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

“I don’t know if my mother would have thrown me out or not,” Cole remarked. His voice was devoid of emotion now. “I heard she was a nice woman. She died giving me life. Her name was Mary, and I figured I could repay her by handing her name down to our Mary Rose. Adam had the same idea about Mama Rose. Douglas decided we should combine the names.”

“What about your father, Cole? Do you know anything about him?” Harrison asked.

“He kept me around for a while. Eventually he started to favor whiskey and gin more. He tried to sell me. I heard him negotiating for two bottles and I took off.”

Harrison was too stunned to speak. He couldn’t imagine such bleak lives. And then he began to see the wonder in it all.

He saw the brothers in a completely different light. His admiration and his respect were evident in his expression.

They had done the impossible and had flourished in spite of the odds.

“You are all men of courage.”

Douglas wouldn’t accept Harrison’s approbation. He shook his head.

“No, we’re just men doing the best we can. We were all scared little boys back then who wanted to see that Mary Rose had someone to care about her. None of us really believed she’d make it. I didn’t think any of us would. Still, she deserved a shot at life, didn’t she?”

“It couldn’t have been easy.”

“Changing her drawers was a real bitch.” Cole smiled when he made the comment.

“How did you know her real birth date? Mary Rose told me she had papers. What are they?”

“There were two papers tucked in the envelope with the money,” Douglas explained. “Adam has them in the library. One of the papers has a lot of numbers scribbled on it. The other paper looks like a page from a book. Across the top was a baby girl’s date of birth. Her weight and measurement were written down too.”

“The page is from the family Bible.”

“It is?”

“Yes,” Harrison said. “Two pages were torn out. One was returned with the ransom note. It was proof they really had Victoria. Her full name was written on the bottom line.”

“I told my brothers about the papers, but we were more curious about the money then. Adam was the only one who could read. He looked the papers over and told us what the words were. We kept the papers in the basket for years. We only saved them so that Mary Rose would have something from her past.”

“Who taught you how to read?” Harrison asked Douglas.

“Adam taught all of us.”

“Do you know who strangled the nursemaid?” Cole asked.

“No,” Harrison said. “But Elliott never believed she acted alone. She wasn’t smart enough to plan a kidnapping. She was also extremely timid. The woman had to have had an accomplice.”

“Maybe he’s dead now,” Douglas said.

“It could have been a woman,” Harrison reasoned.

“It was a man.”

“How do you know?”

“I saw him.”

Harrison sent his drink careening. He didn’t even notice what he had done.

“You saw him?” His voice shook with emotion.

Douglas nodded. “I guess it’s my turn to explain, isn’t it?” he said. “A man got out of an expensive-looking carriage. There was a crest on the door. He wore a black cloak, like the kind rich men wear to the opera. He wore a hat with the brim pulled down over his forehead. I still saw his face. He stood right under the streetlamp and turned to look in my direction. He didn’t see me though. He must have thought he’d heard a noise and that’s why he turned. Anyway, I got a good look at him. Do you want me to describe him to you?”

“How could you possibly remember? You were twelve years old, Douglas. Our memories become twisted and confused over the years. It was a long time ago.”

“Tell him about your cut, Cole,” Douglas suggested.

The brother smiled. “We were around fifteen years old, weren’t we, Douglas? I was still stupid then. I went charging into someone else’s business, thinking I could swipe some animal skins. We needed coats for the winter. I figured I’d get some. I was real quiet, wasn’t I, Douglas?”

“Not quiet enough, Cole.”

“There must have been twenty renegades in their camp. They’d been plaguing the area, stealing and killing and burning people out, for quite a spell. Everyone was afraid of them. I was too, but I wanted the skins and I figured I had to take them, no matter how afraid I was. Every damned one of them lit out after me. I got cut across my belly. It hurt like the fires of hell. I remember the pain all right. Adam had to sew me up. Mary Rose cried while he worked on me.”

“She held your hand, remember?” Travis said.

Cole smiled. He remembered. “She thought it would help me to hold on to her. She was around three or four back then and as sweet and sassy as they come.”

“How did you ever get away from the Indians?” Harrison asked.

“I didn’t do it on my own. I was busy running and then fighting for my life, and I didn’t get a look at the one who cut me. Douglas did though. He was riding toward me with his shotgun up and ready. He saw the faces of the two who held me down and the third who cut me. The bastard was going to cut my guts out. Douglas started shooting just in the nick of time, and they took off running to get their guns.”

Cole paused to think about the incident before continuing. Harrison was fascinated by the story, but he couldn’t imagine what the incident had to do with the discussion about Mary Rose’s kidnappers. He waited to find out.

“We went back. Winter set in and we had to wait. We didn’t forget, and as soon the snow melted, we went after them.”

“We made them admit they were the ones.”

“How? Did they speak English?”

“One did a little. It didn’t matter though. Douglas never, ever forgets a face.”

“They boasted about cutting you, didn’t they. Cole?”

“They thought their friends would get us.”

“We made certain they couldn’t,” Travis said.

Harrison didn’t ask what had happened to the Indians. He already knew.

