Love's Last Gift (on hold)

Chapter 4

"Did you have to stick me with the horse toothed giant?"    Heyes asked Kid under his breath as he watched Violet faltered her way ungracefully towards the entrance of the gardens outside the governor's mansion.   

Kid gave his partner a look scathing look.  "There's no need to be mean, Heyes.  Besides, would you rather have had the bearded lady, instead?"  he asked, as he watched Daisy waddle her way along beside her sister.  

Heyes grimaced slightly as Violet stumbled over her own enormous feet and almost fell.  He breathed a huge sigh of relief when she found her balance and continued her way clumsily down the cobblestone pathway.  He felt pangs of guilt at using the poor young ladies just to gain access to the mansion and hopefully to Evie.  But the old saying "all things are fair in love and war"  came to mind.   He would do whatever he had to to get to the woman he loved and to get to the bottom of what was going on.   But with their freedom possibly at stake they had to be extra cautious. Violet and Daisy, being new to town had no idea who they really were.   And this party was outside, so the boys were able to keep their derby hats atop their heads,  hiding the fact that they had been recently in prison.   They could move about freely and search for Evie.  

The governor's mansion was a splendid estate with high brick walls surrounding it.    A large double iron gate marked the main entrance to the property.   But tonight those gates were closed and all buggies and surries were left outside the gates.    All guests entered through a  single wrought iron gate located on the western side of the brick wall.    Attendants were there to make sure that only those guests with invitations were permitted inside the gate.  

The gardens were exquisitely beautiful.   Heyes and Kid found themselves surrounded by flowering trees and shrubs,  hedges ornately trimmed and  flowers of too many kinds to number.  Daisy and Violet squealed with delight as they made their way through the maze of rose bushes.  The boys were thankful that the only thing they seemed to desire more than an eligible man was a glimpse of the governor's fabled gardens and to meet his beautiful new daughter-in-law.

"Well, Heyes, we made it inside without any problems.  Now let's hope we can find Evie and Livvy before anybody that we don't want to see, sees us."

"Remember, Kid, the governor and the stony faced man both know what we look like,  so steer clear of them.  And the stony faced man carries a gun and I'm pretty sure he won't think twice about using it if he has to."

Kid patted the small Derringer pistol hidden in the pocket inside of his suit coat.  "I'm ready if there's trouble. From the way you describe it,  he's the governor's personal bodyguard."    Kid and Heyes let their eyes sweep the entire grounds from the gated entrance they had just walked through.  "There's lots of security here, Heyes.   If you're going to contact her, it better be tonight, because it would be almost impossible to get back in here without a party and an invited escort for an excuse."

Heyes had also spotted the guards that were situated at every corner of the house and were scattered throughout the grounds.   It made him nervous.   But he was even more nervous still about finally getting to see Evie and talk to her. 

Heyes had been anxious all day.  But now, when he was so close to where he knew she was,  he had butterflies in his stomach.  He couldn't remember the last time he'd had butterflies.   If he thought really hard, he believed it was when he was ten years old and the teacher had asked him to spell  a word that he knew he didn't know how to spell.   

As they came nearer to the enormous brick mansion,  Kid could see the nervousness on his partner's face.  Violet and Daisy had run ahead to flit from blossom to blossom of the innumerable different colors of roses.  "Just calm down, Heyes.   This is Evie, remember.  We're here for answers,  so try to think with your head and not your heart.   There will be time for that later.   I hope."    Heyes had not said so, but Kid could tell what his friend was thinking.   He was afraid of finding Evie happily married to another man.   Kid's gut told him that wasn't going to be the case,  but Heyes was thinking with his heart and not his head.