"Unhand my bride," Pelham Cosgrove ordered.
As Mary jerked out of his embrace, Lee studied her bridegroom. He supposed the man was handsome in slicked-back, neat and tidy, buttoned-down sort of way. And under other circumstances, he might even have liked him. But not now; not today. He had a mission to complete, and Mary's bridegroom was standing squarely in the way of that objective. "Stay out of it," Lee growled.
"I stay out of it?" Pelham sputtered. "I'm Pelham Everhardt Cosgrove III, and this is my wife."
"Not yet, she isn't," Lee muttered, swinging Mary up into his arms.
"I demand an explanation!" Pelham shouted.
But before Pelham could get his explanation, the front door of the church opened and every head in the church turned to watch Judah Crane limp into the sanctuary with Maddy at his side.
Lee groaned.
"Young man." Judah's voice was thin and reedy as he called to Lee, but strong enough for the sound to reach every nook and cranny of the church's quiet interior. "Did we miss the wedding?"
"No, Judah," Lee answered gently, in spite of the sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. He had arrived at the church some minutes before the slow-moving buggy and had expected Judah and Maddy to wait with Daniel in the vehicle outside the church. "I thought you and Maddy were going to wait in the buggy until I came to get you."
"But we wanted to witness the ceremony. Have we missed it?"
"Not yet. Now, why don't you take Maddy back outside until I come and get you?"
"No!" Maddy's objection was instantaneous. "Want Mama." She pulled her hand out of Judah's, spotted Lee holding Mary in his arms at the end of the center aisle, and ran clumsily toward them. "Mama!"
Mary could only stare in disbelief as the precious little girl toddled up to Lee and grabbed hold of his duster. "Mama! Mama!"
"Do something!" Mary ordered.
Lee all but dropped Mary on the floor in his haste to set her on her feet and reach for the distraught child. "There, there." He wiped at Maddy's tears with the sleeve of his coat. "It's all right now, Maddy darling. Mama's here." He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out the porcelain-faced doll he had stuffed in there during the train ride from Denver and handed it to the little girl.
"Mine." Madeline grabbed the doll and hugged it close to her body, then reached out for Mary. "Mine," she repeated.
Every pair of eyes in the church turned to stare at Mary. She glanced around at faces of her wedding guests and stepped away from Lee and the child he was holding.
It didn't take a genius to figure out that Maddy's actions had been misinterpreted by just about everybody in the church. Even those people who knew better. But Lee didn't care about the wedding guests or their reactions to Maddy. All he cared about was Mary's reaction, and the reaction of her groom. Lee hadn't intended to use Madeline to sway Mary—unless, of course, there was no other way. But, he decided, little Maddy's arrival was timely and effective. He could look at the faces of the wedding guests and tell that. Lee glanced over at Pelham Cosgrove III. Unless he missed his guess, Mary's groom was about to bow out of the wedding, and that was just fine and dandy as far as Lee was concerned. He was more than ready to step in and relieve him. What wasn't fine was the expression on Mary's face. Lee knew he'd never forget her look of pain, and he was very much afraid he might never get over the feeling of guilt that slammed into his gut when he saw it. Lee knew he ought to try to explain the situation to Cosgrove and try to make things right for Mary. A true gentleman would explain and apologize. A true gentleman would make his excuses and walk out of her life. But Lee held his tongue.
Mary turned to face her husband-to-be and saw the accusatory look in his light brown eyes. "Pelham, I don't know what's going on here, but it isn't what you think."
"Really?" Pelham sneered at her. "Because I'm thinking that maybe she's"—he jerked his head in Madeline's direction—"the prior claim he has on you."
Mary gasped. "That's not true! I've never seen her before. And I've only know this man for four months. I couldn't possibly…" She let her words trail off as she caught a glimpse of the skeptical expression on Pelham's face, then impulsively reached out to touch his arm.
But Pelham brushed her hand aside. "Oh, come on, Mary, do you take me for a complete fool? She ran to you and called you her mama. And even I can look at her and see that she's related, with that black hair and those big blue eyes. She looks just like your cousin Reese's little girl."
