LOST AND FOUND - PART III
IN WITH THE NEW
Chapter 21
The employees at the Eden House in San Francisco were efficiently dealing with a heavy influx of guests on a cold, blustery day in the middle of November - a passenger ship from England had docked that morning.
The lobby was already full as two men entered. The first was tall and rail thin with a dead-white complexion, bright red hair, and very pale gray eyes. He was dressed elegantly in black and sniffed as he looked around. The second was a short, very stocky blonde man who was wearing clothing more suited to the English moors. His suit was made from heavy black-and- brown tweed and was mostly covered by a caped greatcoat.
"Well Samuel," the tall man said in a soft, too smooth voice, "Welcome to the lawless west."
The other man snickered in appreciation of his employer's wit. "We seen a lot worse Jimmy."
The tall man's face tightened, "How many times do I have to tell you to not call me that?"
"Sure boss, I just forgot."
Seemingly mollified, the other man continued, "And this place is considered to be sophisticated compared to where we are going."
"Virginia City?"
"Yes Samuel," he sighed, "but I think we'll stay here for a couple of days before taking the train. The crossing was rather rough."
The shorter man just nodded, and finally it was their turn to approach the front desk.
"Have you two rooms available?" the red-haired man said to the desk clerk.
"No sir, but we do have a small suite available with two bedrooms and a small sitting room."
"That will do nicely."
"Yes sir, may I have your name please?"
"James Stonehouse, Esquire."
"Thank you sir, how many days will you be staying with us?"
"I believe two will be sufficient."
The clerk nodded, "Would you please sign here, sir?"
"Certainly," Stonehouse said then continued as he signed, "Perhaps you could help me with some information. We have come to this country to see a former resident of your fair city, a Mr. Adam Cartwright."
The young man behind the desk looked up at him, his face now a cool mask, "I'm sorry, but I am not permitted to give out any information on the owner of this hotel." He turned toward the key boxes behind him, chose a key, and turned back to motion toward a bellman who came forward. The clerk handed him the key.
"I hope you enjoy your stay, sir, and if there is anything else you need please let us know," the man behind the desk said and stared at the two men impassively.
The tall man raised an eyebrow at being the impertinence of being brushed off by what he considered to be a member of the working class and turned away without further comment.
The clerk continued to watch the two men as they went up the stairs then turned to the other clerk who was sitting down behind the desk and working on billing.
"Hey Max," he said and the other young man looked up, "Did you hear that?"
"Yep, I couldn't help but hear."
"What the hell do you think he wants information on Adam for?"
"I've heard some rumors and I think it has something to do with Thea's father's will. It's pretty clear they're from England, so that would be my guess."
The other clerk nodded, "I've heard the same rumors and I think you're right. I also think I ought to send Wes a telegram and let him decide whether or not Adam needs to be warned."
Max laughed, "I was just thinking the same thing, Jeff."
The two young men grinned at each other for a moment then Max stood. "I'll cover the desk if you want to go do it now."
"Thanks," Jeff said gratefully. "The sooner I send that telegram off the better I'll feel. It's probably nothing, but you know how Wes is."
"Adam, too!" Max chuckled and watched his friend move quickly across the lobby and hurry out the front door. He turned the book on the counter around, looked at the signature, and said to himself, "So, you're James Stonehouse, Esquire are you? And you're from London no less. Hmmm...I think it might be a good idea to give your suite a thorough inspection before you leave. Wouldn't want anything to be sub-standard for a posh gentlemen like yourself." He grinned, looking forward to using the skills he had learned at a very young age in Chicago when he had been making a living as a professional thief. At least he had until Adam had caught him in the act at the ripe old age of seventeen. He felt confident he could find out everything they wanted to know about the two men without them being any the wiser.
Unfortunately for Max, he was sadly mistaken, and would never be seen dead or alive by anyone again.
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The hour had just struck midnight when Sam returned to their suite. He removed the caped greatcoat and hung it on the hall tree near the door.
Stonehouse came out of his room and looked at the other man expectantly. "Any trouble?"
