Chapter 2

Jared idly ran his fingers over the soft plush velvet of the high-backed seat and sighed. He had ridden the train many times before but never for this long. He stole a glance at Ethan, engrossed in his book, and sighed again. He found it hard enough to read when the book wasn't moving; trying to read on the train made his head ache.

He had spent a lot of his time in the first few days watching the passing scenery, seeing the mountains turn to plains and then to farmlands. When they reached more populated areas, he had studied the houses and farms they passed, getting ideas to improve their place someday. He had amused himself by watching their fellow passengers, trying to guess who they were and what they did, where they were going and why.

It had been interesting at first, but there was only so much time he could spend staring out the window and at the other passengers and there was nothing else to do. He couldn't even pass the time with his endless games of patience. There was no place to lay the cards out properly and they slid around too much to finish a game.

He wondered again how things were going back home. Had he remembered to tell Kate that the speckled hen liked to hide her eggs? Was she remembering to check that it was inside when she closed up the chicken house at night? Was she taking good care of the garden and making sure everything was dried or preserved as soon as it ripened?

He missed Yip. He had gotten used to finding the inquisitive nose in everything he did, the tail thumping against his leg and the paw on his knee every time he sat down. Did Yip miss him? And Dulce? Would they even remember him by the time he got back home?

Another unconscious sigh escaped and Ethan glanced over at him, then closed his book and put it to one side. "Fretting, little boy?"

"No," Jared denied. "Just thinking. How long before we stop for dinner?"

Ethan consulted his pocket watch. "It should be the next stop. Would you like to play cribbage for a while?"

"Can we talk instead?"

"All right," Ethan agreed with an affectionate smile. "What would you like to talk about?"

"Your family?" Jared suggested. "I don't know very much about them. Who will I meet besides your father?"

"Let me see." Ethan paused to gather his thoughts. "There's my father's sister, Aunt Alice May."

"The one who gives so much advice."

Ethan laughed. "That's the one. She came to live with us when her husband and son were killed in the war and she managed the house after my mother died. Her daughter's husband was badly wounded in the war and never fully recovered. He died a year or so later and Margaret and her boys lived with us until she remarried. They live in Richmond now, although they still visit every summer."

"It must be a big house," Jared observed, "to have all those people living in it at once."

"Big enough," Ethan agreed. "It has been in the family for generations and each one has added to it. It rambles and the styles clash but it's home. Aaron and his wife, Constance, and their children live there with Father and Aunt Alice May now and Aaron will inherit it when Father passes on."

"What about Stephen? And your sister and her family?" Jared asked curiously. "Do they live there, too?"

"There are a couple of other houses on the farm," Ethan replied. "Eleanor, her husband, Jonathan, and their children live in the dower house and I think Stephen and Isabelle live in the overseer's house now."

"How many children are there altogether?" Jared asked. "And how old are they?"

"Let's see." Ethan paused to reflect for a moment. "Aaron and Constance have three and Jonathan and Eleanor have four."

"And Stephen has two," Jared remembered.

"That's right. Eleanor's oldest must be about... 14, I think, and Stephen's youngest is a baby. The others are all ages in between."

"So there are your father and Aunt Alice May," Jared listed them on his fingers as he counted, "Aaron, Constance, Stephen, Isabelle, Eleanor, Jonathan, and nine children. Are there any more?"

