The Negotiated Marriage

by Christina Rich

  Chapter Fifteen

  Camy wrung her hands while Ellie gathered material here and there. More than an hour had passed since Duncan tore out of the cabin. “Where is he?”

  “He’ll be fine. The way those scoundrels scurried like mice, no doubt Duncan scared the life out of them. I wish I could have seen their faces, but they were too far away,” Mara said, even though she stared out the window. “You should have seen Duncan racing across the field circling the ax above his head, screaming like two tomcats in a fight. Uncle Hamish laughed so hard he doubled over. I had to fire his rifle after I fired mine.”

  She jammed her hand on her hip, the stool wobbling beneath her feet. “Ow!”

  “Hold still, will you?” Ellie poked a pin through the silk. “It won’t take long, if you quit wiggling around.”

  “I can’t help it. How do I know he wasn’t ambushed, or shot? I’m not even married yet.”

  Ellie rolled her eyes. “Weren’t you just saying how there was no need for us to be excited, as your marriage was going to be as real as the Fountain of Youth?”

  “Oh, it’ll be a real marriage all right,” Mara tossed over her shoulder.

  Camy glared thorns at her sister’s back.

  “Of course it will. They just need some time to figure it out,” Ellie responded.

  “I think they’ve figured it out. I saw them kissing last night.”

  “Mara!” Camy jumped off the stool. Her cheeks burned. “How dare you?”

  “Well.” Ellie tugged on her arm, motioning for her to stand back on the stool. “I am relieved.”

  Camy didn’t know why her sister was relieved. A kiss was nothing more than a kiss. It didn’t mean he was going to change his mind about her, about them. Their marriage. She’d become Mrs. Cameron Murray. Husbandless and childless, but at least she’d have his name, and his protection. If he stayed.

  “He’s back, and he looks as mad as Ellie when Hound comes ’round smelling like a skunk.” Mara ran out the door.

  Camy jumped back off the stool.

  “Not in Mama’s gown, you don’t.” Ellie pulled her back.

  “Come on, Ellie.” She tugged at the sleeves. “Unbutton me.”

  Her sister laughed as she unhooked the buttons enough for the gown to slide down her hips. She helped her don her green work dress, and before the last button was fastened Camy flung open the door.

  “Shoes, and your sling.” Ellie laughed. “I pray one day my heart will find someone to love too.”

  Her entire body skidded to a halt, even the pulse that had been fiercely pounding through her veins. “Love?”

  Her breath caught in her lungs. She leaned against the door frame. “Is it possible?”

  “Is what possible?” His deep timbre cut straight through her, like a nail through wood when struck hard enough.

  He stood so close his warmth radiated, encompassing her. Churned earth, horse and him swirled around her, pulling her deeper into what she knew before their first kiss, maybe even from the moment he’d appeased Ellie and had read the Good Samaritan, she loved him. Her breaths shortened and quickened, tightening her chest. Spots danced before her eyes.

  “Are you all right?”

  She looked at him, his clean-shaven jaw, his soft green eyes like a bed of moss, the mouth that had so lovingly touched hers. Oh, Lord, how am I to marry him when I love him? He doesn’t want to be loved, not by me. Like she was stuck deep in mire, she dragged one foot backward, away from him. She wobbled.

  “Ellie, water please.” He scooped her up in his arms and placed her on one of the chairs. He crouched in front of her and wrapped his hands around hers.

  A warm stream of tears slid down her cheek. She swiped it away. “You must th-think I’m a n-ninny.”

  “Not at all.” Eyes filled with concern, his gaze bored into hers, searching for answers she hoped he wouldn’t find. “You’re the first woman I’ve met who didn’t swoon at the hint of rain.”

  No, just at the prospect of loving you.

  Ellie pressed the cup into her hand. “We’ve had a lot of excitement the last week. I know I’m exhausted and I’m not the one who got shot and is getting married.”

