11

Adam, Hoss and Joe rode up to Adam's house, Adam, not even waiting for his horse to come to a complete stop before he leaped off. The buggy was still out front and as Joe paused, he pulled some feathers off the seat. He held them up for Hoss to see and Hoss furrowed his brow and then shrugged. Joe did as well and let the feathers float away.

Adam burst into the house and into the drawing room. Ben stood up and by his face, Adam knew something was terribly wrong.

"What is it? Where's Ultima?"

"She's upstairs bathing, but…." Ben grabbed Adam by the arm as he began to leave for the stairs. "You need to listen first. Now sit down and let me explain what happened."

Hoss and Joe stood in the entrance and Ben shook his head.

"I guess we better wait outside on the porch," Joe said to Hoss.

"Yeah. I guess so." Hoss and Joe were about to leave but heard "Mr. Hoss?" come from inside. It was Mrs. Fontaine. She looked troubled.

"You need somethin', Mrs. Fontaine?" Hoss asked.

"Yes. Would you take this bucket of hot water upstairs to Mrs. Cartwright's room—the second on the right side? It's for another…it's for the bath. Just knock and Amanda will come to the door."

"Yes, ma'am, be glad to." Hoss tipped his hat and picked up the bucket.

"If you come to the kitchen afterwards, Mao Li has dinner ready. No one seems to have an appetite and it would be a shame to let it go to waste—fried pork chops, apples and new potatoes in butter. You come too," she said to Joe. Then she gave them a sad smile.

Joe followed Mrs. Fontaine to the kitchen; maybe he could find out what had happened and why Mao Huan had come riding up on a horse, clinging to the mane of the animal to yell, "Mistah Adam, you come home. You come home now!" And Adam dropped the fence pole he had been holding and ran to his horse, mounted and then took off at a gallop to get home as quickly as possible. Joe and Hoss had looked at one another, told Moonie to keep the men working and followed Adam over the rough terrain to take the shortest way to his house.

Adam saw Ultima sitting in the copper tub, her hair hanging wet and Amanda rinsing out the soap. Adam smelled something sweet—the molasses-and then he saw the rough blanket from the jail and Ultima's underclothing in a pile in the corner, all smeared with the substance. There were feathers on them and on the floor where they had stuck.

Amanda looked at Adam and stepped back with the small pitcher in her hand.

"Take those out," Adam told her, motioning to the pile, "and burn them."

"Yes, sir." Amanda curtsied slightly and then put the pitcher on the metalwork table by the tub. At Adam's voice, Ultima had turned her head slightly but then turned back.

Adam kneeled beside the bath. "Ultima, Pa told me what happened. He also said that Dr. Martin says that you should be all right—just that the incident was…Ultima, look at me. Please."

She shook her head, no and continued to stare at the wall in front of her.

"Let me wash your back." Adam picked up the washing cloth and began to lave Ultima's back and he could see her begin to relax. He gently rubbed her back and she pulled her wet hair over her shoulder and dropped her head while he moved the wet cloth in circles on her shoulder blades, neck, and then down her spine.

"Do you want to tell me about what happened?" he quietly said.

Ultima straightened up and arched her back to pull away. "No. I don't want to talk about it now or ever. Would you hand me a towel?"

Adam picked up one of the thick, fluffy towels and held it open. Ultima stepped out of the tub onto the small rug beside it and Adam enveloped her in the towel. Then he put his arms around her but she pushed herself free. He was puzzled; he didn't know what to do. According to his father, she hadn't cried, just sat stone-faced during the ride home. Once they had arrived, Mrs. Fontaine, Mao Li and Amanda all came out and then, after instructions from Ben, Mao Li sent her husband to find the "Mistah" and tell him to come home. Old Cletus, the only ranch hand on the place who tended the horses and did small jobs, had trouble riding with his bad leg that caused him to limp so Mao Huan was sent. But despite the sympathy and care that Mrs. Fontaine, Amanda and the cook tried to give her, Ultima just told Amanda to prepare her bath—she wanted two baths. She also told Amanda to lay out a sleep gown for her; she was tired. And Ben watched, not knowing what to make of it. It only confirmed his opinion that Ultima was emotionless—cold-and that Adam might have made a mistake but he kept that observation to himself.

"I can smell dinner," Ultima calmly said as she tucked the towel around her torso and then reached for another one to dry her hair. "Invite your father to stay if he's still here. He was kind to me." Adam didn't move just studied her. "Please, Adam, go. I really would like to be alone. I'm so tired." He stepped toward her to kiss her but she put her hand on his chest. "Please. Go eat dinner. I'm fine. It was an unfortunate incident but I'm fine. Now go and leave me."

Adam left his wife's room and Amanda, once Adam passed her at the foot of the stairs, took to the stairs to brush the Mistress' hair and to massage rose-scented oil into her skin and onto her feet. Amanda knew that her Mistress needed soothing and Amanda loved her enough to help where she could. And once Mrs. Cartwright was asleep, Amanda decided she would search out and pick up every feather in the house that had fallen away so that the Missus wouldn't be reminded. She found it amazing that as beautiful as Mrs. Cartwright was, anyone would want to harm her and humiliate her in such a way and Amanda wondered who it was who had arranged such a thing.

Adam and Ben sat in Adam's study sipping brandy. "I know this was Maxwell's doing for both the cattle and Rollo's beating in the saloon. I swear I'm going to kill those bastards."

"Adam, we settled that issue about the cattle months ago; I paid him market price for the beeves and we shook hands. I don't think…" but Ben didn't finish as wasn't so sure. There was the matter of Rollo and Adam's slur about Maxwell and Rollo; Maxwell may have been waiting for the perfect tie to hit back at Adam.

"I'm going out there tomorrow," Adam said as he swallowed a large slug of the brandy and poured himself more.

Ben stood up. "Adam, get a good night's sleep and go talk to Roy in the morning instead. He said he was going to investigate. He might very well have the perpetrators in jail by now." Adam just glowered at his father. "Take care of your wife. I'll stop by tomorrow and see how things are."

After his father left, Adam went upstairs and paused in front of Ultima's room. She had said that she wanted to be alone but he couldn't stay away from her. He knocked and then opened the door and walked in. Ultima looked to the door; she wasn't asleep. She silently watched as Adam sat on the edge of the bed and pulled off his boots. He unbuttoned his shirt halfway and pulled it off over his head. Then he turned and in the dark, he could see Ultima watching him.

Adam intentionally left on his trousers and slid under the covers, whispered that he was sorry he still stank from all his work that day and pulled Ultima into his arms. They lay together, Ultima, rigid in his embrace, so he gently kissed her hair and told her that she was his wife and that he wished her pain was his to bear instead. Ultima began to cry, softly at first and placed an arm around him. Adam crooned comforting words to her and soon Ultima was sobbing against his chest, sobbing as if her heart would break and Adam felt his own hot tears. Tenderness toward the woman he held in his arms rose in his chest and threatened to overwhelm him. Her pain cut through him like a sharp knife-her suffering broke his heart and he knew that he would have done anything, anything to have prevented it. But now he would kill whoever had done this awful thing to Ultima, to his wife—the woman he loved-and he would enjoy doing it, relish seeing them suffer. Maxwell and his henchmen had best be ready to die.