"Dozens," Ethan replied comfortably, then laughed at Jared's stricken expression. "Don't worry, you won't have to remember all of them. You probably won't even meet most of them. Just smile and shake hands when you're introduced to anyone and I'll remind you of the important ones." He glanced at his watch again as the train slowed. "Dinner time."

~~~~~~~

Jared sat back in the cushioned seat of the elegant family carriage and watched the fence posts flash by. He knew that this was a time of joy and nostalgia for Ethan. Every scene was familiar to him, every sight triggered another memory. He was glad, for Ethan's sake that they had come.

For himself, he wasn't so sure. Everything was so strange to him, from being met at the station by a deferential servant who insisted on carrying their carpetbags to sitting in the back of the carriage and being driven by that same servant.

The town was much larger and busier than Solitude. It wasn't as big as St. Louis but it was much older and had a settled, genteel air about it. The roads were all graded smooth and were wide enough for two wagons to pass easily. Even the landscape was different. Neat, whitewashed fences lined both sides of the road and behind them placid cows and thoroughbred horses grazed in lush green pastures. It was a far cry from the deeply rutted roads, open range and wild vegetation of home.

Was this the way his ma had lived, he wondered. She had never talked about her childhood or about her life before he was born. Was this what she had given up for him?

He was in a chastened mood when the carriage turned off the main road into a long graveled lane lined with trees that arched over the road and created a cool, shady tunnel for them to drive through, a welcome contrast to the late summer heat. They finally pulled up with a flourish in front of the family home and Jared stared in awe. The house was huge, bigger than any house in Solitude, almost as big as the hotel they had stayed at in St. Louis. It was built of a deep, mellow red brick that contrasted with the white-painted verandahs that stretched across both the first and second stories. Thick white pillars supported the second floor verandah and later additions to the main house extended to the back and the sides, creating the rambling wings Ethan had mentioned.

He sat gaping until Ethan nudged him, then hurriedly climbed out of the carriage. Ethan ran lightly up the shallow stone steps and Jared followed more slowly, self-consciously tucking in his shirt, dusting off his hat and adjusting the new vest he had gotten in St. Louis. There hadn't been much opportunity to clean up since they had left St Louis and he felt grimy and out of place in this elegant atmosphere.

.

"Mister Ethan!" The double doors swung open as they approached and an elderly black man hurried out to meet them, happiness radiating from every line of his wrinkled face. "It's good to see you again!"

"Joseph! It’s good to see you, too!" Ethan grasped the old man's hands in both of his as he returned the greeting, then turned to Jared. "Joseph has been with the family since my father was born, and his son Malachi was one of my best friends growing up."

"Hello, Joseph." Jared nodded shyly at the gray-haired man as they entered the house and then looked about, stunned by the elegance.

The marble-tiled front hall was bigger than a lot of cabins he had been in. There were pocket doors on two of the elegantly papered walls, one half-open and revealing glimpses of an elegant parlor and the other giving a tantalizing view of the library. A mahogany staircase curved its way upward at the back of the hall, beside a door leading to the back of the house. The air was redolent with the scent of beeswax polish and the late summer flowers placed in the jardinières on either side of the front door.

"His wife, Eliza, is the best cook this side of the Mississippi," Ethan continued. "You need to spend some time with her before we leave, Jared. See if you can get her to share some of her old family recipes. Where is everyone, Joseph?"

"Mr. James and Mr. Aaron are down at the stables. Mr. James left orders for you to join them there. Miz Eleanor and Mr. Stephen will be here for dinner. Miz Alice May is lying down with one of her headaches and Miz Constance and Miz Margaret are paying calls."

"Margaret's here?" Ethan asked with a slight frown.

"She and the children are visiting for the month," Joseph explained. "Mr. Beau returned to Richmond on business but he'll be back in time for the barbeque this weekend."

"That's a few more cousins for you to memorize, Jared," Ethan told him, then laughed at his expression. "Where have you put us, Joseph?"

"In the blue rose suite, sir. I'll take your bags up."

"Thank you, but I think we can handle them," Ethan assured him. "We'll freshen up a bit and then walk down to the stables."

"Yes, sir. I'll have your trunks taken up as soon as they arrive," Joseph replied. His voice softened. "It's good to have you home, sir."

