Once the door closed, the murmur of voices began again, but they were subdued. Jason sat at the table, silent and stone-faced, a hundred conflicting emotions running through his mind. First and foremost was doubt, followed closely by shame. His first impulse on seeing the girl—the young woman—whom he loved above all others in this world, was to hug her and not let go, for fear he'd suddenly lose her again. But the pain of her betrayal ran too deeply to be lightly pushed aside on the spur of the moment.

He remembered how she had received him in their grandmother's parlor when he had gone to San Francisco to bring her back, believing she had been forced to write that awful letter, that she had been taken against her will. But she had denied that, and treated him with brutal coldness, telling him to leave and never bother her again.

And so he had had his petty revenge, and shamed her before nearly the entire town. The people who weren't there would make sure the rest of Seattle knew what had transpired by morning.

"You did what you had to do, Jason," Joshua said. "Don't torment yourself over it." But even he didn't sound totally convinced.

"Did you see how beautiful she's become, Josh?" he asked. "All grown up. We missed that. That magical phase where she went from girl to woman."

"She turned out all right," he agreed with a grudging smile. "But why do you think she turned up now out of the blue? Suddenly had an epiphany and came to her senses?"

"I don't know. But it's none of our affair. She made her pact with the devil and she has to live with it. Right?"

"Right," he agreed, but his response was as half-hearted as Jason's suggestion.

Lottie stormed over to the table, Clancey in tow. They had been enjoying a moonlight dinner on the deck of his ship when Sam had brought the startling news, and on the way back to the saloon they had been waylaid by an eager Corky, who had been eager to relay the outcome of the ill-fated family reunion.

"I heard Jonah came back. Such wonderful news! I'd like to give her homecoming present. How about a dress with a scarlet letter on it?" she asked. "What would be more appropriate? 'B' for betrayal? 'A' for abandonment?"

"This doesn't concern you, Lottie," Jason said gruffly. "It's Bolt family business."

"The hell it doesn't concern me!" she retorted. "It took place in my saloon and I helped raise that particular Bolt. At this moment, Jason, I could cheerfully strangle you. Sam, throw me a bar towel!"

Jason held up his hand. "Don't bother, Lottie. We were just leaving. We lost our appetites, anyway."

"Your sister!" a somewhat dazed Clancey said. "Saints preserve us! I thought there was something familiar about the lass, but I had no idea—"

"You brought her to Seattle?" Jason demanded.

"Oh, leave him alone, Jason!" Lottie ordered. "You make it sound as if he had loosed a plague on the town."

"I'm sorry, Clancey," he apologized. "Of course you had no idea."

"But even if I had, I couldn't have turned her down. She was in desperate straits, Jason. Like the divil hisself was after her."

"I doubt she was in serious trouble," Jason assured him. "She can be quite imaginative and dramatic when it comes to getting things she wants."

"And why not?" Lottie sniffed. "After all, she learned from the best."

Jason bowed mockingly. "And on that note, we'll bid you good-night. Come on, Josh."

Lottie grabbed his arm as he went to leave. "Jason, no! At least talk to her! Clancey says your grandmother was going to force her into an arranged marriage."

"Aye," Clancey confirmed. "Hired a group of Pinkertons to track her down, she did. One of 'em offered a five hundred dollar reward for information leadin' to her whereabouts."

Jason and Joshua exchanged concerned glances. "You're sure about this, Clancey?"

"Aye! 'Tweren't no act, that's for certain."

"Let's go, Josh," Jason said.

"You will help her?" Lottie prodded.

"Don't worry, Lottie. She may have turned her back on her family when they were in trouble, but her family won't turn their backs on her," Jason said.

Clancey smiled in satisfaction as he watched the two brothers leave. "Look up 'Bolt' in the dictionary and you'll see 'loyalty' after it."

"And 'stubborn as a mule' after that," Lottie muttered.

"My guess is that she's been staying in the dormitory," Jason said, surprised to find the door to that building locked. Several knocks brought a grim-faced Biddie and Candy to the door. "Good evening, ladies," he said genially. "May we come in?"

"No," Candy said abruptly. "It's too late. Go away."

"Late? It's only eight-thirty, the shank of the evening!" Jason protested.

"I meant it's too late for you," Candy said, and beside her Biddie nodded emphatically.

"I don't understand—"

"Oh stop it, Jason! Everyone knows what you did to that poor girl. Your own sister! I never would've believed it of you if I hadn't heard it from Jeremy with my own ears."

"Shame on you both!" Biddie scolded, wagging her finger at them.

"Leave Jonah alone," Candy said. "Let her get some sleep and you can see her in the morning when she's fully rested and ready to do battle. It would do all of you a world of good to let those fearsome Bolt tempers simmer down overnight."

Jason sighed heavily. "What I did was wrong, I'll grant you that. But I'll also make no bones about the fact that I'm not here to apologize. Josh and I are here to help her. We heard that our grandmother is trying to force her into marrying someone she wants no part of."

"That's right. But there's nothing you can do about it tonight. Good-night, Jason, Joshua," she said, and slammed the door in his face.

"God save us from stubborn New England women!" Jason swore, and pounded on the door.

Candy promptly opened it up again. "I forgot to tell you. Jeremy said he didn't want to see either of you tonight and he's spending the night up at the logging camp. Good night again," she said, and slammed the door once more.

Jason was ready for more, but Joshua laid a restraining hand on his arm. "She's right, Jason. Let it go for tonight. You'll only upset all the brides if you go barging in there now."

His brother's calm, quiet tone penetrated the veil of anger and frustration that surrounded him. "All right, Josh," he said wearily. "Let's go home. Morning isn't that far away."

"They're gone!" Biddie announced from her vantage point at the window as she watched them head off down the street.

