The Pastor's Replacement Bride
Copyright© 2023 by George H. McVey
Chapter 22
Hattie
Hattie’s tea and Bible discussion time with Aunt Caroline went wonderfully. They covered Genesis two and Proverbs thirty-one and would meet tomorrow to cover First Corinthians seven and Ephesians five. She had just finished feeding RoseAnn, who was sleeping now that her belly was full, and was about to head out to eat lunch with the brides and discuss her wedding plans, when a knock came at the door. It was Deputy White.
“Miss Hattie, Sheriff Fury asked that I come and get you and RoseAnn. He said to tell you to bring her things.”
Hattie’s heart dropped. There could only be one reason for that. “Deputy, she just went to sleep. Would it be alright if I went, and we came back for her when we’re done? Just so I can meet her...” Hattie stopped and wiped hard at the tears threatening to fall from her eyes. “family?”
He thought for a second before answering. “The sheriff was very specific, ma’am, but he ain’t here and I am and if he doesn’t like it, he can fix it himself. Yes, ma’am, you come and meet the little one’s family and then we’ll come get her, when it’s time for them to go.”
Hattie thanked him for his kindness and asked the brides to keep an ear out for RoseAnn. She needs to go see the sheriff. They said they would, and she grabbed her coat and followed the deputy to the sheriff’s office. The sheriff and a man, who looked like a gambler, looked at the door when it opened. “Henry, what’s this? I told you to bring Miss Long and the baby.”
Hattie stepped past the deputy. “I asked him to leave her for now, Sheriff, I just got her to sleep. I wanted her to be rested when she met her family.”
“I see. Well then, let’s get this over with shall we.”
The gambler looked upset. “Well, I don’t see. Where’s the child? I have to be on that stage when it heads out.”
“I’m sorry, who are you?”
“I’m the thing’s uncle.”
“RoseAnn is not a thing. She is a sweet baby girl.”
“Don’t matter to me, lady. I just need to get her and get on that stage. I got a man waiting for us in Billings.”
“You live in Billings? But I thought your sister and RoseAnn were heading to Butte?”
“No, I don’t live in Billings. I’m taking the child there.”
“I don’t understand. Why are you taking RoseAnn to Billings?”
“Who is RoseAnn?”
Hattie frowned, something wasn’t right here. “RoseAnn is your sister’s baby, we had to call her something.”
“Okay, it doesn’t matter to me. I reckon her new parents will call her what they want.”
“I’m sorry? Her new parents? Aren’t you her guardian?”
The man sighed “Look, I showed the sheriff my sister’s letter. She was a saloon girl in Billings and she got herself in the family way. They fired her when she wouldn’t get rid of the baby and she begged me to take her in. I’m a gambler, but I agreed. But my sister is dead, and I don’t have time to raise some leftover mistake my sister saddled me with. So, I found a man in Billings who will pay me a hundred dollars for her and give her to some family that wants a baby.”
“You’re going to sell her? Like a cow, or a horse?”
“Well, I ain’t got no use for it.”
Hattie stomped her foot and balled up her fists as she struggled not to hit this sorry excuse for a man. She couldn’t let this happen; she’d promised RoseAnn she would protect her, and this was wrong. “RoseAnn is not a thing. She is a child who isn’t going anywhere. You have been offered one hundred dollars for her? I’ll give you that, and you won’t have to take her anywhere.”
“Look, lady, she belongs to me. I’m her family, you ain’t got no say in this. I only agreed to a hundred dollars because I’m a gambler. In Billings, I can take that hundred and turn it into six or seven. Now, go get her, we need to leave.”
“No!”
The sheriff cleared his throat. “Miss Long...”
“Don’t you tell me to go get her, Sheriff. You heard this ... this ... thing! He is going to sell RoseAnn. I may not be long in the west, but I am from Chicago, which is still in America, and there was a law passed a few years ago called the Emancipation Proclamation, which made it illegal to sell people. Didn’t it?”
She saw Sheriff Fury smile. “Well, I believe you are right, Miss Long. That is what he said, isn’t it? That he was going to sell RoseAnn, and that is slavery, and slavery is illegal. So, I could charge this man with being a slaver and he’d get life in prison.”
“Now, wait a minute. There’s no need for that. I’m just trying to make sure the kid’s taken care of, that’s all.”
“If that was all, you would have taken my offer of providing you with a hundred dollars to cover your expenses coming here. But you made it plain that you were in it for profit.”
Before the man could open his mouth, the door opened again and in walked Joshua. “What’s going on here, Sheriff? Helen came to the house and told me that Deputy White had hauled Miss Long down to the jail.”