Ruth had been unsure at first about whether it was a good thing or not that Señora Martinez had found out, but now she was glad. A pregnancy shouldn't be a thing she had to hide.

She had explained to Señora Martinez why she hadn't told Kid and she had agreed with her that if it wasn't going to change anything that there was no point in his knowing. She made it clear though that if she had been in Ruth's shoes, she would have told him just in the hopes that he'd feel more guilty about his affairs. Ruth wished she could confide in her about that too, but she had a feeling she was too traditional-minded to be as understanding about that.

"Did you enjoy breakfast, Señora Cole?" Señor Martinez asked the following morning. He asked because she had nibbled at it very slowly and was still only halfway the plate.

"Oh, I'm sorry if I've offended you," Ruth apologized right away. "I'm just nervous about today. Your cook is a very good cook."

"Understandable. I have some things to see to in town, ladies. I will see you this afternoon, Señora Cole."

Ruth politely nodded and pushed her plate away as soon as Señor Martinez was gone.

She followed Señora Martinez to the main room where they picked up on their sewing and knitting.

"You are aware that an annulment will make your baby illegitimate, are you not?" Señora Martinez asked. "Have you thought of how such a child can't inherit property?"

"I have and Kid has nothing to inherit. Neither do I for that matter. He or she will do okay. God will see to that and I'll do my part too."

"Do you have family to help you?"

"I do, but I can raise this baby without going back home. Not as matter of pride you understand, but I believe this is where I'm supposed to be. The revivals I do are what the Lord would have me do with my life."

"Well, at least you have that option if you find out your revivals are not as successful as they were before."

"There is that possibility, I know. Maybe a divorce was the way to go, for legality's sake where the baby's concerned, but people are going to look down on me either way, annulment or divorce. For awhile anyway."

Señora Martinez shook her head. "A divorce is not a divorce the way you Americanos think of it. You would be free not to live together but not free of the marriage bond. No remarriage or freedom to live independently. You would be a ward of court. You'd have to live where the judge told you to."

"By you, you mean me. Kid could still go wherever he pleased I suppose. Good thing your husband suggested an annulment then. That wouldn't have done at all."

"Are you sure you got enough to eat? Is there anything you want that you have a special hunger for?"

"I wouldn't mind honey, " Ruth admitted, "but it don't mean nothing other than that I got a sweet tooth, so don't go to any trouble."

"No, that is what you shall have because that is what your baby needs," she said with finality. "I will tell Isabella to pick some up for lunch."

Señora Martinez's eyes kept going to the window as if she were looking for somebody to come.

"You expecting someone?" Ruth asked.

Señora Martinez. "Yes, Señor Martinez is sending your lawyer over."

"My lawyer?" Ruth didn't like the idea of using lawyers. "Won't that just make things more complicated and drag the process out?"

"No doubt. That's what they're paid to do, but lawyers are required." There was a knock at the door. "Speak of the devil."

The lawyer was a handsome man in his 40s perfectly groomed with a neat suit. He didn't speak English, so Señora Martinez translated, turning Sister Ruth's words into Spanish and the lawyer's into English.

The lawyer got right down to business. "Has he ever hit you? Threatened to use his gun on you?"

"Of course not," Ruth answered. "He can have a temper sometimes, I reckon. I can too, but there was never any violence between us."

"Then he has hurt you with his words. Has he called you a whore or other lewd names perhaps?"

"No, nothing stronger than a bossy woman."

Señora Martinez looked like she wanted to laugh as she translated that to the lawyer.

"Now to the main charge, adultery. You said in your letter that this has been going on the whole length of your marriage and that he never intended to honor you?"

"That's right."

"You have proof of this?"

"Proof? No. Just my word and his. We travel too much to have any witnesses that can testify to any of the other times. It's my understanding though that you will find witnesses in Tuscon's saloon."

The lawyer nodded, indicating he'd already known and taken care of that part. He was clearly fishing for more to accuse him of however. "Has he ever said anything against God while you were married?"

"No, he's been a Christian all our married life. He wasn't when I first met him, but I've seen his faith grow in leaps and bounds. I would never call that into question."

"Has he ever said anything that would make you think his faith was a ruse to get you to marry him? It would really help your case if that were so."

"No. I think sometimes he still doubts the power of prayer just because he's such a self-reliant person. He sometimes asks how I know God's listening or tells me to tell God something like he can't, but we're all at different stages in our faith. I don't think I'd consider that a lack of reverence for our Creator. Despite our falling out, I'm quite sure his relationship with God is real and solid."

"That will be enough though that I think that we can add blasphemy to the charges, which will look especially good considering the work you're in. Divorce would have been easier to obtain. You may not like it, but for your best chance, we need to come up with all the charges we can. Anything else I should know?"

Señora Martinez looked at Ruth pointedly. "He is your lawyer. It is best he know everything from the start including the delicate situation you're in."

Ruth agreed with a single, brief nod.

"She is having a baby," Señora Martinez told the lawyer.

The lawyer frowned. "This makes getting an annulment much less likely. When will people be able to tell?"

"Near as I can figure in a month or two."

"I will try to get the proceedings to go as fast as I can make them go. Does your husband know about the baby?"

