Johanna Lindsey - A Man to Call My Own

She hadn't been there to see it, but obviously, it had happened just as she'd figured it would. The little she had seen so far said it all. Amanda had turned out to be a spoiled bitch. Marian had turned out to be a meek little mouse—well, maybe not. The mouse didn't usually fight the cat....

* * *

Downstairs, Stuart was laughing his head off. He'd been doing so since the third loud crash above them.

The first had been merely startling, the second had been curious, but the third was a definite brawl, and every loud noise thereafter set him off again with another round of laughter.

Chad knew exactly why Stuart was so amused. His father's choice for him might have been lacking in smarts, but she was pretty and quiet. While the one he'd expressed interest in was upstairs breaking furniture and Lord knows what else, and could screech loud enough to raise the rafters.

"I feel sorry for the ugly one," Stuart remarked when he caught his breath.

"Yeah, you look real sorry," Chad replied dryly, and then felt compelled to add, "And Marian isn't ugly, she's just blind as a bat."

"Either way, she won't be able to hold her own for long. The other has a vicious temperament. Saw that with the way she slammed in here."

"Is it just because I might be interested in Amanda that you feel obliged to insult the hell out of her?" Chad asked with a frown.

"Was I doing that?" Stuart shot back innocently.

Chad gave his father a look of disgust, which just garnered another chuckle from him. And although Stuart was possibly just teasing him, the remarks now had him worried about the spinster. He didn't like her, but he didn't want to see her get hurt, either.

Without another thought, he headed toward the stairs. Stuart called out behind him, "Takes guts to break up a female brawl. I've seen both women turn on a man who tried it before. Damn near scratched his eyes out."

Was that supposed to stop him? Particularly when Stuart was laughing again? Red did, though, coming back down the stairs, blocking his way.

"Don't interfere," she said, seeing his determined look. "I've been told this is normal for them."

"Who told you that?"

"Their maid. She's up there guarding their door. Seems to think they'll both be in a better mood after letting off steam that way."

Red looked dazed still. Chad put a sympathetic arm around her. She had to be taking this hard. This had to be a far cry from what she'd been expecting.

He tried to put it in perspective for her. "The maid's probably right. It was a hell of a trip for them, train robbers, stage robbers, a mountain man showing up in the middle of the night intent on dragging me home at the point of a gun. One thing after another since their ship docked, when they come from a quiet little town back East where nothing much ever happened. Could make anyone blow her top."

She gave him a curious look. "You don't have to make excuses for them."

"I know. Just trying to make it sound better for myself," he replied.

She tsked at him in annoyance, which brought on a slight blush. He was supposed to be making her feel better, not himself.

They both noticed at about the same time that the noise had quieted down behind them. Not completely. The girls were talking to each other, nothing distinguishable, but at least that meant neither of them was dead.

In all seriousness, Chad told his friend, "Do yourself a favor, Red. Get them married soon and off your hands. That's my advice."

"Are you looking to help me out there?" she grinned up at him.

"If all she needed was to blow off a little steam, and if she starts acting like the lady she's supposed to be, I just might."

"She? Never mind, I can guess." She gave him a sad look and a sigh. "Let's hope you're right."

He wondered why Red suddenly looked sad, but decided he'd rather not know. It was probably no more than her overall reaction to this reunion with her nieces. And who could blame her for being so disappointed?

HOME, MARIAN HAD NEVER given much thought to the noise she and Amanda made when they went after each other. They were careful to keep that kind of fighting private. And since no one ever remarked on it, she just assumed that no one ever knew.

There had been no avoiding that fight today. It had nearly taken place in public, right there on the porch. But Amanda had come to her senses and waited until they were alone.

They'd been given separate rooms, thank God. Amanda hadn't stayed in hers, though, had followed along when their aunt showed Marian to hers. Marian knew then what was coming, was braced for it. Ella Mae knew, too, and tried to prevent it by not leaving when Kathleen did. Amanda actually told her to get out. And no sooner did the door close than she threw herself at Marian.

