“I’ll take you up on that soon enough,” Cora answered with a smile.
Luella turned and gathered both Cora and Essie to her in one hug. “So you are sure? Congratulations. Did you tell Harrison?”
“Yes, and he’s so happy. But I thought you might want to cook for your husband. It’s something I like to do for Harrison. But you are under no obligation to cook for Zander and Heath. Your duties, honestly.”
Heat flowed into Luella’s cheeks. “So you heard that…?”
Cora nodded. “You can decide with Declan what you do on this journey. And you and I can share some tasks. But I’ll cook tonight since it’s your wedding day.”
“I don’t know what I’d do without you, Cora.”
“I had a lot to learn when I got married too. It’s difficult, and Zander and Heath might not make it any easier. Don’t you let them treat you like some hired girl. You are Declan’s wife and deserve respect. Now go get ready for the party, and we’ll eat soon.”
Luella nodded. She couldn’t bring herself to speak. She watched Cora walk to Harrison, sighed as he kissed her cheek.
“Got kicked out so soon?” her father taunted from the back of his wagon.
Luella pretended to ignore him and walked back to her wagon. She was so exhausted, but she needed to get dressed. No one was at the wagon when she got there, which surprised her. She climbed into the back to get her dress and found a new dress hanging in its place. It was grass green trimmed in a much darker green ribbon. Inhaling in awe, she touched it with the tips of her fingers. There were stockings and shoes too, set beneath the dress. Declan must have left them as gifts. He was so generous. But how? Why? She knew he needed his money for the ranch he wanted to start with Heath and Zander. Maybe if she didn’t wear it, he could return it for the money he would need. She picked up her own dress and put it on. In no time, she upswept her hair into a bun with little tendrils framing her face. Then she went to the end of the wagon, hoping someone would be nearby to help her down.
There was Declan in a clean shirt—and he was freshly shaved! He smiled with his whole face, from the wide sweep of his mouth to his twinkling eyes. But then his smile faded. “You didn’t like the dress I picked out? I knew I should have gotten the blue one but…”
“It’s the prettiest dress I’ve ever seen. But I don’t want you to spend your money on me. You’ll need every bit for your ranch. I do appreciate your surprise, though, it made my heart smile.”
He lifted her down and kept his hands on her waist. “You really don’t care about new dresses and such?”
“Not when you have a future to build. You have your dream, and that will be expensive. The land will be free but you need to build a house and a barn. If you decide to plant a crop, you’ll need a plow and livestock. I’ll not take that from you for a dress. Do you think you can get your money back?”
He gave her a quick kiss on the lips and stepped back. “I’ve never known anyone like you except my mother. She always sacrificed so Heath and I could have what we needed.” He looked deep into her eyes. “I want you to have the dress if you want it.”
“I think that’s the nicest thing anyone ever said, comparing me to your mother. Let’s get to Cora and Harrison’s.”
He reached for her hand and held it as they walked to the other wagon.
* * *
He’d spent time with her but there was a lot he didn’t know about her. Imagine a woman turning down a becoming new dress. She was right about the money, and the dress had come dear, but she deserved to feel pretty. He smiled as she finished helping Cora with the dishes. Then they walked toward the lively music. The sound of laughter heartened him. They’d all had to be serious for too long now.
Harrison led Cora out to the where others danced. They fit well together.
Zander ran over and bumped Declan’s shoulder purposely setting him a bit off balance. “Come on! Jackson got himself enough whiskey to make the lot of us giddy.”
“I can’t.”
“Oh that’s right they made you to get married today. Well, enjoy standing here and watching.” With that, Zander continued on his way.
“Don’t pay him any mind.”
She gave him the quickest of smiles. He took her hand and led her outside fringe of the firelight.
