For the Roses

Chapter 12

They didn't want to believe him. Cole was emphatic in his denial. Mary Rose wasn't Victoria. She couldn't be. Adam was more reasonable. He asked questions trying to find an inconsistency. Travis tore apart every explanation Harrison gave. Douglas remained unusually silent. He kept his gaze on his glass and shook his head every once in a while. He appeared to be too stunned to speak.

"Coincidence," Cole said. He pounded his fist down on the tabletop to stress his point.

"When was Victoria born?" Adam asked in a voice shaking with emotion.

Harrison had already answered the question three times. He patiently gave the date once again. " January second, 1860."

"Holy Mother of God," Adam whispered.

"Lots of people were born on January second," Travis argued.

"Be reasonable," Harrison requested.

"Explain how you came to your conclusion that our Mary Rose was the woman you were searching for."

"Travis, I've already explained."

"I don't give a damn, Harrison. Explain it again."

"Fine," he agreed. "The woman who saw Mary Rose at the boarding school reported the incident to Elliott's people. I happened to be in Chicago at the time on business. The woman lived a short train ride away, and so I went to her home to talk to her."

"How did you hear about the woman? Does Elliott have people working for him in America?" Travis asked.

"Yes, but that isn't how I found out. I received a wire from London. I had requested to be kept informed. Elliott had given up."

"But you hadn't," Travis remarked. He sounded angry about Harrison 's tenacity.

"No, I hadn't given up, and neither had his staff. They notified me. I hired an attorney in St. Louis to interview Mary Rose."

"Lawyers stick together like fleas and leeches, don't they?" Cole said.

Harrison didn't respond to the insult. "What the attorney found out made me more curious."

"She didn't tell him anything," Cole argued. "She wouldn't have."

"You're right. She didn't tell him anything. It's what the attorney couldn't find out that intrigued me. The headmistress said Mary Rose's mother lived in the south. I wondered why, of course, but I didn't find it unusual enough to pursue. Sisters boast about their brothers, or complain about them. At least I thought they did, but Mary Rose wouldn't say a word about the four of you. The attorney reported she'd been on her guard and seemed afraid and somewhat agitated."

"She distrusts lawyers as much as we do," Travis told him.

"Yes, I understand," Harrison said. "Your reaction when you found out what I did for a living was another clue that one of you might be in trouble."

"We told Mary Rose not to talk about us. We didn't want folks looking into matters that didn't concern them."

"As I said before, I understand now. I didn't understand at the time."

"What didn't you understand?" Cole asked.

"That all of you have broken the law in the past. Anyway, your sister's reticence made me more curious."

"And then?" Travis asked.

Harrison held on to his patience. He knew why they were making him go over his explanation again. They were hunting for flaws. He couldn't blame them. In their place, he would have done the same thing.

"There had been hundreds of reports over the years about women who resembled Victoria 's mother, or aunt, or cousin, or some other distant relative. Although the woman who had seen Mary Rose was emphatic about the resemblance, I still wouldn't have come all the way to Montana just because of a similarity in appearance. No, I came here because of the report I'd read about the interview with your sister."

Harrison reached for his glass and took a drink. He really didn't want the brandy, but his throat was dry.

"There's a portrait hanging in Elliott's library," he began.

"What? You didn't mention a portrait before," Travis said.

He guessed he hadn't. "Right after Elliott married Agatha, he commissioned a well-known artist to paint his wife's likeness. When Mary Rose came strolling down the aisle in Morrison's store, for a moment I thought Agatha had stepped out of the oil portrait and was coming to greet me. Your sister's resemblance to Agatha is astonishing. You know the rest of it. None of you made my task easy."

"I'm glad to know we did something right," Cole interjected.

"All of you gave me odd, nonsensical answers to my questions. Your resistance fed my curiosity. Only people with a secret would behave in such a manner. You told me again and again that it was dangerous for anyone to ask questions out here, yet you plied me with hundreds of them. There was also your distrust of anyone associated with the law. Believe it or not, lawyers serve a purpose, a damned good one at that. We aren't your enemy, but you behaved as though you believed we were. It was more than apparent to me that you had something to hide. My mistake was thinking you were trying to keep me from finding out the truth about the kidnapping. I didn't believe you planned the theft, but I did think you were protecting the man or woman who had taken her. Now that I've gotten to know all of you, I realize you got here on your own. You only had each other to depend on."

