Seconds later the whole family was getting ready to go. Frank looked around in dismay. "Now wait a minute, we look like an invading army."

Martha was having none of that. "I'm not sitting home waiting to hear second hand, and Leona has certainly received enough hospitality in my house to return a bit of it."

A check of all the Bennett faces showed no one was willing to wait to hear second hand. With a resigned grunt, Frank gave in, and he and Ephraim led the way up the street.

In the end, the two lawmen trailed after them.

CHAPTER 44.

FRANK BARELY RECOGNIZED THE WOMAN who answered the door as Leona Wells.

She had indeed aged twenty years since he'd last seen her. Deathly white skin looked like parchment and was only emphasized by the black dress. Standing behind his mother with a comforting hand on her shoulder, Rob also showed signs of change. The soft, boyish look was gone. His skin was grayish and eyes looked haunted.

Leona didn't even give a greeting, just started spilling one question after another without waiting for answers. "Have you seen them? Is Anne all right? I've been afraid.

Afraid she'd lose the baby after all. Did they get back safely? Please tell me what you know."

With the marshal behind him, Frank told only the literal truth. "No, we haven't seen them." He let Leona see the marshal. "This is a federal marshal, Marshal Jessup, and he's here to arrest Cord - kidnapping and a bunch of other charges. We'd like to know what happened."

"No! They withdrew the charges. I know they did. That's why Edward killed himself."

Frank stiffened with surprise and heard a startled gasp behind him.

Rob said, "You'd better come in, Frank, Ephraim. All of you."

They were barely all seated around the dining room table, when Rob started the story.

"I'll tell you what happened," he said. "I was there for most of it anyway." Rob narrated the events in a low monotone. The deadness of his voice seemed to add to instead of detracting from his tale. No one else said a word. No one asked a question.

Ignoring the presence of the women, Rob told it all, even Cord's last ugly words as he walked away, and it was then that Rob lost control of his voice and pain slipped through.

"I should have known better than to believe him. I did know better, but I felt so guilty all I wanted was to climb into that whiskey bottle, and that's what I did. Then Mother got back and told me he'd gotten there in time somehow. He was less than twenty-four hours behind them. How the h.e.l.l did he do it? Can you tell me that? How did he do it?" Rob searched Frank's face as if the answer would be there, but Frank just shook his head.

Leona then began describing the events in Chicago in a strained but steady voice.

"They summoned the authorities that night, of course. That's when they filed charges.

They were in a panic. Clara had her maid sleep in her room that night and from then on right until I left. Edward wouldn't admit the effect it had on him, but you see it seemed almost supernatural. They were sure it couldn't be done, and yet he was there, and he was - your brother is...."

Frank almost felt sympathy for the people who had been in that room - almost. "We know. We know what he can be like."

"Yes. Well, the judge was worried about the papers they took, but Edward and Clara were sure he just took them out of spite and neither he nor Anne would realize what they had. When the telegram came from Mr. Howlett, Clara was stunned, just stunned, and Edward was crazed with rage. Within an hour after the wire was delivered, Judge Davis was at the house, and then Mr. Abbott. They had telegrams too. They were screaming at each other. In the end, Clara and the judge said they would withdraw the charges and do nothing more. Edward wouldn't agree. He said he would prosecute, and then Clara and the judge told him they would fix things so he couldn't. To have his sister use her influence on his behalf was one thing, but to have it used against him was something else." Leona's voice fell to a whisper. "I really think my husband was insane at that point.

They argued and fought all day. That night after we were all asleep he took a pistol and...."

Leona paused, then began again with more strength in her voice. "It was the combination, I think, of Clara turning on him, and Cord and Anne winning. That's how Edward looked at it - they won. He left a note blaming all of us."

Rob took hold of her hand. "Mother...."

"No, I'm all right. Let me finish. Clara arranged to have him buried in Chicago.

Suicides, you know - well, I thought it best to let her do that, since she could. I got on a train to come home right after the funeral."

Leona looked now at the sheriff and the marshal, "So you see, I know the charges were withdrawn. They were all lies anyhow. Someone's made a mistake."

The marshal rose and picked up his hat. "Maybe since there were several days between the filing of the charges and when they were dropped, word hasn't come down. I think I'll go over to the telegraph office and see what I can find out. Never hurts to be sure." He tipped his hat to Leona. "Sorry to have to meet you in such troubled circ.u.mstances, ma'am."