“The tribe that threw the misfits out heard about it. They gave us wide berth from then on,” Cole explained. “Now do you want to hear Douglas’s description?”

Harrison nodded. “Yes.”

“The man I saw in New York City had a light-colored mustache. I couldn’t see the color of his eyes. He was about six feet tall and very thin. His cheeks were sunken in like a skeleton. His nose was kind of pointed, and his lips were thin. He wore shiny black shoes, not boots. I noticed the shoes because I thought about figuring a way to steal them. The man was dressed in black, formal evening clothes.

“The woman didn’t want to take the basket from him. She kept shaking her head. I wasn’t close enough to hear what they were saying to each other. He pulled the envelope out of his pocket and gave it to her. She snatched it up real quick and then she took the basket.”

“The man got out of the carriage with the basket?”

“Yes.”

“Was she already standing there on the corner, waiting for him?”

“Yes.”

“What about the driver? Did you get a look at him?”

“No. Once I saw the envelope, I kept my eye on it. She put it in her coat pocket. The man got back in the carriage and took off. She waited until he was out of sight and then started looking around for a place to get rid of Mary Rose. She chose our alley. She went running inside, threw the basket, and then took off. I waited until she reached the corner again, whistled to get Adam’s attention so he’d notice the basket, and then I followed her. I took the envelope from her pocket just as she was getting on the midnight train.”

Harrison leaned back in his chair. His eyes had turned cold with anger.

Cole watched him closely. “Do you know who the man was?”

Harrison slowly nodded. “I think so. I’ll make certain first.”

“Is he s

till alive?” Douglas asked.

“Yes . . . if he’s the one, yes, he’s still alive.”

“Are you going after your Indian the way we did?” Cole asked.

Harrison understood what Cole was asking. He wanted to know how far Harrison would go to gain revenge. Would he retaliate the same way the brothers had against their enemy?

His answer was immediate. “Yes.”

“Have you forgotten you’re an attorney?” Adam asked.

“I haven’t forgotten. One way or another, justice will be served. Douglas, tell me what happened once again. Start at the beginning.”

Douglas agreed. Harrison waited until he’d finished, then plied him with more questions. He was finally satisfied he knew everything they could tell him.

“Now what?” Travis asked. “When are you going to tell her?”

“I’m not going to tell her,” Harrison answered. “I think . . .”

Travis wouldn’t let him continue. “Why should we believe you? You’ve done nothing but lie to us from the beginning. You never really wanted to learn how to ranch, did you?”

“Yes, I did want to learn,’” he answered. “I had thought that I would eventually go back to the Highlands, but now I know exactly where I’m going to settle for the rest of my life. Eventually I’ll have a ranch of my own. Legal work will support me over the rougher times. All of my plans have changed,” he added. “When I first came here, I wasn’t even certain Mary Rose was Victoria. Yes, I saw the resemblance, but it wasn’t enough. She also looks a little like you, Cole. Blue eyes, yellow hair. She’s a hell of a lot prettier though. The more I found out, the more confused I became. She shouldn’t have had any reason to be so reticent with me. All of you cleared up that mystery for me. As I mentioned before, the way you reacted when you found out I was an attorney was certainly curious. One night Mary Rose asked me why I spent the evenings talking to Adam. She seemed worried, and when she asked me if I questioned him about his past, I concluded she didn’t want me to find out about something he’d done. If I’d spent the evenings with Travis or Cole or Douglas, she would have been just as worried, wouldn’t she?”

“Probably,” Cole answered. “We told her everything we’d done. She knows all about our sins.”

“Yes,” Harrison agreed. “So you’ve told me. It didn’t take me long to figure out you all banded together to form your own family, but I couldn’t accept the fact that you’d gotten to Montana Territory all by yourselves. I had no reason to trust any of you, just as you had no reason to trust me. All of us had our reasons. I made several mistakes along the way. Two surprised the hell out of me.”

“What were your mistakes?” Douglas asked.

“One, I procrastinated. I could have found out what I needed to know much sooner, but I held back. I didn’t take advantage of opportunities, and that, you see, isn’t at all like me. I’ve never been one to put off anything . . .”

“You haven’t been here all that long. It’s only been six or seven weeks,” Cole reminded him.

“It seems much longer to me. I didn’t realize I was dragging my feet until recently. I grew up pretty much on my own, and I’ve never really known what a real family was like. Each of you would give your life to keep the others safe. Such love and loyalty were foreign concepts to me. I loved my father and I was loyal to him and to my government. My loyalty extended to Elliott too. There’s a bond between us because of what we’ve both been through, but it isn’t at all the same.”

“The same as what?” Cole asked, trying to understand.

“The bond between brothers and sisters,” Harrison explained. “You constantly amazed me. You insult each other. You’re loud and forceful. You argue all the time, push and shove each other, and, honest to God, how I envied you. All of these years I pictured Lady Victoria as a victim. God was certainly watching out for her though. He gave her the four of you.”

Harrison paused to draw a breath. “Cole, every time you shoved me the way I’d watched you shove Travis and Douglas, and every time you threatened me or laughed at me, I felt like I was part of your family.”

