Disclaimer: All the characters from the "Magnificent Seven" T.V. series are property of Trilogy Entertainment, The Mirisch Group, MGM Worldwide.
Purgatory had not changed.
It was one of those places trapped in amber, frozen in time because the world had left it behind long ago. Vin Tanner had no doubts that ten years from now; he would ride into this town and find it to be just the same as it appeared today. Dusty and wind blown from sand storms that scoured past this way sometimes and filled with men who wanted only to be forgotten while they lost themselves in bottles of cheap rotgut or in the arms of the whore they had paid for. When he and Chris Larabee rode into town that night, little about the place had altered since their last visit. Both men were aware of everything as they headed towards the main watering hole where information was easiest to come by. This was not the place to let down one's guard. That kind of ignorance could get you killed faster than it would take for trouble to find you. Vin had learnt of Purgatory during his bounty hunting days, when it was necessary to go underground for information when finding a particularly elusive target.
Inside the cantina, it could not really be called a saloon since it was merely a room with a counter top for serving drinks with a few chairs scattered around for the paying customers. At this time of evening, the establishment was full with working girls making the rounds, seeking potential clientele. While some offered smiles at Chris and Vin, a slight shaking of their heads indicated that they were not interested and the ladies were on their way, moving on to the next possibility. The two lawmen went to the counter and ordered drinks before Chris searched the room for one face in particular. She was usually here at this time of night, that is if she had not snared a customer already and was presently undertaking the transaction in some seedy room elsewhere.
"There she is." Chris said to Vin as the tracker tossed two bits at the bartender and picked up his beer as Chris made his way towards the lady in question.
Maria was in the process of soliciting when she saw Chris approach and immediately desisted in the action, choosing to meet the gunslinger half way. She flashed him a genuine smile as he approached and was glad to see that he was well. The last time she had seen him, his friends had knocked him silly and carried him home because he was needed there urgently. She had chance to be favored with his affections and could not deny that she missed him, unashamed to admit that he was one of the few customers with whom she actually enjoyed the experience of love making. However, as he approached, she spied the wedding ring on his finger and guessed immediately that his circumstances had changed since their last meeting. While she was disappointed, in a way she was also glad for him. The sorrow often displayed by him over the loss of his wife was so deep that she felt pity for his overwhelming grief and was pleased that he had picked up the reins of his life.
"Senor." She smiled. "It is good to see you."
"Its good to see you too." Chris answered and surprised himself with how genuine he had felt about that statement. Before Mary, this woman had nursed him through a lot of hard nights when the ache for Sarah had been so bad; he would have likely done something foolish if not for her. "This here is Vin Tanner." He introduced the quiet tracker to the sultry Mexican beauty.
"Ma'am." Vin tipped his hat politely. Chris obviously thought a lot of the lady and so Vin afforded her every respect.
They found themselves a table and Chris bought Maria a drink before they got down to business. Maria was a veteran of Purgatory and was smart enough to keep her eyes and ears open to source out obscure pieces of information that ultimately ended up being invaluable to him. "You hear anything about anyone from across the border hiring local talent and sending it up Four Corners way?" Chris asked.
Maria considered the question. "Not really Senor." She shook her head in answer but a slight crease had appeared in her dusky skin as the question bounced off her.
"Is not really mean absolutely no, or you ain't sure?" Vin questioned for the purpose of clarification. He had caught the reaction in her face when it etched into a frown. To him at least, it appeared as if she was uncertain about something that might relate to what they were asking, even though she had yet to voice it and seemed somewhat unsure on its relevance.
"I do not know whether or not it is what you are talking about," Maria confessed taking a sip of her whiskey. "A few weeks ago, I had a man who came from your town. He was Mexican and I have not seen him before. His name was Luis and he was on his way across the border to a small town not far from Ciudad Juarez, if I remember right."
It did not seem related but Vin remembered that Inez's home town was a small village not far from Ciudad Juarez and urged her to continue. "Go on."
"Well," Maria continued. "He paid for me for the whole night because he had a lot of money to spend. It seems that he had been living in Four Corners for awhile. A few months I think." She tried to recall exactly what he had said that night. "He said he was paid to stay there and keep an eye on someone I think."
Vin and Chris exchanged glances but said nothing, waiting instead for Maria to give up all the information she knew on the subject. "There is not much more Senors," she explained genuinely sorry she could not help them any further. "He was there to watch over someone and when I saw him, he was on his returning home to report his news to the Don of some small village."
"Thank you darlin." Vin gave her a slight wink as Chris pushed a crumpled note in her direction. A dollar for ten minutes work was considerably generous and she offered him a warm smile as she rose to her feet to leave. She still had business to conduct and she sensed that the two men before her had things to discuss.
"It was good to see you Chris," she said affectionately as she prepared to depart, lowering her lips to his in a gentle kiss of goodbye before she disappeared into the crowd.
Chris shrugged, feeling slightly embarrassed in front of Vin who was ignoring his discomfiture and more focussed on what Maria had told them about her 'client'. "Looks like Don Paulo had Inez watched for quite some time." He commented once they were alone again.
"Yeah," Chris nodded in agreement but could not fathom the timing. "I still don't get it though. If he had her watched for months, that means he's been thinking about revenge for longer than that."
"And if he's had someone good enough to watch her all this time, with none of us being the wiser then why didn't he just kill her and be done with it?" Vin questioned further as they tried to unravel this puzzle that did not seem to make any sense with the clues they had so far been provided. It felt as if they were missing something, something vitally important.
"Or Buck for that matter." Chris reminded. "He's got as much to do with the man being killed as Inez. More so in fact, since Buck's the one who actually ran Paulo through with that oversized butter knife."
"This smells really bad Chris," Vin replied because he had something of an idea and the concept was so distasteful, particularly where Chris was involved, that the tracker was reluctant to bring it up. "He must know that Inez is having a baby. You think he waited this long so that he could kill the baby as soon as it was born. You know as some kind of sick lesson to Buck about how it feels to lose a child?"
Chris did find that distasteful but it was not a possibility he had not already considered. From the onset of discovering that Don Paulo's father intended revenge upon them, Chris had assumed the timing had been based on that. After all, why else would the man wait for this long to take his vengeance out on those who killed his son when there had been so many opportunities in the past to do so? Instead the man had waited until two weeks before Inez's baby was due to be born to make his move and terrorize her family. Did he intend to kill mother and child, as a lesson to Buck that Chris knew all to well? That could have been done any time in the last nine months and be just as prolific. There was no reason to wait until the child was almost born unless...
