"Of course not," Mary replied as he settled Maddy into her arms. "I like children."
"I'm very glad to hear it," Lee said, his voice deep and husky and full of meaning.
Mary's cheeks pinkened once again at the look in his gray eyes. She struggled for some way to break the uncomfortable silence. "Speaking of children…"
"Yes?" Lee raised his eyebrow and lowered his voice suggestively.
Mary focused her gaze on the child in her lap and cleared her suddenly dry throat before she continued her train of thought, "Tessa told me that when she saw Maddy walk into the church she thought you had found Lily Catherine."
"Yeah, I know," Lee answered.
"Was she very disappointed?" Mary asked, knowing Tessa and David were devastated.
"She hid it very well," Lee said, "but I could tell she was upset."
"Finding Lily for David is very important to Tessa. She and David have adopted Coalie as their son, but they want a big family and although it's still early in the marriage, Tessa hasn't had any luck conceiving a child of her own."
"Not from lack of trying, I understand," Lee commented.
"No, not from lack of trying." Mary couldn't control the wavering note in her voice or the way the blood rushed to her cheeks every time Lee mentioned children. "In fact, my mother thinks that may be the problem. She thinks Tessa and David are trying too hard to have a baby when they should just relax and let nature take its course."
Lee had to fight to keep from leering at his bride. "Is it possible to try too hard?"
"My mother thinks so. She thinks Tessa's is working too hard to make things perfect for David and Coalie. And since it's taking you longer to find Lily than she expected, Tessa is wearing herself and David out trying to have a child of their own. My mother thinks that, deep down, Tessa feels she has to repay David for saving her life."
"I didn't hear David complaining."
"And you never will. He loves Tessa. And she loves him. But she's so stubborn, so independent, and so conscious of the fact that she came to David with nothing but Coalie and the clothes on their backs. It's that Irish pride of hers." Mary turned to look at Lee. "You've got to locate Lily Catherine before Tessa becomes obsessed with producing a daughter for David because my mother says that just makes things worse."
"I see." Lee understood Tessa's obsession. He had spent the be
tter part of the last four months in Washington searching. Why? Because Tessa had asked him to do something no one else could do, just as she had demanded he hurry to Cheyenne and save Mary.
Mary. Lee stole another glance at his wife as she shifted on the hard train seat.
"What happened in Washington?"
"Huh?" He hadn't been paying attention to her words, only the way her lips formed them.
"I confess to being as curious as Tessa is to learn the details of your trip to Washington. What happened? Or are you allowed to discuss it with people other than your clients?"
He debated for a moment on how to respond. Much of his report was classified, but Mary was his wife. And somehow, Lee knew he could trust her. He wanted to trust her. "Senator Warner Millen died unexpectedly."
"What?" Mary breathed the question, clearly surprised. She knew the senator was a vital link in locating Lily Catherine. What would happen to Lee's case now? What would happen to Lily? "How?"
Maddy whimpered in her sleep and Lee watched as Mary automatically redistributed the little girl's weight, so that Maddy lay with her head pillowed on Mary's breast.
"Mrs. Millen's official statement says he died of heart failure," Lee answered calmly.
"But you don't believe her." It wasn't a question, but a statement of fact.
"Well." Lee didn't bother to mask the cynical note in his voice. "His heart definitely stopped beating. But only after he put his gun to his head and pulled the trigger."
Mary gasped. "He killed himself?"
"Unofficially."
"May he burn in hell," Mary fervently prayed.