Eddy knew arguing with her that Rhine was indeed telling the truth would only push the woman further into whatever madness she was in the grips of, so she slowly climbed down. On the horizon she thought she saw movement, but decided it must be a mirage. Before she had time to study it again, she heard Natalie scream, “Where are you going?”
To Eddy’s surprise, the driver had left the carriage, too.
He said to Natalie, “I’m not being a part of this.”
When he reached Eddy, he said, “Come, we will walk together.”
“Get back here!”
Eddy saw movement up ahead again. Men on horseback were riding their way! “Look!” she urged her companion. Not giving Natalie a second thought, they took off at a run.
Natalie raged, “Stop!”
Eddy prayed the woman didn’t know the workings of the Colt from a colander and kept going. She waved her arms to get the attention of the riders. The gun was fired and two bullets tore through her back like bolts of lightning. Crying out in pain, she dropped to her knees.
Natalie fired again and again, this time at her driver, but Eddy couldn’t tell if he was hit because she was already facedown in the rocky sand and her world went black.
By the time Rhine, Sheriff Howard, and the rest of the posse reached the scene, Eddy was lying so still, Rhine’s heart stopped. Her back was covered with blood. He yelled, “What have you done, Natalie!” He didn’t bother to listen to her explanation. He jumped from his horse and ran to Eddy’s side. “Eddy!” Natalie’s driver lay a few feet away.
Jim and Doc Randolph were soon beside him. “Eddy!”
Doc placed his ear against her chest. “She’s breathing. Can’t tell how bad she’s hurt. Jim, there’s some clean towels in my saddlebag. Get them. Let’s see if we can at least put some pressure on the wounds so she doesn’t bleed to death.” He then glanced over at the equally still driver. “Let me see to him right quick.”
Natalie said from the buggy, “She’s probably dead, Rhine. Now you can tell the truth and we can get married.”
Another buggy drove up. The driver was Lyman Greer. His daughter said, “Hello, Papa. Everything’s okay now. She’s dead and Rhine and I can have our wedding.”
Lyman’s eyes widened.
Doc Randolph stood up and shook his head sadly. “He’s dead, Blaine.”
Lyman stared at his smiling daughter. “My God, Natalie.”
Sheriff Blaine said, “Mr. Greer, your daughter is under arrest.”
“She’s ill, Blaine. You can see that.”
“Ill or not, she’s under arrest.”
She said, “No. I’ll wait for Rhine. He’ll drive me back. We have to go by Vera’s and pick out my wedding costume.”
“Hand me the gun, Miss Greer,” Blaine said quietly.
“Is she dead?”
Tight-lipped, the sheriff lied, “Yes.”
“Good.” And she handed over the Colt.
Doc said, “Rhine, we need to get Eddy back to town.”
Caught between fury and heartbreak, Rhine said, “Lyman, I’m taking your buggy. You drive your daughter back with Blaine.”
He nodded hastily. “Sure, Rhine. Sure.”
Rhine picked Eddy up gingerly and carried her to Lyman’s buggy and laid her on the seat. Doc said, “Keep pressure on those towels.”
“Rhine!” Natalie screeched. “Where are you going?”
Jim quickly tied his and Rhine’s horses to the back of Lyman’s buggy. He then got in, picked up the reins, and headed Rhine and Eddy back to town. Rhine prayed the entire way.
While Doc and Sylvie were up in Eddy’s room performing surgery, Rhine sat in the kitchen with Jim, still caught between fury and heartbreak. Natalie was indeed ill but he never wanted to see her again for as long as he lived.
“Doc’s good at his job. If anyone can pull her through it’ll be him.”
Rhine knew that, but the thought that she might be beyond Doc’s skill terrified him.
A man wearing a train conductor’s uniform entered the kitchen. Rhine and Jim went still. “I’m sorry to interrupt but I knocked and nobody answered.” There were two girls standing beside him. Their shabby dresses were stained and both girls appeared tired and wan. “I’m looking for an Eddy Carmichael. Does she live here?”
