“Then I guess I did.”
He didn’t choke on the words. He thought that was a laudabie effort on his part. She looked relieved, and Harrison decided that swallowing his pride had been well worth the effort.
“What surprised you?” Travis asked.
He couldn’t remember what they’d originally been talking about. It was Mary Rose’s fault, of course. She was so happy he was trying to get along with Cole, she smiled at him. Harrison didn’t believe she was flirting with him or trying to act coy, but she was still twisting his mind into knots all the same. She was so damned sweet and pretty. Provocative too. He couldn’t stop himself from imagining what she would feel like in his arms.
“Harrison?” Douglas called his name.
“Yes?” he said. “What did you just ask me?”
“I didn’t ask you anything,” Douglas replied. “Travis asked.”
“If you’d quit staring at our sister, you might be able to concentrate,” Cole said.
Travis told his brother to quit baiting their guest and then repeated his question. “I wondered what surprised you about the house.”
“It looks very modest from the outside,” Harrison explained. “Yet inside . . .”
“It’s just as modest.” Cole told him.
“If you aren’t really looking, I suppose,” he agreed. “But I always notice the details.”
“And?” Cole asked.
“The attention given to the details surprised me,” Harrison admitted. He was careful to keep his gaze away from Mary Rose. He refused to even glance in her direction. “The moldings in the entry are spectacular, and the detail on the staircase is just as impressive.”
“Moldings?” Travis repeated.
“The border, or edging, between your ceilings and your walls,” Harrison explained.
“I know what they are,” Travis returned. “I was just surprised you noticed such a detail.”
“I didn’t expect to find so many rooms. You have a large parlor, this dining room, of course, and a library filled to the rafters with books you certainly didn’t purchase around here.”
“Cole designed the house,” Mary Rose boasted. “All the brothers helped build it. It took them years.”
“He wouldn’t let us help with the banister or the walls in the entry though. That’s all his work,” Travis said.
“You’ve just given Cole another compliment, Harrison,” Mary Rose said.
Harrison was sorry to hear it. He didn’t want to find anything impressive about Cole Clayborne. The man had the manners of a boar. Still, his craftsmanship was superior, and Harrison knew it must have taken him months of painstaking work. He had to admire the man’s talent and his discipline.
“What else surprised you?” Douglas asked.
Harrison wanted to smile again. From the expressions on the brothers’ faces, he knew they weren’t simply curious about his opinion of their home. They seemed eager to hear praise.
“You have a piano in the parlor. I noticed it right away.”
“Of course you noticed it,” Cole said. “It’s the only thing in there.”
“It’s a Steinway,” Douglas announced. “We got it when Mary Rose was old enough to learn how to play.”
“Who taught her?” Harrison asked.
“The piano came with a teacher,” Douglas explained. He grinned at Travis before adding, “Sort of anyway.”
Harrison didn’t know what he was supposed to conclude from that odd remark. He decided not to ask. He would save his questions for more important issues.
“How old were you when you began your lessons?” he asked Mary Rose.
She wasn’t certain. She turned to Adam to find out. “She was six,” he answered.
“I was seven,” Harrison said.
“You play the piano?” Mary Rose looked thrilled over the notion.
“Yes.”
“Of course he plays the piano,” Cole scoffed. “He can’t fight or shoot, but, by God, he can play the piano. Well, piano playing isn’t going to keep you alive out here.”
“He could play in Billie’s saloon,” Douglas said.
“And get himself shot in the back like the last one?” Travis argued.
“Why’d he get shot?” Harrison asked the question in spite of his decision not to make inquiries unless the answers gave him information about the family.
“Someone didn’t like what he was playing,” Cole told him.
Harrison nodded. “I see,” he said, though in truth he really didn’t understand.
“Why did you learn how to play the piano? That seems peculiar to me,” Cole said.
“It was all part of my education,” Harrison explained. He wasn’t offended by Cole’s attitude. He was actually a little amused. The brother seemed to think that playing the piano was something men didn’t do.
“Then you were sorely educated,” Cole said. “Girls play the piano. Not boys. Didn’t your father ever take you out back and teach you how to use your fists?”
“No,” Harrison answered. “Did yours?”
Cole started to answer the question, then changed his mind. He leaned back in his chair and shrugged.
“Have you ever heard of Chopin or Mozart, Cole? They were composers,” Harrison said. “They wrote music and they played it ... on the piano.”
Cole shrugged again. He obviously wasn’t swayed by Harrison’s argument.
Harrison decided to change the topic. “Where did you get this china?”
“There are only six cups, and two don’t match. We don’t even have plates. I got the cups in St. Louis so Mary Rose could have tea parties.”
“I was much younger then,” she said. “Serving tea was part of my education.”
“And who taught you?” Harrison asked, smiling over the picture of Mary Rose as a little girl learning how to be a proper lady.
“Douglas did,” she answered.
“We all had to take turns,” Douglas hastily added.
From the look Douglas gave his sister, Harrison surmised he wasn’t at all pleased she had told him about their tea parties. Mary Rose pretended she hadn’t noticed Douglas’s glare.
