Beatrice and the Beast, page 11
‘Are you a lawman?’
‘Used to be,’ replied Charlie. ‘Now I do whatever I can to get by.’
‘If there’s nothin’ else marshal,’ growled Zelletta. ‘I gotta get this lady away from here, she’s pretty damned well upset and needs some coffee.’
‘Sure, don’t let me hold you up, I’ll take care of everything. She won’t be able to use that room though, not with a busted door and blood all over the place.’
Zelletta carried the still, sobbing girl down the stairs and into the lobby which was crowded with curious bystanders. There was a couch by one of the walls with two men sitting on it waiting for news of what was happening up the stairs.
‘Move your goddamned asses,’ snapped Zelletta.
They took one look at the big man with the girl cradled in his arms and quickly vacated the seat. Zelletta tried to set the Beatrice down on the couch, but the terrified girl wouldn’t release her grip on his neck as though clinging on to him was her only real hope of safety.
‘Don’t leave me Mister Zelletta,’ she sobbed. ‘I cannot be alone again.’
Zelletta sat beside her but she would not unfold her arms from his neck and kept her face buried into his chest. He looked up at Charlie appealingly.
‘I’ll see if I can get some hot coffee,’ said his friend gruffly. ‘Maybe the kitchen’s still open.’
He elbowed his way through the inquisitive town-folks crowding the lobby and went in search of something hot for the girl to drink, leaving a very uncomfortable and self-conscious Zelletta to take care of the terrified young woman.
Eventually, her crying stopped and she became very quiet apart from the odd snuffle, but still she clung on to him as though letting go would mean her demise. They sat like that for many moments until she mumbled something against his shirt. He barely heard her, but felt her lips moving against his chest.
‘What did you say?’ He asked gruffly.
She moved her lips away from his chest and spoke again.
‘I’m sorry.’
‘Sorry?’
‘Yes, I didn’t follow your instructions and nearly paid dearly for it.’
‘Well at least you’re safe and nothing serious happened to you.’
‘Oh, Mister Zelletta, I thought he would cause me serious harm. He was like an animal and I feared for my life.’
‘How the hell did he get in your room?’
‘I can’t remember. I must have let him in but he seemed so courteous and gentlemanly. I had no idea he would turn so violent.’
‘What the hell did I tell you about going to your room and locking the door? What did I say about talking to strangers?’
She began to cry again.
‘Please don’t be angry with me Mister Zelletta.’
‘I ain’t angry with you, I’m angry with myself for leaving you alone. I should have known better than expect a spoiled kid from the east to do what she’s told.’
‘You are angry with me,’ she cried as she once more, pressed her face to his chest. ‘You won’t leave me alone again will you Mister Zelletta?’
‘Nope, but I gotta find you somewhere to sleep.’
‘I’ll sleep in the stable with you, I don’t want to be alone again.’
Charlie returned with a hot cup of sweetened coffee and stood looking down at them.
‘Drink some coffee Miss Mellowday,’ said Zelletta as tenderly as he knew how. ‘It will make you feel better. Unless you want something a bit stronger.’
She lifted her head from his chest and finally, removed her arms from around his neck and sat up straight. Even then she sat as close to him as was possible without actually sitting on his lap. She looked up into the smiling face of Zelletta’s friend and took the proffered cup of steaming liquid.
‘Thank you, sir,’ she said politely. ‘I’m Beatrice Mellowday and I’m delighted to make your acquaintance.’
Charlie couldn’t help the broad grin that crossed his face as he marvelled at her gentility and decorum even in the face of what had been a terrible experience for the poor girl and he found her not only extremely engaging, but also very durable for the way she had recovered her composure so quickly.
‘Hello ma’am,’ he said. ‘I’m a friend of Frank’s and it’s entirely, my pleasure to meet you too.’
She took a sip of the sweet coffee and gave Charlie a sad smile.
‘I saw what you did in that room Mister…?’
‘Davenport, Charlie Davenport. But I’d be obliged if you call me by my given name Miss Mellowday.’
