True to the Law (30 page)

“Rabbit and Finn? Do you think they should be helping me? They’re not troublemakers.”

“Really? I heard their names mentioned in connection with some kind of disturbance last night.”

“Oh?” Tru set the broom against the wall. She picked up the damp rag lying on her desk and began wiping down the blackboard.

“Miss Ross was asking Cobb Bridger about it. The marshal and I shared a table at breakfast this morning.”

Tru was glad that she was no longer facing him. It was easier to keep her movements smooth than to school her features.

Mackey went on.

“It seems that whatever happened, it occurred at the Stillwell place. I thought that perhaps you’d know about it since they’re your neighbors.”

“I do. I would hardly call it a disturbance.”

“But you saw Bridger?”

“Well, yes. Evelyn and I both saw him. Did Cecilia say that Rabbit and Finn were involved?”

“You don’t think they were?”

Tru turned away from the board and dipped the rag in the bucket beside the stove. She wrung it out. “I don’t know what the marshal thought he saw, but I sincerely doubt it was the boys. It’s unfair to them if people are saying so. Bitter Springs has many good things to recommend it, but the inclination of its citizens to gossip is not one of them.”

Mackey’s eyes followed Tru as she picked up a slate from the table closest to her desk and began wiping it down. “He seems to be well liked.”

Tru frowned. “Who?”

“Bridger.”

“I suppose.”

“And dedicated to his post. Did you know he didn’t return to the hotel last night?”

The look that Tru leveled at him was dead-on. “How would I know that?”

“Aren’t you privy to the marshal’s comings and goings?”

“I have no idea why you think so.”

Andrew chose one of the tables on the aisle to sit on. He rested his feet on the bench in front of it. “A conclusion I drew from observing you and the marshal last night. Are you saying I’m wrong?”

“I’m saying I don’t understand. Mr. Bridger and I barely spoke at dinner. You had my full attention from the moment I saw you.”

“That’s just it. I saw you first. And I saw how you were looking at him.”

Tru put down a clean slate and exchanged it for a dusty one. “I don’t want to do this again. I said everything I had to say on the subject of Cobb Bridger during our walk. He should have told me that he was working for you. I don’t understand why he thought he had to keep that from me. I would have liked to have known. I never suspected that you would want to find me, Andrew.”

That gave Mackey pause. His dark eyes grazed Tru’s face. “Do you have an answer for me?”

“No. And I asked you not to press me. I’m still not sure what I think about your proposal. It was not merely unexpected. It was a shock.”

“Surely not. There were so many times that I thought I was too forward.”

Prior to Andrew telling her he wanted her as his mistress, Tru had no recollection of any such occasion. More often than not, he barely seemed to notice her. She chose not to challenge or contradict his version of events and simply let him talk.

“Grandmother suggested that I proceed cautiously. She took peculiar pleasure in reminding me of my multiple engagements. She said that you would certainly know all about those unfortunate misjudgments and that you were too levelheaded to make a blind leap. She led me to believe that you would look long and carefully. I suppose that’s what you’re doing now, and Grandmother is proved right yet again.”

Tru said nothing. Charlotte had never intimated that she had spoken to Andrew about any such thing.

“Was I too cautious?” he asked. “Perhaps I mistook the matter and should have done more to let you know my feelings.”

Tru had heard enough. She put down the slate and held up her hand, spreading her fingers wide. “You’re talking to me as if that night with Franklin never happened. I can’t pretend that it didn’t, and it’s insulting that you won’t mention it. You were
there
, Andrew. I haven’t forgotten. That night is the yardstick that I use to measure all your fine words. You would do well to keep that in mind before you prod me to give you an answer. I don’t share your sense of urgency.”

Andrew stood. His hands fell to his sides. “I love you.”

Tru responded by lowering her raised hand.

“I have for a very long time,” he said.

“You asked me to be your mistress first,” she said. “Not your wife.”

“I was wrong. I told you I was wrong.”

