Jane's heart had never felt so full and empty. She still could seem to shake the haunting images she saw from yesterday, but a big smile rested on her face at the sight of the ring on her finger.
It was the one that Arthur had initially proposed to her with. It was gold and had a small, blue sapphire sitting on top. To her, it was the most precious thing in the world.
But, she felt almost... guilty for feeling so elated. Like she shouldn't even be allow to be happy after her mother's death.
"So you were kidnapped by your aunt, forced to marry Bronte's son?" Tilly said, shaking her head.
Mary-Beth had a look of wonder in her eyes. "And then Arthur saved you? How poetic. Saved from one marriage, and willfully walking into another," she said, grabbing Jane's hand and examining the ring.
"Yeah," Jane said, smiling at the two girls. "This one is definitely wanted, unlike the other."
Tilly smiled. "Well, congratulations."
"Thank you, Tilly," Arthur said behind Jane. He handed her a cup of coffee and offered her a hand.
She took both and stood up. "See you in a bit," she said as he led her out of the gazebo.
"How are you doing?" He asked, putting a gentle hand on her back.
She sighed as she sipped from the cup. "I don't know. I feel the happiest and the saddest I've ever been."
"I understand."
"So what did Dutch talk to you about last night?"
That seemed to bring his mood down a bit. "He was angry that we had gotten you back."
She lowered her cup. "Angry? Why?"
"Said we ruined things with Bronte. Though after what he did to me and your mother, I don't see why he wanted to have ties with Bronte in the first place." He stopped them outside the front of the house. "But I don't care about all of that. You're here now."
"I'm glad I'm here."
He gently grabbed her left hand began to fiddle with her ring. "So, what made you change your mind?"
"Well, I guess being forced into another marriage made me realize that I had thought that being married would... hold me back. But, with you, I realized that that's not the case."
"And it never will be. And I have to admit," he said, finishing off his coffee. "I think I proposed to you initially to fix things between us. But, that's not the case now."
"Well, what's the case now?"
He grinned like a little boy. "Well now I really want you to be my wife."
Even though they had been together for a long time, he could still make her blush.
"Now," he continued. "Dutch and Hosea are planning a bank robbery for today."
"Today?" She asked. "Seems kind of sudden."
"I know. But if we're going to disappear, we need a big score."
She sighed, a feeling of anxiety settling in her stomach. "Alright. What if things go bad?"
"I'm sure it will be okay. Dutch and Hosea have it all planned out."
"If you say so." The thought of the cure suddenly popped into her mind. "Would you be willing to, uh, try the cure?"
He rubbed his neck. "I don't know, Jane. We'll talk later about it later. But right now, I need to get going."
The thoughts of all that could go wrong clouded her mind, but they needed the money. "Alright, Arthur. Be safe."
"I will," he said, placing a hand on her face and kissing her. "I'll see you tonight."
"I love you."
He smiled. "I love you too, cowgirl."
Walking into the house, he left her to finish off her own coffee.
~~~~
Needless to say, Jane did not let Jack out of her sight that day. Since Abigail and John went on the bank job, she was keeping an eye on him.
As she sat in the gazebo, she tried to gather her sense and slow down from the events from yesterday.
She had escaped.
Her mother was dead.
Arthur and her were going to get married.
Everything seemed surreal. Months ago, when she was still living with her parents, she would have only dreamed of this being her reality. Now it was here, right in front of her face.
But that also came with her mother's death.
The image of blood all over, her lifeless eyes, the helplessness she felt... it plagued her life a fever. She couldn't escape it.
And the guilt. Selfishness was all she could feel, with the grief. Her mother had died so Jane could abandon her for a man her mother had never met. She died so Jane could be happy.
"I'm hungry," Jack said, looking up to her from where he sat on the ground. Jane didn't understand how he could entertain himself by playing with a stick in the dirt.
"Alright," She said, setting her book down. "I think the stew is almost ready."
He stood up. "But, Auntie Jane, I don't want stew."
