Chapter 57: Pride

"How you get on?" Dutch asked the married couple as he stood by the front of the cave as others set up the camp.

"Okay," Arthur responded, walking to him with Lilly by his side. "Found a girl, took her home."

"Oh," Dutch said in surprise.

"You and Micah find anythin'?"

"Maybe...I think maybe, I found our old friend Mr. Cornwall."

Lilly gasped. "Seriously?!"

"Mmhmm, and Mr. Pierce and Brutus, too. They are openly working for the man now. Anyway, Cornwall is buyin' a stake in the mine at Annesburg."

Arthur chuckled. "Relentlessly ambitious feller, isn't he?"

"Micah and I'll sniff about, see if he knows we're here, and exactly what his plans are."

"Sooo, Dutch!" Molly screamed in the background. Lilly turned around with Arthur. Molly was seriously drunk and staggering over. "Did you miss me?!"

Uncle came walking behind Molly. "I found her, drunk in Saint Denis."

"You're back. How jolly, Miss O'Shea," Dutch said bitterly.

Molly closed in on Dutch. "It's Molly, you sack of shit!"

"Back and drunk!"

"Da..." Lilly said. "Ya know, I wasna payin' much attention to ya two lately, but are ya both on the outs?"

"More or less," Dutch said.

"Who made you the master, the Lord God Almighty?!" Molly barked out drunkenly.

"Molly, calm down."

"I won't be ignored, Dutch van der Linde! I aren't him," she pointed at Micah, "I ain't her," she pointed at Mary-Beth, "or any of your stooges!"

Lilly almost wanted to laugh. "Calm yourself, miss!" Dutch exclaimed.

"You don't owe me nothin', I don't owe you nothin'! Nothin'!"

"Okay!"

"I'll spit in your eye! I did! I told them!" Molly shouted, pacing back and forth as she glared at Dutch angrily in her drunken state.

Lilly blinked a few times. "I'm sorry?" Dutch snarled.

"Yeah I told 'em, and I'd tell 'em again! Now I've got God's ear!"

"You told who what?"

"Mr. Milton and Mr. Ross...about the bank robbery...and I wanted them to kill you!"

Dutch pulled out his gun. "You did what?!"

"I loved you, you god damn bastard! Go on, shoot me!"

Arthur put a hand on Dutch's shoulder. "She's crazy, she ain't worth it."

"You told on me?! You betrayed me?!" Dutch yelled.

"Oh, you're not so big now, are you?" Molly said.

"Quiet!" Arthur yelled at Molly. "Lilly, get her to be quiet!"

Lilly heard a crow caw and she looked up. There were some crows in the trees. "Oh shit." She got in front of Molly and grabbed her. "Molly, you need to shut up right now! Tóg é ar ais! Déanfaidh siad tú a mharú!" [Take it back! They will kill you!]

Molly shoved her off. "Ní bheidh mé! Ba mhaith liom a bheith lámhaigh!" [I will not! I want to be shot!]

"You don't mean that, Molly!"

"I do!"

Lilly heard the click of a shotgun. "Lilly, move out of the way," Miss Grimshaw said.

Lilly turned around and put Molly behind her. "I will not! Da, please! She is obviously drunk out of her gourd! Ya canna believe what she's sayin' just now!"

"You know the rules, Lilly!" Dutch snapped.

"Oh, not so big now, are we, your majesty!?" Molly yelled.

Lilly turned around and grabbed her. "ENOUGH MOLLY! SHUT UP!" Lilly's voice boomed.

Molly did as she was told and Lilly turned back around, holding Molly behind her. There was no way Molly was a rat. She couldn't believe it. "Da, she is drunk. Let me just-"

Molly got out from behind Lilly and Susan shot Molly. Lilly gasped and jumped out of the way, holding her mouth. Molly collapsed to the ground and Lilly went to her side. "No..." Lilly gasped. She bowed her head and shut Molly's dead eyes. "What have ya done?!" Lilly turned to Miss Grimshaw, shocked anger burning in her eyes.

