Julia was awakened by a slight headache that morning.
At the beginning she tried to ignore it and go back to sleep, still feeling tired. But it seemed like a bunch of needles was trying to get into her head so in the end, she sighed and sat up rubbing her forehead and feeling the headache fade for a moment.
She got out of her tent and since it was quite early, there were not so many people around.
Her leg was better, the itch was almost gone, and it took more time before Julia had to rest because of the pain.
She went near the fire and took a cup of coffee as usual before she sat down on a chair, trying to ignore the headache.
She didn't spend so much time seated there before the usual accusing and high-pinched voice of Miss Grimshaw reached her ears, making her huff and roll her eyes.
"Miss Myles, lolling around, as usual, are we?" the woman scolded.
"I don't know if you're lolling around, Susan. But I'm drinking my coffee right now" answered Julia bitterly.
Miss Grimshaw stepped in front of Julia, her hands on her hips and lips curled into a thin line.
"Since you don't have anything better to do, you're going to help the girls today" she commanded.
"I won't" answered Julia looking into her cup.
The woman, who had started to walk away, stopped and looked at her again.
"Yes, you will. If you can go around with that leg, you can surely work too" she said.
"I can kill with this leg too. So, ask me again, nicely and maybe I won't prove it to you" said Julia staring into the woman's eyes.
Miss Grimshaw blew air out of her nose like a bull, staring back at Julia who didn't move her eyes away.
"Would you please help us with the chores, Miss Myles?" she asked marking Julia's name.
"Gladly, Miss Grimshaw" mocked Julia.
Reach us when you're ready said the woman stomping away under her unimpressed look.
When Julia finished her coffee, she went washing the crockery of the night before. Then, she helped the girls dry the clothes that they had washed that morning at the lake and after that, she went into the woods around the camp to find some wood to use for the fires.
Since she had some time, she took care of Wind Catcher and the other horses, bringing them some food and water.
It was almost midday when her leg started to hurt badly while she was brushing one of the horses.
"Kieran, it's okay with you if I sit for a while? This leg's killing me" she said, massaging her leg to relieve some of the pain.
The man, who was cleaning a saddle, raised his head and looked at her.
"Yeah, okay. I'll take care of it" he said getting up and reaching Julia.
"Thank you" she said giving him the brush.
Julia limped towards the table near Dutch's tent, where there was Hosea who was reading his paper.
She sat down with a huff and stretched her leg feeling like her flesh was about to be torn apart again.
"Does it hurt?" asked the old man seated near her without taking his eyes off the paper.
"Not as much as before, but...yes, it damn hurts" answered Julia making Hosea chuckle.
She looked at him in silence for a couple of moments before she moved her eyes on the front page of the paper.
"Something interesting in that paper of yours?" she asked.
"Nothing out of the ordinary, not considering that our undertakings are getting unwanted attention. More than I expected" sighed the old man turning the page.
"Which undertaking exactly?" frowned Julia, leaning forward.
"The robbery at the bank of Valentine and the Grays burned fields..." enumerated Hosea.
"Nothing about the Braithwaites precious five thousand dollars horses. Guess criminals don't like to let the entire country know you can steal from them, do they?" mocked Julia making Hosea chuckled once again.
"I guess not" he said coughing a little.
Julia faintly smiled and then looked at the camp feeling the pain in her leg fading away a little.
"Did Dutch tell you about the Pinkertons?" she asked not looking at the man.
Hosea sighed and lowered his paper on the table before he joined his hands on it.
"Yes, he did. He wasn't impressed by your work, but I assured him it wasn't your fault" he said looking at Julia who had turned to look at him.
"I knew he would have thought it was my fault. He thinks I'm playing both sides" she laughed bitterly, shaking her head.
"Is it?" asked the man with no accusing tone in his voice.
"Why would I? Milton's offer is ridiculous...and I still want my money" Julia said looking into Hosea's eyes.
"But you didn't take your cut when you sold the horses" he said tilting his head to the side.
"I...had other things in my mind" answered Julia looking away as her cheeks flushed.
