A/N: Here's the next one, The Survivors. I didn't play with this one too much, just inserted a little throwback to To Die in Darkness since the circumstances would fit and I didn't really expand on what people thought about a month alone in that mine shaft. There's always a few, right? Anyway, I hope you enjoy this episode and we're getting closer to my first "original" episode so be sure to let me know what you think of that one when it gets uploaded. I do take suggestions so if there's anything you'd like me to work in, send me a PM and we'll talk. As always, I don't own Bonanza, entertainment only.
Added line breaks 2-20-21
"Fine animals, don't even need to do an inspection, but regulations demand it." The major straightened, having run his hands down the gelding's legs, and circled the horse. "Fine animals. We'll take him, too, top dollar. How many is that?"
"Forty-eight," Ben replied after consulting his tally. Annie fought a yawn and shifted her weight. How did soldiers take it standing in formation for hours? They hadn't been here that long and she was already about to fall asleep standing in the sun like this. She carefully leaned against the chestnut gelding she was holding.
A faint noise brought her eyes up, and she caught Candy smirking. Of course he'd find it funny, he could probably stand around all day and not get bored. Or maybe he thought it was funny that it was her and not him.
"Any Paiute activity down your way?"
"No." Ben tilted his head and followed the major. "No sign of any on the trail either. I understand you had a problem, though."
"That's why we're so glad to get these remounts. We've ridden our horses to skin and bones." He slapped the gelding's flank in appreciation. "You raise fine horses, Mr. Cartwright."
"Thank you." They left the horse and moved on to another.
"There's a war party operating out of the hills up to the north, headed by Wahe." Annie blinked. Wahe? But he'd been –
"Wahe? But he was killed in a scouting raid."
"That's what we thought. Then he came down with a band of reservation jumpers, looting, killing, stealing. They're harder to catch than a mirage. We did find his camp day before yesterday. We might have had him, but we moved too soon." He patted the horse and moved on again. "Nothing except a bunch of women, children, old men." Next stop was a dark bay he took by the halter.
"You going after him?" The man turned around.
"Yes, but not until I've delivered the prisoners to the reservation. By that time, the trail will be too cold." He stroked the bay's nose, then delivered one more comment. "By the way, one of the prisoners is a white woman." Her stomach bottomed out and she traded looks with Candy. He drew in a breath and glanced up at Ben and the major.
"Where's she from?"
"I wish I could tell you." He left the bay and stopped in front of Ben. "Her reluctance to talk is understandable, though. She's Wahe's squaw, and she's got his child, a half-breed papoose." Annie closed her eyes.
"Are you taking her to the reservation?"
"I offered her transportation to any city or town in the state. She insists on going to the reservation." There was silence for a moment.
"Do you want me to talk to her?"
"I was hoping you'd offer. Maybe she'll tell you more than just her name. Or maybe your daughter could get through to her." Annie opened her eyes. The major's face was grim. Ben shook his head at her, just a slight jerk, but she knew he meant to try himself first.
"What's her name?"
"Calls herself Mamyope. English translation, 'she who resists'."
"I'll talk to her." He handed her the tally. "Add everything up, if I don't make any progress, I might have you talk to her." He squeezed her shoulder and followed the major across the parade ground. Candy whistled under his breath and handed the horse he was holding to one of the soldiers arriving to take control of the animals. They took the horses away and Candy headed for her.
"A white woman with Wahe's child." He shook his head. "Not much of a choice she's got."
"No," Annie agreed. It didn't matter where the woman went, she'd be ridiculed for something. And her child … the hurt that baby would have to live with as it grew up, all over something beyond their control. "I can't imagine how she's feeling right now."
"I'm just glad it's not you." Joe arrived without his usual grin. "I know you could survive, but I just don't ever want you to have to go through that."
"That makes two of us," she commented dryly.
"Three of us," Hoss added.
"Four," Candy said. "And your pa makes five."
"I can count, boys." She handed Joe the tally. "Take that to whoever can pay us, so we can get rolling." Joe ambled away and the rest of them lounged in the sun to wait. Annie was half asleep by the time he came back, stuffing an envelope of money in his jacket pocket.
"We're ready when Pa is." He looked around. "Pa still talking to her?" Hoss shrugged and swatted at a fly buzzing around his hat. "Scoot on over, big brother." Hoss grumbled under his breath, but moved over anyway. Joe sat down and stretched his legs out. "Wonder who she is?"
"I guess we'll find out if Pa does," Annie said with her eyes closed. Personally, she wouldn't be telling some stranger her name, not after that had happened. What would she do anyway? Would she want to go home and face inevitable ostracism? She knew her pa would welcome her home no matter what, and so would her brothers, but what about Virginia City? Would being a Cartwright be enough to quiet wagging tongues and whispered gossip?
What would Candy think?
Her eyes flew open and she found him in seconds, sitting on the ground a few feet away, leaning back on his elbows and staring up at the sky. He wouldn't turn on her, she was sure of it.
Was this woman that lucky, that she had family waiting, searching the road every day for some sign she was headed home? If she did, why go to the reservation? Unless they wouldn't welcome the child. Or her.
"There's Mr. Cartwright." They all sat up as he approached. Annie raised her eyebrows and he shook his head. His hands went to his hips as he stopped in front of them.
"She won't talk to me. I asked if she'd like to talk to another woman and she said no." He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "I invited her to supper and she accepted, as long as we don't ask questions."
"Then we don't ask." Hoss shrugged. Joe nodded.
"Go on and wash up, I stopped to talk to the cooks on the way over and they'll have something ready in about half an hour. Annie, if you'd wait." She nodded.
"Right, Pa." Hoss heaved himself off the ground and ambled away. They all followed him, leaving Annie alone with her pa.
"Yes, Pa?"
