Andrew looked at the closed door 
and felt a sudden urge to bang his head against it.  
Once again, he had let Collins slip through his grasp without 
telling him what he really meant.  Or rather, he had tried and Collins, 
a master of double-meanings, from what Andrew could gather, 
had managed to twist the words, and make him look foolish in 
the process!  WHY DID HE HAVE TO BE SO TONGUE-TIED ALL THE TIME?  
Andrew could read right through that double-edged comment of 
"you know how it is when you live in a place, you take it for 
granted," that Collins had smugly addressed in his direction.  
He wasn't talking about landmarks, that was for sure!  
Andrew had been looking forward to a nice visit with Colleen, 
and now it was going to be ruined by this arrogant dandy from Denver!  
He couldn't let that happen.  

Andrew sighed in frustration, until he saw the journal out of 
the corner of his eye.  The journal.  The perfect excuse to 
see Colleen.  And this time, he was going to be sure that 
they were not interrupted.  He was going to get his coat 
when he suddenly remembered Mrs. Callihan, and the other 
morning patients.   A visit to Colleen would have to wait, 
but not for long.  With a determined look, he went to arrange 
his instruments.

Ma and I spent the first part of the morning seeing patients.  
At a lull at around one-thirty, Ma went to pick up the supplies 
that had arrived on the morning train.  We uncrated everything, 
and were in the middle of putting things away when there was a knock.

"Come in," Ma called.

"Good afternoon, Dr. Quinn," Mr. Collins 
greeted.  "Miss Cooper, I was hoping I could impose on you 
to show me that rock formation we spoke of earlier.  
You obviously know a great deal about the history of 
the area; I have a picnic lunch, it's enough for two," he invited.

"Um, I don't know.  We're just in the middle of 
re-stocking supplies," I replied, not really looking up.

"Perhaps, you could see a way as to allowing Miss 
Cooper to act as a guide for a couple of hours, Dr. Quinn?" 
Mr. Collins pressed.

"I can finish this myself," Ma said to me.

"Well, it's settled then," he replied with a satisfied smile.

"Well, that's if you want to go, Colleen?" Ma asked carefully.

I remembered my resolution to give Mr. Collins a chance.  
Besides, I hadn't seen Garden of the Gods 
in quite awhile.  "Yes…yes that would be fun!" 
I said with growing enthusiasm, hurrying a bit to 
take off my apron and replace it with my cloak.  
I turned to him with a friendly smile.

"After you, Miss Cooper," he said, opening the door.

	I mounted Flash and waited for Mr. Collins to ride up 
alongside of me.  He was quite an accomplished rider, I noticed.  
He suggested that I stay in front, so I led the way out of town.  
As we passed by the train station, I noticed a familiar buggy from 
the corner of my eye, a buggy I didn't place until much later.  

Andrew drove up to the clinic, just as Colleen and 
Patrick passed by on their way out of town.  He stared after 
them in despair.  By the time he had managed to get hold of 
himself enough to stop his horse, he was outside Michaela's 
clinic, and she had seen him.  It was too late to make the 
quiet escape he hoped for.  

"I uh, just…just came by to give Colleen the journal we 
were talking about earlier," he stammered to Michaela, 
fully aware that his emotions were written all over his face.

"You just missed her," Michaela said, sounding a bit 
sorry for him.  Just missed her.  More than you know, 
he thought to himself.  

"Um, yes, I see.  Well, would you mind giving this to her?" he asked.

"No of course not."

"Thank you."  He sat there for a minute longer, 
then reined in his horse and turned the buggy around to head back 
to the hotel.  Michaela stared after him regretfully.

Mr. Collins and I rode for awhile along a trail that led 
to the Red Rocks.  We finally stopped at a small, tree-lined meadow.  
I lingered around the oak where the horses were tethered 
for a few minutes while he set up our picnic, admiring the familiar, 
yet spectacular cascades of rock. 

"If you'd like, we can ride north a few miles.  
There's a beautiful view of the cliffs surrounding the river," 
I said, suddenly remembering the place I had really wanted to take him.

"Miss Cooper, I am more than content to enjoy the 
beautiful view from right here," he assured as I came over 
to the blanket he had spread on the ground.  

"Please," he said, gesturing for me to sit.  
I settled down, tucking my legs underneath myself and 
spreading my skirt to cover my ankles as I had been taught. 

