A Bargain Struck (Choc Lit)

by Liz Harris

  ‘I sure wish it had! We’re well overdue for some rain. And did you catch anything?’

  ‘Yup, several.’

  ‘And?’

  ‘And nothing. We took ’em back to Peggy and she cut their heads off. Then she covered them in cornmeal and fried them in the pan. We had them for supper and they tasted real good. Peggy sure is a fine cook. And so is Miss Quinn.’

  ‘And luckily for us, so is Ellen. If you ask—’ The sound of a buggy pulling up a short distance from the house stopped him mid sentence.

  ‘I’ll see who it is.’ Bridget jumped up and ran across to the window. She pressed her nose against the glass and stared in the direction of the gate. ‘It’s Miss Quinn! I’ll do the gate,’ she cried, and she dashed to the front door, flung it open and disappeared outside. ‘Miss Quinn,’ they heard her scream in unmistakable delight.

  Connor rose from his chair.

  Ellen’s heart sank. She hastily pulled her hair further across her face. Keeping it in position with her hand, she turned in her chair towards the door, inwardly steeling herself to meet the person that Bridget would clearly rather have had as her father’s wife.

  A moment later, Bridget appeared in the doorway.

  ‘It’s Miss Quinn, Pa,’ she said, her eyes shining. ‘She came to see if we wanted anything. She didn’t know that you’d got some woman here. She said she’s gonna go home now. Tell her she’s gotta come in, will you?’

  Connor moved towards the door.

  ‘I’m sorry to disturb you, Conn.’ A voice full of apology came from behind Bridget. ‘I was wondering if you needed anything and I stopped by to ask. But I’ll go now.’

  ‘You must come in now you’re here, Oonagh,’ Connor said. He sounded uncomfortable, Ellen thought.

  Beaming, Bridget came further into the room, closely followed by a tall, slim woman.

  ‘I didn’t realise you’d have a visitor, Conn,’ the woman said. ‘I’m sorry for interrupting, but Bridget insisted that I come in.’ She smiled warmly at Bridget, and then at Connor.

  ‘It was a mighty kind thought to see if we were needing anything,’ he said, going around the table to stand beside Ellen, ‘but we’re fine. We’ll be going into town on Saturday.’ He hesitated imperceptibly. ‘Ellen’s more than just a visitor, Oonagh. She’s my wife.’

  With a sharp intake of breath, Oonagh turned from Connor to look at Ellen.

  ‘This is Miss Oonagh Quinn, Ellen,’ Connor went on. ‘Her pa is Liberty’s bank manager. I’ve known her for just about all my life – we were at school together. She’s been a real good friend to the family. Oonagh teaches school and is gonna be Bridget’s teacher.’

  Ellen’s hand fell from her hair. She rose from her chair and stared at Oonagh.

  Oonagh’s jet black hair had been skilfully swept to the top of her head, its dark lustrous sheen a sharp contrast with the creamy white skin of her face and neck. The fashionably tight-fitted bodice of her pale-blue calico dress emphasised her tiny waist, as did the lightly gathered skirt that fell naturally over her slender hips. She raised her eyes to Oonagh’s face and stared at the classic features, at the perfect curve of her lips.

  Oonagh Quinn was beautiful.

  Envy washed through her. And fear.

  Chapter Five

  Oonagh took a step forward. Striking violet eyes stared back at Ellen, eyes that were filled with amazement. And with anger, too, Ellen saw in surprise.

  ‘Your wife?’ Oonagh’s voice rose in disbelief. She turned to Connor, shaking her head slightly.

  ‘Yup, my wife,’ he repeated. ‘Ellen and I got back from Baggs last night. Peggy brought Bridget home this morning. But she wouldn’t stay and eat, and I believe that there’s food left over if you were minded to join us.’

  ‘No, I won’t stay. As I said, I only came over to see if you wanted anything.’ She turned back to Ellen and went forward, her lips in a wide smile, all trace of surprise and anger gone from her face.

  ‘As Conn told you, I’m Oonagh Quinn,’ she said, shaking hands with Ellen. ‘I’m real pleased to meet you, Mrs Maguire. Real pleased. I hope I didn’t seem rude just now. It’s just that learning that Conn had wed again took me by surprise.’ She gave a little laugh. ‘But it was a good surprise. He and Bridget needed help in the house. I wish you well in your marriage. Both of you.’ She turned her head a fraction to include Connor in her smile.

