The atmosphere around camp had become even more tense. Conversations were in fearful whispers, afraid of being overheard. Grace had barely flinched when Dutch burned the money, like she had expected him to do it. Arthur knew he was too far gone now.
He noticed Trelawny sitting near the edge of camp, fidgety and with his bags at his feet.
"Leaving again?" Arthur asked, sitting next to him.
"Yes, just… temporary, of course, I'll be back," Trelawny stammered.
"No, you won't, and if I were you, I'd disappear too."
"But–"
"Get outta here, place is quiet now," Arthur said, "Go on, you have my blessing."
"Thank you, Arthur," Trelawny stood and picked up his bags, "I'll miss you. You've been a fine friend."
"Yeah, let's not get over sentimental," Arthur stood and patted him on the shoulder. Trelawny nodded with a small smile and hurried to his horse.
That was one person out. He hoped others would get the same idea, especially if Grace was offering them money to leave. A few moments later, he was joined by Charles followed by Rains Fall.
"Hey, Arthur, brought a friend to see you," Charles said.
"Hello, Mr. Morgan, how are you?" Rains Fall nodded a greeting.
"A little better, and you?"
"I'm grateful that you brought my son home, thank you. And I am sorry to impose on you again but I believe I've made progress brokering peace, in spite of recent events."
"That's good."
"I hope so. Colonel Favours has agreed to a meeting to discuss, and maybe resolve his alleged grievances and mine. But he has lied to me more times than I care to remember, but maybe this time…" he tapered off.
"So where do we fit in?"
"My men are not allowed to carry arms."
"You want us to keep the peace?"
"It will be a lot of dull talking and ceremony, but perhaps if there were some non-tribe members present, their chances of lying or worse will be reduced."
Arthur thought for a moment. He was tired, but all he would need to do was stand there and look menacing. "Sure."
"Thank you, Mr. Morgan," Rains Fall said gratefully.
As they headed for their horses, Arthur called for Grace. "We're helping to oversee a meeting between Rains Fall and the army, will you come along?"
"Of course," she said, heading to her horse.
"You sure about this, Arthur?" Charles asked.
"I can stay a little further away," Grace mounted up, "Out of sight of the army, but near enough to offer assistance."
"Thank you for doing this, all of you," Rains Fall said as they rode out of camp, "You've already done so much."
They rode to the meeting at the army encampment. Grace waited further down the road along with one of the tribesmen who had accompanied Rains Fall. Colonel Favours was waiting along with Captain Monroe and other soldiers.
Partway through the talks, Arthur began to have a coughing fit. Colonel Favours angrily told one of his soldiers to bring Arthur to a nearby tent. There, while waiting for the soldier to bring him some water, Arthur overheard some other soldiers talk about how Colonel Favours was planning on having Captain Monroe court-martialled.
Once he was given some water, he rejoined the talks which were not going anywhere. It was clear Colonel Favours had no intention of giving any concession to the natives and Rains Fall left, disappointed. Arthur gestured for Charles to stay as Captain Monroe tried to talk sense into Colonel Favours, but to no avail.
Things went from bad to worse with the army. I was not wrong - the local regiment's Colonel despised Captain Monroe and planned to destroy him.
Charles and I rescued Monroe and probably ruined his life in the process. I hope he can find peace someplace.
Grace had joined them in the escape, distracting the soldiers with her smoke arrows. Monroe's horse was shot and killed, so he had jumped up behind Grace. When they were finally rid of their pursuers, they took Monroe to the train station at Emerald Ranch.
"I can't believe that just happened," Monroe said as he slid off Tuula's back, "I've been an army man my whole life."
"I heard them talking," Arthur said, "They was going to have you hanged for treason. You can't die for those fools."
Monroe watched the train pull into the station. "And what about the chief?"
"We'll do what we can."
"Here," Grace handed Monroe a train ticket, "This will get you to Saint Denis, then you can transfer to another train north."
Monroe reluctantly took the ticket from her and headed to the train.
"I'm sorry about your career, Captain Monroe," Arthur coughed.
"I'm afraid it's Mr. Monroe now," he said sadly, "But thank you. All of you." He boarded the train and it pulled out.
Charles told Arthur and Grace he needed to return to camp, then head back to the reservation. Just after he left, Arthur began to have another coughing fit. Grace led him over to a bench.
"Mr. Morgan, are you okay?" Sister Calderón joined them.
"Never better," Arthur coughed as he sat down, "What are you doing here?"
"I'm on my way down to Mexico," Sister sat next to Arthur, "They're finally sending me on a mission."