"Christ." Chris exclaimed softly because the idea was simply monstrous.
Vin looked sharply at Chris, alarmed by the sudden statement and the look of growing horror filtering into the gunslinger's face. "What?"
"Maybe, he don't intend to kill the baby at all." Chris met the tracker's cobalt coloured eyes.
"Not kill the baby?" Vin did not understand but feel himself poised on the edge of something dark and Chris' words were going to pull him over the edge. "What else would he do if he ain't out to kill Inez and the baby?"
"Oh I think he'll kill Inez all right" Chris quickly reiterated. "But I don't think he's going to kill the baby. I think he's going to steal it."
"Jesus." Vin uttered a shocked gasp. "That's sick."
"It is but it's almost beautiful in its cruelty. Think about it Vin, he kills Inez and takes the baby. He has to kill Buck too or else it ain't gonna work. However, before he kills Buck, he lets Buck know whose going to be raising the kid after he is dead."
"Great send off." Vin muttered, his insides twisting with disgust at the psychology at work and prayed that Chris was wrong, that no man was pushed so far over the edge to take their vengeance out on an unborn child, deciding its fate before it was even born.
"Yeah but perfectly reasonable if it was your child that was killed." Chris replied, knowing full well what kind of dangerous fantasies whispered in the mind of the surviving parent of dead family. How many times had he wallowed in a drunken stupor and conjured all kinds of death for his family's murderer? It was not lost upon him that he could have gone the way the Don had now become. Bucks as well as Mary had been his salvation because his old friend had goaded him, most of the time unwillingly, into realising that life went on and he had to let go of Sarah and Adam, no matter how hard it was to say goodbye. Once, he had lashed out at Buck because he had been angry that he no longer remembered what Sarah looked like or how Adam called him pa. Now, he understood that it was necessary to forget, to let the mind acknowledge that those people were gone and let the rest of him heal with that realisation. There was no way he could have maintained a relationship with Mary or enjoy the bliss following their marriage if he had not made that final crossing from grief in to remembrance.
"We still ain't got no idea if he's got men in place or are they still coming." Vin grumbled, unhappy at their lack of information, particularly now after hearing Chris' theory on what the Don's real intentions were.
"Well we've learnt enough to know that he is coming and beyond that, we can wait him out." Chris pointed out, appreciating Vin's dislike of the situation. He was not any happier about it either. Buck and Inez were his friends and any threat against them and their child was met with extreme prejudice by him. "Or we can take a ride out to Val Verde before he gets here."
"I could do that." Vin agreed. "Do we keep going on or head our at first light tomorrow?"
"No, we'll get back to town first," Chris replied. "Let the others know what we're doing." In truth, Chris was more specific about letting Mary know more than anything else. The last time he took a trip across the border, things had ended badly and he was definitely not making the same mistake this time around. They also needed to make contingency plans in case they got to Val Verde and found things much worse than they were. In truth, Chris preferred any confrontation with the Don to be conducted outside of Four Corners, well away from Inez or her baby.
The woman had enough troubles to deal with at the moment.
"I am never ever going to forgive you for this!" Julia Pemberton swore just before she flung a vase at him.
Ezra ducked, watching it sail overhead before impacting quite spectacularly on the wall behind him and spraying his coat with broken fragments before the bulk of the debris scattered all over her floor. Julia had not spoken a word to him since he had brought her back from Bitter Creek. Granted, she had been unconscious for the half the journey back, however, upon regaining consciousness, she had fired a litany of abuse at him that had yet to yield during the course of the trip back to Four Corners. Now that she was in her house, her anger showed no signs of abating as she now had ammunition to fire at him.
"Julia, I promise you. I did this for your own good." He insisted, trying to approach him and was forced back by the venomous glare she received when he took a step forward to cross the space between them.
"You...you...hit me!" She shouted angrily.
"And you have no idea how abhorrent an act that was to someone who subscribes to being a perfect gentleman and conducting oneself in a civilised manner." He retorted with typical Ezra calm which only served to infuriate her even more. Julia was pacing the floor, working herself into a proper state of unrest as she raged.
"Ezra, you have no idea what I am running from!" She said angrily, wishing she could tell him so he would understand her reasons.
"My dear," Ezra met her gaze with a hint of criticism in her eyes. "I am the last person on earth to make this admission but you need to let the money go. You obviously have a great deal of savy at at making up for the loss and you have enough left to you once you return whatever you stole from your father. If you do that, he has no power over you and I swear on my word as a gentlemen, that I will not let him touch you."
"Its too late for that," she snapped and lashed out. "He's already done that."
"What?" He stammered, not understanding for a moment and then started to realise as he saw the expression draining into her face. Finally, he could comprehend the reason for the deep seeded fear she had been displaying ever since news about Clemens reached her. She no longer paced and the rage had oozed away to reveal something else, a terrible agony of unspoken truth that she had shared with no one until this moment.
"When I was a little girl," she said quietly. "As soon as I was old enough to understand anything, I understood that I was alive and my mother was not. To my father, nothing else was more important for me to know. Oh he spoiled me, he gave me everything that I ever asked for, I had the best that money could by but these things never came free. There was a price tag attached to it that none of my family ever knew about or even suspected. "
"Julia I never..." Ezra tried to close the gap between them but she only drew away, almost until her back was to the wall. The pain in her eyes as she spoke about something so deeply personal it cut him to pieces inside mostly because he understood what it meant to keep secrets like that. When Julia had come home following the events that transpired at Faulkner's excavation, she found nothing amiss. Ezra revealed nothing about what had happened to him or between him, Mary and Alex. Like her, the wounds were too fresh and although he knew she guessed something was wrong, Julia had not pushed. However, the tables were now turned and he had to ask himself, whether or not he wished to do the same or respect her privacy. Even though she could not say it out loud, he had some idea of what she was edging reluctantly towards.
She had faltered in her attempt to tell him the truth. Just the memory of it, beyond the picture perfect images she had created inside her mind, was enough to make her shake like a little girl once again. She closed her eyes and the darkness that came brought the memory back even more potently as she saw herself, a small and vulnerable, listening to her breath in the dark, praying that the sounds she was hearing in the night was anything but a door turning. Papa's dove, she would hear him say and until she was 18 years old, when she had discovered that the only way to make those nightmares stop was to replace his face with someone else's. The rest of her family had called her a wanton without the slightest idea that she had lost her virginity when she was twelve years old.
