Of Sons and Daughters (Arthur Morgan/Female OC)

Chapter 9

Arthur and Emmeline ride the whole rest of the day, only stopping a handful of times to relieve themselves and get a bite to eat. They are mostly silent the whole way, except for when Emmeline points out that they've double backed for the second time.

"Just in case someone's following us," Arthur explains.

Arthur's meandering trail makes the ride all the longer. It isn't until well after the sun sets that they finally start to ride into a little town.

"Stay close to me," Arthur comments back to Emmeline. "The people here ain't exactly trustworthy."

She looks around at the dilapidated buildings, half sunk boats docked beside ruined docks, and drunks stumbling around the street openly. "What is this place?"

"Van Horne," Arthur answers. "There's a hotel just down the road. We're gonna get a room and stay a couple days."

"Here?"

"Law don't come around here much, so it's the best place for us to lay low."

After they hitch their horses and pay for the room, Arthur leads Emmeline upstairs. Once they're inside their room, Emmeline looks around with an uncertain look on her face. The room is well worn, the wood on the walls and floors are cracked and gray and the sparse furniture looks like it may break at any second. "We're staying here ?" she asks again.

He lets out a sigh. "I know, Emma. This ain't exactly the best accommodations, but it's better than wherever them Pinkertons woulda took us to." He brushes off the bed then pushes his hand into the mattress to test it. "Ain't bad. Go ahead and take the bed. Get some rest. I'll stay up and keep watch." He turns his back to her to turn down the thin blanket, hoping she'll take his suggestion.

"Arthur."

He doesn't turn back. "What?"

"Was all that true?"

He stops what he's doing and turns to face her. "You need some rest." He gestures to the bed, still trying to delay this conversation.

"You promised you'd tell me," she pleads quietly.

He scratches at the back of his neck before he starts. "I did, didn't I?" He sits down on the edge of the bed and looks up to her. "It's true," he admits as he takes off his hat and sets it on the nightstand.

Emmeline moves to sit down next to him and takes a moment for that to sink in. "Dutch? The man that took you in? He's my father?"

"Yes," Arthur answers simply.

"So my mother..." she gets choked up, "stepped out on my father-" she stops herself, " Joseph ," she corrects.

"No." Arthur lets out a breath. "I weren't there for all this, but Dutch told me what happened all them years ago. He..." he thinks of how to say it, " visited your mama every few months after they met. One time when he saw her, she was pregnant with you. I guess Joseph stepped up before Dutch even knew she was with child. Joseph agreed to marry your mother and raise you as his own. All three 'a them agreed that would be best, that you never know Dutch was your real father. He agreed to stay away."

She blinks a few times trying to come to terms with all of this. "So they lied to me. My whole life."

He lets out a sigh. "You gotta understand, it was for your own good. They didn't want you around the outlaw life. Your mama was so scared of you getting hurt because of the way Dutch lives. But when she knew she was gonna pass, I guess she was more afraid of you being alone in the end, that you wouldn't be able to take care of yourself. That's why she wrote Dutch and asked him to look after you."