Rhodes, April 1899
'Your idiot friend is free to go…' the sheriff gestured to Trelawny in the caged wagon. 'But no more trouble from you, partner.'
He unlocked the cage, as Arthur, Dutch, and Hosea waited in the dusty town.
'I promise you, this was all just a big misunderstanding,' Trelawny chimed, with more lies that came easier to him than breathing.
The keys clanked in the lock as Trelawny leapt out of his temporary prison.
'However,' he began again, 'I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart.'
Arthur stifled his laugh as the men awaited for their cue to leave.
'I'll pretend to appreciate that,' Sheriff Gray said, closing up the cage.
The sun was lowering in the sky as the whole town became a singular hue of orange. He found his gaze drifting over to the saloon where he was only this morning, wondering if he would be the only one to return from today.
As Dutch and the sheriff said their goodbyes, Arthur walked ahead with Trelawny.
'I can't thank you enough,' the Englishman said, as Arthur nodded in return.
The four of them walked further into the town, as the crickets grew louder around them, creating a static cacophony.
'Where have you been?' Dutch asked, his voice thick with humour.
'Around...' Josiah began, 'dealing with the estate mostly, if truth be told.'
'Is that where you're staying?' Dutch asked as Arthur followed behind them, growing slightly more interested in the conversation.
'Heaven's no! I've been renting a caravan on the edge of town, behind the church. It's horrible, but no one comes looking.'
'I can take you to the estate,' Arthur said, as Josiah and Dutch turned to look at him, his cheeks growing warm. 'If it stops you gettin' into any more trouble.'
Arthur wasn't sure why he felt that he was being so foolish, like a child who'd just been caught starting to do something that they were told not to. But there was a strange sense of urgency that lay underneath the surface of his curiosity.
'Oh no, that will not be necessary, dear boy,' Trelawny said. 'My niece is a very busy woman, and there's no need to bother her with all of this.'
Arthur smiled politely before turning away to join the others as they continued to walk through the town. He could already see the smile playing across Trelawny's face, however. That little worm...
'The whole town is trapped,' he said, his thick, black moustache dancing on his top lip, 'in this interminable feud between the two families.'
A dog ran out in front of them, barking in haste as the four men strode past, the animal's warning sounds breaking the still air.
Trelawny continued to talk about the families, the feuds, the complications. It didn't put Arthur at ease as he felt that any mention of gold would certainly entice Dutch to get further and further into business that weren't theirs. However, Arthur kept quiet throughout, feeling somewhat useless to the whims of their leader.
As dusk began to settle around them and the dust continued to swirl down the street, they reached the outskirts of the town, where the buildings seemed smaller and less grandiose than those closer to the centre. The houses here appeared worn-down by time, yet each had an old southern charm to them.
'Arthur, Hosea. Start poking around. See what you can find out about all that,' Dutch said, his voice low and serious.
They all continued on, finding some shade under the old buildings. Arthur squinted into the early evening sun, his stubble already thick with the red dust that seemed to be everywhere in this damn place.
'I have missed you boys,' Trelawny sang, his footfall as light as ever. 'I've heard about bounties.'
'There's been a price on my head for thirteen years,' Dutch said in a solemn tone. 'It'll take 'em months to find us down here, and it seems like we can have a little sport.'
Arthur's stomach knotted, knowing exactly what Dutch meant. Arthur wasn't a complicated man, he just needed a job, and he'd get it done. However, he feared in these kinds of waters, Dutch would find the thrill of the chase more enchanting than the reward.
'Well, their good bounties,' Trelawny stated, his head low and his eyes focused on the dirt in front of him.
'Where did you hear this?' Hosea asked as he pulled his eyebrows into a furrow.
'Some fellers I met at a camp near the state line,' Trelawny said as he waved his hand, 'in bars in the North and the South for five hundred miles.'
Arthur looked between his mentors, growing nervous at what Trelawny was telling them. Five hundred miles was a hell of a lot of ground and even though he knew of Josiah's inclinations towards exaggerating the truth, he also knew the reality all too well.
'There was talk of super agents, or some such,' Trelawny said which earnt a deep chuckle from Dutch.
