just to express our condolences over the loss of his wife."
Luke sighed, looking at Mae. "Tell Nial's man we'll be there tomorrow. I might as well go see what he wants before I get involved with cleaning up the cattle."
Mae nodded and left, and Luke met Lettie's gaze again. What could Nial Bentley possibly want now?
CHAPTER 38
Luke and Lettie entered the cool and quiet stone mansion of Essex Manor, led into a library by a butler. They had not seen Nial in years. He had socialized very little since his brief run for the territorial legislature. The butler showed them where to sit, on a velvet setee near a huge mahogany desk. "May I take your wraps?" the man asked.
Luke handed the man a leather coat lined with wolf's fur. Lettie removed her heavy velvet cape and hood and handed them and her muff to the butler. "Thank you," she said.
"It is a long ride here from the Double L," the man told them. "Perhaps you would like some coffee? Some other drink?
"I would like hot tea," Lettie told him.
"I'll take coffee," Luke said. "And I wouldn't mind one shot of good bourbon. There's still quite a chill in the spring air."
"Yes, sir." The old butler, who himself had an English accent, bowed slightly. "They say with all the snow this past winter, the ground will take longer to thaw, and all the moisture in the ground adds to the chill."
Luke nodded, and the old man left. Luke looked around the grand room, its walls lined with hundreds of books, many of them looking very old.
Lettie quietly watched him. She knew he felt uncomfortable and irritated at having been summoned by Nial.
"This had better be worth my losing time," he grumbled.
"Luke, it must be important or—"
Just then Nial came into the library, dressed in his usual dapper manner, but his face looking haggard and much older than his age. At fifty-three, Lettie thought, Luke looked younger than Nial, who greeted both of them somberly, shaking Luke's hand, his eyes moving over Lettie in the same familiar, loving way he always had of looking at her.
She was still as beautiful as ever, Nial thought. She wore a burgundy taffeta and velvet dress, and her auburn hair was swept up in a pile of fancy curls. Little diamond earrings dangled from her earlobes. He thought how out of place she had always seemed out there, such elegance in such a wild land. Luke was his usual rugged self, wearing denim pants and a simple red flannel shirt. "Thank you for coming, Luke," he said, moving to sit behind his desk. "l know this is a bad time for all ranchers. You must really have your hands full."
"I have plenty of help. Ty and Nathan can pretty well manage things on their own."
Nial leaned forward, resting his elbows on his desk. "Yes. I have always thought you the luckiest man in the world, with all those children. How many grandchildren are there now? Seven? Eight?"
"Nine," Lettie answered proudly.
Nial smiled. "I have always thought you a most remarkable woman, Lettie." He leaned back in his chair. "But then that is no news to either one of you."
"We're sorry about the loss of your wife, Nial," Luke put in, reminding the man he should be thinking of poor Chloris, not Lettie.
Nial did not miss the hint. "I loved her, Luke. I didn't marry Chloris just for children, although I am disappointed that we never could have any. Life takes strange twists, doesn't it? Some men are meant to have everything, some never quite realize their dreams."
Lettie could already feel the tension growing. "Nial, is anything the matter?"
The butler came in with a tray before Nial could answer. He set it on Nial's desk and poured a cup of hot tea for Lettie, setting a pitcher of cream and a bowl of sugar on a table in front of her. He poured a shot of bourbon for Luke. "I'll take some of that myself, Henry," Nial told the man.
"Yes, sir." The old man handed each man a shot glass, then poured Luke a cup of coffee and left. Nial rose, holding up his shot glass.
"To Lettie, and the Double L, and to Montana," he said.
Luke frowned in curiosity. Why a toast to Lettie? He stood up and held out his glass. He drank down the bourbon and sat down again. "What's this all about, Nial?"
Nial smiled bitterly. "It's about a man who has swallowed his pride