"Nah, easy as pie," Sam said and yawned as he sat in an armchair in front of the fireplace. "What do you think he was looking for, boss?"
"Probably just whatever he could steal, but he saw too much, now didn't he?"
"Curiosity killed the cat!" Sam laughed nastily. "But don't it seem odd that no one in this here town will say a thing about Cartwright?"
"Yes it does, and I'm just not sure yet why. Perhaps the man has a shady reputation himself and they keep their mouths shut out of fear. But what I DO know is that he can't be particularly intelligent. How could he be, living in a God-forsaken place like Nevada among the cattle and the prairie dogs? I don't anticipate any problems from him."
Sam nodded, but was clearly still dubious about that point.
"I think it behooves us to get some rest."
The two men went to their respective rooms and shut the doors. Both fell asleep quickly and neither stirred from their deep, dreamless sleep until the sun rose the next morning.
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Stonehouse stood on the board sidewalk in front of the train depot and looked around at what he could see of Virginia City with distaste. A brief thaw had occurred and the street was partly still frozen and partly mud. His pinched nostrils quivered as he breathed in scents almost foreign to him, having been born and raised in the best part of London and always disdained the countryside. The sound of cattle lowing, as they were loaded into boxcars seemed to be scraping across nerves already stretched to the limit and his temper was close to the breaking point.
Sam came out of the depot and walked up to his employer, aware of the tall man's excitable state, so he waited for him to speak first.
"Well?"
"Looks like everyone in there thinks our best chance of finding Cartwright is probably in a saloon called the Sage Brush that's on this end of town."
"A saloon? At eleven in the morning?" Stonehouse said in disbelief.
"Yep. Guess he spends a lot of time there."
The lawyer smiled nastily, "The man must be a sot." He nodded, "Good, that will only help."
The two men turned then and moved down the sidewalk until they reached the Sage Brush. When they entered, the lawyer was surprised to see that most of the tables were full, so he went directly to the bar to speak to the bartender.
"Excuse me, my good man, can you tell us if a Mr. Adam Cartwright is present?" he said, his pale gray eyes clearly showing his contempt.
Larry looked back at the tall man coldly and nodded toward the large table near the door.
The lawyer turned his head to look and saw two men sitting there. One was blonde and dressed in well-worn clothing typical of the residents of the town. The other man was dressed in a well-tailored, immaculate black suit that emphasized his powerful form. The dark-haired man was holding some papers and was seemingly discussing them with the wiry blonde man sitting next to him.
Stonehouse automatically assumed the blonde was the man they were seeking.
Adam looked up when he noticed the two men standing in front of his table.
"Yes?"
The taller man looked down his long pale nose at Adam and sniffed, "We are looking for a Mr. Adam Cartwright."
"That would be me," Adam said as he stood.
The pale man was startled. "Ah!" he said as he gave Adam a tight smile. "I am James Stonehouse, of Wellington, Jameson, and Taft in London." He indicated the man standing next to him, "And this is my associate Samuel McClaren. I believe you recently received correspondence from our firm regarding Alexander and his inheritance." He extended his right hand.
"I see," Adam said as he ignored the lawyer's hand and sat down. "Just what is the purpose of your visit?"
The lawyer drew his hand back and glanced at Nate, "Perhaps it would be best if we spoke alone," he smiled awkwardly.
Nate started to stand, but Adam stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.
"Anything you need to say to me you can say in front of MY associate."
Stonehouse stopped smiling.
"Very well then, we have come to offer ourselves as escorts to young Alexander."
"Escorts?"
"Yes, we are assuming that the boy and his mother are ready to fulfill the terms of Sir Richard's will and travel to England with us."
Adam narrowed his eyes, "No."
"I beg your pardon?"
"I said no. My son is four years old and he is not going anywhere without me, and he is NOT going to England at this time, or anytime in the foreseeable future."
"But the terms of Sir Richard's will state..."
