Post by tyche on Apr 16, 2012 9:48:50 GMT -8
The Night of the Mysterious Maiden
Eleanor sighed and leaning forward patted the mare’s neck, “Good girl,” she muttered. Flurries of snow were starting to affect visibility and once again she cursed the necessity to leave Trask in such a hurry. Lucky I don’t carry much baggage, she thought ruefully.
Urging her mount forward she began picking her way across the dark landscape, the snow seemed to be getting heavier and she hoped that she could find shelter soon. She looked up into the whirling snow and cursed under her breath.
“Well, girl,” she muttered, dismounting, “looks like we’ll have to go on foot from here. See if we can’t find some shelter.”
Stroking the mare’s nose, she dug out a couple of sugar lumps from her pocket and offered them to the animal, it crunched them happily and she slipped a hand under the mare’s cheekpiece and began to walk slowly through the darkness, the whirling snow coating her hat and jacket.
WWWW
He pressed the cloth tighter against the wound in his side and hissed as a spasm of pain rocked him. Swallowing bile he urged Mesa onwards, the mare rearing and whinnying at the smell of blood.
“Easy, girl, easy,” Artemus muttered, “it’ll be all right.” He could already feel a sticky wetness on the saddle that he hoped was water and not blood although the chances were unlikely. So are the chances of you getting back, he thought grimly.
Reaching down he patted Mesa’s neck trying to ignore the black stain that was slowly creeping towards his gauntlets. “Just get me back home, girl,” he said softly.
Mesa snorted, almost in reply and then with a slight urging from Artemus set off into the night.
WWWW
Eleanor cursed inwardly, the blizzard was getting stronger and she wondered what the hell she was going to do. Trask was far behind her now but she knew that if she didn’t find shelter soon then she and her horse could freeze to death out here. Wiping the water away from her face she peered into the icy darkness. Then she saw it, a row of lights, faint in the distance. House? She thought dazedly. That’s what she was going to head for.
WWWW
Jim was pacing the varnish car, Artemus should’ve been back by now, he thought, he was only going into town for a few supplies – what the hell’s happened! He heard Mesa’s whinny and was out of the car and down the steps before conscious thought stopped him. Artemus was hanging over his horse’s neck, a dazed expression on his face.
“Jim,” he whispered in delight when he saw his friend’s face, “I made it back then.”
“Yes Artie,” West swallowed when he saw the blood covering his friend’s jacket, “you made it back.”
“Good,” Artemus said and slowly slid off his horse. Jim half-caught him as he did so, feeling the body go horribly limp in his arms, “Orrin!” he yelled.
The driver looked out of his cab, swore and then he was running across to support Artie’s other side, “What the-”
“I don’t know,” Jim replied tightly, “I think he was bushwhacked. Help me get him inside.”
Both men heard the sound of hoofbeats and Jim looked up to see a familiar face, “My God! Eleanor, what are you doing here?”
Eleanor surveyed the three men quickly, “Later I think,” she said tersely, “We’d best get Mr Gordon inside.”
West eyed her thoughtfully as she gave instructions for her mount to be taken to the stable car after removing her saddlebags.
Carefully Artemus was laid on the table and without asking Eleanor began to examine him.
“What do you think you’re doing?” West demanded.
“Trying to ascertain the extent of his injuries,” she replied, “Do you want to help me or argue?”
Artie’s eyes flickered and he stared up into Eleanor’s face, “Hey,” he said, “Fancy meeting you here.”
“Small world,” she replied, grinning back at him. “What happened, Artemus?”
“Couple of villains recognised me, ambushed me behind the livery stables, managed to get away but some of them were better shots than I thought.” He winced and Jim was instantly at his side, a hand on his shoulder, murmuring softly.
“Well you’re mostly lucky,” she smiled, “But there’s one bullet lodged in your side which is going to need to come out.”
“If we can get going,” West muttered, “we can get Artie to a hospital. They can perform the surgery.”
