"It's not required, ma'am. You can stay in your quarters." Mary's feathered brows rose slightly.

"That's a relief," she said caustically.

"I suppose you'll be at the forefront of the activity." Rivers didn't mince his words.

"I'd fasten the rope and pull the lever myself Miss Dennehy. He deserves exactly what he's going to get." Mary was taken aback by the cold virulence in the lieutenant's tone. She reminded herself it was not her place to pass judgment. Had she lived through the same ordeal as Davis Rivers she might be struggling now to find forgiveness for the traitor, or she might be welcoming his death with the same bitter hostility the lieutenant had demonstrated.

"The sentencing won't be carried out for a few days," Rennie said.

"At least that's what I've been given to understand by some of the wives. It seems the entire proceeding has taken a number of unusual twists and turns." She frowned, darting a glance from her mother to her sister.

"Are you certain you didn't read about any of this?" Moira shook her head.

"I'm sure I didn't." ww'Mama and I have been quite content to let world events proceed without us," Mary said.

"I don't think I've picked up any paper except the one Michael works for since we left New York."

"I suppose that explains it," said Rennie.

"The story was especially noteworthy because the traitor of Colter Canyon is the nephew of Wilson Stillwell." Moira's dark red brows drew together as she tried to place the name.

"I know I've heard of him," she said, shaking her head as she struggled for recognition.

"The senior senator from Ohio," Mary said.

"Jay Mac knows him. He's the chairman of one of the prestigious finance committees, or at least he was."

"He and Jay Mac are cordial at best," Rennie said.

"I've had more success in dealing with Senator Stillwell than Jay Mac ever had." Jarret twisted around long enough to add his two cents.

"That's because the senator appreciates beautiful women," he said.

"A trait his nephew apparently inherited," Lieutenant Rivers said tersely.

Rennie shook her head.

"I wouldn't know about that, since the senator has always conducted himself honorably." Moira's interest was piqued, but Mary felt hers wandering. She didn't care about the senator, his nephew, or their appreciation of women. Taking the cream-colored parasol from her niece's chubby hand, Mary shaded them both in a way that would help to exclude them from the conversation. She bent her head and blew softly in Cait's ear, causing the little girl to giggle with delight. Mary pointed out the giant saguaro cactus, rising thirty feet tall, its fluted columns so stately it might have been placed there solely as a desert guardian. She looked at the brown and barren ground around it and wondered if she could live for any length of time in this land.

Hot, dry air seared one's lungs and scorched everything that was unprotected. The plants did not appear to bear fruit, and ribbons of radiant heat absorbed even the suggestion of water.

Yet Mary was intrigued. What kind of people called this place home, and how did the land sustain them? There was a kind of terrible beauty in the harshness that made the terrain difficult to look upon and just as difficult to ignore. The sky was almost cloudless. It stretched out to the mountains and beyond, an infinite ceiling of subtle, shimmering shades of blue. If there were animals, Mary acknowledged that she was not skilled enough to observe them. But then, she considered, perhaps some survival instinct kept them from traveling over the parched mesa at midday.

There was more vegetation as they climbed into the foothills.

Scrub oaks and the occasional juniper tree marked the pale faces of the rocks with splashes of gray and green. They stopped once to rest the horses and take a quick lunch. The soldiers ate from their canvas bags of field rations, while Mary and Moira shared the more appetizing meal that Rennie had thought to pack. Mary watched the Army men huddled around an outcropping of rocks. They didn't appear especially vigilant, she thought, as they tucked into their food with relish.

Jarret interrupted Mary's musings.

"You look deep in thought," he said softly.

"Care to share it?" Mary saw that Cait and Lilly were out of earshot, occupied by their food and Moira's delightful retelling of some incident on the trip West.

Rennie, she noticed, was equally enrapt. She shrugged lightly.

"I.

was wondering about the soldiers, why they're not a little more watchful. I mean, if there's so much danger of Indian attacks, then why aren't they more on their guard?"

"Because we have a scout," he explained. Mary's attention was captured now.

"A.

scout?" she asked, pointing to the eating soldiers.

"One of them?" She saw that she had amused Jarret, and her response was defensive.

"Well? How am I supposed to know? I'm new to this country."

"And you fit right in," he said.

"As prickly as a cactus." She eyed him levelly.

"I may not be wearing a habit any longer, but God is still on my side."

Mary smiled sweetly as Jarret's dark brows rose a fraction.

"It's something to think about, isn't it?" There was a moment of stunned silence, then his bark of laughter had everyone looking in his direction.

"Are you flirting with my husband?" Rennie called to her sister.

Jarret kept Mary from replying.

"She's threatening me again."

"Then I don't know why you're laughing," Rennie said seriously.

Unconcerned, she went back to helping her children with their meal and listening to her mother's story. Jarret was shaking his head helplessly.

"You Marys know how to close ranks on an outsider."

Mary took pity on him, linking her arm through his and offering the uneaten half of her sandwich.

"You're not an outsider, Jarret.

I'm mostly polite to them." He took the sandwich, recognizing the peace offering for what it was.

"Tell me about the scout," she said.

"Where is he?"

"Ahead of us, watching for signs."