Chapter 7

Chris paid for the meal and then escorted Mary Anna to the hotel foyer. He seated her on one of the red velvet settees and told her to wait. He had enough money for maybe a week at this hotel. Then, it was either a bed on the rocky soil of the plains or back to the dilapidated, no-name hotel he and Jake stayed in.

He paid for the week, took the key, and walked to Mary Anna. "Ready?"

She stared at him.

Chris could see the fear in her eyes. Enemy or not, his heart went out to her. "Look, we don't have to have a honeymoon tonight. Maybe we should get to know one another. Give us a chance to settle into this thing without a rush."

Relief showed on her face as she briefly closed her eyes. "I would appreciate that, Chris. Thank you."

He handed her the key. "I'll go back to my room in the other hotel and give you this one. Don't leave the hotel or room without me. This town isn't safe for an unescorted woman."

"You do surprise me. I didn't think you cared."

He grinned at her. "Sometimes I surprise myself, but I was raised a gentleman."

She held up the key. "Would you like to come up to the room and talk? I know nothing about you."

"That sounds like a plan." He put out his hand for her and helped her up. "The clerk said he'd keep an eye out for you. I want you to be safe." He walked with her up the stairs and to room 2B.

She put the key in the lock, turned it, and opened the door. The room was much nicer than the one Chris and Jake stayed in. Mary Anna sighed and pointed to the small table with two chairs. "I feel that it's wrong to have a man in my room, but then I remember that you're my husband."

Chris sat down in the chair opposite her and nodded. "I agree. You know, it was not my idea to get married. Jake and Sheila set me up. He thinks it will help settle me down and keep me out of trouble."

"Have you been in trouble? Arrested?"

He shrugged. "Not really. Occasionally, Jake and I have spent a night in jail for fighting or being drunk and disorderly. But I've never been wanted for anything." He thought about Drake's gang and the temptation to get even with the South and rob a bank. They'd have plenty of money to buy a ranch.

Mary Anna shuddered. "What do we do now? You didn't want a woman from the South. I'm not too happy to have a Yankee husband. Yet we're stuck with one another."

He grinned. "Reb or not, you are pretty. I might be able to overlook your heritage."

The glare in her eyes noted her displeasure. "How nice of you." She got up and looked out the window. "I will need some time." She turned to look at him. "And I think you will too."

Seemingly clueless as to her sarcasm, he nodded while still smiling. "Were you ever engaged, have a beau?"

Memories had her suddenly feeling sick and sitting back in the chair. "Yes. My fiancé, Paul, was one of my first casualties from the awful war. He joined the militia right away and lost his life in one of the first battles. I couldn't believe that God would allow him to be killed. He was a good man."

Chris frowned and got up to pace around the room. He didn't want to hear about Mary Anna's good man. A reb who would have killed him if given the chance. Just how was this marriage ever going to work? He ran a hand through his hair and stared out the window.

"So, what is your problem? You don't think my fiancé was a good man?"

Chris turned and stared at her. "He would have killed me, given the chance."

She stood, anger showing in her eyes. "For all I know, you did kill the man I loved."

He walked across the room and back. "No, I didn't get into the fighting until the war had been going on for a year, but the day I was drafted, my future died."

Shaking her head, she paced on her side of the table. "Don't you think my future ended after I found out Paul was dead?"

Chris stopped and stared at her. "He was only one man. You could find another."

"You think so? After the war, there were few young men left. Most were but shells of what they had been. Many didn't return. Not that there was anything to return to. Mississippi died along with her young men and burned-out plantations."

He glared at her. "I had it all planned. My future was a sure success. I worked in the financial sector in New York City. I had worked my way from nothing to a man that others looked up to. I understood the stocks and how money works. Then, I was drafted. I was a year away from becoming a wealthy man, but when I received the notice, I didn't have the three hundred dollars to buy my way out of the draft. So, I went to war and killed my future. The man that I was in New York City ceased to exist."

"And you blame me for that?" Mary Anna stomped toward him and poked him in the chest. "Do you think I'm the same person as I was in 1860? I went to balls and dressed in the finest gowns. I was happy. I was in love, and all was right with the world."

Chris caught her hand and pushed her back. "Your side started the war. Fighting for the illegitimate right to own slaves. Your South deserved the destruction. They earned it by the blood of those they enslaved."

"Many in the South were against slavery. It would have ended sooner or later. Your precious North wanted to take away our rights as sovereign states. We had every right to secede."

Chris shook his head. "United we stand and divided we fall. Do you think for a minute that England would stand by and not take advantage? Already, France helped you. They'd have come over to take our land and country. Surely, you can see that."

"All I can see is that my life is in shambles, and now I am married to a Yankee who hates me." She went back to her chair and slumped into it, put her head in her hands, and wept.

Chris stared at her. He didn't like to see a woman cry, but neither would he be manipulated by Mary Anna's tears. He ignored her and looked out the window. He could see the bank from here. A bank full of money from the cattle buyers.

Then he saw Drake watching the bank from across the street. The man just stood, watching, and then he looked up and saw him.

Chris wanted to pull back out of sight, but he didn't. He stood his ground and nodded with a quick salute. Robbing the Southern bank would be one way to get back at the South. Joining Drake's gang might just solve his money problems and convince Mary Anna to give up on their marriage at the same time.