He didn't understand. Before she had time to blink, he'd gotten out of bed and was reaching for his pants. "Get dressed."
He gave the command in a hard, don't-give-me-any-argument tone of voice. She ignored it. "Come back to bed. Let me try to explain so you…"
"Get dressed, Mary Rose, or I swear to God I'll carry you back to the house in a blanket. Do you want your brothers to see you…" He didn't have to go on. She jumped out of the bed and started to get dressed.
He was ready before she was. He helped her put on her blouse and thoughtfully handed her her skirt.
"Will you please explain why you're in such a hurry?" she asked. She believed her question was reasonable. He acted as though she'd just shouted an insult at him, however.
"The word disgrace doesn't sit well with me," he snapped. "We're going to have a little talk with your brothers. Hurry up, damn it."
She turned to find her shoes. She noticed the sheets on his bed then and let out a loud gasp. Even from across the room she could see the splattering of blood.
Her face turned crimson in less than a heartbeat. She forgot all about finding her shoes then and ran over to strip the sheets.
He stood with his hands on his hips and a look on his face that told her he thought she'd lost her mind.
"You made me bleed."
"You were supposed to bleed."
"You don't have to sound so callous about it. What if my brothers had come in here? They would have shot you before they listened to any explanation."
"They knew what my intentions were. Leave the damned sheets alone, Mary Rose. I want to talk to Adam before he goes to bed."
She wadded the sheets up into a ball and turned around to frown at Harrison.
"We are not going to talk to Adam. I'm going home alone. If you think you're going to tell my brother what we just did, you can just forget it. I will not be embarrassed or humiliated, Harrison. Do you understand me?"
She dropped the sheets on the floor, then put on her shoes. She couldn't believe the evening was ending this way. Harrison had been such a thoughtful, gentle lover. Now he was acting like an arrogant brute. She didn't know what had come over him, but she wasn't in the mood to placate him. The mere thought of letting Adam know she'd given herself to Harrison made her stomach lurch. She wouldn't allow anyone to shame her that way, not even the horrid man she loved.
She tried to walk past him. He grabbed hold of her hand and wouldn't let go. Then he dragged her after him, all the way across the yard, up the stairs, and into the house.
They passed Cole in the entryway. The brother gave Mary Rose a double glance, then said, "What the hell happened to you?"
He was staring at her hair. She used her free hand to try to calm the curls.
"Nothing happened," she called out when Harrison pulled her along.
He didn't knock on the library door. He threw it open and gently shoved Mary Rose inside. He stood right behind her, and when she tried to back away, she found his solid frame blocking her retreat.
Adam was startled by the interruption. He closed the book he'd been reading and started to stand up.
Harrison told him to stay seated. While Adam watched, Mary Rose was prodded to the other easy chair and told to sit down.
She shook her head. "This is outrageous, Harrison," she whispered. "If you say one word, I swear I'll do something horrible."
He draped his arm around her shoulders and kept his gaze on her brother.
"Adam, Mary Rose and I need to get married as soon as possible. Judge Burns should be in Blue Belle tomorrow. I think we should all ride into town and…"
"I will not be married by a hanging judge. It goes against my principles," she interjected.
" Harrison, close the door," Adam suggested. "And both of you please lower your voices. What's all this talk about needing to get married?"
" Harrison 's having a spell," Mary Rose announced. She folded her arms across her chest and stared over Adam's shoulder. She couldn't quite bring herself to look into his eyes. "Don't pay any attention to anything he says. He just feels bad because he has to leave."
His arm went around her shoulder again. It felt much heavier this time. She thought he was deliberately applying pressure so she'd quit talking.
She tried to ignore him. "We seem to have gotten into an argument. We should work it out together and not involve you, Adam. Do excuse us now."
It was a very proper dismissal, but it was thoroughly ruined because Harrison wouldn't let her leave.
"Adam, I thought Mary Rose understood, but now I realize she didn't. She seems to think she might have disgraced her brothers by sleeping with me. Since she feels that way, I suggest we get married with all possible haste. I'll be damned if I'll let her feel ashamed of what happened between us. I've given myself all the reasons why I should wait until after you've explained everything to her, but what I wanted to do lost out to what I did do, and hell, none of the timing matters to me now. I love her and she loves me."
Adam nodded to let Harrison know he understood, but his gaze was centered on his little sister. She certainly didn't look like a woman in love at the moment. In truth, she looked like she wanted to kill her intended groom.
"Judge Burns will be happy to perform the ceremony tomorrow."
"Adam, I don't…"
"Do you feel disgraced, Mary Rose?"
She closed her mouth. She knew if she answered yes she'd be married tomorrow, and if she answered no, she'd be lying to her brother.
"She told me she wished she could be as cosmopolitan as I am."
Harrison remarked. "I didn't realize what she meant until a few minutes ago. Should I go and get the judge tomorrow?"
"It would be nicer to have the wedding here on the ranch, and I do believe he would agree to come out here. Be sure to include Belle. She helped us with Mary Rose during her growing up years. She'll want to see her married. I don't believe you need to mention sleeping with your bride, however. The fact that you have to leave should be enough of a reason for the hurried ceremony."
"I want her to come with me."
"That's up to her. She'll have to decide after our talk."
"I think maybe we ought to have that talk now."
Cole made the announcement from the doorway. Travis was standing right behind him.
Mary Rose wished the floor would open up and swallow her whole. If they'd heard she'd slept with Harrison, she was sure she would die of mortification.
"One problem at a time," Adam suggested. "What's done is done. Tomorrow we'll have a wedding. Are we agreed on that?"
Cole and Travis nodded. "It's easy to get divorced out here," Cole told his sister. "You can hold on to that thought during the ceremony."
Harrison wasn't amused by the brother's dark humor. "It doesn't work that way. Once married, always married. Got that, Mary Rose?"
She pushed his arm off her shoulder and turned around. "What kind of marriage proposal was that? Am I to translate 'got that' into, 'Will you marry me?' You do have a way with words, Harrison MacDonald, and if I didn't love you so much, I do believe I'd shoot you. Good night."
She did get the last word. No one stopped her when she marched out of the library. She ran up to her bedroom and didn't start crying until she'd shut the door behind her.
Loving Harrison was becoming a pain in her backside. Shamed or not, she was not going to be married by a hanging judge. No sir, no way, she thought to herself, using one of Cole's favorite nonsensical replies.
She felt better now that she had her mind set. She fell asleep with her brother's words echoing in her mind. No sir, no way.
August 18, 1869
Dear Mama Rose,
Travis, Douglas, Cole, and I were glad your letter to Adam was stern. None of us have ever heard you sound so angry, but your oldest son needed to hear you tell him to stay put. His crazy notion to take off for parts unknown so Livonia wouldn't be able to keep on blackmailing you into staying with her was a foolhardy one, just like you said.