Other girls would have gone to pieces but Julia did not, she created a vision of beauty where her father was perfect and the nightly horrors were a bad dream that she had to endure in exchange for freedom during the day. She had taught herself to stand it because she would bed any man that could take away the feeling of revulsion and in their eyes she was a siren to die for, not a creature living under the shadow of abuse. When papa became to old and she did not have to hear those words whispering in her ear when she was roused out of her sleep, then her life became mildly tolerable. She had beaten him at his own game by waiting him out and now that he was too old, she believed she had to only wait until he died and then she would truly be free.
Until Roderick Packard entered her life.
He was just another man who saw her as a vision of something else. To her father, she had been Eleanor Avery but to Roderick Packard, she was the thoroughbred in which he hoped to charm Philadelphia society into accepting him. They were two entirely different men but they were going to use her the same way. She had run because she had no choice and papa had always assumed that just because she tolerated everything that he did to her, there were no spirit left to chase her own dreams. He was wrong and she had fled, coming to Four Corners and finding her own life, one that did not rely upon her face for its existence. She was not prepared to give it up, not for anything.
"Julia I did not understand," Ezra whispered softly, taking his hands in her and telling her with a look she did not have to continue, he did not need to know even though he had guessed in these last few minutes. Julia had always said that her father had doted on her, lavished upon her all the love he never had a chance to give his wife. It was not until one applied those words in the context did Ezra realise how monstrous the statement truly was.
"Ezra, I can't let him find me." She started to cry. "I just can't."
"I will not let him harm you." Ezra said firmly, staring into her eyes as he spoke. "I promise you that you will never have to leave Four Corners or ever be subject to your father's twisted desires again but you have to trust me Julia. I have ruminated considerably on the problem at hand and I do believe that I may have a solution however, it will take both of us to carry out this scheme. I cannot do it without you and you do not have a choice but to help me."
Julia swallowed hard and nodded slowly. "I'm sorry Ezra," she whispered as he bundled her up in his arms and held her close. Feeling the safety of his embrace was enough to dispel some of the fear she was feeling if not all of it. "I've never spoken to anyone about what happened with papa. There was a time when I did not even think what he did was wrong. He certainly never did. As far as he was concerned he was loving me the same way he loved my mother."
Ezra tried to imagine what it was like and felt his heart constrict in his chest at the very thought of a helpless little girl, unknowing that the deep love and affection her father was displaying towards her was anything but healthy. It explained in great depth why a highborn woman of her class would take lovers with as much frequency as she might change dresses. There had been the puzzle he had been attempting to unravel since the day he met her and understood until now why it had been elusive because not even Ezra could have deciphered the hidden meaning of her words.
"I cannot imagine what horrors you must have endured." He said softly, still holding her in his arms. He wanted to protect her and keep her safe from the monster who would trick a child into believing that such was the way it should have been between a father and a child. The sins of fathers were great of late and he wondered if he should not count himself fortunate that he barely knew his own before his passing. "It must have been awful."
Her eyes hardened. "I didn't know it was meant to be any other way." She whispered softly as he stroked the fine strands of her red hair. "Except that I could never stomach it and then I was sixteen, someone else looked at me that way and it did not hurt so much. I tell people that my father was wonderful and Josiah reminds of papa except Josiah doesn't do the things papa does. Josiah is the way I always wanted papa to be."
"He will never hurt you again," Ezra declared and meant it absolutely. When they had first come together, Ezra had known he had loved her from the start, he just did not realise for one moment how much. He was somewhat astonished that they had survived the first month when in his mind, he had envisioned that she was a bright spark in his life that would end eventually, as all the good times in his life often did when he least expected it. However, Julia had surprised Ezra by not vanishing and with the months that tumbled past, Ezra came to realise that she was a permanent fixture in his life. He would die to protect her, just as he would die without her.
Julia met his gaze and found that she believed him just as she trusted him when he claimed to have a solution to of her predicament. "I love you Ezra," she said softly. "I would not still be here if it were not for that." She offered him a faint smile but her eyes still showed her fear.
"I know that, my darling." Ezra whispered in her ear. "And I promise, you will never have cause to regret that."
Ezra hoped the plan he had in mind was a sound as his confidence.
Men were in place.
They had arrived a little more than a week ago, posing as the drifters that inevitably came to a town like Four Corners and stayed a spell. In service to Don Alejandro Paulo for longer than the time spent in this small community, they remained anonymous, being instructed repeatedly on this point while the leader amongst them kept their quarry under close surveillance as the days progressed. The warning to keep away was not to be taken lightly for the lady was under the protection of seven men who acted as the law in town. Each in their own way formidable and combined they were a force to be reckoned with and certainly not to be underestimated. Judging by the esteem she was held by these men, it was almost assured that they would kill anyone who would attempt to harm her.
It was a strange arrangement for any outsider not familiar with the situation surrounding Inez and the seven. Most of the man had attachments elsewhere and Inez herself, according to rumour was with child to one of the lawmen, although this union had not been sealed in matrimonial ceremony despite the scandalous nature of her position. With the exception of a select few, it became obvious to Don's men, that the lady had been publicly vilified by most of the town's folk for her unfortunate condition. To them, it made little difference because she had a part to play in Alejandro's plan that did not require her reputation to be pristine.
Every man in town at the behest of Don Alejandro Paulo had been in loyal service to the man over the years. Most had taken this task begrudgingly, aware that this was a necessary evil that had to be carried out if the man was ever to pick up the reins of his life once more and be the leader and pillar they had once knew. They could care less for his son and cared more for the fact that his death had driven his father to the edge of sanity, rather than any true need for vengeance. Don Stefano Paulo had been since childhood, a capricious being who engender no loyalty in the men who served his father, possibly because they had seen the jarring contrast between father and son. However, if it required the death of this woman and her lover to bring Don Paulo senior back to his right mind, then it was a price they were happy to pay.
Since the boy's death, they had noticed the change in the man's behaviour. He had become more erratic and the compassion that had inspired their loyalty was well run dry. He obsessed more and more about his son's death and began to forget that the boy was a burden from the day he was born. Those in his service, humoured him because he was a father in grief but as the months progressed, his sorrow showed no signs of abating and the man he had once been was almost withered away in the need for vengeance. They knew of no other way to help him other than to satisfy that need so that perhaps he could go on living again.
