Riders to Moon Rock by Andrew J. Fenady

Author:Andrew J. Fenady
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781428518117
Publisher: Dorchester Publishing Co., Inc.

Chapter Twenty-seven

Hadley had no intention of marching, or riding, off to war.

He would stay at Glenshannon Hall until the end of hostilities and ostensibly run the ranch, but Hadley didn’t do much running. Pepper and Carson, along with Gibbs, Carey and the rest of the hands, ran the place.

There were times, more and more, when Hadley could hardly walk. He hadn’t gone to bed sober since his twenty-first birthday.

He rode Bucephalus less and less—two or three time a week, and only for short distances.

He’d have one of the hands take the animal out for exercise and a good long run. But never Shannon. It was part of Shannon’s duties to feed, groom and take care of Hadley’s horse, but Shannon was not allowed to mount him.

When Hadley went in to Gilead, he would use the carriage because he had the good sense to know that he’d be drunk on the way back, and that a carriage was safer to sit in than a horse to sit on.

The purpose of his trips to Gilead was twofold. Business with Amos Higgins at the bank. Pleasure with a lady named Francine at the Emporium.

Hadley had sampled and compared half a dozen of the establishment’s upstairs specialists before settling on Francine Almador for his visits to the Emporium’s second-story pleasure dome.

Francine Almador would be considered a good-looking lady anywhere, and was arguably the best-looking working lady on the premises. She was blond, with deep blue eyes, high cheekbones, a cleft on her pointed chin, a long, slender throat, generous bosom, and a slim waist, rounding and tapering to lovely legs.

And of all the working girls, Hadley found her the best at her work.

Plying her trade, Francine spoke only when spoken to, and answered with words Hadley wanted to hear.

Cherrie had installed a private entrance at the rear of the Emporium, which led to a private room—presided over by a receptionist-bouncer—and a private staircase leading to the second floor. This was an accommodation for some of Gilead’s more prominent citizens who considered discretion the better part of their reputation.

Cherrie was happy to accommodate them—for a price.

Hadley was happy to pay the price whenever he came to town.

One of the times when he came to town and paid an extended visit to Francine, Hadley was in no condition to make his way back to Glenshannon Hall—even in a carriage.

The next morning, after another session with Miss Almador, Hadley was pleased to pay the extra charge. And after that it was not uncommon for Hadley to make a night and morning of it.

When he didn’t come home that first night, Heather, Pepper and Hannah became worried, even alarmed. But when he did come home he told them all that this would likely happen again and not to worry as he had business that would keep him overnight in Gilead from time to time.

Nobody much doubted what that business was, and everybody decided not to speak any more about it.

Even though Hadley always used the private entrance and

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