Martha looked up.
Caleb's expression changed.
The sheriff noticed.
Then he added, "I was younger then. But I remember the accusations, and I remember that you left rather than sign the statement he wanted."
Martha looked toward Caleb.
He seemed uncomfortable.
Gideon continued.
"Your brother has a talent for making people feel that refusing him is the same thing as being unreasonable."
Caleb stared at the floor.
"Yes."
The sheriff folded the letter.
"Let's see how reasonable he becomes when somebody asks to examine his records."
They left the office shortly afterward.
For the first time, Martha felt that her words had been heard by someone who didn't expect her to apologize for speaking.
She looked toward Caleb.
"Thank you for letting me tell it."
He frowned gently.
"You didn't need my permission."
She smiled faintly.
"I know."
Then she looked toward the street.
"But it helped knowing you were there."
Caleb felt a warmth spread through his chest.
He wanted to take her hand.
He waited.
Martha noticed.
Then she held it out.
Caleb accepted.
They walked toward the boardinghouse together.
That evening, a message arrived from Missouri.
The telegraph operator delivered it personally because the reply had come through after the office closed.
Martha opened the paper.
Miss Norton had sent a careful answer.
She confirmed that Martha had applied to the agency voluntarily and had been matched with Caleb through ordinary correspondence. The office had not been instructed to send her west by Harlan Tate.
But the second part of the message was troubling.
Several days after Martha departed, a man claiming to represent Tate Freight had visited the agency and demanded information about her destination. The clerk refused to provide copies of private letters, but the man already knew Caleb Montgomery's name.
Miss Norton had become concerned and written to warn Martha.
Her letter had been returned because the address she'd been given was no longer valid.
Martha stared at the telegram.
Then she looked at Caleb.
"He didn't arrange the match."
Caleb nodded slowly.
"But he learned where you were going."
She looked relieved and frightened at the same time.
For weeks, she'd wondered whether even her attempt to escape had been manipulated.
Now she knew that answering the advertisement had been her own choice.
That mattered more than she could explain.
But the fact that Harlan had traced her journey meant the danger was real.
Caleb read the message again.
Then he said, "He's following the papers."
Martha looked toward the packet in her bag.
The copies of wage accounts.
The timber entries.
The notes connecting Harlan's western business to Caleb's land.
She nodded slowly.
"He thinks I have something he needs."
Caleb looked toward the street.
"Then we should find out exactly what it is before he gets here."
The following day, they visited the county clerk's office to examine the land records available for the valley.