"It's good to see you, too, Joseph," Ethan replied warmly.

He led the way up the staircase and down first one corridor and then another with Jared almost treading on his heels and wondering how a room could be rose blue. "This is your room," he said at last, opening a door and gesturing the younger man within.

"My room?" Jared asked in surprised dismay. In all his worry and imagination, he had never considered that they wouldn't share a bed. "Where will you sleep?"

"With you," Ethan assured him. "But for the sake of appearances, I have the room next door. I'll be right back. Why don't you wash off some of the travel dirt while you wait?"

He went out and closed the door behind him, leaving Jared feeling alone and abandoned. He put his carpetbag down, sat down on the edge of the bed and gazed around the room. It seemed incredibly ornate to him. The walls were covered by an ivory-and-blue striped wallpaper and as he took a closer look at it he realized why this was called the blue rose room. Each ivory stripe was decorated with baskets of impossibly blue roses, baskets that were joined across the strips by garlands of small white blossoms. The theme was continued in the rich Oriental rug and the draperies surrounding the two windows.

The rosewood sleigh bed had elaborate carving on both the headboard and footboard, carving that was repeated on the matching bureau, washstand and wardrobe and on the upholstered chair sitting near one window. When he flopped backwards on the bed to stare at the ceiling, he found that it was also covered with blue roses, tiny individual ones joined by garlands of miniscule white petals.

With an exasperated sigh, he sat up again. This was ridiculous. There was no need to feel abandoned or inadequate. Ethan would be back in a few minutes, they would spend a week or two visiting the bevy of relatives and then get back to their nice, simple life - a life unadorned by preposterously unnatural flowers.

He was still chastising himself when a long, narrow crack appeared in one wall. Under his astonished gaze the crack widened and he realized it was actually a wallpaper-covered door linking his room with Ethan's.

"Haven't you washed up yet?" Ethan asked as he re-entered the room, then took the young man's hands to pull him upright and into an understanding hug. "A little overwhelming, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it is," Jared agreed ruefully. "Especially the walls. And the ceiling. Why didn't they use a more natural color or at least make the roses white and the garlands blue?"

"God only knows," Ethan sighed, "but it's probably the same reason that all the birds down the hall are pink. Wash up and let's take a look at the horses, shall we?"

"Why didn't we bring the trunks with us?" Jared asked a little later as they walked down the drive. "We could have ridden in the wagon with them and saved a trip."

"People here aren't that practical," Ethan explained, directing Jared into the fork that led to the stables. "And they worry about appearances a lot more than the people back home."

"If they worried about appearances they wouldn't have blue roses and pink birds on their walls," Jared muttered under his breath.

"Not that kind of appearance," Ethan laughed as they approached the first in a complex of paddocks.

Just past the paddock there was a jump ring. Two men in riding clothes were leaning against the fence, watching as a young man schooled a thoroughbred mare in the ring. Jared's mouth dried, all bantering forgotten, as they looked over and he felt Ethan tense beside him.

He wanted to reach out to Ethan, whether to give reassurance or receive it he wasn't sure, but it didn't matter because he couldn't do either one as long as those eyes were on him. Instead he looked them over critically as he and Ethan approached.

The older man with the silver-headed cane must be James Montgomery. Jared remembered Ethan saying that his father had been wounded in the war and still carried a Mini ball embedded in his thigh and this man's face was etched with lines of pain. He held himself ramrod straight and, in spite of the infirmity, Jared could see where Ethan had gotten his build - tall, broad across the shoulders and lean in the waist and hips. Aaron, in contrast, was both shorter and slightly heavier. He looked like he would be much more at home behind a desk than on horseback.

"Ethan." James turned and greeted his son as they stopped beside him, his tone as nonchalant as if he had last seen Ethan at breakfast that morning rather than almost seven years before.

"Father, Aaron." Ethan matched his tone. "It's good to see you. This is Jared-"

"The ward Stephen told us about," he interrupted before Ethan could finish. "Welcome to Montgomery Farms, young man."

"Thank you, sir," Jared replied with a polite touch of his hat.

"Is that Jeb?" Ethan asked, indicating the young horseman who had paused in his training and was watching them curiously.