'I'd love to meet one. It's just talk,' Dutch said with an arrogant smile toying the corner of his lips.
'I'm sure it is, but I could not tell you,' Trelawny said, as they stopped at the edge of town just by the church. 'Well, I'm sure I will see you all soon enough.' He continued with a bow, 'especially you, Arthur.'
Arthur tipped his hat to him as the man flounced off to whatever hovel he had now found for himself.
Arthur took a deep breath, shaking his head as he tried to not overthink to himself. These sure were different days indeed.
As they turned around to head back into the town, Dutch made his orders clear. Arthur was to go sniffing around the Grays while Hosea was to start getting involved with the Braithwaites.
'Quite the fishing trip,' Arthur drawled behind them, his voice growing weary.
'Well, I'm still up for it,' Dutch said, and Hosea nodded agreeably.
'How 'bout you, Arthur?' The eldest asked him, 'or have you had enough of the chase for one day?'
'Sure… why not?' Arthur said with a shrug.
So they took to their mounts and made their way to the lake, in hopes of at least a small moment to forget about all the perils around them.
By the time they had reached the water's edge, Arthur had lost some of his bite. Something about the open road behind the men whom he owed his entire life to, made him feel more at home than he had done in years.
They rode along the banks of the water; the sun beating down upon them, making him sweat on the weight of his saddle. They dismounted and tied their horses to trees, letting them drink from the cool water.
They found a boat, and took to the lake, with all the usual quips Arthur expected from Hosea. As they rowed out into the middle, they watched the sun as it began its routine descent, casting shadows over them from the tall grasses. A few birds flew overhead, screeching out loud cries, calling out to each other from faraway places.
When they reached where Hosea had instructed them to, Arthur laid down the oars as all three took to their fishing poles. Arthur was surprised that the fish were so plentiful in this part of the country, as he'd never seen anything like it. He was sure that he was going to catch one, if not two, within the first ten minutes.
'You know, Dutch, I've been thinkin'...' Arthur said, as he hooked the lure to the end of the line.
'Always a dangerous game with you, Arthur,' Hosea cut in, smiling to himself as he casted the line into the water.
Choosing to ignore the jovial sarcasm, Arthur continued.
'Is all this really a good idea? This many fingers in the pie?' Arthur said, turning to Dutch who seemingly didn't hear him. His expression was calm, but Arthur knew him better than that.
Dutch was one who never liked to be questioned, but if Arthur was going to do it, the quiet waters away from all the ears at camp seemed the best place for it.
'Arthur, son,' Dutch said with a sigh, 'if the Braithwaite's don't work out, we got the Gray's. If that don't work out, we've got Trelawny's niece. We'll get something good out of it, believe me.'
Arthur remained quiet, his thoughts turning. He still trusted their leader, the famed Dutch Van Der Linde. But this was getting too complicated.
'It's just...' Arthur began as he could feel the cold hard gaze of Dutch on him from the corner of his eye. 'We ain't here to play politics, and folks down here don't seem to know much else. I don't know Dutch... it's a lot of webs to keep track of.'
'Ain't no reason to worry about that right now, Arthur. You just gotta stick to the plan.,' Dutch said, his voice hard as the matter was final.
'I ain't questionin' you, Dutch. I just gotta bad feelin',' Arthur said, as his line gave a sharp tug.
'Well, let's see what you caught,' Dutch said, as he sat down on the edge of the boat to watch as the hook came to the surface of the water. It wasn't long before he saw the silver flash of the fish, as the ripples spread out from the spot.
'There's your dinner!' Hosea said excitedly, pointing to the struggling creature as it fought against the line.
'Damn! That's a big one,' Dutch said, his eyes wide as he stood up as Arthur began pulling the pole in.
'I'll get it,' Arthur said, feeling the excitement of the hunt, the smell of the fresh air, the sound of the wind.
The fish fought and very nearly won, but as Arthur reeled him in and pulled the fish out of the water, it was worth the struggle.
Hosea let out a slow whistle as Arthur unhooked the fish.
'Beautiful sturgeon there,' Hosea commented as Arthur took his knife to the fish's brain and stored it in his satchel.
