Elliott lifted his head again. "I do love her."
"Yes, you love her, but from the moment you took her into your arms and welcomed her, you've been trying to change her. You don't have any idea what you've lost, do you? I suggest you sit down while I introduce you to your daughter. I think I'll start with Corrie," he added. "Crazy Corrie. You haven't heard of her before, have you, sir? No, of course you haven't. You wouldn't have listened. You will now though. I'm determined to make you understand."
Elliott walked over to the sofa and sat down. He couldn't make himself let go of his daughter's farewell note, and so he continued to hold on to it.
Harrison talked about the friendship between the two women. Elliott blanched when he heard the description of what the recluse looked like. Tears came into his eyes a short while later when Harrison recounted how Corrie reached through the open window to stroke his daughter's shoulder.
"Her compassion for those in pain humbles me," Harrison added. "I think maybe that's why she put up with us for so long. God, I kept telling her to be more understanding, to give you time to accept her. You weren't ever going to accept who she was though, were you? You can't make it go away, sir. It all happened. Those men are her family. Your daughter plays the piano and speaks fluent French. You should be damned proud of her."
It was too late in the day for Harrison to put his own plans into action, and so he stayed with Elliott well into the night and told him most of what he knew about her background.
They were given privacy. Lillian had tried to intrude, but her brother's harsh command to get out sent her running.
"A father's love should be unconditional," Elliott whispered. "But I…"
He couldn't go on. He began to weep and buried his face in his hands. Harrison handed him his handkerchief.
"Every morning she would sit with me and listen to me talk about the family. She never talked about her friends."
"You wouldn't let her."
Elliott bowed his head. "No, I wouldn't let her. Dear God, what have I done? What have I done?"
Harrison was drained both physically and emotionally. He couldn't give Elliott the compassion he probably needed now.
"I quit."
"You what?"
"I quit, sir. I've finished up all the work you gave me. It was deliberate, wasn't it? You wanted time alone with your daughter and so you had me running back and forth across the country. I don't blame you. I was so damned busy trying to repay the debt I owe you, I let it happen. That's why I've been so obsessed about MacPherson," he added with a nod. "But it's finished," he whispered. "If you'll excuse me now, I'm going upstairs and pack."
"Where are you going?"
Harrison didn't answer him until he reached the doors. "I'm going home."
Adam Clayborne was going to be tried for murder. Harrison found out about the atrocity when he reached the livery stable. He'd planned to purchase a wagon and two horses so he could cart his possessions to Blue Belle, but once the old man who ran the place started telling him what was going on, Harrison 's plans drastically changed.
"Yes, sir, we're going to have us a hanging. Two fancy-dressed southern boys brung their lawyer with them. I heard tell they expect Hanging Judge Burns to hand Adam over to them so they can haul him back down where he came from to stand trial, but folks around here don't believe the judge will cotton to the notion. He'll want to try the man hisself or get hung for disappointing everyone. That's why my place is half deserted today. Come tomorrow, everything will be shut down tight. Folks will make a day of it in Blue Belle; treat it like a holiday. Some will picnic while they watch him swing, others will cheer. The women will mostly cry I reckon. Anyway, dancing won't start in until sundown. It's going to be a big shindig and you ought not to miss it."
Harrison had heard all he needed to know. He quickly purchased a horse, tossed twenty dollars at the old man and asked him to hire someone to cart his things for him.
He had just saddled the black horse when the old man said, "I can see from your hurry you don't want to miss it. You got time," he assured him. "I ain't leaving for another couple of hours. I'll bring your things down for you. Might as well earn me twenty dollars as not."
"Adam Clayborne's innocent." After making the statement, Harrison swung up into the saddle.
"Don't make no matter. He's a blackie and them two accusing him are white. Clayborne's going to hang all right."
The old man turned around and only then realized he'd been talking to thin air. Harrison had already taken off.
He rode toward Blue Belle at a neckbreaking pace, for he was terrified of what might have already happened. He had to stop the momentum before it got completely out of hand. He'd never seen a lynching mob before, but he'd read enough vivid descriptions about them to send chills of dread shooting down his spine. He didn't have any idea what he could do to save Adam, but with God's help, he would find something. Legal or otherwise.
Harrison wouldn't allow himself to think about Mary Rose and what she must be going through. He forced himself to center his thoughts on Adam. He had known there was something lurking in his background, but Adam hadn't told him what it was.
Murder? He couldn't imagine the soft-spoken man killing anyone without just cause.
Although Harrison wasn't much of a praying man, he pleaded to God for His assistance. He was so damned scared.
Don't let it be too late. Don't let it be too late.
The hearing took place in the empty storefront across the road from Morrison's store. The room was packed to capacity. Mary Rose sat at the table on one side of her brother. Travis was seated on his opposite side. Douglas and Cole were both outside. They hadn't been allowed in because the judge was concerned about tempers getting out of hand.
Adam's accusers sat at a table across from the Claybornes. There were three of them in all. One lawyer and two vile, disgusting reptiles who called themselves Livonia 's kin. Mary Rose couldn't stand to look at either of them.
Judge Burns was pounding his gavel and ordering everyone to shut the hell up or he'd make all the spectators leave. Mary Rose was in such a daze of disbelief, she could barely understand a word the judge said.
Everyone outside of Blue Belle had all turned against her brother. All of them. As quickly as one could snap his fingers, they'd turned from smiling acquaintances into a group of angry vigilantes. Adam had helped most of the men inside the courtroom. His kindness and his generosity meant nothing to any of them now. He was black, and the man he supposedly killed was white. No one needed to hear anything more. Adam was guilty, regardless of circumstances. If the mob could have taken him outside and crucified him, Mary Rose believed they would.
She didn't know how to stop it. Adam was so stoic and dignified about it all. Even though he knew what was going to happen to him, the expression on his face showed only mild curiosity. Was he raging inside? She reached over and brushed her hand over his. How could she help him? How could anyone?
The judge slammed his gavel down once again. He was ready to render his decision about taking Adam back down south.
"I've looked your papers over and they appear to be legal."
The attorney Livonia 's sons had brought with them hastily stood up. His name was Floyd Manning, and when he'd introduced himself to the judge, he'd added the fact that his family had lived in South Carolina for over a hundred years. He seemed to think that that somehow made him more qualified.
"Of course they're legal," Manning said."Shall we take Clayborne with us now? You have no recourse but to follow the law."
A howl of alarm went up. The coyotes wanted to be fed. "Don't let him take him, Judge," someone shouted from the back of the courtroom. "It ain't fair. I got my family waiting outside. I promised them…"