The Lady and the Sheriff Read online

  Emma’s eyes filled with tears as she recalled her father telling her this on more than one occasion. She wished she had been able to offer him similar wise words when her mother had died, but she had not been able to see any good in her mother being taken from them so prematurely. She had been so overcome with her own grief that she was unable to offer her father much comfort at all. Wiping away her tears, she hoped her father was now in a happier place, reunited with the love of his life.

  Emma smiled as she thought affectionately of her father. She was almost certain that had he witnessed Percy’s appalling behavior the previous evening he would not have been so calm. Although her father was not a violent man, Emma was certain he would have knocked Percy out for such disgraceful actions towards a lady.

  Emma thought back to Percy lying on her bedroom floor. She felt certain that as it was now the day of her own and Percy’s wedding, one of the maids or Percy’s mother would have gone to her room to wake her and get her ready for her big day. She wondered what they would think when instead they found Percy on the floor. Emma closed her eyes and prayed no-one would come looking for her before she got on the train. Please just give me a couple of hours’ head start. At least let me get away from New York. Despite Emma hating Percy for what he had tried to do to her—she shuddered as she recalled the incident once more—she genuinely hoped that he wasn’t too badly hurt.

  Finally, after what seemed like a lifetime of waiting, Emma was relieved to both see and hear the train arriving. She would have enjoyed this sight more if she hadn’t been so anxious to get aboard and get as far away from New York as possible. As the train pulled into the station, Emma quickly boarded and found herself a seat. She watched as others got on and kept a watchful eye out for Percy or any of his family or staff. Emma breathed a huge sigh of relief when eventually the train pulled away. She closed her eyes in relief as she tried to imagine what might lie ahead for her now.

  For the first couple of hours of her train journey, Emma was too nervous to enjoy her travels. She was constantly worrying about what she had done to Percy and what the consequences might be. She frequently expected someone to stop the train and drag her off to jail. But the more distance she put between herself and New York, the more Emma finally began to relax. She eventually began to put to the back of her mind any possible consequences of what she had done to Percy.

  Finally Emma felt there was a safe enough distance between them and she visibly relaxed and started to enjoy the journey. She wished her father was with her; he would have thoroughly enjoyed travelling along the railroad with his only daughter. Emma smiled as she looked out of the windows and watched the changing landscape with delight. Her fascination grew as she stared in awe at the America she had only ever dreamed of and never believed she would ever see for real.

  She looked up to the skies and offered a silent prayer to her father. Thank you, Daddy. I wish you were here with me, but I’m sure you and mother are with me in spirit. This is so wonderful. Thank you for bringing me here. I’m sorry that things didn’t work out with Percy, and I’m so sorry that your estate has probably been lost now. I tried my very best Daddy. Maybe I might even find myself a rich rancher husband and we’ll get Windmere back one day!

  Emma smiled. Finding a rich husband was definitely a joke. She had no intention of finding herself another man. Percy had put her off men for life—or for the time being at least.

  The further west Emma travelled, the more she noticed about her surroundings. She loved the smells and the sounds of the train and she didn’t want it to ever end. She loved watching from the window and she met many interesting people along the way who told her fascinating stories about life in the west. As soon as people heard her English accent, they seemed very keen to chat to her and share their stories, delighting in hearing Emma talk about her life in England and the estate she hoped to return to one day.

  Emma’s anxiety decreased rapidly the further west she travelled. She had almost forgotten about Percy now. On the rare occasions she thought about him, she wondered if maybe he regretted his actions and had decided to just accept that Emma had left him and stolen from him and that it was after all his own fault. He had driven her to what she had done. Surely he could not argue that Emma had the right to defend herself. But Emma doubted very much that Percy regretted his actions one little bit! The foolish man probably believed he had done nothing wrong.

