Page 48 of Mail-Order Lady

“Who are you?” Enoch’s voice carried across the yard. No greeting. Not for a stranger who’d followed Robert all the way from Fort Benton.

“How’dya do.” The man’s voice came out slow and casual, yet it held some kind of accent. English? Maybe.

Robert positioned the rifle where he could shoot from his hiding place if he needed. This might be someone Reginald sent after all.

It couldn’t be Reginald himself…right? He had no memory of the man, but he was nearer father’s age. This fellow looked only a slight bit older than Enoch.

“Who are you?” Enoch’s tone came sharper this time.

The stranger dipped his chin. “I came to introduce myself. Name’s Nathan.”

Something in his pause made the hairs rise on the back of Robert’s neck.

“Nathan…Balfour.”

The air around Robert went blurry, and he blinked to pull himself back. What…? He must have heard wrong. The distance. He needed to get closer.

He stepped from behind the barn and slipped along its side. He tried to be discreet. To not draw attention to his movements. Yet he needed to get close enough to hear the next words. He lengthened his stride, even as everything in him strained to hear the smallest sounds from the conversation.

“Your name is…what?” Enoch must have thought he’d heard the same.

The man eyed Robert’s approach with something like humor quirking the corners of his mouth.

There was no hiding now, so Robert strode directly toward the porch. He kept his rifle raised but not fully aimed as he took the steps and turned to stand beside Enoch. Whatever this stranger intended, he’d have to go through them both to reach the house.

And no doubt, Thomas and James were listening just on the other side of the door with their own weapons.

Enoch repeated his question. “Your name is what?”

The stranger still wore that implacable expression, and something in his eyes said he might be enjoying knocking them a bit off-kilter. “Nathan Balfour.” His horse shifted, and he straightened a little in the saddle.

“Why did you come here?” Enoch’s voice had taken on a hard tone.

Any hint of humor slipped from the stranger’s face. “I would like to tell you everything, but it’d be easier if we could sit for the talk. Doesn’t have to be inside, maybe just without those pointed at me.” He nodded toward the weapons.

Now that he’d spoken more, the accent was even harder to identify. Not fully English. Something from a European country? It sounded almost like a mix.

Enoch must be uncertain, or he would have answered already. Did they dare allow this stranger to dismount and settle here at all? But letting him leave might be the worst option. At least until they knew exactly what claim he came to make.

He had to be from Reginald. Some brigand the usurper had hired to lay claim to the dukedom. But they should know what game he came to play.

Enoch must have come to the same decision, for he gave a nod. “Tie your horse.” Under his breath, he added, “Get James and Thomas. Bring their guns and keep the women inside.”

Robert took three steps back, keeping himself and his rifle facing the man. When he gripped the doorknob, it turned under his hand, then cracked open.

“Come out, both of you,” he murmured to whichever of his brothers stood inside. “Bring your rifles.” They wouldn’t need to be told to keep the ladies within.

James slipped out first, then Thomas. Both wore hard expressions.

As all four of them lined up along the porch, the stranger—Nathan, maybe—tied his horse to the rail in front of the house. He seemed to be splitting his attention between his actions and watching the row of them.

And the way he looked at each of them…curiosity for sure. Almost…warmth?

Not the look of a man sizing up his enemy. Or his prey.

At last, he turned to face them. That hint of humor touched his gaze again. “I suppose you’re not going to invite me in for a cup o’ tea.”

Beside him, Enoch nearly bristled. The movement may not have been clear enough for this stranger to see, but Robert could feel it coming off him in waves.