Harrison paused to gather his thoughts. The brothers patiently waited for him to continue.

"You decided to pull together and become a family. Then you took the baby and headed west. Mary Rose is Lady Victoria, isn't she?"

Adam closed his eyes. He looked stricken. "Dear God, she must be."

Travis reached for the bottle. Harrison noticed his hand shook. His glass was already full, but the brother didn't seem to notice.

Cole was staring at Harrison. He looked desolate.

Harrison turned his gaze to Adam. "On your brothers' behalf, your sister's behalf, and on your behalf, give me a dollar."

The request didn't make any sense to any of them. Adam didn't move. Harrison gave his demand again, in a harder tone of voice.

The brother reached into his vest pocket, pulled out a silver coin, and tossed it to Harrison. He caught it in midair.

"What was that for?" Travis asked.

"It was a retainer. I don't give a damn if you like lawyers or not, I now represent you. Does everyone understand and agree?"

He made all of them give their verbal consent before he continued. Then he shifted positions, scanned his audience, and said, "Who's going to start explaining?"

"Do you think we stole her?" Cole asked.

"We didn't," Travis said. "Someone else did. Whoever it was must have gotten cold feet."

"We found her," Cole said.

"Where?" Harrison asked.

"In the trash," Cole answered.

"Where?" He hadn't meant to raise his voice, but surprise made him overreact.

"You heard me. We found her in the trash heap in our alley. The four of us had formed our own gang. God, we were young and stupid back then."

"You were children," Harrison replied. "There is safety in numbers."

"Yes," Cole agreed wearily. He turned to Adam. "You tell him what happened."

Adam nodded. "We had formed a gang of sorts. We all lived on the street. I had made it to New York City with the help of the Underground, but I wasn't going to stay there. I'd promised my mother I'd head west. She thought I would be safer there, until things changed."

"What things?" Harrison asked.

"Mother kept up with all the news. Lincoln was talking about ending slavery. The movement in the North was growing and she knew a fight was coming. If it went in our favor, we'd be freed. It was a hope, and I clung to it.

"My brothers and I lived in the alley. We slept close together so we could keep warm. It was going on May, but the nights were still cold that year, and we didn't have many blankets."

"In 1860?"

"Yes, 1860," Adam said. "There were other gangs of displaced children roaming the streets looking for food and trouble. The alley was our home, and we were determined to defend it. We each took turns standing watch at the entrance. It was Douglas 's turn that night. Travis and Cole and I were sound asleep. He whistled to us and pointed to the trash heap. Then he took off. He was curious about something and wanted to investigate.

"I heard a noise," Adam continued. " Douglas told me later he thought it was a cat inside. Travis, I remember, was worried it might be a snake."

"Inside what?" Harrison asked.

"A basket," Adam answered. "Anyway, I thought there was an animal inside too. I went over to get a better look. I saw the rats then."

"Dear God…"

"They were all over the thing. I had to light my torch to chase them away. One had worked his way up to the top and was chewing through the lid. If I had waited another minute, the rat would have gotten to her."

Harrison pictured what would certainly have happened to Mary Rose and blanched in reaction.

"I got to her in time, and that's all that matters. We thought she was a boy. We named her Sidney."

"She knows everything, doesn't she?" Harrison asked.

"Oh, yes, she knows how we found her. We've never kept any secrets from her. She knows all about us too."

Harrison smiled. "Now I understand why she was so upset when Cole called her Sidney."

"Yes," Cole said. "It's a reminder to her that she isn't any better than anyone else. She is though. She's pure of heart and noble and…"

Cole's voice belied his stony expression.

Adam cleared his throat and continued on. "We made a pact late that night to do the best we could for her. We didn't think she would make it if we took her to one of the city's orphanages. Travis was the only one who knew for certain no one was searching for him. We all became Claybornes and headed west. It took us a long, long time to get here and build a home."

