TEMPERANCE
TEMPERANCE 
Jimmy sauntered down the street, keeping his head low but still watching the people who bustled past him. There was a young couple on their way to see the travelling show that was being put on at one of the saloons, some boys rushing to get back home before dinner to avoid a scolding from their mother, and four young women giggling their way down the street, all the while chattering about their dresses and about the people they saw around them. He felt a little jealous of them all; they seemed happy, or at least busy, caught up in their own lives.
He knew he’d been
too hard on Kid throughout the run. His friend had only been trying to cheer
him up, to lighten the mood, but Jimmy had no intention
of letting that happen. Right now he was content to wallow in his own self-pity.
Teaspoon wouldn’t have approved, but he wasn’t there, was he? There
wasn’t even anything particularly *wrong* at the moment for him to be upset
about, but the way his life was heading and the drudge and monotony of an existence
which, granted, most people would find exciting and adventurous, was beginning
to wear at him and fray at his nerves. Jimmy had been hafing at the bit for
some time now and that restlessness of spirit had quickly turned into irritability
and moodiness.
He’d reached the end of the street and was trying to decide whether to turn and walk back up to the hotel or to take a stroll around the outskirts of town, when he heard a sudden burst of noise behind him and then felt his arm being latched onto.
“There you are, darlin’. Fancy wandering off like that! I was beginning to worry.”
Attached to Jimmy’s arm, and belonging to the soft Southern accent he’d just heard reprimand him, was a young woman with dark hair, deep blue eyes and the most amazing red dress he’d ever seen in his life. Stunned by her appearance and by the way she was talking to him, Jimmy was about to point out that she’d mistaken him for someone else, when the young woman lowered her voice and leaned in towards his ear.
“Play along or I swear I’ll beat you to death with my purse.”
Before he had time to respond, the woman had begun to talk again, this time to three men who had walked around to stand in front of them.
“So you see, gentlemen,”
she simpered in that same accent and gentle tone. “I’m afraid I can’t
be the woman you’re looking for. Y’all said she was
unmarried and travellin’ alone, yes? Well, here’s my husband, plain
as day. I’m afraid you’ve got the wrong woman.”
Jimmy couldn’t quite believe this was happening. It all seemed like a very surreal dream in which he was only an onlooker.
“You fit the description, ma’am,” one of the men pointed out. “This really your husband?”
Completely baffled by the situation, Jimmy opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by the young woman before he’d even said a word.
“Of course he’s
my husband! We’ve been married for two blissful years, every day better
than the last. Ain’t that right, sugar?” And with that, she
reached up, drew Jimmy’s head down to meet hers and engaged him in a passionate
kiss which sent his pulse racing. After a few moments the three men began to
cough and mutter in embarrassment and Jimmy and the young woman broke apart.
“Now, young man, I hope you don’t mind me askin’,” the man who had spoken before said, “but are you sure this is your wife?”
Jimmy only just managed to hear him over the thunderous beating of his heart. The young woman hadn’t looked away from him since the kiss and now he looked down on her as she met his gaze steadily and he saw the unspoken plea in her eyes. He knew that this girl was in some kind of trouble and that it was more then likely that the three men standing before them were the law. Jimmy made a split second decision.
“What d’ya mean, ‘is this my wife’?” he demanded, wondering briefly where on earth the Southern accent he heard as he spoke had come from. “Y’think I don’t know my own wife?”
He saw a spark of amusement in the girl’s eyes and he quickly looked back at the three men before she made him laugh.
“I’m sorry,
sir,” said one of the men who had been silent until then. “It’s
just that we’ve been lookin’ for a woman, who matches your wife’s
description,
who caused some trouble in Seneca. Seems she cheated some men out of their money-”
“Are you questioning my wife’s character, sir?” Jimmy asked indignantly, bristling in mock anger and hostility.
“Just what kind
of a girl do you think I am?” the young woman asked as, to Jimmy’s
surprise and admiration, delicate little tears began to brim in her
eyes.
