Betty was one of the last to catch her breath, and one of the few who didn't end up spilling or spitting coffee after Pallah recounted his morning. Irritated by the rooster's relentless first light squawking, he'd awakened before the sun, went into the coop, and screamed
cock-a-doodle-doo
at the bird, startling it — and the rest of the chickens — awake as a small measure of revenge.
A little over a week had passed since the General had rounded up Josephine's thralls along the road and things were going well. The locals
were
beginning to thin out due to having spent their saved coin. It would be a while before they cycled through the General's randy soldiers, who were obviously well paid, because they typically left extra for the girls. Word was apparently spreading along the road as well, because they were starting to see many more travelers.
Thanks to the general's quartermaster and locals trading things for a hump, Betty no longer had to fear short supplies. The girls had spent some of their hard-earned money on fabric for new dresses — most of which Keri was making after demonstrating her skill through the dresses she made for herself and her sister.
Janus had finished the drainage and installed the tub. It was everything Betty had dreamed it would be. Two of the beds arrived, so with Hoss and Mack taking opposing shifts, everyone had a proper bed to sleep in. Soon enough, they would have rooms to put those beds in as well. Thanks to help from her boys and a local Janus had hired, they were nearly ready to be roofed and plastered.
The local was a middle-aged widower who took his wages in humps with Ginny, who had apparently struck his fancy.
Raven had upgraded all the locks — including those on the stable and workshop. The brothers continued to serve as lookouts and spies living out of her kip, as Shad insisted on earning his brothers' chance at a better life, and the two younger siblings refused to leave until he did. Away from the influence of the prissy local whore, Shad and his brothers proved jovial, amicable young men.
Even Pallah was warming to them — especially young Abel, who seemed to have an interest in Pallah's work.
The brothers arrived — as had become common — for breakfast, and Betty wondered why Abel and the middle sibling Wynn were alone.
"Where are Raven and your brother?" she asked.
Wynn shrugged. "She was making him practice with his knife and told us to come on ahead."
She waved them toward the kitchen and said, "Get yourselves fed."
Betty looked out a window to see two men already waiting with Ghent by the road. Betty had decided to enforce hours as the situation improved, giving the girls time to wake up each morning, then bathe and relax each night before bed. From the smiles on the men's faces and Ghent's gesticulations, she assumed he was keeping them entertained enough.
Once the brothers had taken their meal to the workshop, Betty gave a whistle and waved for Ghent to bring up the first two customers of the day, who picked Lana and Ginny. A messenger from Alice arrived only a couple of minutes later, and while he went to have a hump with Lilly, Betty sat down to read.
"Consider stealing away three of my best men paid for," it began. "Omar got that tub in and I looked like a prune before I got out of it. It was pure heaven."
Betty smiled. She knew the feeling.
"Was going to buy a few for the houses, but the girls are already putting money together to buy them, and I'm not looking a gift horse in the mouth. I get all the good graces by paying up front and letting them pay me back, without it actually costing me a copper."
Of them all, Alice was the most mercenary when it came to business, which is why she took the reins from the beginning. A general run-down of how things were going at home followed, along with a reminder to write back.
Betty did exactly that, and finished shortly after the messenger had cleaned up from his hump with Lilly. While the messenger set off on his return trip with a sticky bun Keri had baked, Betty saw Raven and Shad approaching.
She knew the reason for their delay instantly from the crooked grin on the younger thief's face. He'd poked her, but it wasn't with a knife. Raven slapped his ass as they entered and said, "You and your brothers stay around here once you've eaten. I'll come get you when it's time to head out."
He nodded and kept his eyes fixed on her so intently that he almost tripped over a chair on the way to the kitchen.
Raven let out a snort at his clumsiness, and then noticed Betty eyeing her. The thief walked over, leaned in close, and said, "What can I say? It's been a while since I got fucked."
"Any good?" Betty asked.
"Eh..." she responded. "He listens well enough, and he's young enough that all I've got to do is look at it to get it hard again. Got me pretty good the second time. Might be able to get him properly trained before this caper is over."
"You don't think it is?" Betty asked. After a week of quiet, she was on the lookout for locals who could replace Mack and Hoss, so they could return to Alice. She had begun to think the battle was won.
"Not even close," Raven said.
She went quiet when the man who had been humping Lana emerged from the blonde's room on her arm.
"Have a good trip home, sweetie," she said as she released his arm in the front room.
"How could I not?" he responded. "I'll see you soon."
