They're going to take me away, she gasped. They're going to send me to Denver, to jail, to No, they're not. Jonas's voice was absolute. We have a week. We'll use it.
How? I don't have proof. I don't have documentation. I don't have anything but my word against Reed Mercer's lies. Then we'll find something.
Jonas tilted her face up, forcing her to meet his eyes. Lena, look at me. You are not alone in this. You have me. You have the children.
You have this community, whether they know it yet or not. We will fight this. Pa's right, Ruthie said from the porch. We won't let them take you. We'll tell everyone the truth, Samuel added, about Mr.
Mercer stalking you, about him being creepy. We'll write letters, Maggie offered, to your family, to people who knew you before. They can tell the judge you're not a thief. The children's fierce loyalty made Lena's throat close up. These babies, ready to go to war for her, ready to fight grown men with money and power because they believed in her.
Thank you, she whispered. All of you. But this isn't your battle. Yes, it is, Ruthie said simply. You're going to be our mother.
That makes it our battle. That night, after the children were in bed, Jonas and Lena sat at the kitchen table with paper and ink trying to piece together some kind of defense. Who can testify to your character? Jonas asked. People who knew you before your marriage?
My sister, maybe. Though we haven't spoken since the divorce, she was angry with me for embarrassing the family. What about your aunt? The one who gave you the candlesticks? Lena shook her head.
She died 2 years ago. That's part of why I had no proof of ownership. All the people who could vouch for those being gifts are either dead or have cut me off. That's awfully convenient for Reed Mercer. I think he knows exactly what he's doing.
He waited until I was isolated, until there was no one left to defend me. Jonas drummed his fingers on the table thinking. What about the merchants you sold to? The jeweler in Kansas City, the pawnbroker in St. Louis.