Sidney Trippe sighed and shook his head. "Let's do this right away, hopefully before the storm becomes too bad, so we can be on our way home.”
Martin wanted to laugh. Why in the world had he agreed to come with his father to Durango? Once again, he made a bad choice and instead of staying back when he should have, he let his father talk him into coming. Now, because of his moment of weakness, he would soon be a married man.
Chapter 7
Meg felt like she was in a bad dream, and any moment, she would awaken. A quick glance around the room confirmed she needed to speak to her parents alone. "Everyone out."
Her mother and father rose. "Except for you two. Stay right where you are."
A surge of power from deep within her spurred her on. Maybe her mother was right, she was an obstinate child.
After everyone left, she whirled to face her parents. "What are you doing? Don't you know that you are forcing me into a life I don't want?" She turned on her father. "Papa, you promised to speak with mother and tell her my plans to go to New York City to fashion designer school."
From the expression on her mother's face, the way her eyes flashed and her lip snarled, Meg knew her father had not spoken to her mother.
With a whirl her mother faced her father. “Sidney, have you been keeping secrets from me?”
"No, I've been trying to help our daughter, hoping she'd come to her senses and decide to stay home. Now, she has no choice. The man's hand was beneath your skirt on your pantaloons. No man gets away with disgracing my daughter."
In shock, Meg stood there so disappointed in her father, disbelief clutching her stomach into a painful knot.
"So, you had no intention of helping me reach New York?"
With fury, she watched his face scrunch into a frown as he scratched his head. "Someday you'll understand. The thought of my daughter on the other side of the United States, so far away from me, I couldn't help you. The more I tried, the more I didn't want you to go anywhere. I didn't want you to leave."
What about her needs? What about her dreams? How could they not consider what she wanted in her life?
"And you think marrying me off, I'm going to be right here at your side?"
If they weren't careful, hell would freeze over before she forgave them for ruining her life forever.
With a show of unity, her mother walked over and laid a hand on her father's shoulder, standing behind him as he sat in the big parlor chair. "Your father is protecting your honor. Your reputation. We're both insistent that you marry Martin Scott."
Together her parents nodded, and she understood she had no choice. With a sigh, she groaned.
"So, my wishes, Mr. Scott’s wishes, don't matter. Nor the fact that we don't love one another. In fact, I'm pretty sure I hate the man right now and wish he would have let me fall. At least dead, I wouldn't be marrying someone I don't love."
Like a lioness protecting her young, her mother all but growled. "Stop being so dramatic, Meg. Mr. Scott comes from an excellent family. You'll have everything you ever desire."
What about love? Would she have love from a man who didn't want to marry her? How could her mother say such rubbish when she didn't know or understand what she desired? Being in fashion, was her dream. Now that dream would no longer be possible.
"Except a career in fashion. But I'll have a good reputation and a husband I don't love. Sounds like a wonderful life. Thank you, Mother," she said with sarcasm dripping from her lips.
With a growl, her father stood. "Enough. It's time. Get Mr. Scott and the preacher. This will soon be settled."
With a glance at the door, Meg considered running, but a storm raged outside the windows rattling the panes, snow hissing against the glass. Of all nights for a blizzard to trap them at the hotel.
The doors flung open and Agnes marched in. “Nellie, what is this nonsense I hear about your daughter and Mr. Scott?”
Meg’s mother's lips turned up in a smile and she realized her mother had planned this marriage all along. Falling out of the window played right into her plot.
"Oh, Agnes, the best news ever. They are going to be married right here, in just a few minutes."
"What?" the woman asked, stunned, turning to Meg. "Is this true?"
Meg stared at her parents. "Mother is getting her wish. I'm marrying Mr. Scott, though nothing happened between the two of us. Where's Edith? If we're having a wedding, then I want my best friend at my side."
"That's why I was searching for you. We can't find Edith,” Fiona said tearfully.
"Then we must wait," Meg insisted. "My best friend will be by my side."
Nellie frowned. "Regardless, the wedding must go on." Like a queen, she turned to her husband. “Sidney, find Mr. Scott, his son Martin, and the preacher. Let's get this done before anything else goes wrong."
Once again, her wishes were being denied. Once again, she could not delay the vows.
With a scowl, her father rose, but before he walked out the door, he stopped in front of Meg. "You're a Colorado girl. Your place is here in the state with your family."
Meg turned her back on him. The one person she believed had been on her side had betrayed her and she wasn't ready to forgive him, just yet. The life she had wanted was no longer possible and the fact he had never planned on helping her was what hurt most of all.
Chapter 8
Martin Scott stared at the stranger he was marrying.
An hour ago, they had been in this very parlor and she told him she didn't want to be married and yet here they stood before the preacher. Both of them tense and angry.
Shocked after his own father refused to defend his actions and had taken the side of the girl's father. He had no choice but to accept his fate.
The voice of his father saying maybe this would be good for him tightened his chest. What would be good for him? A wife he didn't want?
The religious man finished the vows and he felt her body sag. No, the girl was not happy about this wedding. Now he was stuck with a woman who did not want to marry him.