“I have something for you, and this time you’ll not refuse it. I’m not telling, mind, I’m asking. It took me a bit of time picking it out and I’m proud that I’m able to give this to you.” He pulled the gold ring from his pocket. “I know we didn’t plan to get married, but I believe in making the best of things. Lord only knows why he put us on this path together.” He slid the ring on her finger. “I promise to be faithful and to provide for you. I promise to value your opinion and be there for you.”
She stared at the ring then touched it as if she couldn’t believe it was real. Her eyes shimmered. “This is beautiful. Thank you, Declan for the ring and for your kindness. I promise to help you in any way I can. I promise to be your friend and I promise to let you go when you say it’s time. We’ll get through this journey together, and we have the help of our friends and your brother. I believe in you. You are a man of honor and integrity, and I think I’ll enjoy our short marriage.”
He took her into his arms and kissed her longer. He could tell that she felt something for him. He smiled against her lips. She promised to go when he said it was time. He never planned to say it was time. They stood there in each other’s arms and there was a rightness to them being together. “I’m glad you didn’t go with Eagle Nest.”
She pushed him away. “That is not his name, you know, and he is a very honorable man. My father played him for a fool, and I don’t think it’ll be something Swift Eagle will forget.”
“His name is Swift Eagle?”
“I’m sure it’s not Nest. I hope he finds a wife he loves.”
As they walked back to the festivities, her father blocked their path. “I lost a lot of money today. I had to give back all those pelts and some silver. You were the payment for those things. He thought he was getting something so special and I knew I would be rich.” He kicked the dirt between them. “You have disappointed me at every turn.”
“I’d appreciate it if you didn’t talk to my wife… ever.”
His harsh laughter cut the air between them. “Good luck to you. She’s a curse.” And then he strode away.
Luella pretended to smile as so many people stared at them.
“He’s out of your life. You won’t have to worry about him. Like a sore loser he had to get his last word in.” Declan tugged at her hand. “Dance with me.”
“I don’t know how,” she whispered. “I didn’t know how to tell you earlier.”
His smile crinkled his eyes. “Just follow me.”
He slid one hand around her waist and took her right hand in his left. He moved slowly, but he seemed to know what he was doing. She felt like a bride at that moment. Women saw her ring and smiled at her. She was one of them now, she supposed. A married woman.
Her heart beat faster as Declan pulled her a bit closer. She could smell the soap he’d used and a bit of leather. It would be so nice to lean her head on his chest, but of course, it wouldn’t be proper.
Zander pulled her out of Declan’s arms and wrapped both arms around her. The whiskey on his breath nauseated her. He pulled her too close, and he wouldn’t let go.
“Zander, please let go. You’re hurting me.” Not wanting to draw more attention or upset her new husband, she tried to be as discreet as possible.
In short order, Declan squeezed Zander’s shoulder and pulled him away. Much to Luella’s relief, he did it in such a way no one even gave them a second look.
She accepted Declan’s hand when he offered it and allowed him to lead her away from the dancing. He brought her to a table that had water with sliced lemons in it. There wasn’t enough for lemonade she supposed. But it was refreshing.
“Most of the party is here,” she said.
“He’d been drinking. I’m just glad he didn’t cause a scene.”
“He’s had a hard life and ended up in an orphanage for a while. Not a good place to be. Then he had to be creative in finding food since there weren’t any jobs. He was probably lucky he wasn’t put in prison. But he’s a good fella.”
She smiled and nodded. Usually Zander wasn’t so bad, but lately he had been showing a bit of a sullen nature.
“You look tired,” Declan commented.
“Well, the day started out on a very trying note, though it’s ended up nice.” She sighed as weariness overtook her. “But yes, I’m tired.”
“I probably should have put up the tent for us. I didn’t think of it. We’ll have to sleep in the wagon tonight.”
“Together?”
“I think it best. I don’t want your father to doubt our marriage.”
“But you said…”
He took the empty cup from her and put it on the table with his. Then he held her hand and kissed the back of it. “I keep my word. We need to think of how things look to the rest, though. A man doesn’t sleep under the wagon on his wedding night. It’ll be cramped, but I think we can do it. I’ll remember to set up the tent tomorrow for us.”