“Fair enough,” Eleanor stepped back, “a train in the middle of nowhere is never the best place anyway.”
She turned to her saddlebags and began unpacking first aid equipment talking to Artemus all the while, “I’ll dress your wounds,” she said, “and we’ll try and keep you comfortable until we get to – where are we going Mr West?”
“Next stop St Louis,” West replied shortly, his own sea-green eyes never leaving her figure.
“Oh good,” she nodded, “I can catch a connecting train to Washington from there.”
She opened her first aid kit and quickly and expertly dressed Artemus’s wounds, he noticed the slight frown as she examined the bulge in his side but dressed it anyway. “We’ll have to check for bleeding throughout the journey,” she explained to an unusually silent West.
“If we allow you to stay on board,” he replied tightly. “We have a rolling cell up forward, perhaps I should confine you to that until we reach St Louis.”
“If you wish, Mr West,” she replied calmly, “as long as you let me have a blanket and a pillow. I could do with the rest.”
Jim swallowed, to be perfectly honest he wasn’t sure he could believe his eyes, this did not appear to be the woman he’d met five months ago, the eyes and face were the same but she seemed to be a completely different person, gone were the fine clothes. Instead the woman that stood in front of him wore dark trousers, a plain white linen shirt, a dark, travel-stained jacket and sturdy boots.
“I could of course let you travel with Artie and I,” he said, “but I’d like an explanation.”
“You’ll have to tell him, Eleanor,” Artie rasped from the table.
“You’re supposed to be resting,” she admonished. “Want something for the pain?”
“In a moment,” he hissed through clenched teeth, “You two need to work together. Tell him Eleanor.”
She cursed softly and to his surprise West felt his mouth break out in a smile, “That’s not the sort of language I expect from a gently brought up young woman.”
“That’s because I’m not gently brought up,” she replied, “here.” She reached into one of her saddlebags and silently handed her warrant card across to him. The expression on his face was similar to Gordon’s when he’d discovered her true identity, “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I wasn’t supposed to,” she replied, “I wasn’t even supposed to tell Mr Gordon but one of my bad habits caught up with me.”
“Only one?” he raised an eyebrow and she rolled her eyes, “What was that?”
“As Uncle James said, ‘I talk too much,’” she sighed. “You were supposed to treat me like an airhead, that’s how I get my jobs done. I dislike it, but if people assume that you’re an airhead they’ll often say things in front of you.”
West nodded, “And me?”
She looked uncomfortable, “You seem to prefer your women like that.”
West frowned and said, “Is that what you think of me? That I want to spend my time with airheads?”
“Frankly, Mr West, yes.” She replied.
He didn’t say anything and she looked up to see a stricken expression in his eyes, shrugging her shoulders she bent over Artemus, “I’d like to give you some laudanum,” she said gently. “It should take the edge off and let you sleep for a bit.”
“All right,” Artemus nodded.
She held the glass to his lips and gently lowered his head to the pillow, “Eleanor,” he whispered.
“Yes?” she said gently, holding one of his hands.
“Give Jim a chance. I think you judge him too harshly.” And then his eyes rolled and he was unconscious.
Eleanor straightened up and looked across Artemus’s unconscious body at Jim. “Do you want to sit with him while I make us coffee?”
Jim nodded, “Thanks,” he replied shortly.
She handed him one of the mugs and then went to sit on the sofa.
Jim rested his hand on his friend’s arm just as the train began to move.
She saw the look of relief cross his face and regretted what she’d said, “With luck we should be in St Louis tomorrow morning.”
“Hope so,” Jim muttered, “How long will Artemus sleep?”
“Four, maybe five hours,” she replied, suddenly tired. Her whole body ached, especially her leg, What I wouldn’t give for a copper footwarmer now,she thought.
“If you want to get some sleep, you can use my room,” Jim said shortly, not turning to look at her.