This morning, one of the men stationed in the saloon where the lady worked, reported that she was preparing to leave the room that she had occupied during her residency in town and was planning to move to a new location outside of it. This coupled with the fact that two of the seven were seen riding out of town at dawn, brought a whole new perspective to the situation. Although an unexpected wrinkle had emerged in the appearance of Paloma Rosillos in town, the warning she had given her daughter had only served to further their cause since the attention of the five remaining lawmen were divided between offering Inez and her mother protection. Since Paloma had not been receptive to her daughter's condition as any good Christian woman would be, they were not guarded together and once again the number of those protecting Inez was further lessened.
They gathered in the livery in secret later that morning, when the new intelligence had been gathered and decisions had to be made as to their next course of action. Ramirez who was the makeshift leader of the group, shared his men's desire to have this duty over and done with. It reeked with dishonour but their conditioning to offer the Don's unswerving loyalty urged them to continue providing it. Ramirez was a man in his late forties, he had been in the service of the Don for nearly two decades and was aware how much the man was twisting inside from the death of his son. As he gathered his men inside the livery, he almost felt relieved that very soon the Don would have his vengeance and perhaps they might get back the master they had served for so long.
"We move as soon as it gets dark." Ramirez informed his men behind the livery stable. They could not converge like this for long. Their anonymity had been assured the past week because they had not openly gathered in these numbers. Instructions had been communicated between the group, one at a time and always under the cover of dark and at some isolated location that would not rouse suspicion. The need for secrecy was a must. The agent who had stayed here for months watching the lady had reported on the efficiency of her guardians and Ramirez was not prepared to take any chances.
"What about the ones guarding the old lady?" One of his men inquired.
"Let them stay where they are," Ramirez replied. "If they wish to believe that the old lady and her daughter are in danger, then so be it. It only helps us that they remain in town with the women and not at the farm with Inez and her lover."
"Do we take her lover?" Someone else asked.
"No," Ramirez shook his head. "Wilmington dies tonight." He said grimly, knowing in the pit of his stomach that it was nothing less than murder that they were committing and men of honour did not find such a task palatable. "Don Paulo was very specific about that." He swallowed the bile in his throat at hearing the Don's orders play in his head and knowing that this part of the plan fell to him. "None of you need worry, you are only required to take Inez back to Val Verde. The task of killing Wilmington is mine."
"You Ramirez?" Eduardo, one of the younger men in the group looked at him. "You are intending to do this alone?"
"Yes," Ramirez nodded sombrely. "The Don would have me deliver a message to Wilmington before he dies, so he can go to the grave knowing what it is the Don has planned for Inez and his child."
"Does he intend to kill the baby?" Someone asked because no one was familiar with the plan beyond acquiring the lady and returning to Val Verde.
As that statement was made, all eyes looked at Ramirez in question and the man knew that if it were indeed the plan to commit such a monstrous act of murder, he would not have participated in it. There was no amount of loyalty in any of them that would allow such a thing to transpire. As it was, Ramirez would have been happier if the Don had hired men who were accustomed to such work to handle this situation for him but Alejandro trusted no one other than those he knew and thus Ramirez was forced to carry out this undertaking himself. "Of course not." Ramirez said quickly before the idea was allowed to take root and he was faced with dissension. "I have only been told we are to bring Inez back to Val Verde."
The others seemed satisfied with that even though Ramirez knew they were all in two minds about what the Don required of them. Loyalty alone was fuelling their incentive in this matter and Ramirez knew that they all had doubts already as to the fate of Inez Rossilos when she finally returned home, in particular that of her child. While it was one thing to take vengeance on a wanton who had found herself in the circumstances that Inez had, it was another thing entirely to place blame upon a child who was not even conceived when the younger Don Paulo had been killed.
In truth, he knew precisely what the Don had planned for Inez but he was not voicing it to the others as of yet. He had no idea how they would take it because he was still mixed about it himself and the truth was, he needed them too much at the moment to jeopardise their appointment tonight.
"One other thing," Ramirez warned as he prepared to disband the group once more. "Stay indoors today. Paloma and Calla knows us all by sight, she cannot be allowed to bring us to the attention of Inez's guardians."
The others seemed to agree and nodded their approval with his suggestion when he finally gave them leave to go, following some last minute instructions on when they should rendezvous for their nocturnal incursion and their subsequent journey home to Val Verde with Inez Rosillos in their company.
After her fiery exit from the Standish Tavern, it was Josiah Sanchez who finally dared to approach Paloma and Calla Rossillos at their lodging house and explain to them that in light of the danger represented by the vengeful Don Paulo, it was best to move to alternate accommodations. Ambivalent as she was in accepting anyone's help, particularly those who in her view were responsible for her daughter's decline in morality, it helped when she learnt that Josiah was a man of the cloth. It did not matter that he had not been a practising clergyman for some time or that he was more a man of the law than he was of God, the fact that he had been a preacher was enough to warrant her trust.
Fortunately, with this advantage, Josiah was able to convince Paloma that perhaps it would be wiser if she took refuge in his church for the duration. With the threat of Don Paulo's revenge on Inez more or less confirmed with her arrival in Four Corners, the task of guarding her would be much easily carried out inside the confines of his church rather than the small, cramp space of their room in the lodging house. Besides, Josiah hoped that perhaps time with Inez's friends might convince the lady that her daughter was not the bad seed that she believed her to be. Like the rest of the seven, Josiah was aware of how brutally she had received news of Inez's pregnancy. While Josiah had not turned away from the Lord so completely as to forget the commandments, he did know that God seldom viewed any one person so unilaterally and if the Almighty could do that then perhaps it would not harm men to do the same.
However, the woman was damn near impossible to convince and no matter how much he tried to reach her on this point, Paloma was immovable. Calla however, did not appear as judgemental and seemed bound by what her mother had decided for them both instead of how she truly felt. Josiah felt for the girl because it seemed as if she was caught between her love and loyalty for both her sister and Paloma and the only conceivable way that Josiah could see her breaking out of this trap was if Inez and her mother were reconciled.
