“No! I’ll not be going to meet yer mate lad, not tonight, not ever. Who do ye think ye are, telling me who I can court, or can’t court? According to yer neighbors, a perfectly good man wanted to be introduced to me yesterday, and ye ran him off without a how do ya do. Today ye bring a man you just reconnected with from a boat ride ye had years before and tell me he’ll make me a fine husband. Tell me, Edwin McRae, what do you know of this Angus MacGregor since he got off that boat all them years ago? How do you know he’s a good man? Hmm?”
She could see Edwin’s anger building behind his eyes. He was shocked too; he’d never known her to refuse anything their Da had told her to do, and he thought he had the right to demand the same compliance from her. Well, he had another think coming to him. She was his sister, his older sister at that, she’d helped change his nappy and watched over him as a babe. He wasn’t about to try to step into their Da’s shoes now, especially since he left home years ago without a thought to what would happen to her or their sisters when Da passed away.
“Ye will come down and meet him, Aileen. It’s only proper, he came all this way to meet with you. He is a perfectly fine man and a Scotsman at that. I won’t be putting up with your sass tonight, lass. Now come along.”
She placed her hands on her hips and glared at him. “Nay laddie, I’ll not be going anywhere tonight nor will I meet this man any other time. Ye have no say in who I court or even who I wish to be introduced to. If I remember right yer own wife marched with you alongside her so that we women had the right to our own say in our lives. So you go and tell yer bloody Scotsman that he made the trip fer nothing. I’ll not be part of yer little scheme. I’ll be choosing me own beau and giving me own permission for courting me. Not you, laddie. Not now, not ever, and iffen ye don’t like my choice then ye’ll be keeping that ta yourself or we will be having words. Do ye ken what I’m saying to ye?”
Her brother stood nose to nose with her. “I done told the lad he had my permission ta court ya. Now come down and meet the man, or I’ll haul you down there over my shoulder.”
Aileen narrowed her eyes and balled up her hands ready to sock her brother in his nose when her Da appeared beside him. “Go with the eejit, lass. I’ll take care of the man he brought ta meet ya.”
She relaxed her hand but not before letting Edwin know just how displeased she was. “I’ll meet yer friend, but I will not be courting the man and ye best get it out of yer head right now that you have any say over my life. I’ve taken care of myself, Da and our sisters ever since Mam died, and you left us. So you have no right to make any decisions for me about anything.”
Then she pushed past him and walked down to the dining room where she knew the man would be waiting. Sure enough, sitting at the table nearest the stairs was a man with shaggy brown hair and an equally unkept beard. She was several feet from him, and she could already smell the sheep odor that wafted from him. Edwin had to be out of his mind if he thought this was a man she should allow to court her. He hadn’t even stopped to clean up before asking for an introduction. She sighed as he stood when she came into sight of him from where he sat. As she got closer she realized that the man was a good three inches shorter than her and had to look up at her. She was going to murder her own brother for this humiliation. “I take it you are Mr. MacGregor, my brother’s travel companion?”
“Aye lass, I am and yer brother didn’t do you justice. Ye’ll make a man want ta come home overnight, now won’t ye.”
She gasped at his forwardness. Obviously, this man spent too many nights out with his sheep and none learning proper courting manners. “I’m sorry, what did ye just say to me?”
The man scratched himself in places not proper with a woman standing before him then smiled, showing his missing and decayed teeth. “I said ye’ll do. What say we skip all this courting and go see if we can rouse the reverend and get this hitching done, that way we can get right to work on you providing me with several fine Scottish sons to help on my spread?”
Aileen looked up as her brother finally came down the stairs and spoke up so that he was sure to hear her. “Let me get this straight, Mister MacGregor. Even though we met all of five minutes ago, you want me to come with you to rouse the Reverend out to marry us now so that I can start working on bearing you several sons to work your spread with you?”
