“I’m saying that as long as I’ve known Brig he’s always had a fancy to play the highwayman. ‘We’ll have two pops and a galloper,’ he used to tell me.” At Lydia’s blank look he explained, “Two pistols and a horse.”
Lydia pushed back a strand of hair that blew across her face. “Brig? One of the highwaymen was Brig? Nathan, you can’t know that.”
She was right, of course. He couldn’t know it with complete certainty and now he regretted sharing his supposition with Lydia. She would never comprehend Brigham the way he did, never appreciate that it wasn’t intuition that guided him now, but a deep understanding of how Brigham worked when his back was to the wall and desperation made him reckless. Nathan felt his own choices dwindling. He was going to have to face Brig and settle what was between them. It was the only way he could protect Lydia.
“You’re right,” he said, his expression shuttered. He jerked his head toward the kitchen. “Go on back inside. You can tell me all their stories later. I have work to do.” He strode off without giving her a chance to question his easy capitulation.
Lydia wandered back in the kitchen and stood at the periphery of the excited chatter. The coach driver moved aside to let her in the circle. She shook her head, smiling. “I’m fine where I am.”
“I’m sorry about your letter, Mrs. Hunter,” he said quietly. “Perhaps we’ll find it later. Not likely that Kelly and his bunch wanted more than the money in the strongbox.”
“Letter?” asked Lydia. “There was something for me on the coach?”
The driver nodded. “I mentioned it to Mr. Hunter. Just happened to see there was something for you when they put the mail on at Sydney. Like I said, we’ll probably find it later. Ned was after the money, not much doubt about that. He won’t take what he has no use for.”
“I’m certain you’re right,” she said, and then hesitated. “I don’t suppose you noticed where my letter came from? Did it originate in Sydney?”
“Oh, no, ma’am. That’s why I was upset that we lost it. I supposed this was something important for you. The stamp is what caught my eye in the first place. The letter came all the way from San Francisco.”
The passengers wereall gone by dinner and the wave of excitement had vanished with them. Irish and Lydia were eating alone in the dining room, neither of them having the inclination to wait for Nathan, especially when Molly put the hot food in front of them and ordered them to eat.
Lydia heaped Irish’s plate with Molly’s special dish of rabbit with cherry sauce, potatoes, and green beans and onions. “I’ve noticed you’ve had a better appetite lately,” she said when he stared at the plate she laid in front of him. “It won’t hurt to indulge a little.”
“Trying to fatten me up?”
“Fill you out,” she countered. Her eyes darted over his face, noting the sallowness of his complexion, the hint of gauntness in his broad features. The robust man she had known a few short months ago was fading in front of her eyes. Conspiring with Molly to stimulate Irish’s appetite was hardly helping. His spirits were good, but pain was a thin white line around his mouth and permanently engraved at the corners of his eyes.
He puffed his cheeks, got the laughing response he wanted from Lydia, and began to eat. “Nathan’s going to be sorry he missed this meal,” he said after a while.
“I’ll have Molly put aside something for him. He can eat later this evening.”
“I don’t think he’ll be back tonight. I heard Jack tell Tess that he’s gone up to Lion’s Ridge.”
“What?” Lydia’s head snapped up and her fork hovered in midair. She forced herself to relax. “You must be mistaken. He told me last night that he was going to send Jack and Pooley up there. Jack must have meanthewas going, not Nathan. Nathan’s still out repairing fences with Billy and Ed. I saw him leave with them earlier this afternoon.”
“But he didn’t return with them. Billy and Ed are eating dinner with the other hands right now. Where are you going? Lydia? Come back—”
“I’ll just be a moment,” she said without turning around. “I want to find Tess.”
Lydia never returned to the dining room. When she found out from Tess that Irish hadn’t mistaken what he’d overheard, she went in search of Jack. After extracting his promise to escort her to Lion’s Ridge, Lydia went to her own room and began packing. Irish caught up with her again as she was hurrying down the main staircase. She had already changed into a split riding skirt and boots and was carrying a bedroll and saddlebag stuffed with a change of clothes, personal items, and a Remington revolver. She had thrown a jacket around her shoulders and her hair was pulled back and tied at her nape with a black velvet ribbon. The hat on her head was a shade too large for her head and the wide brim rested on the upper curve of her ears.
“Where do you think you’re going?” he demanded, blocking her way with his chair. She tried to sidestep him, but Irish wheeled around quickly and blocked her again. “I think I have a right to know where you’re going.”
“To Lion’s Ridge. I’m going to find Nathan.”
“Bloody hell!”
“Yes, bloody hell!” she shot back. “Jack’s agreed to show me the way. I’m not so foolish as to set off alone at night.”
“I’ll order him to stay here.”
“Then Iwillgo off on my own, Irish. I want to be with Nathan.”
Irish’s thick fingers gripped the arms of his chair as he took measure of Lydia’s threat. Finally he wheeled out of her way. “All right,” he said. “Go. Take Jack and Pooley with you.”
Lydia released the breath she had been holding and came down the last step to the landing. “Thank you, Irish.” She bent then, and did something she had never done before: she kissed him. Her lips brushed his cheek. “Thank you,” she whispered. “I’ll explain everything when I get back.”
The hallway was empty by the time Irish found his voice. “By God, youdolove him.” Rolling his chair into the study, Irish found his strongbox and opened it. He removed two wills, glanced at them both, then tore up one, hoping to God he had not left it for too late.