"See if you recognize her when she comes to supper. I think I know who she is, unless she's changed that much, but I want your opinion since you met her, too."
"I have?"
"About four years ago, I think, but that's all I'm going to say for now." He scrubbed his hands over his face and sighed. "I'm getting old."
"No, you're not."
"It feels like it. Go on and wash up."
"Yes, Pa." She hurried away, her mind spinning. Who could it be? A woman she'd met? She flipped through names and faces, but no one seemed to match.
Who was she?
"We ain't used to serving fancy here. Best we could do," the soldier explained as he set the food on the table in the officer's mess hall. Ben jolted out of his thoughts and studied the table.
"It looks good, very good."
"If you want seconds, yell." The soldier left them alone and Ben glanced from one face to the next.
"Let's have no conversation when she gets here about Wahe, or what she's doing here, or where she's going. I just want to make her feel like she's among friends. What's happened to her … it makes no difference at all." They all nodded just as a knock came at the door. Hoss opened it, admitting a young woman in buckskins with pale red hair. She kept her head down, her gaze on the floor. "Come in, come in, please." She left the door and stopped beside Ben, still looking down. "Let's meet everybody. My son, Hoss."
"Howdy, ma'am." Her big brother smiled, but Mamyope didn't even blink.
"My other son, Joseph, and my daughter, Annie." Joe nodded and she smiled, but the woman still didn't react. "This is Candy, our foreman. Everyone, this is Mamyope."
"Pleased to meet you, ma'am." Hoss smiled again, but the effort was wasted. Annie frowned, desperately trying to get a clear look at the woman's face without making her perusal obvious. Who was she? If she would just look up for two seconds …
"Well, sit down and make yourself comfortable." Ben directed her to a chair and they all sat. "I hope you've brought your appetite with you."
"Mm. Looks good," Candy said.
"Yeah," Hoss agreed. "After two weeks on the trail, there's something about a clean table cloth making food look good." They all laughed, except Mamyope, who kept her gaze glued to her plate. The food was dished up in silence, all of them eyeing each other nervously as the woman sat there, seeming to ignore them all.
"You've got some pretty country up here," Candy said at last. Annie could have hugged him for the attempt, though she didn't think it would help. The woman nodded, but that was it. And she still didn't raise her head. Annie threw her pa a glance and one eyebrow quirked up. She smothered a sigh and picked at her food. Joe looked around and cleared his throat.
"How you making out with that … that horse of yours?" he asked Candy. Their foreman looked up from his plate.
"Him? Well, I think it's a tie. He tried to kick me and I backed him into a thistle," Candy said with a laugh. Mamyope didn't even blink. Joe swallowed and tried again.
"Candy's got a running feud with this roan horse of his. He was out chasing a stray the other day and the horse went and ran him into a tree and he got caught up in the limbs."
"That never happened," Candy protested. Hoss chuckled. Annie grinned through a mouthful of potatoes. It had been funny, but obviously Mamyope didn't think so.
"Funniest thing I ever saw was Candy hanging up in that tree upside down." Hoss chuckled again and Joe grinned, but their guest still wouldn't move. After a tense silence that seemed to last hours even though it couldn't have been more than a few seconds, Joe cleared his throat.
"I think he ought to just get himself another horse." Silence filled the room again. Annie crumpled her napkin.
"You're being very kind, all of you." The sound of her voice was startling. "You're trying very hard. But you're as uncomfortable as I am." Ben swallowed hard.
"Well … I'm sorry." She shook her head, and Annie could almost place the flicker of recognition humming in the back of her mind. Who was Mamyope? Who?
"Can't help wondering what it was like, how I lived, what was done to me. You're too polite to ask, but there'll be many who won't be."
"Well, ma'am, it ain't that bad," Hoss began. "We had a lady from Virginia City about seven or eight years ago who got captured by the Paiute. Stayed with 'em two or three years and came back."
"Did she have a baby? A half-breed baby?" the woman demanded, and the flicker strengthened. No one said anything and the woman swallowed hard. "Mr. Cartwright … what will happen to Wahe?" She finally looked up, and the flicker burst into flame.
Alicia Purcell. White Fork Crossing. The raid four years ago. Her husband had been a cattle buyer, they'd sold him what … two hundred head? She had changed, the hair and buckskins especially made it difficult, but it was her. Ben cleared his throat.
"Well, uh … if he surrenders …"
"He'll never surrender," she said confidently.
"If he's captured, then … he'll be brought to trial before an Army court. And if he's found guilty he'll … he'll have to pay the full penalty."
"Death by hanging." No one said anything, all of them looking down at their plates. Ben finally nodded.
"Yes." Annie glanced up and waited until their eyes met. She nodded once and his lips thinned.
"If he fights, he'll be killed." Her face could have been carved from stone. "I had to know." So she could tell her son when he inevitably asked one day? Or was there something more? "You'll just have to excuse me." Alicia rose and bolted out the door. Ben waved them all to stay and followed her.
Joe dropped his fork and buried his face in his hands. "I'm glad I'm not Pa right now."
"Me neither, little brother." Hoss took another bite. "He'll try and get her to come with us, but I don't know if she will. I don't know if I would if it was me." Annie toyed with her fork.
"I guess that's something you don't know until it happens."
"Don't say that, Annie, please," Joe shuddered and threw her a curious glance. "Candy, tell her don't say that."
"You already did."
"Humor me."
"Don't say that, Annie," he parroted with the hint of a smirk. "You don't want to give your brother gray hair before he's thirty, do you?"
"I'm not the one who's been captured by Indians how many times now?" she retorted.
"It hasn't been that many times."
"Count again, big brother, I need at least two hands."
"So have you."
"Once. And it was only for a few hours, so it doesn't even count."
"Of course, it does."
