For the Roses (Claybornes' Brides (Rose Hill) 1)

Why do you think my mama and my papa threw me away? I wonder what I did wrong.

Your daughter,

Mary Rose

17

Harrison arrived in London on a Tuesday afternoon but was forced to wait until the following evening to talk to his employer. Lord Elliott was staying at his country estate, a two-hour ride from the city, and wasn’t scheduled to return to the city until Wednesday morning.

Harrison dispatched a messenger announcing his return. He asked for a private meeting, for he had a highly personal matter to discuss with him. He deliberately implied it was a legal matter he’d gotten involved in, so that Elliott wouldn’t include his personal assistant, George MacPherson.

Murphy, Elliott’s butler for as long as Harrison could remember, opened the front door for him. The faithful servant’s eyes sparkled with delight at the sight of Harrison.

“It’s so good to have you back home with us, mi’lord,” Murphy announced.

“It’s good to be back,” Harrison replied. “How have you and Lord Elliott been getting along?”

“We’ve missed all the scandals you get into with your criminal cases, mi’lord. We haven’t had a good fight since the day you left. Lord Elliott continues to worry me, I’ll admit. He’s working too hard, and you know how stubborn and unreasonable he can be. He won’t slow down, no matter how much I nag him. I fear he’ll continue to run until his heart stops beating. You’re bound to cheer him up, however. I must say, he’s missed you sorely.”

“Is he upstairs?”

“Yes, mi’lord, in the library.”

“Is he alone?”

“He is, and impatient to see you again. Why don’t you run on up?”

Harrison started up the stairs, then stopped. “Murphy, he’s going to need some brandy.”

“Is the news you bring bad, then?” the butler inquired with a frown.

Harrison smiled. “Quite the opposite. He’ll still need a drink of brandy though. Is there a bottle in the library?”

“Yes, mi’lord, but I shall bring up another one to be on the safe side. The two of you can get sotted together.”

Harrison laughed. In all his years living with Elliott, he’d never once seen him even remotely tipsy. He couldn’t picture him roaring drunk. Elliott was too well bred to ever consider doing anything that would take away his control or his dignity. Getting drunk would have robbed him of both.

He hurried on up the stairs, rounded the corner, and went into the library. Elliott was standing in front of the fireplace. He spotted Harrison and immediately embraced him.

“So you are home at last,” he said in greeting. He hugged Harrison, and pounded him on his back with a great deal of affection.

“You’re a sight for these old eyes,” he whispered. “Sit down now and tell me all about your adventure in America. I want to hear every detail.”

Harrison waited until Elliott had taken his seat before he pulled up a chair and sat down. He noticed how tired Elliott looked and was saddened by his observation. The country air hadn’t done the elderly man much good, for his complexion was tinged gray, and there were the ever-present dark half-circles under his eyes. Grief had taken its toll on him.

Elliott had never remarried, but the determined ladies in London society still fought for his attention. Not only was he an extremely wealthy man, he was also considered handsome. He had silver-tipped hair, patrician features, and held himself like the statesman he was. Elliott had been born and raised in an affluent family, and his breeding, education and manners were therefore impeccable. Far more important was the fact that Elliott had a good heart. Like his daughter, Harrison thought to himself. She had perhaps inherited her sense of decency from him, and that noble quality had been nurtured by her brothers.

Elliott was also strong-willed. A lesser man would have been destroyed by the horror of having his only child taken away from him, but Elliott fought his desolation in private and presented a brave front to the rest of the world. While he had retired from active participation in government, he continued to work behind the scenes to bring about change. He was as much a champion of the less fortunate as Harrison was and certainly just as dedicated to the belief that all men were entitled to equal representation and equal rights. He wholeheartedly supported Harrison when he took on unpopular causes, such as defending the common man.

“America seems to have agreed with you. Is it the new fashion not to wear a jacket, son?”

