“Now THAT is what I call something to look upon,” Hoss sighed with the tones of deep admiration and pleasure in his voice
“Yeah, well, when you’ve not paid for it, a cool drink on a hot day is always twice as good to look upon….and taste..than………..” Joe paused and glanced up at his older brother and frowned “What exactly are you talking about?”
“Jest look and see for yerself, Joe….and remember this….it was MY eyes set light on her first.” Hoss smiled dreamily as his blue eyes gazed beyond the open door of the saloon at the sight that had caught his attention.
“HER!” exclaimed Joe, elbowing his way in front of his brother and spilling half his beer over his hand in the process and then he smiled, and his eyes kindled with fire, and his eye brows twitched. “Wow!” he exclaimed, and his voice trailed away into silence
“Best not let brother Adam in on this,” Hoss cautioned, narrowing his eyes and glancing up and down the street just in case his eldest brother suddenly hove into view, as was his tendency in matters of this kind
“No, no.” Joe cleared his throat and straightened his shoulders and was about to launch himself forwards when a large hand gripped the centre of his green jacket and hauled him back into the saloon “Hoss, all’s fair in love and war, leggo….”
“Didn’t I jest tell you, little brother, thet I saw her first?” Hoss growled. He swung his arm and sent Joe skittering back into the interior of the saloon. With a grin of satisfaction on his face as the sound of Joe’s yelp reached his ears, Hoss stepped out into the sunlight. His smile of anticipatory pleasure soon faded, however, as a familiar figure strode along the sidewalk towards the vision that had enlightened their day, and with a droop to his lips, he stepped back into the security of the saloon.
Joe bustled forward, ready to seize his chance, but was prevented from moving further by Hoss’ hand being placed on his chest and restraining him. “You mean? Adam got there already? Just let me through, Hoss…why I’ll…” he paused and gulped. “Pa?” His eyebrows shot skywards. “Pa?” He turned to look at Hoss, who merely shrugged and with a sigh returned to his beer, being joined seconds later by Joe, who draped himself over the counter with a sigh. “What’s pa doing talking to a stranger?” he demanded of his brother who merely shook his head and shrugged. “He never said anything to me about her; did he you?”
“I’d’ve told you had he said anything,” Hoss mumbled as he raised his glass to his lips
“Must’ve been that letter he got yesterday.” Joe clicked his fingers with a snap, and rolled his eyes “That’s it, Hoss, he had a letter, acted mighty secretive about it too.”
Hoss eased himself from the counter and narrowed his eyes and surveyed his little brother thoughtfully, then nodded slowly
“You know summat, Joe, you’re right. Doggone it, he was sure quiet about that thar letter, never even told Adam…which reminds me, whar is Adam?”
They exchanged nervous looks and hastily returned to the doorway, only to find that their father and the beautiful vision had disappeared from view, and with a sigh, they both returned to their drinks. Both draped themselves over the counter and dejectedly picked up their glasses and raised them to their lips with a sigh
“Have you boys seen Hogan today?” Charlie the bar tender of the Sassarach asked them both as he approached them, polishing the counter as he drew near and wiping away their spills. “Only he usually comes in on a Thursday for a drink at this time of day!”
“Nope, haven’t seen him,” Hoss sighed
“……..nor smelt him!” Joe murmured
“That’s odd, he’s usually pretty punctual,” Charlie muttered and strolled away, still wiping away spills and drips from the counter.
“Well, well…” a slow drawl of a voice reached their ears and they both turned, glanced at their brother, and returned to gaze forlornly at their half empty glasses. “What a sorry sight to see.” Adam strolled into the Sassarach with the stealth of a lynx, a smile on his lips and his eyes narrowed as he immediately summed up the mood of his two siblings. He coughed, as though to announce his arrival, and with a twitch of his elbows pushed his way between them both, forcing them to part and admit him, which they both did with an ease that caught him unawares. When Adam was in a playful mood, he usually anticipated some opposition from his brothers, which led to more teasing until he got them really roused up, hot tempered and boiling, at which stage he would order them all a round of cool beers.
He pursed his lips and glanced from left to right and then stared ahead at the mirror that reflected the counter, and them. With a sigh, he signaled to Charlie that three beers were needed and whilst he waited, he turned his back to the mirror and hooked his elbows onto the counter and leaned his body against it, his long legs stretched at a slight angle. Hoss and Joe did not move. “Say, what’s going on with you two today? Has someone died?” he asked, nudging Hoss, who merely twitched his shoulders, and then Joe, who shrugged.
“Hey, Adam, you seen old Hogan today?” Charlie asked, as he set down the drinks.
“No, nor smelt him either,.” Adam replied
“I already said that,” Joe muttered, doodling with his forefinger in some spilt beer on the counter before Charlie came to mop it up
“Sorry,” Adam sighed and turned and picked up his beer and glanced around at the people assembled in the saloon. “Well? Aren’t you going to tell me what’s going on?”
“Nothings going on,” Joe said, picking up the glass and raising it to his lips with a sigh.
Hoss nodded, and then, with a frown, turned to Adam. “Did Pa say anything to you about a letter he received yesterday?” he asked.
“What letter?” Adam frowned and wiped beer from his upper lip “I didn’t know he had received a letter.”
“Well, he got a letter yesterday, about which he said nuthin’ to any of us…and then he came into town today and met her,” Hoss grumbled
“Met her? Met who?” Adam pushed his hat back and a lock of dark hair tumbled free and fell across his brow “Hoss? Joe? Do you two mind talking some sense?”
“He did,” Joe said, pointing at Hoss with the beer glass in his hand “Hoss told you what it was all about. Pa got a letter, and then came into town today and met this girl…then they disappeared.”
“Disappeared?” Adam frowned, and glanced uncertainly from one to the other “How do you mean? Disappeared where?”
“If we knew where they had disappeared they wouldn’t have disappeared, would they? They would just have gone, wouldn’t they?” Joe snapped peevishly.
“Yeah, that’s right, Adam, if’n they had jest gone, we would have known that they had just gone and probably could guess where they had gone to, but as we don’t know where they’ve gone that means that they’ve disappeared.”
Hoss paused, raised his eyebrows in amazement at his own powers of deduction and shook his head.
Joe and Adam, equally overwhelmed by this display of his prowess, glanced at one another and then back at their brother, who was now gazing thoughtfully at the ceiling, as though, just possibly, he could find his father, or some clue, up there.
Adam nodded and beckoned to a vacant table over to which they strolled. He took a deep breath and sat down and looked at them both with a slight furrow on his brow. “Look, I don’t mean to appear stupid….” He bared his teeth as though daring either of them to utter a word at the suggestion. “But do you think we could go through all this again, I just seem to have lost the point somewhere.”
“Yeah, I feel just the same,” Joe sighed. “You should have seen her, Adam; she was a dream! A beauty!”
“She sure was!” Hoss sighed and gulped down half a glass of beer at the memory of her.
