“What could happen in broad daylight? We’ll be fine.”
He didn’t accept her assurance. “Would he hurt the ladies?” he asked the housekeeper.
“No,” she admitted, “but he no good.”
That was what Mariah hoped to prove. “How? I need to know in order to protect Luke.”
Mrs. Eagle glanced toward the living room, her fear palpable. “I warn you,” she said as she slipped away into the darkness.
Apparently, she was too afraid of Gillard to help, but she also wouldn’t stop them. That gave Mariah one more chance to find the evidence she needed. She couldn’t return to the office, but she could look over the property for any sign of smuggling and she could ask him more questions.
“I need to stay,” she repeated.
Hendrick still held her hand. “Don’t. Please.”
“I must.” Her voice shook a little.
“He’ll know we saw the birth record the moment he looks in the office.”
She knew that. “He might blame one of the servants.”
“I doubt it. I think you’re right. He’ll call your boss to see if you’re who you say you are.”
She grabbed onto his arm. “You need to call Mr. Isaacs first.”
“How? There aren’t any wires running out here.”
“Go to town. First thing in the morning. Gillard won’t think it odd if you leave. In fact, he’ll probably welcome it.”
“I’m not leaving you,” he growled.
“You must.” She was sure of this. “He won’t harm us. I’m positive. Besides, I can keep him occupied here, away from telephones, while you place the call to Mr. Isaacs. I’ll give you the number in the morning.”
“What am I supposed to tell him?” He still sounded reluctant, but at least he was considering her plan.
“That I’m still working on things here. Tell him Gillard might call. Tell him to confirm I’ve been sent here to investigate and beg him not to promise anything. Above all, don’t let him do anything rash, like sending another agent to bring Luke here. Tell him to wait until I call. I’ll update him later.”
Hendrick shuffled his feet, and she could tell he still wasn’t convinced. “Are you sure there’s a telephone in town?”
“There must be one in the telegraph office. If not, send a cable. I need you to do this for me, Hendrick.” She shook his arm to punctuate the urgency. “Please.”
He didn’t answer at first, and she could almost see him working through the options.
“Are you going to let Gillard have Luke?”
She sucked in a deep breath. “Not if I can help it.” But she was running out of time to figure out how.
To Mariah’s relief, Hendrick left at first light.
“What shall it be?” Gillard asked when she and Anna arrived at the dining room. “Breakfast and then a ride, or do you prefer to ride first?”
If he knew about Mariah’s snooping last night, he didn’t show it. He gave her the same smooth smile he’d bestowed upon her yesterday.
“Horses first,” Anna cried. Her eyes shone. She’d bubbled about the horseback ride from the moment she awoke.
Mariah had a great deal less enthusiasm. She’d ransacked their bedroom last night, looking for any hint of wrongdoing on Gillard’s part. Other than the clothing, she’d found nothing.
Neither could she explain the inconsistencies in his story. The birth record said Luke’s mother was Indian. The agency record said Italian. Just a few letters’ difference. Could there have been a clerical error or a misunderstanding? If Gillard had the birth certificate, he must be Luke’s father. Then why lie to the Detroit mission? Why say Luke was Italian? As many times as she asked the question, she could think of only one answer: to spare Luke from prejudice.
If true, that made Gillard a decent man, something she did not want to admit. After all, Luke was terrified of him. Gillard must have harmed or threatened Luke to provoke such a reaction.
In the end, she’d concluded that the only way to get Gillard to sign the termination papers was to unearth the illicit source of his fortune.
Anna tugged on Mariah’s hands. “Let’s go riding. Please?”
Mariah sighed. “Let me have a cup of coffee first.” She needed time to gather her wits.
“Sensible proposition.” Gillard led them to the table. “I’ve had my housekeeper set out some pastries and bread. Help yourself.”
As Mariah sipped her coffee, she idly wondered why he never called Mrs. Eagle by name. “Does your housekeeper come from the local Blackfeet tribe?”