“Our fascination with your reaction to our home must seem odd to you,” she said. “We don’t usually ask our guests to tell us what they think, but you’re very worldly and sophisticated.”
He raised an eyebrow over her opinion of him. She interpreted his look to mean he didn’t agree.
“You are sophisticated,” she insisted. “The way you speak and the way you look at things tells me so. You have obviously been raised in a refined atmosphere.”
“You seem the type who would appreciate quality,” Douglas said. He was damned thankful they had gotten away from the subject of tea parties. “Most of the people around here don’t care about the finer things in life. I don’t fault them. They’re busy carving out a living.”
“Hammond is becoming refined,” Travis said. “We get the rejects here in Blue Belle.”
“Because it’s lawless out here,” Cole interjected.
Everyone nodded. “I guess we wondered if you thought we measured up,” Travis said. “Douglas is right. The folks around here haven’t even looked inside our library, and they sure haven’t asked to borrow any books. Adam would let them, but they don’t seem to have the time or the interest.”
“Have you read all the books in your library?” Harrison asked.
“Of course we have,” Cole said.
“Travis failed to mention that the majority of our neighbors don’t know how to read, and that’s why they haven’t asked to borrow any books,” Mary Rose said.
Harrison nodded before turning to Travis again. “You asked me if I thought you measured up,” he reminded the brother. “To what standard? Yours or mine? If you filled your house with treasures for the sole purpose of impressing others, then no, in my opinion, you haven’t measured up to any standard. But you didn’t begin with that goal in mind, did you?”
“How do yo
u know we didn’t?” Cole asked.
“Simple deduction,” Harrison replied. “The piano isn’t in the parlor collecting dust and admiration. You purchased it with the intent of training your sister. You could have used the money to buy other things, but you chose a piano instead. You all wanted your sister to have an appreciation for music, and that tells me you understand and value education in all forms. Admitting you’ve read the books in your library is another indication. As for being sophisticated or cultured, well I think perhaps you’re far more sophisticated than you want anyone to believe. Without a doubt, you’re all well educated. The titles you’ve chosen to read told me that.”
“None of us went to a university the way you did,” Douglas pointed out.
“Going to university is only one avenue to gain knowledge. There are others. A degree isn’t insurance against ignorance. Some of my colleagues have proven that.”
“You’re complimenting us, aren’t you?” Travis asked.
“Yes, I suppose I am.”
Mary Rose sighed loudly enough for everyone to hear. Harrison turned to smile at her. She immediately smiled back.
“The piano is my favorite possession,” she said. “Did you have one special thing back home you hated to leave?”
“My books,” Harrison answered.
Adam nodded. “I’m partial to my books as well,” he admitted. “It seems we have a common interest.”
Harrison was pleased the eldest brother had once again joined the conversation. Adam was proving to be an extremely reserved man, and therefore he was the most difficult to understand. Harrison wanted to draw him out so that he could find out more about him, but he knew he would have to proceed with caution.
“I noticed the meditation you have framed in your library,” he remarked.
“The what?” Travis asked.
Before Harrison could answer, Douglas asked, “Do you mean the poem Adam put up on the wall?”
“Yes, it is one of my favorites,” Harrison said.
Cole decided to challenge him. “You’ve really read it? I don’t know what book Adam found it in, but it took him hours to copy it down just right and put it in a frame. He made sure he wrote at the bottom where it came from so folks wouldn’t think he was trying to take credit for writing it.”
“Of course I’ve read it, many times in fact. I probably have it memorized by now.”
Cole didn’t look like he believed him. “Let’s see if you know it by heart,” he challenged. “Recite the poem from start to finish.”
Harrison decided to accommodate him, even though he thought it was a bit childish.
“No man is an island . . .”
He missed only one line. Adam supplied it for him. The eldest brother was still impressed, if his smile was any indication, and Harrison began to think that of all the brothers, he and the eldest were probably the most alike.
Mary Rose was smiling like a proud teacher, pleased with her student’s performance.
Harrison felt like an idiot.
“Well done,” she praised. “Adam plays the piano,” she blurted out. “You share that interest as well.”
“Now, why’d you go and tell him that?” Cole demanded. He looked as if he wanted to throttle his sister.
She didn’t care for his glare or his surly tone of voice. “You’ve been terribly rude tonight,” she said. “You know better, Cole. Harrison is our guest. Kindly keep that in your mind.”
“I don’t need you to tell me how to act or what to say, Sidney. Why don’t you keep that in mind?”
She let out a gasp. “You’re insufferable,” she whispered.
Harrison wasn’t certain what had just happened. Mary Rose was furious with her brother, and if glares could kill, Cole would have been slumped over in his chair by now. The reason for her anger didn’t make sense, however. Calling her by a man’s name seemed to be the cause, yet he couldn’t imagine why.
Curiosity made him ask. “Did you just call your sister Sidney?”
“I did,” Cole snapped.
“Why?”
“Because she was starting to act a little too uppity.”
“She was?”
“Listen, Harrison. Out here, it’s dangerous to ask questions. You should remember that.”
Harrison began to laugh. It wasn’t the reaction Cole expected. “What’s so amusing?”