"The terms of that man's will mean less than nothing to me and judging by his behavior, I have no intention of letting my son associate with people of his type." Adam shook his head, "Besides, Alexander and his inheritance are no longer any concern of yours."
"I don't understand," the lawyer impossibly went even paler.
"It's very simple - you're fired."
Stonehouse stared at Adam with bulging eyes, "You can't do that!"
"Yes I can as Alexander's father and guardian. You and your firm have shown your incompetence by taking seven years to find Theadora, and quite frankly I don't care for the high-handed way you have dealt with this situation."
The lawyer's face turned bright red and he opened his mouth to argue, but Adam cut him off.
"When you return to London, be prepared to turn all documents over to Sir John Edgecombe. He and his firm have been my solicitors for years and they will be taking over management of the estate."
"Mr. Cartwright," the lawyer said desperately, "Couldn't we discuss this as gentlemen and come to some kind of compromise?"
"We have nothing to discuss," Adam stated as he stood. "Good day," he said and walked away. Nate had to run to catch up.
The two stunned men turned to watch him stride through the front door, his posture and the way he moved speaking worlds to them about their mistaken assumptions.
"Shit," Sam said and Stonehouse turned to frown down at him. "Watch your language, Samuel," was all he said as his eyes flashed angrily at having been given the "cut direct" by a man he considered to be his social inferior.
"Well, what are we going to do now?" Sam insisted.
"I don't know yet, but it is clear we have badly underestimated this man. And it seems clear to me that we must take some time to learn as much about him as possible before deciding our next move."
"Are you sure you wouldn't rather just cut and run?" Sam said, having a hollow feeling in his gut that they were in over their heads.
"Oh no. I've put too much time and effort into this and I will not be thwarted by that arrogant peasant," the lawyer said as he glared down at his henchman. He continued, "Finding accommodations seems to be our next order of business. After that you can start collecting information on that upstart."
Sam nodded and the two left the saloon, unaware that many eyes had been watching them with keen interest. As soon as the two men were through the door the gossip and speculation started, ensuring that Adam would eventually hear all about their odd behavior and the fact that they were still in town.
IN WITH THE NEW
Chapter 21
The employees at the Eden House in San Francisco were efficiently dealing with a heavy influx of guests on a cold, blustery day in the middle of November - a passenger ship from England had docked that morning.
The lobby was already full as two men entered. The first was tall and rail thin with a dead-white complexion, bright red hair, and very pale gray eyes. He was dressed elegantly in black and sniffed as he looked around. The second was a short, very stocky blonde man who was wearing clothing more suited to the English moors. His suit was made from heavy black-and- brown tweed and was mostly covered by a caped greatcoat.
"Well Samuel," the tall man said in a soft, too smooth voice, "Welcome to the lawless west."
The other man snickered in appreciation of his employer's wit. "We seen a lot worse Jimmy."
The tall man's face tightened, "How many times do I have to tell you to not call me that?"
"Sure boss, I just forgot."
Seemingly mollified, the other man continued, "And this place is considered to be sophisticated compared to where we are going."
"Virginia City?"
"Yes Samuel," he sighed, "but I think we'll stay here for a couple of days before taking the train. The crossing was rather rough."
The shorter man just nodded, and finally it was their turn to approach the front desk.
"Have you two rooms available?" the red-haired man said to the desk clerk.
"No sir, but we do have a small suite available with two bedrooms and a small sitting room."
"That will do nicely."
"Yes sir, may I have your name please?"
"James Stonehouse, Esquire."
"Thank you sir, how many days will you be staying with us?"
"I believe two will be sufficient."
The clerk nodded, "Would you please sign here, sir?"
"Certainly," Stonehouse said then continued as he signed, "Perhaps you could help me with some information. We have come to this country to see a former resident of your fair city, a Mr. Adam Cartwright."
The young man behind the desk looked up at him, his face now a cool mask, "I'm sorry, but I am not permitted to give out any information on the owner of this hotel." He turned toward the key boxes behind him, chose a key, and turned back to motion toward a bellman who came forward. The clerk handed him the key.