"Does not."
"Hey, hey now!" Hoss spread his hands. "I ain't had to referee no shouting matches since you two was knee-high to a grasshopper and I don't aim to start again now. Eat before I eat it for you." Candy snickered, quickly stuffing another bite in his mouth when she turned on him with a glare. The door opened and Ben returned, shaking his head.
"She'll be coming with us in the morning. I know Annie remembers her, but the rest of you may not. She's Alicia Purcell, her husband Wayne has lived in Virginia City the last three years. She was captured in the White Fork Crossing raid four years ago."
"The cattle buyer?" Joe asked with a frown. "I forgot he was married."
"He is." Ben ran a hand through his hair. "I hope this doesn't …" He sighed. "I know what I would do, but I'm not Wayne Purcell." Another sigh. "I'm rather glad I'm not him right now."
"We got plenty of blankets, ma'am. We can make a bed in the wagon for him."
"I'd rather hold him." Alicia climbed onto the seat and cradled her son. Hoss climbed up beside her while the rest of them finished saddling their horses.
"I remember her husband, but I didn't see her in White Fork," Joe said as he tightened Cochise's cinch. "He's a real big cattle buyer."
"Kind of proud and proper, though, if I'm thinking of the right man," Candy replied. "Nothing against him, but that's the impression I got."
"He is," Annie said. "I'm guessing that's why she picked the reservation. She's not sure he'll accept that child."
"I've been wondering about that," Candy said slowly. "What I would do if it was me she was coming home to."
"I asked myself the same question." Joe looked up. "But I didn't get an answer." Annie swung into her saddle and looked down at her brother.
"Neither did I." Ben stepped out of the telegraph office still tugging on his gloves.
"I sent a telegram to Wayne, told him we'd be home in four days. I asked him to come to the Ponderosa." Hoss put the team into motion and they fell into line behind the wagon.
Annie thought they might stop more often than normal to give Alicia and the baby a chance to rest, but the woman didn't complain and they didn't stop until noon. Alicia didn't say a word to anyone during their quick meal, or afterwards as they prepared to ride out again.
Joe and Candy occasionally tried to break the lingering silence, but all they got for their troubles was a blank stare. Alicia cradled her son closer and fixed her gaze on the horizon. Annie bit her lip and fiddled with Reno's mane.
What would she do, if their positions were reversed? If it was just her, she'd go home, as fast as she could. But what if she wasn't alone?
"We'll stop soon for the night," Ben reined Buck around and headed down the line.
They sat around the fire in silence, sipping coffee. Alicia stared into the flames, leaving the rest of them looking at each other uncertainly. Annie swallowed her coffee and played with the mug. Should they try and say something? And if so, what? What did you say to a woman who'd been captured by Indians?
But how could silence be better? Surely there was something they could talk about. She swallowed again.
"What's his name?" Alicia jumped, startling the baby into crying. She looked around as though she didn't realize where she was.
"In English it means, he who will be a strong hunter." They all nodded slowly and Ben cleared his throat.
"A good name."
"Yes." She said nothing else and resumed staring at the fire. Annie sighed and dumped out the last of her coffee. They all might as well turn in early, there obviously wouldn't be any joking around the fire this trip.
The second day and night passed much the same as the first. Alicia sat ramrod straight on the wagon seat, looking neither left nor right. She only spoke to her son unless directly addressed, and then replied with as few words as possible.
By the third day, Annie had had enough. She waited until they camped for the evening, then followed Alicia down to the stream.
"What do you want?" She carefully set her son down far from the water and waded in. Annie sat down next to the child and wiggled her fingers in his face, making him coo. "I said what do you want?"
"Are you afraid he won't accept your son?"
"What do you mean?"
"Your husband. He's why you initially picked the reservation." Annie looked up from the little boy's face. "Isn't he?"
"What business is it of yours?" Alicia scrambled back out of the stream and halted in front of Annie, water dripping on the grass.
"Pa is trying to help you."
"I didn't ask for his help."
"I know." Annie looked her full in the face. "And you wouldn't have taken it if it weren't for your son."
"No." Alicia bent and scooped her son off the grass. "I want everything for him, and if Wayne doesn't want us, we'll go somewhere else."
"People talk anywhere, it doesn't matter who it is." Annie bit her lip, debating for a few seconds. It was already common knowledge, well, most of it, and Virginia City had gossiped plenty at first. "They talk about me, Pa thinks I don't know, but I do. It's not everyone, and it's just whispers, but it's still there."
"What chance do you think I would have then? I'm not a Cartwright with money and power to silence anything."
"They'll talk until something else catches their attention, be it a bank robbery or a shotgun wedding." Annie leaned back on her elbows and looked up at the dimming sunset. "I spent a month trapped in a mine shaft with our foreman. You can guess what was said, none of it true." Alicia's face twisted.
"How?"
"Pa's testimony sent the wrong man to prison. After his release, he planned revenge and he used me and Candy to get it. Another day or two and we would have died after we ran out of water. But to hear certain people tell it, all manner of sin happened in that mine." She sat up with a snort. "All it is is words. We know the truth, so what does it matter?"
"For me it wasn't just words."
"You did what you had to do to survive, would he rather you be dead after all?" She pushed off the ground and swiped the dirt off her pants. "The Paiute don't abduct men, but if they did, I'd rather my husband did what he had to do to come back to me, no matter what it was." Her chest tightened. "And I'd welcome him with open arms." She turned away, but instead of the fire, she headed for the open prairie beyond.
Maybe she'd helped Alicia and maybe she hadn't, but she'd had to try. The silence was … eerie. She stopped next to a tree and rested a hand on the trunk. They'd be home tomorrow, and Wayne Purcell would be waiting.
But what would he do?
