Chapter Thirty-Four
Just prior to passing out, the intoxicated and very ill-tempered Roger Mareck had left instructions for his three bodyguards to wake him about an hour before sunrise.
The trio was not looking forward to the task. Their inebriated employer was bound to be hungover and hence in an even fouler mood than usual! Mr. Gordon, especially, was growing tired of 'Mister' Mareck's little temper-tantrums. If it weren't for the ridiculous sum of money they were receiving for their services, he and the others would've been long gone by now. Even with the money, it was getting harder and harder for them to stomach the obnoxious little man.
The disgruntled group took turns guarding their hostage. At least, they were supposed to. When no one came to relieve him, Luther Nyman left the kidnapped Miss Coopersmith in the care of a pretty nasty pair, Elliot Polk and Butch Delliss, and then retired himself...to a bunk in one of the dead Marshal's jail cells.
Polk (Whose kid brother had been nabbed that night by the 'Phantom Marshal')--and his side-kick, Butch Delliss, (Along with three others.) were the only ones left out of Mareck's 'horde' of hired guns. Mareck wasn't leaving without his money, and Polk wasn't leaving without his little brother. The gunman had a personal vendetta against anyone--alive o-or 'dead'--who would dare lay a hand on his kin!
Dulcey was dozing--at least she was pretending to be--in the middle of the dead Marshal's Office. Her captors had insisted that she remain seated in the late lawman's' leather-covered armchair, which remained situated in the center of the room. She sat there, watching the men who were supposed to be watching her.
The two ugly hombres wiled away the hours by rearranging the bullets in their gunbelts. Then, bored of this, the one called 'Polk' got up from the window bench--upon which he had been perched--and began pacing back and forth in front of the pretty little blonde.
"Hey, Polk!" his partner suddenly piped up, keeping his shouted voice low, so as not to wake Mr. Nyman. Delliss had taken to looking at the pictures that were plastered up on the office's walls. And he was standing before one of them now, pointing, "You remember ever seein' this guy before?!" he inquired cautiously.
Polk stepped over to his friend and stared blankly up at the person being pointed to in the photograph.
"Ain't that that settler we saw out on the prairie the other day?!" Delliss added--in an attempt to jog his partner's apparently poor memory.
Polk's eyes suddenly filled with recognition, "That sod-buster with the beautiful wife!"
Delliss nodded, "Only I don' see no 'beautiful wife' in this picture! What I see here is a BA-ADGE! That man was the Marshal!"
"Sh-h-h-h!" Polk pleaded, placing a hand over his partner's big mouth, "You wan' everyone ta hear how he made fools out a' us?!"
"That was a pretty good trick he played on us, huh, Polk?" Delliss continued, brushing his buddy's hand away, "Yah know, maybe Mareck ain't so crazy after all. If the Marshal ain' married, maybe he ain' buried, either..."
"Yeah...well," Elliot Polk glared menacingly up at the man in the photograph, "If he ain't, he will be!" the angry gunman vowed, sounding very eager to seek vengeance. Polk couldn't tolerate being made a fool of, either!
Dulcey's face--which was half-hidden behind the black veil of her black bonnet--filled with horror and her already pale complexion turned a few shades whiter. 'Oh please, Jarrod, PLEASE?!' she pleaded silently, 'Don't tell Ji-im!' She was quite certain that Mareck was bluffing! In fact, she was willing to stake her life on it! Literally!
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And, speaking of the dead Marshal's marital status...
To keep from falling asleep, Nurse Edwards kept her nose buried in the book Doctor Ellis had given her. The woman was so engrossed in her reading that it took awhile for her to realize she was being watched. She glanced up and discovered--much to her relief--that Jim Crown had finally regained consciousness. She continued watching as her groggy patient pulled his left hand free from her's and then picked up the book that was lying in her lap to examine its cover.
The 'Territory Tamer' winced when he read the title.
The woman witnessed his reaction and quickly set the book aside so that she could have both hands free to tend to her 'legendary lawman'.
The first item on the pretty lady's agenda appeared to be the pouring of lots of liquids into him. Recalling the last two drink offerings he'd accepted, her still slightly 'drugged' feeling patient kept his parched lips tightly pursed and his weary--but wary--eyes peeled on the pitcher that she was pouring from, and anxiously pondered over the possibilities of what all it might contain.
"It's jes' water..." Katelyn assured him, accurately interpreting the look in the recently drugged lawman's dreamy, dark eyes.
The Marshal's wary gaze suddenly shifted from the proffered potion to his pretty nurse, 'A-and...?' the paranoid peace keeper's peepers further implored.
"A-an' more water!" the woman reassured him with a smile.
Her patient's pursed lips formed a slight smile as well and finally parted. The legend's smile broadened a bit as the cool, soothing liquid lubricated his tonsils and moistened his incredibly dry-y mouth. "...I hope," the man began, following several more soothing swallows, "you ain'...the sort a' woman...who believes...everything she rea-eads?"
Katelyn kept the cup up to the still feverish man's dry mouth and forced him to completely drain its cool, wet contents. "You sayin' that book is jes' a pack a lie-ies?" she inquired incredulously.
