Beatrice and the Beast, page 16
‘I’m not mad damn it and I don’t swear. Not real swearing anyhow. If you really wanna hear cussing you should hear Charlie when he’s mad.’
‘Charlie doesn’t seem to get mad, not the way you do.’
He glared down at her sweet face and for one moment, his hard heart melted. But he quickly regained his composure and reverted to the man he thought she expected to perceive.
‘Just shoot the damned gun, we wasting time.’
She wrinkled her nose and pouted her lips as she gave him a disdainful look. Then in one smooth movement, she raised the rifle to her shoulder and squeezed the trigger. She completed the whole movement in the blink of an eye, yet the bullet sped straight and true shattering the stump and shattering Zelletta’s conceptions of the girl. He stood and gaped at the shattered branch stump unable to believe what he had just beheld. After several moments, he finally spoke to the delighted and smug girl.
‘How the hell did you do that?’
‘I aimed and fired,’ she said brightly. ‘Just like you told me to.’
‘I guess you got lucky, but at least you seem to know what to do.’
‘Would you like me to do it again?’
‘Don’t try and ride your luck missy, you got lucky once but it ain’t gonna happen a second time. Quit while you’re ahead.’
She felt indignation at his patronisation but managed to keep her anger in check. However, she felt the need to get one over on the man and put him in his place.
‘Pick another target, but farther back,’ she said mildly. ‘That one was too easy.’
His eyes narrowed.
‘You don’t need to try and prove yourself Miss Mellowday. You got off a lucky shot. Leave it at that.’
‘I believe you are afraid I’ll prove you wrong Mister Zelletta.’
He glowered at her, but despite his ire, found himself respecting her sassiness and if he were to be truthful with himself, she was turning him into an infatuated fool. But he recognized, fool would be an apt description of himself if he thought she would give him even the slightest hint of consideration.
‘Alright Miss Mellowday, I’ll give you a target, wait here.’
He turned and strode back to his horse. When he got there, she watched him rummaging in his saddle bags. She also noted, Charlie and Rappo had succumbed to their inquisitiveness and were now, standing close by as very interested spectators. She held the Winchester loosely by her side as she glanced at the two men and smiled inwardly when Charlie winked reassuringly.
Zelletta returned with four playing cards, all aces and strode toward the tree where Beatrice’s first target had been, but instead of stopping there, he carried on by and stopped another ten yards farther by a thorny bush and proceeded to impale the cards in various places on the thorns. Then he returned to where she stood.
‘If you can hit two of them cards,’ he said. ‘I’ll allow you’re a fair shot and there ain’t nothin’ I can teach you.’
‘If she can hit two of them cards,’ put in Charlie. ‘I’d say she’s as good a shot as you Frank if not better. If she hits three of ‘em you’d better be ready to admit, she made a damned fool of you and you can’t read folks as well as you thought you could, especially Beatrice.’
Zelletta scowled but did not rise to the bait. Instead, he spoke gruffly to Beatrice.
‘Go on then, let’s see what you can do.’
‘One of the cards is facing the wrong way,’ she said mildly. ‘I can’t see the ace.’
‘What difference does it make you’re aiming to hit the cards no matter which way round they’re facing.’
‘Oh, sorry. I understood you were expecting me to aim for the pips in the middle of the cards.’
Both Charlie and Rappo laughed. But Zelletta scowled at her.
‘If you ain’t gonna take it serious forget it. I ain’t got time to play games.’
She sighed and levered a shell into the breech before placing the Winchester to her shoulder and sighting down the barrel. She squeezed the trigger and fired. Then levered the gun and fired three more times hitting all four cards and leaving all three men staring in disbelief.
‘Goddamn if that ain’t the fanciest shooting I ever saw in my whole damned life,’ enthused Charlie. ‘Where the hell did you learn to shoot like that gal?’
