Allegiance Read online

"But, sir—"

  He swore. “If you expect to break all the rules, you must learn to show a little more gratitude."

  "What do you mean?"

  He snatched a huge set of keys off a hook, then circled the end of the counter to join her and Sadie. He gave the tall black woman a swift appraisal. “You both can help me pass the time until dawn. And see how you like a real man. Agreed?"

  Amy squeezed Sadie's arm as a signal to go along with her. “Yes, Monsieur. Whatever you say."

  * * * *

  A dim lantern illuminated the passageway which dead-ended on a stone wall. Water dripped from the low ceiling in several places, splashing onto the slimy floor. Small cells, each with a tiny window chiseled through solid wood, lined the passageway. Amy's shadow leaped along the damp walls in a grotesque shape.

  The gendarme stopped before one of the cells.

  Amy stepped forward to peek through the tiny window. “Jeb! Are you here? It's me, Amy!” She heard his voice, faint but unmistakable. Wringing her hands, she stepped back to make room for the guard.

  He turned a key in the lock, then handed Sadie the lantern. “I will return in ten minutes.” He retreated down the passageway.

  Amy pushed the heavy door open and stepped into the dark cell. Not until Sadie followed her in, lifting the lantern high, did Amy spot her brother lying on a pile of straw in the corner. The stench in the cell made her gag. “Jeb, is that you?"

  Sadie shoved the lantern into Amy's hands, then lifted Jeb in her powerful arms and carried him out. She lowered him to the floor, and Amy knelt beside him, choking back a cry.

  "God in heaven, what have they done to you?” Amy lifted Jeb's head and propped it on her knees.

  His face was puffy and bruised, his eyes bright with fever. A weak smile revealed a broken tooth. “The other prisoners didn't like me. So, I called the guard.” He drew a shallow breath. “He didn't like me either."

  Amy cradled Jeb's lolling head. His glazed eyes told her he had only a slight grasp on awareness. “Oh, Sadie, we've got to get him out of here.” Tears blinded Amy. “He'll die if we don't. He might die anyway."

  Sadie's grunt didn't indicate whether she agreed or not.

  Leather boots thumped along the corridor heralding the reappearance of the gendarme. He loomed over Amy. “Enough visiting. Time to go."

  Amy stared up at him, outrage building pressure like the boilers on a steam engine. “How could you lock my brother in this wretched cell—no light, no bed, nothing. I wouldn't treat an animal like that!"

  He shrugged. “He is a criminal. On your feet, Kaintock!” The guard reached down to grasp Jeb's arm.

  Amy glanced at Sadie in desperation. What do I do now?

  "This man sick.” Sadie scowled at the Creole. “Stay back."

  "That's right!” Amy pulled Jeb closer and laid her cheek against his. “Can't you see he's got cholera? He's dying!"

  "Cholera!” The man stepped back. “No, I think not."

  "I've seen people who had it! They—They vomit so hard the blood vessels pop under the skin. See his face? It's so red it looks like someone took a wooden paddle to it."

  "I—I don't believe...” The man backed another step toward the door.

  Amy sighed. “Oh, dear, I suppose I'll catch it now, too."

  The guard cursed, chopping the air with his hand. “May the cholera take the lot of you then!"

  As he whirled toward the door, Sadie stepped in front of him, blocking his departure. She grabbed the front of his shirt with one fist and bopped him on the temple with the other. He sagged against her, and she dropped him like a stone. Squatting down, she riffled his pockets and came up with a fistful of banknotes.

  Amy scrambled to her feet, excitement roaring in her head. “Oh, Sadie—"

  She thrust the money at Amy, bent to scoop Jeb up in her arms, and draped him over her sturdy shoulder.

  Amy followed her friend down the corridor, through the double doors, and out into the cool night air. “Where are all the law officers? That ugly beast can't be the only one here!"

  "They fight fires.” Sadie untethered her horse.

  Amy arranged Jeb on the floor of the carriage, placed a wadded shawl under his head, then settled herself on the seat. Sadie leaped inside, and the gig rolled away in the dark.

  Jeb's face was a pale blur in the darkness near Amy's right foot. She reached down to touch his feverish brow. “Do you suppose he really is dying? I mean, could he actually have cholera?"