“You’re amusing,” Harrison said. “You’ve spent the last hour questioning me.”
Cole smiled. “It’s our house. We make the rules. You don’t.”
“Will you stop being so inhospitable?” Mary Rose demanded.
She was going to continue to berate her brother, but Adam changed her mind. He leaned forward in his chair and looked at her. Mary Rose immediately sat back and closed her mouth. Then Adam turned to look at Cole. The abrasive brother immediately sat back too.
Adam had obviously demanded a truce, and what impressed Harrison was the fact that he hadn’t said a word.
“If you aren’t too tired, Harrison, I’d certainly like to hear about Scotland,” Adam said.“I’ve never had the opportunity to go abroad, but I’ve done a fair amount of traveling with my books.”
“Do you think you’d like to visit Scotland one day?” Mary Rose asked.
“Yes, of course I would, but I’d see my home first.”
“And where is home?” Harrison asked.
“Home is Africa,” Adam replied. “Surely you noticed the color of my skin.”
His smile was sincere. He wasn’t mocking Harrison; he was simply being blunt.
“Were you born in Africa?” Harrison asked.
“No, I was born into slavery down south, but as soon as I was old enough to sit still and listen, my mother and father told me wonderful stories about their ancestors and the villages they came from. I would like to see the land before I die.”
“If it’s still there,” Cole interjected. “Villages get burned down.”
“Yes, ‘if,’” Adam agreed.
“You won’t go to Africa,” Douglas said. “You never go anywhere.”
“I think you’d like Scotland,” Harrison predicted, bringing the topic back to what Adam wanted him to talk about. “There are similarities between this valley and sections of the Highlands.”
“Tell us about your home,” Travis said.
Harrison did as he was requested. He spent another five or ten minutes talking about the land and the estates, and ended by saying, “My father’s bed was always in front of his windows so he could look out at his land. He was content.”
He stopped himself from saying more. “I apologize for rambling. You’ve figured out by now that it’s dangerous to ask a Highlander to talk about his home. He’s sure to bore you for hours.”
“You weren’t boring,” Cole said.
“You were eloquent,” Adam assured him.
“You mentioned your father’s bed was in front of the window,” Cole said. “Was he bedridden?”
“Yes.”
“For how long?”
“For as long as I can remember. Why do you ask?”
Cole was feeling as low as a worm. He remembered asking Harrison why his father had never taken him into the backyard to teach him how to use his fists. The reason was apparent, of course. The father couldn’t. God, he was disgusted with himself.
“I was just curious,” Cole answered. “What happened to your father?”
“A bullet pierced his spine.”
Cole visibly winced. “Then he was paralyzed?”
“Yes.”
“Was it an accident?”
“No.” Harrison’s answer was curt.
“But you stayed with him, even when you were old enough and could have taken off,” Cole said.
The remark bordered on obscene in Harrison’s estimation. “Yes, I stayed with him. I was his son, for God’s sake.”
“He might not have stayed with you if you were the one in the bed day and night. Most fathers wouldn’t.”
&nb
sp; “You’re wrong,” Harrison said. “Most fathers would stay. Mine certainly would have.”
“You did your duty by staying,” Cole said with satisfaction. He seemed to have worked everything out in his mind.
Harrison was insulted. “It wasn’t a duty.”
“Are you getting hot under your collar?” Cole had the gall to smile when he asked the question.
Harrison suddenly wanted to smash his face in. His voice was biting when he said, “You insult my father’s honor and mine, voicing such a twisted opinion.”
Cole shrugged. He wasn’t impressed with his guest’s anger. He turned to Adam. “We have to toughen him up. Are you willing to take him on?”
“Perhaps,” Adam allowed.
“He’s got enough bulk, but he also needs gumption.” Douglas interjected.
Cole snorted. “He stayed with his father, didn’t he? That’s proof enough he’s got gumption. Travis, what do you think?”
“It’s all right with me. He seems a little too interested in our sister though. That could be a problem.”
“Everyone takes an interest in Mary Rose. I’d wonder if Harrison didn’t. I say we give it a try.”
The brothers nodded consent. Mary Rose couldn’t have been happier. She clasped her hands together and smiled at Harrison.
He couldn’t believe they had all discussed him as though he’d already left the room. Their rudeness was so outrageous, it was almost laughable.
Mary Rose stood up. Harrison immediately did the same. None of the others moved.
“You’ve been invited to stay with us,” she told him. “This time everyone is agreeing. It’s amazing, really,” she added with a nod. “Cole usually doesn’t agree with anyone. He likes you. Isn’t that nice?”
He couldn’t resist giving a dose of honesty. “Not particularly,” he said.
Everyone laughed, including Mary Rose. “You have a wonderful sense of humor, Harrison.”
He hadn’t been jesting, but he decided to leave well enough alone. Mary Rose walked around the table so she could face him. “I’ll show you where you’ll be sleeping. Adam, may we be excused?”
“Yes, of course. Good night, Harrison.”
She turned to leave. Harrison thanked the brothers for supper, added his good night, and then followed their sister. None of the brothers followed him. He was somewhat surprised, especially after Travis had voiced his concern about his interest in their sister.