‘I used to shoot tin cans and squirrels and rats with my father’s old musket. But it was a big heavy gun and only fired one shot at a time. Regardless of that, I spent many hours a day perfecting my skill with it. Compared to that gun, this Winchester is like an extension of my arm and so easy to use. Unfortunately, I believe I may have only hit three of the pips on those playing cards.’
All three men gaped at her.
‘Are you serious?’ Asked Charlie.
‘Yes of course.’
Rappo trotted toward the bush which was easily forty yards away and retrieved the cards before bringing them back to the group. He handed the four cards to Charlie and turned his reverent gaze on Beatrice.
‘I’ll be damned,’ cried Charlie. ‘She hit ‘em all dead centre and took out all four pips.’.
‘I think I was lucky with one of them,’ said Beatrice. ‘I had to guess with the card that was turned around.’
‘Jesus,’ said Charlie incredulously. ‘I can only just make out the cards, never mind the damned pips. You must have eyes like an eagle girl.’
Zelletta turned and walked away.
‘We’re wasting time,’ he growled. ‘We need to head out.’
Rappo regarded the girl with renewed respect.
‘He ain’t happy you made fool of him,’ he said with a broad grin on his face. ‘He gonna be like a bear with a sore tooth now.’
‘Nothing has changed then,’ she replied sardonically. ‘We’ll simply carry on as normal.’
Both men laughed and all three hurried to where Zelletta waited by the animals. He stood by her horse waiting to lift her up onto the saddle. He took the Winchester from her before replacing the shells she had used from one of the boxes he had stored in her saddle bag.
‘Whenever you fire the rifle,’ he said. ‘Always replace the bullets you used, even if it’s only one.’
She wanted to tell him that was common sense, even for an eastern girl. However, she decided against antagonising him further and simply listened patiently, whilst he patronised her as she waited for him to replace the rifle into the saddle boot and lift her up onto the horse. Once she was settled in the saddle, he turned his gaze upward and looked directly at her and she was suddenly enraptured as the sun shone on his face and showed up his beautiful green eyes.
‘That was some fine shooting back there,’ he said grudgingly. ‘I hope you can do as well when you’re facing a man with a gun.’
‘You know perfectly well I wouldn’t be able to kill someone even if my life was in danger. Back there you gave me a target to shoot at and because that’s all it was, I found it relatively easy.’
‘If you can’t kill a man, at least disable him. Shoot his goddamned ears off or hit him in the knees. You’re a good enough shot to do that.’
She doubted she could even wound another human being, but she kept her doubts to herself and simply responded with…
‘I suppose so.’
TWENTY
Zelletta had hoped to make the Cimarron River before nightfall but because of the delay with the target shooting and some difficult terrain, he realised they wouldn’t get there until well after nightfall. Instead, much to Beatrice’s relief, he called a halt at Turkey Creek even though there were still a few hours of daylight left.
Once he’d placed her on the ground he held onto the girl’s waist while gazing down into her eyes which suited Beatrice fine and for some unknown reason, evoked another, strange ache in the pit of her stomach. Her thoughts in that moment, elicited her to feel like a wanton woman but even so, she was happy to stay like that for as long as he was willing to hold onto her and she refused to remove her hands from his shoulders until he moved away. However, his words when he spoke shattered any illusions, she might have had that he was softening toward her.
‘You’re gonna have to start pulling your weight girl,’ he growled. ‘When you’ve tended your hoss, you can gather kindling for a fire and bring water from the creek.’
Her hands remained on his shoulders and he continued to grip her waist.
‘Alright,’ she replied mildly. ‘I’m quite happy to do my share.’
‘Make sure you water your horse first and then picket him where he can graze. I’ll take the saddle off for you, but after you’ve gathered enough logs, you can rub him down with the saddle blanket. Once you’ve finished your chores, you can take care of your own personal stuff.’
‘Well that’s very kind of you Mister Zelletta. When I’ve done that, perhaps I could polish your boots or wash a shirt for you. I might even find time to clean and oil your gun if there’s any daylight left.’
‘Nah,’ he answered seriously. ‘You’ll need to rest up and get an early night. We gonna be riding hard tomorrow so we can reach the Canadian before sundown.’