"But we did it," Cole said. "Now that I think about it, I guess maybe Mary Rose's father helped us."

"How?" Harrison asked.

" Douglas took the money from the woman who threw the basket away. He was real good picking pockets. The money financed our way for a long time. Whoever took the baby must have stolen the money too."

"How old were all of you?"

Travis answered him. "I was really just nine, going on ten, but I told everyone I was close to eleven. I was afraid they wouldn't take me if I was too young. I wanted them to think I could hold my own in a fight. Douglas and I knew what it was like living in an orphanage. We weren't going back. I guess I was smart enough to realize I needed protection. Adam was big and mean-looking to me, and so I chose to hound him day and night until he finally let me stay with him. He was thirteen. Douglas and Cole were eleven years old."

"You were children," Harrison said. "Yet even so, didn't it occur to you that the baby might have been stolen?"

"Why would such a thought occur to us?" Cole asked. "We just figured her mother or father didn't want her any longer."

"You believed they threw her away? How could you possibly believe such a thing?"

Cole and Douglas looked at each other, then turned to Harrison again.

"Why not?" Douglas asked. "We were."

Cole couldn't understand Harrison 's incredulity. "How do you think the city got glutted with so many children? Do you really think they all just got lost? The authorities knew the truth. Every once in a while, they'd grab as many of them as they could, put them on trains, and send them away. None of them knew where the trains were headed."

Douglas let out a sigh. "No one wanted them," he said. "And no one wanted the three of us. Adam was different. His mother had sent him away to keep him safe. She didn't abandon him."

"I don't know if my mother would have thrown me out or not," Cole remarked. His voice was devoid of emotion now. "I heard she was a nice woman. She died giving me life. Her name was Mary, and I figured I could repay her by handing her name down to our Mary Rose. Adam had the same idea about Mama Rose. Douglas decided we should combine the names."

"What about your father, Cole? Do you know anything about him?" Harrison asked.

"He kept me around for a while. Eventually he started to favor whiskey and gin more. He tried to sell me. I heard him negotiating for two bottles and I took off."

Harrison was too stunned to speak. He couldn't imagine such bleak lives. And then he began to see the wonder in it all.

He saw the brothers in a completely different light. His admiration and his respect were evident in his expression.

They had done the impossible and had flourished in spite of the odds.

"You are all men of courage."

Douglas wouldn't accept Harrison 's approbation. He shook his head.

"No, we're just men doing the best we can. We were all scared little boys back then who wanted to see that Mary Rose had someone to care about her. None of us really believed she'd make it. I didn't think any of us would. Still, she deserved a shot at life, didn't she?"

"It couldn't have been easy."

"Changing her drawers was a real bitch." Cole smiled when he made the comment.

"How did you know her real birth date? Mary Rose told me she had papers. What are they?"

"There were two papers tucked in the envelope with the money," Douglas explained. "Adam has them in the library. One of the papers has a lot of numbers scribbled on it. The other paper looks like a page from a book. Across the top was a baby girl's date of birth. Her weight and measurement were written down too."

"The page is from the family Bible."

"It is?"

"Yes," Harrison said. "Two pages were torn out. One was returned with the ransom note. It was proof they really had Victoria. Her full name was written on the bottom line."

"I told my brothers about the papers, but we were more curious about the money then. Adam was the only one who could read. He looked the papers over and told us what the words were. We kept the papers in the basket for years. We only saved them so that Mary Rose would have something from her past."

"Who taught you how to read?" Harrison asked Douglas.

"Adam taught all of us."

"Do you know who strangled the nursemaid?" Cole asked.

"No," Harrison said. "But Elliott never believed she acted alone. She wasn't smart enough to plan a kidnapping. She was also extremely timid. The woman had to have had an accomplice."

"Maybe he's dead now," Douglas said.

"It could have been a woman," Harrison reasoned.

"It was a man."

"How do you know?"

"I saw him."

Harrison sent his drink careening. He didn't even notice what he had done.

"You saw him?" His voice shook with emotion.

