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Last week, as you'll recall, Doll and the others were claimed by Shaughnessey as being members of his troupe. Is he trying to fool the sheriff, and does he have an agenda of his own? And will Doll agree to the charade? Find out in this week's chapter of Trapped in Time II. Then be sure to check out the rest of the Briefers, whose links follow my tale. Enjoy!
The sheriff seems less than impressed with this information.
Almost as much as I am. “Is that so?” he grunts noncommittally. “And where are
you all staying, if I might ask?”
“At the hotel.” Shaughnessey never skips a beat, standing
his ground against the lawman. I suppose he is used to dealing with all manner
of people wherever he goes. Still, he had no right to say what is not so.
Before I can protest, or correct the sheriff’s mistaken impression, the sheriff
spits a stream of something brown and smelly into the street, luckily missing
our feet.
“How long you intend to stay?” is his next question.
Shaughessey grins. “Until the good people of Whistling Wind
get tired of us. We’ll be performing at the hotel. You‘re invited to come see
us. On the house, of course.”
“Of course. Might just do that. In the meantime—” He waves
broadly, indicating all of us. “I’ll hold you responsible for your group, Mr. —are
you Shaughnessey or Company?”
Shaughnessey obliges with a chuckle, although I see no humor
in the situation or the words. “Flynn Shaughnessey. And yes, I shall be responsible
for my troupe, naturally.”
“See that you are,” the sheriff grunts, and before I can get
one word in to tell him that this mad Irishman is certainly not our keeper, he
has walked off, leaving me with my mouth open. I close it abruptly, feeling
foolish.
“Well, that’s settled!” Shaughnessey exclaims.
It is on the tip of my tongue to retort that nothing is
settled, far from it, and that we do not need or wish his assistance, when my
father motions to me to dismount, I manage to do so without losing any dignity.
He nods to Charlie, who quickly takes
the reins, as my father slides his arm through mine and draws me apart from the
others.
“Adal, I understand that this is not what you might wish,
but perhaps it is for the best.”
“How so?” I am perplexed by his words.
“It appears that strangers stand out in this place, so while
we are here, better that we seem to fit in with this acting troupe, rather than
draw attention to ourselves. Then we can find Vittorio and leave more quickly,
ja?”
I suppose his words make sense. He pats my cheek softly. “Plus,
we shall have somewhere to sleep that isn’t on the ground. I think it would be
nice to sleep in a bed, don’t you?”
I feel selfish for not having considered my father’s
comfort—and that of the others—sooner. It must have been hard on him all this
time, first sleeping in a crude hut in a prehistoric jungle, and then on the
hard ground here as we travel west. He is not quite as young as the rest of us,
after all, and I should look out for him more. It is no excuse that my mind and
heart are somewhere else.
“Ja, a bed will be good,” I agree, although I can’t help but
think it will be better with Vittorio in it. Then a sudden thought strikes me. “But
he was lying. We are not part of the troupe, so how can we stay at the hotel?”
Vati wrinkles his brow, but before we can consider the
matter further, Shaughnessey intrudes upon our privacy, as if this were his cue
to enter. “Pardon my interruption,” he says smoothly, “but you shall be part of my troupe.”
My face must show my displeasure at his statement, for he
hastens to add, “Only for as long as you wish. And you need not go on stage, if
you don’t want to, although I think that’d help us out. We could use a couple
more people, and I think Doll would look good in a dress—”
I cannot have heard that annoying man correctly, surely. A
dress? Me? I begin to mutter curse words in my native tongue, knowing very well
he cannot understand me.
“We can discuss everything later, once we get settled,” Vati
says diplomatically.
“I meant no harm, Doll,” Shaughnessey apologizes to me. “Or
disrespect. If you’ve noticed, we’re an all male company, so that means we have
to play both male and female parts. We’re used to it, I didn’t think before I
spoke. C’mon, let’s get everyone settled in the hotel. Just follow me.” He
turns his horse’s head and off he goes once more to the head of the wagons,
while I find myself surrounded by Charlie, Myron, and Mary now, as well as my
father.
“Did I hear him correctly? We’re going to act?” Myron’s eyes
seem to be shining, as if he is excited at the idea. Perhaps he has an actual
interest in being a thespian. As for myself, the idea has never occurred to me.
Charlie smiles, but probably because Myron is happy, and Mary bounces up and
done, softly chittering.
“Ja. Well, maybe,” my father concedes. I can see he is
trying not to crush Myron’s hopes, so I reluctantly table my animosity and try
to show some enthusiasm, although I am far from feeling excited at the prospect
of wearing a dress. That will take a lot of convincing. Hopefully we’ll find
Vittorio and be gone before the question arises once more.
In the meantime, we could use a place to sleep, I concede,
so I give in at least that much. “To the hotel.”
Charlie leads Frederick, with
Mary in the saddle, and Myron at his side, while Vati and I walk along behind
them, following the wagon trains until we spy our destination. It is not hard
to find as the faded wooden sign above the door simply reads Hotel. It is probably the only hotel in
town, I surmise.
Shaugnessey dismounts and ties up his horse, and then
Frederick, before he turns to us with a big smile.
“Home sweet home!” And then he winks at me.
Insolent wretch.
to be continued
Now see what the other Briefs have been up to!
Until next time, take care!
♥ Julie
Doll in a dress, oh yes please :)
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