“You’re crazy,” Gabe exclaimed.
“General Grant has sent word to General Sheridan in Louisiana that he’s to see that the army takes particularly good care of me,” Rose announced. “He also said he’ll send full presidential pardons for George and Jeff as soon as he can arrange it.”
“Your wife’s insane,” Gabe said to George. “General Grant would never help no Southerner.”
But no one was listening to Gabe. Everyone was staring at Rose.
“I have the letter from General Grant in my pocket,” Rose said to George. “It’s the one Salty brought.”
Chapter Eleven
“You’re lying,” Gabe said. “You’ve got to be.”
“You call her a liar again and you won’t—”
Hen’s elbow stopped Monty in midsentence.
“My father and General Grant were in the same class at West Point. They later fought in the Mexican War together,” Rose told him. She didn’t dare look at any of the boys. “General Grant is my godfather.”
“You’re a Yankee!” Jeff said. The hate and rage that Rose had so often seen near the surface suffused his face.
“I was born right here in Texas,” Rose told him proudly. “But that’s not important,” she said, determined not to get sidetracked until she had convinced Gabe and Cato that any attack on the Randolphs would mean grave personal danger to them. “I want your names, and a full copy of your authorization,” she said to Gabe. “I intend to forward it to General Grant along with your assurance that you won’t take any action against this family until the pardons arrive.”
They handed over the papers without protest.
“Make a copy,” George said to Jeff.
“I still think we ought to shoot them,” Monty said.
“They’re going to go back to Austin to tell the land office there’s no need for further investigation,” Rose said. “They’re also going to report that they have been given incorrect information. Then they’re going to see that the correct figures are written into all the proper documents. Is there anything I’ve left out?”
“I think that about covers it,” George said, unable to take his eyes off Rose.
“Would you like to see my letter?” Rose asked as she took an envelope from her pocket and handed it to Gabe. “I don’t want you to have any doubts about the truth of what I’ve said.”
Gabe took one look at the first line, then the signature, and turned dead white.
“Your father was that Thornton?”
“Yes,” Rose replied.
“Holy shit! Griffin will skin us alive if he finds out we bothered this woman,” Gabe hissed to Cato, who took one glance at the letter and agreed.
“I would like the letter back.”
“Sure, Mrs. Randolph. And you can be sure we’ll get the tax records straight. Might not be no more than thirty dollars tax on this place. Nobody can believe anybody would own so much land. Most people just run their cows on it for free.”
“Remember, I plan to write that letter tonight.”
“You won’t be bothered, ma’am. Ain’t nobody anxious to annoy General Grant or General Sheridan. Everybody knows his temper is something awful.”
“And the taxes?”
“You don’t have to pay them till next year.”
“That man must have a mighty comfortable job to protect,” George said when the land officers had ridden off.
“One that lets other people’s money find its way into his pockets,” Salty added.
“I still think we should have buried them both under the nearest creek bank,” Monty said.
“Rose dealt with them much more effectively,” George said.
All eyes turned toward Rose.
Why did she feel as though she should slink away in shame? She fixed her gaze on George. There was none of Jeff’s rage or hate in his face. Only stunned surprise and speechless silence.
And questions.
“I wrote him after you hired me and posted the letter that night,” she said to George, sure of what he wanted to know. “I never thought he would answer. He left Texas after the war. Daddy thought he’d never hear from him again after he was asked to resign his commission. He probably wouldn’t have if he hadn’t needed Daddy to write a letter to get his commission restored.”
She took a deep breath and let some of the tension flow from her body. Now they knew. They could do as they would.
“I was bluffing about writing a second letter. He wouldn’t answer.”
“But the pardons?” George asked.
“I knew about the ironclad oath. I figured you’d need the pardons someday. I didn’t see any harm in asking.”