"Here you are," Mercer repeated, his voice gone flat, "interfering in something that doesn't concern you."
"Concerning me right now," Nathan said.
He walked past Mercer like the man wasn't worth a second glance, pulled a folding knife from his vest pocket, and cut the rope binding Margaret's wrists in two strokes. He caught her before she fell. She hadn't realized until that moment how much weight she'd been holding against those ropes, and he held her arm steady. Nothing more than that. Nothing that wasn't necessary.
"Easy," he said, low, just for her. "I got you."
Margaret yanked her arm back. "I don't need—"
"I know you don't," he said, just as quiet. "Stand on your own. I'm just here in case your legs forgot."
She stood on her own. It took everything she had and she did it anyway, and something in his face registered that without comment.
Then he turned back to Mercer. "Here's how I see it," Nathan said, pleasant as a man discussing weather. "You've got a dispute over money. That's a matter for a judge, not a whipping post. You can take it to the territorial court in Laramie and let them sort it out, or you can tell me right now what the actual number is and I'll pay you a portion of it today as a good faith gesture while this lady gets herself some time to put her documentation in order."
Mercer's face had gone through several colors during this speech. He settled on a dark, dangerous red. "You'll pay me a portion?"
Nathan reached into his coat and produced a folded envelope. "I've got $60 here. It's what I have for expenses on my way to Cheyenne. I expect that ain't the whole of what you're claiming, but it's a start, and it buys some time for the lawyers to get involved."
The silence stretched long enough that a crow somewhere down the alley started arguing with itself. Mercer looked at the envelope. He looked at Nathan. He looked at Margaret, who was standing straight despite the blood seeping through the back of her dress, her face showing nothing but controlled fury and absolute refusal.
He took the envelope. "Thirty days," he said. "She's got thirty days to settle the rest or I'm taking the land by right of debt."