Conspiracies and Unresolved Consequences
Chapter 4
Early afternoon, Tuesday 8th August 1876
Jarrod slipped quietly into Victoria's room, glanced at his Mother who was sleeping and then stopped next to Nick standing at the bay window. "Go stretch your legs for a while Nick, I'll watch Mother until Audra gets back."
"I thought you had research to do."
"I did, have, but I could use a break as well."
Nick continued to stare out the window; from his vantage point he could see down into his mother's rose garden. Most of the blooms were withered now with the coming fall but a few still clung tenaciously to life, just like his mother. He wondered idly if, when the last petal dropped, would his mother succumb as well?
"Nick," Jarrod prodded quietly.
"Yeah, yeah counsellor I'm going." Nick replied thickly.
Jarrod watched from the window as his brother took a seat on the stone bench at the end of the rose garden. Sighing deeply he turned from the window and returned to the chair beside the bed. He reached out and gently took Victoria's hand in his. "Mother, I have read your letter; I just wish you had come to me with your…suspicions and worries."
Victoria flexed her fingers within the palm of Jarrod's hand.
"Mother?"
Victoria blinked.
Jarrod rose from the chair and dipped the spoon into the water and then offered it to Victoria. Once her thirst was sated, he settled back into his chair. "We need to talk."
Victoria blinked.
"I haven't shown Nick or Audra your letter yet but I intend to after dinner. Mother, are you positive that Heath Thomson is Father's son?"
A tear formed in the corner of Victoria's eye as she blinked once in response to Jarrod's question.
Jarrod squeezed Victoria's hand. "It's alright Mother, everything will be alright. Are you sure you want us to find Heath Thomson and bring him back to the ranch?"
Victoria grunted as she tried to speak.
"Don't try and talk Mother, just blink yes or no."
Victoria's one grey eye looked pleadingly at Jarrod before she slowly blinked once. Jarrod nodded in silent response. He sat back in the chair and watched as his mother sighed in relief. "I'll speak with Nick and Audra after dinner and give them your letter to read. I think they need to know sooner rather than waiting for Eugene to arrive. I guess you know what Nick's first reaction will be."
Victoria rolled her eye, making Jarrod chuckle. "Don't worry I'll talk him around. I think at this point it would be best if I send Nick to find Heath."
Victoria's eyebrow rose, dragging another chuckle from Jarrod. "I know Mother, believe me I know but Nick at least knows Heath, knows where to start looking and has something in common with him and if you are sure Nick will understand when he sees the picture then…"
Victoria nodded slowly.
"The only other alternative would be to engage the Pinkerton Agency, but then we would have to give a reason for us wanting to find Heath and I think you would prefer this was kept within the family for the moment.
Victoria blinked.
Jarrod paused, "You know Mother, have you considered the possibility that Heath Thomson may not want to become a part of this family, no matter how much you or any of us may desire it? He may not even agree to come back here to the ranch. All this – regret – could be for nothing."
Victoria sighed and another tear trickled down her cheek which Jarrod leaned forward and wiped gently away with his thumb. "Let's not buy worries Mother; we'll cross that bridge if and when we come to it."
Victoria closed her eye and nestled back into the pillows that kept her in a semi upright position and comfortable.
"Sleep now Mother, one of us will be here when you wake up."
BV
Evening, Tuesday 8th August 1876
Nick paced around the study as Audra and Jarrod waited for his building outburst. He slammed his un-gloved fist into the mantel above the fire place, stopped to glare at his father staring back at him and turned towards Jarrod, waving his arm around. "Come on Jarrod, surely you don't believe this, this…" Nick threw his hands in the air. "Father wouldn't…he…" Nick stopped speaking, strode over to the mahogany cellarette, picked up the bottle of whisky sitting on the silver serving tray, uncorked it and foregoing the glass sitting beside the bottle took a hefty swig. Turning back to look at Jarrod and noting the raised eyebrow of disapproval, Nick sighed in frustration. He wasn't sitting around the campfire sharing stories with the hands over a couple of bottles of whisky. No, instead he was discussing the revelation of a brother they had had for twenty five years and knew nothing about. Offering a sheepish smile in acknowledgement he half-filled the glass with whisky and then returned the bottle to the cellarette.
"Whether we believe it or not doesn't matter, Nick, Mother does." Jarrod picked up the letter that Nick had thrown on the desk. "These are her own words Nick; nobody forced her to write this. She wrote it of her own free will."