'I must say though, Dutch,' Hosea began slowly and Arthur heard another sigh from Dutch, 'I do agree with Arthur.'
The words hung in the air like a thick tar, an oil spill on the water to ruin their perfect evening.
None of the men said another word as the sounds of spools and flowing water filled the void around them.
'You know, I've always valued your counsel,' Dutch said finally as he too pulled a fish out of the water. 'We've got some good men running with us. We will get our gold and we will get out of this mess.'
Arthur didn't reply, and neither did Hosea. The silence stretched on for what seemed like hours as they continued to fish.
As the sun slowly fell in the sky, the breeze picked up with all the scents of the surrounding meadows. The golden water beamed gently underneath them, reflecting the last rays of light.
'Well, I guess we're done here,' Hosea said as he tossed his line in the water and pulled out a fat trout.
They packed away their lines, sitting back into the boat as Arthur took to the oars once again.
'Have you found out anything else, Hosea? About the Edwards Estate?' Dutch asked as Arthur could feel his stare on the back of his head.
'Only from Trelawny, seems above board. Well, better than the other two families at least.' Hosea said, as he lightly tapped his fingers on the edge of the boat.
'And you, Arthur?'
Arthur continued to row, unsure as to why he felt so apprehensive about telling him about the morning.
'I saw Miss Edwards in the town this mornin'. We exchanged some pleasantries.' Arthur replied, keeping his gaze firmly on the horizon.
'And?' Dutch said, his voice tight and commanding.
'Nothin' much. Boys recoverin' well, the one who was shot.'
'Did you find out anything useful?' Dutch questioned.
Arthur pulled at the oars, finding his rhythm and picking up speed with a sudden urgency to get back to camp as quickly as possible.
'I dunno what to tell you, Dutch.' Arthur said, growing impatient with the questioning. 'I just played along. Like you said, try to seem professional.'
He could feel the back of his neck growing warm and whether that was from the sun or not, he wasn't entirely sure. However, the knowing secret smile that played at the corner of Hosea's eyes told a very different story.
'Good,' Dutch said, 'stick to the plan... We don't need any distractions right now.'
The way he said it made Arthur's stomach turn. It wasn't exactly a threat, but he knew the man well enough to understand when he was being chided. For what exactly, he wasn't sure, but there was a trickle of guilt that whispered from the back of Arthur's mind.
'Sure,' was all Arthur managed to reply as he tried to keep his face as blank as possible as they made their way back to camp.
The next morning was like most others, coffee, a cigarette and some jerky that Pearson had finally finished off drying. Arthur sat at the table in the middle of camp, when Charles strode over towards him.
'Mornin' to ya',' Arthur said as he closed away his journal with a half finished sketch of a badger on its page.
'Dutch wants me to come with you. To the Edwards Estate.' Charles said, folding his arms.
'Alright, let's get the horses ready.'
They both walked over to the hitching post as they tended to their mounts.
'Did Dutch fill you in?' Arthur asked, brushing the dust off of Montagues hindquarters.
'Enough.' Charles said, as he pulled himself onto the back of Taima.
'Let's get going then.'
Charles hadn't been with the outfit for very long, but Arthur had always taken a liking to the man. He was capable, never complained and did what was asked of him.
He even made for a great riding companion. A quiet man and a loud thinker, which suited Arthur quite well.
Most of their journey was ridden in silence as they made their way through Scarlett Meadows.
'So, we're really all doing this just for Trelawny?' Charles said as he trotted beside Arthur on his horse.
'Yeah, I guess. Dutch thought it was a good idea.' Arthur said, his eyes squinting in the late afternoon sun.
'Do you think it's a good idea?' Charles said as he looked over to Arthur.
Arthur was torn, the money was good, Trelawny was part of the gang whether he or anyone else liked to admit it, but it was a quiet job. Although given everything that had happened recently it was hardly the worst thing in the world.
It was his first time going back to the estate since he had met Miss Edwards in the saloon in town. To say it was a peculiar encounter would be an understatement.
'It's good money, Charles. That's what we need,' Arthur said resolutely, not paying much mind to his travelling companion as his eyes stayed firmly on the road.
