The Bentleys, Sean, Clay and Jeremy arrived on the Logan doorstep Monday afternoon.

"Mrs. Bentley, would you like to freshen up?" Clay asked when they entered for foyer.

"Yes, please" she said.

Marita heard them come in and she came to greet them.

"Welcome back" she smiled at them, giving Sean a special look and smile.

"Marita, this is Mrs. Bentley. Mrs. Bentley this is Marita" Clay introduced them. "Would you mind taking her up to one of the guess room and so she can freshen up."

"Sure. Nice to meet you Mrs. Bentley" Marita extended her hand.

"Nice to meet you" Mrs. Bentley smiled at Marita.

"Marita, is Pa here?" Clay asked.

"No, he's in town and wont be back until supper" Marita said.

Clay let out a frustrated sigh. They'd have to wait to expose Charlotte or Antoinette Gilbert.

"Where is everybody else?" Sean asked.

"Alice and Lexy went to visit the Vivian and Mrs. Logan went to town with your Pa" Marita answered then she turned back to Mrs. Bentley. "Mrs. Bentley, maybe you'd like to lie down after you've freshen up?"

"I'd love to. That trip was tiring" Mrs. Bentley said.

Clay simply refused to extend hospitality to Mr. Bentley, so Sean decided he'd do it.

"Mr. Bentley, would you like to freshen up or relax a bit?" Sean said.

"That would be nice. Do you have any brandy?" Mr. Bentley asked nervously.

"Sure. Jeremy would you get a tray and bring up some brandy while I show Mr. Bentley to a guess room" Sean said.

"Alright" Jeremy said as he went to do his task.

"Mr. Bentley, would you like the, uh, same room as your wife?" Sean asked.

"I'd better get another room" he looked at Sean sheepishly. "She doesn't like when I drink brandy."

"Alright" Sean led Mr. Bentley to the guess room next to the one Marita was putting Mrs. Bentley in. While Sean was making Mr. Bentley feel comfortable, Jeremy came with the brandy.

"Thanks, Jeremy" Sean said as he put the tray on the dresser. "Mr. Bentley, if you need anything, we'll be downstairs".

When Sean closed the door to Mr. Bentley's room, he heard Marita talking to Mrs. Bentley. He was glad she hadn't gone back downstairs yet because he wanted to get her alone.

Marita finally came out of Mrs. Bentley's room and headed back downstairs. As she walked past Sean's room, she saw that the door was open. When she looked to see if someone had gone in room, she was pulled inside and the door was closed then locked.

"Sean!" she whispered loudly as his arms circled her and pulled her close.

"What?" Sean said as he covered her lips with his. When the kiss deepened, Sean's hands began their exploration of Marita's derriere.

"Sean" Marita said into his mouth as she grabbed his hands and tried to remove them from her person.

"What?" Sean said into her mouth as he used his superior strength to continue his exploration.

"SEAN!" Marita said as she pulled her lips away from his. "Will you stop it. You know we can't!" she said when she saw the lustful look in his blue eyes.

"Why not?" Sean grinned as he backed her up against the edge of the bed.

"Sean, STOP IT" Marita said as she tried again to removed his roving hands from her person. "Tell me what happened on the trip".

"First things first. Did you miss me?" he asked as his lips found her neck.

"Yes" Marita sighed as her fingers found his curls.

Sean's' lips moved up her neck, to her ear, to her cheek, then hovered over her lips. "We have time" he whispered just before he parted her lips with his and plunged his tongue into her mouth.

Marita gave in to his passionate kiss because she had missed him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and began to give as much as she was getting.

As they held their kiss, Sean opened Marita's blouse and caressed her breasts through her shift. He left her lips and began to travel down her throat. He kissed her exposed chest as he pulled her blouse down her arms. The straps of her shift followed and Sean covered one breast with his lips. His tongue stroked her nipple until it stood erect then he moved to the other one.

KNOCK KNOCK

Sean and Marita were jerked out of their passionate moment.

"Sean, you in there?" Jeremy said in an amused voice.

