by Dee Jones
"I don't think my daughter or her husband will be joining us for lunch today," she told the man. "Go ahead and have Mrs. Lester serve me in here."
"Yes ma'am," he replied; amusement and knowledge echoed in his tone.
Louise watched the older man leave the room before she glanced up to Victor’s portrait hanging on the wall. He had anticipated a much longer fight before Julia surrendered to Daniel's sensuous power; but Louise had known better. She and her late husband had both seen the effects Daniel had on women and knew the moment he set eyes on their daughter; it would be a matter of time before Julia accepted the more pleasant aspects of her marriage. The girl was stubborn, of that there was no denying, but Louise saw the attraction Julia held toward her now husband; an attraction that had eventually proven champion over her determination to remain celibate.
The sound of giggling filtered down the hallway from the kitchen, bringing a frown to Louise’s delicate features. The little red-haired maid was proving to be more of a nuisance than an actual help. Her constant gossiping and insatiable flirting with the hired hands was getting out of control.
Everything that happened, either at the ranch or the main house, made a quick circle around the area. Bridget had been eager to inform all who listened of every event that took place at what was now being called Browning Estates. Her biggest and juiciest tidbits were those of Daniel and Julia's sleeping arrangements. The fact Daniel had occupied a separate room on his wedding night had been the talk of the stables and barroom corners for weeks.
Bridget made certain one and all to knew the Turner secrets and Louise had no doubt the rumors spreading around town had been initiated from her own household. The stained sheets several days ago however, put a halt to the girl's gossiping; at least on that subject and the events currently in place upstairs would bring about a grandchild sooner than anyone had anticipated. Perhaps that would curb the girl's activities; if not, she would be in need of new employment before the first snowfall.
Louise's smile returned when she considered Julia and Daniel having a child. She thought of what it would be like to have a baby in the house again after so many years. She thought too of how it would unite her torn family. One day soon, Jeremy would be married and Daniel had told her of his proposition to make him his partner at the stables, which meant there would be another young couple living at home.
The future looked bright and filled with years of little pitter patters around the stables, and not those of foals. Then the thoughts of everything that had been plaguing the ranch came rushing back to her. One way or the other she knew Daniel would be the one who put an end to the events and the rumors; all of them. His love for Julia was too great to allow anything further to happen to her, and Louise was sure he was on the path of learning all there was to know about the instigator. She felt confident in his abilities to sort out the nasty details and only hoped he could do it before anything else happened to her daughter.
Chapter Twenty-Two
The brown shingles of the mansion's roof came into view even before the sounds of horses in the distance could be heard. Harold gazed out across the fields watching two men on horseback rounding up the long legged thoroughbreds and, head them toward the corrals. The sun was beginning to sink low behind the tree tops, as bright orange and pink hues splashed against the clear blue, painting the evening sky in a majestic splendor of color. It was going to be warm tomorrow, he thought to himself, but then Kentucky usually was during the summer months.
Harold hitched his horse to the post outside the fence surrounding the large old structure. He tethered the reins and gathered his leather case before walking up the steps. The chance of Daniel being inside was near impossible, since he knew his friend spent most of his time out at the stables; yet it was the best place to start looking. He knocked softly on the screen door and peaked into the hall beyond. The door had been left open for the cool breeze of evening to pass through; several lamps burned in the foyer, casting shadows against the walls.
A few moments passed by before the heavy steps of boots could be heard coming down the stairs. A woman's soft laughter floated through the silence caused Harold to smile. He knocked again, this time taking note of the volume of his announcement echoing through the house.
"Harold," Daniel said in greeting as he stepped down the winding stairs and pulled the screen door open. The two men shook hands and Daniel stepped aside allowing his partner to enter. Julia smiled; a soft blush coloring her cheeks. She was certain the twinkle in the man's honey brown eyes told of how guilty she appeared.
"I wasn't expecting to see you so soon," Daniel continued, escorting his wife and best friend into the family room.
