Feeling a trifle silly, Shannon nonetheless followed Aurora’s directions, and Anthem ceased her restless dancing. “I think we should be on our way before Anthem remembers who’s on her back.”
Aurora nodded, giving Pilgrim a light snap with her riding crop. “We can ride along the riverbank.”
Shannon frowned as Anthem matched Pilgrim’s gait. “I thought we might take the road. I shouldn’t like to be thrown in the river.”
“Don’t give it a thought,” Aurora said airily. “Has Anthem thrown you before?”
“No, but there is always the proverbial first time. I can’t swim to save my life or anyone else’s.”
Aurora laughed. The scarlet plume in her hat swayed as she dipped her head beneath a low-lying branch. “What different lives we’ve had,” she mused softly. “Sometimes it does not seem possible we are sisters. Do you ever wonder what it would have been like had we been raised together?”
As the trail narrowed, Shannon held Anthem back so Aurora could lead the way. The air was crisp, nearly frosty, and Shannon could see her breath when she spoke. “No,” she said, then added more honestly, “On occasion I think about it, though it seems a pointless exercise.”
“Yes, I know. We are what we are.” A dry, curling leaf fell on her skirt and she brushed it away, glancing over her shoulder. “Tell me, if you were me, would you give Brandon the divorce he seeks?”
Shannon’s interest in the bright foliage surrounding her vanished as she squarely met Aurora’s probing gaze. She was deaf to the sound of the water skimming along the bank, hearing only Aurora’s stiffly asked question. “It isn’t possible for me to answer that. I’m not you, Aurora. You must do as your conscience dictates.”
“Pooh!” She dismissed Shannon’s statement with a wave of her hand. “I saidifyou were me. Think on it. What would you do?”
“This is fruitless.”
“Humor me.”
Shannon shook her head. “You have never mentioned once that you love Brandon. Why is that, Aurora?”
Aurora held up Pilgrim as the trail widened again. She said nothing until Shannon came abreast of her. “I don’t believe that love has anything to do with wanting to keep my marriage intact. There is Clara to think of, and I must consider what will happen to me. I will be ostracized.”
“I doubt that.”
“You don’t understand. It is a matter of what society will tolerate. It was all very well to be Parker’s mistress. It was scandalous, but at least I was desirable,” she explained, perfectly serious. “No one will want me if I am Brandon’s divorced wife.”
Shannon’s eyes widened at her sister’s shameless reasoning. “No man, you mean.”
Aurora was not at all offended by Shannon’s dry tone. “Precisely.”
“You could return to your parents. They’re lovely people, and they want nothing more than your happiness.”
“If that were true, then they would have tried to stop Brandon. Yet they did nothing except desert me when I needed their support.”
Shannon wanted to avoid an argument, and she believed that defending the Marchands would lead to one. She sought to change the subject by pretending renewed interest in the route they were taking. “Where are we going? I don’t believe I have ever been this far from the folly.”
“We haven’t even gone beyond the folly’s boundaries yet. I thought we’d ride north for a while, to David French’s property. He’s the folly’s nearest neighbor and one of Bran’s friends. Besides, I didn’t want to give Anthem an open field. I don’t know how she would respond if Pilgrim would break.”
“Thank you. That was kind of you.” Shannon was grateful for the path Aurora had chosen because it was less likely that Aurora could leave her behind. Apparently her sister intended to keep her promise to stay close. She was less certain that she wanted to meet any of Brandon’s neighbors, and wondered if Aurora had another reason for this particular route. “Aren’t Cody and Brandon somewhere around here?”
Aurora shrugged indifferently. “I don’t think so. Did they mention where they would be hunting?”
“I didn’t ask,” Shannon admitted.
The path forked and Aurora chose the trail that wound away from the river. Brilliant patches of sunlight dotted the path, taking the chill off the breeze.
Of necessity they rode single file again, and Aurora feigned interest in the landscape while she surreptitiously searched for some sign of Parker. They rode in virtual silence for more than a mile, occasionally commenting on some oddity of nature they saw. The quiet that Shannon found so restful set Aurora’s teeth on edge.
“Why did you never mention that you met Brandon in Glen Eden?” Aurora asked suddenly.
Shannon was taken aback, but it didn’t occur to her to prevaricate. “I thought you might make more of the meeting than there was. I did not want to hurt you. How did you learn we met there? Did Brandon tell you?”
So Parker was not mistaken. It helped Aurora harden her heart to the task at hand. “It doesn’t matter. Tell me about it. Was it then you fell in love with Brandon?”
