June 21

"Dearest darling Roy,

My poor precious boy, what on earth possessed you to flirt with some mousy little mail clerk in the first place? (Incidentally, the girls and I took a vote, and it was unanimous- we will not accept some countrified upstart as a sister-in-law. We insist upon the gentle, sweet and intelligent Miss Hawkeye and we will brook no disagreements).

Now, as for the fight you got yourself into: Violet has offered to show you how to go about dodging punches for the next time, and Veronica thinks you'd better take lessons in hand-to-hand combat with her father whenever you're in town next. Our sweet Lucy says perhaps you ought to have tried to reason with those older boys rather than letting your temper get the best of you, and Ada heartily agrees, but they both insist I add that they know you were provoked and outnumbered and are very sorry you were hurt. And we all send you our warmest love and sympathy, little brother.

How are the bruised ribs healing up? And what did your teacher say when he saw your face? You didn't mention how you were planning to explain the fight to him; I hope he wasn't upset with you over it. Juliet's been trying to find a way to send you a sheet cake by mail as an "I'm sorry you got punched in the face" present, but in the meantime she hopes you enjoy the peanut brittle. Claire advises you to share with Miss Riza—there must be at least three pounds of it in this great big box, and I've no idea what they will say at the post office when I try to mail it. At least it travels better than a cake would!

Also, Sophie has enclosed the book you requested a few weeks ago. She spent a lot of time searching for a suitable beginners guide about caring for roses, and she was very anxious that it should be practical and informative without being too pedantic. So do please let us know whether Miss Riza likes it, won't you? And of course, we are all very glad to hear about Miss Riza's rapid recovery. Did you ever learn what she was doing up in that tree, by the way?

Roy did end up sharing the peanut brittle with both Riza and her father, who had a fondness for the confection that surprised even Miss Riza.

Both children had agreed not to mention the fight to Master Hawkeye unless asked, as they were unsure whether he'd be upset with Roy for fighting in spite of the extenuating circumstances. If Berthold noticed Roy's black eye beneath the layer of cosmetics that Miss Riza had helped him apply to hide it, he never mentioned it, nor did he comment on the blatant spilt in Roy's lip that the children had been unable to conceal. However, Roy was certain that he was the object of his teacher's intense gaze more often than usual.

And naturally enough, it became routine for the two teenagers to walk together to the market and the post office each week. Riza had flatly refused Roy's many attempts to reimburse her for the groceries, insisting that it hadn't been his fault and that he was not responsible. He had the feeling that she was planning something, although he didn't fully understand what it was until they ran into the Terrible Trio (as Riza had christened them) about two weeks after the original incident.

The three boys hesitated when they saw Miss Hawkeye walking beside the "city boy," but then came on anyway, strutting and preening as they approached the pair.

"Hey there, pretty boy," sneered Rick, who was the taller of the two blond boys. "So you brought along a girl to hide behind, this time?"

"Aw, the little townie can't handle walking all by his lonesome without backup!" scorned Tom, who was shorter and stockier than the other two.

"What a momma's boy," Harry laughed, tossing his longish brown hair out of his eyes in a way that he probably thought made him look cool.

Roy clenched his fists and said nothing. Before he started swinging, he had Miss Hawkeye to consider. Would these guys go after a girl in the first place? If Roy told her to, would she run for it? Would these jerks try to chase her if she did? Could he hold them off long enough for her to get back home? He shifted his weight uneasily, calculating.

"I suggest you hold your tongue and mind your own business, Thomas Granger," a cool, serene voice said suddenly. All four boys looked at each other, equally startled to realize that the voice had come from Miss Hawkeye.

"Oh yeah?" rejoined the short blond. "And just what are you going to do about it, princess?" But the one called Harry immediately looked nervous.

"Hey, cut it out man, she's just a kid," he hissed at his friend, elbowing him sharply in the ribs.

"Yeah, so? She shouldn't get in our way, then, should she?"

"You should watch that smart mouth, little one," Rick drawled. "We don't want to have to teach you a lesson, too."

"Maybe we do," Tom interjected. "And you still haven't answered me, doll face. What do you think you're going to do about it?"

"Why don't you try it and find out?" she retorted, sharply. "But I might remind you that my father is a very busy man. He isn't able to process every request that comes to him." A smile spread slowly across Roy's lips as he realized what she was planning.