"Give it up Josiah." Nathan had suggested after he had witnessed another pointless discussion between Josiah and Paloma. Nathan had to give Josiah some credit for his determination. The preacher was fired up to solve this situation and did not intend on giving up, no matter how stubborn Paloma was that her daughter was nothing more than a whore. Nathan could appreciate the flare of anger in Josiah's manner as those words were used and found himself having to bit his tongue and keep his own annoyance in check at that term being used to refer to Inez. Like the preacher, Nathan thought very highly of Inez and even though he was annoyed that Rain was working in the saloon, he had to be grateful that Inez had offered Rain the job in the first place, allowing her to stay in Four Corners. "There ain't no way you gonna convince that woman of anything."
"It's the challenge that makes us," Josiah said sipping a cup of coffee and glancing at the back room where Paloma had taken her daughter after their latest debate on Inez's situation.
"It's a shame that she's gotta be so thick headed." Nathan shook his head in distaste wondering why it was so important that ceremony be observed with such rigidity that it eclipsed the joy of new life coming into world. "I mean with Inez only being weeks away from delivering, it would have been good for her to have her momma near by."
"Her mother is a proud lady," Josiah pointed out. "Sometimes you raise your expectations of how you want your child to be, it ain't easy discovering that they can't always live up to the dream." Josiah knew personally what it was like to be raised this way. His missionary father had such lofty dreams for both his children and while Josiah had managed in part to fulfil some of his father's wishes, his sister's struggles for her own identity had led to tragedy.
"Hello." A decidedly feminine voice sang out from the main entrance of the church. Nathan and Josiah turned to see Audrey King standing at the door, as if awaiting permission to enter even though it was public domain.
"Audrey, nice to see you." Josiah said feeling a genuine smile of pleasure stealing across his face at the sight of the widow. After their supper together, an evening which Josiah thoroughly enjoyed, the widow was more at ease with being around him and had dropped in on occasion to say hello whenever time allowed for it. On this occasion, she came armed with a basket and although Josiah could not see what was in it, he could certainly smell the tasty aroma of warm biscuits.
"I made biscuits today," Audrey replied, feeling a little bit embarrassed, debating whether or not she was being forward with this gesture. "I thought Mrs Rosillos might like them. Mary told me that she was here."
Josiah shrugged, uncertain whether or not company for the lady was such a good idea at the moment. "I don't know Audrey," Josiah explained honestly, not wishing to lie to her but not wanting Mrs Rosillos venom aimed at her in any way. Since their supper, Josiah was finding that he had real feelings for the woman but he was determined not to rush her because it he sensed she still had reservation about him. However, the truth was, he did not know enough about Audrey to gauge how she would react if Paloma took her act of kindness badly. " The lady's awful mad and she don't like too many people asking her about her daughter. If you're going to see her, I suggest not bringing up Inez."
"Yeah," Nathan agreed, noticing the chemistry between the two and trying not to smirk as he spoke to her. "She gave Josiah an earful already."
"Well," Audrey said confidently on that point at least. "I did not intend to bring it up. I was just meaning to be friendly." Really, her reason here had more to do with seeing Josiah than Inez's mother but Audrey had not wanted to seem too forward by just appearing on Josiah's doorstep.
"That never goes astray," the preacher grinned. "She's in those room back there." Josiah gestured toward the back rooms that ran at behind the congregation hall of the church. As he watched her walk past him, attempting to face the lion in his den, Josiah hoped sincerely that she would not get bitten too badly.
When Audrey had inquired after Inez, Mary had told her the whole story of how badly Paloma had taken the news of Inez's pregnancy. Remembering first hand how distraught the poor woman had been at her treatment by anyone who felt it their business to offer judgement on her condition, Audrey's heart had gone out to Inez. While she had no intention of making any entreaty to Paloma, she wondered how any mother could treat her daughter that way at a time like this. Lilith with all her flaws was still her daughter and while Audrey would have liked a child with her own flamboyant disposition, she loved her daughter nonetheless for those very differences.
Knocking on the door to Paloma's room, she heard a taut invitation to enter and reconsidered the idea of making contact with the woman. However, since she was the door already, it seemed like a moot point since she had made her presence known already. Audrey peered into the room and saw two women, one who looked nothing at all like Inez and another who appeared to be a younger version. The girl appeared to be very unhappy and Audrey had the distinct impression that she had intruded upon a private discussion.
"Senora Rosillos," Audrey introduced herself as Paloma began to eye her sharply. "I am pleased to meet you and your daughter, I am Audrey."
"Are you another of my daughter's 'friends'?" Paloma regarded her with a tone of voice that was anything but pleasant.
"Yes," Audrey replied, determined not to be intimidated by the woman's imposing stare. She could well understand how distressed Inez must have been after a verbal barrage from her mother. Paloma looked as if she could cut a person to ribbons with the sharp edge of her words. "Inez is a friend of mine but I came to see you for no purpose other than to offer a greeting to our fair town. I myself am new to Four Corners and I know what it is like to be a stranger in a new place."
"You were not chased out of your home," Paloma retorted. "We were."
"Mama!" Calla spoke up with a surge of dismay. "I'm sure Miss Audrey was only being nice."
"I am no fool," she whirled on Audrey. "I know that you are all trying to convince me that my daughter is a saint. Do not waste your time, Inez is dead to me now." Paloma said fiercely.
Audrey nodded slightly, keeping her own annoyance under control and forcing herself to remember that Paloma was very angry and was lashing out at her because she could not do it to Inez. "That is unfortunate." Audrey replied after a moment. "Tell me Mrs Rosillos, would you rather her be dishonoured than dead?"
Paloma stared at her, unable to fathom when Audrey continued. "It's actually worse for you to have your honour stained than it is for you to bear her dying isn't it?"
"I love my children, you with your nice clothes and your soft hands, do you know what I have endured to raise them, to see that they are brought up well?" Paloma snapped, feeling defensive because this stranger's question had struck a nerve and Paloma found that she could not find a satisfactory answer within herself to respond.
"We all endure that Mrs Rosillos," Audrey looked at her sharply. "Some of us fail but we all know what it is like to stay up at nights and worry about our children, even those of us with soft hands." She concluded, without a hint of bitterness at Paloma's earlier insult.
"She was raised better than to become pregnant like this." Paloma said defiantly. "I raised her to be have respect for herself and the ways of God."
