Holding a lantern high to light his way , Kwon Jiyong strode briskly along the alley that led through the stable. The pungent odor of fresh manure blended with the dusty smell of alfalfa hay to lay heav ily on the crisp night air. Nickers of welcome drifted to him from the shadowy stalls. Under other circumstances, Jiyong might have stopped, but he didn’t have the time or inclination to hand out sugar lumps to the horses tonight.

Jerky splashes of golden light from the lantern and the quick motions of his shadow play ing across the plank walls indicated the depth of his anger. Grinding his back teeth to keep from roaring, he reached the end of the corridor and kicked open the planked door to the tack room. As he hoped, his brother YongDeuk lay sprawled on a pile of scattered straw along one wall, one of his favorite places to sleep off a drinking binge.

Swallowing before he spoke to control the anger in his voice, Jiyong said, “Wake up, little brother. We need to talk.”

A whiskey jug in one hand, the other shading his ey es, the boy groaned and rolled ov er, presenting Jiyong with his back. “Go ‘way . It’s the middle of the night.”

Seven in the evening could scarcely be termed the middle of the night, and observing YongDeuk with the whiskey jug reminded Jiyong that it was high time he stopped thinking of his twenty -year-old brother as a boy .

“Wake up, I said.” Jiyong moved farther into the room and hung the lantern from a rafter hook. “There has been a very serious accusation lodged against you, young man, and I want to get to the bottom of it.”

YongDeuk groaned again. “Can’t we discuss it later?”

Planting his hands on his hips, Jiyong spread his jean-clad legs and jutted his chin. “Old Judge Park just paid me a visit. His daughter Dara has been , and Song Mino claims it was you who did it.”

That seemed to get YongDeuk’s attention, and he flopped onto his back to peer out from under his cupped fingers. Hope filled Jiyong.

Lies, it was all lies. A horrible misunderstanding that could be cleared up with a few words from his brother. No Kwon man would ever stoop so low as to force his attentions on a female, let alone one as helpless as Dara Park. Besides, why would YongDeuk bother? He was a handsome y oung man from an affluent family . Nearly every girl in town vied for his favor.

YongDeuk blinked as though try ing to assimilate what had been said. “Mino claims what?” After a moment, he drew back his lips in a sneer. “That traitorous little bastard. Just wait till I get my hands on him.”

Like wet, icy fingers, the words snuffed out Jiyong’s last spark of hope. For a moment, he simply stood there, mired in disbelief.

There wasn’t a trace of pity for Dara Park in YongDeuk’s voice, nor had he denied the accusation.

Dust from the straw floated up to sting Jiyong’s nostrils. A searing sensation washed ov er his ey es. “Tell me you didn’t do it, for God’s sake,” he demanded hoarsely . Even as he spoke, he heard the ring of desperation in his tone.

“I didn’t do it. Now, then, can the rest of this discussion wait until morning?”

“No, it damned well can’t.” Jiyong stepped closer, his body taut, his temples suddenly throbbing. “A girl has been . How can that possibly be left until morning? Old Judge Park is beside himself, and who can blame him? I want the truth, YongDeuk, and I want it now. What in heaven’s name happened? Why would Mino say such a thing?”

“Because he’s a chicken-livered little turncoat, that’s why . I had too much to drink and things got out of hand. That’s all.”

“That’s all?” It seemed to Jiyong that the lantern light pulsated, glowing brightly one second, dimming slightly the next. “Dear God, YongDeuk, the girl has been violated.”

“It’s not like I did her any permanent harm.”

Permanent harm? “We’re discussing a , for Christ’s sake.”

“.” YongDeuk huffed under his breath as though the charge was preposterous. “By definition, occurs when a man forces his unwanted attentions on a female. Dara Park got exactly what she’s been angling for.”

“What?”

