Nothing Sweeter
By Purple Lacey
Part Two
Maude Standish was in a simmering rage. The trip to this backwater town was turning out to be one of the worst disasters of her life. She had been forced to suffer one indignity after the other since setting foot on the dusty street of this God forsaken, rat hole of a town, beginning with being turned away at the only decent hotel in town AND every respectable boarding and rooming house in town, and ending with her current situation. Although the sign out front said Hotel the sounds emanating from many of the rooms through the paper thin walls left no doubt where at least some of the "working girls" of the town resided.
At the moment, the beautiful con-woman was seated in a chair, its back shoved under the door knob to keep out the aging lothario that had pursued her from the lobby of the establishment to her room. It had taken a well placed knee to the groin to discourage her unwanted suitor enough to make it into her room alone. Now she was forced to barricade her door with her own body to keep out the ruffian who was currently pounding on the door and swearing loudly. Each solid hit to the door caused her head to recoil from the force and then land against it again with a small thud.
Maude reached up and withdrew the hat pin holding her fashionable haberdashery in place and threw the hat angrily across the room onto the bed. She watched in disgust as the hat bounced off the faded coverlet sending a plume of dust flying up in its wake. Her nose wrinkled in distaste as she took in her current accommodations. As far as she could tell dirty, dark, and dilapidated was the predominant decorating theme of the room. It looked liked the walls hadn't seen a coat of paint since Noah stepped from the ark, and the drapery was faded and so full of grime that the original color could not be determined. Maude decided it was just as well that she was not interested in looking at the view since the filth covering the window glass completely blocked any possibility.
With one last bellow and a hard blow that made the door shudder in its frame, the woman's admirer gave up and left to find an easier conquest. Maude sighed in relief. She rose and picked her skirts up so they would not drag through the accumulation of dirt and litter that was scattered over the floor when she made her way over to the bed. She used two fingers to pull the dusty coverlet from the bed and toss it on the floor then pulled back the sheets. The con woman grimaced in disgust at the sight of the bed linens stained with things she didn't even want to think about. The stench that rose from them made her wonder if they had ever seen a tub of hot water.
She gingerly pulled the sheets from the bed and tossed them into the pile with the coverlet. There were visible lumps in the stained mattress and, although not as bad as the sheets, it too emitted a rank odor. That she, who had stayed in the Presidential Suite at the Ritz and been waited on hand and foot, had been reduced to this made her want to scream. It took all of her control to resist the urge to stomp her feet and yell like a two year old throwing a tantrum.
Downstairs, a grinning Buck threw his arms around the hotel's owner and kissed her soundly on her painted lips.
"Ginny, darlin', you are a wonder!" his laughing voice cheerfully informed the woman. "I appreciate all the effort you put into this. I owe you one. "
"You just make sure my room gets cleaned up properly and you take that God awful mattress back to where ever it came from and we'll call it even," Virginia Newsom replied.
Buck laughed again and said, "We got it from the livery stable. Tiny keeps it there for that ole hound dog of his to sleep on in the winter.”
"I'm afraid that room will have to be aired for a week before I can rent it out again, but the girls and I had fun preparing the room for our 'guest'. I'm usually getting after the girls for letting their rooms get messy. This is the first time I've ever told them to actually bring in dirt from outside!"
"You are one generous angel for helping us out this way, Ginny."
"You know I'd do just about anything for you, you rogue," the woman said fondly.
"That's always good to know," Buck's voice lowered seductively. "We'll have to explore the possibilities of that after this is over."
Buck laughed as the experienced woman of the world blushed like a school girl.
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Josiah sipped from his cup of coffee as he surreptitiously watched the woman waiting impatiently at a table across the room of the town's restaurant. The morning breakfast crowd had whittled down to only a few lingering people by the time Maude had entered the door looking tired and irritable. He could not help but notice that her current appearance was not as bandbox perfect as it had been yesterday when she had arrived. Although still beautiful, she was definitely looking a little ragged around the edges this morning. The night spent in the quarters Buck's friends had painstakingly prepared for her had apparently not been conducive to sleep if the red-rimmed eyes and slightly pale face were any indication. His eyes followed her as she made her way to an empty table and sat down.