“Pa got a letter yesterday...is that right?” Adam glanced at them both and they nodded. “But he never told you about it?” They shook their heads. “And you both saw this – woman? Girl?”
“Girl,” Joe said quietly “About 18 if she’s a day.”
“About Joe’s height…blue eyed….”
“How’d you know she had blue eyes?” Joe queried, frowning at his brother who shrugged and decided to finish his drink. “Anyhows, Adam, she was lovely. Jest standing there with her luggage on the sidewalk, and jest when we were about to go and offer to help her…Pa appeared!”
“Pa?” Adam took a deep breath and stared in the direction of the door and then turned his dark eyes to look at his brother “She was 18 and pretty, you say?”
“Really pretty!” Joe agreed “And her hair was red.”
“Red?”
“No, it weren’t, Joe, it were that kind of coppery color, all shining like gold,” Hoss frowned
Adam rolled his eyes ceiling wards and shook his head. Then he picked up his glass and drained it dry before getting to his feet, picking up his hat and sliding it over his hair
“Whar you goin’, Adam?” Hoss asked, as he emptied his glass and stood up
“Home! And as soon as Pa gets home, we’ll put an end to this mystery once and for all!” H sniffed and shook his head. Seems like Mr. Hogan's arrived..”
“Oh, spew, it sure does,” Hoss muttered
Joe said nothing but merely wafted his hat too and fro as he left the saloon with his two brothers striding out ahead of him.
“You’re late, Sam,” Charlie said as he placed the tumbler in front of Sam Hogan, and filled it with whiskey “Everything alright out there?”
“Yes, everything’s fine,” Hogan muttered and raised the glass to his lips.
Charlie smiled and returned to the other end of the counter. Most of his clientele had done much the same thing, as they usually did when Sam Hogan arrived. It was not that they disliked the man; Sam Hogan was not a man anyone could dislike, but the fact of the matter was that he stunk. A skunk would be more welcome at times, especially during high summer.
When all was said and done, Sam Hogan was rather a mystery man. He was about the same age as Ben Cartwright and had arrived at Eagle Station about a year after Ben had settled on the Ponderosa. For a little while Sam had panned for gold in the Washoe, and befriended the Pauite to a degree where he was one of the few early settlers to be trusted by them. He was tall, thin, gangly. At one time he was considered a good looking man, but times had, for some reason or another, been difficult and his looks had succumbed to the forces of nature that created sandbags under the eyes and jowls and extra chins. His eyes were rheumy and red, and he lacked quite a few of his teeth. Through his sparse hair could be seen a red and freckled scalp, and there were some who reckoned that he had more hair coming from his nose and ears than anything that sprouted from his head.
At some time or other he disappeared from the scene, only to reappear some years later to settle on his claim way out of town, with a herd of goats. He was passionate about his goats. Sadly, it was the goats that created the problems with the smell. As he was such a recluse, no one knew, but rumor had it, that his goats over ran the house. The smell clung to him so fixedly that within a few years anyone local to Virginia City could locate the man just by snuffing the air. The smell, plus his own desire for privacy, forced him to enjoy seclusion far out on the hills above the river, where it was thought he continued to pan for gold.
But he was a kind man, a Christian man. So much did he abide by the good book, the Bible, that he refused to attend the church (much to the relief of most of the citizens there) because he considered it to be more full of hypocrites on a Sunday than the saloons were on a Saturday. His honesty was beyond doubt; he was as trusting as he was trustworthy. His inability to lie was legendary and his desire to help any, was a credit to him as a man.
Once a week he came into town to cash in his poke of gold, and check his bank account and do his business. He would collect his groceries, have one tot of whiskey and then return home….a lonely man whom everyone knew, but about whom no one really knew anything at all. He was a man who was friends to everyone and considered all as his friend, yet, really, had no friend at all.
“The stage come in then?” he asked quietly
“It did, Sam. You expecting a visitor?” Charlie smiled, polishing a glass with his towel and holding it up to the light to check for smears
Sam merely shook his head and glanced at the whiskey in his glass.
“Many passengers?” he asked, raising his rheumy eyes to meet Charlie’s rather bulbous brown orbs
“Didn’t see, Sam, although I did hear the Cartwright boys talking about one of ‘em, a real beauty by the sounds of it.” Charlie smiled and put down the glass and picked up another which got the same thorough treatment as the first
“Is that right?” Sam said, and with a sigh, he pulled out his leather pouch and put down the money for his drink. “A beauty you say?”
“S’right.” Charlie grinned and pocketed the money.
Sam sighed heavily and left the saloon. With a frown Charlie watched him go and then shook his head and picked up Sam’s glass “Whaddya know, the first time I ever see’d ol’ Sam leave his whiskey.”
**********
“I don’t believe it!” “No!” “Dadgumit it, pa!”
Ben Cartwright pierced his three sons with black eyes beneath beetling brows and jutted his chin forwards challengingly. Had anyone asked him how he would have described his sons’ reactions to the news he had just given them, he would have been correct to the nth degree.
Adam stared fixedly at the black kettle that was suspended over the fire, as though somehow it would provide the relevant answers to the questions teeming through his nimble brain.
Joe’s face was contorted with despair and dismay and, to some degree, disrespect for his father, at whom he glared with ill concealed rage, whilst his nostrils flared and his lips whitened with anger.
Hoss looked confused; he looked from one to the other of his brothers before looking once again at his father, who was still standing by the fire, glaring at the three of them in defiance.
“You can’t actually believe her…can you?” Adam eventually asked in his mildest and most respectful tone of voice
“Of course he can’t believe her!” Joe yelled, his voice raising several decibels in his fury “How can he? If what he said was true…if what she claimed were true...that would mean…would mean…” His eyes blazed at his father and then with a cry of despair he turned away “If it were true, don’t ever expect me to step foot inside this house again!”
“Joseph!”
His name, cried out with sufficient fire in it for him to know his father’s temper was stretched to the limit, but with that deep affection lingering still, forced the youth to stop his headlong flight from the room. He clenched his teeth, and his fists, and with a fire burning in his eyes, turned to face his father once again
“Just…just tell me that it isn’t true, that’s all I want to hear from you!” he cried hoarsely
Ben opened his mouth to speak but before a word could come from his lips, a sound from the stairs caused them all to glance upwards and stare at the young woman who stood on the top step, looking down at them with a mixture of emotions etched in her face.
She was indeed a very pretty young girl. Even Joe, despite the turmoil in his heart, melted slightly at the sight of her. The glitter of tears sparkled in the moisture of her eyes, which were deep blue and long lashed, and like many who had the color hair she possessed, her skin was very pale and fine, with freckles chasing over her nose and speckling her cheeks like gold dust. She was tall, slim and delicate in appearance, and the dove gray of her dress, with its white collar and cuffs, plain though it happened to be, only enhanced her appearance.
“Gentlemen,” Ben said in his deep voice, and he turned towards the girl and smiled gently, beckoning to her to descend the staircase, “May I introduce to you Lucinda Cooper.”
