Miss Morgan

Forty-One

June 1899
-Ivy-

"What you up to?" I ask Arthur as he mounts up

"Gotta go with Hosea to the Braithwaite's place to do something with that moonshine we stole." He narrows his eyes at me.

"Can I come?" I feel really bad that I messed up at the sheriff's office yesterday. I just want to keep working.

"After that shit you pulled yesterday? Nah, just stay put. Go get some rest." He waves me off.

"No, I wanna work, Arthur. I'm fine." I argue.

"You wanna work, go take that letter and bracelet to Penelope Braithwaite in the gazebo on the Braithwaite's property along the river. Just don't get caught by any of their guards."

I sigh. "Really?"

"It's that or stay in camp all day, I don't care one way or another." He grumbles. "Or you can go talk to Sadie, that widow we brought with us from the mountains. Caught her fighting with Pearson a little bit ago."

I huff and turn on my heel.

"The letter and bracelet are with my stuff, you'll see 'em." He calls behind me.

I walk over to Arthur's tent and see a few papers scattered across the crate by his cot. I grab the letter addressed to Penelope and the bracelet box on top of it, but then something else catches my attention. I pick up another letter, looking up to make sure Arthur didn't come back before I read.

Dear Arthur,

I've written this letter a hundred times or more and I cannot get it right. It's me. You know it's me from the bad hand writing. I know I said when last we spoke and I was going off to get married, that we would not speak again. I know I said a lot of things and I meant them, I suppose, at the time, but I am not so proud as to not speak to people who care for me, or cared for me.

I've been in Valentine for a couple of months. I had some bad luck and, well, it's a long story and not an interesting one, but I am here for now. I saw a couple of the girls, or whatever the polite term for them is, that ran with you and your associates in town and I heard tell of a man who sounded like you. I would love to see you again, if you could spare me a little bit of your time. I'm renting a room at Chadwick Farm, just north of Valentine.

Yours,

Mary Linton

You have to be kidding me. God damn Mary Gillis is back again? I wonder if he actually went to see her and what she wanted from him now. I hope he's not falling for her bullshit again.

I leave the letter where I found it. I'm so mad at my brother. He seriously won't let me go work and acts like he's making all the right decisions while seeing Mary again. All she ever does is use him.

I find Sean sitting by the campfire with Mary-Beth. "Hey Sean, can I borrow Ennis?" I ask. "I need to go run to the Braithwaite's place. I won't be long."

"Sure. You wanna go make a house call with me later?"

"Of course." I probably sound way too happy about a home robbery but after Arthur wanted to keep me from all the fun, this is exactly what I need.

"Just come get me when you're ready." Sean waves me off.

I walk over to Ennis and hear footsteps running up behind me. "Hey Ivy?" Mary-Beth calls after me.

"Yeah?"

"You goin' to see the Braithwaite girl that's sweet on the Gray boy?" She asks.

"Apparently so, why?"