mma’s cheeks flamed. But she locked one arm aroundTorie’s waist and faced them all down. His sister had boots on, so she stood a good six inches taller than Emma, and she looked like someone who’d been cybernetically frozen. Dex’s expression was faintly bemused, Shelby’s lips had grown slack, Warren’s ruddy complexion had paled.

A wheezing sound came from Hugh’s mouth, and his eyeballs protruded so that he looked like a giant guppy gulping for air.

“I was afraid to tell you,” Emma said lamely.

Torie was beginning to come out of her stupor. She gazed down at Emma. “I didn’t know you cared.”

Kenny was so furious he could barely contain himself. That hardheaded, know-it-all, blindsided stubborn female had just thrown her lifetime career of teaching little girls right out the window.

Emma worked away at her bottom lip as she finally let go of Torie. Hugh’s face had taken on a purplish hue. “Youdegenerate!”

And then everything happened at once.

Hugh shot forward, drew back his arm, and cracked Emma hard across her cheek with his open palm.

The camera crew emerged from the Roustabout too late to see Hugh’s attack, but just in time to watch Kenny throw himself through the air and catch the duke in the midsection.

Hugh was more solid than he looked, but he was no match for Kenny, and he stumbled backward. Before he could hit the blacktop, Kenny grabbed him and slammed a fist into his gut.

The camera whirred away, brutally recording the sight of a tall, muscular athlete cravenly attacking a short, plump, middle-aged man.

Hugh crumpled, made another wheezing sound, and tried to butt his head into Kenny’s stomach. Kenny brought up his knee and caught him in the chin. Hugh gave a grunt of pain and collapsed onto the asphalt.

Hugh was still conscious, but his face was a mask of fear as he gazed up at Kenny. Kenny bent down to jerk him back to his feet only to have his father catch one of his arms and Dex catch the other. The two men held him back.

Through the red haze of his anger, Kenny saw the camera crew and realized they were recording everything. Hugh stumbled back to his feet, gasping for air as blood dripped from the corner of his mouth.

Kenny watched the red mark on Emma’s cheek grow livid, and he didn’t give a damn about the camera crew. All he cared about was destroying the man who had struck her.

“I’m okay now,” he said to his father and Dex. “You can let me go.”

They let him go.

He slammed his fist into Hugh’s jaw.

“Oh, Kenny...” Emma tried to hurl herself at him, but Torie, who understood justice when she saw it, grabbed her away.

“Come here, my little passionflower. I’ll comfort you.” She curled Emma to her bosom by throwing a hammerlock around her neck.

“I’m trying very hard,” Dex murmured as he watched the females embrace, “not to get turned on.”

Kenny’s chest heaved as he stared down at Hugh crumpled on the pavement.

“Kenny!” He turned toward the commanding sound of Emma’s voice. Her plump little mouth was set in a determined line and she looked every inch the schoolteacher putting an end to a playground fight—a schoolteacher with an ugly red smear on her cheek. “Don’t do it. Please.”

Torie released Emma, and he walked toward her to touch the mark on her cheek. “Are you all right?”

She gave a brisk nod, but he could feel how shaken she was, and it made him want to take Hugh Holroyd apart all over again.

In his peripheral vision, he saw the camera crew circling like vampires. They’d caught everything on tape—everything except the moment Hugh had slapped Emma. Right then, he knew exactly how it would be. The camera would show bad boy Kenny Traveler throwing himself at a defenseless man.

Never apologize. Never explain.

Sturgis Randall rushed forward and thrust a microphone in Kenny’s face. “Tell us what happened. Why did you start the fight?”

“Get out of here,” he growled.

“No!” Emma clutched his arm. “Tell him exactly what happened.”

But Kenny’d swallowed his pride once today by talking to Sturgis, and he wasn’t going to do it again. Besides, there was no point. Sturgis had film, and he wasn’t interested in the truth.

Acid boiled in his stomach. Without another word, he pulled away from Emma and walked to his car. Randall shouted out a question, but he ignored it. He’d just thrown his life away, and he had to be alone.

Dismay washed over Emma as she watched him go. What had she done? As the Cadillac sped away, she faced the terrible knowledge that the events she had set in motion could destroy what was left of Kenny’s career.