"Yes, he's giving us a hand this summer," Aaron replied.

"He's good," Ethan commented. "Is that one of Maisie's foals?"

As the conversation turned to the lineage of horses he had never heard of, Jared drifted down the fence a few feet and eyed the dark-haired horseman. He looked to be Jared's age or a little older and sat easy and confident in the saddle - the English-style saddle that still felt so small and insubstantial to Jared.

When he saw Jared's eyes on him, he dismounted and walked over, leading the chestnut mare behind him. "Hello," he said, holding out his free hand. "I'm Jeb Bollinger."

"Jared Mercier," he replied as he shook the offered hand. "Pleased to meet you."

"Do you ride?"

"Yes, I do." Jared felt miserably tongue-tied, unsure what to say to this self-assured young man.

Ethan, who had been keeping one eye on the situation, intervened. "Jared not only rides, he's a partner in our ranch," he explained. "He helps me with the breeding and training of our horses."

"I'm not nearly as good as Ethan is," Jared qualified as the older man went back to his own conversation. "I've learned a lot from him."

"He's an excellent teacher," Jeb agreed. "I learned a lot from him before he left and I'm hoping he'll have time for a few lessons while he's back. What kind of training are you doing?"

Aaron, who had also been listening, interrupted before Jared could reply. "I think you've done enough for today. Take Whimsey back to the stable," he ordered sharply.

"Yes, sir," Jeb replied in surprise. "But--"

"Don't argue with me!"

"Yes, sir," Jeb replied again, flushed and obviously biting his tongue.

"Why don't we ride together in the morning, Jeb?" Ethan asked the young man. "Unless Aaron has something for you to do."

"I'd like that. Thank you," Jeb replied as he led the mare away.

"You'll have to let me know what mounts you would prefer for us to use," Ethan told Aaron.

"It doesn't matter. Whatever ones you choose."

Aaron sounded indifferent now, almost defeated, and Ethan gritted his teeth. "Let me know if there are any in particular you would like us to exercise."

"Look them over and choose whichever you want," his father overrode whatever Aaron was about to say. "I'm sure Aaron can work around your decisions."

It was Aaron's turn to flush and Ethan to bite his tongue. "We'll get back to the house then," he said. "Our trunks will be arriving soon."

"All right. We can discuss business tomorrow. Don't be late for dinner," his father replied dismissively and turned back to his oldest son. "Aaron, I want you to--'

Ethan took a deep breath and let it out as he and Jared walked away. Nothing had changed. Aaron still resented him and his father still thought they were all puppets dancing on his strings. Why had he even bothered to come back?

Jared touched his sleeve. "Ethan?"

"What, Jared?" he asked, startled out of his brooding.

"Who's Jeb? Is he related to you?"

"He's my cousin Margaret's oldest son." He smiled at the young man endeavoring to hide his concern. "I'm all right, little boy. Let's cut across the grass here. I want to show you something."

"Has your family always lived here?" Jared asked as they crossed the smooth, velvety lawn.

For almost 150 years," Ethan told him. "The Montgomery family received one of the first land grants given for this valley and we've lived here ever since. We had a house in Richmond before the War but this was our primary residence and a lot of the family's income is still derived from property rental and businesses in town. Come on, I want to show you my mother's garden." He led the way to a gate set in a tall boxwood hedge and stepped back to let Jared enter.

"Oh!" Jared exclaimed in wonder as he looked around. He thought of gardens as practical affairs with the plants laid out in neat, orderly rows. Instead, he found himself on a brick path that wound through a series of elaborate herbal knot gardens, each laid out in its own geometric pattern, each herb confined to its own little segment in the design.

Wooden benches were placed here and there in nooks and niches along the path, some in warm sunny locations, others artfully shaded by trellises of climbing roses or other flowering vines. It was the perfect place to read or sew or just engage in a quiet contemplation of life.

"Do you know how to use all these?" he asked, indicating the various plants.

"No, I wish I did," Ethan replied, "but I never paid much attention to them when I was growing up."

Together they wandered the narrow brick pathways, stooping occasionally to examine a plant or rub a fragrant leaf between their fingers. Finally, Ethan sat down on one of the benches, stretching his long legs out in front of him and Jared sat down next to him with a contented sigh. The air was filled with the fragrant scent of roses and the drone of bees busily scudding between them. Butterflies flitted indecisively among the flowers as well and a brightly colored songbird landed in a nearby fountain and began to splash about.

