Chapter 7

Ben Cartwright was always polite to the guests in his home and so when Adam finally delivered Fiona Flanagan to the Ponderosa, he was gracious. Despite what any of the Cartwrights may have thought, Fiona wasn't intimidated by the four of them and they found themselves a bit cowed under by the young slip of a girl with the fiery hair. She had no qualms about stating what she believed or thought about anything and insisted that they call her Fiona as, she said, "I am an employee, despite the courteous way in which you be treatin' me so don't be callin' me Miss Flanagan—Fiona is fine for the likes o' me"

As they sat at dinner having served themselves from the food Hop Sing had put out, Fiona cleared her throat as Hoss put knife and fork to the three thick slices of ham over which he had poured maple syrup. Hoss looked across the table to her.

"And is there no one to say grace before you start to eat?" Fiona said as she looked around at the men who looked back at her with expressions of surprise.

"Well…" Ben said. He smiled, duly chastised. "It would please us if you would you say grace, Fiona?"

Fiona bowed her head and Hoss quietly placed his knife and fork on the edge of his plate and dropped his head along with the rest of his family.

"Bless, O lord, this food to our use, even though it is prepared by the hands of a pagan and heathen who through his ignorance does not accept the mercies of the Virgin Mary…" Adam cleared his throat and raised his head. Fiona looked sideways at him. Adam had given her a little talking-to on the way over from the parsonage and iterated that she was to treat Hop Sing with the greatest respect—on the Ponderosa, he had told her, his family not only practiced tolerance but acceptance. Fiona, closed her eyes again and continued, "and us to thy loving service. May we use the food to nourish our bodies and Thee to nourish our souls, and may we always be mindful of the needs of others. For Jesus' sake, Amen."

Hoss eagerly began to eat but both Joe and Ben looked at Adam. He subtly shook his head and began to eat.

"So, Fiona," Ben said, "how long have you been in Virginia City?"

"Only a few months, sir. When I come to town I went to the church and found the pastor. My mother always told me that if I ever needed help to go see the Father but you don't have one in this area so I figured that even Protestants are charitable." Adam suppressed a grin; his father looked a bit amazed and discomfited by Fiona's response. "Pastor Cleary is a good man and he allowed me to scrub the rectory's floor and to polish the pews and I was able to sleep in a cot on the back and have my meals at his table. Then when his wife took ill, I was hired to take care of Mrs. Cleary and the house. I'm not a bad cook and can make potatoes in so many ways you wouldn't recognize it as the same creature."

Joe and Hoss looked at one another and smiled, tongue in cheek.

"Well, that's interesting," Ben said. "Did your family immigrate to this country?"

"No, sir," Fiona said after she swallowed a bite of food. "Just me and my brother, Darby. He and I came over in steerage with the most foul-smelling, foul-mouthed group of Irishmen I would ever hope to never meet again—Ireland is far better without them and they are the bane of any country they enter, to be sure. I was twelve and me brother was fourteen and we came over as bondservants. Darby went out to a family what needed a strong back to help work a coal mine and I worked as a maid for a wealthy family. I finally paid off my passage after five years as we had agreed, but the Mister, he said that I hadn't and that I had no rights yet in this country and then he tried to kiss me. I left that night, packed up the things I've brought with me here, stole rides on trains and begged rides on the road that brought me out west. I then worked for the pastor and now for Mister Adam."

Fiona went back to her food. Adam was impressed by the factual way Fiona told the story of her short life; it was devoid of self-pity, something Adam admired.

When Adam had fetched Fiona from the Cleary's, she had one carpetbag with her.

"Is that it? Is that everything you have?"

"Aye, sir. And what did you expect?" Fiona was curious—not defensive.

"Well, I thought you'd have at least a trunk full of dresses and hats and…" Adam suddenly felt foolish.

"I have one hat, sir—this one." Fiona wore a simple cloth bonnet with blue ribbons to tie under her chin. "And one pair of boots, three dresses, some ladies' things and such to my name."

"Yes, well, perhaps…"

"Perhaps what, sir?" Fiona looked at him with her blue eyes and Adam smiled; he couldn't help himself.