Warren shot forward. She was accustomed to seeing his neediness as he gazed at his son, but now she saw a hardheaded businessman. “Dex, get Hugh to the hotel. The more I think about it, the more I realize he’ll do just fine there. Cockroaches need to stick together.”

Dex grabbed Hugh and led him toward his Audi, but at the last minute, Hugh wrenched free and turned on Emma. “Don’t think I’ll ever let you near that school again! Or any school, for that matter. Twisted, perverted women like you shouldn’t be allowed near innocent children.”

Emma felt a cool, moist wind blow across the parking lot, and in her mind it smelled of neat English lawns, sun-splashed flower beds, and old brick buildings that sheltered lonely little girls. The only home she’d ever known.

Sturgis rushed toward Hugh. “Tell us what happened. Why did Kenny Traveler subject you to that brutal assault?”

Dex put the car into gear and raced out of the parking lot before Hugh could denounce Kenny. Furious, Sturgis turned back to his cameraman. “Let’s get this film to the airport.”

“No!” Emma rushed toward the camera. “Interview me. I’ll tell you everything. I was attacked by Hugh Holroyd. Kenny was only acting in my defense.”

Her heart sank as she saw the skeptical look on Randall’s face “Anybody else see this?” he asked the onlookers.

“We all did,” Warren said.

Shelby hurried forward, and the parking lot lights showed two damp milk-circles on the front of her sweater. “That English lizard slapped Lady Emma, and Kenny defended her.”

Randall, still looking skeptical, turned to the crowd. “Is this true? Did anybody else see it?”

“If Shelby says it’s true, then it is,” one of the men called out.

“You’re damned right it is,” Torie said. “And you’d better tell the whole story.”

Randall gave her a long look, and once again turned to the crowd. “Did anybody who’s not part of the Traveler family see what happened?”

There was silence.

“Dex did!” Torie exclaimed. “Dexter O’Conner. He just drove the lizard to the hotel. You can talk to him.”

“O’Conner? Isn’t he the man you’re going to marry? Not exactly an unbiased source.”

“Who said I was marrying him?”

Sturgis passed his microphone over to a crew member and closed the notebook he was holding. “The bartender and about six other people.”

The self-satisfied look on his face told it all, and Warren shook his head. “You don’t want to know the truth. But then, you’ve got a long history of ignoring the facts. You’re the reason Kenny got suspended, and now you want to string him up all over again.”

Randall regarded him pompously. “I don’t make the news. I just report it.”

“Don’t you meandis tort?” Shelby said.

But Sturgis Randall had his story exactly the way he liked, and he wasn’t interested in hearing any more.“Pack up, boys. Let’s get out of here.”

Emma’s stomach sank. She’d desperately wanted to get rid of Hugh, but she’d never intended to destroy Kenny in the process.

Emma waited up for Kenny until nearly four in the morning, then fell asleep in the chair she’d pulled to her bedroom window. When she awakened at six, he still hadn’t come home.

Still wearing her clothes from the night before, she stumbled into the bathroom. The mirror showed dark circles under her eyes and the faint shadow of a bruise on her cheek where Hugh had hit her. She brushed her knuckles against it, but it didn’t hurt nearly as much as her heart.

Today was the day she was flying home. She thought of the way Kenny had rushed to her defense, an act of pure chivalry that had not only ruined his chance to get back on the tour for a very long time, but would permanently scar his reputation with the public. If only he’d let her handle it. But gallantry was as much a part of his makeup as his offbeat sense of humor. She’d known their affair had to end, but she’d never dreamed it would end like this, with her having so clearly wronged him.

She was going to need transport to Dallas today so she could get to the airport. She also needed a shower and fresh clothes, but there was something she had to do first.

Ten minutes later she was behind the wheel of Patrick’s car and creeping down a blessedly empty highway toward town. As she concentrated on staying on the proper side of the road, she told herself that her days as a nondriver were over. She might never be comfortable at it, but she wouldn’t give in to her phobia any longer. As soon as she returned to England, she was going to get a license.

The morning desk clerk at the hotel turned out to be the attractive redhead Ted had been flirting with at the Roustabout. She recognized Emma, and it didn’t take long for her to turn over Hugh’s room number.

After knocking at his door, Emma stepped far enough to the side so she wouldn’t be visible through the peephole. Then she approximated a Texas drawl. “Room service.”

