Victoria

In the morning before sunrise, she hitched the horses and headed out of town. There was snow on the ground, but the horses had no trouble following the worn path on the road. She wasn't adept at driving a wagon, but the horses seemed to know what they were doing and by nighttime, she felt like she had made it a good distance.

When she finally arrived at the encampment four days later, she was both nervous and excited as people stepped out of tents and wagons and make-shift huts to see who was coming.

She recognized Caius's giant form right away and she smiled. She knew no one could tell who she was, wrapped as she was in quilts and a hat and gloves. She reigned in and jumped down, charging through the snow to Caius who watched in confusion for a moment before he recognized her and hurried to her, pulling her up out of the snow.

"Lass!" he wailed as the others started talking excitedly. Victoria hugged his neck as tight as she could, sobbing into him. He held her tight, hugging her. "Lass! How? How?!?"

"Victoria!" Fern yelled, hurrying out to see her.

"There was a sickness, Doc called it black lung pneumonia. It took a lot of people, Lane included. I came as soon as I could. Caius! Are you ok? You look awful! Have you lost weight?"

"'E 'as 'ardly eaten!" Fern scolded him. "Been sulkin' an' wantin' ta go back an' rescue ya. We've 'ad ta talk'm out of it more'n once! Made m'self sick over alla it."

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry my gentle giant! I came as soon as I could! As soon as we can... we can renew our vows. Till then, I still consider you my husband. The only husband I have ever had, the only one that matters. Now. Let's get out of the cold and catch up! I want to hear about everything!"

"Aye," Caius said, his voice choked. "Bill, tell off some men ta see ta 'er things. Get'm ta ma place."

Caius carried her back to one of the small lean-to's and set her on a pallet, pulling her coat and hat off so he could take her face in his massive hands. He had tears in his eyes as he looked at her face.

"Lass," he whispered, choking up.

"I'm happy to see you too," she laughed, grabbing his hands on her face.

Fern ducked in, followed by Bill. Fern went to her and hugged her, smiling. "I cain't even tell ya 'ow 'appy I am ta see ya!" she said, grinning ear to ear.

"I'm happy to see all of you too! Can we catch up tomorrow do you think? So Caius and I can have some time alone?"

"Oh... a' course! Bill'n I'll stay wi' Fergus ta'nigh baby brother. We'll see ya both in tha morn."

"Oh! I didn't know you were staying here too! I don't mean to kick you out of your bed!"

"No! S'fine, truly. We kin give ya both this time, we're 'appy ta do it," she said happily, pulling Bill back out the door.

Victoria looked up at Caius, smiling up at him. He was still staring down at her as if he couldn't believe she was real.

"Ya came back," he whispered, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Of course I came back. I told you that day how I felt. I love you."

"I love ya too," he half wailed, pulling her close again.

"I am freezing! And starving. Can you help me get warm and then we can eat? I brought supplies on my wagon, plenty of food."

"Inna 'ow ta warm ya up," he said heatedly, rolling her down to the pallet and pulling her clothes off of her.

Victoria laughed and tugged his clothes off of him as well.

He pulled the blankets up over both of them and held her there for a long moment, his body pressing against hers as he looked down at her. "Ma 'eart 'urt fer ya, lass," he whispered.

"Mine hurt for you too. I thought about you every day."

"I could feel ya. Feel ya needin me an' they wunna lemme go."

"Make love to me?" she asked him, running her thumb over his lip.

He smiled his tiny ghost smile, his eyes full of love, then reached down to touch her like she had showed him.

"Ohhhh, yes my love! I like that! That's... perfect! Don't stop! Nnnnnn, ohhh, I want you inside me Caius! Please!"

"Hush, lass, the walls're thin!" he whispered, but sounded amused.

"I don't care! Please, I need you!"

He leaned in, kissing her lips as he worked her and she moaned and slid her fingers into his hair.

She turned away slightly, "Please Caius! I need you! I want you inside me!"

"Soon," he whispered.

"Now! Please! Now!"

He chuckled and bit her jaw lightly. "Dunna remember ya bein' so impatient."

"PLEASE!"

