Mercury's Rise (Silver Rush 04) by Ann Parker Page A

know the family?”
    Harmony nodded. “Kirsten is a lovely woman and a devoted mother and wife. My husband Jonathan—you’ll meet him at breakfast—became fast friends with Mr. Pace. They shared many of the same interests. Their nanny and our Lily spent much time together, so the children were frequently in your son’s company. The little girl absolutely adores him.”
    “Speaking of William, will he be back soon?”
    “Oh yes. After our breakfast.”
    Recalling the naked hostility in Lily’s stare, Inez asked, “About Lily. Is she good with William? Where did she come from? She’s not the woman you had in Denver last year, when you took William back with you.”
    “Oh, that woman.” The three words dripped disapproval. “I walked into the nursery one day, and caught her drinking. With your son right there! I let her go on the spot, of course.”
    Inez hmmed, nonplussed by Harmony’s intense reaction, then realized mere hmming wouldn’t do at all under the circumstances. “Of course,” she echoed. “You were very right to do so.”
    A memory of the taste of brandy from the previous night flashed across Inez’s mind, firing a desire for more. The sharpness of the longing shocked her, until she recollected that it was now late in the morning and that her breakfast routine at the saloon consisted of a first cup of coffee, black, followed by a second augmented with a small splash of brandy or one of the finer whiskies she kept in her private reserve. Inez shook her head to banish the thought and brushed one hand along the porch railing as if checking for dust.
    It was dusty.
    “So,” Inez continued, “you hired Lily to take her place? She seems young.”
    Harmony stopped midstep and faced to Inez. “Lily Harrigan has been in our employ for two years as a domestic.” Her words speeded up, and then came out in a nervous rush. “First as a between maid, then as a nursery maid once your son came to live with us. When we let that woman go, well, Lily is wonderful with William, even though she is young. She’s never given me any reason to disapprove of her conduct.”
    Harmony faced forward again and jerked back into rapid motion, her chin set with what Inez recognized as a stubborn jut uncomfortably reminiscent of their father. She continued, “Lily obeys, is agreeable, patient, takes her responsibilities seriously, and loves your son to a fault. She has no family to speak of, thus no distractions from her primary duty—taking care of William. I took her in as an act of charity, and it has worked out very well to date.” Her tone had become increasingly aggrieved, as if she sensed Inez disapproved of her choice.
    Inez hastened, “If Miss Harrigan has your trust, dear sister, then she has mine. I did not mean to gainsay you.” I will take this Lily’s measure silently, since Harmony seems so intent on defending her.
    With a stifled sigh, Inez squinted out at the scenery. Beyond the hotel’s gravel drive, the dusty red road fronted Fountain Creek, which was crowded on both banks by brush and scrub oak. A picturesque wooden bridge crossed the creek, and dirt paths beyond wound through dry grasses interrupted by large boulders and a rustic pavilion or two. People clustered about two rocky areas around what Inez surmised must be the vaunted springs. Raising her gaze across the little valley yielded a view of foothills, covered with yet more dry grass and scrub brush, with no Pike’s Peak in sight.
    Inez placed her hands on the railing and leaned to the left, to see past their hotel. Another grand establishment, twin of the Mountain Springs House, was situated some distance away beyond a small dirt road. From what she had read, Inez felt certain that it was the Cliff House. There was very little else to see, aside from the main road meandering away to the southeast. Her initial impressions of Manitou were not living up to its reputation.
    To change the subject to something less charged than the nursemaid,