I will not have you bringing that woman in this house.” Ethan had sincerely hoped to avoid his father, but he’d had no other place to take Shae. His apartments had been swept into the sea, and masses of people, suddenly homeless, had snapped up every last bit of available shelter. He’d counted on his mother, who was far too gracious to leave a helpless young woman on the streets. Unhappily, however, it was Augustus Lowell who met him at the huge front doors. “Would you have me leave her unconscious in the street?” Ethan asked. “She’s fainted.” “Then why not take her to St. Michael’s? When I stopped in to check on Raymond, I saw Phillip Payton there. Surely, he’ll see to it she’s well cared for.” Ethan flinched. If Father knew that Phillip lived, he couldn’t very well keep Shae here. But it was too late, even if he could think of somewhere he might take her. Mother was standing, watching from the parlor doorway, a scrub brush in her hand. Surprisingly, mud stained her skirt at knee level.
