And when the deputy ordered him to disarm, he went for his gun." Blackwood looked at Elias with cold, gray eyes. "You have a history of violence, do you not? You were a scout for the Fifth Cavalry. You are a trained killer."
"I was a soldier." Elias corrected him. "And yes, I know how to kill, but I did not wake up that morning wanting to kill Clay Harlan. I woke up wanting to fix my fence. Harlan brought the war to my doorstep.
I just finished it." Blackwood turned to Naya. "And you, Mrs. Ward, is it true that you were purchased?" Naya stood up. The movement was slow, heavy with the weight of the baby, but it commanded silence.
"I was sold." She said clearly. "By a man named Silas Thorne, who stands over there." She pointed a finger at the former agent, who was shrinking into the corner, sweating profusely. "He sold me like a mule.
He sold my sisters. He sold us to men who wanted labor and pleasure. Elias Ward paid the money. Yes, but he did not buy a slave. He bought my life back from the grave."
She looked at Blackwood, her dark eyes flashing. "You ask about the law, sir. Where was the law when my husband was shot? Where was the law when Harlan burned our winter feed? The law only came when a white man died."
The room went deadly silent. It was a truth that no one wanted to admit, but it hung in the air, undeniable. Deputy Miller stepped forward then. He looked tired, but for the first time in his life, he looked like a man who could sleep at night. "I was there, sir."
Miller testified. "Harlan was out of control. He declared himself the law. I ordered him to stand down. He drew on me.
If Ward had not fired, I would be dead, and likely half the people in that yard would be, too. It was self-defense." "Doctor." Aris placed the marriage certificate on the table. "It is a legal union, recorded in San Rosalita."
He added softly. "She is not property. She is a wife protecting her home." The verdict took 3 days. It was not the resounding trumpet of justice that they might have read about in storybooks.