Brides of Prairie Gold Page 9

  "What kind of a problem do we have?" Sarah Jennings asked crisply. She handed the cake bowl to young Lucy Hastings, who set aside her licorice whip to take a turn at stirring.

  Whatever Perrin did, Sarah was there looking over her shoulder, subtly implying she could have done it better. Nevertheless, Perrin admired Sarah Jennings. Sarah brought cheerfulness to a no-nonsense personality, and she wasn't shy about speaking her mind. During her years as an army wife, she had learned to approach problems as challenges, could cope with whatever obstacles fate tossed in her path. Perrin had to admit that Sarah would be a good ally in a crisis.

  "Can you hear in back?" Perrin looked toward the last row where the younger women sat, Thea Reeves, Lucy Hastings, and Ona Norris. Thea glanced up from her sketch pad and nodded. So did Lucy. Ona Norris set aside her pressed flowers and frowned. It was painfully obvious that Ona disliked Perrin. The girl hadn't spoken a dozen words to her since the journey began.

  "I believe we're all aware that Winnie Larson is ill." Perrin twined her fingers together and pressed shaking hands against her skirt. "I have recently learned the nature of Winnie's illness, and I've confirmed the information to my own satisfaction." She gazed back at the sea of eyes.

  "It's cholera!" Bootie gasped. Lifting the chemise she'd been mending, she used it to fan her face and fell back in her chair in a near swoon. "I knew it! We're all going to die!"

  "It's not cholera," Perrin hastily assured them. "Winnie Larson is dependent on laudanum, which is an opium product. She's retaining water, she isn't eating, and she's dangerously weak. She's drifting in a world of her own."

  The brides stared at Perrin. She imagined she could see them remembering that Winnie's father was Chastity's chemist, could sense them picturing the row of laudanum bottles on the shelves behind the tall counter at the rear of the Larson apothecary.

  "I have something to say." Reluctantly, Hilda rose to her feet and faced the group." I should have told this before." She cast Perrin an apologetic look, then wrapped her hands in the folds of her apron. "My mother and Winnie's mother are friends. I recall my mother saying" Her face flushed and she gazed down at the ground. "This is gossip, and I hate to"

  Mem's brown eyes sharpened. "If you have information that would help, it's your duty to tell us." Sarah murmured agreement.

  " Ja . This I know." Hilda bit her lip and lifted her head. "Three years ago the man Winnie believed she would marry, married someone else." One of the younger women on the back row gasped. "That is when Mrs. Larson began to believe that Winnie was, ah, taking medicine from her father's store."

  "Stealing laudanum, you mean?" Sarah asked.

  Hilda nodded unhappily. "The Larsons thought Winnie would recover from her depression, but she did not. She withdrew from society and her family, mourning her lost beau. The Larsons thought they could wean her from the laudanum, but they could not. Somehow she always managed to get more." She paused. "If my mother is correct, it was Mr. Larson's idea to put Winnie on this train. I doubt she was given a choice. It is possible that Winnie does not understand where she is going. Occasionally she seems to believe that she is going to join the man who left her."

  "Oh, dear." Bootie's hands fluttered in the vicinity of her bosom. "You should have informed Mr. Snow about this matter before we departed."

  Hilda turned apologetic eyes to Jane. "I am sorry I did not tell him. But I hoped Winnie would not be able to get any laudanum on the journey. I hoped she would recover and perhaps find happiness in Oregon."

  Hilda sat down in a pool of silence. Perrin could hear the shouts and noise drifting from the distant saloons along Rogue Street. She could hear Smokey Joe playing his mouth harp on the far side of the wagons' squared formation. She wished Hilda had trusted her enough to share this information earlier.

  She stepped forward. "Jane can't continue taking care of Winnie and doing all the work for both of them." The group shifted to examine Jane's gaunt face and the circles of fatigue bruising her eyes. "The question is, what do we do about this situation? I need your suggestions, and your help."

  Ona Norris stood on the back row. Her shiny dark hair was neatly parted down the center and swept back from her face into a tidy bun. "This is not our problem. I think we should tell Mr. Snow about it." Blushing, she dropped her gaze and sat down.

