"Did you win for your client?"
"Yes, sir."
Elliott nodded approval. "I didn't expect less from you. Was the marriage forced?"
"Yes, it was. I forced her into marrying me. I really tried to fight the attraction, sir. I didn't feel I had the right to pursue her, but in the end, I couldn't…"
"Well, of course you had the right to pursue her. She's lucky to have you, Harrison. Remember who your father was. Any woman would be proud to marry you. Are you telling me your bride's family didn't think you were worthy enough? What utter nonsense," he ended in a mutter.
"No, sir, that isn't what I was telling you. You see…"
"Where does your bride come from? I can't seem to take this in. I recall hearing you say over and over again that you would never marry, and now it appears I'm about to meet your bride. I thought your broken engagement to Edwina soured you against matrimony. I'm pleased to see it was a false concern. The right woman will change the way a man thinks."
"Sir, Mary Rose isn't with me. She's still in America."
"She didn't come home with you? Why not?"
"There were circumstances preventing her from accompanying me."
"What specific circumstances?"
"Her family."
"And where is her family?"
"She lives with four brothers on a ranch just outside Blue Belle, in Montana Territory."
Elliott smiled. The name of the town caught his fancy. "I've read quite a few books on the rough-and-tumble towns dotting the western section of the United States, but I must confess, I've never heard of a town named after a flower."
"Actually, sir, the town was named after a prostitute. Her name's Belle."
Elliot started to laugh. "Are you serious?"
"Yes, sir. Belle helped Mary Rose get ready for the wedding."
"She did, did she?" Elliot was trying hard not to laugh again. "Then why was the town named Blue Belle instead of simply Belle?"
"Belle doesn't like what she does for a living."
Elliott couldn't control his amusement. He laughed until tears came into his eyes. He pulled his handkerchief from his pocket and dabbed at the corners of his eyes while he tried to regain his composure.
"What have you gotten yourself into, son. This isn't like you at all. You've certainly given me quite a lot to digest," he added. "I can't wait to meet your bride."
"You think I've lost my mind, don't you, sir?"
Elliott smiled. "I think you've changed," he admitted. "I knew there was something different about you, but I never would have guessed you'd marry a girl from the country. I also thought that if you did marry, you'd choose someone more… refined."
"Mary Rose is very refined," Harrison said. "She's everything I could ever want."
"I didn't mean to suggest she was lacking, son. If you'll remember, I also married a country girl. My Agatha was from your Highlands. I've always believed growing up on a farm was the primary reason she was so unspoiled. Of course, she had good parents," he added with a nod.
"Sir, I went to Montana in search of your daughter. I didn't fail this time."
"No, of course you didn't. Granted, it was another false lead, but one with a happy ending, because you met and married your Mary Rose. What a pretty name your bride has. You do love her, don't you?"
"Oh, yes, sir, I love her very much. You'll love her too."
"Yes, of course I will."
Harrison leaned forward in his chair. "As I said before, it wasn't a false lead this time. There's one more important thing you need to know."
"Yes?"
"I married your daughter."
Mary Rose and Eleanor arrived in England on the twenty-first day of July. It was hot, humid, and threatening to rain.
Harrison had used up every bit of his patience waiting for his bride to get over her anger and come to him, and he'd only just made up his mind to book passage back to the States when a telegram arrived from a gentleman named John Cohen, giving him the pertinent information about Mary Rose's departure from Boston and her expected arrival date.
Harrison spotted her golden crown the second she stepped off the steam tender from the ship. He shoved his way through the crowd, grabbed hold of his wife, and pulled her into his arms. As soon as he touched her, he felt an immediate sense of acute relief. Mary Rose was finally where she belonged.
His greeting wasn't very flowery. "What the hell took you so long?"
She couldn't answer him. Harrison didn't even give her time to frown. He leaned down and captured her mouth in a ravenous kiss.
She didn't resist him. She put her arms around his neck, lifted up on her tiptoes, and kissed him back just as passionately.
"For heaven's sake, Mary Rose. People are gawking at us. Do stop that. You're attracting a crowd."
Eleanor whispered her protest from behind Mary Rose. She poked her friend and then took a step away. If the two of them didn't stop mauling each other, she would simply pretend she wasn't with them. Honestly, what had happened to her friend's sense of propriety?
Harrison, she decided, was a lost cause. It wouldn't do her any good to try to reason with him. She'd seen the look of blatant love and hunger in his eyes when he reached for Mary Rose. No, there wouldn't be any reasoning with him.
Eleanor suddenly smiled. Harrison had certainly missed his wife. One day, Eleanor was determined to find a man who felt just as much love for her.
Harrison finally ended the kiss. He was pleased to see Mary Rose appeared to be as shaken by the kiss as he was.
"I missed you, sweetheart," he whispered.
"I missed you too," she whispered back. "You and I are going to have to have a long talk though, as soon as possible. Things are going to be different between us. We're going to have to start over. I'm going to try to get past this, but it's difficult."
He didn't want to talk just yet. "We'll discuss your worries later," he promised a scant second before his mouth covered hers again.
"Oh, for heaven's sake."
Eleanor's muttering finally caught Harrison 's attention. He couldn't make himself let go of his wife after he ended the kiss, however, and so he hugged her tight against him while he greeted her disgruntled-looking friend.
"How was your voyage, Eleanor?"
"Just fine, thank you. Mary Rose can't possibly breathe, Harrison, because of the way you've got her face pressed into your jacket. Do let go of her so we can get on our way. It's about to rain, for heaven's sake. We're both quite weary from our trip, and we want to get settled in before night falls. Are we going directly to her father's house?"
Mary Rose pushed away from Harrison. "I would rather wait until tomorrow to meet him. Does he expect to see me tonight? It's almost dark now, and I would like to have a little more time to prepare myself."
"You've had two long months to prepare, Mary Rose," Harrison said.
"I need one more night," she insisted.
"Your father doesn't expect to see you until tomorrow, so you can calm down. He knew you'd be tired from your trip. Both you and Eleanor will stay with me tonight."
"I'm quite calm. Why would you think I wasn't?"
"You were shouting," Eleanor told her.
"I was simply trying to make my opinion heard."
"I hope you have spacious quarters, Harrison," Eleanor said. "Mary Rose told me she's going to insist on a room of her own. I believe she's still upset with you."
"Honestly, Eleanor, I can speak for myself," Mary Rose said. She turned to Harrison again. "I am upset with you, and as I said before, things are going to be different now. We're going to have to start over."
Harrison gave his wife a hard look, then took hold of her arm and started walking toward the main thoroughfare where the carriages were lined up.