Part 2 of 15
Chapter 1
For weeks Ben
Cartwright had thought about the letter Adam had sent him from Boston saying he
might not return to the Ponderosa after he graduated.
Ben had read the
letter over and over in the next few weeks until knew every word by heart. He
would wake up late at night and wander the house sleeplessly trying to decide
what he should write to his son. He wanted Adam to come home, to help build the
ranch for all the boys. There were nights Ben wished he could saddle his horse
and ride day and night to Adam in Boston, hog tie him and drag him back home.
This is where
Adam belonged, here on the Ponderosa.
Ben Cartwright
wrote the letter in his head as he tended the cattle and fixed the fences. He
thought about it as he watched his ranch hands bring the herd into the winter
pastures. Ben sat at his desk and wrote letters to Adam over and over. Again and
again he rejected each draft fighting with the words until the words became
meaningless. His big hands were stained with ink and his head was pounding from
frustration.
The wrong words
could work against him. The right words might bring his son home. Ben Cartwright
needed to be a patient man.
Ben hadn’t
wanted to tell his two younger sons about the letter but his boys clearly could
see his distress. He put their questions off but he never lied to them.
It all came to
a head about three weeks after he received the letter. Ben had been up all night
chewing out his dilemma, arguing with Adam in his dreams, tossing and turning
and dreaming of an argument he had with Abel over two decades before. The fight
got all twisted up in the dream. In the nightmare, Ben had his hands around his
father-in- law’s throat and Ben was screaming at him. Adam was an infant and was
crying relentlessly somewhere nearby. Ben searched franticly but couldn’t find
his son in dark, cold Stoddard house, the house Ben last saw close to twenty
years earlier.
Ben Cartwright
sat bolt upright in his own bed in a cold sweat, his heart pounding. The
blankets and sheet were knotted around his legs. His hands were clenched as if
he were still trying to choke Stoddard. The ranch house was still and quiet
around him, A full moon was shining brightly outside his window and he could see
Lake Tahoe like as silver thread beyond the bare trees.
Climbing out of
bed, Ben put on his blue robe that had been hanging on a brass hook by his door
and walked barefoot down the moonlit hallway. His heart was still beating in his
ears like a drum. The nightmare left with a dry mouth and a feeling of panic
rising in his throat.
He looked in at
his sons in their beds. Hoss was snoring loudly, sleeping on his back, his big
feet sticking out the end of the quilt. He walked into Little Joe’s room The
small boy’s feet were at the top of the bed and his curly head was at the foot.
His father gently rearranged the boy covered him with his blankets. The house
was getting cold. He missed his oldest son with all his heart.
Ben walked
downstairs into the great room. He walked over to the sideboard and poured
himself a snifter of brandy from the decanter. He took a swallow of the golden
liquid. Then he took another and felt the warmth trail down his throat into his
belly.
He walked over
to the large stone fireplace and looked into the hearth. Holding the snifter of
brandy in his left hand the rancher, picked up the heavy, black iron poker in
his right and prodded the banked fire back into life. Sparks shot up the
chimney. He reached into the wood box and tossed some small logs into the
fireplace. Sitting in his red leather chair, Ben starred into the flames and
drank the brandy.
“Abel, I did
what you asked. I gave you a second chance with Adam. I let him come to know
you on his own… to make up for all the years that were lost to you… I let him go
to your college, to see your world, to read all the books… I kept my part of the
bargain…. You keep your part, Abel you sneaky jealous bastard and don’t you
steal my son.”
Chapter 2
“ Adam, come in
here, “ Abel’s voice echoed down the hall to his grandson. Adam was studying in
the front parlor. “ I need to talk to you.”
Adam walked down
the long paneled hall to his grandfather’s book lined library. Abel was seated
at his desk facing Adam as he entered. Charles Bruce was sitting on the right
side of the desk in a high backed chair.
“Son, I want to
have a serious talk with you. Sit down.” Captain Stoddard pointed to a
brocade-covered chair to the left of his massive desk.
“You are a very
capable young man. I have watched how well you are doing in college and am very
pleased about everything I hear about you in the office. Mr. Bruce here has
noticed too,” Stoddard stood up next to his seated grandson.
Broad shouldered
Adam was a head taller than his grandfather. Stoddard always made a larger man
sit while he stood over him. He could look down at his adversary as they spoke.
It forced the other man to look up at him and made him feel vaguely intimidated
by the Captain. This strategy let the Captain feel more in control of the
situation and had earned him victory in many conflicts.
“Adam, “ he
continued.” I want to offer you a junior partnership in Stoddard and Bruce. I
want you to stay here in Boston and make this your home. “
Adam was taken
aback. He loved Boston but had never really considered not returning home to the
Ponderosa. He had been corresponding with his father for many months about
projects they could work on once Adam returned home. They wrote about expanding
the mill and providing lumber for the mines, improving the herds, things that
Adam knew would work and was looking forward to implementing.
“I… I don’t know
what to say, Grandfather. I really hadn’t thought about this …staying here…I
sort of was planning on going home after graduation. I am truly honored by your
offer. Thank you, sir.”
“How can you
refuse, boy? Someday Stoddard and Bruce can belong to Adam Cartwright. I’m an
old man. And Charles Bruce has no sons.”
“Let me think
about this Grandfather. I need to weigh this out. I am not sure what to do.”
The analytical
Adam spoke.
“Damn “ thought
Stoddard. Any other young man would have leaped at this chance. Why did his
grandson have to be so infuriating. I will just have to sweeten the pot.
“Certainly, son.
Certainly. You have a few months until graduation and I am sure something will
help you make up your mind to see that my offer is an opportunity you can not
refuse.”
”I want to show you something Adam I wasn’t really going to share this with you
quite yet, but you forced my hand.”
Stoddard walked over to the safe and opened it. He pulled out a black lacquered
box that he had brought back from a long ago sea voyage. Inside was a purple
velvet pouch, the as purple as Amanda’s eyes.
“This belonged
to your grandmother. She wanted you to have it when the time was right.”
Stoddard smiled thinking of his late wife. She was the only one who ever could
tell hem what to do or how to do it. She had died the spring after Adam had come
east. She had been so happy she lived to see her grandson again. In her final
days, she watched her husband Abel attempt to make some sort of relationship
with the young man she thought had been lost to them forever.
“She wanted you
to have this, when the time was right.” Abel pulled a diamond ring from the
pouch. “ This is for you to give to a young lady.”
Adam smiled thinking of Amanda Bruce.
“I don’t know
what to say, Grandfather. I…I just don’t know what to say. Could you give me
some time to think?”
”Don’t take too long, Adam. Such lovely girls are very rare and have many
suitors. You don’t want to miss your opportunity.” The Captain carefully put the
diamond away in the violet velvet sack. “ You may never catch the wind if you
don’t raise your main sail fast enough.”