"She knew the rules, Lilly! What the hell is wrong with you?!" Miss Grimshaw snapped. "Mr. Pearson, Mr. Williamson, get this body outta here and get it burnt! Now get back to work, all of ya!"

Lilly shut her eyes, opened them, then went to pull out her gun but Arthur grasped her hand tightly to the holster as he knelt down to her. "Lillian. Ná déan é." [Don't do it.]

"Ach mharaigh Grimshaw í. Ní francach é Molly." [But Grimshaw killed her. Molly is not a rat.]

"Níl a fhios agat sin." [You don't know that.]

Pearson and Bill picked up Molly's body and Lilly started to sob. "Bhí fís agam dá bás. Bhí mé ceaptha í a shábháil. Tháinig na préacháin chun rabhadh dom." [I had a vision for her death. I was supposed to save her. The crows came to warn me.]

Arthur wrapped his arms around her and sighed. "Even so...she had Dutch's ear," Arthur whispered

"Not lately," Lilly whispered back.

Arthur nodded. "Lilly, I know you was supposed to save her, but we can't change what's done. We can only move on. Okay?"

Lilly released her gun and wiped her eyes. "Okay."

Lilly and Arthur stood up and walked over to their tent. "If you really think she wasn't the rat and snake, then I believe you," he whispered.

"But...why did ya let her die?"

"I tried to reason with Dutch, I did. I didn't think Miss Grimshaw was actually gonna shoot her until Dutch said so."

Lilly wiped her eyes. "But Arthur, she died for nothin'."

"No, she didn't. Whoever really ratted us all out will feel safer, thinkin' theys outta danger. We will use that to our advantage."

Lilly squinted her eyes at him, then she gave him a melancholy smile. "That's a bright idea. See? You ain't as dumb as you think you are."

Arthur smiled and kissed her forehead. "Thank you. Now," Arthur said, "can I wiggle into your hole now, please?"

Lilly couldn't help but laugh. "God damn bithiúnach..."

Arthur chuckled suggestively and dragged her into the tent.

After making love to his wife, Arthur just laid there and watched her sleep. He caressed her cheek and kissed her softly. He was going to miss her when he was dead. Arthur was sure there was an afterlife after all he'd seen in the past four months, but he hoped to end up in Tír na NÓg so that when Lilly died, they'd be together again. If she could even die. Arthur got up and dressed in brown fancy pants, a black button down shirt, his leather maroon legion vest, and black western boots. He went outside and shaved his beard. He stared at his hair which was now medium length and had the curly J's that Lilly seemed to love so very much. After walking around camp, Mary-Beth asked if he wanted to talk and he accepted, so Arthur sat down next to Mary-Beth.

"You okay, Arthur?" she asked.

"Sure," he replied.

"You don't look okay."

Arthur knew he wasn't okay, health wise. He'd seen how pale his skin was and how blood shot his eyes had become, and he knew people were worried. "Ah, I'm fine."

"What you been doin'?"

"Heh. Actin' like a fool."

"How so?" she asked him.

"Oh, I've been robbin' a bunch of people who didn't deserve it. Takin' the easy money. I just wanna hurry it up so we can get to Ireland, you know? It's so pretty there and I'd like to see it before I...you know..."

"My, you have been busy."

"Well, that's one way of lookin' at it."

"You're a good man, Arthur."

"I...I don't feel in control. I mean, I'm...I'm dyin'. Lilly's gonna be so devastated when I die," Arthur said.

"Well, didn't she say she found some new treatments?" Mary-Beth asked him enthusiastically.

"Yes, but I don't know if those will work, and if they don't, I don't want her losin' her mind for hopin' too much."

"Just stay calm and do what you do best."

"Seems I'm best at mayhem. Sure I'm no better than Micah."

"Yes you are. Just do what you gotta do."

"We'll see." Arthur got up and started walking around, coughing a little as he did. He looked in his tent again and saw Lilly and the boys were still asleep, so he left them alone. He saw Leopold Strauss sitting on a log so he went over to see if he needed to get any more debts collected.

"Mr. Morgan!" Strauss said happily.

"Herr Strauss," Arthur replied glumly.

"How are you?"