  Sadie gave a snort. “Not cholera, but lucky to be alive. You and me, too."

  * * * *

  As the carriage rocked along the five-mile wharf, Amy searched in vain for the Missouri Belle. Had Tyler put the mission before all else and departed without her? Henri, at least, would have remained behind to wait for her, she thought.

  Amy fought exhaustion as she scanned the steamboats hugging the shore. Smokestacks and masts bristled thick as trees. It wouldn't be the largest or most remarkable vessel in the motley collection, she told herself. In the dim light of the occasional sperm lamp, it would be easy to overlook.

  At last, Sadie pointed out a figure on the deck of a steamboat holding a lantern and waving his arm. Henri! He cupped a hand around one side of his mouth, but Amy couldn't hear his shout at that distance.

  The gig jolted to an abrupt halt as a tall broad-shouldered man in shabby clothing leaped out of the darkness and caught the mare's reins near the bit.

  Sadie grabbed up her whip and lashed him with it. “Back, you fool!"

  The man flung an arm up to shield himself. “Confound it, Sadie! What are you doing?"

  Amy stared. “Tyler? Is that you?” Even when he identified himself and came around the side toward her, she hesitated to believe her eyes. “I didn't recognize you."

  "Where the h—Where have you been? Hurry up and get down to the dock—we're leaving."

  "Help me with Jeb, then. He's on the floor."

  "What?” Tyler yanked open the door and stood staring.

  Jeb groaned and rolled over, drawing his knees under him. He struggled up, peering around through swollen eyelids. Between them, Sadie and Tyler hoisted him to the ground.

  "Be careful with him!” Amy scrambled down and pulled her brother's arm across her shoulders to lend support to his wobbly legs.

  Tyler took his other arm, and together they guided his feeble steps down over the steep levee trail toward the dock, leaving Sadie rummaging in the boot for the luggage.

  "How did you manage this?” Tyler asked, coldly.

  Amy couldn't prevent a laugh from bubbling out. “Simple. We broke him out of jail.” With an escape route in sight, she experienced a surge of euphoria. She'd done it! When all the talking and wheedling and waiting and pleading had failed, she'd gone to the root of the problem and solved it in one swift coup. She'd never felt more exhilarated!

  "The hell you say! I suppose we've got the law on our tails now as well as Calhoun's bloodhounds.” His grim tone chilled her enthusiasm.

  "Don't worry. Nobody will know where to begin looking for him."

  "Do you have any idea how dumb you were to attempt something like this? Just you and Sadie?"

  "We didn't attempt it—we did it!” She stumbled on the path, nearly pulling Jeb off balance. “What do you have to be so angry about?"

  Tyler paused and tucked his shoulder deeper under her brother's arm, taking most of the weight himself. “I don't know how you did it—I don't want to know.” He started downhill again. “You're like a loose cannon—I never know what to expect. And you're so stubborn, once you get an idea stuck in your head, a crowbar couldn't pry it out."

  Jeb lifted his head. “Amen!"

  Her exultation sizzled away like water on a hot skillet. “I couldn't just let him spend the rest of his life in that dungeon."

  "Of course not! But there's a right way and a wrong way to go about it. I've been in touch with the governor, and he promised to look into it."

  "But Jeb cou
ld have died waiting for someone to do something."

  "What you did had worse odds—now don't deny it. You could have gotten him killed tonight. You could have been killed!"

  She couldn't refute his argument. An ache gripped her chest and brought moisture to her eyes.

  Jeb's legs gained strength; instead of dragging his toes, he began lifting his feet into a shuffle. They half-carried him across the gangplank.

  Henri met them on the main deck and helped them lift Jeb onto a pile of empty grain sacks. “Are you all right, chèrie? Who is this? Jeb?” He peered through the dim light at her brother. "Ça va, old friend?” He clasped Jeb's hand.

  Jeb licked his cracked lips. “I've been better, Henri."

  "You look terrible, mon ami,” the Cajun said.

  "We broke him out, Henri,” Amy explained. “Sadie and me."

  Henri didn't smile. “We must get him away from here. The gendarmes, they must not find him."

  The steam expanded in the boilers, spitting and venting. The crew bustled about the deck preparing for departure.

