The Education of Madeline
Chapter One
Plum Creek, Colorado, May 1872
They were getting ready to hang a man. The whispers flittered
through the saloon, the general store, the barber,
the blacksmith, and finally to the bank.
Madeline Brewster heard snatches of conversation here
and there. She usually tried to ignore the gossips. After all,
most of the time, they were gossiping about her. But today was
different. This time she heard "horse thief" and "hanging,"
and her interest was piqued.
There was nothing Madeline hated more than a hanging.
"Mr. Cleeson, come here, please," she called to the nearest
teller.
He looked up in surprise and then shuffled over to her office
door. His thinning blond hair and watery blue eyes darted
around the room, yet he never looked directly at her. He was
dressed in his usual white shirt, bow tie, and black trousers.
His scruffy black shoes hadn't been changed since the day
she'd hired him two years ago.
"Yes, Miss Brewster?"
"What is all this about a hanging?"
She could almost see him rubbing his hands together with
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