“We can’t go through town,” said Ethan. “They’ll see us for sure.”

“Can we cross at the ford?” suggested a voice from the darkness.

“No,” said Bennet. “The water’s still too high from the rains. We’d be washed away.”

Darcy’s eye was caught by a glint of light from the hilltop, as the lookout used a mirror to flash a warning in the moonlight.

Riders.

Darcy’s insides turned to ice. They were trapped and out of time.

Chapter 19

Riding in the moonlight at the head of his army towards the Bennet place, a very angry George Whitehead wondered how everything could have gone so wrong so fast.

Whitehead had taken Collins and Denny to Fort Worth for a sort of victory celebration. The railroad was about ready to start buying up the useless bottomland he had stolen from Mrs. Burroughs. Everything had been in place. The riches from the railroad would allow him to turn his twenty-five thousand into his own political kingdom. Soon, either Miss Gaby or Miss Anne would be Mrs. Whitehead, and with them came half the county. With land and army, he would conquer the rest. After that—who knew? The governor’s house in Austin? A senator’s seat in Washington, D.C.? All things were possible.

Whitehead’s first clue that things might not be going exactly to plan was when his spy, Elton, told him that Darcy was one of the investors in the railroad. Elton assured him that the rancher was unaware that anyone else in Rosings knew of the project, but Whitehead was uneasy with this turn of circumstance. He chewed over this intelligence during the ride back to Rosings, wondering if adjustments to the plan might be necessary. However, upon his arrival in town he discovered that Darcy knowing of the railroad was the least of his worries.

All of George Whitehead’s dreams were threatened by a whore named Lily.

Whitehead cursed under his breath. I knew I should have sent that slut back to her father’s place when she showed up at the back door. I knew it! But she was so young, so ripe, so eager. Dammit!

Whitehead stole a glance at Denny riding beside him. The damned fool was infatuated with Lily and demanded her in lieu of the hundreds Whitehead had promised. A bigger fool, Whitehead had agreed to the trade. He should have known better. Had his own bitter and unforgiving mother not shown him that there was no fury like a scorned woman? He should have had the girl killed.

Now everything Whitehead had built—everything that he had planned, dreamed, and killed for—teetered on the edge of the abyss. There was only one thing to do. What he could not win by guile he would take by the gun.

Two by two the riders moved along the trail leading from the main road to the house. Soon the party had formed a semicircle before the dark building, Denny in the middle and Whitehead over to his right. At the end was Billy Collins. Whitehead had insisted his pet bank manager accompany him on this bloody mission. He could not afford to lose any allies now, and after a few minutes’ work, Collins would be tied to him once and for all, being as guilty of murder as the rest.

Kid Denny rose in his saddle. “Bennet! Tom Bennet! This is Denny! Come out, Bennet! I’ve got an order of foreclosure, an’ I means to enforce it! Come out, Bennet, or we’ll come in after you!”

The gang sat in the moonlight before the house, fingering their guns. They saw no light. The only sign of life was a light smoke rising from the chimney.

Then the front door opened a crack. “Well, hello there, Denny! A bit early for visiting, ain’t it?” Mr. Bennet’s sardonic voice came from inside the darkened doorway.

“Come out, Bennet, an’ nobody gets hurt!”

Bennet’s voice was mocking. “Now, why would I believe that, Denny? Why would I leave my house?”

Denny held up a sheet of paper. “I’ve got me a proper order of foreclosure! That ain’t your house no more, Bennet! You’re trespassing, and I’ve got the right to throw you outta there!”

“Is that so? By whose authority, may I ask?”

“Judge Phillips!”

“Well, it’s debatable if that sycophant has enough brains to be an authority on anything, but I’ll leave that argument to my friend, Whitehead. By the way, you wouldn’t happen to know where he is, would you?”

Denny and Whitehead shared a look before George answered. “I’m right here, Tom! You’d better come on out!”

