“Well, you didn’t hear what I did. Annie’s been talking. A quiet one, that Anne. Apparently she overheard a great deal sneakin’ around the house like she did. Didn’t tell anybody ’til now, ’cause she was afraid she’d lose whatever affection Cate had for her. She was scared Cate would throw her out of the house. Now, I ask you, what kind of mother would instill that much fear in her only child?
“Cate had been up to her eyeballs in Whitehead’s plans. Knew all about the railroad and stealing the land from the homesteaders. ’Course, Cate didn’t have any idea that Whitehead and Collins were double-crossing her. And while she didn’t know what Denny planned for the Washingtons beforehand, Cate wasn’t all that upset over the murders. Know what she said when she heard about the lynching? According to Anne, Cate said, ‘Serves them right—they should have stayed in Louisiana where their kind belongs.’ God forgive me, but it’s kind of hard to grieve over a woman like that.”
Mrs. Bennet walked through the open study door and spoke to the subdued group. “Will, dear, I’ve got some food on. You’re welcome to stay.”
Darcy got to his feet, shaking his head, and Beth got up with him, still holding his hand. “Thank you kindly, Miz Fanny, but I’ve got to get back to Pemberley. I’m sure Gaby’s ready to pitch a fit about now. Besides, I’ve got to see how Anne’s making out.” Darcy received a kiss on the cheek from his future mother-in-law, took his leave of Bennet, and allowed Beth to walk him out of the house to his horse. Before he climbed on his steed, he held Beth close in his arms and the two shared a long, slow kiss.
Will pulled back with a dazed look on his face. “Now, Beth, you keep that up, and I’m not likely to leave.”
Beth smirked. “Is that so, cowboy? Maybe we should do that again.”
Darcy ran his thumbs along her jaw line, sending chills through his fiancée. “Soon, darlin’. Soon we’ll be married, and I won’t have to say goodbye ever again. You
Beth nodded. “As soon as I learn all that Catholic stuff—all that kneeling and bowing and prayer beads.”
One of Darcy’s eyebrows rose up to his hair line. “Kneeling and bowing and prayer beads? If I didn’t know better, I swear you’ve been talking to Fitz.”
Beth just smiled and kissed him. A moment later, she watched Darcy and Caesar make their way down the lane towards the main road and Pemberley.
Two days later, a company of cavalry from Fort Richardson under the command of Captain Buford arrived in response to Sheriff Lucas’s telegram. Buford immediately held a court of inquiry, and after a couple of hours of testimony, took Sally Younge, Billy Collins, and the surviving members of Denny’s gang into federal custody. As there was no longer a magistrate in Long Branch County, the prisoners were transferred to Fort Richardson to await trial by a traveling circuit judge. The evidence being irrefutable and the victims notable, the verdicts were never in doubt. All were convicted on conspiracy to commit fraud. Collins and the other men were also found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder. The only thing that saved the malefactors from the noose was that it could not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt that any had participated in the deaths of Mrs. Burroughs, Judge Phillips, or the Washingtons. Twenty years in prison for all was the sentence handed down.
As it turned out, neither Collins nor Younge would serve a full year in jail. Collins had managed to offend so many of his fellow inmates with his disdainful and aggravating ways that it was impossible to know which one had the strongest motivation to stick a handmade knife into his ribs one evening after dinner. He was buried in the prison cemetery next to so many others who had sought the easy way to riches by stealing from their fellow man.
Sally Younge was like a cat, always landing on her feet. Using her best talents—seduction and manipulation —she was able to corrupt an official of the women’s prison into allowing her escape. She fled into the expanses of the west and all trace of her was lost. A legend arose that she made her way to the mining towns of the Rocky Mountains, and under an assumed name captured the attentions of a newly rich mine owner. It was said that the couple moved to Denver where she became one of the matrons of society. It was a nice story, fit for penny novels, but no one knew if it was true.
In the tragic circumstances that Catherine Burroughs had helped create, the B&R was finally reunited with Pemberley, but not in the way she had imagined. Anne wanted nothing to do with the legacy left to her and signed away her rights to the vast ranch to Darcy as soon as she could. Texas held too many painful memories for the girl, and in the spring of 1872 at the train station in Fort Worth, her family and friends waved goodbye as Anne Burroughs began her journey to a new life with her Matlock relations in New York City, her elderly faithful servant Bartholomew right behind, carrying her satchel. He would care for the heiress for years until he grew too old to serve her, when they changed positions and Anne would see to his comfort for the rest of his life.
Anne’s was not the only departure from Rosings. Lily was welcomed back into the Bennet family, but there was no way she could remain with them. Everyone in town knew what had happened to her, so it was an intolerable situation. Tearfully, her parents sent her to live with the Gardiners in St. Louis, where no one would ever know her history. Letters from Missouri would report that she had been established as a salesgirl in the family store, a task for which she proved very well suited. In the years to come, she would catch the eye of a young bank clerk, and it was hoped by her family in Texas that Lily would find her happiness someday.
Mary Bennet would find her happiness in the aftermath of the assault. Three days after the attack on the Bennet farm, Tom Bennet found a nervous Henry Tilney in his study, stuttering his request for Mary’s hand in marriage. The request was not unexpected, and it was in Bennet’s character to use such a moment as an excuse to tease, but given all the horror they had experienced, his heart was not in it. Instead, he surprised the young preacher by embracing him, welcoming Henry into the family. As the courtship had been of some duration, a wedding date two weeks hence was settled on. Mrs. Bennet could not be happy with it, for there was no time for a new dress to be ordered or made, but she bowed to her daughter’s desire. Mary gave not a fig for finery—she only wanted to be Mrs. Henry Tilney and to be so as soon as practical.
Darcy would manage the B&R Ranch for the benefit of the victims of Whitehead and Cate Burroughs, using the profits to pay back the landowners and holders of claims against the now-defunct Rosings Bank. To run the place, renamed Rosings Ranch, Darcy appointed Richard Fitzwilliam as executive manager. José Estrada was promoted to take Fitz’s place as Pemberley foreman.
Fitz may have been in charge of the ranch, but no one was going to be living in the house. One night soon after the battle, someone—a disgruntled Rosings Bank customer, it was thought—set the abandoned mansion ablaze. It would be over an hour before the people from town would arrive, and there was nothing they could do once they got there, the firefighting equipment being inadequate, except watch the place burn to the ground.
This chain of events would have an interesting effect on the lives of Fitz and his beloved Charlotte. A few nights after the appointment, the couple, hand in hand, confronted Sheriff Lucas, announcing their intention to marry. Instead of the expected explosion, a grim Lucas asked a simple question.
“Fitzwilliam, will my girl ever go hungry?”
Stunned by the question, it took a moment before Fitz could answer.
“No, never. I stake my life on it.”
Lucas’s bleak expression gave way to one of resignation and grief. “Then you have my permission. Take care of my baby girl.”
The couple shared an incredulous look. Charlotte said gently, “Paw, I think you ought to know we were thinking of living here, in the house, with you, if that’s all right.”
The tears that had formed in the older man’s eyes flowed freely as he responded, “That… that would be fine. I’d be glad for the company. Mighty glad indeed…” He broke down as the couple rushed to embrace him.
As improvements needed to be made on the house, the wedding would not take place until mid-January. The event would not be as bittersweet as many feared, as it seemed that Fitz and Lucas had settled most of their differences. But if anyone thought that there would be smooth sailing in the Fitzwilliam/ Lucas household, they would be wrong. Two stubborn men were bound to butt heads from time to time, and if Lucas and Fitz were good at anything, it was arguing with each other.