Out of all the places he would rather not be was Scarlett Meadows. The heart of Lemoyne, the place was riddled with Raiders and racists, not that the two were mutually exclusive.
It probably wasn't the wisest of ideas to bring Charles along, out in the open but that went for most of America. But the man was a damn fine shot and an even better tracker. Even if protecting some rich woman was the last of the things he wanted to do, he wasn't about to do a bad job of it. Especially if it was just another way to keep the Pinkertons off of their trail.
The rest of the trip was silent, for which Arthur was thankfully for.
When they arrived at the estate, it was all the same as before, a bunch of servants running around, tending to the shrubbery, cleaning the stables, plucking the partridges, all the dirty work.
They hitched their horses as Arthur led the way to the grand entrance, as Charles followed close behind him.
'Well, she's certainly got money,' Charles mumbled behind Arthur as he knocked heavily on the large wooden door.
Arthur stood straight, squared his shoulders and made himself presentable. He hadn't washed since the night before but hoped that it was good enough, suddenly feeling rather self-conscious. He didn't like rich folk at the best of times, but he wanted to make a good impression. We'll he needed too, for the sake of the paycheck.
The door opened slowly, an elderly man with fine lines deep on his skin answered, a look of bewilderment on his face.
'We're here to see Miss Edwards,' Arthur began, slightly unsure if he should have perhaps waited for a specific invitation.
'And your name, sir?' The elderly man enquired, his white collar stiff against his sagging neck.
'Arthur. Arthur Morgan,' he said as he felt Charles give him a quick side eye.
'One moment, sir.' The door closed again, leaving Arthur and Charles on the steps.
The door opened again, but the old man had been replaced and instead it was Miss Edwards who had greeted them.
'Mr Morgan, I didn't expect you so soon!' She smiled at him, in her usual fashion. A pretty smile, with a pretty dress, a pretty house and pretty money.
'I hope that's no trouble, Ma'am. I brought another... colleague of mine, Mr Charles Smith,' Arthur said, nodding to the man next to him.
'A pleasure,' Miss Edwards commented, her hand outstretched, which Charles took with some humility.
'Please come in, I imagine we have much to discuss,' she said, her voice chipper as she swayed through the entrance. 'I fear some of these matters, as you can imagine, are quite delicate,' she said, turning around briefly. 'We will be in the study for today, please, this way.'
And so she took to the stairs as Arthur and Charles followed behind her. It was the most Arthur had seen of the house, and was everything he expected. Oil paintings, fancy sconces, polished wood flooring that was intricately laid. What he did not expect however was the study.
As the three of them walked in, and all Arthur could see was books. Shelves and shelves of books shoved here, there and everywhere. All manner of things from various time periods were neatly arranged on different sides of the room. There must have been a hundred books or more but Arthur couldn't help but stare at one bookcase over to his left.
'Mr Morgan?' Miss Edwards asked, her voice light as a breeze with a curious notion to it.
Breaking Arthur from his stare he cleared his throat, suddenly abashed by his impoliteness.
'Apologies, ma'am. I just ain't never seen that edition of Shakespear before,' he almost muttered as she raised her eyebrows with a smile that nearly reached ear to ear.
'You certainly know your books, Mr Morgan,' she grinned as she gestured for the two empty chairs before her as she made her way to the drinks tray.
'A gift from my Uncle. Goodness knows where he found it,' she laughed, as Arthur and Charles exchanged a quick look, knowing damn well where Josiah Trelawny would find such a thing. A thing he certainly didn't pay for.
'Would you like something?' She asked Arthur who quickly nodded. 'Some whiskey, perhaps? We have some very fine stuff.'
'Whiskey is alright.' He answered after taking another glance at Charles whose eyes had wandered back up to the bookshelves.
Miss Edwards returned with three filled glasses, handing one to each of them as she sat across the desk from them.
'I did tell you that my uncle could be quite sweet,' she said, her head nodding towards the book as Arthur could feel Charles' gaze on him grow.
He took a sip from his glass; burning his throat as it went down. It was strong and very smooth, and an excuse to get away from Charles and his questioning glare.
