A Bargain For A Bride (Westward Hearts Book 8)

by Blythe Carver

  Landon looked at her in alarm. “Of course,” he said.

  The judge’s secretary poured from a pitcher before handing her the glass.

  Her hands shook so.

  Landon crouched before her, helping her hold the glass steady while she raised it to her lips.

  It felt as though she was moving in a dream.

  She barely felt the water as it poured into her mouth and down her throat.

  She barely heard him murmuring words of encouragement, asking her to breathe slowly and take her time.

  Take her time?

  The very concept struck her as highly amusing, seeing as how she’d only just leapt into marriage with a man whose middle name she did not even know.

  After taking several deep breaths, she nodded. “I’ll be all right,” she said, and the strength in her voice surprised her. Perhaps she would be all right, after all.

  Until Molly got wind of it, however. And then there was no telling what she would go through.

  No, Molly could never know. None of them could.

  But how could she hope to accomplish this without her sisters being aware? She needed an accomplice, but who?

  “Are you able to stand?” Landon asked, concern in his voice.

  He did have a gentle way about him which she appreciated. She needed a bit of gentleness after what she’d just done and before what she would need to do now.

  “Yes, thank you.” In spite of her assurances, however, he helped her to her feet and took her arm in a solicitous gesture as they left the judge’s office and walked down a wide staircase leading to the exit which looked out over Carson Street.

  She supposed a husband would do that for his new bride. Helping her walk, keeping her steady. Though she could not imagine a typical bride suddenly collapsing out of panic mere moments after her wedding.

  “There are things I didn’t tell you, things I did not think of until now,” she murmured as they walked. The moment they were outside, she shook her arm free of his grip. “We cannot be seen together like that in public,” she warned him.

  “Of course,” he murmured, taking a step away from her so as not to inspire curiosity. They were mere acquaintances, nothing more. “What are you only just now thinking of?”

  “My sisters. I must find a way to get around them. If none of them are going to know, I must have an excuse. You see, according to the terms of my father’s will, we must maintain residence at the ranch. I told you this.”

  “Yes, and you also told me two of your sisters married men from town.”

  “They split their time between their home in town and the ranch,” she explained. “Perhaps if I’d had enough time to put this together in my head, I would’ve thought to tell you this. I’m going to have to return with them at some point. I cannot spend the entire week here. If anyone from the bank were to find out and know that I have not been living on the ranch, they might use this as an excuse to say that one of us has been in breach of the will’s terms. They will look for any opportunity to take the ranch from us. I cannot allow that to happen to my sisters.”

  Though Holly was able to get away with it for two weeks, was she not? Though knowing Cate’s luck, her situation wouldn’t turn out so happily.

  “I do wish you had mentioned that before.”

  “If you would give me time…” She shook her head. “There has to be a way around this. As it is, tonight I need to go to my sister’s house. I’m expected there. I can’t avoid it if I wish to avoid uncomfortable questions.”

  What a wedding night this was. She would not even be afforded the chance to enjoy a wedding supper with her husband.

  But he was not really her husband, was he? They were strangers and they would remain strangers until their annulment, at which point they would go their separate ways, but not before she got her money.

  “You might prepare that contract tonight,” she reminded him. “I can come tomorrow to sign it.”

  “You truly intend to go back home tomorrow? How are we supposed to get to know each other?”

  He had a point. Was there any way she could think to arrange for more time in town?

  It was clear. She would have to tell someone about her problem. She would need a partner.

  Would it be Phoebe or Rachel?

  Regardless of who she chose, the result would be the same. She nodded, looking up at him as they walked back toward the center of town. She clenched her hands tightly inside her muff, digging her nails into her palms to keep herself calm. What an unholy mess she’d gotten herself into, but it was all for a good cause.

  If only she could keep reminding herself of that.

  “All right. I will speak to one of my sisters tonight and ask for her assistance. She might well be able to help me come up with story that will suffice. Perhaps I can pretend I have an ill friend here in town who needs help. A friend with a baby who is too ill to care for her.”

  “Would you have such a friend without your sisters knowing about her?”

  She let out an exasperated sigh. “Would you let me worry about that? Do you not think I already know how tenuous this idea is without you reminding me? I must do what I must do. Simply leave it to me. After all, what’s the worst that could happen? I’m married now. I have a husband who will stand up for me.”

  She couldn’t help but laugh at the expression of pure horror on his face. Even while looking horrified, he was still rather handsome. She supposed she could have done worse for a fake husband.

  “I’m only teasing. You’ll have to get used to that if you are to be my husband.”

  He groaned. “I mean no offense, but this week can’t end quickly enough.”

  “I quite agree.” They came to the corner on which the bank sat, and she nodded, as if on the verge of saying goodbye to an acquaintance. “Mr. Jenkins, I will see you soon. As early as tomorrow morning, but not earlier. I’m afraid I cannot spend the night at your house without my brothers-in-law suspecting something. As far as they are aware, I will go home tomorrow. Only my sister Phoebe need know that I have remained in town.”

