Simmer All Night (4 page)

He took three steps down the hallway before Cole followed, saying, "Wait. Let me get her. I have something I need to say to her."

"How is your mouth?" Jake inquired, wincing. When Cole simply scowled an answer, he shrugged and added, "She's in the kitchen. Said something about tending her herb garden."

Cole found her sifting flour rather than dirt. Scenting yeast on the air, he deduced she was mixing up bread. "Hello, Christina."

At the sound of his voice her movements froze. Her tone dripped sarcasm as she said, "Morgan. Now my day is truly complete."

"I know just how you feel." He gestured toward the table. "What torture are you cooking up now? Will you add a little rattlesnake milk to your bread to give it a bite?"

She flashed a false smile and batted her lashes. "If I do, rest assured you will receive the first piece."

Cole shot his own insincere grin right back at her. "Lovely. I've been looking for a new bait to use in my mousetraps."

She dumped the measured flour into a bowl. "Go away, Morgan. I'm not in the mood to banter this morning."

Neither was Cole, come to think of it. "Do you know what this meeting is about?"

Her gaze grew guarded. "What meeting?"

"This family conclave. Your mother and brother are waiting for us in the library."

A wary look crossed her face. "Us? You'll be there?"

"Your mother sent for me."

"Why?"

He shrugged. "Maybe she thinks a scalded tongue earned me a ticket to your scolding."

She turned her head and stared out the window toward the garden where a magnolia tree clung to its fading blossoms. Color stained her cheeks, and eyeing her profile, Cole's heart unexpectedly stuttered.

When had she grown into such a staggering beauty? When had she ever looked this pensive, this alone?

Both questions bothered him, so he forced the subject from his mind. "I think your brother and your mother have a scheme up their sleeves. You don't know what it is?"

"No." Sighing, she washed her hands, then removed her apron and looped it over a ladderback chair. "Neither of them have spoken more than a dozen words to me in the past two days. Jake won't look me in the eyes."

Cole frowned. "Me, either."

"I guess we might as well go hear what they have to say." She brushed by him, trailing a lingering scent of onion as she went.

What in the world was that woman putting in her bread?
Might be mouse bait after all.

Cole followed Chrissy down the hallway toward the library, the click of her heels against the tile floor sounding uncomfortably like the repetitive cock of a gun. Frowning, Cole wondered why he happened to draw that particular analogy.

Just outside the library door, she paused. He watched as she drew a deep breath, straightened her spine, and lifted her chin before walking inside.
The girl always did have pluck.

Approaching the doorway himself, Cole heard Elizabeth Delaney say, "Christina, please sit down. Is Cole with you?"

"Right here, ma'am," he replied, entering the room.

"Good. Good. Very good." Elizabeth sat regal as a queen behind a broad walnut desk.

Jake stood at a window with his back facing the room. He stared out toward the carriage house, one hand absently playing with the gold tassels on the floral patterned drapery. When he glanced over one shoulder, the look in his eyes as he gazed toward his sister put Cole on guard.
Regret? Why was Jake feeling regret?

"Please take a seat, Cole." Elizabeth nodded toward one of the deep leather chairs across the desk from her. "Jake tells me you two are scheduled to meet with a client at eleven, so I'd like to begin. We've much to discuss,"

Seated in the chair beside him, Christina smoothed her skirt and managed to appear almost prim as she said, "Mother, I suspect you've called me here to discuss my chili stand?"

Elizabeth nodded. "Among other things."

"In that case, I don't think we need to keep the boys from their business."

"Men, Chrissy," Jake grumbled. "Not boys."

Shaking her head, Elizabeth replied, "This is a family matter of some importance. Jake and Cole must be part of it."

Christina shot Cole a look that all but shouted,
You're not family.

"Cole is family," her mother declared, correctly reading her daughter. "His input into this situation is vital."

"But—"

"Save your breath, Christina," Cole said, trying in his own way to smooth the waters. "I'd just as soon be somewhere else myself, but Miss Elizabeth asked me."

"That's it, then," she muttered just loud enough for Cole to hear.
"
If my mother asked you to break both legs, you'd do it just because she asked."

