Kristin didn't say anything. She knew all the blood had fled from her face.
Bill Anderson forked up a piece of pie. 'Yep, Cole Slater was just the same as Zeke Moreau. Just the same.'
Malachi was on his feet in a second, his knife at Anderson's throat. 'My brother was never anything like Zeke Moreau!'
Jamie jumped up behind him. He was so tense that Jamie couldn't pull him away. Kristin rushed around and tugged at his arm. 'Malachi!'
He backed away. Bill Anderson stood and straightened his jacket. He gazed at Malachi, murder in his eyes. 'You'll die for that, Slater.'
'Maybe I'll die, but not for that, Anderson!' Malachi said.
'Gentlemen, gentlemen!' Kristin breathed, using her softest voice. 'Please, aren't we forgetting ourselves here?'
It worked. Like most young men in the South, they had both been taught to be courteous to females, that a lack of manners was a horrible fault. They stepped away from each other, but their tempers were still hot.
'You came here just to do that, didn't you?' Malachi said quietly. 'Just to upset my sister-in-law. I'm willing to bet Zeke Moreau asked you to do it.'
'Maybe, and maybe not,' Anderson said. He reached over to the sideboard for his hat.
'Maybe she's just got the right to know that Cole Slater was a bushwhacker. You want to deny that, Malachi?'
Kristin looked at Malachi. His face was white, but he said nothing.
Anderson slammed his hat on his head. He turned to Kristin. 'Mighty obliged for the meal, ma'am. Mighty obliged. Cap'n Quantrill wants you to know that you should feel safe, and he's sorry about any harm that's been done to you or yours. If he had understood that your loyalties lay with the Confederacy, none of it would have come about.'
It was a lie, a bald-faced lie, but Kristin didn't say anything. Anderson turned around, and she heard the door slam shut as he left the house.
Delilah came in from the kitchen. The old grandfather clock in the parlor struck the hour. They all stood there, just stood there, dead still, until they heard Bill Anderson mount his horse, until they heard the hoofbeats disappear across the Missouri dust.
Then Kristin spun around, gripping the back of a chair and staring hard at Malachi. 'Is it true?'
'Kristin —' he began unhappily.
'Is it true?' she screeched. 'Is Cole one of them?'
'No!' Jamie protested, stepping forward. 'He isn't one of them, not now.'
She whirled around again, looking at Jamie. 'But he was! That's the truth, isn't it?'
'Yes, damn it, all right, he was. But there was a damned good reason for it.'
'Jamie!' Malachi snapped.
'Oh, God!' Kristin breathed. She came around and fell into the chair. Malachi tried to take her hand. She wrenched it away and jumped to her feet. 'Don't, please don't! Can't you understand? They are murderers! They dragged my father out and they killed him!'
'There are a lot of murderers in this war, Kristin,' Malachi said. 'Quantrill isn't the only one.'
'It was Quantrill's men who killed my father,' she said dully. 'It was Quantrill's men who came after me.'
Malachi didn't come near her again. He stood at the end of the table, his face pinched. 'Kristin, Cole's business is Cole's business, and when he chooses, maybe he'll explain things to you. He's asked us to mind our own concerns. Maybe he knew you'd react just like this if you heard something. I don't know. But you remember this while you're busy hating him. He stumbled into this situation. He didn't come here to hurt you.' He turned and walked to the door.
'He rode with Quantrill!' she whispered desperately.
'He's done the best he knows how for you,' Malachi said quietly. He paused and looked back at her. 'You might want to let your sister go when you get the chance. I tied her up downstairs so she wouldn't take a trip up here to meet
Bill Anderson. He might not have liked what she had to say very much… and he might have liked the way that she looked too much.'
He went out. The clock suddenly seemed to be ticking very loudly. Kristin looked miserably at Jamie.
He tried to smile, but the attempt fell flat. 'I guess I can't tell you too much of anything, Kristin. But I love my brother, and I think he's a fine man. There are things that maybe you can't understand just yet, and they are his business to discuss.' He paused, watching her awkwardly. Then he shrugged and he, too, left her.
It wasn't a good day. She sat there for a long time. She even forgot about Shannon, and it was almost an hour before she went downstairs to release her. When she did, it was as if she had let loose a wounded tigress. Shannon cursed and ranted and raved and swore that someday, somehow, if the war didn't kill Malachi, she would see to it that he was laid out herself.
She would probably have gone out and torn Malachi to shreds right then and there, but fortunately he had ridden out to take a look at some fencing.
Shannon was even furious with Kristin. 'How could you? How could you? You let that man into our house, into Pa's house! After everything that has been done —'
'I did it so that Quantrill would leave us alone from now on! Maybe you've forgotten Zeke. I haven't!'
'Wait until Matthew comes back!' Shannon cried. 'He'll take care of the Quantrill murderers and Malachi and —'
'Shannon,' Kristin said wearily, 'I thought you were going to take care of Malachi yourself?' She was hurt, and she was tired, and she couldn't keep the anger from her voice. 'If you want to kill one of the Slater brothers, why don't you go after the right one?'
'What do you mean?' Shannon demanded.
'Cole,' Kristin said softly. She stared ruefully at her sister. 'Cole Slater. The man I married. He rode with Quantrill, Shannon. He was one of them.'
'Cole?' Shannon's beautiful eyes were fierce. 'I don't believe you!'
'It's the truth. That's why Bill Anderson came here. He wanted me to know that I had married a man every bit as bad as Zeke Moreau.'
'He's lying.'
'He wasn't lying. Malachi admitted it.'
'Then Malachi was lying.'
'No, Shannon. You two have your differences, but Malachi wouldn't lie to me.'
Shannon was silent for several seconds. Then she turned on Kristin. 'They are Missourians, Kristin. They can't help being Confederates. We were Confederates, I guess, until… until they came for Pa. Until Matthew joined up with the Union. And if Cole did ride with Quantrill, well, I'm sure he had his reasons. Cole is nothing like Zeke. You know that, and I know that.'
Kristin smiled. Shannon was right, and so was Malachi. Cole was nothing like Zeke, and she knew it. But she was still hurt, and she was still angry. She was angry because she was frightened.
And because she loved him.
'Maybe you're right, Shannon,' she said softly.
'Cole would never do anything dishonorable! He wouldn't!' Shannon said savagely. 'And —'
'And what?'
'He's your husband, Kristin. You have to remember that. You married him. He's your husband now.'
'I'll give him a chance to explain,' was all that Kristin said. She would give him a chance. But when? He was gone, and winter was coming, and she didn't know when she would see him again.
Two days later Pete and the hands returned from the cattle drive, and Jamie and Malachi prepared to ride back to the war. Kristin was sorry she had argued with Malachi, and she hugged him tightly, promising to pray for him. She kissed Jamie, and he assured her that since his unit was stationed not far away he would be back now and then to see how she and Shannon were doing.