They murmured their greeting, reticently that was true, but nevertheless, it brought about sufficient response in her to embolden her to come down into the room and quickly gain Ben’s side, from which position, she looked at the three of them with a degree of perception in her eyes surprising for one so young.
The fury of the youngest there was obvious. She looked at his handsome face and wondered why he could be feeling so much distress. The biggest of the three was looking at her with a tenderness and kindness that made her feel quite timorous. The narrow eyed scrutiny she was getting from the eldest made her feel as though she were a prize filly at a horse show with a too high a price tag attached to it.
She took a deep breath and held out her hand to whoever wished to take it
“I’m pleased to meet you all,” she said quietly.
Hoss was the first to step forward and take her hand and shake it gently, holding it between his fingers as though her hand would break like dainty porcelain. “Welcome to the Ponderosa, miss.”
“Lucinda…my name is Lucinda,” she said quietly as a reminder. He smiled, blushed a little and lowered his eyes to survey the floor. “You must be Adam?” she addressed the eldest of the three and held out her hand to him “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“And you also, Miss Cooper,” Adam replied, nodding his head politely but not touching her hand, instead raising his head a little defiantly and glancing at his father who narrowed his lips and glared back.
“And that means you must be Little Joe?” Her voice had a slight quaver in it, as though Adams rebuff had knocked her confidence. Joe, soft hearted when it came to women, noticed but did not in this instance change his mood. Instead he glared at her before throwing a look of anger at his father.
She swallowed whatever else she wanted to say, and allowed her hand to drop to her side.
“Right!” Ben barked “That’s about as much as I shall take from the three of you! Now sit down…all of you.” By sheer force of will, he made the three men sit down. He gently steered the girl to the chair by the fire, by which chair he stood, as though he had decided that by doing so he would be her champion, her protector.
“Well, Lucinda…as you can see, your news has come as something of a shock to your three……er……brothers………..” He raised a dark eyebrow and glared at the three of them
Joe immediately leapt to his feet and drew in his breath, opened his mouth and rushed from the room, the sound of the door opening and then slamming shut echoed through the quiet room.
Hoss frowned and looked at his father and then at his newly found sister, he gulped. “Er…well…yeah, it is kind of a shock….” he murmured
“Haven’t you got anything to say?” Ben asked Adam, who was sitting as mute as a dummy on the chair beside Hoss. Adam said nothing, only turned his dark eyes from surveying the girl to his father. He stood up, bowed slightly from the waist to the girl, and began to walk away. “Adam? Where do you think you’re going?”
“To see if Joe is all right.”
“I want to discuss this first.”
“Not without Joe!” Adam replied, holding himself erect and staring once more in defiance to his father. He glanced at Hoss before turning and walking to the door.
**********
Joseph Cartwright was in the stable, twisting a blade of straw between his fingers, staring into space as he sat on a wooden box by Cochise’s stall. He barely looked up as Adam approached him; there were far too many emotions teeming over and over in his heart and mind for him to be able to focus on anything. He gulped back a sob when Adams hand touched his shoulder and looking up he shook his head
“It can’t be true, Adam,” he murmured
“I know it can’t.”
“But, Pa, he’s acting as though it were……and if he believes her, then it means…..” Joseph struggled to stop the tears welling up in his throat and he shook his head “Pa would never have done that, not while my ma was alive.”
Adam sighed and gently stroked his brothers shoulder; many men had fallen prey to the weakness of the flesh, especially when the woman was beautiful. Even though the wife at home was lovely, his father, upright and honorable though he had always been, was yet still a man!
“Joe, why not come inside first, and find out from her what exactly has happened? We can’t judge too rashly and if……..”
“If?” Joe jumped up as though fired from a cannon. “If?” He slapped Adams hand aside. “There can’t be any if about it, Adam! If what she has to say is true, then that means everything I’ve ever believed in about Pa is false! Don’t you understand that?”
“Of course I understand that. That’s the reason I’m here with you, and not in there with them. Look, Joe, we have to face the facts, and we can’t do that unless we have the facts in our possession. We can only get them by going back inside and hearing what she – and Pa – have to say!”
“Adam…she’s barely 18 years of age, and I’m just 21! When she was born my Ma was still alive, she and Pa were…were happy here with us…not…. he always said that….that they were the happiest couple in the world. Now this girl comes along and claims to be his daughter which makes everything pa ever said about Ma….makes it to be a lie!” He wiped his eyes on the back of his hand. “He said he never loved a woman like he loved my Ma.” He sniffed and wiped his nose, boyishly, also on the back of his hand, ignorant of what hurt his words could have made on the heart of a man who had been told the same thing about his own mother by their father. “Adam, if he’s lied about that, what else has he lied about?”
“Joseph, listen to me.” Adam seized his brother by the arms and stared deep into the hazel green eyes and felt pity and sadness stir in his heart for he knew, that if what Lucinda claimed were to be true, then he would be asking exactly the same questions as his brother. “ Listen! Have you ever known Pa to lie to you before? Things as serious as this are not the things Pa would lie about. Believe me, Joe, you know that surely?” He gave Joe a little shake, as though his words needed to be hammered in a little to get them through the cotton wool of emotions that were filling his brothers head “Look, we know nothing about Lucinda, nothing at all. Pa probably is as shocked about this as we are, because…….”
“Because if he had known of her existence, he would have told us before now?” Joe asked, his words harsh with cynicism
“Probably.”
“Then why is she here now? I’ll tell you why, Adam. Because she is eighteen and wants her inheritance!”
“She just may want her family, Joe.”
“Well, we ain’t it!”
“I don’t believe we are either, but we should go in and hear what she has to say, then perhaps we can set about finding out who her real family are.”
“You don’t believe her then?”
Adam paused, and looked at the frightened face of a young boy, and felt sadness touch his own heart and he gave his younger brother an impulsive hug,
“I trust our Pa, Joe; that’s enough for me.”
Joe said nothing to that, but shrugged himself free from Adams embrace, and wiped his eyes again. He watched as Adam walked from the stables and then, at the entrance, turn and look over at him. He longed to be able to mount Cochise and gallop a hundred miles away, but a sense of shame touched his heart. With a rather hangdog look on his face, he followed his brother back to the house.
Lucinda had not moved from her chair, but was winding a handkerchief nervously round and round between her fingers as she stared at the door. Hop Sing had come in and was settling a tray of cups and saucers and pots onto the table and, with his usual discretion, quickly and silently left the room.
“Decided to come back then?” Ben barked, glaring at his sons as though theirs was the greater shame for leaving but neither of them answered. Joe resumed his seat next to Hoss and Adam walked to the tray and began to pour out the coffee, he glanced over at Lucinda
“Tea or coffee, Miss Cooper?”
“Tea, please.”
“Lemon or milk?”
“Milk, no sugar.”
He looked over at her thoughtfully as he poured out the tea, and recognized the fact that she was rallying her strengths, trying to regain her confidence. H passed over the cup and saucer to her and noticed that her hands were steady as she took them from him. He looked then at Joe who was tugging at the leather ties of his green jacket; there was no denying the fact that Joe was struggling to keep his composure.
