3
Theirs had not been a love match.
Adam was familiar with Mrs. Lafferty as both he and Mr. Lafferty were the major stockholders in the Croesus mine. Ben Cartwright had reluctantly given his blessing to Adam buying so many shares and had to later admit that it had been a wise move; the mine seemed to expose more veins of gold every week and Adam's personal wealth soon exceeded both his brothers' and nearly his father's. When he would receive his full share of the Ponderosa, Adam Cartwright would be the wealthiest man in Nevada and more than likely, the surrounding states, especially since he was considering investing more in the Pacific Railroad.
As a majority shareholder in the mine, Adam was often in San Francisco to meet with Thomas Lafferty. And Lafferty, although he lived in California, often visited the mine for an on-site evaluation and to see the machinery bought with his investment and from where the profits were coming. But Adam liked his visits to San Francisco as he enjoyed the city and he most enjoyed being entertained by Lafferty in his grand home because his wife, Ultima Lafferty would greet him, composed and serene and yet Adam noticed the glow in her eyes that were the color of the sky on a snowy day, whenever she saw him. He also noticed the slight flush of her cheeks.
The Lafferty home had been decorated, according to Thomas, to his wife's taste. Adam admitted that her tastes were grand indeed and knew that Thomas Lafferty had spent a great deal of money to please his young wife. Adam deduced that Ultima must be at least thirty years younger than her husband and yet she appeared deferential to him; if she had married him just for his wealth, it wasn't obvious. Nor was it obvious if she loved him a great deal as she was always cool and distant. The husband and wife addressed each other as Mr. and Mrs. Lafferty, not by pet names or even first names. Adam wondered and once remarked to Hoss that he speculated if, when the couple rolled in the sheets, Ultima called out "Oh, Mr. Lafferty! Yes! Yes!" in the throes of sexual ecstasy and Hoss guffawed at the image while Adam chuckled.
Ultima was always polite to Adam, always gracious and yet he would upon occasion catch her unawares and see her staring at him with her blue-gray eyes. She would quickly look elsewhere as if embarrassed at being caught expressing any interest in him but not before he would smile knowingly and nod in acknowledgement. She would smooth her skirts, touch her hair and adjust her position on the chair, obviously uncomfortable.
It didn't take long for Adam to realize who had the business acumen in the Lafferty marriage. Thomas would ask certain questions and upon occasion, Mrs. Lafferty would clarify for Adam and then defer again to her husband. But Adam always included Ultima in his answer, glancing at her and often speaking directly to her and he could see that unlike her husband who often look nonplussed, Ultima understood the complexities of the mining business. Whenever Adam asked Lafferty for his votes on any matter, Lafferty would clear his throat and slightly stammer and then, after looking at Ultima to see if she nodded or slightly shook her head no, he would answer. But Adam noticed that if Ultima put her hand to her throat, that Thomas Lafferty would say that he would have to consider and get back to Adam.
"Quite all right," Adam would always reply and then look directly at Mrs. Lafferty who would coldly stare back. But Adam would only grin more broadly; she was well aware that Adam was on to their game.
And then Thomas Lafferty died. Quite quickly and quite unexpectedly. He was eating dinner and complained of indigestion, commented facetiously that he might have to fire their cook, rose to leave the table and dropped down dead. They said that Mrs. Lafferty was quite put out by the matter of her husband's apoplexy and the next day she sent a wire to Adam Cartwright at the Ponderosa in Virginia City informing him of her husband's passing and asking Adam if they could meet to discuss their mutual interests in the Croesus mine. She was not one to be overcome by emotions, Adam surmised.
Adam read the telegram out loud to his family at dinner and Ben Cartwright was outraged.
"Only one day after her husband dies, that cold-hearted bitch is thinking only of business!"
Joe and Hoss looked at one another because it was not like their father to curse at the table nor to say anything degrading about a female. Adam laughed heartily.
"Come on, Pa," Adam said, grinning, "a young widow has to look out for interests. And I do want to see her again. She's a fascinating woman, Pa. You ought to keep an open mind."
"Yeah," Hoss said. "But you, Adam, you're just thinking of her open legs."
Joe, and Adam enjoyed the remark and laughed along with Hoss while their father scowled.
"That's enough. Any more talk of Ultima Lafferty and my appetite will be completely ruined."
Therefore, when Adam brought home Ultima Lafferty as his bride, Ben Cartwright was appalled. Adam behaved though as if the marriage was a normal affair—to be expected-and the couple stayed at the Ponderosa while Adam built a house according to his new wife's taste which was surprisingly good. Even Ben had to begrudgingly admit that the design of the house was beautiful and when the fine marble and paneling arrived along with the cypress slats for the inside of the closets, Ben ran his hand over the pieces and admitted to their superior quality although he was appalled at the cost.
Ultima kept to herself during her stay at the Ponderosa but yet was friendly, albeit not warm, to Adam's family. Hop Sing sought to please her with dishes and when she complimented him on a dish, he beamed. And Hoss and Joe couldn't take their eyes from their lovely sister-in-law.
"What you think?" Hoss said one afternoon to Joe a few days after Ultima had arrived. They were repairing fence and Hoss was unwinding the barbed wire from its spool. "You think that Ultima is a good wife for Adam?"
"A little late for that, isn't it?" Joe said, working the loop of barbed wire around a post. "You can't tell with Adam. I mean look at the different women he almost married—none of them were alike."
"I guess so. But they don't even sleep in the same room at night. You think they…you know?" For some reason, Hoss found it difficult to talk about his new sister-in-law and sex; she appeared so emotionally distant to him that as much as he tried, he just couldn't visualize Ultima spreading her legs and welcoming his older brother.
Joe laughed. "Trust me, Hoss. My room is next to hers and if that's not Adam in there riding her and making her yelp and groan, then she's diddling herself. She's a loud one and I tell you, she seems to like it."
"No shit?" Hoss said. He stood open-mouthed. "How often?"
"So far, every night. I'll be damned if I can get to sleep before midnight. Now hand me those wire snips."