"Matthew—I need a word with you." Sully said, draping his arm across Matthew's shoulders and leading him away from the prying ears of the guards.  He extended his hand to his younger son.  "Brian, part of this concerns you too."

     The three of them huddled together with their backs to the guards.  Sully could feel Loren, Robert E. and Grace also looking at them curiously.  He didn't want to exclude their friends—now that he had revealed himself to be alive, there was little point in continuing to keep secrets.   But Cloud Dancing's freedom was still in jeopardy, and Sully refused to compromise Cloud Dancing's safety by revealing to unwelcome listeners any hint of his "brother's" presence in the area.

     "I need you to do me a few favors," he told Matthew is a hushed voice.

     "Tell me," Matthew replied.

     "First, we need to wire Colleen—tell her about your ma and that she'd better come home—“

     "Already taken care of," Matthew said promptly.  "I saw Horace on my way over here—he took it on himself to wire Colleen as soon as he heard about Dr. Mike.  He said he'll come let us know soon as he gets a reply."

     "Horace is a good man," Sully said, touched by the gentle kindness of the telegraph operator.

     "Sully--Horace asked if he should wire Dr. Mike's ma, too—I wasn't sure what to tell him," Matthew said.

     "Ma must be real bad if you want to send for Grandma," Brian said fearfully.

     "Not necessarily, Brian," Sully said reassuringly.  "If you got hurt—even just a scratch—your  ma would want to know."  But inwardly Sully debated the decision.  On the one hand, he didn't want to frighten Elizabeth before they knew Michaela's condition.   But on the other, if Michaela—got worse—and Elizabeth didn't get the chance to . . . to . . .   He couldn't bear to finish that train of thought.

     "Let's hold off for now," he said finally.  "There ain't much we can tell her yet, and besides, Marjorie's here
. . . "  His voice drifted off but Matthew and Brian could read what was in his mind.

     "Good thinkin'," Matthew told him, trying to buoy his and Brian's spirits. "Grandma Quinn would just worry herself to distraction, and probably jump on the first train.  By the time she got here, Dr. Mike would probably be good as new."

     "You're right," Sully said, managing a small smile, for Brian's sake.  "You know how your Grandma can be."

     "What else do you need?" Matthew asked.

     "Rosalind—Lady Sutcliffe—is alone with Wolf back at the homestead, waitin' for word about your ma.  She knew when I left that your ma was in trouble, but she don't know about the shootin'."   He lowered his voice still further, speaking barely above a whisper.  "Cloud Dancing found us in the clearin' where your ma and Miss Dorothy got hurt, and he helped me bring them back to town.  I asked him to go to Rosalind and tell her what happened—he's probably there by now.  But I think she'd want to be here, with us.  And I'd feel better if I knew she was safe here in town, instead of out there all by herself."

     "You want me to go fetch her?" Matthew asked.

     Sully nodded.  "I'd be real grateful."

     "I'll head out to the homestead right away," Matthew pledged.  "Brian, you can ride with me."

 "But--I don't want to leave Ma," Brian said hesitantly.
 
     "The operation will probably take awhile," Sully told him.  "And  after that, your ma will most likely sleep through the night, so you wouldn't be able to talk to her 'fore mornin', anyway."  He looked into his son's eyes.
"She wouldn't want you sittin' here worryin', Brian.  I think she'd be glad to know that you were keepin' our guest company."

     "All right," Brian agreed reluctantly.  "But Pa—if Ma wakes up and I ain't here—will you tell her I love her?"

     "You know I will," Sully promised him.

     "Anything else?" Matthew asked.

     "Yeah," Sully said.  "Cloud Dancin' is meetin' with Black Moon tonight.  He's gonna try to get him to agree to stop the raids.  We were gonna meet with him together, but . . .

     "Anyway," he went on, "I told Cloud Dancin' you'd meet him at the cave afterwards so he can tell you what happened."

     "Sure," Matthew agreed.

     "You need to be careful," Sully cautioned him.  "Make sure you ain't followed.  McKay's got his eye on all of us now.  I wouldn't put it past him to put a tail on you."