Elizabeth said, "Don't mumble, child."

Christina gave her head a little shake. "Like you said, Mother, let's proceed, shall we? After all, I'm accustomed to being scolded in public."

Jake snorted and turned away from the window. "Our library isn't exactly public. It's nothing like the plaza. You remember the plaza, don't you? The place where you danced like a strumpet and kissed a gambler right on the mouth? Now that's public."

Elizabeth Delaney put a hand to her head, looking tired. "Oh, hush. All of you, quit your bickering." She gestured toward her son. "Jake, I ask you to allow me to do the talking here. This will be difficult enough without your ill-advised comments."

Difficult?
The word combined with Elizabeth Delaney's grave tone had Cole's mouth twisting in a frown. He was getting a bad feeling about this discussion.

"Oh, daughter." A heavy sigh blew across the desk like a bitter breeze. Elizabeth's jade-colored eyes shimmered with unshed tears. "It breaks my heart that it has come to this. I see so much good in you. You are kind and generous and tender-hearted. You are truly the most compassionate person I know. But I also see reckless behavior, poor judgment, and ill-considered choices."

She ticked off the points on her fingers. "There was the horse race with Scott Jenkins, the gambling incident with Andrew Hobbs, the altercation you inspired between John Halford and Christopher Gates during Sunday services, the late-night fishing excursion with Todd Wright."

"Mother, those incidents all happened months ago."

"Well, this... this... chili kiss in the public square is certainly current. As if that wasn't enough, you attempt to poison our dear Cole—"

"Poison!" Chrissy exclaimed. "I didn't—"

Jake interjected, "That pepper might as well have been poison. Cole was sick as a dog after eating it. I was with him. I saw it all. The man lost his supper."

Cole studied his fingernails and observed, "I think we can blame that on the chili, not the pepper."

"The chili!" Her glare seared him like her pepper. "Look, if you're not man enough to handle a little hot pepper, why don't you—"

Elizabeth slapped a hand on the desktop. "Enough. This is another example of the unladylike behavior that convinced me to make my choice. Christina, you need structure and discipline in your life."

Chrissy sat back in her chair and folded her arms, her expression mutinous.

Her mother continued, "I've tried. Heaven knows I've tried, but obviously I'm lacking in will where you are concerned. I thought long and hard about this situation, and I see but one solution."

"This is an old conversation, Mother," Chrissy said quickly. "I won't be married off."

Cole's gut went tight with tension. Surely Elizabeth didn't... certainly she would not... was
that
why she'd called him here? Suddenly Cole was glad he was already sitting down.

In the past, various people had joked about the possibility of his marrying Christina. He'd never taken the idea seriously. He'd all but grown up with the girl; she was like a sister to him. She was. Honestly.

He shut his eyes, willing away the memories of recent instances when his brotherly blinders had slipped.

No, he was smarter than that. The man who married Christina Delaney would be tying himself to a tornado of trouble. The man who married her would spend half his time chasing off the men who buzzed around her like bees.

Yes,
but he'd get to
spend
the other half in her bed.

He shot a guilty glance around the room. Luckily, no one paid him any attention. All eyes were focused on Christina.

She gripped her chair's arms hard, the light in her eyes fierce. "You can't force me to marry. Don't forget your promise."

"No, I won't pressure you to wed," Elizabeth said with a sigh. "My father tried to do that to me, and I swore then I'd never make the same mistake with my children. I won't have you forced into elopement in order to marry the man you love like I was. It caused both me and my father a great deal of pain, and it's only been since your father died that I've felt free to attempt to mend the breach. My father admits he made a mistake trying to force me to wed the Marquess of Rushton. He's a good man, your grandfather. Strict, certainly, and a stickler for maintaining discipline, but he was fair, too. He gave me a balanced upbringing. That's where your father and I failed you, Christina. We were too lax when it came to discipline."

"Lax?" She leaned forward. "Mother, you sent me away. You made me leave my
home."

"But look what mischief on your part was required for us to finally act."