  “I almost forgot,” Duncan said. “I spoke with Pastor Hammond while I was in town. He’d be happy to marry us during Mrs. Smith’s planned engagement party.”

  She shuddered.

  His brow creased. “Is that all right with you, Camy?”

  She stared at their hands. His surrounding hers, much larger. Stronger. Two days was a short time, and she was beginning to feel as though her head was underwater. She’d already agreed to the terms, had signed her name, but she’d never thought about all the benefits of having him as a husband would provide to the farm. If he stayed. She wouldn’t have to search around the riverbank for broken limbs and branches small enough to carry and chop with her weaker strength when they couldn’t afford to barter with the neighbors. And he had done more alone than what she and her sisters struggled to do each day as far as the chores were concerned.

  The sooner they were married, the sooner she’d settle into how they’d move forward as Mr. and Mrs. Murray.

  He gave her hand a gentle squeeze. “We can wait if you’d like.”

  She shook her head. “N-no, Saturday is fine.”

  “Just think, Camy,” Ellie chimed. “You’ll only have to be at one of Mrs. Smith’s gatherings instead of two.”

  Duncan released her hand and rose. He smiled down at her. “That’s one way of killing two birds with one stone.”

  She gulped down her water and tried to come to terms with her heart.

  “Did you get a close look at the rotters?” Ellie asked as she handed Duncan a cup of coffee.

  “No, but I’ll know them if I see them again.” He sipped his coffee. “By the way, thank you for your assistance.”

  “I’m thankful you decided to return instead of go to Topeka,” Ellie responded.

  “I am too.” He gazed out the window. “I hate to think what might have happened if I hadn’t. It seemed they were only about mischief, which makes me uncertain they are the same ones who have been bothering you. It’s by the grace of God we had that late snow, keeping us from planting.”

  “Wh-why?” Camy asked. “Why did you c-come back?”

  He blew across his coffee and she wondered if he stalled thinking of what to say. Would he speak the truth, or lie?

  “I had an intense gnawing in my gut, and the further I traveled the worse it became.” A corner of his mouth turned upward. “I did wonder if it might have been the extra amount of salt in the biscuits last night, but once I discovered Northrop was heading to Topeka the gnawing disappeared.”

  Ellie’s laugh filled the cabin. Camy could only stare as the knot in her stomach tightened. She loved him. He’d eaten every bite on his plate, even had a second biscuit along with the rest of the fish, and not one grimace crossed his face, not one, and she would know because she’d watched him. Not only last night, but every time they’d shared a meal, especially when Mara helped prepare food. Camy had begun to pity the man, thinking he didn’t have the luxury of good food, but of course, if he was as rich as Mara hinted, he knew what good food tasted like. No wonder the man had tried to eat Uncle Tommy, his poor stomach wasn’t used to broth and root vegetables.

  She had to know. After all, they were to be married. “Mara says you’re rich. Is that true?”

  His smile fell, and Ellie’s laughter quieted. “Is that why you’re so somber?”

  She kept silent. If she told him no, he’d press, and she was far from ready to tell him the truth. If he knew what was in her heart, he’d leave, and the thought of him doing so caused her insides to tremble.

  He pulled up a chair and sat. “Yes. Does that bother you?”


  She chewed on the inside of her lip. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  Ellie took Mama’s gown, along with the sewing box, to the other room.

  “I didn’t think it mattered.”

  “It d-doesn’t, not to me.” She drew in a breath. “How will you be content to live here, when you’re used to finer things?”

  He set his cup on the floor and grabbed her hand. “Camy, you’re sorely mistaken. I inherited money from my father. Money I didn’t want. In my youthful foolishness I took financial risks investing in various inventions and companies trying to get rid of it. Many of my investments were blessed.” He stood and paced to the window. “But everything I own fits in my trunk. I’ve gone from boardinghouse to boardinghouse.”

  “You never wanted a home?”

  “Yes.” He nodded and then looked her in the eye. “This one.”