"You may kiss your bride," the preacher said.
Turning, he gazed into her emerald eyes. One thing about his bride, her eyes emanated with feeling. With one glance, her anger, her fear, her joy everything would be revealed to him. Leaning into her, his lips covered hers and the urge to give her a kiss that would make her swoon overcame him.
The woman's lips were full and tempting and her family needed to be reminded of what could happen on their wedding night. As his hands reached out and gripped her cheeks, holding her tightly against him. Finally, her hands came up between them and she pushed him away.
"I present to you, Mr. and Mrs. Scott,” the preacher said.
A few people in the library clapped, but most just stood there stunned, knowing this was not a happy joining of hearts, but rather a full-fledged shotgun wedding.
"Now what?" Meg said, her voice clipped.
"The wedding night, what else?" he replied half teasing, but also thinking if they spent their life together, he expected the rights of a husband.
The glare she sent him clearly told him Hades would need blankets before they shared a bed.
Without saying a word, she glanced at the preacher. "Sir, how do I get this annulled?"
The man's mouth dropped open in shock. "Sorry, I don't rightly know. It would be best if you consulted a lawyer."
Part of Martin laughed and the other part was a little insulted. Already his wife was seeking to end their marriage? Could there be a chance to null what their parents had done?
"Would a divorce be easier?" she asked.
Her father stepped in. “Meg, stop. Accept you're married."
The scorching scowl she gave her father should have set the man's hair on fire as she turned and walked away. Martin followed at her side wondering could she be serious or only trying to upset her father. "Would you want to obtain an annulment?"
"Of course," she said, walking out of the room, people scattering out of her
path. "You don't love me. I don't love you and we both know nothing happened."
My goodness, there was a chance. "Until tonight, I'd never met you."
"So, let's find a way out of this," she said, stopping outside the ballroom, glancing around at the people milling about giving them sideways glances.
The men were making plans to leave as soon as the snow stopped to find Edith. And the women were in the corner comforting Agnes Webb, who cried over her lost daughter. When the howling winds arrived, and Edith went missing, and Martin saved Meg from falling to the ground, the party atmosphere seemed to die.
The woman was right. They weren't meant for each other, and the sooner they ended this farce of a marriage, the better. But first they needed to survive tonight without everyone believing they had done the deed.
"Listen to me," he said, taking her by the arm, walking away from people to a quiet secluded spot. "Your mother is arranging for us to celebrate our wedding night in your hotel room."
Why her mother would think in a hotel full of people after a ceremony they didn't want, they would entertain themselves in her hotel room was beyond his comprehension. The woman and his stepmother should be friends. Neither one considered other’s concerns, only their own.
The woman tensed. "No, we're not sleeping together because that would make everything permanent."
"Exactly," he said. "A friend of mine, James, is a lawyer and I think he would help us. Tonight, I'm going to write him a letter, but first I need you to act furious and push me out of the bedroom. Everyone has to think we didn't sleep together or else they will never allow us the annulment."
"That's easy," she said, her face frowning. "What happens tomorrow?"
Being married, his wife would go with him everywhere, but right now, confusion seized his chest as he contemplated their options. If they left together, everyone would assume they were together forever and yet they needed to get away.
The thought of returning to Denver with his father was too much to bear. After his father sided against Martin once again, something had to change. Time to become his own man.
The storm raged, the shutters rattling from the cold wind, and he realized before morning he needed a plan. A plan that did not include his father. A plan where he and Meg could leave the area.
Then it came to him. Elk Gulch Ranch. The thought of his mother's parents filled him with hope for the first time that evening.
"We're going to Elk Gulch, my grandparents’ ranch. A place where no one will bother us. A place where we can see about having our marriage annulled and go our separate ways. You can go to New York and I'll do something."
At this moment, his only thought was to escape his father. Which he should have done months ago, but he continued to try to make him happy, and instead, all Martin did was make himself miserable.
For the first time, his wife stared at him, a smile spreading. Suddenly her face changed, and she shouted, "No, I don't give a fig that it's our wedding night. I'm not sleeping with you."
He grinned, his new wife had spunk. She was a fighter and soon their marriage would be annulled.
Chapter 9
Meg sat in her hotel room in front of the mirror, her mother brushing her hair. "This storm is just terrible. None of us can leave until it quits snowing and poor Edith. Where is she?"
Part of Meg was terrified for her friend. Though the woman was no fool. She knew how to take care of herself during a blizzard, but still, she wanted her to be all right. "When will the men search for her?"
"After it stops snowing. Hopefully at first light." Her mother sighed. "I'd always dreamed we'd buy you a lovely new nightgown for your wedding night."
No matter how much her mother willed it, tonight there would be no consummation of this marriage. If he tried to force his way into the bedroom, Meg could crawl out the window again, only this time, she would jump.
But she had gotten the feeling he liked her idea of an annulment, and from what he said, they would wait to see their options.
With a slight shrug, Meg didn't appear interested. "Even if we are married, I'm not sleeping with Mr. Scott.”