“So you did. And now it’s up to me to decide if I believe you.” Tru saw him flinch. She could almost think she had landed a blow. Tossing the damp rag over her shoulder, Tru rubbed the back of her neck where cords of tension pulled the muscles taut. “You better go, Andrew.” She closed her eyes briefly. “I want you to go.”

Tru was surprised when he did.

* * *

A noise outside Cobb’s office distracted him from his reading. He looked up to find Rabbit and Finn peering back at him through the window. They had their hands cupped on either side of their eyes to focus their gaze and reduce the glare on the glass. It was clear they saw him because they began jabbering excitedly and dancing in place. He dropped his chair forward, set the law book on his desk, and waved them inside before they wet themselves.

They might have barreled into his office if they hadn’t tried to enter at the same time. As a pair, they were just big enough to be a stopper in the doorway. There was some jostling and poking of elbows and shoulders until Rabbit turned sideways, broke the bottleneck, and Finn fell forward on his hands and knees. Rabbit reached Cobb’s desk while Finn was picking himself up.

Cobb put up a hand before the boys began speaking. “One at a time.”

Rabbit went first. “There’s villains come to town, Marshal. Finn and me thought you should know.”

“Finn and I,” said Cobb.

“You? Finn and you? He told you already?” He elbowed his brother. “How’d you do that?”

“Ow.” Finn rubbed his arm. “I never.”

Cobb shook his head. “Forget it. Tell me about the villains.”

Rabbit said, “Granny didn’t give us time to get out of our coats before she started wantin’ to know all about where we were last night. She said she heard you were chasin’ us through the Stillwells’s yard and all the way up to the cemetery and back.”

Finn nodded hard. “She was pretty mad about it. And the broom was close. I thought for sure we were gonna get it.”

“Would have been better if we had,” said Rabbit.

Finn rapped his knuckles on the desk to punctuate his brother’s point. “We told Granny we weren’t at the Stillwells last night. We didn’t leave the house.”

“She doesn’t believe us,” said Rabbit. “Says we’re like the boys who cried wolf.”

Finn leaned forward. “First of all, Marshal, there was only one boy in that story. And everyone knows it’s the wolves that are causin’ all the trouble.”

Rabbit looked hopeful. “Maybe that’s what you were chasin’ last night. Wolves.”

“Or villains,” said Finn. “I’m still thinking it was villains.”

Cobb pointed to the chairs. “Have a seat, boys.” When they were down, he said, “I want you to know that I never told anyone I was chasing you.”

“Oh, we figured that,” said Rabbit. “Granny said she had it from Mrs. Burnside who had it from Mrs. Ransom who had it from her husband who got a haircut this morning at Mr. Stillwell’s barbershop. We guess we know all right where the story started.”

Finn leaned back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest. Even in his bulky coat he was still just a slip of a thing. “Granny says Mrs. Stillwell has a way of spinnin’ facts out of thin air. That’s what you call speculation. Rabbit and me know a lot about speculators. We’re pretty good at it ourselves.”

“Of course you are,” Cobb said.

“Did you notice if it was muddy between the houses?” asked Finn. “Because I have to tell you that Sam Burnside had clods of mud under his desk today. I didn’t think much of it until Granny told us what happened, and now I’m thinking that it might have been Sam.”

“Or Robby,” said Rabbit. “Or maybe both of them. Robby told me he’s going to marry Miss Morrow. He could have been trying to get a peek in her windows.”

Finn snorted. “He’s not goin’ to marry Miss Morrow. You saw that Mackey fella yesterday. The one Granny told Mrs. Garvin was as handsome as sin. That’s who’s gonna marry her. I gave up the dream myself when I heard that.”

“Are you speculating?” asked Cobb.

Finn’s head tilted to the side as he considered it. “Maybe a little, but Pap says that Mr. Mackey asked after Miss Morrow’s whereabouts right off. Pap doesn’t tell folks things like that without good reason, so he asked a couple questions the way he does, and found out that Mr. Mackey knew Miss Morrow back in Chicago. He’d come a long way just to see her. Pap and me figure there’s only one reason a man travels so far to see a woman.”