  "I considered that," Perrin admitted. Looking over their heads, she noticed Cody and Webb returning from the post, walking toward the wagons. She could feel Cody's stormy eyes narrowed down on her. "But I've concluded Mr. Snow's likely solution will be to send Winnie back to Chastity." She hesitated. "If our final consensus is that we wash our hands of the affair and give the problem to Mr. Snow, then of course that's what I will do."

  Sarah rose before her chair. "If the captain sends Winnie back to Chastity, that solves the problem for everyone."

  "But I sense you have something else in mind. Is that correct?" Mem inquired, raising an eyebrow.

  She did. The problem lay in convincing them. "If Winnie is sent home, she'll return to a situation where she has demonstrated she can get as much laudanum as she wants. From what Hilda has told us, it sounds as if Winnie's family has given up on her." She scanned each face. "Sending Winnie back to Chastity won't solve Winnie's problem, or Jane's problem. Jane will be left with no partner, she'll still have to drive the oxen with no relief, will still have no assistance with the work involved."

  Mem broke the ensuing silence. "What are you suggesting?"

  Perrin's cheeks heated, and she shifted uncomfortably. "I'd like to help Winnie. Her parents have abandoned her; must we abandon her too?"

  Sarah's voice broke a sudden and absolute silence. "I believe I see where this is leading."

  "If she doesn't stop taking laudanum, Winnie will die. Sooner or later that's what will happen. I propose that we find Winnie's laudanum and destroy the bottles. That we nurse her through the recovery process and back to health."

  When it became apparent that no one would comment, Perrin continued. "Winnie has a chance for a fresh start, but only if she's well enough to take it, and only with our help." Caught up in the passion of conviction, Perrin forgot her rehearsed speech, forgot her nervousness. For twenty minutes, she spoke from the heart, appealing to the caregiver in the women before her.

  Sarah pursed her lips when Perrin paused. "Mrs. Waverly, have you ever dealt with a medical addiction before?"

  "No, I haven't."

  "I haven't either. But I've heard that stopping opium, even milder forms like laudanum, is dangerous and can be life-threatening. And there is no guarantee that Winnie would not return to laudanum at the first opportunity."

  "But if she stops taking it, and if she survives, then she has a chance to live and possibly be happy," Mem said. "She has no chance at all if Mr. Snow sends her back to Chastity."

  " Ja , I believe this too," Hilda agreed. "If we send her back, Winnie will never get a husband."

  Perrin waited, but no one else spoke. "If we fail, then I agree we must give the problem to Mr. Snow, and he'll undoubtedly send Winnie home." Slowly Perrin scanned the faces frowning back at her. "If we attempt this, one of us will have to stay with Winnie all the time. This will cause hardship for our wagon partners. It will mean missing sleep, missing our rest periods. But first we need to decide if we want to try to give Winnie a chance to rebuild her life."

  Lucy Hastings stood and brushed down her skirts with a decisive gesture. Her pink cheeks shone with youthful righteousness. "I'd like to think if I needed help that you would all try to help me," she stated in a voice that shook from the embarrassment of addressing a gathering. "I believe with the Lord's assistance, we can save Miss Larson from the evil that afflicts her." Hastily, she sat down and looked at her hands.

  Cora Thorp jumped to her feet. "I ain't a bride, and I don't have no say here, but if it helps any, I can tell you there ain't nothing in Chastity, Missouri. Everybody here knows that or we wouldn't be on this train. But there might be something for all o
f us in Oregon. If Miss Larson was thinking straight, I say she'd beg you not to send her back. I know I'd sure hate it if you sent me back!" She sat down, thrust out her chin, and pulled another licorice whip out of the bag in her lap.

  "Jane?" They all followed Perrin's gaze. "Our decision will affect you. Do you have an opinion?"

  Jane Munger closed her eyes and swayed on her chair, then she looked at the group. A tired sigh lifted her chest. "I agree with Mrs. Waverly. Don't send Winnie back." She gazed at Perrin. "If you're determined to do this, I'm willing to help."

  Mem nodded briskly. "Then it appears we're agreed. We'll take away Winnie's laudanum, and we'll do what we must to nurse her back to health."

  "Thank you," Perrin whispered. She cleared her throat and spoke in a louder voice. "Those who wish to be involved, please speak to your wagon partner and make sure she is willing to assume the extra burdens caused by your absence. Hilda? Perhaps you could check with everyone and make a list of those who are willing to sit with Winnie. Mem? Would you organize a schedule?" She clenched her fists and inhaled deeply. "Tomorrow morning before we get under way, Jane and I will search the wagon. We will dispose of Winnie's laudanum." She lifted an eyebrow in Jane's direction, waited for Jane's nod.