It had been strange, coming home and finding Ben standing by the fire, waiting for them as he had been, with his face set as though about to face the greatest challenge of his life. His mood had affected the three of them immediately, for they had halted in their step, been hesitant about taking off their hats and gun belts, aware of the black eyes fixed on them, watching their every move.
“Anything wrong, Pa?” he had been the one to ask as they entered into the body of the room
“I want you to sit down and listen to what I’ve got to tell you….you may not like it,” Ben had replied
“Can we take the news, standing?” Adam had responded, a smile forced to his lips.
“Very well.” Ben had pulled a letter from his pocket, and from the condition it was in, it had been read and re-read numerous times. “I received this letter yesterday. It was from a Miss Lucinda Cooper informing me that she would be in Virginia City by today’s stage. She also informed me that she was my daughter.”
There had descended upon them a crashing silence. A silence so loud that it screamed!
“Daughter?” Joe had hissed between clenched teeth. “Are you joking?”
“No, I’m not joking. I met her today, from the stage. and she’s here now, waiting to meet you all…her brothers…”
Adam shook himself back to the present, and looked over at the girl who was staring down at the floor, her blue eyes veiled as a consequence. There was no doubt about it, she was a very attractive young woman, and whoever her mother had been, she must have been quite beautiful too. He glanced at his father who was looking anxiously at his youngest son.
“Very well.” Ben glanced at them, one by one, and a trace of sadness touched the lines of his face and softened his voice, so that Joe, sensing it, squirmed uncomfortably in his seat. “I would like you to listen to what Lucinda has to say, without interruptions…” he glared at Joe who had raised his head as though to protest, “ and when she has finished, she will be quite prepared to answer any questions you may have. Is that alright with you all?” he asked this gently, as though realizing that the news he had dropped on them had shocked them, as it had himself.
It had shocked him, when he had read the letter, because he knew only too well that it would have been impossible for him to have fathered a child outside of his marriages. He was a man of unbending loyalty and fidelity and the very age of the girl gave her claim the lie. He also knew, when he had met her, that she believed it to be the truth, and was about to have to face that fact, perhaps, brutally so.
“I don’t know where to start…” she murmured and glanced shyly at them, wanting to make a good impression, longing for them to accept her and to accept also what she had to tell them as the truth.
“It’s always the best thing to start at the beginning,” Adam replied gently.
“For example, where were you born, what was the name of your mother…” and here he glanced rather forcefully at his father.
“I don’t know where I was born.”
“Well, where have you come from now, and have you always lived there?” Adam asked
“I’ve lived in San Francisco but I can remember traveling there a long time ago. I was very small then, and a tall man with graying hair took me to where I was to live. I can’t recall where I traveled from, I can remember though being very distressed at leaving the man but…” She paused and stared at the floor as though trying hard to recall that time so long ago. “I remember that I had a party when I was three years old, and I was happy then. My mother and father were generous, kind, and very good fun. The house was always full of laughter and excitement and people. Father was always having people staying from all over the world.
“I went to school, an expensive school, but we were not poor. I had my own pony when I was little, and always had new clothes and toys. When I was fifteen I went abroad for two years, to travel around Europe.” She glanced up and smiled, the pleasure she had had during that trip obviously still fresh and delightful. But then the smile faded and she frowned a little. For some seconds they had to wait for her to resume her dialogue. “I had only been home a few months when father became very ill. Mother nursed him herself, and wore herself out doing so. He died and it seemed as though all the fun and laughter left the house. It became so sad and lonely. Mother locked herself away from everyone, even from me.
“I couldn’t understand why because we had always been so very close. She was the very best mother to me. One day she came to my room and sat by my side and held my hand and said that she had always loved me as a daughter, which I thought very strange and asked her what she meant by that. She kissed me and said that what she had to say was a hard thing for her, but she had to tell me so that I would understand later on. That was when she told me the truth….” Her voice trembled and the tears that spiked her eyelashes now trickled slowly down her cheeks, at these she dabbed very hastily with a handkerchief.
“She told me that I was not her daughter, my mother was unknown to them. My father, the man I thought was my father, had been very friendly with a man who had a child he wanted adopted. When he brought me to the house, my mother and father fell in love with me, and agreed to adopt me there and then. Father said that his friends name was Ben Cartwright and that he lived on the ranch called the Ponderosa. Every month from thereon a sum of money was deposited in my name at the bank…it was there in trust for me, from my real father. That is what she said…” She took a deep breath and glanced up at them. “She left me then, after we had shared many tears, and when she had reached her room she went to bed and she drank a large dose of veronal. She may have loved me in a way, but her passion was for her husband, and she just could not live without him, not even for my sake. I think that was the biggest proof I needed to know that what she had told me was true.”
“There was a letter for me, explaining everything just as she had told me. The solicitors showed me the account and every month there was the entry in my name, sent by Ben Cartwright of Virginia City. My solicitor said that he knew Ben Cartwright, and that he was very rich and the sums of money he sent for me would not have been that much for him to lose.”
“So you came to see if you could get more, is that it?” Joe snapped, unable to restrain himself any longer. “For goodness sake, isn’t it obvious why she’s here? She’s making the whole thing up…for her own good…” He bounced to his feet, only to be pulled back down into his chair by Adam, who placed a restraining hand upon his ebullient brothers shoulder to keep him down, by force, if necessary.
“So, you have a vague memory of a journey?” Adam raised his eyebrows and looked in her direction and she nodded “But nothing more?”
“No, only that the man I was with was very kind to me, and I must have been very fond of him because it upset me when he left.”
“And you are – how old?”
“I am eighteen years and four months old.”
“This journey then must have taken place about 16 or 15 and a half years ago?”
“I suppose so. I can’t recall how long I had been at the Coopers home before I had my party…for my third birthday.”
Adam bit his bottom lip and looked over at his father, who was staring thoughtfully into the flames of the fire, and seeming loathe to comment. Joe seemed to have retreated inside of himself, deep in thought and Hoss just sat there , looking uncomfortable, miserable and confused.
“It was summer time, when we traveled because I can remember seeing roses in their garden, and I had never seen roses before. I can remember the sun warm on my back. Mr. Cartwright carried me up the garden path..”
“IT was NOT my Pa!” Joe snapped, stabbing an accusatory finger in her direction “My Pa….” He paused, unable to continue on, and once again Adam placed a gentle but firm hand on his shoulder.
“It was not me, my dear,” Ben said very gently “I’m afraid someone has lied to you about that.”
“But mother used your name, and your name is on the bank account. All those payments were in your name…” She looked at him with her blue eyes filling with tears again “And you’re tall – sixteen or fifteen years ago you would have had graying hair.”
Ben rubbed the back of his neck with an air of weariness. It distressed him enormously to see the girl upset, to feel her despondency at knowing that after all these years, the parents she had loved were not her parents, and that the man she had hoped would replace them with love and affection on his part, was not, in fact, the man for whom she was seeking.
