Opposite Numbers

When Jimmy and Lou returned to Rachel's house, the guests had already arrived.

Jimmy's heart almost stopped, overwhelmed by the elegance in front of his eyes, when he saw Gwendoline O'Cavanaugh again. For a moment, he thought it was another woman Teaspoon had invited. The last time he had seen her - which also was the first time - her dress had been mudstained, and she had been streaked in the face with gunsmoke, and her hat been awry - altogether very attractive, yet honestly in a bit of a mess.

But she was nothing like this now - in fact it was like looking at another person. She was dressed up in an black velvet evening gown, tightly laced and showing her slender figure. She wore long black gloves and her rich hair was set in a stylish coiffure with many curls, and a black silken rose behind her ear. A small golden cross glinted around her slim neck and made a beautiful contrast to the intricate white lace in the neck opening. The black colour of the dress and the highly taken hair made her look taller, and she was like cut out of a fashion magazine. Ladylike was the only word to describe her.

The little girl Sinnead Loreen also wore a beautiful velvet dress, light purple and with a small white pinafore. She hid behind her aunt's hoopskirts, with a solid grasp in the black material and she sucked her thumb.

"I believe we have met already, sir! The name is Jimmy Hickock, right?" Gwendoline's voice was bright and clear and her Irish accent was even stronger than he remembered. She gave him the hand and he trembled by the touch. Her black velvet glove was soft and rough at the same time - he had never felt a fabric like it. He really hadn't expected that the woman he had met earlier in the day, with the eyes of a marksman and a courage he had seen most men lack of, - he hadn't expected her to turn into such a sophisticated lady-of-the-world.

Desperately, Jimmy prayed that she wouldn't notice how nervous he was. He discovered two small dimples in her cheeks as she smiled, and his knees turned into jelly again. Get real, Hickock! It' ain't like she's the first pretty girl you've ever seen! he thought, but his body had apparently stopped listening to his brain long time ago.

"Yes, Miss. I - I…" Something got stuck in his throat, and he was almost speechless.Come on man, you're making a total jackass of yourself here!

"I'm really grateful that you stood up for me this morning," she said. Luckily, she didn't seem to care about his faltering voice. "I usually never run out of bullets! I am not really used to being rescued - normally I handle things like that on my own." God only knows how true that is, it ran through her mind, as they shook hands.

"Sounds like you are kind of used those kinds of situations." Even with his heart throbbing wildly, he was able to make an entire sentence without stuttering.

"It happens …once in a while." She smiled wryly, and Jimmy didn't know if she was kidding or not. In a way he felt that she wasn't. He stood for a while not knowing what to say - but Rachel gratefully saved the situation by asking them all to the table.

They all gathered around the table for enjoying Rachel's filling meal of baked beans.

"So, what makes two such pretty sisters come all the way from Ireland to our little town, Miss O'Cavanaugh?" Teaspoon asked when they had all filled their plates. They all wanted to know the answer to that question.

"Uh, that is a long story." With a little smile and distinguished movements she took off her gloves and placed them over the back of her chair. "First of all, we aren't sisters. Sinnead Loreen is my brother's daughter - he and his wife both died half a year ago, may their souls rest in peace!" She quickly made the sign of the cross and continued. "Since we had no other family and we were completely broke, I decided to go to America, to get a new beginning. And…well - here we are now"

She sent a joyful end-of-story smile around the table, and passed the bread. Please, Mary, sweet Mother of Jesus, let them believe that! she thought and put a bold face at it.

Never tell a falsehood, my lass'! Her late father's words echoed in her head. She hadn't excactly lied, but she had definitely left a large part of the truth out…

"So what's it like over there in Ireland?" Teaspoon asked and shoveled baked beans in.

"Oh, it is the most beautiful place in the world!" She voice grew passionate as she spoke. "I'm from Connemara, the prettiest part of Ireland. There are big lakes, and the mountains are covered with green forests, so when you see them from afar, they look all soft and shaggy," she lost herself in the memories. "If ever there is a Garden of Eden on Earth, it must be definately be Connemara! It is so breathtakingly beautiful to seen the sun rise over the mountains, and watch the first red and orange sunbeams colour the water of the lake in flaming tints…we used to go fishing in the early mornings…my father had a small boat, and me and my older brothers always sailed out before sun up to tend the nets…I have never seen anything as beautiful as those sunrises…" The true love in her eyes was obvious, and she leaned back in the chair, absorbed with childhood memories. For the first time in a very long while she felt almost safe. Almost safe - completely safe she could never be…

She didn't feel Jimmy's burning eyes upon her. He sat across the table, and the fork almost slipped out his fingers as he stared at her. He was fascinated by the passionate look in her eyes, a look he would give the world to see in a woman's eyes when she thought of him.