Beatrice Wasn’t sure if he recognized her sarcasm and was simply ignoring it, or actually thought she was serious about doing extra chores for him. She decided it was the former. Whatever else Zelletta was, he was no fool. However, she groaned inwardly about his announcement about riding hard the next day. Although her discomfort and aching muscles had improved considerably, she still looked forward to the short breaks after three or four hours and didn’t feel confident she would be able to ride continually for a whole day.
When she had tended the sorrel, she set about searching for dead wood among the many trees along the banks of the creek. However, carrying one or two small logs at a time took more than an hour before she had what she considered to be enough of them stockpiled near the fire to last a while. None of the men interfered or offered to help as she walked increasingly farther distances in search of kindling. Finally, she filled everybody’s canteens from the creek and while she was there, gave herself as thoroughly a wash as modesty would allow.
Zelletta busied himself removing the saddles and bridles from the horses and unburdening the mules, but kept a vigilant eye on the girl ready to come to her aid should she encounter any trouble. Charlie started a fire and built it up then placed a circle of stones around it to keep the embers contained before heating water for coffee. Rappo had wondered off and less than an hour later, returned with two rabbits which he quickly and very deftly, skinned before using a makeshift spit to roast them over the fire while Charlie prepared vegetables to cook in a skillet.
When Beatrice returned from the creek with the canteens, she felt weary from working so hard on top of the hard ride and her back ached from the constant stooping for what for her, were heavy logs. She lowered herself to the ground and a huge sigh escaped her lips as she settled down with her back to a tree. Charlie handed her a mug of coffee coloured with canned milk, which she gratefully, took and sipped with alacrity.
‘I figure you deserve a rest and a hot mug of coffee,’ said Charlie. ‘You done good.’
His words made her feel as though she had finally, accomplished something useful and despite never having done any chores in her entire life, she felt as though she now belonged and was one of the team. She glanced Zelletta’s way in the hope she might sense a glimmer of the approval she desperately sought from him, but he simply stared into the flames and sipped his coffee as though she wasn’t even there. Her disappointment was almost palpable and she couldn’t figure why she desired his appreciation so much. His opinion should have been of no importance to her, yet she fiercely wished it had been him who spoke the words of praise instead of Charlie.
The rabbit was delicious and very tender and she thoroughly enjoyed it, even though she found the need to eat with her fingers in order to remove the meat from the many small bones. When she finally finished her meal, she’d managed to eat almost a man-size portion, for even the vegetables were good and complemented the meat to perfection, which surprised her after hearing so many negative comments about Charlie’s cooking.
When they had eaten, Charlie passed round a bottle of whiskey while Beatrice drank more coffee. She became intrigued by the talk around the camp fire coming mainly, from Charlie as he told wild and barely believable tales of past exploits and some of the colourful and dangerous people he’d known. Tales that were intermittently, ridiculed by both Zelletta and Rappo and which were sworn by Charlie to be true, leaving the girl unsure about what to believe.
All in all, Beatrice thoroughly enjoyed the evening. Charlie’s stories fascinated her even if they weren’t completely true. The more whiskey he drank, the more outrageous the stories became and the louder they were ridiculed by the other two men. But it was all good natured and convivial banter with much laughter and back slapping. Even the normally, sullen Frank Zelletta was unable to fully conceal his mirth and she found herself thrilled by his deep and full-bodied laughter. Furthermore, on more than one occasion, she caught him watching her as she laughed along, with her girlish tone contrasting with his deep baritone. It might have been her imagination, but on those occasions, she would swear she saw his green eyes twinkling happily in the illumination from the fire.
All too soon, the merriment came to an end when Zelletta announced they should get some sleep so they could get an early start the next day. It was then she realised how weary she was and regardless of the enjoyable evening, she was happy to turn in.
When she made her bed, she did so without any help from anybody and she felt, with a certain amount of pride, she had accomplished another small achievement. When she had finished the task, Charlie sidled over and asked if she was ok.