“Miss Cooper, we have never had a little girl living here with us on the Ponderosa. My wife and I never had a daughter, and had we been so blessed, she would certainly never have been taken to a strangers home to be raised.” He knelt by her side, taking her hand in his and forcing a smile on his lips. “Someone your adoptive parents trusted gave them a false name, my name. For some reason no one questioned the fact that it could have been a lie, although you say this man was a friend of your father’…of Mr. Cooper’s?”
“That’s what my mother...Mrs. Cooper …said.”
“Then we shall have to try and find someone who knew the Coopers and had lived here back then?” He smiled and his dark eyes twinkled
“But couldn’t I have been your daughter…at all?” she whispered, her face hopeful. Ben shook his head sadly, and took her hand in his and held it gently.
“No, my dear, it would have been a complete impossibility. Believe me, I could never have betrayed my wife so cruelly, nor treated any other woman with such disrespect.”
“So, I have not a family here then after all?” She glanced at them forlornly and swallowed back tears. “It all seemed to have fallen so easily into place, and now, just as easily, fallen into pieces…!”
“Well, there’s no need to worry just now.” Ben stood up, and glanced at the three younger men. “I am sure I can speak on behalf of ALL of us, that you are more than welcome to stay here at the Ponderosa as our guest until we find your family – or find you some alternative place to live.”
“Shucks, that’s a grand idea, Pa!” Hoss bounded to his feet, his honest face ruddy with delight. He smiled widely and looked at the young woman with his blue eyes twinkling. “Tomorrow morning, ma’am, if’n Pa don’t mind, and you don’t mind, perhaps I could take you for a ride round the place…there ain’t nowhere more beautiful I promise you!”
She smiled, glanced then anxiously at Joe, who stood up gallantly and walked to her side. “Miss Lucinda, would you accept my apologies for my rudeness earlier? I - I was just kind of thrown out of kilter….” And he took hold of her hand and kissed her fingers with the charm of a courtier.
“I understand, Joe. I’m sorry too, I should have been far more tactful in approaching your father about my relationship with you.”
“It was a shock,” Joe admitted, glancing over at his father. “I didn’t think I could ever feel so angry with you, Pa; I’m sorry!”
Ben smiled and gave his youngest son a hug, realizing that he was also at fault for his delivery of the news had been far from tactful. He glanced at Adam. who was standing to one side watching them. “Well, haven’t you anything to say, young man?” He said, a chuckle in his voice. Adam smiled and approached the young lady and took her hand.
“Well, apart from the shock you gave us all, may I just say, welcome to the family ……temporarily, of course!”
Lucinda glanced at the three of them, raised her eyebrows and smiled
., Joe began to chuckle, as he glanced at his brothers, who, thinking along the same lines as him, began to laugh along with him. Lucinda glanced at Ben, who raised his eyebrows, but she began to laugh too, because to have had three of the handsomest, richest men in Nevada as BROTHERS would have been such a waste. She sighed contentedly…all’s well that ends well, she thought and catching Joe’s twinkling hazel green eyes knew that he was thinking exactly the same thing as she was herself!
**********
Pa?”
Ben glanced up from his perusal of a ledger and looked into the young and earnest face of his youngest son. He smiled gently, put down his pen and leaned back in his chair
“Yes, son?”
“I just want to apologies for what happened earlier.”
Ben drew in a deep breath and raised his eyebrows and looked at his son thoughtfully. It reminded him so much of Marie -- the large tragic eyes, the gentle sad mouth. Once again he smiled and beckoned the youth over to his side.
“Joe, I should have dealt with it more tactfully. To be honest, it caught me off my guard and I should have explained in more detail, instead of just coming right out and referring to her as my daughter.” He frowned and glanced at his youngest who was now twiddling with the button of his shirt. “I can understand why you got upset…”
“Can you, Pa?”
“Well, obviously, as she is only 3 years younger than yourself, you were bound to assume that I had been disloyal to your mother.”
“I did, Pa. I thought you had lied to us while all the time you had this secret love child living comfortably in San Francisco.”
Ben smiled again, and stood up and put a comforting arm around Joseph’s shoulders and hugged him close. “You’ve no fear on that score, Joseph.”
“I realize that, Pa. It was just that – that you’re only human after all, and if Lucinda is this pretty, then her mother must have been really lovely to look at too…” His eyes twinkled mischievously and his lips quivered into a smile which brought a rumble of a laugh to Bens lips. “I’ll see you tomorrow then, Pa” he chuckled and walked light heartedly up the stairs to his room.
In the room allocated to her, Lucinda sat in the bed and hugged her knees close to her. It was a large, spacious and ornately decorated bedroom, one that would appeal to any young lady. she watched as the shadows of the tree by the window fluttered across the wall opposite to her.
Tears dripped down her cheeks in silent streaks and every so often she shuddered as she struggled to suppress her misery. David and Rose Cooper had been wonderful parents to her, and the years spent with them had been dear and precious ones. Their deaths, and the fact that she had been so powerless to have prevented them, distressed her immensely. Their loss as parents overwhelmed her, and now, this opportunity to have been comforted by another family had been dashed too.
She bowed her head and her titian hair flowed loosely about her shoulders and down her back. The moonlight caught it and caused it to glow like fire about her. Joe, who had knocked on the door and peeked in to see if she were all right, gasped at the sight of such a fiery shimmering splendor. The sound was enough for her to raise her face and glare at him with large moist eyes.
“I’m sorry – I did knock.” Joe’s fingers fluttered in the direction of the door as though it would be proof enough of such an action. “Are you all right?”
“No!” Her voice wobbled and a tear dripped from her chin onto the coverlet.
“Is there anything I can do at all?”
“No – no, there isn’t, just go away……..please!”
“I’m sorry about how I acted earlier, it was just..”
“Go away!”
“Yeah, well, I’ll – er – I’ll just go then. See you in the morning!”
The door closed behind him with a faint click, but the sound of her weeping forced him to open it again and approach the bed. When he took hold of her and held her in his arms, she did not protest. Softly, gently, he caressed her shimmering hair and calmed her with whispered words of comfort that in themselves meant nothing at all but had the effect of calming her
“I just miss my mother and father so much,” she whispered, wiping her eyes on the sleeve of her nightdress.
“I can imagine – “
“I thought, after father died, that my mother would have loved me enough to have wanted to live, but she didn’t.“
“Some couples are like that, Lucinda; sometimes they just love each other so much that they cannot bear to be parted from them. I thought my father would when my mother died. “
“But he didn’t, did he? He loved you all enough to hold on and live.” She wiped her eyes again. “It’s because you’re his real sons, that’s why. His own flesh and blood. I was not their own child, so they did not love me that way. I was just baggage dropped on their door step!” She gave a gulp and swallowed the sob that rose to her throat.
“They made a choice, Lucinda; they could have left you there.” He forced a smile and looked at the pretty upturned face. She blinked and smiled and nodded.
“Thanks for saying that, Joe. I needed to hear that. I was feeling sorry for myself and that’s just so selfish of me!”