Chapter 3
It was midnight.
Adam Cartwright
hurried home, to the Stoddard house through the cobblestone streets of Boston.
The sound of his footstep echoed off the buildings .The night was cold and he
turned up the collar of his coat against the wind gusts coming off the Charles.
A full moon lit the sky. The stars seemed brighter than he had ever seen in a
Boston night sky. It was a magical night.
He couldn’t
believe his good fortune these last few weeks.
All within a few
days he had earned the highest grades in his class, had been offered a position
in his Grandfather’s firm and had met raven haired Amanda Bruce, the most lovely
woman he had ever known.
He had been her
constant escort these last few weeks to parties and dinners and the opera. He
had held her in his arms and smelled her flowery perfume. He had kissed her
cherry red lips and gazed into those violet eyes until he thought he would
explode.
How had he
existed before he met Amanda ?
Tonight, he had
escorted her to the Winter Ball at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Van Dyne. Adam
Cartwright and Amanda Bruce had taken the dance floor first, surrounded and
admired by the other guests. They made a handsome couple, he in his silver
waistcoat and mid night black suit, and she in her swirling, blue dress. Her
amethyst earrings glittered in the candlelight and she smiled up at him. He held
her, gingerly at first, very much aware of all the eyes on them. Adam knew he
was with the most beautiful woman at the party and the envy of every man that
evening.
As they danced,
Adam ran his hands over her bare shoulder blades and down her back to her waist,
feeling the warmth of her body through blue satin of her dress. Her waist was so
small he could span it with his hands. He felt the touch of her breath on his
face and smelled the sweetness of the perfume in her hair He became very much
aware of the closeness of her body as they danced.“I love you Amanda,” he
whispered in her ear. Then they melted into each other’s arms, drowning in each
other’s eyes, and for all Adam knew, or cared, the rest of the world might have
ceased to exist.
After dancing,
she had led him into a dark corner of the hall and reached up pulling
Adam’s face down
to meet her face. Their lips met and she kissed him passionately. He drew her
tightly to him and closed his mouth gently over hers in a long, and lingering,
kiss.
Adam’s head
spun. He had never met such a lovely woman And she was a lovely woman who not
only allowed him to kiss her, but who encouraged him to kiss her, to hold her,
to crush her to him until he couldn’t think clearly.
He was a very
lucky man Adam thought.
Chapter
Ben awakened
many mornings more tired than he went to bed the night before. He had black
circles under his eyes each morning and looked haggard. Finally the sleepless
night were starting to get the best of him.
Two nights
before, he had awakened again from his nightmares about trying to find Adam. He
got up and walked down stairs to drink brandy and stare into the flickering
fire. Another sleepless night of worry about Adam’s decision. This was becoming
a nightly routine. Nightmares, brandy, sitting downstairs until he fell asleep
on the settee or in his red leather chair.
Just before
dawn, Cartwright awoke sitting in his chair, the blue blanket from Hoss’s bed
covering him. Joe and Hoss were sleeping toe to toe on the settee covered with
Ben’s coat from the hall rack. His boys had come down to “guard him” in the
night. They were worried about their father.
“ I can’t let
this go on,” Ben thought. “ I am making these boys take care of me, a grown man,
instead of me protecting my boys.” He gently picked up Joe and carried him back
up to his own bed. He left Hoss on the settee and covered him with the blanket.
Hoss had noticed
how worn and upset his Pa was and was doing his best to shoulder more chores.
Ben had had another sleepless night. He had only the taste for a cup of coffee
that morning despite Hop Sing’s arguments. Even Little Joe commented on his Pa’s
lack of appetite and lack of conversation.
”Pa, are you mad
at me and Hoss ?” his smallest son asked him in a soft cautious voice. Joe
looked pretty upset. His green eyes looked up at him . The boy was trying not to
cry. Hoss poked at the eggs on his plate, clearly too disturbed by his father’s
behavior to eat.
Ben looked at
each of his beloved son’s up turned faces and realized by saying nothing about
Adam’s letter he was hurting the boys more than if he told them what was
happening. He had to explain what was going on to both of them. The man realized
that in his concern for one son, he was abandoning the other two.
Ben cleared his
throat. He took another sip from his coffee cup and put it down on the table.
“No boys, I am
not mad at you. I just have a lot on my mind right now. Adam wrote me a letter a
while back. He had wanted me to share some news with you so you wouldn’t worry.
Your brother loves you both very much but I guess I didn’t trust his judgment
about this. I figured that not telling you boys what was going on between us
would be better. But I was wrong. I am sorry for worrying you boys. I was wrong
and Adam was right. I just didn’t want to worry you.”
Joe and Hoss
looked at each other. Little Joe was pretty scared. What had his brother written
? He didn’t recall his pa ever saying any thing such a pained tone. Was Brother
sick ?
Cartwright rose from the breakfast table, walked over to his study and fetched
Adam’s letter from the carved, mahogany box on top of the shelf near the window.
Ben stared for a minute at the map of the Ponderosa hanging on the wall. He
turned and walked back to the table. The grandfather clock ticked loudly in the
silence of the ranch house.
“ Ok boys, here
is what I have been keeping from you.”
He took another
swallow from his coffee cup. He took a deep breath and started to read the words
he almost knew by heart.
Both young
brothers listened earnestly as their father’s deep voice read the letter to
them. Lovely girls, books, restaurants, parties and the offer by Adam’s
grandfather. Half way through Little Joe got up from his seat and climbed into
his Pa’s lap. He needed to be closer to his father and to see Adam’s words for
himself. Ben pulled his smallest boy closer as he read his oldest son’s words.
His left arm was wrapped around Little Joe in a tight hug and he held Adam’s
letter in his right hand. Ben rested his unshaven cheek against Joe’s curly hair
drawing comfort from the closeness of his youngest boy. Little Joe stared at the
white paper in Pa’s big calloused hand struggling to make sense of the words
Adam had written.
Hoss took a deep
breath. He had to think about this, take in all of the words his father had
read.
“Pa, what do we
do? ‘Hoss asked. “Can’t you just tell him to come right back home?”
Joe nodded, his
eye wide.
“No Boys, we
just have to wait and let Adam think this one out.”
”No Pa, you go
get him and bring him home to me. “Little Joe demanded. “Go now Pa! I miss him.
He said he was coming back when he went away. He promised. He did Pa. He can’t
stay with his Grand father.” Joe started to cry.
Hoss looked
stricken and stared down at the cold eggs on his plate and put down his fork.
“Pa, Joe is right. Adam promised to come back.”
”Boys, we have
to wait this one out.” Ben pulled Joe to him and held him close.