“I’m sorry, sir, ma’am, it’s just that-”
“I think it’s
time we were gettin’ you back to the hotel, my dear,” Jimmy drawled,
holding on comfortingly to the arm she’d looped through his earlier.
“This whole experience has obviously been very tryin’. Good day to
you, sirs.”
And with that, Jimmy
and the young woman turned and walked back up the street. They were silent until
they were out of earshot and then the girl let
out a quick sigh and turned to look up at Jimmy.
“The accent was a bit much,” she said, dropping her own instantly. “You weren’t all that good at it, neither.”
Jimmy looked down at her incredulously. “What kinda way is that to say ‘thankyou’?” he demanded.
“I didn’t
say I wasn’t grateful,” she said dismissively. “ Just that the
accent was a bit too much. I didn’t know whether to play along or to laugh
in your
face!”
Not for the first time in the last ten minutes, the girl left Jimmy lost for words.
“Come on. Down
here,” the young woman commanded, pulling lightly on Jimmy’s arm.
A moment later they were standing in one of the alleyways which
led off the street and were assessing each other warily.
Now that he had a chance to get a good look at her, Jimmy could see that his initial impression of her had been correct. She had enough makeup on to make it obvious she was out to impress and the dress she was wearing could easily be described as sensational. It was made of red velvet, had no sleeves and was cut dramatically low at the neck. For a moment he wondered which of the saloons she worked at, but there was an elegance and self-control about her which set her apart from most of the girls he’d seen in those establishments.
“What’s your name?” she asked, breaking him from his thoughts.
“Jimmy Hickok. What’s yours?”
“Well, Jimmy Hickok,” she said, ignoring his question. “Thanks for your assistance.”
Jimmy took the hand she held out to him and shook it. For some reason he wasn’t in the least surprised when he found she had as firm a grip as most men.
“It’s been a pleasure,” she said briskly before turning and beginning to walk off down the alley.
Jimmy, however, wasn’t
about to let this girl go without some kind of an explanation. “Hang on,”
he called out, stopping her in her tracks. “What kinda
trouble are you in?”
“What’s it to you?” she asked, suddenly defensive.
“Hey, I reckon I’ve gotta right to know what’s goin’ on here,” Jimmy insisted. “I got you out of it, after all.”
The girl snorted and took a step towards him. “Listen, sunshine, I was lookin’ after myself when you were still holdin’ on to your mamma’s apron strings, so I reckon I coulda gotten myself out of that little mess just fine without you. You were just handy, is all. Don’t let it go to your head.”
Jimmy could tell that
the girl wasn’t any older than he was himself, but he didn’t bother
arguin’ that he’d led much less of a sheltered life than she
obviously thought he had. Instead he threw her a scowl to match the one she
was sending his way.
“Fine!” he said, showing his annoyance at her aggressive manner. “Glad I could be ‘handy’.”
He turned to walk back out onto the street, but this time it was the girl’s turn to call out.
“Hey, Hickok.”
Jimmy stopped and raised his eyebrows at her in a questioning manner rather than speaking.
She nodded at the navy colts strapped to his hips. “Those things just for decoration or do you actually know how to shoot?”
“I get by,” Jimmy answered, affecting the same nonchalance he saw in her demeanour.
“You play poker?”
“Sure. What you gettin’ at?” he asked.
The girl nodded again and regarded him thoughtfully for a while. When she spoke again her voice was a little softer and her face wore a smile.
“Listen,” she said. “I got a proposition that might interest you. "What are you doin’ tonight?”
Jimmy saw the look on her face and, despite his best efforts, he felt a blush creeping up onto his cheeks. This girl sure didn’t mess around. He laughed a little and shook his head. “Ah, I don’t think so. You’re a nice girl and all and it ain’t that I’m not *interested* as such, but I -”
The girl let out a long sigh and rolled her eyes before interrupting him. “Whoa there! That ain’t what I’m offering, so how about shutting your mouth before you make an even bigger fool of yourself?”