"It ain' lie-ies...exactly..." Jim Crown confessed, "It jes' ain' exactly what yah might call...the WHOLE truth. Yah see, in 'is haste ta create a 'legend'...I'm afraid that Francis left out...all the...'stubborn an' stupid-actin'...an' 'proud an' pig-headed' parts..."
Katelyn appreciated the 'legend's' light-hearted comment and tried to come up with one of her own, "I know, I know. You're no angel," she teased, but then quickly turned serious. "Still, I'll bet he didn' leave out all that much..." the lady determined with a certain amount of pride.
The 'legend' acknowledged the lovely lady's comment--er, compliment, with a slight nod and a warm smile...which was warmly returned. Which prompted her propped up patient to attempt an equally warm embrace. Which turned out to be a COLLOSAL mistake!
Katelyn tensed as the Marshal suddenly stiffened and made a frantic grab for his mid-section. "You mus'n move!" she solemnly chastised, and made a frantic grab herself--for him! "Yore ribs ain' wrapped!" she went on to explain, but then realized that he had already realized 'that' himself.
"I'm gettin'...too o-old...for this sort a' thing," the lawman determined as his eyes at last re-opened and his regular breathing resumed, "Wearin' a badge...takes a tremendous...toll...on a body."
The nurse smiled sympathetically down at the o-old man with the badge and did her level best to comfort him, "You jes' need more rest, is all..."
"No-o, I need ta retire! I'm beginnin' ta realize somethin' about me an' bullets...I still stop 'em as easily as ever...I jes' don' seem ta bounce back like I used to. Come ta think of it--I don' seem ta bounce anymore, at all..." Jim Crown concluded rather glumly and gave his sore shoulder a rub.
Katelyn smiled sympathetically down at the old man with the badge a-and the brittle bones, and attempted once again to comfort him. "A body don' need ta 'bounce'...if he knows how ta ro-oll, he'll land on his feet again...eventually..." she added, her words filled with double-meaning.
Which her patient perceived to be an admonition for him to just be 'patient' and keep 'ro-olling' along on the 'road to recovery'...that he'd be back on his feet--an' feelin' 'jes' fi-ine' again--in practically no time. "Thanks," he told the woman, his warm smile returning. He was grateful for both her water and her wisdom.
And, speaking of time...
The lawman looked around and then lay there, wondering whether it was morning, noon, or ni-ight. But the four solid walls which surrounded them didn't offer up any clues as to the time of day. "Yah know," the man began as his pretty nurse began pouring more water into him, "for not havin' any windows, this room sure has a...beautiful view!"
The 'beautiful view' nodded her acknowledgment of the obviously delirious gentleman's compliment, and flashed him the loveliest of smiles. "You really mus' lie still!" she admonished as once again her ardent admirer attempted to wrap his arms around her, "You're much too ill!"
"Nonsense!" the much too ill man began, reaching out more carefully this time, "There ain' nothin' wrong with me...that a heapin' helpin' a' holdin' you won' cure!"
Well now, since he put it that way...
The pretty nurse suddenly ceased all protest and allowed herself to be pulled into her patient's outstretched arms. Their embrace proved to be every bit as medicinal as the Marshal had said it would...for the both of them. Instead of terribly tired, the woman now felt all warm and wonderful.
Holding Katelyn close also caused Jim Crown to forget about his fatigue...and his fever...and his fractures--for about five minutes. Then one of the lawman's reeling senses recovered...his driving sense of duty. "You know anything about Roger Mareck?" the Marshal asked suddenly.
"I heard he was lookin' ta kill you..." came back the little lady's careful reply, following an even more careful consideration of the lawman's question.
"You haven' heard that he's left town, have you?" Crown inquired hopefully and kept a comfortable hold on his nurse.
The pretty woman pulled her head back and gave it a quick shake. She hadn't heard tha-at--no, unh-uh.
There followed another long, comfortable silence.
"I'd consider it a big favor if you could find out for me..." her patient put forth finally--as once again business beat out pleasure.
Katelyn gave her pretty head another quick shake, "Ain' no way I'm leavin' you alone in here! Besides, I doubt there's anybody 'up an' about' at this hour!" she tacked on further--in an attempt to skillfully skirt the issue.
"An' what 'hou-our' would that be?" the let-down lawman wanted to know.
"It's barely four a'clock...in the mornin'," the lady dutifully informed him, "a time when decent folks are in be-ed!"
Speakin' a' decency...an' bein' alone...an' in be-ed...
The Marshal's dreamy, dark eyes widened with a sudden realization, "You sayin' we jes' spent the entire evenin' tagether?"
The lady nodded.
The lawman found that news rather alarming...at least, he pretended he did, "UNchaperoned?!"
The woman managed another nod.
And the Marshal looked even more alarmed.
Katelyn found the man's alarm rather confusing. So what if the two of them had been UNchaperoned! After all, one of them had also been UNconscious!