Rhine stood and studied the girls. “Yes, she does, but she’s unavailable right this minute.” The two favored Eddy so much the hairs on the back of his neck stood up, so he asked, “Regan and Portia?”
They nodded, albeit warily.
“How did you get here?”
The conductor explained, “Their mother mailed them here by the train.”
Rhine was stuck dumb by that. “Your mother’s not with you?”
Portia, the older of the two, shook her head and said, “No. She’s at home.”
“I’m Rhine Fontaine. Your aunt had an accident. She’s upstairs in her room with the doctor.”
The girls looked at each other, and the younger one, Regan, asked, “Can we see her?”
“Just as soon as the doctor’s done.”
Jim was staring as well.
Rhine turned to the conductor. “I’m Miss Carmichael’s fiancé and this is my business partner Jim Dade. You can leave the girls here. How much do I owe you?”
He quoted the sum, and Rhine reached into his pocket and paid him what was owed plus a sizable tip.
The conductor grinned. “Thanks. ’Bye, girls.”
“ ’Bye, Mr. Hurly. Thank you.”
He nodded and made his exit.
Rhine was still trying to get over the shock of their sudden arrival and that they’d traveled from Denver alone. “Would you girls like something to eat?”
“No thank you. We just want to see Aunt Eddy.”
“Will you at least have a seat?”
“No thank you.”
Rhine and Jim shared a look.
“Would—”
“Just leave us alone, okay,” Portia said.
Rhine raised an eyebrow. He wondered what kind of home they’d come from. He knew Eddy had been worried about them, but she hadn’t shared any details about their lives. From the look of their dresses, their worn shoes, and how painfully thin they were, he guessed they didn’t have a lot. “Would you be more comfortable if Jim and I sat outside?”
The young one, Regan, said, “Yes.”
So Rhine and Jim got up and went outside and sat on the back steps.
Jim said, “This is going to be quite a story I’m willing to bet.”
Rhine agreed.
Eddy swam up to consciousness only long enough to hear the murmur of voices and get the sense that she was in a familiar place. Beside the bed stood her nieces, Portia and Regan. Why am I in Denver? She had no answer though, so she slipped back into sleep.
The next time she awakened, she didn’t know how much time had passed but her mind was clearer and she looked around. Once again beside the bed stood the girls. “What are you doing here?” she asked around her sand-dry throat. That she was surprised to see them was an understatement.
Both girls threw themselves on her and she gathered them in. White hot pain shot through her back but she fought it off to hold them.
“We thought you were going to die,” Regan cried.
“I’m not going to die, or at least I hope not. How long have you been here?”
“Two days,” Portia said. “Mama sent us. She wrote you a letter.”
Eddy’s back was on fire. She remembered being shot but nothing more. Seeing them was such a joy, but she was too sleepy at the moment to appreciate it or read Corinne’s letter. “Are you staying here with me and Miss Sylvia?”
“Yes.”
“Are you being good for her?”
“Yes.”
??
?Okay. Good. Is Rhine here?”
From the doorway, he said, “Yes.”
She smiled. She was glad to see him, too. As he came in, the girls backed away from the bed. Portia had a decidedly sour look on her face but Eddy lacked the energy to investigate the cause, though she did have the energy to bask in the love she saw in Rhine’s eyes. He placed a kiss on her brow. “How are you feeling, Your Majesty?” he asked softly.
“Better but not all the way. Surprised to see the girls. I thought I was dreaming.”
“No dream.”
“So I see. How are you?”
“Doing better, too, now that you’re out of the woods.”
“Good.”
Sylvia came in. “Okay, everybody out. She needs her rest.”
Eddy smiled but was asleep before they left the room.