Marita had already started pulling her shift back up while Sean held on to her. "What do you want Jeremy?" Sean said in a frustrated voice.

Marita had begun to pull up her blouse up and Sean tried to stop her. She shook her head 'NO' and frowned at him as she frantically pulled her blouse back on and started buttoning it up.

"Clay wants to talk to you" Jeremy said, his amusement more evident. "and Marita" he added as his laughter escaped him. "You want me to tell him you'll talk to him later?" he offered.

Sean saw that Marita would not be giving in now, so he gave up. "I'm coming!"

Marita thought she heard Jeremy snicker.

"You go down first" Marita said.

Sean unlocked and opened the door and went down stairs and into the study.

"Where's Marita?" Jeremy asked as he fought to hide his amusement.

Sean looked at him and wanted to strangle him for interrupting his tryst with Marita. "She'll be down in a minute".

Marita came in a few seconds later and Jeremy had to cover his mouth with his hand to keep from breaking out in laughter.

"How are we gonna tell Pa?" Clay asked. He wanted Charlotte exposed but he knew his father would get hurt and he wanted to spare him as much pain as he could.

"All we can do is tell him the truth" Sean said. "I mean we tell him that we've found out that Charlotte isn't who she says she is. We can have Mr. and Mrs. Bentley tell him that she is not their daughter then it'll be up to him."

"Yeah, I guess you're right" Clay said.

"What happened in Richmond?" Marita asked.

Sean relayed to her the confrontation with Mr. Bentley, Mrs. Bentley's discovery of her husband's lie, Mr. Bentley's unfaithfulness and the embarrassing confession Mr. Bentley made about Antoinette Gilbert.

"Poor Mrs. Bentley" Marita said.

"I guess all we can do is wait now" Clay said. "I'm going out to the stables" he said as he left the room.

"What are you guys gonna do while we wait?" Jeremy asked with a grin.

"I've got some work I need to finished" Marita said as she walked over to the desk and sat down.

"What about you Sean?" Jeremy said.

"Just hang around" he said.

Jeremy decided that he had teased them enough for now so he got up and left them alone.

"Do you think he knows?" Marita asked, referring to her and Sean's more-than-just-friends relationship.

"Probably" Sean said. "Let's go back up stairs" he said as he turned to her.

"No. Your Pa could walk in here any minute. Besides, Mr. and Mrs. Bentley might need something" Marita said.

Sean knew that would be her answer but he wanted to at least ask.

"We need to go over the books and work out a budget for this year's expenses" Marita said.

They had just finished going over their books, when they head the front door open and close and heard Charlotte's laughter.

As Ned and Charlotte walked past the study, Ned saw Sean.

"Sean" he greeted him.

"Pa" Sean said as he walked past Ned. He went out to the stables to get Clay.

When Sean and Clay came back into the house, Marita told them that she'd go upstairs and let Mr. and Mrs. Bentley know that Ned was home. Sean told her to wait up there until one of them came and got them. Sean and Clay wanted to break the news to their father first, then let the Bentley's confirm what they had told him.

"Pa, we need to talk to you" Clay said as they walked into the study. Ned and Charlotte were on the sofa laughing.

"What is it?" Ned asked.

"Well......" Clay began. He really had a hard time telling his father the truth about the woman he had married.

"What is it Clay?" Ned asked again.

When Clay hesitated, Sean said "Pa, we found out that Charlotte" he looked at her, "isn't Charlotte Bentley. Her name is Antoinette Gilbert."

"What are you talking about Sean" Ned said as he stood up. "I know things have not been good between us lately, but you are out of line with this outrageous story".

"Ned, I know your children don't like me but I never thought they'd stoop to telling you lies about me!" Charlotte said, trying to manipulate Ned as she had done since she arrived in Lexington.

"We're not lying Pa!!" Clay spoke up. "Your 'father'" Clay said in disgust as he looked at her "is upstairs right now". He purposely left out the fact that Mrs. Bentley was also upstairs. He wanted her to hang herself.

"You're LYING!!" Charlotte screamed. She knew that if Homer was indeed upstairs she was trapped. Homer had already masqueraded as her father and now if he changed his story, she was doomed.