A sigh escaped her lips, but she masked it with a smile before he could notice. "Okay. I think we have some bread and jam. Would you want that?"
He cocked his head. "What's jam?"
Seriously? "You've never had jam?"
"No." He suddenly looked worried. "Is that bad?"
She chuckled, the noon sunlight streaming through the trees seeming to dance with the laugh. "No, no. Just surprising, is all."
He followed her as she made her way to Pearson's wagon. On the back of the wagon, a hunk of bread and a jar of jam sat.
Grabbing it, she used a spoon to spread the jam on, than handed it to him.
He ate it hesitantly. After a moment of chewing, his face lit up. "Auntie Jane, this is really good!"
"I told you you'd like it," she said, laughing. "Isn't it good?"
He nodded and continued to eat it, with a bit more gusto.
The camp was very empty as a lot of people went on the bank job. It was a beautiful day, despite the thick air that seemed to weight down her chest. A bottle of rum on the wagon drew her attention, and made her realize something. She hadn't seen Sean at all since she got back.
"Hey, Sadie," She said. "Where's Sean? Did he go on the bank job?"
Sadie, who sat nearby, took on a solemn look. "I'm afraid we lost him, back in Rhodes. It was one of them Gray fellers. Nasty business."
It felt like someone had slapped her across the face. Not him too!
"I'm real sorry," she said, standing up and putting a hand on her shoulder. "I know you two were good friends."
"Was there anyone else?" She asked, her voice tight.
Sadie slowly nodded. "Young Kieran. Killed by the O'Driscolls in a nasty way."
It seemed as if death was overcoming the whole world. Her mother, then Sean, then Kieran. Surely that was it for now, right?
Right?
~~~~
Abigail came racing into camp. Her face was wild, and Jane knew that that couldn't be good.
"They got Hosea!" She nearly screamed as she hopped off her horse.
That drew the attention of many people. Soon, she had a little crowd full of concerned and fearful people.
Jane felt ice cold fear when she realized that no one else had made it back. Where's Arthur?
"What happened?" Ms. Grimshaw said, grabbing Abigail's hand.
"They- they got him," She stuttered, on the brink of tears. "I managed to slip away, but the Pinkertons grabbed Hosea. I heard a bunch of gunshots from the other side of the city, so I don't know if any one's alive, or dead, or what!"
No, no, no, no, no, she repeated in her head, over and over.
"Are the men okay?" Sadie asked. Her face was angry, but Jane could see worry in her eyes.
"I don't know." She was crying now. "The father I got out of the city, the more and more lawmen I saw racing to the center of it."
Mrs. Grimshaw put a hand on her shoulder and led her to a barrel, which she sat on. "Miss Abigail, I'm sure they'll be fine. We've gotten out of bigger licks than this one."
Not much confidence was passed through that. Jane hadn't said anything, her mind racing through the possibilities of what could happen.
What if they all got arrested and hung? What if they got shot on the spot?
"Now," Sadie said, raising her voice slightly. "We can't risk going into the city. If the Pinkertons have Hosea, they'll know that we're close by."
Abigail let out a sob when she mentioned Hosea.
"Mr. Pearson, Ms. Grimshaw," Sadie continued. "Let's get this camp packed up. If they're not back by tomorrow morning, we'll move out."
Jane felt a hand on her shoulder. "Jane, are you alright?" Mary-Beth asked, concern plastered on her face.
She realized that she had been standing statue-still, her eyes wide and face pale. All she could manage was a nod.
"I'm sure they'll be back by the morning."
What about Hosea?
"And Hosea," Mary-Beth said, practically reading her thoughts, "I'm sure he'll be fine. They're probably just trying to get information out of him. We'll get him back."
Jane just nodded again, and made her way up to her and Arthur's room, clutching her shawl tightly.
I just got back yesterday. How did everything go so badly already?
The door creaked open as she entered the room. Immediately, she began to pack up their stuff.
As they didn't have much stuff, it only took about ten minutes.
