Reborn in 1878: America's Number One Bandit

Chapter 91 Reading Manor Changes Hands

"But I care!"

Ethan gently stroked her head: "I love you, Abigail. I love your whole soul. Not the broken you who has to run away to survive."

"Let's go back."

"No!"

Abigail burst into tears again, unable to contain herself: "I won't let you go to your death! I absolutely won't!"

"I won't die."

Ethan looked directly into her eyes, his confidence almost suffocating Abigail: "I'll go back with you."

“If this is a lie, a trap, then I, Ethan Hunt, will tell your father in front of him that you are my woman. He wants to use me as fertilizer? He’ll have to ask this gun in my hand first.”

"And if this is true, then they are really gone."

"Then, my dear..."

He gently kissed her forehead: "You are now the sole owner of Reading Manor. You will no longer need to run away, and I will stay by your side and be with you through all of this."

Abigail was completely stunned, staring blankly at the man in front of her.

This man was not afraid of death; he was willing to walk into the devil's trap of her father for her sake.

He wasn't just a homeless man who wanted to sleep with her; he was a real man!

Her lips trembled: "Ethan, I..."

"Suit up."

Ethan ruffled her hair: "Let's go home!"

……

Sonoma County, Reading Estate.

The smell of blood lingered in the dry air for a long time.

The manor gates were already sealed off by the yellow ribbons from the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office.

When Ethan and Abigail arrived on horseback, Abigail's heart sank to the bottom.

She saw it.

I saw the sheriff's carriage.

This is actually true, not a lie!

"Abby".

Ethan gently took her cold hand and comforted her again.

Two armed police officers stood at the entrance.

"Miss Reading."

One of the officers took off his hat: "We've been waiting for you. We're sorry, but you have to stay strong."

He glanced at Ethan: "Sir?"

"His name is Ethan, and he's my friend."

Abigail's voice was dry.

"Mr. Ethan."

The officer nodded: "Please come in. We need you to identify it."

The lobby floor has been cleaned.

But the smell of blood and gunpowder still wafted into my nostrils.

Four corpses covered with white sheets were placed side by side in the center of the hall.

The long table that once symbolized the family's glory and power has been overturned and broken into pieces.

"No!"

Abigail let out a dreamlike groan.

She released Ethan's hand and walked over stiffly, like a puppet.

"Abigail! Don't look!"

Ethan called softly behind her, but she could no longer hear him.

She trembled as she pulled back the first white cloth.

It was her father, Silas Redding.

That face, which always seemed to be contorted with anger and rage, was now so quiet.

The broken neck was so glaringly obvious!
Numbly, she walked towards the second, third, and fourth cards.

Yes, they really are her three older brothers.

They're all dead, all of them are dead!

Abigail's legs gave way, and she collapsed onto the stone floor.

"Abby!"

Ethan rushed forward and hugged her tightly.

"Oh my god, I'm here, I'm here!"

"My condolences, Miss Reading."

The officer walked over expressionlessly: "She's probably too heartbroken."

At least that's what everyone thinks.

But no one knew that deep within Abigail's mind, which was filled with sorrow, a spark of excitement was slowly igniting.

Father is dead, and my brothers are all dead!

The cage that wanted to sell herself like a cow is truly gone.

She could feel Ethan holding her tightly.

His embrace was so warm, so real!
And this man is the only one in the world who truly loves her.

The most terrible obstacle is gone, so does that mean that no one can stop me from falling in love with Ethan anymore?
The Reading family's funeral was a hasty affair.

No friends were present.

For Silas Redding and his three sons, there were only enemies, tenants, and people who feared them in Northern California.

The body was taken away by the sheriff's office and hastily buried in the Santa Rosa Cemetery.

Abigail refused to attend.

Ethan sat in the bearskin chair that belonged to Silas in front of the fireplace.

Abigail curled up on his lap like a poor little kitten, her arms wrapped tightly around his neck.

She didn't cry; she hadn't shed a single tear since that day when she broke down in the hall.

"You're not going to leave me, are you?"

