Chapter Seven

Previously:

Victoria chuckled and told her not to worry. "I said I wanted to know more about you." She would have continued talking only the sound of a baby crying came through the slightly open Billiard room door. ...

For Victoria's part, she found herself not only going over everything Mary had told her but analyzing Mary's silent body language. Victoria had quickly picked up on that- Mary's body language that is. The more Victoria dwelt on it, the more concerned she became for one simple reason. While she would swear on a stack of Bibles that everything Mary had said was true, Victoria felt strongly that there was something Mary wasn't saying. She couldn't help but wonder what it was. Though, knowing it was not the time to corner Mary on the subject, Victoria simply left the Billiard room and went about her day as usual.

Victoria was standing next to the corral when Jarrod drove the buggy through the open gate. Jarrod stopped the horses and climbed out, allowing Ciego to take care of the rig and horses. "Penny for your thoughts," He walked up to his mother and rested his arms on the top of the fence that surrounded the corral.

"What did you find out from Fred?" Victoria turned and looked at her oldest son, also asking the same thing she had Mary. That is, why hire a wet nurse when he'd been given a bottle?

"Fred hasn't heard a thing though it appears the Reed fellow is indeed very much involved in one thing or another." He went on to tell his mother the conversation he'd had with the Stockton sheriff. "When it comes to Bonnie, he'll ask around about missing infants. However, he didn't hold out a lot of hope-everything considered. As far as asking Mary to wet nurse Bonnie goes," Jarrod turned sideways and looked straight at his mother. "The child doesn't fight her like she did Mrs. Arnold; besides, who told me once a bottle should only be used if it had to be?" The chuckle in his eyes earned a light tap on his arm from his mother – even as her own eyes were laughing.

"Who would do such a thing? I mean, abandon a baby hoping the child will die." Victoria's eyes grew angry.

"If that's what happened, one very sick person if anyone asks me. I mean, there are orphanages and such that the child could have been taken too." Jarrod looked up towards the nursery window. The most logical assumption he could think of was the one he and his mother had just said only, as crazy as it seemed, he kept getting the impressions that the notion was incorrect. That feeling, with nothing to back it up, was driving Jarrod up a wall-as it were.

"Jarrod?" His mother's voice turned his attention away from the window.

Jarrod was embarrassed to realize he hadn't been listening to his mother-and he could tell that by the rather irritated look on her face. "Sorry, what were you saying?"

While Victoria was slightly irritated her son hadn't been listening, she understood, too. "I was telling you about my conversation with Mary. She's rather pleasant and knowledgeable."

"And?" Jarrod knew his mother well enough to know there was more coming.

"And… maybe nothing only…" she put her hand on her hip and looked up at the window as well. She could see Mary lifting Bonnie up out of the crib. The child had probably just woken up from a nap. "She has not said much about herself." She turned her face back towards Jarrod. "I mean, she told me all about her parents, her siblings and talked about her late husband and lost children. However, I realized-after our conversation and once I started doing other things-she never really talked about herself." She turned and rested her back against the corral.

Jarrod frowned. "Are you saying you think she's hiding something? I mean, something that could affect the family? Are you saying you feel she can't be trusted?" He didn't like that in the least.

"Oh no!" Victoria was quick to answer the last question first. "If she was that kind of person, she'd be lying right and left. And," she flicked her wrist, "Don't ask me how to explain it only I know she never lied to me during our conversation. Even if I wanted to believe she was that kind of person I wouldn't be able to. After we chatted, she went into the kitchen to help Silas. She found a rather large sum of money in a small bag behind one of the cabinets and gave it to Silas. He brought it to me." The way his mother was looking at him, told Jarrod she thought he should know how much money was found and where it went to.

His eyes widened. "The money Nick lost before I left! The money meant for the horses he and Heath needed to buy!" He remembered how unhappy Nick had been and how he, along with Heath and Jarrod, had pitched in to cover the cost.

"Exactly." Victoria went on to tell him his share of the money had been put in the study safe. "So, like I said, I don't believe she is a threat to any of us. However, I do believe there is something she isn't saying. While we were visiting, she gave off the tiniest signals that she was afraid I would ask the wrong questions, and she would have to answer. Later, I realized she veered the conversation away from herself … and did that twice." She thought a second and then added she thought Mary was afraid of something.

Jarrod hated the idea Mary had anything to be afraid of. No one should have to live in fear. "I'll go talk to her." When a concerned looked leapt into his mother's eyes, he assured her he would not treat Mary like a witness in a court room. "I won't give her any reason to get defensive; I promise." He then headed for the house after his mother excused herself, saying she was going to finish some chores she'd originally intended to do when she first came outside.