“Some times you
just have to be patient and let things take their own course. Like waiting for
the tide to rise or winter to end.”
Hoss got up from
the table and put his arms around his brother and his father. “Guess you know
best Pa… but I wish there was more we could do.”
“All we can do
it wait, son. Your brother has to make up his own mind. He is a grown man now.”
Joe was not good
at waiting and he knew he needed to figure some way to convince his brother Adam
to get home. Adam had promised him. Cartwright brothers stuck together. Little
Joe knew he had to do something to bring Adam home.
Chapter
Three weeks
after Ben received Adam’s letter, he and Hoss were riding up the snowy trail to
check on the stock in Long Meadow. Both were bundled up against the cold gray
day.
“Take the right
fork son.”
“Pa, you sure
you want to go that way through the woods? It is pretty steep going…icy too.
Maybe we should head around the south side. It may be a bit longer but it is
flatter and less iced up’
”Just go.” Ben
growled impatiently. Ben kicked his heels into the side of his horse and headed
up the trail ahead of his son.
The lack of
sleep was definitely taking its toll on his nerves. The midnight brandy and
morning coffee was not helping out and the dark mood did little to make being
with Ben easy. The hands were giving the boss wide berth. The men stuck their
noses into their chores and only spoke to big man when they had no other choice.
Only easy going Hoss could stand being with him that day. Ben was bone weary and
there was plenty of work to do before the winter early nightfall. The dampness
in the air and chill in the gusting wind told both riders that more snow was on
the way. Hoss studied the sky again, for the third time that morning. He had a
bad feeling about the looming clouds and northern wind that was whipping off the
lake. He was certain there was going to be another snowstorm, and soon. As he
urged his horse along the bluff, he decided to tell Pa that they should finish
up their chores and head back for home.
“Pa looks like
we’re in for a big blow.”
Ben nodded
grimly looking at the darkening sky. “Looks like that to me also, son.”
Tall in the
saddle, Ben was lost in a fog of worry about Adam and not paying attention to
the snowy trail or the low hanging pine limbs. Frosted with the weight of the
damp snow, many of the boughs dangled over the trail.
”Hustle up
Hoss.” Ben snapped leading his son down the trail. “It is getting dark I want to
be done checking that stock before nightfall.”
Carelessly, the
rancher turned around in the saddle to look over his shoulder at his son with
out thinking about the low hanging evergreen branches.
“Pa! Look out!”
Hoss shouted.
Before he could
avoid it, Ben’s head thudded into one of the sagging branches. His hat flew off
and a shower of wet snow sprayed to the ground. Ben’s horse hit an icy patch,
stumbled and pitched Ben headlong down the hill.
Hoss quickly
pulled his mount to a halt. The sixteen year old leaped off his horse and half
ran and half slid down the slope after his fallen father. Ben lay sprawled in a
heap at the base of a drift.
“Pa! Are you ok!
Pa!”
Ben looked up at
his bellowing bearlike son lumbering down the hill. He didn’t feel any pain more
than foolish hurt pride at the tumble he had taken. He was sat up and laughed at
the sight of the Hoss barreling down the slope like a crazed grizzly.
By the time
Hoss reached him, Ben was checking himself out for injuries.
“Pa are you ok?”
The boy picked
up his father’s hat from half way up the hill and dusted the snow from it.
There was a gash
on Ben’s forehead from the branch and a few scrapes but he felt ok.
“I’m fine son,
guess all these heavy clothes and the snow kept me from getting hurt too bad. I
have a pretty hard head.”
“Did you hurt
anything?” the worried boy asked handing his father his hat.
”Just my pride.
Give me my hat and a hand son. I feel like a dang fool”
Hoss extended a
big paw to Ben and yanked his father upright.
”Ooof!” Ben
grunted. “All except my left knee. Whew.” Ben let out a breath as he put his
weight on his legs to stand up and his knee buckled. Help me up the hill, Boy.”
He gritted his teeth and leaned against his husky son.
Ben rested his
weight on the right leg and Hoss put his arm around him. “Lean on me Pa, I’ll
bring you over to that rock and then I’ll go get your horse.”
Hoss helped his
father over to a rocky out cropping and went back up the hill to lead his
father’s horse over to him. With his son’s help, Ben grabbed the saddle and
swung himself up on his horse, still feeling more foolish than hurt.
Father and son
rode carefully back home.
By the time they
reached the house, Ben’s knee had really started to swell and get hot and he
started to feel even more annoyed with himself about his carelessness. Hoss
helped him into the house and bandaged him up.
“Want me to ride
into town for the Doc?”
”What for Son? To tell him your Pa has a hard head and less sense than the town
drunk? No boy, you did just fine.”
Ben realized he
was lucky he wasn’t hurt more seriously. “Can’t believe what I did,” he said to
Hoss.
. “I really have
to think about my other boys… if I break my fool neck and Adam stays in Boston….
What would become of them? He knew he could not let this fog in his brain
destroy what he did have. Nothing was more important to him than his sons and he
had to start taking care of them like the father, not his boys taking care of
some fool drunk riding around the Ponderosa crashing into trees with his head.
Ben spent the
next few days resting on the settee with his leg propped upon a pillow. Hop Sing
fussed over him and muttered in Chinese. Doc Martin had ridden out one afternoon
to check on Ben after Little Joe taking Kate Wallace’s suggestion,
“accidentally” bumped into him after school and let it slip out that his Pa was
laid out on the settee with a hurt leg and big bump on his head.
Ben finally
figured out what he would write to his son. He limped over to his desk and put
pen to paper.
Dear Adam,
I know how
hard this must be for you, my son. I was once a young man not knowing whether to
stay in the East or go west. A man must pick his own path in life for himself
from his own heart and his own head.
Whatever
decision you make, whether you chose to stay in Boston or return here to the
ranch, must be yours to make. I respect your ability to make this choice on your
own and plot a true course on your own life.
Whatever the
out come, I am very proud of you and will always be proud of you, my son.
Adam I love
you with all my heart.
I will be
waiting patiently for you to decide what path to pick.
We all miss
you very much.
Your father
Then it was a
just a matter of waiting.
His mood turning
grayer as the winter days wore on but Ben Cartwright drew on a reserve of
patience he never knew he had.
Chapter 4
“Little Joe,
what’s wrong with you?” Kate sat next to her friend at recess. “Are you sick?”
Joe Cartwright
was sitting very quietly in the corner of the schoolyard, his back to the
clapboard wall of the building. Usually he was at the epicenter of the running
and jumping herd of little boys chasing each other around at recess time.
“Leave me
alone.” Joe muttered. She realized he was crying and didn’t want anyone to see
him. He wiped his nose on his sleeve.
“Are you sick?”
