'Captain, we were sent to find you.'
'What?' Malachi asked warily.
'Judge Sherman Woods sent us out. I can't make promises—'
'I wouldn't trust a promise from a Yank anyway,' Malachi interrupted.
'You've got a beautiful wife, captain. Do you really want to spend the rest of your life running? Or do you want to take a minute and listen to me?'
'Start talking.'
'I can't leave, captain. So to get away from me, you're going to have to kill these men. If you come in with me, I'll promise you and your brothers a fair trial.'
'What's to make me think the Union will keep this promise?'
'You'll have to trust Judge Woods, Captain Slater. You went to him for help, and he wants to help. But you have to give him the chance to do so.'
'I'm sorry—' Malachi began.
'Malachi!' Shannon cried in anguish. 'Please! For God's sake, please! Give us this chance.'
He was very still for a long time. Tall, proud, his Confederate greatcoat over his shoulders, his plumed hat waving in the breeze. His jaw was hard, his eyes cold, his chin rigid and high.
Then he exhaled and tossed his gun down.
'I couldn't shoot those boys anyway,' he said quietly. 'I just couldn't kill any more damned children. They say that the war is over. Major, we'll have to see if it is.'
Major Taylor nodded. 'Captain, will you do something for me?'
'What's that?'
'Go talk to your brothers. If I can, I'd like to avoid being a target for a Slater.'
Malachi nodded. He reached out a hand to Shannon, and she ran to his side. Together, they walked through the woods with Major Taylor behind them.
When they reached the others, Jamie instantly drew his gun. Cole and Matthew followed suit.
'Kurt!' Cole said, slowly lowering his Colt. 'What's going on?'' he asked Malachi.
'You do know this fellow?' Malachi asked Cole.
Cole nodded. 'What—'
'Judge Woods sent me out to find you. We'll give you a fair trial in Missouri. It will be fair, I swear it on my honor.'
Cole looked at Malachi, a question in his eyes.
'I'm tired of running,' Malachi said. 'And honor is honor. Blue or gray. I believe this man has some. I've already surrendered to him.'
'Well,' said Cole, 'it's what we wanted when we talked to Judge Woods. Jamie?'
Jamie shrugged his shoulders. 'I don't trust Yankee honor much, but I'll go with you and Malachi, Cole.'
The two men dropped their guns on the ground.
'I just hope I don't end up hanging,' Jamie muttered.
'You won't hang!' Shannon cried. She clung to Mala-chi's hand. She wouldn't let him hang. She couldn't.
Malachi turned to her. He swept off his hat and took her into his arms and kissed her long and deep for everyone to see. Then he broke away from her, replacing his hat on his head. He strode over to the bay and mounted. 'Whenever you're ready, major. Your prisoner, sir.' He saluted sharply.
Major Taylor saluted in return.
Cole kissed Kristin, and he and Jamie followed Malachi's lead, mounting their horses.
Then they rode away, without looking back.
Kristin started to sob. Matthew came up to her and put his arm around her, and then he gathered Shannon to him, too. 'It's going to be all right. I swear to you, it will be all right.'
'It will be!' Shannon agreed fiercely. 'It has to be.'
Iris cleared her throat. 'I managed to make the fire, and Jamie managed to shoot the rabbits. Let's sit down and eat. And then we can head back and plan some strategy.'
'She learns really fast,' Matthew said with a grin. 'Let's eat.'
She tried to smile. She could not. But she slipped her arm around Kristin's waist and led her to the fire.
They did eat. When they were done, Kristin mounted with Matthew and Shannon sat behind Iris, and they started their cold, lonely trek back home to Missouri.
The trial took place in Springfield. The courthouse was crowded with spectators, and with artists from
Shannon had visited Malachi in jail, and she hated the experience. He was distant from her there. She knew that he loved her, and that he was in jail for her sake. But not even for her would he deny any of his brothers, and he explained to her that the brothers had determined to stand together. They would not opt for separate legal representation, nor would Jamie and Malachi seek lesser charges.
Malachi smiled ruefully to Shannon through the heavy iron bars of the jail. 'We are all innocent.'
'Cole wouldn't want you to hang because he rode with Quantrill.'
'Tell me, Shannon, could you bear it if Cole were to hang because he sought to avenge the death of a beautiful and innocent bride? His wife, a woman carrying his child? She was my sister-in-law. I would have joined Cole at any time; I was already in the Confederate cavalry.'
'Malachi—'
'If you love me, Shannon, you must love me for the man that I am. My brothers and I stand together.'
She turned away, tears in her eyes. Cole already would have tried to convince Malachi and Jamie to save themselves. The Slaters were a stubborn lot.
And no…she could not bear it if Cole were to hang! They had all paid enough; the war was over. She could not accept any further horror—they had to win.
The first day of the trial was wretched, although their lawyer, Mr. Abernathy, was a skilled defender, with a sure belief in the Slater brothers' innocence. Shannon was pleased with him, even if he didn't pressure the men to stand alone. But Taylor Green, the prosecuting attorney, scared her. He seemed to personally want the Slater brothers to hang, all three.
When the trial started, Green immediately struck upon Cole Slater's association with William Quantrill. There were dozens of witnesses to testify to that association. But they weren't necessary, for at the end Cole quietly admitted to it. In a low, controlled voice he described the scene at his own ranch, years before, at the very outbreak of the war, when the jayhawkers had come to kill his wife. Shannon listened to him, and ached for him. He did not break or falter, but she saw it all through his eyes. She saw his young wife, she heard the woman screaming, and running, running, trying to reach her husband. He made them feel what it was like, to catch her as she fell, to feel her blood upon his hands…
The court was still when he finished. Not even Mr. Taylor Green managed to speak for several seconds.
And then there was a recess for the day.
Kristin came to the witness stand the next day and described in graphic detail how Zeke Moreau had murdered their father, and how Cole Slater had ridden to their rescue.
'Against the bushwhackers?' the prosecuting attorney asked her scathingly. 'You want us to believe, Mrs. Slater, that your husband rode against his old comrades at arms? Maybe they just made a deal there instead, isn't that possible?'
'No, sir, it isn't possible at all,' Kristin said. 'He came and saved our lives. And he returned with Malachi and Jamie Slater to save the lives of half a Union company when Zeke Moreau came back again.'
Kristin was fierce and beautiful and unfaltering. Taylor Green did not care to have her on the stand long.
Malachi was called.
He walked to the witness stand in full dress uniform, and Shannon's heart felt as if it had been torn. He was tall and straight, distinguished and ruggedly indomitable, and he was the handsome cavalier who had captured her heart.
'Captain Slater—well, of course, you are a civilian now, aren't you, sir?'
'The war is over,' Malachi said flatly.
'But you choose to wear that uniform.'