"Well she wouldn't have if she hadn't seen that blasted Heath Thomson. If he hadn't told her his sop story about growing up in Strawberry…"
"Nick, keep your voice down." Jarrod cautioned. "Mother said you would understand when you saw the picture of Father and Uncle Jim. What did she mean?"
Nick stopped pacing, turned to glare at Jarrod with hands firmly planted on hips and then sighed heavily. "I guess Thomson does resemble Father and Uncle Jim."
"Just resemble, Nick?"
Nick sighed again, "Alright they look a lot alike." Nick shook his head, "Hell, sorry Sis, but they could be twins. If Thomson and Father were standing here in front of us together when that picture was taken, well I reckon we'd all have a hard time telling who was who." Nick ran his hand through his hair and slumped dejectedly into a vacant chair. "What a mess."
"A mess indeed!" Jarrod concurred.
Audra had remained quiet after reading her mother's letter and listening to Nick's tirade. "What do we do now Jarrod? I can't believe Father would have forgotten Mother and you and Nick."
"Neither could I at first honey, so I asked Thomas this morning about amnesia and he confirmed that it was quite possible for a man to completely lose his identity and memories after a severe head trauma…"
"But for four months?"
"Yes Audra it could be hours, days, months, even years or permanently. Something else you should know…" Jarrod paused "I spoke to Silas this morning…" Jarrod held up a hand to ward off Nick's next outburst. "I didn't show him this letter or speak about Heath but he did confirm that Father told Mother about the affair. He also said that a Doctor Jacobs had treated Father for a concussion about twelve months after his return and while he was here, Mother asked about amnesia. Silas confirmed what Thomas told me this morning and confirmed that Mother spoke with Doctor Jacobs about amnesia. I know you were only three going on four Nick and don't remember a lot about that time…"
"I remember all the extra cakes and cookies Silas used to make for us."
Jarrod shook his head as Audra giggled. "Yes, of course you would. Silas also confirmed that Mother forbade Father from ever returning to Strawberry even though Father indicated that he wanted to go back and ensure that Leah Thomson was alright."
"Did Father know about Heath, Jarrod?" Audra asked quietly.
Jarrod shook his head, "I don't believe so Audra, otherwise this would have come to light a long time ago."
"Or he did know and he didn't want anything to do with the bastard," Nick muttered. "This is all Father's fault and Mother is paying the price."
"Is it Nick?" Jarrod asked. "Mother admitted she wasn't naïve. She knew what the consequences of a four month affair could lead to and yet she refused to allow Father to return to Strawberry and follow up with Leah Thomson."
"Come on Jarrod, you're not trying to say that all this is Mother's fault are you?"
"Not entirely Nick, I think it is the fault of Father, Mother and Leah Thomson. All three adults played a part in this: Father for unwittingly having an affair and then not following up with the woman; Mother for ignoring the possibility of a child and not allowing Father to return to Strawberry and finally Leah Thomson for not telling father about his son."
"So what do we do now Jarrod?" Audra asked.
"Well honey, I believe we can only do one thing. Honour Mother's request; find Heath Thomson, bring him back to the ranch, tell him the truth and then see where the cards lie."
Nick snorted, "And what makes you think Thomson will care enough to even come or want to stay when and if he gets here?"
"Well Nick, I guess that will be up to you."
"Me?"
"Yes Nick, you're the only one who has any idea where Heath may be in the Sierras. After all you did spend a week in his cabin with him, you talked with him, so I'm sure you would have discussed where he likes to hunt his horses. You have more in common with him too than if I attempted to find him. And remember you're the one who couldn't stop talking about his horsemanship and the quality of his horses and his breaking techniques so you're the logical choice to go and find him."
"And tell him what? Hey you're my brother, come live with me."
Jarrod sighed, "No Nick, I don't expect you to say that at all. It would be better if he found out about his family when he is here on the ranch. But you could use his horse skills as an excuse. After all, you did say you wanted to expand the breeding enterprise and the remounts for the army. Well now is your chance. Offer Heath some sort of deal to come here."
Nick scratched his chin, "I suppose. I do have to fill that Army order and I am short ten or so head."
"Jarrod, how are we going to prove to Heath that we are family? I mean Mother wrote that letter to us. Are you going to give it to him to read as well? And why didn't she include him in the letter, in our personal parts? "
"The letter and picture weren't the only things in the envelope Audra. Mother wrote a separate letter to Heath, which I have not, nor intend to read. I will give Heath this letter to read also if we are all in agreement, should he wish to see it."
