Chapter Nine
Excerpt from Ch Eight
When they admitted they'd gotten lost, Heath chuckled and, pointing behind them, gave them instructions to the main house. "I'll follow at a distance, to make sure you don't go in the wrong direction."
~oOo~
Jeremiah and La'akea gazed upon the huge white mansion as they rode through the gate. While both had seen huge homes before, and had cause to stay in a few, it had been quite some time since they'd seen any home so grand…mostly due to all the undercover work Jeremiah had done since the war had ended. The fact that her husband was once again experiencing a large range of emotions was something La'akea didn't have to be told, as she could see it in his eyes.
For his part, Jeremiah recalled the numerous times his friends would stay overnight and then leave to go home. As the Shaw's only child, he had never known what it was like to have siblings. 'He saw the burning house and heard you screaming. He reached in through the open window and grabbed you out of your crib thinking your family was also inside.' Jeremiah could hear Amanda Shaw's voice in his ears. 'He didn't learn differently until after he'd brought you home to me, after he'd seen me pull out of bad state of mind—a state I'd fallen into after losing our baby son-the fifth baby we'd had to bury. In fact, that's why he'd been riding around at night in the first place, trying to think of a way to help me-as I'd already tried to take my own life.' Jeremiah thought on how his adopted mother had confessed she should have known something was wrong when her husband had rushed into the house, grabbed her, Jeremiah, a few belongings and left California. "He would only say it was necessary to leave, and that he'd have to explain later. Only, he never did. Oh, looking back on it, I can see a number of times he started to only I'd start talking about something you'd done-or you'd come running in all excited about something." She'd went on to beg him to forgive Matthew Shaw. "Thinking you had been orphaned justifies bringing you to me, but there will never be a justifiable reason for not returning you once he learned the truth. He was simply too afraid of what I'd do if I lost yet another child. I should have pushed him for answers. We had only moved to California. I should have known something majorly wrong when he came rushing in and moved us back Kansas without warning." Amanda Shaw sighed even as she struggled to continue talking. "Looking back on it, I did know something was amiss, but I didn't know what…and I didn't want to ask any questions. Forgive me for that, please."
It made no difference now. What was done was done. As much as Jeremiah might like the idea of his natural mother and siblings knowing who he really was, he couldn't risk the focus being taken off the matter at hand … Barrett knew where Alderson was, and Alderson had helped in President Lincoln's life being taken. Justice needed to be served. "Shall we?" He turned and looked at his wife, the longing in his eyes now replaced with the appearance of a man determined to get the answers he needed.
La'akea simply nodded as her husband climbed out of their buggy and then helped her out. It didn't take long for the two of them to knock on the front door, nor for Silas to lead them into the living room…though they did have to wait for a few minutes for Victoria and Nick, both of whom had been in the dining room eating.
Jeremiah, who wondered just how much of a resemblance there really was between him and other Barkley members, found he was bracing himself-wondering if his chosen path of silence on the matter was going to make any difference.
If she hadn't become so thoroughly convinced that her oldest was with the Indians-or if he didn't have long hair or had all the facial hair-Victoria would have seen her side of the family in Jeremiah. As it was, she didn't. However, his blue eyes did reach out and grab her. It made her wonder if they'd met before. However, with everything Nick had said upon his arrival home, Victoria simply welcomed her guests. By this time, Nick had also entered the room-and the four adults began discussing the problem they all wanted solved.
While Jeremiah and La'akea talked with Victoria and Nick, Barrett, who was in bunkhouse alone, sat on his bed reading the telegram he'd been sent. Barrett hadn't liked it when he'd heard through his old war contact that they had heard the government had pulled one Mister Shaw to get the information on General Alderson from him. His friend-a former *Copperhead - had promised to follow the man who had been pointed out to him as being Mr. Shaw. If he turned out to be man the government pulled in, Barrett's contact would 'take care of him'. If not, he'd send Barrett word and then leave California. Looking at the telegram once more, Barrett took a deep breath and relaxed, visible relief could be seen on every inch of his face as he did so. If Barrett's former war contact said there was nothing to worry about and had left, he wasn't going to lose any more sleep over it.
Barrett stood up and walked over to the wood stove. Opening the door to the stove, he threw the telegram in and-striking a match-lit the paper and watched it burn. As he did so he thought on General Alderson and how the two had accidentally found out the other was actually spying for the South. It wouldn't have mattered to Barrett only his family was fiercely loyal to the North. If they'd known-or knew- of his ties to the South they'd have disinherited him. It was that secret…his ties to the South-that General Alderson was holding over his head in order to get Barrett's help when it came living out of sight as it were. As long as the old man didn't start demanding money for his silence, Barrett had decided his silence was a small price to pay to remain in good standing with his father… who had a fair amount of money…and the people around him. He might have continued on with his thoughts only Duke McColl opened the bunkhouse door, poked his head inside and told him Nick wished to see him.
*COPPERHEADS
. /j/jala/2629860.0032.105/-lincoln-s-critics-the-copperheads?rgn=main;view=fulltext