Mary focused her attention on the child in Lee's arms. Pelham was right. She did look like Hope, so much so that they could almost be twins. She turned to Pelham and tried again. "There's a definite resemblance, but Pelham, that doesn't mean you're correct in what you're thinking."
"I'm thinking I made a terrible mistake in thinking you would make a suitable wife for me," Pelham told her. "I've ignored the advice of my friends and colleagues and generously overlooked your unfortunate heritage. I was willing to marry you and make you Mrs. Pelham Everhardt Cosgrove HI because I thought you were different. I thought you were a lady."
"I am a lady!" Mary protested, reaching out to him as huge sparkling tears clung to her lashes and rolled down her face.
"No, you're not."
"Pelham, you don't understand…"
"I understand all I need to understand. You're not a lady, you're a—"
"One more word," Lee spoke to Pelham through tightly clenched teeth. "Say one more word, insult her one more time and, mister, you'll be swallowing your pretty white teeth."
Pelham drew himself up to his full height and puffed out his chest. "I don't have to stay here and listen to this." He held his hand out to Mary palm up. "My ring, if you please."
"Pelham, please don't do this." Mary saw her dreams for the future rapidly turning to dust. She made no attempt to stop the flood of tears. But she had to try once again to salvage the situation. "Listen to me."
"My ring," Pelham demanded.
Mary removed the heavy pearl-encrusted gold ring and dropped it into Pelham's hand, then watched as her former bridegroom pocketed her betrothal ring, turned his back on her, and walked down the aisle.
"Pelham…" Mary started down the aisle after him but Lee blocked her path.
"Let him go," he said.
She looked up at Lee. "I need to talk to him. I know I can make him understand."
"No, you can't." Lee stared down at Mary. He saw the shimmer of unshed tears and traces of the tears she'd already cried on this, her wedding day. He reached down and caught one shiny droplet on his fingertip and prayed he could make everything up to her.
"I don't know what the devil is going on here but you'd better have a good explanation for staging this… this… little melodrama." David Alexander pointed a finger at his friend, Lee Kincaid.
The wedding party, now minus the groom, had retired to Father's Joseph's office away from the prying eyes of the congregation while they attempted to console the bride. David had stayed outside the office to discuss the situation with Lee in private.
"I didn't stage this melodrama," Lee told him.
David raised an eyebrow at that. "Oh no? I thought your appearance at the church rivaled that of Edwin Booth on stage."
"All right," Lee admitted, "I did intend to stop the wedding, but I didn't plan the rest."
David was skeptical. He glanced over at Judah and Madeline sitting quietly on a bench down the hall. "I suppose the old man and the little girl materialized out of thin air?"
Lee raked his fingers through his hair. "They were supposed to wait outside in the buggy until I came to get them."
"But you didn't stage anything?"
"Look David, I know you're upset. And you've got a right to be."
"You're damn… dead right I'm upset." David began to pace. "I ought to shoot you full of holes, or better yet, give Mary her little gun and let her do it."
Lee nodded, "I'd probably feel the same way if I were in your shoes. But you've got to believe me when I tell you I
didn't come here to hurt your sister."
"Well, if you didn't come here to hurt her by breaking up her wedding, why the hell are you here?" David demanded.
"1 came to marry her myself."
David stopped pacing and turned to look at his friend. "I don't believe you."
"It's true," Lee swore. "See?" He reached into his suit pocket and brought out a jeweler's box. He snapped it open so David could see the ruby and diamond engagement ring and the thin gold band.
Lee's admission took David by complete surprise. He staggered backward. "You and Mary? When? How?"
"It's a long story." Lee stroked the corner of his mustache.
"I've got plenty of time." David crossed his arms over his chest and waited.
"Look, David, I think it might be better if I explained all this to Mary," Lee began.
"You're not going to get a chance to so much as catch another glimpse of Mary until I find out what this is all about."
