Maddie was smart and perceptive. She loved books and making things with Claire, but where she truly shined was when she played the violin. Victoria could sit for hours listening to her play.
Gray never pushed Maddie to play or to practice. Some evenings, Maddie would pick up her little violin and gift them with song after song. Other days, she was too worn out from playing with her friends and attempting to talk Claire and Gray into getting her a pony, or a kitten, or whatever animal she had her heart set on at the moment to be interested in her music.
Victoria admired her brother for allowing Maddie to just be a child. There were parents who would have capitalized on Maddie’s rare talents, but not Gray or Claire. They did all they could to ensure Maddie led a normal life.
A normal life? Victoria questioned herself. She hadn’t had a normal life for so long she could no longer recall with any clarity what that looked like. Furthermore, she wasn’t entirely certain she could have one again. After her experience of being married to Wendell, it was extremely difficult for her to believe in the inherent goodness of men. They could be so charming that honey practically dripped off their tongues. But behind closed doors, they were vicious, cruel, and horrid. At least that’s the way Wendell had been.
Victoria wondered if Trace would be like Wendell, given the opportunity. Would he strike her? Belittle her? Abuse her in unspeakable ways?
Disgusted and disappointed with herself for putting up with Wendell all those years, Victoria pondered why she never worked up the gumption to leave him. She should have gone to her father the first time Wendell struck her and asked for his help. Any one of her brothers would have stepped in to offer assistance if she needed it. But because of her, because she let everyone believe she was happily married to a man who was, in reality, out of his mind, her older brothers had died terrible deaths orchestrated by Wendell.
About to be sucked into her maudlin thoughts, Victoria gave herself a mental shake, inhaled a long, cleansing breath, and encouraged Penelope into a trot. The snow on the road was powdery and didn’t seem slick, so she urged the horse to go faster. Gray had told her there were no nearby towns, but she followed a fork in the road with a small hand-painted sign that read Gooseberry.
A smile touched her lips, thinking it a delightful name for a town. Gray had said it was about a two-hour ride there. Victoria didn’t intend to go that far, but it seemed like a good direction to head. She’d explored the area west and south of town on previous rides. Venturing north toward Heppner held little appeal since she didn’t want to chance running into those odious stage robbers again.
She’d heard Gray speaking with the sheriff and some of the other men after church last Sunday about another robbery. It seemed the thieves were growing bolder and more brazen. She just hoped they’d be captured soon.
Victoria increased the speed of the horse, thrilled with the feel of the December air nipping at her nose and stinging her cheeks as she rode, unfettered and free. So much of her life had been spent with someone scrutinizing her every move. Not her family, of course, but with their reputation and station in Philadelphia came certain social expectations. Victoria had been taught at an early age to have impeccable manners that were beyond reproach. She’d been coached in every social art one could imagine, yet what good had that done her?
She’d been such a stupid, starry-eyed nitwit to ever give Wendell Ness the time of day. How had she been taken in by him? By his lies and underhanded schemes, when she was generally so very astute at assessing others. Obviously, Wendell had blinded her to the truth, and the fact he had still rankled, still left her feeling like an idiot.
Mindful of the direction her thoughts continued to head, she jerked them back in line and thought of the surprises she’d ordered for Christmas. Aleta Bruner assured her they should arrive soon. She could hardly wait to see the look on Maddie’s face when she saw one gift in particular. Oh, it was going to be grand.
Elsa and Fred had invited them to their home for Christmas Eve dinner as well as Christmas Day. Claire’s two sisters and brothers-in-law were coming for a visit, too. Victoria had paid a social call to Ari and Heath the last time she was at home visiting her father, taking a lovely crocheted blanket to welcome their newly arrived son. He was a handsome baby, greatly resembling his father.
Victoria used to long for a child of her own, but once Wendell dropped his amiable façade and turned into his true self, she often gave thanks she never had a baby. She couldn’t imagine bringing a child into the tumultuous household she shared with Wendell. It would have been a tragedy.
There were times, though, when she still dearly longed for a child to raise and love. Perhaps someday she’d be a mother. And if not, she would make do with spoiling Maddie and any other little ones Gray and Claire might welcome to their family. If Victoria wasn’t mistaken, she was sure Claire was in the family way, but she kept that thought to herself, assuming the couple would share the news when they were ready.
The thought of being there to welcome a new niece or nephew into the world filled her heart with joy as Penelope carried her along the deserted road. When she made it through a sharp bend, Victoria pulled back on the reins, working to keep from falling from the saddle when Penelope reared.
Three men sat on horses in the middle of the road, conversing as though they hadn’t a care in the world.
For a moment, she thought about giving them a piece of her mind for the utter idiocy of where they stopped to talk, but then recognition set in. All three were dressed in matching brown hats, coats, and trousers, and they were riding plain brown horses. Unintentionally, she’d happened upon the stage robbers. The men turned and stared at her, clearly startled by her sudden appearance. One of them wore dark spectacles, and they all had bandanas covering their faces.
“Run, Penelope!” Victoria shouted to the horse, turning her around and racing back in the direction they came.
She heard shouts behind her as Penelope’s long strides ate up the ground. Victoria was afraid to look behind her, to see if the men gained on her or not.
When she reached the fork in the road, she turned Penelope toward Hardman, hoping she could reach the safety of town before the men could catch her. One moment she was leaning forward on the horse’s neck, urging her onward. The next, one of the men cut in front of her while a second grabbed the reins, pulling Penelope to a stop.
The men glared at her. At least she assumed they all did. Between the spectacles and bandana covering the face of the third man, all she could see were his eyebrows, and they revealed nothing. But the posture of the robbers said they were tense and on edge.
“Shoot, lady, you are pretty handy with a horse,” one of the men said. If she wasn’t mistaken, he was the one referred to as Guy when the stage was robbed. “Didn’t think a pretty lil’ thing like you could do much beyond sew pretty flowers on a pillowcase.”
Victoria ignored his arrogant comment and looked behind the men, wondering how far her screams would carry. Would anyone hear her? She was miles from town, and the closest house was at least two miles away. Why hadn’t she stayed on a well-traveled road instead of this one? If she survived this experience, she wouldn’t make that mistake again.
The man with the dark spectacles continued to keep a hand on her reins as the three men spoke in hushed tones she was unable to hear. She had no idea if they were discussing ways to dispose of her body once they shot her or what exactly they had planned. The thief named Guy gave her a leering look that made apprehension slither over her.