"Dear, you need to accept you're married and forget your childish dreams," she said, continuing to brush Meg’s hair, though the hairbrush did drag a little harder and rougher.
Why should Meg give up her dreams? Nothing happened between her and Martin.
With a glance in the mirror, Meg watched her mother's eyes fill with tears. "Please don't be angry with me."
Cora stared not saying a word, biting back her response that yes, she was furious at her mother.
"You know I only want the best for my daughters. More than anything, I want your life to be easier than mine. Your father is a good man, but only in the last few years has he had any real wealth."
Holding the brush up, she paused and gazed at her, her eyes pleading. "While you girls were little, we struggled to put food on the table. I will move heaven and earth so none of my daughters have to worry about eating."
Right now, Meg felt mad at the world and herself. Why did she run upstairs and decide to climb that silly rose trellis to escape? Yet, if she had escaped, she could be like Edith—missing in the snow, wandering around in a storm, slowly freezing to death.
Instead, she was married to a man she didn't know. And her father... How could she ever forgive him for not truly helping her fulfill her dream?
Once she’d completed her education, she would have returned to Wyoming, ready to find a husband. Rather, her father lied and acted like he would help her when in reality he would never let her leave the state.
"This was not what I want," she said bluntly hoping her mother would see the damage she caused.
And her mother... All she cared about was the fact the man her daughter married was wealthy.
Did Warren have money? His father was the governor but working for the territory would never make you rich. Later, she would have to ask Warren about his family's wealth.
"Tonight, you'll become a woman," her mother said, ignoring her comments. "In nine months, you might have a baby."
The image of Martin came to mind and she had to admit he was a very nice looking man with strong features and arms that were big with well-defined muscles. If she were looking for a man, he wouldn't be a bad choice, but she never planned on saying I do today.
The thought of her wedding night in a hotel… Well, that wasn't going to happen tonight. So if her mother wanted to count down the days until she announced her pregnancy, fine, but she would be counting a long time.
"Now, when Martin joins you, you are to let him remove your nightgown. Then he will crawl in between your legs and push his privates into your womanhood. It will only hurt for a moment and then the marriage will be consummated."
Well, that certainly didn't sound appealing. Why in the world did people do this if it was painful?
"Lie there and endure the pain which will be brief. But the marriage should be consummated tonight.”
Oh yes, that sounded like something she longed to indulge in with a perfect stranger.
"Afterward, you continue to lie there until he's finished," she said, laying the brush down. "Tomorrow, your father must talk to him about his plans. The two of you will return to where your life will be filled with parties and..."
A tear trickled down her mother’s cheek. "I'm so happy for you. Remember, we love you and you should always please your husband both in bed and in the home."
Really? A good wife, put her husband's happiness above her own? Was that why her mother couldn't understand her desire to leave the family and go to New York?
Reaching out, her mother stroked her hair. "You're so beautiful, Meg. Of all my girls, I think you're by far the prettiest. Not that your sisters are not gorgeous as well, but your beauty is more like an older woman, not a young woman.” Picking up her skirts, she glanced back at Meg and smiled. "I'll tell your groom you're ready."
Meg nodded, thinking no way her groom would sleep with
her tonight. No way would she let this happen.
As soon as her mother was out the door, she jumped up and pushed the dresser against the door, blocking Martin from entering. So much for the wedding night.
Chapter 10
Martin found the bar and decided he deserved a scotch. No, he wasn't much for losing control and drinking too much, but today had been his wedding day and the event warranted a celebratory drink. If you could call it that.
"Son, we need to talk," his father said, slipping into a chair across from him. "I know you think I should have stopped this wedding, but I couldn't. Not if I wanted to keep the ranchers’ respect."
Did his father think this was going to make him feel any better? That he basically sold his happiness so his cronies who admire him? A rush of anger spiraled through his chest once again. This needed to stop.
"So instead you were willing to sell me a wife I didn't want," he said.
"She's a beautiful woman," his father said with a smile. "And the time has come for you to settle down."
Yes, Meg was stunningly gorgeous and innocent and had dreams of her own that didn't include marrying a man she didn't know. So now not only had he affected Martin’s life, but Meg’s as well.
"Did it occur to you I would prefer to choose my wife? Not be forced to marry," he said.
His father leaned back in the chair across from him and shrugged. "Understandable, but then you haven't done much deciding about your life. It seems I either bail you out or tell you what you should do next. This time, I determined it would be better if you had no choice."
With a jerk of his head, he stared at his father. Oh yes, the time had come for him to show his father his decision-making skills.
"You're right. I've been trying to decide what I want to do with my life. All the work you gave me, I tried and didn't like any of the jobs. So, no, I will never follow you into your business.”
Outrage surged within Martin, his stomach clenching. “The business is boring and being a lawyer does not interest me. You told me to attend college and I did. When I got out, I wanted to have some fun while I tried to do things your way."
The Debutante's Scandal: Western Historical Romance (Debutantes of Durango Book 4) Page 3