  * * *

  “Camy, there is something I need to tell you.”

  She looked up at him, her brown eyes curious and filled with innocent trust. He didn’t want anything standing between them, not his money, not his investments, not the fact that his partner was a no-good rotter. It would be much easier to tell her what was budding in his heart, but he couldn’t do that, not yet.

  A clap of thunder shook the rafters and Camy tilted her head as if listening for something more.

  “Is everything all right?”

  She nodded. “Y-yes, but we need to make sure the animals are secured.”

  Ellie swished out of the room. “Hound will be pounding on the door soon.”

  Another clap of thunder, this one louder caused Camy to jump. “I’ll see to the animals.”

  “I’ll go with you,” he added.

  They raced outside and to the barn. Mara stood on the bottom rung of the gate to one of the empty stalls, tears sliding down her cheeks.

  “What’s wrong?” Camy strode through the barn.

  “It’s Miller.”

  “Miller? What is he doing here?”

  “We went to bring the goats in and Hamish found him beaten.” Mara jumped down, her face white as a sheet. She swiped at her tears. “He’s not making much sense. I don’t like him much, but his sister is my friend, and I’ve never seen anything so awful.”

  “It’s all right, Mara,” Camy consoled her sister.

  Duncan peeked over the gate and bit back the words bursting forth from his belly. Hamish held a rag to the young man’s face. Lanky legs and arms, one twisted at an odd angle, told him Miller was even younger than he first thought. The red bandanna Duncan had seen tucked in the vest pocket of one of the riders was now tied around his head, telling Duncan the kid had been one of the riders tearing up the field. Had Miller gotten himself mixed up with the others? Duncan slipped inside the gate and knelt in the hay beside Hamish. “Whew, the boy’s been drinking.”

  “Like he’s been swimmin’ in the bottle,” Hamish added. “I’m thinkin’ it’s not such a bad thing, considerin’ his injuries.”

  Duncan pulled back one of Miller’s eyelids and then the other.

  “What can I do?” Camy sucked in a sharp breath. “Oh my.”

  “Get Ellie. Have her bring the sewing box. He may not need the laudanum, but have her bring it anyway.” Camy hiked up her skirts and left for the cabin. “Mara, are all the animals in?”

  “Hound disappeared when we found Miller, but he’s probably at the cabin by now. He hates storms.”

  “Can you gather the lanterns? We’re going to need them.” Duncan pressed his fingers to Miller’s pulse. Someone had done more than just beat him, they’d sliced an X in his right cheek from beneath his eye to the corner of his lip, from the side of a swollen broken nose to his jaw. A crimson-soaked handkerchief wrapped around his fingers. Duncan didn’t need to pull back the makeshift bandage to know the damage done. “Where’s his horse?”

  “I dinnae see no horse,” Hamish replied.

  “If it isn’t here, then it must have been taken.” Duncan didn’t tell them Miller was one of the men who’d been tearing up the field. If they knew, then they’d know he’d most likely been part of setting the barn on fire last fall, and the cabin a few days ago. Even though the hothead had tried to start a fight with him last week, Duncan didn’t think Miller was the type to terrorize women. He didn’t know what was going on, or how involved Miller was, and until he did, he’d keep his mouth shut. No need to stir up any more trouble for the young man.

  Miller moaned, and Duncan wished he could do something more than sit here.

  Ellie opened the gate. “How long before you think Ben will be back?”

  “He thought tonight, but with the storm coming in...” Duncan didn’t have a clear answer. “I can take Heather Glenn—”

  “No!” Camy cried. “If these are the same men, look what they did.”

  Duncan went to her and pulled her into his arms. Her presence settled him, gave him a sense of calm. If these were the same men, and they were out there, they could do the same if not worse to Camy. “You’re right.”

  Rain beat the roof, along with pieces of hail. A crack of thunder rent the air. Bright white light burst through the shudders of the barn as lightning struck something close by. “Where’s Mara?”