He put a hand over her mouth quickly, then moved up to thrust into her, filling her as she screamed into his hand. She came around his cock, still wailing and began thrashing beneath him as he gasped. Her tight pussy wrenching down on his cock after so long without her was more than he could take and he came immediately, spilling into her with a throbbing ache that made him groan.

"Ah, lass!" he panted, trying to hold himself off of her, not wanting to pull out just yet.

"Caius! Thank you!" she breathed, her eyes closed as she lay motionless beneath him.

"Ya needin' ta sleep now?" he asked gently, stroking her face.

"I am so tired! But hungry. I need to eat first, then sleep, but I also want to hear about everything! And... do that again before we go to bed."

He smiled and eased out of her, kissing her on the head before rolling and pulling his clothes back on. "Stay 'ere then, I'll get ya a plate, then more wood ta put on tha fire."

The next few days she learned about their little community they were building and Caius showed her his little make-shift forge he had set up. They also told her they had a list of things they needed and were about to go get, but asked if she would go instead.

"They'll charge us three or four times what they'd charge ya," Fern told her. "Bill'll go with ya, keep ya safe."

So she found herself becoming the liaison for the little community.

Their first time into Cummings, she handed the list to the older man at the general store and he smiled and engaged her in conversation as he began gathering things. He was very polite and nice to her the entire time and she was both glad that Bill hadn't come in and sad that he couldn't. She knew this man would be like Lane. Nice to her, but a horrible creature to anyone different. Maybe not, but she wasn't willing to bet he was any better, no matter how nice he was to her.

"Miss?" he asked her, getting halfway down the list. "Some of these things... are you getting supplies for a blacksmith?"

"Yes?"

"How far off do you live?"

"About a day's ride, just past the river and north along it."

"Do you think if I sent some order back with you, you could bring them back?"

"Of course. You don't have a blacksmith here?"

"No, he died of blacklung pneumonia a month back. The one in Montrose is gone too I hear. We sent off for another, but no one has come to answer the ad yet. We're in sore need."

"Alright. Get your list ready and I will bring it back as soon as it's finished. After that, we can set up a meeting time and you can have someone meet us at the bridge on a certain day and a certain time. Where do you send off ads at?"

"I take posts right here, where you wanting to send ads out to?"

"Everywhere. We'll start with back east for now, all the major cities. Shall I write the add out?"

"Yes, go ahead," he said, pushing her his notepad.

She bent over it and wrote:

'A new town being started, a haven for all who are not wanted or accepted. Come to us and find a home. Tell anyone you come across who needs a place to belong.'

She added the location and how to find it, then passed it back to the shopkeeper. He read it, looking perplexed.

"If anyone comes through looking for us, can you send them our way?" she asked him.

"Uhhh, sure. I guess. Who are you hoping to get here?"

"Not here, up with us out of everyone else's way. Anyone who doesn't have a place anywhere else," she answered with a shrug.

He lifted his eyebrows and set the paper down, adding the ad to her total. "So what are you calling this so called new town?"

She thought for a moment, looking down at the ad. "Newhaven," she answered finally.

"Newhaven. Ok. If anyone comes looking, I will send them along. Your blacksmith will be able to handle a big order?"

"Of course."

"Good. So if I was to want to take a look at this Newhaven, how would I go about that?"

"Like I said, cross the bridge over the river, then follow the river north. You will run into it. After about 10 hours."

"Ok. I will include that in the directions and I may come see this place for myself!" he said with a smile.

When she got back, she told everyone about the ad and the name of the town and they were all excited. Fern asked how long until people started coming.

Caius was both stunned and happy about the orders, hurrying to fire up the forge and get started. She had him write out a list of everything he did and how long each thing took to make so that next time she went she could give an estimate on time for them to be picked up. She had them walk her over all of the ground as she looked it over, then she laid out a floorplan of their little town with room to add on if they needed to.

When spring came, they went at it hard, building each building one at a time and quickly, the forge first since he had the biggest income coming in.

At the last bridge meeting, there was another man there from Montrose with another list. She recognized Bart Bristoe's best friend, but she said nothing.She knew he recognized her too.

