A Convenient Christmas Wedding

by Regina Scott

  “Congratulations, Mrs. Wallin,” Mr. Bagley said.

  “Welcome to the family, Nora,” said Simon’s brother John.

  Simon put a hand to her back, the touch so proprietary, a shiver ran through her. “We should be going.”

  “Yes, of course,” she agreed, chiding herself for her reaction. He wasn’t Charles. He wasn’t ordering her about. He was merely being practical. They had a ship to catch, after all.

  She preceded him down the aisle, paused only long enough to pick up the carpetbag of her overnight things and slip on her cloak, then started with him and his brothers down the hill for the pier, where Puget Sound glistened gray.

  Simon reached out his hand. Nora frowned at it a moment, then realized he was offering to carry her bag. Blinking in surprise, she gave it to him.

  How nice to have someone else do some of the carrying.

  He had stamina too. His long legs ate up the muddy ground. He moved with such purpose, such determination. Charles would like him. He always said there was nothing worse than an aimless fellow.

  Nora shuddered, scurrying to keep up. No, no. She didn’t want Charles to like Simon. She wanted Charles to respect him, fear him and leave her alone. She was looking forward to the day when Simon and Charles locked horns. She was fairly certain who would win.

  She wasn’t sure what ship Simon had found to take them on the journey, but she couldn’t help smiling at the long, lean lumber schooner that lay at anchor near Yesler’s pier. It wasn’t nearly as large as the Continental, which had carried her away from New York, but she would always have a special place in her heart for this ship. The Merry Maid had rescued her and some of the others in San Francisco and brought them the rest of the way to Seattle.

  “You’re just in time,” the burly mate told Simon as they reached the ship. “Get aboard and stow your things.” He glanced toward Nora. Eyes widening, he tugged off his cap in respect. “Miss Underhill, an honor to be traveling with you again.”

  “Good to see you, Mr. Chorizon,” she said. “I noticed the jib sail is holding up.”

  He grinned at her. “Those stitches you took were just the thing, ma’am. The sailmaker in San Francisco claimed he couldn’t have done better. Captain Collings says you’re welcome to travel with us anytime.” He nodded to Simon. “No charge for you, seeing as you’re friends with Miss Underhill.”

  “Mrs. Wallin,” John corrected him with a look to his brother.

  Mr. Chorizon grabbed Simon’s hand and shook it. “Good for you, Mr. Wallin. She’s a fine lady. I wish you both happy.”

  Simon inclined his head, but he retrieved his hand and reached for Nora’s to help her up the gangplank and onto the ship.

  “What did he mean?” Levi asked as they settled themselves along the bulwark, where they’d be out of the crew’s way.

  “The Merry Maid brought us up from San Francisco,” Nora explained. “They had a little trouble with that front sail there.” She nodded toward the triangular canvas at the front of the schooner. “I was able to patch it up.”

  “She’s a sailmaker?” Levi demanded with an accusatory look to Simon as if annoyed he hadn’t been told his new sister-in-law had skills few men boasted.

  “I’m a seamstress,” she told him.

  “And she’s obviously a good one, if she could fix a sail,” Simon added with a look that made his brother move down the rail a little ways. With an apologetic nod, John went to join him.

  “Thank you,” Nora murmured, leaning against the polished rail.

  Simon frowned. “For what? It was only the truth. My mother sews quilts and made most of our clothes when we were younger. I know how hard she worked. She would never have attempted something as detailed as what you’re wearing, and I doubt it would have dawned on her to use her skills to fix a sail.”

  Her cheeks were warming again, despite the chill winter breeze that blew across Puget Sound, tugging at the canvas above them. “Thank you nonetheless. I’m not used to people defending me.”

  He put a hand over hers on the rail. “I’m your husband. It’s my duty to defend you. That was the bargain.”

  The bargain. Of course. He was only doing his part. She should not read more into the matter.