Douglas nodded. "I guess it's my turn to explain, isn't it?" he said. "A man got out of an expensive-looking carriage. There was a crest on the door. He wore a black cloak, like the kind rich men wear to the opera. He wore a hat with the rim pulled down over his forehead. I still saw his face. He stood right under the streetlamp and turned to look in my direction. He didn't see me though. He must have thought he'd heard a noise and that's why he turned.

Anyway, I got a good look at him. Do you want me to describe him to you?"

"How could you possibly remember? You were twelve years old, Douglas. Our memories become twisted and confused over the years. It was a long time ago."

"Tell him about your cut, Cole," Douglas suggested. The brother smiled. "We were around fifteen years old, weren't we, Douglas? I was still stupid then. I went charging into someone else's business, thinking I could swipe some animal skins. We needed coats for the winter. I figured I'd get some. I was real quiet, wasn't I, Douglas?"

"Not quiet enough, Cole."

"There must have been twenty renegades in their camp. They'd been plaguing the area, stealing and killing and burning people out, for quite a spell. Everyone was afraid of them. I was too, but I wanted the skins and I figured I had to take them, no matter how afraid I was. Every damned one of them lit out after me. I got cut across my belly. It hurt like the fires of hell. I remember the pain all right. Adam had to sew me up. Mary Rose cried while he worked on me."

"She held your hand, remember?" Travis said. Cole smiled. He remembered. "She thought it would help me to hold on to her. She was around three or four back then and as sweet and sassy as they come."

"How did you ever get away from the Indians?" Harrison asked. "I didn't do it on my own. I was busy running and then fighting for my life, and I didn't get a look at the one who cut me. Douglas did though. He was riding toward me with his shotgun up and ready. He saw the faces of the two who held me down and the third who cut me. The bastard was going to cut my guts out. Douglas started shooting just in the nick of time, and they took off running to get their guns."

Cole paused to think about the incident before continuing. Harrison was fascinated by the story, but he couldn't imagine what the incident had to do with the discussion about Mary Rose's kidnappers. He waited to find out.

"We went back. Winter set in and we had to wait. We didn't forget, and as soon the snow melted, we went after them."

"We made them admit they were the ones."

"How? Did they speak English?"

"One did a little. It didn't matter though. Douglas never, ever forgets a face."

"They boasted about cutting you, didn't they, Cole?"

"They thought their friends would get us."

"We made certain they couldn't," Travis said.

Harrison didn't ask what had happened to the Indians. He already knew.

"The tribe that threw the misfits out heard about it. They gave us wide berth from then on," Cole explained. "Now do you want to hear Douglas 's description?"

Harrison nodded. "Yes."

"The man I saw in New York City had a light-colored mustache. I couldn't see the color of his eyes. He was about six feet tall and very thin. His cheeks were sunken in like a skeleton. His nose was kind of pointed, and his lips were thin. He wore shiny black shoes, not boots. I noticed the shoes because I thought about figuring a way to steal them. The man was dressed in black, formal evening clothes.

"The woman didn't want to take the basket from him. She kept shaking her head. I wasn't close enough to hear what they were saying to each other. He pulled the envelope out of his pocket and gave it to her. She snatched it up real quick and then she took the basket."

"The man got out of the carriage with the basket?"

"Yes."

"Was she already standing there on the corner, waiting for him?"

"Yes."

"What about the driver? Did you get a look at him?"

"No. Once I saw the envelope, I kept my eye on it. She put it in her coat pocket. The man got back in the carriage and took off. She waited until he was out of sight and then started looking around for a place to get rid of Mary Rose. She chose our alley. She went running inside, threw the basket, and then took off. I waited until she reached the corner again, whistled to get Adam's attention so he'd notice the basket, and then I followed her. I took the envelope from her pocket just as she was getting on the midnight train."

Harrison leaned back in his chair. His eyes had turned cold with anger.

Cole watched him closely. "Do you know who the man was?"

Harrison slowly nodded. "I think so. I'll make certain first."

"Is he still alive?" Douglas asked.

"Yes… if he's the one, yes, he's still alive."

"Are you going after your Indian the way we did?" Cole asked.

Harrison understood what Cole was asking. He wanted to know how far Harrison would go to gain revenge. Would he retaliate the same way the brothers had against their enemy?

His answer was immediate. "Yes."