Kate persisted. She was not known for backing down when she wanted to know
something. Her mother said she was just like her Uncle Foster, the editor of the
Territorial Enterprise, in this respect.
“No, I’m not
sick. Its something my Pa told Hoss and me. He said my brother Adam might not
come back home.”
Katie vaguely remembered Adam. He was much older than Little Joe and had often
come to her house to visit with her father, Hank. He would bring Joe to play
with Kate while Adam sat with her father at the dining room table. Adam used to
Kate’s father about becoming an engineer and Hank helped him study the
mathematics he needed to pass the entrance exams for college. Even now there
would be letters sent back and forth between them.
“Why is he doing
that?” Kate asked. She slid down next to Joe and leaned against the wall. Joe’s
eyes were red.
“I don’t know.
“Joe sniffed one last time. He was embarrassed that any of the boys should see
him crying but he knew Kate wouldn’t tell anyone. They often trusted each other
with secrets.
“He wrote a
letter to my Pa and said there are all these things for him in Boston, like
pretty ladies and places to eat.”
Kate nodded. She
had never seen Joe so sad and she felt terribly for him. “I got to do something,
Kate. Pa said we have to wait for him to make up his mind but that ain’t good
enough for me. I can’t wait that long. Do you think I should go to Boston and
bring him back?”
”Gee Joe, that is awfully far away. It would take you weeks to get there. ” Kate
shook her head at Joe. Didn’t he ever do his geography homework? “Maybe you
could write to him and tell him that you want him home.”
”But he said there are special things for him in Boston. That’s what Pa read in
the letter. “
”So tell him there are special things here in Virginia City and then you can
lure him back home. Just like when you go fishing and put a big fat juicy worm
on your line.”
Joe laughed at her remark and he pictured himself throwing a big worm and
pulling his oldest brother out of the lake. “Would you help me write the
letter?”
”Sure I will.” Kate smiled; glad she could cheer him up. “What are friends for,
Joe?”
Chapter 5
Adam looked at
the envelope sitting on the marble topped table in the front foyer of the
Stoddard home. Even without even picking it up he recognized Little Joe’s
backward slanting handwriting. Adam picked up the envelope and slit it open with
his pocketknife. He pulled out two pieces of paper folded crookedly together.
Adam carefully opened the letter and smoothed it out to read it.
One was a letter
written on lined copy paper:
Dear Adam,
I hate school
very much.
I hate it
every day except on Saturday and Sunday.
I miss Hoss
in my school. No bullies picked on me and my friends when he was in the school.
Please tell
Pa that I should not go to school and I can work with Hoss on the ranch.
Pa hurt his
nee.
I miss you
very much.
Your brother,
Joseph
Francis Cartwright
The second piece
looked like a sheet of ledger paper that had been ripped from one of Pa’s
ledgers. Adam smoothed that page out too. Written in a childish hand was a long
list of names.
“What the heck
is little Joe sending me?” Adam puzzled. He still wasn’t quite used to the idea
that Joe was old enough to be reading and writing and in fourth grade. He still
thought of his little brother at six, the age he was when Adam went east.
He looked down
again at the ledger sheet and tried to make sense of it. Neatly printed but
filled with misspellings was the title “ eating places in vir. City” with an
alphabetical list starting with Buket of Blud and ending with Zelda’s café (reel
good pie)
The next column
on the ledger was label “Ladies” and had a list of female names accompanied by
hair color and an occasional notation like “smells good in church”,” very pretty
“ or “has all her teeth” or “ dances in buket of blud” “lovely and pretty nice
pie”
Adam tried to
make heads or tails out of what was clearly a major effort for the little
brother who hated school so much.
He stood staring
at the lists in front of him and scratched his head in confusion.
He heard soft
footsteps behind him.
“Hello Adam”
”Liza!”
He turned to see
Liza Bruce and enveloped her in his embrace. Tall. Adam lifted her off her feet
with his enthusiasm and spun her around the hallway. “What a wonderful surprise!
What are you doing here?”
” My father is
meeting with Captain Stoddard and he suggested it would be nice for me to come
along in case you showed up for dinner. You can’t study until midnight every
night”
Adam pulled her
closer and looked down at her heart shaped face. Her violet eyes met his gaze.
“ You are not only beautiful but you are a very smart woman. And that is why I
love you.”
She pulled away
from him. She smiled. No gentleman had ever called her a woman. Other men had
professed their love to her but no one had called her a woman. It was usually
“young lady”. There was something very appealing about Adam’s comment. Something
that raised her temperature and made her heart beat more rapidly. She licked her
lips unconsciously.
In that instant
Liza Bruce decided if she couldn’t have whom, she wanted she would have
what she wanted. Her father be damned.
“What do you
have there?” she smiled coyly putting her hand on his sleeve. She gently
squeezed his arm.
”Ok Miss Bruce.
Maybe you can help me with this mystery. I just got this from my baby brother
Joe. Maybe you can figure out what business he is keeping records for. It sure
doesn’t look like anything my father raises on the ranch. ”
“Let me see. “
She reached out for the papers.
He handed Liza
the letter and stood studying her as she read. He was glad she was occupied so
he could stare without her noticing Her black hair was piled high upon her head
showing of the graceful curve of her neck. The tight bodice of her cobalt velvet
gown was low cut revealing more cleavage than most proper young ladies in Boston
would usually reveal. Tall Adam enjoyed the view as she read Joe’s letter.
Liza felt his
eyes upon her but continued to read. She knew she was beautiful tonight and no
man in Massachusetts would disagree with that idea or resist her charm.
”Too bad Joe’s
letter was so brief and Amanda reads so quickly, “ Adam thought. She is going to
catch me staring at her.
She looked up.
Her eyes met his downward gaze. She totally was enjoying his stares. She smiled
at him catching what he was doing and moved closer. So close that they were
touching. Facing him, Liza rested her right hand on his chest.
“He seems so sad
Adam., “ she said tracing her finger on the front of his starched white shirt. “
Can’t you do something about his troubles? And your father is hurt…”
Pa hurt?
Distracted by Amanda, Adam hadn’t even noticed that part of the letter. How did
it happen he wondered. What else was going on back home that he doesn’t know
about? How was Pa managing without him there to help?
Amanda’s perfume
filled his nostrils. She smelled like something familiar from long ago. Lilac?
Roses? Like pink cherry blossoms.
“And Miss Bruce,
the second document…” Amanda held one side of the page and Adam the other. He
pulled her closer still and took a few steps forward gently pushing her into the
little alcove under the staircase.
“What do you
think this thing is? He breathed in the perfume in her raven hair. For an
instant he thought “who cares what Little Joe wants as long as I can stand this
close to Amanda” He felt the heat of her body next to him and he felt himself
harden at her nearness.