  "You'll need help," Sarah said after a lengthy pause. "I'll come after I've done the milking."

  "God bless you all," Lucy Hastings stated brightly. "I'll pray for our success."

  Sarah stood and looked hard at Perrin. Then she nodded to herself, picked up her chair, and called to Lucy. Mem gave Perrin a thumbs-up sign before she headed back to her wagon.

  After the women had dispersed, Perrin rescued a licorice whip that had fallen from Cora's bag and retrieved a forgotten sock. She stood alone gazing back at Jane's and Winnie's wagon. She had persuaded the brides to attack Winnie's problem. She hoped to heaven that she had made the right decision.

  A weighty mantle descended and settled heavily across her shoulders. If they succeeded in coaxing Winnie back to health, their success would be due to the joint efforts of those who chose to participate. But if they failed, the fault would be hers alone.

  Winnie's panicked screams awoke the camp and brought everyone running through the hazy darkness of predawn. They arrived to find Jane inside the wagon and Perrin on the ground struggling with a frantic Winnie.

  "I can't hold her," Perrin gasped. Once the first laudanum bottle had appeared, Winnie had smiled and lifted her hand.

  Instead of giving it to her, Jane had tossed the bottle to Perrin, who smashed it over the back wheel. When the second laudanum bottle shattered in a shower of glass and liquid, Winnie began to grasp what was happening. In a flash, she transformed into a screaming, spitting, fighting virago. Clawing and kicking, she tried to fight past Perrin and climb into the wagon.

  "I am strong," Hilda shouted, running toward the struggling women. "I will hold her." Sarah came right behind her. Together, they pulled Winnie off Perrin and wrestled her away from the wagon. Her shrill despairing screams continued, clawing on nerves like squeaky chalk raked down a slate board.

  Leaning against the tailgate and fighting to catch her breath, Perrin touched the scratches on her cheek, then inspected a smear of blood across her fingertips. "Are you all right?" Jane called, peering out of the wagon bed. She tossed two more laudanum bottles to Lucy Hastings, who told the devil to get behind her before she smashed the bottles on the wheel.

  "I wouldn't have believed she could be that strong. Keep searching. I'll return in a minute." The sky had brightened enough that she spotted Cody standing behind the women, his narrowed eyes sweeping the scene. When her gaze met his, he scowled and jerked his head, then walked away from the crowd. Perrin stiffened her backbone, sucked in a deep breath, then moved through the silent spectators to follow him.

  "You want to know what this is all about," she said when she caught up to him away from the wagons.

  "I know what this is about," he snapped. When her eyebrows lifted, he glared down at her. "Ona Norris told me."

  "Ona?" It shouldn't have surprised her, but it did. Fumbling in her sleeve, she found her handkerchief and gingerly pressed it against the row of scratches stinging her cheek.

  "Miss Norris correctly believes this is a problem that should have been brought to me. And she correctly believes that Miss Larson is a danger to Jane Munger and to everyone on this train. Why the hell didn't you tell me about this?"

  He loomed in the milky shadows like a statue depicting angry masculinity. The lines splitting his cheeks had deepened, his jaw had hardened, and his steely, storm-blue gaze didn't waver.

  Perrin pulled back her shoulders. "You instructed me to handle whatever problems arose."

  Cody threw out his hands in a gesture of exasperation, then fisted them on his hips and glared down at her. "You and I are having difficulty understanding one another. I don't want to be bothered with trivialities, but I sure as hell want to know when I've got one passenger so exhausted she's reeling, and another who's drinking tincture of opium by the bottleful!"

  "Mr. Snow"

  He lifted a hand to silence her. "Winnie Larson's problem is a problem for everyone on this train. Therefore, Winnie Larson is going home. I'll arrange for her to stay at Fort Kearney until Commander Willis can put her on a train headed east."

  Perrin grabbed his arm, feeling his muscles stiffen at her touch. "Please, Mr. Snow! Cody, please listen!"

  "You've got one minute," he said angrily, staring at her.

