A Flicker of Light In The Darkness

Chapter 10

The Town Gossip

Matt could hear Louie yelling long before he actually entered the office. "Marshal, Marshal. Come quick, it's Miss Calleigh!"

Fearing the worst, the big man was pushing the old man out of the way to get through the door. It had been three years since Calleigh came bursting into his life and into his heart. In those few seconds, his mind's eye had managed to conjure up twenty scenarios where the girl was hurt. Those thoughts were all put to rest, as soon as he stepped out onto the boardwalk. Festus was riding toward the jail with Calleigh flung across Ruth, directly in front of him. She was screaming and fighting every step of the way and it looked like Festus was losing the battle.

All of sudden a buggy appeared, coming up behind them. The buggy managed to pass Festus and come to a halt directly in front of Matt. Mavis Penshaw literally fell out of the buggy.

Matt stared down at the rotund woman, rolling around on the ground in an effort to regain footing. She couldn't have been much more than five foot tall, if that; and she was almost that wide as well. A part of the Marshal knew that he should help in some way; but to be honest, it was such a comical sight, he could only stare in amazement.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that the spectacle was beginning to attract a crowd: Doc was quickly making his way down Front Street; Wilbur Jonas stood behind his wife, Sara, and Bess Ronniger, in the doorway of his store; even Ma Smalley had stopped on the street to watch.

Eventually, Mavis made her way to her feet and began to shriek, her voice reminiscent of a polecat caught in a trap. "I want that animal arrested! Do you hear me Marshal? I want her behind bars!"

The Marshal's eyes were now on Festus and Calleigh, as they too had reached the end of the street. The instant Calleigh slipped from Festus' grasp, he began to yell, "Grab, her; somebody grab her!"

"You nasty sow, if I get my hands on you…" Calleigh's screaming was actually drowning out the round woman's shrieks. She was running full force and almost to her target, when Matt reached out, swooping the girl up from the ground. Like Festus, he too was having trouble hanging on to her.

"Calleigh! Stop!"

"You pig! You disgusting pig!" Calleigh continued to scream and fight to make her way to her objective. Matt was stunned at the difficulty he was having holding onto her tiny frame. He had one arm wrapped around her waist, as she hung at his side like a sack of flour—except for the flailing arms and legs. It was like wrestling a wild creature.

For a split second, he was reminiscent of another young, hostile redhead he had been forced to snatch up several years earlier. A man named Groat had harassed Kitty in the street and Matt had stepped in; he never was quite sure who he was protecting from whom.

He continued to yell at Calleigh to stop, but his words seemed to have no effect on her—or Mavis, for that matter.

"You evil little monster! You should be put away from civilized people!" Although Calleigh was pouring every ounce of energy she had into getting to the shrieking woman, Mavis was smart enough to stay out of reach.

By this time, Matt was beyond frustrated, his deep voice booming into the crowd. "STOP! BOTH OF YOU! WILL SOMEBODY TELL ME, WHAT'S GOING ON!?"

"I'll tell you what happened!" Mavis offered.

"So help me, Mavis, if you say those words again, I'll rip that foul tongue out of your mouth!" Calleigh threatened. Matt finally swung Calleigh up with both hands under her arms and her legs dangling high off the ground.

Although she continued to squirm and struggle for freedom, his swift movement was enough to silence both women for a moment. It was long enough for Kitty to make her way through the crowd and call to the young girl.

"Calleigh Reign Russell! Enough!" Kitty's voice was calm, unlike the shrieking and yelling previously strewn into the air, but it was her no nonsense tone that brought with it silence. Calleigh's body went limp in Matt's hands and he lowered her down, letting her stand on her own. She turned slowly, obeying Kitty's command.

Kitty held out her arms and the girl rushed into them. She turned Calleigh around pulling her back up against herself. Placing her hands on Calleigh's shoulders, they seem to be taking a stance together. Matt, and the entire crowd of curious onlookers, were stunned at the way Calleigh responded to Kitty's commands.