‘Then if we are not adhering to formality Charlie, you must call me Beatrice.’
Zelletta gave Charlie a wry look. His friend had only just met the girl and already they were on first name terms.
‘I am grateful to you for intervening on our behalf Charlie,’ she continued. ‘If you hadn’t been there, I fear Mister Levine would have shot Mister Zelletta and though I abhor violence, I have to say, your prompt actions saved the day.’
‘He might have got a shot off,’ grumbled Zelletta. ‘But he was rattled and could have missed. If that’d happened, he wouldn’t have gotten off another.’
Charlie grinned.
‘Well I guess we’ll never know now,’ he said. ‘It makes no odds anyhow; the man is dead and won’t be able to rape another woman.’
Beatrice sucked in a breath and stifled a sob.
‘Beggin’ your pardon ma’am,’ said Charlie hurriedly. ‘I didn’t mean to remind you of your ordeal.’
Beatrice sipped more of her coffee before answering.
‘It’s alright Charlie. I’m being rather silly and childish. After all, apart from a couple of slaps, he wasn’t able to do anything to me before Mister Zelletta bravely, burst in and confronted him. It is the thought of what could have happened that instils such nervousness within me.’
After a brief silence, Charlie spoke again.
‘Anyhow Beatrice, seeing as your room is unusable, I figured you could have my room and I’ll bed down in the livery with Frank. I ain’t used the bed yet so there’ll be no problem about cleanliness.’
‘That is very generous of you Charlie, but alas, I cannot accept your kind offer and that isn’t because of ingratitude. It’s simply because, at this moment in time, I would prefer not to be alone. Therefore, I have decided it would be preferable if I joined Mister Zelletta and slept with the horses.’
Charlie laughed.
‘I don’t think you’d be sleeping with the horses exactly. Unless you consider Frank as a hoss.’
Beatrice looked horrified.
‘Oh, my goodness,’ she gasped. ‘I would never consider Mister Zelletta as any kind of animal.’
‘He’s teasing you,’ growled Zelletta. ‘If you wanna use his room tonight, I can sleep outside the door if it’ll make you feel safer.’
‘I couldn’t ask you to do that Mister Zelletta, it would be very uncomfortable for you.’
‘Makes no odds to me. I’m used to sleeping on the ground, so a floor ain’t gonna be much different.’
‘But I can’t expect you to give up your room for someone you’ve only just met Charlie.’
‘I insist Beatrice. I’ll move my stuff out now and you can move yours in and get a comfortable night’s sleep.’
‘You are so kind and very considerate – both of you. But I urge you not to inconvenience yourself Mister Zelletta. I foolishly trusted Mister Levine to help me to my door and because of his charming and friendly manner, I became impervious to any sign of danger. I never thought for one moment, he would force himself into my room and attack me. I must be a terrible judge of character.’
‘You are,’ growled Zelletta dryly.
She glanced sideways at him but did not comment on his remark.
‘Anyway,’ she continued. ‘Once I am securely in the hotel room, I will feel safe and there will be absolutely no need for you to camp outside my door Mister Zelletta.’
‘Ok,’ he said bluntly.
He too thought it unnecessary to guard her door but was willing all the same if it would alleviate any fears she may harbour. However, during the short time he’d spent in her company, he had detected hidden qualities that caused him to discern she was tougher and more resilient than she even realized herself.
‘If you are ready Beatrice,’ said Charlie. ‘I’ll move my stuff from the room and make sure you are safely locked in. Then maybe Frank will join me in a nightcap before we turn in.
She smiled brightly at the older man.
‘Yes of course Charlie. Would you come too Mister Zelletta?’
‘Yeah and this time stay in your damned room and don’t come out for anybody.’
She looked a little hurt.
‘I will and I’m sorry if I caused any disquiet for you both.’
‘You ain’t caused anything except to yourself. I’m trying my damndest to look out for you, but you ain’t doin’ much to help if you don’t heed what I say.’
She looked crestfallen and on the verge of tears as Charlie offered his hand and helped her to her feet.