Chapter Twenty
In the days that followed, Eddy grew stronger and stronger, and as a result was able to spend more time with her visitors. She hated being bedridden again but knew it was for the best. Fortunately, Jim prepared her meals. Doc didn’t want her eating Sylvia’s charred food, and Eddy was thankful. From Rhine, she learned what happened after she was shot by Natalie. Hearing that the driver lost his life left her saddened. “So is she still in jail?”
“No. Lyman called in some favors and a few days later got a judge to allow him to take her to a hospital in upstate New York for treatment. She’ll be there for quite some time.”
“Good.” Eddy wondered what Natalie’s fate might have been had she not been so privileged, but in the end it did not matter as long as she never had to cross paths with her again. “I’m sorry we have to put off the wedding.”
“You can’t enjoy the wedding night you’re so looking forward to if you’re still healing, so don’t worry about it.”
She smiled. “How are you and the girls getting along?”
“Regan will at least talk to me. Portia barely tolerates me.”
Eddy was saddened by that as well. “Has to do with her home life. She probably thinks you’re like the men who come and visit her mother.”
“What do you mean?”
“My sister Corinne is a whore.”
He stiffened.
“I’ll talk to the girls and try and explain our relationship. The only men they’ve ever come in contact with are Corinne’s customers, so give them some time. Before long they’ll love you as much as I do. Promise.”
He didn’t look convinced, but Eddy was.
“How long are they staying with us?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t been able to stay awake long enough to talk to them for any length of time but I will today. They said Corinne sent a letter. Are they in the hall?”
“Yes. They spent the morning with Vera. She’s in heaven getting them fitted for new clothes. I told her to spare no expense.”
“Better them than me,” Eddy cracked, and grinned.
He kissed her softly. “I’ll send them in.”
“Rhine?”
He turned.
“Thanks for saving me—again.”
“You’re welcome. I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
The girls came in and Eddy asked, “Did you have fun with Miss Vera?”
Regan nodded. “Our new dresses are so pretty.”
Portia stood by the window and looked out.
“Portia? What about you?”
“Why doesn’t Mama want us anymore?”
Eddy stilled. “What do you mean?”
Portia handed her a folded piece of paper. “It’s what she said in the letter.”
Eddy looked at the pain and anger in her nieces’ eyes and unfolded the letter. It read: I’m getting married. My new husband doesn’t want the girls because they aren’t his, so they’re yours now.
It was the coldest, most callous thing Eddy had ever read. The tears standing in Portia’s eyes made Eddy open her arms. Portia came to her and wept like her heart was broken. “I’m so sorry, honey,” Eddy whispered, holding her as tightly as her healing back allowed. “So so sorry.”
The dry-eyed, ten-year-old Regan said, “Portia, don’t cry. Mama doesn’t want us, so we don’t want her.”
Surprised and dismayed, Eddy said, “Regan!”
“I don’t care about her. I’ve always wanted to live with you, Aunt Eddy. Always.”
Eddy sensed that her new role was going to be a complicated one but hoped with the help of Rhine and Sylvie and folks like Vera and the rest, things would work out in the end. She then explained to them about her relationship with Rhine. The girls had never been around a marriage and thus had no concept of what the word meant.
“So he’s going to live with us?” Portia asked doubtfully, wiping her eyes.
Eddy corrected her, “You two are going to live with me and Rhine.”
“How long will he stay with you?”
“Forever.”
Regan looked puzzled, and Portia asked, “So you will only have relations with him?”
Eddy blinked and stammered, “Yes. Only with him. When you marry, you only have one man in your house and bed.”
She saw Portia and Regan share a look. “So does he pay you to have relations with him?”
Eddy had no idea they knew so much but remembered Corinne had been prostituting herself their entire lives, so of course they’d pick up on how these things worked. She was appalled though. “No. He doesn’t pay, and when you have a husband, he won’t pay you either. You’ll come together out of love.”
They both looked skeptical.
“Rhine is kind and caring and all the things you’d want a man to be when you love someone. You’ll love him, too.”
