“Yes.  He was out here tracking someone who’d gunned down a sheriff in Kansas and he heard that I might be in trouble.  By the time he found me, I wasn’t in trouble anymore.”

“A man named Tobias came looking for you.”

“Also my uncle.”

“A lot of uncles.”

“Yes.”

“By the way,” Lenore said.  “This was the first question I wanted to ask, that anyone would want to ask, I hope it’s not untoward.  What happened to your hair?”

“I sold it.”

“You sold it?  To whom?”

“A French woman who makes hairpieces and false curls.  Apparently somewhere there’s a liking for that sort of thing.  She quoted me a more than decent price and I needed the money.”

“You didn’t regret parting with it?”

“There was so much of it and it was heavy and wouldn’t stay pinned up.  I’m relieved, actually.”

Lenore thought about that for a minute, nodding, then moved on.  “Why were you traveling alone at all?”

Charlotte readjusted Grace on her lap.  “That goes back to Tobias.  A husband had been chosen for me.  I was coming to meet him and get married.”

“I didn’t realize people did things like that anymore.”

“They don’t.  It’s just me.”  Charlotte knew she had to be absolutely truthful in this regard.  It was too important.  “I’m from the Family.”

“I thought maybe that was the case.”

“You’ve heard of them?”

“I’m from back east where everyone’s heard of them.”

“The idea of the Family doesn’t scare you then?”  She’d worried about this.

There was a silence.  Grace had fallen asleep.

“Do they scare you?” Lenore said.

“No, they don’t.”

“You’ll be marrying then?  Is that what you’re saying?”

“Definitely not.  My mind never ran in that direction in the first place and the farther west I traveled, the more I knew for certain nothing of the sort was going to happen.”

“We’re speaking just between us,” Lenore said, “but could you be forced into this marriage?”

Charlotte realized she had to be careful.  “I will not be marrying anyone by force.  Ever.”

“Then, a hard question and I’m sorry to have to ask it, but I will.  Are the children a useful means to success in that endeavor?  A fortunate excuse, shall we say?”

“The children are not an excuse of any kind.  Seeing as I’m all they have, they’ll be my family, they’ll be my life.  And in case that’s a question also, they’ll be no part of that world that’s called the Family.”

“I understand.  Thank you for clarifying that.  And do you have experience in child-raising?”