The Visit

by storywriter17

Eliot Series, No.2: Scott is looking forward to the visit of Katie and Beth Eliot, but very little goes to plan. 'The Visit' is the sequel to 'Past Imperfect'. Just to be different, it is also a sequel to 'Names' by Doc, and begins the interweaving of the Widow Morris series (Doc) with the Eliot Series (Margaret P.).

1. Chapter 1

The Visit by Margaret P

(With thanks to betas Suzanne Lyte and Terri Derr) (Words: 4,430)

Chapter One

"I want to introduce the girl I'm going to marry, and I want to do it properly." Again, Johnny insisted on getting up to welcome Beth and Katie Eliot to the ranch.

"Nice to know you've so little faith in us, brother. I'm sure anyone of us can introduce Emily—properly. Doc says you're to stay in bed."

"You know what I mean."

"Don't waste your breath, Scott. If Johnny can make it downstairs without any help, he can do the honours; otherwise I'll bring our visitors upstairs to say hello to him afterwards." Emily slipped another spoonful of soup down Johnny's throat when he opened his mouth to protest. He spluttered and scowled at her. Everyone knew he couldn't move from the bed without some kind of assistance.

"You didn't only get shot remember; if that rib had been one inch higher it would have punctured your lung and not your liver. For once in your life, do as you're told." Scott had had about enough. He was tired. Emily was tired. They were all tired. The only one who was getting a good night's sleep was Johnny. Scott trusted Dr Owens when he said the operation had been a success: "Johnny's guardian angel has been working overtime. He'll make a full recovery eventually." But his guardian angels on earth had been working overtime too, and they couldn't keep it up much longer without a little more cooperation—at least not with a smile on their faces.

Since they'd got Johnny back to the ranch, Emily had barely left his side. That wasn't Johnny's fault. And he had made an effort for her sake—there were fewer complaints than usual—but Scott wished his brother would realise his constant pleas to be helped downstairs when he clearly wasn't fit enough were putting an unnecessary strain on everyone.

"My turn." Teresa burst through the door carrying two dime novels. As usual she had come prepared to sit with Johnny for a while so Emily could take a break. "I borrowed these. You have a choice between 'Davy Crockett' or 'The Rivals of Barrel Gulch'."

"Go away. I don't need to be watched all the time."

"Don't be such a bear with a sore head." Teresa leaned on the end of the bedstead and grinned as Johnny glared back. "I think 'The Rivals'. Barrel Gulch is supposed to be somewhere in Arizona. You might know it."

"Humph."

"Doc said to keep a close eye on you in case of infection or complications, and that is what we intend to do." Emily held another spoonful of soup up to his mouth.

Johnny pushed it away. "I don't want anymore." Emily lowered the spoon. Removing the napkin from under Johnny's chin, she draped it over the bowl and got up from the bed. Johnny grabbed at her hand. "I'm sorry."

Scott and Teresa turned away and pretended to discuss the merits of dime novels. After a minute or two, Emily moved to the door. "Enjoy the story. I'll be back soon."

Scott had only popped in for a short visit. He glanced at his brother now lying with his eyes shut. He had lost that death's door pallor, but he still looked hollow-eyed and the weight had just fallen off him. "See you later, brother." Johnny raised a finger in acknowledgement, and Scott followed Emily from the room, closing the bedroom door behind them. "How much did he manage?"

"About half." Emily looked pale in the dim light of the hallway. Scott took the lunch tray from her, and she led the way to the back stairs. "Dr Owens said it would be a while before his appetite returned to normal."

"I know, but a Johnny that doesn't eat isn't natural. I'll be a lot happier when he's demanding tamales and beans."

"You and me both, but he ate more than yesterday. He is improving." Emily descended the stairs in silence, but then turned to face Scott. "You know, I'm not really looking forward to meeting new people right now, not even Elizabeth and Catherine Eliot. Do you think I could just hide up in the bedroom with Johnny?"

"I'm sure it would be fine, but there's no need to be shy of Beth and Katie." He manoeuvred past her, and she followed him into the kitchen. He placed the tray on the bench next to the sink. "They were disappointed you didn't come with us to San Francisco for the wedding. Don't get me wrong. They understood perfectly when Johnny explained about the deadline for your research, but they did want to meet the woman who'd put such obvious joy in my brother's heart. I know Katie would like to hear more about your work too."

"I'm sure she was just being polite. Miss Eliot and her mother have had articles published in the Woman's Journal. I can't imagine they really care about my work."

