Abigail, My Love

Chapter Four

Abigail stood in the courthouse feeling very apprehensive. She walked around looking for the clerk's office. Would she find what she was looking for? Had her mother indeed moved to Virginia City? If she had…why? Abigail doubted highly the reasons her grandmother had written down in her journal not after so many of the old woman's lies had been discovered.

"May I help you, Miss?" A silver haired woman smiled and spoke up as Abigail started to pass the open office door. The woman had seen many lost people in her day, and this young lady looked lost.

Abigail stepped inside the room and smiled back. She hoped this trip would not prove fruitless. "I am looking for someone who could tell me if a Marie Stafford lives in, or around Virginia City." The difference between her mother's last name and hers irritated her to no end. She had thought it odd when she found the journal, until she learned her grandmother had her, Abigail's, last name changed as an infant. She kept her eyes on the woman hoping to see some sign of recognition, nothing.

"I'm sorry, I don't…" she stopped speaking as her eyebrows turned down a little. It made it so Abigail found herself holding her breath. "Just a moment," the older woman stood, opened a door off to her left and disappeared into another room.

Abigail looked at the pictures and various certificates on the wall. After the woman's reaction, Abigail fought to keep her nerves under control. Somehow, she just knew that her grandmother had at least gotten the name of the town right, the town her mother had moved to. Her gut was saying the old woman had her other facts wrong though. Just as the older woman again appeared in the room, there was a commotion outside.

Abigail ran for the exit; she wanted to know what was going on just as badly as anyone else. She was horrified to see the man called Hoss Cartwright lying unconscious on the ground. Without thinking, she ran and knelt down by his side and checked his pulse. Thank heavens he was still alive. There was a gash on the side of his head though and quite a lot of blood. Good thing she knew any head wound bled like crazy, or she might have lost her nerve.

"Those horses!" A man spoke up and pointed to some horses hitched to a wagon off to his right. "They went wild; Mr. Cartwright tried to get out of the way."

"You best get his father," Abigail stood up as men put Hoss onto a stretcher and carried him to the doctor's office. She didn't know why, but she followed. When she did, Abigail wasn't surprised to overhear more than once person ask 'Who is she?' and the answer 'I don't know; I've never seen her'.

Once inside, Abigail stayed in the room while the doctor cleaned Hoss up, stitched up the gash and then examined the patient. Just as he was finishing up, Hoss let out a groan and opened his eyes. "What happened?" He tried to sit up only to find the doctor's hands on his shoulders.

After explaining about the runaway horses, Doctor Martin told him, "You need to rest for a bit. You're a lucky man; all you got out of that accident was a few stitches." He then turned to the stranger who stood at the end of the table. Naturally, he just assumed she was from out of town and had been seeing Hoss without anyone knowing it. "If you have any influence with him, make him take it easy for a little while."

"Yes, sir." Abigail chuckled knowing full well there was no way she would have that much influence over Hoss Cartwright.

Hoss' eyes widened as he realized Miss Abigail was in the room. The last time he'd seen her she was heading back to the courthouse. He couldn't help but grin. After all, it told him she must have a lot of compassion in her if she'd stay with him after he was hurt when she hardly knew him. "Pa will wonder where I'm at," Hoss again tried to sit up. This time it was Abigail's hands upon her shoulders.

"Doc told you to stay put. Someone has already gone for your father." She didn't take her hands off him until he lay back down. She then pulled a chair over and sat down.

"Where ya from, Miss Abigail? Your speech says yer not from here. Iff'n I were to guess I'd say somewhere around New Orleans." Hoss realized that, even after lunch with her, he really didn't know that much about her. He wanted to; that is, he wanted to get to know her better, especially after she'd stayed with him like she had.

She smiled from ear to ear and sat back in her chair. "You'd be right too. I was born in New Orleans, but I've lived at a number of boarding schools throughout the years. Guess grandmother thought it easier than raising me herself." When she heard the front door open, Abigail stood up expecting to see Ben Cartwright or one of the other Cartwright men to appear. She was right. Ben and Adam appeared. The surprise both men felt upon seeing Abigail standing next to Hoss appeared on their faces.

"Why hello, Miss Anderson," Ben said as he held out his hand. "I didn't expect to see you here. This is my son, Adam." He pointed to Adam.

Adam held out his hand and smiled. "Hello." He could see what his father had been talking about.

Abigail shook Adam's hand and replied, "Nice to meet you. As far as being here goes, I heard the commotion from inside the courthouse. He gave everyone a bit of a fright." She smiled at Hoss whose face seem to be a light shade of red; he was embarrassed by the over attention he seemed to be getting. "I'll be going, and I'll see you tomorrow."

She had no more than disappeared when the Cartwrights good friend, Frank Tanner, appeared in the office. Doctor Martin went and fetched Ben and Adam out of the back room.

"Your son has a hard head," he teased and then grew serious. "I'm sorry about Hoss' accident, but I'm glad too. It saved me a trip out to the Ponderosa."

"How's that?" Ben asked as his eyebrows went up, as did Adam's. They hoped their friend didn't have any bad news. They didn't need that after the scare they'd just had.

Frank took a deep breath and started talking, "I thought you should know there was a young woman in the courthouse today." He went on to describe the visitor. Instantly, Ben and Adam knew about whom he was talking.

Ben gave his friend a slight smile, "I don't see why it's any of my business what she does here in Virginia City."

His smile disappeared, as did Adam's, as the man grew even more serious and answered slowly, "Mr. Cartwright, didn't you say that Marie's last name was Stafford before you married her? If that is the case, she was looking for her."