"A planned tour of Europe before she settled down."

"That she bragged to no one about before she left?" Marian scoffed.

"She didn't want to witness their disappointment at learning that she'd be gone for a few months."

"And when she didn't return as they expected?"

He waved a hand dismissively. "Marriage, of course."

Kathleen shook her head. "Such an elaborate scheme, and all for what? You aren't dead yet, Mort. Your wealth is still yours to do with as you please. If you didn't want any uproar over making the boy your only heir, you could have just kept it to yourself."

"And have them all fighting over my money when I am gone? They were known as heiresses. All of Amanda's suitors here expected a piece of the pie. If something did happen to me, I didn't want anyone fighting over my estate. No, no indeed, there will be no contention. And there would have been none if the girls had just stayed in Texas where they were sent. Why are they back here?" he asked with distinct annoyance.

"Because your brilliant-idea man wasn't so brilliant in sending along an accounting of your estate that Amanda would recognize as a lot of bull. We thought Bridges had robbed the girls of their inheritance. That's the only reason we're here."

He sighed. "Yes, he can be quite stupid at times."

His wife sputtered indignantly on her brothers behalf, but still kept her mouth shut. Mortimer might have married her to get their son under his roof, but he probably didn't treat her as a real wife. It was doubtful that there was any affection between them because he'd apparently transferred all his love to the boy.

"I still don't see why you didn't just wait until the girls married and settled elsewhere. People do start new families late in life, Mort. It happens all the time."

"Yes, in retrospect, that might have been best. But it was preferable to have Amanda away from Haverhill. And it would have been difficult to arrange a marriage for her elsewhere, when she had no desire to leave town. Besides, she's too jealous not to have caused trouble when I married and acknowledged Andrew as my only heir."

"So what you're saying is you had to fake your death just because you spoiled your daughter so rotten that even you don't know how to deal with her?"

"Basically—yes."

He was blushing again, acknowledging his weakness. Marian understood perfectly, having lived with them both. She knew the kind of uproar Amanda could cause and knew that her father had never liked scenes of that sort. It didn't even surprise her, really, that he'd come up with a plan to get Amanda out of the picture completely. He already had a new favorite. Amanda meant next to nothing to him now; rather he considered her a liability.

Marian could care less, thankfully. But she actually felt a little sorry for her sister. Just deserts? No, his actions went beyond that. This was having the father she'd adored her whole life fake his death just to get her out of his life. And that was really the only reason he'd done it. He'd made Amanda what she was with his selfish favoritism; but he wouldn't own up to that, wouldn't consider himself at fault. The money was a minor issue. He just didn't want to be bothered with a spoiled daughter he didn't care about anymore.

It would have been much, much better if they had continued to think he was dead.

She glanced at her sister. Amanda's eyes were a little glassy with emotion. Her fists were clenched at her sides, but she hadn't blown up as everyone expected.

"You're a pathetic coward, Papa," Amanda said, surprising them all with her quiet tone. "I knew you weren't dead. It just never felt like it, so I didn't accept it. It feels like it now, though."

Having said that, Amanda turned and left the room, and the house. There was only silence in her wake for several long moments. Then Spencer walked slowly to the end of the table where Mortimer sat. The older man started to rise in alarm, because the younger man's face contained all the anger that had been missing from Amanda's. Spencer's fist sat him back down, landing squarely between his nose and mouth, doing damage to both.

"Don't worry," the Texan said in disgust. "I'm done. That was merely for my wife, since she's too much a lady to do it herself. And she doesn't need your money, old man. She'll never want for anything while I'm around."

Spencer didn't wait for a reply, didn't want one. He did spit on the floor, though, before he followed his wife out.

Stuart stood up, stretched, held his hand out to Kathleen. "You were lucky to get away from this sickness before it infected you, darlin'. We ready to go home?"

"Hell, yes." She grinned at him and took his hand to leave. She paused at the door, though, to glance back at her brother one last time. "You know, Mort, you get out of life what you give. Ironic, isn't it, that no one gave a hoot when they thought you were dead. And you just spit on the only person who might have cared that you're still alive. Good thing she's come to her senses."

Marian and Chad were the only ones left. Mortimer hadn't bothered to glance her way even once. His wife was still eating. That was almost comic. She cared so little for him that she didn't even bother to pretend some concern over the blood he was wiping off his face.

Chad stood behind Marian, gripped her shoulders in sympathy, and said in a voice that carried down the table, "Want me to shoot him for you? I will."

She burst out laughing, not at all surprised that she could laugh under the circumstances. Her father simply had no effect on her anymore.

She turned around, grinned at Chad, and caressed his cheek. "You say the sweetest things."

He rolled his eyes at her. Her response let him know that what happened here today hadn't hurt her the way it had Amanda.

"I believe you know where the door is," Mortimer said behind them in a cold tone.

Marian merely glanced over her shoulder. She wouldnt have said anything, didn't really feel a need to confront him as the others had done, but the glare coming her way just rubbed her wrong. This man had ignored her all her life—except when he wanted to get rid of her, then she'd had his full attention.

