The Negotiated Marriage

by Christina Rich

  “If I do not agree, you have nothing,” she snapped.

  Duncan took two long steps and yanked the document from his coat pocket. He skimmed over the lines. There wasn’t a word about marriage in the document, but he had a feeling Hamish wouldn’t sign the deed unless his niece was safely wedded, and for good reason. Duncan shook the deed between them. “Without word from your uncle, sweetheart, it seems all I have to do is sign this document, pay the sum required and the property is mine. I fear it is you who will have nothing.”

  Her lashes fell, draping the dusting of freckles. A tear leaked from the corner of one eye. Duncan wanted to kick himself for causing the tears, but more so for committing the very high-handed manipulation he’d witnessed his father commit. The ink blotted on the document hadn’t even dried, and he was lording over her as if he owned her. His stomach churned in disgust. He tossed the deed on the table and thrust his fingers through his hair.

  “I will not say I’m sorry.” Even if regret spiraled to his toes. He’d heard his father say those empty words plenty of times. Never once had Duncan believed them, not even while his da cradled his mother as she gasped for her last breath after she’d fallen ill, because he’d left them with nothing more than a drafty shanty and little funds for food. He snagged his coat from the nail, yanked the door open and slammed it closed behind him. After donning his coat he jammed his hands into his pants pockets and rocked back on his heels. How would he fix this? Could he? No matter his threats he wouldn’t force her to leave her home, but he could not allow her and her sisters to stay here with no more protection than a lazy hound and a garbling chicken.

  “Is everything all right?” Dr. Northrop said.

  Duncan jerked from the haze of his thoughts. Ellie and Benjamin appeared from around the cabin. “Ellie showed me where the fire had been. What are your thoughts?”

  He shook off the disgust with himself and focused on the immediate conversation. The one outside his head. “The fire was intentional. Yet it doesn’t seem to have been set to cause harm to the ladies. If it had been, there would have been more kindling, and there are several holes between the logs where the fire could have been more effective.”

  Northrop rubbed his chin. “I agree. It is not like before. You don’t suppose this was a different person, do you?”

  “Given that I’ve recently discovered what is going on here, I cannot rightly answer that question. What I do know is that someone intended to scare the ladies, and I intend to find out who.” Duncan pinched the bridge of his nose. How could he protect Camy from whoever intended her and her sisters harm, when he knew he could possibly be the biggest threat to her?

  “Have you had many pains since the bashing to your head?” Northrop asked.

  Duncan lifted his head. “What?”

  “Do you have a headache?” Ellie asked.

  “No, but you ought to see to your sister. I fear that out of my desire to see her protected I caused her to cry.”

  Ellie nodded and slipped past him into the cabin. Northrop placed his foot on the bottom step, rested his arms across his knee, and glanced at him. “I do not envy you, my friend.”

  “Why is that?”

  “Well.” Northrop unfolded his length. “I know what you’re going through, especially when you love the woman and you don’t quite know how to get it through to her.”

  “Love?” Duncan had never said anything about love. The emotions tugging at his insides were far from love. “I don’t love Camy. I’ve only met her a few days ago.”

  “And you think it takes years?” Northrop twisted his lips. “I suppose for some it could, but for men like us we see what we want and we take it. Or in this instance we speak flowery words, write poetry, bring flowers, take chaperoned walks and still, we’re left scratching our heads.”

  Duncan hadn’t done any of that stuff. He’d shot her, argued with a former beau and threatened to take all she had. “Up to several days ago I never wanted a wife.”

  “What man truly thinks he wants the bother of a wife?” Benjamin shifted his weight. “The endless chatter, the tightening of the purse strings with her whims, the insistence of having her way. The pouting.” He smiled. “My sister could teach lessons on the aforementioned. But I’ve also come to realize not all women are like Bella.”

  Duncan couldn’t picture Camy pouting to get her way. She might threaten to shoot him when he didn’t follow the rules, but for the most part she seemed rational and straightforward. She didn’t simper and bat her lashes. He looked forward to conversations with Camy, even when they argued. And at the moment, he’d give over his entire bank account to make her problems go away. She’d never be a bother, not when he willingly wanted to make her smile.

