he scouted on for another mile, making sure there wasn’t any trouble waiting ahead. Satisfied, he turned his buckskin around and headed back to where he’d left the others.
As he relaxed in the saddle, Cole was feeling a bit euphoric over how smoothly the past few days of travel had gone. Each morning camp broke shortly after dawn. They stopped for a quick noon meal, then continued on until a half hour before sunset. There had been no unnecessary delays, nor had he heard a complaint. Though he hadn’t spoken to Beth since the supper disaster, he knew she was the only one who could have arranged the changes. But rather than ponder on how long this routine was going to last, he preferred to enjoy it while he could.
As soon as Cole guided his horse around a big, stately oak tree, the caravan came back into view. The wagons were in a horseshoe alignment, food was already cooking on the campfires and tents and cots were being set up. Except for Beth and himself, it was arranged so the men slept on one side of the camp and the women on the other. Beth slept on a comfortable bed in her tent, while he preferred the ground, some distance from the wagons. Should there be an attack, the marauders would head for the main group, leaving him free to defend the others.
A short distance from the wagons Cole dismounted, then untied the rawhide strips that kept his bedding snug against the cantle. After laying out his bedroll between a pair of willow trees, he unbuckled the cinch and pulled the saddle and blanket from his horse’s back. The smell of food cooking was pleasing to his nose as well as his stomach.
Cole was leading his buckskin to the stream for watering when he heard Doolan approaching from behind. The young man took his job as horse groom very seriously.
“I’ll take it from here, sir,” Doolan said.
Cole nodded and handed over the reins. He was starting to like having everything done for him. It would be an easy life to get used to. He glanced at the tall, lanky groom. Frank Doolan had to be nearing twenty, but he was still as clumsy as a floundering stud. He seemed too young to be Tex Martin, but at this point Cole couldn’t afford to rule anyone out.
Cole decided to follow along. He had discovered the boy was of a talkative nature. A great source for information. “How long have you worked for Beth?”
“Eleven years,” Doolan said proudly.
“You were just a boy when you started.”
“Yes, sir. My folks got killed in a fire, and Mrs. Alexander – it was Mrs. Jarvis then—insisted her first husband let me learn to be a groom.”
Two husbands? Cole wondered. “I suppose before much longer you’ll be wanting to head off on your own.” If he could get rid of Frank Doolan, that would be one less man he’d have to be suspicious of.
Doolan thought a minute. “I got everything I could possibly want. I’ve traveled all over and the mistress takes real good care of her people. But to be honest, sir, I’m going to have to make some changes soon.”
“What’s wrong?”
“It isn’t easy to talk about. Promise you won’t laugh or say anything to the others?”
“Whatever you say is safe with me.”
“Well, you see... I mean... I’ve never had a woman,” Doolan finally blurted out. “Molly Dee knows, and she teases me something awful.”
Molly Dee assisted the cook, Magda, and did any duties handed down by Esther. The pretty brunette was always giving Cole friendly smiles, and if she knew he was watching she would make a point of suggestively swinging her hips when she walked. Molly Dee was definitely a flirt.
“I have an awfully bad yearning, and sometimes I think I’m just going to split my bitches. I thought...well, I thought...”
The boy led the buckskin into the water, then let him lower his head to drink. The honking sounds made Cole look to the sky. The Canadian geese were quite a sight flying against the backdrop of the descending sun. They were headed north. The weather was still cool at night, but that would change before long. “I’m surprised your mistress hasn’t thought to take care of that matter for you.”
“She’d never think of bedding –”
Cole chuckled. “That wasn’t what I meant. It’s a situation I’d have expected her to rectify, especially since she seems hell-bent on ruling mankind. Surely you’ve been places where your problem could be taken care of?”
“Yes, but I could never get up the guts to go in a whorehouse by myself.”
“You want some advice, Doolan?”
Doolan lowered his head. “N...yes, sir.”
“My advice is not to worry about it. All things happen in due time. There’s nothing wrong with a man being a virgin, Doolan. How come you haven’t talked about this to one of the other men?”
Doolan stroked the horse’s thick neck. “They treat me like a boy. They never speak of women and such things when I’m around. I tell you, Cole, I believe a man needs to experience life before he goes and commits himself to a woman.”
Cole nodded. “You planning on marrying soon?”
“No, I was just expressing how I feel. I guess I’m trying to ask if you’d maybe...when this is all over would you go with me to... ?”
Cole patted the boy’s shoulder. “Just give it time. So, the mistress has been married twice, huh? That’s a lot of marriages for a woman so young.”
“She’s twenty-eight!”
“Oh, really?” Cole grinned. “That old, huh?” he teased.
“Yes, sir.”
The horse stopped drinking, and the two men headed toward the meadow.
“She’s actually been married three times.”
Cole raised a brow. “Is that where she came by all her money?”
“Her husbands were very wealthy.”
“She probably killed them off with her food.”
“Her first husband, Ernest Jarvis, was in his sixties when they married. His heart gave out.”
Cole wondered if it had happened while the man was enjoying his conjugal rights.
“I’ve heard tell the marriage was arranged by her uncle. The second husband, Cornelious Webber, was in his eighties and as proud as all get-out to have such a beautiful woman by his side. He died in his sleep. The third husband, Mr. Alexander, was a mean bastard. No one grieved when he was robbed and murdered.” Doolan raked his fingers through his sandy-colored hair. “I’ll say one thing, they all had a flair for living even if some did die young. I probably shouldn’t be telling you all this.”
“A man has to have someone to talk to. Besides, it’s all in the past.”
“True.”
“Sounds as if Mrs. Alexander has spent most of her life married.”
“Several years ago I overheard Esther tell Magda that the mistress