“My thanks,” she said getting stiffly to her feet.
Removing all her clothes was not possible but she managed to remove her calliper. It took all her self-control not to whimper as she massaged the limb. Eventually the ache in her leg eased and although the rest of her body still felt stiff and sore she thought she might get a couple of hours rest.
She didn’t think she’d sleep but she was suddenly woken by a jolt. Sitting up she rubbed her eyes and looked around. It was pitch black outside and she wondered what was going on. Grabbing her calliper she strapped it onto her leg and got to her feet. As usual she swayed until she regained her balance, then opening the door she stepped out into the corridor as James West came up behind her, his usually open face tense. “What’s wrong?” she asked.
“Landslide on the track,” he said shortly, “and the weather’s getting worse.” He moved past her and she could see tension in every line of his body.
“How’s Artemus?”
“Awake and in pain,” Jim replied, moving through into the varnish car.
Resisting the urge to scamper after him, Eleanor followed him and then walked across to Gordon, “Artemus,” she said gently, bending over him.
“Eleanor,” he whispered, “Why have we stopped?”
“Landslide on the line I believe,” she replied, “I suppose the next stupid question would be, ‘How are you feeling?’”
“Now that would be a stupid question,” he whispered, “Everything hurts.”
“And I’ll probably hurt you even more,” she replied, her eyes carefully examining him. Artemus was clammy to the touch and there was a grey pallor to his skin that she didn’t like. She smiled when their eyes met and he shook his head, “Something’s not right, Eleanor. Stop trying to reassure me.”
She nodded quickly, her eyes flicking to the dressings she’d applied, most seemed to have stopped bleeding, but the one that was worrying her was the one in his side, “This will probably hurt,” she said quickly, looking up at his face.
Gently she palpated the area, the tautness of his abdomen worried her, he hissed as she gently touched the area, “Painful?” she asked quietly.
“Yes,” he replied, panting.
“This is not good,” she looked up at him.
“What’s not good?” West was at the corridor leading to the stable car, snow coating his hat and jacket.
Eleanor straightened up and said, “Mr Gordon is exhibiting the classic symptoms of internal bleeding. What’s the situation with the landslide?”
“No go,” Jim shook his head, “Orrin and the boys are working on it now, but they say they won’t be able to make an accurate assessment until daylight.”
Eleanor swallowed, “I’m just going outside for a moment.”
She closed the door behind her and stared out into the wintry landscape, holding onto the rails of the varnish car she swore, “Damn! Damn, damn, damn!”
“Are things that bad, Miss Eleanor?”
She turned to see Orrin mounting the steps of the varnish car and managed a rueful smile, “I just don’t know what to do next – well I do, but I don’t want to.”
“Have no faith in your ability?”
“Hah!” She snorted, “No, I just seem to have upset one of the few people I would like to like me. Me and my big mouth.”
“Mr West doesn’t hold a grudge, Miss Eleanor,” Orrin said as he leant on the rail.
“Oh, I think he might now,” she replied, “I said that he preferred to date airheads rather than intelligent women.”
“Oh dear,” Orrin frowned, “I can see why you’re concerned.”
“Oh Orrin,” Eleanor chuckled, “I do love you sometimes. But it doesn’t detract from the fact that I’ve made a complete fool of myself in front of someone I like very much.”
“Perhaps that’s why you did,” Orrin replied, a guarded look in his brown eyes, “You guard your heart so carefully, Eleanor. Must you push everyone you like away – all the time?”
Eleanor didn’t reply and Orrin smiled, “As I said, James West doesn’t hold grudges. Give him a chance.”
He got down and turning she could see him moving up the side of the train, his lantern glowing yellow in the darkness. Turning around again she leant on the rail and heard the door open behind her and then Jim was stepping out of the car.
“How’s Mr Gordon?” she asked without turning round.
