Pemberley Ranch - Jack Caldwell [87]
With a sinking feeling, Bennet realized that he was squarely in the middle of a potential range war with no way out, except to flee. As he would never do that, he could only have his family keep a low profile and hope they didn’t get hit in the crossfire.
Darcy, Fitzwilliam, and Bertram walked out of the church into the warm night air, picking up two Pemberley riders who had stood guard outside the church.
“So, now do you believe me?” Fitz demanded.
“Do you believe me about Lucas being in a trap?” Darcy shot back before talking to his banker. “Is everything secure?”
Bertram nodded. “Everything’s as ready as it can be. We’ve got the strongest safe this side of the Brazos. You sure you don’t want me to sleep at the bank?”
“No. My people’s lives are more important than money. I’ll have two men keep an eye on the place at night. I don’t think anything’s going to happen, but I don’t want to take any chances. Get yourself home to Mrs. Bertram, all right?” The banker agreed and strode off towards his house as Darcy turned to the others.
“From now on, no one rides alone,” he demanded. “All details will be a minimum of two. Fitz, make sure your people are carrying a full load of ammo. Rosings is off limits until I say otherwise. Nobody goes to town for any reason unless personally directed by me. That goes double for Younge’s Saloon. I want to give Denny no cause to start something.”
“Boys are gonna be disappointed,” pointed out José. “They gonna miss their Saturday nights.”
“We’ll have a bar set up at the ranch. They’ll get their drinking in. As for the girls, well, we’ve all got to make sacrifices.” His voice hardened. “This is serious. Whitehead’s upping the ante, and I don’t want to be caught shorthanded. We start nothing, understand? Anything happens, get back to me immediately. Remember, Whitehead can still call in the army, so we better have ourselves on the right side. Let’s get home.”
As they mounted, Fitz commented, “Well, Lucas can’t be in the dark about Whitehead’s intentions now.”
Darcy looked at him. “I’m glad you have this all figured out, because I sure don’t.”
“Huh? What do you mean? You heard what Phillips said.”
The party moved off at a slow pace, carefully working their way back to Pemberley in the dark. “Yes, and it doesn’t make any sense. Phillips and Collins are Cate’s creatures. They work for her, not Whitehead. Rosings Bank is calling in the loans on the new settlement homesteads, so the bank—and Cate by extension—has the bottomland. Why? What good does it do them? They lost money on the deal—they must have. So why work so hard to get it back?”
“Because they’re planning to use it for something else? Is there gold there?”
“Not that I know of. But there’s got to be a reason. And where does Whitehead fit into all this? He works for Cate, but all this feels like his idea. Why? What does he get out of this? How does it help him if Cate gets the bottomland back? There’s something missing, and until we know what it is, Cate and Whitehead are going to be a step ahead of us.”
“Why not ask her?”
Darcy snorted. “You think she’d tell me?”
Fitz paused, not wanting to ask the next question. “You think your cousin had something to do with the lynchings?”
Darcy was silent for a minute. “God, I hope not.”
The lights were burning late in George Whitehead’s office as an impromptu celebration took place. Joining Whitehead were Collins, Phillips, Denny, and Pyke.
“Congratulations, Denny,” Phillips raised his glass. “Come by the office tomorrow for your swearing in. That was a pretty good idea of mine, wasn’t it?”
Denny laughed. “Never thought I’d be wearin’ a badge. Lookin’ forward to it.”
Whitehead sipped his drink thoughtfully. “Don’t let it go to your head, my friend. Remember what I told you—we can’t afford any more incidents.”
“Look, I took care of them Washingtons, didn’t I?” Denny sneered. Phillips looked away, and Whitehead narrowed his eyes.