Audrey let out a heavy sigh. "We all raise our children according to our ways but it does not always happen. This is not a perfect world Mrs Rosillos, what we want for our children is seldom what occurs. Children have a mind of their own and no matter what we may dream for them, they must find their own way and unfortunately, sometimes the way is wrong. When one is young as they are, with their entire lives before, what need is there to stop and think of consequences or what awaits at the end of life when there is so much today before them? Mistakes are permissible in youth that what being young is all about. We learn from what we err in our childhood. I am sure, Inez more than anyone is aware of that now. Rebuke her if you wish but do not call what she has done a disgrace. There are not many who have faced the judgement at the hands of this town but she has done it, without fear or hesitation. All that matters to her is the child, not the disgrace. It's a pity that you cannot say the same."
"That is not true," Paloma retaliated but she could not find the argument to refute anything that Audrey had said. It was true, Inez had put the child before the disgrace and Paloma had not. Paloma had disowned the child to avoid the disgrace. There was something unforgivable in that act that made the woman unable to say anything in her defence. "It is not true." She muttered, trying harder to convince herself than those present.
"Yes it is mama!" Calla cried out. "I love Inez and I don't care that she's going to have a baby. She said so herself, she is going to marry soon, what difference does it make?" Calla had been too afraid to speak out; allowing herself only bursts of defiance to express her dismay at the situation that had developed between her mother and her sister. "I want to be apart of my niece or nephew's life mama and I think you are wrong to be so cruel to Inez, especially when Don Paulo is coming after her. What if he harms her mama? What if something happens to her and the last words you said to her, are truly the last things she will ever hear from you?"
"You will not speak to me with such insolence Calla," Paloma retorted angrily. Her voice was little more than a whisper and Audrey could see she was struggling to justify her actions towards her daughter when both a stranger and her child had brought up valid points to which there was no argument she could use.
However, Calla was beyond hearing and promptly hurried out the door, leaving Audrey alone with Paloma. "I hardly know Inez Mrs Rosillos, I do not know whether we could even be called friends. When I came in here, I did so with the intention of welcoming you to Four Corners, not to change your mind about your daughter. No one can make that decision but you and it is one you must make alone." Audrey turned towards the door, prepared to take the same path out of the room that Calla had used a short time ago.
"Wait." Paloma said suddenly, the hostility drained from her face as she stared at Audrey. A faint whisper of a smile curled the corner of her lips. She swallowed hard as if she was trying to make a momentous decision before speech finally left her lips. "I would like it if you stayed a while." Paloma said finally.
A slow smile of equal brilliance stole across Audrey's face and she answered with some measure of satisfaction. "It would be my pleasure, Mrs Rosillos."
"Paloma," the woman returned. "My name is Paloma, Audrey."
"It is good to know you Paloma." Audrey replied and held up the basket in her hand that was forgotten in the last few minutes. "I had come bearing biscuits." She offered the woman a friendly smile.
Paloma met her gaze and answered. "Perhaps, we can have it while we sit and I let you tell me, how brave my daughter has been."
Ezra only had to look at Julia and know her needs to run was overwhelming.
It was no easy thing he was asking of her and he knew it, which was why he agreed to accompany her when she finally sent for Clemens who had by now guessed that Julia Pemberton and Julia Avery were one and the same person. Before he flashed that picture of Julia in his possession to any more people in town, Ezra had convinced her that she needed to put an end to his inquiries before the entire town pointed the man in her direction. While Clemens had not revealed why he was searching for Julia, the photograph was recognised by enough people for him to know that his search for the lady had finally come to fruition.
Julia had sent for the man to meet her in her office at the Emporium with Ezra standing close by to offer moral support. While it might look like to Clemens that this was just another meeting, it was anything but that. Ezra had a plan and to put it into effect, there had to be some established foreground from which to work with. As the door knocked and Ezra saw Julia shudder in her chair, Ezra knew that his plan had to work or else she would disappear out of his life and he had the sneaking suspicion that she was just terrified enough to sacrifice their relationship in her flight.
"Come in," Julia swallowed thickly, trying to hide how she truly felt by slipping a mask of indifference over her face almost as flawlessly as he concealed his emotions from everyone he knew as a professional requirement.
Ezra who stood by her side as she sat at her desk, squeezed her hand gently to show her that she was not alone in this. "Are you ready?" He inquired hastily before Clemens made his entry into the room.
Julia nodded and answered softly. "As I will ever be." She said reluctantly.
Ezra had no more chance to add any last minute instructions, when Clemens walked into the room. He stared at Julia first and then at Ezra, with a hint of accusation about the gambler's deception when they had first met.
"Miss Avery." Clemens declared.
"Pemberton." Julia corrected. "I prefer you call me Miss Pemberton." Her tone bore none of the fear that been so transparent to Ezra a second ago and he felt proud at her ability to maintain the facade so well.
"Miss Pemberton." Clemens nodded in understanding, not wishing to upset the lady since their business was hardly pleasant.
"I believe you have already met Mr Standish." Julia introduced Ezra as she beckoned Clemens to take a seat.
"Yes," Clemens retorted eyeing Ezra critically. "I am assuming that you and Miss Pemberton have an attachment of sorts?" In truth, Clemens knew perfectly well they had because during his inquiries around town, he had learnt about Julia's life here and her known confederates.
"I apologise for deceiving you earlier Mr Clemens," Ezra apologised. "As you can appreciate, I was unwilling to make any disclosure until I was aware of Miss Pemberton's version of the facts."
"I do," Clemens replied with surprising empathy. "Now, Miss Pemberton as you probably are aware by now, your father has hired the Pinkerton Agency to locate you."
"Mr Clemens," Ezra said coolly. "You have found Miss Pemberton and you have performed your task admirably considering what you indicate to me was required to find her, however, Miss Pemberton is under no legal obligation to return with you anywhere and she does have a right to her privacy."
"That is true." Clemens agreed, realising now with whom he would be dealing with and shifted his focus accordingly. "However, I am not the law. I am a private citizen from a private agency. I can pass this information to her father and I am informed there is a matter of some money...." He looked at Julia, having guessed already that the amount in question was used to finance the establishment of the business they were presently in.
"I am willing to pay that sum back in full." Julia stated firmly. "However, I do not wish my whereabouts to be disclosed to my father."
"I cannot help that." Clemens replied sincerely.
"What exactly would it take to make you forget you found Miss Pemberton, Mr Clemens?" Ezra looked at him.
"Are you proposing a bribe?" The detective stared at him with an unreadable expression.
"You are not a government official to make that illegal," Ezra remarked automatically, unperturbed by his manner. However, he had to know how the man thought to be able to devise a way to rid Julia of her problem.