I hope she can’t
hear how loud my heart is beating. He ran his index finger slowly down the side
of her face. Amanda sighed.
“It looks like
he spent a lot of time counting the citizens in your town.”
”Just the female
citizens.” Adam added. “Females and restaurants…very mysterious.” He smiled and
hoped he sounded casual and sophisticated. He couldn’t breath for the nearness
of her.
He pulled her
closer and closed his eyes. Nothing could be better than what he had in his arms
here in Boston. Nothing.
Amanda melted
against him, returning his heat as he buried his face in her raven hair. He
pressed himself against her.
Quietly, Abel
Stoddard and Charles Bruce stood in the shadow at the end of the hall. They
could see the image of young couple reflected in the tall hallway mirror
opposite them. Facing the other way, Adam and Amanda and had no idea they were
being scrutinized.
Certainly Adam
would not be so boldly embracing Miss Bruce had he known her father was nearby
watching them.
The two older
men had just finished a meeting with their attorneys drawing up a contract to
merge some of their most important assets
They gazed down
the hall looked at the young couple embracing in the little alcove.
Captain Stoddard
smiled.
Abel thought his
grandson was a very handsome young man. Strong and tall and smart, Adam
Cartwright had a bright future in front of him. Amanda would make him a
wonderful wife. He could imagine the many handsome black haired sons Adam would
give him to carry on the Stoddard Shipping Line. Everything Abel had planned for
the boy in the last years was working just as he had hoped, just as he had
arranged. Just like an easily won game of chess and he was ready to say “Check
and mate”
He had baited
his trap, and waited patiently. Patience was always the key; patience and the
correct motivation.
Adam would be
the son he never had; the son Charles Bruce had lost when the Sea Breeze
sank off of Nantucket. Adam would eventually take both their places as the head
of Stoddard and Bruce.
And someday, a
third of Ben Cartwright’s precious Ponderosa would be part of those holdings.
Captain Stoddard
smiled at that thought: Ben Cartwright’s ranch as part of Stoddard and Bruce.
Nothing pleased Abel more than that bonus.
Captain Stoddard
and Charles Bruce turned and walked back into the book-lined study.
Charles quietly
closed the door behind them while Abel reached for a bottle of French cognac on
the polished sideboard. The bottle had arrived on one of his ships the same week
his grandson had arrived in Boston. Taking it as a sign for the future, Abel had
put the cognac aside for just such a day. He slowly poured two generous portions
into crystal glasses and offered one to Charles Bruce.
“To the merging
of our holdings!” Captain Abel Stoddard toasted enthusiastically
“To the merging
of our holdings.” Bruce repeated with a smile. “To the merger.”
Chapter 6
“Adam!” a voice
shouted to him as he walked across Boston Common.
Adam Cartwright turned to see who called have been calling him.
“Dennis!”
Dennis O’Mara
loped down the path to his friend, his face split by a broad grin. His gray eyes
were shining.
“Dennis! What
are you doing here! I thought you would be gone passed New Year’s! How was New
York! What are you doing here so soon!!!” The words came tumbling happily out of
Adam’s mouth.
The two friends
grabbed each other around the shoulder and shook hands. Their breath made clouds
in the cold air.
” New York was
wonderful. Adam you would love it. Better than Boston. The people are much
friendlier and less caught up in who they are and who they their relatives are.”
“How did the
work go?”
”Great! The properties are more than even the Captain expected. This was really
my chance to get a leg up and prove myself to The Old Man…. To prove myself to
this entire damn city! Your grandfather sure put one over on Bruce. But then
again, Adam, Bruce deserves it…”
”Why would Dennis say that?” Adam thought. “What did he have against Amanda’s
father?”
“I worked like a
dog to impress your grandfather… he never thought I could get everything done so
fast. You should have seen his face when I came into his office this morning. I
thought he would swallow his pipe.”
Adam laughed at the thought of his Grandfather being astonished at anything.
“Was it lit?”
Adam asked with mock seriousness.
“Was what lit?”
“The pipe
Dennis. Were you going to get the privilege of getting him to swallow a lit
pipe?” Adam clasped his friends arm and looked him straight in the eye.” Lit or
cold?”
Dennis smiled
broadly at the picture.
“Thanks for
watching out for my mother and the girls while I was gone. Adam. I really
appreciated it.”
”Oh no thanks needed. It was my pleasure. You would have done the same for me,
Dennis. It wouldn’t have been Christmas night without supper at the O’Maras and
your Uncle Sean’s liquid refreshment.”
“Sean said that
you were mooning over some new lady. My mother said that my sister Peggy had
really thought you would wait for her to grow up, but I guess now you would have
to match her up with Little Joe. “
The two friends
laughed at the thought of nine-year-old Peggy and nine year old Little Joe.
“Who is this
ravishing siren that has roped you, Cowboy?” Dennis teased. “She must be
something quite special for you to give up our Peggy.”
The bells on the North Church chimed noon.
“Oh no. I’m
going to be late for class.” Adam realized pulling away from his friend.
”Dennis, what
are you doing tomorrow night? I’ve really got to go or the Professor will have
my head. Grandfather is having a party. I am sure he would be glad for you to be
there. Plenty of food. Music too. The servants have been setting up all week.
Then you can meet her. I can’t wait for you to meet each other.”
”Tomorrow? I’ll
see you then. I can’t wait to meet the young lady that has my best friend so
smitten.” Dennis laughed.
“Tomorrow!” Adam
shouted over his shoulder as he ran off.
Chapter 7
Adam Cartwright, resplendent in new black broadcloth, was standing in the foyer
just outside the parlor door waiting for Amanda to return from upstairs. He was
done with socializing for the time being, and just watching the guests who
milled about as they arrived. Wilson, the butler greeted each guest and directed
the other servants to take coats or bring refreshments.
Adam held a tiny
crystal cup of the punch in his hand and he had planted himself where he could
see both the stairway as well as the arriving guests. He leaned on the doorframe
enjoying the party. Adam couldn’t wait to introduce Dennis to Amanda. He was so
much in love with the wonderful Amanda Bruce and he wanted to show her off to
everyone, including his best friend. Especially his best friend. “Adam?” He
heard her call him and his heart leaped in his chest. He looked up and saw
Amanda coming down the long staircase with some of the other female guests. She
had never looked more beautiful. She was wearing an amethyst satin gown richly
trim with beads and embroidery that contrasted with her pale complexion. Her
shiny black hair was twisted in an elaborate up swept style and adorned with a
jeweled comb.
Adam stared at
her eyes as she approached. Their eyes met. Her beautiful eyes violet framed
with long black lashes as always they took his breath away. Adam felt he could
drown in their sparkling depths. He took a deep breath.
“Were you
standing here long?”
