Days have passed since the gang moved into Clemens Point. Dutch, Arthur and Bill were all pretending to work for the law, fooling the Grays at Rhodes. Dutch had this idea in his head where he thought hiding in plain sight was the best idea. Grace however, didn't like it so much. Grace carried a basket of damp laundry towards the line to hang up. Grace hadn't left camp since they arrived, trying to catch a breath after everything that has happened these past few months.
"Grace!" Sadie called out. Grace stopped, coming to an abrupt stop and turning around to meet the woman. A few days ago Sadie had got into an argument with Pearson and then told Arthur she wanted to fight too, just like Grace except Grace still did some of the chores.
"Mrs. Adler! It's good to see that you're so cheery," Grace greeted as Sadie came to a stop before her. The woman had a grin, her yellow shirt stood out in the midday sunlight. "You need something? I have work to do, Miss Grimshaw won't be pleased if she sees me not doing as she asked," Grace continued. Sadie grunted, taking the basket out of Grace's hands.
"You ain't doing this work! Mary-Beth! Mary-Beth, hang the clothes. Grace and I got some work to do," Sadie called out to Mary-Beth who sat by, reading a book. The woman looked up from her book, a grouchy look grew on her face before she slammed her book shut and finding her feet.
"What are we doing?" Grace asked. Sadie grabbed Grace by the arm, leading her to the horses as Mary-Beth marched up, snatching the basket from the ground.
"We are going to go check out the Braithwaites property," Sadie cheered, a sly grin on her face. Grace frowned, stopping beside her mare before looking at Sadie.
"Is that a good idea? Does Dutch know?" Grace questioned. Sadie sighed, ushering Grace to mount her horse. She waved to Kieran, quickly thanking him for getting the horses ready before swinging onto her horse, Bob's saddle.
"No but I figured if we get some good information, it would be worth it," Sadie insisted. Grace brushed a strand of her dark hair out of her eyes, before grabbing her hat out of her saddle bag.
"This is a really stupid idea but, I'll ride with you," Grace gave in. She knew she couldn't let Sadie go alone in case something was to happen. Sadie gave Grace a small nod before leading the way out of camp.
"You been out much Miss Peters?" Sadie called back to Grace as they cantered up the path leading away from camp. Grace shook her head.
"No, haven't been out since the train robbery. I was going to keep it that way, Arthur told me about the Lemoyne Raiders that you and him ran into. Think that scared me into staying in camp more," Grace chuckled. Sadie chuckled with her.
"You're a good shot from what Arthur tells me, you'll be fine out here. I didn't want to bring Bill with me since Javier and Arthur are out somewhere doing god knows what and I was defiantly not going to sit around and listen to Pearson whispering about me," Sadie grunted, her strong voice booming out.
"What is it with you two? Pearson seems fine with me running with the men," Grace questioned. Pearson had it in for Sadie which he needed to back off, she just lost her husband.
"Guess he just don't like me, along with a lot of folk. It don't bother me," Sadie answered. The two women busted out from the trees, turning onto the road and following it.
"What's the approach on this? How are we going to get into the Braithwaites property? Apparently there are guards everywhere," Grace questioned. Grace wanted this to go as smoothly as possible, she didn't know about Mrs. Adler though. That woman seemed thirsty for blood, especially O'Driscoll blood.
"We're going to sneak through the property from the back fence, keep low and quiet. Check out some of the workers' cabins, maybe they can tell us what the deal is with the Braithwaites. Either way, they're still getting paid to work there. I want to check out the barns too, see if there is anything laying around," Sadie explained her plan. The plan seemed alright, it could have been better though. Grace knew her and Sadie could make it work though.
"What about the house?"
"Now, Miss Peters, that would be suicide," Sadie chuckled. Grace nodded.
"Good, cause I don't to go anywhere near it. As far as I know, Hosea is checking out the house anyway. He reckons he has acquainted Catherine," Grace chuckled. Sadie laughed.
The two women approached the back fence, dismounting their horses. Grace grabbed her rifle from her saddle which was tucked under the flap. Sadie sneered at her horse, ordering Bob to leave. Bob cantered away, Grace's horse following as an instinct. Sadie waved Grace over to the fence before climbing over it. Grace followed, climbing over the fence before jumping to the ground. The two ducked down, keeping low before hurrying quietly to a nearby tree.
"Can you see anything?" Sadie asked. Grace dug her binoculars out of her satchel before peering into them. The house was far away, guards however were scattered everywhere. Grace peeked around the tree with her binoculars, looking North-West to see the workers cabins. Grace shoved her binoculars into her satchel, peering around the tree still.
"The cabins are that way," Grace pointed towards North-West. Sadie looked out from behind the tree, seeing faint roofs pointing up. She nodded before grinning at Grace.
"Well done. Let's go!" Sadie grinned, keeping her voice low. The two kept their eyes and ears open as they crept towards the cabins. They stayed behind things, keeping low to hide in the grass. Guards didn't seem to notice them as they continued before finally reaching the cabins. They stayed low behind one of the cabins, taking deep breaths trying to calm down the adrenaline from sneaking around. "Act normal and we should be fine. I've got some money on me in case we got to lure these bastards into giving us information," Sadie instructed. Grace nodded, brushing off the dirt on her knees. The two stood up, Grace fixing up her coat before they walked out around the corner. A few of the workers who were having a rest looked at them, some on the porches of their cabins and others around a fire.
"Who are you two?" A man from the porch called out to them.