“Not good,” Jim replied, tipping his hat back and leaning on the rail next to her. “Which means that the bullet still in him needs to be removed,” Eleanor sighed and ran a hand across her face, she turned and looked at him, his face was hidden in shadow and she said, “I can do it, I think I can do it so Mr Gordon will be pain free, I’d just rather not.”
“I’m not sure you have any choice,” came the quiet reply. He turned and Eleanor saw that his face was stern, “You see, Eleanor, you don’t seem to be the girl I met five months ago.”
“I see,” she replied, looking up at him, “you’re a tad displeased that I didn’t tell you who I was.”
“A tad,” he replied, he suddenly gripped her shoulders, “Why did you tell Artemus and not me? Do you think so little of me that I wouldn’t understand?”
She swallowed and resisted the urge to pull away, finally she found her voice, “I think highly of both of you, I wasn’t supposed to tell Artemus, he kind’ve figured it out.”
“One of your faults I suppose?” Jim raised an eyebrow.
“One of my faults.” She responded.
“So, if we had to operate on Artie what would you do?”
“I’ve been thinking about that,” she replied, “I could put Mr Gordon into a somnambulistic trance and then you could operate, or I could operate.”
“I don’t believe it would work,” Jim said tiredly, “someone tried to hypnotise Artie a couple of years ago.”
“But did he want to be hypnotised?” Eleanor asked. When Jim shook his head Eleanor continued, “You have to want to be hypnotised in order for hypnotism to work. Besides which I can’t make him behave any differently than he normally would – if I tried he would automatically come out of trance. It’s called abreaction.”
Jim regarded her thoughtfully, “All right, who does the sugery?”
“I could if you want,” she swallowed, “I’ve had some medical training.”
“Then let’s go inside,” Jim opened the door and ushered her inside.
Artemus was awake but his skin had a nasty grey tinge and his breathing was fast and rapid. Eleanor bent over him and gently touched the back of her hand to his temple, “Hey, how you doing?”
He opened his eyes and rasped, “Are you sure you want an answer to that?”
“Not really,” she grinned, “Dumb question, but I thought I’d ask anyway. We need to talk.”
“You’re going to have to get this bullet out of me, aren’t you?” Artie swallowed.
“We’re going to have to stop that bleeding,” Eleanor said, “Remember how I hypnotised James the last time we met – I’d like to try the same thing with you. It’ll mean that either Jim or I can operate and you’ll be pain free.”
“What if it doesn’t work?” Artie whispered.
“We’ll cross that bridge if we come to it,” Eleanor promised, she looked up at Jim, he had a strange expression on his face and she said, “Do you want to wait outside?” she asked kindly, her eyes never leaving his face.
“May I stay?”
“Of course,” she smiled. Turning back to Artemus she positioned herself at his head and took the crystal hanging from her neck and held it up above Artie’s head so that it sparkled in the light. She smiled down at him and began the induction. Some twenty minutes later she finished and then laid her hand on Artie’s shoulder, his eyelids flickered but didn’t open. She looked up at Jim and mouthed silently Ready
“Jim’s going to sit and talk to you,” Eleanor said quietly, “for a bit.”
She watched as West wiped his palms on his trousers and sat down at Artemus’s head. She nodded quietly and then turned to her instruments. She began to carefully wipe the area with antiseptic and then she picked up the scalpel, despite his best intentions, West tensed waiting for his friend to jerk as the scalpel cut into his flesh.
To his shock and surprise there was no reaction, he stared at the blood welling up from the wound and then suddenly felt slightly sick.
Talk to him, she mouthed silently and feeling guilty he turned back to Artie. Sitting down he laid a hand on Artie’s shoulder and began talking to him about anything he could think of, old missions, when they’d served together in the Civil War, until finally his voice dried up and all he could do was lay his hand on his friend’s shoulder and watch his face.