"About," Arthur walked over the log and sat next to the Austrian man, "about how I look."

"Okay. Are you, um, are you perhaps available for some work, seeing as how I lost my other debt collector?"

"I guess."

"Your commitment to your duties is admirable. You know, Mr. Morgan, you are, well, I'm sorry for you and Mrs. Morgan."

Arthur sighed. "I ain't dead yet, but thank you, I guess."

"If I had known the man was sick, I would have sent Mrs. Morgan and not you. She's the one who can cheat death. And, well...she has a subtler touch."

"Yeah, but we didn't know none of that at the time. Still, it is what it is."

"Is it true she bought an armful of books about new tuberculosis treatments?" Strauss asked with a hopeful tone.

Arthur cackled. "Yes she did."

"Do you think she is immune to it? She seems to have no qualms about catching it."

"She's never been sick for as long as I've known her, so I reckon she might be."

"Never? Not even a cold?"

"Nope."

"Huh. Well, I hope your children get her strong immune system."

"Thanks. Now, the debtors, Strauss. Who owes you money?"

"Yes." Strauss removed his glasses for a moment to wipe his eye. "There's a deserter from Fort Wallace. Head to him first. They're looking for him out on the road near Three Sisters. Man's name is J. John Weathers."

"J. John Weathers," Arthur repeated.

"Then there's a miner over in Annesburg. He's called, well, he's called Arthur, like you! Heh heh, Arthur Londonderry. Family man, desperate. You know the type."

Lilly woke up with Arthur's side of the bed empty, but at least Brian and James were with her. Lilly sighed and sat up, making an "oof" sound as the children in her womb moved about. It made her giggle. She got dressed in a blue button down shirt, blue jeans and black western boots. The clothes were new and a bigger size than normal. Lilly brushed her hair and let it stay loose. She walked out of the tent, letting the boys sleep, and looked around for Arthur. When she didn't see him or his horse Rose, she made a sour face. Did Arthur go out on a job? If he did, she was going to be very pissed off when he got back. Lilly approached Hosea. "Hey, you see Arthur anywhere?"

Hosea looked up at her with a smile. "No, sorry. I did see him leave earlier, though. Everythin' alright?"

Lilly pinched the bridge of her nose. "He should be resting." Lilly started to shout. "Does anyone know where my husband went?!"

Lenny walked up to her. "I think he uh, went to go collect some debts for Strauss."

Lilly's face went pale. "HE WHAT?!"

Lenny cringed. "I said I-"

"I know what ya said, Lenny!" Lilly brushed past him. "STRAUSS! WHERE ARE YA, YA AUSTRIAN BASTARD?!"

Strauss poked his head out from behind a wagon. He looked frightened, as he should be. "Y-yes, Mrs. Morgan?"

Lilly marched over to him angrily and he started backing up. "Ya feckin' weasel! Ya sent me husband out on debt collections?!"

"Y-yes, I-I did. But no one else would go and I didn't think you would want to go."

"If it meant me husband got tah stay here, I would have gladly gone, Mr. Strauss! But no! Ya was too chicken shit tah ask me!"

Strauss fell over a boulder and Lilly got in his face as she bent over him. "Mrs. Morgan, please!"

"Don't ya beg me, ya sorry sack of shit! Oh, how I'd love tah pummel ya tah smithereens, I would! Next time ya got debts tah collect, ya ask me, ya fuck!"

"It won't come to that," Arthur said behind her.

Lilly turned around slowly. "Yer supposed tah be restin'! What are ya-"

"Lillian, be quiet," he said in a restrained voice. Lilly saw the look in his eyes and immediately shut her mouth. He was mad, and his anger was directed at Strauss.

Strauss sat up and smiled. "Ah, how did you get on, Mr. Morgan?"

"Just dandy," Arthur said with a scowl. "Just...get up."

Strauss looked up at him. "What?"

Arthur grabbed him by the arm and picked him up. "Get up!"

"What, what is wrong?" Strauss asked, carrying his book as Arthur manhandled him along.

"Nothin's wrong. Nothin' at all."