  The crew cast off a short time later, maneuvering the schooner out of Elliott Bay and sending her south along the shores of Puget Sound. She skimmed the choppy gray waters as gracefully as a gull, spray rising to dampen Nora’s cheeks. One hand holding her hat to her head, she breathed deep of the cool salty air, eyeing the clouds that crowded out any view of the mountains on either side of the water.

  “The captain said we could wait in his cabin,” Simon offered, turning up his collar.

  Nora waved to the vistas. “And miss all this? No, thank you. But if you want to go inside, please don’t mind me.”

  He didn’t move.

  Nora drew in another breath. She wasn’t sure why he stayed. Was he too marveling that his life had changed?

  “Do you feel different?” she asked.

  He frowned as if considering the idea. “No,” he said with a shake of his head that sent the breeze fingering through his light brown hair. “You?”

  She wiggled a little, trying to sense any change in her bones, her muscles. “No. But I never thought to marry. Well, there was a young man from church who showed interest, a Mr. Winnower. He used to talk to me after services, and once he even walked me home. My brother, Charles, took him aside to discuss his intentions. He only ever looked at me from across the room after that. If I approached him, he’d dash out the door. I always wondered whether Charles might have told him I had some dread disease that would infect him.”

  “I’m going to enjoy talking with your brother,” Simon said with such a dark tone that Nora could only smile.

  “And perhaps my sister-in-law?” she suggested. “Meredith always claimed I was destined to die an old maid. If she could have picked a husband for me, I’m certain it would have been some elderly widower who needed comfort in his final hours and wasn’t overly particular in his bride. I’m having the most delightful time imagining the look on her face when I walk in on your arm.” She couldn’t help the giggle that bubbled up.

  “Her as well,” Simon agreed.

  Nora smiled. “Oh, and perhaps a few of the ladies in town? There has been a distressing rumor that I’m destined to be the last Mercer Belle to wed.”

  He shifted away from her. “I’ll win your freedom from your family, Nora, as I promised. But don’t expect to parade me all over Seattle like one of your fancy gowns. I have work to do, and the sooner I get to it, the better.”

  She almost acquiesced. It was on the tip of her tongue to say, “Yes, of course.” To bow her head contritely for impinging on his precious time. To crawl back into her corner and lick her wounds.

  Not again. Not with him. Not ever.

  She raised her head and met his gaze. “I understand you have work ahead of you, Mr. Wallin. But know one thing—I may owe my brother a debt for taking me in after my parents died, but you and I have a bargain. You are getting one hundred and sixty acres from our marriage. I am getting a husband who helps and supports me. If you cannot abide by that agreement, then I will take the first ship back to Seattle, and you can argue with the registrar over whether you have earned those acres.”

  Chapter Three

  Who was this woman he’d married?

  Nora had quaked at stern words from Mr. Bagley. She claimed she could not stand up against her brother. Now her face was set, her fists planted on her ample hips. He felt as if a tabby had turned into a mountain lion right before his eyes.

  But he’d never run from a mountain lion, and he didn’t intend to now.

  “I’ll honor our bargain,” he told her. “You’ll be free to live as you like. All I ask is the righ
t to do the same.”

  She relaxed with a brisk nod. “Very well. You can go and wait in the captain’s quarters. I’ll be fine. I’m used to being alone.” She turned her gaze once more to the water.

  He could not find his equilibrium with her. Feeling as if he’d been dismissed, he went to join John and Levi farther down the rail.

  “I like her,” Levi said. “She seems nice.”

  Simon was no longer so sure. Where had that surge of confidence come from? Had she overstated her fears about her brother? Did something more lay behind her proposal to wed?

  He kept his distance the rest of the trip.

  They arrived in Olympia late in the afternoon. Unlike Seattle, the territorial capital afforded several docks, and more than one ship crowded the harbor at the base of Budd Inlet, the terminus of Puget Sound. The entire town was built on a spit of land, with water on three sides and mountains on two. Simon much preferred the more solid footing of Wallin Landing, with the hill at his back and the lake in front.

