“Poor luck, I was the only one afflicted,” Lady Carey said.
“Well, Papa might have had it, but we don’t know, because the Mexicans shot him first,” Willy said. “That’s when we were made prisoners of war?when they shot Papa.”
“Now, Willy?these gentlemen have traveled a long way and lost many friends themselves,” Lady Carey said. “We needn’t burden them with our misfortunes.”
“I lost my Shad,” Matilda said. “It was a stray bullet, too. If he’d been sitting anywhere else I expect he’d still be alive.”
“Well, Matty, that’s not for sure,” Gus said. “We walked a far piece, after that, through all that cold weather.”
“Cold wouldn’t have kilt my Shad,” Matilda said. “I would have hugged him and kept him warm.”
“It is cold in our castle,” Willy said. “There aren’t many fires. But we have cannons and someday I will shoot them. When will we go back to our castle, Mamma?”
“That depends on these gentlemen,” Lady Carey said. “We’ll discuss it as soon as they’ve finished their tea. It’s very impolite to discuss business while one’s guests are enjoying their food.”
“We can talk now, I guess,” Call said. “If you’ve a plan for leaving here, I’m for talking now.”
“Fine, there’s nothing left but the cucumber sandwiches anyway,” Lady Carey said. “I suppose cucumbers are not much valued in Texas, but we Scots have a fine appetite for them. Come help me, Willy, and you too, Mrs. Chubb. Let’s finish off the sandwiches and plan our expedition.”
Call was enjoying the breads and muffins and fruit. Everything he put in his mouth was tasty, particularly the small, buttery ears of corn. After the cold, dry trip they had made, across the prairies and the desert, it seemed a miracle that they had come through safe and were eating such food in the company of an English lady, her servants, and her little boy. He was startled, though, when she mentioned an expedition. The country around El Paso was as harsh as any he had seen. Five Rangers, four women, and a boy wouldn’t stand much chance, not unless the Mexican army was planning to go with them.
“First, we need proper introductions,” Lady Carey said. “I’m Lucinda Carey, this is Mrs. Chubb, this is Emerald, and this is Willy. You know our names, but we don’t know yours. Could you tell us your names, please?”
Gus immediately told the lady that his name was Augustus McCrae. He was determined that Long Bill Coleman not be the first to speak to the fine lady who had fed them such delicious food.
“Why, Willy, he’s Scot, like us,” Lady Carey said. “I expect we’re cousins, twenty times removed, Mr. McCrae.”
The news perked Gus up immediately. The other Rangers introduced themselves?Woodrow Call was last. Long Bill took it upon himself to introduce Brognoli, whose head was still swinging back and forth, regular as the ticking of the clock. None of them knew how to behave to a lady?Long Bill attempted a little bow, but Lady Carey didn’t appear to notice. She divided the cucumber sandwiches between herself, Mrs. Chubb, and Willy, who ate them avidly.
All the while Emerald, the tall Negress, stood watching, near the bed. The little dog had gone to sleep and was snoring loudly.
“Throw a pillow at him, Willy?why must we hear those snores?” Lady Carey said, when the last cucumber sandwich was gone. Willy immediately grabbed three pillows off a red settee and threw them at the sleeping dog, which whuffed, woke up, shook itself, and ran off the bed into Lady Carey’s arms.
“This is George?he’s a smelly beast,” Lady Carey said. The little dog was frantically attempting to lick her, but the best he could do was lick her black gloves.
Call was watching the tall Negress, Emerald. She stood by the four-poster bed, keeping her eye on the company. She wasn’t unfriendly, but she wasn’t familiar, either. She was wrapped in a long, blue cloak. Call wondered if she had a gun under the cloak, or at least a knife. He could see that she was protective of Lady Carey and the little boy; he would not have wanted to be the one who attacked them, not with Emerald there.
While he was sipping the last of his tea, he happened to look up and see the head of a large snake, raised over the canopy of the four-poster bed. In a second the snake’s long body followed?it was far and away the largest snake Call had ever seen. He looked around the table, hoping to see a knife he could kill it with, but there was no knife, except the little one they had used to spread butter. He grabbed one of the little stools and was about to run over and try to smash the big snake with it when the Negress calmly stretched out a long black arm and let the big snake slide along it. All the Rangers gave a start, when they saw the snake slide onto Emerald’s arm. Soon it was draped over her shoulders, its head stretching out toward the table where the tea had been.