They began to walk through the darkness. “Us?”
“The tent is plenty big enough for us both without having to sleep on top of each other.” He chuckled, a happy sound that warmed her heart. “When Heath and I were kids, we had two more brothers and we all shared a bed. It was no bigger than the straw tick in the wagon. We were the lucky ones my poor sister had to sleep on a blanket on the floor. We’ll be just fine. I promise.”
She nodded. He was trustworthy, plus he didn’t feel that way about her. He probably thought of her more like a sister… or maybe not. No, a man would never kiss a sister. Maybe a neighbor or a close friend, but not a woman he loved. But he would keep her safe and act like a gentleman.
They walked to the wagon. “I’ll bank the fire while you get changed and in bed.”
She was glad it was dark so he couldn’t see her fiery blush.
She had to move the green dress to the front part of the wagon so they wouldn’t walk into it. She unbuttoned everything and got under the quilt before removing any of it. Then she hurried and pulled her nightgown on. She made sure the covers were pulled up to her chin and she was as far over on the tick as she could get. It was like waiting forever before Declan climbed in.
“A mhuirnín, you might want to turn your back while I get ready.”
She turned her back to him. “What does a mhuirnín mean?”
He hesitated. “It’s Gaelic, we speak that in Ireland. It means ‘my dear friend.’” He crawled onto the tick and under the covers.
“Good night, a mhuirnín.”
As he rolled onto his side pointed away from her, she thought for sure she’d stay awake all night, but the heat and stillness of him put her right to sleep.
* * *
It was foggy and misting rain in the wee hours of the morning. Declan took one more long admiring gaze at his wife. She sure was pretty with her hair down. He quickly dressed and left the wagon. He picked up two pails and walked toward the Platte River and filled them. The water was moving fast.
It reminded him of many a morning in Mayo, Ireland, and for a second he was homesick, though what he truly yearned for was the Ireland he had known before the rents increased and then the Famine. On top of that it was the worst winter they’d had in years. So many were homeless, the workhouses were overflowing with people waiting in line night and day to get in. There was much sickness too. His mind drifted to how many hundreds of thousands of people had likely died in the workhouses. Things hadn’t been just or fair for the people in Ireland. People often wondered why they didn’t improve the houses they lived in. But each improvement they made would belong to the landholder. In turn, the landholder, believing he could get a higher rent with such a fine house, often had the people forced from the home they’d just put money into.
People had learned the hard way, and now no one was that foolish. Where was the incentive to live better? The more a man made, the more that was taken from him. Declan had never seen mercy at all, and it had been a good choice to come to America, but he missed his fellow Irishmen; men who knew how he felt, because their lives had been filled with tragedy too.
He started walking back with the filled buckets. Heath was already up and checking on the animals. Zander was nowhere to be seen. He was probably sleeping the whiskey off somewhere. Declan smiled as he drew closer to the wagon. Luella was already at work building up the fire, and it looked as though she had the coffee ready to boil. She was an asset.
“How are you feeling this morning?” he asked. He set the pails down and kissed her cheek.
“I’m getting stronger every day.” A smile lit her face. “Good thing, since I have a lot to do today.”
She got out the ingredients to make fried cornmeal mush. It was quick and easy until she learned where everything was. She’d seen the men eat and knew she needed to cook plenty. She got busy and smiled at both Heath and Zander when they joined them. They helped themselves to the coffee and then Declan and Heath talked about the horses.
Zander watched her, though, and it made her nervous, the way his eyes followed her. At one point the grease splattered and burned her hand. He never said a word, just watched. The burn was hardly anything, but Declan hurried over and pressed a wet cloth on it.
“Does it hurt?”
“I’m fine it goes with cooking, getting burned a time or two I mean.”
She started to pile the pieces of mush on a plate and put more batter in the grease. When she turned around, Zander had helped himself to most of what she had cooked. She hid a sigh of frustration. It wouldn’t do to get mad.