"No, and I don't believe he wants to know, but regardless of whether he does or he doesn't, I don't think you'll find that he will put up much of a fight in the courtroom. He's not against the annulment."

"You have been most helpful. I need to speak with our witnesses and work on the case, so I will see you at 3:00 this afternoon at the church. That is where it's going to be held."

Ruth nodded. She just didn't feel good about this as she walked with him and Señora Martinez to the door. These half lies he was going to dream up with the information she'd provided just didn't feel like the right thing to do, but if Kid were here, she knew he'd have encouraged her to do and say whatever it took to procure the annulment.

sss

The court convened in the church a little after 3:00.

In addition to her lawyer and Kid's, there were two other lawyers. One had the title Defender of Marriage and the other the title Promoter of Justice, according to Señor Martinez. The Defender of Marriage's job was to provide detailed knowledge of marital regulation and weigh in on any complex questions that arose; he represented the Catholic view of marriage, whether or not that view worked for or against the couple. The Promoter of Justice was a prosecuting attorney and was more concerned about public welfare and interests than the couple or the church and made sure that if there was something wrong, the guilty party was prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Señor Martinez said they were to protect against cases where the couple was in agreement over ending the marriage and the defendant's lawyer did a terrible job defending for that very reason.

There was no jury to give a verdict, which wasn't altogether comforting to Ruth. That meant they had just one person to convince, the judge, and if he was staunchly against annulment and divorce, they were sunk. There was the right to appeal, but that would take too much time. Time she didn't have to spare. There was always going back to doing what she had wanted to do in the first place and just leave if Kid wanted to separate, forgetting what the law said.

The priest wore his clerical robes. His official title was Juez Provisor y Vicario General. He was a man in his senior years. Ruth tried to determine from his face whether he'd be a soft or hard judge, but she couldn't decide.

Ruth was on the right front pew and Kid on the left. Señor Martinez stood in the aisle ready to translate everything that was said because except for Kid and Ruth's testimony, the proceedings would all be in Spanish.

The judge spoke first, "We are here today because a man and his wife are to live in the holy sacrament of marriage together, the wife in holy obedience. Yet, there is some doubt as to whether the marriage of this couple was valid. My job is to listen to both sides and judge whether or not there are sufficient grounds for the annulment."

Her lawyer made the opening statement after the judge. He kept it brief and to the point. "This man, Kid Cole, has committed adultery against my client from the very beginning of their marriage. He has verbally abused my client. And perhaps most shocking of all, he has committed blasphemy against the most high God. Divine law, the highest law, commands that husbands love their wives as Christ loves the Church. It is my intent to show that Kid Cole never has or even intended to stay faithful, making the marriage null and void."

There was one case file that contained the proceedings and documents for the whole case from the first letter she had written to the judge to the words last spoken in the court, and this file had to be passed back and forth between the her, Kid, and judge to make sure they were aware of the proceedings. The Spanish left no stone unturned when it came to documents and making sure everyone involved in the case understood the procedures completely.

Her lawyer called the first witness: Lolita, a saloon girl.

"I swear by the Lord our God to tell the truth," Lolita said. A sign of the cross accompanied the statement.

"Have you heard of this lawsuit?" her lawyer asked.

Lolita affirmed that she had.

"Do you know the man seated on the front left pew, Kid Cole?"

"Yes."

"How long have you known him?"

"A week."

"Can I ask how you met his acquaintance?"

"At the saloon. He has engaged my services on more than one occasion. Last night being the most recent. He had such a good time last night he went off and left his coat though it was very cold."

The answers seemed very coached, but then Ruth imagined most witnesses were coached, whether their testimony was true or not. Lawyers tried to make sure everything played out just right in the courtroom like the directors of a play.

The notary presented Kid's coat. "This is the coat he left this in her room."

Ruth took a deep breath. She had stitched that coat with her own hands. She had to remind herself that it wasn't true, that it was a play. But did it feel any better that he was willing to go to such great lengths to lie just to be rid of her?

She caught Kid's eyes from across the aisle. He looked guilty and apologetic. She didn't respond other than to turn away and focus back in on the testimony. She was angry and she was upset. Looking at him wasn't going to help her to hold it together.

"I said what I know and it is the sworn truth. I am 19," Señor Martinez said, translating Lolita's words. Some official statement they apparently ended with in the Mexican courts.

"If she's 19, then I'm the Queen of England," Ruth muttered.

The notary read back the complete testimony and then asked Lolita to sign, but she couldn't because she didn't know how, which the notary made note of.

There were 2 more witnesses after that. One, a regular saloon customer, who affirmed that he had seen Kid going up to Lolita's room. The other was the saloon owner, who affirmed Kid had paid him for her services. Settling the fact unequivocally that adultery had taken place at least from a legal perspective. She supposed proving the other charges would come later.

The judge said that he was giving the defendant's lawyer time to review all that had been said today and they would reconvene at noon tomorrow where Kid's lawyer would begin the defense.

Ruth was relieved she hadn't been called to testify yet. She knew it couldn't be avoided forever, but it was a nice reprieve. She didn't so much as glance in Kid's direction as she went directly to where Señora Martinez waited to escort her back to the house.