Pemberley Ranch - Jack Caldwell [107]
“I am sincerely sorry for what has happened.”
“Thank you, Darcy. We… we hoped she was still alive, but in truth, we began to lose faith. I can’t tell you how we felt!” His red eyes grew angry. “But what she has suffered! Ruined at the hands of a man I trusted! Whose opinion I relied on! Who ate in my house!” A string of curses followed. “I’ll kill him!”
Darcy turned. “I’ve no right to ask, I know, but what’s to be done with Miss Lily?”
Bennet caught himself. “I… I don’t know. But she’s my daughter. I won’t abandon her.”
Darcy nodded in satisfaction. “Bennet, this is your house and your family. But may I say how much I respect you for your words? I’ll stand by you, and you and yours will always be welcomed in my home.” Darcy waited until his words had sunk in. “But we’ve got other matters before us—serious matters.” Darcy leaned on the desk. “I don’t say this lightly. You and your family are in grave danger. Whitehead will not sit idly by—no sir. He’ll come, and he’ll bring Denny and his hired killers with him. You must get your women out of here.”
“Come here? Why?” Bennet’s confusion gave way to understanding. “Is it because of Lily—of what she knows?”
Darcy nodded. “Yes, sir, that’s part of the answer. Whitehead has ambitions—of marrying well and political office. His treatment of your daughter will seriously damage those plans, should her story become widely known—if not ruin them altogether. He can’t allow her to run loose in the county; the risk is too great. But there is more to this. All of Whitehead’s plans hinge on one thing, and you, Bennet, are it. You’re the linchpin.”
“How can that be? Whitehead has advised me on things— that’s so—but I’m not involved in any business with him.”
“You’ve something he wants.”
Bennet grew angry. “Lily? That bastard wants my Lily back?”
“He wants Thompson Crossing.”
Bennet blinked. “He wants the ford across the Long Branch? Whatever for?”
A soft voice came from behind the men. “Does it have to do with the railroad?”
The men whirled about to behold Beth Bennet at the door of the study. Her hair was up, and she was dressed in her usual work clothes of dungarees and an oversized gingham shirt, but to Darcy, she looked like an angel. Before Bennet could object to her presence, Darcy cut in.
“What do you know about the railroad, Miss Beth?”
“Something Lily said about George and railroads.”
“What railroad?” Bennet demanded of Darcy. “Is the railroad coming here?”
“It is,” Darcy replied grimly. “Do you own a map of the county, sir?”
The map was found and soon spread over the expanse of Bennet’s desk. The three gathered about it as Darcy traced the course of the Long Branch River. “See how the river cuts the county in twain? It comes down from the north before turning eastward right by your farm, Bennet. It then runs generally southeast to eventually join with the Brazos. Most of the land to the north belongs to the B&R, while all south is Pemberley.
“Last week, I attended a meeting of potential investors in a proposed railroad from Fort Worth to Abilene, Texas. The company revealed its plans, and it’s something that’ll put the town on the map. The preferred route’s along the Long Branch River, crossing it near here before continuing westward.” He ran his finger slowly across the map. “This is the route, and here’s where they wish to build the bridge—right on your land, Bennet.” His finger rested on Thompson Crossing, a half-mile south of the Bennet farmhouse. “They’ll be paying top dollar for land. Would you be willing to sell the right-of-way?”
Bennet nodded. “It’s far enough away from the house as not to be a bother, and it would get me out from under the mortgage. If the price is fair, I’ll sell. But what does this have to do with Whitehead?”
“Do you see something else about the route?” Darcy asked.
Beth gasped. “It goes across the new settlement!”
Darcy nodded. “You’re catching on, Beth.”
Bennet shook his head. “I don’t understand!”
Darcy straightened