TEN 

Marjorie glanced at Colin as she passed through the den into the dining room and then disappeared through the swinging door into the kitchen. She deposited the small pile of damp clothing on a bench near the far wall of the kitchen. She'd take them to the laundry room after dinner. When she reappeared through the same door she was carrying two extra place settings. She set them properly on the long cherry dining room table, one on either side of the setting already there. Colin cleared his throat and took a small sip from the tumbler he was holding. The ice in the small glass made a noise much like tiny jingle bells. Marjorie looked at him over the rims of her glasses and shook her head. "YOU," she pointed at him with a butter knife, "are a very crazy young man."

"Probably." He agreed taking another sip.

"You know how she is going to take this, don't you?" Marjorie asked as she straightened the place mat and folded the linen napkin in front of her for the third time.

"OH yeah!" He replied emphasizing his remark with raised brows. "But there wasn't much of a choice. I couldn't leave her there…you are!" He easily switched direction of his comment as Reagan entered the room.

"Her bathtub is a big as a swimming pool!" She announced with a smile that Colin had not seen all day. "It has little bubbly things on the side that make the water look like its boiling." Her voice actually squeaked with childish delight.

Colin smiled at the girl who stood barefoot on the plush carpeting. She wore a robe that was at least three sizes too large. The sleeves were rolled up so many times it appeared she had small inner tubes on each wrist. He could tell that someone had recently shorn off the hem to make the length more suitable. He looked from there to Marjorie and she nodded quickly.

"Payton never wears that one." Marjorie stated. "It was a gift from her fa…rend." She quickly corrected herself. "She'll never miss it." She looked up as the large grandfather clock chimed. "Seven already," she frowned. "I guess you'd better start without her. Looks like the boss is going to be late this evening." She pointed to the table. "No sense everyone eating a cold meal."

Colin pulled out a chair for Reagan and helped her to get comfortable. He seated himself across from her. "No sling tonight?" He pointed to her bandaged arm.

She shook her head and wiggled her fingers. "Mrs. Carson said I don't need it all the time and my arm is getting better. It's been four days since it got twisted."

"When you fell." Colin stated. Reagan nodded again. "Must have been some tree," he continued as Marjorie set a plate in front of him. "Guess you landed on it when you fell."

"I guess." Reagan shrugged her shoulders. "I don't remember, really." Her eyes widened as a plate was set in front of her. "Mmm!" She commented.

"Lasagna. Miss Payton's favorite. Double chocolate cake for dessert. She's got quite a sweet tooth!" She smiled and tousled the girl's hair.

"Mine too!" Reagan squealed. "We never had it at school. Miss Thorne said it was too rich for young tastes."

"Well, Miss Thorne doesn't know the McAllister tastes then, does she?" Marjorie quipped as she tucked a napkin under the girl's chin. "Enjoy!" She kissed the child's forehead and for a moment held her face in her hands. "You've got your father's eyes, did you know that?" She quickly turned away and once again disappeared through the kitchen door.

Reagan stared after her for a few seconds. A smile slowly touched the edges of her mouth, maybe she was home. Marjorie didn't seem to mind her being there. She glanced across the table at Colin and picked up her fork.

Colin was starting to enjoy the little imp's smile. It was contagious. It made him smile back. He picked up his own fork and wondered how on earth the child could be hungry after the lunch she had eaten a few hours ago.

"Do you climb a lot of trees, Reagan?" He asked around a bite of warm garlic bread.

She shook her head and swallowed the bite she had taken. "Nope, not really." She managed to chew and swallow a second bite. "I don't really like heights. Once when I was little," she took a quick drink of milk and wiped her mouth, "daddy took me to the top of the Empire State Building. I climbed up on the rail and looked down. It made me really dizzy. And my hands got stuck on the railing. Daddy got me off and then I got sick in the elevator. It was really nasty." She shrugged a little then continued devouring her meal.

"I see." Colin nodded, picking around the large square of meat and cheese on his own plate. After a few minutes he continued. "So…was there a special reason you climbed the tree."

"Tree?" She wrinkled her nose.

"The one you fell from, the tree." Colin reminded her.

"Oh that tree…ah…I…just wanted to climb it I guess." She shrugged again. "You know how sometimes you just have to prove you can do something. I slipped and fell."

"On the way up or down?" Colin inquired.

Reagan took a long drink and sat back in the large chair. She swung her feet that didn't quite reach the floor. "Down?" She answered looking to him for some sort of approval.

"Down." He repeated. "So, you were up there a while…just sightseeing?"

Reagan squirmed in her seat, suddenly she wasn't so comfortable. Suddenly the lawyer was asking too many questions, questions she couldn't answer. She'd never climbed a tree in her life. It terrified her. She leaned forward and picked up her fork again. "At school we aren't allowed to talk during meals. Miss Thorne says it is rude." She put a very large bite into her mouth.

Colin knew when to quit. He didn't want to push the girl too far right now. He didn't want to scare her more than she had already been frightened. Tomorrow he would return to Brisbey and speak to that teacher, that art teacher. There must be a reason why that was the only class in which Reagan's grades hadn't slipped. And what was that other child's name? Reagan had talked about her incessantly during their drive to Mac an Bhaird. Pam, yes that was it, Pamela Sinclair. He would talk to her and that young secretary as well. But more than anything he had a few more questions for Miss Thorne.

By 8:00 Marjorie had cleared the table of the dinner dishes and placed a steaming cup of tea in front of Colin. "It is so much more civilized at this hour." She smiled. She also placed in front of both of the diners a large slice of double chocolate cake topped with vanilla ice cream. Reagan's eyes went wide and she licked her lips in anticipation.