"Are those other things walking towards Dutch's tent?" chuckled Hosea pointing at the man who was heading to the big, yellowish tent.
It was Arthur, of course.
"It's not what you think it is" Julia said lowering her gaze and shaking her head.
"I didn't say anything" replied Hosea raising his hands.
Julia raised an eyebrow at the man who smiled innocently.
"He's different than I remembered. He was a young little man, bold and secure of himself. I couldn't stand him" said Julia looking at Arthur as he was looking for Dutch into his tent.
"He has...been through different things that have changed him" said Hosea looking at the man in turn as he asked Molly where Dutch was.
The woman just waved her hand impatiently and walked away without answering him.
"What things?" asked Julia turning her head to Hosea.
"I think you know the answer" he said staring into her eyes.
"Mary?" she asked.
"She left him, telling him he wasn't enough for her...that his life was nor proper for a lady of her heritage" said Hosea looking in the space with a bitter note in his voice.
"Honestly, I wouldn't have left my life either if I was her" said Julia a little bit shamed by her answer.
"Not even for love?" asked the old man surprised.
"Love is reckless and dangerous. And the only thing it leaves you with is grudge and pain" Julia replied sighing.
"It's perfectly obvious you tested it on your skin" replied Hosea making Julia look at him.
"Just once" she whispered.
"Once is all it takes to understand it" smiled Hosea going back to his paper.
Julia glanced at him before she moved her eyes on Arthur who was talking to Micah seated near Dutch's tent.
Looking at Arthur's face, she noticed he was quite annoyed by the man in front of him and the scene made her smile before she decided to join them, curious to know what was going on.
As she got closer, Arthur noticed her and turning his head towards her, his face contorted into a shy smile that Julia returned.
"Hey there...Micah" she greeted, giving the blonde man an ugly look.
"How you feeling? I know someone was about to kill you. Guess they missed your head" he asked, but in this voice, there wasn't any sign of concern for Julia.
"I didn't though" she replied avoiding to look at the man, who chuckled.
"Always sweet I see. Anyway, cowpoke...while you and the old man and Dutch have been running around, digging us ever deeper into shit, old Mr. Pearson might have gone and lightened the load a little. Pearson!" said the man getting up and calling the cook.
"Simon?" asked Julia frowning.
Micah nodded with a grin.
"Ain't you curious?" he asked at Arthur who shrugged.
"I guess" he answered.
While they were waiting for Pearson to show up, Dutch was coming back from his walk.
"Gentlemen...Miss" he greeted them.
He passed them and got into his tent while Simon reached them a little breathless.
"Dutch...you tell him, fat man" said Micah.
Julia gave him a look when she heard the nickname but said nothing.
"It's peace, Dutch...the O'Driscoll. I mean, I think there's a way" blurted Simon, but no one really caught what he meant.
"What on earth are you talking about?" asked Dutch from the inside of his tent.
"Get the words out properly, fat man" said again Micah pushing Pearson into Dutch's tent.
"His name's Pearson" she growled at Bell.
"What you got a soft spot for that butterball?" he mocked.
"You gonna get a punch in your ugly mug, and you don't need to try too much either" said Julia feeling her shoulders tense up.
"Give it a rest you two. Pearson, what were you saying?" interrupted Dutch.
"Yeah, okay. I met a couple of the O'Driscoll boys on the road into town. Things were about to get ugly, but you know how I am in a fight, huh? Like a cornered tiger" explained Pearson taking out his knife and smiling at them.
They said nothing and instead looked at him quite confused and unimpressed.
The man noticing, cleared his throat, and went on.
"Anyway... somehow it didn't, but we got to talking and they suggested a parley to end things like gentlemen" he added.
"Gentlemen? Colm O'Driscoll?" asked Dutch turning towards them with a menacing look.
Pearson got out of the tent as Dutch walked towards him and Julia asked herself why everyone was so afraid of him.
He was just a man, rather tall on the wooden platform of his tent, but always a man.
"Have you lost your minds?" Dutch asked looking at Pearson and Micah.
"You're always telling us, Dutch: do what has to be done but don't fight wars ain't worth fighting" said the latter.