  Emma allowed herself a brief smile when she thought about Percy’s mother, who was obsessed with her place in society and how others regarded her. Oh dear, I wonder how highly acclaimed she is now that the wonderful wedding she planned didn’t go ahead as there was no bride. What a disappointment the pathetic Percy will be to his equally pathetic mother now.

  Emma pushed Percy and his mother out of her mind and focused on her journey. She was very keen to reach Santa Fe and start to plan a new life for herself. As soon as she arrived she would write to John and Mary. She may return to England one day, if there was anything left for her to return to, but for now she was keen to spend a little more time in America.

  Emma was enjoying her travelling immensely, but she wanted to arrive in Santa Fe so that she could find herself a job and somewhere to live. She would be able to relax more once she was settled, and she would feel more comfortable being able to tell John and Mary that they had no need to worry about her. She had no real idea of what she would like to do when she arrived there, but Emma was certain that once in Santa Fe it would become clearer what her best options were. She smiled dreamily as she imagined what life may hold for her in the future.

  * * *

  Percy was plotting his revenge. He had got up from the bedroom floor, dazed and shaken, only ten minutes after Emma had left the house. Not quite sure what had happened, and drunkenly thinking he had fallen over, he had climbed into Emma’s bed and gone to sleep.

  The next morning Percy had been woken by his frantic mother. “What on earth has happened? Where’s Emma?” she had screeched at him.

  Percy had a massive hangover and his head hurt like hell. He had to think carefully but gradually the fog across his brain cleared and the events of the previous evening slowly came back to him, including his butler walking in on him and Emma and the explanation he had given to him. Not thinking his mother would appreciate the truth, he thought quickly of an explanation that would placate her and would tie in with the butler’s version of events, if he chose to tell Percy’s mother what he had witnessed.

  “Emma was about to leave me last night. She said she had changed her mind and no longer wanted to marry me. I actually caught her having sex with one of the stable hands. I tried to talk to her, told her I could forgive her, but she hit me over the head with that vase. I’m so sorry mother. I know it was special to you. Didn’t Aunt Rose bequeath it to you in her will?”

  Percy had been shocked beyond belief when his mother had screwed up her face in disgust as she explained. “I’m glad to be rid of it. It freaked me out having her in the house. It was a cheap, nasty vase that she left me, but even worse than that, she insisted we keep her ashes inside it. I’ve always hated it. That’s why it was hidden away in here.”

  Percy looked at his mother, open mouthed in horror as he frantically brushed at his hair and body with his hands, trying to remove traces of Aunt Rose. In his desperation to clear her ashes from his hair, he tripped over his own feet and landed face down on the floor.

  He had been further angered when his mother had shook her head at him. “Oh for God’s sake, Percival, get up. No wonder Emma walked out on you and slept with one of the staff. You’ll have to tell me who it was. I’ll give him a bonus in his pay! You’re a constant disappointment to me. How on earth will I live this down? What will people think of me?”

  Percy had looked at his mother in disgust as she rushed off with a quickly conjured up story. She would let people know the wedding had been postponed as Emma had urgent business in England regarding her father’s estate. Trust her to only care
about how this reflects on her status rather than being concerned about her own son’s wellbeing, thought Percy angrily.

  Percy had then rushed to the bathroom to wash himself several times, until he was certain that all traces of Aunt Rose were removed from his hair and skin. He had then ordered one of the maids to throw the clothes away that he had been wearing and to clean Emma’s room where the vase had been broken. He had later discovered that Emma had robbed him, but since he did not want his mother to mock him further he kept this news to himself. As Emma’s train continued west, Percy was making his own travel plans in the offices of the Pinkerton Detective Agency. He would find Emma, and when he did he would make her very sorry that she had ever dared to cross him.

  Chapter Six

  Emma had been thoroughly enjoying the scenery and had delighted in watching several men on horseback riding past the train. She longed to be out there with them, feeling the wind in her hair as she rode across the vast expanses of land. If her father was here with her right now, she felt certain that he would be telling her it was not safe to ride a horse around these parts, but Emma found comfort in her daydreams.

