“I… Please don't tell father, Antoine! I could not stop her!” his brother begged with desperation. “Wildcat claimed I was afraid to ride to town by myself. I had no choice. Don't you understand? She accused me of cowardice! Did you know that she carried a knife?”
A boot knife for a child's twelfth birthday was a de Brangelton family tradition, but Antoine had not expected this tradition to carry over to a girl. “When were you planning to return home, you dimwit? Didn't you notice the time? The sun will set in an hour.”
Raoul kicked a pebble from under his foot. “We… we stopped at the townhouse. We expected you and Henri to stay overnight, so we – she - figured that we would ride back home with you. Charlotte said everyone will think we rode here with you.”
“Has it occurred to you that w
