When she met Trelawny, Harriet questioned herself whether he was actually part of the gang or if he was just an informer. Either way, she really wondered how he ever came to meet the likes of Dutch Van Der Linde.
They were now trotting along a cliff, searching for the boat that held this named Sean prisoner. Riding behind Javier, Harriet couldn't ignore the knot that formed in her stomach. It was her first time out with the gang and she had no idea what to expect. Well, in a way she did after the 'encounter' with the lawmen from Valentine with Arthur, but this was different. They were about to rescue someone. From the law.
When they spotted the boat, Harriet caught sight of a man, a bag on his head as a hood. Deducing this was Sean, she prepared herself for a fight. There were a good number of bounty hunters and they seemed heavily armed. They would need a strategy. That was sure.
"I've got an idea, follow me." Trelawny's voice reached her ears, forcing her to pay more attention to her companions.
They did follow him, getting to the stream and quietly getting off of their horses. Harriet cautiously took her bow from a saddle she borrowed
"We should do this quietly if can." Javier said as he took his knife from his sheathe.
Quietly.
"Leave it to me gentlemen. I'll go around and create a distraction, then you three sneak across and do the dirty on them." Trelawny offered.
Harriet notched an arrow, ready to shoot as she crouched down. As Trelawny trotted towards two guards, Harriet and the boys quietly entered the water, using the boulders and plants as cover. When Josiah started his little speech, Harriet couldn't help but admire his acting skills and how this comedy seemed to naturally come to him. Maybe he should have been an actor, or even a lawyer, his fancy words could get anyone out of trouble.
"Javier, you take the right one, I take the left. Harriet, if anyone appears, you shoot." Arthur commanded.
She watched the two boys get closer the bounty hunters as she followed close behind, roaming her eyes for any trouble. Arthur and Javier easily took down the men and everything seemed to go as they planned.
"Move!" Harriet whispered at Trelawny when another bounty hunter appeared from behind the cliff.
"What th-"
Getting straight up, Harriet didn't think twice and released the arrow she had notched and let it loose, running as fast as she could towards the intruder. When the arrow hit his skull, she caught him before his fall could echo in the gorge, putting him slowly on the ground. But it seemed it was too late. Bounty hunters were posted on top of the cliff and didn't hesitate to shoot.
"A pleasure as always, gentlemen. Nice meeting you miss Wiley. I think you have it from here." Trelawny swiftly said before leaving the gorge on his appaloosa
"Take cover!" Arthur ordered to both Javier and Harriet.
She did as she was told, well aware that she could not be as efficient with her bow as the men and their guns. Behind her rock, she could hear the bullets ricochet against the hard stone and whistle in her ears. Notching an arrow, she swiftly got up and quickly chose her next victim: She released the arrow and a half second later, the head hit the throat of a man aiming at her, letting him fall on his back before his hands could reach the wound.
"I see Charles up there!" Javier announced as he moved forward.
Harriet and Arthur followed him, climbing the cliff in a self-assured run when they finally found the camp where Sean was certainly held up. It was a matter of seconds before more bounty hunters flooded towards them, not sparing any bullets. The four of them took cover before Javier gave them his strategy.
"Charles, you take the right, I'll take the left."
Well, Harriet thought, I guess I take the middle with Arthur? They both hid behind a pile of stacked trunks and the woman had to take a deep breath before notching an arrow again.
"There is one at the top of the tower, you take him, I'll take the one behind the wagon." Arthur commanded.
Harriet didn't answer and simply prepared an arrow, nodding at Arthur when she was ready. He nodded back and they both got up from their position, and when she released her arrow, Harriet stood still, making sure it would hit the target. When she saw the shooter fall to his knees before crashing on the ground, she couldn't help the satisfied smile that pulled at the corner of her lips.
A few more shots from the four of them, and all the bounty hunters were down. Wrapping her bow around her back, Harriet got back as much arrows as she could from the bodies before going back to the gang. When they appeared in her field of vision, she could only see Arthur, cutting the rope that held a man by his feet. Finally reaching them, she noticed that Arthur already seemed annoyed by the newly freed man. Getting closer, she could see that the named Sean was really young, but his smile seemed contagious as Harriet couldn't help but smile herself.
"Here, since you insisted on coming, you're taking mister Macguire back to camp." Arthur said to Harriet as soon as he spotted her. "We should split up."
Without another word, she was left in the company of this Sean Macguire.
"Well well, I wasn't expecting such a lovely company!" The red-haired man exclaimed in a thick Irish accent.
Harriet rolled her eyes when she let out a chuckle, before walking towards her stallion, who had followed the other horses on the cliff. She hoisted herself up and extended her arm for Sean to take.
"I'm probably a bit too old for you dear. I'm Harriet by the way." She said as she help him up on her horse.
Sean grabbed the side of her shirt to stay in place before she put her horse on a slow walk.
"Nice to meet you! Well how old are you then?"
Harriet shook her head, leading her stallion on a sandy path to cross the river.
"You're not supposed to ask something like this to lady."