Scott was quite certain Emily was wrong about that, but time would show her what the Eliots were really like. He wouldn't argue. "Does Katie write articles too? I didn't know."

"Oh yes. She wrote one recently about women in education. I found it very interesting—and helpful."

"Helpful?"

Emily transferred the dirty dishes to the sink and turned on the faucet. Cold water flowed steadily into a shallow enamel bowl as she added hot water from the kettle and used the soap shaker to create small suds. "She provided a list of institutions offering higher education and research fellowships to women." Emily blushed. "I thought maybe after Johnny and I marry—whenever that might be now—when life is more settled I might approach one of them. I'd like to publish my work under my own name."

What could he say to that? It was ironic that Johnny, whose own education had been virtually non-existent, should fall in love with a young widow as educated and academic in her interests as Emily Morris. It reinforced Scott's theory that lack of opportunity was the only reason his brother couldn't read and write very well; intelligence didn't come into it.

"Are you ready?" Murdoch came into the kitchen and grabbed one of the sandwiches Maria had left out for lunch under a damp cloth in the centre of the table. He looked weighted down and weary, and it wasn't just worries about the washed out bridge at Willow Crossing or the mauled remains of a calf found in the southern hills the day before. Murdoch had kept watch by Johnny's bedside every night since they'd brought him home. Late night was virtually the only time Emily ever left Johnny's side for more than half an hour. She had to sleep. Teresa, Jelly and Scott all took turns in the evening when Emily was particularly tired, but Murdoch wouldn't allow any of them to stay up through the night. As Scott had to carry most of Johnny's workload during the day, Murdoch was even reluctant to let him stay up after ten o'clock. His father would relieve Emily—or whoever else had taken over— near midnight and read the Iliad or do bookwork by his son's bedside until dawn. Then when Emily reappeared, he would retire for a much-needed nap. "I'll change my shirt and check on Johnny. Then we'll go."

Emily followed Murdoch back upstairs. Scott helped himself to a couple of sandwiches and headed out to the barn where Jelly was harnessing the horse to the new carryall. Murdoch had ordered the double-seated carriage soon after Johnny and Emily got engaged. With an extra lady in the family the buggy with two men riding along side would no longer suffice. Apart from one trip to church, this would be the carryall's first outing.

Murdoch barely spoke a word on their way to Morro Coyo. He had aged ten years since last seeing Beth and Katie at Jim and Alicia McIntyre's wedding. Hard to believe it had only been three weeks. Scott clapped his father on the knee before getting down from the carriage. He was glad he didn't have to break the news to the Eliots about Johnny; there was no good way of saying it.

Murdoch wasted no time. As soon as he and Scott had helped Beth and Katie from the coach, he told them. "Johnny sends his apologies for not being here to meet you, but he's been shot. He's confined to his bed."

"Oh my goodness, will he be all right?" Beth put a hand to her heart.

"He will, but it was a close call." Murdoch looked to his feet. "If I had my wits about me sooner, I'd have warned you before you left San Francisco—in case you didn't want to be here."

"Of course we want to be here." Beth clasped Murdoch's hands and was rewarded with a weak smile. "But do you want to be bothered with visitors? We can return to my brother's by the next stage if you can't cope with us."

Scott was intrigued by the way the two friends communicated without speaking. Beth let go of his father's hands and hugged him. The tension of the past few days seemed to melt from Murdoch's shoulders.

"How did it happen?" Beth looked between Murdoch and Scott. "I thought Johnny had given up his life as a shootist."

"He has." Murdoch's tone brooked no argument. "It wasn't his fault."

"Things like this don't normally happen here." Scott wasn't sure why he felt the need to say that, but the alarm lingering in Katie's eyes may have had something to do with it. The last thing he wanted her to think was that the San Joaquin Valley was some uncivilised frontier and his brother was still hiring his gun or attracting those that were. "It was an accident. An argument between Emily's brother and a business associate got out of hand. Johnny was caught in the crossfire."

Beth continued to ask questions as Scott transferred the ladies' luggage to the carryall. Katie didn't say anything, but she kept looking around and every time Scott reached for the next bag—the Eliots did not travel light—he saw her eyes fixed on a man with a gun.

"Emily's brother is now in jail awaiting trial for fraud, and the man who shot Johnny was buried six days ago." Murdoch handed Beth up into the front seat of the carryall and then climbed up to the driver's seat next to her. Scott was relieved his father didn't say who killed Collier. The sheriff was mentioned and Johnny exonerated. There was no need to distress their guests further with unnecessary detail. Where had Scott heard that sentiment before? He helped Katie into the carriage and joined her on the back seat.