  Because it would have to be Phoebe. For she possessed the romantic heart it took to understand the situation. She would feel desperately sorry for both the mother and the child and might even be stirred to sympathy for Landon.

  Perhaps if she was busy feeling sorry for everyone involved, she might be too busy to deliver the sound thrashing Cate suspected she deserved.

  “That sounds fair enough. In the meantime, I will see to it that a crib is delivered to the house as soon as possible. Perhaps I can find something suitable at the mercantile for now.”

  She shook her head. “Purchase a basket with handles,” she suggested. “Something that can be placed on the floor or carried through the house. It will look suspicious for a man who is, according to most of the town, unmarried and childless to purchase a crib. I might look for one tomorrow, as it is less suspicious for even an unmarried woman to make such a purchase. My oldest sister is expecting. I can use that as an excuse.”

  His eyes widened, and he looked a bit perplexed. “You seem to think of everything.”

  “Yes, I have trained my mind to be agile and to find quick answers to problems. After all, one never knows when disaster will strike on stage, and an actor will have to contrive a coverup in front of the audience and make it appear as though nothing is wrong.”

  To his credit, he didn’t laugh at her as her sisters would have. He merely smiled, touching his fingers to the brim of his bowler. “Good day to you, Miss Reed.”

  To her astonishment, he winked, and a smile played at the corners of his mouth.

  As if this entire thing was amusing. As if there were anything to laugh about.

  As if she did not now need to explain this to Phoebe in a compelling enough manner that her sister would not strangle her.

  And to think, she had only just been practicing her speech in front of Edward at the house. Little did she know that by the day’s end, she would need to mak
e a much more important speech.

  There was much more at stake here than funding for a theater, no matter how important that funding was.

  Important enough to lure her into marriage with a perfect stranger

  Though it was not entirely for the sake of funding that she’d married him. Violet needed help. She needed the guidance of a woman with a head on her shoulders, as the women who Landon had tasked with caring for the infant were clearly not up to snuff.

  She wondered whether this Mrs. Davis had ever borne a child and suspect that she had not, or she would have seen to the purchase of a crib for the child long before this.

  Poor thing. She would need stability in her life, and there was no hope of receiving it in such tenuous circumstances. Cate could only hope that with time the situation would settle down, Landon would grow into the role of fatherhood and would be able to secure better care for his daughter.

  Her stepdaughter. What an entirely strange concept that was.

  Now, she would be able to act as a mother should the situation call for it because she’d been a mother. If only for a short time.

  “Where were you?” Rachel demanded, coming from the kitchen at the sound of the front door closing. “We were about to send word to the jailhouse for Rance and Mason to look for you.”

  Oh, goodness. To think of what might’ve happened had she done that. “All is well, no need to worry about me.” She knew she sounded too excited, her voice too loud and an octave higher than usual.

  She took her time of unbuttoning her coat, breathing deeply and slowly as she did. She simply had to calm herself if she was going to avoid uncomfortable questions.

  The girls had already all but settled the question of supper, leaving Cate to set the table.

  When Phoebe entered the room with a pair of candles in silver candlesticks, she cast a meaningful look her way.

  “I need to talk to you,” she whispered with a glance toward the kitchen. “Alone.”

  Phoebe chuckled. “I knew it. I knew you were up to something.”

  “It’s nothing like you think. It is nothing I could have predicted upon leaving the house earlier, I swear it. I’m afraid I got myself into a bit of a pickle, and I’ll need your assistance if I’m going to make it out without the rest of the family knowing.”

  Phoebe’s face fell. “It’s that serious?”

  “You have no idea.”

  She looked up at the ceiling, most likely offering up a silent prayer. “Rachel, can you keep an eye on the stove? I will go upstairs and unpack my valise, and I might do the same for you, if you wish.”

  Rachel called out her agreement from the kitchen, and the two of them went upstairs where they might have a bit of privacy before the men returned from work. The bedroom Phoebe and Rance shared was charming, and it was clear upon entering that it bore the marks of a feminine presence. Cate had been right about that. She knew she’d been.

  She ran her hand over a lace-covered pillow while Phoebe closed the door. “What have you done?” she whispered, turning on the oil lamp which sat on the heavy, old-fashioned dresser.

  “Let me start by saying that I did not see any other way out of the situation. It seemed this was the best chance I had of getting what I want while helping someone in need.”

  “What have you done?” Phoebe repeated, staring at her with her arms folded.

  Cate knew it would do no good to tell her how much she looked like Molly right now, so she held her tongue. No sense digging her grave any deeper.

  There was nothing to do but get it over with. “I got married.”

  Phoebe went silent for so long, Cate feared she had shocked her into a state of catatonia. “It isn’t permanent; we’ll get it annulled. You see, I met a man today in town—”

  “You. Got. Married?”

  Cate nodded. “At the Justice of the Peace. Let me explain, please. We will have it annulled, I swear. Only this young man—”

  Phoebe held up both hands, her head shaking back and forth so rapidly her features nearly blurred. “No. No, no, no. You are not telling me this right now. I must be imagining things.”

