Her finely arched brows drew together in a frown. Instead of reaching for the candy, she placed a palm over her abdomen and shook her head slightly.

"Not in the mood for a sweet, hmm?" Taking care not to make any sudden moves, Daniel drew back the quilt and placed a hand beside hers on her stomach. "Tummy ache?" He kneaded gently with expert fingers. As her parents had forewarned, her abdomen was slightly distended. He took gentle measure of the swelling, then pulled the quilt back up to her waist and smiled at her, "Everything seems to be in fine order to me."

The distrust in her eyes told Daniel that unless he used restraints, an internal examination would be nigh unto impossible. Undaunted, he bent to open his black bag and withdrew his stethoscope. He hadn't been working in this profession for over forty years without learning his way around shy patients. After cupping the stethoscope's receiver between his hands to warm it, he placed it just beneath her collarbone and made a great show of listening to her heart, gently flattening his palms against her chest as he did so.

When she didn't protest, he moved the instrument lower, then lower still until he had it positioned over her small breast.

While pretending to listen, he quickly palpated the area, his heart sinking when she winced and he felt how swollen she was.

Without doing a thorough exam, he couldn't be absolutely positive she was pregnant, but the distension of her abdomen and the tenderness in her b.r.e.a.s.t.s were two undeniable counts against her. He sighed as he returned the stethoscope to his bag.

Given the cessation of her menses, he felt ninety-nine percent sure her parents were correct in their diagnosis. He didn't relish the thought of relaying the news to them. Edie would no doubt shriek and carry on, which would only alarm the girl all the more.

Straightening, he regarded Annie with saddened eyes. What was to become of her? he wondered. A home for unwed mothers, at best. Possibly a nightmarish stint in an asylum.

The thought nearly broke his heart. She was a wild little creature, accustomed to running free in the woods. Being locked up anywhere would be hard on her, especially when she couldn't be made to understand it was only for a few months.

Acting on impulse, Daniel smoothed her dark hair back from her face. The loveliness of her delicate features made his breath catch. He drew a piece of hard candy from his breast pocket and enfolded her hand around it. "Maybe you'll feel like a sweet in the morning, hmm?"

Long after the doctor doused the lamp and left her room, Annie lay still, staring at the shadows on the ceiling. The candy in her hand was beginning to melt, and it felt sticky against her palm. Dimly she could remember the doctor coming to see her when she was small. His hair had been black then, not gray, and his face hadn't been so lined. But try as she might, she couldn't recollect his bringing her sweets. That he had done so tonight was a puzzle. She hadn't missed the concern in his expression when he felt her stomach. If her growing fat had everyone so worried, why would he bring her a treat that would only make her grow fatter?

There was a strange feeling in the air tonight, like right before a lightning storm. Occasionally she felt vibrations emanating from the floor and walls and wondered what made them. Doors opening and closing? Footsteps? She wanted to sneak from her room and peer over the banister to see what was happening downstairs, but she was afraid her mother might catch her. Sometimes Annie could watch the goings-on without getting into trouble, but she sensed that tonight wasn't one of those times.

Rolling onto her side, she placed the piece of candy on her bedside table. Then she licked the stickiness from her palm, savoring the sweetness and hoping such a small amount of sugar wouldn't make her any fatter. She'd never seen her parents so upset, not even the time she'd run up to the front of the church to touch the organ.

Drowsy, Annie drew the quilt up to her chin and closed her eyes. Tomorrow, she vowed, she wouldn't eat anything but a small breakfast and dinner. In no time at all, she'd be thin again, and her parents would stop looking at her so sadly.

Alex had a pounding headache, and Edie Trimble's shrill voice made the pain explode behind his eyes. He sat before the hearth in the judge's study and wished himself far away from here. A woman's tears always made him feel a little panicky, probably because he hadn't been around many females.

Maddy, his housekeeper, a stalwart old gal of fifty-three, wasn't given to tearful displays, and he could scarcely remember much about his stepmother, Alicia.

"Please, James," Edie pleaded. "Let me take care of her here.

She won't understand if we send her off to a strange place to stay with people she doesn't know."