"Does everybody talk like you over there?" Cody couldn't resist teasing her with her Irish accent. He also found this woman extremely attractive, not only because of her tight dress and the tempting white skin of her neck. She had a sweet fragility as well as a hard strength in her nature, something that would always make a man's eyes dwell upon her. No wonder, Jimmy had wanted to keep her for himself…

"Oh yes, my lad! We all speak the Irish language!" She smiled charmingly at him - then the smile suddenly disappeared and got replaced by an air of bitter hate. "Except the lords and soldiers from England, who occupy Ireland. They treat the land terribly!" She almost spat the last words out. Her face was harsh, as if a soldier stood in front of her and commanded her to kiss his boots.

"What do they do?" Jimmy asked. The sudden change from the dreamy look in her eyes to these eyes almost blinded with rancour worried him. It reminded him of the look in his abolitionist father's eyes when he talked about the slavery - harsh, unforgiving, fanatic…Obviously, it was the same kind of hatred this woman had for these soldiers that his father had had for the slaveowners. Old Hickock had laid his life for what he believed in - and judging from the look in her eyes, Gwendoline O'Cavanaugh had the will to do the same…

"They burn and ravage! My family was involved in the fightings against them and our house was burnt down to the ground and most my family died in the flames, my father and all four of mine brothers…" She stopped talking, suddenly hit by the memory of the smell from the burning house. The stentch from the soot blackened ruin would haunt her mind forever and she hid her face in her hands, when her eyes filled with tears. "I'd rather not talk about it, please." God, why could she never control those treacherous tears? This was not the right time for a break down! Think of something else! She orded herself and somewhere found the strength to get the upper hand of the tears.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Miss. I didn't mean to…" Jimmy looked at her with a mix of confusion and pity. He felt a strong yearning for holding her in his arms and comforting her, and he gently reached out for her hand and caressed it.

"I know - I'd just like to talk about something else…" She had regained control over herself and their eyes met across the table for a long moment. His brown eyes pierced her emerald green and she got a sinking feeling in her stomach. Don't fall for him, Gwendoline! With your luck, you'll lose him anyway! She rapidly let go of his hand go, and picked up the fork for a continuation of the meal.

"So - what do you do for a living, Miss O'Cavnaugh?" It was Rachel who quickly changed the subject. Though she didn't know the young woman much, this little scene immediately made her feel a sort of compassion for Gwendoline O'Cavanaugh. Something told Rachel, that despite her fancy dress and elegant apperance, this young woman's life hadn't been a bed of roses.

"I am a writer" Gwendoline's face cheered up as she said the words.

Jimmy got a mouthful of baked beans down the wrong way over this statement. A paralizing silence filled the room for a moment, only broken by Jimmy's halfway suffocated coughing. A writer! Why in Heaven did she have to be a writer? His didn't recall any of his experiences with writers as fairly good. Due to them, and especially Marcus, the myth of Wild Bill Hickock the gunfighter had come into being. He would hate the thought of her being just another golddigger trying to get a good story.

He tried to wash the beans down with huge amounts of water. Rachel sent him a "get your act together-look" and she asked a polite "Really?"

"Yes. That is…I haven't have anything published yet…" Gwendoline's smile changed and got shy. "The publish companies don't seem to like romance novels"

This it was Cody's turn to get baked beans down the wrong throat. His face turned red with suffocation and laughter as well. "Ro-romance novels? Nobody wants to buy that stuff! People want to read about action and heroes!" He coughed.

"Sure men do! But women want to read about romance, and love, and handsome princes." She smiled convincingly.

"But romance novels… where is there romance these days?" Cody wasn't so sure about this romance-novelthing. There were more important things to write about than romance.

"Oh, I don't write about the present day," she said with a headshake. "The 1860's are much too complicated for me. My stories take place in the old days, with noble knights and lovely ladies living in castles. And as a matter of fact, I sent some of my stories to pratically every newspapers in the West. I got an invitation from the editor here in Rock Creek to come and write my stories here. He liked them and is going to print them in the Gazette. That's why Sinnead and I are here in the first place!"

"Old Jones from The Gazette? I didn't know he was in to romance." Teaspoon said and helped himself to the third serving of beans. This woman amused him and her company was delightful, yet he had a feeling that she was holding something back. He couldn't excactly put an finger on it and he might be mistaked. But in a way he felt that she hadn't told the entire story of herself, and why she had left Ireland in such a hurry.

"The last time Jones was in love must have been when the ink on the Declaration of Independence was still wet!" Jimmy said and everybody laughed.

"Well, he invited me, that's for sure. I have an appointment tomorrow at nine! I'll ask him about the Declaraion of Independence, if you like?" She tilted her head and smiled so flirtingly at him that he blushed. Though she only seconds before had warned herself against falling for this handsome man, nothing was said about the other way around... He might be a good friend, if Mortimer ever… She didn't dare finish the thought, and quickly pushed it away.

"Good God, no! Don't ask him that, Miss! He'll never send a message with the Pony Expres again!" It was Teaspoon who laughingly protested.

"Please, have some more food, you two girls need some fattening up!" Rachel pressed Gwendoline and her niece to take some more beans.

