Free Hannah Howell by Kentucky Bride

much harm.”
    The look on Grendall’s face told Ballard he was being naive, but the older man said no more. Ballard accepted Grendall’s offer for the stallion and the two mares. They arranged for Ballard to bring the horses to Grendall’s home on the west side of town in the morning, when he would collect his money. As Ballard returned his animals to the stables, he wondered just how much he should worry about Thomas’s veiled threats.
    Clover started toward the kitchen, intending to tell Molly that she should serve the meal now and not wait any longer for the men. She was only a few steps from the kitchen door when the front door slammed open. Shelton and Lambert stumbled in and, as she neared them, she caught the strong scent of ale. Right behind them came Ballard, who appeared to be sober but was covered in dust and mud, his fine courting clothes badly disarranged.
    “Sorry we are a wee bit late, lass,” Ballard said as he tossed his hat on a hall table, “but I had to go and collect these two fools. Ye can serve up the food now.”
    He started to usher his unsteady companions toward the dining room, but Clover quickly blocked him. “Oh no, you cannot.” She almost smiled at the startled looks on their faces. “You will go and clean up first. Your things arrived from the inn a short while ago.”
    “Weel, I reckon we can wash our hands.”
    “You need to wash a great deal more than your hands, Mr. MacGregor, if you intend to sit at my table.”
    “But the food will be cold,” protested Shelton as he ineptly tried to straighten his disordered clothes.
    “If Molly has managed to keep it edible this long, she can do so for a little while longer.” Clover saw her brothers peeking out between the parlor doors. “Boys, you can show the gentlemen their rooms and where they can wash.” She shook her head as the boys led the men away, then she hurried to the kitchen to speak to Molly.
    “Why didnae ye stand your ground, Ballard?” grumbled Shelton as he made his unsteady way up the stairs.
    “Why? Ye stink like a dockside tavern and I smell like horses. I wouldnae want to sit to table with us either. A little water willnae kill us. This is one of them lessons in manners we need to learn.”
    “I think I prefer ignorance and a full belly.”
    Ballard laughed. “Hurry up, lads. From what I can smell, there is a fine meal awaiting us.”
    Clover was just helping Molly set the last dishes on the table when Ballard, Shelton, and Lambert entered the dining room. She hid a smile as she noted their clean homespun shirts and breeches, and their still damp hair. For a brief moment after she had ordered them to wash and change, she had worried that she had overstepped herself, but it had been a fleeting concern. Ballard said he wanted to learn good manners and the way of the gentry. There wasno need to wait until they were married to start those lessons.
    As they ate Clover took careful note of their table manners. They were not as unschooled as she had feared, but there was certainly a lot of room for improvement. Ballard, Shelton, and Lambert clearly had only one concern at mealtime, and that was to get as much food as possible into their mouths as fast as they could. When Ballard glanced up at her, she just smiled, however. Their first meal together was not the time to start their lessons in genteel dining.
    A little hesitantly Ballard returned Clover’s smile. It took only one glance around at Clover and her family to make him uncomfortably aware that his table manners were all wrong. He watched Clover more carefully, imitating her actions, but knew he looked awkward. It pinched at his vanity and he fought his wounded pride. All he needed was a little education, which Clover would provide.
    After the meal was over, as they gathered in the parlor for an after-dinner drink, Ballard felt his wavering confidence return. Their sobriety restored, it was not long before Shelton and Lambert slipped away to tour the