"Hidden?"

"Behind a bookcase. It was all I could do to move that case. Anyway, inside this closet were some very pretty things like jewelry and pretty little boxes and some books. It made me so angry because I thought he was hiding these things so he wouldn't have to share them with his wife."

"You thought this? You've changed your mind?"

"Leah, I couldn't wear any of the jewelry, but I thought someone else could. John wouldn't yell at someone else as much as he would at me. And besides, you're so good at yelling back at men. You scream at Wesley all the time. I never could understand that, Leah. You said terrible things to him and I was always nice, yet he wanted to stay with you."

"What about the brooch?" Leah repeated.

"I thought it was a miniature of one of John's relatives and I knew it'd look good on your green dress and it did until you ruined it by playing in the soot. All right!" she said at Leah's narrowed eyes. "The next thing I knew, that silly woman was screeching that you'd stolen John's brooch. John grabbed my arm, said some terrible things to me, and pulled me out of the dance. Oh Leah, I was so scared."

"Then what happened?"

"John didn't speak to me all the way home and at the house he locked me in his study and I heard him ride away."

Kim's eyes turned misty with a faraway look. "Then Justin came to my rescue."

"Rescue?" Leah asked. "Wasn't he a little bit angry at you?"

"Oh goodness yes. He was raging! Shouting all sorts of things to me and calling me the most awful names. I'd always known he wasn't exactly enamored of me, but I had no idea he detested me. While he was shouting at me, and once he put his hands around my throat, I kept trying to show him the bookcase where the hidden closet was. It took a long time to get him to listen to me, but he finally helped me move the bookcase."

"And Justin saw all the things inside?"

"More than that. While we were inside, John came home."

"Kimberly! Where's Justin now?"

"I'm getting to that. You see, Justin didn't have any keys and all the doors in our house have locks, not like your house at all, and John had locked every door so Justin had to break in a window and the study door to get to me. Justin and I hid in the closet, wrapped in each other's arms"Kim sighed"while John walked through the house. When we heard him leave and ride away, Justin said, 'Let's get out of here.' So we went outside, way into the woods, and it was dark and Justin wanted me to tell him everything that was in the closet because he hadn't been able to see anything because John'd returned and we had to pull the bookcase shut. So"she paused for breath"I was talking and suddenly Justin got real excited and began to kiss me. I was so tired of holding back with Wesley and even with John that I just let go and the next thing I knew we were making love. It was so, so wonderful, Leah. I never dreamed."

"What did you say that made Justin kiss you?"

"It was something very ordinary. What was it? Oh yes. At the dance last night John'd said he wasn't a good dancer and I told Justin that was a lie because I'd found a paper in the closet that said he used to teach dancing in St. Louis."

"Kimberly," Leah whispered, "where is Justin now?"

"He said he'd seen Wes and Wes was on his way to Lexington to see what he could find out from the woman who used to own the brooch, and Justin said I was to come to you and we were both to go stay with Bud and Cal, and Justin was going to wait for John to return."

"Kimberly," Leah said with as much calm as she could muster, "I think Justin may be in trouble."

"Probably." Kim smiled. "John's going to be very upset when he finds out I'm leaving him, but now that Justin loves me* I did tell you that Justin said he loved me, didn't I? He even said it with a prayer. He said, 'God help me, Kimberly, but I think I'm in love with you.' Isn't that sweet?"

"Get up, Kimberly," Leah commanded. "Leave the dishes where they are. We're going to get Bud and Cal and then we're going to try to help Justin. Wait! We have to leave a note for Wesley."

"Oh no! Not me," Kim said, backing away. "Justin made me tell him all about the last letter I wrote Wes, and Justin said it was his guess that Wesley was keeping you from the dance so he could protect you. If you hadn't made me send for him, none of this about the brooch would have happened."

Leah advanced on her. "If you hadn't tried to kill me you wouldn't have been forced to marry John. And if you hadn't been so nosy you wouldn't have found the Dancer's cache. And if you. "

"I understand, Leah." She brightened. "If none of this had happened, I wouldn't have known Justin loved me and we wouldn't have spent last night together. Oh Leah, marriage to someone like Justin must be heaven."

"You can tell me all about it later," Leah said, removing paper, quill, and ink from a drawer. "Now write what I tell you."