  Sadie carried Amy's luggage aboard as a whistle blew.

  "Sadie, thank you.” Amy embraced her. “I owe you so much. More than I can ever repay."

  Sadie returned her hug with bone-crushing enthusiasm, then set Amy back at arm's length and fixed her with a stern eye. “No more mischief now."

  "No. I'll miss you, my dear friend."

  Sadie nodded. “Prosper under the eye of Yoruba. Farewell, good friend.” She turned and crossed to shore, bouncing the gangplank under her solid strides.

  The roustabouts cast off the lines and winched in the stage. Amy knelt in the narrow aisle between a stack of cotton bales and a row of crates to tuck a couple of her muslin-wrapped dresses under Jeb's head for a pillow. “We've got to get you a room."

  "None available.” Tyler squeezed in beside her to stoop and lay a hand on Jeb's brow.

  The gesture softened Amy's resentment, and she had to steel herself against forgiving Tyler. Nothing would change what a harsh and inflexible man he was. “He can have my room."

  "Where would that leave you?” He straightened to his full height. “No, deck passage will be fine. I'll stay with him. I have to watch our cargo, anyway."

  "The muskets!” She glanced around. “Where are they?"

  "In those long crates labeled ‘Garden District'. Under a layer of shovels, rakes, and hoes.” His tone was calm, as though he hadn't just sternly rebuked her for rescuing her brother. Dumb, he'd called her. A loose cannon.

  "Tools?” Cramped on her knees in the aisle, she could scarcely breathe without brushing her shoulder against Tyler's thigh. His body radiated a heat that made her skin burn.” They're piled under the lids in case someone gets curious.” He reached across Jeb to tug a piece of canvas over one of the crates. “Henri did a fine job."

  She rose to her feet to make more room for him, or retreat if she had to. If she could only cast a spell on herself to become totally indifferent to his touch, his glance, the sound of his voice—what a relief it would be! Why did he affect her this way? She hated the overbearing tyrant.

  Henri appeared and handed Amy a jug. “Here is water. See if Jeb is thirsty. Should we get him some food?"

  Jeb's eyelids fluttered. “Whisky ... Whisky."

  "You're getting water.” Amy uncorked the jug and held it to Jeb's lips. “Poison is the last thing you need."

  Suddenly, a shout from the wharf cut through the rumble of the idling engines. Three men trotted along the dock, waving frantically. The deckhands stopped coiling up ropes to run the gangplank out once more.

  Even in the dark, the late arrivals looked familiar. Two of them, notable for their swarthy complexions and coal-black hair hanging to the shoulders, passed by toward the stairs without glancing left or right. The third could have been an older relative of the others: dark, shifty-eyed, and rotund. He smoked a foul-smelling cigar. Jackrabbit Jones!

  He paused to look around, and Amy gasped as his eyes narrowed on her. His gaze flicked from her to Tyler, then settled on Jeb. Malice, heavy and cold as ground fog, rolled out to envelop her. For the space of a few heartbeats, he stared at them, then turned to climb the stairway, heaving his vast bulk upward a step at a time until he was out of sight.

  She released her breath. “Tyler, I think traveling on the Missouri Belle was a dumb idea."

  Chapter 12

  The engines of the Missouri Belle lugged down as it shuddered against the quickening current near the bank, dodging the chicots—the teeth of the river: jagged rocks and half-submerged logs with their broken limbs thrust outward like a fistful of spears. At the change in speed and engine sounds, the captain and many of the passengers craned their necks to look upriver.

  Amy took advantage of the distraction to sneak more food off the breakfast table and onto the extra plate she had for Jeb. She spread her napkin over the pile of bacon, four boiled eggs and a half loaf of bread, then stood up and excused herself from the table.

  Chairs scraped as the men around her got to their feet. The rest of the passengers happened to be male—a dozen gentlemen filling both rectangular tables in the small dining room—but that suited Amy. She didn't miss the haughty society women with whom she had shared her last trip.

  Henri swallowed a bite of food. “Wait, I will come with you."

  "No, please finish your meal. I'll be fine.” When she left the room, she pretended to be oblivious to the attentions of the men. They could look if they wanted—all except for Jackrabbit Jones and his cronies: their furtive glances crawled on her like insects. She prayed the resentful gambler never got curious about the cargo Jeb and Tyler guarded. Revenge would be too easy for him.