The judge raked a hand through his thinning hair and cast a fl.u.s.tered glance at Dr. Muir. "Daniel, say something."

The physician shrugged. "What can I say? Edie is absolutely correct. The girl won't understand, and she's bound to be upset if you farm her out to strangers."

His temper fraying, the judge threw up his hands. "What else can I do?"

Daniel rubbed his chin. "Keeping her at home isn't possible?"

"What of the scandal?" the judge cried.

"Ah, yes, the scandal."

By the physician's tone, it was abundantly clear he was unsympathetic to James Trimble's concerns about his political career. Personally, Alex was of the same bent. If Annie were his daughter, he liked to think her welfare would be his first priority, his professional endeavors second.

"Perhaps I can do some checking around and find a suitable home in which to place Annie," Alex offered.

Edie turned tear-swollen eyes on him. Alex pushed up from his chair and braced an arm on the mantel. "The ideal thing would be to find a grandmotherly sort to care for her, someone who'd be willing to take Annie in for the duration of her pregnancy. I'm sure that we can find such a woman if we look hard enough." To emphasize his point, Alex held up his hands.

"The girl is only four months along. We have some time to play with." Looking to Edie, he said, "As for her being confused and upset by a change of residence, there's nothing to say you can't go with her and stay until she's settled in."

Edie touched a hand to her throat. She looked to the judge for confirmation. "Could I do that, dear?"

Trimble nodded. "I don't see why not. The trouble will be finding such a woman." Flashing Alex a hopeful look, he added, "If we could, it'd be ideal, the answer to everything."

Feeling guilty beyond measure because his brother had caused all of this upheaval, Alex was quick to say, "Leave it to me. Dealing in horseflesh as I do, I've made acquaintances in other towns. I'll begin writing inquiries in the morning and will post them Monday. It may take a bit of time, but we'll find someone who'll take Annie in."

Edie stepped into her husband's arms and dissolved into another bout of tears. Though he sympathized with her, Alex was eager to get out of there. Once again a.s.suring the Trimbles that he would begin making inquiries come morning, he escaped into the hall and made a bee-line for the foyer. He was outside on the porch before he realized the good doctor was right behind him.

"A bad bit of business, this," Daniel Muir observed.

To Alex, that seemed an understatement. He couldn't forget, not for an instant, that Douglas was responsible. "Yes, it is that.

G.o.d knows, I wish I could undo it, but I can't."

As they descended the front steps, the doctor took off his jacket, hooked it by the collar with his thumb, and slung it over his shoulder. "It's fair to middling warm tonight, isn't it? I was about to suffocate in there."

Accustomed to working out of doors during the heat of the day, Alex hadn't noticed the stuffiness. He looked up at the starlit sky. "We could do with some rain."

"Isn't that just the way of it? We complain of the wetness all winter, then come mid-August, we pray for a downpour."

Drawing up beside his horse at the hitching post, Alex observed, "Human nature is contrary."

Muir glanced toward the house. "You aren't telling me anything I don't already know. Those folks are certainly a puzzle, and that's a fact."

Believing he referred to the judge's concern about his political career, Alex said, "It's not always possible to understand another man's priorities."

"True." Squinting to study Alex through the moonlit gloom, Muir said, "Take you, for instance. I took you for a smart man, always on the lookout for an opportunity. Now, an opportunity's knocking, and you're pa.s.sing it up."

"Pardon?"

"Little Annie. Her breeding, and all," the doctor clarified.

"There you stand, creeping up on thirty, not yet married and convinced you can't have children. Seems to me you'd jump at the chance to marry that girl and claim Douglas's child as your own. You can't get much closer to having your own child than your own brother's."

Knowing how it must appear to the doctor, Alex looked away, unable to explain because he'd given his word not to repeat what Trimble had divulged to him. "Yeah, well, as much as I'd dearly love to have a child, Doc, I have my reasons for hesitating."

Muir sighed. "Edie's mad uncle, you mean?" The physician stepped around the hitching rail to his horse. After tightening the belly strap, he looked at Alex over the saddle. "Oh, yes, I've heard the stories. And I'm telling you, Alex, that girl isn't mad. I was with Edie when Annie was born, and I was the attending physician all during her early years. She was right as can be until that fever struck. There's not a thing wrong with that girl that she'll pa.s.s on to her children. I guarantee you that."

