The older woman snorted. “You dare to walk in here and demand anything. Do you know who I am?”
“No, and I don’t care,” Julia retorted. “I’m here to make sure you release that young girl immediately.”
The woman shrugged. “That could be arranged if you take her place. She’s not doing me any good, and she’ll never pay off that debt. All she does is cry whenever one of the men goes near her, and they all walk away, mumbling about her reminding them of a baby sister or cousin or someone.”
Their conversation was interrupted by a loud knocking on the front door and a near breathless West storming into the room. “She’s definitely not going to work for you. She’s my wife, and she’s leaving now.”
West grabbed Julia’s arm, and Julia yanked it free. “I most certainly am not leaving without Meg.”
The older woman laughed. “That girl has been nothing but trouble and hasn’t earned one cent, but I’ve fed her since she’s been here. She owns me more than the hundred-dollar gambling debt now.”
“How much can a girl eat in two weeks? I’ll give you the hundred dollars now, you forget about the cost of food, and she comes with me immediately.”
The woman shook her head. “I think she’s worth more than that. In time I can get her to stop crying.”
Julia nodded and responded, “That might be, but before you’re able to accomplish that, I’ll wire my cousin, Vance. He’s a U.S. Marshal. I know he’d be interested in this place, especially since slavery is illegal, and keeping a young woman to pay off another person’s debt is definitely slavery.”
The woman blew a smoke ring and shrugged again. “For a hundred cash, I’ll let her go now.”
Julia turned and pulled up her skirt, turning back around with five twenty-dollar gold coins in her hand.
“Get Meg now, and you can have the money. If not, I’ll leave, but I will return with help,” Julia insisted.
The woman tossed the coins in her hand and said, “Rudy, go get Meg.”
The large man nodded and hurried toward the back of the house.
“You know, you’re quite lovely,” the older woman said. “You could do well here. Are you sure you don’t want a job?”
Julia shook her head and answered, “I would never. I just left a convent where I lived for several years. Now, I’m on my wedding trip with my new husband.”
The woman dropped back down on the sofa and laughed. “A newlywed nun? My friends will never believe this. Here’s Meg. Take her before I change my mind.”
Julia saw a young girl in a tattered nightdress enter the room, the fear etched on her face palpable.
Julia spoke to Meg. “You’re coming with me. You’re safe now. I’ll help you get back home. Do you have anything else to wear?”
Meg shook her head. “No, they sold some of my things and burned the rest. I have this and a dress I can’t wear in public.”
Julia turned to West, “Give her your coat.”
West obliged and slipped his coat off and helped Meg into it while staring at Julia, who seemed to be in control of the situation.
Julia took Meg by the hand and led her toward the front door. She looked over her shoulder and said to the other woman, “We’re done here. You have your money. Don’t send anyone after us or come near Meg again.”
“Are you threatening me,” the woman scoffed.
“No, I’m telling you that you will not like what happens if you try to hurt this child again,” Julia insisted just before leaving the house with a wide-eyed Meg and a speechless West.
West found his voice as they walked closer to the church. “Have you lost your mind? No one other than Father Dominic is supposed to know why we’re here.”
Julia said, “No one does. That woman thinks I’m a newlywed nun and most likely a bit crazy.”
West spoke quietly, so Meg couldn’t hear him. “You lied to that woman. Are nuns supposed to lie? She could have killed you.”
Julia stopped in the middle of the road and glared at West. “I said what I needed to get Meg out of there. That woman thinks I’m just a newlywed. I never mentioned that I’m an agent or on a mission, and I’m not a nun.”
“But are you supposed to lie that way?”
Julia blew out a breath. “If I need to lie to cover us when we’re working, God understands, but I still ask for forgiveness. It’s part of my job. People think we’re happily married. That’s a lie, too, but it’s part of our job.”
“All right, all right, but what about that story about calling your cousin the U.S. Marshal? You can’t say things like that to criminals. It doesn’t go over well. If you’re going to weave a story, it needs to sound realistic,” West insisted.
“Who said it was a story?” Julia said.
“What?” West stammered.
“My cousin Vance is a U.S. Marshal working out of Texas. He told me if I ever needed help to send a telegram to him and if he’s not available, someone will come and help me. You have to stop looking at me as just a naïve nun,” Julia smiled. “I had a life before I went to the convent. I have family and friends. I’m more capable than you give me credit for. Now, let’s get Meg safely to the church.”
Julia turned and continued walking toward the church, leaving West speechless again.
Meg whispered to Julia, “Are you in trouble with your husband? I don’t think he likes that you helped me.”
Julia assured Meg, “He’s just learning he married a strong woman. He thinks I’m weak and dependent on him for everything. I lived in a convent for two years after my mother died, and he still thinks I’m more nun than woman.”
“But nuns are women, and they have to be strong