Chrissy pushed to her feet, her eyes fierce with righteous anger. "I wasn't the only one up to mischief that night. I followed him," she pointed to her brother, "and him," she gestured toward Cole, "to a bordello. I get shipped off to boarding school, never to see my father again, and what do they get? A slap on the wrists. Mother, this family exhibits a double standard when it comes to male and female that is downright shameful."

Cole grimaced as Jake protested, "Now, wait a minute."

Elizabeth motioned toward Chrissy's chair. "Please, Christina, resume your seat. I have no intention of revisiting that old argument. We've other, more important items to discuss." She drew a deep breath and said, "I mentioned your grandfather for a reason. The earl is just the person you need right now. I want you to visit him, Christina. I want you to make it an extended visit."

Cole pursed his lips and sucked in a breath.
Not marriage. Elizabeth doesn't want me to marry Christina.
He exhaled, waiting for relief to sweep through him. Instead, the strangest sort of hollow sensation crept over him.

Christina was going away.

He glanced over to gauge her reaction. What he saw caused his gut to twist. Devastation—wrenching and total.

Oh, Christina.

She wilted down into her seat. In a thready voice, she asked, "You're sending me away again?"

"I think it's for the best," her mother gently replied. "You need a male influence in your life, and since you've shown no signs of falling in love, a wedding isn't the answer. I know better than to attempt to give your brother authority over you. The ideal solution is for you to spend some time at Hartsworth."

"Sending me away," Christina murmured, her complexion pale. "Again."

The bewildered hurt in her voice tugged at Cole, made him want to reach out to her in comfort. He didn't disagree with Elizabeth's solution. Christina had brought this on herself. But he hated to see any one in pain, and no one in this room could deny Christina's reaction. She looked battered and beaten.

He threw a half-angry gaze toward Jake.
Do something,
he silently demanded. Say something.

Jake wrenched away from his place by the window and began to pace the room, "Don't think of it that way, Chrissy. We're not sending you away. Mother is offering you a wonderful opportunity. Think about it. Travel abroad. You'll get to see sights I've always dreamed of visiting. Do you know how many people would love to be in your shoes?"

Christina extended her feet toward Jake. "Here, you're more than welcome to them."

Elizabeth leaned forward. "You'll love Hartsworth, Christina. It's a grand manor complete with every luxury imaginable. The gardens are like nothing you've ever seen, I remember house parties Father hosted where merriment filled Hartsworth from wing to wing. And I know how much you love to dance. I'm sure my father will host a ball in your honor during your visit. Oh darling, you'll have the chance to meet a multitude of suitable young gentlemen."

Cole snorted silently. Christina and a stiff-upper-lip Englishman? That would set back relations between the U.S. and Britain a hundred years.

"A gentleman." The corners of Christina's mouth fluttered up, but the smile didn't reach her eyes. She demonstrated that her fighting spirit had returned by straightening in her chair and saying, "Ah, now I see. You want me to marry a foreigner and never come home. From Chili Queen to countess, perhaps? It would be a demotion in my eyes, but I understand why you wouldn't see it that way."

"That's not how it is and you know it," Jake said, raking his fingers through his hair.

Chrissy looked at Cole. "Did you know about this?"

"No," he honestly replied. If he had, he'd have shot the idea down. He'd put some thought into this since witnessing her Chili Queen triumph, and he thought he had the problem figured out. Marriage wasn't the answer for Christina. She needed something to exercise her mind. The girl was smart and filled with energy. That's what was getting her in trouble, not the lack of a masculine hand guiding her life. What Christina needed was a project to keep her busy. Something interesting and worthwhile, though. Not some silly little ladies' busy-work.

Then Cole saw the light. The Declaration of Independence. That was Elizabeth's plan. She was sending Chrissy in his place. That's why he'd been made a part of this meeting. He was off the hook; he wouldn't have to make the trip to England, after all.

Once again Cole waited for the relief to seep through him. Once again he waited in vain.

Apparently, Christina had figured out her mother's plans as well. Rueful amusement shadowed her smile as she spoke to him. "You didn't know either, hmm? Well you might want to brace yourself, Cole. I suspect their plot involves you." She looked at her mother. "Am I right?"