  “I’d rather do without the trouble,” Northrup said, “but some women are worth it, I guess. And I’m thinking in a few weeks’ time you’ll understand a little more about what I’m saying. And perhaps you’ll humble yourself and admit you might have feelings for Cameron Sims. After all, my friend, it’s written all over your face.”

  Duncan shifted his stance and halted the urge to scrub away whatever it was Northrop saw. “You speak as a man who loves.”

  “I do.” Northrop’s gaze turned distant and full of heartache. “Perhaps too late, though. Now, what are your plans?”

  “It’s obvious the sisters can’t stay here without protection, and until Hamish returns we can’t settle the negotiations. Of course, I would see Camy’s wound healed.”

  “There’s no sign of gangrene if that is what bothers you.”

  “Yes,” Duncan said. “I saw more severed limbs than I’d like to admit.”

  Northrop held his gaze. “The choices we doctors made were not easy. The war was distasteful, but as my father said, a necessary evil to halt a greater evil sweeping our beloved America. I counted my blessings every day, and thanked the Lord when I did not have to sever a limb or request another pine box.”

  Duncan recalled the surgeon he’d worked beside and how mechanical he had become as if he lost a piece of his soul with each victim. “I would say it is fortunate your patients had you to tend them.”

  Northrop took on a solemn look. “I don’t know about that, but I did what I could.” He was quiet for a moment.

  “I should see to my patient.” Northrop climbed the stairs. “I would ask you to try not to agitate her much over the next few days, until her shoulder heals more.”

  “I understand. I would not willingly cause her harm.” Yet he had done so when he tried to manipulate her. He would do well to remember to keep his emotions under control whenever he spoke to her. He’d erect walls and become much like the surgeon he had worked beside during the war.

  “Northrop?” The doctor halted before he entered the cabin. “Do you mind keeping watch over the ladies for a moment?”

  “Of course not.”

  Duncan nodded and cantered off the porch. He intended to discover who set the fire and if it was the same men who had previously threatened the sisters.

  * * *

  Camy’s eyes continued to sting from Duncan’s sharpness. She hadn’t expected him to apologize, not when it seemed obvious that he was thinking of her and her sisters. He could very well boot them out of their home without hesitation or regret, even if they married. Hamish had given him every right. What disturbed her was the shock, followed by the intense pain in his eyes, after he’d threatened to take all she had. He might not have said the words, but every line etched on his face said he regretted his actions, said he was sorry.

  “Here, sip this.” Ellie held a steaming cup toward her. “It’ll ease some of your discomfort.”

  “I don’t want any more laudanum,” Camy said. She wanted all her faculties about her when Duncan returned.

  “It’s a tea made from black haw,” Benjamin responded as he slathered an oin
tment onto her shoulder. “A Cherokee woman introduced it to me when my regiment was sent to Oklahoma. You may feel tired, but you need the rest. Other than that, it’ll help your muscles to relax and I hope it’ll quicken your healing process. I know how anxious you are to return to mucking stalls.”

  Camy smiled and took the tea from her sister. “Anything would be better than this.” She sipped the hot brew and grimaced. “Where is Duncan?”

  “The last I saw him he was heading around the cabin. I imagine he intends to trail whoever set the fire.”

  Images of shadows brandishing torches flashed through her mind, threats of dumping her and her sisters in the river roared in her ear. Camy knocked Benjamin’s hands away from bandaging her shoulder. Spilling some of the hot tea, she swung her legs out of bed.

  “Camy, what are you doing?” Ellie squealed as Camy thrust the tea at her sister.

  “Those men are dangerous.” She adjusted her sleeve over her shoulder and stood. “This is our battle, not his.”

  “You aren’t going anywhere.” Ellie crossed her arms in front of her, and then looked at Benjamin. “Do something.”