Seconds ticked by. She heard the sound of movement, then the click of locks. The door opened. “I didn’t order—” Hugh froze as he saw her.

He’d thrown a silk robe over his pudgy body, and the legs of his royal purple pajamas stuck out beneath. His feet were bare and ugly, with a gnarled big toe. She was gratified to notice that the bruise on the side of his jaw was a lot nastier than hers.

“Get out of here!” His small eyes darted past her into the hall, and she realized he was afraid Kenny had come along.

She pushed past him into the room. “I’m alone.”

He slammed the door behind her, as if he still expected Kenny to wedge himself inside at any moment. “He’s a madman! If I’d known he was insane when I spoke with him that first time, I’d never have—” He broke off and his fleshy lips curled. “Do you have any idea the extent of the humiliation you’ve made me suffer?”

As he took a threatening step toward her, common sense told her to retreat, but she stood her ground. “If you touch me, I shall scream so loudly everyone in the hotel will hear. Is that what you want?”

He glared down his nose at her but didn’t come any closer. “You’re wasting your time. You don’t really believe I’ll still marry you now that I know about yourperversion, do you?”

His lip curled as if he’d just spit out poison. If shewere a lesbian, she would find his attitude highly offensive. He thrust his hand through his oily auburn hair, but instead of straightening it, he forced it into a pair of spikes that reminded her of devil horns.

“Don’t plan on ever returning to St. Gert’s because I’m dismissing you. If you set foot on the property again, I’ll have you arrested for trespassing.”

“Of course I intend to go back. Everything I own is there.”

“It’ll be packed up and sent to you.”

She wouldn’t even get a chance to say good bye, but she knew she had to pick her battles, and she couldn’t afford to think about that. Instead, she had to concentrate on all the girls who depended on her.

“Very well, Hugh. But if you don’t want chaos reigning at St. Gert’s, I suggest you replace me with Penelope Briggs. She’s highly competent, and she’ll do an excellent job.”

“That ruddy-faced woman? The one with the awful braying laugh?”

Penelope might be loud, but she was also wonderfully cheerful and extremely intelligent. Hearing her dismissed that way made Emma bristle, but she did her best to hide it. “She gets on well with the staff and the girls. She’s also extremely well-organized. You couldn’t find anyone better.”Except me, she wanted to say.I was the best headmistress St. Gert’s ever had.

He shrugged. “Since she won’t have the job long, I suppose it won’t make any difference.”

“What do you mean?”

He regarded her with a self-satisfied smirk. “I’m going to sell the school to a developer, Emma. I believe I mentioned that possibility.”

Her breath came out in a slow hiss. He wanted his revenge, and he knew exactly how to take it. “You miserable worm.”

“I don’t think you have room to call anyone names, you pathetic excuse for a woman. And I’m warning you right now that you’d better keep quiet about your perversion. I won’t have anyone knowing that a lesbian ever served as the headmistress of St. Gert’s.”

She couldn’t do this any longer. She’d lost everything that counted, and at least she would accept defeat as herself and not someone else. “I’m not a lesbian,” she said quietly. “I kissed Torie because I was desperate to get rid of you.”

“You’re lying.”

She took a deep, steadying breath. “If I were a lesbian, I wouldn’t be ashamed of it, but I’m not. I told you from the beginning that I didn’t want to marry you. Not only did you refuse to listen, you blackmailed me.”

“I did no such thing.”

“I don’t know what else you’d call it. You threatened to sell St. Gert’s if I didn’t comply with your wishes. I love that school. You didn’t leave me any other option.”

He drew himself up, and his chest expanded pompously. “You’re deluded! As if I would have to force any woman to marry me. My name is one of the oldest in England.”

Once again she was reminded of how useless it was to argue with him. When it came to his own self-importance, Hugh Holroyd had no match. She fired her final salvo, knowing how flimsy it was even as she spoke. “I’m warning you right now that, if you close St. Gert’s, I’ll do my best to destroy you.”

Her threat hardly brought him to his knees. Instead, he sneered at her. “What could a nobody like you do to destroy someone like me?”

“I could tell the truth.”

He looked bored.

“That’s really all I have to do, you know. Oh, I don’t possess your lofty media contacts, but I’m well-acquainted with Colin Gutteridge at theLower Tilbey Standard, and I taught Evelyn Lumley’s daughter. Evelyn is the home and garden reporter for Lower Tilbey’s radio station. She’s a magician with roses, so she has a very loyal group of listeners. I admit my contacts are humble ones, but even a small stone causes ripples, and both of them are quite loyal to me. They’ll be more than happy to report my side of the story.”

