FOURTEEN

Percy had been called to his mother's side by Montague. Actually, dragged to his dying mother's side. Percy disliked death and all its trappings and to see his mother, so weak and thin was disgusting to him. So Montague had grabbed him by the back of his jacket, literally lifted him off the ground and shook him the way a terrier shakes a rat.

"You shall go see her, Master Percy. She has asked for you!" Montague said as he pulled the young man up the stairs and into Lady Chadwick's room where a chair had already been placed by the side of the bed. He practically threw Percy into the chair and it rocked dangerously on its back legs. Montague bowed to Lady Chadwick. "Your son is here, m'Lady," he said and left the room.

"I take it that you didn't want to visit," Lady Chadwick said in a weak voice.

"It's not that at all, Mother," Percy replied. "I just had something else pressing but Montague insisted that it be now. He is forceful." Percy looked about the room. He had already been selling off his mother's jewelry but she insisted that she wear her diamond and emerald necklace as she lay in bed dying and that she be buried wearing it but when Percy turned back to look at his mother, it was only to judge how much longer until he could remove the valuable necklace from around her neck and sell it.

"I told you about your real father and what he did to me-to us."

"I do think things turned out much better, mother, the way they did. I can't really see myself out in the wild west of that barbarian country. Just the thought makes me shudder."

"You know you have to go to the Ponderosa after I die. I have written a letter and entrusted it to Montague and now, I entrust to you the matter of revenge on Ben Cartwright. He is wealthy-incredibly wealthy having holdings in cattle, silver mining and lumber, is worth hundreds of thousands. His land holdings cover a third of the territory and I believe he is still buying more. You must be my avenger and do as I ask and then all of it will be yours." She fell back and closed her eyes. Percy leaned in to see if she had died.

"Mother?" He didn't want to touch her; her skin was yellow and waxy. The doctor had said that it was her liver-it was failing and would probably cause her death before the disease from which she suffered, a growth that was eating her insides, would. She opened her eyes and Percy sat back. "What is it that you want me to do?"

"You must destroy him by annihilating all that he loves. You see, Ben Cartwright loves his sons more than all the world-more than his farm. You must get to him by getting at them. Whether you cause his sons to leave forever, to die or to be locked away, I don't care-you can only do what circumstances allow but do it, you will. Especially Adam, the eldest. It's he I blame the most. But be careful-he is the most dangerous. Even at a young age, as early as ten years, he saw through me, understood my motives and that is because he is the same as I am. You see, Percy, Adam is as clever and astute and as conniving as you, as I, but he isn't as cold. But he can be cruel; I've seen it in him. Be very careful but look for his weakness; he must have one, some vulnerable spot with which you can stab him to the heart." She closed her eyes again, tightened them as a sharp pain shot through her. Then she recovered. "I hate him most of all. Adam was instrumental in discovering my plan and how I was going to coerce Ben into a marriage with me. And then, my son, you would have joined us and I would have seen that you lacked for nothing. Nothing. Swear to me that you will destroy all the Cartwrights but particularly Ben and Adam. Hoss and Joe-they will be simple to bring down as they lack the inherent cruelty of Adam, particularly Hoss. You are so clever that it will be easy-you will find them no challenge. Hoss is a country bumpkin, and Joe, he has a temper that flares at the slightest insult. It will not be difficult to unhinge him and prod him into a violent act. Now promise me. Swear to me that you will do as I ask."

"I will if you give me the necklace that you're wearing." Linda Chadwick put one small, thin hand to her throat and touched the necklace and looked at her son. "I know that you want to be buried in it, but really, Mother, what a waste. It is worth so much and I do need the money. I have a debt to pay off or I may not live to do your bidding."

Linda looked at her son; she really did despise him. He was nothing like his father and Linda thought of how differently Percy may have turned out had he only had the guiding hand of Ben Cartwright instead of the disdain and loathing of Lord Chadwick. Ah well, it was too late for that.

