One Went to Denver and the Other Went Wrong (Code of the West) (12 page)

  Rebecca Maria’s eyes grew wide. “Señora! You have gone into one of those horrible dance halls?”

  “Oh, it was years ago. Before I ever met, eh, Mr. Dillard. Anyway, you don’t want to know about all of that.”

  The maid rocked in the straight-backed chair. “You should try to rest.”

  “I will.” Pepper closed her eyes. “But I’m afraid it will be rather boring for you.”

  “Watching you is not boring. You talk in your sleep.”

  Pepper’s eyes flashed open. “What do I say?”

  “Oh, you ramble on and on, making no sense at all. In your dreams you are mad at Señor Dillard. Then you are angry with a Señor Tap. And then you yell at a Señor Andrews. Are you mad at all men?”

  “I have no idea why I say those things.”

  “And you talked  of a blond-headed little boy. Do you have children?”

  “No. Do you?”

  “Señora, I am not married. Perhaps one day. You also  mumbled about your Jesus.”

  “My Jesus?”

  “Yes, you called to Him often and you were able to sleep more soundly for a while.”

  “I didn’t know I had called to Jesus, but I imagine I did. Who else could someone call to at a time like this?”

  Pepper closed her eyes again and tried to think of something besides the throbbing at the back of her head.

  “Rebecca Maria, I think I am falling asleep.”

  “Good night, Señora. I will be right here if you need me.”

  The last thing Pepper viewed were the gentle brown eyes of the governor’s maid sitting in the chair beside the bed.

  When she awoke, daylight flooded the room. A tray with a cup of steaming tea and several pieces of fried bread sat beside her. And a heavy-set man in long coat and tie peered at her over the top of small wire-rimmed spectacles.

  “Good. Very good. Now would you look straight at my eyes? Much clearer. Much, much clearer.”

  “Who are you?” Pepper asked.

  “Dr. Jamison. I will be attending the ball, so perhaps I’ll sneak up then and see how you are doing.”

  “Thanks, Doc. Do I owe you some money?”

  “No, of course not. In fact, the governor has taken care of everything. Rebecca Maria can send for me if you have any needs. Your husband is outside and wants desperately to talk to you. I’ll send him in.”

  “Rebecca Maria," Pepper whispered. "Please stay in the room when Mr. Dillard comes in. Don’t leave me alone with him.”

  “What? Señora, why would—”

  “Please. It’s very important.”

  “I will stay.”

  “Gracias.”

  “Por nada.”

  Carter Dillard strode in with a long coat and black tie. He carried his hat in his hand. “How’s my girl this morning? I was certainly worried. The doctor said —”

  “Cut the speech, Dillard. You got me to Denver. Isn’t that what you wanted?”

  He frowned at Rebecca Maria. “That will be enough. I’ll take care of my wife now."

  Rebecca Maria didn't move.

  "You may leave. Go on. ¿Habla ingles?”

  “She’s not going.”

  “What?”

  “I asked her not to leave me alone with you.”

  “Why?”

  “’Cause you shoved me out of the carriage.”

  “Pepper, really.” He turned to the maid. “She has taken a severe blow to the head. She must be incoherent.”

  “Dillard, listen to me. Listen carefully. As soon as I am physically able, I’m going to get up out of this bed and catch a stagecoach back to McCurley’s. In the meantime, you can have your charade and your Governor’s Ball and your rail contracts and whatever. Just leave me out of it. And I would prefer it if you never came back into this room again.”

  Carter Dillard glanced nervously again at the Mexican maid. "Quickly run and see if you can catch the doctor. I believe she has taken a turn for the worse. She doesn’t even seem to know who I am."

  “She knows who you are, I think. But I do not know who you are. I will stay with the señora.”

  “You will what? I told you to get out of here, and I mean it." He opened his topcoat revealing the .45 holstered at his hip.

  “That’s right. You are very good at beating up and threatening women. Rebecca Maria, if you want to go, please do. Just don’t get yourself hurt.”

  “I am not without my own defenses. No, I think I will stay. The governor asked that I take care of the señora. I would not be doing him a service to abandon her now.”

  “This is ridiculous," Dillard fumed. "I won’t stand for it. I’ll see the governor about this.”

  “Yes, do that,” Pepper added, “and also please ask him to come and talk to me privately. I have many things to tell him.”

  Dillard stomped to the door, then spun, and stalked toward Pepper.

  Rebecca Maria stepped between Dillard and the bed. “I think the señora needs some rest now.”

  Shoving the maid aside, Dillard shouted at Pepper, “You mess this deal up, and you’ll wish you would have died from that fall. Do you understand? And you won’t be the only one who has to pay. Your Mexican friend here will suffer too.”

  Pepper glanced across the sunlit room. “Rebecca Maria, are you hurt?”

  “¿Este hombre malo no es su esposo?”

  “No.”

  “Pepper, did you hear me?” Dillard’s face flushed deep scarlet.

  “Everyone in the governor’s house heard you.”

  “Look,” he sneered, lowering his voice, “I’ll stay out of this room. You make sure the governor stays out too. In two days I’ll be done with the negotiations, and then for all I care, you can go to . . .”

  A knock at the bedroom door.

  He swung open the door. The governor’s wife stood there with a newspaper and a worried look. “Is everything all right, Mr. Dillard? I thought I heard shouting.”

  “Yes. I was . . . just a little excited to find my wife so alert.”

  “Oh, good. There’s a man at the front door who says that he must see you at once. I believe the name is Pardee. He says it is quite urgent.”

  Dillard left the room in a huff, and the governor’s wife stuck her head in the door. “Is everything all right, dear?”

  “Yes, ma’am. Thanks for askin’. But I think I need Rebecca Maria to stay with me.”