“No one will believe them,” he scoffed. “You can’t prove a thing.”

“Perhaps not. But the speculation will be messy.”

“Do you really think your unimportant little friends could hurt someone in my position?”

“I fight with what I have,” she said simply.

She had the satisfaction of seeing that she had his attention. Perhaps her small threat would make him think twice.

He shot his hand toward the door. “Get out of my sight. And don’t expect any decent schools in England to hire you because I’ll make certain that doesn’t happen.”

Did he really have so much power? She doubted it, but she also knew he could make it impossible for her to secure the type of position she was qualified to hold.

She realized she was trembling, and she knew she had to get away. But she couldn’t leave until she said what she needed to. “You are a small-minded, pompous man, Hugh. But even worse, you have a wicked heart. St. Gert’s deserves better.”

Francesca stared through the living room window at the gleaming stretch of Florida beach. It was beautiful, but she missed Wynette. She returned her attention to the disagreeable telephone conversation she was having with her husband. “Yes, darling, I’ve heard what they’re saying on the news. But I’m sure Kenny has a rational explanation.”

She wasn’t sure of any such thing, and she winced as her normally soft-spoken husband adamantly voiced his displeasure.

Finally, he quieted enough for her to speak. “I’ll admit the news clip is a bit damning, but the Duke of Beddington’s such a rotter. Really, Dallie, if you knew him, you’d simply detest him. I’m certain he had it coming.”

She lifted the receiver a few inches from her ear as he erupted again. He was calling her from Augusta, where the final round of the Masters was being played even as they spoke. Reporters had been stalking him all morning, and guilt nipped at her. This was her fault for sending Emma to Kenny. Beddington had obviously gone to Wynette because of her, and something, just as obviously, had gone drastically wrong.

Ever since Francesca had seen the footage of the fight in the Roustabout parking lot on the morning news, she’d been trying to reach Kenny, but she kept getting a busy signal. She’d hoped Emma would have a positive influence on him, but, instead, she seemed to have landed him in deeper trouble. None of this would have happened if Francesca hadn’t decided to try a little off-beat matchmaking, as her husband was now reminding her.

The other line buzzed. Dallie was still raving, and she slipped him on hold.

“Hi, Mom, it’s me.”

“Teddy, darling! Thank goodness you called. I have your father on the other line, and he’s being completely disagreeable. Hold on.”

She clicked back to Dallie, who seemed to be threatening her with a rather interesting sexual variation if she ever tried matchmaking again. “Sweetheart, I’m sorry to interrupt, but Teddy’s calling.”

Dallie immediately quieted, as she’d known he would. Of the many blessings in her life, witnessing the love between Dallie and his son was surely the greatest.

She took advantage of his brief silence to end the conversation. “Hurry home tonight, my darling.” And then, to punish him for being so cranky, she dropped her voice into the husky purr she’d perfected before her sixteenth birthday. “I bought the most exquisite massage oil yesterday. Almond with a faint overlay of sandalwood. Imported, of course, and outrageously expensive. But I insist on using only the very best... on every part of you... that will touch... certain parts of me.”

There was a long, eloquent pause, and when he finally spoke, his voice sounded just the slightest bit hoarse. “Francie, I do believe I’m going to catch an earlier flight.”

Francesca smiled as she gently disconnected him.As if there’d ever been any doubt.

“I’m going to kill him!” Torie exclaimed, over the voice announcing final boarding of Flight 2842 to London’s Heathrow. “I really will, Lady E. The minute Kenny resurfaces, I’ll do it. Tell her, Dex. Tell her I always mean what I say.”

Instead of replying, Dex slipped his arm around Emma’s shoulders and gave her a hug. “I’m sure once Kenny’s had a chance to think things over, he’ll be in touch.”

Emma thought how difficult that would be since she was getting ready to fly across the ocean. She was also homeless and jobless. “It’s all right. After what happened last night, I don’t expect him to speak to me again. Really.” But she’d hoped he would. She’d hoped he’d forgive her.

She fumbled in her purse for her boarding pass. She’d postponed getting on the plane as long as she could, just as she’d postponed leaving the ranch when it finally became evident that Kenny wasn’t going to return, but she couldn’t stall any longer.