“I can get you some warm cinnamon milk if you like…” He stepped back, and paused at the door but she shook her head, making the mass of hair gleam and ripple down her back, “Goodnight then, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He closed the door behind him and sunk back against it and shook his head. Lucinda Cooper was certainly a very, very lovely young girl!
“Propping the door up?”
Adams clipped voice brought him out of his reverie and he grinned sheepishly and shook his head. “No, I was just – just making sure Lucinda was alright.”
“Ooooh?” Adam framed the word with his lips, drawing it out for as long as possible as his dark eyes lingered on the boys’ face. “And was she?”
“Was she what?”
“Was she all right!”
“Oh, yeah, she’s fine!”
Adam gave his brother a sidelong glance and raised a dark eye brow before passing on down to his room. Hoss was already snoring; it would be some hours before he would waken and tip toe down to ‘tidy up’ the kitchen. Down stairs in the big room the old clock hic-coughed to another hour. Ben put away the books and ledgers and stood up and stretched. He glanced about him and raised his eye brows and shook his head – it had been some kind of day!
**********
She stood framed by the stable doorway, the light shimmering behind her making her hair glow like fire upon her neatly formed head. Her slim figure was dressed in a dark blue shirt and cream colored riding skirt. She looked so frail and delicately beautiful that Hoss and Joe were unable to speak for some seconds as they gazed upon her in rapt admiration.
“Morning, Lucinda!” Hoss managed eventually, blushing a little even as he said the words.
“You’re looking really lovely today, Lucinda,” Joe said which were the exact words that were rolling around Hoss’ head but somehow did not make it out via his lips.
“Thank you, Joe.” She smiled at them as she entered the stables and looked at the horses as she passed the stalls, then she glanced at them both, shyly. “Your Pa said I could choose a horse and go riding if I so wished today. He said that you would not mind going with me.”
“Suits me!” Joe grinned, propping his rake against the stall and walking over to the water to rinse his hands. “I’ll be ready in less time that it takes to shake a dogs tail!”
Hoss frowned, and glared with some irritation at his brothers’ retreating back. He looked at Lucinda who was watching Joe with a smile on her lips and that rather vacant dreamy look in her eyes which meant that any attempt on his part to gain her attention now, was a lost cause. He sighed heavily and picked up the rake and turned to the stall.
“And you as well, Hoss!” she cried, smiling at him but with a twinkle in her and that lost sweet look of dawning love gone from her eyes.
Hoss sighed and glanced at Joe who had already narrowed his eyes and sent the message quite clearly from behind her back that it would be wiser for him to say no. He frowned, and then beamed a broad smile
“Sure, Miss Lucinda, I sure would enjoy doing jest thet!” he declared. So what if Joe was annoyed. Time for Miss Lucinda to see that there were times when brawn was much more preferable than beauty .
“Then, would you select a horse for me, please?” She stood, with her head to one side watching him.
“A pleasure, ma’am,” he replied. Breathing in and drawing in and stretching himself to full height, Hoss walked, uncomfortably, to the little chestnut filly with the cream mane. “Pollyanna here will suit you just fine. She’s a real steady little critter and…”
“I do know how to ride, Hoss. You don’t have to give me a pony as though I were just out of the nursery,” she laughed, and looked over to where Sport was pulling straw from his manger. “I’d like that one.”
“Wal, that’s Sport – he’s Adams horse. I don’t think you would be experienced enough to handle him, Miss Lucinda, and I don’t think Adam would want you to ride him anyhows!”
“But he’s so lovely.” She walked over to Sport, who glanced over at them as though very much aware that he was the topic of conversation. He humphed down his nostrils and tossed his head up and down for good measure.
“He’s also too high spirited for you, Lucinda.” Joe stood by her side, and took hold of her by the elbow. “How about this little beauty?” and he led her gently towards where a gray filly stood, watching them with black bold eyes.
Lucinda glanced back at Sport. It was obvious that the bigger horse was still her choice and she was about to say so when they heard foot steps approaching the stable and Adam himself appeared. He glanced from one to the other and raised his eye brows in question as they stared at him
“Anything wrong?” he asked as he walked to wards Sport and gave his horse a gentle caress along its gleaming neck. “I thought you would all be gone long before now!”
“We were just discussing what horse would be best for Miss Lucinda, while she’s here,” Hoss replied
“Oh yes,” Adam nodded, throwing a blanket across Sport’s back. “And just how long do you intend to be here, Miss Cooper?” He glanced over Sports back directly at her, before returning to his task of saddling the horse
“Well, your father did say I could stay for a while – I don’t know exactly for how long,” she replied, faltering a little as she quailed inwardly at the manner in which he addressed her.
“Well, you know you’re more than welcome here,” he said in the tone of voice that indicated that the welcome was not one to be abused. He began to attach the bit and bridle, giving Sports nose a gentle rub as the horse obediently accepted the bit in its mouth.
Joe and Hoss frowned and glanced at one another and then at their brother, who seemed oblivious of their concern over the way he spoke to Lucinda,
“Adam…” Hoss stepped forward, a frown still furrowing his brow but his brother turned and smiled charmingly at him, whilst at the same time tightening the cinch strap beneath the saddle “I was jest about to say thet…”
“You’re wasting valuable time, you know!” Adam cut in, bringing the stirrup down. “Whereabouts are you headed, anyway?”
“Er – no where in particular,” Hoss replied
“Ah well, that’s always a good place to start,” Adam chuckled and mounted into the saddle. He slipped on his hat and after nodding in farewell, rode out of the stable.
They watched him go. The three of them standing side by side as he cantered out of the yard and disappeared from their sight. Lucinda sighed and turned and looked forlornly at Joe.
“I get the impression that he doesn’t like me,” she said quietly.
“Shucks, don’t take no notice of him. Adam’s just busy, got other things on his mind,” Hoss said and took hold of her elbow, cupping it in his broad hand.
“He’s always like that – you’ll get used to it,” Joe said, taking her by the other arm and trying to lead her towards the left side of the stables.
Behind her back they glowered at one another, Joe’s lips thinned and his eyes narrowed. Hoss’ nostrils flared and he opened his eyes wide in a challenge to the younger man.
“I think I’ll have that one.” She smiled and stepped out of their hands and towards Cochise. “He’s got a really sweet little face “
“Oh, well, actually…” Joe paused as a dark shadow fell across the sunlit stables. Ben entered, his brow furrowed as though in deep thought and when he raised his dark eyes and saw them there. he gave them a brief smile before turning to Hoss.
“Hoss, I’m glad I caught up with you before you left, but I need you to go and see Mr. Hogan.”
“Hogan? But, Pa..” Hoss protested
“It is important, Hoss.” He glanced at Joe “Unless you would rather go?”
“Who, me? No, sir…..I mean…I would but I’ve promised to take Lucinda for a ride.”
Ben turned his gaze back to Hoss and then returned it to Joe and sighed and nodded, as though he now understood everything. Hoss stepped forward and took hold of Ben’s arm
“Couldn’t Adam do it, when he gets back, Pa?”
