Morgan said, “I don’t have any suspicions about a particular gang, so let’s just leave it.”
“What about saying something to the marshal?” asked Max. “I’ve seen his Wanted Wall. I reckon he has a notice of just about every miscreant in three states tacked up there. Maybe we should let him know what’s been happening out here.”
“Bridger’s jurisdiction is Bitter Springs, not the county. The last marshal that came out here on town business got himself killed for his trouble. I’m not going to risk that happening again.”
Max leaned back in his chair and poked the brim of his hat with a fingertip, causing it to lift a fraction so that it no longer shaded his eyes. “There’s still the sheriff.”
“I don’t want the law. We’ll handle it ourselves. We are the law at Morning Star.”
Max nodded. “That’s what I thought you’d say, but I thought I should hear you say it.”
Morgan stood, spun his chair around so that it once more faced the table. “Good night. If Jem isn’t back in an hour, someone come up to the house to let me know.” He picked up his winnings, which elicited a collective groan. “What? You thought I would leave this behind? I have a wife, gentlemen, and she has set her sights on bankrupting me.”
In truth, Jane had not asked him for a thing. Morgan was not even sure why he said what he did. The men chuckled in that way men did when they believed they’d happened upon a universal truth about women. The real universal truth was that men didn’t know a damn thing about them. Morgan knew himself to be part of that great collective.
He found Jane in the front room sitting in one of the large armchairs beside the fireplace. She was wearing her nightdress and robe and had her dark hair neatly plaited in a braid that fell over her right shoulder. He could not tell if she was wearing slippers. Her slim legs were curled to one side and her feet were hidden under the hem of her robe. She had one of his shirts in her lap and a small red enameled sewing box on top of that. The lid was open, and she was staring into the case, poking at its contents with the thimble that was on her middle finger. There was a small vertical crease between her eyebrows, and her concentration was so focused that Morgan did not believe she knew he was in the room.
He stood there, watching her, wondering how to make his presence known without scaring her, but then her head lifted and she stared directly into his eyes.
“Did you win?” she asked.
Morgan regarded Jane without hearing her.
Jane’s smile faltered. “Did you win?” she asked again. “You were playing cards in the bunkhouse, weren’t you?”
“Why have you never asked me for anything?”
Every trace of Jane’s smile vanished. “Pardon?”
Morgan repeated his question. He pointed to the enameled case in her lap. “Where did you get that?”
Jane glanced at the sewing box and then looked back at Morgan. “This? Max purchased it from the milliner for me. At least I think it was Max. It was whomever you sent to town after Jem went.”
“Max,” he said flatly. “Max bought that.”
“Yes. I asked him to. I packed an etui, but it holds only the most basic needs. Scissors. Needles. Tweezers. Very small items. To hem my gowns, I needed matching threads.” She pointed to the blue chambray shirt. “And I could find nothing here to properly mend this.”
“I don’t recall seeing a receipt for that box.”
“I did not give it to you.”
“Max paid for it?”
“I did.”
“With what?”
“With money, of course. My own.”
Morgan took off his hat and slapped it against this thigh. He saw Jane start at the violence in the gesture, but she did not cower. She sat perfectly still, her eyes as sharply cut as the emeralds they resembled. He sighed heavily, tossed his hat on the empty chair, and sat down at the end of the sofa that was closest to her.
He said, “Why would you buy threads or a box to keep them in or any other damn thing you need with your own money?”
“Do not swear at me,” Jane said with quiet dignity.
“I wasn’t swearing at you. I was swearing at any other damn thing.”
When she spoke again, she was even quieter than before. “Are you done? Because it felt as if you were swearing at me.”