Just after they finished the Inn and were working on the sheriff's office, they got their first new arrivals. A whole wagon train full of swedish people, many of whom did not speak english. Victoria happily showed them around, showed them the layout and how things were going to be set up, then showed them the farmlands and plots they had set up as well. They had a boy among them who had been apprenticing as a blacksmith and Caius immediately took him in to have him help with the nonstop orders.

With their help, the saloon, stables and four more houses were built before the next group of people came. More Irish. There was celebrating all around and everything was put on hold for an evening to have a large dinner and give thanks, then have music and dancing.

Victoria was happy, watching it all take shape. Mostly, she loved Sundays, sitting around with the other women, sewing quilts or clothes and gossiping about the men.

By the first day of Summer, they were working on houses in town, with a smaller group going out to the farms to build a house and barn on each one that had been claimed. Everyone helped everyone, they wanted it all ready before the next winter hit.

It was a hot evening, Victoria was sitting on one of the little docks they had built, her toes in the water when someone yelled that they had new people coming.

She hurried to the road and watched a wagon roll up with a very tired man and woman on it. It was the first time she had seen a dark skinned person, though she had heard about them and read about them.

"We... we was told this was a place for our kind," the man said, looking around in confusion at all the faces looking at him.

"This is a place for everyone," Victoria said quickly. "Welcome to Newhaven! How many little ones do you have?" she asked, spying the little faces peeking.

"Four," the woman answered, looking a little unsure.

"We have a school built, ready to start come fall. My sister Fern will be teaching! I'm Victoria O'Dowd, my husband is Caius O'Dowd, the blacksmith. Do you have any ideas on what you might like to do? We have farm plots or other things here in town. We can have a house ready for you in a couple of weeks if that."

"Just like that?" the woman asked, sounding shocked.

"Just like that. You have boys and girls?"

"Yes'm. Three girls, one boy."

"So a three room house work for you?"

"Yes'm..." she answered slowly and Victoria knew that they were terrified that this was all some sort of trap. Too good to be true.

"Why don't you all come to the inn and have some dinner with me and let me tell you how Newhaven was founded. What are your names?"

"Amos," the man answered, looking at his wife. "N' this is Hattie. My kids is May, June 'n April. Boy is August."

"After the months they were born in?"

Hattie nodded.

"That's very cute and clever!"

"I didn't name them," she said, almost angrily.

"Still, beautiful names. Come and let's get you all fed. Hattie, I have to say I am excited to hear your story. Us women all gather around after church on Sunday and have a sewing circle. We may or may not speak a little wickedly about our husbands," she whispered loudly in a not very confidential way. "For now, Bill here will take care of your wagon and stable your horses if that's ok? No one will touch anything or take anything."

"Aint nothin' to steal," Amos shrugged.

She sat them down and told them about how Caius had sent away for her and how the town had run them all out, threatened to kill him just because he had the audacity to marry a girl who wasn't Irish. How they saw this spot on the map and decided it would be a perfect place to start their own community, then decided to make it a place for anyone who was pushed out of other places or not accepted.

After they all ate, the couple looked at each other. "An' our kids kin go to school along with the others?" Hattie asked.

"Of course."

"And you just given away houses?"

"Yeah. I mean... we would hope in return you would work in the community until it gets off the ground. There's no real pay for any jobs yet, we all just work for each other. Once it's a real town and we establish trade and all that, every job will start paying. Your house will still be yours when that time comes."

"This... this all seems too good to be true."

"For us... it seemed like the people who come here have had a hard enough lot in life. I know Caius and his family did. If we can make it just a little easier on people like us, then it is our pleasure to do it."

Hattie broke down sobbing, falling into Amos's arms and even he teared up.

"I don't know readin or writin' or none a that," he said, shaking his head. "I know mostly takin care a livestock. Cows mostly, but horses too. Chickens."

"That's wonderful! We don't have anyone working the stables yet! Bill is doing it, but he is doing double duty with deliveries for Caius and pickups from Cummings. Does that suit you?"

"Yes'm. Suits me just fine!"

"What about me? I can cook and clean," Hattie said quickly.

"Well you don't have to do anything if you don't want to, just take care of your kids and your house. That's what most of the women are doing around here. Though, if you really want... Soarse is running the kitchen there at the inn. She would probably love a couple days off a week! Almost everyone comes here to eat and three meals a day 7 days a week is probably wearing on her!"

