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were when you went off on your own,” said Hawkeye. “It scared the hell out of your mother and me, knowing what trouble you could get yourself into. But we let you go, and it’s time you start thinking about the day you won’t be able to hold her back. She won’t disappoint you, son. Don’t you disappoint her. Show some faith.”
    Nathaniel started a little at that, but any argument he might have raised left him at the sight of Jemima Southern coming around a bend a quarter mile down the trail.
    They stood their ground and waited, watching her come on. She was flushed with walking, and the color suited her. Not a beautiful girl, but comely and solid. No doubt she would be married by now, if it weren’t for her cantankerous disposition. Looking at her, Nathaniel had to admit that if Jemima Southern could make a place for herself alone in the world, the same was true of his own daughter.
    “Hail there, Mima,” Hawkeye said when she was close enough. “Coming to pay our Hannah a visit, are you?”
    She drew up short, and pulled her cloak closer around herself. “The widow sent me to pay her respects at the burial.” She looked off into the trees instead of at the people she was talking to, a habit that reminded Nathaniel of her father, a man who had been suspicious to the bone and with a temper as quick as fire.
    Hawkeye was looking at her with more sympathy than Nathaniel could ever muster. He said, “Thoughtful of you, but we buried that little girl not an hour ago. Elizabeth read a bible passage over her, in case that’s what the widow was worried about.”
    Jemima’s chin tightened by way of a smile. She said, “I’ll just head back to the mill then.” But she stood there on the path without moving, chewing on her lip and looking off into the trees.
    “Something you wanted to say?” Nathaniel asked.
    She looked up, her eyes flashing. “Did you hear about Liam Kirby?”
    That name took Nathaniel by surprise, but Hawkeye didn’t fluster.
    “Cain’t say that we have. Is there news of the boy?”
    Jemima sent him a sidelong glance. “Saw him this morning, right in the village. Thought he might have come up to pay his respects. Old friend that he is and all.”
    Nathaniel said, “If that’s the case, I’m sure he’ll be by. We’d be glad to see him. Hannah especially.”
    The girl flushed, and Nathaniel regretted letting his irritation push him to say something so mean-spirited. It was clear enough that Jemima had never stopped thinking about Liam, she wore that on her sleeve. And of course she’d heard the rumors about the stolen gold. Most probably she had come up here hoping to see some kind of confrontation between Kirby and the Bonners, eager to take that news to Lucy Kuick. Thething was, they didn’t need any strangers up at Lake in the Clouds until Selah Voyager had moved on.
    Hawkeye was thinking in just the same direction. He said, “Maybe you’ll come by another time, then. When Elizabeth and Hannah have caught up on their sleep.”
    But Jemima wasn’t done. She stood there on the trail as if it belonged to her.
    “Dr. Todd rode in from Johnstown just as I was setting off.” She smiled pleasantly. “You’ll want to stay clear of him, he’s drunk as a lord.”
    Whether or not they wanted to stay clear of Richard Todd, they were obliged to seek him out, as it was his home they were headed for. They found him in his study with a bottle of brandy three-quarters gone. He was a big man going a little soft around the jowls, his hair thinning fast and the first threads of silver in his reddish-gold beard. Richard listened as Hawkeye told him what little they had been able to do for his child.
    “We put her right between your mother and mine,” Nathaniel added. Hoping that it would provide some comfort, to know his daughter rested between two women Todd had loved and respected. The man deserved some sympathy, but it didn’t come easy: there was a lot of history between them and most of