  But as he walked down the pier toward the town proper, Nora’s case in his hand, he couldn’t help noticing that they were causing a stir. Sailors glanced at Nora as she passed; longshoremen paused in their work to watch. Even here, where the territorial legislature met, women were rare. Though Nora seemed unaware of the interest, Simon put his other hand to her back and stayed close. She favored him with a frown but did not resist him.

  “Busy place,” John commented behind them as they made their way south along the boardwalk past all manner of businesses.

  “I like it here,” Levi declared, glancing at a hall where banners proclaimed the upcoming performance of a dance troupe. “A fellow could find a lot more to do than farm and log.”

  “There’s the land office,” Simon said, nodding to a whitewashed building ahead. He strode to it, shifted Nora’s case under one arm and held the door open for her, then followed her inside with his brothers in his wake.

  The long, narrow office was bisected by a counter. Chairs against the white-paneled walls told of lengthy waits, but today the only person in the room was a slender man behind the counter. He was shrugging into a coat as if getting ready to close up for the day.

  Handing Nora’s case to John, Simon hurried forward. “I need to file a claim.”

  The fellow paused, eyed him and then glanced at Nora, who came to stand beside Simon. The clerk smoothed down his lank brown hair and stepped up to the counter. “Do you have the necessary application and fee?”

  Simon drew out the ten-dollar fee, then pulled the papers from his coat and laid them on the counter. The clerk took his time reading them, glancing now and then at Nora, who bowed her head as if looking at the shoes peeping out from under her scalloped hem.

  “And this is your wife?” he asked at last.

  Simon nodded. “I brought witnesses to the fact, as required.”

  John and Levi stepped closer. The clerk’s gaze returned to Nora. “Are you Mrs. Wallin?”

  She glanced at Simon as if wondering the same thing, and for a moment he thought they were all doomed. Had she decided he wasn’t the man she’d thought him? Had he married for nothing?

  Nora turned and held out her hand to the clerk. “Yes, I’m Mrs. Simon Wallin. No need to wish me happy, for I find I have happiness to spare.”

  The clerk’s smile appeared, brightening his lean face. “Mr. Wallin is one fortunate fellow.” He turned to pull a heavy, leather-bound book from his desk, thumped it down on the counter and opened it to a page to begin recording the claim.

  Simon knew he ought to feel blessed indeed as he accepted the receipt from the clerk. He had just earned his family the farmland they so badly needed. The acreage would serve the Wallins for years to come and support the town that had been his father’s dream. Yet something nagged at him, warned him that he had miscalculated.

  He never miscalculated.

  “What now?” Nora asked him as they left the land office.

  “The tide’s against us,” Simon told her, pushing away his troublesome emotions. “We won’t be able to return north until early tomorrow morning.”

  “I expected as much,” she replied, taking her case from John. “Where should we wait?”

  John cleared his throat. “I’m sure you and your bride would like some privacy. Levi and I can make our own way.”

  Nora glanced between him and Simon. “There’s no need.”

  “None at all,” Simon agreed.

  John and Levi exchanged glances. “But you just married,” John pointed out.

  “I know this is you, Simon,” Levi added, “but Drew and Catherine and James and Rina were pretty lovey-dovey when they married.”

  Nora flamed. “I never intended— That is I never supposed— I mean, really, I—” She appeared to run out of steam like a poorly tended engine.

  Simon pulled a coin from his pocket and tossed it to John. “McClendon’s, on Main. Request three rooms. We’ll join you shortly.”

  With a nod toward Nora, his brothers took off up the street.

  Nora had her feet planted so firmly on the boardwalk she might have been part of its construction. “I can see we should have discussed the details of our convenient wedding more fully.”

  He might on occasion have a difficult time following other people’s logic, but he thought he knew what was troubling Nora. “Then let’s discuss them now.” He started up the boardwalk, careful to slow his stride to allow her to keep up. She paced him, head down and case close. The feather in her hat bobbed with her movements.