"Is Brother Dorkins jealous?" Grace asked with a smile.
"Very," Sister Calderón chuckled.
"I'm going to go check on the horses," Grace said. Arthur started to stand, but Grace gently pushed him back down. "Why don't you and Sister have a little chat?"
"Unless you don't want to, of course," Sister Calderón said kindly as Grace went over to the horses.
"No, maybe she's right," he said, "I guess I got some things to get off my chest."
"By all means."
"Well, I'm dying. I got TB. Got it beating a man to death for a few bucks," he leaned forward, "I've lived a bad life."
"We've all lived bad lives. We all sin. But I know you."
"Heh, you don't know me."
"That's the problem. You don't know you."
"What you mean?"
"Every time we seem to meet, you're always helping people and smiling."
Arthur shook his head. "Well, my momma died when I was young. Watched my daddy die and it weren't soon enough. Had a son, he passed away. Had a girl who loved me, and I threw that away."
"Life is full of pain. But you have someone who loves you now," she glanced over at Grace who had led the horses away from the station hitching post to graze on some grass.
"But what am I going to do now?"
"Be grateful that for the first time, you see your life clearly. Perhaps you could help somebody. Helping people seems to make you very happy."
Arthur sighed. "I guess, I'm afraid." Saying it out loud suddenly made it more real that he didn't have too much more time. Even if he left right now with Grace, it still wouldn't be much time.
"There is nothing to be afraid of, Mr. Morgan," Sister Calderón patted him gently on the knee. "Take a gamble that love exists and do a loving act."
The train pulled into the station. Arthur said nothing as he stood, picking up her suitcase to lead her to the train. She turned and waved to Grace before boarding the train. "Goodbye, Mr. Morgan. I will always remember you."
He waited on the platform until the train pulled out before joining Grace and the horses.
"You didn't get to say goodbye," he said.
"It's okay, I'm sure I'll see her again. Did you have a nice talk?"
"Heh, she said helping people makes me happy," he laughed, then started coughing hard.
"It does," Grace helped him sit on the ground and sat beside him. "You always get this spark in your eyes after you've helped someone."
"Yeah, I suppose."
"Arthur, when's the last time you helped yourself?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, when's the last time you did something just for you, that made you truly happy? You help so many other people, for better or worse, but has any of it been just for you?"
Arthur thought about it. Grace was right, he rarely did anything just for himself. Except when he kissed her that first time in Saint Denis. Made love to her. Bought the ring for her.
"Marry me," he said.
"What?" Grace's eyes widened.
"The only times I've been truly happy is when I'm with you," he said, taking her hand.
"But–"
"And I know I don't have much time left, but maybe you can make a good, honest man out of me before the end."
Grace snorted. "Who are you and what have you done with Arthur Morgan?"
Arthur chuckled. "So will you?"
She paused for a moment then smiled widely. "Yes, I will marry you." He kissed her hard, nearly knocking her over.
"Come on," he stood up, pulling her with him.
"What, now?"
"Why not now?"
"Where?"
Arthur paused. "How about at your cabin? I'll get Swanson to do the honours and then he can take the opportunity to leave."
"Okay. I'll go wait for you," she smiled at him. He kissed her again and mounted his horse. He rode off quickly to Beaver Hollow, renewed with energy.
He nearly ran into Charles who was just leaving the camp.
"What's the rush, Arthur?" he asked.
"I'm... hold on, I need to find Swanson," Arthur dismounted.
"He left."
"What?"
Charles lowered his voice. "He snuck out when he had a moment. I pretended not to see him leave."
"Shit, okay, hold on," Arthur ran into camp and approached Sadie. "Hey, I need you for a little bit."
"What's up, Arthur?" she asked.
"It's... something. I can't mention it here." he took a quick glance around. He didn't want the news to get out just yet. He wanted things to be official first, or as close to official as they could. They didn't have the reverend, but they'll think of something.
"Sure," Sadie mounted her horse and joined Arthur and Charles as they rode out of camp. Arthur led them in the direction of Grace's cabin.
"So what's this all about?" asked Charles.
"I asked Grace to marry me."
"What?" Sadie shrieked. "Really? Did she say yes?"
"Yeah."
"Congratulations, we need some good news around here," Charles said, sounding only slightly happier. Arthur knew he had a lot more important things on his mind.
"Was hoping Reverend Swanson would do the honours, but he's already left," said Arthur, "So we'll have to find someone else."