  “Cameron,” Benjamin said, resorting to her given name. “If you do not allow me to finish dressing your wound, there will be nothing to stop the bleeding if it renews the flow. You wouldn’t want to remain in bed any longer than necessary, would you? And with your recent fever, bed rest will be a doctor’s order if you continue to sabotage what healing has already occurred.”

  Camy plopped onto the mattress. As much as she wanted to chase Duncan down, she knew the dizziness could return at any moment and render her incapable of helping.

  “Besides,” Ellie continued Benjamin’s tirade, “Mr. Murray has shoulders wide enough to carry our burdens for the time.”

  In that, her sister spoke the truth.

  “And,” Benjamin added, “I have reason to believe Mr. Murray knows what he’s doing.”

  Camy hoped so. She’d hate never to get the chance to discover what lay beneath Duncan’s exterior, not just the man, but the child inside the man. She’d do just about anything to heal the wounds he kept hidden, hidden except for the small moment before he rushed out the door.

  “Very well.” Camy scooted back against the headboard and dropped her hands into her lap. “If I’m not allowed to go, Benjamin, then you’ll have to do it for me.”

  Benjamin didn’t respond. Instead he busied himself with tending her wound, which irritated her, as Duncan was out there by himself and he did not know the terrain. “You know, Ellie can treat patients as well as any doctor.”

  Ellie glared as she blushed. She turned toward the fireplace, her skirts swirling angrily about her ankles. Shame slapped Camy like a wet rag. She knew better than to add logs to the long-standing argument between her sister and her former suitor.

  “I have no doubt about that.” Benjamin smoothed another layer of salve over her wound, laid a brilliantly white, folded sheet of linen over the salve and then wrapped it before tying the sling back in place. “But I am not leaving you ladies unattended at the moment.”

  An ache formed in her temple from the argument. She removed her glasses, laying them beside her on the bed, and closed her eyes. “You needn’t worry I’ll chase after him. I know I’m weak at the moment and would only cause him further trouble.”

  “No.” Benjamin’s bag popped open. His tools clanked into his bag.

  “Dr. Northrop,” Ellie said, her use of his title telling Camy her sister would begin scrubbing every surface in the cabin. “I’ll see to it she remains in bed.”

  “No. I gave my word to Mr. Murray. I’m to keep watch over you.”

  Camy sat up. She squinted. All thoughts of wanting to see the pain in Duncan’s heart mended flew out of her mind like the fluff of a dandelion in a Kansas wind. How dare these men rush into their lives and act as if they’ve come to rescue them? They didn’t need rescuing, from anyone. She might have been a tad frightened, but she and her sisters had gotten along fine without a man, and they could continue doing so. “As if we’re incapable?”

  “He didn’t imply that. He’s just—”

  She flew off the bed. “He’s just acting as if he’s my legally wedded husband, which I will remind you both, he is not.” If he continued with his high-handedness, he never would be. The gall of these men.

  “Camy, how can I convince him I’ll see that you remain in bed when you keep getting out of it?”

  She ignored Ellie, felt around for the broom resting near the door and held it between a blurred Benjamin and herself. “Count yourself fortunate, Dr. Northrop, that I cannot handle my rifle at the moment. I believe you’ve overstayed your welcome.”

  The door opened behind her and a large shadow loomed, chilling her. She spun around. The sunlight pouring in around the dark figure further blinding her. She pulled back the broom and swung. Wood connected against hard flesh with an “umph.” The stick jerked forward, and she tumbled after it. She cried out as she jarred into a thick wall. An arm curled around her back, steadying her. She didn’t need her spectacles to see Duncan. Several days’ growth of his dark beard rested against her brow. Wet earth and woodsy trees clung to his person, cloaking her like a warm spring day.

  She arched her neck. Her gaze collided with his sharp and searching green eyes. Butterflies swirled in her stomach at the memory of him holding her hand. Of him leaning in close and then kissing her cheek. What if he’d kissed her, truly kissed her? She blinked. And blinked again. He seemed to lean closer. The gold flecks in his eyes narrowed and then widened and she wondered if there was something to Mrs. Smith’s counting method. Problem was, Camy couldn’t recall which number came after one, not when it took all her concentration to remember to breathe.