"Hey, he knows what he's doing." Candy bounced the little boy on his knee while Joe held a spoon on a string for him to play with.
"Look … oh, that's strong. That's a good spoon." Annie stopped halfway down the stairs, one foot hovering in mid-air.
If the single women of Virginia City could see this, Joe would be in serious trouble. "Say I want some food on my spoon," he said in a high, cooing voice.
"Do you want some food on your spoon?" Candy grinned.
"Do you want some foodie on that spoon?" Joe tickled the child's belly. She blinked slowly. What had happened to her brother? "Look at the string on that spoon. Eat that thing." Candy laughed and Annie shook her head to clear it. The door opened and Hoss came in with the mail. He caught sight of the two of them with the baby and looked up at her. She raised her eyebrows and he sauntered over. "It's a good spoon, isn't it?"
"Good spoon." Candy grinned. "You got to eat the other end." Hoss leaned down and clicked his tongue.
"Hi, buddy. Happy little guy, ain't he?"
"Oh, he is."
"Why shouldn't he be?" Annie hopped down the last two steps and ambled over. "He's gnawing on Ma's good silver. Pa catches you, he'll tan your hide, big brother." Joe snatched the spoon away and the baby let out a wail that cut off as soon as he had his new toy back.
"You had to make him cry, didn't you?" She leaned over the back of the settee and wiggled her fingers at the child, ignoring Joe's frown. "He only cried once on the trail."
"What are you talking about?" Hoss frowned. "He cried at least three or four times, I was closer than you were."
"He's just exercising his lungs," Candy said and looked up. "That's why babies cry, you know, to exercise their lungs." Joe frowned.
"How do you know that?"
"Speaking of exercise." Ben came downstairs. "Joseph, I thought you were going to Boxtor."
"Oh, I am."
"Here in the living room?"
"Well, we just had our lunch and we were gonna play with the little fella for a few minutes." Ben crossed his arms.
"I didn't realize he was old enough to appreciate the good silver." The smile slipped off Joe's face and Ben laughed. Hoss cleared his throat.
"Pa, I saw Wayne Purcell at the post office. He was just waiting to make sure we got home. Said he'd be out in about an hour."
"Ah, good." But was it? It was a guarantee he didn't know about the baby, so all he was expecting was a joyful reunion with his long missing wife. He had to guess at what had happened to her over four years, even if he'd never ask her, he had to know.
"We better get back to work." Joe stood and headed for the door. Candy handed the baby to Hoss and left. Annie started to follow until Hoss caught her eye.
"Something you ought to see over here." He went back to the mail on the sideboard and picked up his saddlebags, exposing the newspaper tucked underneath. Ben picked it up and she read over his shoulder, her stomach twisting at the headline. Three more dead. "Like the major said they headed northeast and hit a ranch on Miller Creek."
"Two hundred miles from here. Sure moving fast."
"Who wouldn't with a troop of cavalry on their trail?" Annie muttered. A door opened and they all looked up. Alicia came downstairs, her hair down around her shoulders and a smile on her face. Ben hid the newspaper.
"Nap time for this young man." She held out her arms and Hoss handed the baby over.
"He's a mighty pretty little guy." She cradled her son and kissed his cheek, then looked up at Ben with nervous anticipation.
"Is Wayne coming out here?"
"Oh, yes, I meant to tell you. Hoss just brought the message, he'll be here within the hour." She smiled and started back across the room, then stopped halfway and turned around.
"For the last four years, I didn't think I'd ever be frightened again." She swallowed hard. "I'm frightened now." She turned and took the baby upstairs. Annie drew in a deep breath.
"I'm going out to the barn and see if Candy needs any help."
They were mucking stalls when the sound of a horse and buggy reached them. Candy stuck his head out the barn door and laid his pitchfork aside. "That's him, I'll go tell Mr. Cartwright." He was back in minutes. "Here we go, I guess." He picked up the fork, then laid it back down. "I hope it goes all right."
"I can't imagine how she's feeling right now." She went over to the barn door and peeked over his shoulder at the bay horse and the man standing next to the buggy. "If it was me, I'd be sick."
"Yeah, I think I would be, too." They watched as Wayne Purcell hitched his horse to the rail. The front door opened and Alicia walked outside, stopping a few feet shy of her husband, her hands fiddling with the fringe on her buckskins. Wayne suddenly froze and slowly turned around. A hesitant smile pulled Alicia's mouth up.
"Alicia!" Wayne ran across the yard, losing his hat in the process, and swept her up in his embrace. "Alicia, it is you! It really is you." He held her at arm's length. "Where did you come from? How did you get here?"
"The Cartwrights brought me back."
"The Cartwrights." He hugged her again, then they separated and ran inside, holding hands.
"So far, so good." Candy stepped back from the door, but Annie lingered, her stomach knotting.
"He hasn't seen the baby yet." Her knuckles whitened on the weathered wood. How would he handle it? Maybe Pa should have warned him. But wasn't that Alicia's story to tell? "Candy, I just … he's awful proud."
"Yeah." He ran a hand through his hair. "I still don't know how I'd handle it, especially with that baby being Wahe's." Annie turned slowly.
"What choice did she have?" He held up his hands.
"I ain't saying nothing against her. It's just got to be more difficult to swallow that it was him instead of some regular brave."
"Ain't no one ever told you two it ain't polite to eavesdrop?" They both jumped when Hoss lumbered in through the rear door.
"They're inside," Candy pointed out. "We can't hear a word from out here."
"That don't matter none, get away from that door and finish them stalls." Annie sighed and picked up her fork.
A door slammed, hard, and she whirled back around, feeling Candy and Hoss crowd in behind her. Wayne Purcell stormed across the yard, snatched his horse's reins from the hitch rail and jumped into his buggy so fast it rocked. He snapped the lines over the animal's back and drove away at a fast trot that soon became a wild gallop. Annie's heart sank.