It was one of their more vicious fights. They both came away with clumps of hair in their hands, skin under their nails, teeth marks, and bruises aplenty. Amazingly, not a single mark marred their faces afterward. But then it was almost an unwritten rule between them that their faces were out of bounds. All other bruises could be hidden, but facial marks would be evidence of their undignified scuffles. And then, too, scratching one face was like scratching the other, when both faces were identical.

There was no winner. There rarely was. Their fights would end when they both got tired, and since they were pretty much in the same shape, they usually got tired at about the same time. This one was no different and soon enough wound down to verbal insults, as most of them did.

"You could have at least waited until our aunt got to know you a little better before showing her what a shrew you can be," Marian said as she pulled herself up onto her bed.

Amanda had gone straight to the nearest mirror to examine her face. "Why?" she shot back. "I don't intend to be here long enough to get to know her at all."

"And where will you be?"

"On my way back home, of course."

"With husband in tow? You really think you can find someone to marry you here that quick?"

"Don't be an ass," Amanda swung around to snort. "There's no one out here worthy of me."

"So you're going to give up your inheritance?" Marian concluded.

"You can be really dense sometimes, Mari. No, I didn't come all this way to give up anything. Aunt Kathleen will be more than happy to send me home, and with advance approval of any man I want to marry."

"You plan to make yourself that much of a headache?"

"If I have to," Amanda purred.

Marian shook her head. She shouldn't be surprised. Amanda rarely did anything without a motive in mind.

"As much as I'd love to see you on your way, you're probably deceiving yourself. Some people actually take their duty seriously, Mandy."

"Don't call me that. Amanda is much more sophisticated than that childish nickname."

"But the shoe fits, sister dear."

"Like your childish effort to disguise that you're my twin? That kind of shoe?"

Marian smiled when Amanda's lips twisted with anger. It had taken many years for her to develop the cast-iron skin she needed to be able to shrug off her sister's insults. To give an appearance of indifference. And to give back as good as she got. As long as no one else was involved, as long as it was just the two of them, she couldn't be cowed anymore. It was only when someone else was in danger of drawing Amanda's vicious interest that Marian would back down.

"Do you want competition again?" Marian replied with a false look of surprise. "You can't stand being the center of attention anymore? Well, then, why didn't you say ..."

"Oh, shut up."

Marian should have felt a little better, for winning the verbal round, at any rate. Amanda flounced off angry. Marian lay down to await the promised bath. And all she could think about was whether Amanda had overheard the introduction to Stuart Kinkaid.

If she did hear it, then she'd take Chad off the "employee" list and move him to the "due to inherit something big" list. And she would set out to charm him, lure him in, and tie up his emotions in a tight little knot that she'd never release. Not because she wanted him, but simply because she could. Because it thrilled her to no end to manipulate men like that. It was the one thing she did very well.

If that wasn't enough for Marian to worry about, she found out almost immediately when she went downstairs later that the altercation with her sister hadn't gone unnoticed, or rather, unheard. Her aunt was the first to ask her if she was all right. She might have thought she was referring to her overall condition after the trip, except she seemed too concerned. And then Chad discreetly asked the same thing, and looked just as worried.

By then she was so embarrassed, she was ready to bolt back upstairs and never come down again. But then Chad's father came in from outside, looked her over from top to bottom, and said, "Well, I'll be damned. So you won? Good for you, gal."

He was making an assumption based on no visible bruises, she realized to her mortification. She'd never know where she got the nerve to reply, "No one won."

"Well that's too bad," he grumbled, then added gruffly. "Next time win. Makes the bruises feel worth it."

She laughed. Half-hysterically, but still, she laughed. And felt her embarrassment melt away with it.

MARIAN WAS BEGINNING TO realize that the people in Texas might look at things differendy than they did back East. The main reason for her earlier embarrassment was because back home even the servants would have scorned such unladylike behavior from two supposedly well-bred ladies. Their contemporaries would have been scandalized. Their father would have scolded her severely and coddled Amanda until she felt better. All of which kept both girls from airing their differences in public, which, sometimes, was a test of patience to the extreme.