As she folded up their clothes, she tried to convince herself that Hosea getting grabbed by the Pinkertons was just a little hiccup. The men will get him back. Arthur will be back by tonight.
She could see the men riding back, with Hosea. They had big bags of money in their hands, and Arthur had his own small fortune for the two of them. They would use that money to run far away- out west- and start a new life together.
But reality was not as kind. She knew that.
Huffing, she shut the chest, and turned to the small cabinet in the corner. Gathering the pictures that Arthur had put on it, she gingerly grabbed his satchel.
It was way heavier than she was expecting. How in the world did he carry this around all the time?
The sun began to set as she put it, along with the pictures, on top of the chest. They should be back by now.
I knew something would go wrong, she thought. What if... what if they do hang Hosea? Surely they would get him out of there before it came that.
Her eyes shut tight. She could see Hosea standing on the platform, a noose right around his neck, his old face begging for forgiveness.
Why does everything seem hurt her so much? It was as if everything was a raging fire and she could be burned by the slightest flame.
After the room was packed up and ready, she went back out to the rest of camp. Outside, there was a hushed fear amidst everyone.
Not the yelling, crying kind of fear, but the fear that lurks in the corners, shared between whispers and shifty glances.
Mary-Beth and Tilly were quietly gathering their stuff, exchanging uneasy glances.
Sadie, Ms. Grimshaw, and Mr. Pearson were in the center of camp, trying to talk in hushed whispers.
"-can't just leave the camp," Ms. Grimshaw said.
"Well it's either that or we all die." Sadie's face held the same look as earlier, fearful and angry simultaneously.
Jane approached them, standing in between Sadie and Pearson. "I agree with Sadie. The Pinkertons are bound to be on us any day."
Sadie nodded. "Exactly. And we won't be much use to them if we're dead."
"I think she's right, Susan," Pearson said. "I-"
Before he could finish, the sight of a familiar rider came into her vision.
"Charles?" Said Sadie. "What the hell happened?"
He pulled his horse into the middle of camp, and hopped off. "We need to get out of here."
Jane's heart dropped. Where is everyone else?
"Charles," Sadie repeated, gaining his attention. "What happened?"
He shook his head. "It went horribly. They shot him. Hosea. Lenny too. John got arrested."
The entire camp seemed to go wide-eyed at that. Jane felt as if someone had punched her in the stomach. Hosea's dead! Lenny too!
"Dead?" She heard Abigail stutter. "And arrested? Oh my Lord."
"Good God," Ms. Grimshaw said. "Where is everyone else?"
"On a boat to God knows where."
They're abandoning us? Leaving us all behind?
Arthur's leaving me behind?
"Now, you're telling me that half the camp just deserted us and is making a run for it? Why aren't you with them?" Sadie asked, the fear turning into full-fledged anger.
"Dutch said there was no other way out. And I distracted the guards as they got on the boat. I came here as soon as I got out of there."
So... they're gone? Arthur's just sailing away to some safe haven?
"Will... do you think... are they coming back?" Ms. Grimshaw said, the dusky light making her seem older than usual. She had a vulnerability in the sentence Jane hadn't noticed before.
Charles nodded. "I'm sure they'll make their way back... eventually. It's impossible to tell."
"Hell," Pearson said, scratching his head. "What now?"
Sadie put her hands out, as if the obvious was right in front of them. "Now we get the hell out of here!"
Charles nodded. "I agree." He turned to the rest of camp, who had gathered around them. "Does anyone know of any spots where we could hide out for bit?"
Of all people, Herr Stauss was the one to raise a hand. "I do. Up north a bit, in the swamps, there's a little abandoned settlement. It's feared by the locals, so we shouldn't have much issues with them."
"Thank you, Strauss," Sadie said. "Charles, ride with me?"
He nodded, and hopped back up on his horse.
Jane couldn't help but feel helpless as Sadie gave her a nod, then went off to her horse.
Good God, she thought, too overwhelmed to do anything, Everything's going to hell now.