"What's she talking about?" Rick demanded, looking puzzled. The other two boys swiftly became very uncomfortable.

"Are you going to explain it to Mr. Shepherd, or shall I?" Riza asked them innocently.

"Oh, come on, Miss Riza," Harry said weakly. "We was only teasing the city kid, here. We didn't mean you no harm."

"Is that so?" she said coolly. "That's not how I see it."

"Aw, these little townies never stick around, Miss Hawkeye, why d'you even care about this one?" Tom added, abruptly switching to a more formal address.

"It doesn't matter what I think," she said quietly. "But my father happens to be quite fond of Mr. Mustang. He was seriously displeased to find that he'd been set upon."

"He was also pretty disappointed when there was no apple pie after supper," Roy added in a grumbly undertone, glaring at the three older boys.

"Exactly," agreed Riza with a nod. "You are all extremely lucky that Mr. Mustang isn't a tattle tale. He wouldn't tell my father who hit him, or why, or what happened to the groceries he was sent to get."

"And...and YOU won't tell him, will you, Miss Riza? Come on now, we was just playing with him, last time. Rough housing, like. We just got a little carried away, right guys?" Harry said, turning desperately to his comrades.

"What are you all going on about?" Rick asked again, brow furrowed in confusion. But Thomas grabbed at his arm.

"Shut it!" he hissed, and then turned to Roy. "Look, man, we didn't mean anything by it. We're sorry, okay? It won't happen again. Bygones and all that, yeah?"

"You know, I wouldn't mind an honest fight, one on one. But I don't appreciate being falsely accused and then ganged up on," he said, looking from one to the other. "Next time you feel like coming at me, say so to my face and we'll have a fair fight. Clear?"

"Sure, sure, whatever you say. No hard feelings?" Harry asked, urgently.

"Yeah, fine," Roy replied.

"Hey come on, let's go," Tom said to his companions. Harry hesitated.

"And um, we're real sorry about the apples and the milk, Miss Hawkeye. I—I'll bring you new ones tomorrow, yeah?"

"Thank you, Mr. Crofter; that would be very kind of you."

"Don't forget the eggs and the flour," Roy piped up.

"Yeah, course not, sure. Come on!" And Harry and Tom dragged their confused comrade away. Roy waited until they were out of earshot before turning to Miss Hawkeye.

"That was brilliant!" he cried, delighted. To his surprise, Riza was shaking like a leaf. Had she been that frightened? "Hey, you okay?"

Riza looked up at Roy with sparkling eyes, and he realized that she was shaking with silent laughter and not fright at all.

"I am now," she said happily. "I've never tried anything like that before. I didn't know if it would work."

"It was a fantastic idea," he said, throwing an arm around her shoulders. "So what was it that sensei's supposed to do for him?"

"A tractor repair, I think," she replied, allowing his arm to stay where it was without appearing to notice. "Or it might have been a rototiller. Some sort of expensive machinery that would cost the Crofters their life savings to repair, anyway."

"I'm probably supposed to feel all emasculated for letting a girl defend me, but really I'm just grateful. And impressed!" He squeezed her shoulders in innocent affection before letting his arm drop.

"I thought about talking to Mrs. Granger directly, since Tom really started it, but I wasn't sure she'd take me seriously…and this worked much better," she agreed, smiling. "Just try not to hit on anyone else's girlfriend, okay Mr. Mustang? I can't guarantee any more of them will be asking favors from Papa."

Roy just laughed.

A.N. I just couldn't resist bringing Chris's girls back :D And as promised, the list of fictional characters upon which I have based them is as follows:

Ada: Miss Ada Clare from Bleak House, by Charles Dickens. Juliet: Juliet O'Hara, from the American television show "Psych." Sophie: Sophie Pendragon (nee Hatter) from Howl's Moving Castle, by Diane Wynne Jones. Elinor: Miss Elinor Dashwood from Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen. Veronica: Veronica Mars from the American television show of the same name. Lucy: Lucy Pevensie from The Chronicles of Narnia, by C.S. Lewis. Violet: Violet Hunter from "The Copper Beeches," one of the many delightful Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Claire: And this was the extra, based on no one but my own self, using a name I've always rather liked.

Mad props to SweetDeath04 for guessing all of the names correctly! (Eventually! ;D)

And as always, thank you all for the reviews, follows and favorites. Your encouragement means the world to me.

xoxo Janie