  Then without warning the train came to a sudden halt and general panic went up all around. Emma immediately worried that the law had caught up with her and she was about to be arrested. Her fears grew when she wondered if the men on horseback were actually outlaws like in her books.

  Six men entered the train with their faces covered. Pandemonium broke out as the robbers demanded that everyone hand over their valuables and money, telling them that if they did as they were told no-one would be hurt. Men reluctantly handed over their belongings and persuaded their hysterical wives to do the same.

  Emma clutched her dress and her bag desperately as one of the robbers approached her. “Please, I have nothing of any value. I only have a dress and a few trinkets. They have no monetary worth. My dress is the very last thing my Daddy bought for me before he died. I’m all alone in America, I can’t get back to England and this is all I have. Please don’t take it from me. Please,” Emma pleaded.

  One clearly frightened female passenger told Emma to hand her things over. “Please give them whatever they want. It’s Bill Hawkins’ gang. If you don’t give them what they want, they’ll shoot the men. Please,” the woman begged, as she clutched her husband’s hand.

  Emma was surprised when the robber grasped her wrist and dragged her from the train. She looked over her shoulder and observed one of the robbers holding out a bag which the other passengers were filling with their jewelry and money. Emma was hauled from the train and the robber lifted her into the air, throwing her face down over his horse and immediately tying her hands behind her back and covering her with a blanket.

  Emma started to sob as her kidnapper walked around and pulled the blanket from her face, tugging her hair so she was face to face with him. Emma was repulsed by his breath, which smelled of stale tobacco and alcohol. She tried desperately to turn away from him as he growled in her ear: “I won’t gag you, but let me warn you that if you make the slightest sound and Bill discovers you, he will take great pleasure in beating you with his belt. He will then rape you before he slits your throat.” Emma’s eyes widened at his warning and she nodded dumbly.

  Emma certainly wasn’t about to escape from what Percy had done to her only to let some robber succeed where Percy had failed. If Bill wanted to have a go, she would fight him off too, Emma promised herself.

  Emma lay in silence across the back of the horse, listening carefully to try and gauge what was going on. She heard a gunshot and screwed her eyes tightly shut. She didn’t know whether to be relieved or frightened when she heard the men come back to their horses and ride away, taking her with them. They rode for many hours and Emma found her position across the saddle quite uncomfortable. She longed to get up, but the robber’s chilling warning kept coming back to her. She tried not to dwell too much on what his plans for her might be. As they finally came to a stop, Emma listened to the men talking and laughing and sharing out the spoils from the robbery. She hoped she would not be shared too. She shuddered at the thought. As Emma wondered when her abductor was coming to get her down from the horse, which was very uncomfortable, the blanket was ripped away from her and she looked into the face of a different man. He appeared to be even meaner than the man who had snatched her and Emma bit her lip as she held back her sobs.

  “I knew you’d taken a woman again. I just knew it. You fool! Someone will miss her and they’ll come looking for us,” he bellowed at the man who had taken Emma from the train.

  “No Bill. No-one will look for her. She told me she’s from England. Her father died and she’s stuck out here all alone. She doesn’t know what she’s going to do. No-one will miss her because no-one knows she’s here. It’s perfect,” he bragged.

  “But others on the train know you took her. They might not know who she is, but they’ll know she was taken. You idiot,” Bill shouted angrily.

  Bill lifted Emma down from the horse and stood her in front of him. She was clutching her dress and her bag tightly against her back where her hands were still bound. She had desperately clung onto her items for the whole uncomfortable journey and she wasn’t going to give them up willingly now.

  “Come away from her Bill, she’s mine. You can have her when I’m finished,” the man said, laughing menacingly and unbuckling his belt as he approached. Emma took a backward step away from him.