"Did your mother do this all by herself?" he asked, already wondering how he could do something similar, albeit on a much smaller scale, at home.

"Most of it," Ethan replied. "She had a gardener to do the heavy work but she did all of the planning and a lot of the light work herself. Even during the war, she managed to find time for it. Constance takes care of it now."

"What did you do with the horses during the war?" Jared asked, wishing he could slide closer to Ethan. He didn't quite dare in a strange place, though. Ethan would have to make the first move here.

"My grandfather saw what was coming and sent the best of the breeding stock over the mountains into Kentucky before the war began, along with our head groom and some of the stableboys. The rest of the stock went for cavalry mounts. Most of them didn't make it through the war." He shifted his weight on the bench and stared at the roses in front of him, lost in the past. "Thanks to Hoke and his boys we were able to recover afterward. They not only took care of the horses until it was safe to bring them back, they continued the breeding program while they were gone. We still had some hard times but at least we still had the bloodlines and a head start. Come on, our trunks should be here by now."

They had indeed arrived and it didn't take long for Jared to unpack his, pausing to admire the new clothing they'd gotten in Saint Louis before moving on to the carpetbag he had carried on the train. He placed his socks and underclothes in the drawers of the bureau and hung the rest in the wardrobe. His shirts were sadly wrinkled and he was wondering if there was a place he could iron them when Ethan came through the door between their rooms.

"I rang for Joseph," he said. "He'll send someone to collect the empty bags and also have your shirts pressed and your suits brushed. Is everything else put away?"

"I think so," Jared replied as he put his hat on the shelf in the wardrobe and his riding boots on the floor inside. He laid his book and cards on the bureau and placed his ma's locket, neatly wrapped in tissue paper, in the top drawer. "What next?" he asked after Joseph had left with their laundry.

"I think you should lie down for a while before dinner," Ethan told him. "It was a long trip and you didn't sleep well on the train."

Jared was about to protest that he wasn't tired when he realized what Ethan really wanted. "All right," he replied, stripping down to his underdrawers and turning back the covers on the bed. "Are you sure nobody will come in?" he asked nervously when Ethan undressed as well.

"No, I told Joseph to put your clothing in my room," Ethan replied. He closed the door between the rooms and got into bed, lying on his back and holding out his hand.

Jared quickly joined him, tucking himself against Ethan's side, head on the other man's chest, one arm and leg draped over him. Ethan's arms closed around him and he lay listening to the older man's heartbeat, both giving and receiving comfort and reassurance. He didn't think he would sleep but the next thing he knew Ethan was gently shaking his shoulder.

"Jared. Time to get up and dress for dinner, little boy."

Dinner wasn't quite the ordeal Jared had thought it would be. He wasn't seated next to Ethan but the older man was across the table and down one place so Jared could see him easily. Even though he was the center of attention, he managed to catch Jared's eye and smile reassuringly from time to time. Seated between Constance and Jonathan, Jared was more than content to remain in the background with his thoughts as everyone vied to fill Ethan in on all he had missed.

He had been introduced to everyone in the parlor before dinner but the names and faces had all blurred together so he entertained himself by trying to match them again. Ethan's father sat at the head of the table and the older woman at the foot was Aunt Alice May. Dressed in widow's weeds with her steel-gray hair pulled back into an elaborate knot, she looked very much like Ethan's father and Jared could well see her minding everyone's business for them.

He already knew Aaron and Stephen, and Jonathan was sitting next to him. He recognized Jeb from that afternoon and he knew the other two young men were Jeb's brothers, Seth and Henry, but he couldn't remember which was which.

"Would you like more onion and cucumber?" Constance interrupted his thoughts.

"Yes, thank you, ma'am," Jared replied as he took the bowl from her. "They're very good."

"I don't know a lot about the West," she confessed. "Are you able to get many fresh vegetables where you live?"

"Not from town but we planted a garden this year. It isn't very big but next year's will be better." Maybe they would even plant some tomatoes and cucumbers if he could find some seeds.