She didn't say a word until they left the outskirts of town; she seemed enthralled by the buildings and people they passed along the way. Eventually she did turn around and look at him, but sadly, her gaze settled on his hip. "Why do all the men here wear guns?"

Scott stiffened. "I wouldn't say all." Damn it. Why hadn't he left his gun belt behind? Murdoch wouldn't have travelled the Morro Coyo road completely unarmed, but if even one of them had greeted the Eliots not wearing a weapon, it would have given a better impression. If he hadn't worn one, maybe Katie would have been less likely to notice the others. "I suppose most of us working on ranches do, but these days a gun is used more for scaring the cattle in the right direction than anything else."

He could see the rifle on the ledge under the driver's seat. It wasn't that obvious unless you knew it was there. Looking away in case Katie followed his line of sight, he focused on the smooth leather upholstery between them instead. Their hands were a mere finger width apart. He had visions of taking hold of hers and telling her not to worry. Nonsense. What was he thinking? It was far too soon for that. He banished his hand to a jacket pocket, and glanced over to see if Katie had noticed. Her eyes flickered away from the rifle, not his hand, and Scott's fingers tightened to a fist.

Murdoch pulled the carriage over when they reached the high point overlooking the ranch. The sun was low in the sky now, and the hills a purplish brown with a thin collar of white capped mountains behind. The fields and the hacienda were still bathed in sunshine, but shadows crisscrossed them and in another couple of hours it would be dark. Scott reached across Katie, directing her eyes to the grey-blue horizon. "Those mountains in the distance are the Sierra Nevada."

"They remind me of the Alps in Europe." Katie shaded her eyes with her hand. "California is so different from Massachusetts. Except for your ranch below, I can't see any buildings. It's all open land."

"There's room to breathe."

"But isn't it lonely living so far out of town? We've already driven for some time. How long will it take us to get to Lancer?"

"About another half hour to reach the hacienda, but we've been on Lancer land for the past twenty minutes." Scott smiled, but Katie's enthusiasm was less than he hoped for. She seemed unnerved by the openness.

She cheered up considerably though when the Lancer arch came into view, and she could see vaqueros and other ranch folk. She waved at a group of children at the entrance to the yard, and they ran along beside the carryall. Rummaging in a small drawstring purse, she extracted a paper bag full of jellybeans. "Want one before I give them away?"

Scott laughed and accepted a little taste of Boston. "These remind me of the only food parcel I received during the war. Grandfather swore he sent others, but they never reached me. The nature of war, I suppose." The parcel contained mostly tinned meat and fish, but at the very bottom there was a large fruit cake and a bag of Schrafft jelly beans, which he shared with his men. Somehow they had made them last a whole month.

Katie's wouldn't survive that long. The niños swooped on the bag like locusts as soon as the carryall came to a halt. "Gracias, Señorita. Gracias."

"Share them now, and no fighting." Katie laughed as the eldest boy solemnly doled out the candy, one precious bean at a time, before turning at the sound of her name. Teresa must have been watching for their arrival. She flung her arms around her friend and was only slightly less exuberant with Beth. "How wonderful to see you both."

After several minutes of hugs and enquiries, Teresa hurried ahead to tell Emily their visitors had arrived. Jelly and Walt stepped forward to deal with the baggage, and Murdoch and Scott escorted Beth and Katie into the house. The two women had already taken off their hats and gloves, and were admiring the great room when Emily appeared.

"Ah, there you are." Putting his arm around Emily's shoulder, Murdoch ushered her forward. "Beth, Katie—I'd like you to meet my future daughter-in-law, Emily Morris."

"How do you do?" Emily greeted the Eliots with diffidence, but neither lady was satisfied with reserved politeness. Beth hugged and kissed Emily, and then watched as Katie did the same, the expression of thoughtfulness on her face like one Scott dimly remembered from his youth.

Forbidden to be shy but still visibly not at ease, Emily led everyone upstairs to say hello to Johnny. Scott winked at her as he entered the room and elicited a small smile.

"This is not the best way to get out of wearing that suit, Johnny. How are you feeling?" Katie sat down on the end of the bed.

His brother flinched as the springs gave under her weight, but it was almost imperceptible. Scott was sure their visitors couldn't have noticed. A fraction of a second and Johnny was laughing and reaching out for Katie's hand. "I'm fine. I'll get up later and join you downstairs."