Sally Anne, the restaurant's waitress, had taken one look at the other woman and retreated to the kitchen with a hostile glare, leaving her new customer to wait for service. Josiah secretly smiled behind his cup. Ezra and Vin were favorites of the young waitress. She always spoiled them with extra-large pieces of apple pie, or second helpings of peach cobbler whenever the regulators brought them by for a treat. Judging from her reaction, Sally Anne had obviously heard the talk about the con-woman and her treatment of Ezra. The man had to stifle the laugh that threatened to escape when he imagined what was about to happen to Maude since the restaurant's cook was also one of the boy's conquests.
He couldn't help the sigh of regret that escaped him as he gazed on the woman. That such beauty covered such a black heart seemed a colossal tragedy to the ex-preacher. As he watched the fingers of one of the woman's delicate hands drum out her irritation on the table top, it occurred to Josiah that it would be so much easier to get through life if a person's outward appearance reflected their character. He would have been able to take one look at the woman as she stepped from the stage and known what she was. Instead he had been taken with her good looks and inadvertently hurt a little boy that had already been hurt too often in his young life. He had given his heart-felt apology for his remarks to Ezra the night before. Although the boy had granted him forgiveness, Josiah still regretted the incident. It made him even more determined than ever to extract a little justice from Maude Standish. He didn't usually agree with the 'eye for an eye' philosophy, but he sincerely believed this woman deserved everything she would be receiving. Hopefully, she might learn a lesson on the treatment of others.
Maude had been sitting at the table for at least fifteen minutes before Sally Anne grudgingly approached the table and stood before the seated woman, hostility radiating from her like heat from a raging wild fire.
"You want somethin'?" the waitress snapped out.
Maude stiffened at the woman's harsh tone and her blue eyes narrowed with anger before she ruthlessly brought it under control and her face smoothed out into a pleasant mask again.
"A cup of coffee to start, I believe," she replied, "and some toast, not too dark and buttered lightly. Two poached eggs and bacon. The bacon crisp but not hard."
"Why of course, yer Majesty," the waitress snarled sarcastically, "Right away, yer Majesty."
Sally Anne turned and stomped her way back to the kitchen. It was another twenty minutes before she reappeared with a chipped coffee cup and a blue speckled coffee pot that she slammed on the table. The waitress spun around and left only to return minutes later with a plate of food. She practically threw the plate down on the table before spinning around and leaving again.
Maude was left staring at her meal in dismay. Her "poached" eggs were a half-cooked, gelatinous mess. The toast resembled pieces of charcoal. The bacon was almost raw. She shoved it away with disgust and reached for the coffee pot to pour herself a cup then watched in repelled fascination as the thick, viscous contents sluggishly poured into the cup.
Josiah had to bite his tongue to keep from laughing at the expressions that flitted across the woman's face as she surveyed the completely inedible meal. He had to fight hard to maintain his appearance of disinterest when she pushed the plate and cup away. She looked toward the kitchen door indignantly but Sally Anne wisely remained in the kitchen. Maude threw the napkin she was holding in her hand on the table angrily and rose to her feet. She marched from the restaurant with her head held regally high, her shoulders straight, and her back as stiff as an overly-starched shirt. Josiah threw another look at the abandoned meal and finally lost his battle. The loud roar of his laughter shook the windows. He mentally added another weight to Ezra's side of the Justice scale.
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Ezra watched from the parlor window of the boarding house while his stepmother walked down the boardwalk on the opposite side of the street. He stepped away from the window when she disappeared inside the general store. The twins had once again been left in the care of Mrs. Jeffers, who was currently busy changing bed linens and cleaning. The boys had been sent to the parlor to play. Ezra joined his brother by the sofa and sighed.
"I am not satisfied this is such a good idea, Vin," he said.
"Don't worry Ez," Vin said confidently, "It'll be okay. I know I can do this!"
Ezra chewed his lower lip worriedly and replied, "I do not believe either Chris or Buck would approve of your plan."
"You heard them. We have to make her pay for what she did," he said as he picked up the supplies he had gathered, and slipped them into a cloth sack then slung it over one shoulder.
"I doubt they meant either of us to actually participate when they were explaining their plans," he told his brother.
Vin grinned at the other boy and started out of the room. "They never said we couldn't. I'll be back soon."
"I would feel much better if I went with you," Ezra called after him.
"You heard Chris. You're supposed to stay here as long as she's in town. He'd be really mad if you left after he told you to stay."
"It is not fair that I have to remain inside while you do not," Ezra grumbled.
Vin paused in the doorway and turned to face his brother. "I know, Ez," he said with his voice full of sympathy, "but she knows you. She's never seen me."