The brothers were moved by Harrison’s honesty. Cole understood what Harrison was saying far better than the others, however. He still remembered the loneliness and desolation he’d experienced before Adam had taken him under his wing.

“What was your other big mistake?” Adam asked. “You said you’d made several along the way, but two really took you by surprise.”

Harrison nodded. He remembered what he’d said. “I fell in love with your sister.”

Cole shook his head. “She’s going to hate you because you deceived her.”

“For a little while, I imagine she will,” Harrison agreed. “It won’t matter though. I want all of you to understand my intentions here and now. I will have her.”

The force in his words got their full attention. No one knew what to make of his vehement statement.

“What exactly do you mean?” Cole asked.

“I’m a man of honor,” Harrison began. “At least I like to believe I am.”

“And?” Cole persisted.

“I’m telling you my intent.”

“But what exactly are you telling us?” Travis asked.

“I’ve protected your sister and pretty much left her alone. I’m going to continue to protect her, but from this moment on, I assure you I have no intention of leaving her alone. I’ve told myself all the reasons why I don’t deserve her, and none of them matter any longer. I’ll never have enough money. Travis, one day I think you’ll understand that truth as well. Elliott would marry her to someone far more worthy by society’s standards, but not by mine. No one will ever love her the way I do. She will belong to me.”

Cole’s mouth dropped open. He’d never heard Harrison sound so passionate.

Douglas was just as thunderstruck. “Are you saying you’re going to seduce our sister?”

“Yes.”

“You can’t be serious . . .” Travis began.

“I meant every word I just said. She’s going to belong to me. Forever. She’ll carry my name and bear my children.”

Travis shook his head. “I can’t believe you’ve got the guts to tell us what you’re planning to do.”

“Do you really think we’ll let you try to touch her?” Cole asked.

Harrison lost his patience. “Try? I don’t ever try anything. I do exactly what I say I’m going to do.”

Douglas smiled. “Don’t you think Mary Rose ought to have a say about her seduction? We all know you wouldn’t force her.”

“No, I wouldn’t ever force her to do anything she doesn’t want to do. She loves me, but she hasn’t figured it all out just yet. She will though. She’s a very intelligent woman. She’ll give me permission before I bed her, and bed her I will.”

“So you say.” Cole snapped. “Adam, what do you think about this?”

“She does love him,” Adam replied. “Harrison’s right about that.”

“Harrison, you haven’t already . . .” Travis was going to ask if he’d already seduced Mary Rose and then stopped himself. The look Harrison gave him made the hair stand up on the back of his neck.

Cole laughed. “Hell, Travis, he wouldn’t be in such a foul mood if he’d bedded her.”

“You’re talking about our sister, I’ll have you remember,” Travis muttered.

“What about Lord Elliott?” Adam asked. “You said he’d marry her to someone more willing. Does that mean you’re planning to tell him you found his daughter or are you going to let it rest?”

“I’m going to tell him, of course,” Harrison answered. “He has a right to know, Adam. His agony will finally be over. The man has suffered long enough.”

No one said a word for a long minute. The brothers were all thinking about Mary Rose’s father and trying to imagine what it must have been like for him to lose his daughter.

Adam finally broke the silence. “Yes, he has suffered long enough. I wouldn’t have s

topped looking for my daughter. I’m certain I would have been as obsessed with finding her as Elliott was. Dear God, the agony he and his wife endured. It makes my heart ache to think about it. His misery became our blessing,” he added with a nod. “I wonder if he’ll understand.”

“I’ll make him understand,” Harrison assured the brother. “He won’t blame you or send anyone after you. Mary Rose has a family back in England. There are aunts and uncles and cousins too numerous to count. Your sister has a title and wealth. Elliott won’t come here to see her. He won’t have to. She’ll go to him.”

“How can you be so certain?” Douglas asked. “You said a few minutes ago that you wouldn’t tell her. Have you changed your mind?”

“No, I haven’t changed my mind.”

“Well then?” Cole asked.

“I won’t tell her. You will.”

No one said a word for a long while. Harrison thought the brothers were busy wrestling with their consciences.

They would eventually do the right thing. He had lived with them long enough to know without a doubt that they would be honorable.

Adam made the decision for the others. “Yes, we’ll tell her.”

“She won’t want to leave,” Cole argued.

“It doesn’t have to be forever,” Adam countered. “She does have an obligation, however.”

“She won’t see it that way,” Travis said.

“You know your sister as well as I do. Do you really believe she’ll let Elliott suffer any longer?”

“Damn it, she doesn’t even know him,” Douglas said.

“She’ll have to go and meet him. She’ll want to put his mind at ease. With gentle prodding, Mary Rose will do the right thing. She’ll want to procrastinate perhaps, but we won’t let her. You know I’m right, Douglas. I don’t like this any better than you do.”

Harrison was sympathetic. “You have no one to blame but yourselves,” he said. “You raised her to be noble.”

“When are you leaving?” Douglas asked.

“Soon,” Harrison answered. “I’ve stayed too long as it is,” he added. “Elliott is depending on me to take over the negotiations for a merger he put together.”