  Emma was surprised when Bill stepped in front of her protectively and drew his gun towards the approaching man, issuing a warning that he should stop. Emma watched in bewilderment as the other man drew his gun too. Almost immediately she heard a loud bang and she closed her eyes. When she opened them, dreading what she might see, the man lay dead on the ground as Bill turned to face her and pulled out his knife.

  Emma screamed as he grasped her arm. “Oh no, please. I’ll do whatever you want. Please don’t,” Emma begged. Her eyes were wide as she stared at the knife.

  Bill shook his head and laughed. “Lady, I’ve never hurt a woman yet and I’m not about to start. This,” he waved the knife in front of her face as she trembled, “is to cut the rope tying your hands together. You can’t be very comfortable trussed up like that.”

  Bill spun her around and quickly cut the rope. He rubbed her wrists tenderly and asked if she was OK. Emma nodded, bewildered at the kindness of this man who had just ruthlessly robbed everyone on the train before shooting dead his own man. He then walked her over to the fire the other men had lit and sat her down beside them.

  “I’m Bill Hawkins. As you can see we’re outlaws but you’re in no danger with us. I promise we’ll take care of you.” Emma’s wide eyes were still staring at the knife in Bill’s hand and he quickly put it away. “I would never hurt a woman,” he repeated, reaching out and stroking her face gently.

  Emma clutched her belongings close to her. “I told the other man. I only have a dress that my Daddy bought for me. I’ll fight you for it if I have to. You’ll have to kill me before you take this from me,” she said as aggressively as she could manage.

  Emma was angry when Bill simply laughed at her. “It’s OK, little girl, I don’t want your dress. I don’t think it would suit me.” His men laughed and Emma scowled at him.

  Emma glanced over at the lifeless body of the man Bill had just shot dead. She started to cry and was shocked when Bill pulled her into his arms and held her. “I guess that’s the first time you’ve seen a man gunned down?”

  Trembling and sobbing, Emma whimpered “Please don’t hurt me. He said you would beat me with your belt, rape me, and slit my throat. Please don’t.”

  Bill held her tighter. “I’ve told you, I would never hurt a woman. Isn’t that right?”

  Bill’s gang murmured in agreement.

  “I make it my rule to never hurt women or children. I promise you’re safe with me. Once things have calmed down and the heat is off us after robbing that train… and after that idiot tak
ing a woman from the train,” Bill added, nodding towards the lifeless body of his onetime friend, “I’ll take you somewhere safe. For now I need you to do as I say. It isn’t safe for you out here with Indians and other outlaws hanging around, who would have no hesitation at killing a woman. Tell me one thing, is anyone going to miss you and send out a search party?” he asked with concern.

  Emma sobbed as she shook her head. “I am all alone. My Daddy died recently and I decided to travel to Santa Fe to find a new life for myself. No-one knew I was on that train. No-one will miss me at all,” Emma sobbed, clinging to her captor in desperation, wishing once more that her father was here to make things better. Daddy would know what to do, Emma thought sadly. “I’ve no idea what I was going to do when I arrived there,” Emma added, inwardly cursing herself for letting Bill know that she was alone and no-one would be looking for her—apart from Percy, she thought, but she had no intention of letting Bill know about him. At least if Percy was out searching for her he certainly wouldn’t come looking for her here.

  Emma looked at Bill and for some reason she trusted him. He’d killed one of his own men to protect her. She saw no reason why he would hurt her now. He seemed sincere when he told her that he had never hurt a lady. For now she would play along and do as he asked, but at the first opportunity she was going to make her escape. She didn’t know where she would go, but she needed to get away, maybe try to get back on the train and continue on to Santa Fe.

  “Do as you’re told and we’ll get along just fine,” Bill told her as he gave her something to eat. “You’ll need to stay with us for maybe a few days, but then I’ll take you to a little town where you’ll be well looked after. Now eat up and then you can get some rest. You can take Jake’s bed as he certainly won’t need it tonight.”