‘Take no notice of him Beatrice. He’s like a bear with a sore head and it’s ‘cos he’s sick with worry about you. I ain’t never seen a man as scared in my entire life as he was when he heard who’d got you.’
‘Of-course I was worried. I wouldn’t get paid if anything happened to her.’
Charlie gave her hand a brief squeeze of assurance before letting it go.
‘I’ll go and move my stuff,’ he said. ‘I’ll wait outside my room for you.’
He left and bounded up the stairs leaving Frank and the girl to follow on.
Zelletta got up from the couch and stood looking down at the crestfallen girl.
‘Are you ok to walk up the stairs on your own?’
She turned her big brown eyes up to his face which was still partially covered by his hat.
‘What would you do if I wasn’t? Would you carry me up?’
‘If need be.’
She gave him a glowering look.
‘Don’t worry,’ she snapped. ‘I’m still in one piece and intend to stay that way so you’ll still get paid your awful blood money.’
‘Blood money? It ain’t blood money, it’s an honest fee for setting out to do a job and I intend to complete it the best I can.’
She quickly turned away unable to understand why tears had suddenly moistened her eyes again. Then she made a dash for the stairs and stumbled in her haste. Zelletta was by her side in an instance to quickly grip her upper arm and hold her steady. She kept her face turned away from him and stood immobile with him holding her arm until she regained her composure.
‘You can let me go now,’ she said. ‘It was simply a trip, you don’t have to be there for every little stumble I make. You’ll still get paid your stupid fee.’
He released her arm and lifting the hem of her skirt, she made her way a little less hastily, up the stairs.
THIRTEEN
Frank and Charlie, waited until Beatrice had locked her door before making their way back to the saloon. Charlie suggested Frank should sit at the only available table while he went to the bar and ordered the drinks. He joined his friend a few minutes later with a bottle of whiskey and two glasses.
‘You didn’t have to bring a bottle,’ grumbled the younger man. ‘I’m only staying for one.’
‘You don’t change Frank. Same old cantankerous galoot. Why don’t you lighten up a bit and start having some fun?’
‘You should know better than anybody Charlie. I ain’t got much goin’ in my favour. It was you who saved my face from being cut up worse than it was. But I’m still ugly. Ain’t nobody gonna want to get too close to me. Even whores won’t look too closely at my face if they can avoid it. So yeah, I can be cantankerous at times, but I’ve got good reason.’
‘It’s time you stopped feeling sorry for y’self, son. You ain’t nowhere near as ugly as you try to make out. I think you’re just using your scars as an excuse to avoid getting close to people. That damned chip you wearing on your shoulder, is gonna weigh you down right into the ground if you ain’t careful.’
‘I seen the way folks avoid me Charlie. Ain’t no arguing with that.’
‘That’s because they’re scared of you. You’ve gotten yourself a bad reputation and the only reason folks avoid you is cos they think you’ll turn on ‘em or something. What about that purdy little gal Beatrice? She don’t shy away from you. In fact, she goes out of her way to get as close to you as she can.’
‘That’s cos she was scared after what Levine did.’
‘Sure, she was scared, but she’s more terrified of losing you than anything some low life gambler done to her.’
Frank gaped at his friend, then took a big gulp of his whiskey which started him off coughing. Then he glared angrily at Charlie.
‘That’s the most fool-headed thing I ever heard you say Charlie. You’re getting feeble minded in your old age.’
‘And you’re hiding behind them scars cos you cain’t handle the goddamned truth. What the hell is that little gal tagging along with you for if she’s so damned offended by you?’
‘She ain’t tagging along as you call it. I’m being paid to escort her down south to Texas. You remember Zimmerman? Got a big spread near Laredo?’
‘Sure.’
‘Well she gonna marry him and she must be keen on the idea cos she travelled all the way from Chicago to Wichita and still willing to make the journey to Texas. I figure she’s one of them mail order brides you hear about, but that’s about as much as I know about her or why she wants to marry an old man like Zimmerman, except he’s rich.’