“No, he could not, Hoss. Had he been able to do it, I would have sent him to Hogan. As it is, I have had to send him on another errand. Now, then, here’s a letter I want you to give to Hogan, and don’t take too long, Hoss!”
“Yes, sir – I mean – no, sir!”
Hoss took the letter and mumbling to himself under his breath, turned and tucked it into his shirt pocket, then glared accusingly over at Joe, and strode over to Chubb. Joe smiled and led Lucinda to where a gentle bay was nibbling at the hay rick.
“Now, Lucinda, this is the perfect little mare for you to ride,” he almost crooned, whilst glancing over her shoulder over at Hoss who glared and mumbled at him. Joe raised his eye brows and shrugged and pretended to look contrite, whilst all the time feeling jubilant.
Lucinda tucked her flaming hair beneath her hat and led out the mare and smiled over at Joe, her blue eyes twinkled.
“She’s sweet, Joe, thank you; what’s her name?”
“Florizel.”
“That’s kind of poetic,” she smiled and stroked the horses nose, “We’ll see you later, Hoss?” she enquired, as the big man rode Chubb from the stables
“Sure thing!” Hoss frowned and looked challengingly into Joe’s eyes, those sweet, innocent brotherly eyes. “I’ll meet up with you both down at Goose Creek.”
Joe smiled and nodded and watched his brother gallop off. He sighed and then looked at Lucinda, and walked towards where a saddle was waiting for use.
“Odd he should say, Goose Creek. I was intending in going in quite the opposite direction,” he muttered with a rather wicked glint in his eye
“Well, we should meet him as he would like. I would hate to disappoint Hoss.” She led the horse from the stable and out into the yard and looked up at the sky. “It’s such a beautiful day, Joe.”
“It sure is.” Joe pushed his hat back so that several unruly curls sprung out and graced his brow “And it promises to get better all the time,” he murmured.
**********
They galloped side by side for some distance, enjoying the view, enjoying one another’s company.
“You know, Lucinda,” Joe finally said as they turned the corner of the track leading to Goose Creek, “I sure am glad that you turned out NOT to be my sister!”
“I could tell that, Joe,” she laughed. “You were very angry at the possibility, weren’t you?” She looked at him and smiled at the sudden discomfiture that fell upon the lad. “It’s alright, Joe; I can understand your reasons.”
“You can?” He glanced at her, his hazel eyes showing the green more intensely with the depth of feeling he was experiencing at that moment as he recalled the anger and distress at his fathers imagined indiscretion.
“It must have been similar to when I found out that my parents were not really my own parents. You must have suddenly seen your own parents as – well – something less than you had always held them.”
“I suppose so.” He bit his bottom lip and frowned thoughtfully and then looked over at her and smiled. “Anyhow, it’s all worked out for the best. You are not my sister, and I do not have to beat away all those single young men who would be battling their way to our door to request permission to court you.”
“I doubt if there would be that many, Joe,” she laughed, a clear laugh of a young girl enjoying the flattery of a handsome youth. Then she looked at him with a little gleam in her eye. “Would you have been jealous then, Joe?”
“Oh I don’t know!” He grinned and pulled Cochise to a halt and dismounted. He walked to her side and helped her from the saddle, putting his hands around her waist and turning her so that her slim body slipped through his fingers.
She looked at him, and smiled and lowered her eyes and turned away. Joe could only continue standing there, although he allowed his hands to drop to his sides as he watched her walk towards where the grass flattened out to the little shingle beach by the creek.
How odd it had felt, to touch her body like that! Just so innocently, and yet, it had felt as though every nerve ending in his arms had been sent tingling with electricity. His heart had started to pound and the pulses in his ears had thumped as though he had ran a mile at his fastest speed. He had been in love, and acknowledged that sometimes he had just loved being loved, and had teased, cajoled, courted girls before now with every trick of which he could think. Sometimes he had spoken words of love with the intensity of that passion that can rule a man, and break him too. Sometimes he had flirted and been bemused by the attention it had gained him, but now, with Lucinda, the depth of his feeling for her hit him with the force of a sledge hammer.
“Well, you didn’t answer?” she turned, narrowing her eyes against the glare of the sun and smiled “Would you have been jealous of them, Joe?”
“I – I guess I would have been, Lucinda.”
Joe let the reins between his fingers drop to the ground as he walked towards her, but she turned and began to walk towards the shingle beach, letting her hair fall against her back.
“In that case I’m glad I’m not your sister, too,” she laughed, but did not look back, only casually plucked a blade of grass up with her fingers and waved it too and fro in front of her face. “This is a lovely place, Joe. I can understand why Hoss would have wanted to come here.”
“You do?”
“Yes, it’s rather like him, isn’t it? Quiet, peaceful, and making you feel safe.”
“Is that how you feel about Hoss?” he asked, the words scraping pass his lips begrudgingly
“I should imagine everyone would feel that way about Hoss. He’s a very gentle, kind man.”
“You’ve only known him five minutes!” he scowled
“I know.” She tossed the grass away and then turned to face him and smiled “But with Hoss, you can tell right away what kind of man he is.”
“And what about me?”
“You?” She stepped back and surveyed him thoughtfully. “Oh, no doubt about it, Joe, definitely longer…” and she laughed.
Her laugh was soft, happy, and Joe grinned and his hazel eyes twinkled. e cupped her hand in with his own, and squeezed the slender fingers gently.
“As for Adam –“She paused and frowned a little and surveyed the mountains that ringed the Ponderosa like vast avenging angels. “I think it would take even longer to fathom him out!”
“Oh ,I don’t know about that!” Joe exclaimed. “Adams pretty much your average guy. He works hard, reads a lot and likes music. What else is there to know?”
She glanced over at him and smiled, and pulled her hand lightly away from his, leaving him to stand to one side and survey her with some misgivings welling up into his heart.
“I think that there’s a whole lot more to know about your brother, Joseph.” she sighed. “Oh, but it is so lovely here. Could you ever bear to leave it?”
“No, I guess not,” Joe said quietly, resuming his position at her side and strolling slowly towards the beach, only this time it was his turn to pull up the grass stalks and twirl them between his fingers.
She directed her steps toward a flat rock and carefully settled herself down upon it, spreading out her riding skirt carefully and taking off her hat. She shook her head, as though by removing that restraint at last, she had even a greater measure of freedom as the rich luxuriant copper gold curls tumbled loosely down her back.
“Joe, I thought when I came here that I had come full circle. Do you understand what I mean?”
“You thought you had found your family – your real family?”
“Yes. It’s a horrible situation for me to be in, Joe. I have no roots, no origins. Being adopted and with no proof of where I belong could ruin every opportunity I could possibly have to make a good marriage.”
“I don’t understand what you mean?” Joe settled himself down by her side, taking care not to crush her skirts as he did so. “You’re so beautiful, Lucinda, any man would be proud to have you as a wife!”
