Almost with relief.
Now, sitting across from Elias, she felt the truth approach like a storm rolling over the mountains.
"They knew."
Elias's expression darkened.
"Knew what?"
Clara looked at him.
"That I had seen the records."
She swallowed.
"Nathaniel didn't send me here to start a new life."
Her voice broke.
"He sent me here because I had begun to understand what he was doing."
Elias remained silent for several moments.
Then he closed the ledger.
"Tell me about the employment letter."
Clara reached for her traveling bag.
She had carried it from Chicago through every stage of the journey.
Inside were a few dresses, a sewing kit, her mother's locket, a small purse, and the folded letter from Theodore Ashford.
She handed it to Elias.
He read carefully.
Then read it again.
His jaw tightened.
"What's wrong?" Clara asked.
He looked up.
"Ashford didn't write this."
"How can you be sure?"
"Because Theodore Ashford left Wyoming in September."
Clara stared.
Elias continued.
"And he never hired winter servants for that lodge."
Her chest tightened.
"Are you certain?"
"I repaired the roof two summers ago. Ashford told me he couldn't afford to keep the place open."
Clara looked at the letter.
The handwriting was elegant.
The wages generous.
The instructions detailed.
It promised eighteen dollars a month, meals, lodging, and additional payment for preparing hunting parties.
It even included the name of a fictitious overseer.
Clara had believed every word.
Not because she was foolish.
But because the letter gave her exactly what she desperately needed.
A job.
A destination.
A reason not to return to Nathaniel.
Elias folded the paper.
"Who gave this to you?"
"My husband."
"Personally?"
She nodded.
"His mother was there."
Elias looked toward the fire.
Then asked a question that made Clara's stomach tighten.
"Who knew when you'd arrive?"
She stared.
"Nathaniel."
"Anyone else?"
"His mother. The coach office. Perhaps the driver."
Elias sat back.
"That lodge is four miles from town. The road isn't maintained in winter."
"I know that now."
"And the storekeeper told you it was abandoned?"
Clara nodded reluctantly.
"He tried."
"What did he say?"
"That nobody had worked there since summer."
Elias rubbed his jaw.
"Then why did you keep climbing?"
Clara lowered her eyes.
"Because I couldn't bear the thought of going back."
He looked at her.
She continued.