The large hall clock struck the eighth time just before the front door slammed with a resounding boom. Colin and Reagan jumped and looked toward the hall archway. Marjorie stuck her head out of the kitchen door. "She's home." She announced whispering in a sing song voice.

"MARJORIE!!!" Payton's deep voice bellowed in the large foyer.

"Duty calls." Marjorie whispered and smiled as she hurried toward the sound. "Coming!" She called. Colin and Reagan merely stared.

The sight that met the housekeeper almost had her lose her composure. Payton stood just inside the door. She was drenched. Her dark hair was plastered to her face giving her the appearance of someone whose mascara had run amok. She held what might have once been an umbrella in one hand. Its spokes poked out of the material like pick up sticks. One stocking had completely torn around her knee and melted in a tan puddle around her ankle. The shoe on that foot was missing its heel. She held the handle of her briefcase in her other hand. The case itself was tucked under her arm and the purse that usually rested on her shoulder with a long strap was now draped around her neck. It fell against her ribs like some strange shield.

"Miss Payton!" Marjorie exclaimed hurrying toward her employer.

"That damn car stalled right inside the gate. I had to walk the rest of the way and this no good bloody umbrella…" She flung the useless article across the floor.

"Oh, Miss Payton, let me help you." She reached for the sodden coat the woman was trying to shrug off.

"And in the dark, I didn't see that damn rotten hole I asked Henry to fix last week so these shoes are history." She kicked the offensive articles off in two directions. The sopping piece of nylon went with the right shoe and landed with a squish. She dropped her briefcase to the floor. It landed with a loud thud. She shook the handle at Marjorie as the housekeeper gentle took the strap of the purse from her neck and finally got off the wet coat. "And this piece of crap! I paid $300 for that bag and it snapped like a cheap straw!" The handle followed the other items across the floor of the large foyer.

"Miss Payton, what a terrible way to end your day…" Marjorie comforted.

"DON'T even mention my DAY!" She growled. "I'm wet. I'm cold. I'm aggravated. And I've had a VERY BAD DAY!"

Marjorie nodded as she bent to pick up on of the castaway shoes. "How about a nice hot bath then? I could run it for you…"

Payton was heading for the dining room. "I didn't have lunch either. I am starved. Do I smell Lasagna? Maybe the day isn't a total lo…"

"Why Payton," Colin stood to greet her, "you look…" He struggled for the correct adjective.

She glared at him raising one eyebrow. Marjorie stood behind the soggy executive shaking her head in warning.

Colin stepped around the table and took Payton's hand. "You look positively washed out! Here let me get your chair." He moved to pull her chair out from the table. Colin expertly placed himself between Payton and the youngster seated at the table.

"WHAT are you doing here?" She huffed with disgust. "I thought I sent you to Connecticut." She placed both hands on her hips and even in bare feet and plastered down hair she managed to amass a certain degree of threat.

"There and back." He smiled.

She glared at him. "So WHY are you here?" She folded her arms over her chest and waited for an answer.

Colin stepped aside the chair he was blocking revealing the child seated there.

Payton's stone cold glared passed from Colin to Reagan and back again. She inhaled deeply making a strange hissing noise through her nose. Then exhaled through clenched teeth and pursed lips. Sparks seemed to crackle around her eyes and her face was suddenly scarlet with rage.

Colin held his palm out in front of her. "Now, now before you say a word, Payton I'd like you to welcome Reagan home."

She looked at him as if he had lost his mind, narrowing her eyes to almost slits. She spoke through her teeth advancing on the lawyer with each word. "What is she doing here?" Her voice was dangerously low and feral.

Reagan swallowed hard and tried to control the shaking in her own voice. "Hello, Payton. You have a very beautiful home. Did you know Marjorie made your favorite meal for you and your favorite dessert." The child slid off her chair and timidly took her older sister's hand. "Here why don't you sit down and have some. You might feel better with a cup of tea too. Marjorie says it is very symbolized to drink it." The child smiled up at the incensed executive. She held Payton's cold hand in her two warm hands.

Payton blinked a few times. 'How dare this little upstart come into her house and…and…and what?' Her train of thought seemed somehow derailed. The child's warm soft hands actually felt good on her cold rough palm. She glared at the girl and was rewarded with a glowing smile. Payton pulled her hand away quickly. She wouldn't allow this to happen. She was no one's mother.

Reagan still smiled at her older sibling. "It's okay. You must be cold and tired. Why don't you…"

"WHY DON'T YOU…." Payton snapped at the child.

"Come with me?" Marjorie cut in, putting a hand on each of Reagan's shoulders. "It's late and you've had quite a day. You come with Marjorie and we'll get you all settled and tucked in for the night." She smiled at the child and through a warning glance at Payton.

"Yes. " Colin agreed. "That is probably a very good idea, Slugger." He smiled broadly and tapped the end of Reagan's nose with his index finger. "Maybe Marjorie can help you make a list of what you left at Brisbey. I don't want to forget anything."

Reagan looked from adult face to adult face. She was old enough to know they wanted her out of the room for the time being. She nodded in agreement. She was a little tired anyway. "Okay." She whispered.

"Goodnight then and sweet dreams, princess." Colin bent down and kissed the top of her head.

"Goodnight, Colin." Reagan blushed. "And thank you." She took Marjorie's hand and allowed the housekeeper to lead her from the room. At the door she paused and turned back. "Goodnight, Payton."

Payton still stood in the same spot. Neither her expression nor her mood had softened. She tossed her head in the direction of the door and dismissed both her employee and the child she refused to call 'sister'.