  “For heaven sake, I need to explain. Please, just stop talking long enough for me to get the story out.” She took Phoebe by the arms and sat her on the bed before explaining herself. She told her about the trip to the bank, admitting that she had in mind all along, then explained how Landon had found her and offered her the money she needed in exchange for marrying him.

  “It is only for the sake of his parents, nothing else. Well, as far as he’s concerned. The baby truly needs a woman in her life, if only for a short while. The poor thing is suffering while he scrambles about madly, trying to understand what it is he needs to do. He has no one in his life tell him how to conduct himself, and his mother certainly cannot do it because she needs to believe the child was conceived and born in wedlock. Do you understand?”

  Phoebe’s mouth hung open, her eyes wide and, Cate suspected, unseeing. As if she had gone far away in her mind rather than staying and listening and understanding the enormity of Cate’s dilemma.

  “I need your help.”

  That seemed to shake Phoebe from her shock. “My help? How could I help you with this? When you have gone and done the most terrible, cotton-headed thing you ever done your entire life? I could never imagine something like this, nor could any of the others I wager. My goodness, you want me to be party to this?”

  “You already are, because you know about it.”

  Phoebe threw her hands into the air with a sharp laugh. “Thank you. Thank you for making me part of this when I have no desire to be.”

  “It isn’t that bad. You’re making it out to sound as though I killed someone.”

  “You might kill someone. Molly might die of shock, after she kills you.”

  “Let us not be overly dramatic.”

  “That is easy for you to say, as if you’re not the most dramatic person I’ve ever known. To marry a complete stranger!”

  “I only did it to help him.”

  Phoebe snickered. “And to help yourself. Don’t pretend this had nothing to do with your desire to open this theater of yours. If it weren’t for your fool notion of becoming an actress in the first place, none of this would’ve happened.”

  “Yes, but then again, I couldn’t get what I want. I want this theater. You know how important it is to me. If I can get what I want while also helping someone else, I see nothing so terrible in it.”

  “Does the sanctity of marriage mean nothing to you?”

  “This is merely a business arrangement. We will not actually live as man and wife. For heaven’s sake, Holly lived with Roan for two weeks before they even came to the ranch. I didn’t see you causing such a fuss about that.”

  “Holly did that because she had no choice. It was either live with him or freeze to death. This is hardly the same situation, so do not pretend as though it is.”

  “What of Landon’s mother? Her health is poor, and he’s afraid she will worsen if she learns her grandchild has no mother.”

  “That isn’t your problem! And it’s still not the same as Holly saving her own life, so stop.” Phoebe looked away, her chin trembling. “I cannot believe you. I cannot believe you would do something like this.”

  “Phoebe, please.” Cate sank to her knees, taking Phoebe’s hands in her own. “I need you to understand me. I need you to help me. This need not affect any of us.”

  Phoebe sighed, sounding and looking more unhappy than Cate could ever recall. It was her fault, a fact which was not lost on her. “You’re asking me to lie to my husband, do you realize that? He certainly cannot learn about this. No one can. This will lie so heavily on my conscience.”

  “I’m sorry. I truly am. Were this not all so rushed, I might have had more time to think it through.”

  Phoebe smirked. “Don’t bother with your pretty lies. We both know you would’ve done it anyway, because it will help you get what you want. I must say, I knew thi
s theater meant a great deal to you, but I had no idea you would go to such lengths to obtain the money for it.”

  “I wish there was a way for you to understand. When I held little Violet, I felt so sorry for her. Truly, Phoebe, if you only knew. No one there knows how to care for a child. No one even suggested the child have a crib or any sort of sleeping arrangement. She is being passed around to whoever might have a spare evening to help care for her, and nothing more. Landon certainly hasn’t the first idea what to do with her. If I can at least take a week and teach him that he needs to know—I’ll grant you I am no expert, but it seems I know more than all of them put together—I might be helping Violet get a better start in life. The man has plenty of money, but absolutely no common sense.”

  “Common sense, eh? Do you think you are the person to be speaking poorly of someone’s common sense?”

  Cate held her tongue, for this was not the time to start an argument. “All right, I will give you that. But surely you must understand what I mean. Please. Help me, if only for her sake. Once all is said and done, I vow I’ll make it up to you.”

  Phoebe snickered before turning back to Cate with a sigh. “I will have to do a lot of thinking to come up with something to match what you’re putting me through.”

  “And I promise to accept whatever it is you come up with.” Cate threw her arms around Phoebe, her heart lighter than it had been since before the wedding ceremony.

  Until the downstairs door opened and the sound of men’s voices floated up through the floorboards.

  This marked the beginning of the greatest performance of her life.

  7

  “And you can sign here whenever you’ve finished. If everything is to your liking, that is.”

  Landon handed the pen to Cate, who ignored it in favor of reading his contract. It was simple, detailing what would be expected from both of them. He took the opportunity to sink into his favorite wing chair, close to the fire in his study. At least Mrs. Davis had seen to that upon her arrival this morning. The poor woman’s normally neat, prim bun of steel-gray hair looked a bit looser and sloppier every time he saw her.