"Okay. Now!" Matt turned back to Mavis, "What happened?" His tone had also become quieter.

Mavis turned toward the wagon and called out. "Wilfred, get down here!" Within seconds, an equally round young boy, clambered out of the buggy. It was obvious he had been in some kind of skirmish. His hair was sticking up in all directions, he was sporting a brand new shiner, a very bloody nose and his clothes were torn and dirty. "She did that! She attacked my little boy. I think she broke his nose."

A tiny gasp seemed to circulate through the crowd, passing from one surprised onlooker to the next. Along with the crowd, Matt looked at the boy and then at his girl. Wilfred had to outweigh Calleigh by a hundred pounds—albeit flabby pounds, but still, he out-sized her.

Until now, Matt hadn't noticed that his girl was dirty, as though she had been rolling on the ground. Her dress was torn as well. Unlike Wilfred, she didn't seem to have any physical wounds. Even Kitty was taken aback by this discovery. She leaned to one side to look down at Calleigh. Their eyes met, and a silent question was asked and answered.

Calleigh looked down to the ground and peered under heavy lids at the fat woman and boy. Her jaw was set in a hard line and everyone watching knew it was only Kitty's hands on the girl's shoulders that was keeping her still.

"Well Marshal, what are you going to do?"

Matt was becoming seriously irritated by this woman. "Calleigh, did you do this?" As incredible as the feat seemed, he knew in his heart she had been the culprit.

"Yes," she responded with a bold attitude, a clear warning that she would do it again if Mavis continued to provoke her.

"Can someone tell me why?"

"I can," Mavis, of course, volunteered immediately. "She attacked him for telling the truth. All he sai-"

"Nooooo!No!No!No!" Calleigh screamed out in an attempt to shut the woman up. "I did it. It doesn't matter why." She turned to Matt, her eyes suddenly pleading with him. "Just put me in jail. I did it." Matt's gaze left Calleigh and locked onto Kitty. It only took seconds for them to know what was happening here.

Mavis Penshaw was the town gossip and she had always had a special hated for Kitty. At some point, it had crossed over into obsession. She was always ready to spread a rumor, or make one up if necessary. "Please, Matt," Calleigh fought to hold back the tears. "Please...don't let her…"

Mavis's screeching suddenly took precedence over the girl's pleading. This was her chance to spew her poison to the crowd that had gathered around and she was not going to give up the spotlight. "All my Wilfred said, was that moving out of the Long Branch into that house on the edge of town didn't change the fact that her mom was still a whore. We all know who her momma is, but does anyone know who her daddy is? I'll bet even that precious Miss Kitty doesn't know!" Mavis spat Kitty's name out as though it burned her tongue.

Matt recoiled, struggling not to strike the fat little beast himself. Calleigh stood stone faced, leaning back into Kitty for support. Oddly enough, Kitty's expression was one of compassion. Ten years ago, she probably would have given this woman a run for her money, but she had Calleigh to think of now. And the truth was, she had become calloused to people like Mavis, because they made up such a small part of the community. Still, she knew both Calleigh and Matt were being hurt by this.

"Marshal, are you going to do your job!? Or is she above the law, just because her mother lets you come by her house at night? Everyone knows you sneak out there -"

"Mavis, shut up!" Clara Tyson, pushed through the crowd, stopping only long enough to catch her breath. "Marshal, I wanted to set the record straight before this thing got out of control. Looks like I'm too late for that. Maybe I can stop it, before that woman can do any more damage. Calleigh did fight with her boy. I wouldn't say attacked."

"She certainly did attack him!"

"Mavis if you don't shut up, I'll attack you myself." This time, it was Ma Smalley threatening her.

"Well! Humph!"

"Thank you Ma. Wilfred was saying some bad things—things he heard from his mother." Clara shot a warning glance at Mavis, "I told him to stop; and Calleigh told him to stop. Then she warned him to stop; and then...I don't advocate violence, but that's the only way to deal with some people.

