Fate's Intervention (36 page)

“
T
ell
Nancy
to pack his belongings and then you meet me outside by the water barrel,
”
he ordered as he passed Marcelle, dragging a half-awake-hung-over younger brother out the bedroom door.

He didn
’
t pause to answer Peter
’
s questions en route to the outside, merely told him to follow along at his leisure.
When Mark
’
s body started bouncing painfully along the stairwell, he came fully awake and began struggling to free himself, shouting obscenities as
Matthew
dragged
him
across the foyer, and scraped
him
along the gravel path towards the back of the house.

“
When you think you can speak only when given permission, I
’
ll stop,
”
Matthew said and without pause, he lifted his brother and shoved his head into the water barrel. He wanted to hold his head under until the idiot drowned, but he wouldn
’
t be able to extract an apology from him if he died, so he controlled his impulses.

A
fter
half a minute, he raised his brother
’
s head,
“
R
e
ady to listen?
”

“
You sorry, son-of-a- . . . ,
”
Mark sputtered. It was as far as he got before
Matthew shoved his head
back into the barrel.

“
What do you propose to do with him?
”
Marcelle asked, coming around the corner.
“
Drown him?
”

“
It had crossed my mind, but no, I won
’
t do it. Mom would never forgive me.
”
Matthew lifted Mark
’
s head again and promptly shoved it back down when he started on another string of curses.

“
He always was a slow learner,
”
Matthew said, feeling the tension slowly leave his body. He may not be able to kill his brother, but he sure as hell could make him pay for his belligerent and demeaning behavior toward Marcelle.

Peter rounded the corner and spotted Matthew at the water barrel. He grinned when he realized that Mark was hanging from the side of the barrel, his head shoved beneath the freezing cold water.

“
He
’
s not going to get over this humiliation anytime soon,
”
he said, pleased.

“
Will you get over your humiliation easily?
”
Matthew asked Marcelle, concern written all over his features.

“
I
’
m pretty resilient when I need to be
–
and I think now is one of those times that I need to be,
”
she said, lifting her chin a notch higher.
“
Besides, it makes me feel better just knowing that he
’
s getting a taste of his own medicine.
”

Matthew nodded, then turned his attention back to his brother,
“
R
e
ady to listen?
”
He
asked again, lifting his brother
’
s head again. His brother wisely kept his mouth shut, merely lay across the mouth of the barrel sucking air deep into his lungs.

“
First, you are going to apologize to Miss
Weatherman
for your abominable behavior last night, and for invading her private quarters. Then you are going to pack your bags and return to
New York
. I will follow you at my leisure, at which time we will sit down and discuss the future of Daragh Steel.

Now, if you happen to have any
difficulty
with what I
’
ve just said, then we
’
ll stay here all day dunking those
misunderstandings
away. Understood?
”

Mark glared at his brother, but wisely nodded his assent. Matthew released his hold, allowing him to stand erect.

Mark turned toward Marcelle, his skin pasty and bloated. He opened his mouth to speak, but before
he could utter an apology
, he emptied the contents of his stomach all over her chest and the front of her turquoise gown.

“
I don
’
t believe this!
”
She grimaced, jumping back. She pulled a scented kerchief from her sleeve and placed it over her nose, but the smell only slightly diminished.

“
I never could hold my liquor,
”
Mark said, a snicker escaping. Marcelle
’
s gaze shot back to his. He was laughing at her. He wiped his sleeve across his face, his grin increasing.
His smile vanished when he caught sight of his brother
’
s outraged visage from the corner of his eye,
“
You can
’
t really expect to blame me for something I had no control over,
”
he snapped, rolling his eyes when his brother merely crossed his arms over his chest.

“
Fine!
”
He snarled, then turn
ed
back toward Marcelle
,
who was attempting to clean a
majority of Mark
’
s stomach contents off the front of her gown with her handkerchief.
“
I guess now I owe you
two
apologies,
”
he said, and in a mockery of civility, bowed deeply at the waist.
“
If you would please forgive my crude behavior, madam . . . ,
”

Marcelle
’
s gaze narrowed angrily and she blocked out the rest of his
phony
apologetic speech. She
’
d suffered more humiliation at the hands of this man than she ever had in her entire life and now he had the audacity to make light of everything that had happened.