Jimmy obliged, feeling
the blush on his cheeks worsening as he recognised his blunder. Clamping his
mouth firmly shut, he listened to what she had
to say.
“See, I play cards.
I used to work in a saloon, but that ain’t important,” she said quickly,
looking away from Jimmy’s eyes for a moment. “What’s
important is that I learned how to play the game while I was working there and
now I go from town to town and play the tables.”
“You hustle people,” Jimmy summarised.
“What, you think that because I’m a woman I can’t be a really good card player? I know the game, Hickok, and I know how to play it.”
“You don’t cheat, then?” Jimmy asked, sceptically.
The girl threw him a mischievous smile. “It’s only cheatin’ if you get caught.”
Jimmy couldn’t help laughing at her. She’d dragged him into her lies without a second thought and given him nothing but attitude since she’d threatened to beat him with her purse, but he couldn’t help but like her.
“So what’s that got to do with me?” he asked.
“Well, I could do with an offsider for the night. We could work the tables together and I’d give you a quarter of what we win.”
“A quarter!” Jimmy laughed. “How’d you work that out?”
“Well, you’d just be settin’ them up; I’d be knocking them over. Whatcha say?”
Jimmy hung his head and laughed again. “Thanks anyway,” he said. “But I don’t reckon it’s my thing.”
The girl shrugged and
tried to appear indifferent. “I only asked because you looked like you
could do with a bit of fun. I saw you walkin’ along the
street before those men came. You always wear a scowl like that or are you just
having a good day?”
Jimmy looked up at her and saw that she had him pegged perfectly. There wasn’t any point trying to lie to her. Instead he shrugged and threw her a quick smile. “Just a good day,” he agreed.
The girl smiled at him, the first genuine smile she’d given him since they met.
“Come on,” she said beguilingly. “Just the one night won’t hurt, will it? It’d be a lot of fun.”
“I don’t know,” Jimmy said slowly.
“You had fun before,
didn’t you; when we were a couple of young Southern marrieds?” the
enticing note of mischief in her voice had Jimmy nearly
convinced and she knew it. “Just this one night. We can pretend to be anyone
we want. Can you do a French accent as well as you do a Southern one?”
Now she had Jimmy laughing out loud. “Would you let me if I could?” he asked.
“Nope,” she answered honestly, laughter playing in her eyes. “But you could be a Frenchman who’d taken a vow of silence.”
“How do you get away with this?” he asked, unable to shake the smile from his face.
“People believe
what they want to believe,” she said simply. “They don’t want
to believe they’re playin’ cards with a saloon girl from Missouri,
but it
makes their day if they have their money taken by a rich lady from New York
or a runaway bride from Alabama. Makes a nice change for me, too. So, you gonna
join me?”
“I shouldn’t,”
Jimmy said grudgingly. He thought of what Kid would say if he found out. He
wouldn’t be impressed. And he was sure that hustling at cards wouldn’t
be approved of by Russel, Majors and Waddell, either. But, if he told the truth,
Jimmy was bored and the lure of a night playing cards and making up stories
with this strange young woman was more than he was able to resist. His decision
was made.
“But I reckon I will anyway.”
“Good!” the girl cried, obviously pleased with her success. “Let’s get goin’; those men should have ridden out by now.”
Jimmy joined her in walking down the alley towards the street.
He observed her out of the corner of his eye. “So are you gonna tell me your name or is it a secret?”
“No secret,” the girl shrugged. “The name’s Temperance Hathaway.”
“Temperance?” Jimmy repeated with a note of disbelief.
“Yeah. It means restraint and moderation.”
Jimmy grinned from ear to ear. “Suits you.”
“You got somethin’ to say, Hickok?” Temperance asked, throwing him a sidelong glare as they stepped out into the street.
“Not me,” Jimmy shrugged, managing to subdue the laughter building inside him.
“Good. Now, time to get prettied-up.”
Jimmy looked her over with raised eyebrows. “You look pretty good to me already,” he grinned.
“Thanks,”
Temperance said, taking him by the arm and guiding him down the street. “But
I was talking about you.”