"They want a parley? It's a trap" said Hosea from where he was seated.
"Well of course, it's...probably a trap but what have we got to lose finding out" insisted Micah.
"Get shot" answered Julia and Arthur at unison.
They looked at each other trying to stop a smile.
"We ain't getting shot because you'll be protecting us" said Micah putting a hand on Arthur's shoulder, who frowned at him.
"It's a trap, you shoot the lot of them if it ain't, that slim chance..." said again Micah, rubbing his hands.
No one added anything for a moment as all of them thought about it.
"The question is: why would they want a truce? What is that they get by it?" said Julia breaking the silence.
"Anything in mind?" asked Arthur.
"Colm's wanted, just like you and in all these years he didn't want a truce, so why now?" asked again Julia.
"Maybe he's covered in shit, just like us" answered Micah impatiently.
"Yeah, but he's a son of a bitch. If Dutch hasn't wanted a truce how could possibly Colm O'Driscoll had?" frowned Julia shaking her head.
"What you mean?" asked Dutch.
"I mean, it's improbable that Colm wants a truce just so you can be friends again and escape the noose together. There must be something else" said Julia looking at them who were trying to understand where she was getting at.
"In a few words: it's a trap!" she yelled.
"We established it already!" yelled back Micah.
"Yes, but maybe there will not be just Colm and a couple of his men there! If they'll be a dozen, you're dead. Even with Arthur covering you" said Julia pointing at the man on her side.
"Stop! I don't see the point in any of this" said Dutch interrupting Micah from saying whatever he was about to say.
"It's a chance we gotta take" Bell said as they all followed Dutch who reached the table where Hosea was reading.
The two men exchanged a look before Dutch sighed.
"I killed Colm's brother...long time ago. Then he killed...a woman I loved dear" he said looking anywhere but at them.
All of them stayed silent, looking at the man who was deep in thought.
"As you say...it's a long time ago, Dutch" said Micah breaking the silence.
Dutch nodded still thinking and then turned to look at them.
"Let's go. You and me, with Arthur protecting us no one else" he said walking towards the horses.
"What about me?" asked Pearson.
"This ain't the time for tigers, my friend" replied Dutch.
Julia followed Arthur as he reached his horse.
"Arthur..." she called brushing his arm.
The man turned towards her and looked into her eyes.
"Do me a favor...watch your back. I don't like this" she said staring at him in turn.
"I'll try" he nodded.
Julia smiled at him and then turned and walked away feeling the man's gaze on her.
As Julia sat down at the table where Hosea was, she avoided looking at the old man who was staring at her with a sly smile on his face.
She watched Arthur, Dutch and Micah get out of the camp and disappear into the woods.
She turned her head and huffed before her eyes moved to Hosea who was still looking at her.
"What?" she asked averting his eyes.
"Nothing, my dear" the man said trying not to smile too much.
"I just got a bad feeling about this" huffed Julia leaning back on the chair.
"Maybe if Arthur wouldn't have gone..." suggested the man, raising his eyes from the paper for a moment.
"I still would've had a bad feeling" said Julia admonishing him with a look.
"If you say so" chuckled Hosea looking back at his paper.
Julia shook her head, but after a moment and a glance at the old man she couldn't stop herself from giggling and Hosea with her.
"Shut up, old man" she said looking away, feeling her cheeks heat up.
"Considering you wanted him dead the first time you've seen him, it's a big improvement" said Hosea putting down his paper.
"I didn't want him dead..." said Julia looking at him.
The old man caught the implication and hummed.
"I see"
Julia closed her eyes, tilting up her head so the sun hit her face, relaxing her.
She inhaled deeply and equally deeply she exhaled, emptying her lungs.
She was about to fall asleep on that very chair when she heard Miss Grimshaw's voice calling her.
"Miss Myles, if you done with resting, we still got a lot of things to do" she said with her usual note of vinegar.
Julia raised her head and looked over at Hosea who smiled at her.
"There, she's the one I want dead" she said pointing at the woman making Hosea chuckle.