Meanwhile Eleanor gently probed for the bullet, she had seen the lump just under the skin but the amount of blood that had welled up as she cut surprised her, she swabbed and then saw the metallic shine of the slug and using the forceps, carefully eased it from the tissue and then dropped it onto a plate. Carefully swabbing away more blood she examined the wound and then West saw her take some dressings and carefully pack the wound, finally applying a large dressing pad over the top. Then she carefully checked Gordon’s other wounds, cleaning and dressing them and stitching the gash in his leg and arm.
An hour later she finished and then looked up, Jim’s hand was still resting on his friend’s shoulder and the other was against his head, and she knew that Jim was giving Artemus his strength.
She covered him with a blanket and moving to stand behind him spoke very softly in his ear, “My turn, Jim.”
He nodded and removed his hands, she laid her own hand on his shoulder and said firmly, “Artemus, I want you to listen very carefully. I’m going to wake you up in a moment so you and Jim can talk for a bit and then I’m going to put you back to sleep to let your body heal. I’m just going to give you the trigger word.”
Artemus’s eyes flickered but didn’t open. She smiled and then said, “All right, Artemus, I’m going to count from one to three and when I reach three you’re going to wake up. You’ll feel a bit groggy but you won’t be in any pain.” She began to count and as she reached three Artie’s eyes opened, almost instantly Jim was at his side, she watched as he pasted a smile on his face, “Artie,” he said, “How you feeling?”
“Bit tired, Jim,” Artie grinned, “Did it work?”
“What do you remember?” Eleanor asked bending over him.
Artemus frowned, “The crystal, something about an elevator. I think you were talking to me for a bit, then Jim was telling me about some of his missions while I was in Washington. I remember thinking about my underwater breathing apparatus, and nothing else really.”
“Rest here a moment,” Eleanor smiled, “I just want a quick word with Jim and then we’ll come back.”
Outside on the running board she turned to him, “I gave Artemus a post-hypnotic suggestion which would allow me to put him into a deep sleep-”
“Do you mean trance?”
“No, it just allows him to sleep without pain and enables his body to heal.”
West frowned and then said, “Would you put him to sleep now?”
“Not necessarily,” Eleanor sighed, “I need to see how the dressings are holding.”
He nodded tightly and then opened the door, “After you, Miss Talbot,” he said quietly.
“You feeling a bit better?” Eleanor asked, eyeing Artemus critically, the dreadful grey tinge seemed to have lessened and he seemed more alert.
“Hungry,” he complained, “and thirsty.”
“Now that I can do something about,” Eleanor replied, “omelette for you both, coffee for Jim and weak tea for you.”
“Don’t mess up my galley,” Artemus ordered as she stood up and slipped past him.
“No, mother.” She laughed softly and disappeared round the corner.
“Well?” Artemus asked, regarding his friend quietly.
“Well what?” Jim replied, “I don’t know what to make of her, I mean the last time I saw her-”
“I know, Jim, I know. Give her a chance.”
“She didn’t have to say that she thought I preferred airheads,” for a moment the usually urbane James West looked hurt.
Artemus smiled at his friend’s consternation, “But you are the glamorous James West, Secret Service agent extraordinaire. Perhaps she didn’t want to be taken advantage of.”
“Do you think I would do that?” Jim asked.
“I know you wouldn’t,” Artemus replied, “but she doesn’t. And I would imagine that she has to be defensive – remember – she’s a woman.”
“I’m not likely to forget,” Jim grumbled.
“But you are likely to assume she’s incapable because she’s female, remember Rita Leon? She wanted to help but your reaction was to dismiss her. Eleanor is probably as skilled as most of our colleagues.”
“You really think so?” Jim raised an eyebrow.
“Would Pinkerton’s employ her if she wasn’t?” Artemus managed a smile, “James-my-boy five months ago she knew you, knew where to bring you and knew what had happened to you, that does not sound to me like an airhead. Tell me, what did you think of her five months ago?”
A slow smile curved the handsome mouth, “I thought she was brave, bright and beautiful. When we got back to Washington I was going to look her up, I thought she was wonderful.”