"Have you forgotten you're an attorney?" Adam asked.

"I haven't forgotten. One way or another, justice will be served. Douglas, tell me what happened once again. Start at the beginning." Douglas agreed. Harrison waited until he'd finished, then plied him with more questions. He was finally satisfied he knew everything they could tell him.

"Now what?" Travis asked. "When are you going to tell her?"

"I'm not going to tell her," Harrison answered. "I think…" Travis wouldn't let him continue. "Why should we believe you? You've done nothing but lie to us from the beginning. You never really wanted to learn how to ranch, did you?"

"Yes, I did want to learn," he answered. "I had thought that I would eventually go back to the Highlands, but now I know exactly where I'm going to settle for the rest of my life. Eventually I'll have a ranch of my own. Legal work will support me over the rougher times. All of my plans have changed," he added. "When I first came here, I wasn't even certain Mary Rose was Victoria. Yes, I saw the resemblance, but it wasn't enough. She also looks a little like you, Cole. Blue eyes, yellow hair. She's a hell of a lot prettier though. The more I found out, the more confused I became. She shouldn't have had any reason to be so reticent with me. All of you cleared up that mystery for me. As I mentioned before, the way you reacted when you found out I was an attorney was certainly curious. One night Mary Rose asked me why I spent the evenings talking to Adam. She seemed worried, and when she asked me if I questioned him about his past, I concluded she didn't want me to find out about something he'd done. If I'd spent the evenings with Travis or Cole or Douglas, she would have been just as worried, wouldn't she?"

"Probably," Cole answered. "We told her everything we'd done. She knows all about our sins."

"Yes," Harrison agreed. "So you've told me. It didn't take me long to figure out you all banded together to form your own family, but I couldn't accept the fact that you'd gotten to Montana Territory all by yourselves. I had no reason to trust any of you, just as you had no reason to trust me. All of us had our reasons. I made several mistakes along the way. Two surprised the hell out of me."

"What were your mistakes?" Douglas asked. "One, I procrastinated. I could have found out what I needed to know much sooner, but I held back. I didn't take advantage of opportunities, and that, you see, isn't at all like me. I've never been one to put off anything…"

"You haven't been here all that long. It's only been six or seven weeks," Cole reminded him.

"It seems much longer to me. I didn't realize I was dragging my feet until recently. I grew up pretty much on my own, and I've never really known what a real family was like. Each of you would give your life to keep the others safe. Such love and loyalty were foreign concepts to me. I loved my father and I was loyal to him and to my government. My loyalty extended to Elliott too. There's a bond between us because of what we've both been through, but it isn't at all the same."

"The same as what?" Cole asked, trying to understand.

"The bond between brothers and sisters," Harrison explained. "You constantly amazed me. You insult each other. You're loud and forceful. You argue all the time, push and shove each other, and, honest to God, how I envied you. All of these years I pictured Lady Victoria as a victim. God was certainly watching out for her though. He gave her the four of you."

Harrison paused to draw a breath. "Cole, every time you shoved me the way I'd watched you shove Travis and Douglas, and every time you threatened me or laughed at me, I felt like I was part of your family."

The brothers were moved by Harrison 's honesty. Cole understood what Harrison was saying far better than the others, however. He still remembered the loneliness and desolation he'd experienced before Adam had taken him under his wing.

"What was your other big mistake?" Adam asked. "You said you'd made several along the way, but two really took you by surprise."

Harrison nodded. He remembered what he'd said. "I fell in love with your sister."

Cole shook his head. "She's going to hate you because you deceived her."

"For a little while, I imagine she will," Harrison agreed. "It won't matter though. I want all of you to understand my intentions here and now. I will have her."

The force in his words got their full attention. No one knew what to make of his vehement statement.

"What exactly do you mean?" Cole asked.

"I'm a man of honor," Harrison began. "At least I like to believe I am."

"And?" Cole persisted.

"I'm telling you my intent."

"But what exactly are you telling us?" Travis asked.