  He acknowledged her with a slight nod.

  ‘I’m delighted to meet you, Miss Quinn,’ Ellen said. ‘I haven’t been here long, but in the short time since Bridget returned, she’s talked much about you.’

  Oonagh glanced down at Bridget, her expression affectionate. ‘So Bridget’s been talking about me, has she? How dull for you.’ She laughed and looked back at Ellen. ‘Perhaps one day, I’ll do some talking, too. I could tell you some things about Conn that he probably won’t be telling you himself. I’ve known him all my life, and Alice, too. She was my best friend. Yes, I think I might just do that.’ She laughed again, glancing mischievously at Connor from under her long eyelashes.

  Ellen looked up at Connor, but his thoughts were impossible to read. She turned back to Oonagh. ‘I’d like to think that we can be friends, too, Miss Quinn.’

  ‘Of course we will.’ Oonagh’s voice was full of warmth. ‘But getting to know each other better will have to wait till another time. I must go now. This was only ever going to be a quick visit. With school starting in a few weeks, I’ve a number of things to do. It’s been a real pleasure to meet you, Ellen – I hope I may call you Ellen – and I look forward to seeing you again before long. I live in Liberty itself, and Conn must bring you to visit me when you come into town. My ma and pa will want to meet you, too.’

  ‘Thank you. You’re very kind. And yes, please do call me Ellen.’

  ‘I’ll see you out,’ Connor said, moving forward. Bridget ran quickly to Oonagh’s side. ‘No, Bridget,’ he said firmly. ‘You sit down again. You’ve not yet finished your meal.’ He went across to the door, pulled it open for Oonagh to pass through, and went out after her.

  Bridget returned to her seat and sat down with a flounce. Scowling at her plate, she stirred her porridge with ferocity.

  Ellen sank to her seat and picked up her spoon. She looked at her plate, but all she could see was the beautiful face of Oonagh. And the way that Oonagh had looked at Connor.

  So why hadn’t Connor married Oonagh?

  She sat motionless, her eyes directed towards her plate, her spoon in her hand. Connor had needed a wife. Bridget was clearly very fond of Oonagh and would have welcomed her into their home. So why, with a woman such as Oonagh Quinn so close to him, who was so clearly willing to share his life – or so it had seemed just now – had Connor written to a Nebraskan newspaper in search of a wife?

  The sound of the buggy driving off broke into her thoughts, followed by the grinding of metal hinges as Connor swung the gate shut behind it.

  She took a spoonful of porridge and was putting the spoon to her lips as she heard the click of the front door as it closed behind her. Connor walked past her, went to his end of the table, took his seat again and picked up his spoon.

  ‘Miss Quinn looked real pretty today, didn’t she, Pa?’ Bridget said, pushing her plate away from her.

  ‘She’s a good looking woman,’ he said bluntly.

  Bridget turned to Ellen. ‘Like Pa said, Miss Quinn’s real good lookin’. How come you look so ugly?’

  ‘Bridget!’ Connor banged his spoon on the table, his eyes blazing with anger.

  ‘It’s all right, Connor. It’s a fair enough question.’ She turned to Bridget. ‘I didn’t always look like this, Bridget. I was in an accident.’

  ‘What kind of accident?’

  ‘You don’t have to answer that, Ellen,’ he cut in quickly, glaring at his daughter. ‘Bridget shouldn’t have asked you. It’s up to you when you tell us, and it may be that you never want to tell us, and that would be fine by us. We’re not gonna
force you to remember something you’d rather forget. Bridget should never have asked that.’

  ‘You’ve got a right to know what happened, so I’ll tell you. After all, you’re both going to have to look at my face.’ She attempted a smile. ‘Robert and I were out in the buggy one afternoon – Robert was my husband. There was a four-in-hand wagon coming towards us. It was being driven too fast for the narrow track, so Robert tightened our reins. All of a sudden, something spooked one of the wagon’s horses, and the horses bolted towards us. To this day I don’t know what spooked them, and it doesn’t matter anyway. Our two horses hadn’t long been broken, and they took fright and reared. Robert just couldn’t hold them. Our buggy overturned and we were thrown to the ground in front of the wagon horses. They trampled all over Robert, and I got a hoof in my face.’ She touched her left cheek. ‘As you can see.’