"You'd better get Pa." Hoss sighed.
"Yeah, I reckon that went about as bad as it could have." He left and Annie started to slip through the door. Candy caught her sleeve.
"The only one who can fix this mess just ran out." He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her against his side. "Maybe he'll come back after he cools down and has time to think about it."
"You really think he will?"
"I don't know." Ben appeared in the yard and rushed through the front door. "I figure we better stay out here for now."
"Yeah," she said softly. After all, if it was her, she wouldn't want a bunch of people she didn't know seeing her broken and rejected. She rested her head on Candy's shoulder and closed her eyes.
"Anne!" She jumped and traded confused looks with Candy. What in the world? "Anne Marie Cartwright, come here right now!" She bolted out the barn door and ran into the house. Ben stood by the fireplace, the baby in his arms, glaring at Alicia. "You're not too young to understand that, are you?" And what had she walked into? "You're willing to hide him, take him to the reservation."
"To protect him, yes." Alicia shot off the settee, reaching for her child. Ben pulled him back out of reach.
"Protect him or yourself? Tell me," he asked in that low, gravely tone that always meant he was deadly serious. "Is it because you're so afraid of what people think about you that you want to hide him? You're even willing to hide yourself. Why hide? There's a simple solution."
"More advice, Mr. Cartwright?" Alicia spit.
"Yes. Virginia City is accustomed to us taking in strays. We'll keep him, tell everyone his mother died when the Army rescued you from Wahe's camp. Annie can be his mother, and with us behind him, no one will dare reject him ever again. You'll have it all: your son taken care of, and Wayne, with no one in town the wiser." He moved to hand Annie the child and Alicia exploded.
"Damn you, Ben Cartwright! If you think for one minute –" He pulled the baby out of reach of her grasping hands.
"Oh, you're willing to fight for him, huh?" He let her take the baby at last and she cradled her son close. "Then why run? Why not fight right here in Virginia City?" They stared at each other in silence, then Alicia darted past him for the stairs. She paused at the foot and turned around.
"Yes. Why not?" She whipped around and fled. A door slammed overhead. Annie sat down slowly on the settee.
"I feel like I just walked in front of a Gatling gun." Ben sighed and scrubbed his hands over his face.
"I wanted to see if I was right." Annie studied her dirty nails.
"She might be up there fitting me for a coffin." Ben scoffed.
"No, if she's angry with anyone, it's me."
"So what now?"
"I don't know."
"Annie will go with you."
"Mr. Cartwright, I have to face these people alone if I'm to live here."
"I know, but she can tell Mrs. Bowen that she's to put anything you want on our tab." Alicia stepped back, her mouth hanging open. She looked over at the store window and shook her head.
"I can't accept that." Ben put his hands on her shoulders.
"Please? You'd be doing her a favor, you really would. She can never get Annie to sit down and look at dress patterns, she'd love the chance to make something for you." Alicia sighed.
"All right."
"Good. I'll meet you both back here." He headed for the bank and they went inside, pausing just inside the door. Alicia's eyes brightened as she stared around at the beautiful hats and finished dresses, the bolts of fabric and trims. Annie could feel every eye in the store come to rest on them.
"But the neckline is so good."
"I don't know." Annie bit her lip. That was Mrs. Smith at the counter, one of the worst when it came to gossip, as she well knew from experience. The woman's barbs had been veiled when it came to her, but Alicia wasn't a Cartwright.
"I'll be with you in a moment," Mrs. Bowen called.
"I'm in no hurry," Alicia responded. Mrs. Smith's gaze landed on the baby and stayed there. Mrs. Bowen said something else about the pattern the two women were studying, but Mrs. Smith paid her no mind, staring after Alicia as she wandered deeper into the store.
"Maybe this is more what you had in mind." Mrs. Bowen sounded almost desperate.
"Oh, yes, this is attractive. This is very attractive." And she was distracted, but not for long. Alicia picked up a green feathered hat with a smile, oblivious for now that the whole store was staring at her. Until Mrs. Smith opened her mouth again. "She is a squaw!"
"Oh, I'm sure you're wrong," another woman said.
"Well, I know an Indian child when I see one. That baby's Paiute." She sniffed. "Must be another Cartwright charity case." Alicia stiffened, and her eyes met Annie's. She turned and called over her shoulder.
"You needn't wonder, ladies, my baby is Paiute, half Paiute." No one said a word and Alicia went back to admiring a bolt of fabric. "This is lovely."
"Oh, yes," Mrs. Bowen replied. "It's pure silk. The very finest quality."
"And just the color I've been looking for." Mrs. Smith sauntered away from the counter like a spider with a fly in its web and stopped a foot away from them. "I want this silk made up in that dress you just showed me." She handed the pattern to Mrs. Bowen, who'd followed her. "I want the material now."
"But, Mrs. Smith –"
"And I don't want the cloth that's been unrolled from the bolt." Alicia stiffened. Annie's eyes narrowed. If Candy wasn't at the general store, he'd be comparing her to a horse again, claiming her ears were flat back and she was ready to kick.
"Mrs. Purcell is our guest," she said through her teeth. "A slight against her or her child is a slight against the Ponderosa."
"I'd think you would have more pressing matters than worrying about some squaw. When is your father going to fire that cow hand? Why, if that had happened to a daughter of mine, she'd have been married or sent away before the sun had set." She sniffed in contempt. "And as for the cowhand, he could rot in jail. Or worse."
"Emma," someone gasped. "You know that's not what happened."
"It doesn't matter how it happened, they were alone. Your father should have forced him down the aisle, though I can see why he didn't. I'd have died from the shame."