  And she could very well waste that minute thinking about the iron cords of muscle banded beneath her fingertips. Swallowing hard, Perrin removed her hand from his arm and scrubbed her palm against her skirts as if she could rub away the sensation of heat and power.

  "If you send Winnie back to Chastity, back to her family and her father's apothecary, she'll never get well. She'll keep drinking laudanum until she dies! She'll never marry or have a family of her own. Please, I'm begging you. Give us this chance to help her! If we fail, then send her back. But give Winnie a chance! It's the only chance she'll ever have!"

  "Damn it!" Turning away from her, he took a few steps toward the fort. She could see his jaw working, watched him rub his arm where she had gripped it.

  "Most of the women agree. We want to do this. Please please allow us to try!"

  When he turned toward her, his lips were tight. "What makes you think Winnie Larson wants your help?"

  "Right now all Winnie knows is that her heart hurts and the laudanum makes the pain go away." Suddenly Perrin was talking about herself instead of Winnie. Moving forward, she clasped his arm again, ignoring the way her stomach tightened when she touched him. "Winnie deserves a second chance! Don't condemn her out of hand, Cody. Don't do that. She tried to survive in the only way she saw open to her. And she made a mistake. With our help, maybe she can undo that mistake! Don't you see? There's a new life waiting in Oregon. Give her a chance for that life! Please, give me" She wet her lips and shook her head. "Give Winnie a chance to live again!"

  He stood so close that her body tensed at the heat coming off of him; she could smell the grease that weatherproofed his jacket, inhaled the scent of leather, rawhide, and man. Dismay curled her hands into fists. Even in the thick of pleading for Winnie, she couldn't set aside her awareness of Cody Snow as a man.

  Not taking his eyes from the scratches on her cheek, he removed a thin cigar from his inside pocket and lit it. For a full minute he smoked in silence.

  "At least one person doesn't agree with your decision. There may be others."

  Perrin inspected the blood on her handkerchief, then refolded it and pressed it against her cheek. She watched the smoke from his cigar curl over his hat brim, finding it easier to look away from dangerous blue eyes that seemed to see inside her. "I'm sorry to learn that Miss Norris disagrees so strongly. But I assure you most of the brides are willing to help."

  She had pleaded, had said everything she could. Now all she could do was wait and watch Cody sta
re into the distance. He smoked with his back to her, grimly watching the group gathered around Winnie's wagon. Winnie's anguished screams and sobs rent the chill morning; the sound of smashing glass seemed loud and discordant in the clear air.

  "All right," Cody finally agreed. "I'll let you attempt this. But I'll be watching, Perrin. If any more of my passengers become dangerously weakened by overwork, or if it looks like this wild plan isn't going to work, I'll intercede, and there won't be any further discussion. At that point, Winnie Larson goes home. Do you understand?"

  Weak with relief, Perrin stared at his profile, thinking it looked chiseled in stone. Cody Snow was an astounding man. When she had followed him onto the prairie, she wouldn't have given two pennies for her chances to persuade him. It occurred to her that she couldn't name one other man who might have listened to her appeal with an open mind, or who would have adjusted his own opinion so swiftly, albeit grudgingly.

  "Thank you," she whispered. "If Winnie were thinking logically, I believe she would thank you too."

  He gazed at her for a long moment, letting her see the doubt narrowing his eyes. "Make no mistake. I'm not agreeing to this fool experiment for Winnie's sake." She folded her arms under her breasts and lifted her chin. "My policy is to encourage passengers to settle problems among themselves and to intercede only if they run into trouble. Plus, if you succeed, your success should take you a long way toward securing your place with the others. And that will make my life a hell of a lot easier."

  "And if I fail?" she asked softly, wadding the bloody handkerchief inside her fist.

  They studied each other beneath the lightening sky. "We'll talk about that when it happens."

  When it happens. So he expected her to fail. Maybe the others did too.

  Well, she was going to succeed. She had a lot to prove, to herself and to the other brides. And to Cody Snow.

  Mem had never seen anyone suffer the way Winnie Larson suffered during the following week. It was sheer hell for everyone. To spare the others the sound of Winnie's screams and pleas, Jane's and Winnie's wagon assumed the last position in the line for the duration; the dust was choking and unremitting. But during the night, even those on the far side of the squared formation heard Winnie's shouts and threats and pleading screams.