"Oh! I could help everyday! I want to do my fair share!"

"Your fair share is taken care of. If you want to help you can, but you don't have to do anything. Amos is helping a lot by taking up stable duty. Now. A man named Patrick is right over at the sheriff's office, he is our sheriff. Mostly what he does is find a place for our new people to work and a house for them. You can just let him know that you would like the stables and if you would like to help in the kitchen at the inn as well. I didn't want to send you there right off, you all seemed a little unsure about everything, didn't want to send you to the sheriff and spook you even more. If you have any questions or issues, please come and see me. I live next to the smithy with my husband and my sister and her husband Bill. At least until they get their house built, it's not a priority just now since they have a place to stay. I hope you all love it here as much as we do and Hattie, I hope you stay after at church on Sunday to sew with us! We'll be happy to have you."

They left, still wide eyed and in shock.

After that day, they started getting a large mix of people in, from everywhere it seemed like. Places Victoria had never heard of, people who spoke languages she had never heard of. It was amazing to her the amount of people who heard about Newhaven by word of mouth. Towns telling them they weren't wanted there, to go to Newhaven where their kind all belonged.

They began using the river to transport down to the bridge more easily, all three surrounding towns using the bridge to pick up orders from Caius. Montrose stopped briefly when they got one in town, but started coming back when it was clear the other man's quality was lacking and his prices higher.

Victoria was happy as they built the town, though part of her ached as each year passed and she had no little ones of her own. Fern had two after four years and Victoria loved playing with them when she wasn't working the general store. It was Hattie who came up with the idea that mothers who were staying home gather together and watch the small children who were too young to go to school. At least the ones whose moms were working, like Fern teaching her students.

Victoria ached for her own child, but tried to stay happy and positive. Their town was booming, doing well. There was a second road to it now, straight from Montrose and there was a bridge built right across to their little town and new roads leading to both towns on the other side of the river. It even made it so it was easier to reach a 4th town that was further north on the other side of the river.

Things were going so well, Victoria kept waiting for something awful to happen.

It happened in a big way.

She was just coming from the bridge, picking up an order for her store and when she rolled into town she could see people standing around. Fern ran to her, sobbing.

"Fern? What is it? What's wrong?" she asked, jumping down to hug the larger woman.

"S'Caius! Doc said't was 'is heart! Olle said he was rubbin at 'is arm all morn, then clutched at 'is ches', then jus fell over! Gone."

"What? Caius? MY Caius? Gone?"

"Am so sorry, Tori!"

"I want to see him! They are wrong, he is too strong! His heart was strong!" she yelled, yanking away from Fern to run to the smithy.

There was a white sheet over a giant form and the doctor was there, talking to Lewin, the undertaker.

Bill caught her as she started towards the sheet covered body. "Now then, lass, ya don' wan' ta be seein' 'm tha' way. 'E wouldn't'a wanted tha' fer ya. Remember'm as 'e was."

"NO! THEY ARE WRONG! NOT MY CAIUS! He is too strong to die like that! His heart is strong!"

"Easy now girl," the doctor said with his strange accent all the swedes had. "His heart was strong, yah, but he was a big man, yah? Workin hard all the time. Hard to keep up with the man. Olle said your name was on his lips b'for he passed. He loved you, yah? Remember that. Bill, give her two fingers of brandy to calm her, yah? Listen now girl, we need ya to keep runnin this place for us, yah? Speak for us? What you do here is important, we can't have you just shuttin down on us now can we? We all need ya, this whole town."

Victoria hardly heard him as she stared at the sheet. This was her fault. Some sort of payback for allowing Lane to die instead of saving him.

She spent the next week in bed, only coming out for the funeral. He was only the fourth body in their little cemetery. Bill came to get her after that week was up.

"We nee' supples, Tori," he said tersely, bringing her out of her head for a moment.

"What?"

"We nee' supplies! They wunna deal with us and ya well know it! Get up now an' ge' dressed! 'Ow many souls in Newhaven las' count? Two hunned and forty tree? Tha's 'ow many mouths depend on ya gettin' ya lazy ass up and gettin' supplies. You led us here, ya mean us all ta die 'ere too? We nee' ya!"