"A bribe is still a bribe." The man pointed out. "I am not swayed by such things and my job is something I take seriously, as my duty to my clients. I am afraid that any monetary remuneration is quite impossible to sway that task."
"Then you leave me no choice Mr Clemens," Julia replied, remembering what Ezra had told her to say in case this response was received from the man. "I cannot allow my father to find me. I would however ask you to take the money I owe my father back to him and you may tell him my present whereabouts, I do not think it will make any difference by the time he arrives here."
"I take it you will be departing." Clemens said uncomfortably. He had no reason to stop her from going because as Standish had pointed out, she was of sound mind and of adult age to be able to move about freely. While he had been hired to find her for Donald Avery, there was no way he could coerce her into going with him, if she chose otherwise, which apparently she had.
"I have no choice but to leave." Julia answered. "By the time, you depart, Mr Standish and I will be preparing to quit Four Corners permanently. However, if you can run that one errand for me. I will appreciate it."
"Your father is determined to find you Miss Pemberton," he pointed out. "If it is not I who comes after you, someone else will. Would it not be simpler if you just accompanied me back to Philadelphia and tell him for yourself your reasons for leaving. He strikes me a most understanding man."
Julia stiffened visibly and Ezra said the dark hatred that surfaced in her eyes from that one statement. Suddenly, Ezra had some idea of what kind of abuse she must have endured to engender that much anger. He had never suspected its existence and Ezra felt some measure of guilt at that because it was something he should have seen. He had made it his profession to read people and even if he had not been able to see through the well crafted illusion, Julia had fabricated about her father. He supposed any false truth was better than the reality of it.
"Miss Pemberton's issues with her father are not your concern as are her reasons for not seeing him Mr Clemens," Ezra spoke for Julia, knowing that she took great offence to the man referring to her father as an 'understanding' man. Besides, the trap was set for Clemens and this interview had outlived its usefulness. "If you would give us a date for departure, then we can make the arrangements to transfer the cash to your person."
"Of course," Clemens replied, having guessed that he was being dismissed. "I will let you know of my travel arrangements as soon as I have the information. Good day Miss Pemberton," He tipped his hat in her direction and then nodded slightly at Ezra's direction before leaving the room.
When he was gone, Julia let out a sigh of relief, glad that that whole process was finally over. She knew as well as he did that Clemens had taken the bait and the success of their entire scheme had hinged upon that one fact. Ezra had promised her that if their plan worked, she would not only continue her anonymity from her father but also allowed her to retain the money that she had absconded from him during her initial flight from home.
"You really think this will work?" Julia looked at Ezra hopefully, wanting him to give her good news. In this matter, Julia did not think she could stand it to be otherwise.
"Not only will it work," Ezra allowed himself a confident smile, now more or less certain that he knew what made Mr Clemens tick and knowing that had given Ezra an exploitable weakness they could use to their advantage. "It will work well. Trust me." He offered her a smug grin before leaning over to plant a kiss on her lips. "I told you," he said as his features softened. "I will not let any harm come to you."
"I hope so," she answered, not sharing his optimism even if she believe that he would protect her from her father. "I hate to leave this place if this doesn't work."
"It will work." Ezra retorted quickly, unprepared to let that happen under any circumstances. Both their lives were too seeded in Four Corners to walk away from it and he knew that Julia did not wish to begin life on the run. She was in her element as the owner of the Pemberton Emporium and Ezra truly believed that it was the first time in her life where she felt her physical attributes were not all there was to her existence. She had a sense of accomplishment here that Ezra was determined she keep.
Ezra just hoped the gamble he was taking with her life would work because he was not prepared to lose her.
When Inez Rosillos stepped through the door to her new home, she had expected to see clutter and chaos stacked in boxes everywhere, with no sense made to anything. However, when she finally arrived at the homestead she had newly leased from Mary Larabee and entered the threshold of the front door, she had reason to pause and utter a quiet gasp that bordered on awe and surprise. Even Buck and JD who were with her, acting as guardians while this threat of Don Alejandro Paulo's loomed over her head, were somewhat astonished by what Mary and company had managed to accomplish making the house suitable for habitation.
It was almost nightfall and Inez had spent the day with Buck, gathering the last of her things from the saloon for the big move to the homestead. Despite herself, Inez felt herself strangely nostalgic at the departure from the home she had known for the past two years. While it was odd feeling sorry to leave a place that was nothing more than a room in a saloon, Inez could not deny that she felt sad to say goodbye to the premises. So much had happened to her since she first arrived in Four Corners and this room had a fixed place in the history of her life here.
Even Ezra felt somewhat melancholic as she left the saloon and apologised profusely that he could not be present for her journey to her new home since he and Julia were facing something of a minor crisis of their own. Inez did not know the full details but guessed what it could be if the news aroudn town about a Pinkerton detective search for Julia was accurate. She knew that Mary, Alex and Rain had been taking turns putting the house in order before her arrival but even Inez was somewhat awed at what their combined efforts had managed to yield in little under a day.
"Wow, this looks real nice." JD exclaimed boisterously as he helped Buck with the last of Inez's things and set down in what passed for the parlour of the home. He recalled what the place had looked like the last time they were here when Chris Larabee had set a deadly trap for the men who had murdered Steven Travis, using Billy as bait. At the time, the killers had attempted to draw Chris and Billy out of their hiding place by setting fire to the house. Fortunately, as always, the rest of the seven had made a timely arrival and prevented a second tragedy from occurring and extinguishing the flames in time to preserve the building. Since then, JD was aware of some renovation work taking place to restore the house to some semblance of habitability. However, even he was impressed with the finished product before them.
"Thanks JD," Alex greeted as she stepped out of the kitchen. She had been putting the finishing touches on that part of the room and was glad to have all of it done by the time Inez had finally arrived. "We worked around the clock to get it done tonight. When it's all said and done, you owe us a dinner of that great Mexican food you cook at the Tavern." Alex smiled as she approached Inez.
"Done." Inez exclaimed as she embraced Alex when the woman neared her, fighting to keep the emotion out of her voice. After that awful exchange with her mother, Inez was glad to know that she had so many friends to help her. The last few days had been an eye opening experience, revealing that she was not alone in her situation. If anything, she had learnt just how many people she had in her life who were willing to ignore the social taboo of her pregnancy and stand apart from the town's intolerance of her. It stung deeply that her friends were more understanding than her mother whom Inez had not seen since their quarrel in the saloon. In truth, Inez had done a good deal of thinking the night before to know that it would not make any difference if her mother never wished to speak to her again.