  ‘I guess the fact that you’re here now tells us what happened to Robert,’ Connor said quietly, his voice full of sympathy.

  Ellen felt a lump come to her throat. She swallowed hard. ‘You guess right: he was killed instantly.’ She forced a smile. ‘But that was almost two years ago, and as you say, I’m here now.’

  ‘Bridget and I are real sorry about the accident. Aren’t we, Bridget?’

  She stared at her father. ‘Yeah, of course we are. But it doesn’t make me want her here, lookin’ like that. Everyone at school will laugh at me. And they’ll think you’ve gone mad, takin’ such a woman to be your wife. You shouldn’t have married her.’

  ‘Well, I did,’ he said shortly. He sat back in his chair and looked at Ellen, anxiety sweeping across his face. ‘You having such an accident puts a thought in my mind. I’ve gotten you a saddle horse to ride as that’s the easiest way of getting around. Pa staked the full hundred and sixty acres they were allowed, and that’s a whole lot of land. But you may have become afeared …’

  ‘I haven’t. As soon as I was healed, I made myself ride again. But it’s considerate of you to think that way. Thank you.’

  ‘Your horse is in the shed with the other horses, and the equipment you’ll need. It’s the shed just behind East Barn. You won’t find a whip there as we don’t use them here, and you’ll find that your spurs be so blunt they wouldn’t hurt so much as a man’s skin. In Wyoming Territory we rule our horses with our voices and with a slight pressure on the snaffle bridle. That’s our way. I hope that suits.’

  She nodded. ‘It does. It’s a good way to be with horses.’

  ‘And one other thing. Alice used to find the distances hard to cover sittin’ side-saddle on the horse, so she’d ride like a man when she was on the ranch, pulling her skirts up as far as she must. I’ve given you a youth saddle, which is what all the ladies around here use, but you can ride your horse in whatever way you want.’

  ‘Thank you. I’ve never ridden a horse sitting it like a man. I’ve never even thought of doing so, but if I had, Robert’s parents would have considered it unseemly. But as you’ve said before, things are different in Liberty from in Omaha. And what you say makes sense, given the size of the homestead and the nature of the ground.’

  ‘I’ve gotta go out in the fields with the men tomorrow, so I suggest that I take you to see your horse before sundown this evening, and I’ll show you where your harness and the rest of the equipment is kept. Then you can practise when you want on your own. We’ll go before we eat. At the same time, I’ll show you quickly the other barns and the woodshed. You need to get an idea of where everything’s stored.’

  She smiled and nodded.

  ‘And tomorrow Bridget will take you through your day’s routine.’

  ‘I can’t. I’ve got things to do for school.’

  ‘You’ve a few more weeks before school. There’s nothing that can’t wait a day or two. You’ll help Ellen tomorrow.’

  She scowled at her father, and then at Ellen.

  ‘Don’t worry, Connor. I can probably work out most of the things for myself. I guess that I sweep out the stove, re-lay it and set it alight as soon as I get up, and then collect the eggs for breakfast. When I’ve done the breakfast, I feed the chickens and hogs. And I milk the cows after that. Is that right? It’s the order I used to do the tasks when Robert and I lived on his parents’ farm.’

  ‘Yup, that’s the way we do it here, too. You’ll have seen that we’ve got a good flock of Plymouth Rocks. They give us a mighty fine number of eggs, and Bridget will show you where to look for them. Not an egg can escape her eyes; not even the ones that are hidden beneath the clumps of sagebrush that we’ve got around the place. Isn’t that right, Bridget?’

  Bridget kept her eyes on the table.

  ‘We get sage hens here, too. There’s a shotgun for them just inside the kitchen door,’ he went on. ‘You don’t need to be much of a shot to hit them. At times you can’t see the sky for the birds. And Alice once got four of them with nothing but a stick, they were so thick on the ground. They’re a danged nuisance, and I’d rather have them on my plate than in my fields, eating the clover and grass. If they’re young and tender, that is. The adult hens are as tough as a bale of swamp grass.’

  ‘And the cows will need milking in the evening, too, I expect.’

  ‘You’re expecting wrong about everything,’ Bridget said sharply. ‘I collect the eggs, and I do the milking. I’ve been collecting the eggs for Ma since I was real little. And doin’ the milking, too. They’re my chores. They are, aren’t they, Pa?’