Alex curled a hand over the rail and gripped with such force his knuckles ached. "You could be wrong."

Daniel chuckled. "Water may start running uphill, too. I don't say it lightly, Alex. I realize the consequences if I'm wrong. But I a.s.sure you, I'm not. That girl was as bright as a new penny before that illness struck.''

"You're certain it's not hereditary?"

"Dead certain."

Alex swallowed and glanced toward the house, his mind racing with possibilities. "I don't know. If I married her, it'd cause a heap of talk, her not being right and all. People would think me lecherous, and who could blame them?"

"That's probably true. If you're sensitive to gossip, I guess you'd best stay clear of the situation."

Alex drew a deep breath. "And that's not to mention the responsibility I'd be taking on. A girl like Annie. Well, she's bound to be a handful."

The doctor smiled. "She's a docile little thing, happy as a clam with her simple pleasures. With your money, you could hire a live-in nurse to look after her and scarcely realize she was in the house. There's Annie's welfare to consider as well.

Moving to your place might unsettle her for a bit, but it'd be a sight less upsetting than if she's sent away to G.o.d knows where. Living with you, at least she could wander in the woods she's so familiar with, and when she took a fancy, she could mosey home to see her mama. Not that you're responsible for the misfortune that's about to befall the poor little thing, but if you were to marry her, you could make things a h.e.l.l of a lot easier on her."

Alex fixed his gaze on the dark woods that bordered the Trimbles' yard. "I don't know, Doc." He took a deep, bracing breath. "If you're wrong about the girl-" He broke off and shrugged. "A child with mental problems? I didn't do such a great job of raising Douglas, you know. Look how he turned out. To consider bringing up a child with an affliction-well, just the thought makes me run scared.''

The doctor conceded the point by inclining his head. Then he delivered the killing blow. "And if I'm not wrong and the child is normal? It'll spend its entire life in an orphanage, with no hope of being adopted." The doctor mounted his horse, laying his coat over the saddle horn. "Just you think about that, young man. If you can turn your back, more power to you. I hope you'll be able to sleep nights."

With that, the good physician spurred his horse and rode down the drive toward the road.

Feeling as though someone had kicked his feet out from under him, Alex stepped to the porch and sat down. Crickets sang in the darkness. The moon hung like a gigantic silver dollar over the mountains, its glow frosting the distant treetops.

From inside the house came the muted sound of Edie Trimble's weeping.

Closing his eyes, Alex tried to sort his thoughts, but the doctor's last words hung foremost in his mind. How could he turn his back on his brother's child and sleep nights? He had the financial resources to hire a live-in nurse to care for Annie, and the doctor was probably correct that in his monstrosity of a house, he probably wouldn't even realize the girl was residing there. The child could be born in wedlock. It would have the Montgomery name, as was its birthright, and all the advantages that came with it. Though it might take Annie a few days to adjust to living in a different home, she'd eventually settle in, and it would be much easier on her, not being entirely separated from her family and all that was familiar to her.

After circling the problem for several minutes, Alex pushed to his feet and climbed back up the steps. Not bothering to knock at the front door, he let himself inside and traversed the dimly lit corridor to the judge's study. The Trimbles looked up in surprise when he reentered the room, Edie with bleary, swollen eyes, her husband with bewilderment.

"I thought you'd gone," the judge said.

Feeling unaccountably nervous, Alex raked a hand through his hair. "Yes, well, I had a long talk with Dr. Muir, and I've been thinking that there's another solution to this problem."

Alex met the judge's gaze. "Despite what you mentioned earlier, sir, I've decided the best thing for everyone concerned is for me to marry your daughter."

Before either of the Trimbles could protest, Alex rushed on.

"I'll hire a competent live-in nurse to care for her. On occasion, she'll be able to come here for visits, and both of you would be welcome at my place any time. The child will have my name." Alex waved a hand. "It's the perfect situation, if you think about it."

All the color had drained from Edie's face, and she pushed unsteadily to her feet. Alex expected her to agree with him wholeheartedly. Instead, she cried, "No!"