For the next two hours, Julia got distracted from her thought by the chores and the old woman's yelling. But she couldn't avoid her mind coming back, every now and then, to the thought that something wasn't right about the meeting with Colm O'Driscoll and that bad feeling become more and more insistent as the time passed.
Julia was dragging a bucket full of water to Pearson's wagon when she saw Dutch and Micah getting down from their horses.
She quickly emptied the bucket and left it there before she almost ran towards them, if the wounded leg wouldn't have restrained her.
"Dutch..." she called when she got close enough to the man.
"What?" he asked turning to look at her.
Julia looked at him and Micah, standing near Dutch.
"Where's Arthur?" she asked.
"Isn't he here?" asked the man frowning.
"No" she huffed.
"Oh, well. He must be coming back" he said and walked away.
"What happened?" she asked limping behind him.
The man stopped and looked at her for a moment, exchanging a look with Micah.
"Nothing" he answered.
"What you mean nothing?" she asked impatiently.
"Show some respect you little..." threatened Micah but was soon stopped by Dutch's gesture of his hand.
"It's okay, Micah" he said, looking at Julia.
"I mean, that we talked with Colm but there's no way we can establish a truce with him" he explained.
"So, nothing happened? No shooting at all?" she asked frowning.
"No" sighed the man.
"And Arthur? Why isn't he with you?" she asked again.
"He was on the top of a cliff to cover us" said Micah.
"And then?" asked Julia looking at him.
"Maybe he went to town...you know, to blow off some steam with the help of a young lady" said the man putting an arm around Julia's shoulders.
She ducked from his arm and pushed him away ready to punch him, but Dutch stepped in front of her as Micah laughed.
"He's fine. I'm sure of that. In case he'll not show up tomorrow, we gonna find him" he said.
Julia nodded and then watched as Dutch walked away.
"Sorry for the bad news, sweetheart. If you want to be comforted, you know where to find me" said Micah in a lascivious tone in Julia's ear.
She moved away from his lips and looked at him disgusted while he laughed and walked away.
Julia turned her head to the woods, staring at it with the hope that she would have seen Arthur coming out of it, smiling at her.
She waited for a couple of minutes that seemed hours to her before she realized he wasn't going to do that.
She inhaled deeply and then limped towards the wagon of the supplies where Pearson was preparing the stew for that night.
"Need a hand?" she asked.
The man looked up at her and smiled.
"That would be great" he said passing her one of his aprons.
"No problem" said Julia tying the old piece of cloth behind her back.
She started to chop the vegetables Pearson gave her while the man leaned against the wooded table and looked at her.
"So, how did it go?" he asked.
Julia looked up at him not sure about what the man was talking about.
"I saw you talking with Dutch" he said pointing at the man with his thumb.
"It was useless. Whatever Colm wanted, wasn't a truce apparently" shrugged Julia continued to chop vegetables.
But what if he wanted us to think that way so he could strike when we least expect it?
Her mind suggested, making Julia stop for a moment and stare into space.
"Oh...I hope Dutch will not scold me for that waste of time" laughed nervously Pearson glancing at Julia.
She looked at him as the thought of before slipped out of her mind.
"He was the one who decided to go. You only told him what Colm's men wanted you to tell him" she said chopping a carrot.
The man hummed before he walked away with a thoughtful expression on his face.
Julia continued to chop the vegetables and after a while, she raised her eyes from the working table and saw Charles reaching her with a couple of dead rabbits.
He put them on the wooded table and then looked over at Julia who smiled at him.
The man walked closer to her, looking at what she was doing.
"How you feel?" he asked.
"Good. The leg doesn't hurt much anymore. I think that a couple of days from now it'll be as good as new" she answered.
Charles nodded, looking around the camp for a moment.
"Poor hunt?" Julia asked pointing at the rabbits on the table.
"Too much movement around this area. And I didn't want to left the camp unwatched after Dutch left with Arthur and Micah" replied the man.
"They're back" said Julia pointing her knife at Dutch, who was reading a book.
Charles looked around and then at the horses, noticing that one wasn't there.