Grinning, Rabbit put a hand over his heart and mimicked a thumping beat. “It must be love, Marshal.”

Finn nodded. “Pretty good speculatin’, ain’t it?”

“Indeed,” said Cobb. He looked from one boy to the other. “Now, let’s talk about these villains.”

* * *

It was shortly after nine o’clock when Tru returned home from Jenny and Jim’s. She had been invited to dinner and stayed afterward to help Jenny sort through fabric remnants and cut triangles from the chosen material for a church quilting project. As soon as she and Jenny tidied the kitchen and set to work, Jim disappeared into the parlor with the latest Nat Church adventure. Except for an occasional comment when his wife called out a question, he was happy to ignore them.

Tru lighted the lamp at the door before she removed her coat, gloves, and scarf. It was not until she turned away from hanging things up that she realized she was not alone.

Cobb was slouched low in her favorite chair by the stove, his feet resting on a stool. She couldn’t be sure, but he seemed to be sleeping. Tru glanced at the parlor windows, saw he had had the presence of mind to draw the curtains, and picked up the lamp. She carried it into the parlor and set it on the table beside him. Other than occupying her chair, there was no evidence that he had made himself at home. No glass, no plate, no book. He had simply waited.

It was oddly touching, and she smiled.

Tru backed away quietly when he didn’t stir and went upstairs to change into her nightclothes. Afterward, she sat at the vanity to remove the anchoring combs from her hair. She brushed it out, began to plait it, and then remembered Cobb’s fingers sifting through the waves. She decided a fair compromise would be to tame her hair with a loosely tied grosgrain ribbon.

Tru belted her robe as she went down the stairs. Glancing over to the parlor, she saw Cobb was still sleeping. She retrieved
Triumphant Democracy
from the bookshelf and headed to the sofa, prepared to read until he woke or she fell asleep. She was on the point of skirting his chair when his hand shot forward and circled her wrist. Caught unaware, Tru yelped and clobbered him on the side of his head with her book.

“Ow!” He didn’t let go, but he did use his free hand to rub his head as he pulled her onto his lap. “Why did you do that?”

“You scared me.” She allowed the book to thump to the floor as she lifted her arms to his neck. Brushing aside his hand, she kissed the spot he had been rubbing. “I had no idea that you were so tender-headed.”

Cobb grunted.

Tru laughed softly and kissed him again, this time on the lips. When she drew back, she looked him over and decided he was mollified, at least temporarily. “Have you been waiting long?”

“Less than an hour. Where were you?”

She was absurdly pleased that he hadn’t known; it meant he had not been dogging her steps, even at a distance. No matter what he said about his job, he had more to do in the course of a day than watch after her. “I had dinner with Jenny and Jim and then Jenny and I started work on the quilt for the church’s box social. We’re going to auction it off. Did you eat at the hotel?”

He shook his head. “Mrs. Sterling sent Walt down to the jail with food. I suppose you didn’t hear yet that I had to roust a couple of wranglers from the saloon and escort them to jail.”

“From the Pennyroyal?”

“No. From Whistler’s.”

“Are they still there? Who’s watching them?”

“I let them go after a few hours. They just needed to settle down. As a precaution, I kept their guns. They didn’t like it much, but the fight had gone out of them by then. I told them that they could come by and collect their guns tomorrow morning on their way out of town. They both work for the Gibson ranch. I thought I’d give it a couple of days and ride over to the Bar G, have a talk with Marty Gibson about the boys. I’m guessing the pair of them will be fast friends again by then, but you never know.”

“Cards or women or both?” asked Tru.

Cobb held up one finger. “Woman. As near as I could tell they both asked her to dance and then argued over who asked her first. Bill Whistler saw where it was heading and sent for me. They were grappling on the floor when I got there.”