The man scratched himself again “Aye lass, are ye hard of hearing? I know yer a bit long in the tooth, but ye brother assured me ye were a fine specimen of a woman. What other prospects do ye have beside me? Ain’t no reason to stretch this out when we both know I’m yer last hope of a husband and a family.”
Aileen turned to say something to Edwin when she saw Millie come in from the kitchen. She turned to her sister-in-law instead. “Millie, have you met Mister MacGregor yet? Edwin brought him to court me; it seems.”
Millie nodded, “Aye; I was there when they ran into each other.”
“Well then I’m sure you will be pleased to know that Mister MacGregor just informed me that we should go see Reverend Theodore and get hitched tonight, so I can get started on producing strong Scottish sons for him. After all, it isn’t like a woman my age has any other prospects.”
Millie’s mouth dropped open. “He didn’t!”
“Aye, he did. I wonder how Mister MacGregor feels about the new law giving women the right to vote and own property of their own? Tell us, Mister MacGregor, your thoughts on the women’s rights law.”
The man slashed through the air with his hand angrily. “Pure foolishness. No woman of mine will be voting or owning property. It isn't right, goes against God’s very plan for our world.”
“Does it now? Isn’t that interesting, Edwin? Your good friend here thinks it’s against God’s plan for women to vote or own property. I wonder how he’d feel if he knew your own bride, the Reverend’s sister, led the March through Creede asking for men to vote for that law? Or that you yourself marched and piped the parade in support of that law.”
She turned to see Edwin’s face turning red, as was Millie's. “I’m sorry you came all this way for nothing, Mister MacGregor, but I won’t be accompanying you to the church tonight or any time. You see, I’d rather be without a single prospect than marry a man who denies me my equality or thinks I’m only good for raising sons. I’m sure Edwin will show you to a room for the night. Ye’d best be getting back to yer sheep tomorrow morning.”
“Now jest a minute, lass. Yer brother done gave me his permission, and we will be married.”
“No, Mister MacGregor, we won’t. You see that law you don’t like gave me control over my life. My brother has no say over me. I have say, and I say that yer sheep will grow wings and fly before I marry the likes of you.” She stopped in front of her brother.
“Edwin, you made this mess, I expect ye to see it set right. Goodnight ta ye all. Millie, I’ll be down to help with breakfast.”
Millie tried not to laugh out loud, she smiled with tears of laughter in her eyes. “Goodnight, Aileen. We can talk tomorrow.”
“Aye, sounds good.”
She climbed the stairs to hear her brother and MacGregor having words. She shook her head. “Well Da, ye better make sure he goes on his way tomorrow then.”
She heard a chuckle beside her “Aye, lass, his foreman will arrive to tell him his rams are lost in the morn.”
She locked her door behind her and quickly changed before crawling into bed and falling asleep dreaming of Sterling McCormick’s sweet kisses.
Wednesday afternoon, Sterling stood beside the jail watching the door to the Hearth and Home, waiting for Aileen to appear. His second outing with her was about to start. The couple of days since their first outing to the tea shop had been busy ones. He’d put a crew on his house and started work on the Irish pub for Paddy McGlynn. Aedan was heading up the crew and he knew his friend was a bit overwhelmed with his wife as well, but the job was a simple one. Rather straightforward, something the builder could handle with the plans they’d laid out. Jak
e Honeycutt had agreed to do some of the inside woodwork for that job, as well as at Sterling’s own house when they got that far. He wanted the hand-carved mantle over the main parlor fireplace repaired and when he’d showed it to Jake, the man had told him he could replace the damaged sections and no one would ever know the difference.
He was pulled from his thoughts as he saw the women he dreamed about every night coming across the street, heading right for him with a big smile on her face. He took her by the hands when she got to him and drew her back beside the jail into the dark walkway beside the building, hiding them from the eyes of those passing by on main street. When he bent to take her lips in a kiss her arms came around his neck and she melted against him. Their lips moved together until both of them finally pulled back panting for air. He placed several light kisses across her jaw and neck before stepping away from her. Then he stepped up to the edge of the building, and making sure no one saw them, led her back out and onto the boardwalk. “That was some greeting, Mister McCormick.”