This was the thirty-seventh time she had asked this question in the past twelve hours.

"I won't leave you."

Ethan remained gentle, his eyes filled with doting affection and tenderness.

“I’m right here, Abby. I’m not going anywhere.”

"Do not."

Abigail shook her head violently and buried her face even deeper into his chest.

“You can’t just stay here, you have to stay. I can’t live without you, Ethan!”

"This house is staring at me."

She looked around timidly: "The servants, they're all watching me! They're all waiting, waiting for me to break down and go crazy, waiting for me to get out!"

“They won’t dare, Abby.”

He cupped her face in his hands, forcing her to look him in the eye: "Listen, you're not that little girl who needed to hide in the pottery shop anymore. You are now the mistress of Reading Manor."

She shook her head and said, "I don't want anything, I just want you! I just want you to live and stay with me!"

“Abigail, from now on, I will see what you don’t want to see and do what you don’t want to do.”

He gently kissed her forehead: "You don't need to understand anything, you just need to continue being the most dazzling girl in all of California."

"Leave all the other annoying chores to me."

"Oh, Ethan!"

Abigail was finally overwhelmed by this promise, and tears finally fell.

Her father died, her brothers died, and the cage that had imprisoned her for nineteen years disappeared.

But God, while taking away those grave keepers, also bestowed upon her a new master who was so powerful that he was omnipotent!

"I love you, I love you!" She kissed him incoherently, "I'll give you everything—the manor, the horses, the land, the money, everything! I just want you to never leave me!"

"I'll always be yours, Abby!"

Ethan hugged her and responded gently.

Lawson nodded slightly.

Reading Estate, ten thousand acres of fertile land.

And, the upper reaches of the Russian River, that most crucial, missing patch of water rights on its own map.

Everything is under control!
……

The following day, a four-wheeled carriage drove into Reading Manor.

Before the coachman had even come to a complete stop, a round, chubby figure rolled out of the carriage.

He was a horse merchant, Horace Abernathy.

That old fox never does anything without a profit motive.

He arrived in Santa Rosa yesterday and spent the whole night listening to gossip in a tavern.

When he confirmed that the old brown bear and the three cubs of the Reading family were indeed dead, his tiny green eyes almost burst with excitement.

"An opportunity! Damn it, this is a golden opportunity from God!"

He rubbed his hands together and muttered to his gaunt assistant Slim who was standing beside him.

“Slim, listen to me.”

"That old bastard Silas, he promised me three hundred Palominoch horses, fifty dollars a horse, damn it, that price doesn't even cover his profit!"

"So, boss, what should we do now?"

Abernathy grinned slyly: "Right now, old Silas is in hell, haggling with his mother Satan! All that's left is his clueless little daughter!"

"She knows nothing about horses!"

"She's probably busy mourning her four deadbeats right now! She can't wait for us to drag those beasts away so she can make room for their funerals!"

"The boss is brilliant!"

“Listen, Slim. When you go inside, you better act all sad!”

"I'll play the role of her old friend and help her get through this difficult time."

"Fifty dollars a horse? Bah! Today, I'm going to take all three hundred horses away for fifteen dollars each!"

"Fifteen yuan?"

Slim couldn't take it anymore: "Boss, isn't this... a bit too much..."

"Too what?"

Abernathy glared at him: "That's called eating the spoils of the destitute, kid. This is the West! There's no mercy here! Only hungry wolves and fat sheep! Today, I'm going to be the hungriest wolf!"

……

In the hall, just as Abernathy had predicted, Abigail nestled in a man's arms like a frightened fawn.

"Oh, my poor child, Miss Abigail!"

As soon as Abernathy entered, he began to wail dramatically.

"My God! What a terrible tragedy! I can't believe my eyes! Silas, my poor old friend, he was killed by those damned red-skinned bastards!"

As he spoke, he covered his face with a handkerchief, pretending to wipe away tears, but his beady eyes were rapidly scanning Ethan.

Is this the artist? A gigolo who lives off a woman?

He's just a greenhorn, nothing to be afraid of.