“So why is she different now?”
“Because she’s not who I thought she was.” Jim’s usually placid forehead creased in a frown, “she’s not-”
“A society lady? A woman who would fall at your feet in adoration? What, Jim?”
Unfortunately he didn’t get a chance to answer as the galley door opened and Eleanor emerged carrying a tray, she set it down and then turned to Artemus, “Let me check your dressings, Artemus, and help you sit up.”
James watched as she gently unwrapped the bandages and examined her stitches and the dressing she’d applied to his side. Finally she took Gordon’s pulse and then a slow smile curved her lips, “Well, your pulse is steady and your colour seems to have improved which is good. I’ve made you a one egg omelette, something light. And then I want you to rest.”
Artemus grinned up at her, “Do my best, Eleanor.”
Finally both men had been served and picking up the tray she quietly slipped from the room into the galley to eat her own supper. She could at least sit down and rest her leg, wiping the back of her hand across her forehead she picked up her own plate and began to eat her own supper.
Meanwhile Jim turned away from his plate and bent over the telegraph, “I’ll just let them know in St. Louis that we’ve encountered a small problem.”
“That’s an understatement,” Artemus yawned suddenly.
Jim managed to dredge a a smile from somewhere and nodded. “You could say that.”
She had just finished her own supper and was about to clear away when Jim appeared at the galley door, “Finished?” she asked.
“Brought the plates and cutlery through,” he said shortly, “Do you want to put Artie to sleep now?”
“You’ll do the washing up?” she asked slowly.
Jim eyed her thoughtfully, she was very pale and there were dark shadows under her eyes. “You look washed out,” he said sympathetically.
She didn’t respond, merely turned and walked out of the galley, Artie half-smiled as she sat down in the chair, “I’m going to put you back to sleep,” she said, “I gave you a post-hypnotic suggestion while you were in trance to put you back to sleep, it’ll enable your body to heal.”
Reluctantly Artemus nodded and she took his hand and spoke the single trigger word. He half smiled at her and then his eyes slid shut. She squeezed his hand reassuringly and then laid it on the coverlet.
Jim was drying when she slipped into the galley, “Artemus is asleep,” she said quietly.
“You should go and get some rest,” he said, “If there are any problems I’ll call you.”
“Promise, Mr West?” she raised a perfectly manicured eyebrow and to his surprise he nodded, “I promise, Miss Talbot.” And to his astonishment he meant it.
She nodded and he noticed the spasm of pain that crossed her face as she turned away, instantly he was at her side, “What is it?” He asked quietly.
She looked at him and then shook her head, “It will make you ten times worse than you already are.”
“Try me,” he said gently.
“Oh what the hell-” she swore again and Jim had to bite his lip to keep from smiling. She caught it out of the corner of her eye and shook her head, “Stop trying to charm me, Mr West, I’m not in the mood.”
Surprising himself he took her arm and got the shock of his life, as he moved behind her, intending to escort her into the varnish car, her boot came down hard on his instep and he jumped back in pain, “Grief, woman!” he snarled.
“Don’t ever grab me like that!” she backed away from him her green eyes bright with fury.
West raised his hands placatingly, “All right, all right, I’m sorry. Where the hell did you learn to do that?”
“Evidence of a misspent youth,” she replied turning away.
“That hurt,” Jim complained.
“It was meant to,” she retorted. “I’ll see you later, Mr West.”
He nodded reluctantly, and then left, still limping. She waited until she heard the scrape of the chair next to the sleeping Mr Gordon and then she slipped quietly away into West’s room. She sat on the bunk and wrapping her arms around her torso, leant forward trying to control the shivers that ran through her body.
Through the roaring in her ears she heard a muffled curse and then someone had scooped her into their arms and was holding her close as great shudders racked her body.