"Folks here 'bouts don' miss much," the lawman explained, seeing the little lady's confused look, "I mean, you did haul me in here in broad daylight...Someone's bound ta have witnessed it..." he continued, seeing as how Katelyn looked even more confused, "An'--sooner or later--that someone is bound ta start flappin' his jaw about what he saw--an' about how the two a' us spent the entire evenin' in here...alone...tagether. Why, before yah know it, the whole town'll be talkin' about 'the Marshal an' Mrs. Edwards'!"
"So-o?! Let 'em!" the little lady dared, "I could care less what 'other people' talk about!"
"Wish I could say the same..." Jim Crown whispered rather wistfully. "But more than jes' yore honor is at stake here. Yah see, no matter how corrupt the rest a' the citizenry may be--there's always two people in every community whose reputations must always remain completely above reproach. One's the School Marm's an' the other's--"
"The Marshal's!" Katelyn finished for him, finally getting into the light-hearted swing of things.
"Exactly!" the Marshal exclaimed, "So-o...what do you 'propose' we should do?"
The woman--who was having a hard time keeping a straight face--pondered their problem over for a few moments...at least, she pretended she did. "Well, I don' give a hang about my 'honor', either. Bu-ut if yer that worried about yore 'reputation', Marshal...then, maybe you should jes' ought ta marry me!" the helpful little lady finished with a grin.
"What an 'honorable' idea!" the worried Marshal exclaimed--with a rather wry grin of his own. "Maybe I should ought ta marry the both of us..." he added--this time speaking in dead earnest.
Katelyn gave her 'proposing' patient a look which said 'You mus' be out a' yore mind!' "Wha-at?! Right here?!"
The lawman lay there, staring lovingly up at the lovely lady who was all locked up in his arms, "Right here...right no-ow!"
"Kin Marshals do that sort a' thing?" the woman wondered, reading and returning her romantic man's look.
"Havin' been one for over ten years now, I kin only say, speakin' from my own experience a' course, that Marshal's kin--an' will--do WHATEVER THEY KIN GET AWAY WITH!" the Marshal finished and flashed the woman another wry grin...which was also returned. "Besides," the opportunistic peace officer continued, "if a ship's Captain or a Justice a' the Peace kin perform a marriage ceremony--why not a U.S. Marshal? After all, I am 'duly authorized' ta 'execute the laws a' the land'...which include legal an' bindin' contracts--such as marriages...What am I sayin'? I am the 'law' around here! So it has ta be legal! 'Cuz what I say goes!"
Katelyn grinned again as the U.S. Marshal's light-hearted comments went--in one of her pretty ears and out the other.
"I, James Rolland Crown," the 'duly authorized' 'executer of the laws a' the land' continued on undaunted, "bein' a' sound mind...well, relatively sound mi--"
Katelyn pressed her fingers over the lawman's lips and then held them there. "This is a weddin', remember? Not a 'will'! Weddin' vows begin by askin' 'Do you...?'" she reminded the Marshal and then removed her hand from his mouth so that the proper ceremony could continue... properly!
"Do I--?"
"you-ou!" Katelyn quickly corrected.
"I'll get ta you-ou in a minute," the just peace officer promised, "Do I, James Rolland Crown, bein' a' relatively sound mind," the stubborn lawman sneakily slipped in, "take you-ou ta be my lawfully wedded...well, my wedded wife, anyways..." he stopped to stare dreamily up at her. "You bet I do!" he avowed.
Katelyn stared down at her man in amazement. That distinctive voice--and those dreamy, dark eyes of his--were filled to overflowing with a genuine, deep and abiding love for her! This whole 'weddin' business' was really on the level! Well, sort of...
"You may kiss the bride!" the lawman announced and, before the pretty lady could protest, he pressed his lips over her's--and then held them there. "You may kiss her again!" Marshal Crown quickly determined, following one goo-ood thing with another...and another..and another!
"Bu-ut,"Katelyn gasped rather breathlessly--between kisses, "what about me?!"
"You-ou," the Master of the marriage ceremony eagerly granted, "may kiss the groom!"
The pretty lady gave the wryly grinning groom an annoyed glare, but then promptly planted the permitted kiss upon him.
Jim Crown stopped cringing and stared up at his bride, looking pleasantly surprised. He had expected her to smack him in the mouth--not on the mouth. "No-ow...where were we? Oh yeah...an' do you-ou, Katherine Lyn Edwards, better known as Katelyn Edwards, take me ta be yore lawfully wedded husband?"
"Ta have...an' ta hold," the lovely lady readily volunteered--and held on to her man even tighter, "from this day forward...I do take you ta be my wedded husband!"
"Then, by the authority 'vested' in me," the United States Marshal began, giving his ba-adge a quick glance, "an' with Almighty God as our only witness--which, by the way, saves me from havin' ta ask if there's anybody here that might object otherwise--I now pronounce us...husband...an' wife. May I be the first ta congratulate you on yore marriage, Mrs. Crown?" the marryin' Marshal inquired, sounding incredibly civil.
"Why, yes, Mr. Crown," the genteel lady allowed, with the coyest and loveliest of smiles, "you certainly may!"
And then, since he certainly could, he certainly did!
As for 'consummatin'' their marriage...the Marshal couldn't...or wouldn't. Following the congratulatory kiss, and another long, loving embrace, Mr. and Mrs. Crown both fell fast asleep!