"I always liked her," said Sadie. "She's good for you. Even crabby ol' Miss Grimshaw thinks so."
As they started to pass around O'Creagh's Run, they saw a thick plume of black smoke rise above the trees. Arthur's heart suddenly filled with dread as he realised that it was coming from Moonstone Pond, close to Grace's cabin. He kicked his horse into a gallop towards the smoke.
A pair of riders were standing off the road near the pond, watching the smoke and talking to each other.
"What happened?" Arthur asked them.
"Pinkertons," one of the men said, "Dragged some girl outta there kicking and screaming. Hoo, boy, did she put up a fight."
"Broke one of their noses, I'm sure," the other added, "Don't know what she did."
"Where did they take her?" Arthur demanded.
"Probably Saint Denis, heard one of 'em said she was going to get what's coming to her," the first man shrugged, "The shame of it."
Arthur didn't wait to hear any more but rode up to the cabin which was still in flames with Charles and Sadie close behind.
"Aw, goddamn," Arthur dismounted and ran over to Grace's horse, Tuula, now lying dead and covered in blood. She had been shot numerous times.
"Shit, what did the Pinkertons want with her?" Sadie asked.
"I don't know, she'd been trying to mislead them up until the bank robbery, but they must've found out something," Arthur said. "We have to go get her."
"No, Arthur," Charles stopped him, "If the Pinkertons have her–"
"We have to try!" he insisted, "We can't just leave her."
"We'll get her out, Arthur, but we should have a look first,," said Sadie.
"You should go, Mrs. Adler," Charles said, "They know what Arthur looks like and I can't just go in myself."
"I'm on it," she turned her horse back towards the road, "I'll go to the police station first thing in the morning, see where she is."
"Just don't go shootin' everyone!" Arthur yelled after her. He looked back at the burning cabin and Tuula's corpse, feeling light-headed. How could this have happened? And why now? Everything was supposed to finally work out.
"I'm sorry, Arthur," Charles said quietly.
"They even shot her goddamn horse," Arthur tried to fight back the tears stinging his eyes, "She loved that horse."
"I'll help any way I can, but with the Pinkertons," Charles sighed, "I don't even know if we can rescue her."
The next morning, Sadie walked into the police station wearing a light blue dress she had picked up. She had to keep reminding herself to stay calm, that she was only here to scout the place, see if there was a way to get Grace out. But it was looking futile as she passed a group of Pinkertons just inside the door.
She walked up to the front desk. "Good morning, I was told my sister, Grace, was arrested yesterday."
"Hmm," the constable opened a ledger and ran his finger along the names. "Grace Bellerose? Says she doesn't have any family."
"Well that's just typical," Sadie snorted, "She's my adopted sister. Didn't have a happy childhood. But thought I'd see her now."
"Your name?"
"Caroline."
"Just a moment." He called over another constable and whispered something to him. The other constable nodded and disappeared into the lockup. He came back a few moments later.
"Yep, says she has an adopted sister named Caroline," he said.
"Okay, you can have a few minutes," the first constable said. "Make it worthwhile, she hangs tonight."
"Tonight? No trial or anything?"
The constable shrugged. "Not in this case, apparently. Pinkerton business." He led her down to the jail cell where Grace was waiting. She was almost unrecognisable. Her dress was nearly torn to shreds with deep scratches and cuts on her arms. Her bottom lip was split and swollen, and her eyes were bruised heavily. Her long black hair had been hacked to just above her shoulders.
"Caroline!" Grace greeted Sadie.
"Grace, I'm so happy to see you," said Sadie. She then turned to the constable who had accompanied her. "Excuse me, but can we have some privacy?" The constable nodded and walked away. "What happened?" she asked quietly.
"I got to the cabin and some bounty hunters rode up, followed by Pinkertons," Grace replied. "They... they killed my horse. I tried to get away, but..." she teared up.
"It's okay. We're getting you out."
"No! No, you can't do that."
"What do you mean?" Sadie looked incredulous. "Of course we're getting you out. They said you're hanging tonight."
"Sadie, listen to me, I know it sounds crazy, but you have to let me hang."
"Don't you dare," Sadie hissed angrily. "Don't you do this to Arthur."
"Sadie, I can't explain right now, but it'll be okay." Grace took Sadie's hand and gripped it. "I promise. If any of you try to get me out, it'll be a bloodbath and you will die. It won't be like at Colm O'Driscoll's hanging, the place will be swarming with Pinkertons on top of the police. All you need to do is claim my body after. They should at least let you do that."
"I'm not letting you die!"