  Loosening his hold, Duncan glanced around the barn. “I asked her to gather the lanterns. She should be here. Mara!”

  “Mara!” Camy hollered.

  “She probably went looking for that mangy pet of yers,” Hamish growled. “You two gather them lanterns. Ellie girl needs all the light she can get to stitch the boy up properlike. I’ll look around for Mara Jean.”

  Hamish took up the rifle leaning near one of the doors and slipped outside. Duncan twined his fingers with Camy’s. “You don’t think she’s gone searching for whoever did this, do you?”

  He hoped Camy’s sister wouldn’t be so foolish, but the two youngest Sims sisters had a streak of spitfire in them. Camy dug her heels into the ground, her eyes wide with concern. “I—I don’t know.”

  Knowing the answer to his question before he asked, he felt his heart hammering in his chest. “Would you?”

  Her eyes searched his. “A few weeks ago, yes.”

  “And now?”

  “If it was you who’d gotten hurt like Miller, nothing would stop me.”

  “I was afraid you’d say something like that.”

  “But Mara likes Miller even less than I do.”

  “That may be so, but you’ve seen him. Even I’m angered by the brutality of what was done. And his sister is her friend.”

  “Oh, Duncan,” Camy cried.

  “Is there any place she’d hide, a place to get away from everyone, to think?”

  Camy chewed on the tip of her fingernail and thought for a moment. “When we first moved here, we’d find her in the root cellar playing with her doll, but that was years ago.”

  “You get the lanterns. I’ll check there.” He gave her a quick peck on the cheek. “Don’t worry, I’ll find her.”

  He went to leave, and as he passed the stall holding Heather Glenn he heard muffled sobs. He opened the latch and found Mara Jean with her face pressed against his mare’s neck. “What are you about? Your sister and uncle are worried about you.”

  She lifted her head. Tearstained cheeks and red swollen eyes glared at him in anger as if he were responsible for what had occurred, and in a way he very likely could be, given that he now knew his partner was involved. Guilt pressed against him like a boulder, but he shook it off. This was no time to pity himself. Even if he had never met Calvin Weston, his partner would have found another purse, and for whatever reason, the situation would still be the same, except Duncan wouldn’t be here to flesh it out. Of that, he would be forever thankful.

  “I don’t know how to ride,” she snapped. “If I d
id I’d go after them and I’d give them a piece of my mind, and shoot them in the knees so they’d never walk again.”

  “A little bloodthirsty, eh?” He scrubbed his palm over his jaw. “I promise all will be well. First, we need to care for your friend. We’ll find the men who did this, trust me.”

  “How are you so confident?” Camy asked. He’d heard her skirts swishing before she leaned against the stall, before he had smelled the hint of rosewater. She scratched Heather Glenn’s nose. “We don’t even know who did this or if they’re the same ones who have been after Sims Creek.”

  They’re the same, he wanted to say, but he didn’t want to tell them that their friend was involved. Not yet, if ever. He didn’t know why, but he had a gut feeling that Miller had been swindled somehow, blackmailed into participating. “When Miller wakes up, he’ll be able to give us information.” He looked Camy’s younger sister in the eye. “Until then, it’ll do us no good to race across the county in the middle of this storm.”

  “Duncan,” Ellie hollered. “Would you come here?”

  Closing the latch, he followed the sisters to the stall where Miller lay injured.

  Fear flickered in Ellie’s eyes, but then it was gone. “I need him moved to the cabin away from the animals. I’ve secured his arm the best I could.”

  Duncan scooped up the young man, careful not to jar his arm, and followed the sisters. The storm continued to rage. Rain and wind whipped around him, stinging his bare flesh. He hunched over Northrop when thunder clapped overhead, and lightning struck something in the distance. He quickened his steps and climbed the stairs of the porch. Fingers dug into his arm. Miller’s eyes were mere slits in the swollen sockets. His mouth opened and closed, bare mumbles. All Duncan could make out were the words forgive me.