‘Thank you for your concern Charlie,’ she said with a smile. ‘I’m fine and I must say, I have had the most enjoyable evening since leaving Wichita.’
Charlie chuckled.
‘It’s always good to lighten things up a bit on the trail,’ he replied. ‘Otherwise it can turn out to be one hell of a miserable journey.’
Beatrice smiled knowingly.
‘I expected it to be exactly like that when we set out. But you have proved travelling so far for so long, need not be such an encumbrance to one’s emotions and survival in the wilderness.’
‘We’ll make drifter out of you yet young lady. By the time you get to where you’re going, you’ll be a hardened saddle bum and as comfortable on a hoss as you are on your feet. We just gotta teach you how to cuss like a mule skinner and you’ll fit in just fine.’
‘Oh Charlie,’ she giggled. ‘You are a jester and l know you are teasing me. It’s such a shame Mister Zelletta isn’t more like you and wasn’t so serious in his outlook.’
‘He’s got good reason to be the way he is. When he was just a boy, he had a pretty bad experience and it changed his character from a happy and easy-going kid to the bad ass guy you see now.’
‘Oh!’ she exclaimed. ‘I’m sorry to hear that Charlie.’
The older man grinned before continuing.
‘I gotta say though, he ain’t normally as grouchy as he’s been these last couple o’ days. You saw tonight how he can still have a laugh with friends.’
Her heart, for some reason, felt as though it had dropped into the pit of her stomach when she realised the reason for Zelletta’s sullenness.
‘You mean since he met me don’t you Charlie?’
‘I do ma’am. He ain’t comfortable around you but it ain’t for the reasons you think. You’ve done something to him that no other woman’s been able to do and he don’t know how to deal with it apart from lashing out and taking his frustrations out on you.’
‘I don’t know what you mean.’
Then I’ll spell it out. The man’s crazy about you. You’ve enchanted him and he can’t handle it knowing he can never have you and if he knew what I just told you, he’d kill me so keep it to yourself.’
In her mind, she questioned why her heart had suddenly begun to beat faster in her chest and her breathing was a little more laboured.
‘Oh Charlie,’ she said coyly. ‘You are surely teasing me again. Mister Zelletta cannot wait to get me off his hands, that’s why he’s always in such a hurry to make progress.’
‘That may well be true. But only because the longer he’s around you the more miserable he’s gonna become in the knowledge nothing can come of it.’
Her breath caught in her throat and if possible, her heart beats became even faster and she really could not comprehend why that should be. There was no reason why Charlie’s revelation would motivate such a response, especially as she could not bring herself to believe what he had said anyhow.
‘You are completely mistaken Charlie, Mister Zelletta resents me. He has shown it many times and the sooner we arrive at our destination and can go our separate ways, the better it will be for both of us.’
‘Have it your way Beatrice, but I’ve seen the way his eyes follow you when he thinks you ain’t looking. He goes all cow eyed like a damned love-sick fool.’
She thought Charlie was being a little over imaginative in his assumptions. Mister Zelletta had made it quite clear he despised her and the only reason he was willing to bestow his protection, was because if anything happened and she was harmed in any way, he wouldn’t get paid the large fee Jacob had promised for delivering her safely to his ranch. However, Charlie, mistakenly in her opinion, had embarrassed her with his revelation and because of her discomfort, she thought it wise to change the subject.
‘I was wondering about Mister Rappo,’ she said hurriedly. ‘I presume that’s his surname. He doesn’t look or act the way I would have expected an Indian to conduct himself.’
Charlie laughed giving her the distinct feeling she had once again exposed her naivety.
‘Truth is,’ he said. ‘Nobody knows his name. When we first came across him, or to be more exact, he came across us, he told us he was an Arapaho Indian, but he pronounced it Rappo Indian. So, from then on that’s what we called him and he was happy to go along with it. Truth is, he ain’t full blooded Arapaho. His pa was, but his ma was a white woman.’
