ELEVEN
Ben, Hoss and Adam sat at a table in the far corner of The Silver Dollar and one of the girls came over to ask what they would have.
"Three beers and a whiskey chaser for me," Ben said.
Adam gave a small laugh. "Things aren't that bad, Pa. I sent you that wire saying how much the cattle buyer in Abilene paid and there was no problem. Hoss even managed to find renters for the property. So I'm going to guess that the problem is this 'other' guest."
"Yeah, Pa," Hoss said, leaning his chair back while the saloon girl placed the beers before them.
"Be back in a minute with your whiskey," the girl said. All three drank deeply from their mugs and the girl returned quickly with Ben's shot of whiskey. He downed it. Then he held his beer mug with both hands and looked down at it, considering what he was going to say. Adam and Hoss exchanged looks.
And then Ben began. "It appears, at least according to what Montague said and the letter he brought…"
"Montague?" Adam asked.
"Ain't he the one that came with that Countess Chadwick a few years ago?" Hoss brought his chair down with a resounding thump on all its legs.
"Yes," Ben said, "that Montague."
"What is it, Pa? More trouble with Lady Chadwick? She isn't up to her old tricks again, is she?" Adam felt a cold shiver run through him. Inger, Hoss' mother, had told him that it meant that a goose had walked over his grave wherever that would be one day and suddenly Adam had the image of the three gray geese that ran freely around the Ponderosa, one gander and two geese. They had always honked at Lady Chadwick and she was afraid of them as their long, supple necks would strike out at her like rattlesnakes. Once the gander practically chased her out of the front yard and into the house, its wings held out and flapping as if it were flying. Linda Lawrence had tried to convince Hop Sing that the gander would make a very nice Sunday dinner and Hop Sing was appalled; the large nasty-tempered goose was almost a pet and would follow Hop Sing around the kitchen garden at the side of the house, waddling behind him hoping to receive a treat of some sort for he always kept a few pieces of bread or biscuit in his apron pocket to feed the gander.
"But think how good a nice roast goose would taste?" Linda Lawrence had said during her only visit to the Ponderosa where she had unsuccessfully tried to manipulate Ben into marrying her.
"Him too stringy. Old goose, mean like me. Besides," Hop Sing had explained, "Goose guard the house. He better than dog-honk at strangers. Chase away polecats from hen house. Need goose." And Hop Sing went back to his work.
Joe walked into The Silver Dollar, looked around and then came over to the table and joined his brothers and father and the saloon girl, Sandy, who brought him over a cold beer without anyone asking.
"Thanks, Sandy," Joe said, taking her hand and giving it a kiss. "You'll make someone a wonderful wife,"
"Just not you, right?" she said, taking off Joe's hat and ruffling his hair. "Enjoy your beers, gentlemen and, beautiful." she added, addressing Joe, "I put a little rat poison in yours." Adam and Hoss laughed while the girl sauntered away from their table, Joe watching the swing of her hips in her blue satin dress. Then they all turned back to the matter at hand.
"Did the Jefferses get settled into the hotel?" Adam asked Joe.
"Yeah, they have a first floor room because he's blind. They didn't ask for it but Justin, he gave it to them but they didn't really seem to care. Those Jefferses, they're strange but even with mud all over her, that Mrs. Jeffers sure is pretty. How'd she fall in the mud?"
"It's a long story." Adam turned his attention back to his father. "So is Montague our house guest?" Adam asked. He had no particular issues with Montague who had actually turned out to be a good man. His only fault was Montague's devotion to serving a calculating, selfish, manipulative woman-Lady Linda Lawrence Chadwick.
Joe looked to his father and Adam noticed how Joe ducked his head. It was going to be bad news.
"No, Montague isn't our guest. He brought the news that Linda, Lady Chadwick died about a year ago, apparently a miserable, drawn-out death, and she left a letter to be given to me. Montague brought it in person to explain, to confirm that it was authentic. I was worried that it was a trick-I'd already been duped by her twice, so I appreciated the fact that Montague traveled all the way here from England to see me." Ben looked at Joe.
"The houseguest is Linda's son, the new Count of Chadwick-for what it's worth anymore. According to Montague, the title is now worthless and the estate is broke, all the money gone. Apparently Percival, Linda's son, gambled away everything. I would say that he's like his father who won the estate by gambling-winning the title and the property in a game of chance. Funny about chance. It's always 50/50, no matter how you try to stack the odds in your favor."
There was a silence that fell over the table. "What do you mean by, you 'would' say he's like his father?"
"According to Montague and Linda's letter, I'm Percival's father." Ben couldn't meet Adam's eye. Hoss, after a few minutes, could eventually accept it but not Adam. After all, Adam had been with his father on the fur-selling trip to New Orleans where Ben met and was enchanted by the beautiful and charming, Linda Lawrence, the fur buyer's young daughter. And before Ben knew it, he and Linda Lawrence were engaged to be married. He never could quite follow how it had happened but despite her previous betrothal to Lord Chadwick, Linda managed to contrive a way that Ben proposed-or appeared to propose. But Adam had never warmed to Linda Lawrence and when Linda told Ben her plans to send Adam away to school and for Ben to sell his property in Nevada and live in New Orleans, had even found their future home on one of the best streets in New Orleans, Ben came to his senses. He realized that he had allowed a beautiful, sensuous woman to appeal to his longings and desires for a woman to share his life. And there was that one night, that one time when, with a ten year old Adam waiting for his father in the hotel room, Ben had enjoyed the delights of Linda's body and now his sin had a face and a name and had shown up on his doorstep. He had another son-Lord Percival Benjamin Lawrence Chadwick.
"What?" Adam felt the earth shift. He had another brother but not just any brother, Lady Chadwick's son. Adam's head swam. First there was Piper who brought back the memories that flooded him with longing and pain; he suffered again all the feelings he had managed to survive so many years ago and now all those old wounds were opened again-but then, Adam had thought, he had never really healed. So many times over the years he had thought of Piper, wondered where she was, what she was doing and had to go downstairs and take a shot of whiskey or bourbon to help him sleep. Hop Sing had always sung the praises of chamomile tea but Adam stuck with the surefire cure of hard liquor.
"Pa," Hoss said, "how long's he been here?"
"A little over a week now."
"So this Percival…" Adam began.
"Percy," Joe added.
"What?" Adam turned to him.
"He goes by Percy. Or Lord Chadwick but I can't bring myself not to laugh about him being a Lord." Joe sat forward, grinning. "He wanted Hop Sing to call him Lord Chadwick. That little sissy of a…"
"Joe!" Ben reprimanded. "Remember, he's your brother the same as Adam and Hoss and just because he was raised elsewhere with different traditions doesn't mean that he should be a source of derision."
"Sorry, Pa," Joe said and sat back in his chair but he shot a look at Adam that insinuated that even Ben didn't care for Percy and that Percy deserved more than just to be derided.
"Are you so very certain that he's your son-our brother? I mean you and I know how conniving Linda Lawrence was. Maybe this is just another means to…"
"Adam," Ben stopped his eldest son from continuing. "I'm as sure that he's my son as I am about any of you. After all, a man can only take the mother's word that a child is his; there's no other way. No other way. Besides, after what Montague said…"
Adam studied his father who now looked almost ten years older than when Adam and Hoss had left over a month ago. "What did Montague say?" Adam asked quietly and Ben told him that it was long story. Ben ordered another round of beers and proceeded to explain the situation to Hoss and Adam starting with Saturday before last when Percival and Montague showed up at the Ponderosa.