Ezra threw himself back on the settee with his arms crossed over his chest. His eyebrows drew together in a frown and he pouted as he said, “It still is not fair!"
Vin didn't know how to comfort his brother so he just replied, "I'll tell you all about it when I get back," and quickly left.
Vin exited through the kitchen door. He headed down the alley to the rear of Virginia's hotel and knocked on the back door. It was opened by a large apron-clad woman with curly red hair and bushels of freckles on her merry face.
"Vin!" she exclaimed in surprise. "Child, what in the world are you doing here?"
The woman stuck her head out the door and looked around for one of the boy's guardians then looked down at him again when she failed to find one.
Vin held out his sack and grinned at the woman. "I brought some stuff for Miz Standish's room."
"What is Buck Wilmington thinkin' to let you come here!" she said with disapproval in her voice as she pulled the boy inside and hurriedly slammed the door.
"Please, don't be mad at Buck, Miz Adams," Vin begged.
The hotel housekeeper smiled at the child looking up at her so adorably and nodded. "Alright, Vin. For you I'll let it go this once... but only this once. This is not a proper place for you to be."
"I won't be long. I promise, Miz Adams," Vin assured her.
"Come along then. The faster you get started, the faster you'll be done."
The housekeeper led Vin up the back stairs and down the hall. She stopped in front of a closed door and pulled a ring of keys from her pocket. She searched through the various keys until she found the one she wanted and used it to open the door. She ushered Vin inside with a hand on his back.
Vin laid his bag on the dirty floor and started pulling out items. Mrs. Adams watched with interest.
"What have you got there?"
Vin held up a smaller bag with a grin. "Bats," he answered causing the woman to shudder. "We got 'em outta Miz Jeffer's attic. They're for the wardrobe. This one's got lizards for the drawers,” he told her holding up another sack and then pulled a third from the larger bag. “Sugar to put in the perfume Ezra says she always wears." He reached in a final time and pulled a glass jar of mud out. "For her slippers."
The housekeeper grinned in amusement and asked knowingly, "I wonder whose ideas these were?"
Vin grinned back at her proudly and answered "Mine and Ezra's."
She nodded. "I'm sure glad you boys are my friends. I wouldn't want to be your enemy if those are the kind of things you think up to get even."
Vin's grin got even bigger. "We're gonna make sure she pays for what she did to Ezra," he replied.
"I'd have to say that if you're lookin' for a way to make THAT one suffer, you sure picked a real good way to go about it. I ain't never seen a more persnickety person in all my born days," she said with an evilly delighted smirk. "You should have heard the yowling she did yesterday." Her voice rose to a high-pitched drawl as she mocked," 'This room will never do.' and 'These sheets are an abomination.' I never saw anybody get so red in the face like she did when Miss Virginia told her if she didn't like the accommodations she was free to leave." The housekeeper's massive frame jiggled wildly as she laughed. "She turned around in a huff and stormed back to her room, and I swear you coulda heard that door slam from all way across town.”
“Good!” Vin snapped a nod and scowled. “She deserves it. She shouldn't have done the things she did to Ezra.”
“True enough,” Mrs. Adams agreed. “I get the impression she don't have people tell her no very often. Don't take to it much, I'd say.”
“She better learn to take it,” Vin's replied, his eyes narrowing with anger as he thought on all the terrible things his twin had endured while in this woman's care. “Cause Chris and Buck said she's gonna be hearing it a lot while she's here.”
The woman slapped her hands together and returned her attention to the task at hand. “We better get busy. You need to get out of here on the double. There's no telling when she'll be back.”
“Yes ma'am,” Vin replied.
With the housekeepers help, he quickly completed his business and Mrs. Adams shuffled him out the back door again.
“Vin?” She called as he started walking down the alley with the now empty sack thrown over his shoulder.
Vin turned around and looked at her questioningly.
“You be careful while that one's in town, you hear me? I would hate to hear that something happened to you or your brother. That woman's proven she don't much care who she hurts. ”
The boy grinned and raised his hand to tip his hat to her. “I will,” he promised. “Buck and Chris and the others will make sure of it.”
“And you tell Buck Wilmington that he better not allow you back in this place again!”
Vin grinned and waved before turning and running home. Mrs. Adams watched him disappear around the corner before she realized the child had never promised to convey her last words to his guardian.
tbc