At least she’d be getting away from Torie, who’d been nagging Dexter all day. No matter what he did or said, Torie found fault with it. He’d been bearing her insults with admirable restraint, but Emma’d been forced to bite her tongue to keep from calling her to task.

To make the trip even more uncomfortable, Emma had told them the truth about Hugh and his threats. After what they’d seen last night, they deserved the whole story, and, although they were both sympathetic, her confession made her feel like a dotty, dear thing, completely incompetent and out of touch with the world. The only secret she’d kept was the fact that she’d fallen in love with Kenny, but she was afraid both of them already knew that.

Torie’s worried expression only reinforced the feeling. “Kenny’s got a slow fuse, but, unfortunately, once it gets lit, it takes a while for him to cool down. And the fact that Tiger just won another Masters won’t help.”

“Yes, well, I seem to have run out of cooling down time.” She kissed Dex’s cheek, then gave Torie a fierce hug. “You’ve been wonderful to me. I’ll miss you dreadfully. You’ll never know how sorry I am for what I put you through last night.”

“Are you kidding? I was glad to help out.” She shot Dexter a peeved look. “Besides, it’s nice to be around someone who’s spontaneous instead of a person who has to think every damn thing through from top to bottom.”

Dexter smiled.

Torie squeezed Emma’s shoulders. “And don’t think you’ve seen the last of me, Lady E. We’ll keep in touch.”

“I hope so.”

“You can count on it. Our love affair might have been brief, but it sure was memorable.”

Emma laughed, then felt her throat close tight. She was going to miss this wacky band of Texans. “Be good to Dexter, Torie,” she whispered. “He’s a wonderful man.”

Torie hugged her back and looked unhappy. Emma gave them both a shaky smile, then hoisted her tote and turned toward the jetway.

“Emma!”

Her heart lurched, and she spun around to see Kenny racing toward the gate. He looked terrible. His slacks were wrinkled, he was unshaven, and he’d stuck a navy Dean Witter baseball cap over rumpled hair.

“Hold on!” Kenny rushed forward, nearly knocking over an elderly woman in the process, and came to a stop in front of Emma. His chest heaved, and he took a deep breath.

Now what?As Kenny gazed at Emma silhouetted in front of the jetway, he couldn’t seem to get his air back. He’d run all the way from the parking garage, but that wasn’t why he couldn’t breathe. It had something to do with the way his lungs were crushed in his chest.

Last night, after he’d left the Roustabout, he’d driven around for a few hours, then found himself headed for Dallas. When he arrived, he’d gone straight to the golf course instead of to bed. He’d played thirty-six murderous holes; then, when he’d heard what Tiger was doing at Augusta, he’d hit the driving range for another hour. Bleary-eyed with exhaustion, he’d been about to make his way to his condo when he’d realized what day it was. That was when he’d turned around and headed for DFW.

“Ma’am, you’ll have to board now,” the gate attendant said with determined politeness.

Kenny saw Emma’s forehead wrinkle, and then her mouth crumpled. She banged her tote bag against his hip as she curled her hand around his arm. “Oh, Kenny, I’m so sorry about what happened. I never meant to involve you. I wasn’t thinking. I just reacted, and... I’ll never forgive myself. Everything happened so fast, and—”

He could see that, if he didn’t stop her, she’d spend the rest of their time together apologizing, but now that he was facing her, he couldn’t think of any of the dozen things he needed to say, especially not with Torie and Dex looking on. He just knew he couldn’t let Emma leave until he’d told her how she’d screwed up his entire life. And also... he had to say good-bye.

He whirled on his sister. “Will you get out of here?”

“Not until I’m good and ready.”

“You’re ready!”

Dex stepped forward, took her by the wrist, and drew her far enough away so Kenny could have a little privacy.

“Ma’am, we’re getting ready to close the doors. You have to board.”

He glared at the gate attendant. “Just tell them to wait a minute!”

“I’m sorry, sir, we can’t do that.”

Emma gave the attendant her boarding pass and shot Kenny a pleading look. “I have to go.”

Kenny gritted his teeth. “You’re not going anywhere until you tell me what you intend to do about the mess you’ve made of my life.”