  “Yes, of course. She will stay up here as long as you want. Try to get some rest. And don’t blame Mr. Dillard for being edgy. He’s probably just very worried about your welfare.” The governor’s wife headed down the hall.

  Rebecca Maria opened the curtains to allow some sunlight in the room and then came back to the bedside.

  “Thank you for standing by me.” Pepper smiled. “I have done nothing to deserve such loyalty. I’m afraid Dillard’s threat was real. He can be a very vindictive man. We could both be hurt.”

  Rebecca Maria patted Pepper’s hand between the palms of her own. “I think perhaps that the señora has not had a very easy life.”

  “You sized that up right.”

  “I have not had an easy life either.”

  “It’s a hard land out here.”

  “Oh, no, Señora, the land is very lovely. It is some of the people who are hard. Would you like to try to sit up a little today? Perhaps you would like to have me help you get dressed. You might feel better.”

  “I think I’ll just lay right here for a while.”

  “Then I will sit here with you. The doctor mentioned you should try to eat this bread. If it stays down, you can have some dinner.” She tore off a small bite of fried bread and held it in front of Pepper’s mouth.

  “Oh, you don’t have to feed me. I .
 . . I . . .”

  “It is all right. I will feed you, and you will tell me about Mr. Tap.”

  Pepper chewed on the bite of sweet bread. “Mr. Tap?”

  “You were talking in your sleep again last night. You were no longer angry with Mr. Tap, I think.”

  “It’s quite a long story.” Pepper sighed.

  “I am a good listener. I hope he is nicer than Mr. Dillard.”

  The doctor stopped back around 2:00 P.M. Pepper was reclining on top of the bed covers, wrapped in a thick dark robe. Rebecca Maria warmed an iron in front of the fire, and a silver-and-black dress lay on a chair beside the bed.

  “Oh my, you are making a splendid recovery. But you must take it easy. I cannot allow you to attend the dance tonight.”

  “Yes, I know, but Rebecca Maria thought I should try on the dress. It’s new and I’ve never worn it.”

  “Have you been able to eat?”

  “She eats everything I bring her.” Rebecca Maria laughed. “Soon we will have nothing left for the governor’s party.”

  “If you can go through this afternoon and evening without losing your meal, then perhaps tomorrow you should try to walk around some.”

  “Doctor, when do you think I would be able to ride the stage? I don’t want to be a burden on the governor.”

  “The stage? Oh, my. I don’t think any woman should ever ride on a stage. The language. The tobacco spit. Perhaps a carriage in a day or so.”

  By dark, Pepper was wearing the silver dress, propped up on pillows at the head of the bed with a small quilt over her feet. She had removed the bandages from her head and had tucked her long blonde hair up in combs.

  She sipped a cup of tea from a blue-patterned china cup, along with Rebecca Maria.

  “How many people are downstairs? It sounds like the whole city.”

  “Señora, there must be one hundred or so. There are several men from Washington D. C. I think there are some senators here also. Do you wish you were at the party?”

  “No, I wish I was back at McCurley’s.”

  “I do not wish to be at the party either. But if you went to the party, I think the men would all chase you.”

  “Only until they got close enough to see the bruises. I look best when the lighting isn’t very good.”

  “The señora is a very beautiful lady. Your yellow hair is just like the sunlight.”

  “My hair? But you have those beautiful long, black curls. I have often wondered what I would look like with enchanting hair like yours. What do you think?”

  “I think the señora has lost her senses.” She laughed.

  There was a quiet knock, and Rebecca Maria headed to the door.

  Pepper shut her eyes. “Tell Dillard I will not see him.”

  After a hushed conversation, the maid closed the door.

  “That was Mr. Dillard. He’s going to bring the governor up to check on your health.”

  “What did you tell him?”

  “He didn’t ask me. He just told me they would be up in a few minutes. And that you should look presentable.”

  “I don’t want to see either of them.”

  “I think perhaps the señora should talk to the governor. You should tell him the truth. Tell him who Dillard is and how he is treating you.”

  “I can’t do that. Everyone would say that the blow to my head has confused my mind. And if I did convince them I was telling the truth, Dillard would find a way to kill me—and you.”

  “I will tell them you are too ill to visit with them.”

  There was another knock.

  “Let them in, but you stay with me.”

  Both the governor and Carter Dillard wore long dress coats and black ties. The governor held a tall silk hat in his hand.

  “Mrs. Dillard, what a beautiful dress. It will be our loss that you cannot join us tonight.”

  “Thank you, Governor. I’m sorry this has happened.”

  “You are recovering so rapidly from that rather nasty accident. Do I understand that your head feels better?”

  “Yes. Thank the Lord.”

  “Pepper, dear,” Dillard began, “I was just telling the governor that—”

  “Mr. Governor,” Pepper interrupted, “I want to say that my recovery is due to the excellent care given me by Rebecca Maria.”

  “Yes, we think she is a special girl.” The governor smiled at the maid.

  “As I was saying, I—,” Dillard began again.

  “I’m afraid I’ll need her tonight and tomorrow as well. I hope this is not a burden to you.”

  “Oh, no, my dear. Rebecca Maria, you will stay by Mrs. Dillard’s side until she fully recovers.”

  “Yes, sir.” The maid turned to wink at Pepper.

  “As I was trying to say,” Dillard asserted, “Governor, I wonder if it would be permissible for me to talk to my wife in private. The matter is . . . discreet.”

  “Certainly. Come on, Rebecca Maria. We should let—”

  A heavy, insistent knock froze everyone in place. The maid scurried to open the door. She stepped out into the hall and quickly returned. “Governor, it is an emergency.”

  “Who is it?”

  “He did not give me his name. But he says you are about to execute an innocent man. He wants to present some new evidence.”

  “Tonight?”

  “Yes, right now.”