Constance continued to draw him out, asking questions about the garden and then the ranch. He found himself telling her about their daily life and about Yip and the horses. In turn, she told him a little about her daily routine and he was surprised by the similarities. True, she had servants to do the actual work but she had many of the same household responsibilities he did, and on a larger scale since she had many more mouths to feed.

"Ethan showed me your herb garden," he ventured. "Do you think, if you have time before we leave, you could show me what some of them are for? I know a few but not nearly enough to be useful."

"I'd be happy to," she replied. "Which ones do you have now?"

By the time dinner was over they had discussed several of the herbs and their uses and Constance had offered him seeds or cuttings of whatever he wanted, as well as cuttings from several of the rose bushes.

"I'd like them," Jared said doubtfully, knowing how much it would mean to Ethan to have his mother's roses climbing the posts and shading their porch. "But how would we get them home?"

"If we soak the cuttings in willowbark tea and then wrap them carefully in wet cloths and pack them in a small crate, most of them should survive the transplanting," Constance replied.

Jared made a face. "Poor roses. What did they ever do to deserve willowbark tea?"

After an excellent dessert of peach cobbler served with heavy sweet cream, Jared wanted nothing more than another nap and he wasn't looking forward to an evening in the parlor making polite conversation.

He quickly reversed his opinion, though, when Jeb invited him to play billiards instead. "I-- uh, I don't--" He looked to Ethan for rescue but to his surprise and consternation Ethan seemed to think it was a good idea.

"Go have fun," he suggested. "I'll come find you later on."

Feeling slightly betrayed by Ethan's cavalier attitude, Jared followed Jeb and the other two young men to the game room, finding out in the process that the lean, bookish-looking blond was Henry and the more animated, dark-haired one was Seth. Jeb was 21 and had just graduated from the University of Virginia while Seth and Henry were 16 and 18, respectively.

The game room was a large, dark-paneled room, dominated by the billiard table in the center. A heavy oak table at one end of the room provided ample space for playing cards or board games while a set of comfortable chairs were clustered together around the fireplace at the other end. French doors opposite the table led out to a terrace where the men could smoke, open now to cool the room. Before Jared had a chance to do more than glance around, a tow-headed boy about 14 popped out of the wing-backed chair where he had obviously been lying in wait for them.

"Hi!" he greeted them enthusiastically. "I didn't think you were ever going to get here! You must be Jared," he held out his hand, "I'm Robert Montgomery Trehune. Pleased to meet you, I've been waiting for you, have you ever seen real Red Indians? Did you fight them? What about outlaws and cattle rustlers?"

"Uh-- hello, yes, no, what about them?" Jared replied as he shook the offered hand, somewhat taken aback by the barrage of questions.

At the same time Jeb exclaimed, "Robert! Stop it! Where are your manners?"

"What's wrong with asking?" the boy demanded unrepentantly. "I want to know!"

"Robert is Jonathan and Eleanor's son," Jeb explained. "They live in the dower house down the lane."

"And the children weren't invited for dinner," Seth added loftily.

"I'm only a couple years younger than you are!" Robert declared hotly, unsuccessfully attempting to punch Seth in the stomach and finding the tables quickly turned against him.

"Hey!" Jeb separated the two with the ease of long practice. "Stop it or you can both leave."

"Where are all the children?" Jared asked the question he had wondered about all evening. "Ethan said there are nine of them but I haven't seen any."

"Eleven, counting our little sisters," Seth corrected.

"Ten," Robert muttered rebelliously.

"Aaron's children are in the nursery wing," Jeb explained. "They're too young to have dinner with the adults. Our sisters are spending the night with a friend and the other children are at their homes."

"Don't worry, you'll see more than enough of them before you leave," Seth added with a grimace.

"Are we going to play something or stand around and talk?" Henry demanded, obviously bored with the conversation.

"Billiards," Seth told him.

"No," Henry objected. "There are too many of us."

"I like billiards! We can take turns."

"How about cards?" Jeb suggested pacifically. "Do you play whist, Jared?"

"I only know how to play patience, faro and poker," Jared admitted, feeling woefully inadequate.

"Faro?" Henry's eyes lit up.

"Poker?" Seth's followed suit.

"I'm playing, too!" Robert announced truculently and Jeb met Jared's eyes with a long-suffering sigh.

When Ethan entered the room about an hour later, the group was sitting around the table, both billiards and cards abandoned as they regaled each other with stories of past deeds and misdeeds. "You look like you're having fun," he observed.