Her eyes clouded. “I tried to reason with that awful television reporter—all of us did—but he refused to listen.” She began walking backward into the jetway. “I promise, Kenny, I’m going to talk to Dallie and set things right. I left several messages, but he hadn’t returned them by the time I left. I’ll call again as soon as I get on the plane.”

“You did what?” He dashed into the jetway and pulled her back out.

The attendant hissed, “Sir!”

He gave Emma a little shake to get her attention. “By damn, if you say a single word to Dallie about this, you’ll be sorry.”

The attendant stepped closer. “Ma’am, do you want me to call security?”

“No, no.” Emma shook her head. “Everything’s fine.” Once again, she grabbed his arm. “Of course I have to talk to Dallie. I’m the one who’s responsible. I have to explain how this is all my fault.”

“You’re damn right it is, and you’ve got a lot of making up to do, starting right now. Don’t get on that plane.”

“I have to. I have to go back.”

“And leave me to face the mess you created? Not hardly.”

“I won’t. I already told you I’d explain to Dallie, and—”

“And I already told you to mind your own business.”

“But...”

“Ma’am, are you getting on this plane or not?”

“Yes!”

“No, you’re not!”

Without any warning, Emma’s eyes filled with tears. Why did she have to tear his heart out by crying? “You stop that right now!” he exclaimed. “You’re not getting your way just by turning into a damn crybaby!”

“I’m not trying to get my way. I’m trying to straighten this out.”

“Fine! That’s exactly what I wanted to hear.” He glanced over at the gate attendant. “Don’t wait for her any longer. She’s not going with you.”

“Kenny! Stop it this instant! I’ve already apologized, and I told you I’d call Dallie and explain, but you don’t want that. I can’t think of anything else to say. What am I missing? Tell me exactly what it is youdo want from me.”

She had him there.

“That’s what I thought.” Her schoolmarm’s look told him he didn’t have a chance of changing her mind. “Good-bye, Kenny.”

She pulled away from him and turned into the jetway.

“You get back here right this minute!” he called out. “We’re—” Something was burning a hole right through the middle of his brain. “We’re going straight to Vegas.”

That stopped her—stopped him, too. She glanced back at him, and her expression was completely baffled, which made him even more irritable. “Vegas? What do you mean?”

The hole in his brain was getting bigger by the second. “Las Vegas. It’s in Nevada.”

“I know where it is. Why do you want to go there?”

“To elope.” The words came out like a croak. “It’s where people go to elope.”

“Elope?” She was walking back toward him now, not as though she wanted to do it, but more like a zombie. “Do you mean get married?”

No!No, that’s not what he meant at all—he didn’t want to get married!—but he couldn’t back down now, not with that damned gate attendant staring at him as if he were a nutcase, and Emma looking like the walking dead, and Tiger wearing the green jacket again.

His eavesdropping sister started shrieking in the background and jumping up and down just like the sorority girl she’d been in her not-so-distant past. “You’re getting married!”

He thrust out his jaw at Emma. “You’ve got a problem with that?”

Those amber brown eyes looked as if they were going to swim right out of her face, and her throat muscles contracted as she swallowed. “This is—is foolish. You don’t want to marry me.”

She’d never spoken truer words, but he wasn’t going to admit it now. “Don’t you try to tell me what I want and what I don’t want. Just because we’re getting married doesn’t mean I’m going to put up with you bossing me around.”

“Ma’am, I’m afraid you’ll have to get this sorted out on your own time. Good luck.”

As the gate attendant shut the door, Kenny went light-headed with relief. He didn’t try to examine his reaction. He only knew that he’d just survived a sudden-death play off.

Behind him, Torie continued to squeal. “Married! Oh, Kenny, this is perfect! You and Lady E! Shelby’s gonna die. Oh, my God! Does this mean you get a title, too? Does it, Lady E? Is he going to be Lord Kenny now?”

Kenny shot Dex an imploring look. “If you’ve got an ounce of compassion, get her out of here.”

Dexter slipped his hand around Torie’s waist. “I don’t think we’re needed.”

“I have to call Shelby. And Ted! Wait till I tell Teddy Beaudine about this.” As she fumbled in her purse for her cell phone, she grinned at her brother. “I can see why you like her so much, Kenny. She’s a real good kisser.”

Every person still standing in the gate area turned to stare at Emma.

Torie regarded them haughtily. “Well, she is.”