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He spoke to the one in the center of the group. “I don’t suppose any of you speak English?”
The oldest of the group moved forward and nodded. “Little.”
Jesse nodded and spoke slowly. “We need to get to Dodge City.”
The one who spoke English conferred with the others, their language foreign to his ears. He’d never heard this dialect so it wasn’t a tribe he’d encountered before. Maybe they were Apache.
The Indian faced him again and pointed to the cattle up on the ridge, then held up ten fingers, lowered them and held them up again.
“Twenty?” Jesse caught a laugh before it escaped. They wanted twenty head of cattle? He shook his head, held up his hand and raised five fingers. The offer was insulting judging the harsh conversation going on amongst them. One, in particular, pointed to the cattle, then his friends waiting some distance away and raised his spear, slashing at the sky as he yelled.
The negotiation seemed to go on forever but in the end, they agreed on twelve. Jesse blew out a breath when Ben and two others herded them toward the waiting Indians. They stayed where they were until the cows and the Indians were a blur on the horizon.
“What are you going to tell Holden,” Ben asked.
Jesse grinned and turned back toward camp. “I’ll tell him we didn’t die.”
Twenty-Eight
Alex bangedon the door again before screaming in frustration. Jack had locked her in, much to the lady of the houses delight. Rose, he’d called her, had grinned as she pulled the door shut, the clicking of the lock followed by feminine laughter.
She turned and inspected the room. There wasn’t much there. A bed along one wall, a small table, and chair along the other. A window was situated between the bed and table. She hurried across the room, pushing on the frame to get it open but it wouldn’t budge. She ran her hands over the wood to see if there was a lock of some sort and found nails instead. It was nailed shut. “Great.”
She sighed and stared out the window. Her room faced the street, for all the good it did her. She could see the townsfolk but very few of them looked at The China Doll and those who did were looking at the front door, not the windows on the second floor.
The view wasn’t so bad. She leaned forward, laying her forehead against the glass trying to see how far she could see. The road they came in on was visible and she smiled. She’d be able to see Jesse and the herd when they arrived. Thinking of him caused every memory she had of the trip to flood her thoughts. As irritating as it was to have Jesse constantly try to send her home, the outcome had been a pleasant surprise. She was no longer Hugh Jacobs fiancé. Instead, she was Mrs. Jesse Samuels. She snorted a laugh. Who would have ever thought that would happen?
The lock in the door clicked and she turned just as it opened. A man walked inside carrying a huge bathing tub, followed by several girls with buckets of water. A bath! As much as she hated to admit it, living on the trail and bathing in streams, creeks and rivers just wasn’t as adventurous as she’d imagined. It was downright inconvenient.
A girl of no more than ten carried in an armful of material of dark purple satin and black lace. A dress as scandalous as those the women downstairs wore, she was sure. The girl laid them on the end of the bed along with a drying cloth and a bar of soap, then exited as quickly as she came.
When her bath was ready, everyone scattered, leaving her alone with a steaming tub of water and a satin dress she’d never put on.
The door lock clicked again and as much as she hated being locked inside, at least she knew when someone was outside her door.
She undressed, dropping her trousers and shirt by the foot of the bed. They were so dirty she wasn’t sure she’d ever get them clean again. The ribbon she’d tied to the bottom of her braid joined the pile before finger combing her hair to untangle it in order to wash it.
The water felt as wonderful as she imagined and she sank in clean to her chin, her precious water sloshing over the sides of the tub. She washed and lathered her hair, the soap the girl had brought her carrying the sweet scent of flowers.
She was loathed to move and leaned back, closing her eyes, her mind wandering to her family and what they were going to say when she got home. Would her pa be mad? Or laugh it off because she never listened to him? And what would everyone say about her and Jesse? What would Hugh say? The thought left her feeling ill. She knew without asking Jesse would break the news to him but Hugh and Jesse had already been in one tussle that earned him a night in jail. As much as she hated the thought, she’d have to be the one to tell him. He deserved that much.
The lock on the door clicked again and she sat up, water once again sloshing over the sides of the tub as the door swung open. She gasped and crossed her arms over her chest when Jack walked inside, followed by the young girl. She hurried across the room, grabbing her discarded clothes and ran back out before she could tell her to leave them.
“I want my clothes, Jack!”
He shut the door and leaned back against it. “I bought you new clothes.” He nodded toward the bed where the purple dress lay. “It was the most expensive one the dressmaker had. Is it not good enough for you?”
His gaze lingered on her face, then lowered to where her arms covered her breasts. “I didn’t take you for the shy type.”
“I’m not, but I also don’t go prancing around naked in front of complete strangers.”
“Shame.” He pushed his weight off the door and opened it. “Get dressed and come downstairs.”
“I’m not wearing that dress.”
He turned his head to look at her and smiled. “Then come down naked. I’ll make you a rich woman before the week is out.”
She threw the bar of soap at his head but it hit the door with a solid thud instead. The water had cooled before she got out of the tub. It took that long for her temper to cool, too.