Harrison smiled. “None of my jackets fit. I seem to have grown between my shoulders. I’ll have to call in a tailor before I go out in public again.”

“You do look bigger to me,” Elliott said. “But there’s something else that’s different about you.” Elliott continued to stare at Harrison another minute or two, then shook his head. “I’m very happy to have you back where you belong.” He gave the admission in a quiet voice. “Now, give me your promise, Harrison. There will be no more hunts. I’ll have your word before we discuss your legal problems.”

“No more hunts,” Harrison agreed.

Elliott nodded with satisfaction. He leaned back in his wing chair, folded one leg over the other, and said, “Now you may begin. Tell me everything. Whatever this legal problem is, we’ll work it out together.”

“Actually, sir, there aren’t any legal problems. I just wanted to make certain we had a private talk. I didn’t want your assistant to overhear what I had to say to you.”

Elliott raised an eyebrow. “You didn’t want George here? Why in heaven’s name not? You like MacPherson, don’t you? Why, he’s been with me for years now, almost as long as you have. Tell me what’s bothering you.”

“He’s going to give you good news, mi’lord.”

Murphy made the announcement from the doorway and then came inside with a full bottle of brandy. He placed the liquor on the table and turned to his employer.

“Mi’lord says you’ll need a stiff drink when you hear what he has to say,” Murphy explained. “Shall I pour for the two of you?”

“If Harrison believes I’ll need it, go ahead, Murphy.”

Harrison was happy for the interruption. He was suddenly feeling tongue-tied. He didn’t think it would be a good idea to simply spring the news on Elliott. The shock might give him heart palpitations, but Harrison couldn’t come up with a simple way to ease into the announcement.

Murphy left the library a moment later. Elliott took a sip of his drink and turned to Harrison once again.

“I got married.”

Elliott almost dropped his glass. “You what?”

“I got married.”

Lord above, why had he started out by telling him that? Harrison was almost as surprised as Elliott appeared to be.

“Good heavens,” Elliott whispered. “When did you get married?”

“A couple of weeks ago,” Harrison answered. “I didn’t mean to start out with my announcement. I have other more important news to tell you. You see, I went to ...”

Elliott interrupted him. “Nothing could be more important than hearing you’re married, son. I can barely take it in. Am I to assume the young lady you married is from America?”

“Yes, sir, but . . .”

“What is her name?”

“Mary Rose.”

“Mary Rose,” Elliott repeated. “Is your bride downstairs? I must confess to being disappointed I wasn’t in the church for your wedding. I would have liked to stand by your side when you spoke your vows.”

“Actually, sir, we weren’t married in a church.”

“You weren’t? Then who married you?”

“Hanging Judge Burns.”

Elliott looked like he was having difficulty following the explanation.

Harrison let out a sigh. “I realize it sounds . . . peculiar.”

“A ‘hanging judge’ married you. Now, why would I think that was peculiar, Harrison?”

Harrison smiled. “You’d like Burns. He’s a rough-talking man with strong ideas about wh

at’s right and what’s wrong. His love of the law is to be admired. I argued a case in his court, and he didn’t let me get away with much at all. He’s as sharp as they come.”

“Did you win for your client?”

“Yes, sir.”

Elliott nodded approval. “I didn’t expect less from you. Was the marriage forced?”

“Yes, it was. I forced her into marrying me. I really tried to fight the attraction, sir. I didn’t feel I had the right to pursue her, but in the end, I couldn’t . . .”

“Well, of course you had the right to pursue her. She’s lucky to have you, Harrison. Remember who your father was. Any woman would be proud to marry you. Are you telling me your bride’s family didn’t think you were worthy enough? What utter nonsense,” he ended in a mutter.

“No, sir, that isn’t what I was telling you. You see . . .”

“Where does your bride come from? I can’t seem to take this in. I recall hearing you say over and over again that you would never marry, and now it appears I’m about to meet your bride. I thought your broken engagement to Edwina soured you against matrimony. I’m pleased to see it was a false concern. The right woman will change the way a man thinks.”