Before she could reconsider her actions, she pulled her skirt tightly against her legs and brought her knee up sharply into contact with his lowered face. She smiled in satisfaction when he howled loudly and collapsed onto his rear end, gripping a bloodied nose.

“
You wretched female! You
’
ve broken my nose!
”

“
It
’
s no more than you deserve,
”
Marcelle snapped, then turned to address her
father
and Matthew, both of whom stood rooted in stunned surprise.
“
I do believe that a bath is now in order, so if you gentlemen will excuse me.
”
Without another word, she turned on her soft-s
oled
heels, raised her chin proudly, and strode off.

“
Sh
e
’
s something else,
”
Matthew murmured, watching her retreat.

“
That
she is, young man. That she is,
”
Peter agreed.

“
Would someone please hand me a handkerchief?
”
Mark whined, blood seeping through his fingers.

“
If I were you,
”
Matthew
threatened
,
“
I
’
d suffer a little inconvenience and keep my mouth shut, or I
’
m going to add more injuries to the one that Marcelle just inflicted on you. Now get up!
We
’
re leaving!
”

“
What?
”

Without answering, Matthew reached down and yanked his brother up by the elbow, pulling him toward the front of the house.
He spied Nancy and her son, Joseph, standing on the porch.

“
Joseph, go on to the stables and wait for me,
”
Matthew said.
“
You can help me saddle the horses,
”
he said and smiled when the boy jumped down the flight of stairs and ran toward the barn
–
no questions asked.

Matthew shoved his brother down on one of the steps and then followed in Joseph
’
s path. He reached the stables just as Joseph did.

“
Okay, kid, let
’
s get these horses saddled. I want to get to town and back before
suppertime
.
”

“
Yes, sir, Mr. Matthew, sir,
”
Joseph said, beaming up at the man that had become his hero. He ran over to collect the tact while Matthew went to the saddle racks.
Minutes later, they were leading the horses from the stable.

“
Mount up!
”
Matthew snapped at his brother, noticing that he hadn
’
t budged from where he left him.

“
Mount up? If you hadn
’
t noticed, brother dear, my blood is still free-flowing, so if you don
’
t want me to pass out before you can haul me away, I suggest that someone get me some cloth to wipe up with and staunch the flow of blood.
”

“
Nancy, would you mind?
”
Peter asked, leaning against the balustrade.

“
Yes, sir.
”

N
ancy
reappeared a moment later and handed a towel to Mark. He gingerly wiped his hands and face then fingered his already swelling nose. He held his head back for a few more minutes, the towel pressed in place, until the flow of blood subsided, then tossed the bloodied towel toward
Nancy
.

Nancy
gasped and Mark grinned viciously.

“
Well, it appears you
’
ve regained your spunk, so get on the horse and let
’
s go.
”

“
A
nd
how, pray tell, am I supposed to lug my belongings back to town on the back of a horse?
”

Matthew cursed under his breath. He
’
d been so angry and eager to
see Mark gone
, that he failed to think about the luggage sitting on the stoop. Well, he wasn
’
t wasting another moment to go hitch up the wagon.

“
You can either hold it in your hands or leave it. It
’
s your choice. Either way, you are mounting up in the next minute
so we can
rid
e
out of here.
”

Mark glared at his brother, but didn
’
t argue further. He knew he
’
d pushed his brother
’
s patience to the end and didn
’
t relish the idea of having any more of his precious body parts damaged. He was just surprised that Marcelle
’
s
father
hadn
’
t taken a whack at him yet. One glimpse at the elder man, however, told him that he
’
d be willing to have a go himself if Matthew weren
’
t already handling the situation, so he wisely decided to get out while the getting was good.

He gripped the two suitcases and walked over to the horse.

“
The
least you can do is hand up the cases after I
’
m mounted, since I can
’
t very well mount the horse while holding them or reach down and pick them up after I
’
m mounted.
”

Matthew nodded and handed up the cases after Mark settled in the saddle. He then moved to his own horse and mounted.

“
Is Miss
Weatherman
cleaned up,
Nancy
?
”
He asked the maid who was still staring down in disgust at the towel. Her head jerked up at the address, as if she
’
d just snapped out of a trance.