He smiled over at her as she wrapped her hand around his arm. “Yes, Miss McRae, it was and you gave as good as you got, I must say.”
She grinned at him. “After kissing me like that I must insist that you marry me, sir. I’m not one to have my affections toyed with.”
Sterling stopped and turned to face her. “I know you’re kidding with me, Aileen, but just as soon as my house is ready for us to move in, I will be asking you to marry me. Make no mistake about my intentions.”
She looked into his eyes before slowly nodding. “Don’t wait too long, Sterling. Edwin has already tried to force me to court someone since our last outing.”
“Then let’s go tell your brother about us right now. I’ll make my declaration to him in front of everyone in his dining room and he won’t be able to continue to keep us apart.”
He turned to direct her back to the Hearth and Home, but she dug in her heels. “No, not yet. He’s still hurting over the dressing down both Millie and I gave him. The man he brought home was a complete and utter disaster. Dirty, smelly and only looking for a woman to give him sons and lots of them right now. When he admitted that he didn’t believe women should own property or have the right to vote, Edwin knew he’d messed up. I promise you Millie and I set him straight and I made it plain that I, and only I, would have any say on who would come calling on me and whom I would marry. Let him calm down a bit, then you can confront him again if you must.”
So they had gone to the hotel as he’d originally planned and then he’d walked her over to the old Gladstone Manor that his men were restoring. Once there he’d shown her the plans he’d found and asked her opinion on the interior. When he told her it was his and he was restoring it for them, she had gotten excited and made him show her what he could inside, kissing him in each room they couldn’t be seen outside from. Her lips were swollen by the time they realized she needed to head back to the restaurant for supper service.
Unwilling to let her walk alone, Sterling escorted her right to the corner of the Hearth and Home like he had two days before, and he once again pulled her between the buildings and kissed her senseless. This time, however, he got bold and walked her right up to the door and held it open for her and when she entered he followed her. He stopped just inside and waited for one of her sisters to come and show him to a table and he had just gotten seated when a shadow fell over him. “What are ye doing here, McCormick? I told you to stay away from me sisters.”
“I’m not here to see your sisters, Edwin. I came to have supper. You do still serve supper, don’t you?”
“Not ta the likes of ye, I don’t. Now get!”
“Are you telling me you aren’t willing to take my money, McRae? I wonder how your partners will feel about that when they hear you’re turning down paying customers because they, at one time, courted your wife.”
Edwin growled and reached for him just as Millie came out of the kitchen and saw them. She rushed over with a smile. “Mr. McCormick, how good to see you. You haven’t been in for a few days. I thought you’d decided you didn’t like our food.”
He stood and smiled at Millie. “Not at all, Mrs. McRae. I thought it best to give your husband a few days to calm down. It seems that like most Scotsmen, he has decided to make a feud out of a simple misunderstanding. I was just informed my business isn’t welcome here anymore.”
Millie looked between her husband and him with her hands on her hips. “Edwin, that isn’t true, is it? You didn’t tell Mr. McCormick he wasn’t welcome here, did you?”
“Aye, he’s just here nosing around Aileen. I won’t have it.”
Millie glared at him. “Did he say he was here for Aileen?”
“Nay, he said he was here to eat.”
“Then there you go. He’s here to eat like everyone else sitting at these tables. Get back in the kitchen so we can start serving them their food.” She leaned closer to her husband and whispered so only the three of them could hear her. “The sooner he’s fed the sooner he’ll leave, Edwin.”
The cook sighed and then turned and stalked back into the kitchen. Sterling sat down as Millie turned back to him and smiled. “Don’t think I don’t know why you’re here, Sterling. You and Aileen need to be careful for a while longer. Come for meals and I’ll make sure she serves ya. But you need to not return her with swollen lips again, Mr. McCormick, because if my husband even suspects you’re sparking with his sister, heaven help ya.”
