the girl between tears.
Arthur lifted the corpse and Julia took the knife from his chest, nodding to him to let him go.
"I'll come back and then we're gonna leave" he said before he left the room.
Julia turned to look at the girl before she gave her her knife back.
"You'll need this. There're others like him out there" she said and the girl took it.
"You need cold water for the fresh blood. Rub hard to get rid of the stains on the wall and floor. And burn the sheets" she said again and the girl nodded.
"Thank you. Here take this" replied the girl giving her her money but Julia refused it.
"Keep it" answered Julia before she left the room and got down the stairs finding Morgan who had just came back.
"You did it?" she asked and he nodded.
"Thank you for helping"
"I think it's better if we leave. We're gonna camp outside the town" Arthur said while they reached for their horses.
"Wait" said Julia stopping him by his arm.
Without adding anything she headed to the general store and bought two bottles of whiskey. When she reached Morgan she found him still standing there, waiting for her.
"We needed a drink, remember?" she said.
"I still do" answered Arthur and together they got on their horses and left Valentine.
They camped a little bit further from Twin Stack Pass. Arthur set up the tents while Julia went looking for some wood for the fire, then she tied the horses to a near tree.
Once they seated near the fire, Julia took the whiskey from her bag and gave a bottle to Arthur who took it willingly.
Julia tried to open hers, but because of her arm that was still hurting, she couldn't do it and after a while, she felt the bottle slipping from her grip. Turning around she looked at Arthur while he opened it for her before he sat again.
She stared at him for a moment before she thanked him, Arthur just nodded.
Slowly, Julia freed her arm from the bandage that covered the deep scratch and poured some of the whiskey on it, biting her lip while it seemed that she had poured fire on it.
"Fuck..." she hissed.
Arthur looked at her the entire time and when Julia tried to put another bandage on her wound for the third time, he left his bottle on the ground and drew closer to her.
"I can do it alone!" she exclaimed withdrawing from him.
"You can't. Let me help you" he said staring into her eyes.
Julia returned that look before she shook her head and gave him the bandage.
She observed him while with a surprising kindness he rolled the bandage around her arm, being careful not to tighten it too much or not enough and when he finished, he tied it at the base of her elbow.
"Thank you" said Julia while Arthur sat once more and took his bottle again.
"So, you got any other letter from Mary?" asked Julia taking a sip from her bottle as well.
Arthur shook his head.
"Probably she'll never write to me again. Unless she needs another favor" he said with bitterness.
Julia looked at him not knowing what to say since she thought the same.
"Maybe she will. The question is, will you be willing to help her again and get nothing in return?"
Arthur sighed and then shallowed some whiskey.
"I don't know. She made things clear the last time I saw her. We'll never come back like we used to be"
Julia stared at him before she lowered her gaze on her bottle, playing with the neck of it.
Suddenly, an awkward silence fell on them while they both looked at the fire.
"So, is this what you did when you lost us? You became a working girl?" asked Arthur out of nowhere.
Julia gave him a look, but she knew that sooner or later he would have asked about it. So, she sighed and turned towards him while he looked at her patiently.
"When I couldn't find you anymore, I went to Conhope, as you already know. There a man found me. His name was Finley Langdon"
"Langdon?" echoed the man frowning.
"I heard that name" he added and Julia nodded.
"His family was an important one. His father was a businessman in New York, but he didn't want to follow his same path. So, he opened a saloon. He saw me, alone, in the street, almost frozen to death. He took me with him and..." Julia lowered her gaze.
"Made a working girl out of you" finished Arthur for her and Julia nodded again.
They stayed silent for a moment, she could feel his burning gaze on her. And once again she couldn't understand if he was judging her or not.
"At the beginning, I had to learn, and I was too young anyway. But then men started to look at me in a different way. The other girls didn't like me or maybe they were too scared to be friendly with me because of Evelyn. She was the one in charge of the girls and for some reason, she didn't like me. Maybe because I was younger than her and the clients preferred me instead of her, I don't know..."
Arthur continued to stare her and against his will, every word who came out of her mouth was a pain right in the chest.
"Then, one day...Astor paid a visit to the saloon and asked personally for me. He...was disgusting and I'd had enough so I killed him. I shot him until the pistol was empty. When I realized what I had done, I ran away on the mountains and found Charles"
Hearing nothing coming from the man, Julia raised her eyes on Arthur finding him staring at the fire with a strange expression on his face, as if he was angry.
"When I saw that girl earlier, I...I saw me in her. I felt her fear and shame. I needed to help her because I knew no one would have" she added still looking at Arthur.
"I understand. You did the right thing, killing that bastard. He deserved it" he said clearing his throat before he took another sip of whiskey.
Julia smiled and moved her eyes on the fire in front of her.
After a while, Arthur drunk swallowed all the remaining whiskey in his bottle before he threw it away and moved to his tent.
"Thirsty?" she mocked.
"Not anymore. I think I'm gonna sleep. That damn cougar scared the shit out of me" he said laying down on his covers.
Julia chuckled, putting the bottle away and then she walked into her tent, looking at the portion of sky she could see from the open flaps.
Soon after the air filled with only the crackling the fire and Arthur's low snores.
She closed her eyes, feeling her eyelids heavy and after a couple of minutes, she fell asleep.
...
HI EVERYONE!
So, yesterday I finished translating this chapter and I thought that it would have been a big surprise to all of you if I would have posted it sooner than I usually do.
The reason I decided to do this is that the other day I realized that this story reached 3k views and I was like O.O
So, with this chapter, I want to thank all of you for your support and comments that always make me so happy. I love reading your opinions even if I don't know how to reply most of the time (because I'm an awkward shit, but that's another story).
So, THANK ALL OF YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU!
Have I said THANK YOU?
Alright, I'll stop ;)
Sooooo, if you liked this chapter let me know, I'll post the new one next week.
HORSE KISSES!