"Candy isn't some cowhand, he's our foreman. You've still got your bonnet in a twist just because Joe wouldn't court Mary." Alicia bit her lip.
"Annie, I'll be outside." She turned and fled, but Annie wasn't about to back down from the old dragon. Red crept into her vision, and she was afraid she was about to take a page out of Joe's book, but it would be so worth it.
She reached out and snatched the end of the bolt, yanked it off the table, and let it unroll completely. She clicked her tongue and smiled a feral smile. "What a shame. Since you didn't want what was unrolled, I'll be glad to buy the whole bolt."
"You little hoyden!" Mrs. Smith sputtered. "Your father's let you run wild too long, what decent woman dresses like that and carries a gun? No man wants a woman like that, not even that cow hand or he'd have made an honest woman of you months ago."
It felt like she'd jumped into a mountain stream in the middle of winter. Her chest was so tight she couldn't breathe, and her eyes stung. No, no, no. She would not shed one blasted tear in front of this woman. She struggled to keep her voice even.
"Could your Mary run the Ponderosa if she had to? No. She was raised to be a little hothouse flower and decorate some man's expensive parlor. I was raised to take the reins of an empire and that's what you can't stand. I don't care what you think of me, not now, not ever."
A commotion outside on the street brought everyone's heads around to the windows. "That nasty Hank is chasing after that squaw," a woman called out. Annie dropped the silk and shot out the door. She arrived at the steps of Wayne Purcell's office at the same time Candy did, just after her pa threw the man down the stairs and into the dirt. The gathering crowd chattered and whispered among themselves. Candy smirked and hauled the man to his feet.
"Up you go." Ben reached them seconds later.
"Candy, take Alicia and her son back to the Ponderosa. Annie, you go, too. I'll be along shortly."
"Mr. Cartwright, if there's trouble here …"
"Nothing I can't handle," Ben said and went back to Alicia, cowering against the office door. Candy shook his head and held out Hank's hat.
"You dropped this." The man snatched it and stomped into the closest saloon. Ben escorted Alicia back to the wagon and Candy hopped onto the seat. "You coming, Annie?"
"Just let me get Reno. I'll be right behind you." The wagon rolled out and she wandered down the street to the hitch rail. She stroked the gelding's long face and rubbed the tiny star between his eyes. "She's wrong," she whispered. "She's angry that Mary won't ever bring her a piece of the Ponderosa like she'd planned."
Across the street, her pa went into the saloon and she straightened. Hank had gone in there … she left Reno and headed over to the bat wing doors, pressing herself up against the wall to listen in. The first thing she noticed was the silence; in her experience, a saloon was never that quiet unless the town sheriff was standing inside with a loaded shotgun.
"Go on, I'm listening," Ben's voice drifted over the half doors. A throat cleared.
"Well, uh, wearing buckskins and carrying that baby, well, I thought she was a Paiute."
"She's not a Paiute, but even if she was …"
"Well, she sure ain't," Hank interrupted, and Annie winced. If he kept that up, he'd find himself tossed through those doors. She checked her position and shifted a few inches to the right, just in case. "She's less than a Paiute! She's less than dirt!"
"Ms. Purcell is a guest in my house." Her pa's voice could have cut steel. "if you raise your voice to her, or try to touch her, I'll see to it that you're put in jail."
"There ain't no law against talking to the likes of her."
"There's a law protects women on the street. And I'll see to it that it's enforced."
"Decent women, yes."
"But not trash," two new voices called out, reminiscent of her and Joe.
"One more thing, Hank," Ben went on as though he hadn't been interrupted. "Not only would you go to jail, but it'll take some time for you to recover your health before you're able to stand trial." His voice lowered again. "That's a promise." Boot heels echoed on the floor. "You were saying?"
"No better than she should be," the first of the new voices said. "We can all see that."
"Can we? Suppose it was your wife taken prisoner, what would you want her to do? Kill herself?" He paused, then went on. "Mr. Barry, you have a sister. Suppose she'd been taken prisoner. How would you treat her when she came back?"
"I … I don't know," the second voice said.
"You don't know." Boot heels echoed again. "Do you know, Mr. Rogers? You have two beautiful daughters, suppose it happened to one of them and she had the courage and the strength to survive. What would you do when your friends and neighbors turned their backs on her?"
"That ain't ever gonna happen to my daughters."
"Never going to happen to your daughters. That's what everyone thinks, it'll never happen to one of theirs. Well, it's happened before and it could happen again."
"Now listen here, you're getting down-right preachy, Ben Cartwright! You stand there and tell us how wrong we are, but you haven't said a word about your own daughter. What would you do if Anne was taken and came back saddled with a half-Injun brat, huh? You ain't got no answer to that one, do you?"
"I would thank God every day that she had the courage to survive, and I would love her just as much then as I do now. Any child she had would be loved just as much as any other grandchildren I was blessed with –"
"Hah!"
"It would still be a Cartwright, still half my daughter. And I would love it without condition." Annie swiped at her face and drew in a breath. "It could happen to someone near and dear to you, so you'd better start figuring how you'd handle it." His voice hardened again. "Start figuring." Boot heels rang on wood and she jumped away from the wall just as the doors parted and Ben walked out, leaving the murmuring crowd in his wake. His face twisted and he reached for her, hugging her tight. "Let's go home." She nodded against his vest and they headed for their horses.
"Mr. Cartwright, I'm leaving in the morning," Alicia paced back and forth in front of the fireplace. "If my son's going to have any chance, it'll be in a big city like San Francisco or New York." Ben set his coffee cup on the saucer and glanced sideways at Annie. She bit her lip and lowered her head, staring at the dark liquid in her cup.
"Pa, I'm sorry, I should have left the store when she did."
"It's not your fault, either one of you. Alicia, Virginia City has something that no other place can offer you: your husband."