"No you won't." Beth kissed Johnny on the cheek and took the chair Teresa had vacated by the bedside. Scott looked over at his mother's best friend; maybe one of their visitors was more observant than he thought. Johnny opened his mouth to argue, but his eyes locked to hers, and he closed it again. "I'll come up and sit with you after supper, if that's all right with Emily?" Beth glanced over at Emily, standing at the foot of the bed. She nodded, unmistakably surprised to be asked. "You can tell me your version of how you got into this predicament. I love a good story."

Johnny blinked and swallowed. He looked between the four women surrounding his bed and then at Scott and Murdoch by the window. "Don't I have a say?"

Beth smiled. "Like most men in my life when they're sick I'm sure you've got a lot to say, Johnny. Fortunately, I've got selective hearing." She leaned forward and patted him on the hand.

Scott held one arm across his chest and the other hand over his mouth, trying desperately not to catch Murdoch's eye as he did the same. The expression on Johnny's face was priceless.

The end result was that for the first time in days, Emily spent most of the evening downstairs. She actually appeared to relax. At one point during the evening she suggested relieving Beth, but Katie waved away her concerns. "Mama will just send you back downstairs. Leave her to mother him a bit. Take it from me, she does it exceedingly well. Besides I have news about a certain Jake Telford. Did Teresa tell you that he was rather attentive at the wedding?"

"Oh." Teresa turned bright red and glanced towards Murdoch and Scott in alarm.

Katie's eyes danced. With a charm that was impossible to refuse, she smiled over at her hosts. "Would you gentlemen please excuse us for a few minutes? This is women's talk." Without waiting for a response, she turned her back and leaned forward, drawing Teresa and Emily into a huddle.

Murdoch chuckled and pushed himself out of his chair. "I think I'll get some more drinks."

Scott drained his glass and handed it to his father. Then he took the opportunity to go upstairs to collect a book about bridge building he'd left by his bed. If he was going to supervise the reconstruction of the bridge at Willow Crossing he needed to know the difference between a truss and a stringer. The ladies' conversation shifted to how many times Jake had asked Teresa to dance before he was out of earshot. By the time he returned it was back to more male-friendly topics and their merriment was equal to the laughter he had heard coming from his brother's bedroom. Johnny clearly wasn't finding Beth's company too hard to bear.

Beth came down an hour later and joined Emily on the sofa. "Asleep. Now my dear, I think it's your turn. If you'll excuse me for saying so, you look worn out. Off you go. We'll work out a roster between us to keep an eye on his lordship."

"But you've come so far. The least I can do is stay up to talk to you on your first night."

"We've plenty of time to get to know each other, and besides, I don't expect the rest of us will be much later." Beth put her hand up to cover a yawn, and then checked the watch hanging from her chatelaine. "Dear me, it's not that late, but I really am tired. I'm not used to all this travelling."

Emily did as she was told, and as Beth predicted the rest were not far behind. Murdoch headed up to Johnny's room with the Iliad in hand, and after saying his good nights to the ladies at the bottom of the stairs, Scott went out to check on the night watch before he also turned in. It didn't take long. These days there was only one man on the roof and two patrolling the grounds around the hacienda and yard; there had been nothing more frightening than a fox in the henhouse for months. Scott prayed it would stay that way, at least for the duration of the Eliots' visit.

He was heading back inside when he saw movement amongst the trees at the south end of the patio. Curious, he went to investigate. "I thought you'd gone to bed."

"Soon. I'm not as tired as Mama, more in need of stretching my legs and a little fresh air."

"A stagecoach journey will do that to you." Scott leaned against a pillar and watched Katie glide between the trees like a dryad in the moonlight.

"They certainly weren't blessed with a lot of space, and there must, I fear, be a water shortage in California, judging by some of our fellow passengers." Katie's eyes twinkled. She took a deep breath and gazed up into a starry sky. "The air here is amazingly fresh and clear. I feel like I could reach up and touch the constellations."

"It's the lack of other light. In the city the street lamps somehow make the stars seem less vibrant."

"Speaking of vibrancy, Johnny is definitely not looking like he did in San Francisco. He's so frail and those bruises." The wonder on Katie's face switched to concern. "He must be hurting a lot. I'm sure I saw him wince when I sat on the end of his bed. Didn't the doctor give him something for the pain?"

"Laudanum, but Johnny refuses to take much of it." Scott hooked his thumb into his belt and kicked at the ground. "He's past the stage we can force him."

"Well, I suppose that's good news, but I can't believe one bullet in his shoulder could have made him so unwell. What kind of place is this that men take guns to business meetings anyway?"