She heard his frank laugh behind her and had to contain herself to not laugh as well.
"Don't take this the wrong way, but I see no lady here! You're wearing pants and your hair are tied up in a strange way!" he exclaimed.
"Why would you notice my hair?!" She asked in a small chuckle.
She wasn't really bothered by the 'I see no lady here' from Sean. In his mouth, it didn't sound like an offense, but more like admiration and she decided that she liked her new companion.
"From where I'm standing, I can't see much else than your hair."
Suddenly very aware of the way she tied her jet-black hair, Harriet instinctively brought a hand to a few strands that escaped the leather bands. Well it was strange. She had to find a way for it to stay in place for at least a couple of days, so she did a few braids on the sides before bringing everything in a ponytail.
"I'm thirty-seven." She finally said, staring at the plains that laid before them.
"I don't believe you! That would mean you're older than our Arthur!" he almost shouted, his accent echoing behind Harriet.
"Well, it seems that I am." She said finally before putting her horse at a faster pace.
She spent the rest of the journey listening to Sean, rambling about how he managed to get himself some time before the bounty hunters would bring him to the prison. She didn't mind though. She could tell he had a lot of confidence but not to the point of stupidity, even if he seemed a bit naïve. She did like him. He was everything a group would need, bravery and kindness, in one man. So she listened to him more than she talked, until they finally reached Horseshoe Overlook.
As soon as Sean got down from the stallion, everyone in the camp seemed to have noticed him and some greeted him with sarcasm as others offered him a drink and embraced him. Soon after, everyone was gathered around the campfire with beers and whisky in their hands as Sean was telling his story with the bounty hunters, again.
The evening was rhythmed by Javier's music and everyone was more or less drunk when Sean finally stooped talking. Harriet had herself drank a few beers and she couldn't quite remember when was the last time that she felt this familiar dizziness. She never drank with her mother, even less with her husband. Maybe it was that time, when she couldn't take the loneliness a few years ago and drank herself to death, to only wake up with a headache and the ability to stay in bed all day.
"Hey Harriet, I just realised, we don't know much about you, why don't you tell us your story?" Mary-Beth suddenly offered.
Harriet slowly looked up, seeing all the expectant faces that greeted her. Carefully putting her bottle of beer on the ground she took a deep breath and tried to find a way to cut short through the story.
"Well, my father was a Lakota whereas my mother was Scottish. After they got married, my father decided to live with my mother, at her ranch but about eight years after they had me, he got killed by villagers from Valentine. Years later, my mother got sick and she tried to find me husband, so I wouldn't be alone when she'd die. So I got married, to a certain Neil Wiley, before he died ten years ago, not long after my mother. Since then I'm alone."
It was short. Too short and too suspicious. But she mentally thanked Sean when he raised his glass of whisky.
"Well you'll never be alone anymore, right?" He said cheerfully and everyone raised their glasses and bottles as well, quickly forgetting about Harriet.
The latter slowly glanced at Arthur, and realised he was already looking at her. He didn't ask any more question when she confessed about her husband, and she was thankful for that. But the secret was out. She could try to hide the truth from the others, but she knew she would owe explanations to Arthur sooner or later.
It was only a few hours later that Harriet and most of the gang decided to go to bed. When she crashed on the bedroll, she closed her eyes, for a minute, enjoying Javier's soft song only disturbed by Sean and Karen's laughs. Life seemed to shine on her again. These people were a family, they loved and protected each other all the while living on the other side of the law. She could fit in here. She knew she could.
When a low thud reached her ears, she opened her eyes again and turned her head to see that Arthur had let himself fall on his cot, throwing his hat on the small table behind her.
"Sean talks too much." He said in a sigh.
"I like him." Harriet said back, staring at the wagon behind Arthur. "I always wanted a little brother. If I had one, I would have wanted him to be like Sean." She said, lost in her reverie.
Maybe this alcohol was stronger than it looked. Her head was light but she had to fight to keep her eyes open.
"Irish?" Arthur asked in a huff.
Harriet let out a chuckle, thinking of how this situation would look: A half Indian, half Scottish woman with an Irish brother… Sounded like the start of a joke.
"You're an idiot…" she finally said, still laughing.
"Yeah, I know."
Even if his tone was tired, Harriet could have sworn she heard his smile in his words.
Yes, she would fit in here. She already felt at home whenever she heard Javier pull at the strings of his guitar, when Pearson gladly offered her a bowl of stew and when Tilly came to her with reassuring words and silly jokes. And laying down on a bedroll, genuinely laughing for the first time in years with Arthur made her feel safe and peaceful.
With these thoughts in mind, she let herself drift off to sleep, not even bothering to sneak under the cover.
Hey everyone! First of all, I wanted to apologize for posting this chapter so late, things have been a bit crazy for me lately ^^ And I don't know how I could thank everyone who started to follow this story and putting it in their favorites! Also, (a bit of teasing ;) ) I'm working on a story on Javier, since I think there isn't enough of it in this world ;p
Anyway, i hope you enjoyed this chapter, and of course, any review is welcome!