  From the bottom of the stairs on the lower deck, she made her way past tiers of cotton bales to the makeshift lair she'd constructed for Jeb.

  "Good morning, gentlemen. Sleep well?” She risked a glance at Tyler. Still smarting from his stern disapproval two nights before, she made an effort to keep a bland expression.

  "Not bad.” Tyler stretched as though the sacks of calico, woolens, and butternut cloth she had lent him made the finest bed. “I believe it's cooler here in steerage than in the staterooms."

  "Is that my breakfast?” Her brother sat upright with something of his old alacrity. His eyes, though encircled with rainbow colors, opened fully.

  "You're looking better, Jeb,” she said. “So good, in fact, that I think I'll send for a bucket of water so you can wash up. And bring you clean clothes. You could stand a change.” She handed him the plate and a large mug of coffee.

  He pushed a rasher of bacon in his mouth and tore a corner off the loaf.

  "That coffee smells good.” Tyler stood up.

  She had to admire Tyler for choosing deck passage over a room with a real bed. Taking responsibility for their secret cargo was one thing, but practically chaining himself to it was another. She managed another smile for him. “Why don't you go up to breakfast? I can stay here and watch everything for awhile."

  "All right. I'll be back shortly.” He stood up, gazing at her steadily as though he would say something more.

  She glanced away, her stomach knotting. Any conversations with him beyond the basic courtesies strained her composure. The memory of being treated like a disobedient child remained vivid in her mind.

  He departed without another word.

  She sat on a wooden candle box next to the railing, careful to keep her feet out of the oozing molasses around the barrel next to her. “How are you feeling, Jeb? You haven't done much but eat and sleep for two days, now."

  "I'm better off than I was, but I'd still have to lean up against a saplin’ to cuss.” He gulped some coffee and set the cup down on the deck between his feet. “I'm still hazy about what happened that night. Couldn't get a word out of the Major."

  "Uh ... Maybe he figured the less said the better. What do you think of his outfit, by the way? He looks different, doesn't he?"

  "He look
s better,” Jeb rolled an egg between his hands, cracking the shell. “That uniform of his put me off. He always looked so ... official."

  "You should see him in his frock coat with the velvet collar and cuffs. And the beaver hat."

  Jeb glanced up, grinning. “You sound like you're smitten."

  "Don't be silly!” She glanced away, frowning. How aggravating her brother could be some times!

  "Where did you see him dressed like that?"

  "You might as well know that I prevailed upon him to speak with senators and anyone else he knew who might help you."

  "So I've got him to thank for getting me out of that hell hole?"

  Amy felt unaccountably awkward telling him the truth straight out. She was no mood for another scolding. “Well ... he had trouble getting anyone to listen—"

  "But if anybody could do it, he could, by jings! I can't imagine anyone holding out on him for long. I gotta tell you, I didn't much like him at first, what with all his high and mighty airs. But what he done for me in New Orleans, I'm never gonna forget.” Jeb wolfed down the egg and another strip of bacon. “By the way, you're lookin’ more than a mite fashionable, yourself. Where'd you get the new dresses?"

  Relieved at the change of subject, Amy smiled and smoothed her skirt. “I had them made special. Like them?"

  "Depends on how much money you had to give."

  "I struck a bargain. You'd have been proud of me."

  He gave her a dubious look. “I thought we was gonna buy trade goods."

  "I plan to sell most of the gowns in Santa Fe. The fabrics you've been sleeping on will give me something to sew into dresses on our journey. Don't worry, we still have some cash to buy supplies in St. Louis."

  He jerked a thumb toward the long crates stacked behind him. “What about those? Looks like we've got more to sell than gowns. Tyler said somethin’ about Henri goin’ partners with us on some garden tools. Why garden tools? I wasn't thinkin’ too swift yesterday when he told me."

  "That's because you were swilling whisky like it was water."

  He glowered at her. “So run it all by me again, why don't you?"

  She hesitated, wondering how much she should trust him with the secret. He drank too much and couldn't stay away from the gambling tables, but she'd never noticed that liquor loosened his tongue much. Since he was an essential part of their plan, maybe she should confide in him.