“Only look at how she dresses and comports herself! Wearing naught but a thin camisole and bloomers under her dress, no corset or petticoats to conceal her shape. Flitting about like a wood nymph, unchaperoned! She’s been issuing an inv itation to every man in Hooper County since she first developed bubbies. What’s a fellow to do, pretend he’s stone-blind? I was drunk, I tell you. A man can only withstand so much temptation. Her mother should know better than to let her run around dressed like that with no one to attend her.”

“My God,” Jiyong whispered. “You did it, didn’t you? You that poor girl.”

His jaw muscle ticking, YongDeuk angled his forearm over his golden-brown eyes. “You’re such a bleeding heart, Jiyong. Dara Park’s brains may be baked, but she’s right as rain from the neck down. She wanted it as much as I did. And even if she didn’t, what does it matter? She can’t remember her own name, let alone what happened to her five minutes ago. The way you’re acting, you’d think I diddled Jessica Jung , the preacher’s daughter.”

“Jessica Jung,Dara Park wherein lies the difference? is .”

Once again, YongDeuk gave a derisive snort. An unholy urge came over Jiyong to jerk him up from his bed of straw and shake him sober. Instead he simply stared, pray ing this was a bad dream.

YongDeuk had alway s been a hellion, but for all his unruliness, he had never done any one serious harm. Because he hadn’t, Jiyong had fooled himself into believing he never would. He’ll grow out of it, Jiyong had assured himself time and again. He’s just high-spirited.

Now Jiyong knew better. No matter what his age, a man either had the ability to feel compassion or didn’t. It wasn’t something that could be taught. What burdened Jiyong the most was that he might have saved Dara Park this heartbreak if only he had opened his eyes sooner; if he hadn’t refused to accept the glaring truth, that YongDeuk was no damned good and never would be.

Folks in Hooperv ille claimed Jiyong and his brother were almost exact lookalikes. It was a resemblance Jiyong had alway s taken pride in. Now all he wanted to do was note the differences between them and shout to the world that they were only half brothers, sired by Kwon Jiwon but born of different mothers. Jiyong’s own mother, Taehee, had died of food poisoning shortly after Jiyong’s third birthday . As a renowned breeder of thoroughbred horses, Jiyong had alway s placed a lot of stock in bloodlines and grasped at that now as an excuse, assuring himself that YongDeuk must have inherited a bad strain from Dohee, Jiyong’s stepmother.

The bitter taste of shame rose up his throat. . It was an ugly word, and one that he had never dreamed might be connected to him. His own brother? He couldn’t credit it, yet there YongDeuk lay , his every action testimony to his guilt.

“How could you?” Jiyong drove shaking fingers into his hair, started to pace, and then swung back around to stare. “What kind of monster are you? To harm a helpless little girl like Dara Park ?”

“She isn’t a little girl.” Gingerly touching a scratch along his neck, which Jiyong had failed to notice until now, YongDeuk added, “And not helpless, either.”

Jiyong dropped his arms to his sides and knotted his hands into throbbing fists. “Yet you claim you didn’t force her? From the looks of that scratch, I’d say she fought you with all her might.”

Giving his head a shake as if to clear it, YongDeuk pushed to a sitting position, yawned lazily , and draped his arms over his bent knees. His white dress shirt was smeared with reddish dirt. Like most of the earth in the foothills around Hooperv ille, the earth near Misty Falls was a rust-red clay . Jiyong felt sick. And defeated.

Since the accidental deaths of his father and stepmother fourteen years ago, for which he had always blamed himself, he had done every thing he knew to atone for the loss and give his little brother a decent upbringing, to instill in him the values and morals that their sire would hav e taught him had he lived. His efforts had gone for naught. Under that handsome exterior, YongDeuk was as rotten as a week-old string of fish, and nothing Jiyong ever did was going to change him.

“What a miserable excuse for a man you’ve turned out to be,” Jiyong whispered. “Thank God our father isn’t alive to see it.”

Narrowing his eyes against the light, YongDeuk met Jiyong’s accusing gaze. “Would you listen to yourself? Dara Park is a moron, for Christ’s sake. So I had a little fun