“Listening!” he scoffed, raising both brows. “I don’t need to listen. I lived with her, and I know her every trick. I thought I had forewarned you not to be taken in, but it seems you would rather believe her than me.” He turned to go, but Shannon caught his arm.
“No! Wait!” Her wide violet eyes implored him. “It is not a matter of believing one or the other. I want to understand.” She saw she had his attention and she continued. “Is it true that you must apply to the church?”
“Yes. There is no other way.”
“But—”
“There is no other way.”
“Can you not see how this might upset Aurora?”
“Of course I can. It troubles me no less, yet I did not come to burden you with the matter. You have nothing to do with this, Shannon, and I won’t have Aurora make this your affair. If you leave, it will be as good as a confession that you love me. Is that what you want?”
“No. I simply want it all ended, Brandon. God help me, I want to be your wife.”
Brandon dropped his hat and gathered Shannon in a fierce embrace. “I can’t stop myself from thinking of it either,” he said softly, his mouth against her ear. “But you mustn’t let yourself think you are to blame for the divorce. It’s simply not true.”
“But my sister—”
Brandon gave her a little shake. “Don’t think of her as your sister. She doesn’t think of you in that light. Not really. She is looking for a sympathetic ear, someone who might have the opportunity to convince me she’s changed. Aurora knows Cody will have none of her, and given the chance, Martha would spit on her damask slippers. She sees in you a way to reach me through your interest in Clara. I beg you not to trust her tears, her emotions, her protests. This role she is playing now is not entirely new to me. I saw it once before.”
Shannon raised her face. For a moment her eyes were questioning, then they cleared as she remembered something he had told her. “That was when you—”
“When I bedded her,” he finished bluntly. “And six weeks later she tried to present Parker’s child as my own.”
“Then you are saying she is merely toying with me.”
“That is what I’m saying. I can’t pretend to know what is going on in her mind, but I know I don’t trust her. If she wants to remain married to me, it is not because she loves me.”
“Perhaps it is because of her daughter,” she said, realizing in all the painful confessing Aurora had done last night, she had never mentioned she still loved Brandon. “Did you tell her you would never let her see Clara?”
Brandon closed his eyes briefly, seeking patience. “No. I never said that. After the divorce, if she chooses to see Clara, she may. But don’t hope that I will ask her to settle near here. I won’t stop encouraging her to go to her parents.”
Shannon stepped out of Brandon’s arms. “How am I to deal with her, Brandon? What am I to say?”
“Say nothing. Stay away from her. I know you can manage it. You did well enough when your goal was to stay away from me.”
She caught the glimmer of a smile on his lips, but she could not be amused. “It is not at all the same thing.”
“I know,” he said. “It is difficult for you.”
“It is intolerable.”
“I don’t know what to tell you, Shannon. I would not force you to accept my opinion of Aurora. You will decide that for yourself.” He picked up his discarded hat and jammed it on his head. “I pray you are not hurt too deeply when she reveals herself.” Without giving Shannon a chance to respond, he turned his back on her, reached for the reins on his mount, and led it out of the stable.
Shannon stood rooted to the spot, staring after Brandon, his profile burned into her mind’s eye long after he had disappeared from view.
“Mishannon!” Clara grabbed Shannon’s hand and tugged.
“What is it, Clara?” she answered distractedly, still thinking of Brandon’s last words. Was he correct? she wondered. Was Aurora playing some game of her own?
“Mishannon!” Clara called again, pulling on Shannon’s arm more urgently. “The kittens went to the loft. Want to see Rainbow now. You promised!”
Shannon came out of her reverie. “All right, Clara. Let’s see Rainbow.” She led the little girl to the stall at the back of the stable. The pony seemed to recognize Clara, switching its silky black tail as she stroked its nose. Clara fed Rainbow bits of dried apples and talked enthusiastically to her pony while Shannon watched and listened, amusement tugging at the corners of her mouth.
“So this is Rainbow.”
Shannon and Clara turned at once to see Aurora standing a few feet away. She was not looking at the pony or at Clara. In spite of the lightness of her tone, her eyes were resting sharply on Shannon. Aurora was dressed for riding, wearing a scarlet-laced waistcoat and a black weather skirt of heavy linen to protect against dust and water her horse might kick up. Her black cocked hat was carefully arranged on her head at a rakish angle, and the crimson plume bobbed once when she nodded a curt greeting to Shannon. The riding crop in her hand beat a tattoo against her skirt.