It was the last thing he expected her to say. "Why, for G.o.d's sake?"

"Because," she cried, turning to the judge. "I won't have it, James. After the baby is born, I want Annie to come back home where she belongs. I don't want strangers caring for her the rest of her life. She's my child and my responsibility."

Alex was too exhausted to argue. "Shortly after the child is born, Annie and I could separate. We could put it out and about that there were difficulties within the marriage that couldn't be resolved. She could return home. I'd raise the child."

Edie pressed the back of her wrist to her forehead and started to pace, her agitation apparent in every rigid line of her body. The judge watched her for several seconds, then he looked at Alex, his gaze filled with questions. Well aware of what he must be thinking, Alex softly said, "I'm aware of the risks, Judge. I'm willing to take my chances. If it should happen that there's something wrong with the child, I'll see that it's kept quiet and have it inst.i.tutionalized, just as you originally planned. No gossip, no scandal. We'll say the child died or that I sent it away to relatives."

The older man shot him a warning glare, then glanced at his pacing wife, clearly afraid she might have overheard. He relaxed slightly when she continued circling the study, apparently oblivious of the exchange.

"I don't know," he said under his breath. "If word got out, it could ruin me. I really think it's best if we simply-"

"I'm not giving you a choice," Alex inserted.

The judge's pupils dilated, turning his irises nearly black.

"Is that a threat?"

"A promise," Alex corrected. "Fight me on this, and you can kiss your chances for public office goodbye."

The man's neck turned dull red. After staring at Alex for a long moment, he returned his gaze to his wife. "Edie, it's the best solution we've come up with yet. Annie wouldn't be with Alex forever, only for a few months."

Mrs. Trimble shook her head vehemently. "No. I'd rather do as we planned earlier and find someone out of town to care for her until she has the child."

That made absolutely no sense. His patience fraying, Alex settled onto a chair and fixed the judge with a relentless gaze.

"There's more to consider here than just Mrs. Trimble's wishes," he said carefully. "My plan would be better for Annie, certainly. And the child won't be put into an orphanage."

Edie whirled on Alex, her eyes sparking with anger. "The child is not your concern, Mr. Montgomery! None of this is."

It was all Alex could do to keep his temper. "I disagree. The child is very much my concern, and if there's a way to avoid its being raised in an inst.i.tution, that's what we have to do."

"Edie," the judge said softly, "why don't you go to the kitchen and prepare some tea?''

She made fists in her skirt. "Tea? You're deciding my daughter's future, and you expect me to brew tea?"

"Yes." Though softly spoken, the judge's reply was an unmistakable order. "I'm still the man of this house.

Ultimately, I must make the decision, and you must abide by it."

Turning a murderous glare on Alex, Mrs. Trimble swept from the room, her cheeks spotted with crimson, her mouth drawn into a tight line.

Immediately after her departure, some of the tension in the study dissipated. Alex took advantage of the momentary privacy to relate to the judge what Dr. Muir had said, namely his a.s.surances that Annie's affliction had been caused by a high fever.

"And if he's wrong?" the judge asked.

"What if he isn't?" Alex countered. "A perfectly normal child stuck in an orphanage and tagged as unadoptable? The way I see it, I have to take the chance. And, like it or not, you're going to take it with me. This is your grandchild and my niece or nephew we're talking about. We owe it at least this much."

Trimble considered that for a moment, then he finally nodded. "Just so long as you're going into it with your eyes open. Muir means well, and I'm sure he believes what he's saying, but that doesn't mean he couldn't be wrong."

"Let's pray he isn't."

That settled, the two men discussed the particulars, and within five minutes, both had agreed that a marriage between Alex and Annie should take place as quickly as possible.

When Edie returned to the room, the judge gently informed her of their decision about the marriage, which both men hoped would take place within the week, the only prerequisite being that Alex find a competent live-in nurse.

When his wife began to protest, the judge cut her short with, "That will be enough, Edie. This is best. Trust me on that."

Defeated, Mrs. Trimble sank onto the settee beside her husband and folded her hands tightly on her lap. "But, James, he knows nothing of how to handle her."

"Neither would a nurse in another town," Alex pointed out.