  “We’re not really married, you know,” she said.

  Simon raised a brow. “I distinctly remember a ceremony just a few hours ago.”

  She nodded. “Yes, yes. But that’s the extent of it. Nothing need change. We are agreed on that.”

  She didn’t sound convinced of the fact. “I’ll do my duty,” Simon told her.

  She stopped on the boardwalk. “Please don’t use that word with me. I am not a duty, Mr. Wallin. I am your partner in this bargain.” She glanced at him under her lashes. “And partners do not share sleeping accommodations.”

  He couldn’t help chuckling. “I thought that might be your concern. I have no intentions of claiming my husbandly rights.”

  She clutched her case closer. “You requested three rooms. There are four of us.”

  “One room is for me, one is for you,” Simon replied. “The last is for John and Levi. I saw no reason they couldn’t share.”

  She took a deep breath, setting her green overskirt to fluttering under the edge of her cloak. “I see. Forgive me. I suppose that’s settled, then.”

  She had a way of overlooking things. Was it inexperience or blind trust? Neither boded well for the future.

  “That’s not the only detail we should discuss,” Simon told her, starting forward again and allowing her to fall into step beside him. “There will be no mingling of finances. What you earn from your sewing is yours. What I earn from my logging is mine.”

  “Agreed,” she said. “And very wise of you.”

  For some reason, that made his head come up a little higher. Silly reaction. He didn’t need her praise. “You will call me Simon, and I will call you Nora,” he continued. “People will expect that.”

  “My father always called my mother Mrs. Underhill,” she said. “But very well. What else?”

  This was the toughest part. “We will tell our families that we entered into this arrangement for stability. I will not lie and claim it a love match.”

  He thought she might take umbrage. Beth was forever prosing on about romance, for all she claimed she would never want a husband hanging about.

  Instead, Nora shrugged. “My family will never believe it’s a love match. I intend to tell them we decided we’d suit well enough, and you are to
o busy with the farm to come into town on a regular basis but were willing to allow me to continue to ply my trade. I don’t intend to inflict them on you any more than absolutely necessary.”

  He still struggled to imagine any family that cruel. “Are they truly so bad?” he asked.

  “That,” Nora replied, “you’ll soon see for yourself.”

  * * *

  Charles and Meredith arrived on a rainy day exactly a week after Nora and Simon returned from Olympia. The harbormaster had sent word to Nora at the Kellogg brothers’ store, where her sewing customers met her, so she was standing on the pier, umbrella over her head, when the longboat bumped the pilings. She smiled as the sailors helped Charles and Meredith to the wide wood planks of the pier and hoped they would attribute her shiver to the cool weather. She was only glad she’d had an opportunity to send a note to Simon through a miner headed north. Her husband should be able to reach her by dinnertime. She only had to survive until then.

  “Wretched trip,” Charles greeted her as if it were somehow her fault. No one who did not know them well would ever have taken Charles for her brother. Though he wasn’t a tall man, he was certainly taller and thinner than she was. His hair was lighter than hers, a fine chestnut, and it was pomaded back from his square-jawed face. His well-tailored coats were always crisp and clean, and his trousers always held a crease.

  “Do tell me you brought the carriage,” Meredith said, her feathered hat taking a beating from the rain. She plucked the umbrella from Nora’s grip and huddled under it. Meredith was the very epitome of a grand lady, her gown with its top cape festooned with lace and ribbons and tucks that had fairly worn out Nora’s fingers and patience to arrange to her sister-in-law’s liking. Everyone in Lowell had talked about how the fair-haired, blue-eyed beauty had married above herself when she’d snagged noted accountant Charles Underhill, but Meredith always acted as if she were the one born to privilege.

  “There isn’t a single carriage in the city and precious few horses,” Nora told her sister-in-law. “Most people either travel by wagon or walk.”