Ginny needn’t have worried about Sam Murdock; he greeted her graciously.
“It is very good to see you again, Mrs. Morgan. I trust you are well,” Murdock said with his faint Scottish burr.
Despite feeling awkward, Ginny smiled at him, her green eyes betraying none of her discomfort.
“I am quite well, Mr. Murdock. Really, we have known each other for a while now, do you not think we have progressed to a first-name basis? It’s very American of me, don’t you think?”
He smiled, transforming his features from rather severe to quite attractive. Murdock was tall, with broad shoulders and gray liberally streaking hair that had once been red. A thick shelf of brows nearly met over the bridge of his nose, and his clean-shaven jaw was square. It was a strong face, yet kind.
Ginny remembered that Murdock had once sponsored Concepciόn, taking her under his wing to teach her the rudiments of proper etiquette at the request of his friend, and partner, Steve Morgan. At first, Ginny had wondered about the relationship between Murdock and the Mexican gypsy. Had it been more intimate than it was presented?
But she had become convinced that Sam Murdock behaved with the utmost propriety, and felt comfortable with him herself.
“Ginny, then,” Murdock said as he took her hand and tucked it into the crook of his arm, walking her across the wide verandah of the rambling Prendergast house. “And you will call me Sam, of course. It’s such a pleasant surprise to see you again. Did you become well-acquainted with Jack’s daughter Lorna and, of course, her beautiful mother, Françoise? Their letters from England have been full of news about your cousin Pierre. It seems that he and Lorna have grown quite fond of one another.”
“Yes, so I gathered. Pierre is delightful, and would make any woman a fine husband.”
However, Lorna Prendergast Ginny thought, was a spoiled willful girl, who had set her sights on Steve for a time, no matter that she now pursued Pierre. But it wasn’t Lorna or her designs on Steve that concerned Ginny now.
To broach the subject at once would have been too obvious, so she waited until after breakfast the next day.
Garbed in a riding habit that fit snugly to her curves and accentuated her slender waist, she smiled up at Murdock as Jack Prendergast had a carriage brought around for her.
“There is so much beautiful country around here. I’m glad I came. I really needed a change, and of course, to renew our acquaintance.”
Murdock smiled down at her, but behind his shrewd eyes was a glimmer of polite curiosity.
Delicately feeling her way, Ginny brought the conversation around to Steve’s time in New Mexico Territory, and his brush with death.
“Steve told me that he had some accident here, and that he was cared for by a very kind woman. Elizabeth Cady, I believe he said. I am quite grateful for her care of him.”
“Ah, yes.”
Murdock did not elaborate, and Ginny relinquished any pretense when she saw that he had no intention of giving away information.
“I wish to visit her while I’m here, Sam. Do you know where I can find her?”
“Are you certain that’s what you want to do, Ginny? There are some things best left in the past.”
“Not this time.” Her gaze was direct as she recognized that he knew her reasons for visiting. “I came all this way, and I want to see her. I have to see for myself. You do understand that, don’t you?”
“Not everything is black-and-white, you know. There are times and circumstances that alter perceptions and our actions.” Murdock leaned against the smooth wood of the white-painted post that held up the long gallery roof. He smiled slightly. “When I first met you, I recognized your innate honesty and courage. Nothing has changed. You have grown more confident, perhaps, and more wary, but you are still the same woman. Steve is still the same man. Your habits and surroundings have changed, but neither of you have altered your ultimate goals.”
“Yes, it would seem that a leopard cannot change its spots, after all,” Ginny said tartly.
Murdock shook his head. “You are deliberately missing my point. You’re a clever woman. Don’t disappoint me.”
Sam Murdock had offered her nothing but friendship since the time of their first meeting several years ago. He had never shown her anything but respect, and had been instrumental in extracting her from the difficult tangle of her brief marriage to Prince Sahrkanov. He knew more about her than most people, and did not disapprove of her as had so many around her.
Even her father, and Sonya, had given her little approval.
Now she looked up at Murdock and said quietly, “I will do nothing to embarrass or hurt either Steve or Elizabeth Cady, but if I do not meet her, I will always wonder. It will eat at me, the uncertainty, the suspicion, until it ends up destroying anything I have left with Steve. I can’t explain it. I only hope you understand.”
After a long silence, Murdock nodded. “There are some things you need to know first, Ginny. I don’t know if Steve has told you all of it or only a little, but Elizabeth Cady was married to the man responsible for nearly getting Steve killed. Jared provoked a fight, but as you can imagine, Steve prevailed. Unfortunately, Jared had friends with him who decided to finish the job. They swore Steve had drawn first, and if he hadn’t been wounded so badly, they would have strung him up then and there. Mrs. Cady nursed him back to health so he could go to trial. She wanted him to pay for what she believed was her husband’s wrongful death.”
He watched her face as she talked,