Audra looked hopefully at Nick. "I hope he comes, please bring him home Nick, I'd like to meet my brother and get to know him. Especially if he looks like me, like Mother said."
Nick sighed. "And I suppose you are in agreement Jarrod? You know we could just ignore the letter, tell Mother we couldn't find him."
Jarrod raised an eyebrow. "And could you live with that truth Nick – live the rest of your life knowing you have another brother out there, wondering what it would have been like to have had him as a part of your life and yet never knowing?"
"Well, I…"
"You know Nick, I considered that very question. Should I just ignore the letter, destroy it and tell Mother if she ever asked that I never found a letter? But then I asked myself if I could live with that lie, knowing the truth. And the answer was, no I couldn't. I took an oath as a lawyer to uphold the law, seek justice and truth wherever it led me. And the truth here is we have another brother and he deserves to know the truth of his parentage, he deserves to know the truth of his family and I for one am not going to deny him that truth. In fact I am quite looking forward to meeting Brother Heath." He hesitated before continuing, "And I couldn't live with myself if one of the last times I spoke with Mother I looked her in the eye and lied to her."
Nick sighed, "I guess you're right Counsellor. I couldn't live with myself either, knowing what I now know. And to be honest, I had actually toyed with the idea of asking Heath to come and work at the ranch six months ago. I just have one question for you Jarrod. What about the God fearing people of Stockton when this news gets out that Father sired another son out of wedlock? How is that news going to affect this family and the ranch especially if we bring Heath into the family business as Mother is insisting?"
"That's actually two questions Nick and right now I can't answer either one. I think you're jumping the gun a bit here too. Have you considered the possibility that Heath may not want to become part of the family in the way Mother has envisaged? He's not a child, he has a life of his own, he's settled. He may want to keep us at arms-length; go back to his cabin with just the occasional visit or maybe just the odd letter. We can't make plans until we know Heath's feelings on the subject."
"I hope he stays. He must be so lonely in the hills on his own."
"We can't force him to honey. You have to accept that he might not want to stay, or even to become part of this family, no matter how much we may want it."
"Well then we will just have to make it so inviting that he won't want to leave," Audra stated.
"So, are we in agreement Nick? You'll leave tomorrow and track Heath down, bring him back to the ranch."
Nick shook his head. "I'll have to leave Thursday morning Jarrod. I have that meeting with old man Henderson tomorrow afternoon remember, and he refuses to deal with anyone else but me after you had his son jailed for thirty days last year."
"Oh Nick, can't you put it off until next week."
"Sorry Sis but I can't. The offer is on the table this week. If we don't take it now we will have lost the chance at that piece of land and we need it for the water rights after last years' drought. We can't afford another year of loss like the last one."
"Thursday morning will be fine honey; one more day won't make a difference. Nick is right; we need that strip of land."
BV
Morning, Wednesday August 9th, 1876
Nick knocked softly on Victoria's door and waited for Nurse Carter, who had arrived the previous evening with Doctor Merar, to answer the door. "Morning Nurse Carter, I thought you might like to slip out for a while and eat or stretch your legs. I'll stay with Mother until you return."
Edith, or Eddie Carter as she preferred to be called, studied the tall rancher standing at the door. She had been introduced to the siblings on her arrival the evening before. She was sure this was the second son Nick but of course proprietary demanding that she not call her current employer by his first name. "That would be appreciated Mister Barkley, thank you. Will an hour be alright?"
"Take as long as you need, I will be here for a few more hours and Audra is around if I need her. Oh, and you can call me Nick. Once my younger brother gets here it will be a bit confusing with three Mister Barkleys in the house." Nick smiled.
Eddie returned the smile, "Well if you are sure…Nick and you can call me Eddie if you wish."
Nick looked around the room after Eddie had closed the door. He and Jarrod had brought in one of their old single beds stored in the attic after Eddie had declined the offer of a guest room stating that it would be easier for her to sleep in Victoria's room than trying to care for her patient during the night from the next room. Under the bed Nick could see the nurse's suitcase and her travelling dress neatly folded over the back of his mother's vanity chair. Nodding to himself he made a mental note to have a clothes rack brought in so Eddie could at least hang her dresses up.