"Where's Arthur?" he asked turning his head to Julia who shrugged.
"They have no idea. Doesn't it sound strange to you or it's just me?" she asked with a bitter tone on her voice.
Charles noticed that and putting a hand on her shoulder, he searched her eyes.
"I'm sure he's fine" he said.
Julia nodded and faintly smiled at him.
"'Kay" she answered, but she wasn't sure at all.
"Go rest for a while when you're finished" said Charles giving her a last look before he left.
That night, after she took a plate of stew she partially helped to make, she sat with Javier, John, Uncle, and Hosea near the main campfire, eating lazily what she had on her plate.
While the others were talking, she just sat there thinking about the fact that Arthur hadn't come back yet and she still felt this strange feeling that something wasn't right.
Why wouldn't he come back after the encounter with Colm? What he had to do that required so much time away from the camp?
As these questions popped in her mind, she raised her gaze and saw Micah walking around with a cigarette between his fingers.
What if what Micah had said it was true?
Julia shook her head and stood up catching the others' attention for a moment as she walked away, leaving the place where she was seated a moment ago.
She walked towards Arthur's tent and sat on his cot where she had spent two entire days sleeping while he had looked after her.
The thought made her smile while she stroked the pillow and smelled it.
It smelled of a pine tree, sweat, and what seemed to be Arthur's natural smell, the same Julia had smelled that day at Caliga Hall when they both were on his horse.
She put down the pillow and looked around. Her eyes fell on Mary's picture and suddenly Julia's heart slinked so low in her abdomen she thought it would never return to its place again.
You're jealous of her, admit it.
"Shut up" she growled to herself.
She looked again at the picture and then sighed, getting up from the cot and walking towards the woods.
She sat down on a big rock and crossed her arms on her chest looking at the tree in front of her.
She would have waited for him there and once he would have come back, she would have asked him why he hadn't come back.
Come back to her.
What if he's in danger? Right now?
Suggested her head again. But even if it was true, what she could have done? Finding him wasn't an option, he could have been anywhere.
So, you're not even going to try? You're not better than Dutch, then.
Julia snapped on her feet and before someone could see her and stop her, she got on Wind Catcher and left without her holster and satchel.
She got out of the wood and followed the path to the Heathlands, not even sure if they had gone that way to meet Colm O'Driscoll.
She followed the road, scanning the surroundings, but the only thing she could see were plants and animal life.
Julia had just reached the river when she saw a horse getting out of it and the man who was on it was leaning against the neck of the animal, unconscious.
Julia squinted her eyes to look better at the man, but only when she got closer to him, she recognized him.
"Holy shit" she said getting down from Wind Catcher and rushing towards Arthur who was about to fall on the ground.
She helped him down and put his head on her thighs, checking him. She instantly saw a big wound on his chest, just right under the shoulder and the clothes under it were soaked in blood.
"Arthur, can you hear me?"
"It was a trap"
"I know, I know"
"Ju...lia..."
"I got you. Come on we need to get to camp"
Julia managed to get up and pull the man on his feet. Then she helped him on his horse, and she got on it right after, taking the reins.
Arthur leaned against her, his arm loosely around her waist while his head was against her shoulder.
"Stay with me Arthur, please"
She spurred Tundra and with a whistle, she called Wind Catcher that followed her.
While they galloped back to the camp, Julia heard Arthur hummed and moan in pain as his blood stained her clothes too.
We're almost there. Just hold on she said, spurring the horse to go even faster.
"Don't you dare die on me, Morgan"
...
HI EVERYONE!
I made it, it still Tuesday. I'm not late. I'M NOT LATE.
I'm late, aren't I?
I'm sorry, I try so much to get the work done before Tuesday but every time I fail miserably. I have no excuses for my laziness...well except that I'm lazy AF.
ANYWAY, I wanted to tell you that I got another idea for another story BUT, I'm going to work on it once this will be over, also because I'm not sure about the new one, it's just an idea I've been thinking about a couple of weeks.
And it has nothing to do with this one right here. Okay, now that I've casted the bread, I'll leave you.
I'll post next week, as usual.
KISSES!