"I promise it'll be okay. Trust me." Grace looked into Sadie's eyes with such intensity that Sadie felt like she could see into her soul.
"What are you planning?"
"Just make sure you get my body afterward. And... " Grace sighed. "Don't let Arthur come. Please."
"This will be the death of him," Sadie said, still angry.
"Please just trust me."
"FINE. Fine," Sadie relented. "But I swear, I'm going to kill you myself."
"That's the spirit," Grace said with a sad smile. "I didn't mean for any of this to happen."
"I know, just.. I hope you know what you're doing."
"Time's up," the constable approached, looking sympathetic. "Sorry, miss."
"Goodbye, Grace," said Sadie.
"Until next time," Grace said as the constable led Sadie away.
"I can claim her body for burial, right?" Sadie asked the constable.
"Yeah, just.. Here. Fill out the form."
Sadie did so and left the station. She couldn't believe it. How could Grace just give up like this? How could she accept that she was about to die? Sadie didn't have to travel too far out of Saint Denis before running into Charles and Arthur.
"Arthur, what are you doing here?"
"Where is she?" he asked desperately.
"She's..." Sadie sighed angrily. "She's in jail and she's going to hang tonight."
"How can we get her out?" he asked, "There has to be something we can do."
"That's the thing, Arthur, she said not to get her out."
"What do you mean?" asked Charles.
"She said to let her hang."
"What? No, no, we can't let that happen."
"Easy, Arthur," Charles put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
"I don't know what she's on about, but she said to trust her and that it'll be okay."
Arthur said nothing, only turning his head away so they wouldn't see him tear up.
"How can it be okay?" asked Charles.
"I don't know, all she did was make me promise that Arthur doesn't go to the hanging and that I claim her body afterward."
"We're going to save her." Arthur said sternly.
"No, if we try, any one of us could die and the last thing we need is more law on us," said Charles.
"That's what Grace said," said Sadie.
"Goddamn it." Arthur tried to process everything. Only a few hours before he was deliriously happy. He was going to marry Grace and things would be okay. But now she was going to hang for trying to protect him, trying to protect all of them.
Despite promises, Arthur still went to the gallows yard with Sadie and Charles. They went in disguise, blending in with the crowd. They had increased security since the hanging of Colm O'Driscoll. It took everything he had to not start needlessly attacking the Pinkertons.
Arthur's heart leapt into his throat when he saw them lead Grace up to the rope and felt his rage rise inside as he saw what they had done to her. But Grace seemed surprisingly calm.
She stood patiently as they tightened the noose around her neck, her head held high. In fact, she looked almost bored.
Agent Milton walked up and asked loudly, "You can walk away right now if you tell us where Dutch van der Linde is."
Grace remained silent, keeping her eyes forward.
"Okay. Where is Arthur Morgan?"
Grace looked over at him and spat in his face. He pulled out a handkerchief to wipe off the spit and nodded to the other men. One of them placed a black bag over her head and tied it. A moment later the trap door under her feet opened and she dropped.
Arthur felt like he had died with her. The crowd had gasped when she fell and then slowly began to disperse. Sadie and Charles led him out of the yard and down the road where he broke down. Sadie held him tightly, crying as well.
After a short bit, Sadie got up. "I'm... going to get her body," she said. "We ought to give her a proper burial." She headed back to the gallows yard.
"I have to admit, I'm impressed," Charles said, sitting down next to Arthur. "Even at the end, she didn't tell them anything."
"No, she never would," Arthur said quietly. "We should bring her back to her cabin. What's left of it."
"Of course," said Charles. "Here comes Sadie."
Sadie was driving a small wagon, tears running down her face. "I have her." Grace's body was wrapped in a white sheet in the back. Arthur immediately climbed in and held her while Charles retrieved their horses. They rode in silence back to her cabin.
He willed her to come back. How long was it supposed to take? What if this was it for her? What if this was the time she would be able to stay dead?
By the time they reached what was left of her cabin, it was very late. Charles had already buried Grace's horse the previous evening. He grabbed a shovel and started digging another smaller grave while Sadie and Arthur remained in the wagon.
Arthur gently pulled back the sheet from Grace's face. It was already pale, but she looked like she was only sleeping. He leaned down to kiss her forehead. It was soft and warm.
Warm? Surely that meant she wasn't dead. She should be cold if she was dead. He quickly pulled the rest of the sheet off her.
"What's wrong, Arthur?" Sadie looked back at him.
"She's not cold."