I studied the contents of what he had spread out from the basket.  
There was a loaf of warm bread, some delicious looking meats 
and cheeses, and a platter of an odd looking spread.  
Curious, I lifted the knife to examine it a bit more closely.  
As I brought it upward, I got a whiff of a very strong smell, 
and recoiled a bit.

Mr. Collins saw this and smiled.  "Camembert," he clarified.

"Camembert?" I repeated.

"It's cheese.  It's imported from France."  
Upon noticing my impression, he continued, "Only the best for the 
most beautiful girl in Colorado Springs."

I blushed furiously.  "Mr. Collins," I said, embarrassed.

"And, caviar." He held up a small blue jar with 
tiny round things that looked like a cross between 
capers and pebbles.  "It's Russian."

"What is it?" I asked warily.

He smiled and murmured, "You're so sweet," which I thought 
was a bit odd.  "It's fish eggs."

"Oh," I said, trying to sound neutral.  Fish eggs?  Yuck!

"But I have saved the best for last."  He scooted over, 
and to my relief, handed me a small, flat package wrapped 
in brown paper rather than some other odd gourmet delicacy!  
"A gesture of friendship from a gentleman to a lady.  
Please," he invited.

I unwrapped it to find…"The Canterbury Tales! We're reading 
this at school," I exclaimed.

"I know.  The girls in your class told me you all had to 
share copies." 

"Yes, that's true."

"Well, I thought it might be nice if you had a copy 
of your own," he said with a smile.

I smiled back.  "That's very thoughtful of you, Mr. Collins," I replied.

"You're very welcome, Miss Cooper."

The afternoon was enjoyable, to a certain extent.  
The fish eggs were as horrible as I had imagined, 
but the Camembert cheese spread over fresh bread 
was quite tolerable, and the meats were tasty as well.  
After we ate, we took a short walk to view the cliffs 
more closely, and I told him a little of what I knew about them.  
I knew much more than I admitted, but I didn't feel as 
comfortable showing it around him.  Instead, I tried to 
emulate Mary Agnes; quiet, refined, and genteel.  
It seemed to work.

We rode back into town later and parted.  The clinic was closed, 
so I turned Flash around and started home.  The sun had 
gone behind the clouds and the sky was getting dark again.  
Sun did not last long in Colorado in February.  
I left Flash in the barn and went into the house.

"Hey, Ma," I said as I hung up my cloak.  She was re-filling 
the gas lamps at the kitchen table.

"Did you have a nice time?" she asked.

"Yes, I did."

"Mr. Collins seems like a very affable young man," Ma commented.

"Very kind.  Considerate.  He gave me this book," I said, 
showing it to her.  "He knows we have to share copies at school."

"That is considerate," she agreed.

"And, he wants us to have tea tomorrow."

"Tea?"

"At the Spring Chateau.  He says he wants the family to get 
to know him better," I said, repeating the invitation he had 
extended to me.

"That sounds a little serious, Colleen," Ma said carefully.

"It's just tea," I reassured.

"Well, I don't know…"

"Ma, it's just tea," I repeated with a casual, bemused smile.  

"Well, if you really want us to go," she finally consented.

"Thanks," I replied gratefully, touching her shoulder.

"Colleen, that journal," Ma suddenly said, pointing where 
it lay on the table.  "It's from Andrew.  He brought it by 
the clinic for you."

I noticed she emphasized the last part a bit oddly.  "Oh, 
that's right.  He said he was going to.  Thanks," I replied, 
hoping that she could guess what I was trying to imply.  
Lately, it seemed as if Ma had been trying to figure out what was 
going on between Andrew, and Mr. Collins and myself.  
I didn't even know!  I picked up the journal and started 
going to my room.  About halfway up the stairs, I remembered 
the buggy I had seen as Mr. Collins and I rode away that 
afternoon, and suddenly placed it.  It was Andrew's.

Andrew saw the rest of his patients that afternoon 
and went about his duties quietly.  He was…hurt.  Deeply hurt.  
It was his own fault, he told himself.  It was quite stupid of 
him to believe that Colleen would just wait for him to pull 
himself together.  He had been moving WAY too slowly, apparently.  
Colleen wasn't a mind reader, and she certainly couldn't be 
blamed for not knowing his true feelings.  His true feelings.  
WHAT WERE his true feelings?  That was the question he had 
been asking himself for months now.  