Scott chose not to answer that last question, but Katie's distress forced him to reveal more of the story. "We didn't want to alarm you and your mother more than necessary. Johnny was beaten up a few days before he was shot. We—"

"What do you mean? Why? I thought Murdoch said he was injured when Emily's brother and his business partner started fighting."

"He was—mostly. It's complicated. Glen Rust didn't approve of his sister's choice of husband. When he couldn't persuade Emily to break off their engagement, he tried to scare Johnny off. We think his rib was cracked by the thugs Rust hired, and later when Collier fell on top of him the bone broke completely and was shoved inwards."

"My goodness, Johnny must have been in agony. But I don't understand why Mr Rust would go to such lengths. Surely he knew Johnny had given up his life as a shootist and as part owner of the ranch he had a real future to offer Emily. Why was he so against them being together?"

"His history as a gunfighter was only part of it. Mostly Rust didn't like the fact that Johnny is half-Mexican."

"Oh, I see. How terrible for Emily—I expect Johnny wouldn't care what such an ignorant man thought if it wasn't for her."

Scott nodded. "Congress can pass laws declaring men equal, but there are always some who will harbour hatred for no other reason than skin colour or religion."

"I find that incredibly sad." Katie studied her hands, twisting the cameo ring on her finger. "But you were explaining about Johnny's injuries and I interrupted. Please tell me the rest."

Scott worried he might say too much, but keeping Katie in the dark about the events and the extent of Johnny's injuries hadn't proved to be the best idea. She was obviously shocked by his brother's appearance that afternoon. "Apart from his shoulder Johnny didn't say he was in pain. The doctor saw to the bullet and cleaned him up, and Emily and I took him away. It was getting late by then so we decided to spend the night at the hotel. I sent word to Murdoch to collect us the next day." Scott started to pace. "Thank God we did stay in town, because in the morning Johnny wouldn't wake up. Doc Owens recognised what was wrong in a matter of minutes, but it meant another operation and no one was sure what the outcome would be."

Scott shook his head. He still couldn't quite believe it. Johnny hadn't said one word about his gut hurting, and later when Scott asked him why not he just changed the subject. So help him, once his pig-headed idiot of a brother was well enough Scott was going to beat him to a pulp for not saying anything. Johnny's habit of downplaying his injuries had put them all through the longest three hours of their lives.

Katie seemed to read his mind. "Johnny is not very good at admitting he needs help. He's still not used to having people who care about him."

"No." Scott shrugged and looked up to the sky. "It's taken him some time to trust and he still thinks he always has to be the strong one."

"He's lucky to have a brother who cares about him and understands him so well."

"It works both ways."

"Of course. No one knows that better than me. I have three brothers, remember. I'm not blind to the strengths and hazards of brotherhood." Katie stifled a yawn. "Excuse me. A little stroll in the moonlight and I'm ready for my bed. Will I see you in the morning or do you need to work?"

"Even a rancher gets a few hours off on Sunday for good behaviour."

"I'm glad. I'll see you at breakfast then. Good night, Scott."

"Good night, Katie." Scott watched her go, slim and graceful, tantalisingly close but with that Boston reserve that would keep them respectably apart. He stared up at Perseus and Andromeda. Johnny was a little like Perseus; too prone to putting himself in danger for the sake of a woman. To be fair though, maybe that was a Lancer trait and not just restricted to Johnny; his own record was no better. He had to admit, he wouldn't mind a chance to fill the role of knight in shining armour for Katie.

Notes:

1. This story is the second in the Eliot Series. The first was Past Imperfect, 2014. The Eliot Series has its roots in From Highlands to Homecoming, 2014, a back story of Murdoch Lancer's life. Most of the significant non-canon characters in the Eliot Series were created originally for From Highlands to Homecoming. The story of Johnny and the bloomers can be read in Chapter 30: Ups and Downs.

2. This story links to Names, 2014, of the Widow Morris Series by Doc. Some of the dialogue and ideas related to Johnny and Emily in this story were provided by Terri Derr (aka Doc).

3. The Women's Journal was founded in 1870 in Boston, Massachusetts by Lucy Stone, the prominent orator, abolitionist and suffragist. Lucy Stone was the first woman from Massachusetts to earn a college degree, her alma mater being Oberlin College in Ohio.

4. A carryall is a light four-wheeled carriage used in the U.S.A. in the nineteenth century. It seats four or more passengers and is drawn by a single horse.

5. The first record of jelly beans was in 1861 when Boston confectioner William Schrafft urged people to send his jelly beans to soldiers during the American Civil War.