"I wasn't sure you'd be here," Harold confessed with a wink to the man next to him. "I assumed you'd be out at the stables. Didn't you say you planned on mating some of the mares today?" Daniel chuckled glancing at Julia as they sat on the small divan.
"I did," two words spoken, warned Harold to drop the subject before he embarrassed both himself and the young couple.
"How's Margie?" Julia asked, trying to control the color rising in her face.
"She's fine; she was disappointed that she couldn't join me, though. She's busy with her bridge club today. By the way, she'd kill me if I forgot to ask you. Margie would like to know, if you'd be interested in joining the old biddies...er, I mean the women? They meet once a week at one of the member's houses and have a day of cards and gossip."
"Tell Margie thank you, but I don't know how to play bridge and I detest gossip. Poker is more to my liking anyhow."
"Poker?" the two exclaimed in unison as their laughter erupted in a mutual tone of amusement. Julia’s eyes sparkled like flames on the hearth, yet gave nothing away of her inner humor she was hiding. She sat staring at the two until they calmed down enough to continue speaking.
"I'm sorry Princess," Daniel chuckled, wiping a tear from his eye. "But you shouldn't tease like that. There's no way a woman could possibly understand the complex rules of poker."
"Is that a fact? You wouldn't care to put your money where your mouth is, would you Mr. Browning?"
"You're not serious?" Harold added in turn, his eyes examining the woman with building interest and amazement.
"Oh Harold she's just joking. She doesn't know the first thing about the game."
"I wouldn't be so certain if I were you," Julia rose from the divan and went to the secretary in the corner, removing a deck of her father's playing cards. She moved the small table from beside the fireplace, positioning it between them and sat back on the end of the small sofa.
"Five card stud, one eyed jacks wild and just for fun, let's say opening bid is a dollar, shall we?" Daniel and Harold exchanged glances before their attention was drawn to the woman's hands. She removed the small ribbon binding the cards together and began to shuffle them with the fingers of a seasoned professional.
"I don't believe this," Harold nearly choked, as she dealt the cards around with lightning speed. He looked to Daniel who stared at his wife in wide eyed shock. "What do we do now?"
"Put up or shut up," Julia answered in turn of her husband. Daniel growled softly as he reached into his pocket and tossed a silver dollar on the table top.
"I'm calling your bluff my darling wife," he told her, picking up the cards she had dealt to him. Harold chuckled and tossed a dollar to the table in turn, as did Julia.
"This I gotta see," the man snickered and began to position his cards in order.
Two hours and nearly fifty dollars later Julia rose from the table and collected her winnings giving a sheepish smile to the losers.
"If you two will excuse me I'm going to go put this in a safe place."
"I’ve got to know," Harold said with a deep stretch. "Where did you ever learn to play poker like that? You were ruthless."
"Actually the mayor of Boston taught me," she answered with a wicked grin. "My uncle is a big fan of cards and I helped him entertain on occasion; usually when my aunt wa
s having babies or stuck entertaining the women."
"Well, I think you're incredible," Harold sniffed back the crow he had been forced to eat, straightening his tie back into place.
"Why thank you Mr. Leonard," she smiled again, glancing across to Daniel. "You seem to be the biggest loser tonight, my love. I believe this I.O.U. is yours? How exactly do you plan on paying me the twenty dollars when I have every nickel you had on you?"
"Would you accept restitution in trade?" Daniel winked at the woman, reveling in the rise of color to her creamy complexion.
"That would depend. Do you think you're worth twenty dollars?" Daniel growled, slapping her backside with his hand and laughed at the woman's squeal as she hurried from the room and up the winding staircase.
"Your wife is full of surprises, my dear Mr. Browning," Harold announced, as Daniel returned the table to its normal resting place before sitting back across from him.
"I couldn't agree with you more, but I'm sure you didn't come out here just to lose your shirt playing poker with her. Although I'd be interested to learn what Margie has to say about it? What's up?"
