“I’m married, Annie. Or are you the one person in Virginia who didn’t know that?”
“Marriage,” she said scornfully. “It matters naught to me, nor to most of my gentleman friends.” She ran one finger along the edge of her bodice, pulling on it just enough to give Brandon a glimpse of the curves of her breasts. “There was a time when it mattered naught to you,” she reminded him.
“It’s different now, Annie,” he said gently. “I came to ask you about my brother.”
“Cody?”
“No. Parker.” He saw her give a small start, and for the first time since coming to town, he was hopeful. “It’s important that I see him before he leaves for Belletraine. I was wondering if he spent last evening with you?”
“How did you know he was in town? He usually takes pains to—” Annie fidgeted with the folds of her woolen dress as she realized her mistake. “You didn’t know, did you?”
Brandon placed one hand over Annie’s nervous ones. “Let us say I wasn’t certain. But he was in town yesterday, wasn’t he?” At Annie’s hesitant nod, Brandon continued.” And he stayed with you?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t understand why you are so reluctant to tell me about Parker. Why should it be a secret?”
Annie shrugged. “Parker just wanted it that way. He never said I shouldn’t speak to you. I suppose he didn’t expect you would come round. I wasn’t supposed to tell Cody, that’s all.”
Brandon’s brows drew together as he tried to make sense of what Annie was telling him. “But Cody’s been gone these past weeks…” His voice drifted off. “Annie, are you telling me you’ve been seeing Parker since before Cody left?”
Annie’s shoulders straightened as she became defensive. “What of it?” she demanded. “I see lots of men.”
“Hardly the issue. Is Parker still here?”
“No. He left a few hours ago.”
“For Belletraine?”
“I don’t know.”
A sense of urgency was clawing at Brandon’s vitals. He forced himself to go slowly and discover just what it was that Annie knew before he rushed back to the folly. Parker’s presence in Williamsburg on occasions other than yesterday was a surprise to Brandon. To his knowledge Parker generally conducted Belletraine’s business in Baltimore. “I think you’d better tell me the whole of Parker’s visits, Annie, beginning with why Parker didn’t want Cody to know he was seeing you.”
When Brandon left the tavern an hour later, he was furiously angry with himself for being so blind, with Cody for being naive, and with Annie for being a fool. Only Parker was exempt from Brandon’s anger. For him Brandon reserved raw, naked hatred.
Clara pressedher eye to a small hole in the cabin’s shuttered window. “Someone’s coming, Mishannon.”
“Can you see who it is?” Shannon was lying on the single bed, her injured ankle elevated by two folded blankets she had slipped beneath it. The slightest movement was excruciatingly painful, so Shannon didn’t stir when Clara made her excited announcement.
“No. There’s too many snows.”
Shannon permitted herself a small smile at Clara’s description of the near-blizzard conditions outside the cabin. The tiny fire she had been able to make in the hearth offered little warmth, and their shelter had few amenities save for the two blankets Shannon was using and the one that was tucked around Clara. “Come away from the window,” Shannon said. “It mightn’t be anyone from the folly.” More likely it was a traveler searching for shelter as they had done. “Come, sit with me.” Shannon bit heir lip to keep from crying out as Clara shook the bed when she climbed onto it. “Be still, Clara.” When Clara quieted, Shannon could hear their visitor kicking his boots free of snow against the cabin door. A moment later it was pushed open.
Grimacing, Shannon forced herself up on her elbows. “Mr. Rhoades! You can’t imagine how—”
“Parker!” Clara cried out happily, cutting off Shannon.
Parker Grant did not often show surprise, but that emotion was clearly etched in his features now. His probing green glance darted between his niece and Shannon, and then he did something he had only done rarely in his adult life. He laughed, softly at first, then louder, his unrhythmic tone bordering on hysteria. “Oh, this is rich,” he nearly shouted, tossing his wet three-cornered hat onto the table and leaning his musket against the wall. The smile he leveled at them was rife with self-mockery. “When I think of the hours I planned…the time involved…so unnecessary. Here you are—both of you—with no prompting from me.” He wiped his eyes, which were damp from his laughter. “What brought you here? No, never mind. I imagine it was the same thing that brought me. Something of a storm, isn’t it? I didn’t even notice the smoke from your fire. Where is your horse?”
“My pony’s in the back,” Clara answered before Shannon could stop her. “Mishannon was walking, only she hurt her foot. Will you take us to Papa, Parker?”
Parker hunkered down on his knees and held out his arms for Clara. She scooted off the bed and hugged him, oblivious to Shannon’s attempt to hold her back. “That’sUncleParker, minx. But then, you never were a proper miss. Your mother’s daughter in every fashion, I think.” He looked over Clara’s shoulder, took note of Shannon’s pale and worried features, and smiled without warmth. “I regret the lies on our previous meeting, Mrs. Fleming, but they were quite necessary.”
Shannon’s eyes narrowed as she watched Parker return Clara’s hug. How had she not known who he was yesterday? The distinctive Fleming features, the tight jaw, the shape of the mouth, were obvious to her now. “You are lying,” she said coldly. “You don’t regret them at all. You deliberately set out to deceive me. Why?”
“For the odd bit of information, I suppose,” he said carelessly. “I was almost as surprised to see you outside that shop as I was seeing you here today. Bran was noticeably absent. It was as good a time as any to make your acquaintance.” He released Clara and gave her a playful push toward Shannon. “When you mentioned leaving for Boston, I realized how quickly I must act. But this—” his hand swept the air, indicating the entire cabin—“this is better than I could have hoped for.”
“Then you have no intention of helping us get back to the folly.”
