“Frederick’s.”
She carried the letter inside and opened it.
The message was short.
Mrs. Clara Whitmore Mercer,
Please be advised that an outstanding promissory note executed by the late Frederick Whitmore and co-signed by yourself remains unpaid in the principal amount of $612.40, with accumulated interest. The obligation has recently been assigned to Western Consolidated Claims, Denver, Colorado.
The company will contact you directly.
Clara stopped breathing.
Elias read her face.
“What?”
She handed him the page.
His expression hardened.
“You told me I paid all the debts.”
“I believed you did.”
“The Baltimore list included five.”
“There were five.”
“This makes six.”
Clara sat.
She searched her memory.
Frederick had put papers in front of her constantly.
Receipts.
Orders.
Loans.
He had sometimes told her to sign.
“What is it?”
Elias asked.
“I don't know.”
“You signed something?”
“Maybe.”
“Clara.”
“He told me wives signed where husbands instructed.”
Elias’s jaw tightened.
“Do not look like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like you want to dig him up.”
“I was not thinking that.”
“You absolutely were.”
“Only briefly.”
She almost smiled.
Then fear returned.
“Six hundred dollars.”
“I can pay it.”
“No.”
Elias frowned.
“No?”
“You already paid enough.”
“It doesn't matter.”
“It matters to me.”
He crouched across from her.
Not touching.
“What do you want to do?”
The question steadied her.
“I want to know whether the debt is real.”
“All right.”
“And if it is?”
“Then we decide.”
“No.”
She looked at him.
“If it is mine, I pay it.”
“With what?”
“My half of the fur profits.”
Elias frowned.
“You don't have half.”
“I own half the land.”
“Not the trapping business.”
“Then I want wages.”
“For what?”
“Accounts.”
“Cooking.”
“Selling preserved berries.”
“Repairing two coats.”
Elias stared.
“You are charging me for marriage?”
“I am charging the business for labor.”
His mouth twitched.
“That is terrifyingly reasonable.”
“I learned from debt.”
The next week, Harlan Voss appeared at their cabin.
Clara knew before he dismounted that the letter and his visit were connected.
He carried a leather portfolio.
Elias stood on the porch.
Clara beside him.
Harlan smiled.