Read Online Love & Marry by L.K. Campbell - Free Book Online

and an odd fellow who held onto his brown leather valise as if his life depended upon it. He had boarded the stage that morning at their first stop in the town of Tyndall. She’d attempted to make conversation with the man who looked to be the same age as her late husband. All she received in return was a nod or glare, so she gave up and gazed out the window.
    By twilight, they pulled into what looked like some kind of settlement. Annabelle could see several buildings and a two-story inn. The stage driver, along with the man who rode shotgun, jumped down from their perch. The driver, a young man who couldn’t have been much older than she was, opened the door.
    “We’ll spend the night here,” he said. “Tomorrow morning, we’ll cross the Missouri River.” He paused and turned to Annabelle. “A room in the inn is a dollar and fifty cents.” Looking towards the gentleman, he said. “A bed in the bunkhouse is free.”
    “I’ll be staying in the inn, as well,” the man said.
    Annabelle suppressed a chuckle. The starched-collared businessman with his slicked back hair had probably never been anywhere near a bunkhouse.
    She was glad to see someone waiting to pick up the two children. At least the young ones wouldn’t have to endure four more days of rough, bumpy trails. A pretty, red-haired woman who appeared, from the size of her belly, to be close to giving birth, met Annabelle and the gentleman on the porch of the inn. She introduced herself as Daisy Hansen, took them upstairs, and showed them their rooms for the night.
    “The outhouses are behind the stables,” she told them. “And the bathhouse is just outside the kitchen door. A hot bath is fifty cents. A cold bath is a quarter.”
    Annabelle was more than willing to pay the price. She hadn’t had a decent bath in days.
    “Supper will be ready in fifteen minutes,” the woman said. “We’re not fancy here. Everyone eats around the kitchen table like family.”
    After a nice supper of pork roast, cabbage and potatoes, Annabelle went straight to the bathhouse. She filled the tub first with the buckets of cold well water that the housekeeper had drawn for her. She used an empty bucket to dip hot water from the steaming cauldron that had been heating over the fire. She stuck her toe in the tub to test the temperature. Just right , she thought. Before removing her dressing gown, she turned down the wick on her lamp. She didn’t want any peeping toms who might be wandering about to see her through the dusty but uncovered window.
    She settled into the soothing warmth of the bath and closed her eyes. She had almost dozed off when she heard very clear voices and realized that someone else had entered the bathhouse. She sunk deeper into the tub. Light emanated through a cracked board in the partition between the two bathrooms. From what she could see, two men were in the next room. The man who had sat next to her on the stagecoach and another tall and muscular man moved into her line of sight. The younger man hadn’t been at dinner with them, nor had she seen him when the coach arrived.
    The older man took out a jewelers’ loop and placed it against his eye.
    “Show me the goods,” he said.
    The younger man opened the saddlebag he’d brought with him and removed a small, canvas sack the size of the palm of his hand. He emptied the contents into his other hand. About a dozen small stones sparkled in the amber glow cast from the kerosene lantern.
    “Well, is it what we think it is?” the younger man asked.
    Annabelle squinted and scooted closer to the edge of the tub where she could get a better view. The older man examined the stones and inhaled a deep breath.
    “These are without doubt, diamonds, Mr. Harper.” He removed the eyepiece and dropped it into his vest pocket. “I’ve never heard of any diamond deposits in the Black Hills. The only ones I know of are in Wyoming and Colorado. With all the gold-mining going on, I would’ve expected someone