Did that aunt call her ungrateful? Mary Rose thought she might.'
Mary Rose stared at her plate. 'I hurt my father, didn't I?'
Harrison didn't soften the truth. 'Yes.'
'I wish he could understand,' she whispered.
'Sweetheart, he had plenty of time to try. He never gave you a chance. I think I might have made a sound argument. He seemed to understand when I was finished. I'm still not sure. I didn't want to wait around to find out.'
'Why didn't they like her?' Cole asked.
'They wanted Victoria back. None of them could accept the fact that Mary Rose hadn't been a victim all those years. In their minds, they believed she'd been deprived because she hadn't been surrounded by riches. None of them took the time to get to know her. They were too busy trying to create someone else. It was crazy, all of it. They had this image of how she would have turned out, and they were all trying to mold her into what they wanted her to be.'
'Their masterpiece,' Mary Rose said.
'Why didn't you punch your aunt when she told you to think of yourself as a blank canvas?' Harrison asked.
Doing such an outrageous thing was absurd to her. She burst into laughter just thinking about it.
'My Aunt Barbara gave me that suggestion. I could never have hurt her. She had my best interests at heart.'
'Are you going to take her back to England and try again, Harrison?' Douglas asked.
'No.'
The brothers smiled. They didn't need to know specific plans tonight.
They stayed at the table another half hour or so talking. The discussion eventually circled back to Adam, but Mary Rose had finished eating by then.
'What can we do to help?'
'Quite a lot,' Harrison answered. 'I'll give you all the particulars as we go along. When we're inside the courtroom, I don't want Mary Rose sitting by Adam. Cole, you sit on Adam's right side and I'll sit on his left side. Travis and Douglas will put Mary Rose between them in the first row behind the table. If there's a recess called, when you sit down again, sit in the same places.'
'Why can't I sit next to Adam?' she asked.
'I want you to separate yourself from him as much as possible,' he answered.
His blunrness took all of them by surprise. None of the brothers looked angry though. They looked curious to find out his reason.
'If you put your hand on his or hug him or pat him, all everyone is going to see is a white woman touching a black man. People know all about your family, and they somewhat accept Adam now. Don't push them, Mary Rose. I don't want anyone to forget he's your brother. We aren't just fighting a murder charge now. Hell, that would be easy. We're fighting prejudice too. I don't want to hear any argument about this,' he added when she looked like she wanted to disagree with him. 'You'll all show your support for Adam as a family, but not as individuals.'
'Why did you choose Cole to sit next to Adam instead of Travis or me?' Douglas asked.
'For intimidation purposes. He makes people nervous.'
Cole smiled. 'I do, don't I?'
'Yes, you do. The jury will hear all the evidence, and Cole's going to stare at every one of those twelve faces and act like he's memorizing each reaction.'
'Couldn't that backfire?' Douglas asked.
'In a more sophisticated courtroom, it probably would backfire, but not out here. Mary Rose once told me people are more concerned about surviving than worrying about what other people do. I want the jury to think about surviving Cole's wrath if they let their prejudice guide their decision.'
'You fight dirty,' Cole said. 'I like that.'
'I might remind all of you that what I'm now saying is privileged information. Got that?'
Mary Rose yawned. Harrison immediately took her back up to their bedroom.
'I have a surprise for you. Sit down on the bed and close your eyes.'
She did as he ordered. She peeked once and saw him pulling clothes out of his satchel.
'Are they closed?' he asked.
She squeezed them tight. She felt him brush her hair away from her face, and then she felt something cold around her neck.
She knew what it was before she opened her eyes.
'Mama's locket,' she cried out. 'Where did you…'
She couldn't go on. She'd started crying again.
'It was wedged between the mattress and the headboard.'
She threw herself into his arms and thanked him over and over again. It didn't take him any time at all to want her again. They fell on top of the covers and made wild, passionate love.
He knew the blissful interlude would have to last them a long time.
The storm was coming.
Mary Rose saw little of Harrison during the next week. He spent most of his days over at Belle's house, pouring over the letters they'd all sent to Mama Rose that the Adderley boys had taken. At night he sat in the library and read the letters their mother had written them. He took page after page of notes, and when he wasn't working, he sat on the porch to think and plan.
She didn't have to ask him what progress he was making. His grim expression told her everything she needed to know. She felt completely useless and powerless. She asked him every single morning if there was some little thing she could do to help him. His answer was always the same. If he thought of something, he'd let her know.
The closer to trial the more preoccupied he became. She didn't feel at all slighted, even when he would go up to bed without telling her good night. He was thinking about the case, and that was all she wanted from him.
They came together as a family on Sunday for supper. She made a promise that no matter what, the meal would be pleasant, and so, every time someone mentioned anything having to do with the trial, she quickly changed the subject.
Everyone caught on to her game. They went along with it too, and in no time at all, Travis was even able to smile about something she'd told him.
'Cole, you never asked me about Eleanor. Aren't you curious what happened to her?'
He shrugged. 'Is she happy?'
'Yes,' Mary Rose answered. 'She went to work for my Aunt Lillian.'
'The general? Eleanor's got more guts than I thought. Good for her.'
Harrison smiled. 'You call your aunt a general?'
'She acts like one,' Mary Rose admitted. 'Corrie left me a note yesterday. Would you like me to read it to you?'
'No.' All four brothers shouted the word together. Then they burst into laughter.
She wasn't put off by their rudeness. 'I'll be happy to read it to you, Harrison.'
'Sweetheart, I've already heard it three times. Corrie wants you to bring her another book.'
'And?'
'She's happy you're home. You're sure pretty when you blush.'
'I'm not blushing. I don't mind my brothers laughing at me. They can't help being uncivilized at the table. Ignore them.'
'I think I missed being uncivilized most of all while we were in England.'
'Oh, Lord. Have I married someone just like my brothers?'
'I hope so. It would be the highest compliment you could give me.'
'I told you he liked us,' Cole drawled out, embarrassed by his own reaction to Harrison 's praise.
'Someone's coming up to the house,' Douglas announced. 'He's dressed in a suit and driving a buggy.'
Harrison stood up. 'It's Alfred Mitchell,' he guessed. 'He's the attorney we hired to do some work for us. You wait here,' he told the brothers when they all started to get up. 'I want to talk to him alone first. You can meet him