He washed up in his office and headed to the dining room for supper.  
He wasn't really hungry, but it just seemed to be something to do.  
He was about go in when he caught a glimpse of Patrick Collins dining  
alone at a corner table.  Without a word, Andrew turned and 
headed for his private apartments.  He was in NO MOOD whatsoever 
to face Collins.  Andrew unlocked the door and went directly to 
the bedroom, where he hung up  his coat and waistcoat, 
folded his cravat  and put away his boots.  He took a black robe 
and slippers from the armoire and put them on.  After laying out 
his clothes for the next day, he wandered into his sitting room 
and built up the fire.  He had some cold meat and bread in the 
small icebox, which he made into a sandwich for his supper.  
He ate it without  really tasting it, and afterward, 
paced back and forth for awhile, deep in thought.  

Colleen.  She was the first friend that he had made in 
Colorado Springs.  His first impression of her was how 
beautiful and sweet she was.  She had taken him under 
her wing from the moment he had arrived.  Colleen was also 
intelligent, honest, easy to talk to and determined.  
She set goals beyond what other women her age set, 
and was accomplishing them.  She was so different from the kinds 
of girls he had met in Boston.  Different, and special.  
There was no one quite like her.  He smiled at the thought.  
She had always been so wonderful to him, always there with 
a smile and a kind word of encouragement.  Deep down, he 
knew that she was the one reason he had decided to stay in 
Colorado.  That, and to escape his Aunt Joanna's control, 
but that was anther topic entirely.  But how did he feel 
about Colleen?

Andrew poured himself a small glass of brandy.  
Normally, he didn't drink, but he hoped that the alcohol 
would relax him a bit.  He felt as tightly wound as a 
clock that evening.  He settled in a wing chair, 
and stared broodingly into the fire, sipping his brandy.   
He needed to sort himself out and do something quickly.  
Time was running out.   

I stood in front of my armoire, hands on my hips.  
Deciding what I was going to wear to tea with Mr. Collins 
that morning was proving to be quite a challenge.  To start with, 
I had left my more fashionable and newer school dresses in Denver.  
I had narrowed down my choices to my green dress, the black 
challis Emma had made, the plaid two-piece and my blue silk.  
I immediately set aside the green, because I had already worn 
it that week, and while the color was good, the style was too 
frilly to present the refined appearance I was after.  I also 
laid away the plaid dress because compared to the other two, 
it seemed a bit too casual.  I studied the blue silk dress.  
It was by far the prettiest gown I had at home.  
Andrew had once commented that he really liked the way 
I looked in blue.  Andrew…

My eyes fell on the journal he had loaned me.  
I hadn't even had a chance to read it yet.  I sank down on the bed.  
As much as I tried, I just couldn't convince myself 
that Andrew wanted to be only friends.  
I also couldn't convince myself that I wanted Patrick as a beau. 
Patrick and Andrew.  Andrew and Patrick. WHY did my life have 
to be so confusing?!  Things seemed to be moving so slowly in 
one case and so fast in the other.  I had no idea what to feel, 
think or say around either of them!  With Andrew, I felt shy, 
but at least I was more relaxed.  Around Patrick, I never knew 
how to act.  He was always the gentleman, but I always felt 
so…unsophisticated and naive, which I was in a sense, but I 
never felt that way with Andrew.  He always treated me with 
the highest regard for my opinions and tastes.  Still, 
Patrick's attention and charm were quite hard to resist.  
And he was so handsome…but so was Andrew.  And there was 
also the kiss we had shared last summer.  His request 
that I work at the clinic with him.  And all the other 
memories that I had of the two years we had known each other.  
He treated me as an equal, as a friend.  But Patrick treated 
me like the proper lady I longed to be, with more care and 
affection than friendship.  He was so refined and elegant 
and worldly.  Patrick was new and exciting, Andrew old and 
familiar.  But which was better?  Were they both possible 
love interests, or was one a friendship and one an infatuation?  