Noah left with the marshal. "We'll let you know as soon as we hear something," he said as he walked out.

When the two lawmen were gone, Frank could finally rea.s.sure Leona. "I'm sorry we couldn't tell you before, but we didn't want that marshal to know. None of us have seen them, but they came home yesterday afternoon. One of my men was at the house taking care of Cord's stock, and he saw them. Anne looked fine. They said they were three days getting home by buggy from Denver."

Relief flooded across Leona's features, and Frank turned to Rob. "That's how he did it. Rode to Denver that night and took a train from there."

Rob didn't want to believe it. "But the storm - the wind - it blew all night and drifted.

He couldn't...."

Frank got to his feet, b.u.t.toning his coat and pulling his hat down low. "If he couldn't get through and he had to lay up, it wouldn't have been any worse than sitting here waiting for a train, would it? You and your father never understood what you were up against from the beginning. A ride through h.e.l.l wouldn't even give him pause if he wanted something on the other side."

Frank walked out then followed by the rest of the family, only Martha lingering to give Leona a quick hug.

Frank and Ephraim walked side by side in the lead.

"Remind me if anything like this ever happens again to realize the answer is probably something totally beyond my limited imagination to conceive of will you, Eph?"

"Do you need reminding? You were lying through your teeth for him this morning."

Frank shrugged. "I didn't hear you giving him up. It comes to me if I saw him commit a murder myself, I'd still be there trying to stop the hanging. It's not even right, but it's the way it is."

"He must be feeling a little of that kind of thing himself. I wouldn't have expected him to react that strongly to a threat to the baby. You weren't wrong in what you said to Rob about a ride through h.e.l.l. I remember what it was like working cows in storms."

"Yeah. I'd say we're not going to have to worry about raising the child ourselves after all - and maybe that's just as well. I'm too old to deal with whatever Cord sires out of that woman. It scares me."

Ephraim laughed out loud. "It's probably going to scare all of us. If he's as indifferent a father as he is a husband, Anne's going to have to deal with it herself, and she may be tough, but she's not that tough."

"Odd thing, he believed that note when I was there, and he was going to just walk away. Maybe he doesn't care that much about her, but n.o.body is going to hurt her or steal her. I suppose the day he first said 'my wife,' you could figure on that."

"He's always had a possessive streak. I guess that's why I didn't find it that hard to believe he'd go after her and drag her back."

Luke's voice broke in, excited. "Pa, look at that. That's Willie."

"What are you talking about, son?"

"There, by Dr. Craig's office. That's a strange buggy, but the horse is the one Anne calls Sweet William, you know, Willie."

Frank gave quick orders. "Everybody keep walking. No matter what that marshal says about sending telegrams, if he finds them right here in town he may change his mind.

Luke, when we get up near the doctor's, you and Pete slip over there. You get hold of Cord and Anne and get them over to the house as quiet as you can. Try not to tell him about the marshal. We don't need him on a rampage."

ANNE HAD KEPT HER PROMISE to see Dr. Craig without a fuss, but she couldn't help feeling it was only fair when Luke and Pete showed up at the doctor's. If she had to put up with Craig's exam and the way after saying she was fine he started in with all sorts of cautious hedging about taking it easy for a couple of weeks, Cord could just put up with his wretched family. Except of course if he decided to put up with them, she would have to also. At least there weren't going to be more accusations of the kind Frank and Ephraim had made last year. Along with everything else Luke and Pete were spouting to try to cajole Cord in agreeing to a visit at Ephraim's, they mentioned having talked to her mother - and Rob.

"Is my mother all right?" Anne asked.

She didn't like the looks the two of them exchanged before Luke said, "Sure. She looks a little - strained - maybe, but she's fine. Rob said...."

"I don't want to hear his name," Anne snapped. "I don't care what he said."

Luke and Pete finally fell silent, and Anne saw the way Cord was looking at her.

"Oh, no," she said. "I'm fine. Let's go home right now."

"A little rest at Eph's wouldn't hurt."

"No. I'm...." Before she could begin arguing seriously, Luke and Pete had her by the arms, talking over her, escorting her out of the doctor's and up the street.

"No, we can't just leave Willie here. I'm...."

Cord walked over to Willie and simply led him along behind them as Luke and Pete continued gently ignoring her protests.