“No. She’s from the other side of the Divide.”
“Why would she come all the way here to work?”
The table had been set for three, as if Gillard knew Hendrick would be leaving. Had he overheard their conversation last night, or had Mrs. Eagle told him?
Gillard leaned back in his chair. “Work is scarce in these parts. Many travel far for a job.”
She absently plucked a slice of nut bread from the platter on the center of the table. Gillard revealed little when questioned directly. She’d have to be much more cunning. “I have so much to learn about this area,” she said with a sigh that she hoped would allay any suspicions he might have about her questions. “It is a remarkable land, though.”
“Wait until you see my property and the mountains.”
“The mountains!” Anna perked up. “Are we riding in the mountains?”
“Not today. Today, we’ll stay on my land. Nothing too difficult for your first ride, Miss Anna.”
He was true to his word. After they saddled up and mounted, he guided them across the rolling hills at a gentle pace. Mariah’s only regret was that she hadn’t had a chance to look in the outbuildings. She’d try to do that when they returned. For now she enjoyed the warmth, the smell of summer hay and the vast blue sky. The land rolled in great, grassy slopes that increased in size and steepness the closer they got to the mountains.
When the horses needed water, he led them to creeks that flowed between hills. Down there, the scrub bushes grew, but otherwise the land had few trees.
“Why don’t the Indians farm?” Mariah stretched her legs while the horses drank. She was not accustomed to riding.
“Too dry.” Gillard snapped off a stalk of dry grass. “To succeed, they’d need irrigation, but only one section of the reservation has it in place. Even if they started now, it’d take too long to get a return. Oil leases are their best bet.”
That was the second time he’d mentioned oil, and it was all over the paperwork she’d seen on his desk. “If oil is found, then the Indians will profit?” She watched Anna splash around at the creek’s edge.
“You’re remarkably concerned for their welfare.” He looked at her suspiciously. “You’ll soon learn to temper that compassion. People here take advantage of tender hearts.”
“Compassion is a natural result of Christian living.”
He stiffened, and it occurred to her that he might not believe in God. He certainly didn’t want to hear about her faith, yet Jesus commissioned Christians to reach out to unbelievers. Could Frank Gillard’s heart be turned?
“I prefer to take a more realistic view of life,” he said, “but I promise to bring Luke to church, Miss Mariah. I’ll do whatever you deem necessary in order to have my son in my life again.”
She supposed that was a good start. God could work miracles if only the heart opened to Him. “That would be necessary, of course, as would schooling. The Society is concerned about the child’s welfare.”
“As am I.” He grinned. “Rest assured, I can give Luke anything he wants or desires.” He spread his arms. “Look at this land.”
The hills stretched on for miles in every direction. “Is this all yours?”
He nodded, mouth quirked up at the corner. “Or soon will be.”
“But if farming is out of the question, it must be difficult to succeed here.” And to gain a large fortune.
“For some, but I have
over a thousand head of cattle.”
He didn’t appear to realize where she was headed. She took a deep breath and plunged onward. “How impressive.”
Pride puffed out his chest. “It’s all know-how.” He tapped his temple. “Some men know how to work the system. Some—” he paused to let her know he meant Hendrick “—are content to muddle along without taking any risks.”
Mariah gritted her teeth. Hendrick had a hundred times more character and intelligence than Frank Gillard. She wouldn’t get the information she needed by defending him, though. “Then you made your fortune on cattle, not oil?”
He laughed. “Oil exploration is just getting started. Never fear, Miss Mariah, Luke’s comfort is assured. Cattle and oil. That’s the secret. My three thousand acres can support a large herd.”
“Three thousand! How did you get so much on reservation land?”
A corner of his mouth lifted, wrinkling the sun-dried skin. “The Indians sometimes sell surplus land, but you can’t possibly want to know about such dull matters. The most important thing to me is family. I’ve built a home, so I can bring back Luke.”
His voice cracked, and she almost believed him, if not for the fact that he’d initially claimed his son had died. “Yet you left him.”