“A mhuirnín, save some for the rest,” she said with a laugh, as she recalled the words Declan had said meant my dear friend. “They’re hungry too.”
Zander stared at her saying nothing. After a moment, she turned away and went back to her task.
Finally, he stood. “Do you call all men that?” he hissed. “I bet in your native tongue you do. I’m beginning to see a side of you I don’t think worthy of Declan.”
She was going to be sick. She ran away from the wagons and bent over. There wasn’t much in her stomach but what little was there came up. Thankfully, she still had the wet cloth Declan had handed her, and she wiped her mouth. Luella couldn’t bring herself to go back. She saw Cora wave to her from the other wagon and decided to go that way.
Cora made her sit and handed her a cup of water.
“What happened? Don’t you feel well?” Cora’s brow furrowed.
“No, nothing to worry about. I’m sure I’ll be just fine.”
“What happened?” Cora shook her head and laid a gentle hand on Luella’s shoulder. “I know you.”
“Zander implied I was a sweet talking type of woman, if you know what I mean. My father never allowed me to go anywhere without him. I never—and Zander… Last night he pulled me into an embrace and I was afraid he wouldn’t let me go. This morning he took almost all the fried mush I’d made, and when I reminded him there were others eating, I called him a dear friend in Gaelic, and he took offense to it.” Unable to catch her breath, she gulped air. “I’m sorry. Everything has happened too fast lately, and my mind is whirling. He wanted to know if I use that sweet talk on all men. It made me sick.”
“Declan is coming over. I’m going to go in the wagon and check on Essie.” Cora patted her on the shoulder and climbed into the wagon.
Luella closed her eyes. She didn’t want to see the look on Declan’s face. Maybe once married, an Irish woman wasn’t allowed to speak to another man or something. If there were rules, she should have been told.
Declan kneeled before her and took her hands in his. “Luella, are you sick? You can come and lie down in our wagon. I could make
you some tea or I could go get Mrs. Chapman.”
She shook her head and couldn’t meet his gaze. She hurt and she wasn’t sure what she had done. “When you marry in Ireland, is the wife not allowed to talk to other men?”
“No. Where did you hear that?”
“I don’t know what I’ve done wrong. Zander doesn’t like me. He stared at me all morning and he made me nervous.”
“You burned your hand.”
“I can’t blame him for my clumsiness. I had made two batches of fried mush and piled it on a plate as I usually do. I put more in to cook and when I turned he had taken most of the food and put it on his plate. I didn’t want to fight or chastise him or anything all I said was ‘a mhuirnín, save some for the rest. They’re hungry too,’ and he wanted to know if I sweet talk all men. I guess he thinks I’m a loose woman. I must have broken some rule that makes him think I would, would—” She put her hands over her face and wept.
Declan put his arms around her and stroked her back. “It’s my fault.”
Lowering her hands, she blinked and looked into his eyes. “Wh-what do you mean?”
“A mhuirnín means ‘my darling,’” he told her with a tender note in his voice. “I said it because I meant it, but then I wasn’t sure you’d want me to call you that. That’s why I told you it meant ‘dear friend.’” He released a gusty sigh. “Look, he had too much to drink last night, and he’s miserable to be around.”
Emotions surged, and tears flooded her eyes. “So he is miserable when he drinks and miserable the next day too, and it’s fine? I’m sorry I’m not usually a watering pot. I guess since he’s your friend I wanted him to like me too.” She sighed and blinked back the tears. “We should go back so Cora can come out of her wagon.”
He stood and helped her up. As they walked back, he put his arm around her waist. Her heart thumped with her fear of what Zander might do next. But their wagon looked deserted, and she relaxed. “Well, I can wash the dishes in peace. I’m also going to wash clothes today so give me your dirty clothes.”
Luella’s Longing: Romance on the Oregon Trail Book Two Page 5