"I've protected your sister and pretty much left her alone. I'm going to continue to protect her, but from this moment on, I assure you I have no intention of leaving her alone. I've told myself all the reasons why I don't deserve her, and none of them matter any longer. I'll never have enough money. Travis, one day I think you'll understand that truth as well. Elliott would marry her to someone far more worthy by society's standards, but not by mine. No one will ever love her the way I do. She will belong to me."

Cole's mouth dropped open. He'd never heard Harrison sound so passionate. Douglas was just as thunderstruck. "Are you saying you're going to seduce our sister?"

"Yes."

"You can't be serious…" Travis began.

"I meant every word I just said. She's going to belong to me. Forever. She'll carry my name and bear my children."

Travis shook his head. "I can't believe you've got the guts to tell us what you're planning to do."

"Do you really think we'll let you try to touch her?" Cole asked.

Harrison lost his patience. "Try? I don't ever try anything. I do exactly what I say I'm going to do."

Douglas smiled. "Don't you think Mary Rose ought to have a say about her seduction? We all know you wouldn't force her."

"No, I wouldn't ever force her to do anything she doesn't want to do. She loves me, but she hasn't figured it all out just yet. She will though. She's a very intelligent woman. She'll give me permission before I bed her, and bed her I will."

"So you say," Cole snapped. "Adam, what do you think about this?"

"She does love him," Adam replied. " Harrison 's right about that."

" Harrison, you haven't already…" Travis was going to ask if he'd already seduced Mary Rose and then stopped himself. The look Harrison gave him made the hair stand up on the back of his neck.

Cole laughed. "Hell, Travis, he wouldn't be in such a foul mood if he'd bedded her."

"You're talking about our sister, I'll have you remember," Travis muttered.

"What about Lord Elliott?" Adam asked. "You said he'd marry her to someone more willing. Does that mean you're planning to tell him you found his daughter or are you going to let it rest?"

"I'm going to tell him, of course," Harrison answered. "He has a right to know, Adam. His agony will finally be over. The man has suffered long enough."

No one said a word for a long minute. The brothers were all thinking about Mary Rose's father and trying to imagine what it must have been like for him to lose his daughter.

Adam finally broke the silence. "Yes, he has suffered long enough. I wouldn't have stopped looking for my daughter. I'm certain I would have been as obsessed with finding her as Elliott was. Dear God, the agony he and his wife endured. It makes my heart ache to think about it. His misery became our blessing," he added with a nod. "I wonder if he'll understand."

"I'll make him understand," Harrison assured the brother. "He won't blame you or send anyone after you. Mary Rose has a family back in England. There are aunts and uncles and cousins too numerous to count. Your sister has a title and wealth. Elliott won't come here to see her. He won't have to. She'll go to him."

"How can you be so certain?" Douglas asked. "You said a few minutes ago that you wouldn't tell her. Have you changed your mind?"

"No, I haven't changed my mind."

"Well then?" Cole asked.

"I won't tell her. You will."

No one said a word for a long while. Harrison thought the brothers were busy wrestling with their consciences.

They would eventually do the right thing. He had lived with them long enough to know without a doubt that they would be honorable.

Adam made the decision for the others. "Yes, we'll tell her."

"She won't want to leave," Cole argued.

"It doesn't have to be forever," Adam countered. "She does have an obligation, however."

"She won't see it that way," Travis said.

"You know your sister as well as I do. Do you really believe she'll let Elliott suffer any longer?"

"Damn it, she doesn't even know him," Douglas said.

"She'll have to go and meet him. She'll want to put his mind at ease. With gentle prodding, Mary Rose will do the right thing. She'll want to procrastinate perhaps, but we won't let her. You know I'm right, Douglas. I don't like this any better than you do."

Harrison was sympathetic. "You have no one to blame but yourselves," he said. "You raised her to be noble."

"When are you leaving?" Douglas asked.

"Soon," Harrison answered. "I've stayed too long as it is," he added. "Elliott is depending on me to take over the negotiations for a merger he put together."

"The sooner you leave the better as far as I'm concerned," Travis said. "You didn't have to tell us about Elliott, you know. He's an old man, isn't he? And he'd already given up. Why did you have to take over his hunt?"

"Because I felt it was my duty to take over for him. If you knew him, you would understand."

"I think you should leave before we tell Mary Rose," Adam said. "Why?".