“Will we have to have relations with him when we do?”
Appalled again, she fought to keep her voice calm, “No honey. Rhine’s an honorable man, and honorable men don’t have relations with children.”
“Oh.”
Eddy noted how relieved Portia looked.
Regan said, “Mama said she was going to sell Portia’s cherry for money.”
Eddy stared. She was so angry with her sister she wanted to walk to Denver and beat her to death. “Here you’re both safe from anything like that. I promise. Okay? I’m not going to let anyone hurt you, and neither will Rhine.”
She opened her arms and they leaned in. She held them tight and whispered emotionally, “I’m so glad you’re here.” And she was. With her and Rhine, they’d be loved, cherished, and provided for. With them, they’d have a future. One day she’d forgive her sister but it wouldn’t be soon.
Two weeks later she and her nieces got dressed for the wedding. Portia and Regan had on their new gowns, Janet had done their hair, and they looked like two ebony-skinned princesses in their finery. Rhine’s brother Andrew and his family had arrived a few days earlier, and any misgivings Eddy may have held about meeting Drew’s wife Freda were instantly dispelled when Freda eagerly took Eddy’s hands in hers and said, “I’m an only child and I’ve always wanted a sister. I’m so glad to meet you.”
Their son Little Drew would be the ring bearer. The wedding was going to be held in Sylvia’s backyard. Whitman Brown was supposed to perform the ceremony but his mother had arrived for a surprise visit the week before, and when he boastfully introduced Lady Ruby as his fiancée, the forty-year-old Whitman had been instructed to quit his job and pack his things. He and his outraged and outdone mother were on the train back to Cleveland the very next day.
Sheriff Howard would officiate instead. Eddy didn’t care who said the words as long as she and Rhine were husband and wife at the end of the day.
The backyard was packed with the invited guests, and when Eddy, flanked by her nieces and matron of honor Sylvie, came down the steps to join her intended in the center of the yard, she coul
d barely contain her happiness. There was no music but she didn’t care. Both Rhine and Drew were dressed in black and white formal attire, and although Eddy still couldn’t get over how much the two brothers favored each other, in her eyes Rhine was the handsomest man in the world.
Sheriff Howard began reading the words. When he got to the part that asked if anyone had issues with the bride and groom being married, a female voice in the crowd said, “Yes. I do!”
Both Rhine and Eddy turned in shock and a woman walked up. She was as fair-skinned and as green-eyed as Rhine, and beside her was a big dark-skinned man wearing a scowl.
Rhine’s eyes widened. “Sable?”
“How dare you get married and not send me an invitation?” She turned to Eddy. “Hello. I’m Sable Fontaine LeVeq. This is my husband Raimond. Are you sure you want to marry him?”
Eddy chuckled. Sable took a moment to give the stunned Rhine a strong hug and gave Drew one, too.
Raimond said, “I see your bride’s a woman of color, Sergeant Clark. Hope this means you’re back on the right side of the road.”
Rhine dropped his head and chuckled.
Sable elbowed her husband. “Hush.”
Sergeant Clark? Eddy was confused.
Sable said to her, “Pay him no mind, honey. I’ll explain later. Now that I’ve made my entrance, carry on, Sheriff.”
And so he did.
Later during the reception, they learned that Rhine’s newspaper ads had finally paid off. One of Raimond’s brothers saw one in a Boston newspaper on a trip there a few weeks ago and wired Sable about the find. After making arrangements to leave their four children with Raimond’s mother, they’d purchased train tickets in their home town of New Orleans and arrived in Virginia City just as the wedding was beginning. Eddy was pleased that Rhine and his sister were finally reunited, and she couldn’t wait to spend more time with Sable and Raimond—after her wedding night.
And what a wedding night it was. They drove from Sylvia’s to the Union and he carried her up the stairs to his room. As they crossed the threshold, all Eddy could think about was it being the place where her adventure with him began.