When Hearts collide (An Arthur Morgan Rdr2 fanfiction)

Chapter 23: Shady Belle

*2 weeks later*

The time in Saint Denis, seemed so far away, now. The days had flown by, since we had returned. Dutch had inquired about the doctor visit. I'd told him that Peyton had a rare disease. One that required medicine, lots of water, and rest, for her to recover. He'd merely nodded and walked away. But, I couldn't help but wonder, if he speculated as to what the real cause of her sickness was. Needless to say, if he hadn't yet caught on, I had thought ahead, buying larger baggier clothes for Peyton, to buy us some time, till her bump became more noticeable. I stuck close by, in case she needed me. But, not every day, was I able to. Today, sadly, was one of those days. No sooner had I hitched my horse, than the sound of angry yet frightened wailing, pierced my ears.

Curious, I head over to where the sounds, were coming from. It was Abigail, and she was in a heated discussion, with Dutch.
    "My son. Where's my son? I want my goddamn son," she says.
    "What's goin' on?" I ask, as I approach.
    "Someone kidnapped Jack," Dutch says.
    "Please, find my son. Bring him home," Abigail says, grabbing my shoulders, roughly.
    "Alright. Calm down. We'll go find him. Who was on guard last?" I ask.
    "Uncle was," Dutch says.
    "Of course," I say, rolling my eyes.
    "Go find him. See if he can give us anything to work with," Dutch says.

Nodding my head, I turn to make my way over to where Uncle was seated by the fire. But, I'm immediately stopped by Peyton.
    "Peyton, the hell you doin' out of bed?" I ask.
    "Someone took Jack?" She asks.
    "Yeah. I'm lookin' into it," I say.
She pulls me in close and whispers to me.
    "Catherine Braithwaite," she says.
    "What bout her?" I ask.
    "She took the boy. I just had a vision, before you got here. I saw an old woman, who looked like the Braithwaite woman you described. And she was handing Jack off to some rich fella," she says.
    "Who's this fella?" I ask.
    "I don't know. But, his attire, said Saint Denis," she says.
    "You're sure?" I say.
She nods.
    "But, if anyone asks, you heard from Uncle," she says.
    "Okay. Thanks, love," I say, kissing her cheek, before she went back inside our tent.

Making my way over to Uncle, I ask him to confirm Peyton's words. He managed to do just that, before I made my way back over to Dutch.
    "The Braithwaite woman, Catherine, she sent some of her boys here. They took Jack," I say.
I hadn't noticed, till now, that John was standing with Dutch and Abigail. He had his arm wrapped protectively around her, caressing her shoulders.
    "That old hag. Who is she, to take Jack away, like that?" Dutch asks.
    "I told you, we shouldn't have meddled with these two families, Dutch," John says.
    "We need money, Son. You know I didn't have a choice," Dutch says.
    "Sure you did. You chose to take the risk. Now, my son has been taken," John says sourly.

For the first time in my life, I make my way over to John, place my hand on his shoulder.
   "We're gonna get your son back, John. Mark my words. The woman, won't get away with this," I say.
    "So, you're ridin' with us?" John asks, shocked.
    "Jack needs us. Of course I'm ridin' with you," I say.
I'd never seen John actually genuinely smile, before. He patted my shoulder and nodded at me, in thanks.
    "Well, we best get goin'. We need to get that boy back," Dutch says, gesturing for Bill, Lenny, Charles, Hosea, and a few others, to ride with us, to get Jack back.
As I mount up, I glance at Peyton, who was giving me the signal to be careful.
    "I will," I mouth, before following the others, out of camp, and to Braithwaite manor.

Once we got there, all hell broke loose. Never before, had I lost my temper and control like this, before. Bullets rang out, and bodies filled the yard, the foyer. And by the time we reached Catherine Braithwaite, the woman was in hysterics, having seen all of her family being shot down. Dutch had grabbed her by her nightgown, and dragged her down the stairs, giving orders to Bill, Charles, and Lenny, to set the place on fire. I held no sympathy towards the bitch. She'd kidnapped Jack and taken him from his parents, without so much as a care in the world. So, why should we care, if she lost everything? It was what she deserved.

After a few minutes of threatening the woman, we get the confirmation, that Jack is indeed in Saint Denis, being held for ransom by a man named Angelo Bronte. A man, who was also very wealthy. The thought of Jack being with a man like that, turned my stomach. If he'd hurt that boy, I would be answering his death wish.
    "You should've known better, than to kidnap a lil boy," Hosea says.
    "Yeah, it's a crime," I say, angrily.
We leave, then. And when I turn back, the woman was walking through the flames, wanting to die with her family. Good riddance. Good riddance to the whole lot of them.

We went back to camp, not once thinking of the repercussions, that would come, from killing the Braithwaite woman. But, two days later, I knew from Peyton's stance, that something wasn't right. She was on high alert, and even had her gun in hand, locked and loaded. She followed me around camp, the entire morning, until finally, they came. The Pinkertons.
They rode in, many of them. And I recognized the two leading the pack, immediately. They were the same two, who had shown up the day of our fishing trip, back in the Heartlands.
Everyone was at attention. And everyone was on Dutch, who had decided to investigate the reason behind their visit. Peyton and I stood flanking Dutch on his left side. Our guns at the ready. The tall agent, recognized Peyton immediately, and smiled, wickedly at her.

   "Didn't think we'd run into you, again. Pity, you're still runnin' with these fools," he says.
   "Ain't no more of a pity, than y'all chasing us, to kingdom come," Peyton says.
   "Damn shame. A real damn shame," he says, dismounting.
I move to stand in front of Peyton, protecting her.
   "Ah, you two are an item, I take it?" The agent asks, noticing the sudden movement.
   "That ain't none of your concern," I snarl, pushing Peyton behind my back.
    "Relax, cowboy. We ain't here for you, anyways. We're here, for Dutch," the agent says.
    "Well, you found me. You plannin' on taking me in?" Dutch asks, with a chuckle.
    "You come quietly, we won't kill you. Any of you. The rest can all go free, live their lives," the agent says.
    "You think any of them, will let you take me away? You're sorely mistaken," Dutch says, outright laughing in the mans face.

The agent raises his gun, only to have all the others, except myself and Peyton, aim theirs right back at him.
   "We'll be back. And all of you, are gonna die," the agent says, mounting back up.
   "We'll be ready, to take you lot out," Dutch says, as they ride off.
Once they are gone, I turn to Dutch.
    "We need to leave, right now," I say.
Surprisingly, he doesn't argue with me. He turns and gives the word to pack up. Lenny tells him about a place that he and I had robbed awhile back. Dutch asks us to check it out, and clear out any unwanted squatters, so we could all move there.
   "I'm coming with you," Peyton says.
   "Peyton, I need you to stay and help pack our stuff up. You're safer here," I say.
   "But-" she begins, before I pull her close, whisper in her ear.
    "Think of the baby," I whisper.
She pulls back, but nods.
    "Please, be careful," she says.
    "I will. You know I will," I say, kissing her temple, before I mount up, and ride out with Lenny, to Shady Belle, where we would be living for the next few weeks or months.