"What's going on?" Kane said, rifle slung over his arm. Beside him were Simon, Rhys and Ian. The fight, to Turner and Palmer's eyes, had become evenly balanced. However, Brody and I could have taken them all ourselves. I had an itch to do so. Just the sight of Palmer was revolting. He would have married Laurel if she hadn't ventured out into the storm? No wonder she'd risked her life to escape.
"Seems a woman's missing. Turner's daughter."
"That your horse over there, Turner?" Simon called out. "Terrible losing a horse to a break. I heard Mason put him down, so you must be thankful he didn't suffer."
"Who the hell cares about the horse? I need to find my daughter." He placed his hands on his hips, the delicate drawers blowing in the slight breeze.
"A pair of ladies unmentionables does not a woman find," Sheriff Baker commented. "Especially since we know we've all partaken of Belle's girls a time or two."
"Then we'll continue our search," Turner added.
"What has you so hot under the collar for this lass?" Ian asked, his Scots brogue thick. I knew this meant he was angry, but Palmer didn't.
"She's my fiancée," Palmer said.
Fiancée. Not a chance. Laurel was ours and he wouldn't lay a finger on her.
"I told the men they could search the entire property," I told the others and they nodded their agreement. "If you're satisfied your daughter's not in my house, can we move on? Andrew's house, ah, here he comes now, would be next."
Andrew approached, rifle in hand, Robert next to him. Turner's party was now certainly out gunned. We had two pompous windbags, a small town sheriff whose gun rested in his saddlebag and two henchmen. They were no match for a group of regimental men with a woman to protect.
"We heard the shots."
Turner stomped over to his horse and mounted, the entire group working their way to exactly where Laurel was. I was confident she was well hidden, for we'd planned for such contingencies. Regimental men planned for all situations, especially dangerous ones.
When we were in front of his house, Andrew stepped forward, held up his hand. "Sheriff, I will permit you to search my home. My wife, Ann, is inside with our new baby and I don't want her scared."
"My wife is visiting with her, and I agree," Kane added. "I do not want her fearing for her safety on her own land."
Sheriff Baker nodded his head and dismounted.
"Wait, I don't think—"
The sheriff cut off Turner. "Don't trust me to do my job, Turner?"
That had the man huffing, but didn't say more.
He turned to Andrew. "I heard about the baby. A boy?"
Andrew nodded and smiled with paternal pride. I saw, too, that Robert was pleased by the Sheriff's concern, but held back. Our ways weren't the ways of Simms, of the sheriff and we intended to keep it that way. Andrew was the man legally wed to Ann and would then be the baby's sole father—in the eyes of the sheriff.
"Christopher."
Andrew led the lawman up the porch steps and went inside, both men removing their hats as they did. I could see Ann through the open doorway, the baby in her arms with Emma standing next to her.
They closed the door behind them to keep the heat within. While we waited, it was time to get some information out of the other men. "It's right noble of you to be worried about your daughter," I said neutrally.
Turner's gaze shifted from the closed front door to me. "When you have a child, you'll understand."
"Oh? Didn't you send her off to school when she was just a child?" Kane asked, crossing his arms over his chest. His breath came out in puffs of white.
"You wouldn't know the ways here, Mr. Kane, being from another country and all," Harding countered.
"Oh, I think we Englishmen take the prize for boarding schools," Brody added. "Why'd she go out riding when the weather was so poor?"
Turner whipped his head around to Brody. The tendons in the older man's neck stood out. "She might be a tad insane," he lied, albeit poorly.
"Then, Palmer—that's your name?" When the man nodded, I continued. "If the girl might be a tad insane, why are you marrying her?"