  He leaned forward to her. ‘I appreciate all the hard work you did when we had your ma, honey, and everything you’ve done to help since her passing,’ he said, his voice gentle but firm. ‘But things must change now. You’ll be starting school soon, and that means you’ll be leaving home early in the morning, and you’ll be back late in the day. You won’t be able to do all the chores you’ve been doing, and it wouldn’t be fair on you to expect it. That’s why Ellen is here. She’s gonna take some of them off you.’

  ‘But we’ve got on all right by ourselves, just you and me. And I like doin’ the things I’ve been doing and I want to carry on helping you. You always said how well I did everything and that you wouldn’t be able to manage without me. I can do the chores before I go to school and when I get back.’

  ‘Your ma would have been real proud of you, and how well you looked after the house and me. But at the same time, I reckon she’d be mighty angry at me if I let anything come in the way of you getting an education, and you know that.’

  ‘I wouldn’t have minded sharing the chores with Miss Quinn.’

  ‘She teaches school. With both of you out of the house all day, who’d look after the vegetable patch, do the preserving, do the cooking, and not just for us, but for the men we hire? They need three meals a day, like we do. Who would wash the clothes, clean the house and do all the things a woman does when she runs a home?’

  ‘She could stop teaching school.’

  ‘Maybe she doesn’t want to. She’s very comfortable, living with her folks and teaching school. I’ve heard she’s been offered for on many occasions, but she’s always said no. What’s more, I reckon that if she ever changes her mind about living alone, it’ll be to the town that she looks for a husband, not to any homestead. The life of a homesteader is not the sort of life that Oonagh’s ever wanted.’

  ‘You don’t know for sure. You could have asked her. I know she likes me, and I can tell she likes you. Anyone can see that.’

  He straightened up. ‘I think we’ll let the subject be, Bridget. Enough has been said, don’t you think?’

  An ache of misery deep within her, Ellen rose from her chair. ‘I’ll take the empty plates.’ She went around the side of the table and leaned across in front of Bridget to pick up her dish. Her hand brushed against Bridget’s arm.

  The girl drew back sharply. ‘Don’t you touch me!’

  ‘Enough!’ Connor stood up and pushed his chair noisily back. ‘I reckon I’ve had just about enough of your rudeness, girl. Apologise at on
ce, and then go to your room.’

  Stony-faced, Bridget looked up at Ellen. ‘I’m sorry for speaking my mind.’

  Connor pounded on the table with his fist. ‘I don’t call that an apology. Make a better one than that.’

  Bridget clamped her lips together.

  ‘I accept her apology, Connor,’ Ellen said quickly. ‘I’m sure Bridget’s tired, and all this – meeting me, seeing my face – it must have been a shock for her.’

  Bridget turned and looked Ellen in the eye. ‘I’m sorry you had that accident, and I’m sorry about your husband. But I don’t want you here, and you won’t get around me by trying to be nice, if that’s what you think.’ She stood up. ‘I’m glad I’m going to my room now, Pa. It’s better than sitting here, looking at her. Anything’s better than that.’

  She turned around, ran to her bedroom and closed the door firmly behind her.

  Connor gestured helplessly. ‘You won’t see Bridget again this afternoon. We don’t need meat tonight – just do what you can with whatever you find. I’m gonna go and see how Aaron’s getting on.’

  A moment later, the kitchen door slammed shut behind him and Ellen was left at the table, alone in the room.

  Ellen pulled her shawl around her shoulders and stepped through the open doorway into the pine-scented night. Pausing a moment, she stared ahead at the distant horizon.

  The sun was dropping behind the hills, and the streaks of crimson and orange that arched the heavens were slowly being consumed by widening bands of deep grey that were reaching out across the sky. Stark against the darkening horizon, the branches of isolated trees formed an intricate network of black lines. But as she stood and watched, they gradually blurred into a formless mass, overcome by the inexorable advance of night.

  She inhaled deeply and began to stroll across the yard in the triangle of yellow light thrown out by the lamps within the house. Reaching the pinpoint of the tapering beam, she moved into the shadows, sat down on the chopping-block tree trunk and leaned forward, her elbows on her knees. The scent of newly cut wood filling her senses, she gazed in the direction of the river, a ribbon of gunmetal glinting beneath the light of the moon, and she felt herself begin to unwind. It had been a long day, and a difficult one.