Chapter 53
The deputy swore under his breath.
Mercer crossed to Calvin and caught him by the arm before his injured leg buckled. “You are supposed to be in bed.”
“My wife was in a burning building.”
Henrietta looked at him.
Calvin seemed not to notice what he had said.
Dr. Mercer did.
The physician’s gaze moved between them once, but he made no comment. Instead he said to the deputy, “If Vane came from town, he cannot have much of a lead. The north road is drifted shut. He’ll take the lower creek crossing.”
The deputy nodded and turned for his horse.
Calvin caught his sleeve. “You have proof enough to arrest him?”
“Not for a fire I didn’t see him set.”
Henrietta lifted the cashbox. “But perhaps enough to stop the auction.”
The deputy looked at it.
“What’s in there?”
“Copies.”
His eyes sharpened.
Henrietta continued, “Copies of the account entries Silas altered, receipts Calvin kept, the foreclosure notice dated before the wedding payment, the rail description from the deed, and Calvin’s father’s letter concerning Silas’s earlier attempt to buy the land.”
The deputy’s attention shifted to Mercer.
The physician gave a grim nod. “The letter is genuine. I held it sealed for years.”
The deputy stared at the fire for one more second, then swung into the saddle. “Stay here.”
Calvin muttered, “That instruction has had poor results tonight.”
The deputy ignored him and rode into the storm.
Dr. Mercer watched until the hoofbeats faded. Then he turned slowly toward Henrietta.
“You ran into that?”
She coughed into her sleeve.
Mercer’s jaw tightened. “Do not answer. I may say something unprofessional.”
Calvin said, “Get in line.”
Henrietta took one step toward the cabin and nearly collapsed.
Mercer caught her before Calvin could.
That ended the argument.
Inside the cabin, Dr. Mercer set Calvin back into bed with the sort of efficiency that transformed resistance into wasted effort. He removed the splint, examined the swelling, and cursed with scholarly precision before resetting the bindings. Calvin endured it pale-faced and silent, but when Mercer pressed too near the fracture his hand shot sideways and found Henrietta’s.
He did not seem aware of doing it.
Henrietta was.
His fingers closed around hers with painful force. She let him hold on.
When Mercer finally stepped back, he pointed at Calvin. “If you rise again tonight, I will tie you to the bed.”
Calvin opened one eye. “With what?”