Page 88 of Eclipse Bay

“These things happen.”

“You ought to know,” Hannah said much too sweetly. “How many times have you been married, Mr. Madison?”

“Don’t go tagging Rafe with my lousy track record. I admit that for a long time after Claudia Banner took off with the assets of Harte-Madison, I didn’t think real clearly when it came to women. Had a few problems.”

“That’s putting it mildly, from what I understand.”

Mitchell made a rude sound. “Can’t blame you for your opinion. You’ve been brought up to think the worst of me. I know that Sullivan has fed you a lot of wild stories over the years. What I’m trying to tell you is that Rafe and I are alike in a lot of ways but not in every way.”

“If you say so.”

“If that isn’t just like a Harte,” Mitchell said heatedly. “Throw a man’s mistakes back in his face and don’t bother to give him a chance to put things right. You got a lot in common with your granddad, young woman.”

“I think we’re straying from the point here.”

“Look, that divorce wasn’t Rafe’s fault. Don’t hold it against him. He learned from it.”

“Uh-huh. From what I can gather, he learned that he doesn’t want to get married again,” Hannah said dryly.

“Exactly what I’m trying to tell you,” Mitchell said quickly. “Like I said, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking, and I’ve figured out Rafe’s problem. He’s got some sort of phobia about marriage, see.”

“You’ve concluded that he’s afraid of marriage?” Hannah’s voice was oddly weak.

“Right.” Mitchell sounded pleased that she had grasped the point so readily. “The way some folks are scared of spiders or snakes.”

“A charming analogy.”

“I can sort of see how it happened,” Mitchell continued earnestly. “I got to admit I didn’t set a good example for Sinclair, and things trickled on down to Rafe. But I figure I can get him past it. Figure I owe him that much, since it was me who was responsible for this phobia thing in the first place.”

“How do you intend to do that?” Hannah’s voice was stronger now, infused with morbid curiosity. “Get out your shotgun and march him to the altar?”

Rafe felt as though he’d been turned into a block of solid marble.

“Is that what you want?” Mitchell asked ingenuously.

“Good grief,no. Of course not.”

Rafe winced. Did she have to sound so positively negative about the idea?

“It might take a little push from me,” Mitchell allowed reflectively. “When it comes to phobias, sometimes you’ve got to force folks to face up to ’em.”

“You just told me that force didn’t work well with Rafe.”

“I’m thinking more in terms of applying a little pressure in the right spots.”

“As it happens,” Hannah said, sweet, sharp steel in every syllable, “I’m in the business of getting people married, and I can tell you that making a marriage work is hard enough when both parties go into it enthusiastically. Any marriage forged by outside pressure would be doomed before the vows even got said.”

“You’re too young to be so pessimistic,” Mitchell complained.

“Mitchell, I’m sure you mean well, but the very last thing I want to do is marry a man who doesn’t want to get married. Are we clear on that?”

“Now don’t let Rafe’s bad nerves put you off the notion,” Mitchell replied. “It’s true the Madison men have a lousy track record when it comes to marriage, but the right woman could change all that.”

“Why do you want to change it?” Hannah demanded, thoroughly exasperated now. “What is this all about, anyway? Why do you want Rafe and me to get married?”

Still stuck in the doorway, Rafe waited for the other shoe to drop.

“Because it’s the right thing to do,” Mitchell snapped, evidently out of patience himself. “It’s the only way to stop people from talking.”

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