"I'd pity you," she said in a conversational tone. "But you know, you just aren't worth it. I'd pity your new son, too, but he won't be worth it either after you get done raising him to be just like you—that's if he's even really yours or just—"

"Get out!" Mortimer cut in furiously.

"Or just another travesty concocted by a crafty lawyer who seems to prefer lies to the truth," Marian finished and, noting that Albert's sister was blushing vividly, added with a chuckle, "Oh, that's priceless. Enjoy your new family, Papa."

Chapter 59

THERE WAS A SHIP scheduled to depart the very next day. It was recommended that the passengers board the night before, since it would be sailing with the morning tide. Stuart still had business to attend to in Chicago, so he and Kathleen were taking the train back. And as Spencer preferred trains over boats, he and Amanda were going with them. Ella Mae, whohad already elected to stay with Marian, now that the sisters wouldn't be living together anymore, volunteered to accompany Marian on the sea voyage since she would need a chaperone—at least for another day.

Amanda came to say good-bye while Marian was getting her luggage ready to be transported to the ship.

They would all be having dinner together before they went their separate ways. Of course, they would be meeting again in Texas in a few weeks. Still, it was the first time the sisters would be away from each otlier for more than a day.

At first Marian ignored Amanda. She didn't want to talk about their father, as she feared Amanda had come to do. While Marian would just as soon forget that he existed and wanted only to concentrate on her new life and new husband-to-be, Amanda had taken a devastating blow that day. On top of that, Amanda's life wasn't settled. Spencer might think it was to go by what he'd said after Amanda had left Mortimer's house, but Amanda had yet to give that impression.

Amanda hadn't said anything yet. She was merely walking about the room, touching things absently. Marian finally stopped what she was doing and sat down on the bed with a sigh.

"You know I'm getting married tomorrow, or soon thereafter. I'm happy. I love Chad. I suspect I'm going to love being his wife. We managed to find each other despite your efforts to ruin—"

"I'm glad you got that straightened out," Amanda cut in. "I figured you would have told him the truth. I never figured you'd be so stubborn about keeping it to yourself."

Marian just stared at her. "He mentioned something about your being responsible for his persistence earlier today. Is that why?"

"Of course. It wasn't my intention to sabotage your little romance. I was just bored to pieces at the time, waiting for Spencer to show up again. You were supposed to expose the lie immediately, be a little embarrassed over it, get out of your hiding mentality, get married—"

"Wait just a minute," Marian cut in now. "If you're trying to say that it was a convoluted attempt at matchmaking on your part, remember to whom you're talking."

"Don't be silly. You'd already done the matchmaking. You did make love with him, after all. That spoke for itself. I was merely hurrying things along to keep them interesting."

"Because you were bored."

"Yes, and I guess I'm trying to say, well, that I'm sorry it got so messed up instead."

"All right, what do you want, Mandy?"

"Nothing."

"Bull. You don't apologize without a reason. You don't do things just to be nice, either."

"Mari, I know I have a lot of faults. You don't need to point them out. Being away from Father in Texas, you could say I woke up. Without him around approving of every little thing I did, I began to see that some of the things I did were just plain—horrible."

Marian was rendered speechless for a moment, then asked, "What's this really about?"

"Spencer." Amanda sighed. "He's never going to love me the way I'd hoped—the way Chad loves you. I amuse him is all."

"Then you want him to love you?"

"Well, certainly. He's my husband, isn't he?"

"One you didn't want," Marian reminded her.

Amanda waved a hand. "That was merely for effect. I wasn't going to let him know just how much he means to me, when he's been mostly indifferent. I do have some pride, you know."

"You mean he's not letting you wrap him around your little finger?" Marian guessed.

"You don't have to be sarcastic about it. But no, he's not. He could care less about what I want. He doesn't make the least effort to please me."

"Do you?"

"What?"

"Make any effort to please him?"

Amanda snorted. Then she frowned and actually thought about it, finally confessing, "I suppose not. I've been too busy trying to keep him from guessing that I love him."

That sounded too familiar by half. It was exactly what Marian had done—foolishly. "I'm going to give you some sisterly advice, because I just got out of that boat myself. Be honest with him. Tell him. You might just be surprised to find out that maybe he's been doing the same thing ... hiding his real feelings."

Amanda agreed to give it a shot and must have, because she was looking damned pleased with herself at dinner that night. Marian caught up with her as they were leaving the hotel. A coach was already waiting outside for her and Chad, but he stopped to have a few last words with his father, and Spencer was moving to join them.

Pulling her sister aside, Marian whispered, "You told him?"

"Yes."

"And found out he loves you, too?"

"No, he denied it," Amanda said, though she was grinning. "But I know he was lying, so it's okay."

Marian rolled her eyes. "I'll see you when you get home, Mandy."

Amanda chuckled, then said, "Oh, I'd like a wedding portrait, if you don't mind. Something I can throw darts at when I get annoyed with my husband."

Marian was still laughing as she joined Chad in the coach. He asked her why, but all she said was, "I think my sister is developing a sense of real humor."

They did get married the next day at sea, and Marian found out with a good deal of pleasure that that turned out to be the happiest day of her life. Nothing else could come close to the euphoria she'd experienced from the moment she'd said, "I do."