' Harrison 's gawking at Mary Rose.'
'I was simply taking inventory of her injuries,' Harrison defended. 'You're very resilient, Mary Rose. You're to be complimented for your stamina.'
'I'm not at all delicate,' she replied. She gave Adam a quick frown before she added, 'My brothers can't seem to understand that fact.'
'Don't start with us, Mary Rose,' Cole warned.
'Don't start what?' she asked, looking as sweet and innocent as a babe.
'You look delicate,' Harrison admitted out loud.
'Well, I'm not, so don't get the notion you can tell me what to do. I get enough of that nonsense around here.'
Harrison raised an eyebrow over the vehemence in her tone of voice. Mary Rose obviously was in a rotten mood. He wasn't certain what had set her off, but he was intelligent enough not to ask her to tell him what the problem was. She looked as if she wanted to tear someone's head off. His, he decided, was fine right where it was.
'Don't ask her any questions,' Cole said in a loud whisper.
'I wouldn't dare,' Harrison replied.
'What was it you wanted to talk to me about?' Adam asked Cole.
' Harrison,' Cole answered. 'I wanted to talk to you about our houseguest. I got tired of waiting for you to finish talking with Eleanor, so I went back to work. Anyway, I know now why Harrison asks so many questions. He just can't help it. You heard what he said about cross-examining us in a courtroom, so you've figured out by now…'
'He's a lawyer,' Travis interjected before his brother could finish.
Cole frowned at his brother because he'd stolen his thunder. Then he put the rudeness aside and continued on.
'He thought he had told us, but I think maybe he forgot on purpose. He must have guessed we wouldn't have allowed him to stay with us if we'd known what he did for a living. We got our standards, after all.'
Douglas looked stunned by the news. Cole was puzzled by his reaction.
'Weren't you listening to him a couple of minutes ago? Only lawyers cross-examine people,' Cole said.
'I wasn't paying attention,' Douglas admitted. 'Why didn't he admit it to us? He had plenty of opportunities.'
'It's extremely rude to talk about a guest when he's in the room,' Harrison interjected.
'Isn't it better than waiting for him to leave and then talking about him behind his back?' Cole asked.
'You shouldn't talk about him at all,' Harrison instructed.
'Why didn't you tell us?' Douglas asked.
'He thought he had mentioned it,' Cole said. 'Everyone in town knows, even Dooley.'
'Well, we didn't know, now did we?' Douglas said. 'Honest to heaven, I'm mad enough to hit him.'
'I already did,' Cole boasted.
'Yes, he did,' Mary Rose said. Her frown was scorching. 'Right in Morrison's kitchen. Your brother has excellent table manners, Adam. Wouldn't you agree, Harrison?'
Everyone at the table turned to see whose side he was going to take. Harrison decided to be completely honest with his answer. 'Perhaps,' he allowed. 'However, I will admit I was going to hit him back, but then I noticed you were watching.'
'You knew I was watching?' she asked.
He nodded. Her frown intensified. 'Yet you still let Catherine Morrison drape herself all over you?'
'She wasn't draped all over me, was she, Cole?'
Since their guest had defended him a minute ago, Cole felt he had to do the same.
'No, she wasn't. She was just being polite, wasn't she, Travis?'
'Maybe a little too polite for my liking,' Travis said. 'But she was real polite with me too, so I guess it was all right.'
'In other words, she was also draped all over you,' Mary Rose snapped.
Harrison happened to look at Adam then. He was surprised to notice he was smiling. Mary Rose's reaction to Catherine obviously amused him.
'Why do you care what she does to Harrison?' Cole asked.
'I happen to believe a hostess should be a little less hospitable,' she muttered.
'She was hospitable all right,' Cole replied.
'Mary Rose, if you'd quit being stubborn and let go of your grudge against Catherine because of the things she did to you when you were little girls, you'd see what a nice woman she's become. Why, she's sweet and innocent and kind-hearted.'
Adam suddenly changed the subject.
'I have a question I'd like to ask all of you,' he announced. He waited until he had everyone's undivided attention, and then said, 'I'm curious to know where all of you were while Mary Rose was getting beaten. Anyone mind telling me?'
Everyone started explaining at the same time. Cole was so rattled by what he felt was implied criticism, he forgot to speak French while he gave his list of reasons why he wasn't looking out for their sister.
Mary Rose was right in the middle of the shouting match. She kept insisting she was perfectly capable of looking out for herself. No one paid any attention to a word she said.
Harrison was fascinated by the change that had come over Adam. He was, as an Englishman would say, bloody furious. It was the first time the oldest brother had ever shown real emotion. The look in his eyes was every bit as chilling as his voice. Travis was coming up with some dandies for why he wasn't watching out for his sister. Cole wasn't making much sense at all, and Douglas was still trying to get his excuses in.
Just as surprising to Harrison was his own behavior. He hadn't simply joined in the argument. He was in the thick of it. He was every bit as loud and obnoxious as Cole was each time he tried to be heard over the others.
He was having the time of his life. Suppers back home were always dignified. And boring. No one ever spoke above a whisper, and no one ever interrupted anyone else to make a point. Only unimportant issues were ever discussed, and Harrison hadn't realized until now how terribly dull his life had been, and how very, very controlled.
'Adam, will you please listen to me,' Mary demanded in a near shout. She pounded her hand on the table to get his attention. 'I want you to acknowledge that I am a fully grown woman and can take care of myself. Don't you realize how insulting this discussion is to me?'
She didn't like his answer. 'You may be excused now, sister. Why don't you go into the parlor and practice your music? I haven't heard you playing in a long while.'
She wanted to protest. The look on her brother's face changed her mind.
Everyone stood up when she left the dining room. They were following Harrison 's lead. As soon as their sister was out of sight, they sat back down and started yelling again.
Harrison didn't continue to fight for Adam's attention. He leaned back in his chair and watched the brothers battle it out.
Cole had calmed down sufficiently enough to speak French again. He was now cursing in the language. He seemed to know every colorful blasphemy in the French vocabulary.
'Honest to God, she was there one minute, then she was gone. All I did was turn around and she disappeared on me.'
His explanation was the only one that made any sense. Travis was still hedging with his excuses, and nothing he said was at all plausible. Douglas was fully occupied accusing Cole of not paying attention. He reminded his brothers that he was inside the stable and therefore couldn't possibly have been expected to watch Mary Rose. No man could be in two places at the same time.
'Then why did you expect me to be inside the general store and outside at the same time?' Cole asked.
'All right, all right,' Travis shouted. 'I was on my way over to see Catherine. I should have stayed in town, but I thought you were watching her, Douglas.'
Adam turned his gaze on Harrison. 'And what were you doing?'
He didn't give any excuses. 'I take full responsibility. I got involved in a discussion about the cattle roundup
