Mercifully, Victoria had died in her sleep some hours before in the night. Her eyes were closed and her body still warm but she was clearly gone.

Nick and Emily stared at each other in stunned disbelief. There had been no sign, no illness, no indication she was going to die. And now there was much to do and neither Nick nor Emily was entirely sure how to proceed.

Victoria had long stated her wish to be buried next to her husband, Tom, on the ranch. He was buried where he was killed many years before and his remains had since been joined by those of the infant sons of Nick and Heath, lying side by side at his feet.

The practice of embalming had advanced since the War Between the States and was becoming common practice but in her more reflective moments, Victoria had said she didn't see the need for it if she were to be buried on the ranch.

A coffin, however, would need to be procured. And there were people to notify.

Emily added Dr. Wold to the list of people to notify. They should be certain she was, in fact, dead and make it official. Also, she realized, she had no mourning clothes. Heath's wife, Sarah, she knew, would also need a black dress, so she instructed Nick to stop at Schaeffer's store and have Betty choose two dresses. Black ribbon for arm bands, too. The undertaker would have mourning cards and stationary on which to write invitations and letters. She wrote all of this down and Nick put the note in his breast pocket.

Tom was directed to ride to Heath and Sarah's home and notify them immediately. It was about a half hour's ride from the main house. Caroline and Will were instructed to stop the clocks and cover the mirrors - traditions born of superstition no Barkley believed but they were proper gestures of mourning – and to mind Daniel and Julia. And, no, there would be no school today.

Emily returned to Victoria's room to prepare her body for burial. The first time she had cared for a dead body was with Sarah's mother, Ruth, and it was, in fact, Victoria who showed her how. She proceeded without tears, just a dumb shock, and got done what needed to get done. When she was finished and needed to dress her mother-in-law for burial, she realized that Victoria had never told how she wished to be attired for her eternal rest.

Emily opened the doors to the wardrobe and stared at the choices. Suddenly, it struck her what Victoria would say to her in this moment: "Oh, for Heaven's sake, what difference does it make?"

Emily smiled and shook her head at her mother-in-law's wonderful practicality and wry sense of humor. And then she cried.

Emily dressed Victoria in a royal blue satin dress – Victoria always loved the vivid colors best. She snipped some hair for memorial and combed it neatly and laid her body atop the bed clothes with her hands folded across her ribcage.

Word of Victoria's death spread quickly through town not long after Nick arrived. The Stockton paper had wired the papers in San Francisco and Sacramento. As he walked from doctor's office to telegraph office to shop to undertaker's, he was stopped by people offering condolences and a few deliveries of telegraphs offering the same. It was at the undertakers that Nick received the telegraph from Jarrod stating the San Francisco Barkleys would be arriving that evening on the 6:30 train.

Heath and Sarah arrived mid-morning with their daughters, Leah and Grace. The two families were close, emotionally joined by the bond between brothers as well as the mutual friendship between the brothers' wives. The cousins, however, were polite and friendly but their parents wished there was a little more common ground between them.

Caroline and Leah were mere months apart in age but while Caroline wanted to talk about boys and dresses, Leah was more inclined to find a quiet corner and read a book. At 12, Grace was too young to be an interesting companion to Caroline and too old to be interested in spending time with Daniel or Julia. What Grace really wanted to do was ride horses and herd cattle with Tom and Will but they rarely noticed her.

To compound her sense of isolation, Grace was born with bad right leg and she walked with a pronounced limp. Perhaps because of her leg, Grace was never hesitant to stand up for the underdog and even at 12 she was still a tow head. Her father claimed she had the blondest hair in the entire valley.

Heath had walked quickly through the house and stopped only to offer Emily a kiss on the cheek and to hear her tell him that Nick was in town sending telegraphs and fetching the doctor.

He pulled a chair up to Victoria's bedside and stared at Victoria's still body, then he bowed his head. He wanted to cry. He tried to cry. And he was angry with himself for not crying at the passing of this great woman who had loved and accepted him without question or condition. Or, more to the point, she had loved and accepted him despite questions and conditions, some of them very painful to her.

Heath knew that whatever love and respect others may have had for the woman, and it was a lot, no one loved or respected her more than he did. He would challenge anyone who said otherwise. He found solace in knowing he had conveyed those feelings to her many times in his own way.

When Nick returned home, he found Dr. Wold leaving. The man looked crest fallen, and, shaking his head, he offered his condolences. Sarah was in the parlor, having seen the doctor out. Daniel and Julia were with her, Leah and Grace were setting the table for lunch, and Emily and Caroline were upstairs gathering and preparing appropriate mourning clothes for each member of the family.

Bertie and Florence, sisters who cooked and kept house since Silas's death years before, were preparing lunch. Florence came to the parlor and, not seeing Emily, asked Nick how many people were expected for lunch. Before Nick could answer, Sarah said, "Nine. And please make sure to set up the extra table for the children, Florence. Thank you." Sarah hated talking to servants. It made her uncomfortable to have other people doing things for her.

"Yes, Ma'am," said Florence. She was going to miss Mrs. Barkley but she was also sad for the lady's family. Mrs. Nick had always looked up to her and now she was going to have to run this big house by herself. Florence and Bertie agreed between them they would do whatever they could to help her. Mr. Barkley and Mrs. Nick were kind and thoughtful folks, like his mother was. On this morning, Florence and Bertie were taking turns crying in the kitchen.

Nick smiled weakly at Sarah and, running his fingers through his thick, black hair, gray at the temples, he said, "Thanks."

Sarah nodded towards Victoria's room, silently answering the question he hadn't asked out loud. He handed her a stack of wrapped packages he had carried in.

"What's this?" Sarah asked.

"Oh, ah, dresses, "he answered as he was walking towards his mother's room.

There, he sat in silent reverence at his mother's deathbed, next to his brother, Heath.