Nick took a seat in the chair beside the bed and gently lifted his mother's hand, cradling it carefully in his large work calloused one. He sighed deeply. "Jarrod told us; or rather we read your letter Mother." Nick paused, "I just can't believe Father would do that to you, to us. I was angry, am angry – and disappointed – at Father and you. He, you, someone should have gone back to check and now – now…" Nick trailed off with a shake of his head. "I have another brother – we have another brother and yes I noted the resemblance. Why didn't you say something when we returned to the ranch, if you couldn't bring yourself to say something while we were at the cabin? You could have shown me the likeness of Father and Uncle Jim months ago. We could have talked it out, decided what to do as a family – instead all we have now is your letter. You shouldn't have had to bear this all on your own; we should have carried it with you.
And now, what if Heath Thomson doesn't want to come to the ranch? What if he rejects your plans for him? Oh, I heard the same stories as you did, sitting around his fire. Even then I felt anger towards his father and wondered how a man could just go off and leave a defenceless woman alone to bear his child. And now I guess I know." Nick gently placed his mother's hand back on the bed and pushed up from the chair. He moved around the bed and stood staring out the window oblivious to the sad grey eye watching him from the bed. Nick was still staring absently out the window when his mother's bedroom door opened. He had watched as McColl had given the men their various job allocations for the day and then as they rode from the yard. One part of him wished that he was out there too, bossing the men as usual, sharing in the camaraderie and spirit of the working cowboy and the other part of him – that part of him wanted to rail angrily at his father for what he had done, to confront him and demand answers and yes, even knock him flat on his back. While it wouldn't give him the answers he was searching for it would alleviate some of his anger.
"Nick?"
Nick turned from the window and smiled as Nurse Carter, Eddie re-entered the room carrying a tray on which sat several bowls from which wafted the unmistakable smell of Silas' chicken soup. "Thank you. I will take over again. I believe your brother is waiting downstairs for you."
Nick nodded, slowly turning away from the window. "Was the bed comfortable enough or would you like a different mattress?"
"The bed was fine thank you. In fact it is one of the nicest beds I have had the pleasure to sleep in. Usually I only get a cot or a couch. I have even slept on the floor a time or two."
"Well that won't happen here. I don't know if anybody has said it yet, but thank you for coming to help us look after Mother."
"No thanks are necessary, it is my job, but it is one that I truly enjoy doing, and speaking of which I should be getting back to it. I have brought Misses Barkley some soup to try. We really do need to get some sustenance into her and this is the first step."
"Do you need help?"
Eddie shook her head, "No thank you Nick. I'm sure your mother would prefer to not have an audience; the first few attempts can be a bit messy."
Nick nodded and moved across to the bed where he bent down and kissed his mother's cheek. "I'll find Heath Thomson for you but I can't promise anything after that." Nick straightened and headed to the door, pausing as he opened it. "I will have Silas bring down a clothes rack from the attic for you. Sorry it won't be a closet but one won't fit in here. At least you will be able to hang up your dresses."
"Thank you Nick," Eddie replied to the closed door.
BV
Morning, Thursday 10th August 1876
Jarrod stood outside the stable door as Nick finished saddling Coco. After tying his saddle bags and bedroll to the cantle of the saddle he led the palomino from the stable and out through the barn door. He stopped to look towards the side of the house and his mother's bedroom window before silently mounting his horse.
"You've got everything Nick?" Jarrod asked as he stood at Coco's head.
Nick nodded in reply. "Silas packed me enough food to last two days on the trail. By then I should have found Thomson. If not I'll hunt up a rabbit or two, and there are plenty of fish in the river. I intend to stay at the Bellota ranch tonight. Bell has a couple of bulls I'm interested in so I might as well take a look on the way."
"How long do you think you will be?"
Nick shrugged. "If he's out hunting horses it could be a week or more; if he's at the cabin, three, maybe four days."
"Nick, whatever you're feeling about this situation, promise me you won't take it out on Heath."
Nick sucked in a deep breath and glared at Jarrod. "He's not the one I want to hit Jarrod. I may still have my reservations about all this but I will honour Mother's request. But I promise you all bets are off if he hurts her in anyway once I get him back here."
"Stand in line Nick." Jarrod stepped aside, "Have a good trip Nick and hopefully we'll see you early next week. Eugene should be arriving on the late train Monday too."
Nick nodded, looked towards the house again and up to the bedroom window, even though all he could see was the sill jutting out over the rose garden before he turned his hazel glare on his brother.
Jarrod placed his hand on Nick's knee. "We'll look after Mother, Nick." He stepped back and watched as his brother rode from the yard, passed under the Barkley sign and headed across the range in a flash of colour.