"Okay," Lee agreed as he closed the ring box. "Maybe you should take a look at this." He pulled out the envelope containing Tabitha Gray's letter and handed it to David.
David quickly scanned the letter and the copy of her will folded with it. He finished reading, folded the papers, and gave them back to Lee. He didn't insult Lee by asking if the silver mine and the house were Lee's main motivation: David knew his friend well enough to know they weren't. As an attorney, he had handled numerous business transactions for Lee Kincaid over the years. David was one of a handful of people who knew Lee didn't need the property or the income, so he asked the most intriguing question and the one closest to his heart: "Why did you pick Mary?"
Lee thought about telling David he had fallen madly in love with Mary but settled on the truth instead. "She was the only woman who came to mind—the only woman I trust enough to marry."
David smiled. "Are we talking about the same girl? You know, my sister, Mary? The woman who never misses the opportunity to pull her gun on you?"
"I know it sounds crazy," Lee admitted. "And in spite of the fact that she tends to brandish her gun whenever she feels threatened, Mary's the only woman I'll even consider."
David stood up. "I don't like this, Lee. I don't approve of your reason for wanting to marry my sister. It seems so cold-blooded, so businesslike"—he waved his arms in the air—"and I certainly can't condone your method. But Tessa's been…" David stopped abruptly as understanding dawned. He glanced over at Lee. "What are you doing in Cheyenne?"
"I told you."
"No," David said, "I mean, why did you come? How did you know about Mary's wedding plans?"
"I didn't know about Mary or her intended. My arriving in Cheyenne on her wedding day was purely coincidental." And too damn close to think about, Lee admitted to himself. A few minutes later and…
"Maybe we'd better clarify this," David suggested as his quick mind began to put the pieces of the puzzle together. "I thought you were supposed to be in Washington working on our behalf."
Lee glanced over at David, not quite sure how he should answer. After all, Tessa had hired him, not David.
Lee had, in the past, followed Tessa Roarke from Chicago to Peaceable, Wyoming, in an attempt to keep his promise to her dying brother to look after her. Her brother, Eamon Roarke, was Lee's Pinkerton partner. He had done his best, but Tessa wound up facing a murder charge and the hangman's noose, once in Peaceable. David Alexander had been hired to defend her, and Lee had helped his longtime friend find the evidence that convinced the jury that Tessa hadn't killed Arnie Mason for murdering her brother, Eamon. Tessa had married David, then promptly hired Lee to help her find Lily Catherine, not just to find out the truth surrounding the child's birth, or to help clear David's name, but so she and David could adopt her as their own. Tessa meant to give David the child whose birth had changed his life and brought the two of them together.
But until this moment, Lee wasn't sure if David knew of his work for Tessa.
"It's all right," David told him. "I know Tessa hired you to find Lily Catherine for us. She told me on our honey-moon. I know all about it and I know you were supposed to be in Washington looking into the situation."
"I was in Washington working on the case until… I don't know," Lee rubbed his tired eyes. "A few days ago." He managed a lopsided grin. "I can't remember exactly. My days are all running together."
David took pity on him. "How long has it been since you've had a full night's sleep?"
"Over a week."
David nodded in understanding. "We'll take it slowly. What happened after you left Washington?"
"What is this, counselor?" Lee raised one blond eyebrow as he recognized his friend's courtroom tactics. "I'm not on trial."
"If you want to talk to Mary," David informed him, "you'll answer my questions. And if you consider answering a few pertinent questions for an old friend a trial, then so be it." David shot Lee a stern, unyielding look. "But I will have my answers."
It was Lee's turn to nod in mute understanding.
"So what happened after you left Washington?" David asked again.
"I reported to William Pinkerton in Chicago. He listened to my report, then handed me a stack of telegrams requiring my urgent attention." Lee paused a moment, then added, "Three telegrams were from Operative Tom McLeary requesting my immediate presence in Denver, and four of them were from Tessa."
"My Tessa?" David asked the question, though he already knew the answer.