Lilly followed the two, confused by what was happening. "What are you doing?" Strauss asked loudly.

"Somethin' I should'a done a long time ago!" Arthur shoved him by Strauss' cart. "Get your bag!" Arthur looked at it. "Is this it?!"

"I don't understand..."

Arthur started putting Strauss' belongings in the bag he picked up. "I ain't gonna kill ya...though I probably should. You disgust me! And you shame us if we could be shamed any more than we already are!" Arthur grabbed the ledger and shoved it in Strauss' bag, then handed it to Strauss aggressively. "That should do. Go!"

Arthur pursued the man as Strauss walked backwards. Lilly watched with her jaw dropped at her husband's actions. "I don't understand you...what are you doing?" Strauss demanded to know.

Arthur grabbed him and walked him out of camp. "Go and get a job!" Arthur threw the man out.

Strauss went forward but turned around. "You know...they-they say the sick delude themselves. I was your friend."

"You and me, we ain't decent, but those folk? They was." Arthur pulled out some money and tossed it to the Austrian. "Now here. Take that. Take that and get lost!"

Strauss picked it up. "I'm-"

"Leavin'," Arthur finished for him. Strauss hesitantly walked away and Arthur started coughing and wheezing. He turned around and looked at his wife sadly. "I'm sorry, darlin', I know I wasn't supposed to-"

Lilly interrupted him and kissed him softly. "Líonann tú mé le bród, Mo Fhear Álainn." [You fill me with pride, My Beautiful Man.]

Arthur smiled at her. "Really? You're proud of me?"

"Yes, I am."

Arthur put an arm around her and smiled. "Well shucks, woman."

Lilly giggled and kissed him. "Now, I'm gonna go see about some goats."

Arthur didn't let her go. "Well, thing is...I gotta go see Sadie about John. She's in Saint Denis."

Lilly sighed. "No, I will do that for you, Arthur. You need your rest. Please? I told Da that Adair and I would overtake all your responsibilities."

"You what?" Arthur snapped. "Lilly, I ain't dead yet!"

Lilly shut her eyes, counted to ten in her head, took a deep breath, then opened them again. "Arthur. Be reasonable."

"No, Lilly! I ain't lettin' you do everythin' for me! You need rest too! You're pregnant!"

"Oh, stop bein' so pigheaded!" Lilly snapped.

"I'm not bein' pigheaded! I just don't need a nanny!" Arthur snapped back.

"I ain't bein a nanny, ya god damn bastard! I'm bein' yer wife!"

"Yes you are, ya god damn overbearin' cow!"

Lilly's eyes widened. "Did ya just call me a cow?!"

"Yes! Moo!"

Lilly growled at him. "Oh, ya stubborn, impossible son of a bitch!"

"Fuckin' belligerent demimondaine!"

"Oh, do ya have a dictionary now, ya stupid, sorry excuse of a swine?!" Lilly barked out.

"No! I just happen to have a much bigger vocabulary than I let on, you pathological bitch!" Arthur barked back.

"Ugh! I hate ya, Arthur Morgan!"

"I hate you too!"

"Oh, go fuck off, then!" Lilly turned on her heel and walked to her horse Liath.

"And just where are you goin'?" Arthur asked her in a rage as he followed her.

"Out to buy some fuckin' goats fer yer god damn treatment, ya inconsiderate gobshite!"

"Don't you talk that way to me, missy! I'll take you over my knee and spank you, ya empty headed cave woman!" Arthur yelled as he followed her.

Lilly glared at him. "It's a little late tah demand how I talk tah yas, ain't it?! And I'll hit ya with a club and drag ya tah me cave if ya try tah strike me, Arthur Morgan!"

"Woa woa woa!" Sean got in between them both. "You two need to calm down!"

"Shut yer gob, Sean!" Lilly yelled. "I ain't gonna calm down!"

"Lillian, you-" Arthur stopped because he started wheezing and coughing. "Lillian, you aren't-" Arthur fell to his knees as his coughing became more violent.

Lilly ran to him and held him by the shoulders. "Oh Arthur, dammit! Breathe, babe, breathe!"

