He came out with that awfully quick, George thought. Probably just said it so I couldn’t.
“You didn’t seem all that bowled over that first evening,” Rose pointed out.
“I like having my way,” Monty confessed, flashing his ingratiating grin. “But it didn’t take me long to see that you were just what this family needed.”
You saw it so quickly you threw a temper tantrum at nearly everything she said, George thought.
“If I remember your exact words—”
“Never mind my exact words,” Monty said. “I’ve seen the light.”
“Bullshit,” Hen muttered.
George couldn’t stand it any longer. “For God’s sake, Monty, shut up.”
“George doesn’t think you’re beautiful,” Monty said. “I’m not even sure he likes your cooking.”
It was obvious to everybody that Monty was out to provoke him, but George could take only so much. His fork landed on his plate with a noisy clatter. “I’ll thank you not to put words into my mouth, especially words which can get me poisoned.”
“You think I’d do that?” Rose exclaimed.
“You’d have every right if I said such things.”
“Now George is being gallant,” Monty said. “I think I do it better. You ought to have me, not him.”
“Miss Thornton is not having anybody,” George stated, barely keeping his temper. “I’m certainly not going to enter into a contest with you for some woman’s attention.”
“George can’t like you as much as I do,” Monty said. “Not if he’s going to call you some woman. He doesn’t like me much either.” The devil gleamed in his eyes.
“You are right about the latter point,” George said between clenched teeth. “To set the record straight once and for all, I think Miss Thornton is very pretty, I like her quite a bit, and I very much enjoy her cooking.”
“So you are going to compete with me for her affections,” Monty said, a gleam of devilish pleasure in his eyes.
George threw down his napkin and pushed back from the table. “What I’m not going to do is stay here and listen to any more of your twaddle. If I do, I’m liable to break your neck.”
George stalked out of the kitchen. It was the first time Rose had seen him lose his temper.
“George didn’t deserve that,” Hen said, disapproval in his voice. “You did that intentionally.”
“Considering how George and I met, you ought to be blushing with shame,” Rose said.
The brothers looked at her expectantly.
“George saved me from a man who was trying to force me to become his mistress,” she explained.
“He was just showing off,” Monty said, guilt making him angry at himself.
“Luke drew a gun on him. He would have shot George if he hadn’t been faster and stronger.”
“What happened?” Zac asked, enthralled to see his adored brother in this new light.
“George knocked Luke down and tossed him into the street. Now you go out there and apologize,” Rose said, turning back to Monty. “If you don’t, you’ll be a lot older before you taste any more roast turkey.”
“George beat him up?” Zac asked, his eyes wide with excitement.
“He chopped him up into little pieces,” Rose said, pandering shamelessly to the boy’s thirst for gory details. “It wasn’t a pretty sight.”
“Yippee!” Zac shouted. “I wish I had seen it.”
“And George complains about me exaggerating,” Monty muttered.
“Do what Rose told you,” Hen said.
“I’m going,” Monty said, getting up, sulky, “but I wasn’t just kidding. I do think you’re the prettiest woman I’ve ever seen. And the nicest. I don’t understand why there weren’t dozens of men wanting to marry you. If I were the marrying kind, I’d be proud to have you for my wife.”
“Thank you, Monty.”
“He didn’t mean any harm,” Hen said after his twin had left. “He just likes to aggravate George.”
“He shouldn’t. George never thinks of anything except this family.”
“Monty knows that. He’s just not very good at showing gratitude. He’s better at fighting. I am too.”
“But you understand.”
“So does Monty,” Hen said. He paused. “Do you mind if Zac and I sit here for a while? Monty will get along better if there’s nobody watching him.”
“Stay as long as you like,” Rose said.
Zac held out his biscuit. “If I got to stay here, I want some more jam.”