'So what do you make of all this?' Miss Edwards said, smiling at them both. Her eyes darting between them, she seemed to be waiting for their answer.
Arthur took another sip of whiskey before answering.
'We still don't know nothin' more, ma'am. But that's why I brought Charles, he knows how to track.' He said before gulping the rest of his drink down. It burned his throat, but it was also his way of buying time to think.
'What about the Raiders?' She asked, her eyes glazed, 'Is it possible it was them?'
Arthur nodded, 'sure it's possible, could be them, the O'Driscolls...'
Suddenly fearing he had said too much he scratched the stubble on his chin.
'Could be anyone,' he said.
'Well, that's hardly reassuring,' Amelia said with a sigh as she took a gulp of her drink. She had barely touched it, a stark contrast to how every other time Arthur had seen her. He saw her hand was beginning to shake as she reached for it again. 'Then we can't waste any time,' she added quickly before taking another gulp of whiskey.
'Me and Charles will take a look around the stable, see what we can find out.' He said, attempting to ease the growing atmosphere.
'Yes, of course, I'll show you the way,' Miss Edwards said, slightly more distracted than she had been previously.
The men followed her, back out the house and towards the stables which she had shown Arthur previously. As they walked, Arthur tried to think of anything that could be done to ease her nerves but couldn't see anything that was new.
Charles set to work quickly, his head low, focusing on the ground beneath him no doubt trying to find any signs of the robbery attempt.
'You sure this is where you saw them?' Charles said with a look of concentration on his face as they searched around the back of the stables.
'I'm not sure, to be quite honest, I was in my room when the attack started...' Miss Edwards said, her brow crinkling ever so slightly. 'One moment, please.' She said as she left the two men as she went into the stables.
Arthur watched her go and then looked around to Charles whose eyes remained searching the ground.
Miss Edwards returned, with another man in tow, roughly the same age as her and hair as dark as Charles.
'This is my stable master, Talako,' she gestured towards the man who stood beside her, who stood impassively, cleaning his hands on a rag.
'This is Mr Morgan and Mr Smith, they are part of the new security,' Miss Edwards mentioned as Arthur looked on at the man.
He knew when he was being sized up, and this was one of those times. Arthur set his jaw firmly, returning the gaze.
'Talako was here the night of the attack, in the stables,' she said, looking between the men.
'Can't tell you much,' the stable master said with a small shrug. 'Was half asleep, heard a commotion, shot their way through the door and tried to take the horses,' he said as though it was the smallest thing in the world.
'Which door?' Charles questioned.
'North side,' Talako said, pointing to the other side of the stable.
'Did you get a count?' Arthur said, joining in on the questioning.
'Maybe eight.'
'Maybe?' Arthur asked.
'I wasn't too worried about counting them.' Talako said, glancing briefly at Miss Edwards before returning his gaze back to Arthur. 'I was more concerned about shooting them.'
Arthur gave him a nod of approval.
'Well, thank you for your help.' She said with a smile as Talako left to continue his duties at the stables.
Charles skulked off to the other side of the stables, his mind no doubt working the intricate patterns he always managed to see that no one else could.
Arthur stood there, next to Miss Edwards as he took a cigarette from his pocket, placing it in the corner of his mouth and lighting it, before passing it to Miss Edwards.
She took it gingerly, giving him a soft smile as she accepted it. Perhaps offering a cigarette that had already been in his mouth wasn't the polite thing to offer a lady.
They stood there in silence as Arthur lit his own, his free hand hooked onto his belt. He would be damned if he didn't give Charles at least five minutes of silence to work his magic.
Charles continued to search through the dirt around the back of the stables as though he was looking for a lost coin. It was certainly odd for him to be so focused on something so small and trivial as dirt when he should be focused on the robbers. But Arthur knew him well enough by now to know that he had, no doubt, worked out every tiny detail about where they had been and what they had been doing.
'Mr Morgan?' Miss Edwards, spoke up, her fingers curled around the cigarette. She was staring at it rather than him her eyes focused on the smoke and it was something that was becoming more apparent to Arthur every time she spoke.