“Sir, Mary Rose isn’t with me. She’s still in America.”

“She didn’t come home with you? Why not?”

“There were circumstances preventing her from accompanying me.”

“What specific circumstances?”

“Her family.”

“And where is her family?”

“She lives with four brothers on a ranch just outside Blue Belle, in Montana Territory.”

Elliott smiled. The name of the town caught his fancy. “I’ve read quite a few books on the rough-and-tumble towns dotting the western section of the United States, but I must confess, I’ve never heard of a town named after a flower.”

“Actually, sir, the town was named after a prostitute. Her name’s Belle.”

Elliot started to laugh. “Are you serious?”

“Yes, sir. Belle helped Mary Rose get ready for the wedding.”

“She did, did she?” Elliot was trying hard not to laugh again. “Then why was the town named Blue Belle instead of simply Belle?”

“Belle doesn’t like what she does for a living.”

Elliott couldn’t control his amusement. He laughed until tears came into his eyes. He pulled his handkerchief from his pocket and dabbed at the corners of his eyes while he tried to regain his composure.

“What have you gotten yourself into, son. This isn’t like you at all. You’ve certainly given me quite a lot to digest,” he added. “I can’t wait to meet your bride.”

“You think I’ve lost my mind, don’t you, sir?”

Elliott smiled. “I think you’ve changed,” he admitted. “I knew there was something different about you, but I never would have guessed you’d marry a girl from the country. I also thought that if you did marry, you’d choose someone more . . . refined.”

“Mary Rose is very refined,” Harrison said. “She’s everything I could ever want.”

“I didn’t mean to suggest she was lacking, son. If you’ll remember, I also married a country girl. My Agatha was from your Highlands. I’ve always believed growing up on a farm was the primary reason she was so unspoiled. Of course, she had good parents,” he added with a nod.

“Sir, I went to Montana in search of your daughter. I didn’t fail this time.”

“No, of course you didn’t. Granted, it was another false lead, but one with a happy ending, because you met and married your Mary Rose. What a pretty name your bride has. You do love her, don’t you?”

“Oh, yes, sir, I love her very much. You’ll love her too.”

“Yes, of course I will.”

Harrison leaned forward in his chair. “As I said before, it wasn’t a false lead this time. There’s one more important thing you need to know.”

“Yes?”

“I married your daughter.”

Mary Rose and Eleanor arrived in England on the twentyfirst day of July. It was hot, humid, and threatening to rain.

Harrison had used up every bit of his patience waiting for his bride to get over her anger and come to him, and he’d only just made up his mind to book passage back to the States when a telegram arrived from a gentleman named John Cohen, giving him the pertinent information about Mary Rose’s departure from Boston and her expected arrival date.

Harrison spotted her golden crown the second she stepped off the steam tender from the ship. He shoved his way through the crowd, grabbed hold of his wife, and pulled her into his arms. As soon as he touched her. he felt an immediate sense of acute relief. Mary Rose was finally where she belonged.

His greeting wasn’t very flowery. “What the hell took you so long?”

She couldn’t answer him. Harrison didn’t even give her time to frown. He leaned down and captured her mouth in a ravenous kiss.

She didn’t resist him. She put her arms around his neck, lifted up on her tiptoes, and kissed him back just as passionately.

“For heaven’s sake, Mary Rose. People are gawking at us. Do stop that. You’re attracting a crowd.”

Eleanor whispered her protest from behind Mary Rose. She poked her friend and then took a step away. If the two of them didn’t stop mauling each other, she would simply pretend she wasn’t with them. Honestly, what had happened to her friend’s sense of propriety?

Harrison, she decided, was a lost cause. It wouldn’t do her any good to try to reason with him. She’d seen the look of blatant love and hunger in his eyes when he reached for Mary Rose. No, there wouldn’t be any reasoning with him.