I glanced up at the clock.  It was getting late.  
Time to ponder what to wear instead of life questions.  
Resolutely, I pulled the black challis from my wardrobe.  
Although the dress was not exactly what I had in mind as a 
tea gown, the blue silk needed to wait for a different event. 
What that event was, I didn't know.  I quickly fixed my 
hair in a thick double figure-eight knot, tied the middle 
with a white lace ribbon that matched the trim on the gown, 
and added small jet earrings.  Standing in front of the mirror, 
I pinned the matching black hat in place and adjusted 
the ribbons neatly.  A burgundy cloak added a bit more 
color than my usual tan one, so I put it on along 
with black lace gloves.  I looked at myself 
critically in the mirror.  Prim, proper and 
soberly lady-like.   Exactly right.  
As I walked downstairs, I recalled something 
that Grandmother had once told me.  
"A lady will hide her wit and wisdom from the world, 
only reveling it to a select few.  To the rest, 
she appears the epitome of grace, elegance and refinement, 
but with a hint of mystery."  Well, I would do that today.  
Somehow, I just couldn't reveal my truest self to Mr. Collins.  
Not yet, anyway.

Patrick met us on the porch of the Chateau.  On a low table in 
front of the loveseat and two chairs were a pot of tea, cups 
and assorted snacks.  I introduced Matthew, noting that he 
eyed Patrick with a challenging expression.  I chalked it 
up to brotherly protection and settled next to Patrick.  

"Whenever I leave the city, I'm amazed by the 
beauty of Colorado," Patrick remarked after everyone 
had a plate and a cup of tea.

"So, were you born in Denver, Mr. Collins?" Matthew asked.

"No, I'm from New York.  But when Father 
opened a branch of the business in Denver 
a few years ago, I moved out to assist him. …I should be more 
precise.  I no longer assist Father.  Now that he's retired, 
I am now the president of Collins Limited," he replied, 
little or no trace of any humility in his voice!

"Running a company is quite a responsibility 
for someone so young," Ma commented.  After that, 
I sort of tuned out the conversation.  For some reason, 
I had no desire to listen to my mother and my brother 
probe into the life of Patrick.  Most of what he said, 
I already knew.

"Yes, well, I see it as a challenge, Dr. Quinn, 
and I have always met my challenges and 
I've conquered them," he told Ma. 

I was looking off into space, when suddenly, 
I went bone-rigid in my seat.  Out of the corner of my eye, 
I saw ANDREW walking around the porch to where we sat.  
He immediately saw us, and stopped just out of everyone's sight 
but my own.  I was trying to tell myself that being with Patrick 
was not wrong, that Andrew and I were just friends, 
at least until Andrew said otherwise, which I 
doubted would happen.  That was until I saw the look on 
his face as he turned away.  The pain, the sadness, the hurt 
in the one glance I made out was enough to make me want to cry!  
What was I doing here?  Why was I hurting someone 
I cared about so much?  I wasn't doing it intentionally; 
I just was thrilled that someone was finally 
paying attention to me!  But now was NOT the time to 
deal with this.  I tried to relax, and focus again on 
the conversation going on.

"Collins Limited, what kind of a business is that?" Matthew asked.

Patrick swallowed his tea.  "It's an investment firm."

"Investing what?" Matthew asked, a bit suspiciously.

"It's…complicated to explain really.  We've been highly 
profitable in a wide variety of interests. …Miss Cooper, 
I don't believe you've tried one of these yet," he suddenly stated, 
holding up the tri-tiered candy plate and pointing to a sweet.  
"It's marzipan dipped in dark chocolate."

"Oh, I don't care much for marzipan," I said, hoping that 
my voice sounded normal.

"These are my favorite," he told me, sounding a bit insulted.

"Well, I'm sure they're very good," I replied, 
trying to be conciliatory.

"Then you must try one, I insist."  When I hesitated, 
he coaxed "Come now, you'll love it," in a tone that one 
might use with an unruly child!

Reluctantly, I took a chocolate and bit into it.  
As I forced myself to swallow the horrendous almond paste 
and look as though I actually enjoyed it, 
he said.  "There, you see?"

Ma gave Matthew a quick, odd glance, but said nothing, 
just took another sip of her tea.  

Andrew turned and walked abruptly back to his office.  
His shock and hurt quickly turned to anger.  
This was getting ridiculous!  A picnic and a tour of the scenery 
was one thing, but tea with the family?  Collins was encroaching 
on ANDREW's territory way too much with that one!  
He opened the door to the clinic and went in.  
He wanted to throw something, but didn't.   
Instead, he forced himself to think rationally.  

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