She was shaky when she stood up, and ’Ring had to steady her. Now that she could think again, she was a little embarrassed as she looked at him, and remembered all the things they had done in the last few days. But they had each felt possessed, and nothing on earth could have stopped them.
He kissed the tip of her nose. “Don’t look at me like that. This is just the first of many times together. Turn around and let me tie this contraption of yours.”
Smiling, she faced the wall while he pulled her corset strings tight.
It was an hour later that Maddie and ’Ring sat with Toby, Laurel, and Jamie around the campfire. When they had left the shack, Maddie had been embarrassed, knowing that all the people in her camp were going to know what she and ’Ring had been doing for the past few days. But when she opened the door, she saw a perfectly normal camp, with Edith bent over the fire, stirring a pot, Toby and Jamie lounging by the fire, and Laurel writing something in a little notebook. Maddie smiled. If Maddie was a singer and her sister Gemma was a painter, maybe Laurel was going to be a writer.
“Good evening,” Maddie said softly, and they all looked up at her.
“Oh, hello,” Laurel said, beaming up at her older sister. “Have you two had a nice vacation?”
Maddie was glad for the growing darkness that hid her red face. “Yes, thank you, and have you been well cared for?”
“Oh, yes,” Laurel said, eyes wide. “Toby helped me pick wild flowers. I’m pressing them into a book.”
“And selling them for a thousand dollars each,” Jamie muttered.
“What’s that?” ’Ring asked.
Laurel glared at Jamie. “He thinks I should sell my pictures.”
“Or take over the management of Warbrooke Shipping,” Jamie said under his breath, then, “Ow!” as Laurel leaned over and pinched him.
Laurel smiled at her sister. “You want some coffee?”
Maddie took the cup that Toby handed her, then handed a cup to ’Ring, but ’Ring’s attention was fully on his brother.
“Out with it,” ’Ring said, taking a seat on a log that had been pulled up near the fire. He didn’t notice that the bark was already getting shiny from the many behinds that had used it in the last few days. Maddie took a seat next to him, trying not to grimace with the pain she felt. There were unmentionable parts of her body that were very, very sore. ’Ring felt her stiffen and turned to give her a knowing little smile. She ignored him and looked at Jamie.
“What makes you think your bro
ther has anything to say?” she asked ’Ring, but not looking at him.
“I know him and he’s bursting with it. Can’t you tell?” ’Ring answered. “Well?”
Jamie couldn’t contain his smile any longer. He wanted—and planned—to tell his brother about the wagering that had been going on the past few days, but now he had something much more important to tell him.
“I found out everything.”
Maddie drew in her breath. What did he know?
Jamie looked at her and seemed to enjoy her embarrassment. “I found out about the letters and your General Yovington.”
Maddie’s cup stopped on the way to her lips. Laurel was safe and, what with her preoccupation of the last few days, she hadn’t thought of the kidnapping. Now all she wanted to do was get out of this country and go back east, where she could sing. After she visited her family and returned Laurel to them, she planned to do just that.
“What about him?” ’Ring asked. “How did you find out? What did you find out?”
“While you were, ah…otherwise occupied, I had a chance to talk to the brat here.” He gave Laurel a look that ’Ring couldn’t interrupt. “Her answers to my questions led me to a man called Sleb.”
“The man who sang with you,” ’Ring said, looking at Maddie.
“Right,” Jamie said. “He used to be a pretty good tenor, at least to hear him tell it. But in the last few years he’s fallen on hard times.”
“A bottle.”
“Right.”
“So what does this old drunk have to do with Maddie and Laurel?” ’Ring smiled at Laurel. She was such a sweet-looking child. She could be an illustration for an angel, but he knew all too well what a mouth she had on her. He just hoped that Maddie didn’t hear her.