Sterling nodded and thanked her before she headed back into the kitchen herself. The meal was delicious and over way too quickly, but he couldn’t do what he wished and pull his pretty waitress into his lap and kiss her. He ate and smiled at even the few lingering touches he got and gave. They whispered plans for Saturday and he left knowing that he was going to have to take her on a picnic, otherwise they wouldn’t get time alone like they needed. He sighed as he headed out to make plans. He needed to talk to some of the wives in town and get them to invite Aileen for supper, and him as well, so they could spend time together away from the prying eyes of Creede. Maybe the Clarks and the Honeycutts. Aedan and Kara as well. The last might not work as Edwin knew he was good friends with Aedan. Still, he’d find ways to spend more time with Aileen, and eventually he and Edwin would have it out over the girl and who she would be marrying.
Four
Time passed as Aileen and Sterling continued to court without Edwin finding out. Several of the families in town knew of their courtship and had conspired to give them time alone away from prying eyes and wagging tongues. Aileen knew that Sterling chaffed at her restrictions and wanted to confront her brother and tell him what they were doing. Aileen wanted that too, but she was worried because all of her income and even her housing came from Edwin.
If he really was as upset as he acted every time Sterling ate at the Hearth and Home, then she might find herself in the same situation as she had in Scotland. No income and no place to lay her head. While she knew if that happened Sterling would marry her right then, she didn’t want to have to marry him to make sure she was provided for. She wanted to marry him because they couldn’t stand to be apart.
Not just between them had things changed. Reverend Bing and Celeste had grown to love each other and when Archie Grady tried to kidnap the pastor’s wife, he’d ended up running from the law and died under the wheels of his own silver cart.
The pastor and Celeste had opened a home for those women who had been abducted and any soiled dove who wanted out of the life, or any woman in need. Aileen helped Celeste and Millie with the women, teaching sewing and cooking to help supplement the lessons they got from the onsite teachers. She figured if Edwin tossed her out she could always move in there until she and Sterling married.
Nathan Ryder had come to town to help his friend, the new furniture maker, with a shooting wager running one of the last outlaws out of town and bringing three others to justice with a six-gun.
The biggest change of all came when her own sister Rhona had q
uit working for Edwin and started working for the local newspaper owner. Even more surprising was when it turned out the man asked to court and then marry her. Almost as surprising was the fact that her sister had been writing western novels that the paper was publishing.
She had been instrumental in helping expose a Mail Order Bride con that had fleeced several of the men in and around Creede. Aileen had been so proud of her sister for moving forward in her life. However, she would admit to herself she was jealous of the fact that her brother had approved of Mr. Carroll’s courtship while her own had to be kept secret from him.
All that went through Aileen’s head as she fought with her sister about the dress she was going to wear to work today. It took three tries before they got her sister to put on her best dress before leaving for the newspaper office. Rhona had complained all the way out the door about getting ink on her best dress and ruining it. But Mister Carroll had come to her and Isla the day before and asked for their help in surprising her sister with the biggest wedding Creede had ever seen. The woman who had conned the men of Creede had promised a big wedding and community celebration dance at the Tivoli Ballroom. Mr. Carroll had paid for the reservation instead and planned to surprise Rhona with the wedding and dance today.
So now that her sister was out of the restaurant, her family closed down the shop and rushed over to the ballroom to be on hand to surprise her. Again, Aileen’s heart burned with jealousy as her brother gathered the lace veil she and Isla had procured from Vivian Morgan for Rhona. He was going to walk her down the aisle and yet Aileen couldn’t even sit with the man she loved for fear her brother would cause a scene.
Something had to give. Maybe Sterling was right and they just needed to tell him they were courting and let the chips fall where they would. The stress from having to keep her love and joy a secret was making her angry at her brother.
Adoring the Architect Page 3