Charlie frowned and regarded Frank in silence for a few moments.
‘Well,’ he said finally. ‘I guess I got that all wrong. I thought you’d found yourself a woman at last. Now I know why she insisted on calling you Mister Zelletta instead of Frank.’
‘Yeah,’ growled Zelletta. ‘You should learn not to jump to conclusions.’
Charlie poured more whiskey which caused Frank to scowl at his friend.
‘If I didn’t know better Charlie, I’d swear you were trying to get me drunk.’
‘Nah,’ reposted Charlie. ‘Just tryin’ to get you to open up about your true feelings for that purdy little gal.’
‘I ain’t got feelings for her except to keep her safe until I can hand her over to Zimmerman. After that she ain’t my problem.’
‘Well she’s sure got feelings for you, I seen it.’
‘That’s damned foolish talk Charlie and you know it. For one thing she’s just kid and she’s high born. Somebody like her wouldn’t even give the likes of me a passing glance if she wasn’t relying on me to get her to where she’s going.’
‘She ain’t a kid Frank, she a beautiful young woman and I figure she ain’t all that much younger than you. The way I figure it, you’re only about twenty-seven or eight yourself.’
‘It makes no odds how old I am Charlie. You’re talking damned foolish and I don’t wanna hear any more of it.’
Charlie sighed.
‘The only foolish one here son, is you. But if you’re so hell bent on being unhappy, that’s something you gotta live with. I’ll say no more on the matter.’
‘Thank Christ for that.’
Charlie filled both glasses.
‘One more and we’ll turn in,’ he said. ‘I’ll save what’s left in the bottle for the trail.’
‘Where you heading?’
‘I’ve got some business in Fort Worth.’
Zelletta gave him a hard stare.
‘You didn’t just change your plans so you could string along with us did you Charlie? You know dammed well we’ll be heading in the direction of Fort Worth.’
‘Nope, I’m definitely going to Fort Worth.’
‘Where were you headed before you decided you had business in Fort Worth?’
‘Wichita.’
‘Hah! I thought so. What is it? You taken with the girl?’ She’s young enough to be your goddamned granddaughter f’ Christ-sake.’
Charlie glared at Zelletta and anger clouded his eyes for a moment. Then he quickly mellowed.
‘I’ll pretend you didn’t say that Frank. Sure, I’m interested in the girl, who wouldn’t be? She’s pretty and charming and a catch for any young feller and when I say young, I mean young. Somebody your age. My interest is purely to see what develops between you two cos whether you like it or not, there’s more than just a passing interest between the two of you.’
‘You’re talking bullshit Charlie. I’m being paid to do a job and that’s the only interest I’ve got in the girl. Once the job’s done I’ve got plans of my own and they don’t involve her. The sooner you realize how wrong you are the better.’
‘Well, if it’s all the same with you, I’ll come along for the ride. I hear they’re hiring deputies there as well as Wichita and it’s a more interesting town.’
‘Suit yourself Charlie. I can’t say another gun won’t be welcome, especially one as deadly as yours. But you gonna be very disappointed if you think my interest in the girl goes any farther than delivering her to her man Zimmerman.’
‘Ok son, you made your point. Let’s go and turn in and I’ll not bring the matter up again.’
FOURTEEN
Beatrice was awakened by a gentle, but constant tapping on the door. She opened her eyes to see daylight illuminating the room from the only window that looked out onto the street. She sat up in bed and draped the blanket around her before placing her feet on the floor and moving to the door.
‘Who’s there?’ She questioned nervously.
‘Beatrice,’ replied a voice. ‘It’s me Charlie. Me and Frank wanna know if you gonna join us for breakfast.’
The memory of the previous evening and Charlie’s part in rescuing her came flooding back.
‘Oh yes of course Charlie. Would you give me time to get ready?’
‘Sure ma’am. Take as long as you like, we’ll wait for you. Oh, by the way, Frank said you should wear your riding clothes as we’ll be heading out after breakfast.’
‘Yes, of course,’ she replied hesitantly.