Arthur covered his mouth as blood came flying out. People started heading over and Lilly watched in horror as her husband collapsed and passed out.

Arthur slowly regained consciousness and looked over at his wife sitting in a chair next to the bed. She looked terrified and regretful.

"I'm sorry for overexertin' ya, Arthur," she said sadly.

Arthur frowned. He felt bad that she felt guilty and he grabbed her hand. "I'm sorry too, mo stór." The sick man took his time sitting up. "How long was I out?"

"A few hours."

"You been here the whole time?"

"Of course I have. I'm your wife."

Arthur sighed. "C'mere," he said.

Lilly sat down next to Arthur and he wrapped his arms around her, kissing her gently. "I'm sorry I called you a cow."

"And I'm sorry I called you stupid. Are you feelin' better?"

"Sort of."

Lilly reached into his satchel on the side of the bed and pulled out a shot. "I'm gonna give you an injection." Lilly removed the cup, squirted out some of the medicine, and pierced Arthur's skin. He hissed as she injected him with it and then removed it, setting the empty syringe on the nightstand. "There, that'll help you feel better."

Arthur nodded. "Bean chéile, ní féidir liom a bheith sa leaba i gcónaí." [Wife, I can't always be in bed.]

"Ach dúirt an dochtúir go bhfuil scíth ag teastáil uait." [But the doctor said you need rest.]

"Nach raibh cleachtadh de dhíth orm san aer sléibhe?" [Didn't I need exercise in the mountain air?]

Lilly blinked at him. "Well, yes, but I-"

"But nothin'. Lilly, I can't stand the thought of bein' on bed rest and not doin' anythin'. I need to do somethin'. Please."

Lilly sighed. "Is this your pride talkin'?"

"Yes. And you know all about that. How I was coddlin' you up in Colter and with your pregnancy. You don't like it either."

Lilly chuckled. "True, but I'm not the one who's..." Her head bowed down.

When he realized Lilly couldn't finish her sentence, Arthur lifted her chin with a finger. "I'm not dead yet."

Lilly nodded with a sad smile. "Alright. If you're up for it, go see Sadie. I'll go see about those goats." Arthur and Lilly got up and walked from the tent...and were greeted by three goats. "What the fuck?"

Hosea had them leashed in his hand and smiled. "You wanted goats? We got you goats. And," Hosea handed Lilly a book. She read title out loud.

"A Guide To Pasteurize Milk For Beginners." Lilly blinked a few times and looked at Hosea. "Oh Athair...I...thank you."

Lilly hugged Hosea and he wheezed. "Sweetheart, you're welcome, but...that's a little too tight. I also got a bucket and pouches to store the milk."

Lilly let him go and cringed. "Sorry." She looked down at the goats. "Well, what should we name you little lassies?"

Lilly began to build a paddock for the goats with Sean and Hosea's help, and they were done in no time. Once the goats were in, Lilly started milking one of them. Then she took the milk and heated it over one of the fires. When it boiled, she removed it from the flames to cool, and when that was done, she poured them into the pouches made out of some animal's stomach. Lilly didn't ask what kind of animal it was. Then she started doing chores around the camp and even checked in on Kieran, helping him brush the horses down.

"So, how are you gettin' along?" Lilly asked him.

"As well as I can be. In fact, my hearin' has gotten a lot better. My sense of smell got better, too. It's the strangest thing," Kieran said.

"Well, I heard that can happen when someone goes blind."

"Really?" Kieran said with mild surprise in his tone. "Do you know why?"

"Mmm, somethin' about the other senses tryin' to compensate."

"Huh. Well I'll be."

Lilly got closer to him. "But seriously, though, how are you?"

Kieran paused his brushing. "I'm alive, thanks to you, and I'm grateful. It's hard bein' blind but I'm makin' it work."

Lilly nudged him and giggled. "Is it true you and Mary-Beth are sweet on each other?"

Kieran paused again with a blush on his cheeks. "Well, she is, I think, but what good is a blind man to her?"

Lilly pressed a hand on his shoulder. "If she doesn't care about that, then why should you?"

"Huh. I suppose you're right."