"I hope you enjoy your stay, sir, and if there is anything else you need please let us know," the man behind the desk said and stared at the two men impassively.
The tall man raised an eyebrow at being the impertinence of being brushed off by what he considered to be a member of the working class and turned away without further comment.
The clerk continued to watch the two men as they went up the stairs then turned to the other clerk who was sitting down behind the desk and working on billing.
"Hey Max," he said and the other young man looked up, "Did you hear that?"
"Yep, I couldn't help but hear."
"What the hell do you think he wants information on Adam for?"
"I've heard some rumors and I think it has something to do with Thea's father's will. It's pretty clear they're from England, so that would be my guess."
The other clerk nodded, "I've heard the same rumors and I think you're right. I also think I ought to send Wes a telegram and let him decide whether or not Adam needs to be warned."
Max laughed, "I was just thinking the same thing, Jeff."
The two young men grinned at each other for a moment then Max stood. "I'll cover the desk if you want to go do it now."
"Thanks," Jeff said gratefully. "The sooner I send that telegram off the better I'll feel. It's probably nothing, but you know how Wes is."
"Adam, too!" Max chuckled and watched his friend move quickly across the lobby and hurry out the front door. He turned the book on the counter around, looked at the signature, and said to himself, "So, you're James Stonehouse, Esquire are you? And you're from London no less. Hmmm...I think it might be a good idea to give your suite a thorough inspection before you leave. Wouldn't want anything to be sub-standard for a posh gentlemen like yourself." He grinned, looking forward to using the skills he had learned at a very young age in Chicago when he had been making a living as a professional thief. At least he had until Adam had caught him in the act at the ripe old age of seventeen. He felt confident he could find out everything they wanted to know about the two men without them being any the wiser.
Unfortunately for Max, he was sadly mistaken, and would never be seen dead or alive by anyone again.
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The hour had just struck midnight when Sam returned to their suite. He removed the caped greatcoat and hung it on the hall tree near the door.
Stonehouse came out of his room and looked at the other man expectantly. "Any trouble?"
"Nah, easy as pie," Sam said and yawned as he sat in an armchair in front of the fireplace. "What do you think he was looking for, boss?"
"Probably just whatever he could steal, but he saw too much, now didn't he?"
"Curiosity killed the cat!" Sam laughed nastily. "But don't it seem odd that no one in this here town will say a thing about Cartwright?"
"Yes it does, and I'm just not sure yet why. Perhaps the man has a shady reputation himself and they keep their mouths shut out of fear. But what I DO know is that he can't be particularly intelligent. How could he be, living in a God-forsaken place like Nevada among the cattle and the prairie dogs? I don't anticipate any problems from him."
Sam nodded, but was clearly still dubious about that point.
"I think it behooves us to get some rest."
The two men went to their respective rooms and shut the doors. Both fell asleep quickly and neither stirred from their deep, dreamless sleep until the sun rose the next morning.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Stonehouse stood on the board sidewalk in front of the train depot and looked around at what he could see of Virginia City with distaste. A brief thaw had occurred and the street was partly still frozen and partly mud. His pinched nostrils quivered as he breathed in scents almost foreign to him, having been born and raised in the best part of London and always disdained the countryside. The sound of cattle lowing, as they were loaded into boxcars seemed to be scraping across nerves already stretched to the limit and his temper was close to the breaking point.
Sam came out of the depot and walked up to his employer, aware of the tall man's excitable state, so he waited for him to speak first.
"Well?"
"Looks like everyone in there thinks our best chance of finding Cartwright is probably in a saloon called the Sage Brush that's on this end of town."
"A saloon? At eleven in the morning?" Stonehouse said in disbelief.
"Yep. Guess he spends a lot of time there."
The lawyer smiled nastily, "The man must be a sot." He nodded, "Good, that will only help."
The two men turned then and moved down the sidewalk until they reached the Sage Brush. When they entered, the lawyer was surprised to see that most of the tables were full, so he went directly to the bar to speak to the bartender.