"Calleigh, I apologize for what was said," The teacher flashed a weak smile to Kitty, "Your mother is a fine Lady. She has always been there to give aid, or money, when needed. We wouldn't have half the charities in this town if it weren't for her. I know the school depends on her generosity. Why, it was her benevolence that paid for the Father Daughter dance. The city of Dodge has only the greatest respect for her. You don't ever have to worry about her reputation." Much to her surprise and Mavis's shock, the crowd actually applauded her speech.

Kitty felt her face flush with color, as she was not used to being the center of attention—at least not the good kind. She gripped Calleigh's shoulders tighter, more for her own support than anything else. Matt stepped toward his girls, wrapping his arms around both of them and shielding them from the crowd.

Bess Ronniger stepped out of the doorway and walked over to Mavis. "You need to be quiet now, Mavis. It's time for you to go home. And you really need to leave Miss Kitty and her family alone."

Matt motioned for Festus to come over. "I'm going to take my girls home now. Can you take care of this?"

The Long Branch was closer than home, so Matt guided them up to Kitty's old quarters. Calleigh turned to Kitty as soon as they were safely inside the room. She threw her arms around the woman and the tears broke loose. "I love you Kitty."

"I know Sweet Pea."

"I am so sorry for all those horrible things. I'm sorry that everyone thinks I'm really your daughter."

"Whoa. Hold on there." Kitty held the girl away from her, "Look at me. You have nothing to be sorry for."

"I do," Calleigh glared at Matt, including him in her apology, "We both do. Mavis Penshaw doesn't have to make up stuff. We give her plenty of ammunition."

Matt didn't understand why Calleigh was still upset. "Sweet Pea, the town all but gave Kitty a standing ovation."

"They did; but what respect do we show her? We live in a house, hidden on a side street so that you can sneak in every night. Mavis was right about that."

Matt's gasp was clearly audible, as was Kitty's. Both looked at each other with a somewhat shocked expression and then back to the girl.

"Now, hold on!" Matt's shock was turning to anger. "You know why we live there."

Calleigh pulled free of Kitty, "No; I know why this whole charade started. And I know you had the best of intentions. But like everything else in life, things change. But you don't, Matt."

"I think you'd better watch your tone, young lady. Fifteen is too young for that kind of talk. I have to leave today, but we'll deal with this when I get back."

"Leave!?" Calleigh's brows arched high in surprise. "Of course you do," she looked over at Kitty. "The week end you had planned… That's off, right?"

"Calleigh, that's not important right now." Kitty tried her best to appease the girl, but the situation had grown too tense.

"You have two deputies, but you're the only one that can make these trips. EVERY! SINGLE! TIME!" She bit off each word, as though it were poison on her tongue. "Maybe one of those deputies can keep her safe, since you're never around to do it."

"I do this because it's my job. And we live the way we live because there are people out there who will hurt either of you to get to me."

"They can't possibly hurt her as much as you do." Calleigh threw her hands in the air, "Matt, there isn't a person within a thousand miles that does not know that Kitty Russell is your woman. Dear Lord, she has been kidnapped, beaten and raped; how much does she have to go through to keep this secret? Does someone have to finally kill her!"

"Calleigh!" Kitty had been so shocked by this outburst, she had virtually been unable to speak; but she finally found her voice with this last accusation. "You've gone too far. Apologize!"

"I can't do that this time. Not even for you. But, he's not the only one to blame here. Ever since you took me into your home, people have talked. Even the ones that love you, think I'm yours. And...sometimes even I say things to lend credibility to the rumor, because I want it to be true." With that last confession, Calleigh rushed across the room. "I'm going to walk home."

Calleigh was crying, but Kitty knew better than to go after her. She also knew that she was going to have to deal with Matt. Kitty was sure that he was lost, hurt and angry after that outburst.

Matt turned to look out the window, he watched the girl run down the back street towards their house. Kitty came up behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist. "I love you, you know?"

He stroked her hands, "I know."

"She loves you too."

He released a laugh, empty of any humor. "Believe it or not, I know that too."

TBC