Willet may well have been the cleverer of the brothers, but as it happened, he was also a creature of habit. Doyle had no compunction about telling them that, although in fairness, Remington questioned him while he was still under the influence of Rocky Mountain moonshine. Willet, they learned, returned to what was familiar, and what he knew best was the protection of the family. Although they had been to several of the Putty households previously, Willet was too well hidden. Now they changed tactics and staked out the old homestead. They ran him to earth in his mother’s house just as he was sitting down to Sunday dinner. They were graciously offered to partake in chicken and gravy over hot biscuits—which they did—and as good as that meal was, it didn’t sway them from taking Willet into custody once their plates were clean.
The brothers were now safely behind bars in the Frost Falls jail although not in separate cells. There was some talk that maybe one of them would kill the other out of sheer annoyance and save the town the trouble of separate trials, which their lawyers were insisting was their right since they were brothers, not Siamese twins. Judge Miner had yet to rule.
Ben and Ellie recovered more slowly. Thaddeus paid for Ellie to stay at the Butterworth, where Dr. Dunlop could attend her. Phoebe vacated her room to be with Remington, and Ben was moved back in. Ben had burns on his scalp and neck that required frequent dressing changes and the application of specially made ointments. His cough was deeper and raspier than either Phoebe’s or Remington’s, and for a time they all feared his lungs would not heal. Fiona stayed at his bedside for long hours. She changed his bandages, applied the ointments, read to him, performed scenes in which she occupied all the characters, and sometimes she simply sat.
No charges were being brought against either Ellie or Ben. Phoebe put forth the argument that Ellie’s plan was merely an abduction for ransom. Remington quibbled with the modifier “merely,” but he let it go in the interest of reachingconsensus. It was Phoebe’s position that if the plan had been executed as intended, she would have been the only victim, and because she was reasonably well treated and returned unharmed, which was also Ellie’s plan, she felt it was her prerogative not to pursue action against Ellie. She further argued that Ellie had not hired the Putty brothers or Natty Rahway. What she had done, through her son, was make them aware of an opportunity. She did not advance them any money. On the contrary, Natty Rahway delivered money to her, again through Ben.
When she was done, Jackson Brewer regarded Remington with a jaundiced expression and asked who exactly was the lawyer in the family.
Thaddeus had slightly different reasons for not seeking a full reckoning in court. The fact that he had been wholly unaware of Ellie’s deep and abiding feelings troubled him. That his ignorance might have contributed to her actions troubled him even more, and then there was the question of Ben’s parentage, which he was only now beginning to wrestle with. It pained him to admit aloud that he had suspected Fiona of concocting the plot to take Phoebe hostage. Oddly enough, or perhaps not, Fiona was flattered that he thought her capable of so much scheming, and further moved by his desire not to see her exposed for it.
Phoebe could only shake her head at this line of reasoning, and when she looked askance at Remington, it was to find him similarly confounded.
Northeast Rail was satisfied to have the Putty brothers in custody for destroying company property when they tore up the tracks and for stealing from the passengers. Some of the jewelry had already been recovered thanks to Willet and Doyle’s mostly accurate report of where they had sold it. Representatives from the railroad offered to plead with the judge for a lighter sentence if the brothers cooperated, and the Puttys accepted that offer.
The brothers neglected to account for Jackson Brewer, though, and the sheriff had definite ideas about what he thought was appropriate justice. The murders of Blue Armstrong andCaroline Carolina had but one outcome as far as he was concerned. The Putty brothers could hear the construction of the gallows from their jail cells.
Phoebe and Remington were thinking about none of that at the moment. Their concerns were very much in the present. Phoebe was trying to hold on to Remington after being swept off her feet and then being ordered to close her eyes. Remington was occupied with all of Phoebe’s wriggling while making sure she wasn’t peeking.
They had yet to cross the threshold of Old Man McCauley’s ramshackle cabin because someone had taken it upon himself to lock the door. Remington adjusted Phoebe’s weight in his arms as he grappled with the door handle.
“Who the hell thought this was a good idea?” he muttered. “I swear...”
Phoebe chuckled, but she didn’t open her eyes. “I didn’t know the door had a lock.”
“It didn’t.”
“Oh, then who’s been here? Are we trespassing?”
“Hardly. I bought the place. Can you reach above the door frame and see if the idiot who put a lock on the door thought he should leave a key? Just feel around for it.”
This news of ownership was surprising and actually quite pleasing. “Really? You bought it?”
“Wedding gift. Please, Phoebe, the key.”
Grinning, she kept one arm around his neck and stretched the other to find the narrow ledge made by the frame. “This is a little ridiculous, you know. It’s not as if I don’t know where we are or that I haven’t been here before. Oh, wait. I think... yes, got it.” She fisted the skeleton key, but before she gave it to him, she raised her eyelashes just a fraction and regarded him from under their dark fan. “I’m sure there are brides who imagine honeymooning in Europe or New York or San Francisco, but I’m not one of them. This is the most romantic gesture you could have made, and I will always cherish that you did it for me.” She dangled the key in front of him and closed her eyes again.
“I’m hoping you still feel that way once we’re inside—ifwe get inside.” He pecked her on the lips, rebalanced her in his arms, and fumbled with the key in the lock. When he felt the latch give, he toed the door open and was finally able to carry Phoebe across the threshold. Looking around, he whistled softly. This was something more than he’d expected. “The elves have been busy,” he said. “Very busy.”
“How’s that again? You cannot be cryptic when my eyes are closed, not if you hope to be understood.”
“Go ahead,” he said, lowering her to the floor. “Open them.”
She did and was stunned into silence. While the outside of the cabin was largely the same except for some shoring up of the supporting stone columns, the interior was something altogether different. A patterned carpet in rich plum, cherry, and dark leaf green hues had been rolled out so that it occupied most of the single room’s center space. The stove had been blackened and polished and now had the appearance of new. Someone had whitewashed the rough walls and painted the cupboards cherry red. There was a painted table in the same cheerful color and two matching spindle chairs. The footstool had been padded and covered in damask. An eyelet lace valance hung above a remarkably clean window, and three small tin pails filled with wildflowers, reminiscent of the table settings at their wedding, were lined up on the sill.
Old Man McCauley’s sturdy, square-legged bed was gone. So was the thin, lumpy mattress. In its place was an iron rail bed with a plump mattress, clean sheets, multiple pillows, and two quilts as colorful as the carpets. Best of all, the bed was wide enough for two to sleep comfortably and cozy enough for every other thing.
“Oh, my,” said Phoebe. “You think this is the work of elves?”
“Uh-huh. They go by names like Ralph, Les, Johnny, Arnie, and Scooter. Scooter has pointy ears. You ever notice that?”
She chuckled and leaned into him. “You’re surprised?”
“I am.” His arms circled her. “Thaddeus and I came out once to do some work on the place. That was before thewedding, when Mrs. Fish was at the ranch to do alterations and we were banished. We cleaned up, talked about what could be done to make it ready if not precisely civilized. He thought I was out of my mind for wanting to bring you up here, but I remembered what you said about having a fondness for the place, and it felt right to me.”
“I’m glad. Itisright.”
“Old Man McCauley would hate what’s become of it. I think he’d appreciate the bed—my idea, by the way, or at least the mattress was—but all the other touches? He’d object. I’m certain of it.”