"REALLY!" Clay yelled back as he turned and left the room.

"Sean, what kind of game are you boys playing!!" Ned said angrily.

"Pa, it's the truth" Sean said.

"Ned, they are lying!" Charlotte said desperately, hoping that they were lying about Homer being upstairs.

Ned was in a state of confusion. He knew his children and they were not liars. He looked at Charlotte and didn't know what to think. As he looked into her fearful eyes, he saw her differently. He no longer saw Libby and that realization shocked him because he had to admit to himself that when he looked at her he saw Libby. When he 'fell in love' with her, he fell in love with Libby. When he married her, he married Libby.

Charlotte could see that Ned was beginning to believe Sean and Clay. "Ned, your children hate me. You know that. I can't believe you would take their word over mine" she began to 'cry'.

Mr. Bentley came in the study at that moment and Charlotte ran over to him and threw her arms around his neck. She did not notice Mrs. Bentley.

"Father" she said. "Please tell Ned the truth. His children are trying to tear us apart" she cried, hoping that Homer would relent and stick to their story. She also hoped he would consider the ramifications to himself if she were exposed.

Homer took Charlotte by the arms and removed them from his neck. "Antoinette, it's over" he said solemnly. "My wife knows" Charlotte then notice the woman standing near him.

Charlotte saw that Homer was no longer in her corner. She ran back over to Ned.

"Please, Ned let me explain" she cried. "I love you so much. I didn't think you would love me if you know where I came from".

Ned looked at her, not knowing who she was. It was too much for him to take in. He was angry with himself for thinking that she was so much like Libby. He was embarrassed that he had been so gullible. He raised his eyes to Mr. Bentley.

"Why?" Ned asked him.

"Mr. Logan" Mrs. Bentley said. "I believe I can answer that for you". She explained about her husband's affair with Antoinette Gilbert and her subtle threat of blackmail. She also told him that Charlotte Bentley, their daughter was in a mental institution and had been there for the last 15 years.

"I'm sure you want us out of your home, but I must asked for an escort into town. I'd like to stay overnight and leave in the morning" Mrs. Bentley said.

"Mrs. Bentley, I insist that you stay here" Ned offered. He appreciated the courage it took for her to come here and tell him the truth.

"Thank you, Mr. Logan" she said.

"Pa, I'm sorry" Clay said as he watched his father's face and saw his pain.

Ned looked at Clay with tears in his eyes. He was in torment because he felt as if he had betrayed Libby.

"Leave us alone" Ned said.

The Bentleys, Sean and Clay left the room.

"Ned" Charlotte began.

"DON'T!" he said. "I want you out tonight". He said as he turned his back on her.

"You can't just throw me out! I'm your wife!" she cried.

"I married Charlotte Bentley and apparently you are not her!" he said.

"Where will I go?!" she said desperately.

"I don't care" he said coldly. "Just get out of my house! NOW!" he said as he walked out of the great room. "MARITA!!".

"Yes, Mr. Logan" Marita said as she came downstairs.

"Would you go to my room and pack her things" Ned didn't want her in his room. In the room that he had shared with Libby.

"Alright" Marita said as she turned and went back upstairs.

"Ned.." Antoinette pleaded.

"You're wasting for breath. There's nothing you can say. And if you ever show your face in Lexington again or try to threaten my family in any way, I'll have you arrested for fraud."

When Marita came back down, Sean and Clay came with her. Sean carried her bags.

"One of the hands can take you into town. I don't ever want to see you again" Ned said and walked away from her.

"Clay, go and get the carriage and one of the hands" Sean said.

Antoinette had tears in her eyes as she slowly walked outside to wait for the carriage to be brought around.

Marita, Sean and Clay watch as Antoinette Gilbert rode out of their lives as quickly as she had ridden in.

"I'm going to see if Pa's OK" Clay said.

With Charlotte now gone, Sean and Marita could gather the family and tell them that they were married. They would give Ned some time to adjust then they would drop another bomb on him.

To Be Continued....................