"It will be easier for everyone," Adam replied. "Exactly how will it be easier?" Harrison asked. Adam refused to explain. The set look on his face told Harrison it would be pointless to argue.

"When are you going to tell her?" he asked. "When we're ready. My brothers and I are going to discuss the situation first. We'll decide what's to be done, and when. I don't want you to leave just yet, however. I'm certain I'll have more questions I'll want answered before Mary Rose finds out anything." Harrison pushed his chair back and stood up. "I know you've had quite a blow. If I could have changed things, I would have. Hell, Elliott didn't ask to be thrown into purgatory. You've had her long enough. You've watched her grow up. Her father never experienced any of the joy of her childhood. Let him at least meet her now. He needs to see her, to know she's all right."

"I've already explained Mary Rose will want to do that much," Adam responded.

"Don't put it off," Harrison pressed. "I'll give you one week, two, if I can wait that long. I hope to God you decide to tell her soon. I think you're wrong to want me to leave before you talk to her, but the decision is yours to make and I will respect it. I'll wait fourteen days. If you haven't gotten all your questions answered by then, it'll be too late. Don't you dare ask me again, Cole," he added when he caught the look on the brother's face. "I've given you my word. I won't tell Mary Rose about her father now, and I won't tell her in fourteen days. I'll simply leave. I'm going back to London, and I will tell Elliott the minute I see him."

Harrison started to leave the room. "You have quite a lot to talk over. I'll leave you to it."

"Wait a minute," Cole called out. "Are you planning to seduce our sister before or after we've told her about her father?"

"I should wait, but I'm not going to."

"Son-of-a…" Cole whispered.

Harrison interrupted him before he could complete the blasphemy. "I've given you my intentions and my terms. I suggest you accept them."

He pulled the door closed behind him.

The younger brothers turned to Adam. Cole asked, "What are we going to do?"

"We don't have to do anything," Douglas argued. "You heard Harrison. He said Elliott wouldn't come here."

"He also said Elliott wouldn't have to," Travis interjected. "Mary Rose would go to him."

"I want to hate him," Cole whispered, his voice harsh with worry.

"How can you want to hate Elliott?" Adam asked.

"I was talking about Harrison," Cole said. "He's trying to tear this family apart."

"He isn't trying now. He's done it," Travis said.

"We have to do the right thing," Douglas whispered. Oh, how he hated having to admit it. "She's got to go and meet him."

Travis and Cole exchanged a worried look. Of the four brothers, they were the most vulnerable and the most afraid. The future was filled with unknowns, and each was thinking he would have to face it alone.

Mary Rose had been their reason for joining together and becoming a family. She was the force that held them all together. When she left, wouldn't their purpose for being a family end?

Cole had known the day would come when she married and moved away. He had stubbornly refused to think about it. England was an ocean away, however, and the possibility that he would never see his sister again filled him with anguish.

"Our sister is all grown up," he said. "It happened overnight, didn't it? I knew she'd leave one day, but I didn't…"

He left the sentence unfinished. "Is it time for all of us to move on?"

"It's too soon to think about plans like that," Douglas said. "Cole, you wanted to buy that piece of land near the ridge that joins our land. Weren't you thinking about building your own place there?"

"You know I was," Cole said.

"I don't see how anything changes. Travis does so much traveling around, he isn't home much. Even if the family breaks apart, we're still in business together."

Adam let his brothers worry out loud for a long while. Finally he had had enough of their self-pity, and forced them back to the immediate problem.

"Talking about our future plans can wait until later. Mary Rose is our concern now. She's going to be upset about all of this. I don't believe she should have time to worry about it. She can get used to the idea of a father on the way to England."

"Are you saying she should leave as soon as possible?" Travis asked.

Adam nodded. "Yes."

Cole reluctantly agreed. "The sooner she leaves, the sooner she'll be back."

"If she comes back," Travis said.

Everyone worried about the possibility once again. Then Adam said, "You heard Harrison say Elliott's a very wealthy man. Mary Rose has led a sheltered life here."

"She went to school in St. Louis," Douglas interjected. "She's seen some of the world."