“The worst mistake of my life. I was desperate.” He drew in a deep breath. “Let me start a little further back. Times were difficult. I traveled across the country looking for work. I thought I’d find it at the Ford plant in Detroit, but it didn’t work out.”
That matched the agency report. Mariah’s heart beat a little harder as she realized that she could prompt an answer to one of her questions. “Did they discriminate against you because of your ethnicity?”
His mouth quirked, calling her bluff. “My Italian background made no difference.”
Oh, he was smooth, but she could play that game, too. “Perhaps that’s because you don’t look Italian.”
“Ah, but I am. Francesco Guillardo, at your service.” He bowed. “Some Italians have fair coloring, Miss Mariah. Surely a woman of your education knows that.”
She felt her cheeks heat. “But Luke’s coloring is dark.”
“He got that from his mother.”
“Who was also Italian?”
His gaze narrowed. “Is this an interrogation, Miss Meeks?”
“I’m simply clearing up some discrepancies in the paperwork. The Detroit agent’s report indicated that your wife had died, that you were Italian and that you’d fallen on hard times.”
Grief scoured his face, deepening the lines across his forehead. “It was a difficult time. After my wife died, I fell into such despair that I could barely get through a day. I dragged Luke from place to place, but I couldn’t keep a job. We were starving. That kind of life wasn’t fair to the boy, so I left him at the orphanage. I’d heard the folks there were kind and good to children. I needed time to pull myself together. I always intended to fetch him once I made my stake.” His voice broke, and he swiped at his mouth. “I thought I was doing the right thing at the time.”
A trace of doubt wormed into Mariah’s heart. What if he was telling the truth? What if it had happened exactly the way he said? What if she’d been wrong from the start? Impossible. Luke feared his father. Gillard had given her no reason why his son would be frightened of him, which meant he still had to be hiding something.
Gillard shook his head. “Maybe I should have tried to bring Luke with me. It was a hard life at first, scratching for enough to eat.”
“But you turned things around,” she said, “in only two-and-a-half years.”
“Providence smiled on me.” He removed his hat and pressed it to his chest, revealing the steel-gray eyes. “And blessed me again by bringing you here.”
Mariah felt the shiver deep in her soul. “I am merely doing my job.”
“Perhaps it began that way, Miss Mariah, but I have been charmed by your frankness and honesty.”
Oh, that man knew how to tempt a woman’s heart. She could almost believe he meant what he said. Almost. “Mr. Gillard, I know flattery when I hear it, and none of that will change my decision.”
His lips curved upward as he raised his hands. “Guilty as charged. But don’t hold it against me that I’m attracted to a beautiful woman like you. That’s honest, Miss Mariah.” He looked her in the eye. “I do hope to marry, for Luke’s sake. He deserves a whole family with a father who loves him.”
“He has a father who loves him,” she protested, but he must not have understood what she meant.
“Yes, I do, with my whole heart. I’ll do anything for him.” He took a deep, though shaky, breath. “I’ll understand if you want to wait to send him until I marry, but I’d much appreciate if you’d send him now. Two-and-a-half years is a long time. I miss my boy. I’d marry this instant if it meant I could have Luke back, but he deserves a good mother, the best possible. I’d like to find that woman and court her properly. Until then, my housekeeper can look after him.”
“And for schooling, will you send him to the Beson Creek School?”
He hesitated, just a second, but didn’t confirm Luke’s Indian background. “I plan to bring in a tutor.”
“Do you think that wise when there’s a school nearby?”
His smile was patronizing. “Beson Creek is a boarding school. I certainly don’t want to spend more time away from Luke. Considering how far I live from the day school in Cut Bank, a tutor makes perfect sense. Travel during the winter can be difficult. I’d hate for him to miss any lessons. And, of course, if I marry an educated woman, she could help with Luke’s education.” His hard gray eyes softened. “In short, Miss Mariah, I’ll do whatever it takes to bring Luke home.”