"Jared has been telling us about the Indians you trade with," Jeb told him. "And about some of your adventures with them."

"And they've been telling me stories about your childhood," Jared added with a twinkle in his eye that made Ethan groan.

"Lies, all of them," he laughingly protested before continuing, "I hate to break up the party but everyone has gone home and your mother is looking for you, boys."

"They left already? I have to go, then." Robert scooted out the French doors and disappeared into the night.

"He has to beat Jonathan and Eleanor home," Seth explained. "We'll see you tomorrow, Jared."

"Are you riding with us in the morning?" Ethan asked.

"I'd like to, if that's all right," Jeb replied as he began stacking the abandoned cards. "Henry and Seth don't get up early enough."

"We're on vacation," Seth explained seriously. "We don't get up until someone makes us."

After setting a time to meet, Jared and Ethan said their goodnights and Ethan led the way back to their bedchambers.

Someone had been in his room while they were gone. Jared assumed it had been one of the servants since the lamps had been lit, the drapes pulled across the windows and the bedcovers turned back but he was still uncomfortable. He wasn't sure he liked the idea of strangers looking through his things. Ethan had gone on to his own room and Jared checked the drawer where he had placed his ma's locket before getting undressed and getting into bed. He lay on his back, hands clasped behind his head and stared at the preposterous ceiling, thinking about the evening as he waited for Ethan to join him.

He liked Constance. She was kind and gentle and reminded him of his ma in some ways. He also liked Jeb and the other boys. He had never really had a friend close to his own age except Gideon but he thought Jeb could become one. Except they weren't going to be here that long, he reminded himself, which was probably a good thing. He didn't know what was going on with Ethan and Aaron and their father but it was upsetting Ethan and he didn't like it. The sooner they got back home, the better.

He glanced over as Ethan came in. The older man had partially undressed and was carrying a pillow that he placed on the bed, tossing one of Jared's to the floor to make room for it. "I rolled around on the bed so it looks slept in but I'd better use my own pillow and take it back in the morning," he explained as he finishing undressing and placed his remaining clothing on the chair.

"What if someone comes in before you go back?" Jared asked nervously as he scooted over to make room for Ethan. "Constance said a maid would bring coffee and rolls in the morning."

"It's all right, little boy," Ethan assured him. He blew out the lamps and opened the drapes and windows, flooding the room with moonlight and allowing the cool night air to circulate. "We'll be up and around long before then. Even if we aren't, Joseph will make sure he's the one to bring it."

"Joseph? He knows you-- we--?" Jared wasn't sure he cared for that idea either.

"I'm sure he does, or at least suspects," Ethan confirmed, "since he placed us in connecting rooms. He has known about me since I was 15 and, since he's been married to Eliza for 35 years, she may know too, although I wouldn't swear to it. But no one else does, especially my father, and I'd like to keep it that way."

"All right," Jared agreed, as anxious to avoid the scene that would follow as Ethan was. "Is that why you didn't correct them when they called me your ward?"

"I also told them that you're my partner several times," Ethan pointed out. "But if they want to believe that I'm your guardian I'm not going to correct them, and it is true in a way."

Jared sighed. Would Ethan ever get over the idea that it was his duty to monitor and correct his partner's behavior? Or would he still be swatting Jared's butt when they were both old and gray? From his conduct so far, Jared suspected the latter. "As long as you remember you're my lover first and guardian second," he said teasingly. He sensuously ran his tongue over his forefinger and then trailed it along the arrow of fine hair leading into Ethan's groin.

Ethan captured the finger before it could reach its destination and lifted the hand to his mouth. He kissed it, then, in a lightning-swift move, rolled over, pinning Jared's hands and covering the younger man's body with his own.

Jared gazed up at him and his breath caught at the rapacious look in Ethan's eyes. The kiss that followed was hard and savage, hot and searing, as Ethan ruthlessly plundered the soft mouth, pouring out all of the hunger and frustration and need he couldn't express in words.

"Did that seem like I've forgotten anything?" he demanded at last, panting lightly as he released Jared's wrists and knelt astride his thighs.

"Mmm." Jared ran his tongue over his bruised lips consideringly, then raised himself enough to wrap his arms around Ethan's neck and pull him back down. "No. But maybe you'd better do it again, just to be sure."

tbc