"I found out a few things concerning our discussion in town the other day and figured you'd want to know." Daniel stood and walked to the door closing it securely before he turned back to his friend.
"What did you find out?"
"I went to Graves County and talked with the doctor, Stewart mentioned. He didn't really seem to recall Heather Farnsworth or the man she was with, but his nurse did. She said the man was very handsome, but they didn't give any names, at least nothing more than Heather and get this - Michael."
"Michael? Who the hell's Michael?"
"Beats the hell out of me; I don't recall there being a Michael around here, but then I didn't keep a close eye on the local traffic, either."
"Damn; now we're nowhere again. This Michael could be able to shed a little light on this mystery, but we don't even know who the hell he is."
"No, but I do have a description. The nurse said she remembered him or rather his arm, distinctly. She said he had a long scare that went from his elbow to his wrist. That should at least set him apart."
"But if we don't know anything else, how can we find him? We can't exactly go around asking every man in town to roll up his sleeve."
"I did my best pal," Harold said quietly, knowing he really didn't find out anything, but figured Daniel would want to know nevertheless.
"I know Harold, thanks. It's just so damn frustrating. What about Sharon Farnsworth, did you find out anything there?"
"Not much. Some of the town folks remembered her vividly from when she lived here before. It seems she had a reputation with the male residences of Mayfield, if you know what I mean."
"So I've heard. I've been told she had a list of lovers the size of a Metropolis mile."
"According to the men I spoke with, and a number of the women as well, our Miss Farnsworth was very popular. According to them, it was rare when she wouldn't be in one bed or the other, and she started at a very early age. Fifteen if the stories can be believed. From what I've been told, she didn't care if the man was married or single, or even if he was old and fat. She seems to have an affliction when it comes to the male gender, so guard yourself. There were several men in town who spoke of her in the present text, so I'd say she's back to her old habits. Also, I found out her claims for moving at the time was to attend college. I've put in a wire to Princeton University where she said to have been enrolled, but so far I haven't heard anything back from them. Also I wired her brother, Peter. He should be able to shed a little light on his sister's activities."
"What about Dourn? Did you check out this place in New York he was supposed to have come from?"
"Yes, and they never heard of him, yet the description does match a man they had working for them a while back. He was a loner and spent very little time doing anything, other than working. They said he was fired, although they didn't say what the reasons were."
"So, now what?"
"Why don't you talk with Dourn? You may be able to find out something more about the night Julia was at the pond."
"I've tried, but every time I go searching for him he's nowhere to be found. He's been very good at avoiding me. The only one he talks to is Overton. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to go down to the stables and see if he happens to be around anyway."
"Daniel, if you want I'll go with you when you confront him. The reason he was fired in New York may help clear up some of this mess."
"You're welcome to join me, but it'll have to wait until after supper. I don't want Julia getting suspicious. She's gone through enough and I don't want anything else to happen that could cause her trouble."
"Agreed," the man assured his friend. Neither said anything more, they were both wrapped up in their own affairs to really concern themselves with conversation. One way or the other, they had to get to the bottom of all of this and hopefully before anything more serious happened.
The sun had long ago set and the sky was filled with a million twinkling stars. The moon was nearly full and the light it offered made the walk down to the stables pleasant. Harold and Daniel excused themselves as soon as they had finished dessert. Daniel explained how Harold wanted to see the new stables and ordered Julia to remain at the house. He insisted she wouldn't want to be there when Harold lit up his cigars and Julia quite agreed.
Dourn was sitting just inside the door of the stables, chewing on a long twig of straw. His feet were perched high on a bale of hay, his eyes closed to the sights of the evening.
“There he is, the little bugger,” Daniel growled but was stopped short with a hand to his shoulder. Harold frowned as he looked at the man reclining comfortably.
“That’s Dourn?” he asked suspiciously.