"What?" Sadie climbed into the back of the wagon, felt Grace's cheek with the back of her hand, then leaned in close. "She's not breathing, Arthur."
"It's ready," Charles came up to the back of the wagon.
"I know it's hard, Arthur," Sadie said gently, putting her hand on his shoulder. "I had hoped and prayed for my Jakey to still be alive after they..." she stopped, the memory was still painful for her. Arthur put his hand over hers.
Arthur stepped off the wagon and carefully picked up Grace's body. Sadie and Charles stepped back, giving him some space. Arthur carried her over to the grave Charles had dug. He knelt down and held her close, new tears falling down his face. He was just about to kiss her when Grace's eyes suddenly opened and she gasped for air.
"WHAT THE–" Arthur leapt back, dropping her into the hole.
"WHAT THE HELL?" Sadie cried as she and Charles rushed over to the grave. They all looked in and saw Grace sitting up, coughing and trying to catch her breath.
"Little help here, please?" she rasped. They all hesitated until Charles reached in and pulled her out. "Thanks."
Sadie slapped her hard across the face. "WE SAW YOU HANG. YOU WERE DEAD. WHAT THE HELL?"
"I'm sorry, but I couldn't tell you!" Grace rubbed her cheek where Sadie's red handprint was clearly visible. "And I told you not to let him come!" She pointed at Arthur who was still stunned.
"So, it is true then," Charles said calmly.
"What is?" Sadie asked.
"I can't stay dead," Grace said, "And no, I don't know why."
"We were going to bury you," Sadie realised.
"Wouldn't be the first time," Grace shrugged.
"So, hold on," Sadie paced for a moment, "We watched you die."
"Yes," Grace nodded, "It is a lot to take in. Not many people know."
"Jesus," was all Sadie could say.
"Enough about me, you all have to get out of that camp. The Pinkertons know you're there."
"But that feller was asking if you knew where Dutch was," said Sadie.
"All for show. I overheard them saying they know the van der Linde gang is situated at Beaver Hollow and they were gathering men to storm the place."
"I don't know if Dutch will even listen to us any more," Arthur finally spoke.
"I'm sorry, but you have to let Dutch face them himself if he's going to be like this," Grace said, "I know loyalty is everything to you, but even loyalty has a limit. The others don't have to die because of him."
"We'll see what we can do," said Charles. "I need to head back to the reservation. I'll meet you back at camp."
"I'll go back, too, see if I can convince some of them to leave," said Sadie before turning to Grace, "Oh, and I do not regret slapping you. I will gladly do it again."
"I'm just surprised you didn't shoot me in the face," Grace grinned.
"Tempting," said Sadie. She and Charles left, leaving Arthur and Grace alone.
Grace turned to the ruins of her cabin, her eyes suddenly filling with tears. "So that's it then," she said quietly.
"I'm sorry," Arthur put his arm around her. She suddenly burst out crying, falling to her knees. He knelt beside her, hugging her close as she cried into his shoulder.
"They took it all from me," she sobbed. Arthur said nothing but let her cry. There was nothing he could say to make her feel better. "I don't have anything now."
"You have me," he said, kissing her forehead.
She pulled back and smiled slightly. "Yes, I do. Sorry."
"Sorry for what?" he looked back at the cabin and suddenly understood. "Oh. William."
"I have nothing left of him now," she bit her lip to keep herself from crying more.
"I'm sorry, Grace," he said, remembering the book with William's inscription to her and the very faded letter, as well as her drawings.
She didn't say anything for a few moments. "Maybe.. maybe it's for the best." She looked over at him. "Maybe it's time for me to move on."
Arthur said nothing but hugged her tightly as she cried again. There wasn't anything he could say. While she still had him, it wouldn't be for much longer. After a few minutes she looked around at Tuula's grave.
"Charles buried her," he said.
She sniffled. "Stupid horse, she tried to fight them."
"Put up a hell of a fight."
"She did. I don't know how many bullets they put in her before she went down."
"But how did they find you here?"
"They've been watching us. I don't know for how long, but it's enough to know where I lived and where you're all hiding."
"Shit."
"So we need to go and get everyone out now."
Arthur thought for a moment. "No. Not yet." Grace looked at him, confused. "I think they'll wait to come after us with everything they've got, and they had one victory today. I don't think they'll pass on celebrating."
"Heh, maybe you're right. I am tired."
He then realised how pale and sickly she looked. "Let's rest here for one last night." She agreed and sat near Tuula's grave while Arthur set up a fire and his bedroll for them to share. If they couldn't have just one day together, they could at least have one night.