"Take it, you scavenger." Linda closed her eyes as she felt Percy pull her necklace around to get at the clasp

"Now, Mother," Percy said as he unclasped the necklace and pulled it off from around her neck, "better that I take it now instead of hiring someone to unearth your body from its sacred resting place and steal it off your rotting corpse." She said nothing and Percy left his mother's room, dropping the diamond and emerald necklace into his pocket. He considered paying off the debt he did owe-he had not lied-but he convinced himself that he could make more money by using the necklace as his gambling stake. And humming to himself, he tossed back his head as was his habit, to throw the long, lanky hair off his face. Perhaps he would go get his hair cut and his nails buffed; if he was going to be using his hands, he wanted to look nice when he gathered up his winnings.

And so, here at the Ponderosa, Percy looked around the table at his relatives and smiled to himself. He hated them with a depth of emotion that he could barely control but Percy knew not to let his emotions control him. And when Hop Sing came out to clear the table for dessert, Percy gave him an indulgent smile but Hop Sing glowered. Percy remarked what a good "boy" Hop Sing was and Ben responded in a patient voice that Percy needed to show proper respect for Hop Sing, that he was a trusted friend as well as a great help and that Hop Sing had been their physician in emergencies and a confidante when needed. He also had helped raised mainly Hoss and Joe and Percy remarked that that explained quite a bit about the crudeness of his other two brothers since they were raised by a heathen "Chinee."

"Now what d'you mean by that?" Hoss asked, his brow furrowed. Hoss knew that it was an insult and he didn't like Hop Sing being called a "Chinee."

"Yeah," Joe said. " 'that explains quite a bit.' What is that supposed to mean? You saying that Hoss and I don't have any manners?"

"What he means," Adam interrupted," is to make you angry. Besides, we are what we are and there's no sense in trying to be what we're not." Adam looked pointedly at Percy.

"What would you say that I am, brother Adam, other than your brother, your open admirer and your father's bastard son?" But before Adam could answer, Hop Sing came in with the peach pie he had baked for dessert.

"Just for you, Mistah Hoss, I make peach pie. Mrs. Birch, she trade bushel of peaches for two hens."

"Now, Hop Sing," Hoss said, "don't go tradin' away all our fryin' hens. Much as I love peach pie, I got a hankerin' for some fried chicken too!"

Adam chuckled and Joe and Ben laughed but Percy sat stone-faced. "Have you nothing else to eat for dessert besides this distasteful doughy pile of lard and flour and over-ripe fruit? The main course was disgusting enough."

"What he say? What he say about my cooking?" Hop Sing was enraged.

"Hop Sing," Ben said, "please, it's nothing."

"What I said," Percy explained as he pushed his chair back from the table and stood up, "is that all this is slop only fit for hogs-like Hoss. Not for anyone who actually tastes their food before they swallow the whole un-masticated mess."

Hoss stood up so quickly that his chair toppled over. "Hog? I'll show you what it's like to wallow in a pig sty." And Hoss began to rush around the table but Adam stood up and Ben did as well.

"Hoss, Hoss," Adam said stepping in between him and Percy. "Settle down." Hoss looked at Adam, his chest heaving with anger. He had disliked Percy from the moment he met the younger man and he wasn't going to suffer insults at his hands; it would have eased his bruised feeling considerably to have tossed Percy's body into the pig sty and see him flounder in the muck. It was true that Adam often insulted him but Hoss knew that was different; Adam loved him and his comments were always a form of that affection that neither brother knew any other way to express but Percy, he was sincere in his open disgust for Hoss and his manners.

So Hoss stood with Adam in front of him and stabbed his finger in the air at Percy. "I'll teach you some manners," Hoss said. "You just wait and I'll give you a proper education 'cause of the way you talk to people out here. And if you ever call me a hog again, I'll bury your face in the mud and muck in the pig sty and let the boar have his way with you as you're face down, squealin'."

Despite the seriousness of Hoss' anger, Adam and Joe grinned at one another at the humor in Hoss' threat. Later Joe had told Adam that he would have paid good money to have seen that scene in the pigpen with the boar on top of Percy.

"Well," Percy said, his nose in the air as he sniffed. "The sty has to smell better than being in here with the aroma from that revolting food and the stench of your unwashed body."

Ben had come around by then and he and Adam both held back a struggling Hoss who, if he cared to toss Adam or his father aside, could have reached out and throttled Percy and enjoyed doing it.

"Get the hell out of here," Adam shouted to Percy, "before we lose our grip on him!"

And Percy sauntered up the stairs to his room, a small smile playing about his lips. His mother would be so proud of him.