"The boarding school was isolated from the city. She was sheltered there as well," Adam said.

"What are you worried about?" Cole asked. "Do you think her head will be turned by all the glitter?"

"No," Adam replied. "I just don't know how she'll handle the changes. I don't want her feeling… vulnerable."

"She makes friends easy," Douglas said.

"I don't like the notion of anyone hurting her feelings. I don't want her thinking she's inadequate," Adam said.

"Who will go with her?" Travis asked.

"All of us," Cole answered.

"Be reasonable," Douglas said. "We can't leave. We have responsibilities here."

"We're her past," Adam said. "As much as it pains me to say it, none of us can go with her."

"Are you suggesting we send her off alone?" Travis asked. He was appalled by the idea.

" Harrison could take her," Travis said.

None of the other brothers liked his suggestion. Adam finally came up with another one they found more acceptable.

"Eleanor could go with her. They could look out for each other. They're getting along just fine now, aren't they? Mary Rose has a good head. She'll do the right thing. I don't have any doubts about that."

"She came back from St. Louis alone," Cole said. "She knows how to handle herself around strangers. I made sure she could use a gun too. Adam's right. She'll be all right."

"The Cohens are going back east for some sort of family celebration. I have to go to Hammond again to sell those two horses. I'll stop by and find out the particulars. Maybe it would work out, and Eleanor and Mary Rose could ride with them."

"It sure would be nice if it worked out. I trust John Cohen," Cole said.

"We have to give the money back."

Douglas made the announcement. Everyone turned to him. "What money?" Cole asked.

"Elliott's money," Douglas explained. "Whoever kidnapped Mary Rose must have taken the money too. We used every bit of what was inside the envelope, and so now we have to give it back. Adam, do we have enough set aside?"

"Yes," Adam said. "And I agree. The money was probably stolen from Elliott, and we should give it back. We'll be stretched tight for a while. I'm sorry now we purchased the cattle, but we already gave the money and it's too late to back out."

The brothers continued to discuss their concerns well into the night. Adam finally decided to go to bed. "We'll tell her together," he said.

"When?" Cole asked. He stood up and stretched his muscles. "Let's ponder the 'when' tomorrow," Adam suggested. Travis and Cole both acted as though they'd just been given a stay of execution from the hanging tree. They had at least twenty-four more hours to pretend everything was all right.

"What are we going to do about Harrison? Why didn't you want him to stay until after we told Mary Rose?" Douglas asked Adam. "I need to question him about Elliott," Adam explained. "I have to find out what she's walking into. I want to know all about Elliott and what kind of life he leads. I have to be able to prepare Mary Rose. Harrison is the only one who can give me the information I need."

"We're going to have to make sure he stays away from our sister," Travis insisted.

Cole shook his head. "Damn it all, a man should have to say his vows before he claims his bride."

Adam leaned back in his chair. "I believe that's exactly what Harrison just did."

February 7, 1867

Dear Mama Rose,

We have a surprise for you. My brothers and I have been tucking a little money away for this fine day. We believe we have enough now for Cole and Douglas to come and fetch you. Hear me out, Mama, before you start shaking your head. First of all, if you're worried about the cost, then don't. We have worked everything out and once you get settled here, you'll see we're just doing fine. It's still winter, of course, and my brothers won't be able to leave until after spring roundup. I have to chuckle about our herd. We started with two breeding cows and now we have ten. We'll have five more after the birthings. It won't take us any time at all to gather ours up, but neighbors help neighbors, and so we'll give a hand to the Pearlman family. They have around eighty steers now. They've been mighty generous to us. They don't charge us for the services of their bull. We've promised to buy one of our own, and when we do, we'll reciprocate the kindness.

You're worried about Livonia, aren't you? I know she's blind, Mama, and depends on you for every little thing, but we need you too. If you train someone else to take over your chores, Livonia will get along just fine. She has two sons to look after her. I know they're bad-natured, but they are her sons and therefore responsible for her. Livonia will understand. Please don't argue with us. We've waited long enough and so have you. Our minds are set. Unless we hear from you, Cole and Douglas will be knocking on your door around the first of June.

Love,

John Quincy Adam Clayborne