  Oh dear, she was becoming such a ninny. A swooning, wide-eyed ninny. Next she’d be twittering about nothing, dancing from room to room and gazing at the sky thinking about...him.

  “What is going on?” His chest vibrated against her palm. He loosened his hold, but his gaze held her captive.

  “Cameron was attempting to convince me I should leave,” Benjamin said.

  Duncan’s brow lifted beneath a dark-colored lock. His eyes turned cold, his lips thinned. “Is that so?”

  Turning out of his arms, she searched for her spectacles. “We are more than capable of caring for ourselves. Besides, I’m certain Dr. Northrop has other patients to tend.”

  Duncan reached over her and handed her spectacles to her. “And I’m certain Dr. Northrop would have greater concerns if we didn’t seek out the men threatening you and your sisters.”

  She went and stood beside Ellie and propped her hand on her hip. “This property might be your concern, Mr. Murray. But I assure you we are neither of your concerns. Until our uncle returns and sees the deed signed, I’m requesting that you both leave.”

  Duncan drew in a breath, expanding his chest like a rooster, making the cabin seem much smaller. Ellie shifted, bumping her on purpose. Camy drew her lower lip between her teeth and prepared herself for Ellie’s motherly, bossy side to expose itself.

  “Considering this morning’s fire, I think it best if Mr. Murray stays,” Ellie said, siding with the men. Camy opened her mouth to argue, but Ellie held up her hand. “However, with Mara home, he’ll have to bunk in the barn. Is that a feasible compromise?” Ellie looked from Camy, to Benjamin, to Duncan and back to her.

  “I will rest easier knowing Mr. Murray is here,” Benjamin said.

  “Not that this is any of your concern, Dr. Northrop, but I will rest easier, as well.” Ellie swiped her hands down her skirt. “Mr. Murray? Camy?”

  She didn’t want to admit it, but she didn’t want Duncan to leave. Even though the fire had occurred while he was here, she felt much safer with him around. The barn wasn’t too far. Less than a stone’s throw.

&
nbsp; As if he could read her thoughts, he said, “I can sleep on the porch if you’d be more comfortable.”

  All the irritation she had with him crumbled to her feet. He really was a Good Samaritan. “That is not necessary, Duncan. Besides, it’s too cold for you to sleep outdoors.”

  “I’ve slept in far worse elements.”

  “Well, then, it is settled.” Ellie snatched an apron from a nail. “Dr. Northrop, would you care to join us for lunch?”

  Camy wasn’t surprised Ellie invited Benjamin for lunch, as she was always hospitable, and always did the proper thing even when it caused her pain.

  Duncan slipped outside and Camy’s heart sank. Ellie and Benjamin’s conversation became a hum as she moved to the window and pulled back the curtains. His head high and shoulders straight, he strode across the yard and disappeared toward the back of the barn where Ellie had moved his horse. Had she misjudged him as one of the most caring and kindest men she’d ever met? One moment he couldn’t help himself and act the protector; the next he seemed angry over his decision. Was it her? Was there something wrong with her that made him war within himself? After all, hadn’t her own father, who’d seemed to dote on his children abandoned them? And Camy had no doubt her father’s leaving was her fault.

  Chapter Ten

  It had been a week since Duncan moved to the barn and Hamish had yet to return. Neither had the man who had set fire to the cabin, giving Duncan little to investigate. Fortunately the weather had warmed, providing him ample opportunity to plow the fields and mend the roof of the cabin. He patched what he could in the chinking on the outside but avoided stepping foot inside. He worked from before the sun came out until after it set, taking his meals in the barn only when Ellie or Mara brought him a basket. He thought if he didn’t see Camy, he wouldn’t think about her and all the advantages there were to marrying her.

  More often than not, his work took longer than it should because he kept daydreaming about living here on the farm, with her. Working here, for her, to give her a real home, not a decaying cabin like what he and his mother had lived in. Not to mention that there seemed to always be a one-legged hen and an ugly hound at his feet demanding attention. A welcome distraction he could fully blame on the woman who spoiled them.