"I have no husband."
"Maybe," he said slowly. "But when you had need of help … you saw his name on that sign, you turned to him. Didn't you?" A knock came at the door and they all turned to look. "Didn't you?" Ben handed Alicia his cup and went to answer it. Annie caught a glimpse of velvet skirts and smothered a groan. "Well, Mrs. Fletcher."
"Good evening, Mr. Cartwright." The woman hurried inside.
"Mrs. Smith, come in, please."
"Nice to see you." the older woman swept in like a queen to her throne, openly eyeing the furniture. Annie's eyes narrowed and she glanced down at her coffee. Was there enough to ruin that dress the old dragon had on?
"You know Mrs. Purcell, and Annie, of course." The women nodded, Mrs. Smith's lips pressed into a thin line. "Come in and sit down."
"Oh, no." Her face cleared. "We are here … well, to speak for the Virginia City Women's Club. We were very distressed over what happened today." Losing her fabric, maybe, but nothing else, Annie was sure of that.
"Yes, that was very distressing," she simpered. "I can only imagine how poor little Mary would have handled it." Ben frowned at her and she forced a polite smile. Mrs. Fletcher stammered a moment, then took up the explanation, since Mrs. Smith was currently too busy glaring to talk.
"We were afraid that something similar, perhaps worse, might happen again. To prevent that, and to help you and your child, we've taken up a collection. And we are prepared to help you find a new home." Annie bit back a nasty retort and Alicia stiffened, her smile frozen on her face. "A new start," Mrs. Fletcher went on. "Someplace like Carson City, Reno, someplace where you and your child will feel more comfortable."
"Thank you, ladies." Alicia walked over and set Ben's cup on the side table. She straightened, gaze locked on Mrs. Smith. "Thank you. Your kindness is overwhelming." The women smiled. Annie raised her cup to hide her mouth. She had a feeling those smiles were about to hit the floor. "The truth is, you want to get rid of us." Their jaws dropped. "That's the truth, isn't it?"
"Oh, no."
"You hate me, you hate my child so much, that you're willing to pay to get us out of sight."
"That's not –"
"Well, it won't work. We're not dirt. We won't be swept away. The only way you can help us now is to let us alone. Now, get out, both of you." If she hadn't been holding her coffee, she'd applaud. The women stared at each other. "Get out!"
"Ladies." Ben escorted them to the door and held it open. They picked up their skirts and left without a word. He closed the door and came back to Alicia, who was leaning against the chair.
"I shouldn't have done that," she whispered.
"I'd have gone farther," Annie said as she stood. "That Mrs. Smith makes my blood boil."
"I thought you did very well." Alicia turned around and sniffed.
"I think I'm going to cry." She collapsed in Ben's arms, sobbing. Annie set down her coffee and headed to the kitchen doorway.
"Hop Sing?" she called softly, and the little cook appeared in seconds.
"You better not be up no good."
"I think we'll be needing some more coffee, if you don't mind." He glanced past her at Alicia and nodded.
"Hop Sing fix." He went back to the stove and she headed back to the settee. It was several minutes before the tears stopped and a few after that before Hop Sing appeared with a fresh pot of coffee and a plate of cookies.
"Thank you, Hop Sing."
"Mistah Cartwright, if you need anything else, just give holler."
"I think we'll be fine, thank you. Good night, Hop Sing." The cook nodded and headed for his room. They refilled their cups and drank in silence. Ben went over and poked at the fire. Alicia sighed.
"My son's been asleep for hours. It's time I joined him." She stood and headed for the stairs, whirling around when another knock came at the door. Ben glanced between them.
"Busy place tonight." If it was Mrs. Smith back for round two, she'd be getting splashed with coffee after all.
"This is your night for company." Annie shifted on the settee, throwing Mrs. Bowen a warm smile.
"It sure is."
"I passed a couple of your guests down the road a piece. They're now my ex-customers." She smiled at Ben, while adjusting her stack of dress goods, then looked past him. "Good evening, Annie. Oh, Mrs. Purcell, I brought the silk you liked." She hurried over. "You disappeared so quickly that I never had the chance to tell you that I'd be delighted to make a dress for you. Ten dresses if you wish." Alicia's face warmed with a genuine smile.
"Oh, thank you."
"Not at all." She turned around. "Oh, Ben. I heard what you said in the Silver Dollar. I must have heard ten different versions of it. You certainly have the whole town talking."
"Is that good or bad?"
"Hm. Both, I guess." She shrugged. "Tell me, have you got a room, a spare room we can use?"
"There are several upstairs."
"Fine. Then we can get started. Annie, come along, please. I brought a few things I'd like to try on you as well."
"But, Mrs. Bowen –"
"Ah, ah, now. Please?" Annie sighed and set her cup on the table.
"All right." She followed them upstairs.
"Thank you, Ben, we won't need you, this is women's work. That's a very handsome boy you've got. I brought along some yard goods and some dress fabric for him, too."
Annie pointed out the first guest room in line and they went inside. "Well, let's get started. Oh, but first." Mrs. Bowen took Annie's hands in hers. "I can't believe that spiteful old woman said those things to you and I hope you know I don't believe a word of it."
"I know."
"Good. I almost died laughing when you unrolled the silk, serves the old witch right." Alicia frowned.
"Anne, what happened after I left the shop?"
"Nothing important. Oh, look, she brought the hat, too. The green one you were admiring." Alicia's gaze darted to the hat and Annie breathed a sigh of relief. For now. She watched Mrs. Bowen pull bunches of trims out of her bag and sat down in the closest chair with a muffled sigh.
It was going to be a long night.
She hid a yawn with her hand the next morning as Mrs. Bowen made a few adjustments to the hemline. How could she still be prattling on like they hadn't spent all night sewing? At least they had a machine.
"Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful," Ben proclaimed. "Both of you. Elizabeth, I haven't seen my daughter looking so lovely in a long time. And Alicia …" He shook his head. "I'm at a loss for words."
"Oh, it's easy with pretty customers." Mrs. Bowen brushed at a nonexistent spot on Alicia's hem. Joe chuckled.
"Hey. Now she's blushing. I think it makes her even prettier." Hoss nodded.
"You look right fine, too, little sis. As pretty as a colt."
"You, too?" she protested. "I'm not a horse." They all laughed, then Alicia changed the subject.
"You've been so kind, all of you. Could I ask one more favor?"
"Name it," Ben said with a smile.
"Tomorrow's Sunday. I'd love to go to church." She and her brothers exchanged glances with Candy; they all nodded. Ben's smile widened.
"My pleasure."
The next morning, Annie waited just out of sight on the stairs, listening to her pa coo at the baby. "Whoo! Yes, sir. I tell you, I don't know if that bonnet makes you look more like a boy or a girl, but your booties make you look like a boy. Do you like your new clothes, huh? Huh?" He laughed, and her chest tightened.
He deserved grandchildren to ensure the legacy he'd built would continue on down through the family, and with no way to ever know if Adam had gotten himself hitched that left it up to her, Joe, and Hoss. And none of them had any good prospects, not that she was looking.
The bedroom door closed and Alicia swept past her in the green silk dress and her new hat. They shared a smile before she descended the stairs.
"Well." Ben sounded surprised. "You're a remarkable woman. You're not only beautiful, but you're on time."
"Thank you, sir." Annie could hear the smile in her voice. Heels clicked across the floor and she started down the stairs. Ben turned around.
"Annie?"
"I decided to come, too." She pulled on her fancy gloves and adjusted her feathered hat. It might be pretty, but it sure was annoying. She met them at the front door and Ben opened it.
"Hoss should have the buggy ready." They went outside and he chuckled. "Correction. He brought the surrey. Any reason?" He asked her middle brother as he came up. Hoss folded his arms with a smile.
"Well, I knew Annie was going and I thought I'd come with you, too."
"Oh, good. Help you in?" He asked Alicia, the baby still in his arms. She climbed up and he handed her the baby. Annie took her seat beside Hoss just as Joe and Candy rode up. Ben blinked again.
"You going to church, too?"
"We thought we would," Joe answered for both of them.
"All right." He smiled and climbed in beside Alicia. Hoss clucked to the team and they drove out of the yard. Candy rode up on the left side of the surrey, keeping pace with her seat.
"You look real nice in burgundy, sweetheart." He grinned. "Kinda like a blood bay."
"Thanks a lot." He laughed.
"I'm serious, it looks wonderful." Hoss chuckled.
"Candy, you might want to quit before she throws that little purse at you. It might not weigh much, but I'm sure it would still hurt a mite." They all laughed and finished the ride into Virginia City in a pleasant mood that, for Annie at least, faded as soon as the weighted stares landed on their backs the whole way down the main street.
Hoss stopped the surrey in front of the hotel and they all stepped down. Alicia threw a worried glance at the church and took her son from Ben.
"I'll go the rest of the way alone."
"No. I'd be mighty proud to go along with you." He took her arm and they started towards the church.
"Alicia!" Mrs. Bowen and her husband waved from the porch of the millinery. A few steps farther on, a woman in purple calico glared at her husband until he swallowed hard and tipped his hat.
"Morning, ma'am." A few people looked away or only smiled, but it was going better than Annie had hoped it would. Then, her gaze landed on Wayne Purcell in the crowd and she bit her lip. What would he do? Alicia's step faltered, then she went on as though she hadn't seen him.
"Good morning, Mrs. Purcell." More greetings were called out. Maybe it would be all right. Even if her husband wouldn't acknowledge her, others were. She looked ahead and found the Fletchers standing on the church steps. He tipped his hat and smiled.
"Mrs. Purcell." His wife smiled, but Annie couldn't tell if it was genuine or not.
"Mrs. Purcell. Mr. Cartwright. Anne." She smiled back, but out of politeness only. Her foot was on the bottom step when a loud voice rang out.
"Squaw!" Everyone around the church stopped and turned to stare at Hank and his dirty bunch of friends. He sneered. "Dirty Injun squaw!" The next thing Annie knew, Wayne Purcell was right behind them, his hands at his wife's back. Alicia stiffened, a spark of hope flaring to life in her eyes. She turned, the baby beginning to cry, as their gazes locked. They stared at each other in silence for the space of several heartbeats. Then, Wayne looked down at the baby and slowly took him from Alicia's arms. The baby began to coo and play with his hat, bringing a smile to his face. Alicia smiled back through eyes that looked misty to Annie. She swallowed the lump in her throat as Wayne escorted his wife up the steps, arm in arm, side by side.
A presence at her side made her turn. Candy stood at her shoulder, offering his arm with a grin. She tucked her hand into the crook of his elbow and picked up her skirts to navigate the steps. Her brothers raised their eyebrows at each other and chuckled. Ben frowned and they shut up. She could feel eyes on the back of her neck and guessed it was Mrs. Smith, but she wasn't about to turn around and give the woman the satisfaction.
There was nothing wrong with her best friend escorting her in to church, nothing at all. Her father was right there, for the love of Heaven. But that wasn't important now. She searched the pews for Alicia and found her and Wayne sitting near the front, the baby cooing in his arms and still playing with his hat.
"I think I'm going to cry," she whispered, and Candy followed her gaze.
"Yeah." He squeezed her hand. "Me, too." She shot him a funny look and he chuckled as they took their seats, both of them watching the baby play and Alicia smile like she'd never stop.