'Yes, ma'am?' he replied simply as he took his eyes away from Charles who seemed to be concentrating on a patch of dirt in particular as he disappeared towards the treeline.
'We will be having duck tonight for supper if you and Mr Smith are interested in staying?' She asked, her eyes darting between his, an apparent nervousness to her demeanour.
'Sure,' Arthur said, 'why not.' A smile formed at the corner of his mouth which seemed to lighten up her face.
It would have been foolish to admit that she wasn't comely, she was a fine-looking woman who had all the airs and graces that he lacked. She had an elegance about her that was hard to put down to her money. But knowing her uncle made it make a great deal more sense.
For all of her sweet smiles and fancy words, there was a fierceness about her, one he saw the first time he met her. Arthur knew he was a fool, a fool for even entertaining such notions.
'Got anything yet, Charles?' He bellowed, trying to take his mind off of his thoughts.
'Here,' Charles called back as both him and Miss Edwards walked towards his voice.
Charles stood tall and handed Arthur a bullet. Examining it, he turned the cool metal in his hand, noticing that the projectile was still intact. The more he looked it over, the more his sense of dread grew. There was only one sidearm Arthur knew that used this bullet.
'What is it?' Miss Edwards asked, her voice low.
'Think it came from a Mauser,' Arthur said, almost to himself.
'A what?' Charles said, his eyes widening.
'Either this was stolen by a gang or you've got a serious problem on your hands, ma'am,' Arthur said, turning towards the woman, her eyes fixed on the bullet in his hands.
'I'm afraid I don't understand,' she stammered, as she took the bullet from him, her delicate fingers brushing against his palm.
'A gun that uses this ammunition doesn't come cheap, ma'am.' He said, watching her as he felt her eyes on him.
'So who was it then?' She asked, a slight shake in her voice.
'Ain't sure yet, Charles, keep looking to see if you can find anythin' else.' Arthur said as Charles turned to continue with his work.
Miss Edwards let out a sigh as she watched Charles walk away as she turned the bullet nervously between her thumb and forefinger.
'You alright?' Arthur asked, feeling the need to break the awkward silence.
'Of course,' she said with a forced laugh.
Arthur could tell she was lying. She was obviously frightened, and it was fear she was trying to hide.
'Did you get those extra guns for hire?' Arthur asked, taking the bullet off of her gingerly, like she was a horse ready to be spooked at any moment.
'They arrived this morning,' Miss Edwards said, hugging at her arms.
'Good,' Arthur nodded, 'I don't wanna frighten you ma'am, but it's likely they'll try again.'
Miss Edwards remained quiet for some time as they stood there, her head low as Arthur shifted the weight between his feet.
'Very well,' she said, looking up at him with a tight smile, 'then they'll be met with the same results.'
Arthur chuckled at her tenacity, although not unkindly.
'I'm glad to hear it.' He said, returning her smile, rubbing at the back of his neck, as her eyes met with his.
She reached into her pocket, producing two cigarettes which she held one out to him. As he accepted the cigarette, their fingers touched briefly, sending tingles through his hands. It was all too brief for such an encounter though, as he placed his cigarette in the corner of his mouth and lit it with another flick of his lighter.
'Thank you, Mr Morgan for today,' she said, smoke pouring from her mouth. 'I will ask one of the girls to fetch you for supper.'
'You're leaving?' He asked, perhaps too quickly as he chided himself for his haste.
She laughed the same sweet laugh he heard in the saloon.
'I have other business matters,' Miss Edwards smiled, the cigarette twirling in the tips of her fingers. 'I will ask Mr Jameson to join us for supper. I'd appreciate his involvement with whatever it is that you find.'
Arthur nodded and watched her leave with a smile on her face, her dress swaying about her hips as she walked away towards the house. Arthur knew she was putting on a brave front, and he admired her for that. There were plenty of women who would be sobbing into their handkerchiefs but she seemed to take pride in the fact that she wasn't going to give in to any sort of threat.
You're getting old, Morgan, he thought to himself as he pried his eyes away from her. He was here for a job and nothing else. As he threw his cigarette on the ground, crushing it with his foot, he went to go and find Charles.