Frontier Courtship Read Online Free Page B

Keeping his voice low, he added, “This one got herself knocked down by a bunch of drunken horse soldiers.”
    “Figures. I swan, this old world has got to be nearin’ judgment day.”
    “Don’t know about that, ma’am, but there’s four boys in blue who will be when I get ahold of them.”
    “You ain’t plannin’ on startin’ trouble, are you?”
    “No, ma’am.” Connell took a few backward steps toward the open bedroom door. “Finishing it.”
    Anna made a noise of disgust. “Bah! All men are fools. Every bloomin’ one of ’em.”
    At that, the plainsman managed a half smile. “You’re probably right.” Peering past her, he tried to get another glimpse of Faith. “You think she’ll be all right? I reckon her ribs are broke.”
    “Soon as she comes to, I’ll be able to tell for sure.”
    Turning toward the door, Connell paused. “I’ll be back to pay you for whatever the girl needs.”
    The older woman shook her head. “You ain’t her kin. You done enough.”
    He scowled, his helpful attitude hardening into determination. “I told you why I was here. Whatever I do for Miss Faith, it’ll be like I’m doing it for my Irene, too. Understand?”
    Anna nodded solemnly. She wiped her hands on her apron. “That, I do. Long as you remember your money buys you no rights to the Beal sisters.”
    The growing smile lifted Connell’s mustache. “Oh, it won’t be my money,” he said. “I aim to collect damages due from the sons o’—’scuse me, I mean the soldiers who did the hurting.”
    That seemed to satisfy Anna’s sense of decency. “Good for you. Think they’ll pay up?”
    For Connell, the question was already answered. His decision was firm. It wouldn’t take but a few minutes of his time to enforce justice on Faith Beal’s behalf. To see to it that she was recompensed. He was certain that was what Irene would want him to do.
    “Yes, ma’am, I do,” he said flatly. “Those four boys’ll be real tickled to help out. You’ll see.”
    Anna shook her head. “I don’t want to see any of it. You do what your conscience tells you to do, son, but leave me out of it. You hear?”
    Tipping his hat, Connell nodded in affirmation and left her. By the time he’d reached the bottom of the staircase, his anger in respect to Faith’s plight was white-hot. How dare those drunken fools abuse a refined, gentle soul like her and then ignore what they’d done without so much as a backward glance or a word of apology?
    He left the trading post, jumped down to the street and started off toward the saloon. Very little time had passed since the incident. He had no doubt he’d easily be able to locate the perpetrators.
    The door to Maguire’s Saloon swung back with a bang as he straight-armed it and headed for the bar. The place wasn’t fancy red velvet and sparkling chandeliers like the plush parlors of San Francisco. Nor was it any cleaner than the rest of the fort. At each end of the bar stood gaboons, wooden boxes filled with sawdust, that served as poor men’s spittoons. By the look of the floor, no one there took very good aim.
    Connell scanned the crowd. Nearly a dozen men were dressed in the blue of the cavalry but only a few were as filthy and bruised as the guilty parties he was looking for had to be. Bellying up to the bar, the largest of the four was lifting a glass and laughing as another member of the disgusting quartet gave his impression of Faith’s shocked facial expression after her fall.
    Silent, Connell approached, his jaw set, his fists clenched. The loudmouth had reddish hair and a swollen eye as purple as a ripe plum. When Connell tapped him on the shoulder, he turned, still chuckling, with a sarcastic what-do-you-want? look on his face.
    Connell reached up and whipped off the man’s hat, turning it over to serve as a collection basket.
    “Hey! What the…?”
    “For the lady you boys hurt,” Connell said. The low, menacing timbre of his voice was as threatening as his