     Matthew nodded.

     "There's one more thing," Sully said.  "This ain't a favor.  It's just somethin' I want you to know.  Your ma and me were gonna tell you all about it at supper tonight—but I know your ma won't mind if I tell you now.  Fact is, I guess, it's my news to tell."

     Matthew and Brian were watching him expectantly.

     "It's about Rosalind," Sully said.  "When she came here with your Aunt Marjorie, we thought she was just a friend of your aunt's.  As far as we knew, she was a stranger to the rest of us.  And we were strangers to her.  But, it turns out—“ he hesitated, then went on, "it turns out she's family--*my* family.  My ma was her sister, which makes her my aunt—and your aunt, too."

     "That's amazin'," Matthew said.  "But I thought all your family had passed on."

     "So did I," Sully replied.  "We never met.  And my ma didn't tell me anythin' about Rosalind before she died.  Rosalind knew about me, but she had no idea where I was, or whether I was still alive.  When she realized who I was, it was a real shock to her.  For me too, discoverin' I still had family after all this time."

     "How did she know you were related?" Brian asked.

     "From my name, and from seein' our weddin' picture," Sully explained.   "She saw a real strong resemblance between her sister and me.  She gave me this."  Reaching into his shirt, he withdrew the cameo and pressed the hidden clasp.  It popped open, and Matthew and Brian marveled at the tiny portrait within.

     "Ma ma was just a girl, not much older than you, Brian, when this was painted," Sully said.

     "She was beautiful, Pa," said Brian.

     "Yeah, she was," Sully agreed, putting his arm around Brian's shoulders.  "I wish you could have known her.  But meetin' Rosalind has almost been like havin' my ma back again.  She's a real kind lady.  And she's already real fond of your ma, and of you, Matthew and Katie.  I know she'll love Colleen just the same."

     "I'm real happy for you, Sully, that you found each other," Matthew told him.

     "Thanks Matthew—I am too," he answered.  "It helps a lot, havin' her here now."

     "Can I call her 'Aunt Rosalind?'" Brian asked.

     "I'm sure that would make her real happy," Sully replied.

     Brian was quiet for several moments.
 
     "What is it?" Sully asked him, recognizing that something was on his mind.

     "Well—if Aunt Rosalind is a 'lady'—does that make you a 'lord'?" Brian said.

     Sully was stunned by the question.  In all the time since Michaela had first told him of Rosalind's existence, the implications of her title and background had never occurred to him.  He didn't know if his grandfather was still living, or if there were any other heirs to the title.  But assuming there weren't, and since Rosalind had no children of her own . . .

     "Truth is, Brian, I ain't sure," he answered finally.  "But—I guess it's possible."

 "Pa—you're royalty!" Brian exclaimed softly.
 
     Sully shook his head.  "I don't know about that," he said.  "I sure don't feel like 'royalty."  I'm just me—same as I've always been.  Havin' an aunt with a 'title' ain't gonna change that."

     "But—“ Brian began.

     "Brian," Matthew interrupted.   "Now ain’t the time."

     "I guess you're right," Brian said.  "I'm sorry, Pa."

     "It's all right, Brian," Sully told him.  "It's sure a lot to think about, ain't it?"

     Brian nodded, and Sully was glad he had something else to occupy his mind besides his worry over his mother.
 
     "We'd better be headin' out," Matthew said to his brother.  "We'll bring Rosalind back as soon as we can," he told Sully.  "Will you be all right?" he added.

     "I'll be fine," Sully answered, hoping the spirits would forgive the lie.  He didn't feel fine at all.  He wondered if he would ever feel fine again.

     "I left the wagon at the livery," Matthew said.  "Come on, Brian."  He gripped Sully's shoulder briefly, and Brian hugged him again.

     "I'll see you soon," Sully said clearly, and to Matthew he added in a low voice, "Good luck."  He raised his hand in farewell as the brothers headed away up the street.

     Sully  rubbed his eyes.  The waiting and the worry stretched out before him like a long, dark tunnel with no end.