"Let it go," he said.

"It's a compliment, not an insult." They both knew Anna Leigh hadn't meant it that way, but Ryder learned of Mary's acceptance from her small sigh.

"Very well," she said softly.

"But you can't protect her forever." He gave her hand a small squeeze.

At their feet he heard Davis Rivers stir once. The lieutenant grew still again. He wasn't going to wake anytime soon.

"You don't understand either, do you, Anna Leigh?" Ryder said politely.

"I believe you and Rivers here thought the senator was going to give you some of the credit for my capture. The lieutenant might even have received another promotion out of it. No one else can say he captured Ryder McKay twice."

Although Anna Leigh was silent, Ryder suspected he had her full attention.

"Did he tell you why he changed his mind before he pushed you down the steps?" There was no answer.

"No? Well, I suppose there wasn't time." Anna Leigh waited, but Ryder didn't say anything else. She ticked out thirty more seconds in her mind before she finally screamed in frustration, "You bastard! What do you think you know!" The silence had been so complete that Mary actually jumped at Anna Leigh's outburst. She had no difficulty understanding it. She was on tenterhooks herself. Ryder didn't raise his voice but spoke in a matter-of-fact, conversational tone.

"The senator knows about your affair with the lieutenant, Miss Hamilton." It was on the tip of Anna Leigh's sharp tongue to call him a liar when she realized there was no explanation for how he knew about the affair. Calling him a liar would only confirm his statement.

Perhaps he was only guessing.

"What are you talking about?" she asked with deliberate coolness.

"What affair?" Mary had no patience for the woman's prevarication. She turned her head in Anna Leigh's direction.

"Don't try to be too clever," she said dryly.

"It only undermines you. Ryder and I saw you with the lieutenant at your home. There was no mistaking that you're lovers." Anna Leigh raised her hand to her mouth, but not in time to stifle her gasp.

"The question in my mind is," Ryder said casually, "whether you were lovers before you were involved in the Colter Canyon raid or if it came later in the celebration of the success of your scheme." When Anna Leigh didn't answer, Ryder went on.

"I suspect it was later. Perhaps since you returned to Washington. It would have been difficult for you to act on any attraction you felt for each other at Fort Union. Too many observers, including my uncle. The news about you and Rivers came as a surprise to him. He never suspected that you'd taken another lover." Mary blinked widely.

"Another lover!" Her voice blossomed with surprise.

"You mean your uncle and Anna Leigh."

Ryder's affirmative response was drowned out as Anna Leigh began pounding on the door again.

"Wilson! Let me out of here! They're wrong about me and Davis. They lied to you! Wilson!" The door rattled with the force of her blows, but it didn't budge. No answer came from the other side.

"I'm telling you, Wilson! Ryder and the bitch lied. I'm not having an affair with Davis. I'm not!" Mary waited for Anna Leigh's pounding to subside, then she said, "The senator might find your protests more compelling if you didn't use the lieutenant's Christian name." Anna Leigh practically hurled herself down the stairs. Her move was so unexpected that Ryder had to push Mary aside in order to take Anna Leigh's flailing blows himself. He grappled with the Hamilton woman for several seconds before he managed to get her arms crossed in front of her and to force her wrists back. She quieted once she realized Ryder was securing her with her own arms. The more she struggled, the tighter his hold got. As soon as she was calm and Ryder was certain Mary was out of Anna Leigh's immediate reach, he set Anna Leigh down hard on one of the bottom steps.

"Stay there," he said.

"Until I tell you to move. I won't be so gentle the next time you try to attack Mary." Anna Leigh tossed her head disdainfully. It was an ineffective gesture in the dark cellar.

"Do you understand, Miss Hamilton?" he asked.

"Yes," she said tightly.

"Mary?" Ryder said.

"Hmmm?"

"Behave yourself."

"All right," she said pleasantly. Ryder stepped over the lieutenant's body again to move away from the stairs. He found Mary, took her hand, and led her out of Anna Leigh's reach once more. His shoulder bumped one of the wooden wine racks.

"Here," he said.

"Sit right here. You can lean against the rack." Mary thought better of protesting that the floor was cold. She bunched her train and bustle under her and sat down. Her fingers idly traced the shapes of the smooth bricks by following their edges as Ryder spoke to Anna Leigh again. Mary's nails began to chip away at loose bits of mortar.

"It doesn't appear my uncle is going to let you out," he said.

"I think Mary's right. He doesn't believe your story."

"He'll change his mind," Anne Leigh said.

"You'll see." Mary gave her credit for the confidence she forced into her tone. Only the slight quaver at the end betrayed the woman's fear that it was misplaced.

"Tell me about Colter Canyon," Ryder said.

"It will pass the time."

"Oh?" she said archly.

"You mean there's something you don't know."

"There are a few things," Ryder admitted easily. Anna Leigh felt blood trickle from her lip again. She dabbed at it with her handkerchief, cursing Mary silently.

"Why should I?" she said sullenly.

"What do I gain?"

"Your freedom." She hadn't expected that.

"You mean you can get out of here?"

"Yes."

"Then do it," she demanded.

"What are you waiting for?" Ryder didn't answer immediately. He felt Mary lean her head against his thigh. He stroked her hair lightly. She had trusted him so completely, had been so certain of his ability to protect her that she had been fearless in facing the senator's gun.

If she weren't so curious for the truth about Colter Canyon, Ryder believed she was nearly comfortable enough to fall asleep against his leg. It was different with Anna Leigh. Even in the darkness, Ryder could sense her agitation.

"Waiting is not always a means to an end," he said quietly.