”Does it matter?” he smiled, glad that she was standing near her.” No, not
really.” She smiled coquettishly at him and took his arm. “Has your friend
arrived yet?” “No, but he should be here soon. I can’t wait for him to meet
you…for you to meet Dennis.”
”Dennis? “ Amanda took a sudden breath. Her eyes widened in surprise. ”Adam,
let’s dance. The music is lovely” she pulled at his hand trying to get him to
move towards the party.
“In just a
minute, the next dance.” Adam stood his ground.
The front door opened again with a
cold blast of night air for another group of guests and the foyer became very
crowded. Amanda was squeezed between Adam and the doorway to the dining room.
Her view of the front door suddenly blocked by her escort’s broad shoulders.
“It’s very crowded, here. Let’s
go dance.” She pulled his hand with increasing urgency. “I want to dance, now.”
“Adam!” a voice called. A hand
waved above the guests’ heads.
“Dennis over here!” Adam waved
above the throng of guests. He grabbed his friend’s arm as Dennis politely
squeezed past a dowager in a green satin gown and her white haired husband.
“Excuse me, Mrs. Van Dyne. Good evening Mr. Van Dyne.” He nodded.
Adam began the introductions ”Amanda, may I present.”
”Dennis? “ her eyes widened with
recognition.
”Amanda?” Dennis was clearly
stunned at seeing Amanda Bruce standing next to Adam Cartwright in the front
foyer of Captain Stoddard’s home. His jaw dropped open and his face immediately
flushed.
Adam looked back and forth to the
shocked faces of his best friend and the raven-haired young woman. “What in the
world was going on here?” He thought. His eyes went back and forth trying to
figure out what was going on.
Just at that instant, one of his
grandfather’s friends, Mr. Carroll pulled at his arm “Adam, come here a minute I
want you to meet Mr. Pauling. He has been looking for you all evening.”
”Go Adam, I’ll wait for you here.” Amanda directed sharply. She stared at
Dennis.
“I’ll send him right back, Miss
Bruce.” Carrol nodded courteously oblivious to the scene unfolding in the
foyer.” We won’t be but a minute.”
Adam followed Carrol through the
crowd, still mystified over what had just occurred between Dennis and Amanda.
Did they know each other? What was going on? Adam was totally disoriented.
It took no more than five minutes
for Carrol to introduce Cartwright to Mr. Pauling and for them to exchange
courtesies but by the time Adam wended his way back into the foyer, both Amanda
and Dennis had disappeared.
Adam spent the next half hour
anxiously circulating through the crowded Stoddard house looking for them. He
went upstairs and then down again to the dining room. He even asked Mrs. Caroll
to check the bedroom that had been designated for the lady’s to primp. To see if
his young lady was in they’re fixing her hair. No one seemed to have seen either
of them. His best friend and his lady seemed to have evaporated.
As Adam walked down the stairs, he
stood there for a minute high above the party and scanned the celebrating crowd
trying to spot either Amanda’s amethyst gown or Dennis’s sandy hair.
He saw his grandfather pulling
Charles Bruce by the arm down the hall to his study. “Maybe her father knew
where Amanda was “ he thought Adam hurriedly squeezed through the crowd trying
to catch up with the two older men.
”Excuse me, excuse me,” he muttered to guests as he squeezed past and made his
way down the hall. The tables of elaborate refreshments were barely touched at
this end of the house. The crowd thinned as he made his way from the front foyer
to the back of the house. “Mr. Bruce, wait!” Adam called to Amanda’s father.
He walked a few paces suddenly
found a man and woman embracing in the alcove under the stairs. In a flash, Adam
realized it was Dennis and Amanda.
What was Dennis
doing with Amanda?
Adam was neither
seeing, nor thinking, too clearly. All he could think was Dennis was kissing
Amanda. His best friend was kissing his girl.
Suddenly
Cartwright took two swift steps towards Dennis, reached out and grabbed a
handful of his coat yanking the man around to face him. O”Mara was caught off
guard and Adam slammed a fist into his face He grabbed Dennis by his left
shoulder and spun him around. Amanda shrieked.
Adam was
enraged. He buried a hard driven fist in the depths of Dennis’s belly. He
quickly followed it up with a sharp upper cut to the jaw that jarred his head
back and knocked the larger man off balance sending him sprawling on the floor.
Dennis lost his balance, knocking over a table and sending plates of fancy
pastries crashing to the floor.
He careened
backward into a table of refreshments sending it all crashing to the polished
floor. Crystal and porcelain dishes shattered loudly the contents of the crystal
punch bowl splashed onto the wall in a bloody red wave.
Everything
around Adam was twisted and loud and out of focus. The study door swung open
with a bang and Abel and Charles ran out to see what the commotion was all
about. The orchestra suddenly stopped playing and guests pushed into the hallway
to see what was going on.
Blind rage
blasted its way through Adam’s mind. He would have jumped forward, about to leap
on top Dennis but for the rough hands that held him more or less upright.
“Stop it this
minute!” Abel demanded.”Adam!” He clutched his Grand son’s arm but Adam yanked
free and moved closer to Dennis.
“What the hell
in going on Dennis! What the hell are you doing with my girl?” bellowed Adam
Cartwright. His angry voice echoed off the paneled wall. His shoes crunched on
broken dishes. Someone grabbed him and held him firmly from behind. Adam was
unable to continue to fight. One of the butlers, Wilson, held him in a tight
grip, his forearm bent around Adam’s throat. Wilson’s strong arms were around
him, holding him tight against the barrel of his chest.
Despite his shock and pain,
Dennis’s instinct was still to get scramble to his feet. Somehow, amid the
broken glass and squashed pastries, he struggled up onto his hands and knees,
clutching himself where it hurt most. Guests were reaching out hands helping him
to stand.
"Hey, Adam! Adam. I’m sorry Adam."
Dennis stammered trying to make apologies.
“ Adam! Stop, I love him! Amanda
screamed clutching at Adam’s broad cloth coat. “I love Dennis, not you! I never
loved you!”
The words hit
him like a shotgun blast to his gut.
“I don’t love
you. I never did “
Wilson grabbed
Adam tighter as he attempted to break away. For an instant, hearing Amanda’s
words, Adam stopped struggling. Wilson caught off guard lost his grip. Like a
trapped mustang, Adam pulled loose, pushed past the shocked guests and bolted
out of the Stoddard house.
Chapter 8
Adam burst
through the front door and stumbled down the front steps. He almost knocked over
two late arriving guests and he hurled himself away from his grandfather’s
house.
Running down the
street in a panic-stricken rage he barely avoided being run over by a handsome
cab that was coming down the street.
Adam ran until
he could no longer run any more. Then he walked through the dark streets not
knowing where he was headed or why.
