Murdock smiled down at her, but behind his shrewd eyes was a glimmer of polite curiosity.

Delicately feeling her way, Ginny brought the conversation around to Steve’s time in New Mexico Territory, and his brush with death.

“Steve told me that he had some accident here, and that he was cared for by a very kind woman. Elizabeth Cady, I believe he said. I am quite grateful for her care of him.”

“Ah, yes.”

Murdock did not elaborate, and Ginny relinquished any pretense when she saw that he had no intention of giving away information.

“I wish to visit her while I’m here, Sam. Do you know where I can find her?”

“Are you certain that’s what you want to do, Ginny? There are some things best left in the past.”

“Not this time.” Her gaze was direct as she recognized that he knew her reasons for visiting. “I came all this way, and I want to see her. I have to see for myself. You do understand that, don’t you?”

“Not everything is black-and-white, you know. There are times and circumstances that alter perceptions and our actions.” Murdock leaned against the smooth wood of the white-painted post that held up the long gallery roof. He smiled slightly. “When I first met you, I recognized your innate honesty and courage. Nothing has changed. You have grown more confident, perhaps, and more wary, but you are still the same woman. Steve is still the same man. Your habits and surroundings have changed, but neither of you have altered your ultimate goals.”

“Yes, it would seem that a leopard cannot change its spots, after all,” Ginny said tartly.

Murdock shook his head. “You are deliberately missing my point. You’re a clever woman. Don’t disappoint me.”

Sam Murdock had offered her nothing but friendship since the time of their first meeting several years ago. He had never shown her anything but respect, and had been instrumental in extracting her from the difficult tangle of her brief marriage to Prince Sahrkanov. He knew more about her than most people, and did not disapprove of her as had so many around her.

Even her father, and Sonya, had given her little approval.

Now she looked up at Murdock and said quietly, “I will do nothing to embarrass or hurt either Steve or Elizabeth Cady, but if I do not meet her, I will always wonder. It will eat at me, the uncertainty, the suspicion, until it ends up destroying anything I have left with Steve. I can’t explain it. I only hope you understand.”