Though he hadn’t admitted Luke’s true racial background, he sounded sincere, and that’s what worried her. No court would deny him custody. If she didn’t find something against him, and soon, Gabe and Felicity would lose Luke.
Usually, working on motors took Hendrick’s mind off things he couldn’t fix, but not today. He’d bumbled over the telephone call to Mariah’s boss. Isaacs had to suspect that she was in trouble. Hendrick sure did.
After the call, he drove back to the ranch, only to find Gillard, Mariah and Anna had left on horseback. The servants didn’t know where they were heading or when they’d be back. He couldn’t stand waiting around, so he returned to town to work on the motor for the fire engine. And to stew.
Gillard was doing everything in his power to win over Mariah. He’d flattered her, given her everything he thought she wanted. He had an answer for every question, and now, after their discovery last night, it seemed clear that he truly was Luke’s father. Mariah was fighting a losing battle, one that he had left her to fight alone.
Hendrick’s gut locked tighter than the bolt on the engine block he was trying to disassemble. He never should have left her there this morning. In frustration, he wrenched on the bolt with all his might. Compared to relationships, mechanics was easy.
Judge Weiss hadn’t returned from Great Falls yet, so Hendrick and Joshua Talltree salvaged what they could from the broken motors littering the back of the filling station. With luck, they could piece together an engine that could generate thirty to forty horsepower and pump at least a hundred gallons of water per minute—if they could find that much water.
“Biggest problem I see around here is getting water,” Hendrick said as he finally loosened the bolt.
“The creeks are low this year,” Talltree acknowledged. The Indian had proven skilled with his hands. He kept up with Hendrick’s pace and made sensible suggestions for piecing together a working motor.
“Where else can you get water?”
Talltree shrugged. “Haven’t had to.”
“No fires?” Hendrick eyed the hand-pumper. It looked like it hadn’t been used in years.
“The usual grass fires. Sometimes wildfires. They feed on the pines in the foothills but usually burn themselves out before they get here. Fire is par
t of nature.” He gazed off into the distance. “My ancestors understood the value of being able to move your lodging at a moment’s notice.”
Hendrick had seen the buffalo-skin-covered tipis set up near the train station as a tourist attraction. “Do you still live in tipis?”
Talltree shook his head. “No buffalo anymore. It takes many hides to make a covering.”
Hendrick felt the deep sadness in him. Talltree’s people had lost so much. Maybe at least he could give them a fire pump. “When we’re finished with this pump, you’ll be able to save a house. Sure would like something bigger.” He saw an opportunity to turn the talk to Gillard. “Something like that twin-six in Mr. Gillard’s Packard.”
Hendrick eyed Talltree, who had never explained his warning from yesterday. The Indian revealed nothing.
Hendrick ran a finger around the cylinder wall. Scored pretty badly, but at least a couple of the valves looked usable. “Mariah—Miss Meeks—says Gillard was flat broke a couple years ago. Can’t help wondering how someone that poor can get so rich in such a short time.”
Talltree scowled as Hendrick handed him the valves one by one. “He cheats.”
“Cheats at what?”
Talltree didn’t answer.
Hendrick pushed. “At cards? Is he a gambler?”
“Not the way you’re thinking.”
Talltree’s cryptic answers were driving him crazy. “Did he cheat you?”
“Not directly.”
Ordinarily Hendrick would have left the matter at that. Talltree didn’t want to talk, and Hendrick didn’t like to stir things up, but Mariah was in Gillard’s clutches. “Is he…dangerous?” The word stuck in his throat.
Talltree stared at him, the dark eyes unreadable. “If crossed.”
Hendrick’s blood ran cold. What if Mariah said the wrong thing? What if she refused to hand over Luke? “Would he hurt…someone?”
Talltree didn’t move a muscle. “It’s happened.”
“A woman?” Hendrick’s muscles coiled. If that man hurt Mariah or Anna, Hendrick couldn’t be responsible for what he’d do.
All Roads Lead Home Page 15