“In San Francisco, amongst my class of people, Joe, it doesn’t work out so easily. You can be beautiful and rich, but without any background, and being adopted…” She turned away and shook her head, and bit hard on her lips to stop from crying. “It’s so unfair! The ugliest girl with an inheritance and family name can make a wonderful match. Even someone who is ugly without an inheritance, if she has connections in San Francisco that go back several generations, then she’s bound to marry well. No one will want me now.”
“No, Lucinda, that’s not true. People, men, they’ll all flock after you…you’re so….”
“Oh Joseph!” She turned and looked at him and put her finger to his lips, “Joseph Cartwright, you are so naïve!”
“What do you mean?”
“Goodness, Joe, life here is so different from back in San Francisco.” She looked at him thoughtfully for an instant, and then with slight shrug of the shoulders and shake of the head smiled. “I imagine that here people actually marry for love!”
“Of course they do !”
“Of course they would, and no doubt, they should after all. But, in the circles in which I have been raised, if you make a good match, with love as well, goodness me, that surely is a match made in heaven!”
“I don’t understand why you’re saying all this, Lucinda.”
“I’m just trying to work out what to do next, you see? I have to find out who my parents are – or were.”
“What if they don’t fit into the social calendar too well when you do find out, Lucinda? What if they happen to have been some dirt farmer who never had a cent piece to rub against a button ?”
“You are funny, Joe.” she smiled and looked at him fondly. “I suppose it all sounds very strange to you. All of you are so…” She glanced away, searching the horizon for the right word but the seconds ticked away without her speaking so that eventually Joe felt it necessary to call her name and remind her he was still there, waiting for her to speak. “Joe, my parents wanted me to have a good marriage; they were wealthy but they came from New York originally. Have you ever been to New York?” She smiled and looked at him with her blue eyes bright. “It’s so big and busy, and the dances there are wonderful. I went once with my mother, we stayed there for three months during the season and…” She stopped again and frowned. “I’m sorry, I’m talking rubbish to you; these aren’t the things you want to hear!”
“Anything that concerns you is of interest to me, Lucinda,” Joe said sincerely, pushing his fingers through his thick waving hair and making the curls spring out of place
“Is it, Joe?”
“Yes, of course!” He leaned forward, closer to her lips as she leaned down towards him, but then she pulled away. He had to brace himself up to prevent himself from falling flat onto his face
“I think my mother wanted to establish the family in San Francisco, and through me, perpetuate their own dynasty, except that, of course, it would all have been a lie, a pretence.”
Joe chewed the inside of his cheek and looked at her thoughtfully. He saw her beauty and her youth, her present sadness vied with her natural gaiety. He tried to imagine her at some New York ball, dancing with handsome young men in their smart black suits. He placed his hand upon hers, very gently, as though he were gentling some high bred nervous filly.
“We could have a dance at the Ponderosa if you wish, Lucinda. Would you like that?”
“A dance? Oh yes, what kind of dance?” Her eyes sparkled and like a child; her present misery seemed to have evaporated away at the thought of soon to be pleasures
“Whatever kind of dance you would wish!”
“A fancy dress ball? A masked ball? Let’s have a masked ball, Joe – that would be such fun!”
Joe frowned, then nodded, and forced a smile, which widened into his usual buoyant grin as he saw the pleasure it was giving her. She stood up and whirled around and around with her hands clasped tightly together
“I love dancing, Joe, and music! It will be lovely – who will you invite? Will you invite anyone from San Francisco?” She paused and smiled over at him, her eyes gleaming mischievously
“Is there anyone you would want invited from there?” he laughed, catching hold of her hand.
“Oh yes, lots and lots…”
His smile wavered rather and he looked at her and sighed, and let her hand drop to her side.
“Well, we’d best discuss it with Pa first, before getting too carried away,” he muttered
“Of course,” she replied gravely and sat down, very sedately, on the boulder and looked over at the creek. “Joe?”
“Yes?”
“Did that all sound rather strange to you? The things I said about being adopted and no body wanting to marry me?”
He looked at her and frowned and fidgeted. He walked to her side and sat down and, like her, stared over at the creek as though he had never seen it before in his life.
“It all sounded like something from a different world to one in which we live, Lucinda. Folk here take a person for what they are, not for what they have got, or what their grand fathers once did or for a name.” He crinkled his brow in concentration and shrugged. “It doesn’t make any sense to me, why no man could marry you just because you were adopted. It’s hardly your fault, after all.”
“If you were me, wouldn’t you want to know who your parents were and whereabouts they came from?”
“Yes, I daresay that I would want to know that, but sometimes it is better not knowing, isn’t it? After all, the Coopers were good parents to you, weren’t they?”
“Yes, they were wonderful to me,” she agreed and was about to say more when they heard the sound of a horse approaching. Looking upwards, they saw Hoss galloping towards them, Chubb’s dark coat gleaming in the sunlight.
Hoss dismounted and left the reins dangling so that Chubb could graze freely along the rich grassland. Taking off his hat, Hoss walked hurriedly towards them, and smiled widely, his blue eyes practically disappearing in the folds of flesh that creased up from his cheeks.
“Sure is beautiful hereabouts, ain’t it?” he declared, throwing himself full length onto the grass. “One of my favorite of all places this is, Miss Lucinda.”
“It’s one of mine too, now, Hoss,” she replied and awarded him with a smile that Joe would have given his eye teeth to have had given to him.
*****************
The door closed with a thud and Ben Cartwright, pen in hand, growled beneath his breath as a blob of ink splattered onto the white paper on the desk. He knew from the footsteps that his eldest son had arrived home, and he also knew from the firm clip of the heels upon the floor that his son was not in the best of tempers. He chewed his bottom lip and put his pen down and awaited Adams appearance in the study area of the big room.
Ever since Lucinda’s arrival, it had seemed to Ben that he had had a huge black cloud hovering over his head and threatening to break open and deluge him with all manner of ills. The look of distrust and betrayal that had sprung into Joe’s face had cut Bens heart to shreds and the mere fact that his word had been sufficient to defuse the situation, only made him more aware of the dangers of other factors coming to light to bring that same distrust flooding back, not just to Joseph but also to his other sons.
He heard Adam sigh as the gunbelt and hat were removed and then the clipped steps sounded that brought his son to wards the desk. He looked up
“Well, how did you get on?”
Adam Cartwright looked at the face of the man he had cherished and adored all his life long. A handsome face. An arrogant, ruthless face so some thought, but he knew how gentle and tender that face could become, when smiles would wreathe the lips and the dark eyes lightened as the sky would do when storm clouds drift away from the warmth of a summers day sun.
But now the finely chiseled lips were thinned, narrowed, as though in expectation of bad news, and the dark eyes were near black in color, so that the velvet blackness of the iris seeped into becoming all one.
He looked at his father and nodded slowly, before pulling out the chair and sitting down and trying to deliver the news in one of the various ways he had rehearsed it in his head all the way home. He cleared his throat and took a deep breath.
“Well, she was not lying.”