"Travellers and journalists, sir. My name is Lily Smith, this is my apprentice Mary." Sadie greeted, introducing us. Grace politely waved, the man stepping off of the porch to get a better look. He looked us up and down.
"Journalists, huh? They wear that from wherever you come from?" He questioned, eyeballing our clothing. Grace looked down at the jeans tucked into her riding boots.
"Travelling journalists sir. You try riding in a skirt," Grace reminded. He raised an eyebrow, shifting his weight.
"Catherine Braithwaite won't like the idea of journalists snooping around," he hissed. Sadie pulled out a stack of one-hundred dollars out of her jean pocket. The man eyeballed the money in her hand. She waved the money around, he tried to grab it before she pulled it away.
"Only, if you cooperate, Mister." Sadie hissed. The man looked around, waving at some people who were staring. They looked away, minding their business. He turned back to look at them.
"Fine. What you want to know?" He asked.
"Why do you even work here? What's in it for you?" Sadie asked, handing him the money. The man took it, looking at the print before looking up.
"We're promised land and housing after a year of working here," He answered. Grace frowned, folding her arms over her chest.
"Couldn't you just buy land with the money you make?" Grace questioned. Sadie nodded, also looking confused.
"We don't get paid much at all. Guess we are all just thinkin' of the future," he answered. Sadie looked at Grace.
"You got all that?" Sadie asked, acting as a journalist. Grace nodded, keeping quiet as she stared at the man. Sadie turned her attention back to him. "Is it true about the families feuding over treasure?" Sadie pushed. Grace raised an eyebrow at him as he looked between to two of them.
"I ain't answerin' that," he grunted. Grace tilted her head slightly, a frown growing across Sadie's face.
"Why not?" Grace hissed, demanding an answer. Sadie grinned a sly grin.
"I'm going to take that as a yes," Sadie answered. The man looked at the two, shaking his head uncontrollably.
"You two ain't really journalists, I bet," he grunted, scratching his bearded chin. The man's hand hovered down to the revolver holstered on his hip, the two women drawing quickly, aiming it their weapons at him before taking a step back. He chuckled, looking around to see some of the workers aiming their weapons at Grace and Sadie. "You two are outnumbered, ma'am," He hissed at Sadie. Grace watched as some the women and men rushed inside of the cabins, hiding. The rest from around the camp fire, came up behind Grace and Sadie, aiming weapons at them. Grace and Sadie didn't drop their aim, keeping it locked on the man before them. "If you two ain't journalists, who are you?" He questioned, taking a step closer. Grace kept her aim on him, Sadie leaning forward over her revolver.
"Is this how you welcome visitors?" Sadie joked, spitting her joke at him before standing up straight again. "We are no one, just like the rest of you. Imagine leeching off of a Braithwaite, getting money from an inbred. My friend and I will be leaving now," Sadie hissed, grabbing Grace's arm with her free hand. Both the women stayed put when they heard multiple clicks of revolvers, a shotgun also.
"You two ain't goin' nowhere. We are going to find out who exactly you is. Boys! Let's take them to Catherine," The stranger called out to his friends. Grace watched as Sadie had a hand on her shoulder, the man pushing her forward. Grace held her hands up, walking forward.
"Shit," Grace muttered to Sadie as they were guided towards the mansion. As they were forced to make their way to the mansion, a guard spotted them, approaching.
"What is the meaning of this?" He asked the group of men, scanning Sadie and Grace.
"They snuck into the worker's housing. They won't tell us who they really is though," The same man responded. The guard frowned, staring at both of them. He ushered the workers away, letting out a whistle to get more guards. Grace and Sadie watched as two more guards ran around the corner of the mansion.
"We got it from here," the guard grunted. The two other guards joined the one guard, looking at both of the women. The workers walked away, back to their camp while chuckling to each other. The guards ordered the two of them to follow, not holding them at gunpoint unlike the workers. Grace and Sadie approached the mansion, the guards beside them. One guard opened the doors, the other two pushing the two inside. Sadie muttered under her breath to herself, not pleased with being pushed around. The guards then directed them to the living area which the girls saw Catherine and Hosea. Hosea looked up at them, a confused look as he held a cup of coffee. "These two were found sneaking around, Miss," the guard informed. The old woman frowned at the two before her beady eyes stuck on the guards.
"Can't you see I am in the middle of a discussion?" She hissed at the guards. This was Catherine Braithwaite. Grace could make out the hidden fury on Hosea's face. Hosea stayed quiet, obviously he was not impressed. "Who are you?" Catherine stared at both Grace and Sadie.
"Travelling journalists," Grace informed. Catherine's eyes formed into a glare of hatred.
"I don't like snoopers," she spat at the two women. Catherine looked up at the guards as Hosea took a sip from his china tea cup. "Lock them in a room upstairs, we'll finish our discussion later, ladies," Catherine hissed. Grace's eyes widened as a guard grabbed her arm. Hosea almost choked on his coffee, quickly saving himself from making it look obvious.
"Get your greasy, inbred hands off of me!" Grace spat at the guard. Grace was shoved forward, Sadie cussing at the guard that grabbed her. The two of them were shoved upstairs, if not dragged. They were then shoved into a room before the door was locked shut behind them. Sadie pounded on the door. Grace took her hat off, running a hand through her wild, dark hair. "Hosea will tell Dutch. Dutch will come up with a plan to get us," Grace muttered as the took a deep breath. Sadie kicked the door angrily.
"They better. Goddammit this was a bad idea," Sadie spat before sitting down on the couch. Grace sat down beside her, Sadie's head was in her hands. Grace sighed, planting her hat back on her head.