Eleanor suddenly smiled. Harrison had certainly missed his wife. One day, Eleanor was determined to find a man who felt just as much love for her.

Harrison finally ended the kiss. He was pleased to see Mary Rose appeared to be as shaken by the kiss as he was.

“I missed you, sweetheart,” he whispered.

“I missed you too,” she whispered back. “You and I are going to have to have a long talk though, as soon as possible. Things are going to be different between us. We’re going to have to start over. I’m going to try to get past this, but it’s difficult.”

He didn’t want to talk just yet. “We’ll discuss your worries later,” he promised a scant second before his mouth covered hers again.

“Oh, for heaven’s sake.”

Eleanor’s muttering finally caught Harrison’s attention. He couldn’t make himself let go of his wife after he ended the kiss, however, and so he hugged her tight against him while he greeted her disgruntled-looking friend.

“How was your voyage, Eleanor?”

“Just fine, thank you. Mary Rose can’t possibly breathe, Harrison, because of the way you’ve got her face pressed into your jacket. Do let go of her so we can get on our way. It’s about to rain, for heaven’s sake. We’re both quite weary from our trip, and we want to get settled in before night falls. Are we going directly to her father’s house?”

Mary Rose pushed away from Harrison. “I would rather wait until tomorrow to meet him. Does he expect to see me tonight? It’s almost dark now, and I would like to have a little more-time to prepare myself.”

“You’ve had two long months to prepare, Mary Rose,” Harrison said.

“I need one more night,” she insisted.

“Your father doesn’t expect to see you until tomorrow, so you can calm down. He knew you’d be tired from your trip. Both you and Eleanor will stay with me tonight.”

“I’m quite calm. Why would you think I wasn’t?”

“You were shouting,” Eleanor told her.

“I was simply trying to make my opinion heard.”

“I hope you have spacious quarters, Harrison,” Eleanor said. “Mary Rose told me she’s going to insist on a room of her own. I believe she’s still upset with you.”

“Honestly, Eleanor, I can speak for myself,” Mary Rose said. She turned to Harr

ison again. “I am upset with you, and as I said before, things are going to be different now. We’re going to have to start over.”

Harrison gave his wife a hard look, then took hold of her arm and started walking toward the main thoroughfare where the carriages were lined up.

“You’re sleeping with me, in my bed,” he told her in a rough whisper. “I’ve waited two long months, damn it. I’m not waiting any longer.”

“What about our luggage?” Eleanor pestered.

“It’s being taken care of,” Harrison answered. “Quit shaking your head at me, Mary Rose. I meant what I said.”

She wasn’t going to argue with him in public. She would wait until they were alone to tell him about the decisions she’d made. Harrison was an intelligent man. He would understand how she felt.

“It hasn’t been two months,” Eleanor announced. She was determined to set Harrison straight. “You two have only been apart five short weeks. Mary Rose wanted to wait until the end of September to make the trip, but Adam wouldn’t let her procrastinate that long.”

Harrison came to an abrupt stop. “You wanted to wait until the end of September?”

“Now look what you’ve done, Eleanor. You’ve gotten him upset. Honestly, Harrison, we’ll all get soaked if we don’t hurry. We’ll talk about this when we reach your home.”

Neither Mary Rose nor Harrison said another word for a long, long while. The rain caught them at the corner, and by the time they were settled inside the carriage, they were all drenched.

They reached Harrison’s town house thirty minutes later. It was an impressive two-story home with red brick facade.

The door was opened by a young man dressed in a black coat and trousers. His name was Edward, and he was currently on loan from Lord Elliott to act as Harrison’s butler.

Eleanor was thrilled to have a servant attending her. She hurried inside the foyer first. Edward smiled in greeting, but when he turned around to say his hello to Mary Rose, his expression turned to a look of startled surprise.

“She looks like her mother’s painting,” he whispered to Harrison. “Mi’lord Elliott will have to believe as soon as he sees her. She’s the image of Lady Agatha.”