When they were done, Lilly decided to go into Annesburg with the wolves just to see what a mining town looked like. It wasn't much to look at, but hell, she'd never seen a mining town before so who was she to judge? Some people gawked and steered clear of her. She ran into Arthur on the way to the actual mine and, with a big smile, jumped into his arms with a kiss.

"Hey! I thought you were goin' to Saint Denis to meet Sadie," she said to him.

"I was, but I gotta take care of somethin' here first," he said glumly.

"What is it?"

"Mrs. Downes and her son. I...I feel like I owe them. Her son is workin' the mines and she's...well, she's a prostitute now. I don't remember if I told you about that."

Lilly shrugged. "Me neither, but that sounds terrible. What are you gonna do?"

"I'm gonna go see her son. Apparently the foreman ain't that nice to him. I'm not sure what I'm gonna do when I get there, though."

Lilly linked arms with him. "Well, I'll come with for support."

Arthur beamed at her. "Thank you."

The two made the rest of the way together in silence, but Lilly could tell that her husband was, well, distraught in his own way. They'd gotten in view of the entrance when Arthur pointed the son out.

"Hey boy," a man said to Mrs. Downes son, then the man cackled. "Hey boy, you're mom's a whore, little boy."

"Be quiet, Mr. Dockery," the boy said angrily.

"Oooh, your mom's a whore and that's a god damn fact!"

"Hey, anyone wanna go get lucky tonight, go home with Archie...hahaha."

"Be quiet, please!"

"Why don't you shut up?" Arthur said to the men swarming around the Downes boy like a pack of wolves.

An "ooo" sound erupted from the crowd. "Who's this, your daddy?" Mr. Dockery asked.

"My daddy died." Archie pointed at Arthur. "And this man, he killed him. What are you doin' here?"

"Leave the boy alone," Arthur said.

"Why'd you kill his daddy?" Mr. Dockery asked Arthur. He shoved Archie. "You after his mama?"

Some of the men chuckled. "Stop bullying the boy," Arthur said hoarsely.

"Get outta my business, mister." The man went to hit the kid but Arthur interrupted him.

"Leave...the boy...alone!" Arthur demanded.

The foreman approached Arthur. "Or what?" Brian and James snarled at the man and he jumped back. "Jesus Christ, what the hell?"

Lilly sighed. "Boys, behave yourselves. Let Arthur handle this."

The boys backed up, as did Lilly. Arthur spat on the ground and closed the gap between him and the foreman. "Or I'll kill you too."

"You couldn't kill no one," the foreman said. "Look at you, all ragged and sick and weak. Clear off, you god damn hermit. Clear off! You, and the whore's son here!"

The man shoved Lilly's husband. "Oh shit, you're in for it now," Lilly said.

Arthur threw a hard punch into the man's face as someone held Archie back. The two engaged in a fist battle as Lilly watched with her arms crossed, confident of her husband's fighting capabilities. Even when a second guy tried to beat up Arthur, Lilly watched with a yawn as her strong Arthur fought off both the men and soon enough, Arthur knocked the foreman to the ground and he charged the others.

"Now who's next?" Arthur yelled. "Let the boy go," he demanded as he pointed at Archie. When the man refused, Arthur charged him. "Let him go!" The man let go of the boy and the men went running into the mine. "Come with me," Arthur told Archie. "Shame on you! He's just a god damn boy!" Arthur belted at the workers before turning and walking past Archie. "Let's get you outta here."

"They're gonna kill me," Archie said. "Now I got no job and they're gonna kill me!"

"I've got some money..." Arthur unhitched a brown horse, "...you and your momma can go someplace nice."

"Well why are you doin' this?"

"I don't know. Listen...take this," Arthur handed Archie money. "All of it. Try and talk to your momma and get outta here!" Archie mounted up. "Now run!"

"I'll try."

"Alright, good boy. I don't wanna see you here again!" Arthur yelled as Archie raced off.

Lilly looked at Arthur with a smile. "That was mighty nice of you, Arthur," she said and brushed her palm against his bruised cheek. "Once again, you fill me with pride, mo ghrá."