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and his white hair was caught up in the breeze as though it were the mist on the water. "In my younger days, I was a snob." |
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That was only seven years earlier, Mariah thought. Or was it? In this time, that was true, but he'd also hung around in her era. Did he dart from time to time, or had he somehow survived that long? |
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The path on which they walked ended at the major dirt road within the town. Pierce led her to the right. He continued in his hoarse voice, "I was angered when young Mary, my son's widow, ran off with my grandson, and decided to come after them. I wanted him to be raised a gentleman, you see. When I got here, I sneaked around for a few days. I was caught by a man named Ainsley." |
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At Mariah's start, he smiled again. "Ah, yes. The man your friend Thorn shot. He was most useful, for he himself had a grudge he wished avenged. He helped me set up Billy's rescue and made it appear as though Indians had stolen my grandson. My payment to him was to make certain all evidence of the dastardly deed pointed to the fault of Thorn." |
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"I see." She itched to tell Thorn this additional bit of nefarious behavior by Ainsley. Or should she? |
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They arrived at a fork in the road, and Pierce directed her to the left. She noticed that they'd begun a circle of the fort, outside the Isthmus. Mariah glanced back behind them. The road seemed to have disappeared into the curling mist, and she shuddered. All this was enough to make her believe in the supernatural. |
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As if traveling in time hadn't already. |
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Plus this strange story of generations. She half believed it, on top of everything else that had happened. What reason would Pierce have now to lie? |
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"There is more to know about Thorn's friend Ainsley," Pierce said. "I did some checking, after I had Billy and learned his mother was dead. Ah, in my younger, more foolish days, I was ever so glad. She could never trouble us again. But she did, in a most unexpected way. What I first heard was that she had killed herself in despondency over |
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