"Perhaps you'll accrue more belongings over time." Fiona said nothing and Adam helped her into the buggy he had brought over. And they rode in relative silence as Fiona looked around at the changing scenery. She would occasionally ask a question about a tree or remark on a deer or hawk she saw but when they pulled up into the yard of Ponderosa, Fiona made a sound of admiration.

"You didn't tell me you were rich, sir."

"Oh, didn't I?"

"No, you didn't."

"Would it have mattered?"

"That depends, sir. Have you made your money through the sweat and blood of those who work for you and left them bereft of any savings to help themselves through sickness and old age?"

Adam swung her down, amazed at how light she was. "Yes, in that we have made our made our money through blood, sweat and tears—our own. If you think we sit up on high and watch those who work for us suffer, you're wrong. In our mining interests, we explore the shafts and go down into the tunnels with the men to make sure the men are safe—and no, before you ask, we don't send ponies down into the mines to pull the carts nor do we hire children. It's the same with the hands who work the cattle and brand the calves and go on trial drives. My family and I work alongside them and we don't ask them to do anything we ourselves don't do. Besides, wealth is a matter of perspective. Now, if you have any other objections, Miss Flanagan, I'll hear them now before we go any further."

Fiona was dutifully humbled. "No, sir. I have nothing else to say."

"Well, that's amazing in itself." Adam picked up her carpetbag and led Fiona into the house where his whole family waited and were soon vanquished by Fiona and her armor of scathing honesty.

That night, Adam was looking out the window of his bedroom when there was a knock on his door.

"Come in." Adam turned to see his father walk in and close the door.

"I thought I'd come say goodnight."

"That's all?"

"No." Ben stepped further into the room. "I hope Fiona works out."

"I do too."

"She's certainly a stubborn one. I imagine it'll be an interesting trip."

"Yes. I suppose it will."

"Have you told Sylvia?"

"Yes. I've told her and she was…supportive. She offered to go with me to fetch Ezra instead of my taking Fiona."

"Well, I wouldn't have expected that." Ben stood with his hands in his pockets. "Sylvia is a fine young woman and traveling alone with a man, well…"

"I didn't expect it either. I expected her to toss me out on my ear and swear that she never wanted to see me again—I truly thought Sylvia would behave as any other woman would in her position. I mean I haven't been exactly pure and chaste while I've been courting her. I tried to tell her but she didn't want to hear. She's not like any other woman—at least not yet." Adam paused. "I want to marry her. She loves me, Pa. I believe it even though I'm not sure I'm worth it."

"And you love her?"

"Oh, yes," Adam said. "Yes, I do love her." Adam put out his hands, palms forward, "—and I have been the perfect gentleman as far as she is concerned, just in case you were wondering. In a manner, she and I complement each other. I find I behave better around her, that I want to be a better man for her sake"

"Well, I hope it stays that way and that Sylvia continues…." Ben struggled for the correct words, "in her affections when Ezra arrives in the flesh. I hope she doesn't see him as a physical reminder of…well…" Ben looked down at the ground. "Adam, you're a grown man with needs—I understand that as I often feel…well, no need for me to go into that, and I understand that there can be unforeseen consequences to satisfying appetites. But when there's a child, there's no denying your actions. I hope Sylvia can accept that."

"I hope so too. I don't know if I could bear to lose her at this point." Ben put his hand on Adam's shoulder and gave him a squeeze. Then he turned and walked out leaving Adam alone with his thoughts and his fears that Sylvia might still shun him. After all, he had been with another woman and had even been finding comfort with Cassie. But he had never pressured Sylvia for satisfaction, he told himself, and he was too old to remain chaste and pure. Adam knew he was rationalizing—it's what people did to live with their behavior but he couldn't fool himself. Adam sighed, a long, shuddering sigh and felt chilled. He closed the window and stood looking at the white sliver in the night sky that was the waxing moon and thought of Shakespeare's words, the ones Juliet spoke to Romeo as he sought for a way to swear his love:

"O, swear not by the moon, the inconstant moon, that monthly changes in her circled orb lest that thy love prove likewise variable."

i Oh, Sylvia—stay constant and I promise I will. I swear it! /i