What had just
happened to him? “ What was his girl doing with his best friend?” His mind was
racing as he walked. She said she never loved him. Never. He was devastated and
embarrassed. How could she betray him like that?
Adam walked
aimlessly through the cold night until he realized he was near the Charles River
at the spot he used to go to think. He couldn’t go back to the Stoddard house.
Not now. He would kill Dennis if he saw him. Adam had never felt so confused or
betrayed in his entire life.
The cold wind
off the river cut right through his suit. Adam realized tears were streaming
down his face. His feet hurt and he needed to sit down. Adam ran his fingers
through his black hair wiped his sleeve across his face. He stared sadly out at
the river shivering in the cold damp night air. Just a few hours earlier he had
thought his life was wonderful and in an instant it had all ended.
Sitting down
under the cluster of pine trees Adam rested his back against the trunk of the
tree. He rested his face against his raised knees and closed his eyes.
He must have
fallen asleep as the next thing he realized the sky was getting light.
Adam heard someone calling his name and looked up and saw a gray haired man
coming towards him. For an instant, he thought he saw his father, Ben Cartwright
coming towards him and wondered how Pa could be in Boston.
“Adam? Laddie we
been looking all over for you, son.” Adam rubbed the crustiness out of his eyes
and realized it was Sean O’Mara, Dennis’s uncle, approaching him. “ Adam, are
you ok?”
Sean bent down to extend his hand to Adam. “Leave me alone Sean” Adam growled
pulling away from the older man.
”Adam, Dennis
and I have been looking for you all night. He needs to set things straight with
you. Son. Let him talk to you for just a few minutes.”
”Sean if he comes near me, I’ll kill him. What the hell was he doing kissing
Amanda?”
Over Sean’s
shoulder, Adam could see Dennis coming up the path. His eye was swollen closed
and his lip was split from the blows Adam had dealt him. “Adam, let me
explain.” Dennis pleaded.
Sean grabbed the
front of Adam’s coat and yanked him up from the ground. The bar keeps pinned him
against the tree trunk. Adam tried to pull away but he was cornered between
O’Mara and pine.
“Hold still boy
and give Dennis five minutes. If you still want to kill him, I’ll let you at
him. Is that fair?”
Adam nodded. He
tried to pull free, but years of keeping order at the Golden Shamrock had honed
Sean’s skill at keeping the most enraged men under his control.
He yanked Adam’s
arm behind his back and ordered once again” I told you, listen to him for five
minutes and then, if you still want, I’ll let you have a go at him. Understand?”
Adam nodded and winced as Sean pulled his arm tighter. “Ok, Sean.”
“Adam, I’m
sorry. “
”Dennis, once Sean lets me go, I am going to kill you with my bare hands.”
Sean twisted
Adam’s arm harder. “I told you to listen boy.”
” Remember I told you about the woman I was in love with…” Dennis started again.
“Adam, it was Amanda. We were together five years before you even met her. We
were going to be married. When my father was alive, Bruce felt I was a suitable
son-in-law but as soon as my father was killed… “
Dennis stopped for a minute and took a breath. “As soon as my father went down
with the Sea Breeze, we had no more money. All my father’s assets were
tied up in that ship and I was no longer good enough for Mr. Bruce. Charlie
Junior went down on that ship too. Do you think Amanda’s father would let her
marry the son of the Captain of the Sea Breeze? ? “
Adam froze for a minute. Sean eased up his grasp on his arm. “Amanda was the one
you were in love with? The one you said lied to you?”
Dennis nodded.
“She didn’t lie. She still loves me. It was her father. He sent her away and
made sure she didn’t get any of my letters. I wrote her every day for weeks, for
months and he made sure she didn’t get a one. He told her I had married someone
else. The son of a bitch told her lies and that I even had two children with
this woman. Bruce told her that.”
Dennis stopped
for a minute. “Charles Bruce made sure Amanda hated me. He even named the
children…Dennis Junior and Joseph Francis.”
Adam shivered.
Joseph Francis? That was his brother’s name.
“She never loved
you, Adam. I’m sorry.”
Sean let go of
Adam. Cartwright didn’t move. “ She loved you not me?”
Dennis nodded. “I’m sorry Adam.’ He put his arm around his friend’s shoulder.
“Can I just ask you one question?” Adam whispered hoarsely.
“What is it?”
”Did my grandfather know about this?”
Dennis and Sean were silent.
“Dennis, tell
me. Did my grandfather know about this?” Adam bellowed. “Did he? You have to
answer this.”
Dennis nodded. “Yes. Stoddard knew all about it. It was his idea.”
Chapter 9
Late the next
morning, Adam Cartwright stood on the icy marble steps of his Grandfather’s
house. He hammered with both fists on the carved doors of the Stoddard house
until one of the grim faced servants opened the door. He burst into his into the
house demanding to see his grandfather.
The butler led
him down the hallway, past the alcove under the staircase, to Captain Stoddard’s
study.
Stoddard was
sitting at his desk. He gestured for his the young man to sit in the straight
back chair opposite him.
“So Grandson.
There is something you want to talk to me about” Abel Stoddard sat behind his
massive desk. “Where were you last night?”
Furious and
filled with rage at the deception, Adam sat stiffly in the chair opposite Abel
his jaw clenched.
“Adam, I am
speaking to you! Where were you last night? Answer me when I speak to you, young
man!” Captain Stoddard demanded standing in an aggressive stance.
“I …I needed to
walk. To think about what was really happening and what Amanda said… what she
said last night .I’m going home after graduation. I…I can’t stay here. Dennis
told me everything.”
”What ever Amanda said, she is wrong. Dennis is wrong…” the Captain started.
“The are both liars.”
“Grandfather,
Amanda Bruce doesn’t love me. She said that she never loved me. She. She always
loved Dennis, not me.” Adam struggled.
“Never me, “ he
shook his head.
Figuring that
the best defense was an offense, Abel Stoddard desperately attacked his
grandson.
”Your behavior is unacceptable!”Stoddard bellowed. “Fighting, brawling, breaking
up my house, embarrassing me in front of my guests. This is the Stoddard house
not a cowboy saloon, young man!”
”This is Boston
not the wild west! I don’t know how your father raised you. I always knew your
father was second rate and incapable and.”
“Stop!” Adam
exploded. He stood up abruptly with such force the chair flipped over with a
crash.
“You just shut
your lying mouth, Old Man” Adams voice echoed off the walls. He leaned over the
desk his face in his grandfather’s face. “ Don’t you ever, ever say anything
about my father and how he raised me you despicable manipulative son of a
bitch.“
Adam stood
facing his grandfather. Abel tried to stare him down but finally looked away. He
had met his match years earlier with his son-in-law, Ben Cartwright in the
battle that made Ben leave Boston taking Adam from him. Now Stoddard was
reliving that battle with his grandson and he refused to loose this time at any
cost.