Dear Wesley,I hope this letter doesn't make you as mad as the last one did, but this time I am innocent becauseI don't even know what Leah's talking about. She said to tell you that my husband, John, used to give dancing lessons and that Justin, the man I love now, knows everything and since you're not here Leah and I are going to ask for help from Bud and Cal before we visit John and Justin.

I think that if I understood all this I'd be frightened.

I hope you had a pleasant trip to Lexington.

Very sincerely yours, Kimberly.

"Did you write what I said about asking for help?"

"Right here," Kim said, pointing. "Leah, what are we going to do if Bud and Cal aren't home?"

"Justin needs help," Leah said stubbornly. Kim swallowed hard. "I was afraid you'd say that."

Chapter 30.

Devon Macalister helped his wife from her horse. "Anybody home?" he called into the empty-looking Stanford house.

"Wesley said Leah was staying here with Justin looking after her," Linnet said. "You don't think something's happened, do you?"

"Something's wrong," Mac said, looking about. "It's too quiet and why the hell is that cow bawlin'?

Lynna, I want you to stay right here while I find out what's happenin'."

When Linnet saw him disappear into the barn, she entered the house. There were dirty dishes on the table and everything looked as if someone had left in a hurry. But there didn't seem to be any signs of a struggle.

As she was leaving she saw the note on the table, half hidden under a plate.

Mac burst into the cabin. "I thought I told you to wait outside," he snapped. "This whole place is empty.

None of the cows've been milked, the other animals need feedin'. What you got there?"

"I think Leah and Kimberly may be in trouble," she whispered, then read aloud Kimberly's note.

"So, John Hammond's the Dancer," Mac said thoughtfully.

"Devon," Linnet whispered. "Bud and Cal were coming to our house today. They won't be there when

Leah and Kim arrive."

"Surely those women wouldn't go after somebody like the Dancer all by themselves, would they?" Mac asked in disbelief, but he didn't give his wife time to answer. "You get on your horse and ride back to

town as fast as you can. Get somebody to go after Wes and somebody else to tend to this place. And you" he threatened, "stay in Sweetbriar. I don't like what's goin' on at all.""Devon," Linnet began, "perhaps you should get some help before you.""No time," was all he said before he gave her a quick kiss and was out the door.

It was just growing dark by the time Kim and Leah reached the Hammond house.

"Are you sure you should do this alone?" Kim whispered as Leah dismounted some distance from thehouse. "Justin seems awfully strong and brave and maybe he knows what he's doing.""Get down and be quietand I'm not alone. I did ask for help," she said defiantly. "And I have you."

"I don't really think it's the same," Kim said as she dismounted.

After tying their horses out of view of the house, they stealthily began to make their way toward it. From

the glow through the windows, every candle and lantern in the house must be lit.

When the shot echoed through the cool night, Leah and Kim looked at each other for a moment before Kim turned back toward the horses.

"Let's go!" Leah commanded, grabbing Kim's arm and pulling her toward the brightly lit house.

They ran across the yard to crouch by a window. Inside everything looked perfectly normal, with no one

to be seen. "Where's the room with the hidden closet?" Leah whispered.

Kim, obviously too frightened to speak, managed to point to a far window.

Leah, holding Kim's hand, made her way down the side of the house, crouching all the while to keep her

head below the windows. Cautiously she raised herself up to peer inside the house. What she saw made her gasp. On the floor, lying in a pool of blood, lay Justin, dead still.

Leah slid back to the ground. "Justin," she managed to whisper.

Immediately Kim stood up to look, and just as quickly she bent down again. "I think John may have seen me," she said.

"We have to hide," Leah said, looking about the unfamiliar farm. "Where?"

"Follow me," Kim said, standing and raising her skirts, running with extraordinary speed toward the

forest.

Leah followed her friend, running until her heart was pounding hard.

Once inside the forest Kim kept going, jumping over fallen trees, pushing aside briars and brambles with

ease.

"Wait, Kim," Leah urged. "Stop for a minute."

Reluctantly, wild-eyed, Kim obeyed.

"Where are we going?" Leah asked.

"Into the forest," Kim answered.

"Yes, but where? Surely you have a destination in mind."

"The forest," Kim repeated, puzzled, frowning as she panted from her run.

"But," Leah began, but she didn't finish because a shot rang out and landed in a tree behind her,

missing Kim's head by inches.

No one had to tell either woman to start running again, and Leah didn't care where they were headed.

They ran until their legs and lungs ached, and Leah caught Kim's arm. "We have to stop and rest. We