"Excuse me, my good man, can you tell us if a Mr. Adam Cartwright is present?" he said, his pale gray eyes clearly showing his contempt.
Larry looked back at the tall man coldly and nodded toward the large table near the door.
The lawyer turned his head to look and saw two men sitting there. One was blonde and dressed in well-worn clothing typical of the residents of the town. The other man was dressed in a well-tailored, immaculate black suit that emphasized his powerful form. The dark-haired man was holding some papers and was seemingly discussing them with the wiry blonde man sitting next to him.
Stonehouse automatically assumed the blonde was the man they were seeking.
Adam looked up when he noticed the two men standing in front of his table.
"Yes?"
The taller man looked down his long pale nose at Adam and sniffed, "We are looking for a Mr. Adam Cartwright."
"That would be me," Adam said as he stood.
The pale man was startled. "Ah!" he said as he gave Adam a tight smile. "I am James Stonehouse, of Wellington, Jameson, and Taft in London." He indicated the man standing next to him, "And this is my associate Samuel McClaren. I believe you recently received correspondence from our firm regarding Alexander and his inheritance." He extended his right hand.
"I see," Adam said as he ignored the lawyer's hand and sat down. "Just what is the purpose of your visit?"
The lawyer drew his hand back and glanced at Nate, "Perhaps it would be best if we spoke alone," he smiled awkwardly.
Nate started to stand, but Adam stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.
"Anything you need to say to me you can say in front of MY associate."
Stonehouse stopped smiling.
"Very well then, we have come to offer ourselves as escorts to young Alexander."
"Escorts?"
"Yes, we are assuming that the boy and his mother are ready to fulfill the terms of Sir Richard's will and travel to England with us."
Adam narrowed his eyes, "No."
"I beg your pardon?"
"I said no. My son is four years old and he is not going anywhere without me, and he is NOT going to England at this time, or anytime in the foreseeable future."
"But the terms of Sir Richard's will state..."
"The terms of that man's will mean less than nothing to me and judging by his behavior, I have no intention of letting my son associate with people of his type." Adam shook his head, "Besides, Alexander and his inheritance are no longer any concern of yours."
"I don't understand," the lawyer impossibly went even paler.
"It's very simple - you're fired."
Stonehouse stared at Adam with bulging eyes, "You can't do that!"
"Yes I can as Alexander's father and guardian. You and your firm have shown your incompetence by taking seven years to find Theadora, and quite frankly I don't care for the high-handed way you have dealt with this situation."
The lawyer's face turned bright red and he opened his mouth to argue, but Adam cut him off.
"When you return to London, be prepared to turn all documents over to Sir John Edgecombe. He and his firm have been my solicitors for years and they will be taking over management of the estate."
"Mr. Cartwright," the lawyer said desperately, "Couldn't we discuss this as gentlemen and come to some kind of compromise?"
"We have nothing to discuss," Adam stated as he stood. "Good day," he said and walked away. Nate had to run to catch up.
The two stunned men turned to watch him stride through the front door, his posture and the way he moved speaking worlds to them about their mistaken assumptions.
"Shit," Sam said and Stonehouse turned to frown down at him. "Watch your language, Samuel," was all he said as his eyes flashed angrily at having been given the "cut direct" by a man he considered to be his social inferior.
"Well, what are we going to do now?" Sam insisted.
"I don't know yet, but it is clear we have badly underestimated this man. And it seems clear to me that we must take some time to learn as much about him as possible before deciding our next move."
"Are you sure you wouldn't rather just cut and run?" Sam said, having a hollow feeling in his gut that they were in over their heads.
"Oh no. I've put too much time and effort into this and I will not be thwarted by that arrogant peasant," the lawyer said as he glared down at his henchman. He continued, "Finding accommodations seems to be our next order of business. After that you can start collecting information on that upstart."
Sam nodded and the two left the saloon, unaware that many eyes had been watching them with keen interest. As soon as the two men were through the door the gossip and speculation started, ensuring that Adam would eventually hear all about their odd behavior and the fact that they were still in town.