No one noticed that the young husband had moved out of the guest room and into a separate room down the hall from his bride until the next night, when he was seen in the halls going to supper by himself. Virginia was escorted by her brother-in-law, and they sat at the far end of the table and talked quietly among themselves, while Bret sat by Adolph and they carried on their own low-key conversation. The three Mavericks scrupulously avoided each other until the end of the meal, when Lily Busch herself walked Virginia Maverick back to the guest room.
Bart sat silently at the table and waited until he, Bret and Adolph were the only three left in the dining room. Adélaïde brought in coffee and quickly retreated, closing the door behind her. Nothing could be heard at first, but slowly a buzz started in the room and got louder and louder, until shouting was clearly identifiable all the way down to the kitchen. No one was left with any doubts regarding the subject matter of the shouting.
"So I played poker all night. I never left the estate. I was two minutes away the entire time." Bret was none too happy to be questioned and badgered like a three-year-old, even if it was nothing more than a show. His aggravation made it sound all the more real.
"After I warned you not to leave your wife alone for another night," Bart snapped back at him. "Are you stupid? Or just pretending to be?"
"Bret – Bart. Stop it now. You're both in the wrong, and you know it. You told me you were done with gambling, Bret. That you'd settled down and were gonna make a go of this marriage. And Bart – it's really none of your business. Unless Virginia's come to you for help, you've got no right getting into it. You're both behaving like the children we were growing up." That was Adolph, intent on trying to talk some sense into the brothers.
The voices quieted down again, but the damage was done. Everyone in the house knew the truth – the marriage that had seemed too good to be true appeared to be just that – too good to be true. Another fifteen minutes passed before the voices got loud again, but this time they only went on for a relatively short period before the younger brother got up and stormed out of the dining room. The door was slammed shut behind him, and Adolph and Bret could be heard talking.
Bart went straight to Ginny's door and knocked. "Virginia, it's Bart. May I come in?"
She evidently answered in the affirmative, and Bart disappeared behind closed doors. Whatever dissension existed in the dining room remained there, because nothing was heard from the guest room. Another few minutes passed and the two men lingering in the dining room got up and left, and the conversation that continued between them remained calm and peaceful. Finally Adolph clasped Bret in a restrained embrace and they parted, shaking hands, with Busch headed for the private family wing of the house. Bret gazed wistfully at the closed guest room door before sighing and returning to the spare room he'd taken up residence in.
Almost an hour later Bart emerged from behind closed doors and returned to his room, and in less than five minutes Bret was knocking at Ginny's door. "Go away, Bret," could be heard quite clearly, but that didn't stop the knocking or discourage her husband in any way. The knocking continued until Ginny yanked the door open and asked impatiently, "What do you want?"
"I want to talk to you," was his response. "Please." They stared at each other for long minutes before the young bride moved aside and allowed her husband entrance into the room. The door closed softly and nothing further was heard that night.
XXXXXXXX
Saturday mornings at the orphanage were usually quiet, and this Saturday was no exception. It was the one day of the week the children were allowed to sleep in, and they took full advantage of it. Adele Mueller was there at her regular time, right about sunup, and she wasn't surprised to see Dusty Jackson's horse tied up out front. The Friday night poker game must have run all night again, and Dusty had come straight to see the boss. She was waiting for his final verdict on the 'trustworthiness' of the man they hoped would steal the long sought-after beer formula for them.
It was a matter of survival for Adele, the survival of her marriage to the love of her life, her husband Burnell. He'd been working for Adolph Busch for several years already, training under the watchful eye of his older brother Holden, and life was peaceful and happy. Burnell worked long hours, but he was pleased to be learning how to one day take over as brewmaster while getting a chance to spend time with Holden. They had settled into a comfortable life and were looking forward to starting a family when the unthinkable happened – Holden was killed in a freak accident at the brewery. Overnight their lives changed to one of unbearably long separations and uncompromising pressure. And it seemed that no matter what Burnell did, nothing ran the way it was supposed to, or had before Holden's death.
Adele tried everything she could think of to get her husband back, all to no avail. Busch refused to bring in anyone to assist or run the brewing, placing his complete trust in Burnell. It was a great show of faith on his part and a great burden on her husband. And everything that could go wrong did just that. And then, when she was at her wits end, she stumbled quite by accident upon a potential solution to the problem. It was revealed to her by her former sister-in-law, Temperance Mueller.
Holden had been approached many times by rival beer companies, anxious to 'get their hands' on the formula for Busch's highly successful draft beer that was served in all the St. Louis saloons. When Temperance mentioned the sums of money willing to be paid for the formula, Adele knew she had found a way to reclaim her husband and make his employer pay for attempting to destroy both her marriage and her husband's health and sanity, and to make a lot of money in the process. Enough money that she and Burnell could live out from under the pressure of Adolphus Busch and his beer company.
Adele got out of her buggy and walked into the little office. Dusty was waiting for her and, bless his heart, had made a pot of coffee. He smiled at her and handed her a cup, and she was grateful for the warmth as she accepted it. "Well, Mr. Jackson. How did the poker game go last night? Is it a 'yeah' or a 'nay' for Mr. Maverick?"
Jackson smiled. "I do believe we have our man, Mrs. Mueller."
XXXXXXXX
"Do I have to go back to being mad at you again, Mr. Maverick?"
Bret gave a little laugh. "Yes, my dear, I'm afraid you do."
Ginny sighed. "How is all this losing affecting you? It must be difficult."
A shrug of the shoulders. "It's like playing poker with Bart, and he's dealin' every hand."
This time Ginny understood the reference and the comment drew a small smile from her. "Are you making any headway with them?"
"I think so. Jackson watched every move I made last night, and he looked pleased this mornin' when we were done. Told me the next game won't be on the estate; wanted to make sure I'd be there. Told him I couldn't afford not to be."
"Any idea how much you've lost so far?"
"Yeah. Over twenty-five thousand. Good thing Arthur gave me the go-ahead for whatever it takes." Bret pulled out a cigar and lit it. "Did you talk to Bart last night? Has he got anything to help me?"
Ginny shook her head. "Not last night. He was here before you got in this morning, and filled me in on what the Federal Marshal told him. You playing with a ranch hand from Redicker's named Jeb? That's the marshal. Anyway, there was counterfeit money in the game two nights ago. He's trying to find out who's passing it, so keep your eyes open. Bart's meeting Jeb at the Watershed tonight. Anything you want me to tell him?"
"Yeah, watch out for Jackson. He said somethin' about goin' into town tonight. We need to find out who's behind this operation, but not at the expense of my brother. And what are you doin'?"
"You mean besides mourning what appears to be the death of my oh-so-brief marriage? Going with Lily Busch to see Helena Waggoner. Her baby was born yesterday, and Lily thought it would do all of us good to go over there. Her husband should be home today, so maybe I can get some information from him about Temperance and that business no one seems to know anything about."
There was a knock at Ginny's door and Lily Busch's voice followed it. "Virginia, I'd like to leave in a few minutes. Will you be ready?"
Ginny put her hand over Bret's mouth to prevent him from saying anything. "Yes, Lily, I'll be ready. I'll be downstairs in just a few minutes."
"Good. I'll see you at the buggy. Be sure to bring a shawl with you, it's just a bit chilly this morning."
The footsteps retreated, but before Ginny could move her hand Bret kissed her fingers and pulled her into his arms. "I miss you," he whispered to her before kissing her.
"At least we're making progress."
"Not fast enough. When this is over . . . "
"When this is over I'll go back to my job and you and Bart will go back to playing poker. Let's concentrate on that."
Bret sighed and kissed her again, then let her go. "Alright. If that's what you want."