Jonah came running down the stairs with her carpetbag in hand, drawing some surprised looks from the assorted brides. Dressed in a black corduroys and tartan flannel shirt, a fringed buckskin jacket, and with a battered, broad-brimmed hat covering her long chestnut hair, she appeared at first to be a young boy, exactly the impression she wanted to convey.

"My traveling clothes," she said in response to the curious stares.

"Oh my goodness, you look just like Holly Huston!" Biddie exclaimed.

"Who?" Jonah asked.

"It's a long story. Come to the parlor and I'll tell you everything."

"I'd love to hear, but some other time," she said. "I've got to be on my way."

"You can't leave now!" Candy protested. "Jason and Joshua found out about the marriage and said they wanted to help. I told them to come back in the morning."

Her face lit up with hope. "Jason's sorry for what happened in Lottie's?"

"No, not exactly," she said slowly. "But he does want to help."

"I don't need his help!" she snapped. "I fended for myself these past few years and I can do it again."

"But where will you go?" a distressed Biddie asked.

"It's better that you don't know," Jonah said, and smiled as she hugged her tightly. "Good-bye 'cousin.' Thank you for everything."

Biddie hugged her back and then blew her nose fiercely. "Good-bye. We'll miss you."

After making her farewells to a few other brides, Jonah stopped in front of Candy, whose own eyes were suspiciously moist. "Jeremy's so lucky to have found someone like you. I wish I could've stayed; it would've been nice having a sister."

"Forget for one minute that you're a pig-headed Bolt and listen to reason!" she pleaded. "You and Jason can work this out."

She shook her head sadly. "Not after tonight." The two women embraced fondly. "I'll try to send you word once I'm settled. I've got to go now; Jeremy's waiting on the edge of town with a horse. Good-bye, Candy."

"A safe journey, wherever it is you're going," she said, and blinked back tears as Jonah closed the door behind her and headed out into the windswept night.

"We could go tell Jason and Joshua," Biddie suggested as she dabbed at her tear-swollen eyes.

Candy considered this briefly and shook her head. "If Jeremy's helping her leave, then we've got to respect her wishes." She paused. "However ill-advised we think they might be."

When Jeremy heard the call of the spotted owl he stopped out of the underbrush, leading a dappled grey mare. At the sight of Jonah in the clearing, dressed in her boy's clothing, he asked himself if he was doing the right thing. But he quickly consoled himself with the thought that she knew these woods even better than he did, and after what he witnessed at Lottie's earlier that evening, that she was right. Seattle wasn't big enough for four Bolts. Still, he couldn't help asking once more, "Are you sure you won't reconsider?"

"I'm sorry, Jeremy, but I can't. But thanks for asking, and for being the only one who trusted me without reservation." Brother and sister embraced, for what each knew might be the last time. "If it's any consolation, Candy told me that Jason and Joshua stopped by the dormitory and offered their help against Grandmother and Thaddeus."

He brightened instantly. "Then maybe—"

"Too little, too late," she said dismissively, and his shoulders sagged with disappointment.

"If your mind's made up, then I guess this is good-bye." Pulling out a small cloth pouch from his pocket, he handed it to her. "A little bit of home to take with you."

Jonah gasped with delight as she beheld the oval locket engraved with the initials "ESB" on the delicate silver chain. "Mother's wedding-day gift from Father!"

"One and the same," he said, happy that it had pleased her so much.

"I really shouldn't—" she said hesitantly.

"Oh yes you should," he said. "You're her only daughter, after all. And I think Jason always planned to give it to you on your eighteenth birthday. So consider it an early present."

"In that case, help me put it on," she said, and turned as so he could slip it around her neck and fasten it.

"Be careful with that clasp. It seems to be a little loose."

"I'll guard it with my life," she swore, and hugged Jeremy tightly once again. "Thank you for being the most wonderful brother a girl ever had."

"You take care of yourself!" he said in a voice hoarse with emotion. "And you'd better keep in touch, no matter what."

"I promise," she said, and kissed his cheek, before forcing herself to leave and mount her horse. "Oh, and Jeremy—"

He looked up expectantly, hoping against hope that maybe she had changed her mind. "Yes?"

"Marry Candy as soon you can!" she said, and galloped off.

Joshua lit the oil lamp as they entered the dark, empty cabin and Jason set about building a fire. As he arranged the logs in the hearth, his mind was still running over the bitter events of the past few hours. After adding the kindling and reaching for the tinder box, his eye lit upon the trunk, the lid of which was slightly ajar. Lifting the lid he saw that the carefully arranged contents had been rifled through quickly and were in disarray. Quickly, he discovered what was missing.

"Damn it!" he swore.

Joshua came over. "What's wrong?"

"We've been duped, Josh. Jonah's not going to be at the dormitory in the morning. She's leaving Seattle tonight."

He arched an eyebrow. "And just how do you know that?"

"Mother's locket—it's gone."

"You think she took it?"

"No, I think it was Jeremy. I should've wondered why he asked me where it was earlier today. Said he just wanted to look at it again. At the time I didn't think it was strange; after Mother died he always wanted to look at the picture inside of it."

"So she's gone. Isn't that what you wanted? What we both wanted?" They exchanged knowing looks and Joshua grinned. "I'll get the horses saddled."

As well as she knew the woods, Jonah had no intention of traveling that night. Clouds were obscuring the moon, and she could smell a storm brewing. But she hadn't told Jeremy that. All he knew was that she was going to Tacoma to link up with the railroad, and that she would leave his horse at the hostlery nearest the station. And if she knew Jason like she thought she did, he wouldn't be able to wait until morning to settle things. By now he had probably already found out she was gone and was on his way to bring her back.

Smiling to herself, she doubled back and headed for a house on the outskirts of town, one whose windows were ablaze with welcoming light.