“George! I’m mightily glad to see that you’re here! What’s all this about a foreclosure? I’m paid up until the fifteenth.”

“I’m sorry, Tom, but Rosings Bank has called the loan! There’s nothing I can do about it tonight! You’d better come on out, or there might be trouble! We’ll try to straighten it out in the morning!”

Bennet’s voice was as teasing as ever. “I’ve a better idea, George. Why don’t you come on inside? I’m sure we can resolve all issues that way.”

Whitehead glanced at Denny. “I can’t do that, Tom!”

“I see.” Bennet’s false cheer had disappeared. “But you can take advantage of a mere child, is that it? Brave war hero that you are.”

Whitehead was not surprised by Bennet’s words; in fact, he was pleased. It told him that Lily had returned home. Denny, however, was not so sanguine.

“She was a ripe jolly piece, Bennet, an’ I might be willin’ to take her back, if’n she gets her ass out here in the next two minutes—her an’ all of you!”

“Go to hell, you son-of-a-bitch!” Bennet cried. “You want her?! Come and get her!”

Before Whitehead could say anything, Denny whipped out his six-shooter and unloaded it at the farmhouse. The rest of the gang joined in, and the house was struck by scores of rounds. For almost a minute the air was filled with gunshots and smoke. No fire was returned from inside the house. As suddenly as the violence started, it stopped, and an unholy quiet descended upon the farm.

Whitehead dismounted, saying to Denny, “All right, go in there and—” when the night was torn with the bark of rifles as the house erupted in light and smoke. Whitehead and his men dove for cover. A couple of horses fell and the rest ran off in terror. Whitehead, prone on the damp ground, pulled out his Colt and returned fire while Collins whimpered in fear. The others were desperately trying to reload.

The firing from the house ceased, and Denny crawled over to Whitehead and Collins, who had taken shelter behind an overturned wheelbarrow. “What the hell’s goin’ on here?” his henchman demanded.

“Hell if I know,” Whitehead shot back. “How are we?”

Pyke joined them. “Wilkerson’s dead! And a couple o’ horses, besides!”

“Shit!” Whitehead peeked out. “Got some company, Tom?!”

“Sure do, George!” the farmer returned. “Why don’t you come on in and meet ’em?!”

“Fuck!” Denny pounded the soft ground with a fist. “Darcy sent some of his men!”

Whitehead nodded, an idea coming to him. “Hello, the house! Look, boys, you’ve surprised us proper, I’ll give you that! But let me tell you, Darcy did you wrong! We’re the law here, and you’re on the wrong side! You’re aiding and abetting and we’ve got the right to kill anyone that stands in the way of enforcing a court order! Come on out now, and we’ll let you go!”

A Spanish-flavored voice responded. “Sorry, señor, but we are comfortable ’ere! If you hombres want to continue living, maybe you should be the ones leaving, I think!”

“That’s that fuckin’ Estrada—Fitzwilliam’s Number Two,” Denny advised.

“Right.” At the house, Whitehead shouted, “Dying’s not a great way of making a living, boys, no matter how much Darcy’s paying you! Just remember, you’re trapped here! We’ve got you outnumbered, and he’s safe back at the ranch! That don’t sound too fair, does it?!”

“We ’ere, you ’ere, everyone gots to be somewhere! I think we stay!”

A trembling Collins gripped Whitehead by the shoulder. “Now what? If this gets out, we’re finished!”

“Shut up, Collins! I have to think!”

Darcy enjoyed the taunting of Whitehead and Denny while he reloaded, but he wasn’t fool enough not to know the situation he was in. With no time to set up a proper ambush, they had no choice but to fall back into the Bennet farmhouse. Darcy had six men with him and Bennet. Two others had gone to hide the wagon in the barn and were holed up there with the farmhand, Hill. José Estrada covered the rear, while the rest were positioned at the windows in the front and sides of the house. Tom Bennet had the front door, while Darcy took the window to the left.