"Can't wait," she said, and punctuated it with a sensual purr.
The man made his way to the door, and when he looked at Lana before exiting, she gave him a flirtatious wave. The moment the door closed behind him, her false smile faded away and she whispered to Betty, "That one's up to something."
"Ha!" Raven delightedly exclaimed. She then motioned toward the kitchen, led both women that way, and once away from potentially unfriendly ears, quietly said, "Good eye. I was just about to say that I'd marked that one at the cunt's place. Trying to dig up something, huh?"
Lana nodded. "Gave me half again what he paid for his poke, and he was trying to sweet talk me. Not pushing too hard, but he was trying to figure out anything he could about the place. I played the silly girl and didn't give him anything."
"The bitch is biding her time and scheming," Raven said. "Tell the girls to mind what they say to anybody."
Betty sighed. "I guess it was wishful thinking that she'd accept she had competition."
Raven shook her head. "Not a chance. Keep Hoss and Mack for a while, and see what you can do about finding some local bully boys. Maybe some that have their own place, so your bricklayer doesn't have to turn this place into a city."
"Go ahead and wash up," Betty told Lana. "Thanks for the quick thinking." She then asked Raven, "What do you think she'll do next?"
"Something desperate. She's running out of hands to play," Raven said, and shrugged.
"Wonderful," Betty said, and sighed again.
Raven leaned back against the plastered wall. "I do have some good news, though. I've marked your lawman, and he's definitely shacking up with her. About an hour after dark, he has a couple of his boys sweep the area and stand guard while he sneaks in the back, then again in the morning when he sneaks out. He's regular about it, so your General should be able to get eyes on him doing it, as long as he sends some scouts who aren't complete idiots."
"I'll let him know. Do you still think we should stay?"
"I would. I think you're safe enough. Even better if your General gets that lawman pulled out of town and disgraced. The General's got staggered patrols on the road and in the countryside, and he's put a couple of men watching this place at night."
"Really?"
"If you want to know who was watching the night before, it's the first two who come in for a fuck the next day. Probably how he entices them to sit up all night in the cold and wet without a fire. They get to be first in line. Some of them pay pretty close attention. Some not so much, but it's extra eyes."
Betty shook her head and then looked down at the ground. "I thought the worst I would be dealing with was angry women from town scowling at us."
Raven reached out, lifted Betty's chin, and said, "Go with your gut. If you stay, I'm right here with you until the cunt is whipped. If you want to head home, I'll shadow you back to Alice's. Seems like things are going pretty good, though."
"Better than I expected, all things considered. I thought it would just be the three of us, still working out of the inn," Betty admitted. She then jumped when Ghent suddenly exploded into motion. The big man darted over to where one of the crossbows was stashed just inside the kitchen doorway, and Betty quickly moved out of sight of any windows. "What is it?"
"Oh... Nothing. Just spied a rabbit. Thought I'd try to pop it for Janus."
Betty let out a sigh of relief. "Go on."
Raven said, "Breathe. Maybe I should have kept my mouth shut. I see trouble everywhere. It's just who I am. You're smart. Your girls are smart. Lana just proved that. Keep your heads on straight and you'll do fine."
Betty shrugged. "One day at a time?"
"That's the way it usually works," Raven said with a smirk.
****
Though things continued without incident over the next few days, Betty found it hard to relax. She suspected every man who wasn't one of Corra's soldiers was a secret agent of Josephine's. Her bookkeeping increased exponentially, as she took to carefully recording anything she learned about the men visiting the house, looking for clues and patterns. Nothing much emerged beyond the one man Lana and Raven had outed, but Betty maintained her vigil anyway.
She was carefully recording the scars she noticed on Jan's latest hump when Corra's next two soldiers arrived. One of them presented her with a letter from the General.
Corra's handwriting was flamboyant, but quite legible. Betty actually found it beautiful the way he added flourishes to every curl of a letter. What he'd written was also a beautiful thing to behold.
"Once again, your information has proved invaluable," the letter began. "The man I sent to watch the house is no great supporter of me or my family, which will lend credence to his report upon delivery. Having watched the house for two evenings, he is appalled by our countryman's lack of decorum. I have little doubt that a representative of the Governor will be sent forthwith to confirm his report, which will most certainly end badly for my old friend Roja."
Betty could almost hear the General's sarcasm in that line.
The letter finished, "With any luck, we will both see a thorn removed from our sides in the coming days. Good fortune to you in your endeavors, Madame."
Corra saved his most extravagant embellishment for his signature.