“No cause for alarm, gentlemen,” Lady Carey said. “That’s Elphinstone?he’s Willy’s boa.”
“Only he’s too big for me,” Willy said. “Mamma and Emerald play with him now. Mrs. Chubb doesn’t care for snakes. She hides her eyes when Elphinstone eats his rats.”
Emerald walked over and handed the boa to Lady Carey, who let it slither over her lap and off under the table.
“I think he wants George,” Lady Carey said. “Cake crumbs don’t satisfy a boa, but I expect a smelly little beast such as George would be a treat.”
“But Mamma, he can’t have George!” Willy insisted. “He finds quite a lot of rats?I shouldn’t think he’d need to eat our dog.”
“Who knows what a boa needs, Willy?” Lady Carey said. “I’m afraid we’ve let all these beasts distract us. Willy and I want to go home, gentlemen, and the Mexican government has agreed to release us. What they won’t do is provide us with an escort, and we’re rather a long way from a seaport.”
“I’ll say,” Long Bill said. “It’s so far I wouldn’t even know which one to head for.”
“Galveston is the most feasible, I believe,” Lady Carey said. “I’d rather try for Galveston than Veracruz. If we travel through Mexico the greedy generals might decide they want more ransom?my father has already paid them a handsome sum. He didn’t pay it for me, of course?father wouldn’t waste a shilling on a leprous daughter. He paid it for the young viscount here. Willy’s the one he needs?Willy’s the heir.”
The Rangers listened silently to what Lady Carey said. Call looked at Gus, who looked at Long Bill. Brognoli continued to swing his head, and Wesley Buttons, who was a slow eater, was still consuming the last crumbs of one of the big scones with raisins in it. The others had accepted that the big snake was a pet, but Wesley didn’t trust snakes, particularly not snakes that were longer than he was tall. This one had slithered off somewhere, but it could always slither back and take a bite out of him. He was careful to keep both feet on the rungs of his stool, and did not pay much attention to the talk of ransoms and seaports. He would go where the boys went?he was happy to let them decide.
“Ma’am, we’ll be pleased to take you to Galveston,” Call said. “If we can find the way. It’s a far piece, though, and we’ve got no mounts and no gear. Our horses got stolen, and the Mexicans took our guns.”
“Fortunately, we aren’t poor yet, we Careys,” Lady Carey said. “I didn’t expect you to walk across Texas barefoot, in leg irons. We have our own mounts, and we’ll soon find some for you. You look like honest men?I’ll send you to town with enough gold to equip us properly. Don’t skimp, either. Buy yourselves reliable weapons and warm clothes and trustworthy mounts. We have a tent large enough for ourselves and Miss Roberts?but I’m afraid you men will have to sleep out, if it’s not too inconvenient.”
“We don’t know how to sleep no way but out,” Gus said. “If we can get some slickers and some blankets we’ll be cozy, I guess.”
Just then, the snake emerged and began to glide up one of the bedposts. Soon it disappeared, back onto the canopy over the big bed. Wesley Buttons cautiously put his feet back on the ground., “I expect it’s a little too late to send you to town today,” Lady Carey said. “Emerald, tell Manuel to get the irons off these men. I want them to get into town early tomorrow. I want to leave San Lazaro quickly?these greedy Mexicans might change their minds.”
“Come,” Emerald said. “We’ve fixed a room for you. The mattresses are just corn shuck, but it will be more comfortable than the place the Mexicans put you.”
When they left the room, Willy had seated himself next to his mother and was helping her select from a bunch of storybooks, piled beside the low settee where Lady Carey sat. She raised her head to them, as they left the room, but all they could see were her veils.
“I wonder how bad she is, with the leprosy?” Gus asked, as the Texans were following Emerald along the balcony to their quarters. “Wouldn’t it be awful if she didn’t have no nose?”
