"Philly and Delphia have no reason to lie, Daniel," she called through the bedroom door. "You know your boss gets all the news first. Mr. Hale is back, and I'm going to see him."
"Evie, I don't want you seeing him until I can come with you." On the other side of the door, Daniel reached for his walking stick. He wasn't using his leg yet, but he was getting better at hopping around on one foot with the stick for support.
"Oh, pooh! He's just a lawyer. What can he do but look at me as if I'm deranged? It wouldn't be the first time." Evie decided on the foulard and rummaged in her jewelry box for a gold locket to add a bit of brightness. She was grateful Carmen had taken Maria with her to the store. There was never time for the little niceties like accessories when the children were around.
"I don't think you ought to tell him who you are. I think I ought to go over there as a friend of the family and make inquiries. There could be a lot of money at stake here. You don't want to rush things." Daniel pulled himself up and hopped toward the door.
Evie pointed back to the chair. "Sit, Daniel. The doctor said exercise the leg, but he didn't mean for you to walk on it."
"If you go without me, I'm sending Manuel after Tyler. I know he's still in town." Daniel met Evie's gaze defiantly.
Evie knew it would take time and effort to locate Manuel, and she could be there and back before Daniel's threat could have effect, but she didn't want Daniel walking even as far as the livery with that leg. She pointed at the chair again. "Sit. You can't ruin your future by damaging that leg. And that's what you'll do if you come with me. And I'm not about to let know-it-all Tyler have any part of this. It's none of his business."
Daniel sat, but the rebelliousness hadn't left his face. "He's your husband, Evie. The two of you can pretend all you want, but the fact of the matter is, you're married. And even if you're right and there isn't any baby, the marriage isn't going away by ignoring it. So as your husband, Tyler should be with you when you see Hale."
The only mirror in the house was the small one she had brought with her. Evie propped it on the mantel and examined her hair. Everything seemed in order. She turned back to her room to find the matching hat. It had a veil of sorts that would hold her hair in place. Keeping a decent coiffure in this heat and dust was a trial.
"Well, I'm not about to go into a saloon looking for Tyler, so you can forget it, Daniel," she called from the bedroom. Finding the hat, she turned to examine its placement in the mirror. "I won't tell Hale who I am. How's that?"
"What will you tell him, then?"
"I don't know. Whatever comes to mind." Airily, Evie adjusted her hat, inspected her skirt to be certain all the flounces and petticoats were in their proper place, and swept out.
It was Saturday and there was no reason to expect that the lawyer would be in his office, but Evie went anyway. She couldn't wait one minute longer than necessary to find out how much the man knew. She had waited a lifetime already. There really could be very little danger in just asking a few questions.
She climbed the stairs to the lawyer's office in full view of the town. There wasn't any reason why the local schoolteacher couldn't see a lawyer. They were both perfectly respectable people. Garbed in full regalia, her bustle swinging her train in proper elegance, Evie felt prepared for anything.
In the shadows, Manuel whistled softly in appreciation before darting off to inform the man who had paid to notify him as soon as she put in an appearance.
Evie knocked politely, then walked in at a call from someone inside. The room was cast in the half-light of pulled shades, but she could tell it was a lawyer's office. The stale air reeked of ancient cigars. There was a horsehair sofa in one corner that she knew would exude dust if she sat down. An oil lamp with a green shade to force its light downward sat on one corner of the old mahogany veneer desk. The veneer was coming loose in places,