Wolf In Sheep's Clothing

Chapter 31

Amelia scrunched her nose up as she woke to the smell of the disgusting swamp air. She let out a breath as she tried to clear her dry throat from the musky hot air. Arthur looked over at her as she coughed.

"Hey," he mumbled, "nice greeting of clear air here, huh?" He handed her a canteen of water as he chuckled.

"If that's what you call it." She replied before taking a drink. "This air is gonna be the death of me."

"You wanna go into town with me in a little bit?" Arthur asked as he took the canteen back.

Amelia cleared her throat. "What for?"

"Just a couple things. Figured we could get away for a little while."

"Shouldn't you be looking for Jack?"

"We have a meeting with Mr. Bronte later tonight. For now, I want to spend time with you," he smirked, "haven't done that in a while."

Amelia shrugged, agreeing. She stood just as Arthur did. She followed him out of the room, pausing at the room where Abigail was seated, her head in her hands. Amelia looked over at Arthur, who paused at the top of the steps.

"I'll meet you down at the horses." She said, waving him off. He nodded and headed downstairs. Amelia took in a breath before turning the doorknob to Abigail's room.

Abigail looked up at her but then looked away. She tried wiping the tears away without being noticed. Amelia sighed as she took a seat next to her on the bed.

"It's okay to cry, Miss Roberts." She mumbled.

"I-I know." She replied.

"Do you though?" Amelia looked down at the young mother.

"Course."

Amelia sighed again, touching Abigail's shoulder. "It'll be okay. The boys have a meeting with Mr. Bronte tonight to get Jack back-"

"What if he isn't there? What if he's already been shipped to Italy? What if-"

"Hey," Amelia took Abigail's chin in her hands, forcing her to look at her, "don't be thinkin like that. That'll just make everything worse," she raised her eyebrows, "we'll get him back. I promise you."

Abigail nodded and gave her a half smile. "Thank you, Amelia."

Amelia simply smiled and stood, patting the woman's shoulder. "That boy is fine." Amelia headed out of the young mothers room and headed downstairs. Just as she reached the bottom of the steps, Uncle, who was more drunk than he usually was, plopped down on the floor, dropping his bottle of whiskey.

"Shit!" He slurred.

"Take it easy on the hooch, Uncle," Amelia stated, "you're gonna drink yourself to death."

"I'll outlive every single one of you bastards." He growled. "Leave me be."

Amelia chuckled to herself before heading towards the front doors. She pushed open the double wide doors and headed out towards the horses. Arthur was waiting near them, petting Astrid and giving her an apple.

"We ready, cowboy?" Amelia asked as she approached.

Arthur simply nodded and handed her Astrid's reins. She brought them over the mares head and used her saddle horn as a leverage to pull herself onto her horses back. She patted Astrid's neck before steering her to follow Duke.

They trotted down the road and across the train tracks that led to Saint Denis. Amelia became uneasy as she heard what sounded like several horse hooves approaching from behind them. And quick. Amelia looked over her shoulder and then back up at Arthur. He gave her the same worried expression.