"Mr. Abnersey?"

Abigail clearly didn't recognize him and snuggled closer to Ethan: "Who is Ethan? I don't want to see him. Tell him to leave."

"Don't be afraid, darling."

Ethan gently patted her back, then stood up and stood in front of Abigail.

“Good day, sir. I am Ethan Hunt. Miss Abigail is not available to see guests at the moment.”

“Oh, Mr. Hunter, I understand! I completely understand!”

Abernathy immediately adopted a compassionate expression: "I, I am Horace Abernathy. You may not have heard of me, but I am Mr. Silas's best friend! I'm here to help!"

"help?"

“Yes! Silas, alas, before he left, we had an unfinished business deal, about those three hundred horses at the racecourse. He entrusted me to make sure he got a good price for them.”

"Now that he's gone, I can't break my promise to my old friend!"

Abigail's head spun whenever she heard words like "business" and "horse"!

She doesn't want to deal with these things at all right now.

Having finally gained her freedom, she wanted to cherish the time she spent with Ethan.

Right now, she's just waiting for this matter to pass so she can go on a romantic date with Ethan. She has no interest in business or horses!
"Ethan."

She tugged at Ethan's sleeve: "You handle this, okay? I don't know anything about these things."

"No problem, darling."

Ethan smiled at her, then turned to look at Abernathy.

“Mr. Abnersey, since this is business, let’s talk business properly. As for the price…”

"Hey!"

Abernathy sighed heavily and rubbed his hands together as if in distress.

"Mr. Hunter, you may not know this, but these days, business is tough! Especially the horse business! It's plummeted!"

He pointed out the window: "Moreover, I just took a quick look, and alas, since Silas left, those lazybones at the horse farm haven't taken good care of them at all! The horses' coats are dull, they're listless, and some of them look like they've caught equine disease!"

"Horse plague?"

Abigail gasped.

"Shh, keep your voice down, kid!"

Abernathy immediately feigned alarm: "This must not get out! If it does, your entire horse farm will be ruined! You won't be able to sell a single horse!"

"What should I do?"

Abigail was somewhat flustered.

Although she didn't understand business, she knew what it meant to be rich or poor!
"Ugh."

Abernathy sighed again: "Mr. Hunter, Miss Abigail, for the sake of my long-standing friendship with Silas, I can't just stand by and watch you lose everything."

"How about this! I'll take the risk and take them all!"

"I'll give you eighteen silver dollars per horse! Cash! Pay me now! I'll take care of this mess for you!"

Eighteen yuan?

Abigail had no concept of numbers; she just felt that getting rid of the horse plague and making some money on the side was already a great thing.

“Oh, thank you so much, Mr. Abnersey.”

"and many more!"

Ethan interrupted their conversation.

His height of 1.85 meters exuded a strong sense of oppression. He stood in front of Abernathy, looking down at the fat merchant.

"Mr. Abnersey."

Ethan smiled and said, "You just said the market has plummeted?"

"Uh, yes. Absolutely true! You can ask around if you don't believe me."

"No need to ask, I just received a telegram from my friend yesterday; he's at the Stockton horse trading market."

He said that because the gangs and Native Americans in Northern California were causing too much trouble, the Army was frantically buying horses to expand its cavalry battalions.

"Just yesterday, a regular three-year-old Quarter Horse sold for sixty-two silver dollars at the Stockton market."

"And in our horse farm, there are three hundred purebred Palominoch horses!"

"You...you must be mistaken, Mr. Hunter, that's..."

“I also got the horse disease wrong, didn’t I? What a coincidence. Before coming to Sonoma, I worked for two years at a horse farm in Wyoming.”

"I just inspected the horse farm with the head stableman this morning, and I personally checked every single horse."

He suddenly took a step closer, startling Abernathy into a cold sweat.

"They're strong enough to pull a train now, where did they get equine disease? Hmm?"

Abernathy quickly took a half step back to create some distance.

Isn't this pretty boy just an artist? How does he know all this?

(End of this chapter)