“Now, I
understand why he never had anything to do with you after my mother died. You
must have treated him the same way you treated me! “
”No Adam, you
are wrong! “Stoddard banged his fist on the desk. “Your father rejected every
opportunity I offered him and saw fit to take you away from your Grandmother and
me to live far away from civilization and decent people.”
Stoddard was
willing to use any weapon he had. He did not care what price any person paid as
long as he won what he wanted. Now the Captain was willing to win at any cost.
He reached for the final weapon.
“Do you think
your step mother wanted you around? Why do you think she wrote to me years ago?
To get rid of you Adam. To get rid of my daughter’s son and have Ben Cartwright
all to herself. To have Ben Cartwright acknowledge only her boy not you.”
”Marie? What does Marie have to do with all this? She’s been dead for years. “
“She wrote to
me. Marie wanted to get rid of you and needed me to take you off her hands”
Adam thought –
that can’t be true. He is lying again.
Sure, Adam
thought, when Pa first married Marie, Adam and his stepmother had not initially
gotten along. But he knew now it was all his doing. Marie had always loved him
but young Adam refused to let her win his heart. Marie was the one who
encouraged him to learn math and taught him music and drawing. She read poetry
to them at night before he and Hoss fell asleep. She even supported him in
writing to his grandparents back in Boston while his father ignored them. By the
time Little Joe was born, Adam was as much her son as he was Ben’s.
No, Marie would
not have wanted to get rid of him any more than she would have wanted to get rid
of Little Joe. His Grandfather was lying.
“How can you say
that Abel?” Adam demanded.
“I’ll show you!
“ His grandfather opened a drawer and pulled out a stack of letters bound in a
bundle. He shuffled through the stack until he found a particular envelope.
“Look, read this!”
He thrust a
letter into his grandson’s hand.
Seeing Marie’s
handwriting so many years after he lost her was suddenly startling to Adam. But
it was comforting in a strange sort of way to him also. She may not have been
the mother that gave birth to him but she was the mother of his heart.
“Read it Adam.
She did not want you around. She wanted Ben for her son.”
My Dear
Captain and Mrs. Stoddard,
I beg your
forgiveness on my impertinence in contacting you with out being formally
introduced but I feel that this is a matter of great importance .The welfare of
your dear grandson is far more important than any breech of etiquette.
My name is
Marie Cartwright. I recently married your former son-in-law Benjamin Cartwright.
Young Adam is now my stepson.
He is a very
dear boy and in good health. Adam is a very intelligent and almost eleven years
old. His hair and eyes are dark. Benjamin tells me he looks much like his
mother. Adam reads and does mathematics extremely well. He is a very talented in
music and a responsible and intelligent child.
I am writing
on this sweet child’s behalf to see if there is any interest on your part in
writing to him. I know you had a falling out with his father upon the death of
your daughter. My dear husband refuses to elaborate to me the details of this
rift.
I beg you
not to let Benjamin know that I am in contact with you. My love for my son is
more important than any unease this may cause in my dealings with my husband.
Adam has come
to me with questions regarding his late mother’s family in Boston and why he no
longer has contact with anyone from Elizabeth’s family.
I anxiously
await your reply to me.
Sincerely,
Adam read the
letter slowly.
My love for
my son is more important than any unease this may cause in my dealings with my
husband.
Little Joe? Her
son Little Joe.
He read it a
second time. There was nothing in this letter saying she wanted to get rid of
him. Nothing in the letter asked for the Captain and his grandmother to take him
away from her. Adam was almost embarrassed at the love and pride she had for
him.
He is a very
dear boy and in good health. Adam is a very intelligent and almost eleven years
old. His hair and eyes are dark. Benjamin tells me he looks much like his
mother. Adam reads and does mathematics extremely well. He is a very talented in
music and a responsible and intelligent child.
Almost eleven
years old?
Not her son
Little Joe, her son Adam.
Adam looked at
the date on the letter. This written was during the time he was the most
despicable to his stepmother. This letter had nothing to do with her wanting
Joseph to be Pa’s son and not Adam. Joe hadn’t even been born yet; she couldn’t
even have been pregnant with him when she wrote to Abel. The letter was written
purely out of love for Adam and to help him to reconnect with his lost
grandparents. Not to get rid of him. It was just like Marie to try to find a way
to help him find something he didn’t even know he needed.
It was just like
Abel Stoddard to distort the facts to suit his purpose.
He remembered
those years well. Whenever he would ask his father about his grandfather, Ben
would say, “Your grandfather likes to believe his version of reality is the
truth. He and I parted on bad terms, Son.” Ben refused to discuss it saying
someday Adam would be old enough to understand.
Now Adam
understood why.
One day, Marie
surprised him with a letter from his grandparents. Adam had always assumed that
they had initiated contact with him. Now he knew otherwise. Marie had made it
happen out of her love for him.
The Adam and his
grandparents started to write to each other, for years. Even after Marie died,
he continued writing to them. They had invited him to come to Boston to study
and eventually Adam convinced his father to let him go. Maybe this was why Ben
Cartwright had been so uneasy with the plans laid out by his grandfather.
“Adam, “ he had
said the night before his son went east “There are some people who think only
with their heads and don’t let their hearts get involved with anything they do.
They think people are just things to be moved around at their whim like so many
chess pieces. Like so much property not like a living soul. I raised you to use
your head and your heart, boy and be honorable no matter what. I would rather
lose my land than my honor, Adam. Remember that no matter what happens.”
Marie didn’t
arrange to send him away. She arranged for Adam’s grandparents to get to know
their only grandchild. She probably even defied his father to help Adam
accomplish this. Only Marie would dare defy Pa like that.
Pa had told him
““Your grandfather likes to believe his version of reality is the truth.”
The long ago
conversation he had with Dennis swirled back into Adam’s consciousness.
“I’ve seen more
than one fellow get shot or hung from a noose for short changing someone in a
poker game or a horse trade. “ For a moment, Adam wished he had a gun or a
length of rope to loop around his grandfather’s skinny neck.
“ I’m going home
after graduation. I can’t stay here. “ Adam Cartwright turned his back to his
grandfather to walked out of the house he had lived in the last four years of
his life. “I’ll send someone for my things.”
He walked down
the hall and out the front door with out looking back or saying goodbye.
Stoddard sat heavily in his chair. He had lost Adam for the second time. The
first time was when Elizabeth died and Ben Cartwright carried the screaming baby
out of this house. Captain Stoddard did not want to accept defeat then had
worked so hard and so long for a goal. He wanted Adam.
Stoddard looked
at Marie’s letter in his hand, the letter written by a woman who was long dead.
“I wonder how
long it will be before Marie’s son is old enough to go to college?” He thought.