Once at Ephraim's, Anne stopped resisting. She hadn't seen Martha, Judith, or Ephraim for almost two months, and their welcome hugs and worried questions erased a lot of her reserve. Emerging from Ephraim's bear hug laughing, she said, "I'm fine, really.

We've been to Dr. Craig, and he says I'm fine and the baby's fine. He says expectant women are tougher than anybody realizes."

Ephraim kissed her cheek. "Well, if ordinary expectant women are tough, that probably means you're rawhide."

Frank was the only one not sharing in the general welcome. In fact, he was frowning.

"For G.o.d's sake, sit down, Cord. We've got some serious talking to do."

Anne was barely seated next to Cord at the kitchen table, when without warning, the door opened behind them, and Frank's right arm blurred with motion. He was focused on whoever had walked into the house, and the look on his face changed him into a frightening stranger.

Turning to look, Anne saw Noah Reynolds and another man with a badge and her heart leapt to her mouth. There could only be one reason the lawmen were here, and Anne frantically tried to think of a way out of what was coming. Tense silence stretched out until Noah Reynolds spoke.

"Seems like you've located him after all, Frank."

Frank said nothing, didn't move. The marshal looked only at Frank. "Mr. Bennett, you wouldn't by any chance be doing something as foolish as pointing a pistol at me under that table would you?"

Frank gave what should have been his usual charming grin, but this time it didn't reach his eyes. The stranger he had become had a reckless, dangerous look. Anne realized she was finally seeing why people who knew Frank Bennett had trouble believing she had run him out of the house last year.

Frank's soft voice was a stark contrast to his usual manner and to the look on his face.

"If you've got any notion of arresting anybody around here who doesn't want to be arrested, then I just might get downright stupid."

Cord said, "If it's me you're starting a gunfight over, you want to tell me what the h.e.l.l's going on?"

Frank's concentration didn't waver and he didn't seem inclined to speak. Ephraim explained, ending with, "He said he was going to send a telegram back East to check, but I suppose he's here thinking to arrest you now and worry about the telegram later."

Noah said, "d.a.m.n the lot of you. I convinced the marshal if we saw Cord and he gave his word to stick around while we got this straightened out, he'd keep it. Now the whole bunch of you are acting loco."

Cord said, "That might be a hard promise to make, Noah. Wells isn't going to leave it until I'm dead or Anne is. We figured to rest up a while and then pack and disappear."

There was an uneasy silence after these words. Anne could tell there was something else no one wanted to tell them. It was Jessup, tight-lipped over the current state of affairs, who finally said, "Wells is dead, Mr. Bennett."

Cord's eyes narrowed. "These charges of yours include murder?"

"No. He committed suicide in Chicago a couple of days after you left."

"Annie?"

"I'm fine. My father died for me a long time ago." The lump in her throat belied her words and surprised her. Once she was alone she would have time to mourn the good things she remembered from her childhood. There had been good things, hadn't there?

Cord got to his feet and faced the marshal. "Then there's no problem. If we don't have to worry about Wells coming after Anne again, we'll stay and fight the charges anyway.

We don't want to leave here. You've got my word."

They shook hands, and Jessup said, "Your sheriff's been telling me arresting you would be a lawman's nightmare, but when I walked in here I thought he was worried about the wrong member of the family. It always amazes me how often two like you crop up in the same family."

Cord said, "Our father once remarked on the same thing - said we were flip sides of the same bad penny. Happened he was more than a little peeved at us both at the time."

The hard lines of the marshal's face relaxed into a smile. "Your father must have been a perceptive man. Sheriff Reynolds and I figure you got a train out of another town that night. Are we right?"

Cord nodded and said only, "Yeah, you are."

Frank eased the hammer on his pistol down and added in the still too soft voice.

"Denver."

Jessup said, "Doesn't surprise me somehow. I feel I'm walking out of a wolf den in one piece by the grace of G.o.d." He glanced at Anne. "Just what you need to be doing, adding to this family."

"My influence will be gentling."

There were at least three derisive snorts around the room, and Jessup laughed out loud.

"We'll get it worked out," he said. "I'll let you know as soon as I get an answer to my wire."

When the lawmen left, tension seemed to drain from the room.

"Toss me one of those little cigars, will you?"

"Why the h.e.l.l don't you buy your own?"