"It sure is Alex," Buck agreed, expressing his admiration for what all the women had done with a wide grin. "It looks real nice."
"Well," Alex said with a smile. "After everything you've been through lately, it's the least we could do."
"No kidding." JD could not disagree. "Buck, I'll take a ride around the place and check things out. You can stay here with Inez if you like."
"Nah," Buck shook his head. "I ain't gonna be stuck here listening to two women nagging about things." As he made that remark, Buck threw a perfectly devilish grin at the three women present.
"And such a wise decision that is," Alex retorted sarcastically, "considering the wealth of material we have to work with where you are concerned."
"I do declare Doctor Styles," Buck teased, enjoying the jousting verbally with the doctor. "Your tongue is sharper than a scalpel."
"So they tell me." Alex laughed. "I have no idea how Vin puts up with it." She gave Buck a little wink of mischief.
"Hey," Inez interjected, "do I have separate you two?"
"No I'm screaming surrender," Buck threw up his hands, conceding defeat. Besides, he did want to join JD and take that ride around the homestead to make certain that there was no one about. He took Inez's safety very seriously and knew that in her present condition, she would be able to do little to defend herself if trouble came her way. Buck would spare her that if he could help it. As it was, her mood towards him had improved significantly in the last day. For the first time since her acceptance of his proposal of marriage, it felt as if her reasons were not motivated by the impending birth of their child but out of a genuine sense of love for him. Knowing he had finally succeeded in engendering such emotion in her made Buck all the more determined not to squander the chance. "You gals going to be alright?" He asked as he started to walk out of the house.
"We'll be fine." Inez smiled at him. "You take care of yourself."
Once again, the show of emotion made Buck swell inwardly and he threw her a happy grin before answering in departure. "You get some rest, I'll be back later."
"Looks like things are working out between you and Inez," JD said as they left the house and took a quick ride around the Travis homestead. It was already dark and Buck was not too eager to spend too much time away from the main house where Inez and Alex were presently situated. With no idea how far ahead Don Paulo's plan of revenge had progressed since chasing Paloma and Calla Rosillos out of Val Verde, Buck did not want to take any chances.
"I guess they are." Buck said with a smile, unable to deny how pleased he was that his relationship with Inez was finally on the right track. He had spent the day with her and was amazed how much about the lady he did not know. While he had spent the last two years lusting and pursuing her, Buck found that he knew very little about Inez personally. Not only was she going to be his wife and the only woman that he had loved in recent years but she had also transformed into a riddle that he wanted to spend his whole life trying to unravel.
"Have you set a date for the wedding?" JD inquired, unspoken in his own joy at his friend's circumstances. As far as JD was concerned, Inez could become the madam of a bordello and he would still have considered her the finest woman he ever knew, next to Mary Travis, although he found Inez more approachable of the two. Inez had always reminded him of his ma because she was strong and formidable like his mother had been but had a tender side that seemed to emerge only when she was around him. He remembered the occasions when she had tended to him when he had been wounded or sick, where she had sat at his bedside and sang songs to him in Spanish that lulled him to sleep even though he did not understand the words. Buck and Inez were two of the most important people in the world to him and JD was thrilled that they were finally sealing their union in a more formal arrangement.
"After the baby comes I think." Buck replied evasively because he and Inez had not really discussed the subject in length. Personally he would prefer to be married before the baby arrived but he could appreciate why Inez would want to wait until after its birth.
"I guess it's hard to plan a wedding when you have no idea when the baby is going to show up." JD answered, seeing the intelligence in waiting.
"Yeah," he nodded. "Nothing worse than going into labour on your wedding day." Or a wedding night. Buck smiled inwardly, feeling a bit of the devil in him as that thought crossed him mind. "I'd like it to be special day for her," Buck added after a moment. "I don't want her to have to worry about if the baby is going to show up all through it."
"Are you scared Buck?" The youth inquired, looking at him.
"Of what?" Buck asked.
"Of being a father." JD answered because Buck had never seemed the type to strike him as fatherly even though his behaviour to JD had always been that. Somehow when it was directed at JD, it did not seem paternal even though JD knew Buck was looking out for him more than he did the others.
"A little," Buck confessed, having never been asked the question prior to this. "But to tell ya the truth, I'm kind of looking forward to it you know." A slow smile stole across his face. "Time was, I was terrified of it but after I got to thinking about it really, I found that I wouldn't mind a family some day. So it didn't turn up the way I expected it would but I got more than most men do in the same situation. I love Inez and I do want to marry her so I ain't complaining."
JD was about to respond when suddenly Buck heard something in the darkness and silenced him with a look. His eyes scanned the immediate vicinity, trying to see past the foliage surrounding them. "Quiet." He whispered cautiously and JD nodded quietly, as the two studied the surrounding area with deep scrutiny. Buck was uncertain of what he had heard but upon hearing it no more, he relaxed a little but not much.
"What was it Buck?" JD asked, not having heard the sound himself but relying upon the stony expression on Buck's face completely. Buck was rarely serious about anything but when it was needed, JD knew that Buck's instinct were sharp and never to be underestimated.
"Nothing." He shook his head, unable to identify the source of what he heard as that made by man or animal but could not shake this tightening across his chest. "Come on," he urged, turning his horse towards the house. "Let's get back."
"If you say so Buck," the younger man agreed, realising Buck's concern had not evaporated even if his suspicion of something amiss had not been confirmed. Without offering any further argument, JD directed his horse to follow Buck back to the house.
In the darkness that Buck had not been able penetrate, Ramirez and his men finally let out their breaths when they had seen him and his young companion withdraw. While it might have been simpler to kill Wilmington now, Ramirez wanted the element of surprise on their side when they finally emerged from their hiding places. Watching the two lawmen disappear into the night, most likely on the way back to the house, Ramirez knew they had to be intercepted before they got there. Once the coast was clear, he turned to his men and whispered quietly when he was certain that his voice would not carry across the woods or give away their position.
"You know what to do." He replied.
"Si Ramirez," his younger comrade nodded. "We'll take the woman."
"Good," Ramirez answered, motioning them to get on their way. He had his own task to fulfil and that involved a rendezvous with Don Paulo's killer.
It would be the last rendezvous that Buck Wilmington would ever make with anyone.