West held her slim body as the spasms shook her, he’d entered the room in order to give her a pair of pyjamas but when he’d seen her shaking as if in the grip of a fever his whole demeanour changed, dropping the clothes onto a chair he’d crossed the room and lifted her into his arms.
“Easy, easy,” he murmured, “It’s all right. Hit me if you want.”
She turned on his lap and buried her face in his shoulder and he carefully stroked the auburn hair, it was her lack of noise that frightened him the most.
Eventually the shudders stopped and she lifted her head to look up into Jim’s face, “Damn,” she muttered.
“Eleanor I’ll put you down, just promise not to hit me,” she nodded quickly and he saw the same spasm of pain cross her face, “all right. I’ve had enough of this, what’s the matter?”
She sighed and looked away, “Let me up, Jim.”
He set her down on the edge of the bunk and watched as she unzipped her left boot and again the metal calliper emerged. He stared fascinated as she withdrew it.
“What the-”
She looked up at him and smiled, “Polio as a child. As I said to your partner, my left leg is considerably weaker than my right. So I wear this,” she tapped the metal brace.
James stared at her, “And you’re an agent? For Pinkerton’s? Do they know?”
“No, they don’t.” Eleanor replied, “For a damn good reason. Please don’t say I don’t look disabled, and please don’t assume that I’m some helpless female because I’m not in the mood.”
He watched as she lifted her left leg up onto her right knee and began to massage the calf muscles. “Can I help?” he asked kindly.
She looked up at him, “It’s all right, I have to do this every night, the muscles stiffen up during the day.”
Suddenly Jim wanted to assist her, “Here,” he said softly, “Let me do that.”
She looked up at him, “Are you patronizing me again?”
“No, not this time.” He replied, “Take that other boot off and put your feet on my lap.”
Surprising herself, she did as he asked. He began to run gentle fingers along her left leg, gradually probing the muscles, feeling the knots beneath his fingers.
“Is this how you seduce all your women?” Eleanor asked.
He looked up and smiled, “I’ve never done this for any other woman.”
“Flatterer,” she replied, and he noticed that the colour had returned to her cheeks.
“How does that feel?”
“Much better,” she smiled, “Thanks, Jim”
He lifted her feet and put them down on the bed, “My pleasure, Eleanor,” he replied, “I suggest you get some sleep.”
“Patronising again, Mr West,” she yawned suddenly.
“Not intentional,” he replied, a smile breaking out across his face, “Shall I order you to get some sleep?”
“No, you don’t need to do that,” she replied tiredly, “I just dislike being treated like a child.”
“That would be the last thing I’d do,” Jim bent down and placed the tenderest of kisses on her lips before slipping out of the door and leaving her completely dumbfounded.
Smiling, she pulled the pyjamas from the chair and slipped into them. Turning up the sleeves she smiled when she remembered the last time she’d done the same thing.
Snuggling under the covers she laid her head on the pillow and dropped almost immediately into slumber.
Half an hour later, Jim poked his head around the door. She was fast asleep, her copper hair splayed across the pillow. He stood looking down at her for a long time and then just as quietly left. Artemus was still fast asleep and he looked down at his friend tempted to shake him awake but remembering what Eleanor had said, he allowed his friend to sleep.
He walked into the galley to make himself another cup of coffee and was just adding milk when he heard Orrin’s voice, “Mr West, I just came down to see if you were all right?”
Jim poked his head out of the galley and smiled at the driver, “I’m fine, Orrin. Can I make you a coffee?”
“That’d be great Mr West, sir,” the man rubbed his hands together, “How’s Mr Gordon doing?”
Jim managed to dredge a smile from somewhere, “Better I think. I think Eleanor saved his life. What’s the situation with the landslide?”
“We’ll take another look in the morning,” Orrin said, “at the moment and with the snow it’s impossible to see anything.”
“Fair enough,” Jim nodded, “You and Sam take care of yourselves, all right? There’s spare blankets in the stable car if you need them.”