"Yes that's him, why? You sound as though you know him."
"I do and so do you. Remember about five years ago, right after you arrived here? We were at the saloon and a drunk started calling you fancy breeches?" Daniel remembered the incident clearly, once his friend reminded him of it. He looked back to the man in the door way of the new barn, his face vividly clear in Daniel's mind and painfully familiar.
"That was Dourn," he remarked, more as a statement than a question.
"Not exactly; his name is Overton. He's the son of your foreman and he used to work here at Turner Stables until Victor fired him."
"What the hell's his game?"
"Let's go find out," the two men continued down the path to the stables, still unnoticed by the man lingering in near slumber.
"Overton!" Daniel growled. The man jumped up, the straw between his teeth fell to the ground and he nearly tripped on the bale of hay he had been relaxing against.
"Y’sir," the man said, than began to stutter at his sudden acknowledgment. "I mean...er...he ain't here...yeah, that's right...Pa, er...Rally, that is, Mr. Overton...he's...well he's..."
"Forget it Overton, the jig's up. I want an explanation and I want it now. What the hell are you doing here and why did you lie about who you were?"
"That were my idea, Mr. Brownin'," Rally said, forcing the man to turn a narrowed glare to the man. "I's tol' the boy, ta lie."
"Why? You could have told me the truth, Rally."
"I's sorry Mr. Brownin', it's just that the boy were in trouble up north and I didn't think ya'd hire him on knowin' why."
"What did you do?" Harold asked, addressing the man who was slowly regaining his composure.
"That ain't none of yer business," he snapped.
"Answer the man's question boy," Rally ordered. "Ya wanna loose another job?"
"The owner and me, well we didn't get on is all," the younger Overton reported, with a crooked smile.
"Didn't get on?" Rally snapped, slapping his son across the back of the head. "Ya tried ta screw his wife, ya fool. I can't understand ya, boy. What's the matter with ya, anyhows?"
"You raped your employer's wife?" Harold asked, sounding more like an attorney than an
innocent bystander.
"Hell no," Dourn shouted in his defense. "I's didn't have ta force the woman inta my bed. She was comin' on ta me like a she-cat in heat. Hell, she only turned ‘gainst me 'cause we's got caught in bed by her ol' man."
"Ya tol' me, ya never did an'thin' 'cept ta kiss her, now yer sayin' ya got her inta bed? I swear boy, yer always findin' the wrong women. I's tellin' ya, yer gonna be the death of me yet." Rally slapped the boy again, this time hard enough to make his him stumble forward. Daniel hid his amusement at the way his foreman was treating the man, but other thoughts soon burned his humor to cinders.
"What the hell are you doing here? You knew there was a chance Julia or I would recognize you and call you out on your lies."
"I's didn't think ya'd 'member me since I's weren't nothin' but a drunk 'n as fer Miss Julia, well I's figered if'n I's just avoided her, there wouldn't be no chance she'd rec'nize me. After all, it's been five years."
"Why did you lie to me Rally? I trusted you. I thought we were beyond all of this?" Daniel sounded hurt and angry with the older man; the feeling of betrayal burned in his soul.
"I's awful sorry, Mr. Brownin', but I's had ta look after my boy, 'n he promised me not ta go near Miss Julia, so I's thought it'd be alright. I's have us both packed 'n outta 'ere, t'night 'n cause ya no more problem."
"No, that won't be necessary Rally," Daniel assured the man, after a few moments to pull himself together. His sympathy and understanding went out to the senior Overton, thinking he'd probably have done exactly the same thing, given similar circumstances. "You can both stay; just stay out of trouble and keep your nose clean. Next time Rally, try trusting me."
"There won't be no need fer a next time, Mr. Brownin'," Rally assured the man with a smile that revealed the tooth missing in front and a hearty handshake.
"What about the fire?" Harold intervened, bringing his friend back to one of the reasons they had come down here. "What do you know about it?"