Curiosity nodded. "That's the way of it, many times."

It was clear that the older woman was not going to talk until Elizabeth gave her some direction. She was tempted to let the subject drop, but also loath to let the opportunity go.

"I know that Richard Todd courted Sarah." Elizabeth paused, wondering if she should cross this line. Finally, she shook her head. "I suppose the details aren't important," she finished.

Curiosity was looking troubled, her brow drawn down into a deep furrow. "I think it's best if Nathaniel tell you his self about what passed back then. What I know ain't gonna set your mind at ease, you see, 'cause I don't know the whole story. Nobody does, except Nathaniel and Richard, now that Sarah's gone. One thing you got wrong, though, and that is that Richard never courted Sarah. Not the way you mean.

"I see," said Elizabeth thoughtfully.

Curiosity grunted. "I doubt you do," she said. "But I've said enough for one day."

The sky which had been so blue and unencumbered just an hour ago was now disappearing in a rolling bank of clouds. Against the steel—gray horizon, the yellow—green of the budding trees stood out in stark relief. They were almost home; there was no time to draw Curiosity out, even if Elizabeth had known how to do that. And she was tired to the bone, chilled through and in want of her room where she could be alone to think.

When they emerged from the wood to start up the last small rise, Curiosity stopped suddenly and laid a hand on Elizabeth's arm in a fierce grip. Elizabeth looked up, startled, to see that Curiosity's attention was focused on the house.

Richard Todd stood at the door, filling the frame. At his side, looking the worse for travel but wearing a welcoming smile, was John Bennett, magistrate.

Chapter 21

"Sneeze," whispered Curiosity.

Puzzled, Elizabeth began to turn to her, but Curiosity's hand clamped down on her wrist and squeezed, hard.

"Sneeze!" Curiosity hissed. "And put some work into it." She let Elizabeth's wrist go and set her face in a smile. "Well!" she called out. "Look who come to call! Mr. Bennett, it is good to see you, sir! It has been some seasons since you last come to visit us here in Paradise."

Elizabeth hung back while Mr. Bennett and Curiosity exchanged pleasantries, trying to make sense of what was happening, but it seemed that her mind would not work. Richard was back from Johnstown, and he had brought John Bennett with him. These two facts danced through her head, bumping into each other, but she could not make them intersect in a meaningful way. Curiosity cast her a furious glance, and Elizabeth stumbled forward. Richard had brought Mr. Bennett to Paradise. Mr. Bennett, who belonged in Johnstown, was here.

Then her father appeared at the door, waving a letter. "Word from your aunt Merriweather!" he called cheerfully.

With a rush of understanding as cold and clear as the waterfall she had willingly stood in just an hour ago, the truth of the matter hit Elizabeth. Richard had brought Mr. Bennett to Paradise, and it would no longer be necessary to go to Johnstown to sign and notarize the deed. It could be done now, this afternoon. Her father's property would be signed over to Elizabeth this very day. Just as soon as she gave Richard her vow.

The men were near enough now for Elizabeth to see the self—satisfied smile on Richard's face. And why not? What excuse could she have now, to put him off? She saw the pieces of his plan, and they were simple and beautiful, his strategy flawless.

For the first time in her life, Elizabeth felt close to a faint; the world wavered, and reluctantly cleared. Thoughts of Nathaniel and Hannah flashed through her mind, Lake in the Clouds in snowdrifts, Otter's bloody leg, and then Nathaniel again, framed in the light from the waterfall. Hidden Wolf Richard thought that he had won; she could see it in the set of his mouth.

Elizabeth was overcome with a white anger so pure and hot that she felt all the blood drain from her face and settle in her fingertips, just as her thoughts settled suddenly into complete clarity. You think you've got me in a corner, she whispered. But think again, my laddie.

All this had taken only a few seconds; Curiosity still stood, waiting for Elizabeth with one brow raised. The men waited, too; she had yet to say a word to any of them. The three of them were without a clue of what woman could do when everything she held dear was threatened. She felt contempt for them, which she struggled to keep from her face.

Elizabeth looked Richard straight in the eye, and focusing all her attention on his perfectly tied cravat, she manufactured three tremendously loud, credible, and completely unladylike sneezes.

* * *

That evening, thoroughly rested, Elizabeth stretched out in the comfort of her own bed, marveling at the agility with which Curiosity had managed the whole affair. Muttering a steady litany of dire predictions which included fever, sore throat, and putrefaction, Curiosity had whisked Elizabeth away from the men and installed her in bed with hot bricks at her feet and a cup of tea at her elbow. For good measure she had gone down to the kitchen to mix up a sweet—smelling poultice of onions and mustard seed, which sat now beside Elizabeth's bed, untouched and congealed in its bowl.

At first the men had come, one by one, to scratch at the door, but Curiosity had dealt summarily with all of them, sparing a smile only for Mr. Bennett's good wishes. Richard's offer of medical services she met with a look of shocked propriety; she talked down Julian's protests of Elizabeth's solid good health; she let the judge plead for a few minutes of Elizabeth's time and pacified him with hopes of a quick recovery. Curiosity had kept them all at bay, allowing only Daisy and Polly into the room, sending them running silently back and forth with Elizabeth's wet clothes for all to see, with demands for steaming kettles and chamomile tea, more vinegar to bathe her forehead, more broth for her to sip. The men had no chance of prevailing, and after a few halfhearted attempts, they retired to the parlor. Only the occasional sound of Julian's raised voice betrayed what might be going on behind that door.