"So, what do you want to be when you grow up, pumpkin?" Teaspoon friendly asked the little girl, who sat quiet next to her aunt. She hid her face behind Gwendoline's back.

"It's allright, Sinnead, you can talk to him" Gwendoline caressed her hair and gave her a kiss on the temple. "Don't be shy"

The little girl looked at Teaspoon in fear. Then she decided that he was not dangerous, in fact he looked a little like grandpa. Her face cheered up in a smile. "I want to be an Express rider!" Sinnead Loreen said lisping and hid her blushing face again.

They all burst into laugther. "I'm afraid the Pony Express will be long gone when you are old enough to ride, sis!" Teaspoon laughed.

"Don't worry, when we sailed over here she wanted to be a sailor, when we were on the train to St. Joseph, she wanted to be a ticket collector and yesterday you wanted to join the circus, right, lassie?"

Gwendoline placed a loving kiss on the girl's hair. For past the six months, she had done everything to be a mother for her niece. She would cross mountains and the burning flames of Hell for her sake. They were the only O'Cavanaugh's left and they were forced to flee their home. In fact they had to flee the entire land, because…she pushed the thought of that back in her head. Don't think about it! Just don't. It's over and you're never going back to Ireland, so don't give it another thought!

Late that evening, long after Gwendoline and her niece had left, Teaspoon enjoyed a late cup of coffee on the porch outside the sheriff's office - obviosly, he wasn't concerned for his sleep. The darkness lay peaceful over Rock Creek and the crickets were singing down by the water.

Suddenly, Jimmy stepped out of the shadows of the evening and into the flickering light of the parrafin lamp. He sat down in a chair and began examining his nails, like they held all the wisdom of the world. He wanted to talk about her, just didn't know how to begin…

The two men sat in peace for a while, the Teaspoon broke the silence with a slow "Soo-.."

"Soo… what?" Jimmy poured himself a cup of coffee from the pot on the table. It had gone almost cold, and his face became twisted by the bitter taste.

"So what do'ya think? Got a crush on her, son?"

Jimmy couldn't help grinning. Teaspoon could be terribly frank, when it came over him.

"Sort of. She's pretty…" Jimmy leaned forward and let the cold coffee run down in the street. It was too awful to drink.

"Sure is, son. Very pretty indeed! I just have this strange feeling - like she's holding something back…" Teaspoon sipped his coffee with a loud noice and scratched his ear thoughtfully. He had tried for a long time to get rid of the gnawing feeling of being decived.

"Like what?"

"I don't know. Something serious. Like if she was some kind of actress and played her part a little too convincing."

"That makes no sense, Teaspoon." Jimmy looked at the older man in growing irritation. "She's a sweet girl, what should she hold back? You just say that because…" he didn't know how to end the sentence.

"…Because I don't want to see you getting hurt, son. There is something she is hiding, I can feel it…" Teaspoon stubbornly stuck to his thought. "I just think it is kind'a strange that she travels thousands and thousands of miles to end up in this place. If she really wanted to be a novelist, she could have done that back in Ireland. There is no specific reason for crossing the Atlantic Ocean." Teaspoon said slowly and finished his coffee.

"She was poor, and wanted a fresh beginning. You heard her, Teaspoon!" Jimmy said in a voice, that was only a few inches away from anger. Why should Teaspoon be so pessimistic?

"She don't look poor to me, that's for sure. It's been a long time since I've seen a woman around here dress as fancy as that!"

"So you say she's lying?" Jimmy couldn't help raising his voice.

"I think she is running from something."

"Ain't we all?" Jimmy Hickock would be the last to deny that.

"Don't know. But she definitely is hiding something!" Teaspoon wouldn't let go of the thought.

"Stop that, Teaspoon. You are so suspicious that it makes me sick!" Jimmy got up and left in a long angry stride.

"Hickock!" Teaspoon's voice reached him at the corral and Jimmy slowly went back, looking angry.

"Look at her hands, Jimmy." Teaspoon said, with a gravelly voice. He had just figured out what had been bothering him.

"Her hands? What about them? She missing a finger or what?" Jimy wasn't in the mood for this conversation after all. He was tired of the old man's suspiscion.

"Nope. Look on her fourth finger on the left hand. There is a white mark upon it, like if a ring sat there for a long time…"

"But isn't it where…a wedding band's supposed to sit?" For a second, Jimmy felt like the ground gapped in front of him and he was being dragged down into the hole.

"Yes - I guess so." Teaspoon should know, he had been married six times. "But the strange thing is, that she has no ring there now…"

"Maybe her - her - her husband is dead..." Jimmy could hardly say the word. He felt icy all over.

"Yes, maybe he is…maybe he's not. If I were you, I wouldn't get my hopes up too high, son."

"A ring?" Jimmy turned around and left the greyhaired man in deep shock. "A wedding ring?"

To be continued…Chapter IV

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The Way Station
Campfire Tales

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