"Not parched," Jade wailed. "Dead, Sterns. They're both dead."

"Now, mi'lady, one must always look on the bright side."

"That is the bright side," she muttered. "Oh, go and fetch the brandy then. I'll guard the doors."

"I trust you to keep your word," he announced.

She didn't want to go inside now. She was furious with Caine and her brother, and so humiliated because the Duke and Duchess of Williamshire had strolled right into the middle of the brawl, she wanted to weep.

And just what did she care what Caine's parents thought about her? She was leaving, and that was that. She would have gone upstairs to pack her satchel then and there but she didn't want to take the chance

of running into the Duchess again.

When Sterns returned with the crystal decanter and two glasses, Jade opened the door for him. Both she and the butler stopped when they saw the destruction. The lovely room was in shambles. Jade didn't

think there was a single piece of furniture left intact.

Sterns found the two men before Jade did. His initial surprise wore off much faster, too. The butler straightened his shoulders and proceeded over to the far wall, where Caine and Nathan were seated

on the floor, side by side, their backs propped up by the wall.

Jade stumbled after the butler. Her hands flew to cover her mouth when she looked at the two warriors. Neither looked victorious. Caine had a jagged cut on his forehead, just above his right eyebrow. Blood trickled down the side of his face, but he seemed to be oblivious to his injury. God's truth, he was grinning like a banshee.

Nathan looked just as defeated. There was a deep cut in the corner of his mouth. He held a handkerchief against the injury, and damned if he wasn't grinning, too. The area around his left eye was already beginning to swell.

Jade was so relieved to see that neither Caine nor Nathan appeared to be near death's door, she started trembling. Then, in a flash of a second, that surge of relief turned to raw anger. She became absolutely furious.

"Have you two gentlemen resolved your dispute?" Sterns inquired.

"We have," Caine answered. He turned to look at Nathan, then slammed his fist into his jaw. "Haven't we, Nathan?"

Nathan hit him back before answering. "Yes, we have." His voice was gratingly cheerful.

"You children should be sent to your rooms," Jade snapped. Her voice shook.

Both men looked up at her, then turned to look at each other. They obviously thought her insult was highly amusing because they both burst into laughter.

"Your brother sure hits like a child," Caine drawled out when he could control himself.

"Like hell I do," Nathan countered. "Hand me the brandy, Sterns."

The butler knelt down on one knee and handed each man a glass. He then filled each goblet with a full portion of the rich liquid.

"Sterns, are you thinking to get them drunk?" Jade asked.

"It would be a marked improvement, mi'lady," Sterns replied dryly.

The butler stood up, bowed, and then slowly scanned the ruins. "I believe I was correct, Lady Jade.

It was the settee that hit the wall."

Jade stared silently at the remains of what used to be a tea cart.

"Sterns, leave the bottle," Caine instructed.

"As you wish, mi'lord. Would you like me to assist you to your feet before I leave?"

"Is he always this proper?" Nathan asked.

Caine laughed. "Proper? Never, not Sterns. If I'm a minute late for supper, he eats my portion."

"Promptness is a quality I've still to teach you, mi'lord," Sterns said.

"You'd best help him to his feet," Nathan said. "He's as weak as a… child."

The two men started laughing again. "You'd best assist him, Sterns," Caine said. "He suffered more

blows than I did."

"You never give up, do you, Caine?" Nathan asked. "You know good and well I won this fight."

"Like hell," Caine argued, using Nathan's favorite expression. "You barely scratched me."

Jade had heard enough. She whirled around, determined to get as far away from the two imbeciles as possible. Caine reached out and grabbed the hem of her gown. "Sit down, Jade."

"Where?" she cried out. "You've destroyed every chair in this room."

"Jade, you and I are going to have a little talk. Nathan and I have come to an agreement." Caine turned

to Nathan. "She's going to be difficult."

Nathan nodded. "She always was."

Caine put his goblet down on the floor, then slowly stood up. "Nathan?" he said as he stared at the woman glaring so prettily up at him. "Think you can crawl out of here and give us a few minutes' privacy?"

"Crawl, my arse," Nathan growled as he stumbled to his feet.

"I don't want to be alone with you," Jade interjected.

"Too bad," Caine countered.

"Your parents are upstairs," she said when he tried to take her into his arms.

She waited for that statement to get a proper reaction and was unhappy to see that Caine didn't seem the least bit bothered. "They heard all the noise," she said then. "Sterns told them you were disputing the issue of crops."

"The issue of crops?" Caine asked Sterns.

The butler nodded, then turned to walk out of the room with Nathan at his side. "The rotation of crops,

to be more specific, mi'lord. It was the best I could think of given the circumstances."

"They didn't believe him," Jade whispered, sounding as though she were confessing a grave sin.

"I would imagine they wouldn't," Caine answered dryly. He noticed that she suddenly looked close to tears.

"And that upset you, Jade?"

"No, that doesn't upset me," she cried out. She was so angry with him she couldn't even come up with

a suitable insult. "I'm going up to my room," she whispered. "I need a few minutes of privacy."

She didn't mention she was going to pack her belongings, certain Caine or Nathan would try to waylay her. She simply wasn't up to another confrontation.

Without a hint of a farewell, Jade turned and hurried out of the room. Lord, how she wanted to weep. She couldn't, of course, until after she'd had a long talk with her uncle. Harry needed to understand.