Chapter 9

9

"Train travel is a wonder." Maeve couldn't believe how far they'd come and so fast. In less than a day, they'd traveled a distance that had taken the wagon train almost a month to travel.

And now they were disembarking in Cheyenne, Wyoming. The town was a hive of activity. It was the territorial capital and looked to be growing as fast as the townspeople could build.

"I telegraphed ahead," Jake said, picking up his haversack while balancing his son in one arm. The man had done this many times before and looked to be a master at it. He slung his rifle over top of the haversack, safely away from the little one.

"Did you pick Cheyenne for a reason?" Maeve had heard it was hard to get a fair trial in the West. Wealthy men often tried to pay off jurors to get the verdicts they wanted.

She'd heard talk of the minions who roamed these parts in search of Ginny. The hope was that they'd get a ruling deeming Ginny to be sane, declared so by a judge. She'd then carry that document with her whenever she left the canyon, accompanied by a few strong men like Oscar, Joseph, Jake, and probably that Ma-stealing snake, Bruce. But with a legal ruling on her sanity, Ginny would be free to go wherever she wanted. Her husband would have no power over her.

Beth had told Maeve that Wyoming was unusual in its favorable treatment of women. That must've been the deciding factor in why they'd hold the trial in this territory. And if a declaration of Ginny's sanity was in fact declared, they'd take that declaration home with them. Ginny's safety depended on it.

"We picked Cheyenne because this is where Kat and Sebastian Jones live," Ginny said. "We hope that knowing someone locally will be to our benefit. Kat, if she's called upon to do so, will testify in my defense. She's very familiar with the conditions in that asylum."

"How does she know about the conditions there?" Maeve couldn't quite believe that Kat had worked there.

"You've never heard that Kat was locked up in the asylum with me?" Ginny shrugged and added, "No, I suppose you haven't. I've been closemouthed about much of what went on in the asylum, and Kat's stories are hers to tell or not tell. She escaped from the asylum with me."

"The same woman who saved my family with her level head, quick actions, and doctoring skills—she was judged to be insane?"

"Kat accused a powerful man, her husband's uncle, of killing her husband. When she wouldn't quit accusing him, he had her locked away. But marriage protects you from anyone accusing you of such things. Now she's got Seb for a husband, and her uncle discovered he'd made a big mistake. He regretted not believing her and changed his will to leave her everything. She sold out of all the Wadsworth family holdings and moved to Cheyenne. She's a wealthy woman, and Seb is a respected inventor. Besides that, she's done a lot to establish herself and Sebastian in Cheyenne by supporting churches and charities, even donating to a few local politicians."

"Not to mention," Maeve said, "living her life in a kind and wise and utterly sane way for years."

Ginny smiled. "Yes, not to mention that. Her word may hold a lot of weight in the courtroom, and I'm much obliged for her help."

Oscar smiled, though there wasn't much about this he liked. "Wyoming's motto is Equality for All, or something like that. They've granted voting rights to women, to freed slaves—all black people, in fact—and to native folks. It's a territory run by wise folks. A good place to fight this battle. We have hopes of finding ourselves in the hands of someone who believes in the fair treatment of women. There are several women serving as judges in Wyoming—the first territory in the Union to allow it."

"Women judges?" Maeve could hardly believe it. "Does Idaho have that?"

"Nope." Oscar shook his head. "Only Wyoming so far."

Maeve furrowed her brow. "Whyever not?"

Ginny patted her on the shoulder. "It's something we can work on when we get home."

Dakota came from the stockcar, leading his horse. "Now, Ginny," he said, "don't you get started with that women-voting fuss. Except for your husband, who did you wrong, men take care of women. Especially in the West where woman are treated right."

Ginny said, "That's a very big ‘except,' Dakota. I admit I haven't given much thought to women voting. I've been busy being locked up and then running away in a desperate bid for freedom. But it does feel like I wasn't given rights as an American citizen. It's wrong that I can be locked up just on the say-so of a husband who's got a lot to gain by treating me wrong. It might be harder to do such a thing if women had some kind of equal power to men. I mean, where is the law that says a wife can lock up her husband? That seems like a very simple example of unequal treatment, and for no good reason."

Dakota nodded. "You're right, Ginny. There are some lousy men in this world."

Somehow the way he said it drew Maeve's attention. He seemed to be thinking of someone specific when he spoke of lousy men. And someone he knew, not the tyrant Thaddeus Rutledge.

"There's Sebastian." Jake pointed. "He said he'd arrange for us to have rooms in the hotel. There are too many of us to fit in his house."

Maeve saw Kat smile and wave. She loved Kat Jones. She had the knowledge that helped save Maeve's family. They would have all died if it hadn't been for Kat and her medical training.

And Kat had been locked away, too? Maeve felt a stirring deep inside to fight for fairer, more equal laws. Sebastian was at Kat's side as they wove through the crowd at the train station. Kat came straight for Ginny and hugged her almost desperately. Then Beth got a hug, and it was Maeve's turn. They greeted each other like long-lost sisters.

Once all the hellos were finished, Maeve took Lydia. She was sleeping, but in all the bustle, the twins became overwrought. They took turns crying and wanted only their ma and pa.

Maeve sympathized with them. They were all used to a slower pace and a quieter life.