"Yeah." Lee grinned suddenly. "And I bet you live to regret teaching her how to read and write. Boyo, that's one woman who believes in the power of the written word."
David smiled in agreement. Tessa also believed with all her heart that Liam Kincaid and Mary were meant for each other. Matchmaking. David smiled. His red-headed Irish beauty was definitely matchmaking. "Did Tessa invite you to Mary's wedding?"
Lee shook his head. "She didn't mention the wedding. She just instructed me to come to the ranch as soon as possible. And when I failed to respond to the first telegram, she sent three others to back it up." He glanced at David. "You don't think she wanted me to…"
"Of course she did," David told him, clapping Lee on the back in a brotherly gesture. "Congratulations, old friend, you just floundered into Tessa's baited trap. And because my darling wife went to such trouble and expense to get you here, and because I trust Tessa's instincts as much as my own, I'm going to let you speak to my sister." David grinned in mischievous glee.
Lee was suddenly at a loss. "What do I say to her?"
"What you say to Mary is up to you. And if you can talk her into agreeing to marry you, I'll give you my sincere blessings, but if you hurt her, I'll finish what I started a few months back in Peaceable," David warned, reminding Lee of their brawl on the main street when David had done his best to break Lee's perfect nose after Lee had issued his well-meant, but halfhearted, proposal to Tessa.
"I understand," Lee replied solemnly.
"Good." David smiled. "I'd hate to have to break your nose. You're going to need your handsome profile. And you're going to have to be your most eloquent and persuasive." He paused for effect. "Because after what happened this morning, you're going to need that silver tongue of yours to talk Mary into considering you."
* * *
Chapter Five
Mary looked up as Lee entered the office. "Who let you in?"
Ignoring her hostile tone, Lee crossed the room to stand in front of Mary's father. He leaned over and quietly spoke to the older man.
Charlie Alexander nodded, then stood up. "We'll wait outside. Call me when my daughter makes a decision." He ushered the priest and the other members of the family out of the office.
"What did you say to make my father agree to leave the room?" Mary could have bitten out her tongue. She didn't want to admit to being curious about anything Lee Kincaid did. She was furious with him for upsetting her carefully laid plans for her future, and for ruining the calm resolution she had fought so hard to gain. She hadn't seen the ro
gue in four long months—not since the day of David and Tessa's wedding—and today he had turned up unexpectedly like the proverbial bad penny, just in time to ruin her wedding. But as she stood there looking at him, Mary found it almost impossible to maintain her anger. A part of her was furious with Lee for barging into her life and for manipulating Pelham, while another part of her was thrilled by the idea that Lee Kincaid had ridden to her rescue and had saved her from her own stupid, headstrong decision to marry a man she didn't love. But Mary knew it wouldn't do to let Lee think she wasn't angry.
"I told him I wanted to talk to you alone."
"I don't want to talk to you. Alone or otherwise."
"Fair enough," Lee agreed, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "I'll talk, you listen."
"I don't want to listen to anything you have to say, either."
"Maybe not, but you will," he told her. "Because I'm about to offer you a way out of this fiasco."
"Fiasco? You mean the one that just took place? The one you created?" Mary lashed out at him with her sharp tongue. "In case you haven't noticed, I've been deserted by my fiance—left standing at the altar."
"It could be that everything will turn out for the best," Lee replied. "When the going got rough, your fiance took off. Better to find out before the wedding than after it."
"Oh, please, spare me," Mary answered sarcastically.
"I think maybe I did," Lee told her.
"Only you would have the gall to say that to me." Mary exclaimed. "Only you would stand there and tell me how lucky I am to find out that the man who should have been my husband didn't trust me enough to listen. Especially after you arranged things so he was sure not to listen! I will never forgive you for this."
"He didn't even put up an argument," Lee pointed out. "He wasn't the right man for you, Mary."
"Pelham might not have been perfect," she said, "but he was willing to marry me until you showed up."
"Lots of men would be willing to marry you."
"That just goes to show how much you know." Mary gave a derisive, unladylike snort. "Name one."