“Thanks Mr West,” Orrin swallowed the last of his coffee and set his mug down on the table, “You should try to get some rest too.”
Jim nodded, he’d been operating on adrenalin for the past seven hours, “I will, Orrin.”
When he was alone he took Artie’s hand and watched his friend’s face, Despite his promise to Orrin he was still too keyed up to sleep. He sat watching his friend’s face and listening to the sound of his breathing. Eventually he dropped into slumber.
It wasn’t restful. He was standing at the foot of the running board watching as Artie slid off his horse and running to catch him feeling the body sag in his arms. He was lifting the man, almost dragging him into the varnish car, trying, trying to find a pulse and knowing there was nothing he could do as he knelt in the blood pooling about his knees.
“Jim,” a gentle hand was on his shoulder and he was awake and wrapping his arms around the young woman sitting next to him.
“It’s all right, Jim,” she said gently, holding him as the shudders wracked his body, “it’s all right.”
Eventually he released her and looked up into her face, “Eleanor,” he said slowly, “How?”
“You were calling Artie’s name,” she said softly, “I’d got up for a drink and heard you.”
“Oh,” he swallowed.
“It’s all right, Jim,” she said gently, “I saw how your partner reacted when you were hurt five months ago. I wouldn’t expect anything less.”
“I thought I would lose him this time,” he said slowly.
“You have too many guardian angels watching out for you,” Eleanor replied, “both of you.”
He shrugged and then said, “How long do you think Artie will sleep?”
“I’d give it until late tomorrow morning,” Eleanor replied. She laid a hand on his arm, “Do you think you can sleep now?”
“Yeah,” he managed a wry smile, “What about you?”
“I’ll keep watch on Mr Gordon for a bit,” she replied, “all right?”
“Thanks,” he said, squeezing her shoulder, “I appreciate it.”
She heard the door close and then a soft voice say, “Thanks, Eleanor, I was wondering when he’d go to bed.”
“Artemus!” she gasped, “How long have you been awake?”
“About five minutes,” he smiled, “your trigger word did put to sleep for a bit though. I’m afraid that I was a bit too worried about Jim to sleep for long.”
“Want a drink?” she asked softly and when he nodded she held the glass to his lips. He lay back, “That’s some skill, Eleanor.”
“Ah well,” she took his hand, “that’s another story.”
“As I said the very first night I met you,” Artemus replied, “I suspect that there’s more to you than meets to eye.”
You don’t know the half of it, Eleanor thought, she leant back in the chair and sighed, “It’s been a long week, Artemus.”
“Bet you’re looking forward to St Louis,” Artemus said.
“A long hot bath to start with,” she smiled, “I have a friend there and she’ll be able to provide a change of clothes. Then I’ll telegraph Uncle James and hopefully get a few days off before I have to trundle off on another assignment.”
“Uncle James?” he raised an eyebrow.
“Colonel Richmond,” she replied, flushing to the roots of her hair.
“Ah yes, 'Uncle James',” Artemus chuckled and then winced, “You may have done wonders with your surgery Ellie, but it still hurts.”
She chuckled, “Well hypnosis can do many things but it can’t heal you overnight. I’ll still need to take a look at that side of yours.”
“Go ahead,” he smiled as she stood up and pulling down the covers examined the dressing on his side, she didn’t remove it but carefully examined the area around the dressing. Then she looked up and smiled, “Well, I think you might be all right. It’ll be sore for a while, I had to cut to remove the bullet, but I’ve packed the wound open and it seems to be healing. I’m not going to remove the dressing, I think we’ll leave it as is, as far as I can see there shouldn’t be any problems.”
She sat down and Artemus took her hand, “I owe you my life, Eleanor.”
“Jim would have known what to do,” Eleanor shrugged, “I just helped.”
He nodded and then said, “I know, we’re both skilled with battlefield medicine and I don’t doubt that he would have coped, but I thank you for being here.”